Tom Warren for The Verge:

Microsoft is confident that it finally nailed the transition to Arm chips — so confident that, this time around, the company spent an entire day pitting its new hardware against the MacBook Air.

I love watching Microsoft try to convince people that their Surface laptops are better than Apple’s MacBooks based purely on specs, as if the operating system has nothing to do with it. They’re a non-starter for so many because they run Windows: a bloated, creepy, ad-riddled mess.

Robb posted about the phones he’d owned over the years, and it reminded me of a note I’d started a while back and never finished, chronicling all the devices that have occupied a place inside my pocket over the years.

I know the timelines of some of these are blurry, and I’m confident I’m missing a couple somewhere in there, but I think it illustrates that I have issues. I’m ignoring all the pre-smartphone devices I’ve owned, but for the record, my first phone was a Nokia 6110. Don’t judge me.

These are as chronological as possible.

"Smart" phones

• Blackberry Curve (8310)
• Blackberry Storm (9530)
• iPhone 3GS
• iPhone 4

(Mostly) Android phase

• Samsung Galaxy Note 3
• Nexus 4
• Nexus 5
• OnePlus One
• Moto X (1st generation)
• iPhone 5
• iPhone 6 Plus
• Nexus 6
• Nexus 5X
• Nexus 6P

The big iPhones

• iPhone 7 Plus
• Nextbit Robin
• OnePlus X1
• Essential PH-1
• Pixel 2 XL
• Pixel 3
• iPhone XR
• iPhone 11 Pro Max
• iPhone 12
• OnePlus Nord N1002
• iPhone 14 Pro Max
• iPhone 15 Pro

Phew. Quite the list. Let’s break down some high (and low) lights.

Best “fun” phone

The OnePlus One was such a great phone to mess around with. Flashing different ROMs, swapping out the backplate, etc. Never a dull moment.

Worst phone

This was, without question, the Samsung Galaxy Note 3. The plastic phone felt cheap, the TouchWiz UI was sluggish and ugly, and the battery was terrible… I used it for a couple of weeks and returned it. This was where I first felt intrigued by “phablet” devices, but it was otherwise a brutal experience. And I owned a Blackberry Storm; think about that for a second.

Best Android phone

My “panda” Pixel 2 XL was the best Android phone ever, though the Nexus 6 was a close second. After the disaster of the Note 3, I was curious what using a good giant phone might be like. The Nexus 6 was that.

The Pixel 2 XL was a big, sturdy, gorgeous piece of hardware with a smooth, pure Android experience. Using the devices I did, it was as close as I ever felt that Google got to replicating the iPhone experience.

Best iPhone

This is a really tough call. The iPhone 4 had the best design, but the iPhone 6 Plus stands out because I’d been waiting for a giant iPhone for so long. I never liked the rounded sides of those generations of iPhone, though, so I think the iPhone 12 would be where I’d land. It had a great design and tons of power, and iOS was firing on all cylinders then, too (iOS 14–17).

That said, the iPhone 15 Pro has been great, but I don’t think it would be where it is now if not for the evolution we saw from the 12.

In closing

Now and then, when I’m at Best Buy or wherever I check out Pixel phones, I am a bit tempted, but I wouldn’t say I like the direction Google’s taken with their Android UI. The performance of those devices has come a long way, but I just can’t see myself wading back into the Google ecosystem at this point. Nothing is doing really cool stuff with their hardware, but, again, anything involving Google or the Play Store at this point is a non-starter.

The iPhone does it all for me. I’m deeply rooted in the Apple ecosystem and happy with what I have there.

Ron Amadeo for Ars:

Rabbit Inc. is right to use Android, or specifically as much of AOSP as it can. Forget about all the Google Play stuff—if you have something that needs to connect a mobile network, manage charge states, light up a touchscreen, work hardware inputs and a camera, and use an SoC in a power-efficient way, AOSP already does all of this for you.

Yeah, I’m not sure why the tech press is making a big deal out of the fact that the R1 runs Android. It’s basically a smartphone; why would Rabbit use anything else to run a device like this? It’s still cheaper (though lacking in features) than most Android devices.

Admittedly, I’m bummed about the reception for the R1 so far. I love its design, the hardware (yes, even the orange) and the software. I think the price tag is steep but not entirely out of line. In many ways, it reminds me of Pebble’s smartwatches, which I was an early adopter of.

I hope Rabbit turns it into something compelling.

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy for The Verge:

The new smart home-focused widgets make it easy to interact with to do things like view a camera live view, adjust a light, or run a routine with a tap. These three new widgets can be added to the Home screen: one is specific to the room the device is in, one is for any connected cameras (it can show a recent snapshot from Ring cameras at launch), and one mirrors the favorites in the Alexa app.

Amazon hasn’t confirmed anything yet but I’m hopeful they’ll bring this new look to the other devices in the Echo lineup. The UI on our Show 15 looks ancient by comparison and an update like this could help inject some life back into it.