Google may be working on turning Android phones into a hivemind capable of finding lost devices, similar to Apple’s Find My network, according to analysis done by 9to5Google. A toggle for the feature showed up in a beta of Google Play Services, with code referencing the ability for phones to help locate other devices, potentially signaling that Android phones could soon become easier to find.
According to Google’s support page, the current Find My Device system can only find phones that are powered on, have a data or Wi-Fi signal, and have location services enabled. At this early stage, it’s unclear which, if any, of those limitations the relay network feature — apparently called Spot — would solve, but when you’re looking for a lost phone any advantage is good to have.
Google has other projects that involve using a network of Android phones — notably, its earthquake detection feature. While the implementation is different, the underlying concept is likely very similar: there are more than 3 billion active Android devices, which is a large crowd to source information from, be it accelerometer data, or the location of a misplaced phone.
9to5Google did find a setting that would allow users to turn off the feature, making it so their phone wouldn’t help locate other devices. Given the limited information, it’s unclear whether the Find My Device network will be able to find things other than phones, like Apple’s Find My network or Samsung’s Galaxy Find network are capable of doing. And of course, this being unpacked code from a Beta release, these changes may never see an actual public release.
Google did not immediately respond to request for comment about the prospective feature.
It might be aimed primarily at creative types, but the new iPad Pro 12.9 is also the best tablet there’s ever been if portable cinema is your thing
For
Stunning picture quality
Great sound with headphones
Hugely powerful
Against
Expensive for a tablet
At this stage, each new iPad feels like an incremental improvement on the one before it. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course – in practical terms, Apple is almost unchallenged in the tablet arena, so a nip and tuck is generally all that’s required, but it’s not exactly exciting.
That’s where the new iPad Pro 12.9 comes in. Despite being aesthetically similar to its predecessor, this is a big step forward for tablets.
The headline-grabber is the new, high-end laptop-derived processor, but the new mini LED-lit display is the real game-changer as far as we’re concerned. Ever wanted an OLED or QLED TV that you could fit in a backpack? The new iPad Pro 12.9 is that – and plenty more.
Pricing
The new iPad Pro 12.9 starts at £999 ($1099, AU$1649) for the 128GB wi-fi-only model. There are lots of storage options available, all the way up to a £1999 ($2199, AU$3299) 2TB version. Adding cellular functionality to any model adds £150 ($200, AU$250).
The smaller iPad Pro 11 starts at £749 ($799, AU$1199) but, as well as being 1.9 inches smaller, the screen uses different underlying technology, so picture performance won’t be the same.
Build
(Image credit: Apple)
There’s little difference between the physical design of the new iPad Pro 12.9 and its predecessor. In fact, other than the new model being 0.5mm thicker, the dimensions of the two models are identical.
It is a large tablet, as you’d expect of a device with a 12.9in screen, measuring 28 x 21 x 0.6cm (11 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches) in total. You have to be committed to the cinematic (or productivity) potential of the big display to opt for such a large device.
Apple iPad Pro 12.9 (2021) tech specs
(Image credit: Apple)
Screen size 12.9in
Resolution 2732 x 2048 (264ppi)
Storage 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB / 2TB
Finishes x2
Battery life 10 hours
Cameras 12MP + 10MP ultra wide on rear / 12MP front
Dimensions (hwd) 28 x 21 x 0.6cm
Weight 682g
Unlike the iPad Air, which is available in a number of subtle metallic hues, the iPad Pro 12.9 comes only in Space Grey or Silver. More variation would be nice, but both finishes are lovely and the new Pro both looks and feels utterly premium.
On the otherwise flat rear is a protruding camera array that will rest directly on a surface when the iPad is laid down. It’s designed to resist damage from such placement, but a case that physically raises the lenses will be a first add-on for many.
The top and bottom edges of the tablet each have two sets of speaker perforations so you’re listening in stereo when the iPad is oriented horizontally. Also along the edges are physical power and volume buttons, plus a USB-C socket that supports the much faster Thunderbolt standard, opening up the opportunity to connect higher-end storage devices and monitors.
The front is all glass, but there’s a 9mm black border between the display and the tablet’s edge. Embedded into this border is a new front-facing camera that can follow you around in the style of Facebook Portal. This is a great feature for FaceTime calls but the positioning of the camera on one of the shorter edges means you’re awkwardly off-centre when video calling in landscape mode.
Features
(Image credit: Apple)
Positioning aside, that front-facing camera is excellent in terms of image quality, thanks to a 12MP resolution and ultra-wide field of view. The rear camera array is solid, too, boasting a main 12MP wide camera, 10MP ultra-wide camera and a true tone flash.
If you’re the sort of person who’s considering buying a new iPad Pro, you may already have a top-end iPhone with an even better camera, but the iPad takes perfectly good photos and videos (the latter in up to 4K at 60fps) in its own right. It’s also of a high enough quality to enable lots of interesting and useful app-based features, such as document scanning and augmented reality experiences.
Apple positions its iPad Pro models as productivity and creativity devices, and the new M1 chip takes this to the next level. This is the same chip that Apple has just started putting in its MacBooks and has shaken up the laptop market thanks to its vast performance upgrade over previous processors.
Apple claims that it makes the new iPad Pro’s CPU performance 50 per cent faster than that of the already lightning-fast previous version, and GPU speed is up by 40 per cent. Frankly, that sort of power is overkill for those of us primarily interested in watching movies and listening to music but, needless to say, it makes the user experience smoother than Cristiano Ronaldo’s chest.
If you are looking to use the new iPad Pro for creating as well as consuming, you might want to consider combining it with the Apple Pencil (2nd Generation), which wirelessly charges when magnetically connected to the tablet’s edge, and/or the new Magic Keyboard, which essentially turns the iPad into a slick laptop, trackpad and all. Both accessories are expensive, though. In fact, adding the £329 ($349, AU$549) Magic Keyboard to the most affordable version of the iPad Pro 12.9 makes it more expensive than buying an M1-powered 13-inch MacBook Pro.
While content creators might be most excited about the new iPad Pro’s M1 power, we content consumers will be far more excited about the 12.9-inch model’s new screen. Apple calls it a Liquid Retina XDR display, with the ‘XDR’ standing for ‘eXtreme Dynamic Range’. This is the first mini-LED backlight in an iPad. There are 10,000 of the things, arranged into 2500 independent dimming zones – Samsung’s top mini LED-based 4K TV for 2021 (the QN95A) is thought to have around 800 dimming zones, so the iPad’s figure looks incredibly impressive.
The more dimming zones a display has, the more exact and precise it can be in terms of contrast, producing deep blacks next to bright highlights. Apple claims the iPad Pro 12.9 can maintain a full-screen brightness of up to 1000 nits and hit peaks of up to 1600 nits, which is around double the peak brightness of a modern OLED TV. Contrast ratio is claimed to be 1,000,000:1.
Picture
(Image credit: Apple)
Those screen specs should make the iPad Pro 12.9 a great performer with HDR content – and they do. It’s not so much that it goes vastly brighter than other iPad models, such as the iPad Air, it’s that it combines bright highlights with awesomely deep blacks to create a vastly more dynamic and exciting picture.
We play Blade Runner 2049 in Dolby Vision from the iTunes store and set both models to their highest brightness setting. The Pro’s peaks are noticeably brighter than the Air’s but not vastly so. However, to reach those levels the Air has had to entirely sacrifice its black performance, producing something clearly grey in hue. There’s no such sacrifice necessary with the Pro – its blacks are near-perfect.
That combination of deep blacks and very bright highlights makes for a supremely punchy image, particularly in the scenes around LA, which feature neon lights and holographic adverts lighting the city’s grimy gloom.
Thankfully, Apple hasn’t thrown away its reputation for colour authenticity while reaching for new heights in contrast. On the contrary, Apple claims that every iPad is calibrated for colour, brightness, gamma and white point before it leaves the factory, and it shows – there’s great consistency across iPad models, all of which come across as extremely authentically balanced. It’s the same with the new Pro.
