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03 Jul

Blog

Iron Man VR Review: Bringing The Summer Blockbuster Home

July 3, 2020
Posted by Samson

Iron Man VR

Iron Man VR Review: Bring the summer blockbuster home

"Iron Man VR is an entertaining superhero adventure that doesn't quite reach the summer blockbuster heights."

Satisfactory flying
Frenetic dogfighting
Creative motion control
A robust package

Fussy VR
Generic history
Unpolished graphics

Any other year, Iron Man VR would have flown under the radar. Despite all of the simulated exploits and explosions, it's the kind of licensed superhero fare that feels slim next to a muscular Marvel Studios movie.

But of course 2020 is not another year. Cinema-goers won't pack theater to see the next chapter of the Marvel Cinematic Universe soon. Iron Man VR could be the best thing that fans will bring to a summer blockbuster this year. It's not an ideal replacement, but the thought of traveling to a fantasy world where good always beats evil sounds more appealing when hope is so scarce.

Although Iron Man VR doesn't fully exploit its promising potential due to technical limitations and a general lack of polish, thanks to its creative control scheme, it offers enough fun and action film heroism.

Marvel flight simulator

Iron Man VR can best be described as a first person aerial combat game. Players step into the iconic red and gold armor to read an original story about a mysterious hacker who directed Tony Stark's deadly drones against him. Much of the adventure is spent flying around arena-like locations and blowing robot waves out of the air.

Both actions are carried out with different success using the PS Move controller. When flying, hold the moves straight down and press the triggers to drive forward. Turning the controller to the left or right moves the suit in this direction, while tilting it horizontally increases the height.

It's not the most seamless VR flight game, but when it all comes together, it's an undeniably cool experience.

It may seem intuitive at first, but gets more complicated when steering comes into play. Players can tilt their heads to rotate, but the most effective way to move is to press a button to rotate the camera. Flying becomes a difficult balance between controlling the character's position in the game and focusing on the PlayStation camera in physical space.

It is not the fastest learning process. In the game's early missions, I played with my arms and neck and tried to achieve a smooth flight pattern. It felt like I was playing a scene in a Spider-Man film in which a freshly bitten Peter Parker whirls around on the roofs and tries to learn the mechanics of his nets.

All this trial and error paid off when the controls finally clicked. In an outstanding mission, players fly through a rocky canyon to pursue a runaway villain. It's a standard video game chase, but it's also a sequence that rewards the player's mastery. As I raced through narrow passages and effortlessly snaked around rugged cliffs, I felt less like a youthful avenger. Instead, the PSVR headset felt like the Iron Man helmet, and the Move controllers became palm boosters. At that moment I was a superhero racing through the air with verve.

It's not the most seamless VR flight game, but when it all comes together, it's an undeniably cool experience.

Exploits

The action side of the game has its own ups and downs. During the flight, the Move controllers can be raised to shoot enemies. When you aim a straight one like a sword, players can fire blaster shots from the palm of their hand while flipping down activates an auxiliary attack like homing missiles from the suit's wrist.

If everything works as intended, all the time you spent as a child playing superheroes was worth it.

As with flying, shooting takes a bit to get the hang of it. The nuance of the wrist placement makes it difficult to constantly trigger the intended force in rapid battles. Flying and shooting at the same time is a separate fight in which the players have to juggle two separate movements. If the flight feels like it is fully focused, it will be absolutely impossible to do the tandem action.

Even with the tricky controls, firefights are often fun and hectic. The waves of jellyfish-like drones offer players a lot of moving targets where they can test their skills. It is uniquely satisfying to blow up incoming enemies with the palm of your hand on the right and aim with the other five ships and destroy them at once with a barrage of wrist missiles.

Iron Man VR

Iron Man VR adds additional gestural gameplay to enhance the feeling of heroism. If you hold down a button and swing the controller, a powerful blow is triggered, which can throw opponents back. There are also many other well-known comic book moments. The players open incredibly heavy gates and release the stuck landing gear of an airplane during the adventure. This type of tactile design feels more exciting than tapping X quickly to achieve strength in an average game.

The overall fight can sometimes feel a bit simple, especially when compared to a superhero game that is as varied and fluid as Marvel's Spider-Man, but the physicality of VR allows for additional experimentation in combat. If everything works as intended, all the time you spent as a child playing superheroes was worth it.

B-Movie

Despite a creative approach to control, Iron Man VR stumbles across its presentation. The story itself is a collection of genre clichés, from tortured heroes to predictable red pegs. The constant jokes feel like they've been pulled out of a seminar on writing a Marvel movie.

The graphics don't look much better. Many of the textures wouldn't look out of place in an average Nintendo GameCube game, and the largest set pieces tend to fall flat with lackluster effects. That wouldn't normally be a deal breaker for VR, but superhero games live and die through spectacle. Iron Man VR has a lot of potential, but can't always deliver its blockbuster moments. Explosions are more often anti-climactic than they inspire.

Iron Man VR

It's not that the game doesn't feel complete. It's a weighty package with an eight-hour history, lots of bonus missions, and a full suit customization. The problem boils down to a lack of polish that feels uncomfortable for the genre.

Love her or hate her, Marvel films have made entertainment a science. These superhero adventures have been carefully designed to provide constant fun for fans. Even when they are the weakest, it is rare for this iron formula to crack.

