20 Sep
Blog

Tribit StormBox Micro Review: River-Tested, Ears-Approved

Tribit StormBox Micro speaker

"The StormBox Micro is durable, sounds great, and is remarkably affordable."

  • IP67 weather resistance

  • Exceptional Bluetooth range

  • Good sound quality

  • Lightweight, portable design

  • Boring aesthetics

  • Battery could be better

A number of events happened in near perfect sequencing: One weekend, I rediscovered my love of river swimming, a relaxing, socially remote activity that is considered one of the most enjoyable activities on a warm summer Sunday afternoon. The main missing ingredient was good, easy-to-hear music. I had bluetooth speakers but none that I would safely take near the water.

When my editor announced over the next week that I'd be editing the Tribit StormBox Micro portable bluetooth speaker for $ 50, I couldn't wait to get started.

Out of the box

The packaging, like the speaker itself, is quite small. Accordingly, the contents of the packaging are minimal; There is the StormBox Micro, a USB-C charging cable and a quick guide. That's essentially it, and frankly, that's all you really need.

StormBox MicroNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The setup process is almost non-existent. Simply turn on the speaker using the button on the side of the Micro, hold the Bluetooth button next to it for two seconds and the Micro will go into pairing mode. From there, you'll know the exercise: find the speaker in your device's bluetooth settings, connect and enjoy your music.

I put the micro at one end of my back yard and walked as far as my property would allow, and the micro kept pumping out music without interference.

The StormBox Micro is equipped with Bluetooth 5 technology, and Tribit claims it supports a range of 100 feet. While I can't confirm this exact number, I can say the range is impressive. I put the micro at one end of my back yard and walked as far as my property would allow, and the micro kept pumping out music without interference.

design

Stop it if I've said this before, but the StormBox Micro is small. The square speaker is 3.87 "by 3.87" and about 1.4 ". It weighs around 10 ounces, which is harder to understand, heavier than your standard smartphone, but no bulkier than a crowded wallet. In other words, the dimensions of the Micro call for portability.

StormBox MicroNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The aesthetics of the Micro aren't great. In fact, I'd say it's downright boring, with a fluted mesh cover on top and the Tribit logo sitting right in the middle. Even so, I'd also say that aesthetics shouldn't be an issue for most of the people interested in this speaker. You should focus more on its durability, and the Micro feels like it can take a beating. And from my experience it can. I dropped it as I crossed a steep bank on the way to the river, but I was able to retrieve it, dust it off, and keep jamming like nothing had happened.

There are three controls on the top of the speaker: volume up, down and a multifunction button. The volume buttons do exactly what you think, and the multi-function button can pause and skip tracks, activate your smart assistant, or navigate phone calls. Yes, you can answer, decline, and switch between two different phone calls with this $ 50 bluetooth speaker.

The Micro also has a tear-resistant strap that, according to Tribit, can be used to attach the speaker to your bike or backpack. It's a bit small to be universal, but it's flexible and I looped it through a strap on my hiking backpack with no problem. To be clear, I didn't use the micro while hiking. Please don't be the person who blows up Cardi B while hiking.

properties

For most people, this will be the most important part of this review. The fact is, you can buy an unlimited number of bluetooth speakers, many of which will give you pleasantly decent sound for a similar price. However, if you're looking for something that can handle the elements and take on the constant influence of an outdoor lifestyle for hours on end, the options are dramatically limited.

StormBox MicroNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The StormBox Micro has IP67 weather resistance that protects it from dust and immersion in up to a meter of water. To test the limits of this speaker, I took the Micro out on the river with a few friends. It was on a rope at the edge of our raft and kept absorbing water as we paddled away from rocks and sharp sticks. I stopped dropping the Micro underwater because of concerns about both the buoyancy of the speaker and the depth of the river, but it got thoroughly soaked and didn't miss a beat during our swim.

You'll want the USB-C charging cable ready for a multi-day camping trip, but the Micro has just the right amount of juice for a full day of fun.

The Micro also has a claimed eight hours of battery life, which is reasonable for a speaker of this size. The micro provided us with constant music for two consecutive swimming rides and the subsequent barbecue. You'll want the USB-C charging cable ready for a multi-day camping trip, but the Micro has just the right amount of juice for a full day of fun.

Audio quality

I'm not going to tell you that the Micro is capable of things that are physically unlikely for a speaker of its size. If you're looking for a larger than life sound, try the Ultimate Ears Hyperboom. If you're looking for more high-fidelity sound with the same weather resistance, try the Marshall Emberton or even the Sonos Move.

StormBox MicroNick Woodard / Digital Trends

If you're looking for a pocket-sized speaker that plays louder (and clearer) than seems possible for something this small, you've come to the right place. The Micro delivers decent bass, especially for its size, despite not rattling your raft. It sounds pretty clear and doesn't distort at high volumes. Speaking of high volume, this may not be the speaker of choice for a high octane house party. But did we meet some Beastie Boys or Zac Brown Band every time we passed spectators on the bank of the river? You bet we made your bluetooth.

The cutest part of the Micro's sonic capability for me is the ability to pair with another Micro to create a stereo soundstage. This stereo mode – or party mode as Tribit calls it – is activated after you hold down both Bluetooth buttons on your Micro at the same time for five seconds. The result greatly improves the audio mentioned above, doubling the volume and bass capabilities. After all, that's how music should be listened to, and I think such a setup would be far more ideal for a hangout in the back yard or weekend camping by the lake. The only downside is that it will only cost you twice as much.

To my surprise, it's actually pretty decent for phone calls when you need this feature. The mic on the mic isn't great, but I wouldn't expect it anyway. In short, this is not a speakerphone for answering calls, but you can do it effectively when needed. That is more than we can say for the Marshall Emberton.

Our opinion

The StormBox Micro does not sell itself. It appears to know what type of consumer it is intended for and it checks all the boxes required. It's durable, it sounds good, and it's remarkably affordable for what it offers.

Are there any better alternatives?

The $ 100 UE Wonderboom has a better battery life of 10 hours, but worse weather resistance (IPX7). Same goes for the $ 100 JBL Flip 4, which has a 12 hour battery life and an IPX7 rating. Does more battery but less protection justify doubling the cost of the Micro? I would say it all depends on what you are using your bluetooth speaker for. The new river bum in me would choose better resistance to the elements.

How long it will take?

Tribit offers an 18-month replacement guarantee, a 30-day money-back guarantee and lifetime support for the product. In combination with an IP67 weather resistance, the StormBox Micro doesn't seem to fail anytime soon.

Should you buy it?

Yes. There are bluetooth speakers with better sound and improved battery packs, but for a $ 50 package that offers great weather resistance, good sound, and convenient portability, the StormBox Micro is impressive value for money.

Editor's recommendations




19 Sep
Blog

Instant Pod Review: A Simple Way To Start Your Mornings

Instant Pod

Instant Pod coffee and espresso machine

"Nothing is easier, more user-friendly and space-saving than the Instant Pod."

  • Space saving design

  • Bride quick coffee

  • Minimal maintenance

  • Large water tank

  • No way to dispense more water

The small appliance manufacturer Instant Brands, which is known for its exquisite line of instant pots, conquers the market for slow cookers and pressure cookers and branches into the world of coffee preparation. The Instant Pod comes at an irresistible price point of $ 119 and looks extremely enticing as a 2-in-1 system. He can prepare both coffee and espresso in one user-friendly machine. With this combination, other popular brewers are sure to run for their money.

Easy to use

I might not be a coffee snob, but coffee is the first thing I have on my list every morning before I start work. With that in mind, I prefer something that is quick and easy and doesn't need a lot of tidying up afterwards. You know what? The Instant Pod is the kind of machine I need to get started because brewing a cup of joe is so easy and straightforward.

Instant Pod dispenses coffeeJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

Whether you prefer coffee or espresso, it has you covered because it can brew both. When you open the top lid, two compartments become visible, one for coffee over one of your favorite K-cup trays and the other for espresso over the spherical capsules from Nespresso. Whatever you prefer, you slide it in, close the lid, put your mug / mug in the appropriate place, and then choose a drink size. You have three options for coffee: eight, ten or twelve ounces. For espresso fillings, you also have three to choose from: two, four, or six ounces. That's it!

In less than a few minutes, you'll have a fresh cup of coffee or espresso to wake you up – and there's little to do! Sure, a few drops may splash inexplicably, but you can remove the plate from the base and rinse it off quickly. Thanks to its simplicity and ease of use, you can still be half awake and make a cup of coffee with ease.

Great taste

Coffee snobs will argue over what is the best brewing method to get the richest and boldest taste of your coffee, but the K-cup I brewed came out exactly how I like it. There is no harsh or bitter taste. Despite the injection of hot water into the plastic cup, the result is no different from any other Keurigs I've used in the past – and that goes for reusable K-cups with their own grind, too.

Instant Pod Review holds cuoJohn Velasco / Digital Trends

If you prefer espresso drinks, the Instant Pod does the job with almost any of the original Nespresso capsules. It should be noted, however, that it will not accept Vertuo capsules (due to the slightly more elongated shape). The only missing option with the Instant Pod is the ability to manually dispense hot water. If you just want to add a little more water to dilute the drink, there is no option here for that.

The design saves space

Compared to the first Keurig single-cup coffee mug I used, the Instant Pod is space-saving with its slim design, although it is a bit deep in terms of front-to-back measurement. Even so, the all-plastic construction feels solid and includes a pull-out tray for this espresso brew. In addition, used Nespresso capsules are disposed of in a compartment inside the machine so that you do not have to take them out after each infusion.

It's a low maintenance machine that I love.

If you're the kind of person who drinks a cup of coffee every day, the Instant Pot is more than enough to get you through a work week. This is because there is a 68-ounce water tank in the back of the coffee maker that can be removed for quick and easy refills and cleaning. Like I said, it's a low-maintenance machine that I love.

Our opinion

One-cup coffee drinkers will absolutely fall in love with the Instant Pot, even more so if it can brew either coffee or espresso. The price is accordingly $ 119, making it an easy investment that will keep you powered up in the morning.

How long it will take?

While it's mostly made of plastic, there's little to worry about as it will remain stationary wherever you place it. If you are worried about something going wrong, such as For example, the touch-sensitive control panel comes with a one-year limited warranty that covers manufacturing defects.

Is there a better alternative?

Yes, but you won't find the same space-saving design, ease of use, and minimal cleanup that the Instant Pod offers. Other combo machines that can be used to brew coffee and espresso are also expensive, costing easily over $ 200. They are also more traditional breweries, which can be more complicated to operate.

Should you buy it?

Absolutely. You get the best of both worlds without having to spend a fortune.

Editor's recommendations




19 Sep
Blog

Tranya T10 earbuds review: Cheap, But Crystal Clear

tranya t10 earbuds review 5

"Tranya joins the house keepers making surprisingly good earphones at affordable prices."

  • Excellent sound quality, especially in highs

  • Excellent call quality

  • Wireless charging

  • Great battery life

  • Cheap feeling, slippery plastic

  • Bulky design

  • Badly fitting earplugs

Tranya is one of those companies that has virtually no brand awareness but produces a range of affordable audio products. You know, any of those Amazon-based companies that are clearly using pictures with their earbuds that photoshops stuck in models' ears? But can you blame a company for being budget conscious when they make full-featured products for under $ 100?

Not me, especially if you're getting value for money. Do the Tranya T10s deliver?

What's in the box?

Tranya's packaging is simple yet elegant. It's a nice package for budget earphones. The full cardboard box (except for the plastic wrap that seals it) contains an instruction manual, a USB-A to USB-C charging cable, two additional earbuds and the buds themselves, which are in an extruded plastic tub.

