Tech advisor dell XPS 13 9370 powerful, portable and stylish windows laptop june 2018

BEST BUY LAPTOPS, TABLETS, WEARABLES FROM IDG Dell XPS 13 9370 Powerful, portable and stylish Windows laptop JUNE 2018 REVIEW: Samsung Galaxy S9 BUILD YOUR OWN COMPUTER WITH A DIY KIT Stunning new flagship that’s hard to beat CONTENTS 12 NEWS 10 Windows 10 S to evolve into a mode in 2019 Sets to reappear in autumn Insider builds Oculus releases fix after worldwide blackout REVIEWS 12 25 41 52 62 25 Dell XPS 13 9370 (2018) Samsung Galaxy S9 Sony Xperia XA2 Ultra Honor Lite Vodafone Smart N8 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 CONTENTS 72 BUYING GUIDE Best DIY computer kits 72 ROUND-UP 81 Best PC games 81 HOW TO Set up two monitors for your PC Connect your phone to Windows 10 JUNE 2018 104 106 • TECH ADVISOR NEWS Windows 10 S to evolve into a mode in 2019 Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore tweeted the news MARK HACHMAN reports R eports that Windows 10 S will become a ‘mode’ of Windows 10 were confirmed recently by Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore, who stated that the transition will occur next year Belfiore, a corporate vice president in the Operating System Group within Windows, tweeted his statement in response to this author’s own comment that Microsoft had neglected to mention 10 S in a recent blog post touting the success of Windows devices in schools Microsoft launched the OS in 2017 as a standalone TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 NEWS version of Windows, partly to provide a secure, manageable version of Windows to those schools Currently, Microsoft sells Windows 10 S and 10 as separate versions Windows 10 S works only with the UWP apps Microsoft itself provides from the app store Its users may also switch to Windows 10 Pro via an upgrade found within the Microsoft Store However, Windows 10 S hasn’t appeared in anything more than the Surface Laptop and a handful of education devices A representative of FutureSource, the author of the report, said that the company could not provide data on the number of Windows 10 S devices, given that “few have been available until recently.” Reports surfaced recently that Microsoft would combine Windows 10 S and Windows 10, making the former a ‘mode’ of the Windows 10 OS Microsoft had declined to confirm the substance of those reports until now, and hadn’t said when the transition would take place, if ever Belfiore’s tweet has revealed that the reports are true, and when the transition will take place “We use Win10S as an option for schools or businesses that want the ‘low-hassle’/ guaranteed performance version,” Belfiore tweeted “Next year 10S will be a ‘mode’ of existing versions, not a distinct version SO … I think it’s totally fine/good that it’s not mentioned,” he said of the report’s omission of Windows 10 Whether Microsoft will offer Windows 10 S by default is not clear One report by Thurrott.com has said that users will be able to upgrade from an ‘S’ version of Windows 10 Home S to full-fledged Windows 10 Home JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR NEWS for free, but Pro users going from the ‘S’ version to the full version will be charged $49 (around £35) While it’s not clear why the Windows 10 S transition will take place in 2019 – development time, or just a chance for the Windows 10 S to succeed on its own? – we know now that Windows 10 S will be the ‘low-hassle’ version of Windows Windows 10 Home/Pro, with its legacy Win32 support, will be the more powerful version Guess we’ll know in a year how this will change the status of Windows 10 S in the marketplace TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 NEWS Sets to reappear in autumn Insider builds If you’ve been pining for a tabbed File Explorer app, your wait is almost over Sets is returning, reveals MARK HACHMAN I f you’re a fan of Windows 10’s tabbed Sets interface, you may want to sign up for the Windows Insider program this autumn, because Sets is back Microsoft has announced Windows 10 Insider Build 17618, a closed beta for the ‘Skip Ahead’ portion of the Windows Insider program Most Insiders follow the developer team working on the current build; that team is wrapping up the spring update (Redstone 4) that’s due in the next few weeks The ‘Skip Ahead’ Insiders follow another team of developers working on the next update, due in the autumn It’s in the autumn update, known as Redstone 5, where Sets will reappear We tested Sets late last year, JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR NEWS which replaces the traditional ‘one app, one window’ user interface with something that looks more like a web browser Last autumn, the beta Sets interface allowed you to tack on an app as another tab, using UWP apps like Calendar, Edge, and Mail Now, the ‘Skip Ahead’ Insiders get to play with a beefed-up version of Sets, where support for some legacy Win32 apps has been added in In a month or so, the current Insiders will get it, too Now File Explorer, Notepad, Command Prompt, and PowerShell are also tabbed – great news for those who’ve been hoping for a tabbed File Explorer interface for years Microsoft also announced that Sets will be integrated once again with Timeline, Microsoft’s replacement for the virtual-machine-like Task View Timeline sees each disparate app you’re using for a project as an ‘activity’, and it gathers