Iron Man VR has a lot of potential, but can't always deliver its blockbuster moments.

Iron Man VR, on the other hand, is a game in which players constantly see the seams. The technical restrictions always prevail, whether in the form of recycled locations or incredibly long loading times. These limits are particularly noticeable in the game's home base scenes, where Tony Stark's arms tend to twist and twist in a way that makes a surgeon flinch.

The frequent interruptions in flight keep Iron Man VR from reaching new superhero heights. There are lightning bolts from Avengers Action, but the experience is more similar to that of Tony Stark, who controls his Mark I armor for the first time and tries to remove the kinks.

Our opinion

Iron Man VR is an entertaining escape that finds creative ways to turn motion controls into heroic stunts, but lacks the thrill and polish needed to make it feel like a real Hollywood spectacle.

Is there a better alternative?

Marvel's Spider-Man is still the gold standard for modern superhero games, and Eagle Flight is a more elegant (but disgusting) VR flight experience.

How long it will take?

The story takes approximately eight hours and the game features races, combat attempts and free flight to add weight to the package.

Should you buy it

Yes, if you have a PSVR and a Move controller. If you don't have one, a killer app isn't enough to justify a full VR investment.

Editor's recommendations

03 Jul

Blog

A Miracle of Persistence and Courage

July 3, 2020
Posted by Samson

We never know when these miracles will happen, but we know in our hearts that they will happen. We know that the assumptions and expectations regarding the population with special needs can fuel limited aspirations and inhibit fear, which can increase the child's feeling of being different. This is partly why we exist – to show these young men, women and their families that many of the assumptions about their diagnoses are wrong. If we can prove it to them, the miracles will happen.

On June 4, 2019, we received a notification that someone was interested in our free 7-day Fitness Pass at Special Strong. Her name was Mandy and she was interested in our services for her 17 year old son Brandon.

Brandon’s development was problematic from the start. At the age of six months, he was extremely underweight and jaundiced. He was lagging behind in his development and was unable to sit up, turn around, stand or make eye contact. At the age of 5, they discovered that Brandon had strabismus, a vision disorder that required five operations to improve his eyesight. In 2010, Brandon's family discovered that he had a genetic mutation that caused all of his problems, including his abnormal gait and earlier potty training and speaking delays.

After a few years of very abnormal walking, a doctor took X-rays and found that Brandon was suffering from scoliosis and that his right hip was misplaced. It was recommended that Brandon be operated on to correct his hip, and his parents were told that he could walk normally within six months.

But after six months, Brandon still didn't go. He became very depressed and anxious. The physiotherapy he underwent made him so sick with fear that he was hospitalized many times. As a result, he remained in his wheelchair and did not allow anyone to take him out.

Eight years after his hip surgery, Brandon was still unable to walk, and his parents had reached the point where they had to buy a new wheelchair. However, when his mother turned to Brandon about the new wheelchair, he told her that he no longer wanted wheelchairs. Brandon told his mother he wanted to run, but he wanted to do it alone. The problem was that his parents didn't know how to help him until they saw a Facebook ad for a company called Special Strong.

When they heard about Special Strong and our special needs gym, they had a glimmer of hope that Brandon could run again. Hope often leads to small decisions that lead to big changes. Instead of buying a new wheelchair, they decided to invest in a personal trainer instead. Depending on where they lived, they were asked to work with me in McKinney, TX.

On July 15, 2019, we had our first training session. Brandon came in with his wheelchair and we did a thorough baseline assessment. I recognized his potential and told Brandon I knew there would be a day when he would go again. Brandon smiled at the thought. He didn't resist the idea, but he told me he was afraid of falling and getting hurt. He also entrusted me with his other struggles: how people viewed him differently and how he did not feel accepted by some of his colleagues. He also told me that he thought he didn't have a girlfriend because he couldn't walk.

Brandon seemed to believe me and trust me enough to entrust me with his main fears, and our journey began.

During our next session, we did actual training. Brandon was able to get up, get out of the wheelchair and hold on to my arm, which allowed us to do some corrective exercises and work on the muscles that were stunted because they hadn't been used for eight years. While working with him, I continued to recognize his potential and called it out as often as I could. At the same time, I also saw the fear in Brandon and how it prevented him from making progress.

Whenever I told him we were going to do a new exercise, he began to shake physically and said, "I can't do it, Daniel. I'm scared. "Even though Brandon was scared, he was always open to my coaching. He believed me. He understood his fear, but he didn't run away. This component of Brandon's progress was critical and gave me more confidence in Brandon's ultimate goals You may not look at him and think he is brave, but I can assure you that he was as brave as anyone who has ever met a wild enemy or worse, his own demons.

In the end I made the rule with him that the word "can't" is not allowed in my gym. I told him to think of the word "can't" as a dirty word that should never be spoken. It lasted a couple of sessions, but he stopped saying "can't" during our sessions.

When it was time to take him to the next phase of training, I had him switch to forearm crutches. I told my parents my goals for him while I was using the crutches and that it was time to stop taking the wheelchair to the gym. They agreed, but sometimes disbelieved. They didn't want to raise their hopes.

