Razer announced the Opus X, a new set of over-ear wireless headphones that offer active noise cancellation for just $100. Based on the small amount of differences and seemingly no major compromises compared to the pricier Opus headphones it launched last year, these could be a solid option if you have a little less money to spend on wireless headphones. It’s available to purchase now on Razer’s site.
Overall, the design appears to be similar to the Opus. It’s tough to tell from images how build quality or materials might have changed given the price reduction. This model comes in one of three new colors — green, pink, and white — which are a bit louder and more divisive than the black or midnight blue colors of the standard Opus. The button layout has been crammed onto the rim of the right ear cup instead of splitting functions across both the left and right sides. The Opus X’s power button now handles cycling through active noise cancellation and the “Quick Attention” mode that lets you hear more of your surroundings.
The polar opposite of going stealth.Image: Razer
The Opus X have rotating ear cups so you can rest them comfortably around your neck if you need to take them off. Though, this more affordable model lacks the feature that automatically pauses or plays your content upon removing or putting them back on. That’s one of the biggest omissions. As for what else hit the cutting room floor, there’s no 3.5mm jack — just a USB-C port — so you’ll need to connect these solely over Bluetooth.
There’s actually one feature that’s exclusive to the Opus X: Razer’s low-latency “Gaming Mode” that reduces the latency over Bluetooth to 60 milliseconds. We’ve seen this feature in other wireless headphones from Razer, like its Hammerhead True Wireless Pro.
I reviewed the Opus last year and they exceeded my expectations considering their original $200 price. They had surprisingly good sound quality, and the active noise cancellation is a perk you don’t often find at this price point (even better, they’ve fallen in price considerably since launch). They also impressed me in terms of battery life, and I was able to use them for an entire work week without recharging. The new Razer Opus X claim to have even better longevity with up to 40 hours of battery with noise cancellation off, or up to 30 hours with it on. If the Opus X sound nearly as good as the Opus, they could be a real winner.
Asus Z590 WiFi Gundam Edition (Image credit: Asus)
In a collaboration with Sunrise and Sostu, Asus announced last year a special lineup of PC components inspired by the Gundam anime series. While the products were originally specific to the Asian region, they have now made their way over to the U.S. market.
Asus introduced two opposing Gundam series. The Gundam series is based on the RX-78-2 Gundam, while the Zaku series borrows inspiration from the MS-06S Char’s Zaku II. The list of components include motherboards, graphics cards, power supplies, monitors and other peripherals. Specification-wise, the Gundam-and Zaku-based versions are identical to their vanilla counterparts.
For now, there’s not a lot to choose from. Newegg only currently sells four Gundam-themed products from Asus. On the motherboard end, we have the Z590 WiFi Gundam Edition and the TUF Gaming B550M-Zaku (Wi-Fi). The U.S. retailer also listed the RT-AX86U Zaku II Edition gaming router and TUF Gaming GT301 Zaku II Edition case.
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The Z590 WiFi Gundam Edition, which retails for $319.99, is a LGA1200 motherboard that supports Intel’s latest 11th Generation Rocket Lake-S processors. The motherboard supports up to 128GB of memory and memory frequencies up to DDR4-5133 without a sweat. The Z590 WiFi Gundam Edition also offers PCIe 4.0 support on both its M.2 ports and PCIe expansion slots as well as Wi-Fi 6 connectivity with added Bluetooth 5.0 functionality.
The TUF Gaming B550M-Zaku (Wi-Fi), on the other hand, leverages the B550 to accommodate multiple generations of Ryzen processors up to the latest Zen 3 chips. The microATX motherboard also supports the latest technologies, such as PCIe 4.0, Wi-Fi 6 and USB Type-C. Newegg has the TUF Gaming B550M-Zaku (Wi-Fi) up for purchase for $219.99.
The RT-AX860U Zaku II Edition is one of Asus’ most recent dual-band Wi-Fi 6 gaming routers. The router, which sells for $299.99, offers speeds up to 5,700 Mbps and 160 MHz channels. A quad-core 1.8 GHz processor and 1GB of DDR3 powers the RT-AX860U Zaku II Edition.
Lastly, the TUF Gaming GT301 Zaku II Edition is a $119.99 mid-tower case for ATX motherboards. It offers generous support for radiators up to 360mm and a tempered glass side panel to show off your hardware. There’s also a convenient headphone hangers to keep your heaphones safe and at hand.
Founded in 1999, Thermaltake is a PC case, power supply, and peripherals company based in Taiwan. The ARGENT M5 Wireless RGB is part of an entire line of products consisting of a mouse bungee, mouse pad, headphones, headphone stand, and a wired variant of the M5 RGB. Capable of either wired, 2.4 GHz, or Bluetooth operation, the ARGENT M5 Wireless RGB is capable of up to 100 hours of battery life without illumination in 2.4 GHz mode and up to 200 hours using Bluetooth. The ARGENT M5 Wireless RGB is symmetrical, which means it has side buttons on both sides, and its button layout can be reversed in the software, enabling left-handers to use it normally. Through the software, several RGB lighting effects can be set up and synchronized with other ARGENT devices, including Razer Chroma enabled ones. The sensor is PixArt’s PAW3335 capable of 16,000 CPI, and the scroll wheel is made out of aluminium for better durability and grip.
(Pocket-lint) – The Polar Ignite 2 is the follow-up fitness watch to the 2019 original. While it gives you all those key sports watch features, its key skills are to track your workouts and tell you the ones you should be doing next.
The relatively low asking price puts it up against the likes of the now older Apple Watch Series 3 or Fitbit Versa 3, but does the second-gen Polar deliver enough spark?
Design and display
1.2-inch IPS TFT touchscreen, 240 x 204 resolution
43mm case diameter, 8.5mm thick
Waterproof to 30 metres
Weighs 35g
The Ignite 2 is virtually identical to the original watch. It has the same-sized round polymer case, with a single physical button tucked away in the bottom corner, and a touchscreen controlled display.
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That’s partnered up with a silicone strap with a traditional watch-style buckle that comes in two size options. Those straps are removable too with a simple pin mechanism, letting you quickly swap for one of Polar’s dressier options or a strap that looks a lot like one of Apple’s sport bands.
Polar is offering some more colourful options here too as well. There’s now champagne, blue, black, and pink strap options to go with the four case colour options.
The Ignite 2 is a light watch – at just 35g – and we’ve found it’s been very comfortable to wear 24/7. If you like the idea of a watch that doesn’t sit big and bulky on your wrist, then it’s got appeal.
The biggest design change over the Ignite lies with the more textured, grippier finish on the case. With the right case and strap combo, it gives a slightly nicer-looking watch than its predecessor, but it’s the smallest of changes where pretty much everything else otherwise remains the same.
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Another element that hasn’t changed is the screen. It’s the same 1.2-inch touchscreen display that offers the same in the way of overall quality and viewing angles. It’s not as crisp, vibrant or as colourful as an AMOLED screen, but it’s a good enough screen surroundings to soak up your stats.
What isn’t so good is the still lingering lagging you get when interacting with this screen. It was the same on the first Ignite and clearly Polar hasn’t sought to improve things regarding the screen’s slightly delayed response.
Software and performance
Phone notifications, music controls and weather forecasts
Works with Polar Flow and third-party apps
As is the case with all of Polar’s watches (aside from a brief play with Google’s Wear OS for its M600 watch), it sticks to packing on its own in-house operating system.
It’s a software that pairs to your phone over Bluetooth and does offer the ability to pair up external Bluetooth heart-rate sensors. In the Ignite 2 you don’t get the ANT+ connectivity you get on more expensive Polar watches to widen the support of devices you can connect it to.
The software experience is similar to what you’ll find on Polar’s top-end watches, albeit with a greater emphasis on using the touchscreen to navigate your way around the interface. You can commence workout tracking in the same fashion, while swiping left and right on the watch screen will drop additional information around the watch face, such as current heart rate, activity tracking data, and a useful weekly summary of your training.
