You should change your Slack password if you used the app on Android, according to an email sent out by the company and published by Android Police. Apparently, from December 21st to January 21st, the Android version of the Slack app would store users’ credentials in plain text, which theoretically means any other apps on your phone could have access to them.
If you’ve got the popular communications tool installed on your Android phone, the first thing you’ll want to do is update to the latest version from the Play Store since changing your password won’t do any good if you’re still running the old version. Then, if you got the email from Slack, you can click on the link to change your password. Otherwise, you’ll have to reset your password from a desktop computer using Slack’s instructions.
First, sign in to Slack, then go to your profile, which can be accessed by clicking your picture in the top right-hand corner of the app or web app and clicking View Profile. Then, click the More button and Account Settings. From there, you should be able to change your password, though it’s worth noting that the option won’t be available if your organization uses Single Sign-On.
Of course, if you used your Slack password on other websites, you should change your passwords for those, too (preferably to something unique).
Facebook, a company known for ripping its ideas from competitors, has reportedly set its sights on social audio. The New York Times reports today that the company is working on a copycat of Clubhouse, the buzzy invite-only social audio startup. The Times reports the product is in the “early stages of development,” so it’s unclear if and when it might launch.
The news comes only five days after CEO Mark Zuckerberg joined Clubhouse and participated in a room to talk about the future of augmented and virtual reality. His presence on the app was shocking, given it’s a new social network, so the fact that Facebook might now be cloning Clubhouse is no surprise. The company has already done so with multiple other apps, including, most infamously, Stories, which it took from Snapchat, and Reels, its TikTok competitor that launched last year.
Twitter is also working on a Clubhouse competitor called Spaces, which is in beta at the moment. Its team acquired social podcasting company Breaker, seemingly for its expertise in social audio, to help beef up its efforts. Meanwhile, Mark Cuban is also at work on a live audio app called Fireside, which The Verge reported on earlier this week. Clearly, lots of people in tech think audio will be an important format for communicating in the future, and they’re rapidly trying to get in on it before the trend dies out.
The Gigabyte M27Q is a very capable and speedy gaming monitor with few flaws. Though it has a huge color gamut, red is a little under-saturated, and it doesn’t offer extra contrast in HDR mode. But you do get superb gaming performance with 170 Hz and super-low input lag. As a value choice, it’s hard to beat.
For
170 Hz
Low input lag
Large color gamut
Accurate sRGB mode
KVM switch
Against
Aim Stabilizer causes ghosting
Lackluster HDR
DCI-P3 red is slightly under-saturated
Features and Specifications
Performance-to-price ratio is something we talk about often. While there are many seeking the lowest priced components and some for whom price is no object, most want the highest possible performance for the money.
Every computer component has a market sweet spot where you get most of the speed and power of top-level components for a lot less than the premium price, and it is no different for PC gaming monitors. We’re talking about the elements that gamers shop for: speed, resolution and screen size.
The Gigabyte M27Q ($330 as of writing) packs 1440p resolution into an IPS panel running at a speedy 170 Hz. The picture quality quotient is upped by a wide color gamut and HDR support. But is the best gaming monitor for value-seekers?
Gigabyte M27Q Specs
Panel Type / Backlight
Super Speed IPS / W-LED, edge array
Screen Size / Aspect Ratio
27 inches / 16:9
Max Resolution & Refresh Rate
2560×1440 @ 170 Hz
AMD FreeSync Premium: 48-170 Hz
Native Color Depth & Gamut
8-bit / DCI-P3
DisplayHDR 400
HDR10
Response Time (GTG)
0.5 ms
Brightness (mfr)
400 nits
Contrast (mfr)
1,000:1
Speakers
2x 2w
Video Inputs
1x DisplayPort 1.2
2x HDMI 2.0
1x USB-C
Audio
3.5mm headphone output
USB 3.0
2x up, 2x down
Power Consumption
21w, brightness @ 200 nits
Panel Dimensions WxHxD w/base
24.2 x 15.8-21 x 8 inches (615 x 401-533 x 203mm)
Panel Thickness
1.7 inches (43mm)
Bezel Width
Top/sides: 0.3 inch (8mm)
Bottom: 0.8 inch (21mm)
Weight
12.1 pounds (5.5kg)
Warranty
3 years
High-contrast VA panels make for amazing image quality on gaming monitors, but speedy IPS implementations are quickly moving to a position of domination in the speediest part of the genre. The M27Q opts for Super Speed (SS) IPS, Gigabyte’s branding for IPS tech that achieves lower response times by using a thinner liquid crystal layer and higher driving voltage than standard IPS screens. Our review focus runs at a 170 Hz refresh rate without overclock and supports AMD FreeSync Premium. It’s not an official G-Sync Compatible monitor, but we got the M27Q to run G-Sync (see our How to Run G-Sync on a FreeSync Monitor tutorial). A claimed 0.5 ms response time puts it in company with most 240 Hz monitors.
The backlight is a flicker-free white LED in an edge array that’s specced to deliver over 400 nits brightness for both SDR and HDR content. It also advertises a “Super Wide Color Gamut” on the box, and we confirmed that claim — although there’s a caveat that we’ll explain on page three.
For the price, the M27Q promises a lot of gaming performance and plenty of features for the enthusiast. Let’s dive in and see if it lives up to the spec sheet.
Assembly and Accessories
Unpacking the substantial carton reveals a panel already bolted to an upright. Just attach the large base with a captive bolt, and you’re ready to make connections. The power supply is a small external brick. Bundled cables include HDMI, DisplayPort and USB 3.0. Despite having a USB-C input, the M27Q does not include a USB-C cable.
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To keep the price low, (and is is under $350), there are few frills in the M27Q’s design. The monitor doesn’t include an RGB effect, and styling is understated. Build quality, however, is in keeping with higher-priced monitors, and you get Gigabyte’s usual suite of gaming features, like aiming points and timers.
The M27Q is unassuming from the front with just a Gigabyte logo and a tiny white LED adorning the bottom trim strip. The remainder of the bezel is flush mounted with an 8 mm frame around the image. The anti-glare layer is the same 3H-hardness part found on almost all computer monitors. Here, it provides a sharp, bright image with no apparent grain or optical distortion.
