PCWorld 1st of April 2019 BigJ0554 PDF

Tech Spotlight A video showcase
of the latest trends
Watch the
video at
go.pcworld.
com/ltk
Lenovo’s ≥ Lenovo’s ThinkVision

ThinkVision M14 is a thin, light,
USB-C-powered
M14 portable portable monitor that
monitor pairs perfectly with the

company’s iconic matte
black ThinkPads. The 14-inch, 1920x1080-resolution
panel shines bright at a solid 300 nits, but it weighs
only 1.3 pounds and measures only 4.6mm thick, so it
won’t take up a lot of space in your travel bag.
108 PCWorld APRIL 2019

Your smart home,
from A to Z.
Get reviews and buying advice on all

of the latest smart home gear
ONLY AT
www.TechHive.com
CONTENTS
APRI L 2019
» DEPARTMENTS » FEATURES
ƺ News
ƵƼ Reviews & Ratings ƻƴ The 5 best VPNs for Android
Ƽƶ Here’s How
ƴƳƻ Tech Spotlight ƻƺ 7 tweaks in Android Q that will make your phone better
APRIL 2019 PCWorld 3

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If you love them enough
to sit through their
favorite movies,
then surely you’ll check
to make sure they’re
in the right car seat.
NHTSA.gov/TheRightSeat
News TECH NEWS AND TRENDS THAT WILL
AFFECT YOU TODAY AND BEYOND.
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The smallest announcements are sometimes the most important. BY MICHAEL SIMON
B
y now you’ve surely gotten your have lots more to say about them), but there
fill of the Huawei Mate X (go. was plenty of important stuff announced
pcworld.com/hmtx) and the during MWC that didn’t involve folding
Samsung Galaxy Fold (go. phones. And with so much hinge hype, some
pcworld.com/sgfd) (if not, don’t worry we’ll of them might have flown under your radar.
IMAGE: ADAM PATRICK MURRAY APRIL 2019 PCWorld 7

NEWS 5 MWC ANDROID ANNOUNCEMENTS
Here are five announcements made during announced that its Google Fi service will
MWC that you might have missed: support 5G once it’s available. But there’s a
catch: It’s only for Sprint 5G-compatible
1. GOOGLE ASSISTANT WILL and Designed for Fi phones. The current list
BE AVAILABLE IN MESSAGES of Designed for Fi phones is very short, with
Back when Allo launched (go.pcworld.com/ just a dozen or so handsets, meaning 95
allo), one of its best features was having percent of Fi-compatible handsets will be
Google Assistant built right into your stuck on LTE for years to come. However,
conversations. Now that Allo isn’t long for this future Pixel 5G users will have plenty to
world (go.pcworld.com/gbal), Google has crow about.
been slowly integrating the shuttered chat
service’s features into Android Messages. 3. YOU CAN BUY A TINY
Now it’s Assistant’s turn. Google TERABYTE FOR YOUR
announced during MWC that its Messages PHONE
app will soon be using on-device AI The top-of-the-line Samsung Galaxy S10+
(meaning Google won’t be reading your (see page 29) might come with a full terabyte
conversations) to offer Assistant-powered of storage, but what if we told you that you
Smart Reply-like suggestion related to three might be able to double that? SanDisk and
categories: movies, restaurants and weather. Micron have both announced 1TB MicroSD
So, if you’re talking about going to see cards, with 160MBps and 100MBps read
Captain Marvel with your friends, Assistant speeds, respectively. They’re coming in April,
might chime in via a small button with trailers and as with all new ridiculous advancements
or showtimes. It’s limited to English for now, in storage, it’ll cost you to be one of the first
but soon millions of people will have a new
friend that knows everything.
2. GOOGLE FI 5G IS
COMING BUT IT WILL BE
VERY LIMITED
It was impossible to avoid 5G while walking
the MWC show floor (or really anywhere
else in Barcelona), and lots of brands and
carriers had a lot of pronouncements to
make. Among them was Google, which SanDisk has announced a 1TB MicroSD card.

to climb on board—$450, to be precise.
That’s a lot, but we still can’t wait for the first
phone that supports a terabyte of storage
inside and out.
4. PASSWORDS MAY SOON

BE A THING OF THE PAST
Security on Android phones gets stronger
with each passing update, but this latest
strengthening doesn’t require a monthly
patch. The FIDO Alliance (go.pcworld.
com/fido) announced this week that
Android phones going all the way back to
Nougat are now FIDO2 certified, meaning
they can use their device’s fingerprint
sensor or FIDO security keys for secure,
password-less access to supported
websites and apps. That means logging
into your favorite sites and service will be
getting a whole lot easier and more secure,
cutting the SMS middleman out of the
picture and eliminating the need to Sony Xperia 1
remember or retrieve complex strings of

characters. More importantly, our phones Now it’s here: the first 4K display in a
will be getting a whole lot more secure, smartphone. Courtesy of Sony, the Xperia 1
with stronger one-factor and nearly (go.pcworld.com/xpr1) has an eye-popping
impenetrable two-factor authentication. 6.5-inch, 3840x1644-pixel, 21:9
CinemaWide OLED display. It offers HDR
5. YOU CAN FINALLY remastering, 10-bit tonal gradation, and
FIT A 4K DISPLAY IN support for wide color space ITU-R BT.2020
YOUR POCKET as well as DCI-P3 with Illuminant D65. What
Premium smartphone screens have been all that means is Stranger Things 3 will look
really good for a while now, but the best-of- just as good on our phones as it does in our
the-best has remained just about of reach. living rooms.

NEWS
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The next big things could have next big problems. BY MICHAEL SIMON
I
n just a few months, the first folding technology and an exciting new direction
phones will be available for sale, and if for the future, in some ways, folding phones
you have a couple thousand dollars are a step backward from the premium
burning a hole in your pocket, you can phone we’re used to using. Here are three
buy one for your very own. But while those areas of concern I have as the folding
first few buyers will be the talk of the town, the revolution takes shape:
Samsung Galaxy Fold (go.pcworld.com/sfld)
and Huawei Mate X (go.pcworld.com/hmtx) 1. DISPLAY QUALITY
might not be as top-of-the-line as their price The odd shapes of the folding displays are the
tags would suggest. most obvious challenge. When opened,
While they certainly represent an Samsung’s Fold display has an aspect ratio of
advancement in overall smartphone 4.2:3, with a 7.3-inch QXGA+ resolution
10 PCWorld APRIL 2019 IMAGE: SAMSUNG

somewhere around
2152x1536 pixels. The
Huawei Mate X offers an
8-inch display with a 8:7.1
aspect ratio and
2480x2200 resolution. On
the outside, Huawei’s main
screen is 6 inches
diagonally, with an aspect
ratio of 19.5:9 and a
resolution of 2480 x 1148.
The Fold’s outside display
is a tiny 4.6-inch, We all saw the seam during the Galaxy Fold demo.
1960x840 screen with a
12:9 aspect ratio. That means we’re gong to The Mate X display also feels more like
have to learn all-new ways of holding these plastic than glass, so much so that I was afraid
unconventionally shaped phones, and apps I would dent it if I pressed too hard. I’m sure
might look a little funky at the start. Samsung and Huawei will go through
Beyond the ratios, the screens themselves countless revisions of their displays before
look and feel a little weird. If I hadn’t seen the they find a manufacturing method that’s feels
Mate X with my own eyes, I’d have thought right, but these earliest models will definitely
the screen was a high-quality printout—it’s show some growing pains.
that glossy. Touching it was equally weird. Then there’s the seam (go.pcworld.com/
While it doesn’t feel cheap per se, I could seam). Both companies have gone to
definitely feel that it wasn’t a completely flat considerable lengths to hide the center of
screen like a tablet. I don’t know whether it their folding display in product shots and
was the thinness, the flexibility, or just my display units, but it’s definitely there. We saw
imagination, but I swear I could feel the it during the Samsung Unpacked demo, and I
ridges and imperfections as my finger moved saw it during my hands-on with the Mate X. I
across the display. Scrolling and tapping have to assume it’ll only get worse with
worked pretty much as expected, but the repeated folds. Display durability is definitely
tactile sensation was quite a bit different an area of concern with these early folding
than it is on a phone like the Galaxy S10 phones, and the fact that seams are already
(go.pcworld.com/gs10). visible isn’t a comforting sign.

NEWS 3 OBSTACLES FOLDING PHONES MUST OVERCOME
2. BATTERY LIFE
We’ve reached a point with
contemporary phones where
we’re pretty much able to leave
our chargers at home, but
folding phones could take a step
back. Bigger displays use more
power, but the folding phones’
batteries haven’t scaled to fit.
Granted, the batteries they
have are beefy—4,380mAh on The Mate X is certainly bigger when opened, but are we really
the Fold and 4,500mAH on the gaining that much over a flaship phablet?
Mate X. The 6.6-inch Galaxy S10
5G (go.pcworld.com/sg5g) has a 4,500mAh up in stores, but my question is: Are they really
battery, however, and that only needs to power giving us the best of both worlds?
a mere 6.7-inch display. Let’s not forget the With the Samsung version, you’re going from
additional power strains of switching screens, a 6.4-inch display in the Galaxy S10 to a 4.6-inch
sensors, and 5G on these bleeding-edge one in the Fold (when closed). And on the inside,
folding phones. you get a 7.3-inch display, which is only about a
Huawei has built 55W SuperCharge into half-inch bigger than the S10 5G’s. The Mate X is
the Mate X, and Samsung allows for wireless a little better with an 8-inch display, but the
charging on the Galaxy Fold. Nevertheless, outside screen already offers a full six-inch
anyone hoping for a day of use out of either workspace. So you’re really only gaining 2 inches
phone before charging is going to be by opening it, which isn’t really worth it in most
disappointed. Despite costing thousands of situations. Huawei even admitted that they
dollars, these new folding phones might very expect people will use it closed most of the day.
well turn us into “wall-huggers” (go.pcworld. Samsung’s triple-multitasking is a more
com/wlhg) again. promising innovation for folding phones, but
there needs to be a real reason to jump from the
3. USER EXPERIENCE small screen to a big one. We don’t pick up a
My biggest concern with folding phones has less tablet because we want a little more screen—we
to do with design, fragility, or even longevity, and use one because it offers a better experience for
more to do with the real-world benefit. We might getting things done. I’m not sure we can say the
all want to run and see one as soon as they end same yet for folding phones.

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The recall is an expansion of one announced in January 2018. BY MARK HACHMAN
H
P has recalled 78,500 batteries (go.pcworld.com/hprc), which affected
used in its laptops and mobile 50,000 batteries. HP has received eight new
workstations, due to reports of battery packs in the U.S. overheating,
overheating issues which melting, or charring, including one report of
can cause fire and burn hazards. minor injury and two reports of property
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety damage totaling $1,100, the CPSC said.
Commission announced the recall on Specifically, the batteries were either sold
Tuesday, but noted that the recall expansion inside of or as accessories to: HP ProBooks
was previously announced on January 17 by (64x G2 and G3 series, 65x G2 and G3
HP, and delayed due to the government series, 4xx G4 series), HPx360 (310 G2), HP
furlough. It’s considered an expansion of the Pavilion x360 11-inch Notebook PC, HP 11
previous HP battery recall of January, 2018 Notebook PC, HP ZBook (17 G3, and Studio
IMAGE: CPSC APRIL 2019 PCWorld 13

NEWS HP RECALLS L APTOP BAT TERIES
G3) mobile workstations. The batteries were customer-replaceable, which means that
also sold as accessories or replacement you’ll need to ship back your laptop to HP to
batteries for the HP ZBook Studio G4 mobile have it repaired.
workstation, HP ProBook 4xx G5 series, HP If you do have an affected battery, don’t
ENVY 15, HP Mobile Thin Clients (mt21, remove it yourself, HP has warned. Instead,
mt22, and mt31), or for any of the products HP has developed a BIOS update that will put
listed above. the battery into a “battery safety mode.” This
The batteries were shipped between mode will discharge the battery and prevent
December, 2015 and April, 2018 as part of it from being recharged until the battery is
the HP laptops listed above, as well as sold replaced. Put another way, HP said that your
separately between December, 2015 and notebook will simply refuse to operate
December, 2018. without the charger attached, so you’ll need
Consumers can visit HP’s battery recall site to plug in the laptop to use it.
(go.pcworld.com/rcll) to find out whether
their laptop is affected. The batteries are not What this means for you: Battery recalls do
happen, because of errors in the
manufacturing process or other
defects. If you own an HP laptop,
head on over to HP’s website to
determine if your PC is affected.
HP’s Mobile Thin Client

mt21 is one of the
affected models.

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Pop-up ads have proven to be a PR nightmare before. Will they again? BY MARK HACHMAN
W
indows 7 support ends that Windows 7 users will see a notification
about nine months from appear on their PC “a handful of times”
now (go.pcworld.com/ before the year is out. The company didn’t
glry), on January 14, 2020— say what message it would contain, though,
and if you’re a Windows 7 user, you’ll see more or when or where it would appear.
than this story reminding you of that date. In “By starting the reminders now, our hope is
fact, according to Microsoft, you could see that you have time to plan and prepare for this
several pop-up reminders warning you to transition,” Microsoft said in a blog post. “These
upgrade to Windows 10 before the year is out. notifications are designed to help provide
Microsoft says (go.pcworld.com/says) information only and if you would prefer not to
IMAGE: PAN XIAOZHEN MODIFIED BY IDG COMM./MICROSOFT (CC0) APRIL 2019 PCWorld 15
NEWS WINDOWS 7 TO USE POP-UPS
receive them again, you’ll be able to select an What almost looks like a Microsoft ad is
option for ‘do not notify me again,’ and we will embedded on a dedicated Microsoft Windows
not send you any further reminders.” 7 site (go.pcworld.com/w7st) that attempts to
Microsoft has previously experimented with help educate Windows 7 users on what they
pop-up notifications across Windows 10—tips need to be concerned about. The video (go.
to push users to OneDrive, for example. But pcworld.com/w710) characterizes the transition
nothing was worse than the infamous “click the from Windows 7 to Windows 10 like replacing a
X” pop-up that encouraged users to upgrade to wallet, or upgrading from a beloved old clunker
Windows 10, and essentially tricked users into to a more modern SUV. In both cases, the
doing so (go.pcworld.com/trik). Users were owner is shown taking some personal (a picture,
outraged. (Microsoft later eliminated the or a necklace) from one device to the other—just
pop-up (go.pcworld.com/elmn), but the as files can be migrated from one PC to the next.
damage had already been done.)
By now, Microsoft’s position should be The story behind the story: Since the free
clear: when Windows 7 officially exits support transition from Windows 7 to Windows 10 has
on Jan. 14, 2020, that PC will be at a greater long since expired, Microsoft’s job now is to
risk of viruses and malware. (End of support convince its most reluctant users to open their
means that Microsoft will no longer provide wallets for either a new OS or a new PC. To
technical support for any issues at all, software date, that hasn’t happened, at least where
updates, or security updates.) Microsoft’s Windows 7 is concerned. As the deadline
attitude toward the transition has ranged from approaches, though, it will be critical to see
gentle reminders to starker, more fearsome how Microsoft responds: increasingly
warnings, and it’s not clear what language apocalyptic warnings? A gentle shrug?
Microsoft will use in its popup reminders. A stubborn Windows 7 user doesn’t have
It’s a major concern (and opportunity) for much choice: they must choose between risking
Microsoft and the PC industry in general, as an malware on an unsecured system, upgrading, or
estimated 40 percent of all PCs run Windows 7, abandoning the platform for the Mac or Linux. But
according to NetMarketshare (go.pcworld.com/ Microsoft would rather lock in users to buying a
ntmk). If all of those PCs converted to a paid copy recurring subscription rather than a one-time fee:
of Windows 10—or bought a new PC—it would buying Windows 10 Home requires a one-time fee
have a profound impact on the health of the PC of about $129.99. Office 365 Home costs $99.99
market, and Microsoft’s bottom line. per year. How Microsoft navigates the Windows 7
Microsoft may be finally taking a kinder, rapids could mean the difference between
gentler attitude toward the transition, though. smooth sailing and users abandoning ship.