Polar has sought to offer more smartwatch features on the Ignite this time around, rolling out features that have already appeared on its Vantage series and Grit X watches. Along with the same notification support, you now getting weather forecasts, the ability to adjust the look of watch faces, and there’s now music controls here too.
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They’re not groundbreaking features, but they’re ones that make the Ignite 2 more useful to have around when you’re not just working out. They work well enough, too, although displaying notifications still feels a little clunky. The music controls are easy to use and work with third-party apps like Spotify, though, which is good news.
Off the watch, your go-to place for setting things up is the Polar Flow phone app or desktop app, but this is a watch that will play nice with third-party apps if you want to bypass Polar’s own once you’ve set things up. Much like Garmin, there’s a lot going on in Polar Flow and it pays to spend some time to get to know where things live in the app and get a sense of what all of the extra training insights mean.
Sports and fitness tracking
FitSpark workout recommendations
Nightly Recharge measurements
Pool swim tracking
Despite its small stature, Polar still manages to pack in quite an impressive array of features into the Ignite 2. There’s built-in GPS, the same Precision Prime heart rate monitor technology used on its pricier Vantage watches, and a rich collection of training features like adaptive running programmes.
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For sports tracking, you’re getting access to over 130 profiles – with activities like running, cycling, pool swimming the best served. There’s also profiles for HIIT and cross training, with a bigger emphasis on monitoring heart rate to measure effort levels during those workouts.
GPS signal pick-up was nice and snappy on our outdoor runs and distance tracking accuracy and core running metrics were in line with a similarly-priced Garmin watch.
In the water, however, the Polar wasn’t so good. Accuracy of tracking laps was fine on shorter swims, but accuracy waned noticeably over swimming longer distances above 400-500 metres.
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If you’re hoping for a reliable heart rate monitor, then the one on the Ignite 2 performed well in most of our tests. On runs and home workouts, it was a few beats per minute (bpm) out from a Garmin HRM-Pro chest strap monitor. For something more intense like interval training, that accuracy and ability to keep up with the sudden spikes and drops in heart rate shows though. It’s not a terrible performer, but if you yearn for supreme accuracy, take the opportunity to pair up an external sensor.
One of the standout features on the Ignite 2 is FitSpark. This is Polar’s smart suggested workouts feature that looks at the types of sessions you’ve logged with your watch to recommend workouts you should do around them. So it may suggest working on strength if you’ve been smashing the cardio lately, or adding some mobility work to better balance your training.
It works really well too, clearly instructing you what to do during the workouts and will start a countdown and send a vibrating buzz to let you know when to prepare for the next workout. It’s not a feature unique to this Polar watch, but it’s one that’s great to use if you’re not sure about what to do when it comes to training.
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If you’re yearning for some of the more advanced training analysis you get on Polar’s other watches, you can still get details on your cardio load status and you can learn more about whether you’re under- or over-training. You can now also understand what’s fuelling your run with the new Energy Sources feature – this heart rate-fuelled feature gives you a breakdown if you’ve used carbohydrates, proteins or fats to power a workout.
The Ignite 2 doubles up as a pretty solid fitness tracker too. It will track steps, distances, nudge you when you’ve not been active for a period of time, and display in the app a breakdown of when you were most active during the day.
But what’s really impressive with the Ignite 2 is the sleep tracking. It offers all the typical things you’d expect to find on a sleep monitoring watch, including a breakdown of sleep stages including REM sleep and sleep scores. Where things get interesting are the Nightly Recharge measurements, which aim to help you better assess if you’ve recovered from a tough physical day. It looks at sleep quality and how your autonomic nervous system calms during the early hours of sleep to generate the measurement. It can then offer tips on whether you should train or why you might have had a bad night of sleep.
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The accuracy of sleep tracking ultimately dictates how useful this feature is – and against a Fitbit’s pretty impressive sleep tracking the Polar held up really well on that front. So if you’re looking for a watch that tracks sleep but also offers useful, actionable insights based on that data, the Ignite 2 fits the bill.
Battery life
165mAh battery, up to 5 days per charge
100 hours in training mode
20 hours GPS battery life
The Ignite 2 promises to deliver up to five days of life in smartwatch mode – with continuous heart rate monitoring in use. When you’re using GPS, you can expect to get 20 hours of tracking time. And there’s now a new training mode that will record workouts up to 100 hours.
What we’ve learnt over our experience with Polar’s latest watches is that they can come up a little short on those claims. That doesn’t change with the Ignite 2. It’s clear the more advanced sleep monitoring features Polar has introduced have quite a noticeable drain on battery – and you can’t turn it off. You can disable continuous heart rate monitoring, which will get you to that five day mark – otherwise it’s more like four.
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When you’re putting GPS tracking to use, you’re getting around the same battery life as a similarly priced watch from Garmin, but significantly more GPS battery life than what you’re going to get from any Apple Watch model. If you want something that can get you just under a week of training, then that’s what the Ignite 2 will get you.
When it’s time for charging, Polar retains the same disc charger that clips onto the back and takes over an hour to get from 0-100 per cent, so it’s a relatively snappy charger.
Verdict
Polar hasn’t made wholesale changes compared to the first Ignite, instead focusing on improving the look and trickling down some features from its pricier watches into the Ignite 2.
But it’s got pretty much everything you could want in a fitness watch, offering solid tracking for most activities, plenty in the way of data, features and insights, and is a light and comfortable watch to live with.
Features like FitSpark and the Nightly Recharge measurements is what really makes the Ignite 2 stand out from the similar price competition. The latter though clearly is a drain on battery life.
As a smartwatch you’ll get more from the likes of Garmin, Fitbit and Apple. But in terms of a fitness watch first and foremost there’s a lot to like here.
If you like the idea of a watch that does a great job of bringing training and recovery closer together and helping you make sense of it, the Ignite 2 is worth strapping on.
Also consider
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Apple Watch Series 3
While you’ll have to live with much less battery life, the Series 3 gives you a better screen, smartwatch features, and pretty solid sports tracking in a more attractive, customisable look.
Read our review
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Garmin Venu Sq
The square Venu Sq is in a similar price range and again offers a nicer display and more smartwatch features like Spotify offline playlist support.
Read our review
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Polar Unite
If you can live without the built-in GPS, the Unite offers those great FitSpark and Nightly Recharge measurements for less money.
Monoprice seems to be on a mission to make Dolby Atmos technology as accessible as possible. After releasing a 5.1.2 system for less than $450 earlier this year, the company has announced the SB-300, a 2.1 soundbar with virtual Dolby Atmos that comes in at just $180.
While the SB-300 doesn’t have any upward-firing drivers or surround speakers for ‘true’ Dolby Atmos, Dolby’s Virtual Atmos technology utilises DSP (digital signal processing) and psychoacoustics to (theoretically) reproduce the height dimensions of compatible content for a more cinematic home theater experience.
Despite the bargain price, Monoprice has still given the SB-300 a decent feature set that includes two HDMI ports and an HDMI eARC output, as well as coaxial and optical inputs.
A USB port allows for audio playback of MP3s from a hard drive, while Bluetooth 4.2 is onboard for streaming from portable devices. There’s also a 3.5mm analogue audio input, which means this budget bar is well suited to those with an older TV set.
The soundbar offers ‘Movie’, ‘Music’, and ‘News’ modes to tweak the sound depending on the content you’re watching. Music mode is (obviously) for music playback, Movie mode attempts to focus on both dialogue and sound effects for a more dramatic movie experience, and News mode emphasises dialogue clarity.
Included in the box is an infra-red remote, HDMI cable and hardware for wall mounting.
The SB-300 is available in the US now for $180.