all your activities into one virtual place “When restoring your projects you’ll be prompted to restore related apps and web pages,” Microsoft said in a blog post “In Timeline you’ll see when a project has multiple activities associated with it.” While Windows users can switch from browser tab to browser tab using Ctrl + PgUp/PgDn, Windows users can switch from application tab to application tab using Ctrl + Win + Tab, or use Ctrl + Win + T to open a new tab (To open a Win32 app in a new tab, hold down Ctrl as you launch it; otherwise, it will launch in a new window.) Unfortunately, you can’t use drag-and-drop to reorder tabs at this time, Microsoft said Remember, Sets is a long-term revision for Microsoft Microsoft tested Sets within the upcoming Redstone TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 NEWS version for Windows Insiders, then yanked it to polish it behind the scenes Microsoft has said it could take years for Sets to roll out in a final form, with support for all of Microsoft’s own apps as well as legacy applications from third-party developers Previously, Sets was an optional experience that could be toggled on and off, and that may be the case here, too It’s very possible you’ll like Sets; it’s very possible you won’t Microsoft’s expended a lot of effort, though, in making Windows work for a variety of users, from those who prefer using Windows tablets with pens, to differently abled users, and hardcore gamers Interested in trying out Sets as part of the Insider program? Go to Settings > Update and Security > Windows Insider Program to get started Just remember that you won’t see Sets until April sometime, when the Insider program and the current Skip Ahead development track will merge JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR NEWS Oculus releases fix after worldwide blackout The good news is that it’s fixable But it probably shouldn’t have happened in the first place, reports HAYDEN DINGMAN I f you want a hint of how fragile our tech-reliant world is, look no further than the Oculus Rift Rift owners the world over recently discovered that their £399 virtual reality headset had become a paperweight overnight – at least temporarily It seems as though Oculus forgot (?) to issue an updated Windows certificate, the security feature that 10 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 ROUND-UP No Man’s Sky mod greatly extends the duration of the game and ramps up the importance of the strategic map and resource planning They’re both excellent, full stop 14 No Man’s Sky Price: £50 from fave.co/2pb14Vi Okay, okay, No Man’s Sky didn’t live up to the hype for a lot of people, and its launch was rocky – borderline disastrous, even – on the PC But Hello Games worked out the worst technical kinks quickly and released several substantial, free updates that fleshed out the game’s systems Now that people are done trying to judge No Man’s Sky for what they wanted it to be, we can evaluate it for what it actually is: a chilled-out exploration game with a heavy layer of survival elements 96 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 ROUND-UP Stellaris Is that everybody’s cup of tea? Lord, no But it sure is mine, and if the idea of casually exploring 18 quintillion procedurally generated planets in a massive universe sounds appealing to you, No Man’s Sky might just hook you for dozens of hours, too 15 Stellaris Price: £34 from fave.co/2FKEXuQ Freed from the chains of history, Paradox takes grand strategy to the stars and creates a solid foundation that’s begging to be expanded upon in Stellaris Stellaris is best understood as a loosely-defined sandbox, with up-front complexity hiding emergentnarrative ambitions that harkens back to Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, Babylon 5, and every other sci-fi classic you can think of Maybe you meet a race JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR 97 ROUND-UP of benevolent birds, eager to share their research with the galaxy’s newest interstellar travellers Maybe you come across the remnants of a declining empire, still overwhelmingly powerful even in their death throes and clinging to the few star systems they possess Maybe robot workers revolt, tipping over the balance of a delicate singularity and ushering in a new era of machine-led imperialism Or maybe humanity spreads throughout the stars Some sections of the game are a bit threadbare, and Stellaris’ early game outshines its mid-game But there’s still plenty to sink your teeth into here, and Paradox has been plugging the holes admirably with its usual deluge of post-launch content Bottom line: It’s great 16 Grand Theft Auto V Price: £39 from fave.co/2FIppIj It took years for Grand Theft Auto V to land on PCs, but the wait was worth it The PC version of GTA V is easily the definitive version of the game, bundled with a video editor for custom clips and overflowing with all sorts of tweakable settings and sliders to bend the look of Los Santos to your will And oh, what a glorious world Los Santos is GTA V features not only the massive city, but also the surrounding countryside, along with numerous suburbs, towns, and wilderness areas, all overflowing with stuff to This playground is utterly massive – and it’s fully open and ready to explore from the getgo, unlike previous GTA games You could waste days simply people watching in first-person mode, and that’s before