25 Apr
Blog

Samsung Galaxy S20 Review: It’s Not A Compact Flagship

Samsung Galaxy S20 review hand

"The Galaxy S20 is the smallest S20, but not small enough to be a compact flagship."

  • Nice screen, 120Hz refresh rate

  • The camera takes good photos

  • Slim, light and easy to hold

  • 5G for the future

  • The size does not do justice to the screen

  • Not small enough to be different

The Galaxy S20 is an excellent phone. It is also the smallest member of the Galaxy S20 family. However, Samsung was wrong in not adopting the even smaller 5.8-inch screen size of the Galaxy S10e.

What is the Galaxy S20? It's a brilliantly powerful smartphone that can't differ from the slightly larger Galaxy S20 Plus to reach the underserved crowd that is screaming for a tiny flagship phone. Let's take a closer look at where the Galaxy S20 is successful and where it fails.

design

The Galaxy S20 looks exactly like the Galaxy S20 Plus, only on a slightly smaller scale. It is thin and light with 163 grams and 7.9 mm thickness and is based on an aluminum metal housing with Gorilla Glass 6 front and back. The screen measures 6.2 inches, so it's smaller than the 6.7-inch Galaxy S20 Plus and just a tad larger than the iPhone 11. I'm very happy that I injected the blue version instead of the matte gray Galaxy S20 Plus much needed character. It's fun to watch, rather than something Winston Smith from 1984 could have come up with on a particularly depressing day.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends.com

It's more natural to hold and use, also thanks to the 20: 9 aspect ratio compared to the Galaxy S20 Plus and OnePlus 8, but it's not that small. Although it's the baby of the S20 series, it's not a small phone. If you have the Galaxy S10 in hand, it's essentially the same size, only with a slightly larger screen. This is possible due to the amazingly slim bezels. They are almost invisible on the sides and only black splinters above and below. Using the Galaxy S20 is really like holding a big screen in your hand.

I also like the little details in the design, from the way the aluminum case bends around the volume and on / off buttons to the delicate camera joint on the back, which looks much less offensive here than the S20 Plus . It's a friendlier, tidier, and better all-round design. However, the larger screen of the S20 Plus convinces me every time it comes to watching videos and playing games.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends.com

The Galaxy S20 is smaller than the other phones in the range, but not so small that the trade-off between screen size and portability matters. The Galaxy S20 isn't a really compact flagship, but it's the most attractive of the three Galaxy S20 devices available this year. It is a puzzle that was ultimately solved by buying the blue or pink Galaxy S20 Plus.

Screen and games

The 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED has a resolution of 3200 x 1440 pixels for an even higher pixel density than the S20 Plus with 563 ppi. It has a refresh rate of 120 Hz, HDR10 + support and is one of the amazingly beautiful and sharpest smartphone screens that you will stare at. This is also a problem since you really have to stare at it as it feels quite restrictive when you take the opportunity to watch videos. You will enjoy the colors and sharpness of the S20 Plus or S20 Ultra more.

The screen size is great for reading emails and notifications, as well as surfing the Internet. The refresh rate of 120 Hz is not activated by default, but is strongly recommended. Scrolling is smoothed continuously, which results in less strain on the eyes and a more pleasant visual experience. There is a limitation as it can only be operated with the screen with Full HD resolution and not with active QHD resolution.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends.com

Start a video and YouTube shows content in 1080p quality with HDR, if available. Using the NowTV app to watch HBO's vapid but visually charged ballers looks incredible, with lots of details and a very natural color palette. However, the aspect ratio of the screen affects the viewing experience, since black bars run on both sides. Zoom in to fill the screen and you will lose part of the image above and below. Audio is very pleasant, with a lot of volume, although the bass is limited.

Playing is great, especially because of the immense power and performance of the phone and the wide variety of games available on the Google Play Store. Of course, it's not quite as impressive as the larger S20 Plus. Dariusburst is a good example of why you need to zoom out to compensate for the 20: 9 aspect ratio screen. Hill Climb Racer doesn't suffer the same way, and although I never really question the 240 Hz sample rate, the S20 always feels sharp and responsive, which makes playing comfortable.

The Galaxy S20 (from left), the Galaxy S20 Plus and the Galaxy S20 Ultra Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends.com

The Galaxy S20's screen is excellent, but while I'm willing to bypass the 20: 9 aspect ratio drawbacks on the larger models, I'm less willing to do so on the mid-size S20. If I want to pay for the kind of specs and media skills here, I really want to be able to enjoy them. That means a bigger screen.

camera

The camera of the Galaxy S20 is the same as that of the Galaxy S20 Plus. It only has a slightly more compact bulge on the back. It houses the 12-megapixel 1: 1.8 aperture sensor with optical image stabilization as well as a second 12-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a third 64-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom. It records 4K videos, has a time-of-flight sensor and there is a 10 megapixel selfie camera on the front.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends.com

I found it to offer the same performance as the S20 Plus. The camera is versatile, with wide-angle and zoom functions, takes decent shots in night mode and has a great photo editing suite built into the app. Portrait mode is effective, but must be used with care, as it sometimes fails to focus and edge detection suffers in more complex shapes. If this works, the edit mode to remove color from the background when taking portraits can produce some atmospheric, eye-catching shots.

You can find more information on the rating in the Galaxy S20 Plus test because the camera is identical. Check out some of the photo examples here to see how the Galaxy S20 behaves against it. The degree of saturation may be a little daunting, but is more reserved than with previous Samsung cameras. I have found that pictures taken on sunny days offer just the right amount of life and visual impact. Note that night mode can increase noise while lightening shaded areas. Therefore, shooting outside of night mode is often preferable.

Ultimately, the Galaxy S20 takes detailed and colorful photos that you want to share with minimal editing. There are more powerful cameras, from the iPhone 11 Pro to the Huawei P40 Pro, but the S20 (and the S20 Plus) are crowd pullers that take photos day and night and in most situations that you are happy with.

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Like the phone itself, the camera is a brilliant all-rounder that does without the great functions of the Galaxy S20 Ultra.

Software and security

The same Android 10-based OneUI 2.0 software is installed on the Galaxy S20 as on the S20 Plus and S20 Ultra. I went into more detail in my Galaxy S20 Plus review, but my overall impression remains the same. The colorful, bold, and fairly large icons stand out on the screen, and you can see what they're doing at a glance. The appearance can also be customized. By default, for example, it is a 4 x 4 grid with symbols, which makes it look a bit childish. However, for those who don't like large print, it can be switched to a 5 x 4 layout or a 6 x 4 layout. Style version.

I had no problems with apps, notifications are delivered without any problems and the design on a Google Pixel 4 was not so far removed from Android that it is a mysterious journey – although it is so different that it has its own identity. The haptic feedback is tactile, but I don't like the standard Samsung keyboard because it doesn't offer swipe input. Therefore, it is preferable to switch to Google's Gboard.

The problems remain the same. The Samsung Daily screen that appears is useless, and the need to use a hidden software key to turn off the phone, since the hardware key is assigned to Bixby, is irritating. On a positive note, the use of Samsung DeX to connect to my MacBook works well and much better than before because photos and music can now be synchronized.

The Galaxy S20 (from left), the Galaxy S20 Plus and the Galaxy S20 Ultra Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends.com

I mainly relied on the face unlock system to secure the Galaxy S20. It's fast and reliable, even if the phone sometimes doesn't wake up properly when I answer it, so I have to press the power button, which slows down the process. The built-in fingerprint sensor is the opposite. It is a bit slow and unreliable.

Power and battery

The golden glasses keep going. The Galaxy S20, bought in the USA, has the Snapdragon 865 processor with 12 GB RAM and is therefore one of the most powerful smartphones that you can currently buy. For this test I use the European version with a Samsung Exynos 990 chipset. Here are the benchmark results to see how they stand out from the competition.

Geekbench 5: 2753 Muilt-Core / 905 Single-Core

3DMark Sling Shot Extreme: 5198 volcano

Not surprisingly, this is almost the same as the Galaxy S20 Plus, which puts it slightly behind the Oppo Find X2 Pro and its Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. This shows how the U.S. Galaxy S20 phones will work. The OnePlus 8 Pro did better in the gaming benchmark test, which is probably not only due to the graphics chip of the Snapdragon 865, but also to the additional gaming modes of the phone, which are more comprehensive than those of the Galaxy S20.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends.com

The smallest Galaxy S20 phone gets the smallest battery. It is a 4,000 mAh cell that performs adequately. For daily, moderate use, including some phone and video calls, the Galaxy S20 ended the day at around 15% until 11 p.m. However, this was the case when a Wi-Fi connection was made, so I would assume it would be fairly empty if it had used a cellular network. With the included 25W Type C wired USB charger, the value increases from 0 to 55% in 30 minutes, and the full charge takes approximately one hour and 15 minutes. The Galaxy S20 also has wireless charging.

Although the Galaxy S20 has 5G, I don't have 5G coverage in my area. I tried both the Vodafone and EE 4G networks. Calls are clear to both, and reception was good on both cellular and Wi-Fi calls. Even though the speaker is small, I never had to constantly reposition the phone to find the right position to hear the caller.

Price, availability and guarantee

The Galaxy S20 costs $ 1,000 and is available in the cloud blue color shown above, as well as in the colors Cloud Pink, Cloud White and Cosmic Gray. It is available now from Samsung, various retailers and with a contract with network operators. In the UK, the phone costs £ 800 and is sold through all major carriers and also through Samsung itself.

You get a standard one-year warranty to cover manufacturing defects. If you buy the phone directly through Samsung, you can add a premium care package that offers accidental damage coverage and 24-hour care for $ 12 a month.

Our opinion

The Galaxy S20 is an excellent smartphone, but it doesn't differ enough from the larger, more user-friendly Galaxy S20 Plus, it's not cheap enough to be tempting as a budget buy, and it's not small enough to buy a truly compact flagship. If you want to spend $ 1,000 or more on a phone with one of the best screens in the industry, you can also get it in a size you like, and that's more true for the Galaxy S20 Plus than the S20. Assuming you understand this, the Galaxy S20 is still an excellent smartphone.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes. The Galaxy S20 Plus is the better buy in the Galaxy S20 range. However, if you only want to spend $ 1,000 on a new phone, you should take a closer look at the iPhone 11 Pro for $ 1,000 and the OnePlus 8 Pro for $ 1,000. Both seriously challenge the Galaxy S20 with excellent battery, camera and screen performance at the same price. The 5.8-inch iPhone 11 Pro will also meet your desire for a reasonably sized flagship.

We also think the $ 700 iPhone 11 is a great buy. If you're looking for a brilliant camera phone and don't want to worry about battery life, the Google Pixel 4 XL is worth a look. If you're in the UK looking for a less common alternative, the Oppo Find X2 Pro fills the gap if you don't mind spending more.

How long it will take?

With the fastest Qualcomm processor you can currently get, a nice screen, a decent camera, and 5G for the future, the Galaxy S20 easily lasts for a two-year contract and even longer.

It has an IP68 waterproof rating so it survives when it gets wet, but the vitreous can be kept in a suitcase if you're a bit clumsy. Samsung regularly offers software updates for its phones, and its flagships are usually well served. However, don't expect them to arrive as quickly as if you had bought a Google Pixel 4 XL or an iPhone 11 Pro.

Should you buy it

No. Most people should opt for the larger Galaxy S20 Plus.

Editor's recommendations




25 Apr
Blog

Motorola Tech3 Review: Hybrid Earbuds For The Plug-in Crowd

Motorola Tech3 True Wireless Earbuds

Motorola Tech3 Test: Wireless earphones without range anxiety

"A clever hybrid design takes you from wired to really wireless in seconds if you agree with average sound."

  • Clever hybrid design

  • Well-designed cable management

  • Clear and precise sound

  • Good battery life

  • IPX5 water resistance

  • Not enough bass

  • No volume control

  • Poor call quality when it is loud

  • Massive charging case

Surprisingly, real wireless earphones and electric cars have a lot in common. Both offer unprecedented freedom: electric cars free us from our addiction to oil, and real wireless earphones free us from our addiction to cables. However, both inventions also have inherent limitations: electric cars have a maximum range determined by their battery capacity, and the same applies to the length of time that real wireless earphones can deliver music without interruption.

In both cases, fear of a lack of juice can be described as range anxiety, provided you are willing to equate kilometers driven with hours of playback. It is this range fear that makes the real Motorola Tech3 wireless earphones so interesting for $ 100. With a literal plug-in hybrid design that lets you turn them into wired earbuds, they're the perfect antidote to fear of range.

But do the advantages of Tech3's 3-in-1 design outweigh the disadvantages? Let’s take a closer look.

Wrap your head around this design

Motorola Tech3 True Wireless EarbudsSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

You may find that once you keep an eye on the charging case, the Tech3 is not like other real wireless earbuds. It looks like a really big black yo-yo. This is due in part to the squat, cylindrical shape, but the comparison becomes almost inevitable due to the two sets of braided cords that wrap around the middle section.

The braided cords do not stretch or deform at all and snap into their slots in the same way each time. It just works.