MORE
Best Dolby Atmos soundbars 2021: the best Atmos TV speakers
Two-factor authentication is a good way to add an extra layer of security to online accounts. It requires the use of your smartphone, however, which is not only inconvenient, but can be a problem if your phone is lost or breached. Hardware security keys can offer an additional layer of security to password-protected online accounts and, in turn, your identity. They’re also not hard to install. Here’s how to set them up for your Google account, Facebook, and Twitter.
Security keys can connect to your system using USB-A, USB-C, Lightning, or NFC, and they’re small enough to be carried on a keychain (with the exception of Yubico’s 5C Nano key, which is so small that it’s safest when kept in your computer’s USB port). They use a variety of authentication standards: FIDO2, U2F, smart card, OTP, and OpenPGP 3.
When you insert a security key into your computer or connect one wirelessly, your browser issues a challenge to the key, which includes the domain name of the specific site you are trying to access. The key then cryptographically signs and allows the challenge, logging you in to the service.
Many sites support U2F security keys, including Twitter, Facebook, Google, Instagram, GitHub, Dropbox, Electronic Arts, Epic Games, Microsoft account services, Nintendo, Okta, and Reddit. The best thing to do is to check the website of your security key of choice and see which services are supported — for example, here’s a link to the apps supported by YubiKeys.
A setup process is necessary before you can use a security key. After that, securely accessing your online profile on a site is a simple matter of entering your password, inserting the key, and tapping the button.
Keep in mind that you can’t copy, migrate, or save security-key data between keys (even if the keys are the same model). That is by design, so keys can’t be easily duplicated and used elsewhere. If you lose your security key, you can use two-factor authentication on your cellphone or an authenticator app. Then, if you want to use a new key, you will have to go through the process of reauthorizing your accounts all over again.
Which security key should I use?
Several brand choices are available. Yubico, one of the developers of the FIDO U2F authentication standard, sells several different versions. Google sells its own U2F key, called the Titan, which comes in three versions: USB-C, USB-A / NFC, or Bluetooth / NFC / USB. Other U2F keys include Kensington’s USB-A fingerprint-supporting key, and the Thetis USB-A key.
For this how-to, we used the YubiKey 5C NFC security key, which fits into a USB-C port but also works with phones via NFC. The process is pretty similar for all hardware security keys, though.
Pairing a key with your Google account
In order to use a security key with your Google account (or any account), you need to have already set up two-factor authentication.
Log in to your Google account, and select your profile icon in the upper-right corner. Then choose “Manage your Google Account.”
In the left-hand menu, click on “Security.” Scroll down until you see “Signing in to Google.” Click on the “2-step Verification” link. At this point, you may need to sign in to your account again.
“Signing in to Google” > “2-step Verification.”” data-upload-width=”1422″ src=”https://rondea.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/echo/Google_setup_for_security_key.png60c0c868c6c9e.jpg” >
Go to “Security” > “Signing in to Google” > “2-step Verification.”
Scroll down until you see the “Add more second steps to verify it’s you” heading. Look for the “Security Key” option and click on “Add Security Key.”
A pop-up box will list your options, which include devices that have built-in security keys and the option to use an external security key. Select “USB or Bluetooth / External security key.”
You’ll see a box telling you to make sure the key is nearby but not plugged in. You’ll also see an option to use only the security key as part of Google’s Advanced Protection Program (which is for users with “high visibility and sensitive information”). Assuming you don’t fall into that category, click “Next.”
The next box lets you register your security key. Insert your key into your computer port. Press the button on the key, then click “Allow” once you see the Chrome pop-up asking to read the make and model of your key.
Give your key a name.
Now you’re set! You can come back to your Google account’s 2FA page to rename or remove your key.
Pairing a key with your Twitter account
Log in to your Twitter account and click on “More” in the left-hand column. Select “Settings and privacy” from the menu.
Under the “Settings” heading, select “Security and account access” > “Security” > “Two-factor authentication.”
You’ll see three choices: “Text message,” “Authentication app,” and “Security key.” Click on “Security key.” You’ll probably be asked for your password at this point.
Select “Start.”
Once your security key is registered, you receive a just-in-case backup code (deleted here).
Insert your security key into your computer’s port, then press the key’s button.
The window should refresh to say, “Security key found.” Type in a name for your key and click “Next.”
The window will now read “You’re all set.” It will also give you a single-use backup code to use if you don’t have access to any of your other log-in methods. Copy that code and put it somewhere safe.
If you’ve changed your mind and want to remove the security key, go back to the “Two-factor authentication” page and select “Manage security keys.”
Click on the name of the key, and then choose “Delete key.” You’ll need to enter your password and verify that you want to delete the key.
Pairing a key with your Facebook account
Log in to your Facebook account. Click on the triangle icon on the upper-right corner and select “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings.”
Now you’re at “General Account Settings.” Select the “Security and Login” link from the left sidebar.
Scroll down until you see the section labeled “Two-Factor Authentication.” Click “Edit” on the “Use two-factor authentication” option. You may be asked for your password.
If you don’t have 2FA set up, you’ll be given three choices: “Authentication App,” “Text Message (SMS),” and “Security Key.” It’s recommended that you use an authenticator app as your primary security, but if you prefer, you can just click on “Security Key.”
You can use a security key as your main authentication method.
If you do have 2FA set up, then you’ll find the “Security Key” option under “Add a Backup Method.”
Either way, you’ll get a pop-up box; click on “Register Security Key.” You’ll be instructed to insert your security key and press its button.
And that’s it. If you don’t use 2FA, you’ll now be asked for the security key if you log in from an unrecognized device or browser. If you do, you can use your key if you don’t have access to your authentication app.
If you no longer want to use the key, go back to “Two-Factor Authentication,” find “Security Key” under “Your Security Method,” and click on “Manage my keys.”
We all spend a lot of time on our phones, and it’s possible — just possible — that some of us spend too much time. In 2018, we ran an article explaining how to use what was then Apple’s brand-new Screen Time feature, which was built in order to help people keep their on-screen time in some sort of sane proportion.
At the time (which was when iOS 12 came out), you could use Screen Time to check how much time you spent on your phone, use an App Limits feature to limit your (or your kids’) daily time spent on various apps or types of apps, or use its Downtime feature to cut off access to all (except a few) apps.
Since then, and especially since iOS 13 came out, Screen Time has been expanded, making it easier to lock down apps and / or limit your screentime. (There have been no additional features announced so far for the upcoming iOS 15, but we’ll add them here if there are.)
To begin using Screen Time, go to “Settings” > “Screen Time.” Here are some of the things you can do.
Daily Average
At the top of the Screen Time app, you can see an accounting of your activity over the course of the day. Click on “See All Activity” to see a breakdown of which specific apps you used and how long you used them.
Downtime
Downtime lets you set periods when you want to force yourself to give your eyes a rest and avoid staring at the screen. It does this by locking down the apps with which you are most likely to spend time. These lockdowns are not absolute — as you’ll see later, you can cancel Downtime when you need to.
Begin by choosing when you want to start your time away from your phone.
Tap on “Downtime” and toggle it on.
Select the days (it can be every day or just on specific days) and times that you want to avoid getting swallowed by your favorite iPhone apps. During those times, only specified apps that you pre-selected (along with phone calls) will be allowed through. For example, you can disable Facebook and Twitter during working hours, but keep the Messages app going for texts. (We’ll go over how to choose which apps to disable in a moment.)
You’ll get a warning before Downtime kicks in. If you need to keep working on an app, don’t worry — you’ll be given the chance to ask for one more minute, to be reminded in another 15 minutes, or to ignore the limit for today.
Keep in mind that Downtime, and the other Screen Time features, can be applied to all your devices that use iCloud. So if you set it on your iPhone, for example, it can apply to your Mac or iPad as well. To share your settings across your devices, go to the Screen Time main screen and toggle “Share Across Devices” on.
Now that you’ve chosen when you want some downtime, you’ll probably want to select which apps should be allowed to remain active.
Back in the Screen Time main screen, select “Always Allowed.” Here you can choose which apps you will still have access to during downtime.
