05 Nov
Blog

Honor 50 Review: What’s Old is New Again

Honor 50 rating on top of hand

Honor 50 in the test: Honor is back, and what's old is new again

RRP $ 615.00

“The Honor 50 represents the return of the new independent brand to Android phones with integrated Google Mobile Services. That's big, but the rest of the phone doesn't feel particularly fresh, despite the crazy color scheme and workmanship. "

advantages

  • Nice 120Hz AMOLED screen

  • Fast charging

  • Lightweight and reasonably sized

  • Fun video modes with easy editing

disadvantage

  • No wireless charging

  • No watertightness

  • Single speaker

Comebacks are surprisingly common in mobile technology, with Nokia, BlackBerry, and even Palm returning after a while – with varying degrees of success. Honor, once owned by Huawei, is the latest established name to return. Technically, however, it hasn't gone away as it was just sold by Huawei for the chance to thrive on its own.

Since then, Honor has made agreements with Google, Qualcomm, and several other companies that are currently unable to work with Huawei. That means Honor is not only back, but now it has Google Mobile Services too. The Honor 50 is its first smartphone with Google Play and all of the other apps and services expected, so this seems like a fresh start. On the flip side, Honor could still be trying to figure out his own identity after being connected for so long.

draft

The version of the Honor 50 that you see in our photos is the special edition “Code” and everything I want to see in an Honor phone. The company has often incorporated eye-catching reflective back wall designs, and this is probably the brightest and most noticeable yet. The letters H, O, N and R give the design depth and sparkle in different shades of silver and blue, depending on the viewing angle and lighting. I think it looks excellent, but if it's not for you the phone is also available in black, green, or a slightly more subtle, sparkly tone called Frost Crystal.

The back of the Honor 50.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

It is thin at just under 8 mm and very light at 175 grams. This, along with the curved screen and modest width of 74mm, makes it very easy to hold and operate with one hand. The curve is pretty dramatic and a bit sharp if you grip the phone tightly. The quality of workmanship is excellent, as the glass panel and the rear panel are flush with the metal housing. The stadium-shaped, two-stage camera housing with two round modules on the back also fits perfectly with the reflective letter O design of the code.

Yes, the Honor 50 is on board with Google Mobile Services

The Honor 50 looks great, is not heavy, is well made, and comes in a variety of unusual colors for people looking to make a statement with their phone. However, if you've seen and held the Honor 30 Pro, then you've seen and held the Honor 50 too, as the two are closely related in terms of size and shape.

The curved edge of the Honor 50.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Another thing is that for Honor's talk about the phone marking its "Independence Day" and its definitive split from Huawei, the similarity in design and specification between the Honor 50 and the new Huawei Nova 9 is striking. It won't do much to convince someone that the two are firmly and definitively divorced.

camera

A 108-megapixel main camera leads the show on the Honor 50, plus an 8-MP wide-angle camera and a pair of 2-MP macro and depth cameras. The selfie camera has 32 megapixels and a 90-degree viewing angle. Honor promotes the camera system as one for aspiring vloggers and has incorporated several different video modes that all cameras use at the same time.

The Honor 50's camera module.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

First, let's talk about still images. The 108MP camera is very sensitive to light. In a variety of situations, photos will be underexposed or overexposed, and the wide-angle camera is even worse. Photos are better on a brighter, sunnier day, but some won't like how the blue skies are oversaturated. I do not mind; it definitely makes the photos pop, and I prefer that to the depressing tone of the photos taken when the sun wasn't shining.

However, if you look carefully, photos may be lacking in detail – there are also signs of over-processing. On the upside, I like the range of portrait and aperture modes that give either people or objects a bokeh effect. Edge detection is also solid.

The multi-camera video modes record with two cameras at the same time, so you can create video combinations with the main rear camera and selfie camera, including simultaneous recording, a picture-in-picture window, and other combinations. It's a gimmick, but it works. However, the user interface is a bit cumbersome and slow, so you will need a little patience to master the controls.

It's not something I would personally use outside of the review, but it would certainly be fun in large groups if you want to capture everything that happens around you. There is also a very easy to use editing suite that makes creating a final clip completely easy on your phone. The Honor 50 supports Bluetooth headsets in video mode, so you can use them instead of the internal microphone to record sound – which should result in better sound, especially when recording from a distance. Strangely enough, the Honor 50 only records videos in 16: 9 or 21: 9, but supports 4K at 30 frames per second (fps).

The Honor 50's still camera wasn't very inspiring

The Honor 50's video camera is fun, but only if you try your hand at the world of vlogging. Those who are more ambitious or experienced will quickly want more, as they only record in 1080p at 30fps in multi-cam mode. However, I'm not sure if it is used very often by the average person who makes videos. The Honor 50's still camera didn't inspire me much, but software refinement can improve its capabilities over time.

software

Yes, the Honor 50 is on board with Google Mobile Services. This means that it includes the Google Play Store, Gmail, Google Maps, Messages, and every other expected apps. Also, sign in to your Google account during setup so that you can use Google's cloud services. Using the Honor phone is exactly the same as any other Android smartphone in terms of Google integration.

Honor's own MagicUI 4.2 is installed over Android 11. In terms of design and layout, it hasn't changed much from MagicUI 3.1 installed on the Honor 30 – this just added Google-Ness. There are other references to Honor's past, with the always-on screen having the same customization as the feature on Huawei phones, down to some of the same icons and animations. However, the always-on screen is one of my favorite parts of MagicUI because it is easy to personalize and information on the lock screen is clearly displayed.

I didn't experience any reliability or app issues with the Honor 50, and notifications came through with no issues. It was a steady partner during my time on the phone.

Screen and performance

The Honor 50's screen is exactly what we expect from a mid-range phone today: it's an AMOLED panel with a switchable refresh rate of 60 Hz or 120 Hz; has a resolution of 2340 x 1080 pixels and 300 Hz touch sampling; and it's colorful, dynamic and responsive.

Honor 50 screen.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

It even does very well with the latest Google Pixel 6 Pro, showing the same eye-catching colors with a slightly warmer tone – at least when the Vivid setting is enabled. It is also possible to optimize the temperature of the screen or choose a mode with sRGB or DC-P3 color cards if it does not suit your needs. Jo Yuri's Glassy video pops off the screen, but the phone loses points for its single speaker on the bottom of the phone.

Video of the Honor 50.

Games on the Honor 50.

Honor fitted the Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G processor with a 5G modem, and my test model has 6GB of RAM. It's a fast performer, but the operating system never feels snappy, and I've found that it can stumble when closing games and other energy-intensive apps. This may be more of a software optimization problem than a lack of processing courage. Honor's own GPU Turbo X tweaks make it great for gaming, and I really enjoyed Asphalt 9: Legends, especially because the phone is easy to hold and the screen is beautiful. It's a shame it doesn't have stereo speakers to really take advantage of its media prowess.

Battery and charging

I was a little concerned that the 4,300mAh battery wouldn't be powerful enough to last more than a day, but the Snapdragon 778G and MagicUI have to be pretty conservative with power. With normal use, I could turn the phone off overnight and it would have enough juice for the next day. This was especially impressive as I use the phone at the 120Hz refresh rate all the time.

Honor 50 charging port.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The 66W SuperCharge fast charging is established Honor technology and very welcome. It got the battery up to 70% in 22 minutes, which is more than enough for a single day. Unfortunately, there is no wireless charging – a feature I would consider standard on most mid- to upper-range phones today.

Price and availability

The Honor 50 costs 529 euros or about 615 US dollars for the 6 GB / 128 GB model and 599 euros / 695 US dollars for the 8 GB / 256 GB model. It will be available to order from Honor on November 4th. Honor's plans for a widespread release are not yet clear, so don't expect it to hit the US anytime soon. It can be imported from the UK or Europe if you are interested.

Our opinion

The Honor 50 embodies the phrase “everything old is new again”, because despite the new start of Honor as an independent brand, the Honor 50 feels very familiar. The shape of the phone is essentially the same as the Honor 30 Pro, just with a different camera model. MagicUI 4.2 is identical to older versions of the software except that Google has been added. Even the 66W SuperCharge function is a holdover from the Huawei era.

Don't take these as negative; the fast charging is excellent, the software is reliable, and the design is modern and fun. But it feels a bit normal to Honor, and I wanted to see something completely new from the company. Maybe that will come later, and if so, the Honor 50 offers a great reintroduction to how the brand delivers competent, pretty, but not always outstanding smartphones.

That lack of real novelty poses a problem, however: during the Honor's absence, the cellular market has changed and there are a lot more phones out there at the same price point as the Honor 50 that are better value for money. Yes, Google is back on board, but that only brings the Honor 50 back to the same level as many other phones. While that's good news for Honor as a brand, it doesn't make the phone stand out from the rest.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes sir; Check out either the OnePlus Nord 2 5G or the Samsung Galaxy A52 5G. Both are slightly cheaper than the Honor 50, but you don't have to sacrifice anything in terms of functionality and performance. If you are outside of the US, you should also consider the Realme GT or GT Neo2. The $ 449 Google Pixel 5a is worth investigating if you're looking for a great camera, and at $ 599, the new Google Pixel 6 is also challenging the Honor 50.

If you're not using an Android phone, take a look at the $ 699 Apple iPhone 13 Mini. As an Android alternative in the same price range, the OnePlus 9 combines a great screen, fast charging, an improved camera and great software in a pretty design.

How long it will take?

We ask Honor about the software update obligation. To be competitive, it must provide major version updates for at least two years and security updates for three years. The Honor 50 is not waterproof or a rugged phone, so if you are unlucky it could be damaged.

There is something else to consider, and that is the talk of Honor finding its way into the US Entity List, which would prohibit Google, Qualcomm, and others from working together. This is the ailment Huawei wanted to overcome by selling Honor, and while it is only a vague threat at the moment and may not affect the Honor 50 directly, it is an unknown that undermines the brand's plan for a broad global reintroduction could.

Should you buy it?

No. While the Honor 50 is perfectly acceptable, it doesn't stand out from the competition with one notable feature and misses some essentials that can be found on other phones at a similar price point.

Editor's recommendations



05 Nov
Blog

LG CordZero Vacuum With All-in-One Tower Review: It Sucks

LG CordZero stick vacuum cleaner

LG CordZero with all-in-one tower

RRP $ 1,000.00

“From start to finish, the LG CordZero makes cleaning child's play. No dust on your hands when you're done! "

advantages

  • Easy cleaning with an empty tower

  • Built-in storage of attachments

  • Comes with mopping attachments

  • Lightweight construction

  • Strong suction power

  • Excellent battery life

disadvantage

  • Does not work as a full mop

The days of bulky, bulky vacuum cleaners are a thing of the past. Nobody wants to set a personal weightlifting record trying to reach the vacuum of the closet. This has led to a surge in lightweight, cordless stick vacuums that have the suction power of their larger cousins, but without the possibility of a hernia.