Brandon had never used crutches before, but he quickly learned how to use them. Outside of the gym, Brandon continued to switch between crutches, crutches, and forearms. Anyone who helps people cross their perceived limits can relate to it. When one of us does something that is uncomfortable but useful, our tendency is to find shortcuts and the path of least resistance, even if that means going back to old habits. It's a constant struggle to choose to remain uncomfortable, but we know we'll do better for it. It is the ultimate challenge.

On July 30, 2019, we had our fifth training session. During this session, I took Brandon to the group room and told him we would go without crutches. Brandon started tearing up and told me he couldn't because he was scared. I reminded him that the use of the word "not" was unacceptable during our sessions and that I would be with him all the time. After a lot of coaching and encouragement, look at what happened.

Brandon was able to overcome his greatest fear, and the ability to take steps on his own gave him an incredible level of confidence. We have further strengthened Brandon’s legs and core, especially his lower back. We tried a few more walks, but they didn't go well as fear crept back and consumed Brandon. He would have little moments of victory, followed by many moments of defeat when fear regained his mind, but he had the most important attribute: he would never give up.

“Success is not the lack of failure. it is persistence through failure. "

– Alisha Tyler

Brandon came into the session on August 21 and I had a strong impression in my heart that it was the day he would go independently. I told Brandon that today was the day and he was going. He said, "I'm ready!"

I had Brandon hold my arm when we went outside to let him run independently for the first time. I knew I had to video that moment, expecting something big to happen; another miracle. I gave Brandon an encouraging talk, encouraged him, got the video rolling, and then Brandon defeated his fears for the first time in his life.

After Brandon finished, I stopped the video to tell him how proud I was of him. He kept repeating, "Daniel, I did it! Daniel, I did it! "

After that, everything changed for Brandon and his whole family. He hadn't just learned to walk. He had overcome his fears. He had conquered the assumptions and self-limiting thoughts. He had conquered himself.

The video was seen around the world and Brandon was so encouraged by it. Brandon went to school without a wheelchair or walking aid and people came up to him at school to tell him how proud they were and that they had seen his video. For the first time in his life, Brandon felt that he had a purpose and was improving the lives of others.

Brandon continues to train with me at Special Strong twice a week. On August 26, 2019, we were able to record a video of him at a speed of 4.0 on the treadmill, which is close to light jogging.

The only thing that prevents him from running is his foot resistance, which we are currently addressing in our training sessions. I am confident that one day Brandon will run, run and even sprint!

That's how he is.

03 Jul

Blog

The JLab Epic ANC Are Stuck in Earbud Limbo

July 3, 2020
Posted by Samson

JLab Epic-ANC

"Although the Epic ANC is comfortable, durable, and cheap, it does very little to separate itself from the crowd."

Comfortable, safe design
Solid battery life
IP54 waterproof

Average sound quality
Inconspicuous noise cancellation

JLab Audio is well on the way to developing affordable hearing aids, most of which come with features and sound that far exceed their prices. It may have created its own problem. If your products consistently try to push their own boundaries, the lines between them can get messed up and ask you why they even exist.

With JLab's new $ 79 Epic ANC wired earphones, we had to ask ourselves: can they differ from similar siblings and challenge competitors from other brands?

Out of the box

In the meantime I have opened enough JLab packages to know what to expect. The Epic ANC earphones are waiting for you in their own plastic shell. The rest of the box's content is just below it. These accessories include three sets of earplugs, a micro USB charging cable, a travel bag (JLab calls it a bag, but it's a bag), and a quick setup guide.

JLab Epic ANC earphones Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

In other words, there is not much pomp to admire here. But that's not really JLab's style. The company's products have traditionally relied on losing the weight of desire to deliver good value at a bargain price. That's exactly what you see again at the Epic ANC.

The connection was easy because the buds automatically switch to Bluetooth pairing mode the first time they are turned on. That may be standard these days, but trust me: With the few products that don't have this automatic pairing mode, you miss this subtle advantage.

The Epic ANC has built-in Bluetooth 5 technology and I have no connection issues to report. The buds were able to travel freely with me through my home without getting out when my phone was in the living room. Although I haven't necessarily crossed the line, I'm confident that these buds are enough.

design

As I've said with other earphones of this style, these wired setups are not as noticeable as real wireless alternatives. There are, of course, good reasons for this: the inclusion of wires leads to the possibility that they get stuck or become damaged when you cross everyday life. In addition, real wireless earbuds generally offer a more attractive aesthetic.

JLab Epic ANC earphones Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

Honestly, it's a shame that these styles take a back seat because, apart from the wires, there's a lot to like about the way the Epic ANC was designed. Starting with the buds themselves, the included "Cush Fins" (JLab terminology) helped to create a secure fit in my ears. After several runs with the Epic ANC, I was pleased to find that I only had to adjust them a few times. For a product that is constantly jumping around the neck during intensive activities, this is a win in my book.

I chose the smaller standard earplugs that made them comfortable to hold in my ears. JLab also offers a set of three-flange earplugs and a pair of cloud foam tips, but the standard met my requirements exactly.

JLab was oddly light in terms of specs with the Epic ANC, so I don't have an exact weight to report. But I can say that they were light enough to train with, even though their siblings, the Epic Sport2, are significantly lighter. As wired buds that are dedicated to training, their lightness is not only sensible, but is also expected.

