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LG's G7 is boring because all Android phones are boring now—and it's Apple's fault
Google Assistant hits 5000 smart home partners, adds Dish, Logitech
Apple Watch credited with saving another life after user suffers a ruptured ulcer

LG's G7 is boring because all Android phones are boring now—and it's Apple's fault

Posted: 03 May 2018 03:31 AM PDT

In case you missed it, LG introduced its latest flagship phone yesterday, the G7 THinQ, which is packed with all of the things premium smartphones need in 2018: good looks, lots of screen, a Snapdragon 845 processor, Android Oreo, AI, wireless charging, IP68 water resistance, and a dual camera. On paper, the G7 checks off all the boxes, and even when you pick it up, it feels the part, with Gorilla Glass all around and a thin, comfortable frame.

lg g7 front — The front of the G7 is nearly all screen now.

Yet, the G7 isn't going to turn many heads in 2018. Part of it is due to LG's fading relevance as a smartphone maker, but it's mostly because smartphones have hit an innovation wall. AI is still waiting for a killer use, display tech hasn't advanced to the folding stage yet, and cameras have gotten so good we're no longer impressed by portraits and wide aperture.

DxO scores and display shootouts aside, there isn't all that much standing between the LG G7, Galaxy S9, iPhone X, and Pixel 2 XL. Apple uses Samsung displays. Google uses LG displays. They all have dual cameras. The difference between the Pixel's Snapdragon 835 and the 845 in the Galaxy S9 and LG G7 is nominal. Each has their fine points and faults, but the choice ultimately comes down to a matter of preference, with little to sway users from one brand to another.

But don't blame LG, Samsung, or even Google. Blame Apple.

Following the leader

The worst thing that could have happened to Android phones was the iPhone X. In the months leading up to the release of Apple's $1000 handset, Android phones were making the iPhone 7 looks downright stale, with 18:9 OLED screens, ultra-slim bezels, wireless charging, and an assistant experience that was way ahead of Siri. Even Essential did the camera notch first. But the iPhone was the first phone to get it right, with a truly symmetrical thin-bezel design, a brilliant depth-sensing camera, and intuitive navigation.

iPhone X Gestures — The iPhone X was a game-changer for Apple, but it changed Android's game too, for the worse.

Instead of doubling down on what separated Android phones from iPhones, phone makers pivoted to respond in some way. It's given them all a way to make their phones new for 2018 without doing anything actually new. Samsung developed AR Emoji and better face recognition to keep pace with Face ID. LG and Huawei went the notch route. And rumor has it that Google will be implementing both home indicator-style gesture-based navigation anda notch in the Pixel 3.

Why? Because iPhone X was different and Android phone makers panicked. For years, they depended on Apple's LCD screens, home buttons, and general predictable design, and the iPhone X took a hammer to that notion. Even alongside the iPhone 8, the X was a warning shot to the industry that things were changing, and Android phones didn't want to be left out.

Phones stealing ideas from other phones is hardly a new concept, but the rush to copy the iPhone X is breathtaking. Not since portrait mode have phone makers been so desperate to implement me-too features, and consequently most of the iPhone X imitations we've seen are bland and downright cheap. AR Emoji may be a fun party trick, but it's no match for Animoji. Intelligent Scan is nowhere near as secure as Face ID. The notches all look better when they're turned off. And gesture-based navigation should have been a thing two years ago in Android Nougat. On the iPhone X, these features are new and exciting, and they make sense. The second or third time around, they're just meh.

No longer cutting Edge

Uncertainty and doubt are nothing new in the Android world. I can still remember the shock when Samsung dumped the removable battery, expandable storage, waterproofing, and Air View from the Galaxy S6, but at least there was a method to the madness then. Samsung was in the process of carving out a new identity for its flagship Galaxy phones with new materials and curved screens, the culmination of which was the Galaxy S8, one of the finest smartphones Samsung or anyone else ever made.

galaxy s8 primary — The Galaxy S8 was the culmination of hits and misses—and that's why it's so great.

