Facebook is building its own in-app podcast player, the company confirmed today. This will be separate from its new in-app Spotify player. Podcasters will be able to distribute their shows through their Facebook page and will opt into doing so. The exact product details are still unclear. It’s possible this will operate through RSS or that creators will have a backend way to upload their content to Facebook. This functionality is expected to roll out within the next “few months,” according to a Facebook blog post.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg described the Spotify partnership as being primarily about “music” during a chat with Platformer writer Casey Newton last week. But Spotify’s release about its Facebook miniplayer today specifically calls out its use case for podcasts. People can share episodes and listen to them from within the Facebook app without actually navigating to Spotify. But Facebook apparently has other plans to be more ingrained in the podcasting ecosystem.
The company’s interest in podcasts makes sense. It says more than 170 million people connect to podcast pages, and more than 35 million people are members of fan groups around shows. Plus, podcasts are still primarily an ad-based product, meaning Facebook could gather data about shows and listeners and target its own ads against them, possibly giving creators a cut. It could also offer creators a way to put them behind a subscription paywall, similarly to Apple’s forthcoming Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, which it announced last week. Facebook’s formal entry into the podcast player space would mean nearly all the tech giants run their own podcast products, including Apple, Google, and Amazon, on top of Spotify and other smaller apps.
The hacking group known as REvil has reportedly pulled all references to a ransomware attack against Apple supplier Quanta Computer from its home on the dark web, MacRumors reports.
Last week, the group had threatened Quanta with ransomware, demanding $50 million by April 27 in order to stop it from leaking product blueprints. It appears, per BleepingComputer, that after Quanta didn’t budge, it turned to Apple for the money.
“Quanta Computer’s information security team has worked with external IT experts in response to cyber attacks on a small number of Quanta servers,” a Quanta spokesperson told BleepingComputer last week.
The hacking attempt came as Apple announced new products at its “Spring Loaded” event, announcing M1 iMacs and an iPad Pro, Air Tags and updates to its Podcast app. By the end of the event last week, REvil has posted a number of schematics, published by some web sites, that appeared to have been of upcoming MacBook products.
What is unclear is why REvil would have pulled the threat, and whether a ransom was paid or if legal measures were taken. Apple did not reply to a request for comment in time for publication, but we will update if we hear anything. Apple has also not commented publicly on the situation.
Then again, in a video announcing the M1 iPad Pro, we learned that Apple CEO Tim Cook is a bit of a super spy, so maybe that answers some questions.
Apple has announced new spending plans for the US, including the establishment of a 3,000-employee “campus and engineering hub” in North Carolina and the commitment of an additional $80 billion in investment across the country.
Back in 2018, the firm said it would spend more than $350 billion in the US over the next five years, but today, it announced it is increasing that figure by 20 percent to $430 billion.
“At this moment of recovery and rebuilding, Apple is doubling down on our commitment to US innovation and manufacturing with a generational investment reaching communities across all 50 states,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a press statement.
And why not? Like many big tech firms, Apple has done very well during the pandemic, when other industries have suffered and investors have sought safe places for their money. The company likes to spin these investment announcements as a sort of largesse, but they are, of course, par for the course for a hugely successful and ambitious firm like Apple. As today’s press release notes, the $80 billion will go toward “direct spend with American suppliers, data center investments, capital expenditures in the US, and other domestic spend — including dozens of Apple TV+ productions across 20 states.”
The new campus in North Carolina is noteworthy and part of an ongoing trend among tech firms to look outside their traditional California homes. Google is currently investing $1 billion in a New York City campus; Amazon is building its second HQ in Virginia; and Oracle announced last year it’s moving its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas.
Apple’s North Carolina campus will be part of the state’s Research Triangle (named after the trio of nearby universities: Duke University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). The company will invest more than $1 billion in the area and pledges to create at least 3,000 new jobs in “machine learning, artificial intelligence, software engineering, and other cutting-edge fields.”
Notably, Apple also says it will establish a $100 million fund to support “schools and communities” in North Carolina and will contribute more than $110 million to 80 of the state’s poorest counties to help fund critical infrastructure like “broadband, roads and bridges, and public schools.” The Biden administration has made such infrastructure spending a critical part of its plans for the US, but it seems that when government lags behind, private firms will step in.
You can read Apple’s full press release for further details, including the companies expanding hiring in its teams in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Texas, Washington, and Iowa, and its investments in new clean energy projects in the US and abroad.
As part of a new partnership, Deezer will be available “pre-installed” on a new pair of USB-C earbuds from Mobee-K when they’re used with select Samsung Galaxy devices. Plugging the headphones into phones like the Galaxy S21, Note 20, or Z Flip effectively side-loads the music streaming service, without you having to visit the Google Play Store. It’s an interesting marketing tactic that could encourage listeners to give Deezer a try over bigger competitors like Spotify and Apple Music.
As well as offering access to the streaming service itself, Deezer advertises that syncing the earbuds with Samsung’s devices gives access to a “customized Deezer theme” which includes “wallpapers, exclusive playlists, and shortcuts to Deezer” via the phone’s lock and home screens. Galaxy devices going back to 2019’s S10 and Note 10 are supported.
If you’re not interested in giving a new streaming service a try, then the $22.70 headphones should still work with all of your other music sources. Mobee-K’s product listing advertises that they’re compatible with “most” USB-C devices, including smartphones, tablets, and laptops.
(Pocket-lint) – Flick your eyes over the Skoda Enyaq fast enough and, shocker, you might kind-of mistake it for a Tesla Model X from certain angles. No, there’s no crazy gullwing doors here. No, there’s not quite as much real-world range either (it’s not far off, on paper, at least). But, heck, the Skoda doesn’t half offer a whole lot for a lot less cash.
That’s where the Enyaq is going to really appeal. On top of that, despite being built upon the same platform as the Volkswagen ID.4 – VW Group owns Skoda, so that’s a given – the Skoda brings a little extra room for a little less money. It flips Audi Q5 grade costs on its head.
Even so, the Enyaq doesn’t really scrimp on its feature set, with a large infotainment screen included as standard, decent real-world range, and enough of the current must-have high-ride SUV appeal to be seen as a sensible option to a wide audience.
In many respects this could be the most sensible electric car option. But is being too sensible simply off-putting, or does Skoda have the appeal balanced just right?