There’s a little more vibrancy afforded by the greater dynamic range, seen in the yellow porch of Sapper Morton’s farm, for example, but there’s no hint of garishness or exaggeration. As we switch between films and TV shows from various streaming services and in various resolutions and formats (HDR10, HLG and Dolby Vision are all supported), colours combine vividness and nuanced authenticity to an exceptional degree. Everything looks awesome, but it also looks correct.
Apple increases and decreases the resolution of its iPads depending on the size of the screen, so that pixel density is kept the same (all current models have 264 pixels per inch with the exception of the iPad Mini, which has a higher pixel density of 326ppi). As a result, the new iPad Pro 12.9 isn’t vastly sharper or more detailed than siblings such as the Air (although it does dig up more fine details in the brightest and darkest parts of the picture), but the deeper blacks help reinforce edges, making for a more solid and three-dimensional image.
That solidity is retained even during fast and otherwise tricky motion. The iPad Pro maintains a firm grip on the action at all times, sharpening and smoothing without adding any artificiality or shimmer. It doesn’t even get confused by K’s car moving behind a row of skyscrapers as he flies back to HQ at the beginning of Blade Runner 2049, or by the dogfighting planes in 1917. If this was a TV, in terms of motion handling it would be right up there with the superb Sony A90J.
In fact, that’s the underlying beauty of the new iPad Pro 12.9: it’s like having a miniaturised top-end TV you can take almost anywhere.
Sound
(Image credit: Apple)
With two speakers on each of the short edges, the iPad Pro is capable of producing proper stereo when in landscape orientation and, with some clever onboard processing, it’s even able to deliver some virtualised surround sound, with some of the radio chatter at the start of Gravity appearing to come to your left and right rather than being completely tethered to the drivers.
That effect is ramped up to astonishing degrees if you add a pair of AirPods Max or AirPods Pro headphones and take advantage of the spatial audio feature. It’s incredibly effective, particularly with the Max cans, and is like being in a personal Dolby Atmos cinema, with sounds coming from all around you. If the iPad Pro 12.9 is like having a top-end TV you can take anywhere, adding a pair of AirPods Max makes it like having a whole portable cinema. It’s genuinely amazing.
Of course, the tablet will also output sound to any standard wired and Bluetooth headphones, although you will need to buy a USB-C headphone adapter for the former. As with its approach to video, Apple has always favoured authentic, uncoloured sound, and so it proves here – movies and music are both presented with deft tonal balance, impressive rhythmic organisation, lots of engaging punch and detail, and dynamic shifts both big and small.
While it’s not a vast step up from the current Air in terms of its audio quality through headphones, the new iPad Pro does sound noticeably cleaner and more nuanced than its smaller, much more affordable sibling. It has added richness and dynamic subtlety, too. Play both out loud, meanwhile, and there’s a clear increase in available volume and weight from the Pro, although both models are fairly bass light, as you’d expect from drivers small enough to fit inside a tablet device.
Verdict
Apple’s Pro tablets have, as the name suggests, always been aimed at professional, creative types, and they will be delighted by the huge power brought to the new models by the M1 chip.
Our focus is on the picture and sound, though, and the iPad Pro 12.9 is at least as exciting here. The picture performance is superb – punchy and deep, vibrant and natural, exciting and nuanced. It’s right up there with that of the very best TVs you can buy. Sound, meanwhile, is great from the speakers, excellent via standard Bluetooth or wired headphones, and simply amazing with a pair of AirPods Max cans.
This is a hugely expensive tablet and the price is hard to justify for anyone who has no intention of taking advantage of its productivity potential, but it’s also the best tablet you can buy for watching movies on the move. Sure, this is a luxury device, but it’s an extremely persuasive one.
The 2021 edition of E3 was perhaps the weirdest yet. After taking a year off due to the pandemic, the world’s biggest gaming event returned in a digital-only format. A lot of big names were still present — like Microsoft, Nintendo, and Square Enix — and there were plenty of surprising reveals and other announcements. But the spectacle felt somewhat diminished without the in-person experience. Meanwhile, the show seemed to come together at the very last moment — seriously, we didn’t even know the schedule of events until just a few days before E3 kicked off.
So you’d be forgiven for having missed some of the show. Lucky for you, we’ve gathered together the best trailers from E3 in one place, so you can catch up on the most exciting announcements, gameplay reveals, and more. Check them out below.
Guardians of the Galaxy
After the muted reception to Square Enix’s Avengers game, it’s surprising just how exciting Guardians of the Galaxy looks. Based on the initial footage, the game appears to really nail the Guardians vibe, complete with lots of banter and ’80s music. It’s being developed by Deus Ex studio Eidos Montreal and, perhaps best of all, is a completely single-player game with no microtransactions.
Starfield
Bethesda’s next epic, Starfield, was announced in 2018 with the teasiest of teasers. We knew its name and that it was about space, but that’s about it. The latest trailer doesn’t show a whole lot more of the game, but at least it feels a lot more real now. It even has a release date: November 11th, 2022.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora
Who knows if James Cameron’s Avatar sequels will ever actually materialize, but at least you’ll be able to head back to Pandora in a video game. Ubisoft studio Massive Entertainment, best known for its work on the Division games, is helming this new title, which puts players in the role of a Na’vi exploring a new part of the alien planet. It’s due to launch next year.
Redfall
Take the co-op premise of Left 4 Dead, add in some terrifying vampires, and put it in the hands of the immersive sim wizards at Arkane, and you end up with Redfall, a Microsoft exclusive for PC and Xbox launching next year.
Forza Horizon 5
There are few better ways to show off new hardware than with shiny cars. Forza Horizon 5 is yet further proof of this, with a gorgeous trailer that shows off how good a next-gen racer can look.
The Outer Worlds 2
If all you’re going to announce is the name of a new game, you may as well have some fun with it.
They Always Run
Sometimes you just need to get straight to the action. The E3 trailer for They Always Run doesn’t waste much time with setup, instead jumping right into gameplay that shows off the fast and furious combat. The game is listed as “coming soon.”
Somerville
Given that Somerville’s developers have previously worked on games like Inside and Limbo, it’s no surprise that the game looks dark and evocative. Only this time, it looks like the game — which takes place in the midst of some kind of large-scale catastrophe — has more three-dimensional elements.
Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope
The original Mario + Rabbids was a combination that came out of nowhere: Nintendo’s iconic characters, joining forces with Ubisoft’s Minion-like rabbids, in a game that channels the turn-based action of XCOM. Now, a sequel is on the way, and it somehow looks even more charming.
Far Cry 6
Four minutes of Giancarlo Esposito chewing scenery is exactly what we all need right now.
Life is Strange: True Colors
We’ve already seen a bit of the next Life is Strange story, but the E3 trailer gives a great look at how the powers, which are based on the concept of empathy, actually work. True Colors is launching this September.
We Are OFK
We Are OFK is described as an “interactive series” that follows the early career of a fictional pop group. We already knew the game was stylish, but the latest trailer also gives some hints as to how it will play, including what looks like an interesting decision-based story.
Last Stop
Last Stop is the next release from Variable State, the studio behind the mind-bending and cinematic Virginia. The new game follows a trio of characters as they experience a strange, supernatural event from different perspectives. It’s coming out on July 22nd.
OlliOlli World
The OlliOlli games have done a remarkable job of replicating the feel of street skateboarding, but with a 2D side-scrolling game. OlliOlli World looks to maintain that core but expand on it with a strange fantasy world that players will explore as they shred.