Open the compact makeup style lid and you'll find that the earbuds are neatly tucked away in their own charging corners. If you fold up a second smaller lid in the main compartment, the ends of one of these braided cords become visible. This is the one with which you physically connect the earphones in their "sport loop" configuration.

The second cable – the cable that is magnetically attached to the sports loop for wired use – is accessible from the bottom of the case. The arrangement reminds me of decades of trying to keep wired earbuds neat by wrapping them around all kinds of objects. It was almost always a total mess, but the Tech3 manages to bring order to chaos thanks to one important difference: the braided cords do not stretch or deform at all, which means that they wrap around their housing and snap into their respective slots every time the same way. It just works.

The only problem with this design is its size. Unlike most of today's real wireless earbuds, the Tech3 case cannot be comfortably plugged in. Some people may also be annoyed by the micro USB charging port, a format that has almost disappeared on newer phones (ironically, the latest Motorola models as well). There is a charge indicator on the front, but it is tiny and very difficult to see.

Comfortable buds

Motorola Tech3 True Wireless EarbudsSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

When I first saw the Tech3 press images, I was concerned that being able to connect the sports loop cable would mean big, bulky earphones. Amazingly, the buds aren't bigger or heavier than non-hybrid models, and they're actually smaller than some others – Amazon's Echo Buds are chunkier.

The plastic plugs at the ends of the cable form a barrier to how deep you can insert the earphones into your ears.

They are also very convenient. I'm very lucky with the standard medium-sized earplugs on most earbuds, and the Tech3 was no exception. I could nestle them firmly and comfortably in my ear and they stayed comfortable for several hours.

Despite the fact that you can connect the sports loop without losing size or comfort, there is a pretty big flaw in the design. The hard plastic plugs on the ends of the cable form a physical barrier to how deep you can insert the earphones into your ears. For me, this meant that the natural resistance that the string exerted over time tended to loosen the buds.

There is a reason why practically all ear loop-based earphones use some kind of ear hook or ear fin – you need to stabilize the earphones against this pulling. Unfortunately, the Tech3 is not equipped with built-in or optional ear plugs, which you can find on some models. This appears to be a strange oversight for earphones that are supposed to be tied up and used during intense physical activity. On a positive note, with IPX5 water resistance, they are able to deal with the type of sweat that normally occurs during vigorous exercises.

Decent sound

At $ 100, the Motorola Tech3 is at the top end of the affordable side of the real wireless earphone market. Given the fancy hybrid design, one can expect some sacrifices to be made in the audio department, and this is true: they don't deliver the same audio quality as the 1More Stylish at a similar price.

Nevertheless, they deliver very good clarity and precision with a surprisingly neutral EQ. In this price range, earphones tend to overcompensate for the bass, or they don't provide a satisfactorily full midrange. The Tech3 don't suffer from these drawbacks, making it a better choice for those who like their music with a minimum of tonal changes. Vocals are particularly well represented, and although bass heads want more low-end pomp, most genres actually benefit from the Tech3's sound signature.

Light on functions

Motorola Tech3 True Wireless EarbudsSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Another area where the Tech3 cuts off some corners is its features. You get the standard controls: play / pause, skip tracks forward / backward and answer / end call. You can also access your phone's personal assistant or speak to Alexa by installing Hubble's free Verve Life app. With this app you can also track the last known location of the earphones in case you lose them.

However, there is no volume control, no listening mode (sometimes called transparency mode) to let outside noise in, and no ear sensor. So if you remove one or both buds, the music will continue to play instead of automatically stopping. And considering that there is a companion app, it's a shame that you don't get an equalizer function either. The controls themselves react very quickly to typing. However, as we've seen with other touch-sensitive earbuds, you may accidentally type (and stop playback) or type twice and the bud may not register the second typing.

Not built for noise

Motorola Tech3 True Wireless EarbudsSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

The call quality with the Tech3 is a hit or miss. The overall voice quality is very good, but your callers will not appreciate it if you are in a busy environment. There is practically no noise cancellation. A light breeze sounded like a wind storm, and a dog that barked more than 50 feet away sounded like it was right next to me. It's a subtle reminder that the Tech3 is part of a portfolio of Motorola-branded products, but not manufactured by Motorola Solutions (the original Motorola company) or the Lenovo subsidiary that controls the mobile phone business. Instead, these earphones are manufactured by Binatone, a Hong Kong-based electronics manufacturer, under license from Lenovo.

Good battery life

Designed for seven hours between charges, you may never need to use this patch cord.

Yes, the Tech3 has been designed to offer unlimited playtime through its hybrid design. However, this does not mean that the battery life is not adequate. Rated seven hours between charges, I actually got more than 7.5 hours out of my right earphone, while the left gave up after almost seven hours.

Even the quick charge function is better than expected with three hours of play after 15 minutes. With only about 1.5 charges in the case (18 hours in total), you may never need to use this connector cable.

Plug-in hybrid

Motorola Tech3 True Wireless EarbudsSimon Cohen / Digital Trends

Using the two cables to switch from completely wireless to fully wired takes only a few seconds. The hardest part is aligning the three-pronged gold contacts on the ends of the sports loop with the corresponding connectors on each earphone. There are a number of white markings that help, but it requires some precision, not to mention good eyesight.

An obvious problem with this arrangement is that these contacts can come loose over time, much like headphone jacks do. It's certainly a risk, but I can tell you that the fit is tight and very secure, at least when new. No gentle pull can move them.

When the earphones are connected via the magnetic headphone cable, they are automatically switched off and sound just as good, if not better, than in wireless mode.

Our opinion

The Motorola Tech3 concept offers a unique solution to a problem that we are not convinced that many people have: how to use your real wireless earphones with a headphone jack. At $ 100, this isn't an expensive solution, but you have to give up a lot to take advantage of its flexibility.

Is there a better alternative?

If great sound is important to you and your budget can stretch a bit, you can actually get a very similar solution with the Shure Aonic 215. They're not as elegantly packaged as the Tech3 and have their own drawbacks, but they're much more flexible.

If great sound is important to you, but $ 100 is your limit, check out our list of the best cheap real wireless earbuds. None of them have the Tech3's clever hybrid trick, but many offer more features and better sound. If battery life is your biggest concern, you can't go wrong for an additional $ 29 with Samsung's amazing 11-hour Galaxy Buds + for $ 129.

How long it will take?

The construction of the Tech3 earphones and their charging case is good, but not great. You will probably survive for several years if you don't abuse them. The two cables are very well made, but it is impossible to say how many times you can connect them to the earphones before this connection fails.

Should you buy it

If you don't necessarily need to be able to connect your real wireless earbuds to a phone or computer, or if you're constantly worried that your battery will run out, skip the Tech3. However, if you appreciate its main function, it is not a real set of real wireless earbuds.

Editor's recommendations




24 Apr
Blog

Apple iPhone SE (2020) In-Depth Review: Buy This iPhone

iPhone SE

"The new iPhone SE is the fastest phone you can buy for $ 400."

  • Light, compact design

  • Class leading performance

  • Loud, pleasant audio

  • Great camera

  • iOS is excellent

  • Not a great display for $ 400

  • The battery life is ok

Apple develops devices for a long service life and not just because they like them. Apple can also refurbish an old device with new specifications and sell it as a new one. The iPhone SE is the latest example, but hardly the first. Apple took a similar approach to the iPhone 8 and continues to sell a MacBook Pro 13 with a touch bar that is essentially the same as the 2015 model.

It's a polarizing strategy, and the new iPhone SE has created a schism for the usual reasons the moment it was announced. Some see the wise reuse of a great design that still makes sense. Others see a rotten rebranding of an outdated phone. People in both camps tend to have their opinions ready before they ever put their hands on the phone in question.

Whatever your thoughts may be, one fact is undeniable: the iPhone SE ($ 400) is the cheapest iPhone, and that makes it important regardless of design or hardware. Many people will buy it because it is the new standard selection.

But is it a good phone?

design

I'll get an uncomfortable shot out of the way. As a technical appraiser, you can expect me to update my equipment every year. Not me. My everyday phone is an iPhone 7 Plus, which despite the lack of knockout functions on modern devices is still a nice phone.

The only thing I don't like is a disadvantage that it shares with the iPhone SE: chunky frames around the display. They are massive compared to other modern phones. Every Android competitor in this area offers slim frames with maximum screen size for a certain space requirement.

Can you live with them Certainly. I have been for years. However, this is certainly the biggest problem with the design of the iPhone SE. You get jealous when a friend pulls out a Google Pixel 3a or Moto G stylus. While the iPhone SE replaces the iPhone 8, its design is based on the iPhone 6 – a phone that came out in 2014. It's not unfair to say that the new iPhone SE looks like a six-year-old phone.

Fortunately, the bad news ends here.

iPhone SEMatthew Smith / Digital Trends

Despite its frame, the iPhone SE remains a slim, slim device with pockets. It's 5.45 inches tall, 2.65 inches wide, 0.29 inches thick, and weighs only 5.22 ounces. It is the lightest of the current iPhones. The Google Pixel 3a, which is one of the smaller mainstream Android phones, is still half an inch larger, more than a tenth of an inch wider, and a tenth of an inch thicker – although it has the same weight.

If you compare the iPhone SE with a powerful Android phone like the Moto G Stylus, you will notice a bigger difference. The phone with a 6.4-inch display is three quarters of an inch larger, a quarter of an inch wider, and much thicker. It's also about 30 percent heavier. That's a difference you'll notice easily, and I complained that the G stylus felt too heavy and too thick in my test.

As a small phone, the iPhone SE answers the prayers of those who preach the path of using one-handed smartphones. I am 6 feet, 1 inch tall and never needed two hands to use it. In fact, it feels a bit silly to put two hands on it.

Owners under 5 feet, 4 inches can find a way to reach the top edge, but the maneuver is still possible with a slight flicker. In this sense, the new iPhone SE lags behind the highest one-handed use of its 4-inch predecessor. Still, it's small enough that I don't think most people find this a problem.

Here you will find all the usual buttons: power supply, volume up and down and a physical switch for switching vibrations on and off. Like the chassis, they are all made of aluminum and feel good.

The Touch ID sensor, which enables error-free registration via fingerprint, continues to serve as a home button. This is a subtle but significant design decision. Since the iPhone SE has a home button, it does not use the new gesture navigation system of other new iPhones. I like that. Gesture control is clearly the new normal, but I like the button that I think is more intuitive.

As for the ports, you get a Lightning connector – a proprietary dead horse that I don't have to dig up and whip. You just need to know that you need either wireless audio or a Lightning to 3.5mm audio adapter that is not included.

display

The iPhone SE has a 4.7-inch IPS multi-touch display with a resolution of 1,334 x 750 (or 326 pixels per inch). It is a true tone screen (ie it adapts to the light in your environment) with a wide color support, haptic touch and a maximum brightness of 625 nits per Apple.

Is a 4.7-inch screen too small for a smartphone sold in 2020? No … but it's close.

This is an undeniably small screen next to what you might find elsewhere. Many Android competitors offer 6.2-inch to 6.5-inch screens at the same price, and some may even be OLEDs. I'm not going to say that these displays look "more realistic", but they'll please your eye in a way that the iPhone SE's 4.7-inch IPS screen can't. They are of course larger and often look more powerful and lively.

iPhone SEMatthew Smith / Digital Trends

Let me put it differently. The screen of the new iPhone SE is about 23 percent smaller than that of a Google Pixel 3a and 40 percent smaller than that of a Moto G stylus or Samsung Galaxy A51. It's also 33 percent smaller than Apple's iPhone 11. It is much smaller than other phones that you will see in this price range.

I had no problem using it every day. In fact, the smaller size feels more comfortable in normal everyday use.

The new iPhone SE is a great device to create a quick text response, take a few photos, or go to Yelp to see what foods are nearby. It's small, nimble, easy to get to, and shows just enough information to get the job done.

The longer I used the device, the more I felt restricted. This starts on the home screen, where apps are icons that are much closer together than on most iPhones. Text can be more difficult to read because it is smaller and you need to scroll more when navigating websites.

Then there is a video. Mobile video consumption is a big deal for many people, and here the iPhone SE has to make a sacrifice. Viewing a video on the 4.7-inch display is nowhere near as comfortable as on a larger 6.4-inch or 6.5-inch screen. Even the 5.5-inch display of my iPhone 7 Plus belongs to a different league.

Audio

While the display of the iPhone SE impressed me just as I expected, the audio quality was a surprise. This little phone can rock.

The iPhone SE offers stereo playback with enough volume to fill a living room with sound. There's even a hint of bass that opens the sound stage and reduces distortion on complex tracks.

While listening to lo-fi hip hop beats, I noticed a depth of sound that I don't often hear on a midrange smartphone. It sounds like an older Oontz speaker that I use a lot, although the maximum volume of the iPhone SE is much lower.

iPhone SEMatthew Smith / Digital Trends

The clear middle section also helps in films. Large explosions and deep bass soundtracks usually destroy the smartphone speakers, with smaller and cheaper phones suffering the most. The iPhone SE isn't free of subdued dialogues, especially in action scenes where explosions and dialogues often occur simultaneously, but it's better than most of the others.