You’ll see two sets of apps: Allowed Apps and Choose Apps.
To select an app you’ll always want access to, even during downtime, tap on the app’s name in Choose Apps and it will appear in the Allowed Apps list.
If you want to disallow any of the Allowed Apps, tap on the minus sign next to the app, and then on “Remove.”
There are more ways to personalize Downtime. Let’s say you want to get alerted about text messages from specific people — you’re planning to concentrate on a project and don’t want to hear from any of your friends, but you still want to get texts from family members. You can do that.
On the same “Always Allowed” page, tap on “Contacts” at the top of the page.
Under “Allowed Communication,” select “Specific Contacts” and choose which contacts you want to allow through, even during downtime.
Note that the “Allowed Communication” page is also accessible from the main Screen Time page.
App Limits
Another way to keep your app use in check is to limit the amount of time you use an app (rather than setting what time of day you can use it). For example, if Twitter tends to be your personal black hole, you can decide not to spend more than, say, two hours on Twitter each day.
To set your app limits:
In the Screen Time screen, select “App Limits” > “Add Limit.” Toggle “App Limits” on and tap on “Add Limit.”
You’ll see a list of categories, such as “Social,” “Games,” and “Entertainment.” Tap on a specific category, and it will open up to show a list of all your apps that are in that category.
Select the apps that you want to limit — or select an entire category to choose all the apps in that category.
Tap on “Next” in the upper right corner.
Select the maximum amount of time you can use the app(s) on a daily basis. When you reach your limit, you’ll be interrupted by a screen that lets you either apply the limit (just tap on the “OK” button), or shrug and select “Ignore Limit.”
If you choose the latter, you can get one more minute, ask to be reminded in 15 minutes, or decide to ignore the limit for today.
Note: if for any reason you don’t want to use an app at all, except for on rare occasions, you can set the Screen Time to 23 hours and 59 minutes. The app will then be out of reach unless you go back into “Settings” > “Screen Time” > “App Limits” and disable the limit.
Screen Time Passcode
If you want to keep certain apps out of the reach of your kids — or your roommate — then you can create a passcode that will be needed to make any changes to Screen Time. The passcode is also useful if you feel you need an extra barrier before you undo one of your limitations.
Go to Screen Time and tap on “Use Screen Time Passcode.”
Set a four-digit passcode, and then reenter it when asked.
Enter your Apple ID and password so that you can use it if you’ve forgotten your passcode.
And that’s it. If you want to change or delete your passcode, go back to Screen Time and select “Change Screen Time Passcode.”
Content & Privacy Restrictions
The last selection in Screen Time isn’t as much concerned with when you use your iPhone as with what you see or hear on it. Select “Content & Privacy Restrictions” if you want to allow or restrict explicit content, keep TV shows or movies to certain ratings, set an age limit for apps, limit which websites are allowed, and set a number of different limits on games (such as multiplayer games, connecting with friends, or private messaging).
Most of this is geared toward parents who want to oversee what their kids see and hear online, but if you’d rather avoid accidentally crashing into any “adult” websites, it could be useful. There are also a number of privacy features, such as stopping Apple advertising, or not allowing apps to change the settings of your microphone, Bluetooth sharing, and other features.
You won’t find many true wireless earbuds that come close to matching the all-round brilliance of the Sony WF-1000XM4
For
Clear, detailed bass performance
Wonderful sense of musicality
Comfortable
Class-leading battery life
Against
Missing Sony’s Multipoint feature
Lacking ear tip choices
No aptX HD
How do you improve on arguably the best all-round true wireless earbuds on the market? Sony has gone back to the drawing board and designed a brand new pair that look nothing like their predecessors – and the result is the WF-1000XM4. Is it a brave move? Definitely. Crazy? Quite possibly.
Sony’s WF-1000X range of wireless earbuds has been a dominant force in this category over the last few years, and the last pair to emerge from its stable, the WF-1000XM3, are two-time What Hi-Fi? Award-winners.
But instead of making the odd refinement here and there, Sony’s engineers have gone to town on the WF-1000XM4 with an all-new design, a new charging case and a new audio processor. They have even found time to develop a new eartip material, which here is appearing on a pair of Sony earbuds for the first time. What could possibly go wrong?
Luckily for Sony, very little does. In fact, the WF-1000XM4 are one of the most feature-packed, user-friendly and sonically gifted pair of wireless earbuds we’ve tested.
Pricing
Unsurprisingly, the Sonys sit at the premium end of the market, coming in at £250 ($280, AU$500). That places them right in the firing line of other five-star rivals such as the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 (£279, $299, AU$499), Bose QuietComfort Earbuds (£249, $280, AU$399) and, of course, the Apple AirPods Pro, which at the time of writing range in price between £199 ($199, AU$300) and £249 ($249, AU$329).
Build
(Image credit: Sony)
Your initial contact with the WF-1000XM4 is a surprising one. Sony has ditched the usual glossy box for recycled packaging made from a special blend of paper. This makes for a more compact box (34 per cent smaller than the WF-1000XM3’s), and one that’s plastic-free. That’s great news for the environment, though it doesn’t really give off the vibe that you’ve just bought a pair of premium noise-cancelling headphones.
Sony WF-1000XM4 tech specs
(Image credit: Sony)
Bluetooth version 5.2
Noise-cancelling Yes
Battery life 8 hours (BT + ANC), 24 hours (total)
Voice control Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa
Finishes x2
Weight 7.3g (x2)
Once you’ve liberated the WF-1000XM4 from their packaging, you’re greeted by a small, black charging case. It’s smaller than the case that comes with the Bose Quiet Comfort Earbuds, and positively tiny (40 per cent smaller) compared with the charging case that comes with their predecessors.
The case charges via USB-C and also introduces wireless charging to the WF-1000X range for the first time – all you need is a compatible Qi charging pad. You can even battery share with compatible smartphones and piggyback off their power supply, too.
You shouldn’t have to worry too much about the battery life. Sony’s new buds might come with a smaller case, but the XM4’s battery life is actually up compared with the XM3. You now get eight hours of play from the earbuds with noise-cancelling and Bluetooth turned on, and Sony claims the case can supply a further 16 hours of charge. That places their battery life from a single charge above all major rivals. The AirPods Pro can only manage five hours, the Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless seven hours and the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds six hours. Turn off noise-cancelling and the Sony’s life is extended to 12 hours from a single charge and 24 hours with the case. A five-minute quick charge is good for one hour of playtime, too.
You can see the life remaining in both the buds and the case through Sony’s Headphones Connect app, which will also give you a reminder when the case drops below 30 per cent charge.
As with all wireless earbuds, battery life can vary due to a number of different factors, such as the quality of files you’re listening to, how hard the internal processor is working, and the volume you’re listening at. During our testing, we found the battery life consistently good enough to get us through a day of mixed use.
Comfort
(Image credit: Sony)
Flip open the magnetic case and you’ll see the all-new earbud design of the WF-1000XM4. Based on a combination of customer feedback about the XM3 and research about the human ear, Sony has settled on a rounder body that sits more inside the ear opening.
The matte finish on each earbud gives the headphones a premium feel, while the small accents around the microphone and sensor holes add a tiny splash of colour. Speaking of colour, the XM4 come in a choice of black or silver.
If you want your XM4 to double as sports or running headphones you’ll be pleased to know they boast an IPX4 rating, making them resistant to “splashing from any angle” – a big improvement on the old model.
Besides the new-look earpieces, the XM4 also have brand new eartips. Made from polyurethane, which feels like a cross between silicone and foam, Sony claims they help secure a tighter, more stable fit. The thousands of tiny bubbles in the tips are also supposed to help reduce and dissipate noise.
The only downside here is that you only get a single set of small, medium and large-sized tips to choose from. Sony says you will get years of use out of one pair, and naturally extra tips should be available to purchase if you need them.