This plastic tub is glued to the cardboard so the average consumer won't bother to separate it. Since the plastic is almost certainly not recyclable, this packaging is not particularly sustainable overall.

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The instruction manual that came with the buds is rich in information which was a nice surprise. I've seen quite a few user guides lately that at first glance seem bulky and full of information until you open them only to find that they just contain the same basic warnings and warranty information in 50 languages. This contains both written and pictorial explanations of all functions of the buds and their use. It made commissioning with the T10s quick and easy.

Some drawbacks? The charging cable is weirdly short. At this point, it is likely that there will be a longer cord sitting around the house somewhere. However, if you are forced to use this cable, I am sorry, but it will be uncomfortable. Also, Tranya only includes two extra sizes of ear tips, which is below average (more on this below).

Build quality

Due to the short cord and lack of earplugs, the overall build quality of the Tranya T10 is the weakest point of the earbuds. The case feels light and thin, although it offers solid battery life (more on that later). It and the buds themselves are made of a lightweight, shiny plastic that just feels very cheap.

That's not to say they're cheap or thin, they just feel that way. I'm sure they are just as sturdy as any earbud. They will break if you step on them or throw them against a wall, but in daily use I don't think they're particularly prone to damage.

The buds feel slippery thanks to their shiny plastic. If you take a moment and look at the buds, you will see a line where two pieces of plastic have been molded together. It's such little things that lead to a general feeling of general disapproval with the build.

Appearance and comfort

As mentioned earlier, the inclusion of just two extra earbuds is below average and makes it difficult to find a comfortable fit for the T10. I have particularly small ear canals, so even the small size was too big for me to have a snug yet comfortable fit. Your mileage will vary, but we would have preferred if more sizes were included here.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Overall, they qualify as “good” in terms of comfort. I've never had the moment where I forgot to wear them – I was always very aware that I had buds – but I managed to overcome the slight discomfort of having earplugs that were a little too big for my ears and just enjoying the music for a couple hours. I'm finally fed up with it, my ear canals are too tired to wear them any longer but you, too, might be different.

The buds are very light, which means that even though they have the Frankenstein monster's neck stud design, they don't feel like they're popping out of my ears. However, I will say that they are not the most attractive buds. They do the job, but the Soundpeats Truengine SE might be a better choice if you're looking for an inexpensive pair of buds that won't attract too much attention.

properties

The Tranya T10 doesn't offer any special features, especially for the price. These include wireless charging, aptX compatibility, IPX7 weather protection and touch controls. The buds can be charged via USB-C, but they are also compatible with wireless charging, a feature we don't see even on buds, which are many times more expensive. The case has four LEDs on the front that indicate the charging status. This is a useful visual representation.

If your phone supports this (sorry iPhone users) the T10s will be compatible with aptX which means it will have higher quality audio streams, especially from sources like Tidal. I'll explain what this means for quality below, but it's great to see this support come in affordable buds like this one.

The Tranya T10 doesn't offer any special features for the price and includes wireless charging, aptX compatibility, IPX7 weather protection and touch controls.

These buds are sealed to the IPX7 specification, which means they have some protection from water but not dust. That's not to say you should let these run under the sink, although a gentle submerge in water no deeper than 1 meter for no more than 30 minutes should be fine. The above instruction manual shows the buds that are used in swimming. I do not recommend this.

Not only are you going to spend a hell of a time holding them in your ear as water rushes past them, since they don't have over-ear hooks or even tiny wings to keep them in place. IPX7 only protects one object from submersion and the pressure of the water flowing against them likely causes them to give way faster than if they just sat in the water.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

The touch controls have what Tranya calls accidental pressure protection, so none of the controls can be activated with a single quick touch. Play / pause is a single tap, skipping songs is a triple tap, and changing the volume is a double tap. If it were up to me I would have swapped the last two and made the volume a triple tap and skipping a double tap. Not very intuitive, but you can learn them easily enough.

Audio quality

I have to say, the Tranya T10s make up for their lackluster build quality, which I can only call great sound quality. These little buds sound amazing when plugged into an aptX compatible device (like an Android phone).

You won't get a chattering bass with these, but it's strong and good enough to please buyers in the under $ 100 market.

If you use the AAC codec that you get with an iPhone, you will get audio quality that is “good enough”. The mids and highs are there, with the vocals sounding particularly crystal clear. The lows are there, but not strong or detailed. In many songs, they can sound hollow and unbalanced, resulting in a slightly less enjoyable rendering of your favorite song. Still good, but you heard better.

My jaw dropped … I was hit by rich, relatively balanced, warm music with a surprising soundstage

However, switch to a device that can take advantage of the Qualcomm chip in those buds and be amazed. They're remarkably balanced for the price. My jaw actually dropped when I switched to my Android phone when I was hit by rich, relatively balanced, warm music with a surprising soundstage. It won't compete with buds like the Jabra Elite 75t or the Anker Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro, but these buds are twice as expensive and cost more than the Tranya T10, and for the money, they beat their weight bracket well.

The acoustic version of Somebody by Dagny demonstrated the excellent voice reproduction of the T10, with the mids and highs beautifully rendered. When the piano comes in, these lows join the party and bring a well-rounded experience. I was shocked how strong the bass line came through in You! from Lany. It had a considerable reverberation and put a big smile on my face. Other tracks with strong lows were equally impressive.

Nonetheless, the more nuanced bass in No Time for Caution by Hans Zimmer is decently projected, but a little muddy than I would like. The T10s struggle when tasked with reproducing details at these lows. Even so, the sound quality produced for $ 70 is strikingly good.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Battery life

The Tranya T10 are rated for 8 hours per charge, plus three extra charges, and I can confirm this in my tests. Without an app, it's hard to get an accurate picture of how much life is left either in your buds or in your case (even though you have LED indicators on the case), but you should get a lot of life out of it between charges. I certainly had no problem keeping this going all day.

The T10s also support a quick charge function. 10 minutes in that case gives you an hour of playtime. It's not nearly the best, but at least it's there.

Call quality

Tranya markets the T10 with "crystal clear calls" on the box, and I always doubt that claim, especially with earbuds.

I'm surprised again because these buds offer the best voice quality of any personal audio device I've tested at any price. I usually call my mom, who is very sensitive to noise, and let her give me her opinion. She said she could only recommend two other devices that make me sound better: the Samsung Galaxy Buds Live and the Montblanc MB01 headphones. One of these is $ 170 and the other is $ 595. She liked the call quality of the Tranya T10 so much that I had to buy my father a pair.

These buds offer the best voice quality of any personal audio device I've tested at any price

This is as bright for a call quality check as I can imagine, and on my ends the voices sound super clear too. I had no problem having long conversations with these buds and my only wish was to have a passthrough mode so I can hear my own voice a bit better. The noise isolation is pretty good on these – not the best as the Liberty 2 Pro are currently my top pick for noise isolation only, but still good – so it can be annoying to hear the sound of my voice coming out of my head.

When you get over it, you'll love this one for making calls (and the ones you talk to too).

Our opinion

For $ 70, the Tranya T10 earbuds offer great value. They offer exactly what earphones should do – they offer great sound – but they also offer a number of additional bonus features that make them convince. I'm not particularly keen on the build quality, design, or physical customization options, but when you're making buds this cheap you have to cut costs somewhere.

Here's the thing, though: their regular price sets them up against the excellent Soundcore SpiritX buds, and that's where I lean towards the SpiritX. However, we saw the Tranya T10s drop to just $ 37 on Amazon as two active sales work together, making them one of the leading providers of features and sound quality at this price point. If you see these for sale, they are absolutely worth checking out.

Are there any better alternatives?

The Soundcore Spirit X2 are going to be the better buds for workout and sound quality, though at $ 80 they are slightly more expensive if the T10 are offered at full price. For $ 40, the Soundpeats Truengine SE has a better design and good sound quality, but it lacks the wireless charging and calling quality of the Tranya T10. For even less money, the JLab Go Air might not sound too good, but it's better for training and only costs $ 30.

However, if the Tranya are discounted below $ 40 it will be hard to beat what they offer.

How long will they last?

Tranya offers a one-year limited warranty (which can be extended to 15 months if you register the earbuds within two weeks of receipt) and a 30-day money-back guarantee for any reason. While I'm not a huge fan of the build quality, they'll be fine for everyday use for at least a couple of years. However, lithium batteries deteriorate over time. Therefore, expect battery life to decrease with age.

Should you buy it?

Yes, especially when you can snap them up at a discount. The Tranya T10 are worth the full $ 70 thanks to great sound, great call quality, and loads of bonus features. However, when they are almost halfway ready to be picked up, they are a breeze.

Editor's recommendations




18 Sep
Blog

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus Review: Awesome Tablet For Video

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 plus review

"Once you watch videos on the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus tablet, you don't want to go back to anything else."

  • Amazing screen for video

  • Very powerful

  • Long battery life

  • S pen pen included

  • No wireless charging

  • Android still doesn't do very well on tablets

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is a terrible trailblazer for bad habits. Look away now when trying to cut down your TV time as you will want to see a lot more after you buy. It doesn't matter what you want to see as pretty much everything looks and sounds amazing.

However, super video quality is just one reason to buy an expensive tablet and compete against the best high-priced tablet right now, the 2020 iPad Pro, there is much more that needs to be done. Because of this, I start the same way I did my iPad Pro review by writing this review on the Galaxy S7 Plus.

Hardware and design

The Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is huge and has a 12.4-inch screen. With the keyboard accessories attached, it's the size of a laptop and much larger than the 11.9-inch iPad Pro with the Magic keyboard we tested. It is a widescreen tablet with an aspect ratio of 16:10, so it is considerably wider in landscape mode. It's a device that always feels happier in landscape mode than it does in portrait mode. In practice this means that it is much better to watch movies horizontally than to browse books vertically or to read while lying in bed.

At just 5.7mm, it's very thin and the angular edges give it a modern and stylish look. The weight of 575 grams (1.27 pounds) is manageable and evenly distributed across the tablet so that it does not become unwieldy or tiresome. If the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is used exclusively as a tablet, it makes more sense, as it becomes uncomfortable with the keyboard cover attached.

When you hold it in portrait orientation, the volume rocker and power button are on the right side, top and bottom are speakers and a USB-C port. It doesn't have a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the back, a black stripe extends under the camera module, which hides a magnetized holder for the S Pen, which serves as a wireless charging point for the device. It's a neat solution, but it prevents the tablet from laying flat on your back when you attach it. But kudos to Samsung for including the S Pen in the box.

I like the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. It looks ultra-modern, the brushed metal case is classy and high quality, the screen bezels are slim, and everything is beautifully built as you'd expect. Tablets don't have to turn heads with their design, but they do need to look stylish and modern on a coffee table or when pulled out of the pocket, and the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus delivers it with ease.

Screen and video

The 12.4-inch Super AMOLED screen has a resolution of 2800 x 1752, a dynamic refresh rate of 120 Hz, HDR10 + support and, to absolutely no surprise, is insane. There is life, vibrancy, color and detail everywhere, and the high refresh rate makes it very easy on your eyes.

In the media, the Tab S7 Plus excels, and the resolution allows you to watch videos at 1440p, which I miss a lot when watching videos on the iPad Pro. I've found that I've been using Samsung's Video Enhancer mode for brightness and color more on the tablet than on the Note 20 Ultra because it really makes videos disappear from the screen.

This is how the carfection test of the Porsche 911 Targa looks fabulous. Such razor-sharp whites, eye-catching greens and with a resolution of 1440p also breathtaking levels of detail. The already atomic colors in Red Velvet's monster video are enhanced, and the amazing graphics look practically beyond the world at 1440p.