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What Microsoft could do better: Educate users, improve Windows Update controls, and
commit to rebooting only when the PC is not in active use. BY MARK HACHMAN
I
f you think Windows should never, ever frustrating, in part because users simply
update while you’re using it, a new weren’t familiar with the tools that Microsoft
survey by the University College, provided for automatically updating their
London agrees with you. PCs. Windows itself also provided limited
In a survey of 93 participants, the study information to assist users in making decisions
found that Windows 10 Home’s WIndows on when to allow patches, and its built-in
Update patching experience proved tools were inadequate, the researchers said.
IMAGE: MARK HACHMAN APRIL 2019 PCWorld 17

NEWS WINDOWS 10 REBOOT PERMISSION
The three authors (Jason

Morris, Ingolf Becker, and
Simon Parkin) recommended
that operating systems like
Windows 10 obtain explicit
permission for restarts to
apply Windows Update
patches.
The paper, though,
acknowledges the
fundamental tension at the
heart of providing updates.
Microsoft’s approach of
choosing unilaterally when to
fix bugs, patch vulnerabilities,
and provide new features
means users lose a little control
of their PCs.
“Crucially, the system
operates independently of the Consumer Reports pulled its recommendation of the Surface
user’s working context,” the Laptop, even though the notebook wasn’t covered in the survey.
paper said. “The outcome is a
maximally secure system, but one that straightforward: Users need more
impedes the primary task. We suggest that information about updates and more control
the update model in Windows 10 Home over when they happen, and Microsoft
Edition sits towards this end of the spectrum.” should simply never reboot the PC to install
an update when the system’s in active use.
WHAT WINDOWS 10 HOME While the users polled by the study
NEEDS TO CHANGE ultimately concluded that the updates have
Though some of the process takes place value, the study’s authors concluded that
behind the scenes, the authors constructed Windows did not explicitly notify users of
the above awe-inspiring flowchart of the what update it was applying (a security patch
Windows 10 Home update process. versus a feature update) and about how
The paper’s conclusions are fairly much time that update would take.

to manage
Windows 10
updates [go.
pcworld.com/
mw10].)
Perhaps the
biggest
problem,
however, and
one that
Windows has
yet to address,
is that
Windows 10
Pro offers far
more granular
controls on
These additional Windows Update options are available to Windows 10 Pro users,
but not to Home users. how to
manage
Some of the shortcomings being patches, but it’s a $99 upgrade for
pointed out by the study are being Windows 10 Home users. The ability to
independently addressed by Windows. delay a Windows 10 Pro patch for 30 days,
For example, the Windows 10 beta builds for example, is a luxury that Microsoft has
leading up to the April 2019 Update never afforded Windows 10 Home users.
(19H1) have already put an icon in the
taskbar explicitly signaling that an update What this means to you: Every year, around
is needed. the time Microsoft begins pushing feature
The surveyed users still demand updates, a new round of videos surfaces
improvement. For instance, only 28 where users are caught short by an
percent of those surveyed were even unexpected update that interrupts their
aware of the Active Hours feature, which workflow. Until Microsoft can solve its
allows you to set a time during which you patching issue, another round of videos
don’t want patches. (For more on how to complaining about unexpected Windows
solve this problem, see our story on how 10 updates will undoubtedly occur.

NEWS
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A fix is on its way, but if you want to maximize performance, you may want to uninstall the
patch if it’s already on your PC. BY MARK HACHMAN
H
ere’s a conundrum for PC The KB4482887 patch (go.pcworld.
gamers: A recent Windows 10 com/kb44), issued March 1, enables
patch solves some of the “Retpoline,” a technique for helping
Spectre mitigation issues, reduce the performance hit of the Spectre
increasing performance—but a new, separate mitigations Microsoft previously rolled
issue means that your GPU and mouse out. But WindowsLatest (go.pcworld.com/
performance may be slower than normal. wnlt) also noted a catch: One of the known
20 PCWorld APRIL 2019 IMAGE: BUNGIE

issues with the patch involves graphics and GAMING PERFORMANCE
mouse performance degradation on MAY BE SLOWED
certain games. On the other hand, KB4482887 may also
Whether your PC will be affected apparently degrade your GPU and mouse
depends on a few conditions. The performance. Microsoft hasn’t said by how
“Retpoline” performance improvements much, and also what games will be affected.
affect only a subset of the processors Microsoft names a single game as an
affected by Spectre, specifically Broadwell example: Destiny 2, which has suffered from
or older Core processors. If you own a content issues (go.pcworld.com/dst2)
Skylake or more recent version of Intel’s unrelated to performance.
Core chips, those chips won’t be affected Microsoft said it would resolve the
by Retpoline. Moreover, the Retpoline problem in a future update. In the meantime,
technology is rolling out only to PCs Microsoft suggests that concerned parties
running the October 2018 Update, and should uninstall the update.
gradually—over the coming months, If you haven’t uninstalled a Windows
Microsoft says (go.pcworld.com/spv2) . update, here’s how: Go into the Windows
That process began March 1. Settings menu, and open the Update &
The performance improvements Security menu, then View Update History
Retpoline enables are fairly significant, within the main menu. At the top of the
Microsoft says: about a 25-percent subsequent screen you should see an Uninstall
speedup in Office app launch times and up updates option. That, in turn, will open the
to 1.5-2X improved throughput in both a Control Panel, and Control Panel > Programs >
storage and networking benchmark. Programs and Features > Installed Updates.
Though the Spectre vulnerability affects the Right-click the update you want to uninstall,
processor, Microsoft has said previously and select that option when it appears.
(go.pcworld.com/msps) that users would
notice a decrease in overall system What this means for you: Whether you’ll be
performance, especially in older systems. affected by this is as much determined by your
Retpoline, then, will be useful for those with system as the luck of the draw. Your PC may
older PCs. not have this update yet, but Microsoft may roll
(If you own and want to access the it out over the next weeks or months. If your PC
Retpoline performance improvements right suddenly seems to slow down when playing
now, Microsoft’s post includes instructions for games, check to see whether this buggy patch
editing your system registry.) downloaded to your system.

NEWS
Touching holograms with

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phone AR is way more fun
Sorry, but I’d rather play with Pikachu than a hologram hummingbird. BY MICHAEL SIMON
M
icrosoft’s HoloLens 2 (go. Then I looked to the right, and the
pcworld.com/mhl2) is a hummingbird disappeared. Microsoft made a
technically amazing device. big deal of HoloLens’s two-fold increase in
In a matter of minutes, the field of vision (FOV) over the original version’s
device was comfortably strapped to my head, (go.pcworld.com/mhlr), but it’s still small
my eyes were scanned, and a small enough where I was very aware of the edges
hummingbird was fluttering in front of my face of the frame. It might look and feel like a VR
and “landing” on my outstretched hand. headset, but it doesn’t behave like one at all.
22 PCWorld APRIL 2019 IMAGE: ADAM PATRICK MURRAY

It’s not really anything like the
augmented reality (AR) apps
on your phone, either. But it’s
definitely a bridge to
something better in the
not-so-distant future.
That potential is what
made my time with HoloLens
so frustrating. While I can
recognize that HoloLens 2
is obviously more
technologically advanced
than the Ikea Place AR The HoloLens 2 fits well even over a pair of prescription eyeglasses.
shopping app on my phone,
it doesn’t necessarily deliver a better engineered HoloLens to be more practical
experience than dropping virtual chairs than magical. The menus and buttons dutifully
in my living room. responded to my touches, but they didn’t
really look like they were in the room. Even
BETTER AUGMENTED the hummingbird wasn’t all that convincing.
REALITY EXPERIENCES
With a Galaxy S9 and a Gear VR (go.pcworld. Bottom line: HoloLens 2 felt more like the
com/grvr), or Google’s cartoon fox-driven bleak future of a Blade Runner movie than the
walking directions in Maps (go.pcworld. whimsical hoverboarding of Back to the
com/foxx), the experience is simple but Future Part II (go.pcworld.com/b2f2), and it
delightful. That’s not the case with HoloLens didn’t compare at all to the surprise and
2’s complex algorithms and high-minded delight I felt when I first tried full VR.
spatial awareness.
The ghostly holograms generated by HOLOLENS 2: BUILT FOR
HoloLens floated in the space in front of my BUSINESS
eyes, rather than hanging on the walls or I understand that I’m not the target audience
resting on the ground. They could do those for the $3,500 HoloLens 2 headset.
things—the construction project I viewed Microsoft actually bumped me twice on the
rested on a circular table built specifically for demo line to prioritize suit-clad important
the demo—but Microsoft has purposefully people. And instead of shooting aliens, I was

NEWS TOUCHING HOLOGR AMS WITH HOLOLENS 2
else was in the virtual

space. At one point we
were encouraged to
control the same slider
on different sides of the
room. When the slider
didn’t move, I couldn’t
tell whether my partner
was fighting against me,
or HoloLens just wasn’t
recognizing my
HoloLens 2 is technically proficient but not a lot of fun movements.
exploring a construction site, examining LEAVE THE FUN AT

issues with the build, and tracking the THE DOOR
project through each stage of development. Microsoft clearly has designs to bring the
Along the way, I interacted with sliders, HoloLens concept to the masses. Not only
pushed buttons, and resized virtual objects did Technical Fellow Alex Kipman decide to
just by moving my hands. unveil it at the largest mobile electronics show
When it worked, it was cool, but of the year, he also invited Epic Games CEO
stretching my arms out to touch things only I Tim Sweeney to the stage to announce that
could see was a little strange. There’s no support for the Unreal Engine 4 that powers
tactile response, and objects didn’t always Fortnite is coming to the HoloLens platform.
respond to my touch. Several actions So there’s a dream that HoloLens 3 or 4
required repeated attempts at grabbing or may be a device affordable and accessible
pressing a thing that couldn’t actually be enough to sell to consumers. But at as it
grabbed or pressed. stands, the HoloLens platform has some work
My session was with another journalist, to do if it ever wants to be an Xbox
and while we were supposed to be working companion. Even the simplest phone-based
together, the collaborative spirit that was VR and AR applications offer immersive,
shown onstage during the keynote wasn’t 360-degree environments that transport you
there. Unless he literally walked into my field to new worlds and entice you to stay. The
of view I had no idea he was in the room, as HoloLens 2’s more limited scope takes a lot of
the screen gave no indication that someone the fun out of it.

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USB branding has become even more confusing. BY MARK HACHMAN
T
he USB standard has just gotten On the bright side, the USB-IF makes it
even more confusing for end explicitly clear (go.pcworld.com/ubif; PDF)
users. If you’re one of the three that the latest USB 3.2 specification provides
people in the world who actually a whopping 20Gbps of throughput. But
knew the difference between USB 2.0, USB that’s about the only thing that’s
3.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1/Gen 2, and so on, ...well, straightforward, because USB 3.2 sucks up
sorry: USB 3.2 has been announced, and all the previous specs and makes them part of
the names change once again. its own. The new, horrifically-named spec is
IMAGE: AGAM SHAH APRIL 2019 PCWorld 25

NEWS USB 3.2 HORRIBLE BR ANDING
“USB 3.2 Gen 2x2.” performance capabilities of that device

It’s hard to sum it all up, but we’ll give it separately from other product benefits and/
a try. or physical characteristics,” it states.
• USB 3.2 Gen 1 (previously referred to as But as others were quick to point out
USB 3.0, or formally as USB 3.1 Gen 1) has a (go.pcworld.com/pont), there’s really
5Gbps transfer rate and is officially known by nothing that prohibits a laptop manufacturer,
the marketing name SuperSpeed USB. for example, from simply calling a device a
• USB 3.2 Gen 2 (previously referred to as “USB 3.2” port and failing to describe how
USB 3.1, or formally as USB 3.1 Gen 2) has a much bandwidth it will provide to the user.
10Gbps transfer rate and is now officially The USB-IF’s pleas notwithstanding, the only
known as SuperSpeed USB 10 Gbps. restrictions appear to be in the use of the
• USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (the latest spec) has a USB-IF’s logos, which requires passing the
20Gbps transfer rate and is now officially USB Compliance Program.
known as SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps.
Note, too, that these new specs refer Why this matters: There’s one consolation:
only to throughput speed, not to the The new specifications are backward-
physical USB cable or port. We’re still in the compatible, meaning that you’ll still be able
middle of a gradual transition from USB-A to to plug in an older USB device to a new USB
USB-C physical connectors, but that’s a 3.2 port. Still, the branding of it all is an
separate issue. absolute nightmare, and is an additional
The PDF document outlining the new headache computer and smartphone buyers
specs reiterates several times just how don’t need.
important it is for
manufacturers to
indicate clearly how
fast the USB device or
port is. “When
referring to a product
that is based on and
compliant with the
USB 3.2 specification,
it is critical for
manufacturers to
clearly identify the

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Reviews & Ratings
TESTED IN PCWORLD LABS
WE PUT HARDWARE & SOFTWARE
THROUGH RIGOROUS TESTING
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It doesn’t fold and it doesn’t have 5G, but the Galaxy S10+ is still a force
to be reckoned with. BY MICHAEL SIMON
I
t’s something of a perfect coincidence by a larger-than-life existential threat. And
that Samsung’s Galaxy S10+ goes both have a gorgeous shimmer when the
on sale the same day Captain Marvel light hits them just right.
(go.pcworld.com/cpmv) lands in And in many ways, they’re both the last of
theaters. Both were once the most powerful a dying breed. The Galaxy S10+ may
members of their respective universes. Both represent the culmination of 10 years of
are struggling with an identity crisis spurred Samsung’s Android engineering, but it’s also
IMAGE: MICHAEL SIMON APRIL 2019 PCWorld 29

REVIEWS SAMSUNG GAL A X Y S10+
just like Carol Danvers, it’s not about to

fade into irrelevance without a fight.
AN UPGRADE TO THE
CLASSIC DESIGN
Even without straying too far from the
Infinity Display formula that began with
the S8, the Galaxy S10+ is a completely
new device. Most notably, Samsung
has trimmed its empty spaces even
further, leaving slivers of black above
and below the screen. That brings the
size of the S10+ down to 157.6 x 74.1 x
The Galaxy S10+’s fantastic display is in rarefied air. 7.8 mm, a touch smaller than the Note
9 despite sporting the same 6.4-inch
the phone that doesn’t fold. Much like last display dimension.
year’s iPhone 8 Plus, which existed in the There’s not much to quibble with when it
shadow of the button-less and OLED iPhone comes to the design. The return to chrome
X, the Galaxy S10+ no longer represents the along the sides reflects a sophistication over
pinnacle of Samsung innovation. That honor the colorized aluminum of the S9, right down
now falls to the Galaxy Fold (go.pcworld. to the classic five-holed speaker grille along
com/sfld) arriving April 26. (In yet
another curious coincidence, that date
just so happens to be the same as
Captain Marvel’s intergalactic turn in
Avengers Endgame.)
But even with the forces of change
closing in all sides, the Galaxy S10+
more than holds its own. It might have
a sky-high price tag at $1,000, but the
S10+ is also a massive improvement
over its predecessor, pushing the limits
of conventional smartphone design The back of the S10+ comes in all-new prism colors that
just about as far as they can go. And beautifully reflect and refract light.

the bottom edge. The same chrome
accent also lines the triple-camera
array, which has been rotated to give
your chosen color even more room
to breathe. With so much glass, the
S10+ tends to be a little slippery, but
because Samsung’s new “prism”
palette of iridescent hues is so
gorgeous, you won’t want to cover it
up. I suspect clear cases will be extra
popular this time around.
The receiver has been pushed as The selfie cam on the Galaxy S10+ is an eyesore when it isn’t
high as it can go so it abuts the top obscured by darkness.
edge rather than floating in the
bezel, and as a result, it’s barely visible now. full-screen images, and draws your eye in the
My only complaint is the power button, which worst way. Despite Samsung’s bold claim of
is both shorter and higher than it is on the S9, “no notches, no distractions,” the hole is even
making it that much more difficult to reach. more apparent on the S10+ because
The Bixby button is now in a much better Samsung needed room for two front cameras.
spot, and it’ll get a lot more use this time, as This is why all of the stock wallpapers
Samsung is finally letting us remap it to launch Samsung created for the S10+ have a clever
an app or perform an action. And once again, bit of black in the corner to cover up the hole.
the S10+ has a headphone jack, making it It’s the same trickery Apple uses to cover up
truly among the last of a dying breed. the notch on the iPhone XS, and it speaks to
the inherent compromises of so-called
NO NOTCH, BUT A all-screen phones.
HOLE IN TWO I prefer a notch to the uncentered hole
To achieve a near 90 percent screen-to-body because I dislike the indented status bar, but
ratio, Samsung had to push the front camera neither of the solutions are very elegant.
down into the display in the form of a hole in (Although some of the wallpapers available
the right corner of the screen. Just like the (go.pcworld.com/wall) are pretty darn
controversial notches in its competitors’ creative.) Maybe the future is in slide-out
screens, the hole in the Infinity O display cameras or the complete elimination of the
wreaks havoc on the status bar, upsets selfie cam like Chinese companies Xiaomi and

Vivo are proposing. But for now, holes and Samsung’s fingerprint sensor has been a bone
notches are just a fact of life. And the S10+ will of contention ever since it moved to the rear
remind you of that every time you pick it up. of the phone precariously close to the
cameras, and it’s no less of an issue here. In
EASY ON THE EYES, the age of Face ID and time-of-flight cameras,
FRUSTRATING TO THE fingerprint scanning tech feels antiquated,
FINGERS and the hit-or-miss nature of the S10+’s sensor
Hole complaints aside, the display on the doesn’t help it feel any more modern, despite
Galaxy S10+ is stunning. Samsung has always its under-the-glass hiding spot.
excelled at displays, but out of the box the A mid-review biometric update improved
colors have always been a bit too the accuracy tenfold, but it’s still not an ideal
oversaturated for my tastes. Well, that’s not solution for security or privacy in 2019. I
the case with the Dynamic AMOLED here. wouldn’t necessarily call it a step backward
Samsung’s color gamut is clear, crisp, and from the S9’s physical scanner (which had
remarkably bright without requiring any its own placement issues), but it’s not much
adjustments, and colors are realistic without an improvement either (though I do like
looking too dull or muted. the ripple animation even if it is a
The display also hides one of the S10+’s millisecond slower).
new tricks: an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, What is a downgrade, however, is the loss
which uses sound waves rather than light to of the iris scanner, leaving the fingerprint
read the whirls and loops on your skin. sensor as the only secure biometric option on
the S10. That needs to change with
the S11, and I hope the S10 5G’s
time-of-flight sensor (go.pcworld.
com/sg5g) is a sign that 3D facial
unlock is on the way.
BATTERY LIFE MAKES