We don’t have any major problems sliding the earbuds in and twisting them into place. If you are struggling for a seal, you can pinch the tips and slide them into your ear canal, until they expand. We find they sit snugly in your ear opening, but they are comfortable over longer listening sessions.
To make sure you have the perfect fit, Sony has introduced a new air-tightness test, accessible through its Headphones Connect app. The app fires out a test tone and reports back on whether or not you need to make any adjustments. It’s worth trying out, especially if you feel the sound is lacking bass or there is outside noise leaking in.
In fact, we’d recommend installing the Headphones Connect app when you first connect the XM4. It gives you direct access to all the key features and functions of the earbuds so you can choose which ones to enable and disable. It also helps you get set up for listening to music in Sony’s 360 Reality Audio format from compatible streaming services such as Tidal and Deezer.
Features
(Image credit: Sony)
The circular outer surface of each earpiece is a touchpad and, by using the Headphones Connect app, you can customise the functionality of each one. They can control volume and playback or switch between noise-cancelling and ambient sound modes through the usual combination of taps, presses and long holds – and the headphones are quick to respond to these actions. Switching between sound modes, changing volume and activating and deactivating features such as Quick Attention (which drops the volume of what you’re listening to, so you can have a quick conversation without having to remove the earbuds from your ears) happen with minimal fuss.
The Sony WF-1000XM4 borrow the Speak-to-Chat function that debuted in the WH-1000XM4 wireless headphones. This feature allows you to talk to someone while the earbuds are still in place and is triggered when you start talking. It works well, although as is the case with the over-ears, it’s only triggered a second or so after you start talking.
This slight delay can be frustrating, as can the tendency for the feature to be triggered by a cough or an impromptu karaoke session while sat at your desk. You can reduce the sensitivity of the feature, or you can turn it off completely and either use Quick Attention or remove an earbud completely (which pauses playback automatically).
On the inside of the XM4 is plenty of new technology. The earbuds feature an improved DAC and analogue amplifier and are powered by a new Integrated Processor V1. Sony claims it provides a clearer sound and even better noise-cancelling than their predecessor. The new model also gets Sony’s DSEE Extreme audio processor with Edge-AI, which we have already experienced in the WH-1000XM4 over-ear headphones, and is designed to upscale low-bitrate music files to near hi-res quality.
The 6mm driver used inside the XM4 is similar in size to the one used in the previous model, but it’s made from a new material and features a bigger magnet, which Sony claims helps improve sound quality and noise-cancelling, especially with certain low frequencies.
There’s no aptX HD support onboard, but the XM4 support Sony’s LDAC file format, which, streamed over Bluetooth from a compatible source, allows hi-res audio files up to 24-bit/96kHz to be transmitted at data rates of up to 990kbps.
(Image credit: Sony)
Sony has also aimed to deliver clearer call quality with new features, including beam-forming and the use of a bone conduction sensor that stops the mics from picking up distracting ambient sounds while you’re talking. There’s even an automatic wind noise reduction mode which attempts to cut out swirls of noise passing through the headset and into your ears.
All of this works with Sony’s Precise Voice Pickup technology, originally introduced in the WH-1000XM4. The net effect is an impressive call quality for a pair of wireless earbuds. The technologies all combine to do a solid job of dampening down outside noise and interference, especially for the person on the other end of the line.
The general level of noise-cancelling is excellent, especially for a pair of wireless earbuds. Not everyone likes that ‘vacuum’ feeling you get when it’s turned on, but it’s extremely effective through the Sonys and you’ll struggle to find better noise cancellation at this level.
Android users will be pleased to hear the Sonys are compatible with Fast Pair so you can get up and running with minimal fuss. You receive a battery notification pop-up on your smartphone when they power up and you can even track their location down using the Google Find My Device app.
Unfortunately, iOS users don’t get any such pairing perks, but all you need to do to start pairing is open the case and take the headphones out. It’s a shame Sony hasn’t carried across the ‘Multipoint’ feature enabled on the WH-1000XM4 over-ears. This allows you to connect the headphones to two different Bluetooth devices simultaneously, which can come in handy if you’re working on a laptop but still want to be connected to your phone. Here’s hoping it can be added at a later date.
In terms of stability, we use an Apple iPhone 12 and Macbook for the bulk of our testing and find the connection to be rock solid with no dropouts, even in more built-up areas.
Sound
(Image credit: Sony)
Before we get to the WF-1000XM4’s immense musicality and expressive dynamics, we should note the way the headphones handle bass. The quality of bass and the clarity of low frequencies is stunning. There’s such a fantastic level of detail on display that it makes rival headphones, such as the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, sound congested in comparison.
We’re keen to hear how the earbuds handle one of our favourite bass-heavy test tracks, Massive Attack’s Angel – and we’re blown away by the confidence with which the song is dispatched. Every element of that pulsing bassline is precisely deployed and dripping in texture. It’s the clarity around the notes that really grabs you – it allows the WF-1000XM4 to communicate intricacies in the bass notes that other headphones struggle to uncover.
But it’s not a sound that purely favours low frequencies. There’s clarity across the board and a sense of rhythmic precision that allows the Sony’s to switch pace effortlessly. They sound as at home keeping up with, and succeeding in not being tripped up by, Radiohead’s 15 Step as they are dispatching the slow, deliberate swagger of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good.
Simone’s effortless vocal oozes class and sophistication, with every nuance in her delivery laid bare for the listener. Combine the emotion in her voice with the impact of the piano, percussion and wind section and the Sony’s create a captivating sound you can’t help but be swept away by.
If you were wondering whether the WF-1000XM4 would be a step up from the WF-1000XM3, we can confirm that they are. The newer model sounds more informative and uncovers more subtle detail. Bass notes are better defined and the overall sound is better balanced. Even the much-admired Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 struggle to match the Sonys for tonality and refinement.
You can hear that refinement and natural tone shine through as we listen to Ludovico Einaudi’s Experience. From the delicate, deliberate piano strokes at the start to the soaring strings at the song’s climax, the Sonys bring the individual personalities to life and mix them together like the ingredients of a fine cocktail.
Verdict
We’re quite taken by the Sony WF-1000XM4. Given all the design changes and new features in these wireless earbuds, it must have been a real challenge to get them right. But Sony has absolutely nailed it. The headphones deliver a satisfying user experience, class-leading battery life, some of the best noise-cancelling we’ve heard in this category, and absolutely stunning sound quality. Put simply, this is a new benchmark for premium true wireless earbuds.
After a few weeks of leaks, Sony has today formally announced its latest flagship true wireless earbuds. The new WF-1000XM4 earbuds cost $279.99, and the previous WF-1000XM3s, released in 2019, will remain in the company’s lineup at $229.99. The new headphones will be available in either black or light gray — both with gold accenting. They’re available starting today from retailers including Amazon and Best Buy.
Featuring a completely revamped design that’s 10 percent smaller than their predecessors, the 1000XM4 buds also have a new processing chip that results in improved noise cancellation “at all frequencies,” according to Sony.
Image: Sony
Battery life has been upped to eight hours of continuous playback when NC is enabled, which soundly beats competitors like the Apple AirPods Pro, Bose QuietComfort Earbuds, and Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro. The charging case has been significantly downsized and is 40 percent smaller than before. Aside from plugging in over USB-C, it also supports Qi wireless charging.
Sony has also addressed a disappointing omission from the 1000XM3s: these new earbuds are rated IPX4 for water and sweat resistance. The 1000XM4s also have an updated voice call system that uses both beamforming mics and bone conduction sensors to improve performance. But here’s the one standout disappointment: there’s still no support for multipoint Bluetooth connections.
If you’re wondering how all of this shakes out, I’ve been using Sony’s new premium buds for several days. You can read my full review of them right now.
(Pocket-lint) – There’s no beating around the bush, the Sony WF-1000XM4 true wireless in-ears are exceptional for their price. And, while there are one or two competitors that offer slightly better sound quality, they are usually more expensive and cannot match these for adaptive noise-cancelling (ANC) tech.