The LG CordZero fulfills this criterion perfectly. It offers easy but powerful cleaning and all the attachments you need to keep your house sparkling clean. It goes one step further, however, with the all-in-one tower where you can store, charge, and empty the device. The all-in-one tower turns the CordZero from a handy stick vacuum cleaner into one of the most amazing intelligent cleaning devices I've ever seen.

The LG CordZero really sucks, and I mean that in the best sense of the word. It has more suction than any vacuum cleaner I've tested in the past and is head and shoulders above the level of cleaning provided by budget vacuum cleaners. It even outperforms similar suction cups like the Roborock H7.

The all-in-one tower offers storage, charging and a self-draining base

On its own, the LG CordZero is an impressive piece of technology. It performs immensely for something of its size and weight, and it can more than hold its own when compared to similar vacuum cleaners. In combination with the all-in-one tower, however, it is way ahead of the competition.

One of the main complaints I've had with stick vacuum cleaners is emptying the dust bin. No matter how careful I am or how far I push it in the trash can before opening it, my hand always comes out covered in a dusty film. When I use the vacuum cleaner to clean up stray cat litter, I prefer not to think about what else might be in that dust. The all-in-one tower completely bypasses this problem. When you put the CordZero back into the tower, small arms protrude from the tower and grip the vacuum. These arms open the dust bin, and a powerful vacuum cleaner in the tower itself sucks all the dust out of the bin and down into a bag at the base of the tower.

Bag in the LG CordZero Tower.

Although LG has not given a fixed time specification of how much dust this bag can hold, I got an estimate of at least 30 days. This will of course depend on the size of your house and the pollution (you'll likely fill the bag faster if you have pets, for example) but given the size of the bag and the unique compressor technology it is, it should take a while. Even if it only lasted a week at a time, it solves the main problem I have with stick vacuum cleaners: it contains all of the dust in it and none of it gets on my hands.

Great use of space and storage space

The all-in-one tower has two doors that can be swung out to the side and conceals storage space for the various attachments. And the best thing about it: These storage surfaces are unique in shape and design – it is not to be confused which attachment belongs where. So you can easily keep track of all the attachments, and let's be honest: I can't tell where all the attachments are with my other vacuum cleaners.

The tower also opens from above to reveal a charging port for the spare battery. The ability to have a second battery charged and ready to go at any time means you'll always have one on hand. If you clean your home thoroughly, you may use more than normal battery life.

If you open both doors you can access the internal dust bag storage. It's easy to swap out this bag for a new one when it's full. The doors themselves also have additional storage space below. A plate can be pushed, which turns over and releases a hook for attaching certain accessories, such as the power mop attachment.

Every stick vacuum I've ever worked with has a wall-mounted base station, but it's not the most convenient system in the world. The all-in-one tower looks great and doesn't take up too much space, with most of its functions heavily dependent on its verticality.

The tower's black and white design has a stylish look that fits in with most modern home decor.

The all-in-one tower is 10.1 inches wide, 39.7 inches high, and 11.7 inches long from front to back. It needs a power source to charge, so you'll need to locate it near an electrical outlet. The good news is, you don't want to let this out of your sight. The tower's black and white design has a stylish look that fits in with most modern home decor. It's a conversation piece, not an eyesore, and its size means it basically fits in any home.

The CordZero has a telescopic pole and several accessories

I focused a little on the tower, mostly because it adds a lot of functionality to the vacuum. Even without a tower, the LG CordZero would still be one of the best picks for a cordless vacuum cleaner. It weighs just under 6 pounds. While not the lightest vacuum cleaner on the market, it is easy to maneuver with one hand.

It's also much more versatile than other vacuum cleaners. The telescopic pole extends from 20 inches to 29 inches, with several measurements in between. You can adjust the length as you need it for the task at hand. You can also do without the wand altogether and use it in handheld mode, which is perfect for vacuuming furniture.

Power mop attachment on the LG CordZero.

The attachments include the Power Floor Nozzle (your basic suction head for most jobs), the Power Mini Nozzle (perfect for furniture or upholstery), as well as the Power Punch Nozzle, a combination tool and a grouting tool. I used the LG CordZero to clean in preparation for a small Halloween gathering and found that it cleaned almost every area of ​​my house, including the hardwood floor.

The power mop attachment is a big advantage. This suction head doesn't vacuum, but instead rotates two pads that polish your floor the same way a car wash makes your car shine. According to the LG, this essay is intended as a kind of “conclusion”. It is not meant to be used to mop your floor; You still need a robotic mop or a traditional mop for this job. You also can't use anything other than water in the power mop, and the pads must be removed and hand washed after each use. This is one of the few small flaws I've noticed in my time with the LG CordZero.

I should also note that the power mop was damaged in shipping, so I'm not entirely sure it worked as intended. According to the specification everything worked as it should. I was able to adjust the water level with the button on the side of the attachment and the pads spun as expected.

The compressor is the main event

The CordZero's dust bin isn't the largest I've seen, but it holds around 33.8 ounces. This is done by the compressor, a sliding mechanism on the side of the dust bin that compresses the dirt in the bin into a small, narrow section. The compressor also pushes hair, string and other small parts down into the container, where they can be more easily vacuumed when docking with the tower.

LG recommends using the compressor every time you vacuum as all you have to do is press a finger. This makes vacuum operation more efficient and the bags in the all-in-one tower can hold more dirt before they have to be replaced.

It can suck the paint off a car

There is no way my floors are dirty. I use robotic vacuums to keep the floor in decent condition and I use a stick vacuum to mend areas that need it when I don't want to wait for a robotic vacuum to do the job. The floors look clean and feel clean.

After a cleaning session with the LG CordZero, I had to reevaluate my definition of clean.

After a cleaning session with the LG CordZero, I had to reevaluate my definition of clean. It pulled dirt and debris from carpets that I would have sworn would be okay to eat. Its suction power, especially in turbo mode, made me argue about whether my carpet would stay on the floor. Okay, this may be a bit of an exaggeration – but the vacuum cleaner cleans more efficiently than anything I've ever used before.

I've used it to clean every square inch of carpet in my house and I'm amazed at how much of a difference it makes. Even the air quality has improved after cleaning with the LG CordZero.

Better battery life means better cleaning

The LG CordZero has three cleaning modes: normal, power and turbo. If you use the vacuum cleaner in handheld mode, you can clean for two hours in normal mode, one hour in power mode and 14 minutes in turbo mode.

When you use the telescopic pole, the battery life drops to 80 minutes in normal mode, 40 minutes in power mode and 12 minutes in turbo mode. Of course, these are only estimates; The attachment you use also affects the battery life.

LG CordZero battery indicator.

I found the battery lasted long enough to clean large parts of the house. When he ran out of power, I had it too. With a second backup battery up in the tower, I never found a situation where the vacuum cleaner didn't last long enough to do the job (and then it came time to clean 1,600 square feet.)

It takes about 3.5 hours to charge a battery. You can charge both at the same time: one in the tower and one in the docked vacuum.

The LG ThinQ app helps keep track of cleaning and filters

An app for a vacuum cleaner? Is It Really Necessary? It's a fair question, and I've heard it asked before. While not strictly necessary, it is definitely useful.

During cleaning, the app tells you which cleaning mode the vacuum cleaner is currently in, how long and how often you have vacuumed per month and much more.

The app can also be used to diagnose problems during operation, such as the suction motor, the battery or the rotating brush. It also includes a filter cleaning guide to walk you through cleaning and maintaining the filter in the vacuum cleaner itself.

You can also buy accessories such as new filters or bags for the all-in-one tower in the app. The app notifies you when the vacuum cleaner is charged,

Our opinion

The $ 1,000 LG CordZero vacuum cleaner with all-in-one tower is the closest thing to a perfect product I've seen in a long time. It cleans my floors thoroughly and automatically empties itself after the work is done. It avoids the most tedious part of vacuuming (emptying the dirt) while actually looking forward to the cleaning.

Is there a better alternative?

I can safely say that in my opinion there is no better option. LG sells variants of the LG CordZero that don't include the tower at a lower cost, but no other brands of self-draining like this one. In terms of performance, the LG CordZero is on par with models like the Dyson Outsize.

How long it will take?

After the power mop attachment was damaged in shipping, I was concerned about the build quality – but the other attachments felt strong and plugged in with no problem. The power tines in the power mop scratched the underside of the telescopic rod while I tried to level them to test, but it's cosmetic damage only.

Even if the LG CordZero fails, LG offers a one-year limited parts and labor warranty and an impressive 10-year warranty on the smart inverter motor in the vacuum cleaner itself.

Should you buy it?

Absolutely. At $ 1,000, the LG CordZero All-in-One Tower Vacuum Cleaner isn't a budget device, but it does offer the most thorough cleaning of any vacuum cleaner I've ever used, except none.

Editor's recommendations



04 Nov
Blog

Sony WF-C500 Earbuds Review: Small Buds, Big Sound

Sony WF-C500 true wireless earbuds.

Sony WF-C500 earphones

RRP $ 100.00

"The base buds from Sony are the most comfortable so far and they have that Sony sound."

advantages

  • Great Sony sound

  • Very comfortable fit

  • Excellent controls

  • Amazing earbuds battery life

disadvantage

  • Mediocre total battery life

  • No transparency mode

  • No sidetone on calls

Sony is no stranger to true wireless earbuds. It sells some of the best we've ever tested, like the WF-1000XM4 for $ 280, the WF-1000XM3 for $ 200, and the WF-SP800N for $ 200.

But Sony has been reluctant to step into the more budget-friendly end of the market. That is, until the WF-C500 hit the market for $ 100, its smallest and most affordable true wireless earbuds yet. But to bring the price down, Sony had to cut away many of the features that made its other models so compelling. Did it go too far? Let's take a look.

That Sony sound

Sony WF-C500 true wireless earbuds.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

I've tested a lot of Sony headphones and earbuds, and one thing I've found to be consistent is Sony's sound signature. It tends to be warm, like getting a bear hug from your favorite songs. Bass is always solid but rarely intrusive, and there is usually a nice amount of detail and separation in the mids, upper-mids, and high frequencies. The good news for Sony fans is that the C500 doesn't deviate from this sound formula – they sound rich and full, and the Sony Headphones app gives you the same amount of EQ tweaking that you get in the company's flagship earbuds Find. the 1000XM4.

You can sit the C500 as low as you want and once in place it won't move at all.

