The Top 5 Smartphones On the Market Heading Into 2019

The Top 5 Smartphones On the Market Heading Into 2019

The smartphone market is kind of a paradox. Here you have quite a few major manufacturers producing phones in a market that has seen a seven percent decline over the past year and a decline for each of the past four fiscal quarters.

It’s true that some of the companies that we’ve all been used to: HTC, Nokia, and Blackberry are bit players in a market that is dominated largely by Samsung, Apple, and companies that sell their products to developing mobile markets.

Today, some of the largest smartphone manufacturers aren’t even household names in the west. More phones are being sold in the emerging markets of southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa, and so manufacturers such as Huawei, Xiaomi, and OnePlus have taken advantage of this shift, at the expense of better known companies like Samsung, Apple, and LG, that dominate the western smartphone markets.

As a result of this geographical disparity, what would, in fact, be some of the most impressive phones on the market won’t even be mentioned on this list because they largely won’t be available for the readers of this article. Phones like the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3, the OnePlus 6t, and the Huawei Mate 20 Pro are all on par with some of the best smartphones available. So much so that the (spoiler alert) Mate 20 Pro actually made the list below despite not always being made available by carriers.

Since the smartphone market has hit a bit of a snag, demand for innovative new features and enhancements to the features found in these devices may be more important than ever. Today, we will look at five of the best smartphones on the market and what makes them special for the discerning consumer looking to improve their mobile phone before the new year.

Samsung Galaxy Note 9

Samsung’s Note series is back again after their Note 8 set records for the most expensive commercially available smartphone on the market. The Note 9 has a small price reduction, but you should expect, if you were to buy one of these devices, to pay upwards of$1,100 US. The device, which is only two generations removed from one of the largest recalls in device history, seems to make some subtle improvements.

The new Note 8 features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor with either six or eight GBs of RAM and 128-to-512 GBs of onboard storage. The 6.4-inch SuperAMOLED display’s 2960 x 1440 resolution features 516 pixels per inch. It runs Android 8.1 Oreo with The Samsung Experience software which is a major improvement from the old TouchWiz software found on previous Samsung devices.The phone comes standard with the Samsung’s Bixby personal assistant.

The Galaxy Note 9’s camera comes with two 12MP lenses; one with a wide angle and one with a telephoto lens. It features an LED flash and is capable of 4K video capture. It also features a 8 MP front-facing camera. The battery is anon-removable 4,000 mAh with an industry endurance rating of 97 hours and is IP68 certified. It has an on board stylus. The “S Pen” technology provides a lot of additional functionality that includes remote control over cameras and software.

For the person that wants a device that is equally good for work as it is for play, the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is that device. It is available in Metallic Copper, Lavender Purple, Midnight Black,Ocean Blue and Pure White.

Specifications

Build – Aluminum with Glass Front/Back

Display – 6.4” Super AMOLED with ~516 ppi

Chipset – Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

Memory – 6 or 8 GB of RAM

Storage – 128 or 512 GB of on board storage and micro SD up to 512 GB

Software – Android 8.1 Oreo

Cameras – 12 MP (26mm); 12 MP (52mm) with 2x optical zoom; optical image stabilization; 8 MP front-facing

Battery – 4,000 mAh (97 hours)

Additional Features – Samsung S Pen, rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, iris scanner.

Apple iPhone XS Max

Apple’s dedication to excellence has led to them ascending back to the top spot in U.S. market share, and hold fast as the world’s most profitable company. Their newest flagship, the iPhone XS Max builds on last year’s iPhone X. With the new A12 Bionic processor that improves the speed of the device 15 percent – and with a much larger neural engine that accelerates the machine learning capabilities of the device – the iPhone XS Maxis at the forefront of innovative content shifts that will look to use technology such as augmented reality more effectively.

Made with a stainless steel frame and covered front and back in glass, the iPhone XS Max looks a lot like the iPhone X. The edge-to-edge display measures a whopping 6.5-inches and features approximately 458 pixels per inch. On the surface the cameras on the iPhone XS Max look to be the same as last year’s model. There are two 12 MP cameras on the back, one wide angle, and one telephoto zoom lens. The front facing camera is 7 MP.Improvements to iOS 12 and the new processor improves the camera experience on the phone significantly. The battery is a 3,174 mAh that has an endurance rating at 78 hours. The iPhone XS Max comes with a hefty price tag of $1099.99 and is available in Pace Gray, Silver, and Gold.