Design & Interior
Trim levels (80 model): Loft, Lodge, Lounge, Suite, Ecosuite, Sportline
It’s all angles and elevated lines with the Enyaq – not quite to Tesla Cybertruck levels, mind – giving a distinctive look that’s still identifiably Skoda, as the various badges attached to the car will assert.
Pocket-lint
If you’re looking for an EV with decent real-world range, though, its comparable competition – such as the Kia e-Niro – go with overall gentler stylings. By comparison the Enyaq doesn’t blend into the background, while not being so obscure that it’s a head-turner for the wrong reasons – well, unless you add the optional light-up LED grille, perhaps, which’ll probably make it look like a birthday cake on wheels.
In many respects we prefer the Enyaq’s exterior aesthetic to the Volkswagen ID.4, as the Skoda just has more poise and less warbly roundedness about it. There are LED lights as standard, further adding to the visual prowess, while 19-inch alloys as the entry level (20- and 21-inch upgrades are available) add to the overall package.
Inside, it’s generally a treat too. There’s plenty of space, both front and back, with the driver and front passenger in particular getting access to most of the goodies. The seats are comfortable, the materials and plastics soft to the touch, and there’s ample space to store your various kit – from cubby holes to centre bins and cup-holders.
In terms of space the 585 litre boot is large, especially for an electric vehicle where batteries have to be hidden away (in the floor on this platform). Not that you get secondary space in the front under the bonnet – you might expect it, given the lack of an engine – but there’s still a good amount of family room in here. Enough even for a dog crate in the back, should you have a canine companion to cart around.
Comfort acquired, it’s less the sensation of the seats that’ll catch your eye, though, and more the 13-inch touch display that sits proudly off the centre of the dash. That’s a big screen to get as standard (there’s no larger option, not that one’s needed), which is great for seeing navigation and infotainment – whether you’re running with what Skoda offers or linking up Android Auto or Apple CarPlay to take care of things (side note: our Android phone took multiple attempts to function via MirrorLink, so it seems a tad glitchy right now).
Pocket-lint
TECH IN ABUNDANCE
Good as the large screen is, it’s positioned a bit of a reach away – especially for a high-riding SUV seating position such as this. And you’ll need to reach numerous times because Skoda, just like VW, is super-keen on touchscreen controls. We had issues with that in the VW ID.3, and while the Enyaq has some remnants of that experience it’s otherwise a bit more polished and has some more sensible physical shortcut keys on the dash and rotational shortcut dials on the steering wheel – which is all for the better.
Realistically, we suspect it’s more a case of getting used to the fact that volume is controlled by a slider mechanism to the bottom of the screen, or that climate control – which can be quick-selected by a physical button – will require a quick tap of your desired mode, or an up/down adjustment of the always-on-display temperature. It’s not totally taxing, but still a whisker off the mark as to where this system could get to.
Pocket-lint
The second notable screen is the driver’s Virtual Cockpit. This is far smaller scale, but therefore not distracting, and displays all the relevant at-a-glance information that you’ll want to see. Far more distracting, however, is the HUD (head-up display) with its optional augmented reality navigation system – which throws directional curves and arrows onto the panel to try and tell you where you’re turning. It’s a bit too videogame-overlay-like and we can’t really see why it’s useful – it’s more just distracting (just like it is in the original Mercedes implementation).
Additional safety and convenience features can be built into the Enyaq, too, with lane-keep, adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, and rear parking sensors all available – you’ll just have to pay extra for these add-on features. The more you opt for, the more complete the experience, which can be rather helpful for cruise driving over those longer motorway distances.
Pocket-lint
So the interior is comfortable, packed with screens and useful information that you’ll learn to live with in little time. All we’d like is better integration with touchscreen options and a more driver-oriented screen to cut back on the arm-extended reach a little. Otherwise, as standard interiors go, this one is accomplished and kitted out.
Drive & Range
60 model: 58kWh battery, 256 mile range quoted
80 model: 77kWh battery, 333 mile range quoted
Regenerative braking paddle adjustment
Selectable drive modes
Rear-wheel drive only
So onto the big one: electric range, recharging and, well, battery anxiety. It’s all too common – especially given the UK’s lack of not only well-maintained, but fast-charging infrastructure – that the prospect of buying an EV can cause a bit of a lump in the throat. “Will it get me there and back no troubles?”
Pocket-lint
Fortunately, the Skoda Enyaq is well equipped with potential range and the way in which that translates to real-world driving. We drove the ’80’ model, which has a 77kWh battery capacity; there’s also the ’60’ model, which is more affordable and has a smaller 58kWh battery capacity.
We can’t speak of the 60, having not driven it, but the 80 is claimed to deliver up to 333 miles (that’s 535km) according to WLTP standards. As ever, those figures are a bit of a reach – upon getting into our fully-charged Enyaq it told us 210 miles were at our disposal (admittedly in 10C temperatures, which always affects these things). That’s quite the discrepancy though.
Really, we think, WLTP standards should be changed to better reflect real-world conditions. Because, actually, we’ve been impressed by the Enyaq’s range – and, in particular, consistency in delivering feedback on that available range.
Pocket-lint
Having driven away with 210 miles ‘on the clock’, some 16 miles in and the car was telling us we had 206 miles remaining, its regenerative braking clearly being top-drawer at clawing back the miles. Those figures continued to fluctuate a little – but, at the end of our three hours of driving, the distance travelled reflected the change in available range very accurately.
All in all, the car was telling us we’d get about 3.4 miles per kW, so a 250 mile range (420km) is genuinely achievable by our assessment – across all kinds of driving styles and speeds.
You’re not going to buy an Enyaq for thrills and spills, as that’s not the point of such a car, but with instant torque from that rear-wheel drive electric motor there’s immediacy to pulling away, while overtakes won’t be a problem with 0-60mph speeds of around 8 seconds. Given this car is over 2.3 tonnes, that’s not bad going for a mid-size SUV.
Future electric cars: Upcoming battery-powered cars that will be on the roads within the next 5 years
By Chris Hall
·
Pocket-lint
Behind the wheel, irrelevant of drive mode selected (there’s marginal differences between whether you’re in eco or sport), everything feels rather serene and quiet. The Enyaq presses on, not quite as spritely as some EVs we’ve driven, but in a refined manner. It’s a real smooth operator in all kinds of driving conditions.