Sable
Sable continues to be one of the most gorgeous games in development, blending Moebius-inspired visuals with a vast world to explore. We’ve been following it for some time, and now it finally has a release date: September 23rd.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2
One of the most anticipated games of E3 made a late appearance, with a gorgeous new trailer showcasing a new Zelda world in the skies. The sequel to Breath of the Wild still doesn’t have a release date, but it’s expected to hit the Nintendo Switch in 2022.
Metroid Dread
The long-rumored Metroid Dread is not only real — it’s coming very soon. Nintendo officially unveiled the game at E3, which is a direct sequel to Metroid Fusion and the first brand-new 2D Metroid game in nearly two decades. It’s launching on the Switch on October 8th.
OnePlus has confirmed that the inexpensive Nord N200 5G will be available in the US and Canada starting on Friday, June 25th, for $239, making it one of the most affordable 5G phones in the US. With US wireless carriers demanding more 5G devices, the N200 will likely get a lot more company soon.
OnePlus had previously dropped a few other details about the upcoming device, like its 6.49-inch 1080p display with 90Hz refresh rate and big 5,000mAh battery. Other newly confirmed specs include a Snapdragon 480 5G chipset (also used by the freshly announced Motorola Moto G Stylus 5G), 4GB of RAM, 64GB of expandable built-in storage, and a rear triple camera with a 13-megapixel main camera. OnePlus doesn’t specify details for the other two rear-facing cameras, but the N100’s 2-megapixel macro and 2-megapixel depth sensor are likely candidates. There’s a 16-megapixel selfie camera around front, and the N200 offers 18W charging.
The N200 5G features three rear-facing camera sensors, including a 13-megapixel main camera.Image: OnePlus
The N200 5G becomes one of the least expensive 5G phones to go on sale in the US, coming in $40 cheaper than the similarly specced Samsung Galaxy A32 5G and $60 less than OnePlus’ own Nord N10 5G. It’s likely to gain more competition in the near future, too, as other manufacturers adopt low-cost 5G chipsets like the 480 5G and wireless carriers aim to put more 5G phones on their shelves (and more customers on premium unlimited 5G plans).
(Pocket-lint) – OnePlus has be on something of an exploratory journey over the past 12 months or so. Rather than delivering one or two phones at a time and launching them both globally, it took a more regional approach.
That meant while some markets got the original Nord, others – like the US – didn’t, then OnePlus followed up with various models to suit different territories. It even continued this approach with the OnePlus 9 series, offering a 9R in India, but nowhere else.
This is pretty standard practice for most manufacturers, but wasn’t for OnePlus. At least, not until now. But obviously this transition to being a ‘proper’ smartphone manufacturer is working, because it’s back again with another Nord: the Nord CE 5G.
Plastic fantastic
Dimensions: 159.2 x 73.5 x 7.9mm / Weight: 170g
No official waterproofing
3.5mm headphone port
Blue Void, Charcoal Ink and Silver Ray colours
For a while there’s been this sense that when building a good smartphone, you have to start with the right materials. It had to be aluminium or steel and glass. Using plastic was as good as writing ‘cheap trash’ over the back of the phone in capital letters. But things have changed, thanks in part to the efforts of Samsung.
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With its Galaxy Note 20, S20 FE and this years S21, it showed you can use plastic materials in a way that doesn’t detract from the look and feel of the phone. OnePlus has taken the same approach with the Nord CE. Our unit in Blue Void has a lovely frosted/matte finish to it that’s very reminiscent of the Samsung approach, and we like it a lot.
It has an eye-catching blue finish with just the slightest splash of purple up the edges. There are two other safer colours in Charcoal Ink (Black-ish grey) and Silver Ray.
Being a frosted/matte finished plastic does have its advantages too. Firstly, it’s not at all slippery. So it’s not hard to keep a hold of one-handed, and it’s not likely to just randomly slide off the arm of your sofa. Secondly, it not as likely to crack or turn into tiny shards when it’s dropped or banged against something. It’s a very practical choice.
Also, it just feels, well, nice.
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That’s not the only practical choice made by OnePlus with the Nord CE. It’s both slimmer and lighter than the first Nord, so it doesn’t feel like a huge phone in your hand. It’s not exactly compact, but it’s easy to hold and comfortable enough to use. And it has a 3.5mm socket for wired headphones and headsets.
One choice that might not go down so well with long-time OnePlus fans is the removal of the alert switch. For years this simple slider button on the side has set the company’s phones apart from rivals, offering an easy tactile way to switch your phone to silent or vibrate. Apparently, that’s not considered ‘Core’ enough to make it on to a ‘Core Edition’ OnePlus phone.
In case you were wondering: yes, that’s what CE stands for.
Other core design choices include: not having a physical fingerprint sensor. Instead, there’s an in-display one so there’s nothing on the back, breaking up that glorious matte blue surface. The camera housing is a pretty basic pull-shaped protrusion and the display has just the one hole punched through it for a single camera.
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Sadly, one last feature not deemed essential to a Core Edition phone is a subtle haptic motor for feedback. That means, with it enabled, keyboard taps are accompanied by a nasty feeling buzz, rather than a subtle tap. We quickly switched it off.
Display and software
6.43-inch AMOLED 90Hz display
1080 x 2400 resolution
OxygenOS 11
Screen resolutions haven’t changed much in recent years with most smartphones opting for some version of full HD. This particular flavour is 1080 x 2400, which is the same as on most other OnePlus phones. That means it’s plenty sharp enough for day-to-day tasks with individual pixels imperceptible.
It’s AMOLED too, which means it’s a pretty punchy panel with vibrant colours and deep blacks. In its default ‘vivid’ mode the screen often over eggs the colours a bit, but with this being a OnePlus phone running OxygenOS, you get to customise its balance quite lot. Switching to ‘sRGB’ mode balances things out a lot more, but does make it a bit less exciting.
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The 90Hz refresh rate ensure that when you touch the screen, or swipe at something in the interface, the response is immediate and smooth. It doesn’t reach the heights of the OnePlus 9 Pro’s 120Hz, and doesn’t feature the advanced adaptive refresh rate tech that adapts it to the content, but it’s impressively fluid and smooth for a mid-ranger.
That’s not the only element where you just about get the hint this isn’t a top tier panel.
For instance, despite being AMOLED, when the screen’s off (or black) it’s not quite as dark as the black frame around the panel, so you don’t get that blending effect, you can see where the bezel stops and the screen starts. There’s also a slight colour shift when you look at a white screen from different angles.
Just for a little perspective though, the fact we’re picking up on such non-issues as a slight negative shows two things: how competitive the mid-range market has become recently and how good this phone is for the money OnePlus is asking for it.
Part of the joy of OnePlus phones over the years is the customisation on offer from the OxygenOS software. We’ve already mentioned the ability to calibrate the screen to your exact liking, but there are also modes like Reading Mode which turns the screen monochrome for when you load up your favourite e-book app.
There’s not much new to report from a software side with the Nord CE. It’s the same as the software found in the OnePlus 9 series and OnePlus 8T that came before it. It’s OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11, which represented a major redesign when it first launched.
While OnePlus was often seen as a manufacturer offering a stock-like Android experience with lots of customisation choices, it no longer feels that way. Oppo’s ColourOS offers far more customisation of elements like the fingerprint scanner animation, always-on display, icon styles and shapes. OxygenOS by comparison feels quite stripped back and bare.
This does help it retain that feeling of ‘essentialism’ though. It has everything you need, presented in a clean and clutter free way. There aren’t any unecessary apps pre-loaded, and even core parts of the experience like phone, messages and software updates are now powered by Google’s own apps, rather than OnePlus’ own design.
Power and performance
Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G processor (8nm)
6GB, 8GB or 12GB RAM – 128GB or 256GB storage
4500mAh battery
30W fast charging
Where the Core Edition OnePlus Nord gets it right is the feeling of speed and fluidity under your fingertips. A big part of that, as mentioned, is down to the high refresh rate of the screen and the software. OnePlus has always done a great job of optimising its software animations to feel speedy.
