This Week at Mark Ellis Reviews

👋 Happy Friday and Happy Easter to all who celebrate or those who are just happy for a day off work! I’ve been blown away by the Google Pixel 9a this week and spent some time comparing it to the iPhone 16e. We also got round to reviewing another mid-range titan in the form of the Samsung Galaxy A56 and I took the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for a walkabout review.

A quick note regarding the giveaway that opened last week: there was a technical error on our side that meant you weren’t taken to the second part of the survey. All readers who completed the first part of the survey last week have been entered already! And if you haven’t entered the giveaway yet, keep scrolling to find out how 👇

FIRST THINGS FIRST

The battle of the big mid-rangers

It feels like I’ve reviewed a lot of smartphones this year. Because I have. Most of them have been mid-range efforts from Team Android, and most of them have been utterly brilliant for the money. Then, Apple got involved with the iPhone 16e, and the entire internet set its trousers on fire.

It’s hard to think of a more controversial or divisive iPhone than the 16e. In our little tech bubble (and it really is little - most normal people have no idea what a bezel, nit, or refresh rate is), the iPhone 16e has been both praised for its simplicity and trashed for its parts-bin mentality. I’ve got one - it’s my main phone now (no, really) and I can see exactly what Apple has done with it. They didn’t need to do any more, and it will sell like hotcakes. You’d do the same in Tim Cook’s position.

Now, Google has entered the ring with the quite brilliant Pixel 9a. It’s not perfect (you can watch my full review here) - because it was never going to be. The display bezels are sizeable, the chunky design isn’t for everyone, and, yes, it has an old modem chip in it. But it’s a lovely phone with a stonking camera system and if I wasn’t so welded to my Mac, I’d switch to it immediately from the iPhone 16e. In fact, I still haven’t written off that scenario.

In this week’s Tech Diary video, I go into this topic in more detail - off the cuff, of course - and reveal why these two devices from two industry titans are so fascinating. Although, as always, I’d counter that with the fact that it’s only we uber tech fans who take this much interest in the minutiae of such comparisons. For everyone else, it’s just the next phone they’ll use for the foreseeable future. Or until the battery dies.

BYTE-SIZED NEWS

This Week’s Top Tech Headlines

📱 Foldable iPhone Reportedly Using Samsung Displays
If this one ends up being true, then it would be a seismic step in the relationship between Apple and Samsung.

🔋 ​Honor Power Unveiled With 8,000mAh Battery
The battery life of Android phones keeps getting madder by the month. Honor has just upped the ante a lot.

Samsung Galaxy A56 Review: Unremarkable In The Best Way

The Samsung Galaxy A56 is, much like all the other mid-range phones released this year, very good value for money. And the competition is so fierce that it makes choosing one to actually buy quite difficult. That’s where the A56 sets out its stall. There aren’t any bells, whistles or 200 MP camera specs to catch the eye, but what you do get is high-quality in pretty much every aspect, making the A56 the boring but ultra-reliable pick.

Apple Watch Ultra 2 review 2025 – they still haven’t fixed THIS!

I took the Apple Watch Ultra 2 for a walk this week after putting it off for 18 months. There were gunshots, the threat of Garmin fans lurking in the trees and one major problem which I still can’t wrap my head around with Apple’s most expensive watch. You’ll have to watch the video to see what the hell I’m talking about with the above!

NEED TO KNOW

Tip Of The Week

👉 iOS tip: Boost your signal manually – Your phone holds onto the last connected cell tower, even if a better one is available. If your reception is bad, toggle Airplane Mode on and off to force your phone to reconnect to the nearest, strongest tower.

TOP FINDS

What Had Me Glued to YouTube…

🧽 Inside London's Prestigious Car Cleaning Business (Tino Car Care) - I still can’t stop watching this guy wash cars. Send help.

🏡 I bought a House because of YouTube! (Andres Vidoza) - One of the tech review world’s most humble and talented creators, and he’s just bought a rather lovely new gaff. Fair play, mate.

📣 £250 Android Beats £1000 iPhone! | Honor 400 Lite Review (Tech Spurt) - Chris made a completely unplanned appearance in my Pixel 9a review, so it’s only fair that I give him a bit more airtime in this week’s newsletter. Not that he needs it.

🪩 How Las Vegas' Sphere Actually Works (MegaBuilds) - I was lucky enough to go to the Sphere a couple of CESs ago, and it was one of the most jaw-dropping experiences I’ve ever had. And this channel is an insta-subscribe.

GIVEAWAY

Win a Samsung T9 Portable SSD!

In my iPad accessories video this week, I launched our latest giveaway, accessible only to you, my loyal newsletter readers!

To enter 👉 just click one of the options below to share what you thought of this newsletter (please be completely honest here). Once complete, you’re in the running to win a Samsung T9 1TB portable SSD (worth $129/£119)! Please ignore the request to leave additional feedback. Simply cast your vote to enter.

This giveaway ends midnight of 24 April 2025 (GMT+1), and is open to anyone living in the US, UK or EU. The winner will be picked at random and alerted via email. This contest is in no way associated with Samsung.

‘GRAM OF THE WEEK

Skullcandy has partnered with Bose!

These are the Method 360 ANC, and they promise "premium sound for the people" - along with a very unique case. I was sent a pair to check out and can confirm they provide that unmistakable Skullcandy punch with the sheen of Bose audio. Impressive.

Oh - and they're only £99.99 👀

More thoughts coming soon, but in the meantime - here's the deets!

🔊 Sound by Bose

🔊 Adjustable ANC

🔊 40-hour battery with case

🔊 IPX4 sweat and water resistant

🔊 Multipoint pairing

🔊 Bluetooth 5.3

Check out the Method 360 ANC headphones here (this is an affiliate link) and let me know what you think!

Thanks for reading this week’s newsletter. The giveaway ends next week so please do enter if you haven’t already!

~ Mark