It almost didn't matter what I saw on the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, it's a great viewing experience. The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime? Dreamy. Paranormal Lockdown with its monochrome, loud night vision shots? Crisp and atmospheric. Even a relatively low-resolution episode of Wheeler Dealers from 2018 looked fine, despite not benefiting at all from the Video Enhancer mode.

Four speakers on the edge of the tablet ensure an impressive, surprisingly centered sound. Tuned by Samsung's own audio experts AKG, the vocals and speech are clear and defined, but the sound lacks deep bass. This is a minor point of contention, however, and the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus's ability as a video entertainment device is top-notch.

Other media? I found the tablet a bit too big for reading e-books lying down – it's like putting a small TV in bed – but good for more visual media like comics. After watching my regular rotation of videos on the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, I no longer wanted to watch them on my laptop or iPad. It really is that good.

software

Samsung's OneUI 2.5 installs alongside Android 10 and is very similar to the software found on the latest phones. This means that it is colorful with big icons, a very recognizable design, and a neat settings menu. The usual Android functions – for example a dark mode, gestures and the notification shadow – are all available and work quickly and reliably.

Problems arise with app support, as many (daring most) Android apps don't scale very well on a tablet screen and others don't work very well with the Tab S7 Plus keyboard or multi-windowing support. Twitter, Pocket Casts, Amazon, Google Drive, Strava, and so many other popular apps look terrifyingly bad in the landscape. They either enlarge the content dramatically to fit the screen, or slide it to one side with an unused blank surface next to it. Some apps even force you into portrait mode, which is incredibly frustrating.

The keyboard accessory trackpad is not fully supported by major productivity apps like Google Docs. For example, double-clicking text to highlight words does not work. In some cases, it's better to just reach up and touch what you need. With this full-featured keyboard and trackpad, you can get by with more web-based workflows. If you want to do all of your work on the tablet, it helps to be in the Microsoft ecosystem. It syncs Samsung Notes with OneNote and Outlook, for example, and the Outlook app actually looks pretty good here. Since I use a Mac with Pages and sometimes Apple's Notes app, the iPad fits my workflow better.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 plus review screenshot 20200917 165011 Twitter

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 plus review screenshot 20200917 164843 Twitter

Multitasking is strong and offers the ability to run three apps at the same time. Everything looks simple thanks to the power of the tablet. Chrome and Gmail work very well even when YouTube is running in a small pop-up window. If you're running an app in full screen mode, you can drag a multitasking app launcher to a tab on the right edge of the screen with the click of a mouse and drag out the app you want. It can be dragged to the left or right for a 50/50 split, or floated in the middle to make it a pop-up window. However, not every app supports split view or popup. So it is a bit of trial and error until you remember who can do what.

The 50/50 split view fixes many of the app scaling issues and brings them into the phone-like aspect ratio that you would expect. You can also drag the handle between the apps to resize them to whatever compromise you want. On such a large screen, you can easily do a 70/30 split and have a smaller tablet-sized app alongside a phone-sized app without feeling cramped.

Entering multiscreen mode is more tedious than multitasking activation in iOS, but I like the little icon that appears on the screen when you gently exit a pop-up and are ready to bring it back to front when required. It's great for playing YouTube in the background and still accessing it quickly when needed.

If you want a more focused work mode, there's Samsung DeX, which turns the tablet into a laptop environment with a familiar desktop layout, customizable windows, and a distinctly Windows 10-like design. The performance is great too without slowing down multiple apps running. Despite warnings, the tablet may get warm, but I didn't notice it. However, you need a really good keyboard and trackpad to take advantage of DeX.

I couldn't be satisfied with working on the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. At least not for long periods of time, and I'd only go for the iPad Pro and Magic Keyboard if I thought my tasks were going to take more than 30 minutes. Most of this is due to apps that don't perform very well and keyboard issues, which I'll talk about below.

camera

It is a dual-lens camera on the back of the tablet with a 13MP main lens with a f / 2.0 aperture and an ultra wide-angle lens with 5MP f / 2.2. This is a tablet. So don't expect camera performance to be the same as the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra or even phones that cost half the price like the Pixel 4a. The photos taken are acceptable, but cannot handle shadows or low-light conditions well, tend to be oversaturated, and indoor photos may lack detail. However, it doesn't matter how often the camera is used for anything beyond the basics.

The selfie camera is 8 MP and performs well on video calls. Plus, the Live Focus portrait mode took decent bokeh-style photos. Placing it above the screen in landscape mode works well for zoom conferencing and video calls with friends because the angle is more natural than when the lens is placed on the side bezel. Overall, the camera does a good job for a tablet.

Performance, safety and battery

The Galaxy Tab S7 Plus has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus chip and either 6 or 8 GB of RAM, depending on whether you buy the basic version with 128 GB or the more powerful model with 256 GB or 512 GB.

Here are the benchmark tests:

3DMark Sling Shot Extreme: 6343 (volcano)

Geekbench 5: 961 single core / 2758 multi core

These are above the results of the Galaxy Tab S6, but slightly below the Asus ROG Phone 3, which also uses the Snapdragon 865 Plus chip. Playing on the tablet is great in terms of performance, but the size of the tablet means the case will dig into your palms after a short while, and I never wanted to play for hours. This is where the tablet's Xbox Gaming Pass feature comes in, which allows you to pair an Xbox controller and use the tablet as a screen. Given the stunning looks of the Tab S7 Plus screen, it can be a powerful gaming tablet, but only if you're willing to spend on the Xbox Pass and controller if you don't already have one.

An optical fingerprint sensor in the display is the most important biometric security measure, but not reliable enough. Almost every time I use it, it takes two or three times for the tablet to potentially unlock. The size of the tablet makes it quite difficult to aim the selfie camera when trying to use face unlock, which adds further delays. Accessing the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is frustrating, and most of the time I had to use my PIN number to unlock it because the biometric methods failed. Interestingly, the smaller Tab S7 uses a side-mounted capacitive fingerprint sensor instead.

It's a massive 10,090 mAh battery that powers the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. With medium to heavy use, it lasts two days. This includes light work, hours of video, some reading, and some games. The included 15W charger takes at least two hours to go from around 5% to full, and unfortunately there is no wireless charging, a feature I liked on the Huawei MatePad Pro. It is compatible with a 45W charger for faster charging. However, you have to buy one from Samsung.

Bookcover keyboard and S Pen

The so-called "book cover keyboard" is an optional accessory for the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. So should you pick her up? First, let's talk about the good things. The book cover area attaches to the back of the tablet with magnets, remains very secure and has a very versatile pull-out stand and convenient compartment to keep the S Pen pen securely while charging. The hinge holds at every angle and perfectly matches the brilliant media capabilities of the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus.

The keyboard also locks into place with magnets, but is separate from the book cover. Key travel is judged well, and the keys are well spaced for touch input, and the trackpad is a decent size. If you're just typing at one desk or table at a time, that's fine. If you want to type with the tablet on your lap, it is no good at all. The keyboard area is too floppy because it is attached to the tablet with some cloth rather than a hard hinge. And while the bookcover's angled stand is set so that the screen is facing you, the entire setup is just too big unless your thighs are about 3 feet long.

In that respect, it doesn't compare to the surprisingly compact 11.9-inch iPad Pro and Magic keyboard. The trackpad also isn't very responsive and can get confused easily if your finger is still on it when you click. I also found the buttons and trackpad quite loud. So not good? It's about what I expect from the average tablet keyboard case. It's great for brief flashes of light sitting at a desk or table, but not for pronouncing thousands of words in a variety of environments. The two-piece design is a winner, however, as you can remove the keyboard and still retain the ability to prop the tablet.

If you only want to use the Tab S7 Plus for media consumption, the $ 80 book cover is a good buy as it comes in a slightly different configuration with a screen cover if you don't receive the keyboard. However, at a whopping $ 230, the Bookcover Keyboard is a tough sell. That puts the entire package north of $ 1,000, right in the range of high-end laptops, without a keyboard experience that matches the laptop.

The S Pen comes with the tablet and does not need to be purchased separately. It works the same as the S Pen does on the Galaxy Note series phones, and connects to Bluetooth for a variety of functions, including activating the shutter button in the camera. The S Pen is mostly great. The menu is easy to use, the response time of 9 milliseconds makes typing on the screen very pleasant and the note taking system is really useful.

However, some features are difficult to activate. Writing screen-off memos requires a precise combination of pressing the S Pen button and tapping the screen. The fact that the S Pen has to be placed on its flat edge in order to properly attach to the back of the tablet and charge is annoying. That said, the palm rejection is top notch, and I could put my hand on the screen and still write with ease, which makes it suitable for artists too.

Price and availability

The Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab S7 Plus can now be pre-ordered from Samsung and Amazon. Shipping begins September 18th and starts at $ 850 or £ 799. If you want 5G, pay $ 1,050, or £ 999, and only get by with the 128GB model. The keyboard bookcover is priced at $ 115 when pre-ordered, but has a normal retail price of $ 230. The book cover alone costs $ 80.

Our opinion

If you are worried about video, gaming, online shopping or other fun activities while viewing the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, just put your money down and enjoy the great giant Samsung tablet. The book cover is worth the extra, but the keyboard implies that you might want to do some work and that, despite its size and high price, isn't really its forte.

Is there a better alternative?

The 2020 iPad Pro was the main competitor of the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus and a better alternative until the 2020 iPad Air arrived with the new Apple A14 Bionic processor and compatibility with the Magic Keyboard. It costs $ 599, which is $ 200 less than the $ 799 iPad Pro. There are major differences between the two, but both share the same great iOS 14 software and app selection.

Another thing to note is the smaller $ 650 Galaxy Tab S7. It's cheaper but doesn't have the S7 Plus' AMOLED screen, but an LCD. The bigger question is, do you have to spend that much on a tablet in the first place? The new 8th generation iPad costs $ 329 and has everything that the more expensive models can do, but with fewer high-tech features. For most, simply hooking up with a phone and laptop is probably more than enough.

How long it will take?

Age. The Galaxy Tab S7 Plus offers the same performance as a top smartphone without the same requirements being placed on it. Therefore it will last for many years. When you take it out into the world, note that it doesn't have a rugged body or any form of water resistance. You can also buy the 5G version of the Galaxy Tab S7 Plus if you envision your future usage changing.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Plus is a fantastic media-focused tablet. All you have to do is settle for the starting price of $ 850 and pay an additional $ 115 (or $ 230 if you buy from MSRP) for a keyboard.

Editor's recommendations




18 Sep
Blog

Edifier TWS NB2 Earbuds Review: Best in class

edifier tws nb2 earbuds review 1

"The Edifier TWS NB2 looks great, sounds great, and is full of value."

  • Incredible value

  • Great sound quality

  • Solid ANC performance

  • Great battery life

  • Nervous, appealing design

  • Responsive touch controls

  • No charge indicator on the housing

  • No wireless charging

  • Medium call quality

Updated on 09/17/2020 by Jaron Schneider: Edifier significantly reduced the price of the TWS NB2 earphones shortly after their availability in the USA. This changed our rating, including our final score.

We did not expect that Edifier would bring out the successor to the very good TWS NB earphones so quickly. We recently reviewed the first iteration and found that the $ 120 price tag (which recently dropped to $ 70, which makes it even more valuable) is pretty nice with minor complaints like mediocre battery life, bulky design, and uninspired behavior App.

And while I can't say that much has changed with the app, Edifier has been listening clearly when it comes to the buds themselves. With an all-new design, improved active noise cancellation, longer battery life, and even more features, while the price has been cut to $ 100, it's clear Edifier was listening to critics.