The Epic ANC is only available in one color (black). So if you want design options, you won't find them here. The travel bag / bag is also black and feels durable, which should be useful if you keep the buds in a travel bag or backpack.

properties

The more I used the Epic ANC, the more I thought about the 1More Dual Driver ANC. They are both made in the same style, probably for the same kind of audience. At half the price, it would have made sense not to expect the Epic ANC to compete with the features of the Dual Driver ANC. However, if I have learned anything from previous JLab reviews, this brand knows how to close the gap while reducing costs.

JLab Epic ANC earphones Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

For example, the 1More offers a battery life of 20 hours without using active noise cancellation and 15 hours with the function activated. For JLab balloons that are not used by ANC, a playback time of 25 hours is achieved, although listening supported by ANC takes a small step back after 14 hours. However, the Epic ANC comes with an AUC cable adapter that can be connected and listened to if the battery fails.

Through my tests, I can confirm that JLab's battery requirements are correct. This type of juice should be enough to do a few days of work while using Active Noise Cancellation. If you are still working from home without having to compensate for noisy environments, you can extend the battery of the buds over several days.

The Epic ANC is weatherproof to IP54 and protects the buds from dust and water sprays from every direction. I didn't expect these to get wet in the heat of summer, but left it up to the good old Pacific Northwest to take a quick shower during a morning walk. Rest assured: The Epic ANC did it without any problems.

For comparison: the Epic Sport2 has an improved protection rating IP66, which protects against high-pressure water jets, while the 1More has an IPX5 resistance, which protects it against jet streams, although it is not protected against dust.

The Epic ANC has an inline remote control that takes over all controls of the earphones. A button on the side of the remote control changes through the ANC modes with arrows at the opposite ends of the volume of the remote control and the track switch. Pressing the lower arrow twice will even activate your preferred intelligent assistant, while the middle button will turn the device on and off and answer and end calls. When it comes to controls, most people value functionality, and the Epic ANC well meets that standard.

Audio quality

The main difference between the Epic ANC and the more expensive 1More Dual Driver is in the sound. Because while the Epic ANC offers usable sound quality, it cannot impair the audio experience of the Dual Driver ANC.

JLab Epic ANC Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

Of course, this almost had to happen, since these two products are technically between the weight classes. And to be clear, if the epic ANC were to fight someone of its size, it would do better. But when we decide whether to spend the extra money or stick to a budget option, it seems like a comparison that we have to make.

From a general perspective, the Epic ANC sounds decent and offers above-average clarity of what you'd expect from earphones under $ 100. The problems are at both ends of the frequency range, where the bass feels muffled in songs like Eminems Godzilla and tracks like Jimmie Allen's This Is Us feel a bit hard in the higher frequencies. Compared to the 1More, which expertly navigates through different genres, these topics are only accentuated.

As with the 1More, JLab recommends a burn-in phase (via its own burn-in tool app) in order to get the best sound out of these buds. It takes time that I didn't have for the purposes of this review, so I put it out with stock sound. Which, to repeat, will sound good to the majority of listeners. It just won't be anything to write home about.

Active noise cancellation

Unfortunately I have more "meh" messages for JLab fans to report here. The active noise cancellation features built into the Epic ANC adequately complement the sound quality of the buds, but do not have the effect many hope for.

JLab Epic ANC earphones Nick Woodard / Digital Trends

Turning on ANC has muffled some outside noise in the various environments I've tried it in, but in louder situations, such as when walking down a busy street, they haven't done nearly enough to mask the excessive noise. In addition, both myself and others struggled to differentiate between the Epic ANC's two noise control modes (high and low). If you cannot distinguish between these two settings, there is a clear problem.

The 1More were much more effective when tested in similar environments. Neither set is a leader in the ANC area, but the ANC with two drivers had a lot more understanding of the technology.

I will say that the Epic ANC's third noise control mode, Be Aware Mode, did exactly what it said it did. By effectively activating this mode, outside noise is effectively fed in, making it easy to address friendly neighbors while maintaining an appropriate social distance.

Our opinion

The Epic ANC is in every way the affordable alternative to the excellent Dual Driver ANC from 1More, with the exception of the sound, which leaves something to be desired. This does not completely prevent another valuable set of earphones from JLab. But it hurts.

Are there any better alternatives?

You probably already know this answer. The $ 150 1More Dual Driver ANC is exactly what the Epic ANC hoped for, but at twice the price. If you're an athlete looking for a similar style at a cheaper price, JLab's $ 49 Epic Sport2 fits perfectly with its features and design.

How long will they last?

JLab offers a two-year warranty with the Epic ANC, and the product itself feels so durable that I no longer have to worry about exposing it to intensive training sessions. I would say these buds last long enough to get your money's worth.

Should you buy them

No. The Epic ANC has done a lot right, from the comfortable design to the effective functions. However, it hasn't done enough to distance itself from cheaper options within its own brand or to approach the quality of the more expensive Dual Driver ANC. They're good friends after all, but they're stuck in no man's land.

Editor's recommendations

03 Jul

Blog

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S Review: It’s Always On

July 3, 2020
Posted by Samson

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S.

"If you're looking for a high-performance electric car with a six-figure price tag, this is the best option."