There are a few styling cues around back with a shiny polished strip across the top underlined with a thin grill. “M27Q” is molded in below that and in the same gloss finish. The rest of the plastic cover is matte finished in two different textures. Futuristic-looking lines are set around a button for activating KVM mode, which lets you control two PCs connected to the monitor with one keyboard and mouse, and the joystick for controlling the on-screen display (OSD). The upright can be removed if you’d rather use the 100mm VESA mount for a monitor arm.
The stand is very solid with firm movements. The vertical movement has subtle detents, which make it even more positive. You get a 5.2-inch height adjustment plus -5 and 20-degree tilts. There is no swivel or portrait mode. Thankfully, we didn’t encounter any play or wobble when moving the M27Q around. It is very well-built.
The side view shows the M27Q to be a touch thinner than most 27-inch monitors. There are no USB or headphone jacks here. Instead, they’re on the bottom input panel. which includes two HDMI 2.0, one DisplayPort 1.2, one USB-C and three USB 3.0 ports, one upstream and two down. Input labels are easy to see, making connections easier.
OSD Features
Outside of the monitor’s integrated on-screen display (OSD), the M27Q is controllable via the Windows desktop if you download the OSD Sidekick app. You can also create up to three custom reticles in the app. The OSD, however, offers the full-featured menu.
The M27Q’s OSD looks just like the one found on all Gigabyte and Aorus monitors with a large rectangular window and four columns making up the menu tree. There are seven sub-menus, plus a reset all function. The top portion always shows signal information and the status of various settings at a glance.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The first menu is for gaming and includes Aim Stabilizer, Gigabyte’s term for backlight strobe-based blur reduction. Engaging it means turning off Adaptive-Sync and overdrive. It doesn’t affect peak brightness, like most backlight strobes do, but in our tests, it introduced significant ghosting around moving objects. Aim Magnifier enlarges the center of the screen, just the thing for sniping. Unfortunately, it also requires losing Adaptive-Sync and overdrive.
Further adjustments include Black Equalizer, which brightens shadow areas, and Super Resolution, which adds edge enhancement. Display Mode contains aspect ratio options and has a FreeSync toggle. The overdrive feature here is interesting in that you can’t completely turn it off. It has three levels (Balance is the best choice), plus Auto. In our tests, Auto corresponded to the Balance choice. At this setting, overdrive reduced blur nicely without ghosting.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Picture menu offers seven picture modes, plus three custom memories for user settings. You can store more configurations on your PC by using the OSD Sidekick app. The best mode is Standard as it offers good out-of-box accuracy and calibration to a high standard. It locks the user into the full native color gamut, which as we found out is very large, over 100% of DCI-P3. The sRGB mode is completely usable though with accurate grayscale, gamma and color gamut rendering. That’s the choice for SDR content if you’re a color purist.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
You can get to the Game Assist menu by pressing the joystick once, then clicking right. The monitor has one crosshair included, but you can create three more of your own using the aforementioned OSD Sidekick app. Game Info offers timers that count up or down and a frame rate indicator. Dashboard requires a USB connection and displays CPU and GPU temps, fan speeds and usage stats in an on-screen box that can be placed anywhere you like. If you plan to use multiple M27Qs, this menu has alignment marks available too.
Gigabyte M27Q Calibration Settings
In the Standard picture mode, the M27Q is accurate enough to satisfy most. The native color space is DCI-P3, but you can use the sRGB mode for an accurate display of that gamut. Its only available adjustment is brightness.
For calibration though, the Standard mode offers five gamma presets and three color temps plus a user mode. We left gamma alone but tweaked the RGB sliders for excellent grayscale and gamma tracking.
Here are our recommended calibration settings for enjoying SDR content on the Gigabyte M27Q and what we used for our calibrated benchmarks:
Picture Mode
Standard
Brightness 200 nits
41
Brightness 120 nits
19
Brightness 100 nits
14
Brightness 80 nits
9
Brightness 50 nits
1 (min. 48 nits)
Contrast
48
Gamma
3
Color Temp User
Red 95, Green 98, Blue 100
When it comes to HDR signals, the only adjustment available is brightness. We found the best HDR quality by leaving that slider maxed.
Gaming and Hands-on
One unique feature included of thee M27Q is its KVM (keyboard, video, mouse) switch. The ability to control two PCs connected to the monitor with one keyboard and mouse isn’t that common among PC monitors and is almost always found in general use/productivity monitors, rather than gaming ones. In a gaming monitor, a KVM switch makes it easy to toggle from your best gaming laptop, for example, over to your work-sanctioned work PC without unplugging and replugging all your peripherals. The M27Q’s OSD includes a wizard to easily assign video inputs and then switch between them with a dedicated button above the OSD joystick. The USB-C input can be a video connection and a USB upstream port.
With the M27Q calibrated to 200 nits brightness, the Windows desktop looked bright and sharp. Our office has a moderate light level with filtered sunlight coming in one window. We never had trouble with glare or other environmental factors affecting the image. Color looked well-saturated but not overly so. Greens and blues are especially vibrant. Pictures of sky and grass radiated with brilliant hues. Skin tones looked natural and robust without excessive warmth. Detail in tiny fonts and icons was well-resolved, thanks to the screen’s 109 pixel per inch (ppi) pixel density — right at our sweet spot.
Turning on HDR brightened the M27Q’s image considerably, but you can compensate with the brightness slider if it seems too harsh. We only used HDR for gaming and video, not for workday tasks. It offers no benefit when editing spreadsheets. Switchover is automatic and rapid when you select the HDR option in Windows’ Display Settings.
With HDR on we played a bit of Call of Duty: WWII. Comparing HDR to SDR in this game showed a brighter overall environment for HDR but better detail and color saturation in SDR mode. Your selection will come down to user preference. We preferred playing all games in SDR mode. Other titles, like Tomb Raider, looked fantastic with deeply detailed shadows, vivid color and defined textures in this mode.
The M27Q’s video processing was visually perfect in every game we tried when paired with high frame rates. Our GeForce RTX 3090 drove the frames per second (fps) counter to 170 every time. At this speed, there is no hesitation or stutter at all. Frame tears were non-existent, and control inputs were instantly responded to. Blur was also a non-issue.
