Google I/O 2016

Every year, since 2008, Google has held their conference, directed at software developers, called Google I/O. At this year’s I/O, Google was determined to get ahead of the game, by releasing not just new software features, but also new hardware.

 

One of the most interesting things that Google talked about this year at I/O was “Daydream”. Daydream is Google’s take on mobile virtual reality. Being built into Android N, Daydream is not trying to be better than VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive; it is meant to provide an amazing virtual reality experience on mobile devices. And  for a while now, people have been saying a phone with a 4k screen is a waste of money, but with the addition of Daydream to the next version of Android, higher resolution screens will become more and more popular.

The headset that Google made for Daydream looks like a combination of the Oculus  Rift  and the Samsung Gear VR. The Daydream headset also comes with a remote, but only one, compared to the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift that both come with two remotes. However, they have worked hard on making sure that the interaction with your phone is much, much better than on the Gear VR or Google Cardboard, which use buttons.

 

Google also released two new messaging apps, that both work on Android and iOS. The first one is called Allo. It’s Google’s new messaging/texting app, but it has a trick up its sleeve. Not only can you use it as a normal messaging app, but it has Google’s artificial intelligence built into it. So say you are messaging your friend, and they ask if you want to order Chinese food. Allo will see that, and come up with some pre-fab replies, and also suggestions of Chinese restaurants near you.

The second new messaging app from Google is Duo. Duo is Google’s answer to FaceTime (Apple’s video calling app). Google has made Duo extremely simple to use, and they put a feature called “Knock Knock”, which allows the person you are calling to see you before they pick up.

The second piece of hardware that they just released at I/O is called  Google Home, and is their response to Amazon Echo. While its use is mostly self-explanatory by now (something like Siri in a cylinder), Google tried to make the Google Home attractive to everyone, as it has interchangeable shells, so it can fit in with almost any room style. Google Home can also work with Google’s other smart home products, like the Nest and Chromecast.

 

These were some of the main announcements at Google’s I/O 2016, but there were many more, such as more info on Android N, and Android Wear 2.0.

 

The Future of Laptops: The Dell XPS 13

 

Recently, there has been a higher demand for smaller, thinner laptops, called ultrabooks, and Dell’s XPS 13 is one of the best. Dell has not only focused on making the laptop thinner, but at the same time, making it a powerful work machine.

One of their main selling points for the XPS 13 is its display. While having a maximum
resolution of 3200 x 1800 is cool, Dell has somehow figured out how to make the  bezels extremely thin, which is what they call “InfinityEdge”. However, because of the bezels (or lack thereof),  that the webcam has to be in the bottom left corner of the display section of the laptop. The odd placement of the webcam creates a very awkward angle when viewing someone through the XPS 13’s webcam.

In addition to the wonderful display on the Dell XPS 13, its port selection is pretty good, compared to other competing ultrabooks, such as Apple’s 12 inch MacBook. Starting off with the SD card slot on the right, which many ultrabooks of this size lack, such as the Razer Blade Stealth. Moving forward, there is one USB 3.0 port on the right and another on the left. There is also a USB 3.1 Type C/Thunderbolt 3 port, which can be used for anything from hooking up regular USB devices, or even powering a seperate display. There is also a headphone/mic combo jack right next to the USB 3.0 port on the left, which means, including the power connector and lock, the XPS 13 has a total of 7 ports, compared to the MacBook’s lackluster 2.

In order to drive all of those ports and the QHD+ display, Dell had to put some powerful componenets inside the XPS 13. For the processor, they used Intel’s 6th generation chips, starting at with the i3 6100U (turbo up to 2.3 GHz), and going all the way up to the i7 6560U (turbo up to 3.2 GHz). Then, for memory, you can get either 4, 8, or 16GB of DDR3, but this is not upgrade-able, as it is soldered to the circuit board, and it has no DIMM slots. Finally, there is the SSD(or Hard Drive, as Dell mistakenly calls it). The base model comes with a 128GB PCIe SSD, which stands for Solid State Drive, and going up from there, there are 256GB, 512GB, and even 1TB options available. However, unlike the memory, the storage here is upgradeable, so if you get the 128GB to save money, you can always upgrade it later, to a larger SSD, up to 1TB.

However, almost everything is amazing with the Dell XPS 13, except for the price. The price is where you go “Thou dankish, boil-brained wagtail, Dell!” While the starting price of $799 US may seem reasonable for a high end laptop,  with that much money, you only get the i3, 4GB of RAM, 128GB of solid state storage, and a 1080p screen. While you could argue that you are paying for the premium build quality, take a look at Razer’s Blade Stealth. You can get the base model, that has an Intel core i7 (you have to pay at least $1699 for that in the XPS 13), 8GB RAM, a 128GB SSD, and a QHD (1440p) display, for $999! Buying the $999 model XPS 13 would downgrade you to an i5 and 1080p screen, while keeping the same 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. So, if you are looking to buy a well built ultrabook, the XPS 13 might be for you, but if you are looking for more performance for your money, you might want to look elsewhere, such as the Razer Blade Stealth.