That performance transitions well into games and apps too. Using it daily as a main phone, it never left us in any real need of more, despite ‘only’ having Snapdragon 750G. It’s not a top-tier platform, but just like the Snapdragon 765G that appeared in the first Nord, this one gets the job done without any trouble.
Playing Mario Kart Tour was a hassle-free and smooth experience, as was browsing the web, scrolling through Twitter and any other app we came across in our day-to-day phone usage.
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Similarly, the 4500mAh battery inside is more than strong enough to cope with the most demanding of days. For the most part, with light usage, we’d finish the day with something like 40 per cent of the battery left over. That’s with the usual hour or so of web browsing and social media, plus a chunk of gaming.
Once empty it fills up quickly, as is typical OnePlus style. It uses a 30W wired charger, which OnePlus has clunkily named ‘Warp Charge 30T Plus’. In actual fact, it’s almost the same as Warp Charge 30T, in that it can fill 70 per cent of the battery in abut half an hour. It’s been a mainstay feature for OnePlus phones for many years and something of a lifesaver when you’ve forgotten to charge your phone or when it drains unexpectedly.
Cameras
Triple rear camera system:
64MP primary camera
8MP ultra-wide (119-degree)
2MP monochrome sensor
4K recording at 30fps
16MP selfie
Ah, OnePlus and cameras. It seems to be an age-old complaint of OnePlus phones having a not-quite-good-enough camera system. They’ve definitely improved the quality over the past couple of years, there’s no denying that, and for the most part the primary snapper on the Nord CE is decent.
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You’ll get sharp photos with good colours and depth of field from the 64-megapixel sensor. It pixel bins down to 16-megapixel images automatically, so isn’t using all 64 million of those pixels individually. Not unless you enable it.
It has all the camera features you’d expect too. It’ll take portrait shots with excessive background blur, night mode shots, panoramas, timelapses, slow motion video and even has a ‘pro’ mode for adjusting ISO, white balance and shutter speed manually yourself.
There is one major weakness we’ve encoutered on the Nord CE’s primary lens however, and that’s focus distance. It really, really doesn’t like focusing on anything closer than about 13 or 14cm, which means close up shots of flowers, bugs, berries and the like are near-on impossible. You can see examples that would normally be simple shots, impossible because it refused to focus.
The only solution is either taking the photo from further away and cropping the photo in edit, or using the 2x zoom function to zoom in digitally when taking the photo.
We don’t expect super macro skills from an affordable mid-range necessarily, but we do expect it to at least handle close up focusing a bit better than this.
Without being too cricital though, having the 2x zoom and the seperate ultra-wide lens means you get enough versatility in shooting to make it useful in most situations. There’s a variety in focal lengths, but we do question the decision to put such a visually distinct different between them.
What we mean by that is there’s a noticeable drop in quality when switching from the main to the ultra-wide. Images lose some crispness, and appear visually more contrast heavy and darker, losing a lot of vibrancy in the colours while adding more noise, even in daylight. At times it also adds a hyper-real element to the colours where they just seem unnaturally saturated. It’s not the most consistent of cameras.
As for the third camera, that’s just a low resolution black and white sensor to act as a backup to the other two, bringing in some more light data.
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On the front, the selfie camera is decent enough with OnePlus’ HDR capability shining when it comes to balancing out heavy backlighting behind you when snapping pictures of yourself. So even if the sky and clouds look too bright to get a decent shot of your face, the system does well to make sure that it’s not over-exposed and washed out.
Verdict
OnePlus Nord ‘Core Edition’ is something of an unusual phone in its position. The first OnePlus Nord in itself was supposed to represent the core essentials of OnePlus phones. Stripped down, but without real compromise. So in essence, the OnePlus Nord CE is a Core Edition of a Core Edition phone. But that’s perhaps overthinking it a bit.
What really matters is that for the money you’re getting a phone without any significant flaws. It’s fast and responsive, is well-designed, has a good camera and a good screen. It’s comfortably one of the best phones in its price bracket.
We question the removal of the alert slider though. It was one of the few remaining fixtures that helped OnePlus phones stand out from its competition. Without it, it feels like OnePlus is doing more blending in with the environment. It’s transitioned away from standout phone maker, to just another phone maker and the CE is the culmination of that effort.
Alternatives to consider
Pocket-lint
OnePlus Nord
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The original Nord is still here, and still packs a punch. It’s fast, fluid, smooth and has a more premium glass back, slightly more powerful processor and is now discounted because it’s a bit older.
Read the review
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Redmi Note 10 Pro
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The Redmi Note 10 Pro is one of 2021’s best value smartphones. It boasts similar specs and capabilities to the Nord CE, but is cheaper. Crucially, it has a bigger battery, bigger display and is water resistant.
Samsung has downplayed a report that claimed the company has suspended production of an upcoming phone called the Galaxy S21 FE. Korean publication ETNews alleged over the weekend that production of the unannounced phone had stopped because of a shortage of semiconductors, and that Qualcomm processors had been reallocated to foldable devices.
The report has since been deleted, and Samsung now says it hasn’t made a decision on whether to halt production. In a statement texted to Bloomberg, the company says “While we cannot discuss details of the unreleased product, nothing has been determined regarding the alleged production suspension.”
The Galaxy S21 FE — the FE stands for Fan Edition — was expected to be a cut-down, more affordable version of the regular S21. Last year Dieter Bohn gave the Galaxy S20 FE a positive review, noting that it had “a few high-quality components that will delight while the cheaper parts don’t hurt the experience too much.”
The S21 FE hadn’t been formally announced, but Samsung did say at an event last year that it planned to release Fan Editions of flagship phones going forward. OnLeaks posted alleged renders of the S21 FE back in April, showing a similar design to the well-received Galaxy S21.
While it’s noteworthy that Samsung didn’t deny ETNews’ report outright, it may take some time before the truth emerges. The S20 FE wasn’t announced until September last year and got a release in October, so even if Samsung is experiencing supply chain issues with its successor right now, a launch wasn’t necessarily imminent.
The second day of E3 2021 has been busy with Xbox and Bethesda’s joint conference followed by Square Enix’s showcase, but plenty more game announcements came from the PC Gaming Show. If you don’t have time to catch up on the whole 90 minutes, we’ve rounded up a few of our highlights of intriguing and upcoming games that you’ll want to wishlist on Steam.
Rawmen
Basically Splatoon but with food, Rawmen is a third-person arena shooter where instead of guns, you fight with food against up to two to eight players. Sling soup at your opponents, become a human meatball by jumping into meat juice and rolling your way back home, or launch yourself in the air with doughnut bombs.
They Always Run
This space Western 2D action game sees you playing a three-armed mutant hunting dangerous bounties across the galaxy. From the visuals, the animation, the music, it’s just dripping with style, and plenty of ultra-violence as you hack and slash your way through each level.
Far: Changing Tides
Far: Lone Sails was a minimal, lonely, but powerfully meditative experience as you charted journey across a post-apocalyptic environment with nothing but yourself and a unique hunk of a junk of a vehicle. So a sequel, Far: Changing Tides comes as a lovely surprise. It looks even more beautiful, and this time you’re piloting a ship across a flooded world, while still trying to keep your machine moving forward by salvaging ship parts during your travels.
Next Space Rebels
A space rocket-building sim with a narrative, Next Space Rebels has the feel of a DIY amateur’s Kerbal Space Program, as you try to put together a rocket engine that can actually launch. Tied to this simulation however is a story conveyed through FMV cutscenes, as fictitious hacker group Next Space Rebels urge the global community to build and launch rockets themselves, and “democratize the universe.”
Soulstice
The name may imply a shameless Souls clone, but Italian developer Reply Game Studios is also taking inspiration from Japanese character-action games like Devil May Cry, as well as early ‘80s anime. Another influence may be PlatinumGames’ Astral Chain, as you’re controlling two characters simultaneously; two sisters called Briar and Lute, one possessing superhuman strength, the other a ghost with mystical powers.