On a machine running an Radeon RX 5700 XT graphics card, the same games ran at around 120 fps and delivered a similar experience. To casual gamers, that additional 50 Hz makes little difference, but more skilled players will appreciate the M27Q’s extra speed. That performance was reliably delivered and never wavered in quality.
Our final takeaway was that this Gigabyte is a serious gaming monitor for an attractive price. Its performance-to-price ratio yielded favorable results on the battlefield.
Fitbit is offering a major update for some of its current smartwatches. As detailed by Wareable, the company is making new health data available to Charge 4 users and expanding access to previously paywalled information to more users. Fitbit, recently acquired by Google, continues its trend of supporting devices well after launch with feature updates and fixes to keep them fresh.
With the update, Charge 4 users will be able to access blood oxygen readings on the watchface, information that was previously available only through the app in sleep data. The update also adds skin temperature data to the Charge 4, which wasn’t offered previously on this device at all.
Owners of the Charge 4, Versa 2, and Inspire 2 also gain access to Health Metrics, which previously required a Premium subscription. This dashboard shows trends for certain health metrics — including breathing rate during sleep and heart rate variability — over a recent period of time. Premium subscribers still get a little extra information, since their dashboards will show a full month’s worth of information while the free version shows only seven days.
Fitbit also continues to expand access to its EKG feature on the Sense, making it available to customers in Canada, New Zealand, and US territories. This feature wasn’t available in all regions when the device launched, but it was added in places like the US following regulatory approval.
This update shows that Fitbit remains committed to rolling out new features and addressing issues proactively. It addressed EKG issues with some Sense units last year by contacting affected users and replacing their smartwatches. Fitbit has also supported the Charge 4 for nearly a year old now, with a previous update to add new features and better manage things like GPS use. So while we’ve seen devices with their share of bugs at launch, Fitbit users can take comfort that the company is listening at the very least.
Google’s newest Chromecast with Google TV video streamer has received a chunky firmware update.
According to 9to5google, the update brings improved 4K support for both TVs and AV receivers, including improved Dolby Atmos and Dolby Digital Plus passthrough.
The Google changelog (200918.033) doesn’t go into much detail, but the update is set to fix the ‘Data is corrupt’ bug that a few owners have experienced and that requires a full reset.
Some users have also reported that the dongle doesn’t trigger Dolby Atmos audio when streaming content from Disney+, only when streaming from Netflix and Prime Video. Fingers crossed the update addresses this.
Sadly, there’s still no sign of the Apple TV app but Google has promised to add it to the device sometime in “early 2021”.
The update is available now and should be delivered to your Chromecast with Google TV automatically. Want to do it manually? Hold the home button, select system update in the settings menu, and the device should seek out the latest firmware.
If you’re in the market for a streaming stick, the Chromecast with Google TV is well worth considering. Under review we called it “one of the best video streamers available” thanks to the excellent Google TV platform and voice remote. In fact, our only real gripe was the lack of Apple content, which should be resolved shortly.
MORE:
Everything you need to know about Google Chromecast
Our pick of the best media streamers and TV streaming devices
Fancy a smart speaker? Best Google Assistant speakers on the market
Apple is bringing accident, hazard, and speed check reporting to Apple Maps. The feature is currently only available to users with the iOS 14.5 beta, and is similar to user-reporting features found in Waze and Google Maps.
When you’re using the feature, you (or preferably a passenger) can press a new Report button in the bottom tray, and select what type of incident or hazard you’re reporting. You can even do this using Siri: I was also able to say “there’s a speed trap here” or “there’s something on the road.” MacRumors shows that the interface is available on the CarPlay version of Maps, too.
Apple Maps will give you a confirmation that your report has been submitted.Screenshot: The Verge
This user-centric reporting feature is now something that all the major maps app either have, or have in development. While this feature was popularized with Waze, it’s been available in Google Maps since April of 2019, so Apple is playing catch-up here (like it’s also trying to do by adding user-generated photos and reviews to Maps). It is worth noting, though, that Apple’s version has way fewer options as of today — Google’s, shown below, is much more in-depth.
Google’s report interface has more options for hazard/incident types.Screenshot: The Verge
There is one strange thing to point out with Apple’s version, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the feature is in beta. You may have noticed in the Google Maps screenshot that Apple’s and Google’s icons for accidents and speed traps look very similar. Here are Apple’s again for comparison:
These are Apple’s icons. See the similarities?Screenshot: The Verge
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey imagines a future where you get to choose what you see on social media by picking out your favorite recommendation algorithm, rather than relying on a single controlling company to get it exactly right.
On a call with investors today, Dorsey expanded on his vision of how a decentralized social network might work — and why Twitter would want to create a network that’s beyond the control of itself or any other company. Dorsey said Twitter would benefit by having access to “a much larger corpus of conversation” from which it can surface relevant content to users. “That’s where we will be competitive,” he said.
Dorsey said Twitter is “excited to build” features that will give people more choice over what they see. “You can imagine an app-store-like view of ranking algorithms that give people ultimate flexibility in terms of” what posts are put in front of them, Dorsey said on the call.
Twitter could both create its own ranking algorithms for people to choose from and offer a “marketplace” where people select different options. “That is something that not only we can host but we can participate in,” he said. Giving people more choice would “not only help out business, but drive more people into participating in social media in the first place,” he said.
Dorsey also sees decentralization as a way to “address some of the problems” around Section 230, the law that gives platforms protection from user-created content. The law has recently been a popular target for some legislators, and a decentralized network might offer Twitter a way to avoid issues if stricter rules were to be put in place, whether those rules require more moderation or for Twitter to apply a more neutral approach to what content is surfaced.
Twitter has slowly been working on developing a decentralized social network for more than a year. Dorsey announced the project, named Bluesky, in December 2019, but the company is just now trying to hire a project manager — so things are clearly a ways off. TechCrunch published a deep dive last month on where the project is headed, and it described Bluesky as “firmly in the research phase.”
Decentralized social networks exist already, though none have had great success (remember Mastodon?). Twitter said the Bluesky team may choose to work with an existing decentralized system, or they may end up building a new one if the team thinks that’s the best approach.
Last August, the routine story of a trademark opposition captured the world’s imagination, when Apple declared that Super Healthy Kids (yes, that’s the real name of a company) shouldn’t be allowed to trademark its pear logo because it might “cause dilution of the distinctiveness” of Apple’s own famous fruit-shaped intellectual property.