Packed with technical features
Immediate performance at any speed
More practical than you think
Very quiet in normal driving

Modest electrical range
Regenerative braking can be adjusted

Porsche made a name for itself by building high-performance, high-octane cars for the road and the route, not for drivers who want to reduce their carbon footprint. Although company founder Ferdinand Porsche dealt with hybrid technology at the end of the 19th century, the automaker's reputation is intertwined with the combustion engine. It began to unravel this egg when it entered the hybrid segment in the 2000s, and it chose an additional level of separation when it launched the Taycan, its first mass-produced electric car, in 2019.

Can a Porsche be electric? Or does one fly into the teeth of logic with a battery instead of a gas tank? I traveled to Stuttgart, the home town of the German company, and borrowed a Taycan Turbo S to find out.

Design and interior

Visually, the low-powered electric sedan from Porsche hardly changed when it switched from the sensational Mission E-Concept presented at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show (back when the Frankfurt trade fair was still an issue) to the Taycan presented in 2019.The company's design language is more futuristic , but still looks unmistakably like a car that has grown in the same family tree as the 911 and the Panamera.

The rear doors of the design study, which were hinged on the back, remained on the drawing board for safety and packaging reasons. They are terribly expensive and not very practical to build. Ask Lincoln if you don't believe it.

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Ronan Glon

Inside, the Taycan feels just like a Porsche. Look elsewhere if you want wide, velor-upholstered seats and a sky-high seating position. The cabin has a 2 + 2 layout with plenty of room for the front seat passenger, but headroom in the rear is somewhat narrow due to the sloping roof line.

Fit and workmanship are almost perfect throughout the cabin – anything else would be alarming considering the Turbo S is priced at $ 185,000 – and the Taycan is more practical than its sleek lines suggest. It carries back 12.9 cubic feet of your belongings and 2.8 cubes in the "frunk", which offers enough space for a few bags of groceries or a briefcase. The charging cable is usually located here.

Technology, infotainment and driver assistance

Fittingly, the first series-produced electric car from Porsche is the most modern model to date. It has a curved digital 16.8-inch instrument cluster with individual displays that can be configured using buttons on the steering wheel. There's a 10.9-inch touchscreen for the infotainment system, an 8.4-inch screen with additional features just below, and a fourth screen on the right side of the dashboard, but it can only be used when the car detects that someone is sitting in the passenger seat.

In other words, there are as many screens in the driver's line of sight as there are cylinders in the engine compartment of a Boxster. The number of functions packed in the dashboard is gigantic and it takes a while to find out which functions do what. Everything is where you expect it to be, but Porsche hasn't attached a volume control to the dashboard. While the driver has one on the steering wheel, the front passenger must use the touchscreen on the center console. This becomes an unnecessarily cumbersome task if there is something in the cup holder directly behind it.

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Ronan Glon

Apple CarPlay compatibility is standard, but Android Auto is not available. This could change soon.

Lane Keeping Assist, traffic sign recognition and adaptive cruise control are available. These functions are driving aids – they do not make the Taycan autonomous in any way, but they are useful on long journeys and work as indicated.

InnoDrive technology, which is similar to steroid cruise control, is a $ 3,610 option that should be standard when you consider that the Turbo S has a supercar-like price tag. It is a data-driven function based, in part, on information sent by the various sensors in the vehicle to calculate the best driving strategy for a particular route. It detects when the road is wet, for example by analyzing the feedback from the stability control system. Maps are also considered to determine when there is a hill for which it needs to accelerate or a curve for which it needs to slow down to ensure that passengers do not feel like they are on a roller coaster. InnoDrive is about three kilometers ahead of the driver, Porsche told me.

Experience driving

Good enough, it doesn't cut in Stuttgart.

While there are tamer, cheaper variants of the Taycan, the Turbo S is the flagship that shows what Porsche is capable of in the area of electrification. It is based on a 93.4 kilowatt hour lithium-ion battery that drives two electric motors (one per axis). This configuration is hardly unusual in the world of electric cars because it offers all-wheel drive across the street. However, it is noteworthy that the rear engine shifts via a two-speed gearbox for better performance.

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Ronan Glon

The maximum output reaches a confusing 750 horsepower and a torque of 774 pound-feet. However, these numbers are only under your right foot when a temporary overload function is activated. The drive train delivers 613 horses under normal conditions, which is sufficient. It takes 2.6 seconds to reach 100 km / h from a stop. So it's good before you read this sentence.

Porsche has installed the ignition on the left side of the steering wheel for decades. It's a habit it picked up on when pilots started big races (like the Le Mans 24 Hours) by running from the pits to their car. You could turn on the engine with your left hand and shift into gear with your right hand. Although the Taycan doesn't have a key, Porsche has attached the on / off switch to the left of the instrument cluster to honor the tradition.

However, there is no need to press it. It turns on automatically when it is determined that someone has put the keychain in their pocket behind the wheel. If you move the small gear selector switch down, the Taycan switches on without the slightest clink or noise and creeps forward in complete silence. It's as quiet, quiet, and stress-free in the city as you'd expect from an electric car. The adaptive air suspension filters out the cobblestones that line the streets in small German towns, and the relatively light steering at low speeds makes maneuvering easier. There's a 360-degree camera that shows how far the corners are from things waiting to take an expensive stab, like concrete barriers.

