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Huawei Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20 X, Watch GT and 3D Live Emoji: Everything Huawei just announced
Microsoft's new laptop proves the company is more serious than ever about making hardware
This sleek console plays old Sega cartridges on your new TV

Huawei Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro, Mate 20 X, Watch GT and 3D Live Emoji: Everything Huawei just announced

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 07:22 AM PDT

Huawei on Tuesday announced a raft of new products at an event in London. You can watch the event as it happened in the video above.

Here's what's new:

Huawei Mate 20 Pro: The company's newest flagship phone is an Android handset with a 6.39-inch, 3,120x1,440-pixel AMOLED screen. But it has a host of unique features that sets it apart from the pack, including an in-screen fingerprint reader and 3D face scanning, three rear cameras and ultrafast charging (topping off to 70 percent in 30 minutes). And it can even share its battery, wirelessly charging other devices and phones. It also offers expandable storage in the form of a new "namomemory card," a flash memory format that's the size of a nano-SIM.

huawei-mate-20-pro-comparison-9610 — The Mate 20 Pro (left) and Mate 20.
Josh Miller/CNET

Read: Huawei's Mate 20 Pro is a wild bag of phone tricks

Read: Huawei Mate 20 Pro's three cameras put to the test in London

Huawei Mate 20: Why announce one phone when you can announce two? In addition to the high-end Mate 20 Pro, Huawei has a step-down device, too. The standard Mate 20 has a tiny teardrop notch, a less muscular camera array (albeit still three rear lenses) and the fingerprint reader moves from inside the screen to the back of the phone. It has a slightly smaller battery, too -- "only" 4,000 mAh, versus the Pro's 4,200. But the screen on the standard Mate is a bit larger: 6.53 inches diagonal.

Now playing: Watch this: Huawei Mate 20 Pro phone has a ton of crazy extras

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Huawei Mate 20 RS: Following in the footsteps of the earlier Mate, Huawei will also offer a luxury Porsche Design version with leather accents.

Huawei Mate 20 X: If that 6.53-inch screen of the Huawei Mate 20 isn't big enough for you, you're in luck. The company will also offer the jumbo-sized Mate 20 X, with a whopping 7.2-inch screen and 5,000-mAh battery. There's even a gamepad attachment -- sold separately, of course -- that adds a thumb stick and d-pad, too.

3D Live Emoji: Huawei unveiled a new feature it calls 3D Live Emoji, which -- in the demo, at least -- seemed to one-up the AR offerings from Apple. Using Google's AR Core technology, it allows real-world objects to be scanned in and then placed and animated in a mixed reality environment. On stage, a Huawei executive scanned in a stuffed panda, then showed it interacting and dancing with another person. The resulting mixed reality scene could be captured on photo and video and saved or shared on social media, too.

Huawei Watch GT: Also unveiled today was a new smartwatch. The Watch GT ditches Google's Wear OS and instead opts for Huawei's own Light OS. It's a round watch that promises up to 22 hours of battery life with GPS and heart-rate tracking engaged, and up to 2 weeks of battery life when those features aren't used.

Read: Huawei Watch GT ditches Wear OS for longer battery life

Suffice it to say, Huawei continues to push the envelope in terms of features and performance on phones. But for American consumers, Huawei announcements continue to be exercises in FOMO. Following open Congressional testimony in February in which the heads of the CIA, FBI and NSA bluntly advised all Americans not to purchase or use Huawei products and services out of concerns that they're used to spy on Americans, the company's products have effectively been unavailable from US wireless carriers and most retailers.

Originally published Oct. 15.
Update, Oct. 16: This story was originally published as a preview of the event and has been updated with everything Huawei announced.

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Microsoft's new laptop proves the company is more serious than ever about making hardware

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 12:04 AM PDT

Microsoft sent me its new Surface Laptop 2 for a test run. After using it for a couple days, I'm convinced that Microsoft can build a heck of a laptop and is more serious than ever about hardware.

This is an Apple-level device with Windows 10, an operating system I've grown to love in recent years.

The Surface Laptop 2 looks killer, especially in the black color I received to review. This model starts at $1,299 with 256GB of storage, while the silver computer is available for $999, though it only has half that amount of storage. Microsoft also sells the laptop in burgundy and blue.

If you like MacBooks, you should take a look at the Surface Laptop 2. It's thin and light, just like you expect from a MacBook, but even beats Apple at some new features.

For one, it has a touch-screen display.