But back then, Samsung was willing to stumble and fail to get where it wanted to be. It wasn't about copying for the sake of copying. You can't tell me that AR Emoji was part of Samsung's plan for the S9 until Apple introduced Animoji, and I don't believe the G7 would have had a "second screen" notch if the iPhone X didn't make it cool (or at least acceptable). Whatever time it took Samsung and LG to develop lame we-have-it-too features could have been better spent on features that set their phones apart from the pack, not blend into it. Even a company like Huawei, which makes its own chips and is on the leading edge when it comes to camera and non-assistant AI tech, added a notch to its new P20 phone.

huawei p20 review 15 — The P20 is a great phone with a great camera, but Huawei still couldn't resist stealing a page from the iPhone X.

And in the rush to make every phone as close to the iPhone X as possible, Android innovation has stalled in 2018. You can point to things like the LG G7's Boombox speaker or the Galaxy S9's Dual Aperture as features that are unique, but are they really innovative? In our testing, Dual Aperture had a slight effect on certain pictures, but overall it didn't make much of a difference. And while the G7's speaker sounds good, how often do people really use the external speakers on their phones?

Missing out on the future

While Android phone makers are scurrying to copy the iPhone X's most visually distinctive feature, most of them are missing out on a golden opportunity to leap-frog the iPhone in one important area: AI. It's not just Google Assistant, which is already prominent on the G7 and the Pixel, it's the overall intelligence of the phone.

lg g7 ai cam id — The AI Cam on the G7 is a good start, but real AI innovation is still out of reach.

You can point to things like Samsung's Bixby Vision, LG's and Huawei's AI cameras, and Google Lens as ways phone makers are trying to inject smarts into the camera, but there's still very fertile ground for innovation here. Huawei is leading the way here with its Kirin 970 chip, but optimized photos is just the tip of the iceberg. Someday soon, a real AI phone with deep-learning personal algorithms that learn your habits and anticipate your needs will arrive, but will an Android phone get their first? Google is driving things like augmented reality and AI, but the Pixel phone is really no smarter than an iPhone X or a Galaxy S9. It should be.

Android phone makers in 2018 aren't trying to compete with the iPhone X, they're trying to match it. And it's not necessary. In doing so, they've lost what made their handsets so great in the first place. A great Android phone doesn't need to chase the latest Cupertino trends. It just needs to excel at the reasons people turn to Android. And none of those reasons include a camera notch.

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Google Assistant hits 5000 smart home partners, adds Dish, Logitech

Posted: 03 May 2018 06:01 AM PDT

google-home-max-5 — Your Google smart speakers can now control a whole lot of smart home devices.
Chris Monroe/CNET

With Google'sdeveloper conference right around the corner, the search giant wants you to know that its digital assistant is quite proficient at controlling the smart home. The Google Assistant built into your Android phone and your Google Home smart speaker can now control more than 5,000 smart devices.

Google announced the impressive number Thursday morning, noting also that it's an increase from 1,500 compatible devices this January. Tripling its smart home partners in a few months is quite the feat, especially since Google Assistant has been building up to that first number since the fall of 2016 when it launched.

Control anything

According to Google, that number includes every major device brand. Google Assistant is the search giant's virtual, voice-powered assistant similar to Amazon'sAlexa and Apple's Siri. You can issue a voice command to any device with Google Assistant built in -- such as your Google Pixel smartphone or your Google Home -- and search the web, check your calendar, play music or control your smart home.

With 5,000 supported products, you can now control a wide range of devices in a Google-powered smart home. Options include thermostats, smart lights, smart switches, smart locks, sprinklers, security systems, large appliances, doorbells, fans, vacuums and even some cars.

For instance, with a voice command to your Google Home, you can say "OK Google, set the temperature to 68 degrees" and Google can automatically change the temp of the Nest Learning Thermostat.