So not only is the real-world range admirable, the interior comfortable, the standard tech kit commendable, but this EV is a total breeze to drive too. It hits a whole lot of sweetspots, that’s for sure.
Verdict
That’s the sum of it: the Skoda Enyaq, as the marque’s first dedicated all-electric vehicle, is a sound and sensible investment. It undercuts the VW ID.4 in most regards, without really compromising on what you get. It’s got the Tesla Model X appeal – but for those who could never afford such a car.
Sure, there’s some foibles – the infotainment screen has its VW-owed irks, a lot is excessively touch-based, and it’s a bit of a reach to get to physically – but for a spacious, comfortable, decent real-world ranged EV, the Enyaq hits a lot of those (not virtual) buttons.
It’s a breeze to drive, is sensible without erring towards being too boring and, crucially, its asking price is enough to make you ponder the near competition. As mid-size electric SUVs go, the Skoda Enyaq is one smooth operator.
Last week Apple announced its new podcast subscription service, and Spotify could be about to follow suit. In fact, according to sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal, it could launch as soon as this week.
The service will allegedly allow those creating the podcasts to set their own prices, but unlike Apple, Spotify won’t charge a fee or take a cut of each membership.
Crucially, payment could also work a bit differently to Apple’s service. Sign up through Spotify’s iOS app, and you will be re-routed to a website to complete the transaction, instead of Apple’s App Store, as is customary. This would deny Apple its usual cut of in-app purchases.
It’s likely Apple wouldn’t take kindly to this approach – when Epic Games tried the same thing with its hugely successful game Fortnite, Apple kicked it off the App Store (that legal case is due to start next week).
Spotify hasn’t confirmed the plans, but its advertising business officer Dawn Ostroff has previously said there is “room for everybody” in podcasting.
Apple announced last week that it would let podcasters charge subscribers to listen. As well as setting the price, podcasters can decide what extras (if any) you get for paying – examples include bonus content, early access, and ad-free shows. Free trials and sample episodes are also options.
Apple’s service launches next month.
Audio content like podcasts has boomed over the last year, especially during lockdown and Facebook will soon let members listen to podcasts directly through its platform, too.
MORE:
Check out 10 of the best podcasts for music lovers
The Oscars are tonight and despite my best efforts I still haven’t seen all the Best Picture contenders, so will hold off on making predictions (but honestly not sure how anyone beats Chadwick Boseman as Best Actor). Lots of good trailers this week including the return of the most wholesome show on all of streaming and the next big Marvel movie.
Ted Lasso Season 2
You know when you really love a show and it gets popular and everyone else likes it… and you brace for its sophomore season to be not quite as good as its debut? I am hopeful that Ted Lasso will not fall into this pattern, and the trailer for season two looks extremely promising (Ted: “Back home if a team was playing poorly, we don’t call them unlucky, what do we call ‘em, Coach?” Beard: “New York Jets.”) Jason Sudeikis, Brendan Hunt, Hannah Waddingham, and Juno Temple return along with others from season one for Ted Lasso, which drops on Apple TV Plus July 23rd. And if you’re interested in a little bonus Ted Lasso content, developer David Smith managed to figure out the recipe for the shortbread cookies Ted makes for Hannah. So wholesome.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
The next big Marvel movie is the first to center an Asian superhero (and has an almost entirely Asian cast) and it looks very, very fun even if you don’t know the backstory and connection to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Simu Liu plays Shang-Chi, whose father trained him as a child to be an assassin. He tries to escape and live a normal life but as anyone who has ever watched a superhero movie knows, it ain’t that easy. Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, and Awkwafina also star in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, coming to theaters September 3rd.
Annette
Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard play a comedian and opera singer who fall in love and have a child they name Annette, “a mysterious little girl with an exceptional destiny.” The trailer has that French cinema feel, for sure, which makes sense, since Annette is the English-language debut of French director Leos Carax. Annette will open the 74th Cannes Film Festival on July 6th.
Fathom
Scientists Michelle Fournet and Ellen Garland embark on separate research trips in opposite hemispheres to try to better understand the songs of humpback whales. No one really knows why whales “sing,” despite decades of research. It’s challenging work that one of the scientists compares to “pointing all of our satellites skyward and listening from a sign from outer space.” The trailer is just beautiful (obviously watch with the sound on). Fathom arrives on Apple TV Plus June 25th.
Here Today
Billy Crystal wrote, directed, and stars in this movie about an aging comedy writer who befriends a woman (Tiffany Haddish) whose boyfriend bet on a date with him at an auction. Who would not be content to just watch Haddish and Crystal just bounce jokes off each other for 90 minutes? The underlying premise, though, is that Crystal is losing his memory and Haddish steps up to help him. Here Today arrives in theaters May 7th.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
I continue to be surprised at the endurance of The Conjuring movies, which continue to be quite scary. I have to be honest that I’m not a super big fan of these movies because of the way they often put children in terrifying situations, a theme which seems to persist in this latest installment. Paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) are back to investigate a murder committed by a young man who claims he was possessed by the devil. The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It premieres on HBO Max and in theaters on June 4th.
The 93rd Academy Awards (also known as the Oscars) will broadcast tonight, April 25th. This ceremony will recognize the films and their associated talent in a particularly strange and difficult year for the industry, which has been forced to adapt to some big changes during the pandemic. Cinemas weren’t where most people saw newly-released movies. Instead, many of those films were pushed faster than ever to digital distribution platforms like Vudu, Apple TV, and Google TV for purchase or rental. Some were even made available simultaneously with the theatrical release, like some Warner Bros. films on HBO Max.
This year’s Oscars are happening later in the year than usual, apparently to make room for more movies, since the pandemic dried up the release schedule. In addition, this year’s ceremony marks the first time that some streaming-only movies will qualify for an Oscar award.
Despite all that, we’re here to tell you how to watch the show that celebrates the movies of the year and the people who helped make them possible. First, we’ll dig into when and how you can watch the stream, then we’ll dig into the nominations.
WHO’S HOSTING THE OSCARS?
In 2019, the Academy Awards were host-less for the first time in 30 years, and this year will be the same. Instead of relying on a single host, there will be a cast of presenters, including Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Bong Joon Ho, Don Cheadle, Steven Yeun, Bryan Cranston, Laura Dern, Harrison Ford, Regina King, Marlee Matlin, Rita Morena, Joaquin Phoenix, Brad Pitt, Reese Witherspoon, Renée Zellweger, and Zendaya.