Specifications

Build – Stainless Steel with Glass Front/Back

Display – 6.5” Super AMOLED with ~458 ppi

Chipset – Apple A12 Bionic

Memory – 4GB RAM

Storage – 64/256/512 GB

Software – iOS 12/iOS 12.1

Cameras – 12 MP (26mm); 12 MP (52mm) with 2x optical zoom and optical image stabilization; 7 MP front-facing

Battery – 3,174 mAh (78 hours)

Additional Features – Face ID

LG V40 ThinQ

The new LG flagship, the LG V40 ThinQ, is as honest a flagship smartphone as there is on the current market. The 6.4-inch display features a bezel-less experience (albeit with a small notch) that is displayed on a 6.4-inch P-OLED screen which is the best display ever put on an LG phone. With most of the specifications you would expect from a major manufacturer, the LG V40 ThinQ, offers users exactly what they’d expect out of a high-end flagship.

The major upgrade LG has made is to the camera. Instead of a dual camera, they’ve integrated three cameras onto the back of the phone, and two more on the front. With two 12 megapixel cameras(one wide angle and one telephoto), and a 16 megapixel ultra wide-angle lens,the phone can take all manners of photos. The camera app features a “triple-preview” that allows users to see which camera will work best for the shot they are framing. Another feature, called “triple shot” allows users to take one picture and have a small video created that incorporates still photos from all three cameras. The LG ThinQ can be had for $900 and is available in New Platinum Gray, Carmine Red, New Aurora Black, and New Moroccan Blue.

Specifications

Build – Aluminum with Glass Front/Back

Display – 6.4” P-OLED with ~537 ppi

Chipset – Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

Memory – 6 GB RAM

Storage – 64/128GB, micro SD up to 512GB

Software – Android 8.1 Oreo

Cameras – 12 MP (27mm) optical image stabilization; 12 MP (52mm) with 2x optical zoom and optical image stabilization; 16 MP (16mm); 8 MP (26mm) and 5 MP (21mm) front-facing.

Battery – 3,300 mAh (64 hours)

Additional Features – Rear-mounted fingerprint scanner

Google Pixel 3 XL

The Google Pixel 2 XL’s camera paced the entire smartphone community, and many people stated that it was the best camera experience on any smartphone, ever. This has led to many of Google’s competitors focusing their efforts around expanding their camera experience. This time around, the Google Pixel 3 XL’s camera is just as nice. Despite only having the singular 12.2 megapixel camera, it still renders some of the best pictures of any smartphone, and is especially strong when facing low light situations.

The Pixel 3 XL has a clear, OLED display, but has added a massive notch at the top of the phone that is much larger than notch found in the LG and Apple flagships, which cuts into the screen real estate a little bit. The main draws of this phone are the best-in-class camera and the constant software support. Currently, the Pixel 3 XL runs Android’s newest OS, 9.0 Pie. It is available in White, Black, and Not Pink. With a few neat features that aren’t found on many other phones, and a price tag that is at least $100 less than both the Samsung and Apple flagships, the Pixel 3 XL will be a popular choice for consumers in 2018-19.

Specifications

Build – Aluminum with Glass Front/Back

Display – 6.3” P-OLED with ~523 ppi

Chipset – Qualcomm Snapdragon 845

Memory – 4GB RAM

Storage – 64/128GB

Software – Android 9.0 Pie

Cameras – 12.2 MP (28mm) with optical image stabilization

Battery – 3,430 mAh (69 hours)

Additional Features – Rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, squeeze to call Google Assistant, Call screen feature, Flip to quiet notifications

Huawei Mate 20 Pro

The last phone on our list of the cream of the proverbial crop may just be the best phone currently available, and is from a manufacturer that many consumers in the west may not recognize. This is because Huawei is a Chinese company and there are concerns by political entities that since the Chinese Government has a massive stake in the company that they may not be secure enough for American users. These fears can’t stop the Mate 20 Pro from being an absolute beast of a phone that features specifications that outpace most of the other phones on the market.

Huawei has built the phone with a 6.4-inch AMOLED display. It features a Kirin 980 octa-core processor that comes in at seven nanometers. This provides one of the snappiest performances from any phone currently available. The Mate 20 Pro also makes use of a three-camera setup providing the user with one 40 megapixel fixed wide-angle lens, a 20-megapixel ultra-wide-angle lens, and an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. It is one of the first phones available with an in-display fingerprint reader, and also features built-in Qi charging, allowing other devices with Qi charging capabilities to charge from the phone itself. It also comes with a 40-watt fast charger in the box. At $1,100 it is one of the most expensive phones on the market and is available in Emerald Green, Midnight Blue, Twilight, Pink Gold, and Black.