And yes, it's a huge upgrade for anyone still stuck on the original iPhone SE.

As already mentioned, there is no 3.5 mm audio jack here. To use external audio devices, you need wireless audio or a Lightning-to-3.5 mm audio adapter.

camera

Take a look at the specs and the iPhone SE's camera doesn't look impressive. It is a single lens system with a 12MP shooter. It has optical image stabilization, portrait mode, panorama mode and Smart HDR among other things, but none of it is really remarkable.

Apple claims the secret sauce is its image pipeline, powered by the powerful A13 Bionic Neural Engine. And you know what? It's a good sauce. This is the entire camera I will ever need for a phone.

Outdoor picture quality

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iPhone SE outdoors "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn2.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/iphone_se_outdoors-3-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: / /www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

iPhone SE outdoors "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn3.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/iphone_se_outdoors-2-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: / /www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

The new SE takes appealing photos outdoors. I wouldn't call it neutral, but the iPhone SE is less prone to dramatic, vivid shots than most Android phones. This can make the iPhone SE look flat, but the iPhone largely avoids excessive color saturation. Photos look realistic and balanced.

I have to praise the new SE's ability to handle bright light. This is a place where Android phones in the middle range are often neglected. It's not perfect, but the blue sky is less likely to overwhelm a photo's background, and the new SE usually sets the right white balance without the need for tricky adjustments.

Indoor picture quality

iPhone SE inside "class =" m carousel - picture dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn5.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/iphone_se-3-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: / / www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

iPhone SE inside "class =" m carousel - picture dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn6.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/iphone_se-indoors-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: / / www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

iPhone SE Indoors "class =" m-Karussell - picture dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn7.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/iphone_se_indoors-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: // www. digitaltrends.com / data: image / gif; base64, https: //www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

The interior quality of the new SE didn't inspire me so much. The phone is still setting the correct white balance. However, due to the tendency towards neutral, realistic shots, some photos may look flat.

This is a different problem than the noisy, grainy images you see on a below-average smartphone camera. I think the photos look very sharp. You just lack the wow factor that you can see from a flagship smartphone.

However, I still think that the new SE does well in its category and you can take great indoor shots. I don't like taking test photos and I haven't done anything to improve the lighting. Simply turning on a lamp will significantly improve your results.

Image quality in low light conditions

iPhone SE in low light conditions "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn8.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/iphone_se_poor_lighting-3-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: //www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

iPhone SE in low light conditions "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn1.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/iphone_se_poor_lighting-640x640.jpg "srcset =" https: // www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

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I can't fault the performance of the iPhone SE in low light. Color saturation and contrast are missing, but I'm a little surprised at how clear and sharp these photos have become. You can see grain in the photo, but it's not that bad that the photo looks ugly – which is certainly the case with some medium-range phones.

However, please note that the iPhone SE does not have a night mode (or similar). If you try to take a photo outdoors at night, you won't see a lot of anything.

Enlarge image quality

Matthew Smith / Digital Trends

As a single-lens shooter, the iPhone SE lacks a zoom lens that can be used to take distant subjects. It only supports digital zoom up to 5x. However, I'm not sure if this is a big disadvantage.

Adding an optical zoom lens felt like a big deal the first time you spoke on the phone, but reception of the idea has cooled off over time, especially when the lens is only a 2, 3, or 5x zoom . I found it difficult to use and largely ignored it when I wasn't testing its quality.

I think the zoom performance of the new SE is fine for a midrange phone, even solid. If you zoom in all the way, you will see a drop in quality, but the photo is still sharp enough to use. This is better than some inexpensive phones that I have tried.

Image quality of the front-facing camera

The iPhone SE has a 7 megapixel front camera and did not impress me. It fights indoors and often delivers grainy, flat photos. Take it outdoors and it struggles with white balance and contrast. It is a functional shooter that can take good photos in ideal situations, but is not well suited for quick selfies. The salvation is the fact that all phones in this price range have similar problems.

Image quality of the portrait

Apple iPhone Se Review 2020 portrait mode 1

iPhone SE portrait mode

iPhone SE Portrait Mode "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-19-2486446

  • 3rd
    Portrait mode on the front-facing camera

The portrait mode remains breathtaking.

Suddenly, photos from the front-facing camera are raised from disappointing to not bad. The main camera, meanwhile, can take fantastic portrait photos. Remember, I am not staging the associated photos. I don't use special lighting or turn on lights in a room to take photos better. Nevertheless, I would like to share the photos I took in portrait format with friends.

It is not perfect. Portrait mode is handled entirely in software and can cause errors. Take a close look at my curly locks and you will see that sometimes they are out of focus when they shouldn't be. This is a common problem on phones with a lens that try a depth of field.

On the positive side, you can edit the pictures after taking them in different ways. You can change lighting and aperture, or omit the background entirely. It all happens with surprising speed and is a lot of fun to play with.

Photo quality: iPhone SE vs. Google Pixel 3a

The Google Pixel 3a, like the iPhone SE, costs $ 400 and is often considered the master of mid-range cell phone photography. Fortunately, I have a Google Pixel 3a XL so I can compare it directly.

iPhone SE (left) and Google Pixel 3a XL (right)

iPhone SE "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-20-2486462

Google Pixel 3a XL "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-20-2486455

iPhone SE "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-20-2486460

Google Pixel 3a XL "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-20-2486453

apple iphone se review 2020 portrait mode 8 "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-20-2486465

Apple iPhone Se Review 2020 Google Pixel 3a portrait mode "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-20-2486464

iPhone SE Essen "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-20-2486474

Apple iPhone se rating 2020 Google Pixel 3a xl "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-20-2486475

  • 1.
    iPhone SE (2020)
  • 2nd
    Google Pixel 3a XL
  • 3rd
    iPhone SE (2020)
  • 4th
    Google Pixel 3a XL
  • 5.
    iPhone SE (2020)
  • 6.
    Google Pixel 3a XL
  • 7.
    iPhone SE (2020)
  • 8th.
    Google Pixel 3a XL

I prefer the new SE, but it's not a blowout. I think Apple's phone does a better job with white balance. This can be seen most clearly in the photo of the pizza logo against a partly cloudy sky. The iPhone delivers an accurate photo much better, while the color temperature of the Pixel 3a XL becomes too cool.

The new SE also takes the lead in portrait format. I think the image quality is comparable – but have a look at mine! The Pixel 3a XL's algorithm is significantly less aggressive. While the iPhone blurs some unpredictable locks, the Pixel 3a gives me a strange halo.

However, Apple doesn't win every photo. I prefer the photo of the Pixel 3a XL from the lush garden sidewalk. It is more alive and still looks natural. You can almost smell the fresh spring air. The photo of the iPhone SE is too flat and cannot capture my memory of the scene.

Photo quality: New iPhone SE compared to the original iPhone SE

You may be wondering what 4 years of progress you will bring. What is the answer after versions 2016 and 2020 of iPhone SE are pitted against each other? A lot of.

iPhone SE 2nd generation (left) and iPhone SE 1st generation (right)

iPhone SE Portrait Mode "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-21-2486447

apple iphone se review 2020 2016 2 "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-21-2486466

iPhone SE "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-21-2486460

apple iphone se review 2020 2016 "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-21-2486470

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iPhone SE "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-21-2486462

apple iphone se review 2020 2016 4 "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-21-2486468

iPhone SE groceries "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-21-2486474

apple iphone se review 2020 2016 5 "aria-descriptionby =" gallery-21-2486469

  • 1.
    iPhone SE (2020)
  • 2nd
    iPhone SE (2016)
  • 3rd
    iPhone SE (2020)
  • 4th
    iPhone SE (2016)
  • 5.
    iPhone SE (2020)
  • 6.
    iPhone SE (2016)
  • 7.
    iPhone SE (2020)
  • 8th.
    iPhone SE (2016)
  • 9.
    iPhone SE (2020)
  • 10th
    iPhone SE (2016)

The most striking thing is the enormous improvement in the white balance and color temperature of the new SE. The original iPhone SE suffers in many outdoor situations. It can't even deal with a cloudy sky. This results in excessively bright images that lack color, contrast, depth, and other features that you would associate with a good photo.

The inside photo of a hearty piece of coffee cake shows less difference in lighting and color, and you can briefly confuse the photos of each SE. However, if you take a closer look, the photo of the new iPhone SE is obviously much sharper.

Portrait mode isn't available on the original iPhone SE, of course, and that makes a big difference. Portraits of the new iPhone SE look sharper, with better contrast and far better focus on the subject.

IPhone SE camera quality summary

The new iPhone SE has a great smartphone camera. I think it outperforms the Google Pixel 3a, which is generally considered the benchmark in this category. It works well in most situations and can deliver some really great shots.

I miss something the lack of an additional camera, such as. B. an Ultrawide to improve versatility. You can find that on some competing phones. However, these phones cannot keep up with the main camera of the iPhone SE.

What the new SE lacks in versatility makes up for it by making solid recordings with little preparation.

Video quality

You can record 4K videos at up to 60 frames per second on iPhone SE or videos with extended dynamic range at up to 30 frames per second. Optical image stabilization ensures even shots, and the digital zoom works up to three times. The phone also supports slow motion 1080p videos up to 240 fps.

I don't shoot videos on cellphones often – or not at all – so I admit that I'm not the best quality assessor. I think it looks great, especially at 4K. I can imagine that most casual users will do the same. Professionals and enthusiasts can have a different opinion.

What struck the most was not quality, but speed. The new SE is a snappy performer, even when shooting 4K 60 fps. There is no delay to start recording and no delay during recording. This definitely does not apply to medium-range phones, some of which cannot record 4K at 60 fps.

performance

Apple's decision, P.A. The half-year 2008 is easily one of the most important in the company's history. Outstanding performance is a key feature of Apple phones and tablets in all price ranges.

The iPhone SE is proof of that. Although it starts at $ 400 and is significantly smaller than other newer iPhones, the SE has the same A13 Bionic processor that you find in the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro. This is paired with 3 GB of RAM.

  • Geekbench 5 single core: 1,324
  • Geekbench 5 multi-core: 3,192
  • Antutu: 484.479
  • 3DMark Sling Shot: 4,024

The iPhone SE is a mid-range phone, but its performance corresponds to a flagship. The new SE's single-core Geekbench 5 score of 1,324 is almost four times faster than that of a Google Pixel 3a, and the multi-core score is almost two and a half times better. The CPU of the iPhone SE easily defeats the more expensive Google Pixel 4 XL. With the Samsung Galaxy S20 Ultra and the OnePlus 8 Pro it goes from head to toe, wins in single-core and almost in multi-core.

All of this performance is achieved on a 4.7-inch screen with a resolution well below 1080p. The iPhone SE doesn't just fly. It screeches through apps and games like a supersonic jet. The performance is almost perfect as I have never seen it before. It's not just great. It sets new standards for mid-range phones, which I doubt Android competitors will be affected by in the next few years.

The iPhone SE doesn't just fly. It screeches through apps and games like a supersonic jet.

This is the part where I would normally try digging deeper and highlighting a few nitpicks that affect the experience. Not here. I have nothing to add. It's perfect.

warehouse

The iPhone SE for $ 400 has 64 GB of storage space. You can upgrade to 128 GB for $ 450 or choose 256 GB of storage for $ 550. You have to choose the right amount from the start, because like with other iPhones, you won't be able to add more storage later.

In contrast to some earlier entry-level iPhones, the basic storage of the new SE is sufficient. My iPhone 7 Plus has 256 GB of storage, but I only use half of it, and more than half of my use is old podcast episodes and unnecessary photos. I think a lot of people can get by with the 64GB model.

iPhone SEMatthew Smith / Digital Trends

Still, it's not a bad idea to spend an additional $ 50 on the 128GB model. Memory is something you don't really care about until you run out, but doing so can be annoying. The 128GB model lets you create podcasts, photos, and apps without constantly deleting old files.

I do not recommend the 256 GB model. Anyone who uses so much storage space is a serious smartphone enthusiast, and the iPhone SE's small screen doesn't take this into account for most heavy users. I know there are a handful of die-hard small phone lovers who want the 256GB model, but for most, it's overkill.

Wireless connection

The iPhone SE is not a 5G phone. Apple has been slow to adopt 5G, and the technology hasn't yet been filtered down to that price. This makes little difference for me and most buyers as 5G availability is limited. As far as I know, I would have to travel more than 250 miles to get a 5G signal.

This is a dual SIM device that can be useful for travelers and is somewhat surprising given the price of the phone. The iPhone SE supports Bluetooth 5.0 and the Wi-Fi 6 standard.

Battery life

A 1,821 mAH battery supplies the iPhone SE with power. Apple claims a battery life of up to 8 hours when streaming videos or 13 hours when playing videos from the phone's local storage. The phone supports fast charging with an 18-watt adapter (unfortunately not included in the scope of delivery) and wireless charging via Qi chargers.

Like all iPhones, the new SE draws very little juice in standby mode. I suspect it could take a week, though I didn't have it long enough to test it.