I'm not saying the C500 sounds as good as the XM4 – if they did it would be a miracle given the price – but they can do very well with any other set of earbuds I've tested on the same or similar prices, such as Jabra Elite 3, Soundcore Life P3, Sennheiser CX True Wireless and Wyze Buds Pro. If you're a fan of ultra-clear high frequencies, the C500 may sound a bit muffled, but again, the app's EQ adjustments can help a lot in getting the exact sound you want.

There is very good stereo separation. And the C500's soundstage, while not as wide or deep as its more expensive siblings, is still large enough to make you feel like your music is around you, not buried in your skull. I've found the shape of the buds to provide excellent noise isolation. While there is no active noise cancellation (ANC), you may not feel its absence too clearly.

The C500 are equipped with the quality-enhancing DSEE technology from Sony, which increases the sound quality even more, especially when listening to highly compressed digital music.

Great fit

Sony WF-C500 true wireless earbuds side by side with Sony WF-1000XM4.Sony WF-C500 (left) and Sony WF-1000XM4 Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

As much as I admire the way Sony earbuds sound and (if applicable) cancel noise, they aren't always the most comfortable headphones. The WF-1000XM3 and SP800N stick out of the ears a little awkwardly, and the WF-1000XM4 takes up a lot of space in the concha, which will be a challenge for those with smaller ears. The C500, on the other hand, are far more comfortable. They still fill your entire outer ear like the XM4, but they're just a little smaller.

These are good controls – their surface area is almost the same size as the earbuds so you can't miss them.

It doesn't look like much of a difference if you sit them next to each other, but in your ear it's a different story. You can sit them as low as you want and once placed they won't move at all. Combine this with their IPX4 water and sweat resistance and you have a nice little set of companions that will make runners and other fitness enthusiasts pretty happy, but with one major caveat: there is no transparency mode so you need to be extra vigilant when You wear them while around potential safety hazards like traffic.

Big buttons

Sony WF-C500 true wireless earbuds.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Another first for the WF-C500 is the use of oversized, physical buttons. In the past, Sony preferred touch controls on their earbuds, which work well, but I'll be using physical buttons instead of touch controls every day. And those are good controls – their surface area is almost the same size as the earbuds themselves, so you can't miss them. They take almost no force to push (sometimes a good thing, sometimes not) and provide a nice tactile click when you push them. They're not quite as satisfactory to use as Jabra's buttons, but they come very close to them.

The WF-C500 lacks some helpful functions such as transparency mode and auto-pause.

There's no way to change how the buttons are controlled, but you get pretty much everything you need: play / pause, skip forward / back tracks, answer / end a call, increase / decrease volume, and trigger voice assistant. You can also use the earbuds independently for music and calls, but depending on which you choose, you will lose access to the volume or track skip features.

Best (and worst?) Battery

Sony sometimes makes mind-boggling choices, like the tiny USB charging cables it includes with its full-size headphones or the inconsistent support for Bluetooth codecs. With the C500, I find it difficult to understand why the company decided to adorn the earbuds with a phenomenal battery life of 10 hours (certainly one of the largest capacities at this price), but then decided to charge the same time to give case.

Typically, you can expect between two and three full charges on a charging case. If this had been the case with the C500, Sony could have created a fantastic total gaming experience of 30 to 40 hours. But with only 20 total hours, these earbuds actually land on the lower end of the real wireless spectrum, which is a shame. A quick charge option gives you an extra hour of playtime with just 10 minutes of charging time.

case closed

Sony WF-C500 true wireless earbuds.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

I won't say much about the charging case of the WF-C500. It doesn't offer wireless charging, but its compact, rounded shape sits comfortably in the hand or pocket. The earbuds snap on and off with ease, and the case lid opens and closes with a nice, precise movement. The LED indicator lights on the housing and the buds are visible through the translucent plastic of the lid.

Answer call (inside)

Call quality on the C500 can be very good, but you have to choose your moments. They don't do very well for external noise cancellation and loud noises like traffic or wind drown your voice. But when you go to a quiet place it's a whole different experience – your voice will come across with a lot of clarity and detail. Unfortunately, even in quiet places, you will find that the sound of your own voice is muffled because the C500 does not listen in on calls.

Didn't make the cut

So what did Sony leave out functionally to offer the WF-C500 for $ 100? Quite a lot:

  • Wireless charging
  • Active noise cancellation
  • Transparency mode
  • In-ear sensors for autoplay / pause
  • Fit test for earplugs
  • Customizable controls
  • Sidetone for calls

Our opinion

Man with Sony WF-C500 True Wireless Earbuds.Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The WF-C500 are a very comfortable set of true wireless earphones with excellent sound quality. They're missing some helpful features like transparency mode and auto-pause, and their overall battery life is a bit anemic, but they're still a good buy for Sony fans looking for a budget-friendly set of buds.

Is there a better alternative?

Yeah, I think Jabra is $ 80 Elite 3 manages to offer more advantages and a lower price point than the WF-C500, which means that you should definitely consider these before buying the Sonys.

The Elite 3 has a transparency mode that comes in very handy for people who wear their earbuds for hours or even just jogging around the neighborhood.

They are extremely comfortable, have better dust and water protection (IP55) and while they don't last as long on a single charge (7 hours versus 10 hours), the overall time is better (28 hours versus 20 hours). . The Jabra Sound + app can even track the last known location of the Elite 3.

The sound quality is very comparable, but here I give the C500 a bit of an edge if for no reason other than Sony you can customize the C500's EQ in more ways, and its DSEE technology can definitely improve the sound of some digital music.

How long will they last?

It's always hard to tell if you've only had a short amount of time with a product like this, but the WF-C500 appears to be very well built and will likely prove to be quite rugged. However, their biggest advantage in terms of longevity is their battery capacity. As a product ages and you go through multiple charge / discharge cycles, its capacity decreases. If you only start with four to five hours, you will only be able to see two hours after a few years. Even if the C500 drops 50% of its capacity (a worst case scenario), they can still last longer than a brand new set of Apple AirPods Pro.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. You can find other earbuds that cost less and have more features, but what is it? WF-C500 do, they do it very well.

Editor's recommendations



04 Nov
Blog

Best Treatment For Dry, Rough Hands

Hand washing is important these days, but is known to be harsh on the skin, which often leads to rough, dry skin. Since there is little fat on the back of your hand – and the skin is much thinner there – dryness and signs of aging are much more noticeable on your hands than on your face. If you find that your teenage hands are getting dry and cracked, read on Eminence organic skin care Solutions to reverse your transformation.

Healthy vs unhealthy skin barrier

What causes dry, rough hands?

Dry hands, which are usually rough to the touch, are a common skin condition. And the main culprit? A lack of moisture. As the seasons change to winter and the humidity decreases, your skin's natural oils may no longer be sufficient against the elements. Winter also means central heating at work and at home, which can draw even more moisture out of your skin.

"How well your hands can withstand the harsh conditions of winter has a lot to do with the strength of our skin barrier," says dermatology professor Charles Crutchfield III, MDsays WebMD.com. Your skin barrier acts like a defense system for your skin by locking in moisture and protecting your skin from bacteria and irritants. When your skin barrier is functioning normally, your skin will stay hydrated, moisturized, and protected from the elements. But sometimes inclement weather, soap, detergent, or central heating can affect your skin's moisture levels. If your hands get dry, cracked, or peeling, we have some dry hand skin care treatments to help rehydrate your skin.

Tips to keep your hands hydrated

Choose rich moisturizers for treating dry hands

When lathering is a priority – and humidity is low and heating systems are sucking moisture out of your skin – you should fight back with hand care products from Eminence Organics, especially our Mangosteen Replenishing Hand Cream. This luxurious hand cream preserves moisture through repeated hand washing and revitalizes and revitalizes cracked skin with ours Lactic acid complex.

Another effective choice is our Vanilla Mint Hand Cream. The organic shea butter ingredient is an excellent emollient to hydrate dry skin on your hands with a delicate touch of fresh vanilla and mint. Avocado and rose hip oils also nourish and revitalize cracked skin for a smooth and youthful look.

Protect your hands with gloves

Gloves aren't just a stylish accessory, they're an essential step in protecting your paws from the elements that dry out. Make sure you put a pair on to protect your hands from the wind and to keep the moisture in your skin. Gloves are especially important for strenuous activities like washing dishes. Avoid using oil-dissolving detergents to dry out your hands and wear rubber gloves when cleaning up the kitchen. The last thing you want to suffer now is an uncomfortable case of cracked "sink hands".

Protect your skin with SPF

According to Forbes.com, putting sunscreen on your hands doesn't just protect against skin cancer and sunburn. Sunscreen is also clinically proven to protect hands from signs of aging. To achieve the same effect on your dry hands, we recommend applying sunscreen to your hands if necessary. A sun care product like Lilikoi Mineral Defense Sport Sunscreen SPF 30 not only blocks harmful UVA and UVB rays, but also moisturizes your skin and makes it silky smooth.

Replenish your skin overnight

We love to smear this rich lotion on our hands at night and put on a pair of cotton gloves (or clean socks if necessary). After eight hours of beauty sleep, you will wake up with perfectly moisturized and delicate hands like baby's skin.

One of the best solutions that we at Eminence Organics recommend for dry and cracked skin on your hands is a night treatment. Monoi Age Corrective Night Body Cream is a fabulous (and fragrant!) Way to soothe super-dry hands with shea butter, which is high in fatty acids. Argan oil provides additional nutrients, while botanical hyaluronic acid and nutmeg plump up the skin and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Eminence Organics manicure infographic

Pamper yourself with a dry hand treatment at home

By treating your fingers with a home manicure, you can keep them soft, supple, and hydrated. Here is Eminence Organics hand care for happier hands:

1. Soak

After you've filed your varnish-free nails, the first step in your organic hand treatment is to soak your fingertips and soften your cuticles. For our soaking solution, we like to mix a pump of Coconut Milk Cleanser in a bowl of warm water. Leave your hands on for at least two to five minutes so fingertips and cuticles are moisturized and gently cleaned.

2. Peeling

Your hands still feel a little rough? Polish any flaky skin with our sugar scrubs. Choose from three delicious scrubs, the coconut sugar scrub, the blueberry soy sugar scrub and the cranberry pomegranate sugar scrub to remove dead skin cells and replenish moisture. Rinse off thoroughly and gently pat your transformed, silky smooth hands dry.

3. Moisturize

Our award-winning apricot body oil is the perfect blend of luxurious oils to deeply moisturize your nails and cuticles. Massage this fragrant oil into your hands and as it soaks in, gently push back your cuticles with a clean cuticle stick.