WHAT TIME DO THE OSCARS START?
ABC is handling the televised stream, which starts at 8PM ET / 5PM PT.
HOW DO I WATCH THE ACADEMY AWARDS ONLINE?
ABC is accessible for free in the US via an over-the-air antenna, but otherwise, you’ll have to be a subscriber to a service to gain access to the awards show.
You can watch it on the ABC channel on cable or satellite, or you can watch through your browser by logging in to ABC’s site with your cable or satellite credentials.
Alternatively, several streaming services offer ABC with a subscription. Availability varies by region, but most people who subscribe to YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, Sling TV, and FuboTV should have access. And if you only want to watch for this one night, you’ll be happy to know that all of these services offer free trials of varying lengths (though all require credit card information to sign up).
Hulu with Live TV
YouTube TV
Sling TV
FuboTV
Finally, if you can wait until May 2nd, that’s when ABC will make the Oscars free to watch on its site without requiring a log-in, according to its FAQ.
HOW DO I WATCH THE CEREMONY OUTSIDE OF THE UNITED STATES?
ABC hasn’t updated its list of international partners that will broadcast the Oscars, though its site says that the Oscars will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.
WHAT ARE THE OSCAR NOMINATIONS?
Our sister site Polygon has put together a comprehensive post that has all of the 2021 nominations. You can check that out right here.
And if you’re hungry for opinions on some Best Picture nominees from us, Vox, and Polygon, check out the links below:
During Tuesday’s Spring Loaded event, Apple announced (among other things) that the second season of its runaway hit show Ted Lasso would drop on July 23rd. This is extremely good news for fans of the show (including myself) who have missed the earnest football coach with the impossibly sunny outlook on life, which provided a bit of a respite during the coronavirus pandemic last summer.
At the very end of Spring Loaded, however, there was a Ted Lasso-related Easter egg: a graphic of a little box with the text “Ted Lasso’s Secret Shortbread (Makes about one box).” The recipe itself was barely visible. But eagle-eyed developer David Smith was able to read the text, and Googled it, only to find it matched a New York Times recipe for shortbread (albeit a slightly different recipe than Ted’s).
He blogged about it here:
Looking closely at the fractional letters visible I’m pretty confident that this first line reads:
1 1/2 cups / 340 grams cold unsalted butter cut into 1/2 inch pieces plus more for greasing pan
This is definitely a recipe for shortbread, I mean what else would need that much butter!
That really is a lot of goddamned butter.
For those who don’t watch the show (and why the heck not?), the shortbread cookies are a key part of the plot. Ted is trying to win over Rebecca, the owner of the English football team he’s suddenly coaching, and presents her with a small pink box that has the shortbread inside (we later discover that Ted has been baking the shortbread himself, not purchasing them, because that’s Ted for ya).
Rebecca enjoys them.
There are not many pure, good things on the internet anymore (she said as she wrote for an internet news site haha of course I did not mean The Verge, we are great), but a little sleuthing to uncover a shortbread recipe from the best show on streaming reminds me of those innocent days gone by. Like Ted reminds us: you just have to believe.
Apple is on track to transit most of its new PCs to system-on-chips (SoCs) with its own graphics processing units (GPUs) in the coming months, but before this happens, it appears that the company will use AMD’s latest RDNA2-based high-end graphics cards with Macs. Recently Apple added support for the Radeon RX 6800/6900 graphics cards to MacOS.
Apple lists compatibility with AMD’s Radeon RX 6800, Radeon RX 6800 XT, and Radeon RX 6900 XT among the MacOS Big Sur 11.4 Beta features. Meanwhile, the documents don’t say which Macs now support AMD’s latest graphics boards.
(Image credit: Apple)
Being a notebook-centric PC maker, Apple offers only one PC that can accommodate a standalone graphics card, the Mac Pro. Right now, these workstations come equipped with Intel’s Xeon W ‘Cascade Lake’ CPUs with up to 28 cores as well as AMD’s Radeon Pro graphics cards based on the GCN 4.0/Polaris, GCN 5.1/Vega, and RDNA architectures. Apple uses are proprietary MPX modules with Mac Pro, and not the typical add-in-boards we’re used to. The system can still house an off-the-shelf graphics card, though.
It is unclear whether Apple plans to change its policy and begin equipping its Mac Pro with non-professional graphics cards in a standard FHHL form-factor, or if the company just added RDNA2 support to allow users to upgrade the Mac graphics subsystem to play games. After all, it is possible to equip a modern MacBook Pro notebook with a graphics card using an eGFX box with a Thunderbolt 3 interface.
It is unlikely that Apple will equip its workstation with a graphics card that is not certified by the developers of professional applications, so RDNA2 support is likely aimed at gamers. Meanwhile, the depicted card is not necessarily a Radeon RX, but rather a yet-unannounced Radeon Pro powered by the RDNA2 architecture.
In any case, Apple’s upcoming macOS Big Sur 11.4 will support AMD’s latest Radeon RX 6800/6900 graphics cards, which is good news for gamers.
Apple’s product design is usually very good, setting industry standards for how many of the gadgets and computers we use every day look and feel. But the company’s many hits make the less obvious design decisions stand out that much more.
Thanks to the huge amount of new stuff Apple introduced at its “Spring Loaded” event on Tuesday, we have a lot of new Apple designs to scrutinize. While the company generally did pretty well with this round of updates, there are still a few things that made us raise our eyebrows.
The iMac still has a big chin
The new iMac and its large chin.Image: Apple
I think Apple’s new iMacs look really good — except for that darn chin, which, once again, proudly protrudes from the bottom of the computer’s screen like Johnny Bravo’s impressive jawline.
To be fair, Apple did what it could to make the chin look nice. The pastel colors are really fun, and I’m happy Apple removed the giant logo that graced the chin of previous iMac generations. (Remove the “MacBook Air” text from my laptop’s bezel next, Apple.)
And I get that the chin is necessary to allow iMac to be as ridiculously thin as it is. Instead of putting the computer’s internals behind the screen, Apple has stuffed them into the chin.
The new iMac’s logic board and cooling system, stuffed into the chin.Image: Apple
Someday, though, I’d like to see Apple release an iMac with no chin at all — just a screen that’s a computer.
