Tag Archives: phones

Honor Is Building a 12,000mAh Phone That Proves the Battery-vs-Thinness Tradeoff Was Always a Lie

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Seven years ago, Energizer walked into MWC 2019 with a phone that weighed as much as a small paperback novel and measured 18mm thick, all in service of an 18,000mAh battery. The P18K Pop became a symbol of the era’s battery ceiling: raw capacity was possible, but only at the cost of a device that felt like a punishment to carry. The engineering logic was blunt and honest. Lithium-ion cells have a fixed energy density, so the only way to scale up capacity was to scale up size. Energizer took that math to its logical extreme, produced a certified brick, and quietly cancelled the phone before it ever hit shelves. The tradeoff felt fundamental, almost physical, like a law of nature. Then silicon-carbon chemistry started rewriting the rulebook.

At MWC 2026, we went hands-on with Honor’s Magic V6 foldable and found ourselves staring at battery layers measuring 0.15mm thick, a silicon content of 32%, and a cell that delivered 6,660mAh inside one of the slimmest foldable phones on the market. That same materials platform is reportedly now scaling toward something significantly larger. A new leak on Weibo suggests Honor is testing a phone with a 12,000mAh battery, a figure that would set a new high-water mark for mainstream smartphones, as part of a pipeline that will reportedly expand the company’s 10,000mAh-plus lineup to seven devices total. The Energizer P18K Pop needed 18mm of thickness to reach 18,000mAh. Honor is apparently aiming for 12,000mAh in a phone you would actually want to carry.

Designer: HONOR

Three of the four existing 10,000mAh-class smartphones on the market already belong to Honor, with the only outsider being Vivo’s Y600 Pro at 10,200mAh. The leak doesn’t confirm product names, but rumors point toward the Honor X80, Honor Power 3, and a new WIN 2 series as likely homes for these big-battery ambitions. Oppo, Xiaomi, and Huawei are all reportedly working on their own large-capacity devices, but the approach is measured, one model each, released cautiously to test market appetite. Honor’s strategy reads differently. Seven phones in a single category is a portfolio play, a deliberate push to own the mental real estate around battery life the way Hasselblad owns it around mobile photography.

The 12,000mAh figure carries one genuinely hard engineering question: fast charging. A 10,000mAh cell already strains conventional thermal management at 65W or above, and 120W on a cell that size has historically meant a phone that doubles as a hand warmer. The dual-cell design reportedly being tested on a separate 10,000mAh model in this same pipeline is Honor’s likely answer to that problem, splitting the load across two cells to manage heat and charging efficiency simultaneously. Whether that architecture migrates to the 12,000mAh device as well remains unconfirmed, but the fact that Honor is testing both configurations in parallel suggests the company has thought carefully about the thermal math rather than just chasing the headline number. The Energizer P18K Pop chased the number. Honor appears to be chasing the phone.

The post Honor Is Building a 12,000mAh Phone That Proves the Battery-vs-Thinness Tradeoff Was Always a Lie first appeared on Yanko Design.

Pixel 11 Leak: Tensor G6, 50MP Base Cam, and Nothing-inspired “Pixel Glow”

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Every year, without fail, Google’s flagship Pixel arrives in the public consciousness twice. Once through leaks, and once through an official keynote that a significant portion of the audience has already mentally attended. The Pixel 6 visor design was circulating months early. The Pixel 9’s departure from that visor was thoroughly documented before Google said a word. The Pixel 10 landed in spec sheets and renders well ahead of August 2025. The Pixel 11 is maintaining that proud tradition, with MysticLeaks dropping what the Telegram channel itself called a “nuke” of information on May 4th, roughly three months before Google’s expected announcement window. Either Google’s operational security is genuinely, historically bad, or someone in Mountain View has decided that pre-launch visibility is worth more than surprise.

What makes the Pixel 11 leak particularly interesting is that the most compelling detail has nothing to do with raw specs. Tensor G6, fabbed on TSMC’s 2nm N2 node with a 7-core ARM configuration and a MediaTek M90 modem finally replacing the Exynos hardware, is a meaningful generational step. A 50MP main sensor reaching the base model is overdue and welcome. A 5,000mAh battery in the Pro XL closes a gap that Pixel critics have cited for years. But the feature generating the most discussion is Pixel Glow, an RGB LED array occupying the camera bar space where the IR thermometer used to live, and its relationship to what Nothing has spent four years building is worth unpacking properly.

Image Credits: Sarang Sheth

The IR thermometer that debuted on the Pixel 9 Pro was one of those features that made complete sense in a press deck and considerably less sense in a pocket. Google positioned it as a health and home utility tool, useful for checking a fever or testing whether your coffee had cooled enough to drink. Most owners used it a handful of times before forgetting it existed, and the Pixel 10 Pro kept it anyway out of what felt like hardware inertia rather than genuine user demand. Pixel Glow is what fills that space on the Pixel 11 Pro, and based on current renders, it displays the Google “G” in the brand’s four-color palette rendered through an RGB LED array sitting flush inside the camera bar’s pill-shaped housing.

Looking at the Pixel Glow, you can’t help but compare it to Nothing’s Glyph Matrix from last year. Carl Pei’s team spent four years evolving their Glyph interface from simple notification strips on the Phone 1 into the Phone 3’s Glyph Matrix, a 489-LED monochrome micro-display with a dedicated hardware button, its own widget ecosystem, and enough programmability that Nothing shipped a public SDK alongside the phone. Seeing a similar feature on Google’s phones does beg a direct comparison because it feels inspired (a lot like how Qi2’s magnetic system feels inspired by Apple’s MagSafe). The only discerning difference right now seems to be the fact that the renders show an RGB pixel array, which means colorful widgets as opposed to Nothing’s white Glyphs.

The rest of the Pixel 11’s spec picture rounds out a phone that is upgrading in all the right places simultaneously. Tensor G6’s move to TSMC’s 2nm process brings better thermals and clock speeds hitting 4.11GHz on the lead ARM C1-Ultra core, and swapping the MediaTek M90 modem in for the long-criticized Exynos hardware is a change that efficiency-conscious Pixel users have wanted since Tensor’s inception. The standard Pixel 11 carries a 6.3-inch OLED at 2,200 nits, while the Pro XL steps up to a 6.8-inch panel at 2,450 nits with 240Hz PWM dimming and that 5,000mAh cell. Bear-themed internal codenames, Cubs for the base model, Grizzly for the Pro, Kodiak for the Pro XL, and Yogi for the Pro Fold, suggest Google’s engineers at least have a sense of humor about the annual leak tradition they seem constitutionally unable to stop.

August will fill in the software story, the pricing, and whatever Google has planned for Pixel Glow beyond what a leaked render can show. Given how completely the rest of the phone has already been mapped, that might end up being the only genuine surprise left on the table. Aside from, obviously, a few AI features that Google is surely working on.