Six months later, the case is now settled, and it seems Apple didn’t actually have a pear-shaped problem after all — because Super Healthy Kids has agreed to change the shape of the leaf atop that pear, and Apple has agreed that’s good enough to let the trademark go forward.
Prepear’s new logo has a half-moon shaped leaf, instead of the pointed oval.USPTO
Apple has already consented to the settlement, according to documents filed at the USPTO.
“Prepear is pleased to announce that it has amicably resolved its trademark issue with Apple,” company co-founder Russ Monson tells The Verge, adding that it plans to change its app logo in the coming weeks. The app’s website already features the new leaf.
Monson’s “Save the Pear from Apple!” petition at Change.org wound up getting 269,650 signatures.
CBS All Access is set to transform into Paramount Plus on March 4th, but you won’t be able to watch it if you own a second- or third-generation Apple TV. The company announced that it won’t update its app for those devices when the streaming service relaunches next month, as spotted by MacRumors.
Image: MacRumors
The announcement makes CBS All Access / Paramount Plus the latest service to end support for the set-top box. YouTube announced that it will drop support starting next month, while HBO dropped the aging streaming boxes last year. The second-gen Apple TV is over a decade old (it launched in 2010), while the third-generation version was released in 2012, so it’s understandable that we’re starting to see a wave of deprecated apps.
Users will still be able to stream Paramount Plus to older Apple TVs using an iPad or iPhone, however, so they won’t be completely locked out of their content.
Unlike the more recent Apple TV models (starting from 2015 and onward), which feature modern software and an App Store that makes it simple for developers to continue to update their apps, the older Apple TV models generally only saw updates to individual streaming applications when Apple updated the entire operating system — an increasingly rare occurrence these days.
The sunsetting of the CBS app on older TVs isn’t the only change the Paramount Plus transition is causing: 9to5Mac also notes that the company no longer offers its discounted CBS All Access and Showtime bundle for Apple TV Plus subscribers.
One of the first Android apps — ZXing Team’s Barcode Scanner, an app that predates the first official release of Android itself — is currently getting review-bombed on the Google Play Store. Hundreds of users are leaving 1-star reviews claiming a recent update spews unwanted ads, while nearly 200 more have come to the app’s defense with 5-star reviews of their own.
It’s not quite clear what’s going on here, but the prevailing theory is that the 100 million-download strong app is getting mistaken for another one with the same exact name — one that might have been a clone of ZXing’s app and one that did add malware in a recent update, according to digital security firm MalwareBytes.
MalwareBytes seems to be aware of the confusion; it updated its post yesterday to be extra clear that the bad barcode scanner app was this one, which came from a company called Lavabird. Google removed that app from the Play Store, so it wouldn’t be surprising if angry users searched for it and found the wrong one.
The sudden attention surprised the app’s co-creator, Sean Owen, who tells The Verge that he’s not worried about his reputation — simply because of how ridiculous he thinks the claims are.
“[T]his is such an old well-known app that I think anyone informed would guess it can’t be this app: it’s open source, for one. It hasn’t been updated in years. And there’s just no motive, to make an app for 13 years just to stick malware in at the end is an implausibly long game,” he says. The Google Play Store shows the app was last updated in February 2019.
But he also isn’t ruling out the possibility that his code is being manipulated somehow, perhaps by hijacking the intents system that Android uses to let one app hand off tasks to another. “Many people claim it’s ‘definitely’ this app in a way I hadn’t seen before — and I’ve read thousands of comments over the years — so, who knows?”
Owen says he and his co-author Daniel Switken now regret their decision to make the app open source back in the day because of all the times it’s been cloned by companies trying to make a quick buck by adding ads or skins. “For a time we pursued some of the larger ones for OSS license / trademark problems, but, that was fewer than 10 out of the 100s I saw even many years ago,” Owen says.
This isn’t the first time his app has been mistaken for a bad clone, he says. “At some point a research paper claimed this app was phoning personal info to a third party site, and that caused another wave [of bad reviews], but, naturally the authors found they’d mixed up two similar apps.”
I redownloaded the OG Barcode Scanner app today for the first time in many years. When I launched it, the app warned me that it “was built for an older version of Android and may not work properly,” and I found it only works in landscape orientation. But I saw no ads, it sure scanned barcodes fast, and I haven’t seen any pop-ups or browser hijacking yet.
Testing out the original Barcode Scanner app on a modern Android phone. Screenshot by Sean Hollister / The Verge
Right now, ZXing Team’s Barcode Scanner app sits at a solid 4.0 stars with nearly 640,000 reviews. Google did not reply to requests for comment about how it would handle the negative reviews.
Weber is expanding its line of internet-connected grills to encompass its popular gas models, including the company’s entry-level Spirt lineup, offering Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity for tracking temperature and an integrated digital display.
Connected grilling isn’t a new concept for Weber: the company has offered a line of iGrill meat thermometers for years as add-ons for its existing grills, and last year, it debuted its second-generation Weber Connect smart grilling hub accessory, which offers a newer and more advanced Weber Connect app. It has also offered Weber Connect smart grilling features on its SmokeFire pellet smoker (in a similar manner to Trager’s WiFIRE smokers).
Including smart technology to control things like temperature or monitor doneness makes a bit more sense for a pellet smoker, though — which, by the very nature of its cooking technique, demands longer cook times at lower temperatures. The ability to keep an eye on how a brisket is doing or tweak temperature from inside the house are useful additions for a pellet smoker. A gas grill, with its far less finicky burners, seems like a less natural fit.
All that said, the Weber Connect additions do seem fun. Wi-Fi-connected temperature probes are a helpful tool for grilling, especially for newer chefs or when working with larger steaks or roasts. The app also promises step-by-step grilling guides and recipes, complete with countdown timers, instructions on setting the grill’s temperature for each stage of cooking, and even notifications for things like flipping burgers.
Perhaps most usefully, the propane models of the smart grills can monitor how much gas is left in the tank and notify you through the app when it’s getting low.
You’ll still have to do the actual grilling, though: despite Weber’s boasts about how its new Smart Series grills bring “70 years of Weber know-how, technique, and expertise right to a griller’s fingertips through the Weber Connect cook programs and artificial intelligence,” the algorithms aren’t cooking a steak for you.