At heart, I'm not a heavy smartphone user. My personal iPhone tells me that I switched on the display between one hour and one and a half hours every day. It's been years since I last tested a phone that can't hold all day, and many can hold two. The iPhone SE is no exception.

iPhone SEMatthew Smith / Digital Trends

I suspect heavy users would have more problems. A half-hour benchmarking of the phone, for example, cost 12 percent of the full charge. If you want to play demanding 3D games or use the phone to watch streaming movies, it may be necessary to charge a lunchtime fee.

As already mentioned, the iPhone SE is not aimed at these owners, since the small screen size is not suitable for games or films. If you want this, buy a bigger phone.

But let's face it: Android phones can affect the battery life of the iPhone SE, just as the iPhone SE can affect the performance of Android. The Moto G Power that I recently tested has a 5,000 mAh battery. In my hands it could take two to three days. The iPhone SE can certainly not keep up.

However, battery life is not a problem for me. The iPhone SE can hold in my hands all day, and I can't get anything from a phone that lasts longer.

software

On the iPhone SE, of course, runs iOS 13. It is the killer function of the phone. Since I bought my first "real" smartphone, the HTC Thunderbolt, in 2011, I've been switching back and forth between iOS and Android phones. I always found iOS to be preferable.

Apple's iOS is faster, safer and more attractive. I despise the bloatware and the flood of senseless notifications that attack most Android phones. Yes, it is possible to configure Android to (mostly) fix the problem, but I prefer not to.

I'm not going to cover every aspect of iOS 13 here, but there are a few key features to keep in mind.

On the iPhone SE, of course, runs iOS 13. It is the killer function of the phone.

Switching from another iPhone is a breeze. Place the new and old phones side by side and use the new phone to take a photo of a pattern that appears on the screen of the old phone. This will start the transfer. This can take minutes if an iCloud backup is available. Your apps and files are making the leap, and although you'll need to sign in to some accounts again, this isn't always the case. I had the iPhone SE ready for use in 20 minutes with all my previous data.

Since the face ID is missing and the home button is present, the new SE does not use the new touch gesture navigation of the iPhone X and newer models. Wenn Sie ein alterndes iPhone wie mich besitzen, wird es Ihnen nichts ausmachen. Wenn Sie ein neues Modell besitzen und verkleinern möchten, seien Sie jedoch vorsichtig. Sie müssen alles verlernen, was Sie über das Navigieren in neuen iPhone-Modellen gelernt haben. Das könnte eine frustrierende Erfahrung sein.

Dem iPhone SE fehlt auch die Gesichtserkennung. Ich mag Gesichtsanmeldungen, wenn sie schnell und sicher sind, wie es auf dem iPhone der Fall ist, aber es ist purer Luxus. Touch ID ist schnell, flüssig und sicher. Auch hier richtet sich das iPhone SE an Personen, die ältere Telefone besitzen. Wenn Sie Face ID noch nie verwendet haben, werden Sie es nicht verpassen.

Garantie

Apple liefert das iPhone SE mit einer einjährigen Garantie. Das ist der Industriestandard.

Sie können zusätzlichen Schutz über AppleCare + erwerben, wodurch die Garantie verlängert und einige Unfälle abgedeckt werden. AppleCare + kostet 80 US-Dollar für eine Versicherungsdauer von 24 Monaten, oder Sie können von Monat zu Monat 4 US-Dollar bezahlen. AppleCare + mit Diebstahlschutz kostet 150 US-Dollar oder 8 US-Dollar monatlich.

Ich empfehle AppleCare für dieses Telefon nicht. Dies ist ein kostengünstiges Telefon und ein kleines Telefon, das (theoretisch) weniger wahrscheinlich fallen gelassen wird. Schlagen Sie einfach einen Fall darauf und nennen Sie es gut. Das Brechen eines Telefons ist zum Kotzen, aber in diesem Fall ist es nicht wahrscheinlich, sodass Sie wahrscheinlich keinen AppleCare-Dienst benötigen.

Es sei daran erinnert, dass Apple im Gegensatz zu den meisten Marken über ein großes Netzwerk von physischen Geschäften verfügt, die Service anbieten können. Ich hatte mehr Glück beim Lösen von Problemen bei einem Besuch in einem Apple Store als beim telefonischen Support anderer Marken.

Unsere Stellungnahme

iPhone SEMatthew Smith / Digitale Trends

Das iPhone SE ist ein gutes Telefon und einen Wert von 400 US-Dollar. Es ist nicht jedermanns Sache, aber für viele großartig, und ich würde es ernsthaft in Betracht ziehen, wenn ich jetzt ein neues Telefon kaufen müsste.

Gibt es eine bessere Alternative?

Googles Pixel 3a ist der klare Konkurrent. Es ist ein großartiges Android-Handy zu einem niedrigen Preis. Das iPhone SE ist schneller und hat eine bessere Kamera, aber das Pixel 3a hat ein größeres Display, und Sie können sich für das Pixel 3a XL für ein etwas größeres entscheiden. Derzeit kostet das Pixel 3a XL bei Amazon nur 420 US-Dollar. Ich bevorzuge iOS, daher würde ich das iPhone SE kaufen, aber Sie könnten sich für das Pixel 3a entscheiden, wenn Sie ein Fan von Android sind.

Der Platzhalter ist Googles Pixel 4a, der erwartet, aber noch nicht angekündigt wird. Dies wird wahrscheinlich zu Verbesserungen der Kamera und einer noch besseren Anzeige führen. Die Leistung wird jedoch immer noch zurückbleiben, da derzeit niemandes Silizium den A13 Bionic von Apple übertreffen kann.

Sie könnten auch das Samsung Galaxy A51 oder den Moto G Stylus in Betracht ziehen. Diese Android-Handys der Mittelklasse bieten Ihnen mehr Funktionen, von denen einige sehr schön sind. Das Galaxy A51 hat ein schönes OLED-Display und der Moto G Stylus hat einen Stylus. Es handelt sich um größere Telefone mit großen Bildschirmen, die trotz günstiger Preise für starke Benutzer geeignet sind. Sie sind solide Telefone, aber das iPhone SE bietet ein zusammenhängenderes, intuitiveres Gerät mit einem Prozessor, der beide umkreist.

Einige Käufer werden das iPhone 11 in Betracht ziehen. Es ist deutlich teurer, hat aber einen viel größeren Bildschirm und eine Ultrawide-Kamera. Machen Sie keinen Fehler, das iPhone 11 ist ein besseres Telefon. Die 300-Dollar-Lücke zwischen dem iPhone SE und dem iPhone 11 ist jedoch beträchtlich, und nicht jeder wird feststellen, dass die Vorteile des größeren Telefons den Preisanstieg wert sind.

Wie lange wird es dauern?

Das iPhone SE ist ein Fünfjahres-Telefon. Die Leistung ist ausgezeichnet und Apple liefert im Gegensatz zu den meisten Android-Marken jahrelang Betriebssystem-Updates, nachdem ein Telefon veröffentlicht wurde. Das einzige zu beachtende Problem ist die Akkulaufzeit. Es ist nur in Ordnung und nach fünf Jahren Abnutzung müssen Sie sich wahrscheinlich mit dem Aufladen am Mittag befassen.

Solltest du es kaufen?

Yes. Das iPhone SE ist ein solides iPhone für Einsteiger. Sie können ein besseres Gerät kaufen, benötigen jedoch kein besseres Gerät. Wenn Sie, wie ich, ein Smartphone als eines von vielen Geräten betrachten, für die Sie Geld ausgeben könnten, kann die Entscheidung für die 400-Dollar-SE sehr sinnvoll sein.

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24 Apr
Blog

2020 Lexus LS 500 F Sport AWD Review: F Is For Fast

2020 Lexus LS 500 F Sport AWD

2020 Lexus LS 500 F Sport AWD review: Comfortable chair

"The 2020 Lexus LS 500 is as fast as a sports car and as comfortable as your living room."

  • Impressive acceleration

  • Striking exterior

  • Well-designed interior

  • Handles well for a large car

  • No Android car

  • Cumbersome infotainment interface

  • Inconspicuous driver assistance technology

With the 2020 LS 500, Lexus lets hair hang. The original Lexus LS shocked the world with its amazing build quality and reliability at a lower price than a comparable Mercedes-Benz or BMW of the time. The first LS proved to be fairly bulletproof, with one example collecting 1 million miles. However, luxury car purchases are inherently irrational, so Lexus needed cars that could appeal to both the heart and the head.

The LS has been redesigned for the 2018 model year and has been given a more expressive exterior and interior design to give it a distinctive personality that earlier generations of this large sedan lacked. The LS also received a technical and performance upgrade to keep pace with competitors like the Audi A8, the BMW 7 Series, and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

Our test car was a 2020 Lexus LS 500 with the optional performance package F Sport and all-wheel drive (rear-wheel drive is standard). As tested, the car had a sticker price of $ 89,555, about $ 13,000 more than a base model.

2020 Lexus LS 500 F Sport AWD

Design and interior

Like other current Lexus models (and those of the parent company Toyota), the 2020 LS 500 tries very hard not to get bored. From the massive spindle grill to headlights that look as if they were designed by Zorro, the LS 500 stands out in a way that its German competitors don't. In contrast to the LS of the previous generation, in which many of these style elements were taken up later, the exterior of the 2020 model also works as a coherent whole.

The interior is even better. Not only does it have a distinctive look, with aluminum trim parts flowing over the dashboard and hand-folded pleats on the doors, but the materials are top-notch. Almost everything you touch is real metal or leather. Lexus has skipped the traditional wood paneling of our performance-oriented F-Sport test car, but is available as an option.

The interior is also cavernous, but that's expected in this segment. As spacious as the Lexus is, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the Audi A8 offer more headroom at the front and rear. The Audi also has a bit more leg room in the front, while the BMW 7 Series has more leg room and a larger trunk.

The LS 500 stands out in a way that its German competitors don't.

Technology, infotainment and driver assistance

Lexus hit the design but missed the technical goal. The infotainment system includes a central 12.3-inch screen and a digital instrument cluster (our test car also had the optional head-up display). The graphics were clear and easy to read, but everything is controlled via the cumbersome Remote Touch Interface trackpad.

This interface is similar to a laptop, in which the driver has to move a cursor over the screen. While Lexus has made some improvements over previous versions (the latest version supports handwriting recognition), the trackpad is still difficult to use while driving.

By default, the LS is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Amazon Alexa, but not with Android Auto. Some Lexus models have received Android Auto for the 2020 model year, so it is possible that the feature will be added to the LS in the future. However, Lexus has not discussed a fixed schedule.

2020 Lexus LS 500 F Sport AWDStephen Edelstein / Digital Trends

An unusual feature that Lexus included was a CD player that has disappeared from most other new cars. The Lexus SC 430 was the last car to be sold in the US with a tape recorder. So Lexus clearly has a soft spot for the media.

Like most other models from the Japanese automaker, the 2020 LS 500 comes standard with the Lexus Safety System + 2.0 package of driver aids. These include autonomous emergency braking, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control, automatic high beam, a lane departure warning and a lane tracking assistant that offers small steering inputs to keep the car centered on its lane. Regardless of this package, monitoring of the blind spot, warning of cross traffic at the rear and parking assistance are also standard on the 2020 LS 500.

Driver aids are fairly simple compared to other luxury car manufacturers. For example, the LS can recognize stop signs, but the Audi A8 knows when the traffic lights change (at least in 30 cities with the necessary infrastructure). The lane tracking assistant struggled with even the smoothest bends on highways and tumbled drunk from one side of the lane to the other. The adaptive cruise control had problems maintaining a set speed. When going downhill, it relied too much on engine brakes to slow the car down, and let the speed increase a few miles an hour before finally slowing down. It is a low-resolution version of the experience you have with one of the German alternatives.

2020 Lexus LS 500 F Sport AWD

Experience behind the wheel

Turn off the driver aids and the 2020 Lexus LS 500 is in its element. Lexus has steadily improved the driving dynamics of its cars, and the LS 500 shows how far the automaker has come.

Under the hood (and a large plastic engine cover) sits a 3.5-liter V6 with two turbochargers that delivers 416 horsepower and 424 pound-feet of torque. The V6 is coupled with a 10-speed automatic transmission with standard rear-wheel drive or the optional all-wheel drive of our test car.

Lexus said that rear-wheel drive models will go from zero to 60 mph in 4.6 seconds. That said, this 4,900-pound sedan is faster than a basic Porsche Cayman. It is also faster than the basic versions of the Audi A8, the BMW 7 Series and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and is connected to the V8-BMW 750i. However, the Germans offer other variants of their large sedans with more power and faster acceleration.

Lexus hit the design but missed the technical goal.

Our test car was an F Sport model, which was equipped with adaptive suspension and larger brakes to improve handling. F Sport models don't get the same upgrades as Lexus F-bore full-bore models, but this LS 500 did pretty well with what it had.

The car always felt like the big, heavy sedan, but the F Sport suspension made it somewhat maneuverable in corners. The engine was one of the most powerful turbo six-cylinder we have ever seen. He felt like he had a few more cylinders. If big cars are like boats, this is more of a guided missile cruiser than an ocean liner.

Even in normal mode, the ride was not as smooth as we would expect from cars in this segment. This could be due to the chassis tuning and the 20-inch wheels of our test car. However, the compromise between driving quality and handling seemed reasonable.