The post Pixel 11 Leak: Tensor G6, 50MP Base Cam, and Nothing-inspired “Pixel Glow” first appeared on Yanko Design.

vivo X300 FE Review: The Compact Flagship That Earns Its Keep

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PROS:


  • Compact, comfortable, and premium design

  • Powerful 50MP main and telephoto cameras

  • Large battery with fast wired and wireless charging

  • Long-term software support

CONS:


  • Mediocre 8MP ultra-wide camera

  • Uncommon horizontal camera design

  • A bit pricier than most "small flagships"

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The vivo X300 FE proves that a compact phone doesn't have to feel like a lesser one.

Premium smartphones have been trending bigger, heavier, and more visually imposing for years. It’s reached the point where “flagship” is almost synonymous with large, and carrying one all day feels less like convenience and more like a commitment. The compact phone hasn’t disappeared, but finding one that doesn’t sacrifice performance, battery life, or camera quality in exchange for a smaller footprint has been genuinely difficult.

That’s the gap the vivo X300 FE is aiming to fill. It pairs a 6.31-inch flat display with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, a 6,500 mAh battery, and a ZEISS co-engineered camera system, all within a compact design that stays remarkably light for its class. On paper, it reads like a phone that shouldn’t be this compact. But does it actually work in practice? We give it a spin to find out.

Designer: vivo

Aesthetics

The X300 FE follows a flat-design language that’s become increasingly standard among more expensive flagships. There aren’t any curved glass edges or aggressively contoured surfaces, just a clean, rectangular form with ultra-narrow bezels, an aerospace-grade aluminum frame, and a front face that looks symmetrical and composed. The centered punch-hole is small and unobtrusive, and those slim borders give the display a neat, purposeful presence that doesn’t need theatrics to feel premium.

Our review unit came in white, which turns out to be a great choice for a phone this carefully considered. The matte rear panel uses vivo’s Metallic Sand AG glass treatment, giving it a soft, slightly chalky texture that resists fingerprints well and picks up ambient light in a way that shifts subtly between warm and cool tones. It doesn’t try to be eye-catching; it just looks well-made.

The flat aluminum frame wraps cleanly around the body, with edges that make it comfortable to grip without feeling sharp or slippery. The white model measures 8.10mm thick and weighs 192g, a hair more than the other colorways, but those differences don’t register in hand. What does register is the overall sense of a phone that’s been assembled with genuine attention to detail.

The camera module deserves its own mention. Rather than going for the oversized circular island that’s become visual shorthand for “serious camera phone,” vivo opted for a horizontal bar that spans the upper portion of the back. Three lenses are arranged neatly across it, with a ZEISS badge centered between them. It’s recognizable and distinctive without domineering the rest of the design. Admittedly, it’s going to be a divisive design, but it at least lets the vivo X300 FE easily stand out from the competition.

Ergonomics

At 150.83mm tall and 71.76mm wide, the X300 FE sits firmly in one-handed territory. It isn’t trying to be a miniature phone. It’s simply sized more sensibly than most flagships on the market. You can reach across the screen without adjusting your grip, slip it into a front pocket without thinking, and hold it for extended periods without the wrist fatigue bigger phones tend to bring.

The 192g weight for the white model falls in a range that feels present without being burdensome. There’s enough substance here to reinforce the premium feel of the materials, but not so much that you’re constantly aware of it. The 8.10mm profile isn’t exactly wafer-thin, though that’s a reasonable trade-off for a 6,500 mAh cell packed inside a frame this compact.

The flat-sided frame also contributes more to the ergonomic experience than it might seem. It gives your palm a stable, consistent surface to press against during typing and scrolling, which feels more controlled than on rounded-edge designs. The compact footprint, flat back, and balanced weight distribution all work together to make this a phone that feels designed around how it’s actually used.

Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 inside doesn’t need much introduction. It’s a flagship-class mobile processor, and the X300 FE puts it to good use. The 12GB RAM, expandable with another 12GB taken from the generous 512GB storage, clearly marks it as a class above your typical mid-tier compact phone. It runs Origin OS 6, based on the current Android 16 release, embracing a more minimalist and flat aesthetic that perfectly matches the phone’s design.

Day-to-day tasks feel completely effortless, from switching between apps and browser tabs to occasional gaming sessions, and nothing about the experience suggests the compact body is in any way holding the hardware back. Thermals are pretty impressive, given the vivo X300 FE’s size, but its compact form factor might work against it when it comes to how you hold it during those long periods.

Thankfully, the display backs that up well. It’s a 6.31-inch LTPO AMOLED panel with an adaptive refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hz, a 1.5K resolution at 460 PPI, and a local peak brightness of 5,000 nits. The 2,160 Hz PWM dimming also makes prolonged reading and scrolling noticeably more comfortable on the eyes, a detail that matters far more than most spec sheets would have you believe.

Then there’s the battery, arguably the X300 FE’s most impressive engineering accomplishment. A 6,500 mAh cell in a phone this slim and light isn’t something you see every day, and in practice, that capacity means genuine all-day endurance with room to spare. The 90W wired and 40W wireless charging mean you’re rarely stuck waiting long when it runs low, at least with the appropriate chargers.

The camera system is led by a 50 MP ZEISS main camera and a 50 MP ZEISS super-telephoto camera, with an 8 MP ultra-wide rounding out the rear. The main and telephoto cameras handle portraits, street photography, and concert scenes with real confidence. An optional telephoto extender accessory also exists for those who want extended reach, though it’s firmly in niche territory.

The results are impressive, especially when starting to zoom in on subjects. Even without the telephoto extender, you can enjoy clear and detailed shots, even at night. The 8MP ultra-wide, though usable, is a bit of a letdown, but vivo had to cut some corners to bring down the price and differentiate this model from its more powerful and more expensive siblings. You do have a ton of settings to tweak to get your perfect shot, but even the defaults are good enough to make fleeting moments more memorable.

Sustainability

The X300 FE carries IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance ratings, alongside an SGS five-star drop resistance certification, giving it a reassuring level of durability for daily use. It also carries an SGS five-star drop resistance certification, which gives it more formal durability credentials than most phones in its class. Together, those ratings make a convincing case for a phone built to survive daily life without requiring any particularly careful handling.

Software longevity is where the X300 FE makes its strongest long-term case. On that front, vivo is committing to five years of OS upgrades, seven years of security maintenance, and a five-year smooth experience promise. That support window is competitive with the best in the Android space, and it signals that this phone is meant to be genuinely used for years, not replaced the moment something newer comes along.