A LASTING
IMPRESSION
With the Snapdragon 855 processor
and 8GB of RAM, the S10+ is every
The S10+ has an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor built into the bit the beast it should be. Every
display, which has a cool animation when it’s working. benchmark I ran represented a

significant jump over any 845 phone, and Of course, off-the-charts performance is
daily performance was stutter-, lag-, and basically table stakes for a $1,000 phone.
slowdown-free. Here’s how it compared to Battery life is far more important. The S10+
the Note 9: packs a 4,100mAh battery, bigger than the
ones in both the S9+ and
the Note 9. The larger
Geekbench 4 capacity makes a big
(Single-core performance)
difference. In benchmarks,
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 2,294 I was able to top 11 hours
of runtime, about 10
Samsung Galaxy S10+ 3,448
LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E
percent longer than with
other 4,000mAh phones
I’ve tested.
In the real world, the
Geekbench 4 S10+ is even better than
(Multi-core performance)
the benchmarks indicate.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 7,714 Samsung’s new phones
have Android 9’s new
Adaptive power saving
mode, which uses machine
learning to intelligently
shut off unnecessary apps
PCMark Work 2.0 and processes to conserve
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 8,227 battery life. Switching it on
makes the S10+ seem like it
has a much larger battery
than it does. I easily
powered through a day of
heavy use without needing
3D Mark Sling Shot Extreme to turn on the battery saver.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 4,659 A few percentage points
might not seem like much,
but over the course of a
day it adds up.

massive One UI (go.pcworld.com/

s1ui) overhaul to the older S9 this
year. I’ve already written at length
about what One UI means to
Samsung’s family of devices, and on
the S10 it truly feels like the software
and hardware are finally in unison.
The most obvious change is the
switch from tap to gesture
navigation, but Samsung isn’t quite
ready to embrace it whole-
The five-hole speaker grille is a nice touch on the S10+. heartedly. I was surprised to find
that full-screen gestures were
And that extra battery life comes in handy switched off by default when I powered on
when you want to use the Galaxy S10+’s the S10, and without a prompt during setup, I
coolest party trick: reverse wireless charging. wonder how many people are going to find
It’s not the first phone to include the feature, its hiding spot inside the nav bar settings.
but it’s the most mainstream one. Using it That’s a shame, because gesture
simple—just tap the Wireless PowerShare navigation is nearly perfect on the S10+. With
button in the quick settings, flip over your ultra-slim bezels, the swipes for back, home,
phone, and viola, it’s a charger—but it’s and recent are natural and easy to reach. The
probably not something you’ll use
much after your try it out or show
it off to your iPhone-using friends.
But it’s definitely the kind of thing
that’ll be great to have on the rare
occasion that you need it.
FINALLY, A WORTHY
GALAXY INTERFACE
New Galaxy S phones traditionally
usher in the latest version of the
Samsung Experience, but
Samsung actually first pushed its One UI on the S10+ is a vast improvement over the prior version.

commands. A powerful and useful
system of shortcuts, Bixby Routines
isn’t so much about voice
commands as it is about
intelligence. For example, you can
set your S10 to conserve battery by
turning off the always-on display if
you forget to put it on the charger
at night. Or you can limit auto-
rotate to certain apps, such as
YouTube and Netflix. Samsung
Night mode on the S10+ is gorgeous. provides a few routines to get
started, but the combinations are
extra few millimeters of space afforded by the basically endless, especially when compared
elimination of the navigation bar gives the to the relatively limited options with Google
phone a real full-screen feel. I’d like to see Assistant or Amazon Alexa.
Samsung experiment with more advanced
gestures as One UI evolves, but the simple A GREAT CAMERA GETS
approach absolutely works. My only question BETTER
is: Why’d we have to wait so long? Samsung has returned the S10 and S10+ to
Night mode is also a standout on the photo parity after making the dual lens an S9+
S10+. Like a light switch for the S10+, exclusive last year. Both phones gain the new
Samsung’s Dynamic AMOLED display triple-camera array that finally lets you capture
generates deep blacks that accentuate text ultra-wide images. Here are the specs:
and buttons even more than on the S9. The Camera 1: 12MP telephoto Camera,
curved corners of boxes and windows f/2.4, OIS
perfectly reflect the S10+’s refined design, Camera 2: 12MP wide-angle, dual
and the barely-there bezels make phone and f/1.5-f/2.4, OIS
the UI blend like never before. Even Bixby Camera 3: 16MP ultra wide, f/2.2
Home is better, with smarter card selections The result is a camera that can take
and engaging animations. different photos than the S9 does, though not
Speaking of Samsung’s digital assistant, necessarily better ones. That’s not so much a
Bixby has learned some new tricks on the S10 criticism as it is a recognition that the Galaxy
in the form of if-this-then-that-style S9+ already offers one of the best

the viewing area increases dramatically,

from 45 degrees to 77 degrees to 123
degrees. That means you’ll capture
more of the scene without having to
back up as much, as you can see in the
comparison photos below, all taken
from the same spot.
The S10+ also performs great when
capturing a range of colors, particularly
when ample light is available. Images
The Galaxy S10+ has a triple camera array, but the pics it
were consistently sharper, brighter, and
takes aren’t that much better than the S9’s single camera. more detailed when compared to the
S9, and the S10+ even held its own
smartphone cameras you can buy, and against Google’s incredible processing engine
Samsung is basically in refinement mode at on the Pixel 3. In the image of the candy
this point. below, the S10+’s auto white balance results in
The biggest upgrade is in field of view. clearer definition and less saturated images,
When switching to the ultra-wide camera with less muddiness at the low end. When
(accessible via a button above the shutter), dealing with different shades of white, the
There’s a small bit of fisheye distortion at the edges of the frame in this image of Barcelona Cathedral
when shooting in ultra-wide mode (right) and some exposure issues with the zoom lens (left), but it’s not
enough to dissuade from using them.

S10+ wasn’t fooled into unnatural adjustments. smoothing filter rather than even trying to suss
Nighttime and low light are a different out finer details that were clearly visible with
story. While I was extremely impressed with the Pixel 3. I’d love to see a Pixel-style Night
the S10+’s ability to focus quickly in extremely Mode for Samsung phones at some point,
low light, the pictures I snapped had far less maybe even later this year as part of the Note
detail than the ones I took with the Pixel 3. In 9’s feature set.
some instances, it looked as though Around the front, Samsung has
Samsung’s post-processing engine applied a augmented the standard 10MP f/1.9 lens
with a second 8MP RGB depth
camera with a slightly wider 90
FOV. If you take a lot of selfies
you’ll appreciate the edge
detailing and depth-of-field
adjustments, but there’s nothing
here that isn’t also available on
the S10’s single front camera.
I didn’t have a standard S10 to
compare it to, but the S10+
definitely outperformed the S9’s
The S10+ (left) handles color exceptionally well, even besting
front camera in basically every
the Pixel 3 in this rainbow of candy. facet, as you can see above.
However, as it stands the second
front camera seems like a missed
opportunity. I would have rather
seen an ultra-wide second camera
like on the Pixel 3 or a 3D camera
for facial recognition.
BOTTOM LINE
There’s no denying that the Galaxy
S10 is the absolute cream of the
premium Android phone crop
If you look at the detail on the ceiling in this shot, the S10+ (left) right now. It has the fastest
is no match for the Pixel 3. Shoot, look at the ground as well! processor, the most RAM, the

The Galaxy S10+ (left and center) takes excellent front camera shots with cool effects (center) as
compared to the S9 (right). But the advantages of dual lens could have been greater.
most storage, and the best display money can features, the S10+ could very well still end
buy. And it’s all wrapped in a beautiful up being Samsung’s mightiest hero. It
package that’s hard to find much fault with. might not deliver the sci-fi sizzle of the
But there are definitely places where the Galaxy Fold. But like Captain Marvel,
S10+ falls short. The fingerprint sensor sometimes old school is all you need to
remains a point of contention, and it’s the properly defend the Galaxy.
phone’s only biometric security mechanism.
The hole in the display for the front camera is Samsung Galaxy S10+
inelegant. The cameras are less impressive
than in Samsung’s past efforts—a point PROS
• Excellent design with an incredible display.
underscored by Google’s processing abilities
• One UI is a major improvement over the Samsung
in the Pixel 3. Touchwiz Experience.
• Performance and battery life is second to none.
Then there’s the elephant in the room, the
• Triple-camera system snaps great pics quickly.
Galaxy Fold. The S phone has enjoyed
CONS
flagship status for the better part of a decade, • In-display fingerprint sensor is a little finicky.
• Hole in the display is an eyesore.
but suddenly it needs to figure out where it
• Samsung’s photo processing nowhere as good as
fits in Samsung’s smartphone hierarchy, at Google’s.
least in terms of wow factor. $999
Still, even without the newest specs and

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The EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra strips out fancy extras to focus purely on great
performance in all functional areas. BY BRAD CHACOS
The EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 enticing option for 1440p gaming too,
Ti XC Ultra we’re testing today usurping the last-gen GTX 1070 that debuted
strikes a balanced at nearly $100 more.
compromise. Nvidia’s $280 But while Nvidia offers its own “Founders
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti is the best GPU you can Edition” graphics cards for all RTX 20-series
buy for 1080p gaming, full stop. It’s an GPUs, it’s skipping direct consumer sales for
IMAGE: BRAD CHACOS APRIL 2019 PCWorld 39

REVIEWS EVGA GEFORCE GT X 1660 TI XC ULTR A
the return of the *()25&(*7;ƴƹƹƳ7,;&8/75$63(&6

GTX brand. That
means the GEFORCEGTX 1060 GEFORCEGTX 1660 TI
GPU (PASCAL) (TURING)
GeForce GTX 1660
Ti’s launch consists SMs 10 24
solely of models
CUDA Cores 1,280 1,536
sold by Nvidia’s
Base Clock 1506 MHz 1500 MHz
board partners,
each with its own GPU Boost Clock 1708 MHz 1770 MHz
unique spin.
FLOPS 4.4 TFLOPS 11 TOPS (5.5 TFLOPS
We’ve already FP32/5.5)
reviewed the Asus
FP16 FLOPS 4.4 TFLOPS 11 TFLOPS
ROG Strix GTX
1660 Ti (go. Texture Units 80 96
pcworld.com/ Texel fill-rate 120.5 Gigatexels/sec 169.9 Gigatexels/sec

gf16) and fell in
Memory Clock (Data 8,000 MHz 12,000 MHz
love with its Rate)
borderline overkill
Memory Bandwidth 192 GB/sec 288.1 GB/sec
custom cooler
and abundant Max L1 Cache Size 40 KB 1,536 KB
features. But at TDP 120 Watts 120 Watts

$330, the triple-
Transistors 4.4 billion 6.6 billion
slot behemoth
commands a Die Size 200 mm2 284 mm2
steep $50 price Manufacturing Process 16 nm 12 nm FFN

premium. The
EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra we’re (go.pcworld.com/ne16)) impress even with
testing today offers a hefty overclock like less raw heavy metal than the mammoth ROG
the Asus ROG Strix and a customized Strix? Spoiler alert: Yep. Let’s dig in.
dual-fan cooler of its own, but in a more
accommodating dual-slot design—and for MEET THE EVGA GTX 1660
$20 less. TI XC ULTRA
Can EVGA’s GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra ($310 on Before we dig into EVGA’s customizations,
Amazon (go.pcworld.com/am16) or Newegg here’s a quick refresher on the GeForce GTX

1660 Ti’s core tech specs.
Highlights include a
massive jump in overall
memory bandwidth thanks
to an upgrade to ultra-fast
GDDR6 VRAM, and a
massive upgrade in Turing
GPU-enhanced CUDA
cores (go.pcworld.com/
turi), all at the same
120-watt TDP as the older
GTX 1060. Spectacular
stuff—though note that all
GTX 1660 Ti models lack the dedicated ray and EVGA claims that the mixture of HDB fans
tracing and AI hardware found in the pricier with the tiny letters result in a 19 percent
RTX 20-series GPUs. reduction in noise levels compared to
The EVGA GTX 1660 Ti sticks to the competing fans with sleeve-bearing fan
reference specifications with one key designs. We can’t quantify that ourselves, but
exception: the GPU clock speed. EVGA’s card there’s no question that the EVGA GTX 1660
claims the same 1,860MHz boost clock Ti XC Ultra runs pretty quietly for such a potent
speed as the ROG Strix, a sizeable 90MHz graphics card.
increase over the reference spec. Also like the The custom cooler wasn’t the only thing
ROG Strix, the EVGA GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra EVGA redesigned from the ground up for this
actually soars even higher out of the box, generation. The company’s Precision X1
maintaining clock speeds around 1,935MHz software (go.pcworld.com/prx1) has evolved
to 1,950MHz in most games. It’s fast. into one of the slickest and easiest-to-use
EVGA’s graphics card maintains those overclocking tools available, with everything
supercharged clock speeds thanks to its you need to push your GPU to new heights—
potent custom cooler. The GeForce GTX including dead-simple one-button automatic
1660 Ti XC Ultra includes the overhauled overclocking for folks who don’t like to get
custom cooling design found on many of their hands dirty. It’s highly recommended if
EVGA’s RTX 20-series GPUs. Dual hydraulic you have any interest in tinkering with your
dynamic bearing (HDB) axial fans emblazoned graphics card.
with tiny “E”s sit atop a deep, dense heat sink, Returning to physical design, the EVGA

any potential
performance
bottlenecks squarely on
the GPU. Most of the
hardware was provided
by the manufacturers,
but we purchased the
cooler and storage
GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra sticks to basic port ourselves.
options, limiting itself to solitary HDMI, • Intel Core i7-8700K processor ($360 on
DisplayPort, and dual-link DVI connections— Amazon at go.pcworld.com/700k)
though we’re very happy to see the latter • EVGA CLC 240 closed-loop liquid cooler
whatsoever. By comparison, the Asus ROG ($120 on Amazon at go.pcworld.com/c240)
Strix dumps DVI, but doubles up on HDMI • Asus Maximus X Hero motherboard
and DisplayPorts. EVGA’s card measures 10.5 ($260 on Amazon at go.pcworld.com/mxmc)
power connection, so it should have no • 64GB HyperX Predator RGB
problem slipping into the vast majority of DDR4/2933 ($416 for 32GB on Amazon at
gaming PCs. go.pcworld.com/hxpr)
Wrapping things up, it’s worth noting a • EVGA 1200W SuperNova P2 power
few omissions on EVGA’s card, RGB LEDs supply ($180 on Amazon at go.pcworld.
being the most glaring. We’re fine with the com/spnv)
decision, but it’s increasingly rare to see a • Corsair Crystal 570X RGB case, with
modern graphics card without flashing lights. front and top panels removed and an extra
The card also lacks a backplate, but that’s not rear fan installed for improved airflow ($170
really a negative either—just a point worth on Amazon at go.pcworld.com/crst)
mentioning given that this is EVGA’s highest- • 2x 500GB Samsung 860 EVO SSDs
end GTX 1660 Ti offering. ($100 on Amazon at go.pcworld.com/smev)
But enough tech spec talk! Let’s take the We’re comparing the $310 EVGA GTX 1660
EVGA GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra to the test bench. Ti XC Ultra against the $330 Asus ROG Strix
GTX 1660 Ti, as well as its predecessor, an
OUR TEST SYSTEM overclocked EVGA version of the 6GB GTX
Our dedicated graphics card test system is 1060. Rounding out the Nvidia side, we’re
packed with some of the fastest also including the GTX 1070 Founders Edition
complementary components available to put and the ray tracing-capable $350 GeForce

RTX 2060 Founders Edition. commentary until the power and thermals
To see how EVGA’s graphics card stacks up section, where differences between the two
against the Radeon competition, we’re also GTX 1660 Ti models become more clear.
included performance results from the $260
Sapphire Radeon RX 590 Nitro+ (go.pcworld. GAMING BENCHMARKS
com/590n) (which launched at $280 in Strange Brigade
November), the $400 Radeon Vega 56, and Let’s kick things off with Strange Brigade
the Asus ROG Strix version of the Radeon RX ($50 on Humble at go.pcworld.com/bysb),
580. Many Radeon RX 580 models can a cooperative third-person shooter where
consistently be found for under $200 on sale a team of adventurers blast through hordes
these days, even in 8GB variants. of mythological enemies. It’s a technological
Each game is tested using its in-game showcase, built around the next-gen Vulkan
benchmark at the highest possible graphics and DirectX 12 technologies and infused
presets, with VSync, frame rate caps, and all with features like HDR support and the
GPU vendor-specific technologies—like AMD ability to toggle asynchronous compute
TressFX, Nvidia GameWorks options, and on and off. It uses Rebellion’s custom
FreeSync/G-Sync—disabled, and temporal Azure engine. We test with async compute off.
anti-aliasing (TAA) enabled to
push these high-end cards to
Strange Brigade
their limits. If anything differs (Frames per second)
from that, we’ll mention it. We
Sapphire Radeon 92
run each benchmark at least RX 590 Nitro+ 64
three times and list the average 96
EVGA GeForce GTX
result for each test. 1660 Ti XC Ultra 68
We limited our testing to Asus ROG Strix 96

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 69
1080p and 1440p resolutions,
as satisfying 4K gaming is Nvidia GeForce 101
GTX 1070 (FE) 72
mostly out of the reach of this
class of card. Because the AMD Radeon 116
Vega 56 84
EVGA GTX 1660 Ti’s gaming
performance results largely Nvidia GeForce 113
RTX 2060 (FE) 81
mirror the Asus ROG Strix GTX
1080p 1440p
1660 Ti’s—it’s a clear Radeon RX
590 killer—we’ll refrain from

Shadow of the
Tomb Raider Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Frames per second)
($60 on Humble at Sapphire Radeon 65
RX 590 Nitro+ 43
go.pcworld.com/shdw)
concludes the reboot EVGA GeForce GTX 82
1660 Ti XC Ultra 54
trilogy, and it’s gorgeous
Asus ROG Strix 83
—even the state-of-the-art GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 55
GeForce RTX 2080 Ti barely
Nvidia GeForce 74
manages to average 60 fps GTX 1070 (FE) 48
with all the bells and
AMD Radeon 82
whistles turned on at 4K Vega 56 55
resolution. Square Enix
Nvidia GeForce 88
optimized this game for RTX 2060 (FE) 58
DX12, and recommends 1080p 1440p
DX11 only if you’re using LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E
older hardware or Windows

7, so we test with that.
Shadow of the Tomb Raider
Far Cry 5
uses an enhanced version of (Frames per second)
the Foundation engine that
Sapphire Radeon 80
also powered Rise of the RX 590 Nitro+ 56
Tomb Raider. 96
EVGA GeForce GTX
1660 Ti XC Ultra 68
Far Cry 5 Asus ROG Strix 97

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 69
Finally, a DirectX 11 game! Far
Cry 5 ($60 on Humble at Nvidia GeForce 94
GTX 1070 (FE) 67
go.pcworld.com/fcr5) is
powered by Ubisoft’s long- AMD Radeon 105
Vega 56 76
established Dunia engine. It’s
just as gorgeous as its Nvidia GeForce 107
RTX 2060 (FE) 77
predecessors were, and even
1080p 1440p
more fun.