The reason Google works with so many devices, according to Google's VP of product design for Google Assistant Nick Fox, is so that when you "walk through a store, you can pick out any smart home device and you don't have to worry about whether it'll work or not." He said Google wants to help, "make the smart home a reality."

Catching up

echo-2-product-photos-17 — Google Home on the left faces stiff competition from the Amazon Echo on the right.
Tyler Lizenby/CNET

Voice assistants make controlling the smart home easier. Instead of tangling with multiple apps to control devices from different companies, you can just talk to your smart speaker and do it all. That's part of why we loved the Amazon Echo smart speaker when it first rolled out in 2014. Undoubtedly, Google's aggressively expanding its smart home portfolio to catch up to Amazon in the field.

Amazon's Alexa powers the Amazon Echo much the same way Google Assistant powers Google Home, and the company's digital assistants have gone back and forth in a battle to have the most and best features since Google entered the smart speaker race in 2016.

Right now the battle is close, but Amazon still works with more smart home gadgets. Blake Kozak, a market analyst for IHS Markit, estimates that Amazon Alexa worked with roughly 11,200 unique smart home devices in 2017. Amazon did not respond to CNET's request for an internal estimate. So Google has some catching up to do, but if it can keep expanding its catalogue at this rate, it might not be behind for long.

New partnerships

Now Playing:Watch this: How to center your smart home around your Google Home

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In addition to announcing 5,000 smart home partners, Google touted a few new brands that will soon work with Google Assistant, though most had been announced previously. The voice controlled functionality for these brands will start rolling out this month. You'll be able to control your TV with Google Assistant through Dish's set top box the Hopper and Logitech Harmony remotes. Google Assistant could already control your TV with Chromecast streamers, Android TV and more limited Logitech compatibility.

Other upcoming and expanding smart home partnerships include ADT, First Alert, Vivint, August, Schlage, Panasonic, Ikea, Hunter Douglas and Hisense.

Here's our guide to picking out the best smart speaker for you, and here's a quiz to help you figure out which major voice assistant fits you best.

CNET Smart Home

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Apple Watch credited with saving another life after user suffers a ruptured ulcer

Posted: 02 May 2018 08:02 PM PDT

Apple Watch continues to prove successful in not only helping users achieve health and fitness goals, but also in saving lives, the most recent being William Monzidelis, who nearly died from an erupted ulcer earlier this month.

Credit: NBC New York

Monzidelis, 32, was at work in early April when he started feeling dizzy and headed to the bathroom. Shortly after, he started bleeding and soon got an alert from his Apple Watch warning him that his heart rate was at an alarming level. The device recommended Monzidelis seek medical attention.

His mother, Nancy, rushed him to the hospital. On the way, Monzidelis drifted in and out of consciousness and continued to bleed from his mouth and rectum, ultimately losing 80 percent of his blood. Due to the severe blood loss, he had to receive an emergency blood transfusion before being rushed into surgery.

Doctors on the scene credited Apple Watch with saving Monzidelis' life, saying he most likely would have ignored his symptoms and not received medical treatment in time. Monzidelis, who lives in New York and works at his family's bowling alley Bowerland, generally considered himself in good health and agrees with the doctors' assessment.

"I would have been working in my office and they would have found me dead," he said.

It isn't clear if Monzidelis' symptoms were discovered by Apple's Heart Study app, another similar title or the device's built-in heart rate monitoring features.

The Apple Heart Study is available as a free download on the App Store and launched as a partnership with Stanford to research Apple Watch's ability to detect irregular heart rhythms. Alternatively, Apple provides a standard feature capable of detecting elevated heart rates, a physiological response sometimes related to life-threatening ailments.

Apple Watch has a long history of alerting users to potentially deadly health predicaments. Just yesterday, Apple Watch was credited with saving an 18-year old Florida woman who was suffering from undiagnosed kidney disease.

Beyond health tracking functions, Apple Watch also boasts communications tools that can help save lives. Last year, a woman used the device's Emergency SOS feature to contact first responders after a drunk driver hit her car.</span>

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