What I Look For On Truly-Wireless Earbuds

With our recent review of the Haylou GT1s, many of our viewers seemed puzzled that the product didn’t surprise us more with the features that it came bundled with. Because of this, we figured it would be the perfect time to update our viewer base on the standards used by the Mitchell Millennial YouTube channel when it comes to reviewing truly-wireless earbuds. 

Durability 

Whether you’re purchasing a $30 or $300 pair of truly-wireless earbuds, making sure that components from the case to the earbuds themselves are built to last is one of the first key points that you should consider when buying yourself a new flashy gadget. Whereas you’d only have to account for wires with traditional earbuds, with ease of use comes more fragile components, and as result ignoring this first step can lead to purchases that break in less than a few weeks.

This is an especially important concern when considering earbuds at the lower price points, as production value is the first area where manufacturers make cuts to achieve the lower prices that some may find so attractive. In our testing procedure, we put earbuds through daily stress, ensuring that storing and accessing the earbuds doesn’t put any stress in the device’s construction.

Convenience

Convenience is perhaps the most important factor when selecting your next truly-wireless pair of earbuds. From clunky cases, lack of touch controls and uncomfortable designs, there are many corners that can be cut at all price ranges when it comes to this semi-recent technology, so setting personal standards is crucial. In our case, volume controls are just as needed as a comfortable design, but we also appreciate cases that are on the slimmer side, as they allow for the earbuds to be accessed from pockets with ease at any given time.

Battery life

Cutting the wire, as innovative as may be, brings forth the idea of having to charge your earbuds - and let’s admit it, that’s not something anyone wants to do! For this reason alone, picking a pair that can last through the day is extremely important. 

As someone who lives in Vietnam and has a fairly outdoors heavy lifestyle, Mitchell considers 20 hours (earbuds and case included) to be a good metric for earbuds that can sustain the heaviest of his daily schedules. 

Audio Quality

When selecting a truly-wireless earbud, it may come as a given that audio quality is swiftly lost when the cables are detached. This however, doesn’t make audio quality any less important, and in a market where not all earbuds are built the same, determining what type of audio profile best fits you can be a challenge in it of itself.  

Though audio - as any other presence - is entirely objective, we prefer earbuds that provide a more neutral experience, as it allows us to judge the product’s overall quality across any musical genre. With this list in mind, we hope that next time you see an audio review either here on the website or on the YouTube channel, our judgment of the product will make more sense.

Xiaomi Mi A3 First Impressions: One Step Forward, A Giant Leap Backwards

With the unveil of its A series, Xiaomi introduced its fan base to a solution for those who repeatedly claimed that software was the company’s major letdown. Now, a few days after the third installment of this stock Android based device launched, it seems like the company has finally made an official claim that with certain upgrades, there must be a few very important compromises.

Familiar 2019 Vibes

Upon first holding the Xiaomi Mi A3, the device instantly gives off the same feel as many other 2019 devices. Being essentially a glass sandwich, the Mi A3 looks every bit as premium as it feels. This is an especially nice departure coming from its plastic feeling predecessor.

The Mi A3 also features a triply lens camera, keeping the same glare seen in the Xiaomi MI 9. This device also borrows other aspects from the widely recognised Mi 9, featuring the same screen “tear-drop” notch design, and the same antenna placements that overall leave this next iteration of the A lineup looking better than any other midrange offerings.

Its pretty interesting to see a China based phone manufacturer promoting Google Assistant.

Xiaomi has also made sure to bring many other 2019 features to its latest midranger, including a OLED display and an in-display fingerprint scanner to name a few. Needless to say, Xiaomi has made sure that the Mi A3 includes some premium exclusives while still sticking to its budget price-tag.

Blurry Roads

Sadly, when considering the Mi A3, one has to ask themselves just what exactly they are giving up to get premium 2019 features for the low price tag - even worse is that in this case, the answer is a lot. Starting with what’s perhaps the big elephant in the room, the beautiful OLED screen is undermined but a less than stellar 720P display.

Secondly, but not less important is the fact that by featuring a Snapdragon 665, the Xiaomi Mi A3 does not make a significant enough leap in performance in order to justify the upgrade for current Mi A2 users. In fact, the upgrade is so minor that the Mi A2 - which can now be found in the wild for a much lower price - is probably still the phone to get for those looking for a stock Android experience that doesn’t come with as many jagged edges.