4. Exit

Complete your hand care routine at home by smoothing out Mangosteen Replenishing Hand Cream. After one application, your chapped hands will feel silky soft and plump even after washing your hands several times.

What are your tips for keeping your hands smooth and hydrated? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.

04 Nov
Blog

HP Envy Inspire 7900e Review: A Versatile Office Printer

The HP Envy Inspire 7900e has robust photo printing capabilities.

"The HP Envy Inspire is an excellent home office printer for the hybrid working world."

advantages

  • Strong photo printing performance

  • New sleep mode for almost silent printing

  • Companion app with many functions

  • Versatile workhorse for home office or home use

  • Affordable price

disadvantage

  • Box shape is boring at home

  • No USB port for printing from flash drives

A few years ago it would have been inconceivable that we would still be as dependent on the printed document as we are today. But the reality of working remotely has changed that.

HP's new Envy Inspire series stands out for being the first printer developed by quarantined engineers for anyone who needs to live, study and work from home during the pandemic. Printers have seen a new renaissance in our workflows, and the $ 249 HP Envy Inspire 7900e is a printer that feels like it was made with that reality in mind.

It has some helpful features to keep us productive as the world looks forward to the transition to a hybrid work environment when things return to normal.

draft

Unlike HP's Tango range that blends into your home, the new Envy Inspire doesn't hide the fact that it's a printer with a scanner attached. The Envy Inspire is available in two models: The Envy Inspire 7200e is the more compact version with a flatbed scanner on top, while the higher quality Envy Inspire 7900e, the model we received for review and which comes first on the market, has an automatic document is equipped with a feeder (ADF) with duplex function. The price range starts at $ 179. However, if you have more robust copy or scan needs, we recommend spending an additional $ 70 to upgrade to the Envy Inspire 7900e for $ 249.

Each printer model is available in a range of colors including Everglades in shades of green, Thistle in shades of purple, Cyan Surf Blue, and neutral Portobello. Whichever you choose, the Envy Inspire looks like a printer – no doubt about it.

The HP Envy Inspire 7900e is available in one of four colors.

The hues are applied as accents to add a pop of color to an otherwise bland cream colored box, and on our 7900e we found the Portobello highlights on the ADF and on the paper tray.

With dimensions of 18.11 x 20.5 x 9.17 inches, the 7900e is a practical workhorse for the home office with an ADF on top and a paper compartment with a front loader. The more compact 7200e could pass as the modern and box-shaped version of the HP Envy 6055, while the 7900e series takes inspiration from HP's OfficeJet Pro series.

Like most modern printers, both new Envy Inspire models have a built-in 2.7-inch color touchscreen for accessing printer settings and shortcuts.

Since the Envy Inspire is primarily aimed at home users – families and students – and small home workers, the paper tray is a bit small for the capabilities of this printer. There is a 125-sheet paper tray at the front and bottom of the printer. That's more than double the 50-sheet input tray on the Tango X, but the paper tray leaves something to be desired for small office environments. Most home office printers start at around 200 sheets for the paper input tray, and the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e comes with a 500-sheet tray. This means that every time you replace the paper when you attempt to input on the Office Jet Pro, you will have to do so four times on the Envy Inspire. Since the Envy Inspire isn't a compact printer at first, we would have liked HP to have increased the overall height of the device slightly to accommodate a larger input tray.

The new sleep mode reduces printing noise by 40%.

A new and much appreciated innovation is that the photo printer tray is a modular add-on that fits right into the paper tray that you load standard 8.5 x 11-inch sheets into. The photo tray can hold borderless prints in standard 4 x 6, square 5 x 5, or panoramic 4 x 12 inches.

Traditionally, most printers have the photo tray on top of the paper tray, but on the outside. Moving the photo tray inward helps prevent dust build-up, especially if you don't print pictures regularly.

HP Envy Inspire Photo Tray.

The biggest design change – and one you can't visually see – with the new Envy Inspire is a new print mode. A new quiet mode reduces noise by 40% by using intelligent algorithms to slow down the printing process for a quieter experience. The mode was developed during quarantine by HP engineers who were disturbed by loud printer noise during conference calls – a disadvantage of having to share the office space with children who had to print homework.

HP claims to have combined the best features of its Tango, OfficeJet, and Envy lines to create the Envy Inspire.

"We built what we believe to be the best printer so families can work, learn, and get creative – to get things done no matter what life has in store," Jeff Walter, HP director of strategy and product marketing, told Digital Trends. "Whatever you need to create, we can help families with it."

Walter added that the Envy Inspire is a product that combines the best writing systems from HP's OfficeJet Pros, the best photo capabilities, and the best app capabilities from the HP Smart app.

power

An app is required to set up the HP Envy Inspire.

The Envy Inspire wasn't built for speed. Unlike office printers, home users do not stand around the printer to access their documents. Still, the Envy Inspire is a rugged printer that can deliver speeds of up to 15 pages per minute (ppm) in color and black and white, with the first page done in just 18 seconds.

The print resolution is up to 1200 x 1200 dots per inch (dpi) for black and white pages and 4800 x 1200 dpi for color prints and photos. Print speeds here were just under the 24 pages per minute output on the HP OfficeJet Pro 9025e, which is one of the best printers on our list this year. Compared to the color speed of 10 pages per minute of the somewhat older HP OfficeJet Pro 8025, the speed of the Envy Inspire wasn't a problem.

To put speeds in perspective, the Envy Inspire's boxier build includes internals that allow it to print at speeds much faster than cuter, design-conscious home printers. The HP Tango X, another high-quality printer, achieves around 10 ppm. Monochrome and 8 ppm about half the speed of the Envy Inspire for color jobs.

Pages per minute is only half of the print speed equation, while the second half depends on how fast the first page can be finished. In my experience, the first page was finished in a little over 15 seconds, and the HP specifications for print speeds were largely correct, with speeds between 12 and 16 pages per minute. Printed text appeared razor sharp and was legible even in small fonts.

Color prints were similarly sharp. Photos printed on Epson glossy photo paper appeared sharp, and the quality – sharpness, tones, and dynamic range – reproduced by HP's Envy Inspire rivaled prints made by the online photo service Shutterfly. Shutterfly's prints appeared a bit warmer compared to HP's photo print rendering. And like Shutterfly, the HP mobile app gives you access to a variety of different templates for creating posters, greeting cards, invitations, and other printable content.

HP's smart app for printing from mobile devices. I can't tell what HP's photo capabilities will be like on HP photo printing paper as none was supplied for this test. In general, most printer manufacturers recommend that you pair their printer with their branded photo paper for the best results. According to HP, the Envy Inspire's new ink technology offers a 40% wider color space and new ink technologies to render lifelike photos.

HP claimed that when printing on 4×6, 5×5, or 4×12 paper, the printer will be smart enough to select the photo paper tray – instead of the standard letter-size paper tray – to print. I couldn't test this feature because I didn't have photo paper of these sizes to test.

While it's admirable that HP is promoting its cloud-based approach to printing, the Envy Inspire could have been easier to set up. Once out of the box, you must download the HP Smart app and follow the instructions to begin printer setup before you can print or make copies. The app guides you through connecting to the printer's ad hoc WiFi network so that you can then connect to your home or office WiFi network. After the printer connects, it will take a few minutes for the printer to update its firmware.

This means that unlike a traditional printer, not only is the overall process a bit complicated, but you also have to use the process dictated by HP before you can do anything with your printer.

Unlike dedicated photo printers, the Envy Inspire doesn't have separate cartridges for color ink. Instead, the printer is powered by two ink cartridges – a black and a combination cartridge with three ink colors for cyan, magenta and yellow.

Both the cartridges and paper must be installed before you can begin setting up the printer. We therefore recommend doing this immediately after taking the printer out of the box and removing all protective films – and there are plenty of them!

The ADF on top of the Envy Inspire 7900e can scan up to 50 pages at a time and handle up to 8.5 "x 14" paper, while the flatbed can handle 8.5 "x 11.7" sheets. The scan resolution is set to 1200 x 1200 dpi and the scan speed is around 8 pages per minute. In addition to using the hardware for scanning, you can also use your smartphone's camera as a scanner with the companion HP mobile app, available on both Android and iOS smartphones.

Duplex scanning, copying and printing can be performed on this printer, which can save you paper if you need to. If you are concerned about saving ink, you can set the printer to print in draft mode. This mode produces lighter prints, but you use less ink and get faster print speeds.

The nice thing about the Envy Inspire is that it has advanced features to simplify your document workflow, making it feel like a more capable office printer. You can set up custom shortcuts to make the printer's tasks easier. For example, small businesses with more extensive accounting needs can program a shortcut to make a physical copy and upload a digital copy of a document to a cloud service such as Google Drive or QuickBooks when they scan a receipt or invoice. In addition to storing documents in the cloud, you can also configure shortcuts to send you the scans by email.

Other useful features include the ability to create printables, which are photo cards and invitations from templates. These are great for handicrafts or for sending a birthday card if, for example, you forgot to pick one up at the supermarket.

Another app function is the ability to send a mobile fax with the app. HP is offering a trial version of its mobile fax service and you can configure it to send a digital fax through the app. The Envy Inspire does not have native fax functionality, and this could be a useful feature when you need to generate a fax.

I really appreciated the new Quiet Mode from HP, which reduces the noise level by about 40% by slowing the printing speed by about 50%.

"When we developed it, it was really interesting … because we developed (Quiet Mode) at a time that we also experienced personally," said Walter. “So if you work from home and there are several people in the house using the printer, for example, you can schedule sleep mode from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. when you might be making Zoom calls and have the printer print 40% quieter during those times . "

HP's new Quiet Mode

Since I don't need a printer to be a speed champion at home, I've generally always kept sleep mode on and not intended for the work day as the system's noise level is noticeable.

"What we're doing is we're essentially slowing a lot of things down and trying to tweak that adjustment to roughly cut the noise in half," Walter explained. “And so we end up slowing it down by about 50%. There are things like, do you know how fast the paper spins? How fast does the cartridge go back and forth? And all of these things produce different decibel levels. And so some things slow down more than others, some adapt more than others, and so we just optimized everything. "

The Envy Inspire's double-sided photo printing is a great addition.

The company stated that sleep mode will not affect print quality, which I think is correct.

For home users who want to print photos or work on scrapbooking projects while locked, the Envy Inspire's double-sided photo printing is a great addition. In addition to printing beautiful photos, the Envy can also extract the removable image file format data from your smartphone's camera to print the geotagged location, date and time on the back of the photo. This makes it easy for you to remember when the store was created. You can also add your own personal note – like "Grandma's 80th Birthday" – as a caption.