The Edifier TWS NB2 earbuds have everything they want, making it clear that you shouldn't be spending more than $ 100 on a pair of excellent earbuds.

What's in the box

Edifier packed the TWS NB2 earbuds with very little fanfare. My box was even damaged a bit with the main cover sleeve unfortunately stuck to the inner box in such a way that I had to destroy it to get inside the packaging (so I can't share box pictures with them).

In this main box, the buds sit wrapped in foam, with three additional eartip sizes, a USB-C charging cable, a neat little drawstring bag, and a tiny (really tiny) instruction manual above it in a narrow insert. It's simple and effective, but not particularly sustainable (this type of foam is neither recyclable nor compostable).

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

The total number of the four earbud sizes also turns out to be below average, and personally I haven't found a supplied tip that fits me exactly. In contrast, Buds like the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro come with a total of nine eartip sizes, and almost every JLab set comes with at least six. It's a minor complaint, but since it's all cheap silicon, we'd like to see better here from Edifier.

design

I want to point out that it would have been okay if Edifier had decided to change the name of these buds to something other than the NB line, as these buds don't look like their predecessors. The case is completely different, as is the shape of the buds themselves.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Edifier did not repeat the original design. They blew it up and started over. I have to especially applaud the success here, considering how quickly this second generation hit the market – it was less than a year ago.

I know the "golf tee" look isn't popular with everyone, but it serves a purpose. Call quality improves due to the better position of the microphones and gives the buds more room for a bigger battery. And if you go for the golf tee, I think Edifier did it to make them look chic.

I can't stress enough how great the Edifier design is here.

I cannot emphasize enough how great Edifier's design is here. They took their original bulky, boring design and spiced it up with a whole new aggressive look that I totally like. What Edifier has done is nothing very revolutionary, but small changes to popular design choices that just showcase the entire product nicely.

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The case is pretty as expected with its rounded polygon shape, flip-up lid, and magnetic charge points that keep the buds in place. But Edifier gave the solid package a nice finishing touch with a faux leather exterior that is comfortable to the touch. Even the completely unnecessary cord pocket feels good. It's not your typical nylon, but a high quality woven canvas material.

Annoyingly, there is no way of telling how much battery life is left in the buds or in the case without using the app (more on that later in the app), but even then the app only shows the charge level in the buds. There's a little LED on the back next to the charging port that flashes at me, but I don't know what they're trying to tell me. There's another little LED in the case, but as far as I can tell it just tells me the buds are locked into place and charging. The lack of an easy way to determine the remaining battery life of the case seems like a huge oversight to me.

The original case of the NB earbuds has a series of LEDs that indicate the remaining charge in the case. Why this wasn't carried over to the new set is confusing.

properties

Edifier's original TWS-NBs were rather easy to use, but brought active noise cancellation into the very affordable price range of $ 120. With the TWS NB2s, Edifier added a huge list of new features and brought the price down to $ 100, an almost unheard-of combination of a company's actions.

First, let's talk about active noise cancellation. The ANC in the original buds was fine but relied entirely on feed-forward technology, which means the buds analyzed and muffled outside noise but couldn't tell how good they were with it. In the NB2s, Edifier added a second pair of microphones to the earbuds so they could better respond to noise by hearing what was still coming through. This is known as hybrid ANC and is common on high-end earphones, which generally cost twice what Edifier charges.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

The result is noise cancellation that has been vastly improved over the original and competes very well with other hybrid ANC systems, but still doesn't match the sheer soundproofing power of the big boys like the Sony WF-1000XM3, the Technics TWS, AZ70s, Apple AirPods Pro or Sennheiser Momentum 2s. But all four of these buds cost at least twice as much as the Edifier NB2 earbuds, and as such, the quality of the ANC on offer for the price makes them leaders in their class.

Edifier also added a proximity sensor that pauses the music when you take a bud out of your ear and picks it up again when you put it back. It works fine.

The quality of the ANC on offer for the price makes them leaders in their class.

The small physical buttons on the original NBs have been replaced with two touch sensors on each bud, and overall they're … okay. You can't control the volume or map them to your own specifications, but they work just fine. All controls require at least a double tap. This is a design option to prevent accidental tapping. However, some of the touch functions require a long tap that actually doesn't take that long, and I accidentally launched Game Mode and accidentally turned ANC on and off by just recording it. However, you can change the sensitivity of these features, which I also did and this problem has stopped appearing.

As I just mentioned, there is a "Game Mode" included which Edifier claims has extremely low latency so that you can react faster to the action on the screen. I don't play much with bluetooth and these earbuds won't change that: it just reduces the latency to 80 milliseconds, not nearly fast enough for fast-paced action.

For what it's worth, I didn't experience any latency while watching videos in regular listening mode, including videos from video game situations. Whether or not this feature is enabled, the buds here are solid.

Jaron Schneider / Digital Trends

All of these features come at a cost, however: the NB2 lose their predecessor's IPX4 water / dust resistance instead of a much less weatherproof IP54. These are not sealed against dust and only protect against light splash water, instead of the originals being completely submersible. Even so, IPX4 is perfectly acceptable for most earbuds, and the Edifier TWS NB2 are no exception.

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edifier tws nb2 earbuds review 11 "class =" m-carousel - image dt-lazy-no "src =" https://icdn5.digitaltrends.com/image/digitaltrends/edifier-tws-nb2-earbuds-review-11 - 640x640.jpg "srcset =" https://www.digitaltrends.com/data:image/gif;base64,https://www.digitaltrends.com/R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAJaron Schneider / Digital Trends

Edifier has an app that can be used with the NB2s, and it's … fine. You can use it to control little things like the sensitivity of the touch controls (ANC) and see the battery life remaining in each bud. It looks good but has very little function. I really wish it was possible to make EQ adjustments. This app was a complaint in the original NB rating and remains inconspicuous here to this day.

Battery life

The NB2 improves from the 5-hour playback time of the originals with active ANC to 8 hours per charge. In our tests, they actually took a little longer with the ANC active, around 8.5 hours. That's very good, almost double what the AirPods Pro offer, and is the equivalent of $ 230 for the Sony WF-100XM3 (though Sony's ANC is better).

With the ANC off, the original NBs were able to play for 11 hours before needing to be charged. Unfortunately, the NB2s are only designed for a service life of 9 hours. I got them to run for about 9.5 hours in my tests, but that's still not the previous mark.

The noise isolation is very good and it is likely that you do not need ANC to be active. 9.5 hours is still very impressive. It's just strange to see a regression here. Still, let's be clear that the battery performance here is very impressive and well above average.

You can charge an additional 18 hours when ANC is on and an additional 23 hours when the charging case is off.

Unfortunately, Edifier didn't say anything about a quick charge feature for these buds. However, you can fully charge them in just over an hour.

Audio quality

Edifier did a very good job with their original NBs when it came to sound quality and I'm happy to report that this is still the case with the NB2s. These have a surprising amount of bass. You won't chatter your teeth, but you can absolutely hear and appreciate those lows.

Overall, the sound quality is warm and accessible. They don't sound as good as the Soundcore Liberty 2 Pro, the Jabra Elite 75t, or the Sony WF-1000XM3 (three of our regular favorites for sound quality), but I prefer the sound quality over the Apple AirPods Pro. However, the TWS TB2 are cheaper than all four of these earbuds, with most of them well spaced. These are a great many of the best sounding buds you can get for the price.

I am pleased to report that the mix remains balanced across the volume range. Either at a low whisper or at maximum volume, the earphones never let one of the areas overwhelm another.

When I had a review, the soundstage is a bit tight. The highs don't get too much (which many who are sensitive to high highs will actually appreciate), and the lows are largely included too. However, the mids are well represented. Together, it's more like listening to a band at a house party than watching them perform at the Shoreline Amphitheater.

Again, the sound signature is different between NB and NB2 as Edifier blows up their original design instead of that design. Not remarkable, but you can tell. These feel like a completely different set of earphones, not a successor.

Call quality

As mentioned earlier, the golf tee shape of these buds tends to affect call quality. Unfortunately, this wasn't the case with the Edifier TWS NB2 earphones. They sound good, but the longer you speak, the longer you speak, the more distant and difficult they make your voice.

You can hear the other end of the line very clearly, but they didn't work as well as I'd hoped the voice would do. They are serviceable but not nearly class leading.

While the Edifier NB2s have an ambient mode that allows you to hear your own voice during a call, I wish it was a little better. You can hear outside noise, but the volume isn't as loud as I would like it to be.

Our opinion

Edifier fixed almost every complaint we had with the original TWS NB earbuds and went further to add more features and improved battery life. The thing is, we seem to have gotten these improvements at the cost of others.

The Edifier TWS NB2s are a bit of a head scratch in this way. The company seemed to have chosen to start over on this second generation rather than repeating the previous design. But maybe they threw the baby out with the bath water because the benefits we received are less potent thanks to the functions we lost. We have touch controls, a better design, longer battery life with the ANC active, a better ANC, and a smaller case, but they cost no charge indicator in this case, mediocre call quality, and poorer battery life with no ANC active (albeit) still above average ).

Instead of giving us a product, we can clearly say that it replaces the original. Instead, we have two products that still give us a reason to recommend one another depending on the application. Edifier doesn't just compete with the other great options with the TWS NB2 earbuds. They're also competing with their own, older product.

Are there any better alternatives?

A great alternative to the Edifier TWS NB2 earbuds is the Edifier TWS NB2 earbuds at $ 100, the price of which has dropped to $ 70. However, they have different functions. So if you want longer battery life without ANC, consider getting the original NBs. If you're into pretty much anything else, the NB2's are your best bet.

I think the best alternative at this point is the $ 99 JLab Epic Air ANC Buds, which have tons of features (if only with good ANC performance) and great sound control through their app.

How long will they last?

I'm impressed with the build quality of the NB2 and expect it to last until the lithium-ion battery degrades. Edifier also includes a 1 year limited warranty.

Should you buy it?

Yes. They sound great, they look a lot better, and they have added some features that I like. They are the best ANC you can get for the price too.

Editor's recommendations




18 Sep
Blog

Motorola One 5G Review: Best Bought With a Carrier Discount

Motorola One 5G

"The Motorola One 5G offers a huge display, helpful software and excellent battery life."

  • Huge 90Hz display

  • Exceptional battery life

  • Excellent software with nice features

  • Strong specs aside from 4 GB of RAM

  • Good main and macro cameras

  • Just a guaranteed software update

  • Sub-par ultra-wide front and rear cameras

  • Shiny plastic body that is prone to fingerprints

As high-end phones keep getting more expensive, well above $ 1,000, we've thankfully seen new value phones in the $ 400-700 range that offer an exceptional experience at a reasonable price. Motorola has always offered this type of offering with its Moto G line, albeit at a lower price, and has now begun moving up to this mid-range price with the Motorola One line.

The Motorola One 5G is the latest offering and a solid package for under $ 500 from AT&T and Verizon. Here's why you should consider this for your next phone.

Hardware, design and display

Motorola knows that big screens and big batteries sell phones if you're trying to get value for money. The One 5G is huge and has a 6.7-inch display. But it's interesting because it's incredibly large, with an aspect ratio of 21: 9, and not wide. Even with noticeably large bezels, it's narrower than the largest phones out there, like the Galaxy Note 20 Ultra – though it's actually taller than the Note.

Motorola One 5G

The extra high aspect ratio is great for seeing more of your Twitter feed, email inbox, or Instagram page, but it makes it really difficult to reach the top of the screen for the many apps that have buttons and Surface elements are still at the top. That's hook 22. The phone isn't big enough to carry a load in your pocket, but it can be awkward to get up with one hand. And I say that as a big person with big hands. My friend found the size of the phone absolutely weird.