Ghost Recon Wildlands
Ghost Recon Wildlands Move over, Crysis. If you crank
(Frames per second) all the graphics options up to
Sapphire Radeon 41.8 11, like we do for these tests,
RX 590 Nitro+ 33
Ghost Recon Wildlands ($50 on
EVGA GeForce GTX 52.8 Humble at go.pcworld.com/
1660 Ti XC Ultra 41.1
recn) and its AnvilNext 2.0
Asus ROG Strix 53.4
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
engine absolutely melts GPUs.
41.7
Ghost Recon Wildlands also
Nvidia GeForce 52
GTX 1070 (FE) 40.5
prefers Nvidia’s GPU
architecture in general.
AMD Radeon 51.9
Vega 56 42
Middle-earth:
Nvidia GeForce 58.9
RTX 2060 (FE) 45.6 Shadow of War
1080p 1440p Middle-earth: Shadow of War
LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E ($50 on Humble at
go.pcworld.com/shwr) adds a
strategic layer to the series’
Middle-earth: Shadow of War sublime core gameplay loop,

(Frames per second) adapting the Nemesis system
to let you create an army
Sapphire Radeon 66
RX 590 Nitro+ 45 of personalized Orc
88
commanders. It plays like a
EVGA GeForce GTX
1660 Ti XC Ultra 60 champ on PC, too, thanks to
Asus ROG Strix 88 Monolith’s custom LithTech
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 60 Firebird engine. We use the
Nvidia GeForce 84 Ultra graphics preset but drop
GTX 1070 (FE) 56
the Shadow and Texture
AMD Radeon 93 Quality settings to High to
Vega 56 62
avoid exceeding 8GB of VRAM
Nvidia GeForce 104 usage in our testing scenario,
RTX 2060 (FE) 71
because graphics cards that
1080p 1440p
exceed 8GB of capacity are
rare indeed.

F1 2018
The latest in a long line of F1 2018
successful games, F1 2018 ($60 (Frames per second)
on Humble at go.pcworld.com/ Sapphire Radeon 82
RX 590 Nitro+ 62
f118) is a benchmarking gem,
supplying a wide array of both EVGA GeForce GTX 101
1660 Ti XC Ultra 75
graphical and benchmarking
Asus ROG Strix 101
options—making it a much more GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 75
reliable option that the Forza
Nvidia GeForce 94
series. It’s built on the fourth GTX 1070 (FE) 71
version of Codemasters’ buttery-
AMD Radeon 107
smooth Ego game engine. We Vega 56 79
test two laps on the Australia
Nvidia GeForce 115
course, with clear skies. RTX 2060 (FE) 85
1080p 1440p
Ashes of the Singularity: LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E
Escalation
Ashes of the Singularity ($40 on
Humble at go.pcworld.com/
Ashes of the Singularity:
sing) was one of the very first
Escalation (Frames per second)
DX12 games, and it remains a
Sapphire Radeon 40
flag-bearer for the technology RX 590 Nitro+ 36.5
to this day thanks to the 50.8
EVGA GeForce GTX
extreme scalability of Oxide 1660 Ti XC Ultra 43.9
Games’ next-gen Nitrous Asus ROG Strix 49.4

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 42.4
engine. With hundreds of units
onscreen simultaneously and Nvidia GeForce 52.3
GTX 1070 (FE) 43.6
some serious graphics effects in
play, the Crazy preset can make AMD Radeon 52.6
Vega 56 44.4
graphics cards sweat. Ashes
runs in both DX11 and DX12, Nvidia GeForce 55.8
RTX 2060 (FE) 48.8
but we only test in DX12, as it
1080p 1440p
delivers the best results for both
Nvidia and AMD GPUs.

GTA V
GTA V We’re going to wrap things up
(Frames per second) with a couple of older games
Sapphire Radeon 82.32 that aren’t really visual barn-
RX 590 Nitro+ 62.08
burners, but still top the Steam
EVGA GeForce GTX 93.76 charts day in and day out.
1660 Ti XC Ultra 77.42
These are games that a lot of
Asus ROG Strix 94.82
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
people play. First up: Grand
78.21
Theft Auto V ($30 on Humble at
Nvidia GeForce 98.85
GTX 1070 (FE) 81.96
go.pcworld.com/gta5) with all
options turned to Very High, all
AMD Radeon 96.6
Vega 56 80.28 Advanced Graphics options
except extended shadows
Nvidia GeForce 98.43
RTX 2060 (FE) 84.93 enabled, and FXAA. GTA V runs
1080p 1440p on the RAGE engine and has
LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E received substantial updates
since its initial launch.
Rainbow Six Siege

Rainbow Six Siege
(Frames per second) Let’s take a peek at Rainbow
Six Siege ($40 on Humble at
Sapphire Radeon 185.5
RX 590 Nitro+ 120.7 go.pcworld.com/rnss), a
191.5
game whose audience just
EVGA GeForce GTX
1660 Ti XC Ultra 128.5 keeps on growing, and one
Asus ROG Strix 193.5 that still feels like the only truly
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 129.3 next-gen shooter (go.pcworld.
Nvidia GeForce 175.9 com/rain) after all these years.
GTX 1070 (FE) 117.7
Like Ghost Recon Wildlands,
AMD Radeon 220 this game runs on Ubisoft’s
Vega 56 147.7
AnvilNext 2.0 engine, but
Nvidia GeForce 208.1 Rainbow Six Siege responds
RTX 2060 (FE) 140.2
especially well to graphics
1080p 1440p
cards that lean on async
compute features.

POWER DRAW,
THERMALS, AND 3DMark Fire Strike
NOISE (Frames per second)
16,913
We also tested the Sapphire Sapphire Radeon 7,406
RX 590 Nitro+ 3,692
Radeon RX 590+ using 3DMark’s
16,758
EVGA GeForce GTX
highly respected Fire Strike 1660 Ti XC Ultra
7,578
3,299
synthetic benchmark. Fire Strike 16,854
Asus ROG Strix
runs at 1080p, Fire Strike GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
7,609
3,332
Extreme runs at 1440p, and Fire 17,898
Nvidia GeForce 8,409
Strike Ultra runs at 4K resolution. GTX 1070 (FE) 4,220
All render the same scene, but 20,624
AMD Radeon 9,538
with more intense graphical Vega 56 4,866
effects as you move up the scale, 19,463

Nvidia GeForce 9,050
so that Extreme and Ultra flavors RTX 2060 (FE) 4,201
stress GPUs even more. We Standard Extreme Ultra
record the graphics score to LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E
eliminate variance from the CPU.

This is why you can’t test
cards based solely on synthetic
Full system power draw
benchmarks, though they’re (Watts)
wonderful for relative sanity
Sapphire Radeon 329
checks and competitive RX 590 Nitro+ 60.7
overclocking contests. 246
EVGA GeForce GTX
According to Fire Strike, the GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra 55.6
1660 Ti is slower than the Radeon Asus ROG Strix 234

GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 55.4
RX 590, and well behind the GTX
1070. That simply isn’t true in Nvidia GeForce 250
GTX 1070 (FE) 52.3
actual games.
We test power draw by AMD Radeon 318
Vega 56 61.8
looping the F1 2018 benchmark
for about 20 minutes after we’ve Nvidia GeForce 284
RTX 2060 (FE) 54.3
benchmarked everything else,
Load Idle
and noting the highest reading
on our Watts Up Pro meter. The

triple-fan cooler and a steeper
GPU temperature under load price premium. The EVGA GTX
(Celsius) 1660 Ti XC Ultra still delivers some
Sapphire Radeon
RX 590 Nitro+
75 of the lowest GPU temperatures in
this performance class, it runs very
EVGA GeForce GTX
65
1660 Ti XC Ultra quietly itself, and it does so in a
Asus ROG Strix
59 more flexible dual-slot cooler
GeForce GTX 1660 Ti
design. They’re both winners,
Nvidia GeForce
77
GTX 1070 (FE) albeit in very different ways.
AMD Radeon
75
Vega 56
Nvidia GeForce
BOTTOM LINE
67
RTX 2060 (FE) If you’re looking for a great
LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E graphics card that will let you
game at high frame rates and no
visual compromises at 1080p
initial part of the race, where all competing resolution, the $310 EVGA GTX 1660 Ti XC
cars are onscreen simultaneously, tends to be Ultra should be on your short list. It’s powerful
the most demanding portion. The GTX 1660 enough for 1440p gaming, too, and would
Ti is yet another testament to Nvidia’s clear make a sublime pairing with a G-Sync or
power efficiency domination, drawing far less FreeSync variable refresh rate monitor. EVGA’s
energy than its Radeon rivals, and roughly the built a very compelling graphics card built
same amount of power as the GTX 1060 while around a very compelling GPU—one that
delivering far more performance per watt. utterly dismantles rival AMD Radeon RX 590
We test thermals by leaving HWInfo’s options, and one that renders the GTX 1070
sensor monitoring tool open during the F1 obsolete unless you find one on a massive sale.
2018 5-lap power draw test, noting the The XC Ultra justifies its $30 premium over
highest maximum temperature at the end. baseline GTX 1660 Ti models thanks to its
Here’s the biggest pure performance hefty overclock and potent custom cooling
difference between the two GTX 1660 Ti system. GPU clock speeds hover around
models we’ve tested, the Asus ROG Strix and 2GHz in most gaming scenarios, and EVGA’s
EVGA’s XC Ultra. The massive ROG Strix runs cooling solution runs chilly and quiet while
ice-cold with very little fan noise, or utterly maintaining a reasonable dual-slot design that
silently with the card’s Quiet BIOS. But should have no trouble fitting in most gaming
achieving that requires a massive triple-slot, PCs. The need for only a single 8-pin power

connection adds
to its versatility.
It’s lacking in
luxurious extras,
however. The XC
Ultra doesn’t
include RGB LEDs
or a backplate, let
alone performance-
altering features like
the dual-BIOS
switch, adaptive fan
headers, and
discrete LED button
found on the Asus The EVGA GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra is a high-performing, well-rounded graphics card.
ROG Strix GTX
1660 Ti (go.pcworld.com/gf16). The Strix’s cool, quiet, energy-efficient, and broadly
monstrous triple-slot, triple-fan cooler won’t fit in compatible—a killer combination. And the
all cases, however, and it costs $330—$20 company’s superb Precision X1 overclocking
more than the XC Ultra, and a full $50 more than software serves as a delicious cherry on top.
the GTX 1660 Ti’s baseline MSRP. It’s a great graphics card.
You can’t go wrong with either of these
cards. The Asus ROG Strix is a big, badass, EVGA GeForce
and borderline overkill graphics card built for GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra
the proverbial 1 percent who want all the
bells and whistles and don’t mind paying PROS
• Outstanding 1080p and solid 1440p gaming.
extra for them. • Cool and quiet custom cooling.
EVGA’s card is probably better for most • DVI connection included.
• High out-of-box overclock.
people. It delivers a high level of performance
• Easy fit into most gaming PCs
similar to the Strix, with a great cooling CONS
solution, but avoids extravagant extras to • No fancy extra features.
• No RTX ray tracing capabilities.
keep the price from getting too high. Plus, it • Only 1 DisplayPort and HDMI port.
offers an all-too-rare DVI connection. $316
The EVGA GTX 1660 Ti XC Ultra is fast,

/HQRYR,GHD3DGƺƶƳ6$
VOLFNbODSWRSZLWKQRJLPPLFNV
A great thin-and-light laptop for touchscreen skeptics. BY JARED NEWMAN
T
he Lenovo IdeaPad 730S is flourish is a Dolby Atmos speaker system,
notable not just for what it offers, which for a laptop actually sounds pretty
but for what it doesn’t. good. By trimming away fancy gimmicks,
Unlike many other laptops in Lenovo has delivered a lightweight laptop
the $900-and-up price range, the IdeaPad that looks great and performs well for a
730S doesn’t transform into a tablet and reasonable price.
doesn’t even have a touchscreen. It uses a One word of caution, though: We’ve
modest 1080p display instead of a battery- tested two of these laptops, and both had
chewing QHD or 4K panel, and its wildest constant Wi-Fi connectivity issues across
IMAGE: JARED NEWMAN APRIL 2019 PCWorld 51

REVIEWS LENOVO IDEAPAD 730S
multiple networks. Lenovo’s suggested middle of the lid or underneath the display.
fix involved installing a newer Wi-Fi driver The only sign that you’re using a Lenovo
(go.pcworld.com/e480) for a different laptop—once you remove the obligatory
laptop. This solved the problem, but the stickers, of course—is a tiny embedded logo
company hasn’t said when it will officially on the lid’s upper-left corner.
release those drivers for the 730S. Combine that tasteful approach with
edge-to-edge display glass, narrow bezels
PRICE AND SPECIFICATIONS around the screen, some distinctive shield-
Lenovo sent us the $1000 version of the shaped keycaps, and a dark-gray aluminum
730S, which includes an 8th-generation Intel frame, and you end up with a pretty slick-
Core i5-8265U (1.6GHz) processor, Intel looking laptop. Lenovo even shaved a
UHD 620 graphics, 8GB of DDR3 RAM, and a millimeter off last year’s IdeaPad 720S design,
256GB solid state drive. You can save $100 so the new model measures just 0.47-inch
by opting for 128GB of storage, and you can thick, and a very portable 2.4 pounds.
upgrade to a Core i7-8565U (1.8 GHz) Given the absence of a touchscreen, the
processor—in either storage configuration— IdeaPad 730S’s lack of a 360-degree hinge
for $200 more. makes sense. Still, the display does fold back
In all cases, you’ll get a non-touch IPS 180 degrees to lay flat on a table. I’m not
display with a resolution of 1920x1080. The sure why you’d want to do this, but in theory
maximum brightness we measured of 317 nits you could prop up the laptop on a stand,
is surprisingly good for the
price: not far behind the 337
nits we measured for
Microsoft’s Surface Laptop 2
(go.pcworld.com/mlp2), and
well above the 250-260 nits
that we consider to be
average. The viewing angles
are great.
DESIGN
Unlike some rival thin-and-
light laptops, the 730S The lack of a large logo in the middle of the lid is a refreshing change
doesn’t stamp a logo in the from the showy stamps on other laptops.

typing test, I averaged 90
words per minute, versus 96
words per minute on my usual
mechanical keyboard. The
730S keyboard’s frame does
bend easily under pressure
toward the center, and I
would’ve liked the keys to be
a little less rigid, but it’s a solid
keyboard overall.
The trackpad,
The Lenovo IdeaPad 730S can fold flat, though we’re not sure why meanwhile, provides a large,
we’d use it that way. practically frictionless surface
that supports Microsoft’s
plug in a mouse and keyboard, and use it on Precision Touchpad drivers. This allows you
a desk without straining your neck. (If only to tweak the trackpad’s sensitivity and assign
Lenovo offered a docking station specifically actions to three- and four-finger swipes. The
for this purpose.) only thing holding this trackpad back from
A couple of gripes: The laptop’s hinge excellence is the increasing pressure
isn’t stiff enough once it bends past about required to click on it as you move further up
120 degrees. As a compulsive leg shaker, I the surface. Folks who prefer tapping over
often found that the IdeaPad 730S display clicking should have no complaints.
would gradually tip back with the computer
on my lap. The 16:9 widescreen display is PORTS, CAMERA, SECURITY,
also a little too cramped vertically, at least with SPEAKERS
the 150% default display scaling. Dialing it Buying the Lenovo IdeaPad 730S means fully
down to 125% helped, but I’d love to see a committing to USB-C and abandoning legacy
taller version of this laptop altogether. USB-A. The two ports on the right side
support Thunderbolt 3 for data transfer and
KEYBOARD AND TRACKPAD external displays, and one of those ports
Despite the laptop’s thinness, the IdeaPad offers always-on charging as well. The USB-C
730S keyboard offers a lot of travel, along port on the left side is primarily for charging
with two levels of backlighting when you the laptop with the included power brick,
press the Function key and space bar. In a though you could technically power up the

fingerprint reader
just beneath the
right arrow key, so
you can log in
without a password
even though the
camera lacks
Windows Hello
facial recognition.
As for the
aforementioned
Dolby Atmos
speaker system, it
The IdeaPad 730S has only USB-C ports, but at least you get a headphone jack. combines Dolby-
designed hardware
laptop through any port. (I was even able to with some fancy equalization settings for
charge the laptop with a smartphone charger, louder dialogue and better-sounding music.
albeit slowly.) This still a laptop speaker, so it’s not going to
Lenovo did have the good grace to fill your room with rich audio, but YouTube
include to include a headphone jack, but if videos came out sounding crisp even at full
you want built-in ports for USB-A, MicroSD, or blast. It’s certainly a step up over most laptop
HDMI, you’ll have to look
elsewhere.
The camera is your typical
cheap laptop webcam,
supporting up to 720p
resolution. At least it’s
mounted along the laptop’s
top bezel, so you’ll avoid the
unflattering camera angles
that plagued some of last
year’s thin-and-lights (go.
pcworld.com/dxps). The
IdeaPad 730S does have a The gaps underneath the keys double as air intake sources.