2020 Lexus LS 500 F Sport AWD

Fuel consumption and security

All-wheel drive 2020 Lexus LS 500 models like our test car are rated at 21 mpg (18 mpg city, 27 mpg highway), while rear-wheel drive models with 23 mpg (19 mpg city, 30) do slightly better at mpg highway). The ratings are pretty close to the petrol versions of the Audi A8, the BMW 7 Series and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. We drove an average of 15.5 mpg over a week (according to the car's on-board computer), but the average fell around 11 mpg when driving around town.

Lexus also offers an LS hybrid of up to 28 mpg, which, however, offers significantly less power than the non-hybrid model. Audi, BMW and Mercedes offer plug-in hybrid drives with even higher fuel efficiency.

If big cars are like boats, this is more of a guided missile cruiser than an ocean liner.

The 2020 Lexus LS has received no crash test ratings from the Road Safety Insurance Institute (IIHS) or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). This is usually the case with high-end, low-volume cars.

Lexus offers a four-year basic warranty of 50,000 miles and a six-year warranty of 70,000 miles for the drive train. The LS has built its reputation on unparalleled reliability, and Lexus still has a pretty good reputation in this area.

How DT would configure this car

It can raise the price by $ 6,000, but the F Sport package seems like a good investment. The adaptive suspension enlivens handling, and improved brakes are always a plus with such a heavy car. F Sport models also get comfortable but heavily padded front seats, which are a good alternative to the crowded sofa cushions of some other luxury cars. The head-up display ($ 1,200) and the Mark Levinson audio system with 23 speakers ($ 1,940) would complete our hypothetical LS build.

Our opinion

The 2020 Lexus LS 500 has a powerful turbo engine and a well-designed interior that makes for a very luxurious experience, although competitors offer better technology. Lexus needs to get rid of the chunky trackpad interface and update the driver aids. The original LS hybrid was one of the first traditional luxury cars with electrification. Audi, BMW and Mercedes are now offering plug-in hybrids. The F Sport model is sporty, but not as sporty as the top versions of the German sedans.

Lexus gave the LS a soul, but now he has to give the car a technical upgrade. The infotainment system and driver aids are the most imperfect areas, but it would also be nice to see a full-fledged F-performance model or plug-in hybrid or fully electric powertrain options. These changes would make the LS from a good car to a great one. Nevertheless, the Lexus LS 500 sends you down the road like a rocket ship and still offers you comfort. That will definitely appeal to many buyers.

Should you get one?

Yes. The 2020 Lexus LS is luxury with personality.

Editor's recommendations




23 Apr
Blog

Amazon Echo Buds Review: Better Than AirPods, For Less

Amazon Echo Buds case open

"The Amazon Echo Buds offer more value than any other real wireless earphone and are now the buds to beat."

  • Comfortable fit

  • Excellent sound

  • Very effective noise reduction

  • Handsfree Alexa

  • Great value for money

  • Average battery life

  • No touch-based volume control

While Amazon is new to the audio hardware game, especially compared to Apple, it has clearly done its homework. After all, don't just choose to compete with Apple's AirPods without bringing your A-Game.

On paper, the $ 130 Amazon Echo Buds do just that. They have a five-hour battery life, a snug, comfortable design, IPX4 sweat and water resistance, Bose Active Noise Reduction, and hands-free access to Alexa – along with compatibility by Siri and Google Assistant.

But hardware is difficult. Amazon's own website is littered with cheap corpses of those who tried to beat Apple in real wireless gaming. Has Amazon developed a line of real wireless buds that live up to their many promises?

Comfortable and safe

Amazon has gone to great lengths to ensure that the Echo Buds are suitable for a variety of ears. The buds contain three sizes of silicone earplugs and three sizes of ear fins, which are referred to as "wing tips". A correct fit is important because the Bose Active Noise Reduction (ANR) function works best when a complete seal is achieved.

Although it wasn't ready for testing at the time of this review, Amazon is developing an earplug sizing test – a tool in the Amazon Alexa app settings menu – that helps you find the right size for earplugs.

Amazon Echo budsRiley Young / Digital Trends

The standard earplugs fit my ears perfectly. The Echo Buds were comfortable and were safe even without the optional wing tips. They didn't move at all with the added wing tips. The rounded shape of the earphones makes typing with your fingers easier, but sits flush. Unlike the AirPods from Apple or the real wireless earbuds from Jabra, there is no protruding stem, which gives the Echo Buds a very clean, minimalist look.

Wicked Wireless

One of the problems that plagues real wireless earbuds – even those with Apple's custom H1 Bluetooth chip – is connection failures. Regardless of whether an earphone loses its signal or both fail for a split second (or longer), we have seen a lot in our reviews of real wireless earphones.

The Echo Buds have proven to be unshakable and stay connected to an iPhone or Android device via Bluetooth. Even in places that have hampered other earphones, the Echo Buds haven't missed a beat.

They are also very flexible. You can use both or only one. If both are on and audio is playing, just pull one out and the sound will automatically pause. Put it back in and you're back to your tunes. The pause function worked well, but I found that the resume function was a hit and miss.

The Echo Buds have so far proven to be unshakable and remain reliably connected via Bluetooth.

The only hiccup I experienced was the initial pairing of the Echo Buds. It worked as expected on my Android phone. The Alexa app recognized the Echo Buds when I opened the charging case and placed it next to the phone. My test iPhone didn't do the job smoothly, so I had to add the Echo Buds through the app.

Almost no noise

One of the highlights of the Echo Buds is the integrated ANR developed by Bose. I'm still not sure about the difference between ANR and ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) that Bose uses for its flagship headphones, but I can tell you this: it works really well.

Turning Bose ANR on has an almost magical effect on consistently low noise levels, like the hum of machines. I didn't have a chance to put the Echo Buds to the ultimate test – an airplane – but when I was standing next to a refrigerator with a compressor running or my NAS hard drive during the ridiculously loud diagnostic run, those noises were completely erased.

Amazon Echo Buds caseRiley Young / Digital Trends

ANR is also effective in reducing traffic noise, background conversations in cafes and restaurants, and general ambient noise. In my gym it was much easier to focus on my daily morning talk show.

It's not a cone of silence, but it is effective enough that you appreciate the ability to temporarily allow outside noise in through mode. In the Echo Buds settings you can adjust the level of the through gain. At the maximum setting, the function acts like a kind of hearing aid that not only lets noise in, but also increases it.

Surprisingly good sound

I wasn't expecting the Echo Buds to deliver excellent audio quality, but they easily beat Apple's AirPods. The sound is rich and full and very satisfying. The tone can best be described as "close". Vocals and instruments feel right next to you instead of occupying a wide stage.

I wasn't expecting the Echo Buds to deliver excellent audio quality, but they do.

They instantly deliver excessive bass – which is not uncommon for audio accessories – but you can compensate for this using the Alexa app's EQ settings. I threw a lot of genres on the Echo Buds and everyone enjoyed listening to them.

Alexa, is that you?

The Echo Buds make Alexa even more personal. If the Amazon Alexa app is running in the background on your iOS or Android device, you can simply speak your preferred wake-up word to call Alexa. The three-microphone array on each earphone impressively detects when you're speaking. I was able to get Alexa's attention as I puffed and puffed on an elliptical trainer without raising my voice.

The use of Alexa has become commonplace for many people, but I guarantee that you will always be thrilled with the experience if it can follow you anywhere.

I was able to get Alexa's attention as I puffed and puffed on an elliptical trainer without raising my voice.

I still wish Amazon would support more music services – especially Google Play Music – but most people will find that the ability to control Spotify, Apple Music, or Amazon Music (to name just the big ones) is more than adequate .

The Echo Buds also work with Siri and Google Assistant (depending on your device), but currently only Alexa can be used hands-free.

Two taps

With no physical buttons, tap the Echo Buds' smooth exterior to control its various functions. With the Alexa app, you can assign different functions to each earphone. However, you only get two interactions: double tap and long press.

Double knock is recognized very effectively, but I had some issues with long presses. The trick is to treat the first part of the long press as a fingertip – a gentle touch doesn't work. I think I would prefer to have a single or triple tap instead of the long press, but Amazon tells me that the combination I chose was very intentional. Regardless of which function you assign to the double-click, a call is answered or ended by a double-click.

Amazon Echo budsRiley Young / Digital Trends

You can choose from the usual media playback controls (play / pause, skip forward / backward), but there's no way to adjust the volume – something that many leading real wireless earbuds lack. Unlike some other wireless earbuds, however, you can ask Alexa to adjust the volume for you.

You can also switch between Bose ANR modes (In and Out) or use an optional "In and Out" feature that allows you to pause your music and listen to your surroundings at the same time.

One of these tap actions can also be assigned to the activation of Google Assistant (Android devices) or Siri (iOS devices). Unfortunately, there is no way to launch Google Assistant on an iOS device.

Base battery

If there's an area where the Echo Buds don't inspire, that's their battery life. Amazon takes five hours per charge, which is at the bottom of the current options. I thought it would be more than four and a half hours if you left Bose ANR turned on and used the wake-up word for Alexa.

The charging case can carry three charges, so you can work for almost a full day before searching for an available USB power source.

This is probably enough for most people, but we still want Amazon to increase these numbers a bit in the next version. This is especially true now that Samsung has released the Galaxy Buds + – a pair of wireless buds that cost $ 20 more than the Echo Buds but offer 11 hours of playback time on a single charge – raising the bar on battery life.

The charging case itself is compact enough to fit in most bags and appears to be well built. However, the clamshell design makes opening and closing with one hand a bit difficult. The Echo Buds snap into their charging contacts with exactly the right magnetic force and remain securely attached until you tear them out.

Our opinion

At $ 130, the Amazon Echo Buds are great value. It's her sheer number of useful features like hands-free Alexa access and great Bose ANR that make her a great buy.

Is there a better alternative?

The Echo Buds are just right in terms of price, quality and features.

You can get cheaper earbuds that sound just as good, but don't have Echo Buds speakerphone and ANR – you can think of the $ 99 1More Stylish. The Samsung Galaxy Buds + for $ 150 may be its closest competitor in terms of price and features, although it lacks noise cancellation features.

You can also spend a good deal more and get better audio quality, better battery life and a real ANC. Sony $ 230 WF-1000XM3. come to mind.

Then there is Apple's AirPods Pro. You're in a different league in terms of audio quality, call quality, and noise cancellation technology. They're also over $ 100 more.

How long will they last?

The Echo Buds come with a one-year warranty from Amazon, which is standard but doesn't say much about long-term performance. Compared to other wireless earbuds we've tested, the Echo Buds seem to be of average build quality, but like so many of these devices, the batteries will likely be dead before the earbuds themselves fail.

Should you buy them

Yes. The Echo Buds offer an amazing combination of features that make the $ 130 price even more attractive.

Editor's recommendations




23 Apr
Blog

Guide To A Kids Spa Day At Home

When you're stuck with kids in the house, it's important to plan lots of activities to distract them. But what happens when you have played all the games, watched enough TV and have no more things to do? It's a spa day for children to save.

Although nothing replaces a visit to an actual spa, a simple home session is the perfect opportunity for the family to experience a little much-needed relaxation for you. and it offers children something new and exciting to try. Whether you want to make spa time a future weekend program or just need something to pass the time, a children's spa day is a therapeutic solution for everyone involved.

Mother and daughter meditate for a spa day at home

First of all, it is important to choose safe products for a child's sensitive skin. Natural products based on plants are effective and harmonize with the skin. They are therefore perfect for people with sensitivities and normal skin. A spa day at home is not only a great opportunity to teach children good skin care habits, it also enables parents to care for and pamper the skin with gentle products.

Alana Henrikson, Product Support Officer at Eminence Organics, says: "For children who are just getting started with skin care products, it is best to keep the routine simple and straightforward. Choosing a cleanser and moisturizer that is appropriate for their skin type and concerns is a good one It will help to make everyday life stronger, just like brushing your teeth, where consistency is key to ensuring that it becomes a lifelong habit. ”

Eminence Organics Kids Spa Day

Kids Spa Day ideas

For your next kids spa day at home, consider the following steps:

  • 1. Clean
  • 2. Mask
  • 3. Moisturize
  • 4. Manicure

This is a great time to show kids how to take care of their skin. They can also practice safe skin care products under adult supervision. If you start a solid routine early on, you can also control changes in your skin as you get older.

1. Clean

The first step in any skin care routine is cleaning. However, it is important that you use cleaning agents that are supposed to soothe and care without too many active ingredients.

Eminence Organics coconut milk cleaner

These are two extraordinary formulas that are well suited for children's skin Stone Crop Gel Wash and Coconut Milk Cleanser.

For children with sensitive skin, Stone Crop Gel Wash is suitable for all skin types. Natural ingredients such as stone harvest and chamomile soothe and soothe the skin, while shea butter moisturizes. If your child is near the Between two and ten years, this cleansing laundry is perfect because it removes impurities from the pores without removing the natural moisture from the skin.

Use our coconut milk cleaner for a gentle cleansing that is more suitable for dry or irritated skin. The skin is hydrated and protected with antioxidants such as marigold oil and coconut oil, not to mention the abundant hydration thanks to coconut milk.