Value

At around €1,000, The X300 FE isn’t a budget phone, and it doesn’t try to be. It competes in the premium compact flagship space, where the particular combination it offers is harder to find than you’d expect. A current-generation chipset, a genuinely large battery, fast wired and wireless charging, ZEISS-branded imaging, and a durable premium build in a package that remains notably light for a flagship is a rare and coherent offering.

The person this phone is designed for isn’t shopping for the biggest or most spec’d-out device available. It’s someone who wants a phone that keeps pace with their life without dominating it, one that fits in a jacket pocket, lasts a full day, and still takes genuinely good photos. Frequent travelers, urban commuters, and anyone who’s tired of unwieldy flagships will feel right at home here.

Verdict

The vivo X300 FE is the kind of compact flagship that doesn’t feel like a compromise once you’re actually using it. The design is restrained and coherent, the battery is frankly impressive for the size, the chipset handles everything you throw at it, and the camera does its best work in exactly the situations most people find themselves in, out in the world rather than on a lab bench.

What the X300 FE offers is a phone that’s easy to carry, genuinely long-lasting, and capable enough for the photography and day-to-day demands you’ll actually encounter. It’s well built, well supported, and clearly designed with a specific kind of person in mind. That clarity of purpose is refreshing, and for the right buyer, it’s exactly what makes this phone worth serious consideration.

The post vivo X300 FE Review: The Compact Flagship That Earns Its Keep first appeared on Yanko Design.

vivo X300 FE Review: The Compact Flagship That Earns Its Keep

Posted on by

PROS:


  • Compact, comfortable, and premium design

  • Powerful 50MP main and telephoto cameras

  • Large battery with fast wired and wireless charging

  • Long-term software support

CONS:


  • Mediocre 8MP ultra-wide camera

  • Uncommon horizontal camera design

  • A bit pricier than most "small flagships"

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The vivo X300 FE proves that a compact phone doesn't have to feel like a lesser one.

Premium smartphones have been trending bigger, heavier, and more visually imposing for years. It’s reached the point where “flagship” is almost synonymous with large, and carrying one all day feels less like convenience and more like a commitment. The compact phone hasn’t disappeared, but finding one that doesn’t sacrifice performance, battery life, or camera quality in exchange for a smaller footprint has been genuinely difficult.

That’s the gap the vivo X300 FE is aiming to fill. It pairs a 6.31-inch flat display with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, a 6,500 mAh battery, and a ZEISS co-engineered camera system, all within a compact design that stays remarkably light for its class. On paper, it reads like a phone that shouldn’t be this compact. But does it actually work in practice? We give it a spin to find out.

Designer: vivo

Aesthetics

The X300 FE follows a flat-design language that’s become increasingly standard among more expensive flagships. There aren’t any curved glass edges or aggressively contoured surfaces, just a clean, rectangular form with ultra-narrow bezels, an aerospace-grade aluminum frame, and a front face that looks symmetrical and composed. The centered punch-hole is small and unobtrusive, and those slim borders give the display a neat, purposeful presence that doesn’t need theatrics to feel premium.

Our review unit came in white, which turns out to be a great choice for a phone this carefully considered. The matte rear panel uses vivo’s Metallic Sand AG glass treatment, giving it a soft, slightly chalky texture that resists fingerprints well and picks up ambient light in a way that shifts subtly between warm and cool tones. It doesn’t try to be eye-catching; it just looks well-made.

The flat aluminum frame wraps cleanly around the body, with edges that make it comfortable to grip without feeling sharp or slippery. The white model measures 8.10mm thick and weighs 192g, a hair more than the other colorways, but those differences don’t register in hand. What does register is the overall sense of a phone that’s been assembled with genuine attention to detail.

The camera module deserves its own mention. Rather than going for the oversized circular island that’s become visual shorthand for “serious camera phone,” vivo opted for a horizontal bar that spans the upper portion of the back. Three lenses are arranged neatly across it, with a ZEISS badge centered between them. It’s recognizable and distinctive without domineering the rest of the design. Admittedly, it’s going to be a divisive design, but it at least lets the vivo X300 FE easily stand out from the competition.

Ergonomics

At 150.83mm tall and 71.76mm wide, the X300 FE sits firmly in one-handed territory. It isn’t trying to be a miniature phone. It’s simply sized more sensibly than most flagships on the market. You can reach across the screen without adjusting your grip, slip it into a front pocket without thinking, and hold it for extended periods without the wrist fatigue bigger phones tend to bring.

The 192g weight for the white model falls in a range that feels present without being burdensome. There’s enough substance here to reinforce the premium feel of the materials, but not so much that you’re constantly aware of it. The 8.10mm profile isn’t exactly wafer-thin, though that’s a reasonable trade-off for a 6,500 mAh cell packed inside a frame this compact.

The flat-sided frame also contributes more to the ergonomic experience than it might seem. It gives your palm a stable, consistent surface to press against during typing and scrolling, which feels more controlled than on rounded-edge designs. The compact footprint, flat back, and balanced weight distribution all work together to make this a phone that feels designed around how it’s actually used.

Performance

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 inside doesn’t need much introduction. It’s a flagship-class mobile processor, and the X300 FE puts it to good use. The 12GB RAM, expandable with another 12GB taken from the generous 512GB storage, clearly marks it as a class above your typical mid-tier compact phone. It runs Origin OS 6, based on the current Android 16 release, embracing a more minimalist and flat aesthetic that perfectly matches the phone’s design.

Day-to-day tasks feel completely effortless, from switching between apps and browser tabs to occasional gaming sessions, and nothing about the experience suggests the compact body is in any way holding the hardware back. Thermals are pretty impressive, given the vivo X300 FE’s size, but its compact form factor might work against it when it comes to how you hold it during those long periods.

Thankfully, the display backs that up well. It’s a 6.31-inch LTPO AMOLED panel with an adaptive refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hz, a 1.5K resolution at 460 PPI, and a local peak brightness of 5,000 nits. The 2,160 Hz PWM dimming also makes prolonged reading and scrolling noticeably more comfortable on the eyes, a detail that matters far more than most spec sheets would have you believe.

Then there’s the battery, arguably the X300 FE’s most impressive engineering accomplishment. A 6,500 mAh cell in a phone this slim and light isn’t something you see every day, and in practice, that capacity means genuine all-day endurance with room to spare. The 90W wired and 40W wireless charging mean you’re rarely stuck waiting long when it runs low, at least with the appropriate chargers.

The camera system is led by a 50 MP ZEISS main camera and a 50 MP ZEISS super-telephoto camera, with an 8 MP ultra-wide rounding out the rear. The main and telephoto cameras handle portraits, street photography, and concert scenes with real confidence. An optional telephoto extender accessory also exists for those who want extended reach, though it’s firmly in niche territory.