Any laptop that scores over
PCMark 8 Work 2.0 Conventional 2,000 in PCMark 8 Work
Conventional can handle
(Native resolution) mainstream applications
Lenovo IdeaPad
handily. The Lenovo IdeaPad
730S-13IWL (Core i5-8265U) 3,431 730S excelled within its
Asus ZenBook 13 UX331UA
group, posting a very
(Core i5-8250U) 3,303 healthy score well over
Dell XPS 13 9380 3,000.
(Core i7-8565U) 3,205
Razer Blade Stealth (2018)
(Core i7-8550U) 3,055
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2
(Core i5-8250U) 2,860 Lake” (go.pcworld.com/
wlke) CPUs, which should
give it a modest
performance boost under
speakers, especially when it’s on a flat surface, peak loads. We compared it to a group of
where the audio can project outward. recent mainstream laptops with similar CPU,
RAM, and integrated graphics.
PERFORMANCE Lenovo talks up the 730S’s thermal
The Lenovo IdeaPad 730S is among the first design, which pulls in cool air through vents
batch of notebooks with Intel’s “Whiskey in the keyboard and pushes it out through the
back and bottom of the
Cinebench R15.038 notebook. Supposedly

this allows for both the
(Threads)
slim design and a smaller
Lenovo IdeaPad 181
730S-13IWL (Core i5-8265U) 705 fan. Although the 730S
142
can become
(Core i5-8250U) 601 uncomfortably warm on
Dell XPS 13 9380 163 the lap under the heaviest
(Core i7-8565U) 551
Razer Blade Stealth (2018) 156

(Core i7-8550U) 555
Cinebench is a synthetic
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 124 CPU test that shows how a
(Core i5-8250U) 558 PC handles a brief burst of
Single Thread All threads activity. The Lenovo IdeaPad
730S posts a good score
here.

HandBrake stresses the CPU

over a long period, often
causing laptops to keep
Handbrake Encode 0.99.0
things cool by throttling (Seconds)
performance. The Lenovo Dell XPS 13 9380
IdeaPad 730S erred on the (Core i7-8565U) 3,459
side of thermals, posting a Microsoft Surface Laptop 2
slower time as a result. (Core i5-8250U) 3,874
(Core i7-8550U 4,080
Lenovo IdeaPad
730S-13IWL (Core i5-8265U) 4,611
loads, it ran cool and
quiet most of the time. (Core i5-8250U) 5,136
We can certainly see S H O R T E R B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T E R P E R F O R M A N C E
the benefits of Whiskey

Lake—and, perhaps, that
thermal design—in the PCMark 8 Work file for Android tablet use.
benchmark. The IdeaPad 730S edged out It’s possible that Lenovo is dialing down
every other thin-and-light laptop we’ve tested the IdeaPad 730S’s CPU performance under
in the last six months, including some Intel heavy workloads to maintain the laptop’s slim
Core-i7 U-Series notebooks and Dell’s rival profile and cool, quiet operation. If your goal
XPS 13 (which has the same Intel Core is to get work done, that seems like a
i5-8265U processor). reasonable trade-off.
That said, the XPS 13 pulled ahead in As for GPU performance, don’t expect
CPU-intensive tests,
including Cinebench,
which tests how the CPU 3DMark Sky Diver 1.0
renders 3D graphics, and (Demo mode off)
HandBrake, which
Dell XPS 13 9380
4,963
encodes a lengthy video (Core i7-8565U)

(Core i5-8250U) 4,764
(Core i5-8250U) 4,658
The Lenovo IdeaPad 730S Lenovo IdeaPad
730S-13IWL (Core i5-8265U) 4,646
has integrated graphics,
so its 3DMark Sky Diver Razer Blade Stealth (2018)
(Core i7-8550U) 4,249
score is modest—and right
in line with that of similarly LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E
configured competition.

The Lenovo IdeaPad 730S
Video rundown test lasted over 10.5 hours in
our video rundown test,
(Minutes) a very good score for a
mainstream laptop.
(Core i5-8250U) 650
(Core i5-8250U) 633
Lenovo IdeaPad
627 what it’s trying to
730S-13IWL (Core i5-8265U
Dell XPS 13 9380

accomplish. Instead of
(Core i7-8565U) 543
attempting to be all things
(Core i7-8550U) 453 to all people, the Lenovo
IdeaPad 730S is content
to be a solid thin-and-light
laptop with a strong
anything out of the ordinary for a thin-and- sense of style. It’s ideal for people who want
light laptop. 2D indie games like Shovel to perform office or other productivity tasks
Knight and Mercenary Kings will work fine, from anywhere, and don’t aspire to use their
and you might be able to scrape by in a laptop like a tablet or turn it into a gaming rig.
Borderlands 2 session at 720p resolution and As long as the Wi-Fi issue I experienced
30 frames per second, but this isn’t a gaming doesn’t prove widespread—or gets patched
machine. The 730S posts a decent score in the near future—this laptop succeeds at
compared to similar competition. cutting away the cruft.
Battery life, on the other hand, was a
pleasant surprise. Although it has lower capacity Lenovo IdeaPad 730S
than many other laptops in its class, it still wound
up on the higher end of our video rundown test. PROS
• Runs cool and quiet except under the heaviest
Lenovo says it’s using a more efficient display loads.
than last year’s IdeaPad 720S, which along with • Super-smooth trackpad and plenty of keyboard
travel.
the non-touch 1080p panel likely contributed to • Slim and classy design with no garish logos or
the respectable score. The inclusion of rapid labels.
charging, which fills the battery up to 80 CONS

• The trackpad’s top half is harder to click than the
percent in an hour, is also a nice touch. bottom.
• The display hinge could be stiffer.
• USB-C, headphones, or bust for connectivity.
BOTTOM LINE $899
It’s always nice to see a laptop that knows

REVIEWS
+36SHFWUH[ƶƹƳƴƸƵƳƴƼ
$bSUHWWLHUPRUHSRZHUIXO
FRQYHUWLEOHWKDQWKHODVW
HP’s Spectre x360 15 convertible improves aesthetically and functionally, as well as under
the hood, with features that include an upgraded processor. BY MARK HACHMAN
The 2019 edition of the HP of its powerful GPU, 4K screen, and solid
Spectre x360 15 convertible battery life. This year’s model improves both
has a hard act to follow. We performance and battery life, with a slightly
previously awarded HP’s redesigned aesthetic that appears as
Spectre x360 15 (2018) an Editor’s Choice functional as it is attractive.
award (go.pcworld.com/hp18) on the merits There is a price to be paid for such power,
58 PCWorld APRIL 2019 IMAGE: MARK HACHMAN

though. While our review model (15-df0xxx) Camera: FHD camera (user facing); IR
starts at $1,550 from HP.com, the price jumps depth camera (user-facing, Windows Hello)
to just over $2,000 for our review unit Wireless: 802.11ac (2x2), Bluetooth 5
configuration—about $300 more than the Battery: 80Wh (measured)
price HP charged for our fairly similar 2018 Operating system: Windows 10 Home
review unit. At 4.62 pounds, the Spectre Dimensions: 14.22 x 9.84 x 0.76 inches
x360 15 weighs more than you’d expect. And (19.35 mm)
in the ongoing flagship war between Dell’s Weight: 4.62 pounds, 5.46 pounds with
XPS line and and HP’s Spectre line, the Dell charger, 5.50 pounds with charger and pen
XPS 15 9570 (go.pcworld.com/9570) again Colors: Dark Ash Silver (Copper Luxe
comes out on top in terms of performance— accents); Poseidon Blue (Pale Brass accents)
though with a far less detailed display. It’s also Bundled Accessories: HP Digital Pen
significantly cheaper. Price: Core i7/GeForce 1050Ti,
$2049.99 (as tested), HP.com (go.pcworld.
BASIC SPECS com/h15t). A version with a Core i7-8565U
As befits a flagship, the HP Spectre x360 15 and MX150 GPU is $1,599 from Best Buy
we tested is stuffed to the grilles with high- (go.pcworld.com/bsby).
end parts. Here are the details.
Display: 15.6-inch ultra-wide viewing A SLIGHTLY CHUNKY
angle (UVWA) WLED (3840x2160) (as tested), CONVERTIBLE
or FHD (1920x1080p); protected by Corning HP’s luxurious Spectre x360 laptop fills the
Gorilla Glass NBT gap between content creation and a true
Processor: 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H gaming PC. The chassis is made of CNC-
(6-core “Coffee Lake (go.pcworld. machined aluminum, and you now have color
com/8g7g), as tested) or 1.8GHz Core choices: Dark Ash Silver with copper accents
i7-8565U (4-core Whiskey Lake (go.pcworld. which cover the laptop’s vertical sides, or
com/whln)) Poseidon Blue with similar pale brass accents.
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce 1050Ti MaxQ Our Blue review unit seemed to accumulate
4GB (as tested); Nvidia GeForce MX150 2GB fingerprints and smears quickly, at least on
Memory: 16GB DDR4 the palm rest.
Storage: 512GB-1TB SSD (1TB as tested) As the name suggests, the x360 is a full
Ports: 1 USB-A, 2 USB-C (Thunderbolt, 360-degree convertible, flipping easily from a
fast charging), HDMI, microSD, mic/ normal clamshell orientation through tent
headphones mode into something approximating a tablet.

REVIEWS HP SPECTRE X360 15 (2019)
The latter mode, though, is

more theoretical than practical,
as the laptop weighs a chunky
4.62 pounds—not something
you’d want to hold in two
hands, let alone one, for long.
The Spectre x360 15
(2019) construction seems
sturdy enough, though there
was a bit of chassis flex when
the laptop’s base accidentally
extended off the end of my
desk and I tried to type—the
The HP Spectre x360 15 (2019) flips backward into tent mode.
base extends about 10 inches Toting around as a tablet, though, isn’t worth the effort. Note the
deep, after all. large bezels, top and bottom.
Spacious fan vents on the
right and left vertical edges pull cool air in and The Spectre x360 15’s underside never
push hot air out. Unlike the Spectre x360 13 exceeded being moderately warm when
(2019), there’s no “quiet mode” control that using HP’s recommended power settings,
shuts the fans off entirely. HP says this new which balance performance and heat.
Spectre x360 15 features larger dual fans with HP says it will offer the Spectre x360 15
dual radiators, an IR thermal
sensor, and up to three heat
pipes. In the real world that
means that even under load,
the Spectre x360 15 (2019)’s
fan noise was relatively
unobtrusive, other than some
slight whine. Sucking in such a
large volume of air also means
that the laptop shut down its
fans quickly, though they There are sizable cooling vents on the HP Spectre x360, which help
to minimize the time during which the laptop’s fan needs to be in
would occasionally spin up use. Even after a lengthy stress test, the fan shut off a minute or so
softly even when not in use. later. A microSD slot is also mounted on the side of the chassis.

with two screen options, each with trade-offs: the bezels have shrunk about 11 percent from
a super bright, 650-nit 1080p Sure View the prior generation, HP says, although it’s far
option, which helps shield your screen from from an edge-to-edge screen.
someone looking over your shoulder; and The HP Spectre x360 15 (2019) does not
what we tested: a more conventional though ship with Intel’s 1-watt LPDT panel. The
still impressive 4K display. Viewing angles are 13-inch Spectre x360 does, however, offering
excellent, with little to no loss of brightness whopping battery life for those who favor it.
when viewed from an extreme angle.
However, its 300-nit maximum brightness, WHAT’S NEW: DIAMOND
while comfortably above the 250-nit EDGES AND A PRIVACY
threshold that we consider to be adequate, CAMERA
feels a bit spare for a laptop at this price. HP The most distinctive new visual element on
obviously made its decision to maximize the Spectre x360 (2019) are the angled,
battery life. Still, we’d prefer the option of “diamond” edges on the rear corners of the
dialing it down ourselves. laptop. But they’re not just aesthetic
You’ll also see a rather sizable chin improvements—HP tucked the power button
surrounding the screen, though HP says that on the left rear corner, and a USB-C port on
it’s shrunk by about two millimeters. All told, the right rear corner. Even the lower corners
of the screen have a
similar diamond cutout.
The right rear corner’s
angled edge neatly
accommodates the
USB-C port as well as a
connecting cable.
(Both USB ports
support Thunderbolt.)
It all fits together nicely.
While I’m not
convinced that the
angled corners offer
any functional
improvements over
Our review unit shipped in Poseidon Blue, with Pale Brass accents. side- or rear-mounted

ports, I’m happy to cheer

stylistic flourishes like this
one. If I were to compare the
Spectre x360 with its rival,
Dell’s XPS laptop, I’d give the
edge on aesthetics to the HP
Spectre x360.
One of the more
intriguing features of the HP
Spectre x360 15 (2019) is
what HP calls its Privacy
The most distinctive visual element of the HP Spectre X360 15 is the
Camera Kill Switch, designed way in which its rear corners have been flattened to accommodate a
to disable the webcam when USB-C/Thunderbolt port on the right rear corner...
not in use. And when we say
“disable,” that’s exactly what
we mean: a physical switch
on the right-hand edge of the
Spectre’s chassis literally
removes the Windows driver
from Windows, preventing it
from working. It even
disappears from the list of
available devices. When you
flip the switch back, the
camera returns. ...and the power button on the rear left corner. The headphone jack
It’s a novel solution, and and an HDMI port sit alongside.
plays into the growing
(though possibly unfounded?) concern that (The Spectre x360 includes far-field mics
hackers may use your webcam to spy on you that picked up my voice readily across a quiet
without your knowledge. Still, we can’t help room. The laptop can also listen for the wake
wondering: Most smart speakers ship with a word “Hey Cortana” even when asleep,
button that disables the microphone. HP’s though you’ll need to enable that functionality
solution, like the Lenovo Think Shutter and within the Settings > Cortana >Talk to
others, leaves the mic up and running. Why? Cortana Windows Settings menu.)

Insert, Delete, Page Up, and
Page Down keys reside there
instead. representing a slight
change from other keyboard
alignments.
The Spectre x360 15’s
keys are just a little too small
to be entirely comfortable
under my fingers, though.
Ironically, if you prefer a larger
When flipped on, the kill switch electrically disables the webcam. key, you should probably
choose the Spectre x360 13.
Disabling the camera will also ripple Though it’s a smaller machine, it forgoes the
through other apps. Windows Hello will only number pad, giving the keys more room to
sense the presence of the fingerprint reader, spread out. (To be fair, Ben Patterson
for example, and Skype won’t think you have reviewed the HP Spectre x360 15 (2018) (go.
a camera available, either. pcworld.com/kaby) and found no fault with
the keys, so the difference may be subjective.)
A DECENT TYPING The Spectre x360’s trackpad is a bit
EXPERIENCE smaller than most, and aligned almost, but
Typing on the Spectre X360 15 (2019) can be not quite, in line with the space bar. Some
a mixed bag. The key travel is a generous small, obsessive part of me rebelled against
1.5mm, with two backlighting levels,
and the feel is springy, without
excessive resistance.
As a lefty, I was pleased to see HP
include a dedicated numeric keypad,
as it has previously. (Unlike right-
handed gamers who use the WASD
keyboard, some lefties use the
number pad for keyboard control.) As
a result, the backspace key isn’t
tucked away to the far upper right of
the keyboard, as it normally is. The

confining my wrists to the left part of the

chassis, but it really should make no
difference in day-to-day use.
Though last year’s Spectre x360 placed
the fingerprint reader along the side of the
chassis, the current 2019 model places the
small fingerprint reader near the top of the
palm rest. While the Spectre x360’s
fingerprint reader didn’t seem as responsive For some reason, the fingerprint reader took
about a second to record my fingerprint. But the
as that within the Huawei Matebook 13, I Spectre x360’s “wake on fingerprint” feature is
didn’t notice any accuracy issues in my time very convenient.
with the Spectre x360 15. In my experience,
error rates on fingerprint readers can increase strongly, somewhat overwhelmingly in parts.
over time, forcing you to recalibrate. On the other hand, one of the test songs I
There’s also the previously mentioned use, Fleetwood Mac’s Go Your Own Way,
HD-quality user-facing camera, whose IR sounded the best I can remember hearing
component is Windows Hello-capable. from laptop speakers.
Turning off the camera via the “kill
switch” also disables the Windows
Hello depth camera, though the
fingerprint reader can be used
instead. The redundancy is a
thoughtful touch, allowing a user
to maximize privacy without
sacrificing all the convenience of
Windows Hello.
One area the Spectre x360 15
(2019) doesn’t shirk on is audio
performance. Sound booms from
the four integrated speakers. Even
rarer, I noticed distinct stereo
separation between the right and What is it about PC makers’ house-brand audio apps that
makes controls so difficult to find? HP’s Audio Control app is no
left speakers. The Spectre seems different—there’s no link within Windows’ own Settings menu,
to push the midrange pretty so discovering it is almost an exercise in trial and error.