For now, the duplex photo printing feature with date, location, and timestamp is limited to the mobile app, but the company is working on bringing it to its desktop software in the future. The reason we rolled out the feature on mobile first is because most of our photos are already on our smartphones, HP said.

The Envy Inspire is designed for PCs and Macs as well as Android and iOS devices. In addition, HP has also worked with Google to make the Envy Inspire the first Chromebook certified printer.

“We have also thought of all the devices that will be in the household,” says Walter. “With more kids doing schoolwork or technology becoming more important to students, we partnered with Google, which has a certification program for Chromebooks. And we made sure that the HP Envy Inspire is the first HP printer to be certified to work with Chromebooks. "

Our opinion

The HP Envy Inspire complements HP's printing universe as a powerful printer for all your home, craft and work projects. With the Envy Inspire, HP not only delivered on its promise to bring the best of inkjet technologies into a single printer, but also created a tool with features that can come in handy as more people, including, work from home during the pandemic a quiet mode and powerful photo functions.

Is there a better alternative?

HP's Envy Inspire uses inkjet printing technology, and the company claims it combines the best of features from the Tango, Envy, and OfficeJet Pro lines. Suitable inkjet alternatives include the HP Tango series. Make sure to check out our recommendations for the best inkjet printers.

If you need a faster printer to process documents, the OfficeJet Pro 9025e from HP is a great alternative. At $ 249, the Envy Inspire 7900e is $ 100 cheaper than the dedicated office range from HP in the test. The hybrid work / home market that the Envy was designed for makes it a more versatile solution as it is designed for printing documents and photos. Moving to the flatbed version of the Envy Inspire – the Envy Inspire 7200e is coming early next year – will make the price even more competitive, as this model is expected to cost $ 179 when it launches.

Budget conscious buyers who are concerned about the price of inkjet printers, printers with refillable ink tanks, like Epson's EcoTank ET3830, will lower your long-term running costs with cheaper, refillable ink tanks.

How long it will take?

The HP printer has a one-year limited hardware warranty that can be extended to two years. The printer benefits from regular software updates to keep it secure and may even add new features over time through the HP Smart Printing app.

Printers are not designed for annual or biennial upgrades like smartphones, and the HP Envy Inspire should last for many years provided you keep getting fresh ink and paper. The company offers a subscription ink service that makes it easy to refill ink, but not paper. A combo subscription to refill ink and photo paper would make this an excellent printer for the craft room, home historian, and budding photographer.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. If you are looking for a home printer that can print, scan and copy, the HP Envy Inspire is an excellent choice. Unlike Envy printers, the Envy Inspire doesn't reinvent printer design. Instead, HP plays up the utilitarian aesthetic of this printer to deliver a solid all-round workhorse that will blend in well with your home or home office workflow.

Editor's recommendations



04 Nov
Blog

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Review: Farkin’ Fun

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy launches with NVIDIA DLSS and ray tracing

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy

RRP $ 60.00

"Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy has some rough edges, but its solo team play mechanics fit the dysfunctional superhero family perfectly."

advantages

  • Effective decisions

  • Intelligent team management

  • Deep story

  • Well developed characters

  • Great use of 80s tunes

disadvantage

  • Weak star-lord fight

  • Jokes galore

  • Lots of bugs at startup

Iron Man has armor. Thor has a magic hammer. The Guardians of the Galaxy have a huge ego.

In their first video game adventure, the aptly titled Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy, the arrogance of the underdog superhero team comes into its own. They joke their way through the fight as if every fight is a company softball game. They argue over who is better at killing sentient gelatin cubes. The focus is on Star-Lord, who is given the most difficult task a manager can face: team management.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy is a clever superhero game that abandons the genre's expectations in favor of gameplay mechanics that better fit its strange roster. "Solo team play" is a well executed riff on Mass Effect that works both in and out of combat. An unpolished, bug-riddled package is dragging the team down, but Guardians fans will be amazed at how many details the game is in its story.

Manage egos

On paper, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a tough sell. A Guardians game where you can only play as the Star-Lord while giving commands to seemingly funnier heroes like Rocket Raccoon and Groot? The fact that this is a single player game with no co-op sounds like a misstep at first glance. Fortunately, Eidos-Montréal made the right call here – and it's an inspired one at that. This is not a game about replicating Hollywood power fantasies, but rather showing how difficult it can be to manage oversized personalities.

The game successfully borrows ideas from the titles of Mass Effect and Telltale to develop intelligent team management mechanics. For example, crew conversations are filled with dialog trees that make effective decisions across the board. In one sequence, Star-Lord Rocket has to buy enough time to hack a system by distracting a villain with annoying questions. If I can do this successfully (I'm an expert at being annoying), I actually see later that it changes the mission and makes me feel like a successful team leader.

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy launches with NVIDIA DLSS and ray tracing

Some of the decisions also have an emotional response. When Drax tries to throw Rocket over a cliff to extend a bridge, I have the option of cheering on Drax or defending Rocket. I choose the latter and am told Rocket will remember it. While I'm not sure how that will affect the story in the end (the ending is the same no matter what you choose), I feel like Rocket trusts me more after this moment. There is a real sense of team building throughout the adventure as I carefully navigate how to defuse tense situations and hurt feelings.

The team may argue and yell at each other, but as a dysfunctional family, they're stronger together – and the game itself plays better if you accept that too.

Team leadership in combat is just as well thought out. Star-Lord can essentially direct traffic during battles by opening a menu and ordering each of his four teammates to make moves that have cooldowns. Each character has their own specialty; Groot is a kind of defensive character who uses his roots to hold enemies in place while Gamora makes heavy attacks at close range. When I have unlocked everyone's skills (each character gets four skills), I know the role of each individual and can control the action according to their strengths.

Star-Lord fights in Guardians of the Galaxy against a member of NOVA Corp.

Fortunately, piloting other characters is fun, because Star-Lord's own movement set isn't particularly exciting. He can shoot guns or hit enemies with weightless melee attacks that would make Spider-Man mockery. There's a bit more depth when he has elementary weapon skills, like an electric shot that can stun enemies on the spot, but his strengths are more as a conductor than as a soloist.

But that's the point, and that's exactly why Guardians work. If you ignore the other characters and treat their skills as optional, Star-Lord will be absolutely destroyed in battle. He needs Gamora, Rocket, Drax and Groot just as they need him. The team may argue and yell at each other, but as a dysfunctional family, they're stronger together – and the game itself plays better if you accept that too.

Inspired by comics

While the game probably wouldn't exist if it hadn't been for the 2014 hit Guardians of the Galaxy, the video game version is much more indebted to the team's comic book origins. It tells a loaded, galaxy-spanning story full of characters, locations, and outfits from the comic. It's almost like developer Eidos-Montréal assumed there wasn't going to be a sequel and tried to fit in as much story as possible so that it feels like a final customization (complete with talking cosmonaut dogs).

All the Easter eggs don't stand in the way of this surprisingly touching story, in which every hero gets a full bow. While there are plenty of ironic jokes, the story shines in the sincere moments. In one storyline, Rocket Raccoon has to overcome his fear of water. It starts out as a running gag the team uses to poke fun at Rocket, but it turns into a pivotal moment in character development. The Guardians have always had a brave underdog vibe and it's really new to play a superhero game that puts personality above power.

The heroes of Guardians of the Galaxy are handcuffed.

The character arcs work particularly well thanks to the game's strong voices. While the actors orientate themselves towards their film colleagues, it doesn't feel like someone is making an impression here. Nolan North effortlessly balances comedy and tragedy in his portrayal of Rocket Racoon, while Adam Harrington draws a whole range of emotions from the phrase "I am Groot".

The game's comedic moments are more mixed than the delicate ones. Not because the script isn't funny, but because there are just so many jokes. The guards are always joking no matter what they do. There is seldom a moment in which there is no dialogue; conversations often collide and end abruptly because someone else has triggered it. It's impressive that there is so much unique dialogue in the game – I've rarely encountered repeated lines during my playthrough – but the barrage of one-liners of characters constantly screaming can be gritty. The first Guardians film is a riot of laughter, but imagine if it went on at this pace for over 16 hours.

It's almost like developer Eidos-Montréal assumed there wasn't going to be a sequel and tried to fit in as much story as possible so it felt like a final customization.

One movie influence that works is the game's reliance on '80s music. If a special gauge fills up in battle, Star-Lord can call the team together for a group meeting and create a motivational speech based on the team's needs. This gives everyone a temporary boost in damage, but it also causes a song to play over the fight. It's a real pleasure to be in the middle of a tense battle against a towering boss, only to have the dramatic score replaced with Don't Worry, Be Happy.

Star-lord jumps on an enemy in Guardians of the galaxy.

While the whole experience can feel like sensory overload at times with the dial constantly turned to 11, it's exciting to see a superhero game with such a unique sense of style. There's a clear reverence for the source material here, and the game feels as much like a historic celebration of the franchise as it does a fitting introduction to its ever-growing lore.

The last-gen experience

The Guardians fight many menacing supervillains throughout their adventure, but they cannot defeat the most powerful villain of them all: bugs. Not like insects – they kill a lot of them. But Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a disappointingly unstable proposition. From graphical hiccups to bugs requiring checkpoint reloading, there is a feeling that Square Enix should perhaps have taken the lead in every other 2021 game and delayed this one a little.

Some bugs are ridiculous, but not groundbreaking. In a cutscene I walk through a prison cell from the first person perspective. I push against the bars and suddenly my very realistically rendered eyeballs pop out of my head in front of me. Disturbing, but minor. Other problems are more serious. Sometimes dialog boxes stay on screen until I reload the game. Other times, I'm trapped in a fight because an enemy disappeared, but the game still thinks he's alive. A day-one patch will fix some of its more serious issues, but there's no doubt the game needs some fine-tuning before it becomes a smooth experience.

The Guardians of the Galaxy stare at a giant spore.

Bugs aside, it's also a visually inconsistent title. It can be a real treat at times, with vibrant alien planets bathed in a bright pink and purple color palette. At other times, it seems clear that the game is some kind of awkward holder of the current transition in console generation. Faces can look a little creepy, while large visual effects like explosions can be rough around the edges. It's not a deal breaker, but the superhero genre lives and dies by the spectacle. Guardians of the Galaxy offers some Hollywood thrills, but the budget feels thin in other moments.

From graphical hiccups to bugs requiring checkpoint reloading, there is a feeling that Square Enix should perhaps have taken the lead in every other 2021 game and delayed this one a little.

The best comparison I can make here is Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. This game had an arc that I imagine will happen with Guardians. The main game was great fun, but it started in a buggy state that players wrote off. Nowadays, it is the type of game that players will highly recommend to others when it is for sale. I can imagine that this will also be the case here. You can ignore Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy at launch, but there's enough heart, charm, and creativity here to make it an underdog for the holiday season. Suitable, don't you think?