The iMac has white bezels
The white bezels on the new iMac.Image: Apple
Perhaps the most surprising thing to me about the new iMac was its white bezels. Most of Apple’s recent computers have had black bezels, which typically do a better job of hiding the edges of the display and make it less obvious where the screen ends and the bezel begins. (The non-Retina MacBook Air, with its silver bezels, hung around until 2019.)
But again, I have to give Apple some credit for its choice here. Black bezels paired with the bright new iMac colors would be quite jarring — the white looks great with the new iMac colors. And these white bezels are significantly smaller than the giant black bezels on the Intel-based iMacs that are still on sale.
The new iMacs join Apple’s base iPad, the iPad mini, and the iPod touch in the white bezel club. It remains to be seen if the new iMac joining it is foreshadowing others.
The curved corner keys on the iMac’s Magic Keyboard don’t look good
The new Magic Keyboard has some nice upgrades, including a Touch ID sensor (which comes with more expensive models), new function keys, and color-matched aluminum. But the look of just four of the keys on the keyboard makes it much worse than the previous model, in my opinion.
Check out the keys on the four corners of the new Magic Keyboard. Notice how they each have one corner with a much wider curve than the rest?
Apple’s new Magic Keyboard, with the weirdly rounded corner keys.Image: Apple
I just think they don’t look very good. I get that they better match the wider curves of the keyboard itself, but I think they look odd when all of the other keys have four corners with exactly the same curvature.
Here’s an image slider comparing the old keyboard to the new. The uniform corners on the old model look a lot better, in my opinion. Look at that bad right arrow key on the new one!
Apple’s old Magic Keyboard (left) vs. the new one (right).“,”image_left”:{“ratio”:”*”,”original_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22461459/Screen_Shot_2021_04_21_at_8.19.05_PM.jpg”,”network”:”verge”,”bgcolor”:”white”,”pinterest_enabled”:false,”caption”:null,”credit”:null,”focal_area”:{“top_left_x”:0,”top_left_y”:0,”bottom_right_x”:860,”bottom_right_y”:449},”bounds”:[0,0,860,449],”uploaded_size”:{“width”:860,”height”:449},”focal_point”:null,”asset_id”:22461459,”asset_credit”:null,”alt_text”:””},”image_right”:{“ratio”:”*”,”original_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22461460/blue_keyboard.png”,”network”:”verge”,”bgcolor”:”white”,”pinterest_enabled”:false,”caption”:null,”credit”:null,”focal_area”:{“top_left_x”:0,”top_left_y”:0,”bottom_right_x”:838,”bottom_right_y”:368},”bounds”:[0,0,838,368],”uploaded_size”:{“width”:838,”height”:368},”focal_point”:null,”asset_id”:22461460,”asset_credit”:null,”alt_text”:””},”credit”:null}” data-cid=”apps/imageslider-1619201415_9223_302188″>
Apple’s old Magic Keyboard (left) vs. the new one (right).
And by the way, it looks like the Magic Trackpad that comes with the new iMac has the same wider corners as the new keyboard, too, based on a picture from Apple’s website. So if you want your keyboard and trackpad to have matched corners, you’re going to have to pay extra to get the new trackpad.
Apple’s new Magic Keyboard and Trackpad.Image: Apple
The new iMac does not have a touchscreen, despite looking an awful lot like another Apple device with a touchscreen
Hmm.Image: Apple
The iPad Pro’s front camera is still in portrait instead of landscape
The new iPad Pro’s portrait front camera.Image: Apple
Apple, once again, has released a new iPad Pro with a front camera that’s placed on top of the device in portrait mode instead of on top in landscape mode. That means if you use any keyboard case that requires the tablet to be in landscape and you want to take a video call (which is something a lot of people are doing right now), the camera is awkwardly off to the side instead of right above the middle of your screen.
To try to get around this, Apple upgraded the iPad Pro’s new front camera to make it an ultrawide, and the company debuted a new technology that can automatically keep you in frame during video calls. But we won’t know for sure if that will keep you better-centered until we can test it for ourselves. And it won’t solve the problem of forcing you to look to the side if you want to look directly into the camera.
The new 12.9-inch iPad Pro isn’t compatible with the original Magic Keyboard case
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Apple’s new 12.9-inch iPad Pro isn’t compatible with the original Magic Keyboard case, which fits the 2018 and 2020 models of the tablet. It’s not exactly clear why, but it could be because the new iPad Pro is 0.5mm thicker than the 2020 12.9-inch iPad Pro.
Regardless of what the reason is, though, if you’re planning to buy the new 12.9-inch iPad Pro and want to use a Magic Keyboard along with it, you’re also going to have to pony up $349 to buy the new version of the Magic Keyboard case.
AirTags don’t have a built-in keychain loop
Apple’s AirTag tracker doesn’t have a keychain loop.Image: Apple
Apple’s new AirTag item trackers sure seem like they should have an easy way to directly attach to something, but Apple decided not to include a small hole for, say, a keychain or a string. (Yes, I side with my colleague Chaim Gartenberg in his great AirTags keychain loop debate with Jon Porter.)
The Magic Mouse’s charging port is still on the bottom, five and a half years later
This is still how you charge the Magic Mouse.
I already wrote about this one.
There is some hope: it looks like Apple fixed its TV remote
Apple’s new Siri remote, with its iPod-like scroll wheel, a five-way click pad, and smaller touchpad, looks like it will address complaints about the previous Apple TV remote’s annoyingly oversensitive touch controls. And the new aluminum design with black buttons should make it easier to see the buttons on the remote compared to the mostly black design of the previous model.
This week, Apple launched a new Apple TV 4K streamer complete with a shiny new Siri remote control. But there’s a kicker – the new Siri remote won’t work with motion-controlled video games, DigitalTrends reports.
That’s because it lacks a gyroscope and accelerometer, meaning no Wii-style motion gaming. According to MacRumors, if you try to play a motion-controlled game with the new remote you’ll see the following error message:
“To play this game on your Apple TV, you need to connect the Apple TV Remote (1st generation) or a compatible PlayStation, Xbox or MFi controller.”
Why the change? Apple Arcade is trying to position itself as a more serious gaming platform, with fewer motion-controlled titles, which are seen as frivolous by more hardcore gamers. It stopped insisting that games on the platform support the original Siri controller’s motion controls back in 2016, and in 2019 started supporting controllers from “proper” consoles such as the Xbox One and PS4. It will soon support PS5 and Xbox Series X/S controllers, too.