Room For Improvement

Though some may find the Mi A3 to be the perfect device for their needs, Xiaomi has left a bitter-sweet taste with its consumers when it comes to the A lineup’s legacy. For a series set on delivering a potent mid-range offering with most of its uniqueness being focused on the user-to-screen interaction - that being the software - it feels awkwardly wrong for this device to include a less than up to date 720P display.

With that being said, judging by Xiaomi’s recent trend of releasing pro versions of its devices, it starts to make sense that the MI A3 only lays the foundations for what could potentially be a faster, and hopefully better looking -in the display department - MI A3 Pro.

[Opinion] Xiaomi: The Company that Made an iPhone X Clone, Now With an OnePlus7 Pro Clone

After the recent legal issues involving Huawei in the US, many have started to ask themselves to what extent Chinese smartphone companies are copying not only from one another, but also from the western world. When taking a look into this conversation however, it’s impossible to leave one major company behind: Xiaomi.

With smartphones that range from the MI8 (A blatant attempt at bringing the best of the iPhone X into the budget market), and the more recent K20 Pro (The company’s take on the One Plus 7 Pro), it is fair to say that Xiaomi has had an extensive history implementing ideas from other manufacturers into their own products.

I must make it clear however, I am in now ways suggesting that the company only has derivative ideas up its sleeve, in fact, Xiaomi has proved time and time again that it can innovate before anyone else. With the Xiaomi Mi Mix, Xiaomi not only stepped up the standards for what was then considered a premium phone, but basically started the bezeless trend that we see today. As if that wasn’t enough, with the Xiaomi Mi A2, Xiaomi brought not only an unique design, but a slew of features ranging from the capable processor to the potent cameras that were simply not seen in the price-range before.

Yet in many other ways, the company has also proven time and time again that copying the competition can be a great strategy. With the company’s most recent flagship, the MI9, Xiaomi has brought many design features that merge both the latest iPhone and the Huawei P30 Pro into a singular device. The company also has had a history with implementing certain technologies way after the competition, yet still announce them as ground-breaking. A great example of this would be the tried and true wireless charger, a technology that by the time the company finally got around to it with the Mix 2s, it had already become standard with most manufacturers.

When answering whether or not this is a good or bad thing, one must first consider the one aspect that all Chinese companies share in common: Their mission to deliver higher quality devices year by year, all whilst slowly decreasing their entry price point.

If this is to be taken from a manufacturing standpoint, it is cheaper, and safer to manufacture a technique that has already been tested by someone else, than to develop a brand new one. It’s through this strategy that companies like Xiaomi start being slowly forced to handpick what features truly matter, making cuts on areas such as the device’s uniqueness in order to meet the already established expectation for lower costs set by the Southeast Asian market.

Furthermore, in a company so focused about reaching wider audiences, as is the case with almost all Chinese manufacturers, creating unique designs may be seen as a way to distance possible consumers. Whilst technology enthusiasts may enjoy a device that doesn’t look like every other in the shelf, the average consumer may find comfort knowing that their latest budget device is somewhat similar to the latest iPhone they have most likely heard something about.

It must be made clear however, that Xiaomi is far from the only smartphone brand bringing features of its rivals into its own devices. In some cases, one may argue that a lot of Apple’s technology, from the dual camera setup to the OLED screen, were all overdone on the Android side before finally being implemented by the Cupertino giant. Even in the Chinese market, with companies like Oppo and Vivo introducing extremely similarly specced fast chargers around the same time frame, one can see what many now refer to as “ripping off” being done first handedly.

There’s also a point to be made that the politics behind this phenomena are where the issue lies. With IP infringement, and other law-breaching conducts being found in the modern smartphone industry, it’s hard to say that it is a fair game. In fact, if proper international laws, and regulations are ever to be seen in this industry, consumers may start to see more unique phones as patented technologies become harder to gain access to. This is an issue that believe it or not, impacts most modern smartphone companies, as reports of Huawei spies in Apple’s headquarters were published during February of this year.

But despite what politics may sway, this just adds more interesting flame on the technological side of things. On one hand, the extremely fast advancement of the budget market can be mostly attributed to this copying phenomena, as previously premium-exclusive features get overdone to the point where they are simply not too unique, losing value not only in the consumer’s eye, but in a manufacturing standpoint as well. Yet just as much as this loss of value can benefit the consumer, it ultimately results in products that could have been unique losing their chance due to increasingly more fierce competition - leading the smartphone industry to slow lose the innovative flair it once had.