The side-mounted fingerprint sensor built into the power button is also so high that you can't comfortably rest your thumb on it with the corner of the phone in the palm of your hand. This is a strange decision. And the volume rocker is even higher. These are definitely usability hurdles.

A big screen is great to look at, but difficult to work with – even if you have big hands.

The display itself is great for the money. It is very bright and colorful, completely usable in sunlight and has a refresh rate of 90 Hz, which makes movement pleasantly fluid. Colors get a little washed out at maximum brightness and darker off-axis, but those are minor issues with a phone under $ 500. If you are not used to the highest quality Samsung, Apple or OnePlus phone displays, you don't know what you are missing.

Motorola One 5G

For less than $ 500, don't expect a next-level design or material. And you don't get them in the Motorola One 5G. This is a shiny plastic phone. It looks pretty good, especially when the light hits the shimmering dot pattern and throws off rainbow reflections. But it feels as slippery as it looks, and it will never be fingerprint-free. The plastic feels thick and sturdy and I'm sure it will withstand drops and bumps for years. But it is prone to small scratches. It only took a few days for them to be strewn on my back.

Software, performance and battery life

Motorola has a good reputation as a software. It's great because it's 95% typical Android, no different from what Google has on their own phones, but with a little Motorola flair that makes the software more helpful and useful without adding weight or getting in the way. Motorola gestures are a treat. Make a chopping motion and the flashlight will come on. Flip the phone twice to launch the camera, turn the phone face down so as not to disturb it, and pick up the phone while it is ringing to silence it. It all works in a delightful way.

Motorola One 5G

The side-mounted fingerprint sensor also serves as a key combination. Gently double-tap it to open a context menu where you can open apps or tasks of your choice. These can be regular apps or certain functions in apps, e.g. For example, you can navigate directly home on Google Maps, write a tweet on Twitter, or create a reminder in Google Calendar.

The problem with the software is not what it is today, but what it will be in the future. Motorola only commits to one major software update which is Android 11 due to the unfortunate launch timing, not the Android 12 version from 2021. That means you will get a software update very soon and only in the future still sporadic small security updates. If you are interested in developing new features, this is not the phone for you.

Motorola One 5G

Since this is an AT&T branded phone, I need to take a moment to relieve the network operator of reloading this phone with an amount of bloatware that is offensive to the customer. In addition to the usual branded apps like AT&T Cloud and AT&T Smart Wi-Fi, you get numerous subpoenas like 1-800-Flowers, AMC-Theater, Bubble Island 2, DC Universe, NBA, Pet Rescue Saga, etc. A total of 25 additional apps are installed. Each one is rubbish and shouldn't be pre-installed on any phone. And I disabled every possible prompt during (and after!) Setup to install more. Stop it, AT&T.

The data sheet selects all the boxes except for the weak 4 GB RAM.

Luckily, you can work with 128GB of storage which I only used 35GB of after installing all of my usual apps and downloading loads of media. Motorola has a pretty tight suite of software (outside of that AT&T bloat) so there's plenty of room for your own data.

Elsewhere on the spec sheet, the Snapdragon 765 processor is a good price at this price point considering it can power devices up to $ 1,000 in some cases. This "midrange" chip is more than capable of handling anything you throw at it and has plenty of headroom that you can use for a few years. I can't say the same about the phone's 4GB of RAM, which feels stingy in 2020. I haven't come across excessive cases of apps killing in the background, but I know that 4GB is the bare minimum for running modern mobile games. Who knows how well this will do over time, even though the processor is more than capable.

Motorola One 5G

Motorola continues to focus on battery life and even says the One 5G can be charged for two days. I wouldn't go as far as everyone uses their phone differently, but this is a great battery for sure. After all, 5,000 mAh is a ton of capacity, and with these simple specs and software features, it can easily cope with even the toughest days and there's a lot left over. You might only plug it in at night like everyone does with every phone.

Cameras

The Motorola One has a familiar setup with a 48-megapixel main camera that uses 4-to-1-pixel binning to output 12-megapixel photos for greater light sensitivity. There is also 8MP to spice it up. Ultra-wide-angle camera with a 118-degree field of view as well as a dedicated 5-megapixel macro camera and a 2-megapixel camera for collecting depth information. It's busy and it's quite a sight on the back of the phone.

The main camera is good and easily produces photos worth sharing on social media with no changes. There's a simple color profile, and with HDR enabled it doesn't go overboard. Most of the time there is plenty of clarity and sharpness, but if you shoot towards the sky or hard light you can get soft edges and blown out highlights. The situation is different in poor lighting conditions: without OIS, this camera has no chance. The "Night" mode gives a basic impression of Google Night Sight, making the entire scene bright in daylight and dramatically improving sharpness and colors. But it's still not great. The camera works well in auto mode in mixed lighting or indoors.

However, the ultra-wide camera completely misses the mark. Yes, you get that great wide angle perspective, but every photo is incredibly soft, washed out, and generally just not easy on the eye. It's fine for a shot here and there, but there's such a big drop off from the main camera that it's a disappointment.

I expected the macro camera to be bad and was seriously surprised. This thing is good and super fun to take pictures with. In addition, 5MP offers sufficient resolution and actually has autofocus. You get a lot of details and the minimum focal length is extremely short. The ring light is over the top most of the time, but luckily the camera doesn't need it to get crisp and clear shots. I'm not sure how often people get interested in taking macro photos and maybe the money would have been better spent on a good ultra-wide camera, but I'm glad it's good as it's included.

motorola one 5g review img 20200916 111956507

motorola one 5g review img 20200916 111952371 hdr

The dual selfie cameras follow the same script as the rear cameras: the main camera with 16 MP is good, the one with 8 MP ultra-wide is not. If you can stretch your arm far enough to stay beyond the set focal length, the main camera will give you a balanced and relatively sharp photo. Par for the course. But the ultra-wide footage, which is supposed to keep you from going this far to get more landscapes or people into the frame, instead frustrates you by being washed out and soft all over – not great. Hold on to the main camera.

Our opinion

Motorola's take on the affordable midrange 5G phone segment is good, and the company continues to prove that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get a solid smartphone with many of the latest features and great software. For less than $ 500, you can get a good software experience with well-designed additions, although this is easily dented by AT & T's exceptional bloatware (and Verizon won't be much better).

The performance is great and everything looks fine on this large 90Hz display. The quality of the main camera is okay for the segment, and the additional macro shooter is fun. Plus, you can do everything without worrying about running out of battery before the end of the day.

The only real downside is the hardware, both in size and quality. The Motorola One 5G is just too big for a lot of people to be comfortably one-handed use, even though it's well suited to showing you more content in apps without scrolling. And the hardware just feels cheap from top to bottom. But of course there must be shortcomings and compromises at this price.

Is there a better alternative?

The Motorola One 5G is competitively priced, but at the same time is only available from AT&T and Verizon, which slightly limits its market. If you're looking for a phone to use on T-Mobile or prefer to buy it unlocked, there are good options.

The biggest competitor has yet to be officially announced, but it will soon be: Google's Pixel 4a 5G will be released on September 30th. All indications are that this larger version of the Pixel 4a with 5G connectivity will also be under $ 500. At this price point, I'd recommend the Pixel 4a 5G over the Motorola One 5G as it has a dramatically better camera and Google software that includes three years of guaranteed updates. If you aren't into 5G or have a big phone, the $ 350 base Pixel 4a is an incredible value.

In terms of phones that you can buy right now, Motorola actually has a competitor: the Motorola Edge. It's regularly reduced to $ 500, has 5G, and is much better overall in terms of specs and hardware as the MSRP is actually $ 700.

How long it will take?

There is no doubt that Motorola phones are rugged. With this thick plastic case, I'm not worried that the Motorola One 5G will last a few years from a hardware standpoint. The only question is the software.

Motorola guarantees an important software update, in this case Android 11, which unfortunately was released at the same time as this phone. This means that in the future you will only receive a few security-relevant software updates that Motorola cannot handle particularly well. The Motorola One 5G's software may leave you feeling left behind long before the hardware fails.

Should you buy it?

Yes. If you work at AT&T or Verizon and want a big 5G phone under $ 500, the Motorola One 5G is an excellent choice. Especially since airlines are expected to offer big incentives, with discounts on financing plans that could bring the price below $ 400 or even $ 300 in some cases. At this price point, this phone really stands out. However, if you're ready to buy (and put on sale) with the Motorola Edge or wait a few weeks with the Pixel 4a 5G, other options are yours.

Editor's recommendations




18 Sep
Blog

Yamaha SR-B20A Review: Still Good, But Less Of A Value

Yamaha B20a soundbar

"With the older YAS-109, the SR-B20A is difficult to sell in this price range."

  • Easy setup

  • Slim design

  • Great sound for movies and TV

  • Missing functions of older models

  • Average sound quality for music

The new affordable soundbar SR-B20A from Yamaha is a special product offering. According to Yamaha, this is a bar that builds on the success of the low-cost YAS line – and in some ways does just that. The B20A has a refreshing, slim design and maintains the coveted entry-level price.

While the most similar to the older YAS-108, the price of the $ 200 SR-B20A is similar to that of the YAS-109. Is it worth investing in the latest model from Yamaha as the older model is still available, often at a cheaper price than the B20A? Or is the company not only fighting against its own product offerings, but also against the entire budget soundbar landscape?

design

The design of the B20A has not changed significantly from the YAS-108 or YAS-109, at least not in its shape. In fact, the dimensions are nearly identical between the three, the main difference being that the older YAS-109 weighs about half a pound more.

Yamaha B20a remote controlNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The B20A has softened the slightly sharper edges of the YAS models and is wrapped in a more durable, more noticeable fabric. I liked it very much. My significant other can vouch for my audible reaction to the unpacking of the B20A and the fact that I held the seemingly sparkling soundbar in my hand for a moment to admire it, just as the father proudly looked at his coveted lamp in A Christmas Story .

I held the seemingly sparkling soundbar in my hand for a moment to admire it, just as the father in A Christmas Story proudly looked at his precious lamp.

Yamaha has simplified the top control panel of the soundbar and added larger LEDs for better visibility. While I didn't have a YAS internal soundbar to compare the differences, I'll say it was easy to see the indicators on the bar in a darkened living room without the LEDs interfering with the viewing experience.

The SR-B20A is still an all-in-one setup, following the example of the YAS-108 and YAS-109 by excluding an external subwoofer. Yamaha said it improved the design of the bar's built-in woofers, of which there are two, but we'll cross that bridge when we talk about sound quality. In addition, the SR-B20A has an easy-to-use remote control – and offers a remote control app – that is largely unchanged from previous models.

configuration

Part of Yamaha's marketing pitch with the B20A (and the more compact C20A) focuses on the soundbar's ability to effortlessly go beyond the living room. The idea was to provide a soundbar that was easy to set up and use in a wide variety of applications, and I think it nailed the simplicity of initial setup. The bar only requires power and a connection to an audio source, and while I think any soundbar should come with an included HDMI cable at this point, the included optical audio cable will be fine for most situations.

Yamaha B20A soundbarNick Woodard / Digital Trends

After you've freed the plastic pull-tab protecting the battery from the remote, there's not much left to do to prepare for B20A playback. One of the few benefits of a bar without Wi-Fi connectivity is the ability to jump right into the experience without first connecting the soundbar to your internet and downloading a firmware update. The B20A illustrates this. It's not exactly a compromise I'd like to make, but for those who don't need a soundbar connected, it means extra work.

links

When it comes to connectivity options, the B20A falls short when compared to its YAS elders. Both the YAS-108 and YAS-109 have a corresponding HDMI input and output as well as a digital optical input and an analog audio option. Oddly enough, the B20A took away one of the HDMI ports and added a second digital optical input instead.