Sony has taken an already excellent pair of ANC headphones – the WF-1000XM3 ‘buds, in this case – and improved almost every aspect, resulting in a class-leading product. Sure, some will likely bemoan Sony’s lack of support for Qualcomm’s aptX, but the XF-1000XM4 are still among the best all-round in-ears we’ve had through the test labs. Here’s why.
Design and comfort
Bluetooth 5.2 to each ear
Four NC microphones
Bone conduction sensor
Custom Polyurethane eartips
The first thing that’ll strikes you when unboxing the headphones from Sony’s new totally biodegradable packaging is just how much smaller the charging case is from the previous generation. It is, according to Sony, 40 per cent smaller – and it notices.
To be fair, the last model has one of the biggest charging cases in the business – especially when compared to its near competitors – so the latest brings the XM4s into line. However, its lightness and pocket-sized girth are both very welcome.
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As is the Qi charging and the matte plastic finish. The latter makes it nice to hold in the hand and will disguise minor scratches, we expect. The former wireless charging feature will make it much easier to just plonk the case onto a mat, ready to pick it up again when you are about to leave the house.
The ‘buds themselves are smaller than before – 10 per cent, it is claimed – with a familiar bulbous design, matte finish, some neat design touches such as small gold elements (rose gold on the black version we tested).
There are two noise-cancelling mics on each ‘bud, one behind the (almost) Mod symbol on the front, another behind a little slot facing rearwards. Both are accented by gold.
Three different sized eartips are included in the box, which are made from soft polyurethane rather than the usual silicone. This allows for a more comfortable, secure fit that also aids noise isolation greatly.
You do have to fiddle around with each ‘bud a bit more than with most brands in order to get it into the right position in your ear, but the audio quality merits it. The Sony Headphones Connect app even helps each ‘bud analyse the shape of your ears for even better audio personalisation.
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We were pleased to note that after a decent period of use these ‘buds were just as comfortable as they were at the start. That’s not something we could comparatively say about their predecessors.
They also stay in better during exercise. We haven’t worn them on a full run yet, but have aggressively used an exercise bike and jogged on the spot a few times to make sure they don’t wobble much. They are also IPX4 certified, so are sweat- and water-resistant.
Setting up the WF-1000XM4 earphones is a doddle. They support both Android and Windows’ easy pairing modes, while our iPhone found them instantly in the Bluetooth list. The Sony Headphones Connect app also found them straight away.
It is here that you get to customise just about every nuance, including the ANC modes, touch controls, and sound equaliser (EQ). Sony provides many more options than a lot of rivals we’ve tried, so you can spend a while tweaking all the options to suit you best. However, the defaults are generally decent too, if you don’t want to get bogged down in minutiae.
The best Lightning headphones 2021 for your iPhone or iPad
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The ‘buds themselves have touch options on each ear: noise cancelling/ambient sound controls on the left; play/pause on the right. Touch both at the same time for seven seconds and you can set them back into pairing mode.
These touch options can be changed in the app though, such as adding voice assistant activation or volume. Both Alexa and Google Assistant can be enabled by voice instead – with wake-word support – so you are probably best sticking to the original setup.
You will need to turn on Speak-to-Chat though, if you want to use it. This stops any playback as soon as you talk – handy for speaking to cabin crew on an aircraft, for example. And, you might want to adjust the Bluetooth connection too – if the priority on sound quality is causing too many dropouts.
DSSE Extreme is also available in the app on a slider. This is said to enhance standard audio – MP3/AAC – to a higher bitrate through artificial intelligence.
Sony’s tried and trusted ANCtech is on board too, of course, which is one of the last customisable options. Again, default will be perfect for most as it will assess the best sound mode based on your current location and circumstance – whether you are sitting, travelling, and so forth.
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We did find that we had to go into the app to force ANC on when we wanted to use it in the garden, for example, as it thought the ambience was tranquil enough – and we didn’t.
This generation of in-ears come with a new integrated V1 processor, which better handles ANC duties, you just have to make sure certain options are tuned to your own preferences first.
Sound performance and battery
Up to 24 hour battery life (8hr in buds, 16hrs in case)
Qi wireless charging
New integrated V1 processor
LDAN and Hi-Res Audio Wireless support
There are a number of reasons why the Sony WF-1000XM4 earbuds outperform their predecessors. A new 6mm driver with increased magnet volume, plus enhanced amplifier is one. A high compliance diaphragm is another. The latter is more flexible, so can reduce latency and therefore more accurately reproduce certain frequencies.
In short, these ‘buds sound great. We tested them mainly on an iPhone 12 Pro Max, which means we couldn’t feed them with lossless audio that way. However, we also ran a few lossless tracks over LDAC (which is Sony’s own high-res streaming codec – but nobody has any idea what the acronym means) on a supporting Android handset, so feel we got a good grip on their capabilities.
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The ‘buds are Hi-Res Audio Wireless capable and support LDAC themselves, although they do not come with support for Qualcomm aptX or any of its guises. As we’ve said above, that might irk some, but many handsets are LDAC-enabled these days and we’d imagine these will be used with lower bitrate tracks for the vast majority of the time anyway.
To that end, DSEE Extreme is provided. This is a newer version of Sony’s own AI-driven software. It essentially upscales lower quality audio to around CD quality – filling in the gaps as it imagines. It’s a bit like watching a Blu-ray on a decent 4K TV – it will look better, but don’t expect miracles.
Still, unless you are an audio purist, you will likely love the richness and grunt of these ‘buds. Even basic AAC versions of The Beatles’ She’s Leaving Home and Liam’s Gallagher’s Once exhibited great detail and staging, especially with DSEE Extreme activated. While the thumping bass hits in Elbow’s Dexter & Sinister grab you by the nethers.
That’s in either noise cancelling and ambient sound modes. Speaking of the former, the improvements made to the tech are quite impressive. ANC on in-ears has been somewhat hit-and-miss in the past, but the new implementation here is jaw-dropping at times.
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Considering how the world is right now, flying anywhere to test its prowess, even taking a train have been difficult, but we wore the ‘buds with ANC on while mowing the lawn as part of our tests. We didn’t hear the mower. At all. Some might think that dangerous, but it’s certainly staggering.
What’s more, the Bluetooth connection held up well. We’d like to find out how it would act when thousands of wireless technologies are all bouncing around and competing – on a packed London Tube concourse, say – but that’s not really feasible right now.
Battery life might be tested a little more then too. As it stands, Sony quotes eight hours for the ‘buds, a further 16 in the case, and that seems reasonable based on our experiences – if a little stingy compared to some competitors. We do love that addition of Qi wireless charging though – it makes life so much simpler.
Verdict
Sony has sure hit its stride now, first with the superb WH-1000XM4 over-ears, now followed-up by these exemplary WF-1000XM4 in-ears. There are so many new features in these true wireless earbuds that they’re even worth considering as an upgrade over the last generation – something that we rarely recommend.
Above all it’s the excellent audio performance and, in particular, active noise-cancelling (ANC) talents. Yes, we couldn’t really try them out in as many real-world settings we would usually wear ANC ‘buds in, but in homelife equivalent tests they hold up superbly.
So sony has done it again: it’s truly taken every tiny quibble anybody had with the XM3s, tweaking and improving along the way to make a class-leading pair of in-ears that will take some beating. The WF-1000XM4 are fairly pricey, of course, but we think worth every penny.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Bose QuietComfort Earbuds
A very strong competitor in the active noise-cancelling game, offering similar sound isolation, comfort, and longevity for a very similar price. Talk about battle of the best!
The Google Stadia could gaming service is finally branching out to more devices. It will arrive on the excellent Google Chromecast with Google TV streaming dongle on 23rd June, as well as a number of TV sets running the Android TV operating system. And, all you’ll need to enjoy the service is a compatible Bluetooth controller (and a Google Stadia subscription, of course).
