Century

10 of the best books about hi-fi and audio

Home Features (Image credit: Rega) We’re glad people still enjoy reading about hi-fi; it’s what keeps us in a job, after all. There have been plenty of insightful words committed to paper about our industry and the technologies, brands and history that define it, so we’ve listed some of our favourites in a hope that… Read more

Avatar passes Avengers: Endgame to retake box office crown after China re-release

Avatar has once again retaken its crown as the most lucrative movie of all time, with James Cameron’s 2009 film reaching a new all-time box office high to beat out 2019’s Avengers: Endgame, which took the top spot with its $2.7902 billion take that year. But thanks to a re-release of Avatar in China, Deadline… Read more

A Silicon Valley school is using virtual escape rooms to evaluate prospective students

Applying to an elite middle school sounds like a stressful experience, and I’m sure COVID-19 doesn’t help. With things like open houses, campus tours, and in-person interviews off the table, applicants have fewer chances to experience their prospective schools — and admissions offices have fewer chances to meet their prospective students. One San Jose private… Read more

Tim Wu, the ‘father of net neutrality,’ is joining the Biden administration

Tim Wu — the Columbia law professor who coined the term “net neutrality” — is joining the Biden administration, where he’ll be working on technology and competition policy at the National Economic Council. Happy to say I’m joining the Biden White House to work on Technology and Competition Policy at the National Economic Council. Putting… Read more

Countries are polluting like it’s 2019 again

Globally, people produced more planet-heating carbon dioxide emissions in December than they did before the pandemic, new data shows. It’s a sign that the pandemic-related drop in emissions was only temporary and that greenhouse gas emissions are continuing to climb. CO2 emissions from energy use around the world were 2 percent higher in December 2020… Read more

Los Angeles’ creator community is starting to move out

Logan and Jake Paul moved to Los Angeles in 2014, at the height of Vine’s heyday, and not long after found themselves crammed into an apartment at 1600 Vine Road with other young creators hoping to make it big in America’s entertainment epicenter. Over the next few years, they became world-renowned celebrities (often for the… Read more

Best Bluetooth record players: budget to premium plate spinners

Home Best-buys Best Bluetooth Record Players Buying Guide: Welcome to What Hi-Fi?’s round-up of the best Bluetooth turntables you can buy in 2021. While the mechanics of vinyl playback haven’t changed all that much since the medium’s inception, turntable technology hasn’t stood entirely still. One major evolution that has brought a growing number of record… Read more

Volvo says it will only sell electric cars by 2030

Swedish automaker Volvo says it will only sell electric cars by 2030, phasing out all diesel, petrol, and hybrid options in an effort to reduce global carbon emissions. The company previously aimed for half of its cars sales to be electric by 2025, but says the new strategy is an “acceleration” of this goal driven… Read more

Mogwai’s Stuart Braithwaite on turntables, soundtracks and live church recordings

Home Features (Image credit: Brian Sweeney) This interview was originally published by What Hi-Fi? in March 2016. It is easy, often and now especially, to become consumed by technology. It is easy to allow the romanticism of music, the entire grounds for that technology, to be camouflaged. That is why, speaking with Stuart Braithwaite, guitarist,… Read more

The Verge’s favorite audio gear

Ever since Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville recorded an almost undecipherable version of the French song “Au Clair de la Lune” in the mid-19th century, it’s been clear that the technology that you use to produce and listen to sounds can affect your experience. Even now, about 150 years later, the quality of your gear can… Read more

Disney Plus

Our Verdict A well-stocked, easy-to-navigate catalogue of new and original content that Disney fans are bound to enjoy For Huge, intuitive catalogue 4K, HDR10 and Dolby Atmos/Vision Vast device support Against Poor 4K HDR discovery Once upon a time, a man called Walt Disney founded Walt Disney Studios with his brother and became one of… Read more

Disney Plus Star line-up now live! Here’s everything you can watch

Home News (Image credit: Disney Plus) Today’s a good day for Disney Plus subscribers, who now have access to hundreds more hours of Disney content than they did yesterday thanks to the launch of Disney Star. Over on the House of Mouse streaming service, next to the existing Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars and National… Read more

Disney is closing down Ice Age animation studio Blue Sky and canceling its final film

Disney is shutting down Blue Sky Studios, the animation house responsible for the Ice Age movies, according to Deadline. The reason cited by a studio spokesperson is the “current economic realities,” likely referring to COVID, which has hit the movie industry in a number of ways. Blue Sky previously operated under 20th Century Fox’s animation… Read more

Toyota teams up with Aurora and Denso on robotaxi development

It’s 2021 and we’re still finding unique ways to pair up to develop self-driving cars. The latest is between Toyota, AV startup Aurora, and auto part supplier Denso. The three companies will join forces to develop a fleet of robotaxis, with the first hitting the road by the end of this year. It’s a big… Read more

Bang & Olufsen wants its new Beosound Level to outlast your average connected speaker

Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound Level is the Danish brand’s latest battery-powered connected speaker. It supports voice controls via Google Assistant, Bluetooth, and you can also stream to it via the AirPlay 2, Chromecast, and Spotify Connect standards. B&O says the Beosound Level uses a modular construction that it claims will make it usable far into… Read more