The Samsung Galaxy S8 is one of those phones that just has to do well – it's up against some massively impressive competition in 2017 – and the good news is that this is, indeed, a very strong phone.

The amount of S8 leaks we've seen are staggering, both in their volume and accuracy, but they don't tell the whole story about a phone that's certain to be at the top (or very near the summit) of most 'best phone' lists this year.

The Infinity Display is the headline feature of this handset – while it's not all screen, it's as close as can be. Samsung has also been very clever in the way it's got around the loss of the front-facing home screen button, managing to make the handset usable without requiring the mechanical key on the front of the Galaxy S8.

Design

The look of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is what will sell it to the legions of fans clamoring for a
new phone from the brand – and to a wider audience as well. While there aren't that many internal upgrades, the front of the phone is mostly just display, and it’s by far the lowest bezel-to-screen ratio we've seen on a globally-available flagship phone so far.

The effect will definitely impress the first time you pick it up – while the Infinity Display (as Samsung is calling this edge-to-edge effort) isn't completely bezel-less at the sides, it still seems to spill over to the back of the phone.

Every corner and edge has been rounded on the Samsung Galaxy S8, giving it a very pleasing feel in the hand. It's the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge with a bit more courage in the design – Samsung has spent two years convincing the world that a curved screen is best, and the fact it's on both this handset and the larger Galaxy S8 Plus is testament to that effort.

That said, it's not a small phone. The 5.8-inch screen is packed tightly into the frame but it's still large at 148.90 x 68 x 8mm, and you'll struggle to reach all corners of the screen with a single thumb.

The fingerprint scanner is on the back, by the camera, and it's rather hard to use from the natural holding position for a phone in your palm. It is something you could get used to, but we're not sure why Samsung put it so close to the camera when it could have been closer to the middle of the phone.

However, we don't want to take away from how impressive the Galaxy S8 is in the hand, with the 5.8-inch screen squashed into an impossibly-small chassis – and one that packs in wireless charging and a IP68 rating, so you'll be able to immerse this phone in water and dust with little worry... and not even need to plug in a cable to charge it.

The Galaxy S8 comes in three colors at launch for the US and UK: Midnight, Orchid Gray, and Arctic Silver. Maple Gold and Coral Blue are being saved for other regions.

Screen

Let's spend a little more time on one of the headline features of this phone: the screen. The 5.8-inch Super AMOLED display is clear, bright and colorful, with a QHD resolution (and a little bit more, thanks to the screen being extended further down the chassis and now offering an 18.5:9 aspect ratio).

That stretch is significant, as it allows more content to be spilled down the front of the phone, with all the internal apps optimized to make use of this larger space. LG is the other brand to do such a thing, with the LG G6, but it tried to use it in a 'two square' interface, essentially putting two apps in one on the screen, whereas Samsung is just making everything look a bit larger.

There's no way to easily make everything widescreen when it comes to third-party apps, which may mean some people don't make full use of the longer display unless they trek through the settings menu on the Galaxy S8.

Samsung is also talking up the fact that it's got the first truly mobile HDR screen on the market, which seems a bit harsh on LG and Sony, given they've already announced such things. More importantly, those brands have partnered with Netflix and/ or Amazon to bring true HDR content to their phones.

Camera

In terms of the camera on the Samsung Galaxy S8, we're oddly seeing little in the way of improvement over the (admittedly impressive) snapper on the Samsung Galaxy S7 from 2016, despite promises to the contrary.

The specs tell the same story as the experience: a 12MP sensor on the rear, with an f/1.7 aperture a fast autofocus. Those specs contributed to, arguably, the best camera on a smartphone in 2016, and Samsung clearly doesn't want to tinker with the formula.

We were expecting a dual-lens design, similar to the one found in the iPhone 7 Plus and multiple Huawei phones (as well as rival LG's G6), but Samsung clearly has other design issues it wants to solve first.

One of the big upgrades on board is to the multi-frame image feature, where three snaps are shot and the best is selected for you with each picture. It's not clear at this time whether this is an interpolation of all three pictures, in the same way as HDR on smartphones works for brightness and color, or if it's just the Galaxy S8 looking for the sharpest image of three.