Lemnis Gate
This turn-based time-looping first-person shooter tasks you to take control of each of your team members one at a time playing a round that lasts just 25 seconds. It was first announced last year but its release is just around the corner as the latest trailer has confirmed Lemnis Gate is coming on August 3rd to PC, as well as PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. An open beta is also coming in July, so players can get their heads around just how this time-bending gameplay works.
Previously announced for Marvel’s Avengers, today’s Square Enix E3 Showcase gave a first proper look at Black Panther who joins the superhero roster in a brand new expansion, War For Wakanda.
A new cinematic trailer introduces the King of Wakanda himself — although his face is not shown clearly until he puts on his Black Panther mask. He will be defending Wakanda from Klaw, who has infiltrated Wakanda in order to steal Vibranium for his own plans.
The trailer page indicates that War For Wakanda will release this August. The Black Panther expansion will be free to players who already own Marvel’s Avengers on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. The expansion had supposedly been planned for release earlier but was delayed due to the sad and sudden passing of Chadwick Boseman, who played the superhero in the Marvel film.
Elsewhere in Marvel, Square Enix also announced today that Eidos Montreal is making a Guardians of the Galaxy game, slated to launch this October.
The team behind the Deus Ex games is tackling one of Marvel’s most famous superhero groups next. At its E3 2021 keynote, publisher Square Enix revealed that Eidos Montreal, the studio behind games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution, is working on a game titled simply Guardians of the Galaxy.
The game puts players in the role of Star Lord (aka Peter Quill) in a third-person action-adventure experience. In a unique twist, Peter will be joined by the rest of the Guardians at all times, with the likes of Groot and Rocket being AI companions. The story takes place several years after some kind of intergalactic war, when the Guardians are still a relatively fresh group, having been together for less than a year.
Eidos also says that choice will play a large part: as the team’s de factor leader, you’ll have to make decisions that impact the story. During one sequence, for instance, you’ll have to decide whether to sell Rocket or Groot to some kind of monster collector. (Curiously, the Guardians were previously featured in a choice-based adventure game from Telltale back in 2017.) Early gameplay footage shows a game filled with big shooter battles, colorful worlds, plenty of ‘80s music, weird alien monsters, sleek starships, and lots of banter.
This isn’t Square Enix’s first foray into Marvel, as the publisher previously released an Avengers game primarily developed by Crystal Dynamics (Eidos Montreal also assisted on that game). Despite a well-received single-player campaign, the game was saddled with live-service elements and microtransactions that were largely criticized. Guardians of the Galaxy, meanwhile, will be entirely single-player, with no add-on DLC or microtransactions.
Marvel games don’t necessarily have the strongest track record, though that has been slowly changing. Most notably, Sony studio Insomniac released an excellent take on Spider-Man, and followed it up with an equally excellent spinoff starring Miles Morales.
Guardians of the Galaxy launches on October 26th for the PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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If you’re looking for a 5G Android phone and want to spend as little as possible, you can stop right here. At $279, the Samsung Galaxy A32 5G is your best bet right now, especially if you’re in the US where such options are scarce. It offers good 5G support (including the all-important C-band!), a huge battery, and four years of security updates. That’s a compelling package for under $300.
That’s not to say it’s perfect. The A32 5G’s screen isn’t great, performance is a little laggy, and though capable, its camera is limited. If you can spend just a bit more, you can get a phone that does better in at least one of these areas. And if you can hold off on your phone purchase for even a few more months, we should see many more very affordable 5G phones on the market to choose from, like the OnePlus N200. But if you don’t have time to wait and can’t spare the extra cash, I can’t find a good reason to talk you out of the A32 5G.
The A32 5G is a big device, housing a 6.5-inch screen and a large 5,000mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G screen, performance, and design
The A32 5G features a big 6.5-inch 720p LCD panel that’s best described as nothing special. Colors look a little flat and washed out, and though it gets bright enough to see in direct sunlight, the screen’s reflective plastic protective panel makes it challenging. It’s also a low resolution to be stretched across such a large screen, so you’ll see a little pixelization if you look close.
The phone uses a MediaTek Dimensity 720 5G processor that compares well with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 690 5G chipset for budget 5G phones, used by OnePlus Nord N10 5G. The Galaxy A32 5G combines the MediaTek processor with 4GB of RAM (decent) and 64GB of storage (skimpy but just enough to get by, and you can throw in a microSD card to expand it), and it performs well enough for its class.
There’s noticeable hiccuping with media-dense pages, brief pauses when diving into a demanding task like starting Google Maps navigation, and noticeable camera shutter lag. For the most part, though, I just didn’t notice slowdowns as I jumped between apps, scrolled through Instagram, and just generally went about using the phone normally. That’s about all I’d ask for from a sub-$300 phone.
The phone’s headline feature, 5G, still isn’t something we’d recommend you run out and buy a new phone to get. But the A32 5G has a couple of features that make it worth your time, even considering that good 5G is still a year or two away in the US. Crucially, the A32 5G has been cleared by the Federal Communications Commission to use C-band frequencies that Verizon and AT&T, in particular, will be utilizing for 5G in the coming years. Not all 5G phones can use C-band, so that’s a big ol’ checkmark in the A32 5G’s favor. There’s no mmWave support here, which is the fastest and scarcest flavor of 5G, but that’s no great loss.
The second factor here is that you can reasonably expect to keep using this phone for enough years to actually see 5G that’s meaningfully better than LTE because Samsung will keep offering security updates for four years. Many budget devices only get about two years of security update support, but the A32 5G’s lengthy lifespan should see it through to the actual 5G age in a few years.
Battery life is one of the A32 5G’s strengths. Its 5,000mAh capacity battery is big indeed, and I had no trouble getting two full days of moderate use out of it. My usage was more battery-friendly than someone else’s might be, with battery optimization on and the bulk of my time spent on Wi-Fi, but even the most power-hungry user would be able to get a full day — if not more — out of the A32 5G.
With a 6.5-inch screen, the A32 5G is a big phone for sure. It’s a little too bulky and awkward-feeling in my hand. What I dislike even more is that it feels slippery to me — the back panel plastic feels hard to get a decent grip on. On one occasion, I set the phone down on a softcover book, and it somehow shimmied itself across the cover and off of a side table when I wasn’t looking. (There’s a happy ending, though: it only fell about a foot into a box filled with hand-me-down baby clothes waiting to be put away, so there’s a good argument for keeping clutter around your house.) Anyway, get a case for it if you buy this phone, and know that if your hands are small, it won’t be very comfortable to use.
There’s a decent-quality 48-megapixel main camera on the A32 5G’s rear panel.
Samsung Galaxy A32 5G camera
There are two cameras of consequence on the A32 5G’s rear panel: a 48-megapixel standard wide and an 8-megapixel ultrawide. There’s a 5-megapixel macro camera that’s not very good and a 2-megapixel depth sensor that may or may not help with portrait mode photos. There’s also a 13-megapixel selfie camera around front.
Taken with ultrawide
Taken with ultrawide
Considering the phone’s price, the A32 5G’s main camera performs well enough. Like most any other phone, it takes very nice pictures in good lighting. That’s no surprise, even for a budget phone. But it reaches its limits quickly in less-good lighting, like interiors. That’s where optical stabilization or more sophisticated image processing would come in handy, neither of which the A32 5G offers. Instead, you may find some of your photos indoors are a little blurry, and you’ll be very challenged to get a sharp photo of a moving subject in anything less than bright daylight.
The ultrawide camera shows its shortcomings if you look close — there’s some distracting flare in direct sunlight, and some noise visible in shadows of high-contrast scenes. There’s no telephoto lens here, with shortcuts in the camera app to jump to 2x (acceptable), 4x (eh), and 10x (don’t use it) digital zoom.