JumpStart offers tips and
tricks, and HP Pen Control
allows you to assign actions
to the pen buttons.
There’s also the usual
complement of Windows
bloatware: two Candy Crush
games, Fitbit Coach, and
more. A Dropbox promo
HP includes a pen with the Spectre x360 15, but no place to store it. offers 25GB of space free
for a year, however, and a
HP’s Spectre x360 bundles an HP Pen year’s subscription to McAfee LiveSafe is
which inks well, though with noticeable also included.
latency before the ink appears. It’s a standard
two-button pen; by default, one button is used IMPROVED PERFORMANCE
to select text or other objects, while the AND BATTERY LIFE
bottom button erases. Unfortunately, erasing HP positions the Spectre x360 (2019) as a
with the nib never works all that well. The device for “creative enthusiasts,” such as
Spectre also lacks a holster or slot to store the amateur or professional photographers or
pen, so good luck trying to keep
track of it. The included pen uses
a standard AAAA battery; HP
also offers an HP Tilt Pen (go.
pcworld.com/tilt) with a
rechargeable battery for $79.99.
A significant amount of
bloatware ships with the HP
Spectre x360 15. Several HP
apps, including the HP Audio
Control app and HP Command
Center, provide useful controls
to adjust performance and
other settings. HP ePrint tracks Though you can adjust the thermal profiles, we couldn’t discover
your printing orders. HP any meaningful difference in, say, dialing up the performance.

video editors. HP said it’s trying to shoot for a while the included HP Command Center
middle ground between those who might software allows you to run the Spectre x360
need graphical horsepower and those who in Performance and Comfort modes, our tests
might use the Spectre x360 for more showed little difference. As an example, our
traditional drawing apps, hence the pen. HandBrake test finished a minute faster under
HP’s Spectre x360 15 (2019) doesn’t use Performance mode—but that worked out to
the absolute latest 8th-gen mobile chips, but about a 4 percent improvement, with the fans
the six-core Coffee Lake 2.2GHz Core at their full, noisiest speed all the while.
i7-8750H chip is an H-series part, the family Results tested using Cinebench and PCMark
of premium, 45-watt Core parts for 10 were equally inconclusive.
notebooks. Launched in the second quarter The default is “HP Recommended,” which
of 2018, it offers excellent performance actively adjusts system performance in
against rivals powered by quad-core response to temperature. This mode appears
processors. Alternatively, you can opt for a to be perfectly adequate for everyday use. (A
version of the Spectre x360 15 (2019) “Quiet” mode appears on the HP Spectre
powered by a 1.8GHz Core i7-8565U, a x360 13, but was removed from the 15-inch
15-watt, more modern Amber Lake Core model because of its inability to turn the fan off
processor that should offer
better battery life.
PCMark 8 Work 3.0
From a testing
(Native resolution)
standpoint, we’re
MSI GS65 Stealth Thin
transitioning from a 8RE (Core i7-8750U) 3,986
database full of the older Dell XPS 15 9570
3,848
(Core i7-8750H)
3DMark 8 scores to the HP Spectre x360 15 (2018)
3,745
more modern 3DMark 10 (Core i7-8750G)
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 15

benchmark. Both tests (Core i7-8550U) 3,230
focus on the same real- HP Spectre x360 15 (2019)
(Core i7-8750H) 3,173
world productivity tasks,
Huawei Matebook X Pro
even using apps like (Core i7-8550U) 3,046
OpenOffice to drive HP Spectre x360 15

(2018) (Core i7-8550U) 2,896
spreadsheet calculations.
HP Spectre x360 15
2019 hp command center Here, the Spectre x360’s performance falls midway down the pack,
It’s worth noting that though you’ll notice no slowdowns in everyday office tasks.

It’s worth noting that while
PCMark 8 Creative 3.0 the October 2018 Update
inexplicably dragged down the
(Native resolution) PCMark Work and Home, even
the original scores were at the
Dell XPS 15 9570
(Core i7-8750H) performance level produced by
the original Surface Laptop, as
HP Spectre x360 15 (2019)
(Core i7-8750H) 3,479 measured by both benchmarks.
(Core i7-8550U) 3,233
(Core i7-8550U) 3,056
Work and Creative tests, here.
Note that HP’s Spectre x360
Kaby Lake-G experiment from
completely with a discrete GPU, we’re told.) yesteryear outperforms the Spectre x360, as
PCMark 8 breaks down into three does the MSI GS65, a true gaming notebook
separate tests: Work, which focuses on that we added for comparison’s sake.
spreadsheet, text editing, HTML, and VOIP In both PCMark 8 tests, the HP Spectre
calls; the Home test, which leans a bit more x360 15 falls a bit behind its chief rival, the
into photo editing and light gaming, and the Dell XPS 15, though some of that may be due
Creative test, which aligns more with HP’s to the far greater resolution of the Spectre
target audience. The latter emphasizes photo x360’s screen.
and video editing as well as gaming PCMark 10 combines a number of more
applications, and stresses the GPU more than modern workloads under one umbrella,
the other two tests. We’ve used the PCMark offering a single score as well as the
opportunity to dig down into
PCMark 10 individual tests in the scoring
(Native resolution) summary. Our database
happens to include several
Acer Predator Helios 500
5,641
(Core i9-8950HK) competitors, presenting a fairly
Lenovo ThinkPad
Extreme (Core i7-8850H) 5,003
(Core i7-8750H) 4,691
Huawei Matebook 13 Note that our limited PCMark
(Core i7-8565UU) 4,299
database compares to the Dell
Dell XPS 15 9370 XPS 13, not the 15-inch model.
(Core i5-8250U) 3,737
Still, there’s nothing to frown at,
LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E here. The Acer Predator Helios is
another gaming PC.

In the Cinebench rendering

tests, the Spectre x360 15’s
6-core processor chews
Cinebench RT15.038
through the benchmark (All threads)
quickly. Dell XPS 15 9570
(Core i7-8750H) 1,150
8RE (Core i7-8750U) 1,144
comprehensive HP Spectre x360 15 (2019)

972
(Core i7-8750H)
performance landscape. HP Spectre x360 15 (2018)
(Core i7-8750G) 807
The Spectre x360 15 dwells
HP Spectre x360 15
in the middle of the pack. (2018) (Core i7-8550U) 534
Maxon’s Cinebench Huawei Matebook X Pro
529
(Core i7-8550U)
benchmark renders a 3D
485
scene using all available (Core i7-8550U)
CPU cores and threads.
Think of this test as a sprint,
or as a deadlift—it’s a quick test of the available the cooling solution is up to snuff. It’s still
power of the CPU. Here, the Spectre x360 largely CPU driven, though. Note the time:
does well. Taking just 33 minutes to transcode a
HandBrake, by
contrast, is more of a
marathon. The open- Handbrake 0.99.0 Encoding
source video conversion (H.264) (Seconds)
tool converts a full-length
1,985
Hollywood movie into 8RE (Core i7-8750U)
Dell XPS 15 9570

format appropriate for an (Core i7-8750H) 2,016
Android tablet. It’s a HP Spectre x360 15 (2019)
(Core i7-8750H) 2,032
good way to understand if
the laptop can hold up (Core i7-8750G) 2,710
under load, and whether HP Spectre x360 15

4,077
(2018) (Core i7-8550U)

(Core i7-8550U) 4,175
Under load, the HP Spectre (Core i7-8550U) 4,225
x360 15 (2019) holds its
own. This is an excellent S H O R T E R B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T E R P E R F O R M A N C E
HandBrake result.

There’s a great deal of
3DMark 8 Sky Diver 1.0 Overall variance in these 3DMark
comparisons, mainly due to
(Demo mode off) the GPU. This result indicates
that the Spectre x360 15
8RE (Core i7-8750U) 28,154 (2019) performs close to what
Dell XPS 15 9570
you’d expect from a premium
(Core i7-8750H 22,033 content-creation PC, without
HP Spectre x360 15 (2019) quite reaching gaming-PC
(Core i7-8750H) 20,211 status.
(Core i7-8750G) 18,412
HP Spectre x360 15
(2018) (Core i7-8550U) 10,540 For an evaluation of the
8,570
GPU, we turn to the
(Core i7-8550U)
3DMark tests. Our tests
4,315
(Core i7-8550U) typically use the Sky Diver
DirectX11 test, spanning a
range of notebooks. We
roughly 90-minute movie is excellent, both also directly compared the Dell XPS 15 9570
from a relative performance standpoint as and HP’s Spectre x360 15 in a more advanced
well as a practical use of the Spectre’s benchmark, Fire Strike, which we normally
computing power. use with gaming PCs. Here, Dell’s XPS 15
(score: 6,881) is 4
Battery life percent better than the
(Minutes) tested Spectre x360
(score: 6614).
Dell XPS 15 9570
847
(Core i7-8750H) Finally, there’s battery
HP Spectre x360 15
(2018) (Core i7-8550U) 653 life. We would expect a
HP Spectre x360 15 (2019) discrete GPU and 4K
(Core i7-8750H) 614
screen to crimp battery life
(Core i7-8750G) 574
(Core i7-8550U)) 507
Huawei Matebook X Pro Over ten hours of battery life
(Core i7-8550U) 435
is perfectly acceptable for the
8RE (Core i7-8750U) 323 HP Spectre x360 15, though
it’s still outmatched by Dell’s
LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E offering. Dell’s panel is only
1080p, however.

graphics, and offers

more battery life as well.
In terms of the
competition, though,
you’ll have to decide:
Dell’s XPS 15 9570 is
undoubtedly a better
value, though HP’s
Spectre is simply more
attractive. That price tag,
though....
HP makes its case by
including a powerful
somewhat. HP predicted we’d see about 13.5 6-core processor, 4K screen, and discrete
hours, using local video playback as a test. GPU. It’s also worth applauding HP’s
That’s the way we test, too, though we usually continued push to improve, not just iterate,
dial up the brightness to what we consider to with its angled aesthetic and camera kill
be usable levels: between 250 and 260 nits switch. HP’s Spectre x360 15 continues to
of luminosity. Inside, the HP Spectre x360 15 drive hard to build upon an already excellent
includes an 80 watt-hour battery, at the high design, and its continuing commitment to
end for 15-inch notebooks. innovation earns it our top award.
Remember, the Spectre x360 x15 (2018) can
be configured with either a 650-nit SureView HP Spectre x360 15 (2019)
panel, or, like our review unit, with a 4K panel that
puts out about 300 nits, maximum. PROS
• Performance improves significantly from prior
generation
BOTTOM LINE • Battery life improves moderately
• 4K screen
If the more powerful Kaby Lake-G version of
• Camera kill switch works as advertised.
the 2018 HP Spectre x360 15 (go.pcworld.
CONS
com/spcr) convertible earned itself an • Elevated price robs some of its value.
• 300-nit maximum brightness is a bit low for a
Editors’ Choice award, then it’s not too much premium product.
of a stretch to award the 2019 version one, • Well over 5 pounds with charger.
too. The 2019 version outperforms the 2018 $2,049
version in most of our benchmarks, including

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It’s a very good performer until it runs out of cache. BY JON L. JACOBI
I
regularly end bargain TLC SSD reviews (go.pcworld.com/sm97), you don’t give up a
with the advice “Don’t buy it unless it’s ton of performance unless you regularly write
a lot cheaper than the competition.” 50GB (less with smaller capacities) or more. If
Until Crucial’s P1, no drive ever met you do, move along to another review.
that criteria. But the 17 cents per GB that the
1TB version will set you back is a good 8 cents DESIGN AND SPECS
cheaper than most of the competition. And, The Crucial P1 is an x4 PCIE NVMe SSD that
while it’s no blazing-fast Samsung 970 Pro ships in the 2280 (22 mm wide, 80 mm long)
IMAGE: CRUCIAL APRIL 2019 PCWorld 71

REVIEWS CRUCIAL P1 NVME SSD
The P1 looks pretty much like any other 2280 NVMe/M.2 drive. It’s just cheaper.
form factor. The drive comes in 500GB and cheaper, claims half the write performance.
1TB flavors that retail for $90 and $170 That’s a common phenomenon caused by
respectively. That’s a good $80 cheaper than having only half as many chips to spread the
most of the competition currently. They carry data across. It’s also likely to have less cache
a 5-year warranty and are rated for 100TBW and fall prey to the slow TLC writes sooner.
(TeraBytes Written) for every 500GB of More on that in a paragraph or two.
capacity. The 1TB P1 actually passed all our standard
That’s a relatively low TBW rating for an tests, including the 48GB copies with flying
NVMe drive, but it’s no doubt part of the colors, though it will never be mistaken for a
reason for the low price. The scuttlebutt Samsung 970 Pro, or even a 970 EVO. I’ve
around the industry is that TBW
ratings are worst-case scenarios CrystalDiskMark 6
that are generally exceeded by a (MBps)
large margin. And that’s still 54GB 1,664
Sequential Write 530
per day over the 5 years—more 4K (Q=32, T=1) 1,440
than most users are likely to write. 2,574
And it is just writes—reading 2,010

doesn’t affect longevity. Sequential Read 562
4K (Q=32, T=1) 3,335
3,485
PERFORMANCE
Crucial P1 Samsung 860 QVO (SATA)
Before I get to the results, please
note that I tested the 1TB version Samsung 970 Evo Plus WD Black NVMe SN750
of the drive. The 500MB version LO N G ER B A R S I N D I C AT E B E T T ER P E R F O R M A N C E
which I did not test, while

No problem for the 1TB P1 when copying less than A big problem when the 1TB P1 writes more than
50GB. 50GB at a time.
included the SATA drive to show just how It was only during the 450GB write test,
much you’ll gain simply by moving to NVMe which we regularly run to see how things
from SATA. Keep that in mind with all our proceed when the cache runs out, that the
NVMe reviews: Even the slowest is faster than drive slowed down—tragically.
SATA by a healthy margin. By tragic, I’m talking roughly 95MBps, or
AS SSD 2.0 4K Performance

(10GB/MBps)
919
4K Write 327
(64 threads) 2,082
1,925
658
4K Read 364
(64 threads) 1,147
1,680
140
82
4K Write
132
138
33
21 Crucial P1 Samsung 860 QVO (SATA)
4K Read
37
26 Samsung 970 Evo Plus WD Black NVMe SN750

REVIEWS CRUCIAL P1 NVME SSD
48GB copies
(Seconds)
155
239
48GB Folder Write
137
127
172
224
48GB Folder Read
128
142
39
180
48GB Write
44
32
41
97 Crucial P1 Samsung 860 QVO (SATA)
48GB Read
27
32 Samsung 970 Evo Plus WD Black NVMe SN750
Though hardly best-of-breed, the P1’s copy times were still reasonable, and far better than the SATA drive
we included for a technology comparison.
more than a 1000-percent drop, as you can 500GB version), you’ll need to spend at least
see in the image above. Ouch. another $80 for WD’s Black SN750 NVMe
For normal everyday use, with NVMe’s (go.pcworld.com/sn75). Your choice.
stellar seek times and small file performance,
the P1 remains an great bargain because of Crucial Technology
the price. But it’s not the drive for you if you P1 NVMe SSD
regularly write large amounts of data.
PROS
• Market-leading cost per gigabyte.
BOTTOM LINE • Very good performance until cache runs out.
Price will out. The P1 is the first bargain SSD to CONS
that saves you enough money to forgive the • Sustained write speed plummets after secondary
cache is exhausted.
occasional super-slow write. If you want fast • 500MB version writes half as fast as the 1TB.
sustained throughput when copying more $149
than 50GB of data (or likely 25GB with the

0DG&DW]5$7ƻJDPLQJ
PRXVH%DFNIURPWKHGHDG
The cat didn’t kill this R.A.T. yet. BY HAYDEN DINGMAN
The RAT is back, and no I don’t And in addition to reviving the brand,
mean your trash-uncle’s nu-Mad Catz has revived the well-known
favorite glam metal band. Two RAT line of mice. So what’s the verdict? Is
years ago venerable the new Mad Catz worthy of the name? We
peripherals maker Mad Catz filed for went hands-on with the resurrected RAT 8
bankruptcy and then subsequently died, to find out.
taking its designs to the grave with it. But not
permanently, as it turns out! Mad Catz ROUND AND ROUND
reemerged at CES 2018, or at least there’s a I still remember the first time I used a RAT.
new company wearing the skin of the old, a la How could I not? Even now, almost a decade
corporate Hannibal Lecter. after its release, it’s the most aggressive
IMAGE: HAYDEN DINGMAN APRIL 2019 PCWorld 75

REVIEWS MAD CATZ R.A.T. 8+
mouse design I’ve ever seen.