Yamaha B20A soundbarNick Woodard / Digital Trends

I know what the justification for that choice is, and frankly there is a part of me that understands it. The step corresponds to the mantra “Beyond the living room” as well as optimized simplicity. Yamaha wants to make the plug and play process easier no matter where you use the B20A in the house. In theory, most users only need that single HDMI-ARC port to seamlessly connect their TV and soundbar. I get that. I just can't think of a situation where two different optical inputs would be more useful to the average person than two HDMIs. I'm sure there is, but I suspect it is rare.

In addition, as already mentioned, the B20A lacks Wi-Fi capability. I don't think this is a must have in $ 200 soundbars (yet) so I can't face the B20A too hard. However, the YAS-109 has WiFi and is currently still available on the Yamaha website at a discounted price of $ 180. When you add that the YAS-109 has Amazon Alexa built in, you wonder what you gain by buying a newer product for roughly the same cost.

When you add that the YAS-109 has Amazon Alexa built in, you wonder what you gain by buying a newer product for roughly the same cost.

To be as fair as possible to the B20A, it supports Bluetooth Multipoint and supports Amazon Alexa via Bluetooth and a separate Echo speaker like a Dot (or in my case a Flex). While useful and intuitive for a Bluetooth connection, problems can still arise. If the input of the soundbar is changed to HDMI, the Bluetooth connection between the Echo device will be broken and the sound will reset to the point. As a result, with all of these features already on board, as is the case with the YAS-109, the overall experience can't be beat. After spending a long time with the Alexa-enabled Samsung HW-Q800T, I preferred this integrated connection by far.

Sound quality

When we tested the YAS-109, we hailed it as one of the "Most High-Performance, Affordable Soundbars for Overall Fidelity." We found the soft mid-range, the clear high-end and the effective bass reproduction for a soundbar without a separate subwoofer.

Yamaha B20A soundbarNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Based on the time I've spent with the SR-B20A, I think this bar is very similar to this performance, at least when it comes to watching movies and TV. I was particularly impressed with the low level this bar could produce without a real subwoofer. It won't shake picture frames or rattle windows, but it compliments the rest of the soundstage well. If you're looking for a more pronounced low end, the bar has a subwoofer output so an active woofer can be added to the mix.

The remote's four main listening modes all had different sound profiles, although I focused on the movie mode for most of my content as it sounded the most natural to my ears. More notable were the bar's Clear Voice and DTS Virtual: X technologies, both of which have dedicated buttons on the remote control. Clear Voice was especially helpful in amplifying lower decibel dialogues like Tom Segura's voice on the YMH podcast. Meanwhile, DTS Virtual: X expanded the soundstage, adding depth to some bone-breaking scenes when films like Brawl were shown in Cell Block 99. It's not the same experience as physical surround sound and height channels, but I thought the sound processing would have had an overall positive impact on the content I watched, and I kept it for most of the time.

Playing music was a different experience for me. I don't think it was bad per se, but I think the listening experience was a bit hollow. The standard mode sounded more authentic than stereo in my view, but didn't help erase a generally less impactful sound across multiple musical genres. It may be due to the lack of supported audio formats – the YAS-109 supports WAV, FLAC and AAC formats, among others. Anyway, I've enjoyed music significantly more with bars like the Polk Audio Signa S3 or the Vizio V-Series, although it's important to note that each costs around $ 50 more.

Our opinion

While the Yamaha SR-B20A has tweaked its design, it ultimately retained the affordability and overall sound quality that made the YAS-109 a success. With the older bar still available and offering better features at a similar price point, the B20A is becoming a tough best seller in this price range.

Are there any better alternatives?

It's no longer a secret that the YAS-109, which retails for $ 220 but is available for $ 180 on the Amazon or Yamaha websites, offers better value. If you're looking to spend a few dollars more, the $ 250 Polk Audio Signa S3 is a better option for music, and the $ 250 Vizio V-Series replaces the Yamaha virtual surround experience with physical drivers.

How long it will take?

All technology is out of date at some point, but I don't think basic connections like HDMI or optical audio will go anywhere anytime soon. For a budget option, the B20A should hold on to its relatively versatile compatibility for a while.

Should you buy it?

Only if you want to get the latest soundbar Yamaha has available. The SR-B20A sounds great for movies and TV, and it looks pretty good too. However, this is not the value of the older version, especially if that version is still available.

Editor's recommendations




17 Sep
Blog

GoPro Hero9 Black Review: Two Steps Forward, One Back

"The Hero9 Black is as good as it gets, but its major improvements over the Hero8 have hardly any practical advantages."

  • Windshield

  • Larger rear window

  • Higher capacity battery

  • Supports Max Lens Mod

  • 24MP still images

  • More bulky compared to Hero8

  • 5K video feels pointless

  • Incompatible with Hero8 Media Mod

The GoPro Hero9 Black is here and in some ways it's a bigger leap forward than I expected. It brings the first new sensor in several generations and adds a front LCD screen. There is also a new Max Lens Mod accessory that gives the camera a near hemispherical field of view.

But I have to ask myself. Will anyone really care?

On my last GoPro test for the Hero8 Black, a viewer commented something like, "You still do these things? I thought they stop around the Hero4." It's a feeling that not just casual gamers on YouTube Even my editor was shocked when I told him I was reviewing the Hero9, he'd just been talking about the Hero5 and suddenly realized that it was referencing a camera that was four generations out of date.

After spending some time with the $ 450 Hero9 Black, I'm still not sure where I stand. It's hands down the most powerful action camera yet, but some of the changes are controversial – even frustrating.

Function over form

The Hero8 Black was a big deal. It introduced the first physical redesign of GoPro's popular line of action cameras in several generations, making it smaller, slimmer and integrating the mount directly into the camera.

The Hero9 Black undoes a large part of it.

It is heavier than the Hero8 and larger in every dimension, although it retains the built-in bracket and also comes out a bit smaller than an older Hero7 in its required mounting frame. The detachable lens cover that was removed from the Hero8 to keep the camera slim returns. This enables the support of the Max Lens Mod mentioned above, but also makes the Hero9 look more like a Hero7. The result is a camera that looks out of date when seen next to the Hero8.

GoPro has at least made the most of the Hero9's extra space by adding a higher capacity battery, enlarging the rear LCD screen and of course adding a front LCD screen. Overall, it involves more hardware changes than I would have expected for a camera line that was completely redesigned a year ago.

However, some features have been compromised by the Hero9's bulkier body, and it's not just the tighter fit in your pocket. The GoPro Media Mod, one of the most important upgrade accessories for the Hero8, does not fit the Hero9. Instead, you'll have to buy a new, Hero9-specific version of it, which is disappointing.

More power, more pixels

GoPro's slogan for the Hero9 Black is "more of everything" and it sure sounds right. The new sensor sensor enables 20 megapixel photos and 5K videos at 30 frames per second, and the new battery extends the operating time by 30% compared to the Hero8. But more doesn't always mean better and I'm not buying the hype about increased resolution. On paper, 5K sounds like a noticeable jump, around 15 MP in each frame compared to 8 K in 4K.

But in practice I couldn't really tell you the difference.

Video compression and lens softness were already limiting resolution factors in previous GoPros. The ease with which an action camera is used – usually with a lot of movement in the shot – also means that extra resolution isn't always an advantage. And with the focus on editing and sharing content via GoPro's (admittedly very good) mobile app, higher resolution slows the process down.

GoPro seems to be at least a little open on this and touts the 5K video function to extract still images with higher resolution. It may be a more practical use of the feature than 5K video recording for 5K video. Essentially, you can capture 15 megapixel still images at 30 frames per second.

With the Hero9, I would not expect a significant jump in image quality, even with an additional resolution of a thousand lines.

I would like to believe that GoPro takes into account the desires of professional filmmakers alongside those of the average customer when it comes to putting 5K into a camera, but I wouldn't expect the image quality to increase noticeably with the Hero9, even with an additional thousand lines of resolution . It's not that the sensor is physically larger, so noise outside of bright light is still an issue. Video data rates are still around 100 megabits per second, whether in 4K or 5K, so compression remains a limiting factor. And perhaps most importantly, the lens isn't sharp enough to take full advantage of 4K, let alone 5K. Plus, with the electronic stabilization, you're sacrificing some sharpness to eliminate shake – a worthy compromise to be safe, but another blow to 5K. Or even 4K.

In my tests, both 4K and 5K footage looked soft – the 5K footage only allowed me to further zoom in on softness, which is pointless. When normalized to 2K resolution, there was an almost imperceptible difference in pixel peeping one frame at a time, which seemed to have a bit of an advantage when rendering text, but that was about it. So I have to conclude that 5K just doesn't seem worth it for video or extracting still images.

gopro hero9 black review hero8GoPro Hero8

gopro hero9 black reviewGoPro Hero9

As for the actual still mode, I noticed a much bigger difference between the 20MP output from the Hero9 and the 12MP output from the Hero8. But it's nothing earth shaking and the benefit disappears once you're in less than ideal lighting as the Hero9's noise reduction seems to be even harder than the Hero8's. For this reason, when comparing the cameras indoors, I preferred the Hero8 photos to the Hero9 photos.

Let's make the time jump again

Of all the updated features in Hero9 Black, TimeWarp 3.0 is my favorite. TimeWarp is the Hyperlapse video function built into GoPro that records stabilized time-lapse footage. Version 2.0 in Hero8 was already a favorite of mine. Two major enhancements have been introduced: the ability to automatically set the time-lapse speed based on camera movement and the option to slow down the video in real time at any point during the recording with the push of a button.

TimeWarp 3.0 goes one step further. Not only can you slow down to real time, you can also slow down to half speed for slow motion. The ability to mix time-lapse, real-time, and slow-motion videos into a single clip without editing, makes this GoPro a GoPro.

In addition, you can now record audio during the real-time sections of a TimeWarp. This makes the function much more flexible. I hike a lot – the closest to extreme sports – and TimeWarp is a great way to capture a hike, which otherwise leads to pretty boring footage. The ability to record audio during the real-time segments means I'll never miss my astonished reaction to a double rainbow or the sound of a rushing waterfall where I previously had to fully rely on a song.

The ability to mix time-lapse, real-time, and slow-motion videos into a single clip without editing makes this GoPro a GoPro.

TimeWarp 3.0 is by no means the only new software feature. The HyperSmooth stabilization is also available in version 3.0 and now offers a horizon adjustment in the camera. More new features fall under the new PowerTools category, where you'll find features previously limited to GoPro Labs' experimental preview program. This includes Scheduled Capture and Continuous Capture, which work together to fully automate a Hero9.

With the scheduled recording, you can schedule a time for the camera to turn on and start recording. This is great for capturing everything from an early sunrise to a rocket launch. With continuous recording you can set a recording time between 15 seconds and 3 hours. After this time the camera switches off automatically.

The other new PowerTool feature is called HindSight. This is a buffered video mode that saves up to 30 seconds of footage before the record button is pressed. This mode is most useful when you're trying to capture a crucial moment, such as E.g. a skateboard trick but not sure when it will take place. HindSight allows you to pause the press until just after the moment sets in, which drastically reduces the amount of junk footage.

Maximum mods

It's hard not to apologize when someone who's lost $ 160 on a Media Mod and a Display Mod adds a front-facing screen to their Hero8 Black. The built-in front screen of the Hero9 not only makes the LCD mod superfluous, but also doesn't work at all with the media mod of the Hero8.