The results are impressive, especially when starting to zoom in on subjects. Even without the telephoto extender, you can enjoy clear and detailed shots, even at night. The 8MP ultra-wide, though usable, is a bit of a letdown, but vivo had to cut some corners to bring down the price and differentiate this model from its more powerful and more expensive siblings. You do have a ton of settings to tweak to get your perfect shot, but even the defaults are good enough to make fleeting moments more memorable.

Sustainability

The X300 FE carries IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance ratings, alongside an SGS five-star drop resistance certification, giving it a reassuring level of durability for daily use. It also carries an SGS five-star drop resistance certification, which gives it more formal durability credentials than most phones in its class. Together, those ratings make a convincing case for a phone built to survive daily life without requiring any particularly careful handling.

Software longevity is where the X300 FE makes its strongest long-term case. On that front, vivo is committing to five years of OS upgrades, seven years of security maintenance, and a five-year smooth experience promise. That support window is competitive with the best in the Android space, and it signals that this phone is meant to be genuinely used for years, not replaced the moment something newer comes along.

Value

At around €1,000, The X300 FE isn’t a budget phone, and it doesn’t try to be. It competes in the premium compact flagship space, where the particular combination it offers is harder to find than you’d expect. A current-generation chipset, a genuinely large battery, fast wired and wireless charging, ZEISS-branded imaging, and a durable premium build in a package that remains notably light for a flagship is a rare and coherent offering.

The person this phone is designed for isn’t shopping for the biggest or most spec’d-out device available. It’s someone who wants a phone that keeps pace with their life without dominating it, one that fits in a jacket pocket, lasts a full day, and still takes genuinely good photos. Frequent travelers, urban commuters, and anyone who’s tired of unwieldy flagships will feel right at home here.

Verdict

The vivo X300 FE is the kind of compact flagship that doesn’t feel like a compromise once you’re actually using it. The design is restrained and coherent, the battery is frankly impressive for the size, the chipset handles everything you throw at it, and the camera does its best work in exactly the situations most people find themselves in, out in the world rather than on a lab bench.

What the X300 FE offers is a phone that’s easy to carry, genuinely long-lasting, and capable enough for the photography and day-to-day demands you’ll actually encounter. It’s well built, well supported, and clearly designed with a specific kind of person in mind. That clarity of purpose is refreshing, and for the right buyer, it’s exactly what makes this phone worth serious consideration.

The post vivo X300 FE Review: The Compact Flagship That Earns Its Keep first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Google-Free Phone Is IP68-Rated and Has a Replaceable Battery

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Most smartphones ship with an assumption baked in: that you’re fine with your data running through Google’s servers, your habits feeding its algorithms, and its apps occupying your home screen whether you asked for them or not. Privacy-first phones have tried to push back against this for years, but they’ve often done so at the cost of build quality, performance, or both.

Volla has been making the case that those trade-offs aren’t necessary, and the Plinius is the latest, most convincing version of that argument. Named after Pliny the Elder, the Roman naturalist who died investigating the eruption of Vesuvius, it’s a phone built for the curious, the outdoorsy, and the uncompromising. It’s also the direct successor to the Volla Phone X23, and it’s a considerable step up.

Designer: Volla

The body carries an IP68 rating against water and dust, which you’d expect from a rugged phone, but what’s less expected is how slim and light the Plinius is. At 163mm x 76mm x 10.5mm and 230 grams, it’s noticeably slimmer than its predecessor. A transparent back cover and armored glass film come in the box, and the touchscreen handles wet hands and gloves without missing a beat.

The 5,300 mAh battery keeps things going through a full day and beyond, with 30W fast charging and 15W wireless charging both covered. What’s genuinely unusual, though, is that the battery is user-replaceable with a standard screwdriver, even with the IP68 rating in place. That’s a deliberate choice from a company that built its reputation on longevity and transparency rather than planned obsolescence.

Out of the box, the Plinius runs Volla OS, a Google-free build of Android with a clean, text-based interface and a Security Mode that controls which apps communicate externally. Ubuntu Touch is also available, a fully Linux-based OS from the UBports Foundation that doubles as a desktop when connected to a monitor, and you can run both on the same device.

The 6.67-inch FHD+ OLED display runs at up to 120 Hz and reaches 1,000 nits of peak brightness, so outdoor visibility isn’t an issue even in direct sunlight. The triple-camera setup is anchored by a 64MP main shooter with phase-detection autofocus, an 8MP ultra-wide, and a 2MP macro, with a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor and 5G connectivity running the show underneath.

Step up to the Plinius Plus, and you get 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and an extra-durable back cover with a Pogo PIN connector for accessories that attach magnetically. The modular system is still in its early days, but the open-source hardware foundation is already in place, and it’s a signal that Volla isn’t done thinking about where this phone can go.

The standard Plinius starts at €598 and arrives in April 2026, while the Plus is priced at €698 with a June 2026 release. For most people, neither version is a cheap proposition, and mid-range internals might make that sting a little. For those who’ve quietly grown tired of being tracked, targeted, and optimized against, the price suddenly starts to look far more reasonable.

The post This Google-Free Phone Is IP68-Rated and Has a Replaceable Battery first appeared on Yanko Design.

This MagSafe iPhone Grip Is Actually a Self-Defense Spray in Disguise

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Personal safety products have a design problem few people talk about. Pepper sprays and personal alarms are either too bulky to carry consistently or so visually aggressive that most people feel uncomfortable with them in plain sight. The result is that these tools end up buried at the bottom of a bag or forgotten on a shelf, making them nearly useless when they’re needed most.

Safix is a concept that tries to close that gap by attaching a self-defense spray directly to the back of your iPhone. Built around Apple’s MagSafe ecosystem, it snaps onto the phone magnetically and functions as a finger grip during normal use. The idea is that the safest place to keep your protection is on the one thing you almost never put down.

Designer: Sunghwan Cho, Sooyeol Lee, Yeongeun Park, Geontak Oh, Daero Lee, Jinho Choi, Jungwoon Im (UNICHEST)

What makes this particularly clever is how little it looks the part. Safix borrows its silhouette from the rounded, organic contours of smooth river pebbles and comes finished in warm, muted tones. Its stone-like texture positions it firmly in lifestyle territory, the kind of object you’d expect sitting next to a room spray or a small succulent on a bedside table, not clipped to a keychain.

The team calls this approach the “Gentle Arc,” a form language that puts emotional comfort on equal footing with physical function. The thinking goes that self-defense tools carry a kind of psychological weight, and that weight itself is what keeps most of them in bags and drawers rather than in people’s hands. Designing something pleasant to hold and look at is meant to change that.

On most days, Safix earns its place on the back of your phone the same way a PopSocket does: by making it more comfortable to hold. The built-in rubber band loops around your fingers, giving you a stable grip for texting, photographing, or navigating. The MagSafe connection keeps it firmly in place yet detaches easily, so it never feels like it’s fighting you.