Stripped of the plastic chassis
that gives your average mouse
a user-friendly face, the RAT
looks more like military
hardware, all metal knobs and
scientific looking numbers and
naked screws.
It’s a polarizing design, but
I admit I’m fond of it. That’s an
outlier for me! I’m typically not
a fan of the edgy “gamer” aesthetic. And yet “perfect” mouse. Weight, feel, it’s all
the RAT goes to such an extreme, I find myself adjustable.
drawn to it. It’s ugly and unrefined, but in a It might require some study though. Trying
way that feels purposeful and raw and to learn the ins and outs of the RAT is, quite
intriguing. If Razer’s DeathAdder (go. frankly, a pain in the ass. “Ah, I’ve unscrewed
pcworld.com/rzda) is the epitome of the something,” you think, and then...wait, what
modern gaming mouse, a design copied and happened? Was that piece supposed to
copied and copied until it’s become come off? Oh no, what do I do? Keep the
characteristic of the entire genre, the RAT is manual nearby, in other words. You’re
the exact opposite. There’s nothing else like probably going to need it.
it. Even the imitators don’t go quite as far as The RAT 8 is full of tweaks though, big and
Mad Catz, don’t strip
away so much of the
mouse’s traditional
identity.
Of course, it’s more
than just aesthetic. The
RAT’s industrial look is
designed to be
incredibly modular, a
series of knobs and
levers that—at least in
theory—results in the

The pinkie rest is also
swappable, though the
process is a bit more involved.
There’s literally a hex wrench
hidden inside the RAT, and you
need to unscrew the stock side
plate and then screw in the
new one. Again, you have the
option of a rubberized grip or
a full plate for your pinky to rest
on—though the latter
small. A discreet lever on the right-hand side unfortunately caused the RAT to feel unsteady
allows you to slide the palm rest forward and and tilt to the side if I rested my weight on it.
backward, changing the overall shape of the Keep the hex wrench out, because there’s
RAT from a squat, almost-circular shape to an more where that came from. On the left side,
elongated oval. The former is great for another spring-loaded screw lets you scoot
fingertip grippers, the latter is more the thumb rest backward or forward to taste.
comfortable for palm grips, with quite a few And then, in the spot you originally removed
settings in between as well. You can also the hex wrench from, you can add or remove
swap out the default palm rest entirely, with (some) weight to the RAT’s chassis. It arrives
two alternates: a rubber-coated grip and a fully loaded with a trio of six-gram weights, for
smooth plastic finish. a hefty total of 145 grams or a slightly-less-but-
still-pretty-damn-hefty
127 grams unloaded.
It’s an overwhelming
amount of options, out
of the box. But it really
does let you dial in most
everything to personal
preference—as long as
your personal
preference is a mouse
that would look at home
in a Michael Bay

REVIEWS MAD CATZ R.A.T. 8+
Transformers film. I can’t say it

speaks to my tastes, but it’s
surprisingly comfortable once
configured, and feels durable
as well.
Also worth mentioning, the
RAT 8 is packed with buttons.
There are the standard Left, Right,
and Middle buttons, plus an
additional button to the side of
Left Mouse, a DPI rocker behind
the mouse wheel, a second wheel (scrolling person who loves to tinker and make a
sideways) next to the thumb, two more traditional product your own, the RAT is about as
thumb buttons, and a sniper button towards the modular a mouse you’ll ever find, with a
front. There’s so much happening, it’s hard to top-tier sensor underpinning what feels like a
even capture it in words. Suffice it to say, you’re durable chassis.
not short of options there either. My only reservation: Mad Catz of old was
And in the two years since Mad Catz died known for a high rate of device failure. Since
and came back, the RAT 8’s gotten a those are issues that typically crop up a year
hardware upgrade as well. It’s on par with the or two down the line, it falls outside the scope
rest of the competition, packing a Pixart of this review. We’ll keep an eye out, but only
PMW3389 optical sensor—the same 3360 time can tell whether new Mad Catz is more
variant Razer uses on the DeathAdder, reliable than the old. Fingers crossed.
Mamba, and so on. That means pinpoint
accuracy, with up to 16,000 DPI. Mad Catz R.A.T. 8+
BOTTOM LINE PROS

• Eminently customizable.
Overall, it’s a great return to market for Mad
• Uses a reliable PMW3389 sensor.
Catz, or at least the Mad Catz brand. The • Feels durable.
mouse isn’t without faults. It’s still a RAT, and CONS
• Customization options aren’t always intuitive.
bound to be as divisive as ever when it comes
• Heavy, even with the weights removed.
to appearance. Dust is a constant struggle as • Hard to know whether Mad Catz peripherals are
more reliable nowadays.
well, since it gets down into every nook and
$65
cranny on the mouse. But if you’re the type of

TO FIND A GREAT CANDIDATE,
GIVE TRADITIONAL HIRING
PRACTICES THE DAY OFF.
LEARN HOW TO FIND, TRAIN AND CULTIVATE

A GREAT POOL OF UNTAPPED TALENT.
FEATURE
THERE ARE
TONS OF VPNS
AVAILABLE FOR
ANDROID, BUT
WHICH ONES
ARE WORTH THE
SUBSCRIPTION?
HERE ARE OUR
TOP FIVE PICKS.
BY IAN PAUL
5
BEST VPNS
FOR ANDROID
FEATURE BEST VPNS FOR ANDROID
T
here are so many VPN services out
there that it can often be
overwhelming. While that’s a good
thing for competition, features, and
pricing, it means choosing a VPN can be an
absolute nightmare. That goes double for
browsing the Google Play Store where it can be
difficult to see which services are legitimate and
which ones are outright scams.
That’s why we’re here to help. Over the past
few years we’ve tested a ton of VPN services
(go.pcworld.com/vpnn), looked at their privacy
policies, and checked out their extra features.
While our main focus was the PC, we’ve also
kept our eye on the mobile apps.
To determine the top five VPN apps for
Android we judged these apps on several
criteria. First, it had to come from a service that we
already gave at least a four-star rating on
Windows. This is especially important for speeds,
which were tested on Windows over ethernet
and not Wi-Fi, which can often have inconsistent
results. We also considered the Android app itself
and whether it was easy to manage, as well as CyberGhost for Android
other criteria such as pricing and the number of
simultaneous devices allowed per account. Android as the PC. What’s great about
CyberGhost is that it has a wide range of
BEST FOR INTERNATIONAL servers meant for getting around specific
CONTENT: CYBERGHOST geo-restricted services.
Romania-based CyberGhost (go.pcworld. The app is really easy to use. All you have
com/cybr) recently released upgraded to do is slide or tap the button in the center to
versions of its VPN service. The company activate. By default, CyberGhost picks the
decided to take the uniform approach to best VPN server based on your location. To
design, offering the same interface on get around geo-restricted content, you have

to click the location selector in the bottom service. The company offers 59 country
right of the screen and choose the server locations with more than 5,000 servers. It also
location from there. promises that its service will work with Netflix.
Choosing the Streaming friendly tab you It doesn’t offer dedicated servers for this.
can, for example, pick servers that are optimized Instead, Netflix is just supposed to work no
for U.S. Netflix or Hulu, servers in France for RTL, matter which server you’re on.
or BBC’s iPlayer in the UK to name just a few. In NordVPN also chose to give its apps a
total, CyberGhost offers 58 country locations uniform design, but interestingly the Android
with more than 3,000 servers. version is more like the desktop than vice
Dipping into the app settings you can versa. At the top is a world map that you
activate ad and tracker blocking, malware
protection, and data compression for faster
performance. The company says data
compression is only for images and only over
HTTP, and no logs are kept.
CyberGhost’s privacy policy says it won’t
log your online activity, IP address, timestamp,
or session duration. The company does,
however, log connection attempts that include
the time, country of origin, and your
CyberGhost app version. It also logs successful
connection attempts. CyberGhost says it does
this to monitor service performance.
CyberGhost charges $63 per year for seven
simultaneous device connections, which is about
average for a service with this many features.
BEST FOR NETFLIX

STREAMING: NORDVPN
NordVPN (go.pcworld.com/nrdv) is easily one
of the most popular services around. I still have
reservations about it as the founders and upper
management choose to remain anonymous.
There’s no doubt, however, that it’s a well-built NordVPN for Android
JANUARY 2019 PCWorld 83

can pinch to zoom to choose a server location,

but if you scroll down the app you can pick a
country location from an alphabetical list. Once
you click on a country, you can either stick with
the first server NordVPN picks for you, or scroll
down another list to choose from all possible
servers in that location.
For added features, NordVPN offers
malware protection that is activated by default.
It also has all the various features that are
present in the desktop version including P2P
file-sharing servers, double-hop connections,
dedicated IPs, and TOR over VPN.
NordVPN’s privacy policy says it doesn’t
log any of your activity and charges $84 per
year, or you can get three years for $108. It’s a
higher-priced VPN, but it’s also far more
feature rich than most services.
BEST FOR ROOKIES:

TUNNELBEAR
If you are a VPN rookie (go.pcworld.com/tunl), I
highly recommend TunnelBear. For starters, you
don’t even need to pay to try it out since the TunndelBear for Android
company offers 500MB of data per month for
free. That’s not a lot, but if all you need is a quick are options to auto-connect on insecure
hit on email or something similar then it can be Wi-Fi, as well as protect against deep packet
handy. TunnelBear has 22 country locations. inspection (go.pcworld.com/dpck) (dubbed
TunnelBear’s app has two main buttons. GhostBear), and an internet kill switch called
At the top is an on/off button for the VigilantBear. Finally there’s SplitBear, a split
connection, and at the bottom is the location tunneling feature that keeps specific apps
selector. The rest of the app shows a map of outside of the VPN tunnel.
your current or VPN-based location. TunnelBear says it doesn’t log your
Dipping into TunnelBear’s settings there browsing activity, but it will log your OS

version, TunnelBear app version, whether or
not you were active in a given month, and
total data used in a given month.
TunnelBear charges $60 per year with five
simultaneous device connections. It’s a good
price, and while it doesn’t have the same
amount of features as NordVPN, it’s a great
choice for newbies.
BEST FOR ROOKIES,

OPTION 2: SAFERVPN
Another good choice for beginners, SaferVPN
(go.pcworld.com/sfer) doesn’t offer a free
bandwidth cap, but it does have a six-day free
trial. The Android app has a simple global map
with your location, and then a Connect/
Disconnect button at the bottom of the display.
To switch locations, tap the location marker at
the top left, or the location indicator on the
map and a side panel slides out.
SaferVPN supports 34 countries with more
than 700 servers, including specialized servers
for U.S. and UK Netflix streaming. For added
SaferVPN for Android
features, it lets you select the OpenVPN or
IKEv2 protocol. There’s also an option to set, but it’s very easy to use and well priced.
automatically connect to the VPN on new Wi-Fi
networks, and an internet kill switch. BEST FOR ADDED SAFETY
SaferVPN’s privacy policy promises not to log AND SECURITY: FREEDOME
your browsing activity, but it does log session If you want a VPN from a known company
timestamps, data used per-session, your VPN with a solid background in security then
country connection, and originating country. F-Secure’s Freedome (go.pcworld.com/frdm)
SaferVPN charges $66 per year for its is for you. F-Secure runs its own VPN network,
service for five simultaneous device which isn’t common as many security
connections. It doesn’t have a massive feature companies use white label infrastructure from

third-parties such as AnchorFree or Perimeter

81. Freedome has 22 country locations.
True to its security foundations, Freedome
includes a feature called App Security that scans
apps for harmful activity such as stealing personal
information or misusing your device. If it detects
such an app, it blocks you from downloading it.
In fact, F-Secure says that Freedome’s App
Security contains the same scanning engine as its
Safe Antivirus, meaning with Freedome installed
you don’t need an extra antivirus app.
The app itself has a peculiar organization. In
the center is a big on/off button for the VPN,
and then around that are a bunch of circles
indicating whether the app’s additional security
features are active. Those circles also indicate
certain actions like the number of harmful sites
blocked, and all the various tracking attempts. In
addition to tracker blocking, an app monitor,
and malicious site blocking, Freedome also has
an internet kill switch, and you can set certain
apps to bypass the VPN connection.
At the bottom of the screen is the country
location selector. Freedome offers Freedome for Android
connections in 23 countries with only the U.S.
and Canada having multiple location options. thing about Freedome is it doesn’t require you to
F-Secure’s privacy policy says it doesn’t create an account. Instead, you’re sent a license
log your browsing activity, but it does actively number that you can use on each device. That
analyze your activity to block malicious setup isn’t quite as private as something like
attacks. For more details on F-Secure’s privacy Mullvad (go.pcworld.com/mlvd) since you end
policy check out our full review of Freedome up paying using traceable methods such as
(go.pcworld.com/frdm). credit card, PayPal, and wire transfer. Still, it’s a
Freedome costs $50 to cover three devices nice change of pace for those who are tired of
for a year, $60 for five, or $80 for 7. The nice constantly creating new online accounts.

FEATURE
7 TWEAKS TO
ANDROID Q
THAT WILL
MAKE YOUR
PHONE
BETTER THAN
IT IS NOW
OK, BUT WHAT DESSERT STARTS WITH Q?
BY MICHAEL SIMON
IMAGE: MOHI SYED/PEXELS APRIL 2019 PCWorld 87

FEATURE ANDROID Q T WEAKS AND CHANGES
R
ight on schedule, the first 1. YOUR DATA WILL BE
Android Q developer preview MORE SECURE
has arrived, and there’s a lot to One of the biggest advantages iPhone users
unpack. As with the last few lord over their Android-using friends is
releases, there aren’t a ton of user-facing Apple’s commitment to privacy. From apps to
features just yet—those will likely be data, Apple locks down iOS so developers
reserved for Google I/O and the Pixel 4 have little to no access to sensitive
launch in September. Nonetheless, the information, far beyond what Google
changelog is still filled with plenty of demands in Android Pie. That’s changing with
interesting tweaks and additions that will Android Q. Among the changes Google is
make your phone better than ever once the bringing to the update is the ability to select
OS lands in late summer. whether to limit an app’s permission to see
The biggest change is one that most location to only when it’s in the foreground.
people won’t get to enjoy for years to come. Users will also be able to control apps’ access
Google already previewed its new folding to photo, video, and audio files. And finally,
interface (go.pcworld.com/gopv) with Google will be limiting developer access to
Samsung’s ultra-expensive Galaxy Fold (go. “non-resettable device identifiers,” which
pcworld.com/gfld), but now it’s making include IMEI and serial numbers.
those new app actions—such as pause,
resume, and resizing when opening a 2. YOU’LL BE ABLE TO STAY
screen—available to all developers in order to FOCUSED FOR LONGER
make sure apps are displayed properly on the If you’ve ever had an app take over your
new crop of foldable screens. screen just because it needs to tell you
But while a folding
phone is still an
unaffordable pipe dream
for most of us, there are
many features in Android
Q that will make non-
folding Android phones
better than ever. Here are
seven ways that your
phone will benefit from the Some of the changes coming to Android Q include faster share sheets
changes in Android Q. (left) and stronger location privacy (right).

something, that’s going to
change in Android Q. Google is
opening up access to high-
priority notifications that alert you
to an alarm or phone call via a
banner at the top of the screen
so you can decide for yourself
whether to dismiss it or stop
what you’re doing to address it.
3. SHARING WILL BE
FAST AND EASY
For as fast and reliable as Android Google will be supporting foldable displays (left) and in-app
has gotten over the years, one setting shortcuts (right) in Android Q
area where it’s always been
frustratingly slow is sharing. Google is fixing Airplane Mode, Wi-Fi (including nearby
that in Android Q. Now when you tap the networks), and Mobile Data” all without
share icon “the share UI will load instantly needing to leave the app.
when launched,” eliminating the annoying lag
we experience now. That’s due to a new 5. WI-FI CALLS AND
Sharing Shortcuts API that takes its inspiration GAMING WILL BE BETTER
from the App Shortcuts introduced with THAN EVER
Android 9. Wi-Fi 6 is on the way, and we’re already
starting to see phones that use the new chip,
4. THE RIGHT SETTINGS but Android Q will make your Wi-Fi faster and
WILL ALWAYS BE AT YOUR smarter even if you aren’t able to take
FINGERTIPS advantage of the new standard. A new feature
A new Settings Panel API will enable will allow for specific Wi-Fi modes so
developers to build quick settings right into developers will be able to enable high
their apps so you won’t need to jump to a performance and low latency modes to help
different app or even pull down the with gaming and Wi-Fi calls. That means
notification shade to tweak something. As those annoying delays when streaming
Google explains, “a browser could display games over Wi-Fi or making calls could be a
a panel with connectivity settings like thing of the past.
JANUARY 2019 PCWorld 89

FEATURE ANDROID Q T WEAKS AND CHANGES
Google is giving developers access to depth-mapping data so portraits will be better than ever.
6. YOU’LL BE ABLE TO DO Android Q is no exception. Google is beefing

MORE WITH PORTRAITS up its ART runtime to help apps start faster and
Portrait mode is pretty much standard on all 2019 consume less memory—and developers don’t
Android phones, so Google is exploring ways to even have to change their apps to benefit.
enhance it. In Android Q, Google is tapping into Starting with Android Q, Google Play will begin
that data by letting apps request a Dynamic delivering anonymized cloud-based profiles
Depth image, which is made up of “JPEG, XMP that let parts of an app pre-compile before it
metadata related to depth related elements, and even starts running, resulting in “a significant
a depth and confidence map embedded in the jump-start to the overall optimization process.”
same file on devices that advertise support.” So
camera and photo apps will be able to do more BUT WHAT WILL IT BE
with portrait mode, including specialized blur CALLED?
and bokeh options, the creation of 3D images, We’ll surely learn more about Android Q at
and even AR applications. Google I/O in May, and more features will be
unveiled during the Pixel 4 launch that will
7. APPS WILL LAUNCH EVEN likely take place in October. But I just have
QUICKER one question: What dessert starts with the
Every Android release brings changes to the letter Q? Quindim? Quiche? Quik?We’ll just
code that make the system feel snappier, and have to wait and see.