The new Weber Connect grills are split across the company’s Genesis lineup with the Genesis EX-315 ($1,029), EX-335 ($1,239), and SX-335 ($1,349) models, which offer more premium features like a warming rack and integrated LED lights for grilling at night. The company is also offering a smaller smart grill with the $849 Spirit SX-315, at the high end of its entry-level Spirit line, which cuts down on the grilling space (but at a lower price). You are paying a premium for those integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth smarts, though: the “regular” version of the Spirit SX-315, for example, costs $599.
The new Weber Connect smart grill lineup is set to launch later this spring.
The same people who originally brought Android to the Nintendo Switch, the Switchroot team, are back with an Android 10 update, according to XDA-Developers. While the mod is only available for certain Switch models, it allows users who install it to run apps from the Google Play Store, like games, emulators, and streaming services like Netflix and Twitch.
The update also brings some more polish to the mod, letting the Joy-Con sticks work as proper analog sticks instead of eight-way D-pads, deep sleep support that the devs say “can last for weeks,” over-the-air updates, and better Wi-Fi support that promises fewer disconnections.
Of course, the real reason for adding Android to a Switch is so you can play games that aren’t Switch games, likes the ones made playable by the Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and PSP emulators on the Play Store. You can see how those perform on the Switch in the video below. Of course, you can also get other Play Store games like Genshin Impact or apps like Spotify. But you’re also not giving up the ability to play Switch games, as Android is installed on a microSD card instead of being flashed to the console itself.
It’s worth noting that Android on the Switch is extraordinarily unofficial. The LineageOS team isn’t officially supporting the port, and it’s more or less a modified build of the OS that was meant for Nvidia’s Shield TV. The exploit to get Android running also only works on Switches that came out before Nintendo’s chipset and battery upgrades, which completely excludes the Switch Lite. Even if you own one of the moddable Switches, which you can check with an online tool, some of the guides on how to get into the Android bootloader say it’s possible to brick your Switch if you make a mistake. Extreme caution is advised.
There are also caveats, like the fact that the games built for the Nvidia Shield don’t work, according to the XDA forum post that acts as a guide on how to install the mod. However, the list of bummers is way smaller than it was last time when the version of Android was LineageOS 15.1, which was based on Android 8.1 Oreo. The new version is based on LineageOS 17.1, which is a build of Android 10.
It’s nice to see this Switch mod get some love and become improved over the years. The changelog below includes a solid number of updates, so it’s worth checking out if you’re running a previous version.
* Android 10 based on Lineage 17.1 * OTA updates. * Full Joy-Con and Pro Controller support with analog sticks and rails. * Hori Joy-Con support. * Deep sleep that can last for weeks. * An Android TV based build. * Reworked fan profiles for quieter operation. * Optimised dock support with resolution scaling. * A rewritten charger driver supporting USB-PD and third party docks. * Optimised touch screen driver. * Easier install via hekate partition tool. * Reworked, simpler, power profiles. * Much improved WiFi driver with less dropouts. * Shield TV remote app support for easy docked control. * Reboot to payload support. * Improved Bluetooth accessory support. * Auto rotation support.
After years of niche positioning in the music world, “high-resolution audio” (or “hi-res audio”) finally hit the mainstream, thanks to a huge raft of support in streaming services (such as Tidal and Amazon Music HD) and products (from smartphones to most digital hi-fi components).
So why should you care about hi-res audio? If you want the best digital music experience possible or at least better sound quality than you’re currently used to (and why wouldn’t you?), hi-res audio is definitely worth investigating.
It can be a daunting prospect. After all, what exactly constitutes hi-res audio, what do all the different file formats and numbers mean, where can you download or stream these high quality files, and what devices do you need to play it?
Indeed, where do you even begin?
That’s where we come in. Our handy guide will take you through the ins and outs of hi-res audio. By the end, we hope you’ll know everything you need to know (and then some) and will be well on your way to enjoying your new and improved sonic lifestyle.
50 of the best hi-fi albums for audiophiles
What is high-resolution audio?
Unlike high-definition video, there’s no single universal standard for hi-res audio. In 2014, the Digital Entertainment Group, Consumer Electronics Association and The Recording Academy, together with record labels, formally defined high-resolution audio as “lossless audio that is capable of reproducing the full range of sound from recordings that have been mastered from better than CD quality music sources”.
In its simplest terms, hi-res audio tends to refer to music files that have a higher sampling frequency and/or bit depth than CD, which is specified at 16-bit/44.1kHz.
Sampling frequency (or sample rate) refers to the number of times samples of the signal are taken per second during the analogue-to-digital conversion process. The more bits there are, the more accurately the signal can be measured in the first instance, so going 16bit to 24bit can deliver a noticeable leap in quality. Hi-res audio files usually use a sampling frequency of 96kHz or 192kHz at 24bit. You can also have 88.2kHz and 176.4kHz files too.
Hi-res audio does come with a downside though: file size. A hi-res file can typically be tens of megabytes in size, and a few tracks can quickly eat up the storage on your device or be cumbersome to stream over your wi-fi or mobile network. Thankfully, storage is much cheaper than it used to be, so it’s easier to get higher-capacity devices. And technologies such as MQA (see below) have arrived to help tackle that.
That’s not all: there are also several different hi-res audio file formats to choose from, all of which have their own compatibility requirements.
They include the popular FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) and ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) formats, both of which are compressed but in a way which means that, in theory, no information is lost. Other formats include the uncompressed WAV and AIFF formats, DSD (the format used for Super Audio CDs) and the more recent MQA (Master Quality Authenticated).
The relative merits of each of the formats can be argued, but the most crucial issue will be the file’s compatibility with your chosen products and software.
Here’s a breakdown of all the main file formats:
MP3 (not hi-res): Popular, lossy compressed format ensures small file size, but far from the best sound quality. Convenient for storing music on smartphones and iPods, but doesn’t support hi-res.
AAC (not hi-res): An alternative to MP3s, it’s lossy and compressed but sounds better. Used for iTunes downloads, Apple Music streaming (at 256kbps) and YouTube streaming.
WAV (hi-res): The standard format all CDs are encoded in. Great sound quality but it’s uncompressed, meaning huge file sizes (especially for hi-res files). It has poor metadata support (that is, album artwork, artist and song title information).