When you actually need it, pulling Safix off the phone takes a fraction of a second. The casing opens to reveal the spray mechanism inside, and a clearly marked button handles the deployment. A safety indicator on the front helps prevent accidental discharge. The whole interaction is built for speed, the kind you’d need in a moment that doesn’t give you time to think.

Consider someone walking home at night with their phone already in hand. They don’t have to dig for anything; the Safix is right there between their fingers, always within reach. That shift from “somewhere in the bag” to “in your hand as you use it” might sound trivial, but it’s the difference between a safety tool that works and one that only works when you remember you have it.

The post This MagSafe iPhone Grip Is Actually a Self-Defense Spray in Disguise first appeared on Yanko Design.

HONOR 600 Review: Looks Premium, Lasts all day, and Doesn’t Cost a Fortune

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PROS:


  • Beautiful, minimalist design

  • Gorgeous screen with narrow bezels

  • Strong hardware performance and battery life

  • Impressive 200MP camera

CONS:


  • 12MP ultra-wide and no telephoto camera

  • No wireless charging

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The HONOR 600 is quietly refined, impressively enduring, and priced like it knows exactly what it's doing.

Smartphones are starting to look increasingly alike. The flat-edged aluminum frame, the polished glass back, the minimal bezels; these have become the default visual language of every phone that wants to be taken seriously. The differences between competing designs are getting harder to spot, and choosing between them often comes down to specs rather than any genuine sense of aesthetic preference. That leaves a lot of phones feeling pretty forgettable.

HONOR’s response to that trend with the HONOR 600 is to squeeze as much premium character as possible into a phone that doesn’t demand a premium sacrifice from your wallet. On paper, it looks like a solid upper-midrange device. In person, though, it carries a kind of quiet refinement that feels well above its price class, and that difference is worth paying attention to. Read on to learn why.

Designer: HONOR

Ida Torres contributed to this review.

Aesthetics

The HONOR 600 will draw inevitable comparisons to Apple’s current design direction, and that’s not an accident. The overall silhouette, the straight display, and the deliberately restrained detailing all read from the same design vocabulary. But where Apple tends to keep things cool and clinical, the HONOR 600 manages to feel warmer and somehow more luxurious, which is a rather ironic achievement for a phone that costs this much less.

A lot of that warmth comes from the back panel, which is made from a translucent composite fiber material that looks remarkably like frosted glass. It has a clean, understated quality that doesn’t try too hard. The matte metal frame features a satin-like finish that shifts subtly under light. And it’s available in Black, Orange, and Golden White (our review unit), all of which feel right for this design. It’s a design that doesn’t scream for attention but still manages to make you look twice either way.

Not everything lands quite so elegantly, though. The raised camera module, which houses the 200MP main lens and ultrawide camera, looks a bit like an acrylic plate sitting on top of an otherwise seamless body. It’s only an optical illusion, though, as it really is a unibody structure as advertised. Additionally, that area picks up fingerprints and smudges with remarkable enthusiasm, which shows up even more conspicuously on the glass-like material.

The front of the phone, though, tells a very different story. The display framing is, in a word, stunning. HONOR uses a sub-1mm bezel around the screen that makes the border all but disappear, creating a front face that looks incredibly clean and modern. Certified by TÜV Rheinland as the narrowest black bezel among all global straight-screen phones currently on the market, it gives the phone a near-borderless look that you’d normally expect from something much more expensive.

Ergonomics

Picking up the HONOR 600 for the first time is a small but pleasant surprise. At 185g with a 6,400mAh battery packed inside a 7.8mm body, it feels lighter than you’d expect, without ever feeling cheap or flimsy. There’s a genuinely satisfying substance to it, the kind of weight that communicates quality rather than bulk, and the flat profile makes it comfortable to slip in and out of a pocket.

The flat edges of the aluminum frame, also on par with today’s design trends, have a satin-like finish that adds some texture to your grip. Along with the matte texture of the composite fiber material on its back, the Honor 600 offers a satisfying and confident hold that won’t make you feel like you’re precariously carrying some fragile luxury item.

One-handed use is generally comfortable, though there are a couple of small quirks worth mentioning. The camera bump introduces a slight wobble when the phone rests on a flat surface, which is par for the course with most phones these days. The under-display fingerprint sensor also sits a little lower than feels natural, requiring a small but noticeable stretch that takes a few days to get used to.

Performance

The Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 at the heart of the HONOR 600 isn’t branded as a flagship-grade processor, though it promises 27% CPU and 30% GPU performance improvements over its predecessor. That said, it handles daily tasks with smooth, unfussy reliability, from jumping between apps to editing photos in a gallery packed with AI tools. Gaming is no issue either, and the phone doesn’t grow unbearably hot during its use.

As mentioned earlier, the display matches the phone’s stunning rear design, boasting a bright 6.57-inch 120Hz AMOLED display with a resolution that sits comfortably above FHD+ resolution. The true test of its brightness comes in its Sunlight mode, pushing it to around the advertised 8,000 nits, allowing you to capture moments and videos even under bright sunlight.

Battery life is where the HONOR 600 makes its most compelling argument. The European review unit packs a 6,400mAh cell, while other regional variants go up to 7,000mAh, and either way, you’re getting genuinely impressive endurance. Heavy days involving a lot of photography, video streaming, and social media don’t bring the battery to its knees before bedtime, and lighter days make two-day stretches perfectly achievable.

Charging comes via an 80W wired HONOR SuperCharge connection that tops the phone up quickly when you need it, though wireless charging isn’t part of the package here. That’s one of the few features reserved for the Pro tier. Disappointing but not all too surprising, given some corners HONOR had to cut to reach this price point. The HONOR 600 does make use of that ample battery for 27W reverse charging, though it’s really unclear who still uses such a feature these days.

Portrait (Studio Harcourt)

The 200MP main camera on a 1/1.4-inch sensor is the standout on the back, delivering 16-in-1 pixel binning with an equivalent 2.24μm super pixel size and 24% greater light sensitivity. CIPA 6.0-certified optical image stabilization keeps handheld night shots sharp in a way that many phones in this category can’t match, almost to the point that a dedicated night mode feels redundant, let alone an AI-enhanced one.

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Night Mode

Night Mode, AI Enhanced

Unsurprisingly, the HONOR 600 performs admirably in this department, producing impressive, vibrant, and detailed shots even without setting anything up. And there are tons of knobs and dials you can turn to tweak your photo to your liking. You can, for example, select between Vibrant, Natural, Authentic “Classic” filters, though the differences are sometimes subtle.