dipping your toes into the addictive GTA Online, 98 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 ROUND-UP Grand Theft Auto V which Rockstar has kept stocked with frequent updates that add new game modes, heists, vehicles, and more 17 Elite: Dangerous Price: £19 from fave.co/2pbCWSf A sequel to the beloved Elite from the Amiga-era days, Elite: Dangerous is massive This mammoth game drops you into the middle of a enormous universe with more than 400 billion – yes, billion – individual star systems, each with their own planets, space stations, asteroids, players, and more And new things are being added all the time, aided by the game’s connectivity requirement Simply travelling from our reviewer’s starting point to Earth’s home system took roughly 30 hours Elite: Dangerous would be well served by better introductory tutorials But for sheer size and scope, JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR 99 ROUND-UP Elite: Dangerous virtually no game beats this living, breathing universe, which recently suffered from an alien invasion Earlier this year developer Frontier released a huge, free expansion dubbed Beyond: Chapter One that advances the main story and wraps in all sorts of gameplay enhancements 18 Dark Souls Price: £29 from fave.co/2FKFGMA You died Get used to the words; you’ll see them a lot But as brutal as this dark fantasy is – and it is, have no doubt – each of those deaths serves a purpose Every demise in Dark Souls III provides a learning experience, a small glimpse into the tightly-timed attack patterns and vulnerabilities of your tormentors Over time – after you die and die and die – understanding dawns When 100 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 ROUND-UP Dark Souls you finally use that knowledge to best the enemy, the frustration of all those deaths fades away in the moment of glory Until his buddy runs along and kills you with a single blow This is the Dark Souls way Love it or loathe it, you have to respect it – and mastering this world will take you many hours and many, many deaths, especially if you pick up the Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City expansions available for the game 19 Europa Universalis IV Price: £34 from fave.co/2FGImej Europa Universalis IV – one of our favourite games of 2013 – is an empire-building 4X strategy game like Civ V, but the resemblances end there Whereas Civ has a very defined (if widely varied) set of end goals, EUIV JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR 101 ROUND-UP Europa Universalis IV delivers a more sandbox-like experience Once you pick a country to play as and a year to start, you’re basically left to your own devices Europa Universalis IV is a game about colonization, enlightenment, overthrowing tyranny, religious upheaval, nation-building, mercantilism, piracy, feuding monarchies, and political intrigue – or none of that, if you feel like ignoring it War is discouraged; patience and planning is required A veritable library of expansions over the years have beefed the game out even more, just like with Crusader Kings II 20 Fallout Price: £19 from fave.co/2FKfAtn Welcome to the Commonwealth, the post-bomb remnants of the Boston area – a land rife with super- 102 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 ROUND-UP Fallout mutants, robots, bandits, freakishly augmented wildlife, and irradiated water As ‘The Sole Survivor’, you’re on the hunt for your kidnapped son, and your decisions will mold the future of the Commonwealth – as well as which of several warring factions win control of the area, including Diamond City, a flourishing town built in the shadow of the Red Sox’s iconic Green Monster To be fair, Fallout isn’t as role playing heavy as its predecessors, and some of the game’s rules and systems are frustratingly opaque But the open world that Bethesda’s built is just so big, vibrant, and full of stuff to that you won’t be able to put the game down The lure of “What’s over the next hill?” is strong in this one It may not be as versatile as the Fallouts of old, but this game’s still an absolute blast in its own right, especially once you dip your toes into the deep selection of available mods JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR 103 HOW TO How To: Set up two monitors for your PC KATHERINE STEVENSON shows how to double your screen space ven a generous 24in monitor can feel cramped when you’ve got multiple windows open on your desktop (and who doesn’t) It’s much worse if you’re confined to a laptop screen Fortunately, it’s simple enough to add a second monitor to your PC setup and spread out Any modern desktop or laptop PC has the graphics capability to run dual displays All that’s required is a second monitor You can get a very nice second screen for around £100 E 104 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 HOW TO Today’s monitors typically come with some combination of VGA, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort ports In other words, you’ll have a couple options for how to connect the monitor to your PC While its common for VGA and DVI cables to come included with the display, you may have to purchase your HDMI or DisplayPort cable separately if you go that route Step The first part is easy – connect your second monitor to a power outlet and an available port on your PC Step Next, tell Windows how to manage the two monitors If Windows