The Galaxy A32 5G’s generous security support timeline means it’s a phone you can plan to use for the next few years.
It’s tough to say how the Galaxy A32 5G compares to the competition because it doesn’t have much yet. It’s among the least expensive 5G phones you’ll find anywhere. Its closest competition at the moment is the OnePlus Nord N10 5G, which is a little more expensive at $299 but offers some worthwhile hardware upgrades, like a nicer screen, a bit better camera performance, and faster charging. It’s a nicer phone in a lot of ways, but it’s only slated for two years of security updates.
Of course, if you only plan to hold on to your phone for a couple of years, then the N10 5G is worth strongly considering. If that’s the case, then 5G becomes a less important feature, too. If there’s room in your budget, consider the $349 Google Pixel 4A, which will get you a much better camera, cleaner software, and timely updates over the next couple of years, albeit without support for 5G at all. It’s a much smaller device, though. So if a big screen is part of the A32 5G’s appeal, you might want to look at something like the $279 Motorola Moto G Stylus.
If you’d like to avoid the hassle of phone shopping again in two years and you want a future-proof choice that’s easy on the budget, then the Samsung A32 5G will do the trick.
With the launch of the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, we’re collecting information about all of the partner cards that have launched or will launch soon. We have listings from seven companies, ranging from top-end liquid cooling models to budget-friendly cards.
The RTX 3070 Ti, is Nvidia’s latest mid-range to high-end SKU for the RTX 3000 series lineup. The GPU is based on a fully enabled GA104 die consisting of 6144 CUDA cores, operating at up to a 1770MHz boost frequency for the reference spec. The GPU will come with 8GB of GDDR6X memory operating at 19Gbps and a TDP of 290W.
EVGA
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To keep things simple during this GPU shortage crisis, EVGA has only released two SKUs for the RTX 3070 Ti, the XC3 Gaming and the FTW3 Ultra Gaming. You can grab both of these cards right now on EVGA’s store if you have the companies Elite membership. If not, you’ll need to wait until tomorrow to grab the cards if they happen to be availably.
Nothing has really changed with the RTX 3070 Ti’s FTW3 and XC3 designs, both cards feature a triple-fan cooler design, along with a fully blacked-out shroud. The XC3 is a much more stealthy dual-slot cooler, with barely any RGB insight.
The FTW3 model is much larger at 2.75 slots in thickness, and features much more RGB than its cheaper counterpart.
The FTW3 model runs at a boost frequency of 1860MHz while the XC3 runs at a lower 1770MHz.
Gigabyte
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Gigabyte has done the exact opposite of EVGA and released five different SKUs for the RTX 3070 Ti, ranging from the flagship Aorus Master model down to the RTX 3070 Ti Eagle, a more budget-friendly card.
Because Gigabyte does not have its own store, expect to buy (or wait to buy) these cards from popular retailers such as MicroCenter, Newegg, Amazon, Best Buy and others.
Aesthetically, each RTX 3070 Ti SKU has subtle differences between the RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 versions. For each SKU, Gigabyte has adjusted the design of the cards, giving them the same colors as the 3080 and 3070 cards, but offering slightly different design elements.
The only exception to this is the RTX 3070 Ti Vision, which shares the exact same design as the RTX 3080 and 3070 models.
All RTX 3070 Ti models are triple-fan cooler designs, presumably due to the 3070 Ti’s really high TDP of 290W. The Aorus Master is the top trim with a beefy triple slot heatsink, and lots of RGB. The Gaming variant is Gigabyte’s mid-range SKU, and the Eagle represents Gigabyte’s lowest-end offering. The Vision model is aimed more towards the prosumer market, with less “gamery” aesthetics.
MSI
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(Image credit: MSI)
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MSI will be offering three custom-designed versions of the RTX 3070 Ti, the Suprim, Gaming Trio and Ventus. Each model also comes with a OC model, doubling the amount of options to six.
The Suprim is the flagship card with a silver and grey finish, and a shroud that measures beyond two slots in thickness. RGB can be seen by the fans and on the side.
The Gaming Trio is the mid-range offering, featuring a blacked out shroud along with red and silver accents. The card is similar in height to the Suprim and is over two slots thick.
The Ventus is MSI’s budget entry level card featuring a fully blacked out shroud, with grey accents and again, is more than two slots thick. If you want a stealthy appearance this is the card to go for.
Compared to the RTX 3080 and RTX 3070 equivalent models, there’s very little difference between them and the RTX 3070 Ti SKUs. They all are incredibly similar in size, and aesthetically are largely identical besides a few backplate design changes and a couple of accent changes on the main shroud.
Zotac
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(Image credit: Zotac)
Zotac is coming out with just two models for the RTX 3070 Ti, the Trinity and AMP Holo.
Both the Trinity and Holo feature triple-fan cooler designs, with largely identical design elements to them. Both feature grey and back color combinations, along with
The main difference between the cards is a slightly different boost speed of 1800MHz on the Trinity vs 1830MHz on the Holo, and the Holo features a much larger RGB light bar on the side, making the Trinity the more “stealthy” of the two.
Inno3D
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(Image credit: Inno3D)
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(Image credit: Inno3D)
Inno3D is releasing four different SKUs for the 3070 Ti, the iChillX4, iChill X3, X3 and X3 OC.
The Chill X4 and X3 are almost identical in everything; The only major add for the X4 is a quad fan setup, with an extra fan to give the card some active airflow from the side. We are not sure how much this will affect temps, but it’s a cool looking feature.
Both the Chill X3 and X4 feature very aggressive styling for a graphics card, with a black and metal finish, with several screws drilled into the metal, similar to race cars. To the side is a very bright and large strip of RGB that looks like something from Cyberpunk 2077. The RGB itself has a neon glow to it, with the ‘iChill’ logo installed in the middle.
The Chill X3 and X4 feature 1830Mhz boost frequencies and thicknesses beyond 2 slots.
INnno3D’s RTX 3070 Ti X3 and X3 OC on the other hand, are the complete opposite of the Chill cards. The shroud is a very basic black shroud with no RGB or lighting anywhere on the card. This is Inno’s budget-friendly option which explains the simplistic design.
The card comes with a 1770MHz boost clock, with the OC model featuring a 1785MHz boost frequency. The X3 comes with a flat 2 slot thickness, allowing the card to fit in slimmer chassis.
Galax
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Galax is coming in with four different versions of the RTX 3070 Ti, including dual fan options.
The flagship model for Galaxy is the 3070 Ti EXG, available in Black or White colors. These cards feature large triple-fan cooler designs and thicknesses beyond two slots. The shrouds are very basic, with just a pure black or pure white shroud, depending on the color you purchase. Making up the lighting are the fans with RGB illumination.
The RTX 3070 Ti SG is probably the most interesting of all of the 3070 Ti cards as a whole, with a unique add-on cooling solution. The card comes with the same shroud and fan design as the EXG, but features a significantly cut-down PCB, to make way for a large cut-out at the end to allow the installation of an additional fan to the rear of the card. If space allows, this additional fan gives the rear of the card a push-pull design, for maximum airflow.
Next, we have the 3070 Ti EX, a dual-fan option available in black or white flavors. This is the first SKU we’ve seen with a dual-fan solution for the 3070 Ti, so this will be a great option for users looking for a compact solution for smaller chassis. However, like the other Galax cards, the thickness is higher than two slots, so keep that in mind for smaller builds.
Besides the dual fan cooler, everything else is very similar to the EXG models with a pure black or white finish (depending on the flavor you choose) and RGB fans.
Lastly, there’s the Galax RTX 3070 Ti, a card with no fancy name, representing the budget endo Galax’s lineup.
The card is super basic with a carbon fiber-looking black shroud, and black fans. Unlike the EX model, this card is boxier with fewer angles to the design.