AIFF (hi-res): Apple’s alternative to WAV, with better metadata support. It is lossless and uncompressed (so big file sizes), but not massively popular.
FLAC (hi-res): This lossless compression format supports hi-res sample rates, takes up about half the space of WAV, and stores metadata. It’s royalty-free and widely supported (though not by Apple) and is considered the preferred format for downloading and storing hi-res albums.
ALAC (hi-res): Apple’s own lossless compression format also does hi-res, stores metadata and takes up half the space of WAV. An iTunes- and iOS-friendly alternative to FLAC.
DSD(hi-res): The single-bit format used for Super Audio CDs. It comes in 2.8MHz, 5.6mHz and 11.2mHz varieties, but isn’t widely supported.
MQA(hi-res): A lossless compression format that efficiently packages hi-res files with more emphasis on the time domain. Used for Tidal Masters hi-res streaming, and product support is picking up pace.
MP3, AAC, WAV, FLAC: all the audio file formats explained
What’s so good about hi-res audio?
The main claimed benefit of high-resolution audio files is superior sound quality over compressed audio formats such as MP3 and AAC.
Downloads from sites such as Amazon and iTunes, and streaming services such as Spotify, use compressed file formats with relatively low bitrates – such as 256kbps AAC files on Apple Music and 320kbps Ogg Vorbis streams on Spotify.
The use of lossy compression means data is lost in the encoding process, which in turn means resolution is sacrificed for the sake of convenience and smaller file sizes. This has an effect upon the sound quality – those formats aren’t telling the full story of our favourite songs.
This might be fine when you’re listening to Spotify playlists on your smartphone on the bus on the morning commute, but serious audiophiles and music fans should want better. This is where high-resolution audio comes in.
To illustrate why it should sound better than MP3, for example, let’s compare the relative bitrates. The highest quality MP3 has a bitrate of 320kbps, whereas a 24-bit/192kHz file has a data rate of 9216kbps. Music CDs are 1411kbps.
The hi-res 24-bit/96kHz or 24-bit/192kHz files should, therefore, more closely replicate the sound quality the musicians and engineers were working with in the studio. And they could be that very same recorded file, too. These files are labelled as “Studio Masters” in some cases.
With more information on the file to play with, hi-res audio tends to boast greater detail and texture, bringing listeners closer to the original performance – provided your system is transparent enough.
What do I need to play hi-res audio?
There’s a huge variety of products that can playback hi-res audio. It all depends on how big or small you want your system to be, how much your budget is, and what method you’ll mostly be using to listen to your tunes. But it’s never been easier to get involved, now that plenty of the digital and streaming ecosystem supports hi-res, and especially as popular streaming platforms such as Google Chromecast (although not AirPlay 2) do.
These days, even, you don’t have to completely abandon your vinyl collection to go hi-res, either; turntables such as the Sony PS-HX500 let you digitise your vinyl collection by ripping your record tracks into hi-res audio files.
Smartphones If you’re going portable, smartphones are increasingly supporting hi-res playback. This is restricted to higher-end Android models, though – Apple iPhones so far don’t support hi-res audio out of the box (though there are ways around this by using the right app, and then either plugging in a DAC or using Lightning headphones with the iPhones’ Lightning connector).
Phones that have USB-C sockets instead of 3.5mm headphones jacks for music playback – as is becoming the norm – can boost their USB-C output with adapters such as Zorloo’s Ztella USB-C DAC.
Hi-res audio is increasingly easy to stream wirelessly thanks to new advancements in Bluetooth. Phones with aptX HD Bluetooth support (which many these days have, although Apple’s iPhones are an exception) can wirelessly transmit hi-res audio to aptX HD-supporting headphones (such as the Sony WH-1000XM4 and WH-1000XM3 and Bowers & Wilkins PX7 noise-cancelling headphones).
aptX HD Bluetooth: What is it? How can you get it?
Portable music players Alternatively, there are plenty of dedicated portable hi-res music players such as various Sony Walkmans and Award-winning Astell & Kerns and Cowons that offer more storage space and far better sound quality than a multi-tasking smartphone. More digital players than not support hi-res audio, although again an Apple product is the exception, this time the iPod Touch.
Desktop For a desktop solution, your laptop (Windows, Mac, Linux) is a prime source for storing and playing hi-res music (after all, this is where you’ll be downloading the tunes from hi-res download sites anyway), but make sure the software you use to play music also supports hi-res playback. Apple iTunes, for instance, doesn’t support it, even if your MacBook does, so you’ll need to buy and download separate music playing software. The likes of Channel D’s Pure Music and Amarra are worth considering for a Mac. On a PC? Try JRiver Media Center.
DACs We wouldn’t just rely on your computer or phone’s internal DAC to do hi-res audio justice, either. A USB or desktop DAC (such as the Cyrus soundKey, Chord Mojo or Audiolab M-DAC nano) is a good way to get great sound quality out of hi-res files stored on your computer or smartphone (whose audio circuits don’t tend to be optimised for sound quality). Simply plug a decent digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) in between your source and headphones for an instant sonic boost.
Best DACs: USB, portable and desktop DAC
Music streamers
If you’re after a proper hi-fi set-up, you’ll need to look into music streamers that support hi-res, and highly recommendable contenders include the Audiolab 6000N Play, Cambridge CXN V2 and NAD C 658. This is especially if you’ll be storing your growing hi-res library on a NAS (Network Attached Storage, essentially a hard-drive with processing built in), which we would recommend.
Systems
There are plenty of other products that also support hi-res playback, including hybrid DAC-amp-streamer systems (Moon Neo Ace), speaker systems with everything built into them (KEF LS50 Wireless II), just-add-speaker systems (Marantz PM7000N) and current AV receivers (Sony STR-DN1080).
The ever-popular Sonos multi-room system still has no plans to support hi-res audio, and neither does Apple. But that has led rival companies such as Bluesound to offer hi-res playback across their range of connected products (for a higher price, of course).
Wireless speakers At the higher end of the wireless speaker market you’ll find hi-res support the norm. The likes of the Naim Mu-so Qb 2nd Generation, Linn Series 3 and Bowers & Wilkins Formation Wedge are all able to handle hi-res file playback over wi-fi.
Best wireless speakers 2021
Where can I buy and download hi-res music?