Our opinion

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy isn't doing what players might expect – and that's for the best. By focusing on team management, Eidos-Montréal is able to creatively extend games like Mass Effect. Driving traffic in battles is a rewarding experience, and dialogue decisions actually have an emotional meaning. It's not the cleanest experience. Bugs, graphical issues, and weak Star-Lord combat make it feel like it could have used more time in the oven, but it's exciting to see a Marvel game that thinks a lot about which mechanic best suits its heroes .

Is there a better alternative?

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a really close superhero story that is way cleaner on a technical level. If you want multiplayer, Marvel's Avengers is now available in Xbox Game Pass.

How long it will take?

There are a total of 16 chapters, each of which lasts about an hour on average. The whole adventure takes between 15 and 20 hours, depending on how thoroughly you look for collectibles.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. Though rough around the edges, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is a charming superhero game with lots of fresh ideas – and lots of Easter eggs to keep Marvel fans busy.

Editor's recommendations



04 Nov
Blog

How To Get Bigger Thighs Efficiently

In this growing generation, it is difficult for us to meet the daily growing demands. One of these requirements is the “perfect body”, which is being redefined through social media. Although all body shapes are unique and beautiful in their own way, some of us might dream of getting rid of our insecurities. Thin thighs, as opposed to those of fashionistas and models, can be an example of such insecurity. On the flip side, thicker thighs and a huge butt has become the ultimate dream of women in this fast-growing era. Achieving larger thighs also sounds like a challenging task, but with the right tips, determination, and workouts, you will see that you will be halfway through in no time.

Fortunately, today you don't want to look any further and we are giving you some important and helpful tips that many people do not know. So if you are looking for ways to get bigger thighs, this article will be useful to you. So what are you waiting for? Read this article to the last to learn more and wonder how simple and efficient the steps are.

How To Get Bigger Thighs Without Much Brainstorming And Effort:

If you want to know How do I get bigger thighs, Then you are right with us. We are guaranteed to provide you with everything you need to get thicker thighs and have the perfect model figure in no time at all. So read on to find out more.

Some workouts that are sure to get you one step closer to thicker thighs:

We've compiled a list of unique workouts that will come in handy for getting bigger thighs in no time.

When looking for techniques to develop more muscular thighs, you should know the muscles that you are targeting. As we know, your buttocks are made up of the gluteus maximus, one of the largest muscles in humans. In addition to the gluteus maximus, there are also two smaller muscles – gluteus medius and gluteus minimus. To get bigger thighs and buttocks, it's important to work these muscles efficiently. Fortunately, we have listed exercises that encourage the steady growth of such muscles.

#1. Lunges

Lunge steps are considered to be one of the most important and helpful exercises to promote better growth and development of the lower body muscles. So if you want to know How do I get bigger thighs, you can be sure of this exercise. There are also different types of lunges; the descriptions for this are given below.

# 2. Walking lunges

This is similar to a normal lunge, but the extra exercise helps get your heart rate faster, thereby improving your cardiovascular health.

Directions to follow:

  1. First, step forward with your right foot while keeping your back straight. Make sure to keep your abs while doing this exercise.
  2. Then kneel forward, but be sure to bend your knee behind the toes of the leg in front. Remember not to stiffen your legs while performing this workout. These are the most important steps that you should follow when doing a normal lunge.
  3. Instead of returning to the starting position now, use your left leg and begin the forward lunge. Again, your right leg should be ideally placed to ensure balance.
  4. Repeat this "walking" movement with alternate legs.

Do at least 10-12 repetitions on each leg.

# 3. Lateral lunges

This exercise is known to work your inner hamstrings along with your hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps.

Directions to follow:

1. First stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart.

2. Then take a full step to the left and bend the same knee as you push your hips back. Also, make sure that your feet are firmly on the ground during this exercise.

3. Then return to the starting position by pushing off your left leg.

Do at least 10 to 2 lunges per leg.

# 4. Donkey kicks

This workout primarily promotes the development of the buttocks and thigh muscles.

Directions to follow:

1. Start by kneeling down on the floor and straightening your back. This is done by placing both arms on the floor. Both palms should be firmly attached to the bottom and your arms should be upright all the time. Also, make sure that your knees form a 90-degree angle between your lower legs and thighs.

2. Now lift your left leg so that your knees are still at right angles. Also, don't lift your knees past your back muscles.

3. Then, once your knees and thighs are aligned with your back, pause for a few moments.

4. Finally, slowly return to the starting position by bringing your knees evenly on the floor.

Do this exercise 12 times on your left leg, then repeat the same thing on your right leg.

Frequently asked Questions:

1. How do I get bigger thighs with the help of exercise?

The following exercises will help you get thicker thighs in no time:

2. How do I get bigger thighs naturally and without exercise?

Some ways to get bigger thighs without exercise include:

  • Stay active all day.
  • Play with the children as this is sure to strengthen your body
  • Sign up for dance classes because you are sure to have fun dancing and gain thighs in no time
  • Keep track of the number of harmful calories you are consuming.

3. How do you get bigger thighs with the help of a healthy diet and exercise?

IIf you want to get bigger thighs, your focus should only be on eating high protein foods. These foods include eggs, tuna, salmon, peanuts, soybeans, and yogurt. Adequate exercise is also important.

04 Nov
Blog

Obsbot Tiny Review: Bringing A.I. Smarts to the Webcam

Obsbot Tiny with LED lighting switched on

"The Obsbot Tiny is a unique webcam that could have benefited from a larger sensor."

advantages

  • Subject tracking works fine

  • AI-controlled panning, tilting and zooming

  • Noise-canceling microphones

  • Innovative gimbal design

disadvantage

  • Image quality suffers in low light

  • Maximum resolution of 1080p

Webcams have become an integral part of our lives – especially in the past year and a half – and allow us to collaborate and communicate remotely. While most webcams try to differentiate themselves in terms of video and microphone quality, Obsbot takes a radically different approach.

Based on the proven 1080p video standard, the $ 199 Obsbot Tiny is a personal home webcam that blends artificial intelligence, a two-axis gimbal, and subject tracking capabilities into a truly powerful solution that is normally found in larger and often more expensive devices too is to find conference room products.

It promises to be a smart tool for YouTubers, with more natural pan, tilt, and zoom functions that will make your videos appear dynamic.

draft

Obsbot Tiny with LED lighting switched on

In a room where most webcams haven't changed much over the years, Obsbot's setting is a surprising breath of fresh air. Instead of relying on a humble one-piece case to house the image sensor and microphones and a stand that attaches to most monitors, Obsbot instead gives the traditional design an extreme makeover. With the Obsbot Tiny you get a mix of a traditional webcam and a gimbal, like the Osmo series from DJI.

At first glance, the design of the Obsbot may seem refreshing, but a bit over the top. After all, monitors don't need the stabilization mechanism of a gimbal as they are meant to be a stationary piece of technology and most people don't have important video calls from a noisy train or a turbulent airplane. However, in this case the gimbal is not designed for stabilized video feeds, but for controlling the cam.

The Tiny uses artificial intelligence to drive the motor in the two-axis gimbal so that the camera can pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ). This makes them one of the most compact PTZ desktop webcams on the market today, if not the most compact.

In fact, this design is similar to the Obsbot Tiny DJI's Pocket 4K with a choppy handle. The Tiny comes with a magnetic base that allows it to be attached to most metal surfaces and a magnetic mounting clip so it can be easily attached to laptops and monitors. Creatives looking to use this on a tripod can also rely on the threads on the bottom of the Tiny.

Obsbot Tiny on the MacBook Pro

Like many modern webcams, the Obsbot can record video at FHD 1080p resolution, but the downside is that you're limited to 30 frames per second – other fps formats aren't supported. Digital zoom is supported, and the maximum zoom is 2x, which gives you some flexibility in panning and zooming for closer shots if you're willing to sacrifice some image quality in the process.

The camera has omnidirectional microphones with noise canceling technology, which worked surprisingly well when testing the device at home and in a quieter coffee shop in the afternoon.

Magnetic holder for Obsbot Tiny.

The gimbal allows the camera to pan up to 150 degrees and tilt up or down up to 45 degrees, adding the flexibility to get the perfect shot if you're a video artist looking to stream.

A single USB cable is all you need to connect your desktop or laptop. Obsbot also included a DC connector in case your device isn't supplying enough power to the Tiny. In our tests, we didn't have to use DC power on a variety of Apple, HP, and Lenovo laptops.

Performance and image quality

Obsbot Tiny looks like a webcam attached to a choppy gimbal.

It's easy to get excited about the advanced features of the Obsbot Tiny in an area that has only seen iterative improvements, but you really need to evaluate how you're doing your video calling or streaming sessions before investing in the Tiny. For example, most people sit relatively stationary at their desks during video calls, so the PTZ functions do not work at all.

If you want to turn your living room into a shark tank-like stage with easels, a whiteboard, and posters, then the Tiny makes sense. With that in mind, the Tiny makes your home presentation look more like an Apple product announcement keynote and tracks you and your movements on your “home stage” to deliver a more dynamic video.

For its tiny size, the Obsbot Tiny works really well – the performance of the omnidirectional noise-canceling microphone was solid. The group I videoconference with found that despite the background noise in a coffee shop, my voice was clean and clear and distractions were minimized.

The video quality was competent for the most part. At 1080p FHD, it was definitely sharper and less grainy than the 720p HD camera on my 2016 MacBook Pro. In general, I found the image quality to be roughly on par with Windows laptops with a 1080p webcam. That's not a huge compliment, given that laptop webcams are notorious for their poor quality.

Compared to a 4K webcam, like the UltraSharp webcam from Dell or the highly rated Brio from Logitech, the video quality of the Obsbot Tiny is definitely not that sharp. If you are using the camera for video recording – rather than streaming or video conferencing – this shouldn't be a huge problem, as most call services limit the upload resolution to 1080p or less.

Obsbot Tiny with magnetic holder for monitors and laptops.

The biggest disadvantage of a webcam as advanced as the Obsbot Tiny is that the image sensor is small. This means that the camera won't capture as much light as a larger camera, like a DSLR or mirrorless camera. In this case, it means that the picture quality quickly drops in low light and you will notice more graininess in your videos when you make video calls in darker rooms. In brightly lit environments with adequate ambient lighting, this isn't a problem, so office calls are fine, but gamers and streamers who play in darker rooms may want to look elsewhere for a streaming solution.