Here’s the full list of supported devices, as of 23rd June:
Chromecast with Google TV
Hisense Android Smart TVs (U7G, U8G, U9G)
Nvidia Shield TV
Nvidia Shield TV Pro
Onn FHD Streaming Stick and UHD Streaming Device
Philips 8215, 8505, and OLED 935 / 805 Series Android TVs
Xiaomi MIBOX3 and MIBOX4
If your Android TV isn’t supported, you might be able to sign up for Google’s experimental support – this lets it run on a wider range of devices, though the experience won’t have been optimised, so “not every Android TV OS device will work perfectly”, Google warns. To do so, install the Stadia app from the Google Play Store, and opt in when asked.
Many have seen the lack of Stadia support on Chromecast with Google TV a major oversight – though it didn’t stop the streaming dongle earning five stars in our review – so this wider rollout will be welcome news for many. And as well as adding some much-needed gaming skills to a handful of Android TVs, it makes an already excellent media streamer even better.
MORE:
Read our guide to the best video streamers
Check out the competition: Amazon Fire TV 4K review
Find out how to watch Apple TV on your Android TV device
The best moment of this year’s WWDC keynote was a straightforward demo of a macOS feature, Universal Control. The idea is simple enough: it allows you to use the keyboard and trackpad on a Mac to directly control an iPad, and even makes it simple to drag and drop content between those devices.
What made the demo so impressive is how easy and seamless it all seemed. In a classic Apple move, there was no setup required at all. The segment happened so fast that it even seemed (incorrectly, as it turns out) like the Mac was able to physically locate the iPad in space so it knew where to put the mouse pointer.
After Zaprudering the clip and asking Apple a few questions, I now have a better understanding of what’s going on here. It turns out that the entire system is actually simpler than it first appears. It’s essentially a new way to use a bunch of technologies Apple had already developed. That’s not a knock on Universal Control — sometimes the best software features are a result of clever thinking instead of brute force technological improvements.
So here’s what’s happening in that demo.
First, you need to get the iPad and Mac relatively close to each other. Universal Control is built off the same Continuity and Handoff features that have long been a part of iOS and macOS. When the devices are close enough, their Bluetooth modules let each other know. Of course, all the devices here need to be on the same iCloud account for this to work.
Then, you start up Universal Control by dragging your mouse pointer all the way to the left or right edge of your Mac’s screen, then a little bit beyond that edge. When you do, the Mac will assume that you’re trying to drag the mouse over to another device, in this case the iPad.
So there’s no UWB location detection, just good old assumption. One note is that if you have lots of compatible devices, Monterey assumes that you’re dragging towards the last iPad or Mac you interacted with.
At this point, a Wi-Fi Direct connection is made and the iPad will show a small bar on the side with a little bump. It’s a sort of indicator that the iPad is aware you’re trying to drag a mouse into it. Keep dragging and pow, the bump breaks free into a circular mouse pointer. When the mouse is on the iPad screen, both it and the keyboard on your Mac control the iPad. Move it back to the Mac, and you control the Mac.
But there’s a clever little affordance built into that strange bar. There are a couple of arrows inside it, a hint that you can slide that bump up or down before it breaks free into the iPad itself. Doing that is how you line up the iPad’s screen with your Mac’s, so that dragging the mouse between the screens doesn’t result in a weird jump.
You go through the same process to set up a second device with Universal Control — it maxes out at three. If all this automatic setup sounds like a hassle, you can just go into system preferences and set a device as your preferred Universal Control buddy gadget.
However you set it up, you can drag and drop content between devices and it’ll use either Wi-Fi Direct or USB to transfer the files. Of course, if you’re dragging files into the iPad, make sure you have an app open (like Files) that can accept it.
That’s pretty much the long and the short of it. There are still some details to hash out, Apple tells me, and it isn’t available in the first developer preview. If you put your dock on the left or right edge of the screen, for example, it’s unclear if this whole setup will work.
What’s fascinating to me about this system — as I discuss in the video above — is that it’s only really possible because of a long series of software enhancements that have been built into the iPad over the years, including:
Continuity, Handoff, and AirDrop. Universal Control isn’t technically AirDrop, but it’s the same basic idea. All of these are the basic ways that Apple devices communicate directly with each other instead of through the cloud.
Multitasking. I’m not referring to split-screen, but the support for drag-and-drop that came along with the improved windowing options on the iPad.
Keyboard and mouse support. That’s an obvious pre-requisite, but it wasn’t always obvious that Apple would put mouse support into the iPad.
Sidecar. Sidecar’s the tool that lets you use an iPad as a second Mac monitor. I don’t think that Universal Control uses the same bits of software as Sidecar, but I do think that there were probably lessons there about latency that would prove useful here.
I had a hunch that there would be a similar story of evolution on the Mac side of this story. I figured that all the iPad and iOS technologies finding their way into the Mac with the last few releases played a part. Catalyst apps turned into native iPad apps for M1 Macs. Control Center, Shortcuts, and Focus mode all are iOS things that are also on the Mac.
Nice idea, but wrong. Apple tells me that the foundation on the Mac side is as simple as it seems, based on Continuity and Handoff.
I hope that Universal Control works as well in the real world as it did in this staged demo — and I know that’s no sure thing. But what I like about the feature is how it’s just a clever recombination of existing technologies that Apple had already built for other purposes.
Inside the Apple ecosystem, you expect that the trade you’re making for only using Apple devices is getting synergistic integrations like this. They’ve actually been rarer than I would have guessed the past few years. But as the Mac and the iPad start trading more and more features with each other, I expect we’ll see more of them going forward.
Google is expanding the availability of its Stadia game streaming service to more TVs and streaming devices later this month. The first version of Stadia on Chromecast with Google TV is launching on June 23rd, more than eight months after the device launched without official Stadia support.
Alongside Chromecast with Google TV support, Stadia will also be available on a number of Android TV devices on June 23rd. Not every Android TV device is supported, but Nvidia’s Shield TV devices have made the list. Here’s the official support list:
Chromecast with Google TV
Hisense Android Smart TVs (U7G, U8G, U9G)
Nvidia Shield TV
Nvidia Shield TV Pro
Onn FHD Streaming Stick and UHD Streaming Device
Philips 8215, 8505, and OLED 935 / 805 Series Android TVs
Xiaomi MIBOX3 and MIBOX4
If you don’t see your Android TV device listed, you may still be able to get Stadia running. You can opt into experimental support to play Stadia, just by installing the Stadia app from the Play Store and hitting continue on the opt-in screen. Android TV devices will need a compatible Bluetooth controller or Google’s own Stadia Controller to play Stadia.
MSI, more usually known for its gaming laptops and RGB-tastic motherboards, has released details of a new line of Nvidia Studio verified mobile workstations for creative professionals with demanding creative workflows.
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The beefy laptops come in a variety of models (WS76, WS66, WE76, WF76 and WF66) and and sport 11th-gen Intel Core processors (i9s, mainly) and Nvidia RTX A-series GPUs featuring either 6 or 16GB of memory. The A-series are Ampere cards that have been built for designers, engineers, and artists rather than gamers. There are two models available here, the A3000 based on the GA104 GPU seen in the RTX 3070 but with 256 more cores, and the A5000 which is rather similar to an RTX 3080 laptop GPU.
Elsewhere, there’s a maximum of 64GB DDR4-3200 RAM, two NVME slots (one Gen 4, the other Gen 3), Thunderbolt 4, and a scattering of USB and video ports. Ethernet goes up to 2.5GbE, and there’s Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 on board.
Interestingly, you also get a choice of screen sizes, with the WS76 offering 17.3in 4K MiniLED HDR1000-certified display, the WS66 sporting a 15.6in 4K or a useful 1080p touchscreen, and the WE76 tempting with a decadent 17.3in 120Hz IPS panel. You also get a very decent battery, at 99.9Whr, but how long it will last driving that CPU/GPU combo at full tilt will have to wait until we get our hands on one for benchmarking.