Now that you’re armed with all this information on hi-res music, your next question should be: where can I get all these glorious hi-res music tracks?
There are currently a handful of UK download sites that let you buy and download single tracks and full albums in various hi-res formats. There are also plenty of US and European sites, though not all of them let you purchase from the UK.
Major music labels such as Sony, Warner and Universal have made their extensive music catalogues available to these hi-res download services – which is a real shot in the arm for fans of high-resolution audio. With all sites, make sure it’s clear what file format and bitrate you are buying. Ultimately, you may end up with a favourite go-to site, but even then, it’s worth checking across the different sites for the same album or track, too, as some stores can offer better prices than others.
Here are the top UK hi-res download sites:
7Digital With a strong catalogue offering hi-res music from all genres and a website that makes buying music easy, 7digital is an excellent all-rounder. There’s an accurate search function and the website is simple to navigate. You can easily spot hi-res recordings thanks to a ’24bit FLAC’ badge on an album or song’s thumbnail, and there’s also a dedicated hi-res section. The sole drawback is that it only offers downloads in the FLAC format. Prices are affordable, though, and you can buy individual tracks as well as full albums.
Qobuz Sublime
Music discovery and front-end intuitiveness get full marks on French download store Qobuz. Both the website and dedicated app are easy to navigate, and you can search by genre or new releases, which can be sorted by sample rate. There is a strong Francophile focus, although the catalogue is growing more varied every day. Pricing is competitive, but if you opt for the hybrid download-and-streaming Sublime+ service you do get discounts when buying hi-res albums.
HDtracks
HDtracks may be one of the most established hi-res download stores, but it’s in need of a refresh in looks and catalogue. It can feel aimed at an older audience (there’s strong focus on jazz, classical and dad rock), which can be off-putting for wider audiences, especially fans of more current, popular music. On the other hand, whereas other download sites offer FLAC as default, HDtracks lets you choose between FLAC, ALAC, WAV and AIFF (and the sampling rate for each) before downloading. There’s a selection of DSD tunes, too, which is great for audiophiles.
How to build the perfect hi-fi system
Where can I stream hi-res music?
Not ready to download hi-res files, or simply prefer streaming? Tidal and Qobuz streaming services have offered hi-res and CD-quality streams for years, putting them ahead of rivals Spotify and Apple Music. And now that Amazon has joined the party with its HD service, hi-res streaming is now firmly in the mainstream domain.
Tidal Masters Tidal and MQA’s partnership has brought us one step closer to mainstream hi-res music streaming. You’ll need to subscribe to Tidal’s HiFi tier (which offers CD quality streaming) to unlock the Masters section, and then you can stream hi-res MQA files through the desktop app and Android/iOS mobile apps.
Tidal claims a 30,000-strong catalogue of MQA files, with about 400 clearly labelled. The MQA files have a resolution of up to 24-bit/96kHz (any 192kHz files will be unpackaged to 96kHz by MQA’s core decoding). With the right kit, the streamed tunes sound great, too. It’s a solid foundation from which the hi-res streaming experience can only evolve.
Qobuz Sublime+ Qobuz strikes again here and says its hybrid download-and-streaming tier is ‘”the best music subscription in the world.” This top-tier package offers hi-res streaming up to 24bit/192kHz files (as well as CD quality tracks) on its desktop and mobile apps, with its 50-million-track catalogue including more than 240,000 hi-res albums.
The big downside is the price – you have to pay an upfront £250 annual fee to use Sublime+ and all its perks (which does include good discounts when buying hi-res albums). And in comparison, we found Tidal offers more drive and dynamism when it comes to sound quality. Qobuz’s hi-res streaming tier is a great venture, but only if you’re fully committed to hi-res streaming.
Amazon Music HD The most recent entrant into the hi-res streaming service world is Amazon – and its arrival at the end of 2019 largely marked hi-res streaming going mainstream. The cheapest hi-res service of the three, the value-packed streaming service is up there with the best thanks to its Intuitive desktop and mobile apps, good CD-quality and hi-res library and excellent value.
What’s next for hi-res audio?
With more support than ever before, hi-res audio is a viable choice for anyone interested in audio quality, whether part of your home audio system or when on the move.
Whether the biggest players – Apple, Sonos and Spotify – will ever natively support hi-res remains to be seen, but there are plenty of other, increasingly affordable ways that you can start delving into the hi-res audio world. (Interestingly, 360-degree or surround sound formats such as Sony 360 Reality Audio and Dolby Atmos Music respectively are also making headway in offering higher quality, if not necessarily ‘hi-res’, music experiences, so they’re other options for melomaniacs to explore.)
With this wider availability, more people are able to learn and understand exactly what high-resolution audio is, and the benefits it can bring to music. There’s plenty of content out there, and there’s plenty of hardware to go with it.
So if you want the ultimate sonic solution, you know what to do.
MORE:
Where is Spotify Hi-Fi? And do we still want a lossless Spotify tier?
3 of the best high-res audio systems
Here’s a superb-sounding hi-fi system with streaming skills
Audi has announced the E-Tron GT, an expensive new high-performance electric sedan built on technology developed for Porsche’s first EV, the Taycan.
Due out this spring in Europe, the E-Tron GT will start at €99,800 with a top-spec RS version starting at €138,200. It will then come stateside in the summer, with the base GT starting at $99,900 and the RS beginning at $139,900.
For all of that money, buyers will get the most performance that Audi has squeezed out of an electric car to date. The standard E-Tron GT can output 350kW of power, or roughly 470 horsepower, while the RS version boasts 440kW, or about 590 horsepower. In overboost mode, those numbers jump to 522 horsepower and 637 horsepower, respectively. With overboost and launch control, the E-Tron GT can sprint to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.1 seconds, and the RS version makes that run in 3.3 seconds. Not bad for a car that weighs about 5,100 pounds.
Both models achieve that performance with a dual-motor, all-wheel drive setup that’s powered by a 93kWh battery pack (with 85kWh of usable energy). The battery pack uses 800-volt technology, too, which not only lets the GT perform at high levels but will also enable faster charging. Audi says just five minutes will recover 100 kilometers, or 62 miles, of range when hooked up to a high-speed charging network like Volkswagen’s Electrify America.