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Ronan Glon

Quaint towns with quaint houses and bakeries selling delicious pretzels made me feel like I was driving the Taycan through a postcard, but Germany – and the car – offer more than just crawling around looking for a snack. I left Neckarsulm (where NSU once made cars and where Audi now makes cars), pointed the Taycan's low nose at Stuttgart, and waited for the sign indicating that there is no speed limit to see how it is at the other end of the driving spectrum. And to my surprise, it's smooth, quiet and stress-free again, even at 250 km / h, which is close to the top speed of 250 km / h.

There is obviously no motor, so the only noise comes from the tires and the wind, and it is possible to have a conversation without raising your voice. To remove the engine from the high-performance equation, every squeak and rattle that the exhaust normally hides had to be suppressed. I spoke to some of the engineers who worked on the project, and they all told me that calming down at 250 km / h was much easier said than done, especially because adding extra sound absorbing material weighed it down the Taycan would have increased and its range reduced.

What impressed me the most about the Turbo S is the way it accelerates from 100 to 155 mph, for example. Or if you are outside of Germany, from 50 to 80 miles per hour. It is always on, the power is always on and there is never the slightest hint of delay. It's a performance approach that would require colossal displacement to be achieved with combustion technology, and it's one of the most exciting aspects of the driving experience.

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Ronan Glon

On side streets, the Taycan feels like a Panamera in the sense that it is a large, heavy car that hides its weight well. It is equipped with all-wheel steering, so that the rear wheels turn slightly in the opposite direction to the front wheels at a speed of up to 48 km / h. You can feel the difference when driving on a street that looks like a cooked piece of spaghetti. It is nimbler than its size and weight. Above 30 miles an hour, the rear wheels turn again (very lightly; this is not a forklift) in the same direction as the front wheels to increase stability.

If I could travel back in time and participate in the development process, I would choose a more pronounced energy recovery effect (or at least add an option that allows the driver to turn it up if he wants to). With some electric cars and a handful of plug-in hybrid models, you rarely need to touch the brake pedal to slow down or gradually come to a stop. You just take your foot off the accelerator and the engines do the rest. In the Taycan, the regenerative braking system is extremely powerful (Porsche told me that it can slow the car down to 0.4 G), and the brake pedal always feels constant , but driving with a pedal is not possible. Although the brakes are bitten very hard (they have to stop a £ 5,200 rocket that travels about 160 miles an hour), I would appreciate the opportunity to pedal them on back roads.

Range and charging

Much has been said in the US about the range of the Taycan and not much of it has been positive. It received a 192 mile rating from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is low and does not qualify for coveted long distance status. In the European Union, where all cars go through a test cycle called WLTP, the Turbo S has received a more usable 256-mile rating. In the real world, which neither of the two test methods reflects well, the range of the Taycan depends on a variety of factors, including the outside temperature, whether you're using the air conditioner, and whether you're spending more time on the freeway or on the freeway city. Your mileage will vary.

I spent about 40% of my time on the freeway, 40% on back roads and 20% in cities, including some of Stuttgart's best traffic jams, and the Taycan consumed an average of 23.7 kilowatt hours of electricity to travel 62 miles. This number makes it more efficient than the distance estimate it has received on both sides of the pond. It was pretty warm and I had the air conditioning on throughout the trip. I could have done better and I could have done it much worse. No two drivers are identical, no two rides are exactly the same, and the bottom line is that the Taycan has a lot of range.

2020 Porsche Taycan Turbo S. Ronan Glon

Charging speed is just as important as range when driving an electric car every day. The Taycan is compatible with a quick charge of 350 kilowatts, with which the battery zaps with a range of approx. 100 km in approx. 4 minutes. Another question is whether you live near a 350-kilowatt charger. If not, the battery will be charged by a slower station.

To find out, tap the navigation menu on the touchscreen and ask it to call up a list of the charging stations in your area. It organizes the results by distance (the closest ones are listed first), specifies the number of plugs in a specific location, notes the charging speed and even shows you how many are currently occupied in the Rea-Time. This extremely useful function makes driving an electric car considerably easier.

In the U.S., the Taycan comes standard with three years of unlimited 30-minute quick charge sessions at Electrify America stations. There are over 400 chargers across America, and many more are planned.

How DT would configure this car

I would start with Dolomite Gray Metallic and keep the standard 21-inch alloy wheels for a more understated look. I would skip the screen in front of the passenger and add the InnoDrive technology above, although it's not cheap.

Our opinion

The Taycan is more than spaetzle cooked in a Tesla-flavored sauce. It looks, drives, and feels like a real Porsche, no matter how you approach it – and Holy Moly has a price like one. Don't be fooled by the unflattering range estimates that driving every day or being unable to trip on the road is impractical. In order to live with the Taycan, you have to change your habits. However, this is the case with every electric car, regardless of range, performance and price.

Porsche found out the electrification, which is a relief when you consider that the Taycan will no longer remain the only battery-powered model. There's a more spacious variant with the Cross Turismo emblem and an adventure-friendly car body around the corner, and the next-generation Macan, which is slated to launch in the early 2020s, will be completely electric. The upcoming E-Tron GT from Audi, which is slated to take cover in 2020, will be closely related to the Taycan under the skin.

Should you get one?