It's convenient to be able to reach out and tap an icon or switch an app through the touch screen. You can also buy a stylus and use the screen for marking up documents or fine-tuning a Photoshop image. I like that Microsoft still includes a more traditional USB port for keyboards, mice and other peripherals, instead of following Apple and forcing users to USB-C. There's no SD card slot, though, if that's important to you.

Like Apple's MacBook Pros, the Surface Laptop 2 runs on Intel's latest eighth-generation chips. They're more powerful than the prior generation, at least on paper, but I didn't really notice much difference while working throughout the day in a web browser. Most things felt fast, and I was still able to use Photoshop to edit pictures. Without dedicated graphics, this isn't really a machine for hardcore gaming, so keep that in mind.

Windows 10 has improved drastically, and you should give it a try if you haven't used a Windows device in a few years. You might be surprised at how good it's become. One feature I really like is called Windows Hello. Paired with the camera on the Surface Laptop 2, it can recognize my face and unlock the computer in a split second when I open the lid. Apple hasn't added Face ID to its laptops yet, but it seems likely to happen. I know some people probably don't like the idea of facial recognition, so you can still use a regular password or PIN if you prefer.

The keyboard is excellent. That's important because Apple has faced a lot of complaints about its earlier MacBook Pro and MacBook butterfly keyboards. Some people have complained about the keys getting stuck. The keys on the Surface Laptop 2 have nice bounce, and I was able to type quickly almost immediately. There's also a good even backlighting across the surface. I'm a little worried about the Alcantara fabric that surrounds the keyboard, though, and I'm curious how it holds up over time. It looks like it could get greasy or worn down.

The battery is pretty good, at least better than my standard-issue work laptop from Dell. That computer gets me a few hours of use, while the Surface Laptop 2 lasts most of the work day. I unplugged it in the morning around 8 a.m. and it still had 40 percent left when I checked it after lunch at 2 p.m. Your mileage will vary depending on the screen brightness and what you're doing, however.

I've been critical of some of Microsoft's other computers, namely the Surface line, because it's hard for me to justify the cost of a tablet that doesn't include a keyboard. Conversely, the Laptop 2 has a keyboard and doesn't try to double as a tablet.

Maybe that's why I don't see any real faults here — the Microsoft Surface Laptop 2 sets out to do one thing and does it very well. If you're in the market for a new laptop — especially one that runs Windows — you'd be silly not to consider the Surface Laptop 2.

WATCH: The new wave in computing

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This sleek console plays old Sega cartridges on your new TV

Posted: 16 Oct 2018 08:00 AM PDT

Analogue is known for providing high-end consoles designed to play classic Nintendo games, and now, the company is turning its attention to Sega. Today, Analogue is announcing the Mega Sg, a retro console that can play Sega Genesis, Mega Drive, and Master System cartridges, and it works seamlessly with modern TVs. "I've wanted to do the end all, be all Sega system for a long time," says Analogue's Christopher Taber. "There is zero proper way to explore Sega's history, and it's time to give Sega their due."

If you're familiar with Analogue's work, then you know exactly what to expect from the Mega Sg. Much like the Super Nt, an aftermarket Super Nintendo released at the beginning of this year, the Mega Sg is a modern console designed to play old games, and output them in high resolution and with high-fidelity sound. It connects to your TV via HDMI, and Analogue says the Sega console supports more than 2,100 cartridges, features original controller ports, and even comes with a side adapter for the Sega CD. (The Mega Sg currently doesn't support the 32X add-on.) Additionally, the company is going to sell cartridge adapters so you can play things like portable Game Gear games on your big screen.

Analogue's first big splash came from its gorgeous, aluminum take on the NES, but for the Super Nt, the company shifted to a more affordable plastic shell. That trend continues with the Mega Sg. The new console is compact like its SNES predecessor, but it also features some undeniably Sega design flourishes. The company partnered with English design studio Kenyon Weston to create the new device. "KW did a brilliant job really distilling the core motifs of what makes the Mega Drive and Genesis what it is: the ring, power, and reset buttons, and the chunky chamfers on the left and right," explains Taber. The Mega Sg will be available in four colors: a white version and three iterations based on the American, European, and Japanese iterations of Sega's classic console.

Like the Super Nt, the Mega Sg supports wireless controllers, though it doesn't come with one; you'll be able to buy a separate, Sega-style gamepad for $24.99 in February. The console will cost $189 and is expected to start shipping next March. It's a natural progression for Analogue, and it fits nicely with the company's ambitions. "We design systems to celebrate and explore the history of video games with the respect it deserves," says Taber.