There's no sign of the super slow-motion, 1,000 frames per second video to rival the same feature on the Sony Xperia XZ Premium, but there are a lot of features that will make most smartphone camera fans happy.

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While the software on the LG G6 we have in for testing is largely finished - LG says it's about 90-95% there - we won't be benchmarking or scoring this handset until we've reviewed the final software, as per our reviews guarantee.

However, we've learned enough of the quirks of the handset to bring you our more in-depth hands on review of the phone - if you're excited about what LG is bringing to the table, we've got the info for you.

With the LG G6, the modular design of the LG G5 is gone in favor of a more traditional phone, one that takes multiple elements from the top handsets around, blended together to make a more prosaic (but still intriguing) handset.

Having used the LG G6 for a couple of weeks, it's easy to see that this is a 'grown-up' handset from the South Korean brand. It just feels nicer in the hand, more solid and refined, and I really haven't missed anything from the LG G5 at all.

The main thing that's perturbing is the early price rumor: it's going to possibly cost up to £699 (around $860 / AU$1125) at launch, and, well, that's just too much for what's on offer.

(This may be an early price from retailers jumping in too quickly though, so keep an eye out for other costs landing soon).

However, LG seems to have baked all the components together well, so if you do have to spend that much you'll be getting a decent phone.

It’s interesting that some early reviews of this preview build have called the LG G6 a 'return to form' - apart from perhaps the LG G2, the brand hasn’t had a stellar flagship device for years. Rather, it feels more like a ‘finally understanding what users actually want in a phone’.

Design 

The LG G6 is covered in a mix of glass and metal, with two sheets of Gorilla Glass (although weirdly it's Gorilla Glass 5 on the rear, but only the much older Gorilla Glass 3 on the front) framed with a rim of aluminum.

What's most impressive is how little bezel there is on this phone – we're expecting the same kind of design from Samsung on the Galaxy S8, but the narrow bezels have been shrunken top and bottom to create an impressive effect when you turn the phone on.

Anyone aware of the LG G5's design will be surprised by the way of just how … normal this phone looks. Gone is the dull plastic back of the LG G3, the odd leather of the G4 or the come-apart design of last year’s phone – the LG G6 is smooth and classy all the way around.

Battery

The improvement of the battery from 2800mAh to 3300mAh should bring cheers from anyone who wants a phone with a long battery life – LG has historically been excellent at optimising battery, so packing in more power is always going to be a welcome move.

This is where the inclusion of the Snapdragon 821 processor is going to have an effect too, according to LG, as its engineers have worked with the chipset for longer and have managed to extract more performance out of it, which leads to longer-lasting and less hot handsets.

Whether this is just an excuse remains to be seen – there are many efficiency advantages being touted by Qualcomm in its latest 835 chip – and LG could be just trying to deflect from the decision to use an older (and presumably cheaper) engine in its phone.

The ways you'll charge your new phone are varied, and a little hard to explain as there will be so many versions of the LG G6 throughout the world. In the US you'll be able to charge this phone wirelessly, with both PMA and WPC standards supported.

our verdict

The LG G6 is a phone that takes things back to basics, and does so well. The sleek metal and glass fusion is attractive, and to anyone using the iPhone 7 Plus, the ratio of screen to body will be staggering.  

The larger display has been well used for the native apps, but massive worries remain over third-party apps. While LG has assured us that things will stretch nicely this isn't certain, and if your favorite titles have ugly black bars left and right that's going to be bad press for the phone.

Similarly, the Netflix and Amazon HDR content sound amazing, but it's too early for those to be must-have features, and you'll need to be on high-end plans to make them work properly in the case of Netflix.

What we worry most about is LG's past: it has a history of starting something and not following it through. VR content for 2016's headset? Not really. The Rolling Bot? Never made it out the gate. New modules for the G5? Never appeared... so how do we know that the company will work with app developers to improve their wares for its longer screen format?

The success of the G6 depends on one thing though: the price. LG has been pretty clear that it made cost-cutting decisions throughout this phone – for instance, the lower-power chipset or the loss of certain features for certain regions – as it listened to what would actually enhance the consumer's experience and made design decisions accordingly. 