Palit
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(Image credit: Palit)
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(Image credit: Palit)
Palit is introducing three versions of the RTX 3070 Ti: the GameRock, GameRock OC, and Gaming Pro.
The GameRock appears to be the company’s flagship model for the 3070 Ti. The card comes in a wild-looking grey shroud paired with a layer of see-through diamond-like material all along the fan area. This part is all RGB illuminated.
The cards are triple fan cards with sizes larger than two slots in thickness.
The GamingPro, on the other hand, is a more normal card, with a black and grey shroud and some fancy silver accents which act as fan protectors on the middle and rear fans. This card is similar in size to the GameRock cards.
The GameRock OC comes with a 1845MHz boost clock, the vanilla model features a 1770MHz boost clock, and the same clock goes for the GamingPro.
Motorola has announced the Moto G Stylus 5G, a new version of its very good, non-5G budget-friendly stylus phone. It offers broadly similar hardware to the 4G version, with notable exceptions in the new Snapdragon 480 5G chipset with sub-6GHz 5G connectivity and a bigger 5,000mAh battery. Priced at $399, it’s at the higher end of the budget range and will go on sale June 14th.
Like its 4G peer, the G Stylus 5G features a large 6.8-inch 1080p screen, ready for your notes and doodles courtesy of a built-in stylus. It includes 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and ships with Android 11. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a charging brick is included in the box. The Stylus 5G is a little bigger and heavier than the 4G version, but not by much — it’s about four grams heavier and 0.3mm thicker.
The G Stylus 5G offers a rear triple-camera array that’s very similar to the 4G G Stylus’, with a 48-megapixel f/1.7 standard wide, 8-megapixel ultrawide, and 5-megapixel macro, plus a 2-megapixel depth sensor. Around front, there’s a 16-megapixel selfie camera.
The G Stylus 5G isn’t the most aggressively priced 5G phone in the budget market. OnePlus says its upcoming N200 5G will cost less than $250, and Samsung’s Galaxy A32 5G is currently selling for $279. It’s also surprising to see the Snapdragon 480 5G chipset used here, since it’s intended for more affordable 5G devices well under the Stylus 5G’s $400 price.
On the other hand, the G Stylus 5G is quite a bit cheaper than the other prominent 5G phone with a built-in stylus, the $999 Galaxy Note 20, if you want to look at things that way.
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.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart takes great advantage of the PlayStation 5’s SSD and offers creative third-person combat, but a second playable character doesn’t do much to change the formula.
For
+ Fast level changes enabled by SSD
+ Grinding levels are particularly fun
+ Creative weapons for hectic combat
+ Plenty of collectibles and side quests
Against
– Goes overboard with DualSense haptic features
– Ratchet and Rivet have no gameplay differences at all
– Glitch puzzles don’t connect
When the PlayStation 5 arrived about six months ago, we were promised a number of improvements under the hood that would change the way people play games. One of the big ones was that consoles finally moved to solid state drives for faster loading.
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart
Available on: PlayStation 5
Developer: Insomniac Games Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Genre: Platformer, Action, Third-person shooter ESRB Rating: E10+ Release Date: June 11, 2021 Price: $69.99 ($79.99 for Deluxe Edition)
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart takes full advantage of that upgrade. The latest game in the franchise, exclusive to Sony’s latest console, throws the heroes through multiple dimensions, often at a moment’s notice to show off that speed. But it also expresses it through chaotic combat and some zany platforming.
Still, it slows down just enough to examine the main characters’ thoughts and vulnerabilities when it comes to heroism, their own confidence and which questions about your life are worth asking, making for some strong character moments amidst all the havoc.
Talk About Distant Relatives…
Rift Apart serves as a sequel to 2013’s Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, but, at the beginning, at least, it serves as a fine entry point to the series. The game finds Ratchet, the last Lombax in the galaxy, and his robot compatriot Clank, being celebrated for most of their major achievements (cue the history lesson for newer players). And Clank has a surprise for Ratchet — he has repaired the Dimensionator, a device that opens rifts to other, well, dimensions, in the hopes that Ratchet can find one where the Lombaxes still exist and meet his family.
Ratchet is hesitant about this. Life is good. He’s getting a parade. Why mess up a good thing with questions he’s always had at the back of his mind? But there’s a bit less of a choice when their enemy, Dr. Nefarious, steals it to find a dimension in which he’s always the victor.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The chase to stop Dr. Nefarious leads Ratchet and Clank to a dimension where a small group of freedom fighters are led by Rivet, the last Lombax in the galaxy (that is, in her dimension). The game switches between Ratchet and Rivet, both of whom suddenly are partnered with someone very different, but also very familiar.
From there, the game hops between planets and dimensions, some of which are alternate versions of levels from earlier games in the franchise.
Rivet and Ratchet are similar beyond their heritage. Both are quick to take action and like to crack jokes. Rivet is a bit more competent than her interdimensional counterpart, but she’s not used to working with others, robot or otherwise. Of course, meeting each other turns everything Ratchet and Rivet know upside down, and leads to alternate realities that flip what you may know about the franchise, too, with references to other games in the franchise taking a bit of turn.
Much of the game, especially its quieter moments, focuses on introspection and self doubt. Ratchet isn’t sure how long he can keep the hero thing up. Rivet isn’t sure if she can overcome her loner tendencies. Heck, even Dr. Nefarious’ plan is based on the fact that he feels he’s not good enough in his own dimension.
Two Different Lombaxes, Same Crazy Gameplay
Rift Apart is a single-player third-person shooter with heavy platformer elements. Much of the game consists of sections in which you transverse different planets on foot. But to get to your goals, you’ll also wall-run, jump between platforms, stick to magnetic platforms, grind on rails and race with rocket boots.
The other big part is combat, where waves of enemies attack as you fight them off with increasingly bizarre weapons that you obtain from Mrs. Zurkon, a robot with enough southern charm that I’m sure she has a good cornbread recipe. These include the executor (a double barrelled shotgun), the lightning rod (yeah, it shoots lightning) and my personal favorite, the topiary sprinkler, which temporarily stuns enemies in place and turns them into landscaping. The game is heavy on the gunplay, but the violence is cartoony, making it more than appropriate for its E10+ rated target audience.
By time you’re done with the game, you’ll be shooting rockets, bullets, lasers and have tons of little minions at your command. As you move on and get more powerful, the combat shines more and more, with wackier weapons and higher stakes. Additionally, certain battle and puzzle areas have rifts that you can “tether” to in order to pull yourself around the stage, instantly loading the new area around you. It’s disorienting and a bit gimmicky, but ultimately provides some novelty in each part of the game.
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(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Beyond their species, Ratchet and Rivet are incredibly similar in that no matter which of them you’re playing as, the game feels exactly the same. The two share gadgets, controls and even weapons. Buy something as Rivet, and Ratchet will have it next time. On the one hand, this makes the game seamless. You never lose something you just saved up for because you switched to another character. But it also creates a bit of sameness when you’re playing as a new, interesting character.
Most of the missions contribute directly to moving the story forward, but there are some that branch out to encourage you to explore, and those tend to reward you with collectibles. Throughout the game, there are two other types of puzzles. The first, which largely features Clank, requires you to explore a level and use a number of powers (speed, antigravity, etc.) to move alternate-dimension “possibilities” throughout the level. It doesn’t make huge amounts of sense to the story, but they’re a fun way to put the spotlight on Clank. The others are worse. Early in the game, Ratchet meets a spider-like robot named Glitch, who can enter computers and fight viruses. Glitch has a small side-story, but it ultimately doesn’t affect the main narrative, and I found that it pulled too much attention from the plot that I actually cared about.
My other personal favorites, which I completed as soon as I could, were a series of combat challenges that provided tons of in-game unlockables and money for further upgrades. These fights have unique gimmicks, like randomizing weapons or changing gravity.