Show the best way to clean the skin by applying the products to the skin and gently emulsifying with water. Once you've thoroughly cleaned the skin, it's time for the next step: masking!

2. Mask

This is a step that children of all ages will surely enjoy. Again, you should make sure that every mask you provide is child-friendly and does not contain any particularly effective ingredients.

Three masks in particular are popular with all age groups, and children will definitely smell them: our coconut cream, the strawberry-rhubarb mask and the chocolate mousse moisturizing mask.

Eminence Organics Chocolate Mousse Hydration Masque

Deliciously fragrant, ours Chocolate Mousse Hydration Masque is as decadent as it sounds! With its antioxidant-rich cocoa and blend of moisturizing oils, this mask is a perfect option to refresh your skin. Likewise, Coconut Cream Masque is deeply moisturizing and contains coconut milk, oil and tiny pieces of ripe coconut that the kids are sure to love.

Try a child-friendly scrub Strawberry and rhubarb mask on the skin. Strawberries are a natural source of salicylic acid and a calming and entertaining way to illuminate the skin and make it fresh and plump thanks to its astringent and brightening properties.

3. Moisturize

The last important step in every spa day is humidification! This is another great opportunity to teach children the proper moisturizing to keep the skin healthy and strong.

Depending on your child's skin care needs, there are some moisturizing options. If you are looking for a moisturizer for normal skin, this is it Apricot Whip Moisturizer is perfect for beginners. For dry or dehydrated skin, we recommend our Stone Crop Whip Moisturizer, which relieves dryness and at the same time has a deeply moisturizing effect. If your child has sensitive skin or is prone to rosacea, the sensitive formula in Rosehip Whip Moisturizer offers pure, moisturizing ingredients.

Mother gives her daughter a manicure

4. Manicure

End your children's spa day at home with a gentle manicure that nourishes the skin while everyone washes their hands more.

Here is a simple step-by-step guide for a manicure at home:

For more ideas on creating treatments at home with Eminence Organics, see Check out our beautiful selection of botanical cleaners, masks and moisturizers. And let us know in the comments or on social media which part of the spa day your child enjoyed the most!

23 Apr
Blog

Sony WH-CH710N Headphones Review: A True Wireless Value

Sony WH-CH710N headphones

"Sony's WH-CH710N wireless headphones are great at being good."

  • Excellent battery life

  • Comfortable design

  • Integration of the stellar voice assistant

  • Inconspicuous noise cancellation

The Sony WH-CH710N is the middle ground in the extensive range of wireless headphones from Sony. They have more premium features than Sony's entry-level models, without the premium price of flagship models like the WH-1000XM3.

Without question, some corners had to be cut to achieve this. However, the $ 200 Sony WH-CH710N, which will be available for pre-sale this month, offers more than enough features to make it fascinating – and an important addition to the Sony roster.

Out of the box

Corner No. 1: The box in which the WH-CH710N is delivered is just a box. I will of course not hold that against Sony. If you save price, you will lose some pomp and that is understandable.

Sony WH-CH710N headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Likewise, the WH-CH710N does not include a carrying case. A USB-C charging cable and a headphone cable are also included, as is a picture book that is displayed as a user guide. I found Sony's online help much more useful.

The Bluetooth setup was routine and simple. The WH-CH710N also supports Near Field Communication (NFC), where compatible devices can be paired with the headphones by touching the left ear cup. It was also a breeze. After a week of intensive listening with these headphones paired with a Google Pixel 2, I had no noteworthy connection problems. I also found the range of these Bluetooth 5-supported headphones to be exceptional.

design

I was surprised at the smaller footprint of the WH-CH710N, at least compared to other headphones I've tested recently. They are not exactly light, but for me they were of a good size and weight for longer listening times.

Sony WH-CH710N headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The oval ear pads were soft, but not as soft as you would expect from higher quality products. The headband also felt a little stiffer than I would have liked. These are mostly minor annoyances that have not affected my overall experience.

A total of five buttons are integrated in the WH-CH710N. There is an on / off switch on the left auricle, three buttons for volume and action commands aligned in a row on the right auricle, and a button to toggle between noise canceling and ambient sounds located on the same right auricle. A little learning curve was required to get used to the different buttons, but I was able to use each functionally in no time.

properties

On paper, there seems to be a lot to like about the features of the Sony WH-CH710N. These include the battery life and the compatibility of the voice assistant.

Sony WH-CH710N headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The WH-CH710N offers an estimated playback time of 35 hours with noise reduction activated and 45 hours without noise reduction. This is better than the WH-1000XM3's 30-hour battery life and is enough to take a week's commute without needing to recharge.

For obvious reasons, I didn't commute when I used these headphones. But they survived me with fairly constant use all week, so I can vouch for the longevity of these headphones. It takes approximately seven hours to fully charge the WH-CH710N. However, after 10 minutes of charging, you can play for an hour. It's not quite as fast as the WH-1000XM3, but it's still decent.

My beef mentioned above with the physical instruction manual is about activating voice assistants with the headphones. Based on the physical instructions, it is difficult to set up your preferred voice assistant. However, the online guide contains detailed instructions and quickly guided me through choosing my preferred assistant from the settings on my phone.

I chose Amazon Alexa as my assistant and by long pressing this action button I was able to do everything that I normally use with my Alexa devices, from setting the timer when cooking to controlling light bulbs and other smart home products . It may not be a big deal for everyone, but for a person who often uses smart assistants, flawless integration was a solid benefit.

Audio quality

I'm just going to get this out of the way now: The WH-CH710N won't sound as good as the WH-1000XM3 or other high-end alternatives. You just can't keep up with the clarity and audio quality of these premium wireless headphones.

Sony WH-CH710N headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

This is frankly not a big deal. They shouldn't be able to compete with high quality products in terms of sound, and they didn't have a price for it. What the Sony WH-CH710N had to do sounded good because if they weren't, they'd be a waste of great features.

I have good news. Equipped with 30 mm drivers and a frequency range from 20 to 20,000 Hz, the WH-CH710N offers what I can best describe as reliable audio quality. Even though I couldn't find a track that blew me away musically, it was difficult for me to come across a song that was misrepresented by the criminal.

If you're looking for high-fidelity sound for a fraction of the price, you'll be disappointed with the WH-CH710N, especially the limited codec support that includes SBC and AAC. But with realistic expectations, I think most people would enjoy how they sound.

Noise cancellation

The WH-CH710N is advertised as noise canceling headphones, but is not an active noise canceling headphones. Instead, Sony implemented a technology called AINC (Artificial Intelligence Noise Cancellation), which is designed to adapt continuously to the environment in order to create the most effective mode for noise suppression.

To support this, the headphones in each ear cup have a pair of microphones, one forward and one rear, to pick up as much ambient noise as possible. They also have an ambient sound mode to turn on outside noise without having to remove the headphones, and an option to turn off noise cancellation and ambient mode altogether.

In my experience, the AINC included in the WH-CH710N works … to a certain extent. At normal listening volume, some lower frequencies are filtered out well. But some annoying noises still found their way into my listening experience. Such as the neighbors' power tools during a weekend project. The noise canceling has muffled that noise to some extent, but it was nothing more than what I am used to with more premium headphones.

Our opinion

For the right person, the Sony WH-CH710N offers excellent value for money. It has a number of features for its cost if you're okay with sacrificing sound quality and noise canceling ability to keep on budget.

Are there any better alternatives?

It depends on what concessions you want to make. The WH-1000XM3 has dropped significantly in price, but they still cost almost $ 80 more than the $ 199 WH-CH710N. The previous model in the range, the Sony WH-CH700N, has dropped to $ 129 and has similar features, namely an identical battery life. However, the latest model has new components and technologies, which may make the additional costs worthwhile.

How long will they last?

The Sony WH-CH710N headband is rigid, but feels durable just like the rest of the product. As long as they are not misused, they should be your daily doses for the foreseeable future.

Should you buy it

Yes. They are not their more expensive, popular older siblings. Ultimately, the WH-CH710N offers excellent battery life and reasonable sound at a manageable price. They're not the best, but they're great at being good.

Editor's recommendations




23 Apr
Blog

Flo by Moen Review | Money You’ll Save Is No Drop In The Bucket

Flo from Moen's review

"Moen's intuitive Flo helps you save water and protect yourself from costly leaks."

  • Protects against catastrophic water damage

  • Learn your water usage habits

  • Provides valuable information on water consumption

  • Great information dashboard

  • Integrates with Amazon Alexa

  • Requires a subscription for important benefits

  • Leakage location cannot be recognized

  • Cannot be connected to other home security systems

My first product review was the Current Cost ENVI Home Energy Monitor. That was nine years ago, and I've been studying television reviews intensively since then – but I've never got over having data on energy and resource consumption at hand. I'm still excited about it. When the people behind the Flo by Moen smart home water monitor (and also the leak detector!) Offered to install the device for this test, I took the chance.

It's a few months later now and I often wonder how I've ever lived without this clever device. Sure, it will detect a water leak, tell you about it, and even shut down your water pipe, but its capabilities go far beyond these basic functions. It's not perfect, but between the practical daily use and the security it offers, I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Mother Earth will surely appreciate this because there is not only an incentive to save money by using Flo by Moen, but also the more profound gesture to help the planet by saving water.

Why do i need that thing?

In the past two months, three of my homeowner friends have had installation problems that resulted in flooded land. Those who had good insurance were faced with a nasty deductible that didn't get a nasty bill, and in all cases the total cost of cleanup, repairs, and restoration exceeded $ 4,000.

Flo from Moen's review

In all three cases, Moen's $ 500 flo could have done practically none of these floods and damage. Reason enough to invest in Flo by Moen. It also monitors for leaks and, for a small monthly fee, identifies the water-consuming devices and fittings in your home. This way you get an insight – shower for shower, rinsing for rinsing and even washing machine load for washing machine load – into your home's water consumption. In any case, real money must be saved and not just a drop in the bucket. Over the course of his life, the Moen Flo could potentially save you thousands of dollars.

There is also the environmental good of water protection, which should not be underestimated.

installation

Flo by Moen is a small, weatherproof box with a valve button and incoming and outgoing connections that are connected to the main water pipe of your house. Practical people can install it themselves, but I would recommend hiring a plumber, especially if your water pipe is difficult to access. While contacting your plumber, you can also check if they are selling Flo by Moen as they may offer a discount on the purchase of the product and installation together.

There will come a time when you have to help the Flo to help you better.

Flo by Moen is not battery operated, so you need access to an electrical outlet. You should also make sure that your WiFi router's signal is strong enough to get to where the device is installed because there is no Ethernet port (not that an Ethernet cable is likely to be routed to the water pipe).

Once connected, Flo by Moen connects to Wi-Fi using the Flo by Moen app, available for iOS and Android. Once you're online, the app will ask you a number of questions to get you started. The app wants to know where your home is, how many people live in the house, the price per unit of water – all the data it can use to give you meaningful and informative dashboards.

From there, Flo by Moen will take water consumption at home into account and send this data to the cloud for processing via Flo by Moens Analytics.

What Flo does

In the first few days of operation, the Flo collects some basic data: how much water is consumed per day, when the consumption is highest and lowest, what the flow rate is for typical water consumption and how the water in the household is pressure and temperature measurement on average. The Flo also begins nightly tests for minor leaks by briefly turning off the water supply and monitoring for pressure changes. If the pressure drops, there is a leak somewhere. The Flo no longer recognizes where the leak is – it is intelligent, but does not have sensors in the entire sanitary system. So you have to go hunting yourself or call a plumber and have him sniff out.

Flo from Moen's review

With a feel for what is normal in your home, the Flo is equipped to understand what is not normal. If it sees that it is consuming too much water, a notification will be sent via SMS, email and / or phone call (you can choose one or all three notification options) to alert you. If notifications are not responded to, Flo will turn the water off, provided that it prevents potentially catastrophic damage or water loss. If you prefer, you can have Flo ignore the warning for two hours – something I had to do many, many times. More on that later.

The Moen Flo also looks for low pressure, indicating that there may be a problem with the water entering your home. water temperatures too low, which can be a warning that pipes can freeze; or too high pressure, which can be a sign of several problems (including already frozen pipes).

For those traveling on vacation or another long absence, an absence mode is available, which causes the Flo to react faster to warning signals.

But how does it really work?

Everything I've described so far is essentially automated, but there will come a time (probably actually many times) when you need to help the Flo do better to help you. Yes, as smart as the Flo is, it still needs an insight into what's actually happening in your home.

For example, watering my garden and / or lawn was a confusing event for the Flo. I have to admit that I was shocked that some drinking hoses let through up to 5 gallons of water per minute. But more importantly, Flo had never seen so much water in my home before – at least not for very long. While half of my vegetable garden was soaked with the much-needed hydration, Flo was busy letting me know that some nefarious things were coming down and warned of an impending water shutdown.

Flo not only protects my house from possible damage, but also prevents me from having to spend too much.