Well, most brands say that. It would be dumb to just create a phone with a random set of features and hope that something sticks – but then again, LG has done that in the past, so it's good that the brand is taking things back to basics.

However, the early prices seem worrisome, and anyone looking to buy the G6 will be hoping that it drops in price quickly if those costs are to be believed.

That doesn't mean the G6 isn't innovative – the screen looks great and there's raw power, from the camera to the battery to the general snappiness of the handset, rippling through this phone.

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Design

• Three form factors; handheld, console (docked) and tabletop
• Lots of accessories, which are at risk of being misplaced

In the Nintendo Switch box you get the main body of the console, complete with two detachable controller sides, a grip which enables you to combine these controller portions into a more traditional gamepad, two straps which can be attached to these sides to make them into two individual controllers, and a dock that allows you to plug the console into your television. 

You also get a USB Type-C power cable (with a non-detachable power brick) and an HDMI cable for connecting the device to your TV. 

If you think that sounds like a lot of accessories then you’d be right, and we suspect a lot of people are going to end up misplacing at least one or two of them after some months with the console. 

We’ve taken to wrapping our Joy-Con straps around our Joy-Con grip just to keep everything together, but it would be great if there was some way of attaching them to the console so they don’t end up getting misplaced.

It’s a pretty novel (not to mention somewhat complicated) setup, so it’s worth delving into each of the different ways you can use the console.

Graphical performance

• Roughly equivalent to Wii U
• Not as good as PS4 or Xbox One
• Strength of Nintendo's art direction makes up for technical shortcomings

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, for example, runs at a resolution of 720p on the Wii U, while this is boosted to 900p on the Switch when docked and outputting to a Full HD screen (4K output is not supported). 

On the surface this suggests the Switch has the graphical edge on the Wii U, but we experienced frequent frame rate drops when playing the game on our television. 

Meanwhile, when played on the Switch’s own 720p screen, the game maintained a consistent frame rate. 

We haven’t yet had a chance to play the Wii U version of the game, but these initial observations suggest that we’re looking at a new console with roughly equivalent power to Nintendo’s last-generation system. 

Other launch games, such as 1-2 Switch and Just Dance 2017, don’t suffer from these same performance hiccups, although both are less graphically intensive than Breath of the Wild.

Nintendo has never been one to push the graphical envelope. Past games such as the Wii U’s Mario Kart 8 have certainly looked good, but this has been more as a result of their distinctive art style than the technical prowess of their graphics. 

Thankfully this has tended to be a strong suit of Nintendo’s in the past. 

The look of the games (in handheld mode at least) is also helped by the quality of the Switch’s screen. Although it’s only 720p resolution, the screen is bright and its colours are vibrant. It’s not up there with the best smartphones on the market, but it’s a step above Nintendo’s past handhelds. 

We'll have to see what the Nintendo Switch achieves in the graphical department going forward, but we don’t expect this to be a console to rival the graphics of the PS4 and Xbox One. 

The games we’ve seen look very good for handheld games, but as console games they don’t quite have the same fidelity of current-generation games on other consoles. 

Battery life

• As low as 2.5 hours for graphically intensive games
• Enough for a commute, but longer journeys might prove problematic
• Ability to charge over USB allows use of portable battery packs

Much has been made of the Switch’s battery life, which Nintendo has claimed will last between 2.5 and 6 hours. 

In our experience this claim has rung true. When actively playing Zelda we got around 2.5 hours, which was enough to cover our commute to and from work in a single day before we charged the Switch overnight. 

If you’re looking to use the console for a longer period, such as on a flight, then this 2.5 hour battery life will be problematic. Charging over USB should allow you to make use of portable battery packs, but this is hardly ideal. 

It’s difficult to compare this battery life to previous handheld consoles, as even on the Switch itself this battery life will vary massively between different games, but a recent rest-mode comparison put the Switch ahead of the Vita, PSP and 3DS, although it loses out to the DS and GameBoy Advance. 

The bottom line is that this is a console that should be able to deal with your daily commute, but might struggle with longer journeys.

our verdict

We liked

When compared with the handheld consoles that have come before it, the Nintendo Switch blows them out of the water with its graphical quality, which comes close to the last generation of consoles. 