Yes. If you are looking for a high performance electric car with a six digit price, this is the best option.

Editor's recommendations

02 Jul

Blog

Bose Home Speaker 500 Review: Smart, Stylish, Surround Sound

July 2, 2020
Posted by Samson

Bose Home Speaker 500

"Rich, expansive sound helps this intelligent speaker deliver a virtuoso performance."

Expansive stereo sound
Slim, attractive design
Choice of Alexa or Google Assistant
Easy to use controls
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and line-in options
AirPlay 2

Expensive
Some music services are not supported
A little cumbersome multiroom control
No Chromecast option for Android

In the early days of the smart speaker revolution, finding a speaker that sounded both smart and great was a challenge. Fortunately, those days are long gone. With products from Sonos, Marshall, Apple and Amazon, you can now have and eat your cake. However, before deciding on a new wireless smart speaker from one of these companies, you should consider the $ 300 Bose Home Speaker 500.

With a fascinating mix of sleek design, expansive sound and a choice of digital assistants, it could be just the smart audio device that your home was missing.

But is it right for you? Let's take a look.

design

Bose Home Speaker 500 Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

The Bose Home Speaker 500 is available in triple black or a sophisticated two-tone silver and white tone and is deceptively large. With an elliptical shape that is much wider than it is deep, its base is small enough to easily find a seat on a countertop, bookcase, or coat. At just 4.75 pounds, it's also surprisingly light for its size.

Nothing breaks the smooth aluminum and plastic contours of the speaker – even the included AUX input is barely noticeable and is located on the back near the floor. My triple black test device looked great no matter where I placed it.

There are people who are tempted to hide their speakers (even the good looking ones) where they can be heard but not seen. However, this would be a mistake with the Home Speaker 500. Not only would this make using the thoughtful design more difficult touch controls that adorn the top, but also prevent you from seeing the front-facing color screen.

Not that you have to see or touch it (it's not a touchscreen), but it just looks so damn cool that it would be a shame not to place it where it can be appreciated.

But I can't help thinking that Bose missed an opportunity here. When you are listening to music, the 3-inch screen shows the album art for the currently playing track, along with the artist and the track name. If the speaker is inactive, you can choose a dial or nothing at all, but that's all it does. I can think of several ways to use this screen: weather forecasts, news feeds, or just a selection of softly animated screensavers.

Given that the home speaker 500 can also be used as a smart speaker, it would be super cool to see the screen as a secondary display for voice commands, e.g. If you said, "Alexa, what's the weather like?" and the screen showed you the current weather along with Alexa’s spoken response.

But I digress. Those who want to hear the same artists, playlists, or radio stations regularly will appreciate the six special preset buttons on the Home Speaker 500. You assign them in the Bose Music app and they can be assigned to almost any music source supported by the app.

configuration

Sonos has always been my benchmark for quick and easy setups, but Bose is under a second. With the Bose Music app, I configured the Home Speaker 500 for my home WiFi, connected it to my Google account for access to the Google Assistant, and streamed music in less than five minutes.

The Bose Music app is simple and mostly very intuitive to use, with great instructions and feedback at every step.

links

Bose Home Speaker 500 Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Some wireless home speakers like Sonos only offer Wi-Fi, but the Bose Home Speaker 500 lets you make three connections: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and the aforementioned line-in input. With the exception of a USB port for accessing disk-based files, you can't ask for more.

However, Bose has chosen not to include an Ethernet jack, which you may miss if your Wi-Fi network is stained in some places. Sonos contains them except for one of its speakers, but I suspect that very few of its customers use them – I certainly never needed that.

Wi-Fi with its higher bandwidth than Bluetooth should be your preferred connection method, but it gets a little difficult here.

With Wi-Fi, you can set up and control the Home Speaker 500 through the Bose Music app. This also includes streaming music from Spotify Premium and Free, Apple Music, TuneIn, Pandora, SiriusXM, Amazon Music, Deezer and iHeartRadio. It's a good selection, but not nearly as extensive as Sonos'. For example, tide and YouTube music are not included. There is also no way to stream from a personal music collection on your home network.

If you're an Apple device owner, AirPlay 2 can make up for this shortcoming, so you can stream virtually any audio source from your iPhone, iPad, or Mac to the Home Speaker 500. If you're an Android user who lacks the music app, Bluetooth is your only replacement option.

Chromecast for audio may be a future Wi-Fi path for Android owners, but the Home Speaker 500 does not yet support it. When it appears, it appears as a subset of the Google Assistant, so for those who prefer Alexa – or no assistant at all – it still gets stuck with Bluetooth.

Sound quality

Bose Home Speaker 500 Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

Bose makes a pretty big claim for the Home Speaker 500: "The widest sound of all intelligent speakers." I put it side by side with the $ 200 Amazon Echo Studio, which has a very similar internal driver layout and both products are designed to deliver impressive sound. The Home Speaker 500 performed admirably and delivered a slightly wider sound stage than the Echo Studio despite the weaker bass response.

How expansive the sound becomes depends in part on the placement. In an ideal world, you would give her plenty of room to breathe, away from the walls and preferably not stowed in a bookcase.