Vibrant (Default)

Natural

Authentic

Beyond that, however, the HONOR 600 descends into the mid-range category. The 12MP ultra-wide shooter is decent but basic. There’s also no dedicated telephoto lens, though, so anyone with a serious interest in zoom photography might notice the gap most. The 50MP front camera, however, is perfect for selfies and vlogs, earmarking the phone for a very specific market.

0.5x (ultra-wide)

1x, 27mm

1x, 35mm

2x

4x

There’s no shortage of AI features, of course, most of which lean towards creative use for generating or editing images. There are also the staples like translation, search, and, with a bit of irony, a feature that detects deepfakes and voice cloning. There’s a dedicated AI Button that can be configured to a range of predefined shortcuts, making frequently used functions easier to reach. Unfortunately, you can’t even set it to launch an app of your choice.

Sustainability

The HONOR 600 isn’t marketed on sustainability credentials, but it’s built to last, which is arguably more meaningful. IP68, IP69, and IP69K water and dust resistance ratings, tested under controlled laboratory conditions, are complemented by an SGS 5-star Premium Performance Certification of Drop and Crush Resistance. More than just stickers on a spec sheet, they represent a phone that can handle the knocks and spills of daily life without drama.

HONOR promises six years of OS updates, which is a meaningful commitment that helps justify holding onto the phone for longer. The rollout timing isn’t always perfectly predictable, but the intention is solid. On the packaging front, there’s no charger in the minimalist and extremely compact box, which has become standard practice across the industry and is unlikely to inconvenience most buyers who already have an 80W-compatible charger at home.

Value

The HONOR 600 starts at €649.90 in Europe (around £549.99 in the UK, or roughly $700 in the US) for the 8GB RAM, 256GB storage configuration. That puts it squarely in premium territory, well above casual midrange pricing and nudging into the lower end of the proper flagship bracket. For context, it’s the kind of money where expectations are high, and compromises get noticed quickly.

Given what you’re getting, though, the asking price holds up well. The combination of premium design, a genuinely impressive main camera, outstanding battery life, a bright and comfortable display, and triple water resistance creates a package that feels more expensive than it costs. For buyers who prioritize how a phone looks and how long it lasts over raw performance or camera versatility, there’s real value here.

The one thing worth factoring in is how close the standard model sits in price to the Pro. The upgrade brings the Snapdragon 8 Elite, marking the first time the N Series featured that Elite-tier chipset, along with a dedicated telephoto lens and wireless charging, with 12GB of RAM as standard. For avid mobile photographers who want optical reach for zoom shots, that gap might feel more significant than the price difference suggests. For everyone else, the standard 600 covers most of what matters.

Verdict

The HONOR 600 is a phone with a clear sense of purpose. It’s slim, refined, and built with the kind of care that tends to show in daily use rather than on a spec sheet. The battery lasts, the display shines, the main camera performs, and the overall package carries itself with a quiet confidence that’s surprisingly rare at this price.

If you’re looking for a beautiful everyday phone with serious battery endurance and a genuinely premium feel that won’t push you into flagship pricing, the HONOR 600 is hard to overlook. The missing telephoto and the lack of wireless charging are worth knowing about beforehand, but they’re far less central to the daily experience than everything this phone gets confidently right.

The post HONOR 600 Review: Looks Premium, Lasts all day, and Doesn’t Cost a Fortune first appeared on Yanko Design.

A “Social Only” Smartphone inspired by the iPod lets you like, share, and scroll using hardware buttons

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Go ahead and open your screen-time and see what the most-used apps are. Mine, by far, are Instagram and YouTube. Tik-tok’s blocked where I live, so that’s probably the only reason I don’t have it there, but I log in at least 4-5 hours of scrolling and videos every day on my phone. I’m not saying it’s healthy, I don’t even recommend it. But it’s the reality and I’m sure there are a bunch of people just like me who use their phone predominantly for staying connected, and secondarily for productivity.

The “Threads Phone” by NARZ dives headfirst into that logic, offering a phone tailor-made to the social experience. Designed mainly for browsing, it borrows from another device that was tailor-made for browsing – the iPod. As much as the iPod was a music player, it was also insanely good at letting you browse through a massive collection of music. Thousands of songs in your pocket was quite literally Steve Jobs’ pitch, so it was important for the iPod to let you toggle through those songs effectively. NARZ simply took that logic and applied it to all of Social Media.

Designer: NARZ

The phone comes with a screen, but also sports actual controls to let you access and interact with social media posts. A jogwheel enables scrolling, the like and comment buttons are self-explanatory, and a repost button works best within Threads, X, Bluesky, or the Fediverse. There’s also an easy to access Back button so you aren’t reaching for the top of the screen like you would on most phones.

NARZ designed the phone especially for Threads use, which is a fairly non-confrontational way of saying it’s for X users too. Plus, given Threads is literally Instagram’s little sibling, the phone works fairly well with IG’s interface, allowing you to scroll using the jogwheel, while also tap on directions to slide between the different sections of the app, and click the center button to do things like open DMs, etc.

That doesn’t mean the touchscreen doesn’t work. It’s still a touch phone the way Blackberries are touch phones. However, the added benefit of social-ready hardware controls make the phone a breeze to use if you’re a bit of a social media junkie like I am. The concept doesn’t detail out the back of the phone, but it’s safe to assume that there’s a camera on there, making the Threads Phone just like your standard smartphone, just optimized for a certain type of use.

NARZ doesn’t stop there, though. On their Instagram, the designer also describes as the phone working as a Chromecast remote – an odd choice, but given that the jogwheels and buttons are already there, adding a set of features to the existing hardware sounds, well, deliberate. The device is currently in a concept stage, but it does make the case for hardware buttons on phones. Sure, we’ve seen companies go the Blackberry route by reviving QWERTY keyboards on devices (a la Clicks Communicator and Unihertz Titan 2 Elite), but I could see a device like this working too. After all, only a fraction of your time spent online actually involves typing text. The rest is still browsing and non-verbal interactions – so why not do what the iPod did so well? Browse?!

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moto g stylus 2026 Review: Accessible Pocket Productivity and Creativity

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PROS:


  • Stylus with pressure and tilt sensitivity

  • Beautiful, minimalist design

  • Bright and vibrant screen

  • Headphone jack and microSD card slot

CONS:


  • Short software support period

  • Relatively higher price compared to peers

  • Not much hardware upgrades from last-gen

RATINGS:

AESTHETICS
ERGONOMICS
PERFORMANCE
SUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITY
VALUE FOR MONEY

EDITOR'S QUOTE:

The moto g stylus - 2026 analog handwriting and digital freedom in a striking minimalist design that you can finally afford.