This is helped by its impressive screen which is bright, crisp, and colorful. 

Providing the console with a controller that also doubles as two individual controllers is a very neat inclusion, and should mean that you’re never unable to join a friend for a quick multiplayer game while you’re out and about. 

The docking and undocking process is impressively seamless, with games that don’t even need to be paused before being plugged into a television. 

We disliked

The phrase ‘jack of all trades and master of none’ may sound negative, but the impression the Nintendo Switch has left us with is that sometimes compromise is a necessary, good thing. 

Yes there are better home consoles out there with controllers that can be good at doing just one thing, and yes there are handhelds out there that have better battery life and a more compact form-factor, but no other piece of gaming hardware has attempted the sheer amount of things as the Nintendo Switch and delivered so competently on so many of them. 

The graphics aren’t the best around, but they’re good enough that they don’t feel dated. The controller isn’t the most comfortable, but it never feels outright difficult to use. The battery life isn’t the best, but its enough for daily use. 

All of these have been born out of compromise and an attempt to make something that works in so many situations, and on that final point the Nintendo Switch is a great success. 

What remains to be seen is if, in the years ahead, its games library can shape up to be something you’ll want to play both at home and on the go, and whether its online service can compete with the existing efforts from Sony and Microsoft. 

If both of these play out well, then Nintendo will have found a compromise worth making. 

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Sometimes, no amount of prime router placement can get you decent Wi-Fi coverage throughout your house. Netgear isn’t the first to try and solve this problem, but its new Orbi Wi-Fi system tackles it pretty handily.

Comprised of one Router device and one (or more) Satellite device, the Orbi system broadcasts an unimpeded Wi-Fi signal to every room in the house. It sounds like an empty promise from a 2am infomercial, but we can gladly report that Orbi can do exactly what it says on the tin.

Design and setup

While it’s referred to as a single product, Netgear Orbi is technically comprised of two parts: the Orbi Router and the Orbi Satellite. Both 1.96-pound (889g) devices are nearly identical, adorable pylons of white matte plastic. 

Their only differences lie in which ports are included in which unit, and the Router sporting a blue top versus the Satellite’s pure white.

On the back, the Router houses a Sync button (more on that in a moment), three Ethernet LAN ports (for connecting other internet devices), one Ethernet WAN port (for your gateway or modem connection), a USB 2.0 port for network-attached storage and a standard DC power port. The Satellite has all of this, but swaps that WAN port for a fourth LAN port.

Even without the Orbi app available for iPhone and Android, setting up what Netgear calls the Orbi’s “Tri-band Mesh” system is surprisingly simple. Netgear has more specific instructions, but setup basically amounts to connecting the Orbi Router to power and your modem or gateway, then positioning the Satellite in a more central location in your abode and connecting it to power.

Then, after pressing the “Sync” button on each, the two devices will begin to communicate, and that’s when the magic happens. Underneath those separated plastic lids are LED rings that illuminate in different colors and pulses to indicate how their connection is doing. 

Performance

So, how good is that sphere of glorious Wi-Fi? Pretty remarkable, to be honest. While the house that the Orbi was tested in is a mere 1,100 square feet, the difference between this and our stock gateway courtesy of Verizon is night and day.

Before installing the Orbi system, streaming anything via Amazon Fire TV in the living room from the office-bound router was a stilted experience with buffering aplenty. And, forget trying to get much done from the finished basement.

With the Orbi replacing that router and a Satellite in the living room, those problems are 100% eliminated. We can even stream Netflix in 4K resolution to a Roku 4 in the finished basement with no buffering at all. (That’s through three walls of plaster and a cinder block crawlspace, mind you.)

How does this work? The Orbi Router and its Satellite broadcast three distinct bands of Wi-Fi signal: one at 2.4GHz and another at 5GHz, and then another 5GHz band that’s locked off from normal access. 

It’s through this second, hidden 5GHz band that the Router delivers its Wi-Fi signal to the Satellite(s) and back, and thus doesn’t take up the same bandwidth being used by your various devices.