At the time of writing, the new laptops were not yet available for sale from MSI’s website.
Great hardware with lots of power in a tiny package. The price may put some off but if you need Wi-Fi and the RP2040 then this is the board for you, but for how long?
For
+ Small form factor
+ Lots of analog inputs
+ Built-in Wi-Fi and BLE
+ Built-in microphone, IMU
Against
– Pin numbers hidden away
– High Cost
– No USB-C
– Software is buggy
When you think of an Arduino, the first board in your head has to be the classic Arduino Uno, with its Atmel microcontroller. You wouldn’t think of an Arduino powered by ‘Pi Silicon’ but the last of the initial wave of RP2040 partner boards is the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect and this is the board we have been waiting for. You see the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect is the only partner board to come with built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Neatly integrated into the familiar Nano layout is a Nina W102 uBlox Wi-Fi module which provides 2.4 GHz WI-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy, an IMU capable of detecting movement and gestures and a microphone which can be used to measure audio levels and more importantly used in machine learning projects.
Should the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect be the heart of your next project? Well that depends on your needs and budget. If you are happy to blink LEDs and make things move, then a $4 Raspberry Pi Pico is more for you. But if you want to build Internet of Things (IoT) devices with a web interface then Arduino’s latest board may just be what you are looking for. But we don’t truly understand how a board works, and more importantly how it is supported until we use it, and use it we shall!
8× Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines for custom peripheral support.
1x User LED (GPIO 13)
RGB LED, accessible only via the Nina W102 module.
Castellated module allows soldering directly to carrier boards.
Extra Features
Nina W102 uBlox Wi-Fi module
ST LSM6DSOXTR 6-axis IMU
ST MP34DT06JTR MEMS Microphone
ATECC608A-MAHDA-T Cryptographic Coprocessor
Dimensions
1.77 x 0.7 inches (45 x 18mm)
Design and Use of the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The design of the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect is quite clearly based on Arduino’s Nano range of boards such as the Nano 33 IoT and Nano Every. The Nano range of boards share the same pin out, enabling the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect to be a drop-in replacement for other Nano boards. The bare board has the castellated edges that have become the norm for an RP2040 board and the underside of the board is unpopulated, enabling it to be surface soldered into a project. Of the 22 GPIO pins we have 20 pins which can be used for PWM and of those we have 8 analog inputs, the most of any RP2040 board as the Pico comes with three and most third-party RP2040 boards have four. If you are looking for the I2C pins they are hidden away on pins A4 and A5 and the onboard IMU is accessible on the I2C bus.
The eagle eyed amongst you will have spotted a micro USB connector, something common on many newer Arduino boards. We would’ve liked to have seen a USB-C connector, because it offers a foolproof connection and the mechanical connector is stronger than micro USB. As this is the most expensive RP2040 board, we think that Arduino could’ve included this without impacting the overall cost.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The big feature of the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect is Wi-Fi and the Nina W102 chip provides us with 802.11 b/g/n 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2. The antenna is located opposite the micro USB port. The Nina W102 chip is itself a powerful microcontroller with 520KB SRAM and a 240MHz 32bit Dual Core Xtensa LX6 CPU, but in this board it is relegated to handling communications.
As this is an Arduino, our natural inclination is to use the Arduino IDE, and with a recent update bringing official support for the RP2040 to the IDE, we can easily create projects. We tested the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect with the Arduino 1.8.15 and 2.0 beta 7 IDE and after installing the board via the board manager we were able to flash the example blink sketch to prove that we had connectivity. To access Wi-Fi we needed to install the WiFiNINA library and then create a secrets file to contain our Wi-Fi login details. We ran the Simple Web Server WiFi example and it flashed with no issue, but we later learned that we needed to change the default GPIO pin used in the example from 9 to “LED_BUILTIN” in order to control via a web interface.
The connection details should appear in the serial monitor, but no matter what we did, we could not connect to the serial monitor and all we saw was an error informing us that the port was busy. This is not unique to the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect; we have seen this behavior with other RP2040 boards and the Arduino IDE. Our only solution was to close the Arduino IDE and use another application to open a serial terminal. The same issue affected our test of the IMU, so we opened the serial terminal, reset the board and saw raw accelerometer data scroll across the screen. We later discovered that the issue lay with our operating system, Ubuntu 18.04, we had to uninstall modemmanager in order to see the serial data on the port. This issue has not impacted any of our other official and clone boards.
We also tested the onboard microphone, the same model as used in the Nano 33 IoT. We followed the official documentation to flash the test sketch to the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect, then opened the Serial Plotter hoping to see a visualization of sound. Alas all we saw was a constant flatline value of -128. We were unable to locate any guidance on how to fix this issue.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
We had other issues when using the Arduino’s IoT Cloud, a service that we have used before with MKR WIFI 1010 and Nano 33 IoT boards. our Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect was detected, but could not be configured. We followed the official documentation, which at the time of writing looks to be incomplete, and still drew a blank. This is a real shame, as the IoT Cloud is Arduino’s new service to enable IoT “Things” (projects) to be created and monitored via a web interface. It is most likely teething troubles for now, and something that will be fixed in the future. For now the smart maker will stick with the desktop IDEs.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
You are probably thinking that this is an RP2040, so I can run other programming languages? Correct! We can use CircuitPython and MicroPython with the Arduino Nano RP2040, the caveat is that you will need to source your own libraries for the onboard microphone, IMU and WiFi. A quirk exists between the pin numbering and the actual GPIO number. The Arduino pin number, used in the Arduino IDE for a pin is say D2, but the RP2040 pin is GPIO25. Another example is the built in LED is D13, but in our MicroPython tests it was GPIO 6.
We tested the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect with CircuitPython and it was a much more pleasant experience and thanks to the plethora of libraries, especially the ESP32SPI library we quickly had the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect online and receiving data from a remote API. We also tested with MicroPython and it behaved in much the same manner as a Raspberry Pi Pico, but we had no drivers to use the onboard Wi-Fi.
This is where we noticed a quirk that prevented us from setting the board ready to accept new firmware. Typically we would reset the board and press BOOTSEL. For the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect we would double press the reset button, but this did not work. After reaching out for help on Twitter we were told that we could connect the REC and GND pins together to force the board into the mode.
Use Cases for the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect
The most obvious use case is an IoT appliance and this is made quite straightforward via the Arduino IoT Cloud. With the IoT Cloud we can quickly create GUI applications to read data from a remote device. For example we can create a weather station using the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect and have live data streamed to the cloud which can be accessed from any web connected device.
The same Arduino IoT Cloud user interface can be used to remotely control the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect, for example a web controlled robot wouldn’t be much more difficult to build than a non web enabled robot.
If you are not an Arduino IoT Cloud user, you can still make the most of this board using the traditional IDE. There are libraries available for HTTP, MQTT and Bluetooth which have existed for some time and can be ported to run on the RP2040. With these libraries we can build web controlled robots, wireless weather stations etc.
Bottom Line
It comes down to the price. If you need Wi-Fi and the RP2040 then the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect is a solid piece of hardware but it is more expensive than any other RP2040 solution we’ve tested, including buying a Raspberry Pi Pico and a Pimoroni Pico Wireless. The extra cost gives us access to GPIO pins, which are sadly blocked with the Pico Wireless. If you need the smallest package possible for an embedded IoT project, then this could be the board, but right now the documentation is not up to Arduino’s usual standards despite this being the last board in the first wave of RP2040 powered devices.
The additional analog inputs mean that the Arduino Nano RP2040 Connect has the most of any RP2040 device, useful for connecting many different components. The smart money for those wanting to connect their RP2040 project to the world is with this board, but for how long? Seeed’s own RP2040 board comes with Wi-Fi and it is expected to retail for half the price of the Arduino.
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