If you love them enough
to suck the snot out of
their nose at 4 a.m.,
then surely you’ll check
to make sure they’re
in the right car seat.
NHTSA.gov/TheRightSeat
Here’s How HOW TO BUILD, MAINTAIN,
AND FIX YOUR TECH GEAR
Samsung’s One UI: Six tips and

WULFNVIRUPDVWHULQJ$QGURLGƼ
RQbWKH*DOD[\6ƼDQG6ƴƳ
Turn on gestures and dark mode. BY MICHAEL SIMON
I
f your Galaxy S9 was recently speedy interactions. While you feel your
updated or you’re planning to buy way around, here are six important tips to
an S10, then you need to get start off on the right foot:
acquainted with Samsung’s One UI.
A complete overhaul of the Samsung VIDEO: SIX TIPS FOR
Experience 9.5, it brings a stylish interface, MASTERING ANDROID 9
ON THE GALAXY S10
redesigned apps, and a brand new
Watch now at go.pcworld.com/uitp
philosophy with an emphasis on smart and

HERE’S HOW SAMSUNG ONE UI TIPS AND TRICKS
Inside you’ll see two

options for navigation type:
buttons and full-screen gestures.
Tap the circle next to gestures,
and the familiar nav bar buttons
will turn into three thin lines at the
bottom of the display
indicating where you can
swipe. Once you get comfortable
with it, you can go commando
and turn off the indicators
You can choose to have buttons, lines, or nothing on your One altogether by flipping the
UI navigation bar. Gesture hints toggle.
1. TURN ON GESTURE 2. OPEN APPS IN

NAVIGATION SPLIT-SCREEN MODE
The most important change to One UI is Samsung has changed the behavior of the
the addition of gesture navigation. recent apps screen in One UI, now that apps
Samsung has taken a different tack than scroll horizontally rather than vertically. With
Google or Apple with its method. that comes a new way to interact with your
Samsung has basically
turned the navigation bar
button into gestures:
Swipe up from the left to
see your recent apps,
swipe up from the
center to go home, and
swipe up from the right to
go back. It’s a simple,
smart system, but when
you upgrade, it’ll be off by
default. To turn it on, head
over to Settings > Display,
and select Navigation bar. Using an app in split screen is way easier to set up in One UI.

apps. No longer do you need
to drag and drop screens to
use split screen or pop-up
view. Just long-press on an
app icon, and you’ll get a list
of four options. Select Open
in split-screen view, and the
app will automatically pin to
the top of the screen. Choose
a second app by tapping to
open it like normal, and the
two apps will be paired and
ready to be used. Dark mode is sublime in One UI.
3. TURN ON NIGHT MODE

Another huge change for One UI is the of the screen to reach the address bar, but
addition of a system-wide dark theme. It there’s a new trick: If you long-press the home
blacks out the notification panel, paints apps button, the cursor will jump to the address bar,
with a dark brush, and makes everything very and you’ll be able to type your destination
easy on the eyes. To flip it on, tap the new without changing your grip.
Night mode option in
Quick Settings, or toggle
the Night mode button
inside the Display settings.
4. JUMP TO THE
ADDRESS BAR IN
SAMSUNG
INTERNET
Samsung’s browser in One
UI pushes buttons and
settings to the bottom bar for
easier one-hand access. You
still need to stretch to the top Using an app in split screen is way easier to set up in One UI.

HERE’S HOW SAMSUNG ONE UI TIPS AND TRICKS
want to go back, flip your phone

and tap the icon again.
6. QUICKLY PULL
DOWN THE
NOTIFICATION SHADE
Whether you use gestures or the old
navigation bar to make your way
around, there’s one new shortcut
built into One UI that everyone will
love. To access the notification
You can manually rotate your screen in One UI even if auto-
shade, all you need to do is swipe
rotate is switched off.
down on the center of the screen to
5. MANUALLY ROTATE expand it, and swipe a second time to see
YOUR SCREEN the full selection of quick settings. To get rid
Auto-rotate can be great when you want to of it, just swipe up. It’s easier than using the
watch a video or quickly switch to a game, fingerprint sensor as a tiny trackpad, and it’s
but it can be a nuisance when you’re in bed a simple change that I wish all Android
or in a bumpy car. In One UI, Samsung has phones would adopt.
adopted Android Pie’s
ability to rotate your
screen manually. One UI
has the same Auto-rotate
button as before, but the
behavior’s different when
you switch to Portrait:
When you flip your phone
to landscape mode, it still
won’t rotate but a small
icon will appear in the
lower right corner. Tap it,
and the screen will rotate
and lock on the new If you want to see your notifications or get to the quick settings, simply
orientation. When you swipe down on the home screen.

How to use Wireless PowerShare
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Galaxy Buds or another phone
It’s easy to share your charge with another phone. BY MICHAEL SIMON
S
amsung is so confident in the Galaxy Watch, Buds, or just another
battery in the Galaxy S10 (see Qi-enabled phone just by laying it on the
page 29) that it’s letting you back of the S10. It works on all
give away some of your
precious percentage points. A new feature VIDEO: USE WIRELESS
called Wireless PowerShare lets you POWERSHARE TO
CHARGE A PHONE
literally turn your S10 into a wireless
Watch now at go.pcworld.com/h2wr
charging mat so you can power up your
IMAGE: DOMINIK TOMASZEWSKI APRIL 2019 PCWorld 97

HERE’S HOW USE WIRELESS POWERSHARE ON THE GAL A X Y S10
three models. Here’s how to use it:

1. Pull down on the notification shade Wireless PowerShare obviously
until the Quick Settings appear. If you will drain your phone’s battery
don’t see a Wireless PowerShare button, faster, so be mindful of how
swipe to the left to find it and tap the much battery life is being used.
button to turn it on.
2. Lay the S10 on its face and place a for Wireless PowerShare. Tap as usual to
second phone, Galaxy Watch, or Galaxy expand it, and then tap Turn off to stop it.
Buds case back-to-back against the S10. For You can still use your S10 while charging
best results, you’ll want to line up the the other phone. Wireless PowerShare
phones the same way to prevent slipping obviously will drain your phone’s battery
and make sure the coils meet. faster, so be mindful of how much battery life
3. When you’re finished, remove the is being used. On average, you’ll lose about
phone, and pull down the notification 25 percent of your battery per hour, but your
shade. You’ll see a persistent notification mileage will vary.
Reverse wireless charging is available on all three Galaxy S10 models.

How to send anonymous emails
It’s easy to share your charge with another phone. BY IAN PAUL
Y
es, you can be anonymous your internet service provider, passive (or
online. At least under the right active) government data collection, and all
conditions, but it’s not kinds of other interlopers? The bottom line is
necessarily easy. Your everyday you have to take deliberate steps to ensure a
identity is constantly being tracked by modicum of anonymity online.
accounts you’re logged into, and third-party That said, if all you want is an anonymous
advertising companies hoping to better email account that no one in your
target ads. That means your favorite browser professional or home life knows about, that’s
is usually filled with trackers to keep tabs on not as hard. Still, all it takes is one slip up by
what you’re doing online. logging in to the email account before you
Plus, who knows what’s going on with secure your connection, or accessing your

HERE’S HOW SEND ANONYMOUS EMAILS
non-anonymous identity at the wrong time,

and your identity could be revealed.
This tutorial will walk you through the
necessary steps, and depending on how
far you want to take it, you can either use
all of the advice within or pare it down to
only the parts you need. We’ll explain
why each step is necessary to help guide
your decisions.
the open internet. When using TOR your
STEP 1: GET AN real IP address is obscured. Plus, by
ANONYMOUS WORKSPACE default the TOR browser doesn’t save your
The best thing to do if you want to stay browsing history, keeping your activity
really anonymous is to have a separate secret. To keep TOR as secure as possible
digital work space that is only used for check out the Tor Project’s tips (go.
your secret identity. That way there’s no pcworld.com/torp) on what to do to stay
risk of crossover between your everyday as secure and private as possible online.
accountant self, and your anonymous Also check out our tutorial on the TOR
whistleblowing/Mr. Robot identity. browser (go.pcworld.com/torb) for more
If you just set up an account using a information.
regular browser on your everyday Level 2: More advanced users could run
machine all it will take is someone nosing an entire operating system such as the
around in your PC and oops! there goes privacy-protecting Linux distribution Tails
your anonymity. (go.pcworld.com/tail) off a thumb drive. This
Level 1: Install the TOR browser on a is like having a completely separate
USB thumb drive. If your stakes are pretty computer without having a second physical
low (i.e. if your account is discovered it’s device. Again, this is all about putting a
not the end of the world) then TOR firewall between your real identity and your
running off a USB drive may be all you anonymous account.
need. The TOR browser is a version of Level 3: If you are ultra-paranoid or
Firefox that connects to the onion router getting found out means non-life
(TOR) network. This system passes your threatening disaster then consider a
internet connection through multiple completely separate laptop that is only
nodes (computers) before putting you on used for your secret identity. It’s preferable

to pay for your device in
cash, or with a
throwaway visa gift card
to avoid having the
laptop connected back
to your office-dwelling
persona. The laptop
should be running a
variant of Linux that is
encrypted, but if you
must use Windows 10
make sure you activate
your machine with a
local account, turn off
all possible tracking methods during traced back to you. Again, it would have to
setup, and don’t use Cortana. Also, don’t take some pretty advanced sleuthing to find
install unnecessary software onto this this, but part of being anonymous is to make
device and don’t log in to accounts from sure nobody knows where you really are.
your regular life no matter what. The idea Keep your anonymous activities to a local
is to have as little extra information on this coffee shop, a library, or somewhere else
laptop as possible. Extra applications and that offers public Wi-Fi. If you’re really
mixing your anonymous life with your paranoid, it’s probably also a good idea to
actual life are big “no-nos.” Also, don’t pick somewhere that isn’t too close to your
forget to put some tape or a piece of everyday locations.
paper over your webcam. It’s ultra- For the super paranoid: Another
paranoid, but even Mark Zuckerberg does important note is that other devices you’re
it (go.pcworld.com/mkzk). using can also give you away. To keep things
as separate as possible leave your phone at
STEP 2: LOCATION, home, or at the very least turn it off and (if
LOCATION, LOCATION you can) take out the battery.
You never want to access your secret identity
from home or work. This is just a bad idea STEP 3: USE TOR OR A VPN
since there’s a chance of revealing an (BUT NOT REALLY)
Internet Protocol (IP) address that could be Once you’ve got a location that isn’t your

If a VPN is a better
option for you,
however, choose a VPN
that accepts cash, has a
long track record of
defending user rights,
and then use TOR
anyway (go.pcworld.
com/uset).
Seriously, your best
shot at anonymity for
the purpose of using a
secret email account is
TOR. If you pay with a
home or work from which to do your credit card for your VPN, you’re traceable, if
shadowy emailing, it’s time to connect to the the VPN is somehow compelled to track
internet. But wait! Before you do that, you you, you are also at risk. True, these are all
need to either use the TOR network or a worst case scenarios, but it’s the principle
high-quality VPN. that matters. Stay as anonymous as you can,
If you are already using the TOR use TOR.
browser via a USB thumb drive then skip But TOR isn’t a magic bullet by itself. The
over this part, because you’re already TOR browser uses the browser extension
doing it. For everyone else, we’d still HTTPS everywhere from the Electronic
recommend using TOR and not a VPN, Frontier Foundation by default. That
because the beauty of the TOR network is extension will secure your connection over
you don’t have to trust anyone. TOR works SSL/TLS between the exit node and the
by running your encrypted connection website you want to visit. That should be
through multiple servers before letting you enough to keep any potential snoops out of
out onto the open network. That way it’s your business.
much harder to trace you back to your real Keep in mind that when using the TOR
location, and only the final server that lets browser, only that app is connected to the
you out onto the web truly has a shot at TOR network. If you start using the Spotify
spying on your activities—barring desktop app to stream music at the same
unforeseen exploits, that is. time it won’t happen over TOR.

STEP 4: CREATE AN EMAIL STEP 5: GO FORTH AND
ACCOUNT REMEMBER THESE TIPS
There are tons of anonymous email options Now that you’re connected through TOR on
out there such as Guerrilla Mail and Secure- a separate work space, and you’ve got your
Email.org. We’ll talk about that in a bit, but email set up, it’s time to get messaging.
we’re going to assume you need a standard When you write email be careful not to say
email address with an inbox, sent folder, and anything that might reveal your actual
all the rest. identity, and never connect to anything in
We’d recommend using ProtonMail (go. your real life when using your special
pcworld.com/prma). It’s one of the few anonymous setup.
well-known email services that you can use It’s also a good idea to memorize the
without providing some back-up username and password for your anonymous
identification like a phone number or email account. Don’t put them in the
secondary email. Plus, ProtonMail is password manager that’s part of your regular
encrypted by default, and it has a TOR- life, don’t leave sticky notes on your laptop
accessible version of its site at go.pcworld. that can fall off, and don’t use your
com/irkr making it a solid choice. ProtonMail username and password

anywhere else, ever. disposable temporary email address that

If you need a lesson in why this is will last forever. Anyone can send an email
important read about how law message to this address, but the messages
enforcement caught up with Silk Road last in the inbox for only one hour. This is a
founder Ross Ulbricht (go.pcworld.com/ handy service if all you’re going to do is
rsul). It all started with an obscure send a single email with no response or
username that Ulbricht had used years ago maybe a single response required, but it’s
and that he’d connected to his actual not the greatest option for trading multiple
identity. Remember, all it takes is one responses.
slip-up to undo all your privacy-protecting The thing is anyone who has the
steps. Also, don’t start a digital black GuerillaMail address you’re using will be
market dedicated to selling drugs and able to monitor the inbox since there’s no
weapons—that’s just asking for trouble. username or password required.
GuerillaMail gets around this by supplying
BONUS SECTION: two email addresses: the actual email
ANONYMOUS EMAIL address that gets you to the inbox, and a
SERVICES “scrambled” address that you give out to
When all you need to do is send a single others. It’s a neat trick, but it’s already
anonymous email, then conditions are adding complexity to something that
different. First, you don’t necessarily want to doesn’t need to be this hard. We’d
bother with a secondary laptop. So let’s recommend just keeping a secret identity
assume you’re using the TOR browser on a on a standard email service. Besides,
USB stick, but you’re still not connecting Guerrilla Mail is really about reducing
from home or the office. spam in your already overflowing inbox,
So what then? Visit GuerillaMail.com not necessarily maintaining a secret
(go.pcworld.com/grml). You’ll get a email account.

IN LOOKING FOR THE IDEAL
RESUME, YOU’VE IGNORED THE
IDEAL CANDIDATE.
LEARN HOW TO FIND, TRAIN AND CULTIVATE

A GREAT POOL OF UNTAPPED TALENT.
HERE’S HOW
How Word translates text

between languages
Translate a word, sentence, or document into 62 languages with a few clicks. BY JD SARTAIN
C
an Microsoft Word translate my feature, which then remains “On” unless (or
documents to and from until) you disable the service from the
different languages? Yes, and Options menus. Additional features such as
it’s easy. However, note that the Editor, Smart Look Up, PowerPoint Designer,
Office 365 version requires the Office and more are included with these services.
Intelligent services (included with Word 2013’s and Word 2016’s
subscription) and an Internet connection for respective Translate features function
the Translator feature to function. essentially the same way, except the
Word asks if you want to “Turn On” this languages are located on your local system,
service the first time you use the Translate and the menu design is slightly different.

Select text for
HOW TO USE WORD’S translation,
TRANSLATE FEATURE click the
1. Open a blank or existing document (if Translate
button, then
blank, enter some text). “Turn On”
2. Highlight the text you want to translate, the service.
or press Ctrl+ A to select the entire document.
3. Under the Review tab, Language
group, select Translate > Selection (or
Translate > Document).
4. The first time you use this feature,
Word displays the Use Intelligent Services
dialog screen. Click the Turn On button (or
it will not work).
5. The Translator pane (called Research
pane in 2013 & 2016) opens. Ensure the From
section says English, if that’s the correct source
language. Then click the down arrow in the To HOW TO TURN THE
section and select a translation language from INTELLIGENT SERVICES
the drop-down list. ON AND OFF
6. Click the Insert button, and the text 1. Click File > Options > General.
you selected in your document or selected 2. Scroll down to Office Intelligent
text is instantly translated to the language Services and check or un-check the Enable
you chose. Services button.
7. You can translate
a single word, sentence,
paragraph, or the entire
document. You can
also translate part of
the document in one
language, and the
rest in another, or
multiple paragraphs
into multiple
languages. Select a language from the list, click Insert, and it’s instantly translated.

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