Due to the lack of HDR video support, if you sit in front of a bright window, you will notice some blown out lights and darker areas in the picture will lose some detail differ little when the camera is pointed at your face.

AI smart

Obsbot Tiny with USB-C and DC connection for power supply.

Many of the camera's controls and settings can be set manually using software that can be installed on your PC. However, if you don't want to operate the camera yourself, you can rely on artificial intelligence to get the job done.

Like more advanced webcams, the Tiny can automatically track and frame your subject by panning and tilting the camera to create a smooth video feed with no choppy transitions. The feature works really well, although it may take a few seconds for the Obsbot Tiny to capture and locate the subject. If you're not jogging from one end of the room to the other – think of a small, steady pace on stage – then the camera can easily follow. The camera had a bit of a problem with faster moving subjects, like a baby running around the room.

Another AI-controlled element is gesture control. Instead of navigating the software or fiddling with the hardware, you can simply put your hand with your fingers outward next to your face and the camera will capture the target. The LED light strip on the base of the Obsbot Tiny will flash, indicating that it has clicked into place on you.

Once the camera has identified who to track, it uses AI. to pan and pan the camera with the motors in the gimbal anywhere in the room. The engine is not loud at all during operation, which was a nice feature that minimized annoying background noise.

If you need to zoom in, you can put your hand next to your face and use your index finger and thumb to form an “L”. This will cause the camera to zoom in 2 times for a tighter area around your face.

If you're recording a sales pitch or presentation yourself, you can create a more compelling video with a camera that can automatically pan, tilt, and zoom. The best part is you don't even have to have a cameraman to get the job done.

And while this camera doesn't have its own privacy lock, you can put the camera to sleep when you're done. In this mode, the Obsbot Tiny will point the lens down, giving you the peace of mind that it is not shooting when it shouldn't be. The LED indicator strip also shows whether the camera is in recording mode.

Our opinion

The Obsbot Tiny offers many advanced AI-powered features in one compelling hardware package. Obsbot's Tiny Webcam brings premium PTZ capabilities more commonly found in video solutions for larger conference rooms in an affordable package for home use. However, it really is only a good option for someone who needs this functionality as the image quality is not the best.

Are there alternatives?

There are plenty of capable 1080p and 4K webcams out there. Inexpensive webcams start at well under $ 100, but generally, you get what you pay for. At $ 199, the Obsbot Tiny competes with premium webcams like Logitech's Brio.

The Brio costs the same as the Tiny but sacrifices the Obsbot's more advanced AI. Features in favor of more advanced picture quality. That means you get better 4K resolution – compared to 1080p – and HDR support on the Brio.

How long it will take?

The Obsbot Tiny has a standard one-year limited warranty, but webcams are built to last for many years. Unlike smartphones, a webcam is not a peripheral designed for annual or biennial upgrades, and the Obsbot can potentially last for five years or even more. Unless the hardware breaks – due to the gimbal mechanism, the Obsbot Tiny may be more vulnerable than other competing webcams due to the number of moving parts – the device should last for many years.

Should you buy it?

Yes, although it really depends on the features you need from a webcam. If you're only using the Tiny for general video chatting, its advanced features may be over the top and you will be better off getting something with better picture quality. However, if you're recording a sales pitch or presentation, an AI-powered cameraman is a unique tool.

Editor's recommendations



03 Nov
Blog

How To Get Skinny Fast Without Hampering Your Health

Given the current pandemic situation caused by the COVID 19 outbreak, many people are suffering both mentally and physically. We are having a hard time surviving this pandemic and so our only focus should be on surviving. But we're only human, so we can't resist thinking about the extra weight we've put on over the past few years. Since most of us are unable to exercise due to limitations and are forced to sit idly at home, the extra weight seems to accumulate on its own.

So, in order to get rid of all that extra fat that has accumulated, one must follow certain diet and fitness restrictions. Also, if you want to know how to get thin quickly and do what is necessary, this article is sure to be useful for you. We've provided a lot of the information necessary to achieve the goal of getting slim fast, but there are also a lot of rules you should follow. Fortunately, we're going to cover everything you need to know in order to achieve your goal of losing that extra accumulated body fat in no time. So what are you waiting for? Please read this article to the end as we promise it will be well worth your time!

How to get slim fast and achieve the perfect body figure effectively?

If you are looking for tips and advice on how to get thin and lose all unhealthy fats, you've come to the right place. We want you to take a back seat and read this article carefully as we are disclosing some important and helpful information that you certainly haven't heard of. All you have to do is read it carefully and you are good to go.

Tips to keep in mind if you want to know how to thin yourself quickly:

Some constructive and amazing prices are on your doorstep right now. So read them carefully, and especially if you want to get skinny efficiently and healthily, put them into practice.

Commit to the goal
The first thing you need to know about getting thin fast is that it is not a process that should be rushed. Instead, it is a gradual process that requires patience and steady peace of mind. Many advertisements are sure to tell you that you will lose a lot of body weight in a short period of time. But that's all fake. Studies have shown you can lose up to 1 to 2 pounds a week with the right nutrition plans and fitness routines.

If you really want to get rid of the unhealthy fat, you need to remain committed and patient throughout the journey. Hard work and a dedication to success are all it takes to achieve your desired goals.

Set a certain regular calorie limit and stick to it
Excessive training or a reduction in consumption will not get you anywhere near your goal. So if you are planning on losing at least 1 to 2 pounds a week, you need to burn at least 1000 calories a day. The two things that you need to do in order to burn calories and achieve your goal of getting thin fast are reducing calories and adding some exercise to your daily schedule. However, reducing calories shouldn't get in the way of meeting your daily nutritional needs.

Make sure you avoid any liquid source of calories
Consuming caffeinated, sugary drinks, or even alcohol can prevent you from achieving your desired motive. If you don't want to sabotage your goal, avoid glasses high in sugar or high sodium. Instead, you should drink plenty of water as it not only quenches your drink cravings, but also helps you stay hydrated and brings you one step closer to weight loss. If you want to add some flavor to your water, you can also add a slice of fruit to enhance it further.

Keep your body in an active state every day.
As we all know, moderate exercise brings you one step closer to weight loss. So regular physical activity, not excessively but in a limited way, will really help. Even if you do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, you can lose body fat. This will likely improve your mood, lower blood pressure, and improve your cardiovascular functions as well. So you should try.

Avoid consuming processed foods
If your goal is to lose weight and get thin, avoid consuming processed foods. Since they're full of preservatives, artificial flavors, and unhealthy fats, it's best to cut back on their consumption. Plus, they're loaded with calories and have almost no nutritional deficiencies.

frequently asked Questions

  1. How do you get thin naturally quickly?
    Here are some tips to help you get thin faster and more efficiently:
  • Make sure you drink water before meals
  • Do not eat hastily; Instead, do it slowly
  • Avoid preserving drinks and consume naturally pressed fruit juice instead.
  • Make sure you eat high fiber and whole meals and avoid skipping meals.
  1. What Are Some Unhealthy Ways To Get Thin Fast?
    Some unhealthy ways to lose extra body weight and get thin quickly are listed below:
  • Skipping daily food needs
  • Consume only beverages for weight loss and avoid water
  • Taking dietary supplements without the consent and consultation of a doctor
  • Exercise without eating.
  1. How do you get thin quickly without exercise?
    Here are some scientifically proven ways to get thin urgently without exercise:
  • Make sure you chew slowly and efficiently
  • Eat lots of high protein foods
  • Drink water regularly and occasionally.
03 Nov
Blog

Apple Watch Series 7 Review: The Only Smartwatch to Buy

Apple Watch Series 7 in your pocket.

Apple Watch Series 7

RRP $ 399.00

"Stylish, customizable, powerful, reliable and with a larger field of view, smaller bezels and faster charging than before, the Apple Watch Series 7 is the best smartwatch you can buy."

advantages

  • Big screen, small bezels

  • Simply personalized

  • Choice of models and sizes

  • Comprehensive health tracking

  • Reliable software and notifications

  • Fast charging

  • Stronger and harder than before

disadvantage

  • Only works with the iPhone

The Apple Watch Series 7 could be the perfect smartwatch. I'm sorry to give away the game so early, but there are no secrets or surprises here – and that's a good thing. A smartwatch should be an extension of your smartphone, but it must also function reliably and sensibly on its own. It should provide comprehensive, motivational and informative health and activity tracking without alienating those who are not athletes. It should look good and easily adapt to your mood, style, and surroundings. It shouldn't require constant supervision or have complex or tricky features that overshadow basic day-to-day utility. New models also need to be improved from the previous version, so anyone can consider upgrading if they want.

The Apple Watch Series 7 has all of this and more. Let us talk about it.

draft

It's almost impossible to tell the difference between Series 7 and Series 6 just by looking at them. The 1mm increase in case size – 45mm and 41mm for the 7 Series versus 44mm and 40mm for the 6 Series – is only noticeable when you remove a tape measure, and the slightly larger curvature at each edge is only visible when you put the two of them look side by side and look very carefully. The speaker on the left side of the case is a single slot rather than the Series 6 double slot, but that's about as noticeable as the visual changes.

Apple Watch Series 7 on the wrist.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

What you notice are the much smaller 1.7mm bezels (down from 3mm on the 6 Series) and the increased field of view. Apple says that compared to the Series 6 and the Watch SE, 20% more screen area is visible and 50% more than the Apple Watch Series 3. The Ion-X glass above the screen has a contoured edge so that the screen follows The case seems to bulge at the top, just like a curved screen on a smartphone.

The version in our photos is an aluminum model in midnight that is black in color with a hint of blue and I chose it because, unlike the blue or green versions, it is easier to combine with more bracelet options. If you have a bracelet collection from an existing Apple Watch, they all go perfectly with the Series 7, just in case you worry that the 1mm increase will make them look weird.

Apple Watch Series 7 from the side.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

It would be easy to blame Apple for not changing the design much, but it hasn't because it isn't necessary. The Series 7 looks amazing and the Apple Watch has become a style icon in my opinion. The soft curvature of the case makes it very comfortable to wear, no matter which bracelet you choose, and it is really light at 38.8 grams without a bracelet, so you can wear it day and night.

While this is true of some fitness bands as well, the difference is that the Apple Watch looks great and it's incredibly easy to change the entire look of it when you get bored. Apple's watch faces have come a long way, especially in WatchOS 7 and WatchOS 8, becoming classier and more visually exciting instead of just adding complications. Put together a small collection of bracelets and bracelets, and Apple Watch is ready for whatever you wear, any time of the day.

Apple Watch Series 7 on the wrist from behind.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

It's this versatility that makes owning the Apple Watch so convenient. It turns it from a piece of technology into something that is truly yours. No other smartwatch offers such easy customization. You can even just choose the Wear-and-Forget-Sport Loop Harness, which is some of the best basic harnesses you can get and is adjusted for the duration of your possession.