Image: Audi
If those numbers sound familiar, it’s because it’s the exact same setup as the Porsche Taycan. That was the plan from the jump when the GT was first revealed as a concept car at the 2018 LA Auto Show and even made an appearance in Avengers: Endgame. Much like how the larger Volkswagen Group will share the German automaker’s mass-market MEB electric car platform, the powertrain that was developed for Porsche’s first EV was made available to Audi for the GT, which will exist as a halo vehicle of its all-electric E-Tron brand. (To wit, it will even be built on the same assembly line as the R8 sports car.)
Audi says the base E-Tron GT should get “more than 488km” (or 298 miles) of range on a full charge, though that’s according to the European WLTP testing standard. In its US press release, Audi cites a 238-mile range for the standard GT and a 232-mile range for the RS, though those are not official EPA range estimates.
Despite being such a pricey car, the base E-Tron GT’s price tag will climb even higher for buyers who want the German automaker’s most advanced tech. Audi’s Matrix LED headlights, which have a complex mirror system that can shape the light in highly specific ways, are an option (though only in Europe). There’s also an optional heads-up display that can project information onto the windshield. All-wheel steering is available, but only as an option. Bang & Olufsen sound system? Optional.
The more expensive RS model includes some of these features, though its price can also jump depending on which wheels are fitted or if the buyer opts for a carbon-fiber reinforced roof over the standard glass option. Noise-insulating glass on the side and rear windows are also an option, as are massage seats.
Both E-Tron GTs come fitted with two displays — a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch touchscreen — that are powered by the latest version of Audi’s infotainment system. That means there’s an LTE Advanced chip for onboard Wi-Fi connectivity, navigation powered by Here maps, a companion smartphone app for controlling door locks and other functions, and wireless CarPlay and Android Auto.
In total, the E-Tron GT is the most loaded up electric Audi to date. It’s the kind of thing that could properly compete (in some respects) with Tesla’s new refreshed Model S, and it gives deep-pocketed customers the option of Porsche Taycan-level performance in a different package.
Audi has already shipped tens of thousands of E-Tron SUVs and Sportbacks, its first electric models released in the wake of the Volkswagen Group’s Dieselgate scandal. But the extra capability afforded by Porsche’s technology could help the automaker steal away luxury car buyers who were previously put off by the lacking range of the original E-Tron (or its most direct competition, the Mercedes-Benz EQC). Beyond that, the E-Tron GT will now serve as the standard bearer for Audi’s push into electric vehicles, the car that all other Audi EVs will be measured against as most customers inevitably settle for something more attainable.
Companies looking to make a name in podcasting have mostly done so by spending lots of money on flashy names, big acquisitions, and valuable content libraries. But increasingly, the audio itself, and the recording techniques used to capture it, are becoming the selling point.
Today, iHeart Media announced that it’s investing in binaural audio, also known as 3D audio, which effectively places listeners in the room of a recording and makes them feel like it’s happening around them. Listening to a show in 3D audio sounds like you’re in the scene and hearing things exactly as you would in real life because the microphones are often shaped like a human head or a pair of ears. This means the sounds hit your ears as they would normally, a zooming car, for example, might be louder in your right ear and then move to your left as it passes, slowly fading from your right. (The Verge’s audio director Andrew Marino published a ton of 3D audio clips here if you want some examples.)
iHeart is launching an entire slate of shows dedicated to the technique, under the name iHeart 3D Audio. It will feature programs made with Blumhouse Television as well as podcast creator and producer Aaron Mahnke.
The company has built three studios specifically equipped to handle 3D audio recording and employs a team of 12 producers who are trained in capturing binaural audio. By the end of 2021, iHeart plans to have 10 to 12 series produced with the technology, says Conal Byrne, president of the iHeartPodcast Network. The team also plans to host live radio events because iHeart owns hundreds of US radio stations, during which it’ll encourage listeners to don a pair of headphones to enjoy the binaural experience.
“I think a lot more should be in 3D audio than is,” Byrne says. “And so as we look across the slate of shows we have from A-to-Z, across 2021, most of those, there’s a 3D audio version that’s probably better than what [we’re] doing normally.”
Byrne sees the form as a tool for storytelling, sure, but also as a new way for sponsors to send a message — and another way for iHeart to differentiate itself from all the companies looking for brand partners.
“I think 3D audio to make a new kind of a 30-60-two minute ad could really kind of — I’m not going to suggest will reinvent podcast advertising — but could definitely push it further toward immersion,” he says. “So we’re going to offer that.”
iHeart isn’t the only network to harness 3D audio, and creators have been doing so for years. Indie network Paragon Collective has used the technology for some of its narrative shows as well, including The Oyster and Darkest Night.
“What I really like about 3D audio is it just sucks people in, so where I’ll use it a lot now is when a character’s whispering to another one, so you can get in their head, or it makes a huge difference when you’re using these sound effects on 3D audio and the user’s in the middle of the room,” says Alex Aldea, founder and CEO of Paragon.
Binaural could become more popular than ever for a few reasons. For one, it’s more immersive, which is good for getting people to listen and stick through a podcast. It’s also compatible with any pair of headphones, meaning listeners don’t need special equipment or software to enjoy it. And finally, narrative podcasts are booming with many networks looking to gain an audience for their shows and a way to differentiate themselves. If you try 3D audio and love it, you might look for more shows like it.
Another network, QCODE, which makes narrative shows with big-name stars, is looking to take the next step in podcast audio and create surround-sound experiences. The company tells The Verge it’s been mixing its shows in Dolby Atmos. Crucially, no major podcast apps support the standard yet, despite companies like Apple supporting it on their hardware devices, like the AirPods Pro, the HomePod, and Apple TV 4K. QCODE is essentially preparing for a day when podcast app makers are ready to support the standard.
“Creating these environments and this experience is going to be a really new thing, and a really positive one for this type of storytelling,” says Rob Herting, CEO at QCODE. “It’s not to say that it’s a replacement for good storytelling, and you can’t think of it like a gimmick, but I think when used well, it can be really, really impactful.”
Podcasts are increasingly becoming IP machines, or a way to make a story come to life and sell a potential film or TV adaptation. Surround sound and 3D audio are just the next steps in that journey to keep listeners tuned in and make podcasts seem even closer to the experience of watching something on the big screen.
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