This scenario repeated itself several times, but I didn't know that every time I told the Flo app not to worry and keep pouring, Flo raised the ceiling for a shutdown event. This initially gave me cause for concern because what if the ceiling were raised so high that the Flo would be ineffective in the event of a real problem? It turned out that I didn't have to worry about it.

In addition to learning real-time usage habits, the Flo system allows users to assign usage events to certain types of usage, but only with a $ 5 FloProtect subscription. With the subscription it can be determined that the water consumption is at 1:10 p.m. On Thursday was the washing machine from which the Flo will likely learn to correctly allocate water consumption. This was practical for me as I was essentially able to tell the Flo device what applications were used for irrigation.

Today I have to blow up a good 57 gallons within 11 minutes before Flo warns me that I'm basically over-watering my garden. In this case, the Flo not only protects my house from possible damage, but also prevents me from over-watering and therefore paying too much when the water bill comes.

I have a huge bag of anecdotes praising the value of the Flo by Moen device, including stories of insanely long teenage showers that broke down after 25 minutes and overflowing bathtubs were barely averted, but I think you can imagine all kinds of cases In which a water monitor could be useful. Now we come to an even more convincing topic.

Get ready to save $$$

It may take a while to buy a used car with the money I saved with the Moen Flo, but I'm pretty sure this day could come. There are some real savings here.

Like any dashboard, the Flo by Moen app can be a real motivator. By setting water use goals and viewing reports of whether you have achieved or missed your goal, you tend to change your behavior (and that of others). In addition, it is instructive – and shocking in some cases – to see how much water is used to wash clothes or shower, for example, in a way that is difficult to describe.

"There's no way we're throwing so many gallons in our sinks," I cried in horror after checking my first monthly report. Unfortunately, our taps were our main consumers. They are still, but to a much lesser extent, since I installed water-saving aerators on every tap in the house. To be honest, I thought the existing aerators were highly efficient, and I wouldn't have known anything else without a detailed insight into my water consumption.

Flo from Moen's review

As convincing as saving may be, I think it may be more important to consider the positive effects of water conservation on our planet. Without realizing it, my kids had become a bit lazy turning off the faucet when brushing their teeth, and frankly it turned out that I was wasting a terrible amount of water washing up.

Treat the Flo by Moen app as a game, and conservation becomes a competition to find out who can save the most water. Given the high potential to save a valuable and sometimes scarce resource, I decided to give the Flo by Moen the Tech for Change Award from Digital Trends.

What's the catch?

The downside to many advantages of the Flo is that they live behind a FloProtect subscription paywall that costs $ 5 a month or $ 60 a year. With the subscription, you will also receive an insurance refund of up to $ 2,500 if water damage occurs under Flo's watch. This seems like a nice addition, but I'd rather see Moen bring that kind of support into the device for the $ 500 purchase price.

As long as I'm groaning, it would be great to see how Moen's Flo integrates with larger security systems to add an extra layer of protection. I personally have a Vivint home security system in operation that has flood sensors that can possibly detect water accumulations that the Flo cannot detect itself based on usage data. As it looks, the Flo is alone in its operation.

Our opinion

I love having the Moen Flo as part of my increasingly intelligent home. Not only do I feel like I have an extra layer of protection, I'm still moved by all the data I can get through well-designed dashboards. A little bit of manual work is required at the beginning, but the end result is an intuitive intelligent water monitoring system that more or less takes care of itself.

Is there a better alternative?

There are cheaper options, like Stream Labs' Smart Home Water Monitor for $ 200, which doesn't require pipe cutting like Flo by Moen, but we can't guarantee the accuracy of that. There are also more expensive options, like the Phyn Plus for $ 700, but it's unclear what valuable benefits the higher sticker price will bring. We also prefer the appearance of the Flo by Moen user interface.

How long it will take?

The Flo from Moen seems to be very robust and weatherproof, so the signs of a long life are good. However, since this is a new product category, it remains to be seen how realistic life expectancy will be. Given that most of the data processing and analysis is done in the cloud, there is a good chance that the technology will not be out of date in the short term.

Should you buy it

Yes. It performs well and offers a wealth of accurate data and solid protection.

Editor's recommendations




22 Apr
Blog

Fitbit Charge 4 Review: The Fitness Tracker To Buy

Fitbit Charge 4 review 1

"The Fitbit Charge 4 is a great fitness tracker at an affordable price."

  • Excellent fitness tracking

  • Some intelligent functions

  • Good battery life

  • GPS installed

  • Solid value

  • Limited music support

  • Slightly outdated design

  • Ad could be better

It is important to me to keep track of my health. I use MyFitnessPal to track what I eat, Sleeptracker to monitor my sleep, and Apple Watch to track my fitness and activity. All of this information is linked in the Apple Health app. The Apple Watch even made me aware that I might have atrial fibrillation – a diagnosis that was later confirmed by cardiologists. In a world with all of these high-tech, artificially intelligent tracking systems, the humble Fitbit can feel a little old-fashioned.

While the Fitbit Charge 4 can't keep up with the Apple Watch in many areas, it's pretty much the best fitness tracker you can buy for the price. This is especially true since the device now finally offers integrated GPS and new heart monitoring functions.

Let’s take a closer look.

design

The Fitbit Charge 4 looks almost identical to the Fitbit Charge 3 – and although the Charge 3 offered an updated design, it still feels a bit dated at this point. That doesn't mean it's ugly. The device is small enough to look good on wrists of all sizes, and easily adaptable thanks to the wide range of straps.

There is a 1-inch monochrome OLED display with a resolution of 160 x 100 pixels on the front of the device. The display is pretty boring and sometimes frustrating to use. It is not always on and often does not wake up when you raise your wrist. In addition, it is not very bright and can sometimes be difficult to read in sunlight. An updated display would have been desirable here.

On the Charge 4 side there is a haptic button that activates the display and serves, among other things, as a home button in the device software. It works well, although sometimes you have to push harder to make it work. However, you will get used to it. The charging pins and a heart rate monitor are located on the underside of the device.

As you would expect from a fitness tracker in 2020, the device is waterproof up to 50 meters and therefore supports swimming tracking. I was unable to get to a pool due to the ongoing ban to test this.

In general, the overall design of the Fitbit Charge 4 could be described as "good". It does the job. It is not noticeable and the display is somewhat lackluster. After all, this is not a smartwatch, but a fitness tracker. And it looks like this.

Track fitness

Before you actually track your fitness, you should dive into the app and find out which activities you think will be used the most since the device contains only six shortcuts each. I actually thought the Charge 4 couldn't track tennis, but it can track a variety of activities – you just have to indicate which ones are most important to you. By default, the shortcuts include running, cycling, swimming, treadmill, outdoor training, and walking.

It's a little annoying that only six links can be included. I wouldn't call myself the most active person out there, but I'm still chasing walks, runs, weight training, and occasional tennis and swimming lessons. It's easy to imagine that someone has to do more than six types of activities on a regular basis.

New for the Charge 4 is the built-in GPS, a very welcome addition. With the GPS, you can finally leave your smartphone at home if you want to physically follow your run. I found the GPS accuracy to be pretty accurate – and even slightly more accurate than the Apple Watch.

The fact that the device has an integrated GPS surpasses most other trackers, especially in this price range. Most other GPS-enabled devices are fully functional smartwatches, with the exception of Garmin Vivosport, which deals with other features like swimming tracking and some other fitness metrics.

The workouts that use GPS track things like pace, speed, distance, time, and heart rate. Other workouts record time, calories burned, and heart rate. It's a good range of metrics, and these things can all be seen directly from the Fitbit app.

The Charge 4 can automatically track some workouts like running, walking, cycling, elliptical training and more. This has been useful more than once. During this period of social distancing, I try to take at least a few walks a day – and I may not remember starting a workout to follow them because I do not always see them as "workouts". The Fitbit Charge 4 covered me because I was pleasantly surprised to see all of my walks in the app.

You can also track your sleep with the Fitbit Charge 4. While wearing a device in bed takes a bit of getting used to, a lot of data is collected – and when you get Fitbit Premium, you'll see how Fitbit breaks down your score. It's hard to determine how accurate sleep tracking is without a dedicated sleep lab, but the results seem to match my attitudes toward my sleep and the rating I get from Sleeptracker.

Although I haven't tested it for obvious reasons, the Charge 4 offers menstrual cycle tracking. With the app you can log symptoms and moods and compare them with other users and previous months. The Charge 4 also helps with mental health – thanks to the integrated Relax app, which allows you to do breathing exercises.

Not quite a smart watch

Now let's get this out of the way. The Fitbit Charge 4 is not a smartwatch. If you want a smartwatch, you should look elsewhere.

That doesn't mean the Fitbit Charge 4 doesn't have intelligent features. On the contrary, it can do a number of things you would expect from a smartwatch. You can see many notifications on your wrist, including text messages, calls, and more. The device now supports Fitbit Pay, which makes mobile payment easier.

Another new feature is the ability to control music playback on your phone using Charge 4. Unfortunately, the feature is limited to Spotify and you cannot control the music during exercise. This makes the tracker function pretty useless for fitness purposes. You also cannot save music to your device. If you want to use GPS support to leave your phone at home but still want to listen to music, you're out of luck.

This essentially completes the Smartwatch-like list of functions in Charge 4. It does not have to be included in an app store. It cannot record audio. No calls are answered. GPS navigation cannot be provided. The local weather is not shown. And so on. The lack of this feature is not a real flaw on the Charge 4, as its focus on fitness undoubtedly adds to the tracker's reasonable price.

If you're looking for a real smartwatch, you should consider other options. If you're an Apple user, you can only pay a little extra for an Apple Watch Series 3. The Apple Watch is not quite as detailed in fitness tracking, but it is very powerful and offers all the other functions you would expect from a smartwatch.

The Fitbit app

Merging all the data the tracker collects is the app – and it's a home run. Fitbit has been working on his app for years and it is incredibly detailed. The app's dashboard shows things like the number of steps you've taken, the number of floors you've climbed, your heart rate, and more. Tap these metrics to see more detailed information.

During a run, you can see on a map where you ran, along with the “heart zones” reached on that map and your pace. Scroll down and you'll get an overview of your height, a breakdown of your heart zones, heart rate information, calories burned and much more.

The app is great for tracking and rewarding goals. You can find all types of goals on offer, including weekly and daily goals. Active Zone Minutes takes recommendations from the World Health Organization and the American Heart Association and converts these recommendations into minutes of training. It can be a little confusing, but the essence is that you give more credit to your goals for more intense training, which encourages users to push themselves.

You have to look in the settings to find some of the features offered. However, once you get used to the design of the app, it's easy to find out. For example, you can't just go to the Settings menu to tweak your device's settings, you have to tap your device first and then go to its own Settings menu. It makes sense if you think about it, but it can still be a little confusing.

Overall, the Fitbit app is fantastic. It is well designed and makes it easy to sort the huge amount of data that the Fitbit Charge 4 collects.

Battery life

The Fitbit Charge 4's battery life is up to an impressive week of use – but this largely depends on how often you use GPS. According to Fitbit, you only get five hours of operation when GPS is activated. In practice, the battery will be empty for a few days when you use the device to track workouts.

That's not bad. With “real” smartwatches, you can only work for a day or two.

Although battery life is good, the fact that you may be using this device to track your sleep means that you need to actively think about when to charge your charge. For some, it's in the shower or when you're sitting at your desk.

Our opinion

The Fitbit Charge 4 is the best fitness tracker on the market. Thanks to the built-in GPS, it's significantly better than the Charge 3, and the Fitbit app allows those who want to dive into their fitness metrics to do so.

However, the age of fitness trackers is coming to an end. If you're an Apple user, you can purchase a new Apple Watch Series 3 for just $ 50 more. If you can afford it, an Apple Watch Series 4 or 5 is even better. On the Android side there are watches like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Active 2.

On the fitness tracker side, the only competition comes from devices like the Samsung Galaxy Fit, the Huawei Band 4 Pro, and some Garmin devices – but in any case, you sacrifice either GPS or decent software. The Fitbit Charge 4 is the complete package.

Is there a better alternative?

If you're looking for a traditional fitness tracker, the Fitbit Charge 4 is the way to go, and competition is very little in the way. If you're looking for a versatile device that can do more than just fitness tracking, consider something like the Apple Watch.

Do you want more options? Check out the best fitness trackers for 2020.

How long it will take?

The Fitbit Charge 4 should last at least a few years under normal use. The body is designed to withstand a few bumps and has a water resistance of up to 50 meters.

Should you buy it

Yes. The Fitbit Charge 4 is a great fitness tracker, and the Fitbit app is an almost perfect companion.

Editor's recommendations




22 Apr
Blog

Apple iPad Pro (2020) Review: The Definitive Tablet

Apple iPad Pro 2020 review back

"The iPad Pro 2020 is the best version of the best tablet you can buy, and no task will impress you."

  • Amazing screen

  • Versatile, easy-to-use software

  • Packed app store with tablet-specific apps

  • Neat, comfortable and light design

  • Good performance

  • Perfect for work or leisure

  • Important accessories increase costs

  • The LiDAR sensor currently has no advantage

  • Expensive against competitors

The Apple iPad is the most popular tablet in the world and that we would recommend to anyone buying a new tablet. There's a brand new version of the top iPad Pro for 2020 now, but does that mean you should buy it?