The Apple Watch Series 7 wears no differently than the Series 5 or Series 6 Watch, and that's fine. It's still the most comfortable, personal, and easiest-to-live smartwatch you can buy.

screen

If the slimmer bezel didn't change the design significantly, did it change the screen? Yes it did, but don't expect the Series 6 to make you feel like a Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. The increase is much more subtle, but Apple emphasized the difference through WatchOS 8 by using new watch faces like Contour, adding larger fonts, and making better use of the extra space.

App menu on Apple Watch Series 7.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Buttons are bigger and easier to find, wider notification cards contain just a little more information, more text fits on the screen at one time, and you can see more at the same time. Swipe up to see quick settings, and turning on a focus mode requires a less precise action and is faster than before. But perhaps the best indication of how much screen the Series 7 has gained is the three additional font sizes available when compared to older models.

Apple says the screen is brighter indoors, but I didn't notice any difference. However, this may be because I never have any problems reading whether I am in the sunlight or in the dark, or whether it shows the main screen or the excellent always-on dials. It's sharp and colorful and doesn't reflect absurdly either. The Ion-X glass over the top is also tougher and more resistant to cracking than before, but to get the supposedly more durable sapphire crystal displays you'll need to buy the stainless steel or titanium models.

Apple Watch Series 7 and Series 6 from above. "Aria -habenby =" gallery-9-2823138

Apple Watch Series 7 and Series 6 from the side. "Aria -habenby =" gallery-9-2823139

  • 1.
    Apple Watch Series 7 (left) and Series 6 (right)
  • 2.
    Contoured screen of the Apple Watch Series 7 (red, top) versus the Series 6

The smaller bezels also make the Series 7 look more modern, even when placed next to the Series 6, a smartwatch that can hardly be called old. If you're from a Series 3 watch, the smaller bezels and larger viewing area of ​​the Series 7 will transform the experience for you. In this case, the Series 7 is a huge upgrade. I used a Series 6 last year and the extra screen real estate was evident when I used the Series 7.

Health and activity tracking

The Apple Watch Series 7 measures your heart rate and your electrocardiogram (EKG), measures the oxygen level in the blood, warns of heart rate irregularities, sends an emergency alarm when you fall, reminds you to start exercising if they don't notice you are moving or cycling, records your swimming activity and automatically starts a timer when you wash your hands. I'm just scratching the surface here as I haven't mentioned sleep tracking, dozens of exercise plans, Apple's Fitness + service, sound alerts, and the mindfulness app.

Heart rate on Apple Watch Series 7.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The health and fitness tracking is comprehensive, detailed, accurate and, in my case, completely exaggerated for my needs – and that's a good thing. That means, should I decide to do more, the watch will be ready without upgrading. The Series 7 records my walks, my sleep and my training at home without any problems and can be started so quickly and easily that sometimes I don't even have to go to the training app because the watch detects my activity more than usual and suggests a tracking mode. Or I use the app selection mode by pressing the bottom button on the watch to jump straight into the workout app. It takes seconds what I want as an occasional trainer.

I also appreciate the "silent" features. Heart rate, blood oxygen and even noise are monitored in the background, so if anything changes it will let me know. I don't have to do anything with setup either, since most of these functions are active by default. Apple's Activity Rings give me a clear indicator of my daily activities and are appropriately motivating, with reminders to move me and animated screens when I reach a goal.

Daily activity in the Apple Health app.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Overview of Apple Health.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Apple Health breath data.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

All health data in the Apple Health app.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The data is presented in the Apple Health app. It shows helpful trends that let you know if you're doing more or less than usual, summaries of your recent workouts (including GPS maps), and offers the ability to dig deeper. I love the All Health Data list view, which shows you the most current information instantly and also combines it with historical data. Tap each section to see a more detailed breakdown of the data. It's well laid out, very informative, and extremely easy to digest.

Although everything is presented very nicely with bright colors and neat graphics, the app can feel dense and complicated. But it does show how much capability the watch has and how it can benefit those who are much more focused on fitness than I am. I would really like to see the health and fitness apps combined in one, as I often forget the fitness app, which has more information about daily activities.

EKG on Apple Watch Series 7.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Blood oxygen measurement on Apple Watch Series 7.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Apple Watch Series 7 case back.

Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The Apple Watch Series 7 is any fitness partner you want, and it works just as well no matter the amount of effort you put into the workout. It has all of the skills, dates, and motivations you want – or as little as you want – all without irritating messages about pushing your limits either on the clock or in marketing. This also goes well with the design and customization, because all of this looks as sporty or not as sporty as you want it to be. It's excellent.

Software and performance

Apple's WatchOS 8 software, released in September, will be installed and will be compatible with all Apple Watch models since Series 3. It works the same way as it does the Series 6, and I'll summarize my experience with the software in a previous article.

It's fast, responsive, and full of features. I easily get notifications from my iPhone 13 Pro and can reply to most of them right from the watch. Most messages can be replied to using the keyboard, which has a new QuickType swipe function. It's surprisingly accurate and makes it much faster to type on the watch's small screen. I also like how the iPhone comes up with a popup that allows you to enter text on the phone rather than the watch without finding the message to match. Not all messages have this deep interaction. For example, tweets can only be liked or retweeted and Outlook e-mails cannot be answered on the wrist, but only marked or marked as read.

It's still the most comfortable, personal, and easiest-to-live smartwatch you can buy.

The Watch Series 7 processor may be called S7, but it's just a name change, and it has the same performance as the S6 in the Series 6. That means it is 20% more powerful than the S5 chip in the Apple Watch SE , which Apple is still selling along with the new Series 7. You can purchase the Series 7 with a cellular connection and, provided you pay at your monthly cellular plan, the watch can make and receive calls and receive messages even when you are not connected to your phone.

Twitter notification on Apple Watch Series 7.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

With WatchOS 8 on the Apple Watch Series 6 and Series 7, I had no issues with responsiveness or apps. While setting up the Series 7, I had issues with the Set up as new watch option, but it turned on without any issues when I chose the Restore from a backup option. This is the first time I've come across it and I suspect it has to do with the Series 7 setup on launch day and the server delays that came with it.

battery

I've worn the Apple Watch Series 7 24 hours a day for the past week, and when I wake up in the morning after tracking my sleep, the watch still has between 20% and 30% energy left, depending on whether I have during the day previously recorded a workout. This means that a single use over a whole day is not a problem. At 30% remaining, it continued through the end of a work day if I did not record any workout. Alternatively, if you don't enable sleep tracking and disable it overnight, two days or even more are achievable.

Apple Watch Series 7 for a fee.Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

The Watch Series 7 has a new charger with quick charge function and can be easily recognized by the silver housing compared to the older versions. According to Apple, it offers an 80 percent charge in 45 minutes, but when plugged into the Apple Fast Charger, it exceeds that and hits around 88% in that time. It reaches 100% in an hour. There's also a handy feature where an eight-minute charge gives back eight hours of sleep tracking.

Using an old charger with the Series 7 will charge it at its normal rate, which is understandable but unfortunate to anyone who has sat on a stand like the Belkin 3-in-1 MagSafe charger, as you have the benefit not received from the speed increase of the new charger.

Price and availability

the Apple Watch Series 7 starts at $ 399 for the 41mm model and $ 429 for the 45mm model. Add $ 100 for the GPS + Cellular version and even more depending on which bracelet you choose. For example, if you'd like the RED Braided Solo Loop Belt product in our photos, prices start at $ 449.

In the UK, the 41mm Apple Watch Series 7 in aluminum starts at 369 pounds and the 45mm model starts at 399 pounds. Prices increase depending on the bracelet you choose, and you have to add £ 100 to the price if you want the GPS + Cellular model.

The Series 7 looks amazing and the Apple Watch has become a style icon in my opinion.

Outside of the standard Apple Watch models, you can buy special Nike versions that are the same price but come with Nike straps and exclusive watch faces. You can also pay more for the Apple Watch Series 7 for a stainless steel case and sapphire crystal above the screen. Prices start at $ 699 or £ 649. The titanium Apple Watch Edition starts at $ 799, or £ 699, and the Apple Watch Hermés starts at $ 1,229, or £ 1,179. Functionality and specification are identical in the entire range, so all of these only offer material and strap differences.

Our opinion

Smaller bezels and a 1mm difference in case size have had a big impact on the Apple Watch Series 7, increasing its appeal and overall visual appeal. Faster charges and that helpful 8-minute zap for overnight use mean the relatively short battery life is much less of a concern and you can use and enjoy the watch 24 hours a day. WatchOS 8 is reliable and easy to use, health tracking remains unmatched even without hardware changes, and massive customization is fun.

It's everything you'd expect from a smartwatch as it integrates perfectly with the iPhone but still has enough power to be used on its own at will and never feels redundant due to lack of features or poor app support. The Apple Watch Series 7 has improved over the Series 6, and even feels like a worthwhile upgrade to last year's model for those who don't mind spending the money. It's also worth noting that Apple hasn't changed the price either, and has kept it the same in recent generations despite hardware and software improvements.

The Apple Watch Series 7 does anything I want, and I am very aware that it can do a lot more, making it feel like a safe purchase even for those who are just starting out with a smartwatch. The uncomplicated handling also makes it great for newcomers and thanks to the two sizes and different designs, there is something suitable for you. It's really great, and I'm struggling to find a reason not to wholeheartedly recommend it.

Is there a better alternative?

It doesn't happen often that I say this, but if you own an iPhone and want a smartwatch, there is no better alternative to the Apple Watch. There is usually an alternative, but in this case, buying an Apple Watch Series 7 is the best option available. This year, the Apple Watch SE is doing less well than it was in 2020 due to the lack of an always-on screen, a larger bezel, standard charging speed, and less powerful health monitoring.

If you have an Android phone, there is no point in making good use of the Apple Watch, so check out our recommendations for Android smartwatches.

How long it will take?

The Apple Watch Series 7 is dustproof according to IP6X, water-resistant to 50 meters, is float-proof and has a stronger, more break-proof glass above the screen. Belts can be exchanged easily and inexpensively if they should be broken or dirty. Apple should support the watch with new software updates for up to five years. Keeping the Apple Watch Series 7 for five years can be a challenge if you want to keep up with technology trends, but for everyone else, it's perfectly doable, given the Series 7's capabilities, performance, and ruggedness.

Should you buy one?

Yes sir. Not only is it the best smartwatch for your iPhone, it's also the best smartwatch available today.

Editor's recommendations



«‹1819202122›»