For as wondrous as it sounds (and truly is), this system comes with two small caveats. For one, Orbi broadcasts both Wi-Fi signals under a single SSID and will switch between them on a per device, per location basis to maintain a consistent experience.

our verdict

All told, we found the Netgear Orbi to be an incredible solution to our Wi-Fi woes at home – so much so that we’re dreading having to send this unit back. While it’s probably twice as expensive as any router you’ve ever bought, the Orbi’s benefits do well to justify the price.

For those that own large houses, or even small houses or apartments with thick walls, the Netgear Orbi can coat your whole property in consistently strong Wi-Fi signal. After seeing what Orbi can do, we’re going to have one helluva hard time going back to a crummy gateway.

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The Asus ZenWatch 3 marks a change in direction for the Taiwanese firm and its smartwatch line, and its timing couldn't be better.

The death of Pebble means many smartwatch owners are looking for an alternative to the quirky wearable. One of the most obvious alternatives for Pebble lovers is the vast array of Android Wear smartwatches.

While we’re still left waiting for the major Android Wear 2.0 update, there are still quite a few Wear watches worth considering right now. The Motorola Moto 360 (2015) is an excellent choice but a bit dated now. Motorola isn’t committing to a new Android Wear smartwatch any time soon either. 

Your next best bet is the Asus ZenWatch 3. We loved the previous ZenWatch 2 for its affordability, but there were lots of compromises like battery life and big bezels. Asus went back to the drawing board for the ZenWatch 3 and have created one of the most polished smartwatches on the market to date.

Design

The ZenWatch 3’s design is so different from the previous generation watch that it doesn’t even look like it’s from the same company. 

Where the ZenWatch 2’s design was boring and generic enough to put you to sleep, the ZenWatch 3 has an eye-catching stainless steel case with rose gold accents around the display, case and crown button. This definitely is a more adult-looking product vs the ZenWatch 2.

The most notable design features of the ZenWatch 3 is its faux chronograph buttons on the right side of its case and its weird lug guards. Whether or not you’re a fan of the lug guards that as they look chunkier than they need to be, no one will appreciate the fact that Asus opted for proprietary straps.

Another problem with the chunky lugs is that they make the included strap very stiff on the wrist and make impossible to lay the watch flat. This means you’ll have to lay the watch on its side while charging, which is a bit awkward. Asus hilariously includes a small rubber pad to prevent you from scratching up the watch.

You can quickly swap out bands via the clip on each strap, but the unique lugs mean you won’t be able to use traditional watch straps with the ZenWatch 3.

On the other hand, the faux chronograph buttons are customizable, a feature we every Android Wear smartwatch offered. They’re programmable to launch apps or perform tasks so you can set one to bring up a calculator or set a timer. 

By default, the top button is set for Asus ZenFit to track your workouts and the bottom button is set to turn on ECO Mode (airplane mode) to preserve battery life. 

our verdict

Asus did a great job refining its latest Android Wear smartwatch. The ZenWatch 3 has one of the best displays of any smartwatch, great battery life and is built well. It’s missing a few features but it’s an undeniably attractive smartwatch.

for

• Gorgeous display
• Solid build quality
• Excellent battery life
• against
• No heart rate monitor, GPS, NFC
• Proprietary straps
• Styling not for everyone

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The HTC 10 has stood the test of time remarkably well. After months of use I haven’t had any serious issues with the phone.

Unlike competing phones, like the Huawei P9, the HTC 10 remains lightning fast. Games open in a matter of seconds and run chug- and stutter-free and I’m yet to have a serious software crash.

The phone has also survived more than average wear and tear. As well as several standard accidental drops onto TrustedReviews' carpeted floor, the phone also survived a hazardous impact with a tree after an accidental trip while running. It remained crack and chip free.

Battery life has slightly deteriorated, but not as much as I’d expected. The HTC 10 still easily lasts a full day off one charge and I regularly manage to eek out two days with light use.

The camera is still a slight annoyance, but only because I’ve experienced the majestic awesomeness of the Galaxy S7 – which still has the best phone camera sensor on the market.