The new Apple TV supports high frame rate HDR with Dolby Vision at 60fps, and is powered by the A12 Bionic chip, which debuted in 2018’s iPhone XS. It also has a unique approach to setting the colour balance: it uses your iPhone’s sensors to optimise the video output for your particular TV. The light sensor in the iPhone compares the colour balance to “industry-standard specifications used by cinematographers worldwide”. The Apple TV 4K then automatically tweaks its picture output to allegedly deliver more accurate colours and better contrast based on the measurements it takes from your TV.
We can’t wait to try it for ourselves.
MORE:
Apple’s new TV calibration feature is coming to older Apple TV models
Apple launches new Apple iPad Pro with Liquid Retina XDR screen and M1 chip
You may have heard of the new Apple products announced at the company’s “Spring Loaded” event this week — including the redesigned colorful iMac, the location-tracking AirTags, and the boosted specs on the next iPad Pro. But there was another big event focused on Apple this week: on Capitol Hill.
This week on The Verge’s flagship podcast, The Vergecast, co-hosts Nilay Patel and Dieter Bohn discuss Apple’s Tuesday hardware event with Verge news editor Chaim Gartenberg as well as Wednesday’s congressional hearing dedicated to antitrust in the App Store with Verge politics reporter Makena Kelly.
The show bridges the gap between Apple announcing a Tile competitor and Tile speaking in front of Congress the following day.
Listen here or in your preferred podcast player to hear the full discussion.
Further reading:
What we’re learning from the rare cases of COVID-19 in vaccinated people
Alexa can now tell you where to find a COVID-19 vaccine
Doctors are testing a prescription video game for COVID-19 ‘brain fog’
Wisconsin amends Foxconn’s contract to reflect radically smaller project
Apple’s Spring Loaded event: the 8 biggest announcements
Apple Podcasts launches in-app subscriptions
Can Apple get you to pay for podcasts?
Apple AirTag hands-on
Apple’s AirTags don’t have a built-in keychain loop, and we have some thoughts
Apple announces new Apple TV 4K
Apple unveils an improved remote for its Apple TV
Yes, older Apple TVs can also be calibrated with your iPhone
Apple announces thinner iMac with M1 chip and bright colors
New Touch ID Magic Keyboards work with all M1 Macs, not just the iMac
Apple launches new iPad Pro with M1 processor
How the M1-powered iPad Pro compares to other iPad models
Any video conferencing app can use the iPad Pro’s fancy zoom and pan camera
Big iPad, Mini LED: why Apple’s new iPad Pro display is better and brighter
Put macOS on the iPad, you cowards
Congress is diving into the App Store fight
Lina Kahn on Amazon’s antitrust paradox
Apple’s $64 billion-a-year app store isn’t catching the most egregious scams
Sen. Tammy Duckworth on hate crimes, racism, and environmental justice
Asian Activists are tracking the surge in hate crimes as police reporting falls short
Inside the glass fibers connecting our wireless world
(Pocket-lint) – Audiophile brand Bowers & Wilkins has always taken its sweet time in adopting new technologies. It told Pocket-lint in the past that this is intentional – it likes to wait until the market matures and its own high audio quality standards can be met.
It was relatively late to market with a Bluetooth speaker and wireless heaphones. And, it only adopted active or adaptive noise-cancellation when it was sure its tech wouldn’t hamper audio performance.
That’s why it is also late to the party with true wireles in-ears. And, do you know what, we don’t mind. The flagship Bowers & Wilkins PI7 in-ear true wireless headphones are proof positive that a softly softly approach can reap dividends.
In many ways, these ‘buds remind us of the excellent Sony WF-1000XM3 earphones. Except smaller, more confortable, and with even more musicality. That’s the benefit of hindsight in effect right there.
The best Lightning headphones 2021 for your iPhone or iPad
By Dan Grabham
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Top headphones capable of handling lossless 48kHz digital audio from Apple devices.
What you get in the box
When you open the box, you see a tasty-looking, small-scale case. It’s a bit larger than an Apple AirPods equivalent but a lot smaller than many we’ve also had through the Pocket-lint testing bed.
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The case comes with a USB-C port and a couple of buttons, including a Bluetooth pairing button that allows you to connect it to your device without needing to take out the ‘buds.
A USB-C to USB-C cable is included, but you’ll have to provide your own charging plug. That does mean it is capable of being fast charged, though. It can also be charged wirelessly, if you have a Qi mat handy.
The case has a further neat trick up its sleeve too: it can also act as a Bluetooth transmitter. Using an additional included USB-C to 3.5mm mini jack cable, you can plug the case into any source and transmit audio to your PI7s wirelessly.
This feature could be great for listening to in-flight entertainment – rather than buying something such as the RHA Wireless Flight Adapter – for example, or for using with a Nintendo Switch, which doesn’t currently support Bluetooth headphones. The case will also pair with other Bowers & Wilkins wireless headphones – such as the B&W PX7 released in 2020 – so can simultaneously transmit audio to those too.
Design and fit
The Bowers & Wilkins PI7 in-ears are beautifully designed. We are testing the white version – they are also available in charcoal.
They are extremely comfortable and light, with a matte finish to the plastic and neat metallic element on the outer tips. It’s meant to be a gold finish but, depending on the light, can look gunmetal grey at times.
The eartips are silicone, with the medium sized tips on the earbuds as default. You get a couple of extra silicone tips in the box, in small and large.
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In our ears, they fit very well indeed and are extremely comfortable. We wouldn’t imagine getting earache from these over long periods, unlike some competitors (although these first impressions are based on having the PI7s for a few days, so a full, in-depth test is yet to follow).
What we will say though, is that as the larger plastic section needs to fit inside the bowl of your ear, some with smaller ears may struggle to place it successfully.
The ‘buds are water- and dust-proof, which is great for indoor workouts. But, we’re not sure they’re secure enough for running outdoors. Very few non-sport TWS in-ears are, to be honest.
There are touch controls on each of the earphones. You can tap to take a call, pause, play and rewind music, and adjust noise-cancelling and activate your chosen voice assistant. There are also wear sensors on each, so when you remove either, the music stops. It plays automatically when you put them back in.
Set-up and battery life
Setting up the Bowers & Wilkins PI7 in-ears is a doddle. For iPhone users, you just need to head to your Bluetooth settings screen and press the button inside the case for a couple of seconds. The headphones should appear in your list for connection.