But it's not all bad news. The $ 99 Max Lens Mod coming out in October is something really new and unique to the Hero9. The Max Lens Mod was named after the GoPro Max 360 camera and gives the Hero9 Black a touch of spherical video. It can't be converted into a full 360 degree camera like we saw with the modular Insta360 One R, but it offers a super wide field of view of 155 degrees. It enables Max HyperSmooth even at resolutions of up to 2.7 KB for even greater stability and horizon alignment that works even when the camera is rolling a run.

gopro hero9 black rating standard lensGoPro Hero9, standard lens

gopro hero9 black rating with max lens modGoPro Hero9 with Max Lens Mod

A Max Lens Mod was made available to me for this test, which ensures a much wider and more stable image. However, I'm not sure if this is a necessary investment as the Hero9 is wide and stable on its own, but there will likely be some niche apps that can benefit from it.

A new way to shop

GoPro offers customers two different ways to purchase the Hero9 Black. You can pick it up yourself for $ 450. However, when you add an annual GoPro subscription, that price drops to just $ 350 – including the subscription price. To be clear, it is cheaper to buy a Hero9 and GoPro subscription than to buy a Hero9 yourself.

On the surface, this sounds like an incredibly valuable proposition. The subscription, typically $ 5 monthly or $ 50 annually, grants access to unlimited cloud storage, inexpensive replacement for defective cameras, and significant discounts on accessories.

For anyone considering a Hero9 Black, it pays off immediately.

Plus is GoPro's attempt to move to a product-as-service model, which is growing in popularity across all types of tech hardware, from smartphones to game consoles. This increases friction for a customer who may want to switch to a different brand. If you sign up for a GoPro subscription and later want to cancel, you need to be willing to move all of those cloud files to another location.

So don't make the decision to sign up lightly, but for the right type of customer, a GoPro subscription (formerly GoPro Plus) has always paid for itself over time. And for anyone considering a Hero9 Black, it pays off right away. The Hero8 Black and Hero7 Black have also been added to this promotion.

Our opinion

My opinion on the GoPro Hero9 Black may be overwhelming, but that's just because the Hero8 Black was already such a solid camera. Glad to see that GoPro has put an emphasis on quality of life improvements such as: B. a higher battery capacity and the return to a replaceable lens cover, but I miss the Hero8's slimmer profile.

The other updates mainly concern limited use cases. The front screen is a welcome addition for vloggers, but not a requirement for most customers. The Max Lens Mod is cool, but not a must and certainly not a replacement for the actual GoPro Max. After all, the additional resolution is not that important for still images or videos.

The software improvements are certainly nice, but not every feature will appeal to every customer, and none are things that technically couldn't be added to the Hero8 through the firmware (and some already existed under the GoPro Labs umbrella).

I was a big fan of TimeWarp 2.0 in the Hero8 and I love the TimeWarp 3.0 in the Hero9 even more. But for me a Hero8 Black with TimeWarp 3.0 would be all I need. If the Hero9 has a feature that you can't get anywhere else, it might be worth it for you, but I'm not sure I should pay $ 450 (or $ 350) to access the updated version of the one feature that I really want to pay.

Is there a better alternative?

No. And that's the thing – even if I personally don't find it that exciting, the Hero9 Black is as good as it gets. It's just that last year's model was already better than what most people needed.

How long it will take?

Like any action camera, the Hero9 Black can take knocks, but the rubberized exterior is easy to scratch. Expect a replacement in 12 months, but there's no reason the Hero9 won't be useful for several years.

Should you buy it?

Only if you don't have a current GoPro. The Hero9 Black is easy to recommend for new GoPro customers or customers upgrading from much older cameras. However, owners of a current GoPro camera shouldn't feel the need to upgrade.

Editor's recommendations




17 Sep
Blog

Beats EP Review: Good Sound Trapped By Wired Limitations

Beats EP headphones

Beats EP on-ear headphones

"Although they sound great, the Beats EPs are wire-bounded and poorly finalized at their price."

  • Extraordinary sound

  • Adequate comfort

  • Good noise reduction

  • Questions about shelf life

  • Cable connection only

For the sake of transparency, I've had trouble writing on the Beats EP headphones for a while. They are wired headphones and deserve to be treated as such. At the same time, they come with a price tag that ties them tightly to budget wireless headphones, most of which have features and capabilities not possible with the Beats EP.

Perhaps this is the best way to write about the $ 130 Beats EP. They're not the audio juggernaut high-end cable options often come with, and they're not the first wireless cans that seem to surround them. You're somewhere in between, awkwardly in the middle of two different parts of the genre.

Out of the box

In all fairness I could summarize this section of the review in two words: Not a lot. In addition to the headphones themselves, the contents of the Beats packaging include a foldable carrying case, a quick start guide and a warranty card.

Beats EP headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

Objectively speaking, the minimalist style of EP packaging isn't a huge issue. After all, wired headphones are pretty self-sufficient, there is no battery to be charged and the only cable that has to be connected. In a modern day when 3.5mm audio jacks are a rarity on phones, it would have been nice to include a smartphone adapter. Because if you're like me and you've lost that USB-C adapter that came with your phone years ago, the Beats EP become desktop cans only.

It literally comes down to just joining in and pressing the play button and then it's off to the races with your favorite podcast or album.

I usually deal with connectivity in this section as well, and one of the great things about the Beats EP is how classically easy they are to get up and running. It literally comes down to just joining in and pressing the play button and then it's off to the races with your favorite podcast or album.

design

There are several elements associated with the design of the Beats EP. Some of them are good. Some of them are head scratches.

Beats EP headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

First, the good thing: The Beats EP are relatively light, although you can't find exact numbers on the Beats website. They come in a variety of colors including white, blue, black, and red, giving them a more diverse aesthetic that should suit most consumers' tastes. And they're pretty comfy – I like the fuller coziness of over-ear headphones like the Razer Opus, but when it comes to on-ear headphones, the Beats EP felt good hugging my ears for longer listening times.

With the on-ear headphones, the Beats EP felt good pressed against my ears for longer listening times.

Now for the scratching of your head: on its website, Beats says the EP has a “durable frame” that is “reinforced with stainless steel and adjustable vertical sliders”. This is not wrong, but it can be misleading. The EP, while light, doesn't feel like an incredibly rugged pair of headphones, and that worry grows as you read the various Amazon customer reviews complaining that these headphones were owned for less than a year. Some had problems with the headband locking into place, others mentioned a deterioration in the ear cups. Now I haven't tested the Beats EP long enough to say firmly that it is unsustainable. But with the somewhat flimsy feel of those light doses, I could understand why so many people were having problems.

My other problem with the Beats EP, unfair as it may be, is the overall concept of inexpensive wired headphones. I think there is still an important place for wired sockets, especially when it comes to high-end options like the Grado Labs hemp headphones, the V-MODA M-200 studio sockets or gaming headsets like the HyperX Cloud Revolver S. price goes, the Beats EP and their hard cable don't offer the flexibility I think most people interested in buying them want. For $ 30 less, the Avantree Aria Pro lets you choose between wired or wireless, although the audio quality may be compromised. The point is, as much as wired connections are necessary in some situations, I believe the Beats EP's wired-only setup hurts them when compared to similar budget headphones with multiple connectivity options.

properties

This is not a joke – the only specs available on the Beats EP page is the fact that they are on-ear headphones. Please excuse me if this segment is on the short side.

Beats EP headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The Beats EP has inline call and music controls as well as inline volume controls. They are effective and easy to use, so I can pause YouTube clips or podcasts episodes without having to manually return to these pages. They also have a built-in microphone that has come in very handy on Zoom calls, at least after I got my desktop to collaborate.

In addition, the Beats EP in the feature department are rare. It's such a dire situation that Beats is marketing these headphones as "unlimited playback" because they don't have a battery. Which, okay, that's true. But it's not exactly anything special as this is the main difference between most wired and wireless headphones. Tech-wise, you can get "unlimited playback" with these $ 10 Sony headphones. If this is the most notable feature of the Beats EP, it speaks volumes about what value these cans actually have.

Audio quality

In my view, the sound of the Beats EP is the biggest reason to buy these headphones over a wireless alternative. For $ 130, you can get high quality audio from the Beats EP, even if you are physically tied to the device it came from.

Beats EP headphonesNick Woodard / Digital Trends

The vocals are remarkably clear and shine through on busy tracks like Maroon 5's Sunday Morning. Higher frequencies are crisp but not harsh, which can be a tough proposition for headphones at this price point. They're a bit of bass-forward, which might seem like a turn off for people hoping for a completely neutral sound from their headphones, but is a brand for the Beats Sound signature. Thankfully, if you're not a big bass head, I don't think it's prominent enough to be considered a problem. Overall, they are mostly well balanced headphones with great sound quality that would satisfy most of the people looking to spend money in this stadium.

One more note about the sound of the Beats EP: They are impressively good at reducing ambient noise and creating a quiet room in which to listen to your content. These headphones don't have active noise cancellation features by nature, but I would argue they shouldn't be overlooked as the Beats EP does a commendable job of passively blocking out excess noise.

Our opinion

For $ 130 worth of wired headphones to compete with wireless alternatives, they must have great sound. The Beats EP have that, and even if they don't have much else, it might be enough for certain buyers.

Are there any better alternatives?

For a wireless alternative, the $ 100 Avantree Aria Pro offers decent active noise cancellation and improved flexibility over the Beats EP, though they likely don't sound that good. If you can afford to spend significantly more, it might be wise to consider the $ 250 1More Triple Driver over-ear headphones. They're an improvement over the Beats EP in many ways, but cost more than twice as much.

How long will they last?

They didn't fall apart on me so I can't say they will fall apart on you. However, if your build and the experiences of others are any indications, I would be extra careful with how you handle the Beats EP.

Should you buy it?

Just if you're looking for sound quality, wireless headphones can't compete in this price range. Otherwise, enjoy the versatility of a wireless option or spend more to get a better pair of wired sockets. The Beats EP makes sense to some, just not most.

Editor's recommendations




17 Sep
Blog

Nvidia RTX 3080 Review: A New Standard For PC Gaming

Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 review: a bright future for PC games

"The Nvidia RTX 3080 sets a new standard for high-end PC games."

  • Fast and smooth 4K gaming

  • Attractive new design

  • HDMI 2.1 support

  • Improved ray tracing and DLSS performance

  • Requires cumbersome adapter

  • Needs more power

The gaming world's attention is focused entirely on the upcoming console launches. I get it. Players can finally get PC-level games in the living room. Between the price and the updated internals, these new consoles are a big deal.

Nvidia won't let the consoles powered by AMD hardware steal the limelight, however.

The Nvidia RTX 3080, available starting today with the rest of the RTX 3000 series, represents the future of PC gaming. With the most significant generation leap in the history of Nvidia, the RTX 3080 wants to prove that real high-end gaming always belongs on the PC. Is this the next leap forward in PC gaming? Or have consoles finally caught up?

design

The RTX 3080 is a classy looking graphics card.

The previous generation of Nvidia GPUs, from the RTX 2060 to the RTX 2080 Ti, wanted you to know how top notch your experience was. The case and back plate were made of aluminum, and the “Nvidia GeForce” logo glowed green when switched on. The super models even added a highly reflective glass-like texture to the surface.

The RTX 3080 takes a more subtle approach. A matte, dark gray material is used. It even has a white backlight instead of green. None of this is flashy, but it is in line with the simpler direction of modern gaming equipment. It won't be noticed when sitting next to a stark white NZXT H510i case or a Razer Blade 15. Straight lines and muted colors are all the rage, and the RTX 3080 reflects that.

For something with a bit more edge, third-party cards from Asus or MSI will likely work just fine. To me, Nvidia's reference model looks great.