How To Start Taking Amazing Long Exposure Shots on Your Redmi K20 Pro

Taken with K20 Pro

The Redmi K20 Pro is coming out in India July 17, and with its release date ever-approaching, users can start getting excited to have their hands on the best cameras the mid-range smartphone sector has to offer. With the best and most versatile cameras however, comes options that some of us may not be all too familiar with - one of those being the classic long exposure car shots. Here is what you can do to step up your photography game and have some fun on your K20 when the lights go down.

STEP 1: Understanding the Basics

Before diving head-first into taking amazing pictures with your K20 Pro, it is important to understand how long exposure shots work. Essentially, as photography life describes is, “A stop is the doubling or halving of the light that makes up an exposure. We can add or subtract stops by changing the aperture, shutter speed, or ISO.”

These three tools (the aperture, shutter speed and IOS), are part of any camera system. The shutter speed is how fast the camera opens and closes when taking pictures, the aperture refers to how much light the lenses allow in, and the IOS controls the brightness of the photo. Achieving a perfect mix between the values of these three can be difficult, but once learned it can allow for an unrivaled level of flexibility in photo taking.

If you’re learning on learning more about the “Photography triangle”, there is a great article by fstoppers that covers all the essentials.

STEP 2: Getting the Tools for The Job

A big part of learning any new trick is to have the right tools for the job. Since long exposure relies on keeping a sharp focus on the object in question, stability is essential, and with that, you will want some sort of tripod to place your phone on. We’ve recommended the one we use at the bottom of this post, but you’re free to find one that fits your style and budget.

When shopping for a tripod however, make sure to find one that not only fits your phone, but one that can also be extended or even bent to any scenario you may find yourself taking pictures in. You will also want to make sure that the build quality of the tripod is semi-respectable, as otherwise you will find that the lack of perfect stability will come through in your photo shooting.

STEP 3: Adjusting Your Settings

Now that you’re geared up and ready to start, head to your camera app and scroll right until you find the “Pro mode”. This mode, unlike the standard “photo mode”, will allow you to completely control each and every part of your camera in order to fit your case-scenario.

If you find yourself thinking that this entire mode looks all too complicated, don’t worry, as you’ll only be modifying the phone’s shutter speed (indicated by a S) and the ISO (indicated as ISO). Here you’ll want to set the shutter speed to 1/2s (half a second), and the to ISO to 100. This can be modified depending on your lighting conditions, but for most urban street scenarios, this setting will do you just fine.

It is also worth noting that for best results, you will want to follow through with the stability by making use of the photo countdown feature on all Xiaomi phones. To do this, simply tap your volume switch as you plan to take the photo, and a 3 second countdown will appear, ensuring that you don’t shake the camera when pressing the shutter button.

STEP 4: Having Fun

With plenty of information to digest, it can be easy to forget that the entire point of learning new cameras trick is to gain a new - and hopefully fun - perspective to every day life. We hope that with everything we’ve taught you today, that you can start to observe opportunities in previously unappealing places, and that above all, you appreciate your device for the capabilities you didn’t know it had.

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From Huawei to Xiaomi: My First Impressions

It was not long after the Huawei P20 Pro launched that its groundbreaking camera quality and solid spec list managed to not only leave me, but my wallet in deep awe. Roughly a year later, while the device was still solid, recent confrontations with the US government warranted me more than enough reason to sell a device that I deeply beloved. There I was, with a solid amount of money in my hands, yet feeling as if I was missing something, a device that for a while I was convinced was the best I could ever own - after all, a geek without a phone is much like a person without their limbs.

But as I was searching the market for a new device however, I came across the Xiaomi Mi 9, and with upgraded its triple camera setup, Snapdragon 855 processor and beautiful screen, it wasn’t long until I was convinced that this could potentially be my next favourite device. Today, I officially took that leap of faith, and after just a few hours of using it, here is what I think:

Glamour Coated in Glass

When I first unboxed this device, a smile quickly came to my face. Gone was the radiating - and mostly distracting - patterns of my Huawei P20 Pro and in came a more minimalist, outspoken design that despite not feeling as premium in weight as my previous device, still felt specially understated in its own unique way.

After a few hours of using it, I still find something to be said about the display: it’s gorgeous, and dare I say it, better than anything Huawei currently has on offer. Upon comparing it to my father’s Huawei P30 Pro, the Xiaomi Mi 9’s colours pop, and the lack of a curved display ensures that content isn’t distorted simply for the sake of fitting into 2019 standards.