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It’s even easier on Android devices with Google Fast Pair enabled. Just place the case nearby and open the case lid. Then follow the instructions on your phone.
You also need to download the Bowers & Wilkins Headphones app to control a couple of the features and/or update the PI7s or their case. Once paired via Bluetooth, you can search for your in-ears through the app – this will bring up a dedicated settings section.
The app will also show you the battery status of each earbud and the case. It gives you control over the adaptive noise-cancellation tech (switching it on or off, or choosing whether to have it automatically adjust depending on your surroundings). You can also change the strength of the noise-cancelling effect via a transparency slider.
Battery life is claimed to be up to 4 hours of playback for each ‘bud, with a further 16 hours from the case. We are yet to test that fully.
Audio performance
We’ve been hugely impressed by the audio performance and signature in our listening tests so far.
The B&W PI7 headphones support Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive lossless wireless tech, although we’re yet to give that a thorough workout. We have, though, streamed plenty of Tidal Masters tracks via an iPhone 12 Pro Max.
Naturally, this isn’t the best we could get but it’s close to what we expect most users will acheive.
Pocket-lint
Led Zeppelin’s Bring it on Home (remastered) sounded deep, involving, and with excellent separation. As too did The Kink’s Shangri-La (the stereo mix). While it is weird writing about the imperfections in a recording, they are often what makes a certain version so good, and every squeaky guitar slide is picked out by these headphones.
Bass is impressive too. Each earbud has its own amplifier, supporting a custom 9.2mm drive unit. This works greatly across all fequencies, but bass certainly benefits.
Aside from obvious hip-hop examples, the opening bars of the 2019 remix of Come Together by The Beatles are throaty and tangible. All from tiny in-ears with no cable attached. Amazing.
First Impressions
We want to investigate further before we give our full opinion, but so far, it seems like Bowers & Wilkins is onto a winner with the PI7 wireless in-ears.
These earbuds are extremely high quality and look tasty to match. Their musicality is right up there, but then so is the price, so you would expect as much.
That’s probably our only quibble for now – the B&Ws are almost twice the price of Apple’s AirPods Pro equivalents. Indeed, there are few high-end alternatives priced quite so highly.
Bowers & Wilkins does counter that with the less expensive PI5 – released at the same time – but we haven’t heard those yet to give you a decent comparison, and they don’t come with the Hi-Res Audio specifications.
Still, we’d imagine there are plenty willing to pay a premium price for premium performance. We’ll soon follow up with a full review to let you know if it’s justified. So far, so good, however.
(Pocket-lint) – There’s a little thing in the car world called CMP – Common Modular Platform. While you won’t see it, it’s underpinning a number of cars coming from the PSA group – Citroën, Peugeot, Vauxhall, DS Automobiles, and for those in Europe, Opel.
That’s why you’ll find a number of cars with what look like similar specifications on the road, while the bodywork is all different. Basically, it’s different flavours of the same ice cream. The ë-C4 being Citroën’s flavour of this electric car. So just how tasty is it?
Design
Sitting in the crossover segment, the Citroën ë-C4 – and the combustion C4 versions – look to offer something a little different in terms of design. The C4 has always been slightly playful – we’ve seen the Picasso and the Cactus in previous years – and here we have coupe stylings, rather than just being another hatch.
We’ll come right forward and say that we like this design. It’s fresh and it’s different, the front half of the car swirling in some of the design elements we’ve seen from Citroën recently – with coloured trims and sculpting – while the rear drops off giving you a split rear window that’s reminiscent of the C4 Coupe of yesteryear.
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This big coupe design has often been the preserve of German premium marques – Mercedes, BMW and Audi have all made SUVs with coupe styles in recent years. Adding Citroën to this list makes a lot of sense: this isn’t just another C segment hatchback and it’s all the better for it.
What’s missing is a full glass roof – there’s a sunroof on the options list (it’s £800 in the UK) – but we can’t help feeling that with a glass roof this car would be even nicer in the interior.
The move to that faster coupe style back brings with it a couple of points to note. The rear window has a horizonal split, with a trailing spoiler on the exterior and that does cut across your rearview vision slightly, although we think Citroën should have taken the glass higher up the back to give better rear vision.
That also means you don’t have the same standing height in the 380 litre boot that you might in a regular hatch design, but it’s slightly deeper – larger than the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense – and potentially more usable as a family car as a result.
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At the same time, adding that split allows Citroën to keep the e-C4’s roofline slightly higher, meaning that interior space isn’t compromised and does give for an interesting design.
While it looks great, there are some minor quality concerns. The boot lid, for example, needs a really good slam and it just feels as though it’s not quite as substantial as you’ll find elsewhere.
A comfortable interior
Citroën puts a focus on comfort and the interior is a truly comforting space. There’s reasonable space in the front, while the interior gives respectable headroom for the rear passengers.
Comfortable seats get a cloth finish, leaving the leathers aside for the sake of affordability. There are touches of leather through the cabin, but the predominance is for hard- and soft-touch plastics. That lacks the premium feel that you’ll find in the DS 3, for example, but it doesn’t look cheap and has the attraction of being easy to clean.
There are colour details – with inserted blue stripes to remind you you’re in an electric car, while the only part we find that lets the side down is the glossy black plastics on the centre console. Gloss black leads to fingerprints and dust which always seems to be visible – you’ll be forever cleaning it.
The layout of the interior is similar to the DS Automobiles equivalent – you can see that these cars are related – although Citroën has minimised many of the controls. There’s a full spread of aircon dials and buttons, but other functions controlled though the display lack direct access buttons.
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There’s a home button and a button by the electronic brake toggle for the electric stats screen – but radio, satnav and other functions all require you to punch the home button and then use the on-screen control. That means you’re often having to press a number of buttons to use these functions.
There’s also a mite more convenience than the DS layout which puts all the window controls in the centre of the car – the Citroën leaves them on the door, which we think is sensible.
The c-ë4’s interior display sits nice and high on the dash for easy visibility. And although the driver display is a little small, the head-up display (HUD) adds a touch of class.
What you really take away from it, however, is the comfort. There’s plenty of space in the front and you’ll fit adults in the rear too, with enough headroom for taller passengers.
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There’s a false floor in the boot, but we like the fact that you can drop it to gain the maximum storage space – or keep it in place to keep your charging cables out of sight.