The HTC 10’s camera isn’t bad, but the use of Ultrapixel tech, which instructs the camera to capture bigger pixels and more light, works a little too well. Photos taken in even moderately bright lighting conditions are regularly washed out and have unwanted flare effects. Careful use can get around the issue, however, and I’m still more than happy to snap memento shots of meetups with friends.

However, the phone’s biggest selling point remains its advanced audio qualities. HTC’s been leading the mobile audio market for quite some time and the 10 cements its position as the best phone maker for music fans.

Putting aside the phone’s Boomsound speakers that, while above average, are only useful to cretins that insist on using their phone to listen to music outloud, the HTC 10’s standalone headphone amp is its best feature.

The HTC 10 uses a dedicated DAC as well as headphone amp. HTC claims the 10’s amp is twice as powerful as competing phones, and after a few months with the phone I believe it. The HTC 10 consistently delivers superior audio quality to competing phones, including the Galaxy S7, LG G5 (without its add on DAC), OnePlus 3 and Huawei P9 on a variety of genres.

Everything from heavy metal, punk, prog and jazz sounds fuller and better balanced on the HTC 10 and it’s a key reason the 10 remains my handset of choice, even though it falls behind its archrival, the Galaxy S7, in other areas.

DESIGN

While the HTC 10 takes the brand’s flagship smartphone in a new design direction, it’s still very familiar. The front is stripped from the One A9, and the back is a tweaked and tuned version of the rear casing from the One M9.

It’s far from original and looking at it face-on you’d be forgiven for confusing it with an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S7, but for me it’s the perfect mix of style and substance.

First off, this phone is clearly made from metal – and proud of it. The back is cool to the touch, with an elegant curve that helps it sit comfortably in your hand. This curve flows into some heavily chamfered edges that add a bit of much-needed flair.

It's a divisive design choice, though. I really like them as they give your fingers somewhere to sit, but the some of the TrustedReviews team were less impressed, claiming they’re far too shiny.

SCREEN

HTC has updated just about every part of the One M9 for its successor, and the display is no exception.

It’s grown slightly to 5.2-inches, but the bigger upgrade is the resolution. It’s much more pixel dense now, thanks to the 2560 x 1440 quad-HD resolution, and it covers 99.9% of the sRGB colour gamut. It’s a mightily impressive panel, though as it's LCD – 5th-generation LCD, to be precise – it does lack a little of the vibrancy of Samsung’s Super AMOLED screen. It’s not far off, and it’s hard to notice unless you have both phones sat next to each other.

CAMERA

HTC has a storied history with cameras. And it’s never been very good. Slow apps, sensors that ridiculously overexpose shots, poor autofocus and so much more have always left it trailing behind the competition. It’s tried going high with megapixels (One M9) and low with UltraPixels (One M8), but nothing has really stuck.

The camera in the HTC 10 is the best to ever grace an HTC phone. You (probably) won’t find anyone saying otherwise, but it’s still the weakest part of the phone. And that frustrates me.

BATTERY LIFE

Like internal components, each of this year’s current crop of Android flagships – Galaxy S7, LG G5 and of course the HTC 10 – have a similarly sized battery.

The 3,000mAh cell tucked inside the HTC 10 is exactly the same capacity as the Galaxy S7's and marginally bigger than the LG G5's, and in my tests I've found that it lasts about the same amount of time as those two.

HTC might claim you’ll get two days' worth of use, but my findings suggest a little less. Yes, it is possible to stretch it out to two days, just, but you’ll have to enable all the battery-saving modes which will, in turn, negatively affect performance.

SHOULD I BUY THE HTC 10?

By ditching gimmicks and fine tuning the formula, HTC has hit back in style after a disappointing 2015.

It’s not the best phone of the year, but it’s not far off. Yet, it’s the phone I would want to use. That might sound strange, but hear me out. From the lovely screen to the speedy performance to the fantastic representation of Android, the HTC 10 ticks all the boxes.

That’s the point – it might not be the best in every area, but it’s strong in pretty much all of them. While the Galaxy S7 might sacrifice audio quality and the LG G5 does the same with build quality, the HTC 10 doesn’t really sacrifice in any area. It doesn’t really do anything different, granted, but when all the parts fit together this well, I don’t think it needs to.

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