In addition to its looks, the RTX 3080 also has a redesigned cooling system. A fan flanks each side of the cover using a unique "push-pull" system for thermal management. One side sucks in air and another sucks it out at the back. According to Nvidia, this results in better airflow, but the RTX 3080 runs a little hotter than the RTX 2080 Ti. In the same run of 3DMark Time Spy, the RTX 3080 hit a maximum of 76 degrees Celsius, four degrees hotter than the RTX 2080 Ti. Both Still stayed away from the 80-degree mark during all of my tests.

The RTX 3080 is almost identical to the RTX 2080 Ti and the 2080 Super. In contrast to the massive RTX 3090, the 3080 only has a standard design with two slots. It could be easily pushed into a 28-liter housing that previously housed an RTX 2070 Super. It's still a great graphics card, of course, but it will fit in your rig as well as the previous generation.

Power supply and connections

While it probably fits your case, the RTX 3080 is power hungry. It requires 320 watts of dedicated power. To keep this in mind, Nvidia recommends at least a 750 watt power supply to support your entire system. That alone can mean buying a new power supply for your system. So far, 650 watts have been the standard to support cards like the RTX 2080 Super or the 2080 Ti.

And yes, the rumors are true – the RTX 3080 has a new 12-pin power connector that requires an adapter to work with your old cables. Nvidia includes the adapter in the box, but in your case it still leaves an awkward dangling dongle.

For ports, the Nvidia RTX 3080 includes three DisplayPort 1.4a, which support up to 144 Hz at 4K, as well as an HDMI 2.1 port. These are the first graphics cards to support this new HDMI standard that can display 144 Hz at 4K resolution. It is noteworthy that the next generation of televisions also includes HDMI 2.1, which for the first time enables a high refresh rate in the living room.

The USB-C port is gone. This was a feature of the RTX 20 series to support NVLink, a way to run two GPUs over SLI. Connecting multiple cards to increase the frame rate is now an exclusive feature of the RTX 3090. Support for multiple GPUs is already dwindling, and removing NVLink on the RTX 3080 is the nail in the coffin.

Architecture

The Nvidia RTX 3080, along with the 3070 and 3090, uses Nvidia's new Ampere micro-architecture. It is based on Samsung's 8nm node and downsizes the chip compared to the 12nm node used in the Turing architecture. This means more transistors and theoretically higher efficiency.

Ampere offers a massive 50% jump in CUDA cores, now up to 8,704. Nvidia's GPUs are made up of streaming multiprocessors (SM), the individual units of processing power that make up the CUDA cores.

There is one important caveat here. The Ampere micro-architecture has changed the way every CUDA core works so that each one is a little less powerful. So a 50% increase in CUDA cores does not directly increase frame rates by 50%, even though you get the 29.7 teraflops of theoretical performance. However, this is a significant increase in core count and – spoiler alert – will have an impact when we get to our performance tests.

Cuda kernels memory Storage interface Boost clock Graphics card performance
RTX 3090 10,496 24 GB GDDR6X 384-bit 1.70 GHz 350w
RTX 3080 8.704 10 GB GDDR6X 320-bit 1.71 GHz 320w
RTX 3070 5,888 8 GB GDDR6 256-bit 1.73 GHz 220w
RTX 2080 Ti 4,352 11 GB GDDR6 352-bit 1.54 GHz 250w
RTX 2080 Super 3.072 8 GB GDDR6 256-bit 1.82 GHz 250w
RTX 2070 Super 2.560 8 GB DRR6 256-bit 1.77 GHz 215w

Ampere also brings more ray tracing and tensor cores to the table, expanding the forward tilt capabilities of the RTX 3080. Later more.

Finally, the RTX 3080 has 10GB of 320-bit GDDR6X memory. That's two more GB of faster video memory, almost up to 11 GB, which is offered in the RTX 2080 Ti. This is an important specification that is beneficial for games that use large textures and large amounts of screen data. It also shows how Nvidia has moved its entire GPU line up one notch.

performance

Let's get down to business, shall we?

The performance of the RTX 3080 is impressive in almost all cases. By the time the RTX 3090 launches in a few weeks, it is sure to be the most powerful graphics card you can buy. That's not too surprising, however, as there is no real competitor to AMD.

I assumed it would beat its predecessor, the RTX 2080 Super. But the real fun was discovering how much faster it really is. The comparison with the much more expensive RTX 2080 Ti was the icing on the cake.

My test system included a CML B460 MATX motherboard, 16 GB DDR4 2933 MHz RAM, and an Intel Core i7-10700 processor. These specs are not exhausted, but they are able to support the tests I ran and generally represent what we would recommend putting together a well-balanced gaming rig today.

Until the launch of the RTX 3090, the RTX 3080 is by far the most powerful graphics card you can buy.

I started with 3DMark Time Spy, the DirectX12 benchmark, which is a level playing field for testing graphics of all kinds. Here the RTX 3080 outperformed the RTX 2080 Ti by 15%. Not a huge head start, but let's not forget the $ 500 difference in price between these two cards. This is a bigger price gap than between other cards in the deck. The performance gap between the RTX 2080 Ti and the RTX 2080 Super is also larger.

In the meantime, the RTX 3080 beats the 2080 Super by 28% with no price hike.

That lead continued when I tried a number of games, both in 1440p and 4K. The RTX 3080 doesn't force gamers to choose between high resolution and high frame rate – it's a smooth gaming experience no matter which monitor you're using.

Let's start with the most challenging title first. Assassin's Creed Odyssey is a game that no system I have tested can play with native 4K values ​​at 60 frames per second (fps) and extremely high settings. However, the RTX 3080 sets a new standard with an average of 61 fps (frames per second). The RTX 2080 Ti only reaches 47 fps, while the RTX 2080 Super reaches 43 fps. I can't exaggerate how impressed I was with the RTX 3080's 23% lead over the RTX 2080 Ti (and 30% over the RTX 2080 Super).

Next, I started Battlefield V. Historically, it's one of the few games where Nvidia GPUs lagged behind AMD. But not this time. The RTX 3080 has made its biggest leap in the games I tested and now averages up to 97 fps in 4K on Ultra. Entire 4K monitors with a refresh rate of 144 Hz are still uncommon. You need one to get the most out of the RTX 3080 in this game. Here the RTX 3080 is 22% ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti (with 76 fps) and 33% ahead of the RTX 2080 Super (with 65 fps).

As expected, the RTX 3080 has the highest lead at 4K, where the GPU takes a higher load. It's still a great card for 1440p gaming, of course. Assassin's Creed Odyssey averaged 78 fps and Battlefield V 147 fps, both 17% faster than the RTX 2080 Ti.

At Fortnite, the winnings weren't quite as high, mostly because the RTX 2080 Ti was already playing well. It was the only game where the RTX 2080 Ti actually outperformed the RTX 3080 in lower resolutions (like 1080p). In 4K, the RTX 3080 averaged 78 fps at epic settings, 17% more than the RTX 2080 Ti, and 29% better than the RTX 2080 Super.

Finally, let's look at a lighter tariff. Civilization VI is a game ideally suited for 4K, offering a wider view of the map and more detail for your expanding empire. Civilization VI averaged 168 fps for Ultra, compared to 141 fps for the RTX 2080 Ti and 117 fps for the RTX 2080 Super.

With all of these games, you won't see that much gain at 1080p or lower settings. In Battlefield V with 1080p Ultra settings, for example, the RTX 3080 was only a few fps ahead of the RTX 2080 Ti. This also applies to Fortnite and Civilization VI, where you are gradually losing some of the RTX 3080's value. Unless you plan on upgrading your monitor for a higher resolution or refresh rate, the RTX 3080 is not worth your time. You'd better save some money and wait for the RTX 3070 or the inevitable RTX 3060.

Content creation

Outside of gaming, a powerful GPU like the RTX 3080 can greatly speed up content creation like video rendering or 3D modeling. Although much of the heavy lifting of these tasks is done by the CPU, a powerful GPU can improve render times.

I started with Adobe Premiere Pro where I loaded a project with a two minute 4K video clip. With the RTX 3080, exporting the clip to ProRes 422 took 2 minutes and 27 seconds. This is 11% faster than the RTX 2080 Super in the same video export and only 5% faster than the RTX 2080 Ti.

Ray tracing and DLSS

The RTX 2080 Ti, launched with almost zero titles, supports ray tracing or DLSS. That was extremely disappointing. However, developer support for real-time ray tracing has grown slowly but steadily, and two years later, many new AAA games are supporting Nvidia's RTX capabilities in one form or another. Implementing a la carte is still frustrating as many games opt for more limited (and less strenuous) RTX features.

Still, RTX is much stronger today than it used to be. It's a good time to launch some new high-performance GPUs that take both ray tracing and DLSS to the next level.

I tested one of the first games to incorporate RTX functionality: Battlefield V. Fortunately, I've found that the RTX 3080's ray tracing capabilities have improved over the RTX 2080 Ti.

In the Tirailleur mission, the RTX 2080 Ti allows for some brilliant reflections in the puddles of water near the start of the level, which can slow the frame rate down to an average of 33 fps. Once DLSS was turned on, this was increased to 45 fps. This was in 4K with settings on Ultra.

The real implementation of real-time ray tracing is still a challenge for even the most powerful graphics cards.

With the RTX 3080, those numbers look a little more promising. This new card processes the same scene with the same settings at 55 fps and jumps up to 69 fps with DLSS. There's room to grow, but at least in Battlefield V, ray tracing isn't entirely useless.

I also tested the new ray tracing features in Fortnite. The shadows, reflections, and global lighting are beautiful. Reflections on the water are flawless and even the shadows on the back of your character look incredibly realistic.

But even with the RTX 3080, these RTX functions are still a performance bottleneck. It averaged 53 fps in 1440p in Ultra, with all RTX functions maxed. But in 4K? The game was only played at 23 fps.

Of course, the game also offers a number of DLSS settings (quality, balance, or performance) that increase the frame rate through upsampling. The Performance setting adds noticeable blurring to distant textures, while the Quality setting only brings back up to 27 fps. In the end, the combination of DLSS and ray tracing is still enough for a performance hit that most people will prefer to leave out. That's a shame because the ray tracing is great.

Our opinion

The RTX 20 series has been criticized for being ray tracing and A.I. as raw achievement. The RTX 3080 shows how seriously Nvidia took this criticism. The performance levels open up new possibilities for gamers and no longer force them to choose between high resolutions and high frame rates. Nvidia achieved this raw performance boost without sacrificing its heavy investments in features like ray tracing and DLSS, as it was determined to keep the PC at the forefront of the conversation in next-gen games.

The RTX 3080 will never be Nvidia's most popular card at $ 699, but as an industry leader and flagship model, it's the best PC gaming can offer.

Are there alternatives?

The next alternatives are also offered by Nvidia: RTX 3090 and RTX 3070. The 3090 is the most expensive (and most powerful) graphics card Nvidia has ever made, and it probably doesn't fit into your average PC case. At $ 499, the RTX 3070 is cheaper and, according to Nvidia, also more powerful than the RTX 2080 Ti. The RTX 3090 will be available on September 24, while the RTX 3070 will be available in October.

Rumor has it that AMD's upcoming RX 6000 graphics will include a high-end GPU that could definitely challenge Nvidia's top-notch graphics cards. As of now, however, AMD's offerings are limited to the RX 5700XT.

How long it will take?

The Nvidia RTX 3080 should last at least five years. The graphics cards most used by Steam gamers are still cards from the Nvidia 10 series, which were first launched in 2016. Nvidia grants a generous three-year warranty on its Founders Edition GPUs that covers hardware defects and errors.

Should you buy it?

Yes. The Nvidia RTX 3080 sets a new standard for first-class, incredibly fast PC games.

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