Talking about technology
The Citroën ë-C4 is reasonably well appointed with technology, but as we hinted at above, its biggest failure is in the lack of controls.
There’s a 10-inch display in the centre of the car, mounted on the top of the dash, so most of the interaction will be via touch. There’s a slight frame to it, like a shelf along the bottom edge, which gives you somewhere to rest your hand while tapping away – which makes it more usable.
The downside is that there are only a couple of physical buttons: the home button, which takes you home; a car button, which takes you the vehicle settings (which you’re unlikely to change once you’ve setup the car the first time you drive); and an electric button, which takes you through to see some of the electric stats, but little else.
Outside of this, you can scroll through pages, like the radio stations, using the steering wheel controls, but there’s no other direct controls via other buttons. Instead, you have to use touch – and often you’ll have to press the home button and then select what you want – navigation for example. There’s not even a home button on the display, so it’s a multitude of presses no matter what you want to get done.
That sours the experience slightly and really takes away from what is otherwise a decent offering. It’s in stark contrast to the DS 3 Crossback E-Tense which has massive buttons for every area. We can’t help feeling that somewhere between the two would be the more practical system.
Regardless, Citroën covers the basics pretty well, focusing on radio, navigation and calling. There’s support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto via the USB connections, while the top trim will also give you a Qi wireless charger for compatible devices.
The navigation, visually, is ok, but the search isn’t very good. It’s just too hard to get to the essentials – like car charging stations. This should be front and centre on the satnav app, but buried in points of interest, somewhere after local helipads and other nonsense you’re never going to need to navigate to.
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The Citroën ë-C4 offers essentially the same information as the DS 3 E-Tense under its electric button – that’s a flow diagram showing the battery power driving the wheels, or a bar chart showing average consumption across recent trips. At least Citroën is using a scale that works, so you can see if you’re driving more or less efficiently than previously – but still, compared to the data you’d get from the Kia e-Niro, it just feels like it should be trying harder.
The ë-C4’s driver display doesn’t offer customisation and is on the small side, but we’re not hugely worried about that – it does the job well enough in cahoots with the HUD.
While we’re also talking tech, there’s one downside to all that plastic in the door panels: it can’t really handle stronger bass from the standard speakers, so if your music gets a bit heavy, the performance isn’t that good and you’ll get some vibration back from it.
Citroën also offers a voice command system. This can get around some of the problems: you an just ask for the radio station by pushing the button on the steering wheel. However, once you’ve hooked up Android Auto and found that the same button will also support Google Assistant, you’ll likely never use the native system again.
The ë-C4 is also hiding a small surprise for tablet users, with a mount for tablets on the dashboard. Pop open the drawer and you’ll find a cover with a privacy screen in the front, which will accommodate a range of tablet sizes, but it’s mostly built around normal iPad sizes.
Once your tablet is on the cover, you’ll be able to attach it to the dash on a mount so the passenger can watch at leisure, the privacy screen ensuring that the driver isn’t distracted. It’s great because it all neatly hides away when not in use.
Overall, it feels like there are some easy improvements to be made here. The lack of direct controls and the lack of home button within the touch system just makes eveything more fiddly than it could be.
Drive, range and performance
The starting point for Citroën is comfort. The Citroën ë-C4 wafts over broken roads and speed bumps rather more majestically than many comparable models which are setup with suspension so firm it will knock your teeth out when you hit a pothole. Instead there’s a sense of tranquillity: it’s soft, quiet, comfortable – actually a nice place to be without the boneshaking adrenaline of pretending you’re a rally driver.
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The important core specs of this car will sound familiar if you’re looking at cars in this segment. As we said in the opener, there are various flavours, so the 50kWh battery and 100Kw motor (136hp) will come as no surprise.
Yes, that’s not a huge battery and this is the thing that separates the Citroën ë-C4 from the likes of the Kia e-Niro (with its 64kWh battery) and longer range, or the likes of the cheaper Mini Electric (with its 32.6kWh battery) and shorter range.
Citroën says you’ll get 217 miles range from it (that’s the WLTP measure), but we found it easy enough to average 4.6-miles-per-kW, which comes in at 230 miles. More carefree driving might see that drop to around 170 miles from an average around 3.6 miles per kW, which is what we got in typical runs to the supermarket and other suburban chores – exactly what we expect this car to be doing.
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The absolute range will of course vary based on all sorts of factors – how you drive, the conditions you’re driving in – but with support for 100kW charging, you’ll soon be back on the road.
There are three driving modes – eco, normal, sport – each changing the drive slightly as their names suggest. After playing with the faster sport mode, we settled into eco, which gives better lift-off regeneration than the normal mode so it’s closer to one-pedal driving – although you can’t bring it to a complete halt without using the brake.
In addition there’s the option of both D (drive) and B (battery) modes, the latter again making the car a little more economical. It’s slightly irksome that to engage B mode you have to press a button, but to select D you just move the drive selector. Again, it’s hard to fathom why that additional step was added.
Apple CarPlay explained: Taking iOS on the road
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The steering is light, with indicators for close front obstructions and a useful reversing camera to help you get into those tight charging spaces. It’s an easy car to manoeuvre and the visibility and road positioning is generally very good, even with that slight rear obstruction due to the split rear window. You can get a complete 360 vision system (£350 on the options list), though, which is a nice addition.
Verdict
The Citroën ë-C4 slots nicely alongside stablemates like the Peugeot e-2008, sitting around the same price and offering similar performance. Stepping up the range means moving to something like the Kia e-Niro, which will cost you more, so the Citroën feels like it’s about the right price for what you get – although it is about £10k pricier than the cheapest combusion version.
Overall, the Citroën ë-C4 is a great electric car. It sits somewhere in the middle of practical options available out there at the moment, offers a good balance of price to performance, all wrapped into a car that above all else is majestically comfortable for driver and passengers alike.
Alternatives to consider
Pocket-lint
Kia e-Niro
Those looking for more range will be attracted to the 64kWh e-Niro, one of the top EVs on the road, while the lower capacity e-Niro is around the same price as the Citroen, but with a smaller battery.
Read our review
Pocket-lint
Nissan Leaf
The Nissan Leaf is one of the best EVs on the road, and certainly one of the most popular. For just a little more you can get the 62kWh version which will give you more range, although it lacks the appeal of the ë-C4’s crossover stylings.
Read our review
Writing by Chris Hall. Editing by Mike Lowe.
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