only appears on one monitor, or if the two of them aren’t working the way they should, right-click the desktop and select either Screen resolution (Windows and Windows 8) or Display settings (Windows 10) In the resulting dialog you can specify the displays’ arrangement The Multiple Displays pull-down menu allows you to control how the two screens work together Choosing Extend these displays will prompt Windows to treat your displays as one contiguous screen Once you’ve selected that setting, tell Windows which monitor is on the left or right by dragging the graphics at the top of the dialog box The Make this my main display option controls which monitor gets the taskbar and Start button If you don’t see that option, the currently selected monitor is already the main one You can also control many of these settings by right-clicking the desktop and selecting your graphics control panel JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR 105 HOW TO How To: Connect your phone to Windows 10 Connecting your smartphone to a Windows 10 PC lets you freely move between the devices MARTYN CASSERLY explains how indows Phone might now be consigned to the recycle bin of history, but Android and iPhone users can still connect their devices to a Windows 10 PC Doing so means you can take advantage of extra features such as sending articles you find on the web straight to your laptop It’s easy to set up and get going in only a few minutes Here’s how W 106 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 HOW TO Using Settings on your PC When Windows 10 first launched there was a ‘Phone Companion’ app that was used to connect your smartphone This is due to be retired very soon, possibly by the time you read this, so instead there’s now a new section in the Settings menu To get started, tap the Windows key on your PC, then either type in Settings or click on the little cog icon in the bottom left of the screen You should find the Phone option on the top line between Devices and Network & Internet Click on it to begin On the next screen you’ll see a section entitled ‘Your phone’ in which there is a button marked Add a phone Click on this and another window will appear, asking you to enter your phone number Do so, then click the Send button A text message will arrive on your phone, containing a link to download Microsoft Edge (sneaky move, there, Microsoft) Although you may consider this an underhand way of tricking you into installing Microsoft’s browser on your phone, you need to this in order to use the features we’ll describe below Tapping on the link should take you to your phone’s app store, so install the app and you’ll be ready to move onto the next step When Microsoft Edge is installed, launch the app and sign in with your Microsoft account You’ll be given the option to sync your passwords You can either choose to this now, or later on if you prefer, but if you leave it then you won’t be able to share information across devices if it requires the aforementioned password JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR 107 HOW TO Should you opt to sync passwords you’ll need to verify your Microsoft account by entering your account details With this done there’s just the final decision to make, which is whether to share your browsing history with Microsoft? Again this can be done at a later stage, and to be honest is only really useful if you intend to make use of Cortana You’ll now be presented with the Edge browser’s search page Here you can begin to look for something that interests you, say that wonderful retro-movie, comedy podcast everyone’s been talking about (yes, we can sneaky links, too) Navigate to the page you want to share, then at the bottom of the screen you’ll an icon of a vertical rectangle with an arrow sticking out of its right side If you can’t see this just scroll the screen up or down a little and it should appear 108 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 HOW TO Tap on the icon, then your phone will search for any linked PCs nearby Choose your one from the list, tap its name, then the web page will automatically open in the Edge browser on your PC Using Continue on PC app If you don’t want to replace your browser with Microsoft Edge, then there is an alternative Search in the Google Play Store or App Store for the Continue on PC app by Microsoft Install this, enter your Microsoft account details, then you’ll be able to send web pages from your browser of choice, using the normal Share option On iOS you’ll need to scroll to the far right of the Share options until you see the More button Tap this, scroll down until you find Continue on PC, then toggle it on Now it will appear in the Share menu automatically whenever it is opened JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR 109 ... embarrassing JUNE 2018 • TECH ADVISOR 11 REVIEW Dell XPS 13 9370 (2018) £1,249 inc VAT from fave.co/2HuFrpL ell‘s XPS line has always been good, but this year it is now certainly great The 2018 XPS 13. .. preferred Windows laptop So how the specs hold up? Hardware 8th-generation Intel chips are making their way into many high-end laptops in 2018 and the XPS line is no 14 TECH ADVISOR • JUNE 2018 REVIEW... and against the current crop of competing products Processor, RAM and storage Dell has added these 8th-gen Intel Core i 5-8 250U and i 7-8 550U processors to the XPS 13, depending on your needs and