Furthermore, I can also attest that Xiaomi’s triple camera solution has given me some amazing results. This is not only because of a better sensor than that on my Huawei P20 Pro, but also because the AI that Xiaomi uses does not over-saturate the colours as much as Huawei’s solution, creating more realistic and sharpened results.

But not all is rainbows and butterflies with this device, with my biggest problem being the fingerprint scanner: The in-display solution is futuristic and cool, but it will never be as fast as a physical option, making unlocks just a bit more tedious than they usually have to be.

Another aspect that hasn’t impressed me much is battery life, this is the first time in a while where I feel like I will have to charge my phone every single day. Maybe the Huawei P20 Pro has spoiled me, or maybe I simply haven’t used my phone enough for the battery to settle in, but Xiaomi has not packed enough juice in this bad boy so that I feel confident in it as of day 1.

Overall however, both companies have a very different design language, and I believe that Xiaomi cuts the right corners by making the phone thinner and focusing instead of the aspects that matter, creating a device that feels experience driven instead of over-focusing on the looks.

MIUI: An Ocean Full Of Mysteries

Then we come to MIUI, and that’s where my experience goes from mostly positive to a foggy mixed bag. MIUI is different, and after using it for a few hours, I am still unsure of whether I like it more than EMUI or not. On one hand, MIUI is extremely fluid, very snappy and looks very aesthetically pleasing as well. But on the other hand, the animations everywhere and lack of an app drawer really do drag the experience.

I’ve personally put Nova Launcher on my device for now, but I feel like going back to try stock MIUI may be a good idea, because its IOS looks do show potential.

The Road Ahead

As I’ve mentioned, this is just my impressions with the phone after a few hours of use. The idea of installing Gcam for better camera performance, switching the ROM to Xiaomi EU and even simply using this device on a non-intensive day all excite me, and I am sure that the little snippets of complaints I voiced today are sure to change.

Some things however, are just never going to change. I doubt that the in-display fingerprint scanner will ever be as fast as a physical option, I can assure you that the device won’t feel more substantial overnight, MIUI in itself won’t suddenly add an app drawer or lower its animations, and that the battery while surely getting better, just won’t ever compete with the insane two days that I got on my Huawei P20 Pro - yet although these are valid complaints, I feel as if the sheer amount of value offered by Xiaomi is unheard of, and for that I am extremely happy I made the switch.

How Marketing Ruined The K20 Pro's India Launch

The way a device is marketed can - as it should - often leave dying excitement on the company’s target demographic. With Redmi’s recent disastrous launch of the K20 Pro in India, it is fair to say that poor marketing decisions as well as a steep price-tag has left many deep with a pile of disappointment.

Humble Beginnings

To fully understand how this came to be, it is important to look back on Xiaomi’s prior success in India, the Pocophone F1. Launching a few weeks shy of the One Plus 6, the company’s first phone to raise the price bracket above what was then considered a budget phone, the Pocophone F1 was Xiaomi’s way of telling the market that objective flagship performance could still be achieved in the budget zone.

This message was directly conveyed through the company’s marketing campaigns, where it was made clear that the Pocophone was a value phone: it didn’t include the nicest screen, and it wasn’t the designed with the world’s most premium stones, but it did have one thing - benchmark scores of a $1000 flagship in a $300 body. It was this direct and very visual way of tackling the purely performance tagline that gave birth to the saying “flagship killer”, a line that is very much responsible for the device’s market success.

Stepping on a Grave

Since its very first piece of marketing, the Redmi K20 Pro was called “the flagship killer 2.0”, with the company going as far as to hint that Killer +2 + 0 composed the device’s naming scheme. With such good legacy forged from the Pocophone F1’s release, it was clear that hype would then be formed around this new device.

Coming just shy of the One Plus 7’s release, it was also clear that the company was planning to do a complete repeat of its successful Poco, but this time, things were different. With the catchline of this release being “Believe the hype”, Xiaomi was hesitant to show the device’s statistical performance, let alone the price, instead focusing on device’s sheer power and apparent beauty.

Surely enough, now that the K20 Pro is finally out in India, it is oddly more expensive than the base line One Plus 7, a device that - in the eyes of Indians - provides a premium experience at a premium price-tag. For Redmi, a company so widely known for value devices, to release a phone that provides beauty over sheer value has not only single handedly disappointed its Indian fanbase, but put the company’s entire concept of a “flagship killer” in jeopardy.

Do you think a price-cut could save the K20 Pro’s reputation in India, or is it a fair deal as is? Let us know down below!