Specifications

Build – Aluminum frame with Glass Front/Back

Display – 6.4” AMOLED with ~538 ppi

Chipset – HiSilicon Kirin 980

Memory – 6/8GB RAM

Storage – 128/256GB with Nano Memory slot up to 256GB

Software – Android 9.0 Pie, Huawei UI

Cameras – 40 MP (27mm); 20 MP (16mm); 8 MP (80mm) with 5x optical zoom and optical image stabilization. Front facing 24 MP.

Battery – 4,200 mAh (85 hours)

Additional Features – Face ID, In-display fingerprint scanner, Qi wireless charging broadcasting, 40-Watt fast charging

Despite the lack of market growth, smartphones remain important pieces of commercial technology. If you would like to know more about what you should be looking at in regards to smartphone technology,the professional technicians at WheelHouse IT can point you in the right direction.

What smartphone do you use? Are you in the market for one of 2018-19s newest flagships? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

How to Keep Your Android Device Secure

How to Keep Your Android Device Secure

Mobile devices – like smartphones, tablets,and the like – are expected to be used by 2.87 billion people by 2020. That’s a lot of devices, with a good portion of them contributing to business operations. Unfortunately, that’s also a lot of potential security issues if the right preparations aren’t taken in advance.

Here, we’ll review some of these preparations so that you can enforce them among your business users. Keep in mind that these steps won’t make you impenetrable, they’ll just make you much less of a likely target for the opportunistic hacker.

Be Discerning

A lot of security issues that originate from mobile devices can be traced to the user simply allowing the wrong things onto their device. Connecting to public Wi-Fi and using apps that don’t come from the official Play Store are common mistakes that users make.

The problem here is that these activities leave your phone unprotected from abuse, when there are alternatives that don’t. For instance, instead of connecting to some public Wi-Fi signal, use a Virtual Private Network to do so instead. Rely exclusively on the Play Store to source your mobile applications, as outside sources simply can’t be trusted.

Even the Play Store has had some issues with malicious apps sneaking onto their platform, so how many do you think are waiting elsewhere that don’t uphold the standards that Google does?

As an added measure, don’t leave apps that you just don’t use on your phone, either. While most app developers are pretty good about updating their security, more apps ultimately mean more potential access points for an attack.

Be Proactive

While an attack may not be apparently imminent, it never hurts to be prepared for one anyways. If you don’t need a Bluetooth connection at the moment, or an Internet connection, all that leaving them active is will do is leave an access point for an attack to sneak in by.

You should also be sure to install and activate a few additional safety measures, like encryption (able to be found by navigating Settings > Security > Encrypt Device) and two-factor authentication (able to be found by logging into your Google account and accessing the two-step verification page).

Leveraging anti-virus and Virtual Private Network services are also recommended (many free antivirus solutions on the Play Store work fine, just make sure you invest in a good VPN service).

Be Practical

Practicality is any business’ best friend, as it optimizes processes through basic simplicity. What’s the simplest way to secure your mobile device? The answer is simple: lock it.

You need to make sure that you have some form of authentication protecting your device. Neglecting this is not only impractical, it’s irresponsible.

WheelHouse IT can assist you in putting all of these measures, and many more, in place. Reach out to us at (877) 771-2384 today.

Tech Terminology: Mobile Device Management

Tech Terminology: Mobile Device Management

Smartphones and tablets are a double-edged sword for businesses: on one hand, they are a great money saver if an employee is willing to use their own for business purposes, but this does leave your business vulnerable in a few ways.

Fortunately, if the benefits are something you’re interested in, these vulnerabilities are simple enough to shore up with something called mobile device management.

Mobile Device Management in a Nutshell

Also referred to as MDM, mobile device management enables your business to allow its employees to use mobile devices to complete their work responsibilities safely, reducing many of the risks that this activity could otherwise incur.

Leveraging encryption to its benefit, MDM allows an administrator to control who can access what, based on permissions and roles.

In other words, your employees can use their devices for work without you having to worry as much about your security or data being compromised. If you have ever encountered a business that employs a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) strategy among their staff, you’ve seen a business that utilizes MDM (or at the very least, really, really should).