Despite and in spite of the growing number of screens and disembodied artificial voices around us, there remains a strong culture and argument for handwritten words. But while there might be plenty of benefits to putting ink to paper, there’s no denying that paper doesn’t provide the benefits of digital artifacts such as files, photos, and videos. For years, the stylus has been trying to bridge the best of both worlds, but it has so far been only within the reach of those who can afford it.

Since 2020, Motorola has been working to provide that kind of experience to more people through its Moto G Stylus line, but there have always been compromises. Ironically, most of those revolved around the very feature that gave the product line its name. With the moto g stylus – 2026, however, the brand is making its most daring leap forward yet, aiming for a title held only by the most luxurious of Samsung’s (non-foldable) handsets. So does it fly or does it fall? Read on to find out.

Designer: Motorola

Aesthetics

The moment you pull the moto g stylus – 2026 out of the box, you are immediately struck by how different it is from most phones of this generation. It doesn’t scream for attention with a ridiculously large camera module, nor does it attempt to dazzle your eyes with tricks of color and light. It is, in a nutshell, a minimalist lover’s dream.

The back of the phone, which is always the most expressive side of the design, is covered with a vegan leather-inspired material that gives the phone both visual and tactile texture. Continuing its partnership with PANTONE, those covers are available in subtle Coal Smoke (our review unit) and Lavender Mist colors, with the flat edges matching the hue. Other than the iconic “Batwing” logo and minuscule markings around the LED flash, the design is bare and plain, a refreshing change from the active and noisy rears of most smartphones these days.

The camera bump follows that same pattern, rising from the back plate with a gentle slope. There’s no separate structure caging the lenses, creating a seamless and unbroken surface that almost has a calming effect, especially when your finger starts to glide over the textured surface. There’s almost a sense of Zen, so to speak, which is almost how many pen and paper lovers describe their favorite notebooks.

Of course, the front is the polar opposite, but only because of its bright and vibrant screen. The thin and almost symmetrical bezels and the flat glass, however, serve to provide balance that keeps that liveliness in check. All in all, the moto g stylus – 2026 is both simple and sublime. It doesn’t call attention to itself with some fancy visual or material gimmick, but you can’t help but pay close attention to its minimalism just the same.

The stylus is cut from the same cloth, with a design that might be familiar to those who have held a Samsung “Ultra” flagship. It’s basically a somewhat flat stick, with a spring-loaded rear that easily resembles the (addictive) clicky ends of retractable pens. But unlike the small but stubby nibs of its predecessors, there is now a proper tapered, conical tip. Of course, it’s not just an aesthetic change, as we’ll get to in a bit.

Ergonomics

Another thing you’ll notice the moment you lift the moto g stylus – 2026 out of the box is how light it is. At only 192.3g, even with the 4.7g stylus inside, it’s easily one of the lightest phones in the market today. Given that it has a 6.7-inch screen and a large 5,200mAh battery, that’s even more surprising.

That lightness, however, is a double-edged blade. On the one hand, it might make the phone feel a little flimsy, almost like it could easily fly out of your hand. It almost makes the vibration haptics feel hollow, as if there’s not enough substance in there.

On the other hand, it strains your hand less when holding it for a long time, especially as you might find yourself constantly scribbling or doodling on it. The phone’s textured back and flat edges also help deliver a more confident hold. It just won’t accidentally slip from your hand that easily. A protective case almost feels redundant if grip is your only reason for putting one on.

One thing to note about the camera module is that although it is thin and subtle, it still lifts a single corner of the phone when you put it on a flat surface. That means it will wobble, which can be pretty annoying when you’re writing with a stylus. Funnily enough, that might actually be a more pressing reason to put a case on, just to create a balance. Unfortunately, you do lose out on feeling the phone’s textured surface.

Performance

The Specs

The moto g stylus – 2026 makes no qualms about its specs, clearly marking it for the mid-range smartphone market. There’s only 8GB of RAM, which can be expanded up to 24GB with RAM Boost, which basically eats up some of the already modest 128GB or 256GB of storage. Thankfully, you can also expand that storage with a microSD card of up to 1TB capacity, definitely a rare sight these days, even among phones on the same tier.

The biggest disappointment is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor, which is a holdover from last year’s moto g stylus. In fact, if you look closer, you’ll see plenty of similarities between the 2025 and 2026 models, from processor to cameras. It’s not always a bad thing, but given the price hike, you’d be forgiven for expecting a bit more.

Make no mistake, though, the moto g stylus – 2026 is plenty capable. It won’t win trophies on benchmarks, but it does get the job done without breaking too much of a sweat. It’s even surprising how it can handle a game like Warframe on high settings. It doesn’t get too warm, either, and the vegan leather material probably helps make it feel a little less warm as well.

And that’s perfect because the moto g stylus – 2026 has such a gorgeous screen to play and watch on. The 6.7-inch 2712 x 1220 AMOLED display boasts a peak brightness of 5000 nits, definitely one of the brightest in the market, making it easily usable under sunlight. The rounded corners are also less curved, so UI elements are not obstructed, especially in games. Plus, the 3.5mm headphone jack, another rare sighting, can perfectly complement the visuals with hi-def wired audio.

The moto g stylus – 2026 runs the latest Android 16, and given Motorola’s history, the skin is pretty minimal and non-invasive. It’s probably the closest you can get to a Pixel experience outside of Google Pixel phones, which is light, fast, and probably barebones if you’re coming from other brands like Samsung and Xiaomi. There’s almost no bloatware, unless you count the dozen or so pre-installed Google apps, which would be the same situation on a Google Pixel phone anyway.

The Pen

There’s no beating around the bush: the only reason you’d even give the moto g stylus – 2026 is because of its stylus. For the first time, that stylus is no longer just a very thin stub standing in for your finger tip. For the first time, it is supporting pressure and tilt sensitivity, features that only Samsung offers at nearly three times the price.

The older stylus designs were practical and usable, but this new pen opens the door to even more possibilities, especially when it comes to creative activities like drawing, designing, and editing photos. It gives you much better control and precision, while also offering more styles in terms of pen width, brushes, and the like.

The stylus is also crucial in some productivity workflows, like when dragging images to a note in split-screen mode, highlighting and copying text to a note, or for sketching a crude representation of a cat and using AI to turn it into a photorealistic masterpiece. Part of this upgraded experience is made possible with the Moto Notes app, which supports drawing on an infinite canvas that can then be embedded into notes.

The new stylus also has a button that can be mapped to some actions depending on whether you press or long-press it, though the actions are not that varied. The pen now also has to be charged, which is how it’s able to pull off that pressure sensitivity stunt, and you can only charge it when it’s inside its silo.

The Cameras

The moto g stylus – 2026’s camera story is rather underwhelming. On the hardware side, it doesn’t exactly differ from last year’s cameras, which include a 50MP Sony LYTIA 700C sensor and a 13MP Ultra-wide shooter that doubles as the Macro camera. In a nutshell, these are serviceable and decent, but they wouldn’t be something you’d want to rely on if you were planning on being a professional shutter bug.