Broadest or not, I think you'll love how this speaker sounds. Bose has positioned the internal drivers so that sound waves are distributed in a kind of crooked 360-degree field. By that I mean the best seat in the house is right in front of the speaker, but you can still enjoy about 80% of its full quality from almost anywhere else.

I learned to appreciate this effect when I reviewed Bose's excellent portable home speaker, which produces an almost perfectly circular sound field.

What is impressive is that you not only get real room-filling audio, but also a fairly decent stereo separation – not an easy task for such a small speaker.

You can set both bass and treble in the app. However, if your taste isn't really going in either direction, the factory EQ offers a nice balance between the two.

If there's a weakness, it's in the midrange definition – a challenging area for even the best little speakers. This is particularly noticeable when playing genres such as classical or jazz – instruments that live in the middle frequencies, such as cellos and some woodwinds, can be flattened somewhat. Overall, the Home Speaker 500 is a pleasure to hear, regardless of whether it provides the setting for an intimate dinner or a rough get-together.

The Home Speaker 500 also offers impressive volume levels. Max get this thing out and be ready for many knocks on the door of irritated neighbors.

Multiroom audio

Bose Home Speaker 500 Simon Cohen / Digital Trends

One of the advantages of buying a wireless speaker at home is that different music can be played in each room, or the same music (or a combination thereof) can be played in all rooms. The Home Speaker 500 can be easily grouped with other Bose home speakers such as the Home Speaker 300 or the Bose Soundbar 500 using the Bose Music app.

However, using multiroom requires a bit of planning. Since you can also create speaker groups with AirPlay 2, you need to decide whether you want to stream from a music service in the Bose Music app – in which case you would manage your speaker groups there – or from another app on your phone or tablet – in in this case you would manage the groups using the AirPlay 2 interface.

The two systems don't play well together. Groups created in the Bose Music app don't like trying to change them with AirPlay 2, or vice versa.

There's also no way to create stereo pairs with two Bose speakers. If multiroom audio is top priority, you're probably more satisfied with Sonos.

However, Bose has a trick up its sleeve that I haven't found in any wireless speaker system, including Sonos. Bose calls it Simplesync and allows you to group any Bluetooth audio device, from a portable speaker to a wireless headphone, with the Home Speaker 500. In this sense, according to Bose, this function works best with the company's own Bluetooth speakers and headphones. This audio is more precisely synchronized.

It's true. I tried Simplesync with a JBL Flip 5 speaker that I had on hand, and while setup was a breeze, there was a fraction of a second latency between the two speakers. I wouldn't rely on doing multiroom audio, but it's a pretty handy option.

Voice assistants

Bose has followed Sonos' role model in its smart speaker strategy, and that's an excellent decision. As with Sonos, with Bose you can choose between Alexa and Google Assistant for the Home Speaker 500 instead of selling two different versions of the speaker as with other home audio companies.

I chose Google Assistant for this review because I have more compatible products at home. However, setting up Home Speaker 500 with Alexa is just as easy. Bose really nailed the smart speaker experience. Voice commands are easily recognized, even in fairly noisy environments and up to 15 feet away, without you having to actually raise your voice. If privacy is an issue, a special microphone mute button guarantees an A.I.-free environment.

The response times are also very good. I have found no difference between the Home Speaker 500 and my Google Nest mini in terms of response times.

I particularly liked that the bright white LED strip over the color screen immediately gave visual feedback that my commands had been heard. Most smart speakers have a similar visual cue. However, if they are only visible from the top (e.g. Sonos smart speakers or Google's Home and Nest minis), you won't be able to see them that easily from a room.

There is one limitation when you choose the Bose Home Speaker 500 as your smart speaker, and that is compatibility with music services. Although Google Assistant and Alexa can take control of a variety of music services, you cannot use these voice assistants if the Home Speaker 500 does not support a particular service (see Connections above). Google Play Music (now mainly switched to YouTube Music), Apple Music and Tidal are examples of services that none of the Home Speaker 500 wizards can control.

Our opinion

At its new lower price of $ 300, the Bose Home Speaker 500 costs the same as the Apple HomePod and Google Home Max, two very good smart speakers. But with Bluetooth, line-in, a full color display and a choice of voice assistants, it offers more value than these two products and also sounds amazing.

Is there a better alternative?

For $ 200, the Sonos One delivers great sound and supports almost every streaming service on the planet. It doesn't have the ultra-wide stereo sound stage, Bluetooth, AUX input, or chic color screen of the Home Speaker 500, but it has the best multiroom audio system we've ever used. It's still our top rated smart speaker for a reason.

If you're on board with Bose and want to take over the smart speaker experience but prefer to pay a little less, the $ 200 Bose Home Speaker 300 loses the color screen and wide stereo sound, but retains all other functions.

How long it will take?

Bose builds great products that usually last a long time. It only applies to the Home Speaker 500 with a one-year warranty, although this is standard for similar products from other companies.

Should you buy it

Yes. The Bose Home Speaker 500 combines beautiful design with flexibility of the voice assistant and an expansive stereo sound, which is characterized by its slim body. The color screen is also a nice touch. Android users should be aware of the lack of Chromecast as a Wi-Fi streaming option, but Apple users should be more than happy with AirPlay 2 as a Bluetooth alternative.

Editor's recommendations

02 Jul

Blog

A Miracle of Persistence and Courage

July 2, 2020
Posted by Samson