What MDM Allows

By implementing MDM, you could potentially see a variety of benefits, including:

  • Cost Effectiveness – Naturally, the fewer devices you have to purchase to equip your organization, the smaller your investment into a mobile solution will require. If you decide to implement BYOD, an MDM policy provides the solution to many other concerns at a much lower initial cost to the business.
  • Management Capabilities – In order to protect the business’ assets and network overall, MDM enables an administrator to oversee the security of an employee’s device remotely. This helps to make sure that a device doesn’t carry a threat onto the network, and to allow the administrator to see that work-related applications are installed and properly configured. On a related note, admins can also block untrustworthy apps and users, and remotely wipe lost BYOD devices to further protect the network from issues and breaches.
  • Improved Compliance – Many industries have certain standards that, in order to avoid repercussions or comeuppance, its members need to comply to. MDM solutions are a key part of maintaining compliance to these standards, allowing organizations a slight break in the event of a data breach. After all, they have enough on their plate dealing with the breach itself, they don’t need regulatory stresses as well.

To learn more about how WheelHouse IT can assist you with your mobile device management, give us a call at (877) 771-2384.

BYOD Is a Must for Today’s Businesses

BYOD Is a Must for Today’s Businesses

Technology is so important to the success of your business that it’s really quite difficult to imagine it functioning without it. This prompts organizations to spend a significant portion of their budget on technology.

However, some organizations are hoping to offset these costs with Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies, in which employees bring their own devices to the workplace for work purposes. This has various strengths and weaknesses, but if done right, you can help your organization save money.

What is BYOD?

Bring Your Own Device basically consists of businesses allowing their employees to bring devices to the office to use for their daily responsibilities.

This development has been interesting to say the least, as mobile devices are now powerful enough that even consumer-based smartphones and tablets can handle business use.

The Benefits

It doesn’t matter whether the device is a smartphone, tablet, or laptop; mobile devices can provide various benefits to businesses that choose to utilize a BYOD policy.

Employees are simply more productive with devices they are more familiar with. Surprisingly enough, they are also more likely to keep their device in proper working order. This is personal investment at its finest; if an employee has a personal connection to the device, they will be more likely to keep the device in nice shape and will enjoy using it more often.

On the employer’s side of things, BYOD is a huge money saver. This means that the business won’t need to procure the devices and can instead allow employees to bring them to the workplace if they feel they need them. This prevents businesses from investing in devices or data plans that aren’t going to be used.

The Downsides

Compatibility can be a major point of contention for BYOD, as can security. Regarding compatibility, your devices will need to work with a variety of hardware and software found on your network. If the device isn’t compatible with your network, your organization will have to procure the device for them rather than using BYOD.

Security is also critical, as an employee probably isn’t going to feel 100% comfortable with giving you access to their private device, whether it’s for remote wiping purposes or simply securing certain apps or information found on it. Plus, you have to worry about when the employee leaves the company, taking the information found on the device with them. Remote wiping is the solution, so it becomes an issue of whether or not the employee will accept this as a term for using BYOD.

A BYOD Policy is Key

If you want to make sure your employees’ mobile devices don’t become a big problem, having your employees adhere to a BYOD policy is the best solution.

This gives your employees a clear outline of what they are handing over when bringing their own devices to the workplace. A comprehensive BYOD policy goes a long way toward protecting data and infrastructure from nefarious threats.

If your business needs help with access control and mobile device management, call WheelHouse IT’s professionals at (877) 771-2384.

Google Maps Now Has Commuter-Friendly Features

Google Maps Now Has Commuter-Friendly Features

Maps are one of those very basic technologies that are always improving, starting as lines scratched into the ground and now living in our phones and giving us exponentially larger amounts of data.

One of the first examples you may think of is Google Maps, which just got a few impressive updates that make the service even cooler.

Getting You There On Time

Google Maps has received quite the boost from some handy new features delivered to both the Android and iPhone versions of the app. First is the “Commute” tab, which delivers information pertinent to one’s route, and will even update the user to disruptions along the way.

As it does so, Google Maps also now delivers alternative routes as possible. As a result, a user can potentially avoid those metaphorical bumps in the road, or at least be prepared for them when they come.

For example, let’s assume that you have two potential options for your route – one going through a more urban area, and the other skirting around the outside. Google Maps can tell you which option is more efficient based on data – perhaps city traffic is gridlocked, or there was an accident on the roads going around that has slowed traffic to a crawl.

Furthermore, for proponents of public transportation, Google has even included the occupancy of trains and buses in some areas, as well as real-time updates as to where it is along its route. Want to grab a quick breakfast burrito before your train arrives? Google Maps now lets you know if you have the time.

Music Makes For A Pleasant Commute

Google Maps now also enables in-app support for music services. Instead of having to switch back and forth between apps, Google Maps allows a user to control what they are listening to on Spotify, Google Play Music, and Apple Music.

So, What Do You Think?

Are these welcome additions to Google Maps? What other features would you like to see from navigation apps like this?

Let us know in the comments, and while you’re at it, take a second to subscribe to our blog!