Oh well. Of course. The iPad Pro has dominated the tablet market since its launch. The 2020 iPad Pro is a small update, but it's still way ahead of its rivals.

design

I purchased the 11-inch iPad Pro for review. The only difference from the 12.9-inch version is the screen size. Even the pixel density is the same for both models at 265 pixels per inch. Quite simply, one is bigger than the other and you have to decide which one best suits your needs. The larger model is probably better for artists and anyone who is serious about working with the iPad, but it may also feel a bit too big to watch videos in bed or for general home use, which I think is great for 11- works better. Inch version.

Apple iPad Pro 2020Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

The tablet is super slim at 5.9 mm and light at 471 grams, and I've never felt tired when I propped it up or put it on my lap. The weight and dimensions are exactly the same as the iPad Pro 2018, and the overall design is similar. The back of the tablet is flat, as are the sides, which are only interrupted by perforations for the quad speakers, the USB charging port type C and three buttons. It's all very industrial, especially in space gray. It cannot be called beautiful, but there is no doubt that much has been thought about doing it just right.

For example, you would think that the flat edges would feel sharp after a while. You don't. The slightly beveled edge provides comfort and the curved corners fit exactly in the palm of your hand, so you can hold the iPad Pro for hours without digging into your hands. The matte metal case has a lot of grip and doesn't draw many fingerprints, which spoils the screen and puts it in a terrible state. The narrow 6mm bezels are just the right size to hold the tablet without accidentally touching the screen.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

The camera with two lenses on the back separates it from the 2018 model and brings it stylishly closer to the iPhone 11. It gives the design of the tablet character, does not protrude too much from the surface and means that the camera is more powerful here than on anyone iPad previously. Since the selfie camera is very well hidden in the thin screen bezels and the buttons are almost flush on the sides, the feeling for the camera shock is the best way to determine which end was "up".

An ergonomic problem related to Face Unlock occurs occasionally. The camera setup is in the narrow bezels. If you hold the tablet in landscape format, you can easily hide it. It is not uncommon for the tablet to accidentally go to sleep by pressing the button. You may also need to use Face Unlock to make purchases, and you'll need to readjust your grip for the cameras to work. Fortunately, there is an arrow on the screen that points to the camera location. Like the 2018 model, the iPad Pro 2020 unfortunately does not have a 3.5 mm headphone jack.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

I haven't updated my iPad since the first generation iPad Pro 12.9 released in 2015. It is a tablet that I liked very much, but was often perceived as unwieldy. Switching to the 11-inch iPad Pro 2020 is like traveling back in time, as the tiny victim of 1.9-inch screen space is nothing compared to the benefits of improved design, weight reduction, and reduced space requirements. By comparing like this, you understand how slim and user-friendly the new iPad really is and how far Apple has gotten in design in a few years.

display

The iPad Pro's Liquid Retina IPS screen measures 11 inches and has a resolution of 2388 x 1668 pixels, Apple's ProMotion 120Hz technology, true tone colors and 600 nits of brightness. The iPad Pro was the ideal video partner not only thanks to the wonderfully calibrated screen, but also thanks to the abundance of available media apps.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

Although the iPad Pro doesn't show 4K video, the quality above 1080p is absolutely wonderful. The colors are perfectly coordinated – lively, bright and dynamic in equal measure, but never exaggerated or too saturated. Of course, the quality varies with the video content itself, but provided it has been filmed competently, it looks great.

The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime usually looked stunning – crisp, sharp, and full of detail. Watching Wheeler dealers via the Dplay app is not quite as nice, but not with the iPad. However, this doesn't make it any less pleasant. In contrast to a foldable smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy Fold or the Huawei Mate Xs, the aspect ratio of 4: 3 is better for watching videos, as the black bars are minimized. I preferred to watch videos on the 11-inch iPad Pro over my older 12.9-inch iPad Pro. It's just easier to use without compromising the screen size.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

One of the most striking aspects is the ProMotion 120Hz screen. If you're like me and you're from a first-generation iPad Pro or other tablet without a high-refresh screen, it's amazing to look at. There is no blurring at all, and this makes viewing menus about surfing the Internet and playing games more enjoyable. It is a wonderful addition to this stunning screen.

Disadvantage? It's a shame that the screen gets pretty greasy and doesn't clean very effectively even with special cloths. If you don't buy a case or stand for the tablet, you have to hold it or pry it against things to watch videos for extended periods of time. The compatibility of video files can also be incomplete, especially if they are run from external drives. Otherwise it is error-free.

Software and productivity

IPadOS 13.4 is installed on the iPad Pro 2020. This brings with it various improvements for iOS 13, which were published at the end of 2019 and brought the tablet closer to a laptop alternative for the first time. When used normally, it feels like the iOS it is based on, and is more suitable for the larger screen with the slide-up dock menu and other improvements. Multitasking has been significantly improved, and there are now two ways to use more than one app.

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Both are easy to use and logically set up. The first is split view, where two apps, or in some cases two views of the same app, appear on the screen at the same time. Once you've learned the swipe and tap combination to make it work, it's easy, but it's a shame that not all apps work with it. For example, you cannot open a browser window next to Autotrader. If you are swiping too fast to access the dock, you can simply exit the app instead.

Slide Over fixes the problem that not all apps work with Split View and instead hovers other app windows over a main full screen app. This is helpful because you can open many windows at the same time and then switch between them in the synopsis view. This is very helpful. I have found that using pages to write an article with a research browser window open has speeded up my workflow.

The new software also introduces USB device management. The iPad has a single USB Type-C port to which I connected a hub to provide USB Type-A ports and an SD card reader. It worked fine, read and played compatible video files from a USB stick and imported pictures and videos from an SD card. However, I found that the hub – a Vava multiport model – was drawing a lot of power from the tablet. Therefore, please note that the battery will discharge faster if you use it to work or play videos.

I like typing on the glass screen of the iPad during work. The size is correct so I can still touch the guy quickly, and the software's automatic fix is ​​activated when I make mistakes. I use Pages anyway and the quick sharing between the tablet and my Mac is very helpful. At the time of writing, I hadn't tried the new Magic Keyboard with the trackpad, which promises to really improve productivity. Without a case, the iPad Pro must be on your lap to type, which is not the most ergonomic solution. If you want to use the iPad this way, invest in a case or stand that tilts the tablet toward you.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

What else? Having widgets on the home screen is nice, rather than swiping in the left view as is required on iPhone. This leads to an excellent Apple News experience on the iPad. Here too, the 11-inch model is more suitable for reading in bed than the 12.9-inch tablet due to the space requirement. Books and comics can also be read excellently on the tablet. I could keep talking about iPadOS 13.5 and all the things I like about using the iPad Pro 2020. It's quick and easy to use, animations are nifty without being intrusive, and the app store is packed with apps optimized for tablets.

The iPad Pro 2020 without a keyboard case is a fabulous all-rounder that can play beautiful videos in one minute and is suitable for some quick e-mails and basic work tasks in the next. You can later read or play games. To use it seriously for work, you need a keyboard, but even without it, the way it is recorded and used for everything is appealing and practical, supported by the clever software and this amazing screen.

Performance and games

One of the most important changes compared to the 2018 version is the new Apple A12Z bionic processor with octa-core graphics, which focuses on hardcore work tasks such as 4K video editing. Apple claims it is faster than most PC laptops. We ran a benchmark test to see how it works:

The latest Samsung tablet, the Galaxy S6, does not even come close to this score and underlines the incredible performance of the new iPad Pro. Perhaps the least pleasing thing about the iPad is that holding the tablet is painful compared to a phone or console controller. How this affects you depends on the games you enjoy. Games that rely on swiping, like Asphalt 9 Legends, Minecraft, and Bullet Hell Monday, are better than others. Asphalt 9 also looks fantastic and the performance is undoubtedly excellent.

There's not much else to say, and that's proof of the iPad Pro's flawless performance. It undeniably beats any other tablet and is not even close. If you need a device that is faster than an iPad Pro, you need something that is not a tablet.

camera

There is a double camera on the back of the iPad Pro 2020, which is one of the most important hardware updates compared to previous models. The main lens is a 12 megapixel sensor with an aperture of 1: 1.8 and the other is a 10 megapixel wide angle lens. You get the Smart HDR function, 4K video recording at up to 60 frames per second in standard and wide angle, and five microphones. In addition, the iPad Pro has a lidar sensor for measuring distances, which currently has only limited functionality. On the front is a 7 megapixel TrueDepth front camera with face unlock.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

The lidar sensor is not much help at the moment. There's no obvious advantage to using the main camera, and Apple doesn't go into great detail outside of the Measure app for what you should use it for. In this way, you can quickly measure objects in the real world with the camera on the iPad. Basic shapes and elements can be recognized quickly. I think it's great that the closer you move the camera, the more detailed measurement data you can see. However, I'm not sure how often I would use it.

The camera is acceptable for a tablet and takes decent photos, but can't keep up with the iPhone 11 Pro or similarly powerful Android camera phones. The color balance is pleasant, the blue sky appears natural, the definition is good in cloudy conditions and the level of detail in close-ups. I felt that the tablet was too big to use as a camera on a regular basis. Since many tablets don't leave the house, the camera of the iPad Pro is perfectly acceptable, especially the video camera for taking quick pictures of your children or pets. However, don't be too excited about the wide-angle camera as the field of view is narrower than that of the iPhone 11 Pro and is only slightly different from the main lens.

battery

The battery in the iPad Pro lasted approximately five days with moderate daily use of approximately two hours. Charging with the included 18-watt charger took an hour to reach 47% and reached 100% in about two and a half hours. With Apple's 29W fast charger, which has to be purchased separately, the battery reached 68% in one hour and it took another hour to reach 100%.

Andy Boxall / DigitalTrends

How quickly the battery drains depends on what you do. Of course, video requires a lot of power, and at least 35% of the battery energy is used for two and a half hours. This corresponds to about seven to seven and a half hours of total video playback, which is less than the 10 hours of video usage Apple has specified. Otherwise, after two hours of general use a day, the tablet lasted five days before it needed to be recharged.

Like the last iPad Pro, the charging port is a USB Type-C port, so the Lightning cable used for the iPhone doesn't work. The included charging cable has a USB Type-C connector at both ends and not a USB Type-A connector, which may limit the wall charging blocks you use. This means you may have to carry multiple chargers around or invest in a single new charging block.

Price, guarantee and availability

The iPad Pro we spent time with is the 11-inch version with 128 GB of internal storage. It costs $ 800. If you want the same version with a 12-9 inch screen, it costs $ 1,000. Choosing more storage increases the price to a maximum of $ 1,500 for the 12.9-inch iPad Pro with 1 TB. If you want a cellular connection, the total cost of your new tablet will increase by $ 150.

Apple grants a 1-year basic warranty against manufacturing and material defects. You can also pay for the extended AppleCare warranty, which also covers accidental damage and the battery, and provides technical support for two years. The prices vary depending on the coverage and product. The iPad Pro 2020 is available from Apple's own online shop and retailers such as Best Buy, as well as from mobile operators.

Our opinion

It's not often that a product meets the criteria for being "expensive but worth it", but the Apple iPad Pro 2020 does just that. It's the best version of the best tablet you can buy. If you already have version 2018, you don't really need to update it. This underscores the fact that there is nothing drastically new here, other than more power and the promise of augmented reality functions that will be activated with the lidar sensor in the future version.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes, but it depends on how you imagine using your iPad in the next few years. There's no question that the iPad Pro 2020 is the best tablet you can buy today because it's so versatile – but it's expensive. If you want a very similar experience at a lower price, you might want to look around for an iPad Pro 2018. which can still be found for less money. The simple 10.2-inch iPad only costs $ 330 and is also ideal if you don't expect a lot of work.

However, if you want to switch from a laptop to an iPad, the extra performance is worth it in the long run. If you want an Android tablet, we are fans of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 worth $ 650 and the media-oriented Galaxy Tab S5e worth $ 400. Although we haven't tested it for a long time, the Huawei MatePad Pro 5G impressed during our practical time and certainly has an enormous amount of technology, including wireless charging and a 5G connection.

You can find more recommendations in our favorite tablets from 2020.

How long it will take?

The replacement of your tablet is not carried out as regularly as with your smartphone. Depending on how often you use your tablet and what you use it for, up to five years are roughly correct. If you plan to use the iPad Pro for work, it may need to be replaced earlier, depending on your needs. If you buy a model with more internal storage, it will last longer.

The iPad Pro 2020 is not waterproof and although it has a metal back cover, the screen is still made of glass, so it can easily break when dropped. As iPad tablets focus more on productivity, they spend more time outdoors making a case and Apple's extended warranty investments. Apple regularly delivers software updates and the iPad will be supported for a few more years. For example, iPadOS 13.4.1 is also running on my original iPad Pro 12.9 2015.

Should you buy it

Yes absolutely. It is difficult to find a common entertainment or productivity task. The iPad Pro 2020 doesn't work very well, but you'll need to buy a few accessories to get the most out of its talents, and there's little reason for last-generation owners to upgrade to it.

Editor's recommendations




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