The main shooter does a pretty good job of capturing detail, but its dynamic range seems to be on the narrower side, making subjects look a little flat. The AI-enhanced Signature Style can try to compensate, but it also oversaturates the output.

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Signature Style

Normal

Night Vision

Nighttime photography is what you’d expect, as there wouldn’t be enough light information to work with. Night Vision Mode definitely kicks things up a notch, brightening things up enough to make out the details. This is one of those moments where the difference is, pardon the pun, night and day.

Ultrawide (0.5x)

Wide (1x)

Zoom (2x)

Given the hardware, ultra-wide shots are naturally less impressive but still get the job done for a quick panoramic picture. There’s no dedicated telephoto lens, so it does double duty as the macro camera. Unfortunately, it doesn’t make much of a difference. Portrait shots are pleasant and accurate, though, and you can select from 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm focal lengths.

Macro

Macro

The Battery

One of the few upgrades this year is the moto g stylus – 2026’s larger 5200mAh battery. It still supports 68W wire Turbo Charging and 15W wireless charging, the latter with no magnetic tricks. With the right power brick, you’re promised a full charge in just 44 minutes, but even a 65W charger managed to top the phone off in just a little over an hour.

That charging won’t happen frequently though, as the phone can last more than a day with normal use, including browsing the web, social media, and even watching videos on that bright, large screen. With less frequent use, it can actually extend to two days, though you’ll want to be on Wi-Fi rather than cellular to pull that off. Needless to say, it’s a reliable daily partner that won’t have you scrambling for a charger before you head home.

Sustainability

Motorola has been pretty vocal about its sustainability efforts, but the moto g stylus – 2026 is a bit of a hit and a little miss. The compact, plastic-free packaging is superb in that regard, ditching the redundant charging brick as well. Motorola also boasts about longevity, given the IP68, IP69, and MIL-STD-810H certifications.

Where the story takes a sad turn, however, is in the software upgrades. Only two years of Android upgrades and three years of security updates, figures that would have sounded generous almost a decade ago. This lags way behind the likes of Xiaomi, notorious for its short software support cycles, and is quite disappointing for an Android user experience that is almost as pure and unencumbered as the Google Pixel.

Value

There’s no going around the fact that the moto g stylus – 2026 has a price tag that’s a little difficult to swallow. It’s more than a $100 jump from last year’s model, and at $500 or $600, for 128GB and 256GB storage, respectively, other brands might give you better specs for the same price. Granted, Motorola often throws in bundles and discounts to sweeten the deal, but the initial price shock is unavoidable.

That said, that price could be a bit justifiable, especially if you factor in how electronics prices are going up these days anyway. For that amount, you get a solid, reliable, and beautiful phone that is almost literally a digital Field Notes notebook in your pocket. Considering that the closest competition is actually a $1,300 Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, then there’s almost no contest. Sure, it doesn’t have the glamorous bells and whistles, but neither would a trusty notebook.

Verdict

More than any mainstream smartphone in the market today, the moto g stylus – 2026 is clearly aimed at a particular audience: people who don’t want their productivity and creativity to be hampered by not having their notebook or their computer around. They say the best tool is the one that you have with you, and almost everyone has their smartphone in their pocket. And what better way to capture fleeting inspiration or sketch inspiring vistas than by whipping out your phone and pulling out the stylus?

By no means is the moto g stylus – 2026 perfect. In fact, you might even call it dated if you judged it by its specs alone. But with a talented stylus, a gorgeous screen, a reliable battery, and a beautiful minimalist design, it is definitely worth every penny. There is no perfect productivity tool or notebook, but the moto g stylus – 2026 comes pretty darn close.

The post moto g stylus 2026 Review: Accessible Pocket Productivity and Creativity first appeared on Yanko Design.

The OnePlus Ace 6 Ultra Finally Fixes the Thumbs-on-Screen Problem

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Mobile gaming has come a long way from simple puzzle games and endless runners. Today’s smartphones can run graphically demanding titles at high frame rates, rivaling dedicated gaming hardware in raw power. But the way we actually control these games hasn’t kept pace. Playing shooters on a touchscreen has always meant thumbs blocking the very action they’re trying to aim at.

Gaming phones like the OnePlus Ace series have tried to bridge that gap with cutting-edge chips, cooling systems, and specialized gaming software. These upgrades help, but they don’t solve the fundamental issue of using glass as a controller. The Ace 6 Ultra changes that approach entirely by pairing with a snap-on accessory called the Gun God Game Controller, designed specifically for competitive shooter titles.

Designer: OnePlus

OnePlus calls the combined setup the “Gun God Handheld,” a new category somewhere between a smartphone and a portable gaming console. The controller is a lightweight shell that the phone snaps into, giving the whole rig a contoured, comfortable grip built for extended sessions. The multi-finger controls relocate to the back, clearing the screen and keeping the player’s field of view unobstructed.

That involves four physical back buttons: two bumpers (L1 and R1) and two triggers (L2 and R2). The thumbs stay on the screen for movement and aiming, while extra fingers take over shooting and special moves. All four are fully customizable, and OnePlus describes this as a “Touch × Button Fusion” that preserves the game’s native touchscreen logic while layering physical input on top.

What sets those buttons apart is what’s inside them. The micro-mechanical switches have a 1,000Hz polling rate and a 1.8ms response time, which means the gap between pressing a trigger and registering the action is almost imperceptible. A built-in esports antenna helps maintain a stable signal during play, which matters when a moment of lost connection is enough to throw off a well-timed shot.

Long gaming sessions bring heat, and the controller doesn’t ignore that. It includes a built-in heat spreader along with a magnetic suction cooling fan for sustained thermal performance. A USB-C port along the bottom keeps charging available while playing, so the battery isn’t a concern mid-session. Together, these let you push through long sessions without the heat-related slowdowns that typically creep in on demanding mobile titles.

Backing all of this is the OnePlus Ace 6 Ultra itself, which runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 9500 chipset. Its GPU is 33% faster than the previous generation, with 120 FPS gameplay support and ray tracing for a more visually immersive experience. An 8,600mAh battery with 120W fast charging handles the power demands, ensuring the phone itself keeps up with the hardware strapped to its back.

The Gun God Controller and Ace 6 Ultra launch together in China on April 28, with no confirmed global release date. For mobile gamers who’ve long wished their phone felt more like a proper handheld, this combo is a genuinely interesting answer. It’s still a phone when you need it to be, and something far more deliberate when the game demands it.

The post The OnePlus Ace 6 Ultra Finally Fixes the Thumbs-on-Screen Problem first appeared on Yanko Design.