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
In combat, switching between weapons requires opening a menu and picking new arms. This has the effect of pausing fights often, and varieties of enemies, like some with shields that require attacks that don’t hit from the front, encourage you to switch. I personally liked the little pauses, as they gave me time to plan, but the game also lets you assign four weapons to the D-pad for quick switching. However, those four didn’t seem to serve enough, as I ultimately ended up using the larger menu.
All-in-all, my initial playthrough lasted about 16 hours per the PlayStation 5’s clock. (I don’t believe you should necessarily judge a game’s worthiness by it’s length.) That was with some, but not all, of the optional quests, nor did I find every single collectible or piece of armor, so there’s still plenty to go back for. For those looking to squeeze every bit out of their $70, there’s also a Challenge Mode that makes the game more difficult, provides new weapon upgrades and lets you earn far more bolts, the in-game currency.
I suspect some diehard fans will wish that the game were longer, though the story doesn’t necessarily require it.
The PS5’s SSD Makes the Difference
Rift Apart is the first major exclusive in the back-half of the PlayStation 5’s first year, and, in some ways, takes the most advantage of the system’s new features, both to its advantage and to its detriment.
We reviewed the game using pre-release code from Sony. For this review, we played primarily in Fidelity mode, which promises a stable 30 frames per second with ray tracing and other enhanced effects using a high quality image derived from a 4K base. We had less time with the day one patch, which adds Performance RT mode, which aims for 60 frames per second with fewer effects and a lower resolution; and performance mode, which eliminates more effects for a higher resolution 60 fps. It also fixed a few bugs from our first playthrough.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the game, with its mix of colorful, lush environments and the darker, grimmer environments was beautiful. There’s some nice fur effects, primarily in cutscenes. And no matter how much was happening on screen during the most intense battles (and they got pretty crazy towards the end), the game was stable.
Ultimately, though, I preferred playing at the higher frame rates. The 60 fps made combat and platforming puzzles, like pocket dimensions, look and feel smoother to play. It simply felt right to be playing it that way. Unless you’re gaming on a 4K TV, you shouldn’t even consider Fidelity. Even then, I think the sacrifice for frames is worth it.
But the star of the show here is the SSD. For most of the game, it feels as if there’s no loading at all, which is surprising when you’re pulled through multiple, complicated environments in just a few seconds as Ratchet, Rivet and Clank travel through rifts. This happens for the first time fairly early in the game, and it was clear then that the SSD, not the graphics, is the most important reason for a console owner to upgrade. Sure, PC gamers have had SSDs for years. But now we’re starting to see what happens when a game is designed around it.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
This wasn’t complete, though. There were a few sections where it felt like the game was slowing down to enable the game to load, which put those parts at odds with the rest of the game’s tempo. On one mid-game planet, I got into an elevator several times, and waited the entire ride while the characters had small-talk. After so much speed, everything, for a little bit, screeched to a halt until those rides were done.
Sure, when we saw Spider-Man: Miles Morales (and Spider-Man Remastered), it was surprising how quickly one could fast-travel around New York City. But here, it’s not just a feature – it’s integral to the story. That’s really cool.
The DualSense controller was a real mixed bag. While I was initially wowed — and sometimes continue to be — by the controller’s enhanced rumble and trigger features, it sometimes felt like Insomniac lacked restraint when using them. Every single effect in the game does something with the rumble, as does each gun. During combat, it’s a cacophony in your hands, as the controller vibrates and the triggers lock and unlock almost constantly. I did, however, get some joy out of the built-in speaker as I used the ricochet, a button which lets you fire and then bounce ammo off enemies. It made an arcade pinball sound that burst from the controller, which gave me a laugh.
You can turn down the rumble by switching to a “functional” mode that provides gameplay cues and nothing else, or shut it off altogether. This sometimes felt like it went too far in the other direction, as not every action you would expect provides feedback.
Bottom Line
Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is a chaotic thrill ride through space and, well, space in other dimensions. While the storytelling is not especially deep, it’s enough to make for a game that enables some creative platforming setpieces and intense combat.
(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)
Even when the game dips into the dark world of a facist leader, has heroes hide from tortured monsters or simply asks them to be introspective about their flaws, its soul is ultimately zany and upbeat. With the exception of a handful of side-puzzles, it’s a tight, fast-moving game with room for the cast to shine.
While the game doesn’t always feel like it’s taking full advantage of the PS5’s power, the near-instant changes in scenery powered by a game designed by an SSD is exciting. The developers would be well-served by being more conservative with the DualSense controller, though. The game has a lot of rumble, and sometimes it’s too much to be immersive.
Those looking for a moderately-sized family-friendly romp that takes advantage of the latest PlayStation’s features will likely enjoy Rift Apart and all of the bonkers experiences it provides.
(Pocket-lint) – Google has announced a new version of the Pixel Buds, its true wireless headphones that originally launched in 2017 – the first-gen weren’t all that, though, while the second-gen Buds 2 stepped things up a little in 2019.
The third model belongs to the A-Series, picking up on the A series that we’ve seen in Google’s phones, presenting an affordable choice of true wireless headset.
What’s different to the previous Pixel Buds?
To look that, there isn’t a huge difference between the A-Series and Buds 2: both have the same overall styling and come in a case that’s smooth, much like a pebble.
Both have the same earbud design with a little promontory at the top to help keep them secure, and a round touch-control area on the outside.
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The Pixel Buds 2 have wireless charging, however, and inside the case and on the inner part of the ‘buds have a matte finish to the plastics, while the A-Series is glossy. That means the older version looks slightly higher quality.
The A-Series also lacks the option to change the volume via gestures – instead you have to use voice for that – and there are a few minor feature differences. Otherwise, the experience is much the same – but the A-Series is much cheaper.
Design & Build
Earbud: 20.7 x 29.3 x 17.5mm; 5.06g
Colours: Dark Olive / Clearly White
Case: 63 x 47 x 25mm; 52.9g
IPX4 water-resistant
Three ear tip sizes
The Buds A-Series’ case, for all intents and purposes, is the same as that of the Buds 2: it’s the same size, has the same feel, and that same satisfying action when you open and close the lid. Both have a USB-C charging port, a manual connection button on the rear, but the A-Series is slightly lighter.
There’s a satisfying magnetic action when you drop the ‘buds into the case to charge and don’t worry about mixing these up if you happen to have the older version too – the A-Series has two charging contacts inside, the Pixel Buds 2 has three.
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There are two colours to the A-Series – Clearly White or Dark Olive – and opening the lid reveals the colour you’re looking at, as it’s the touchy smooth round end of these Buds, carrying the ‘G’ logo, which makes them really distinctive.
The A-Series ‘buds have the same design as the previous model, with the body of the earbud designed to sit in the concha of the ear, while sealing into the canal with a choice of three different ear tips. These are round – Google seemingly hasn’t been tempted to move to oval as seen on some rivals.
There’s an additional rubber arm that sticks out the top of the buds that is designed to slot into one of the folds at the top of your ear to help keep things secure. We weren’t a fan of it on the previous version and we have the same reservations here: you can’t remove it from the ‘buds and we’re not convinced it’s necessary. As for us, the Buds A-Series sit securely in the ear anyway – even when exercising.
Indeed, if we rotate the earbuds to get that blobby rubber ant to engage with our ears, the sound from the headphones gets worse because they then don’t sit in the best position for our ears. That’s one thing to consider: all ears are different, so this might work for some people and not for others.
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The great thing about these earbuds’ design is that they don’t hang out of your ear, so you don’t need to worry about pulling a hat over the top or anything else – we think they look a lot better than the ear-dribble style of Apple’s AirPods and all those who copy them. We find the Google design more comfortable for wearing over long periods, too.
Connection, setup and control
Native Pixel support
Pixel Buds app
Touch controls
Google Fast Pair means you just have to lift the lid of the case and your nearby Android phone will detect the Pixel Buds A-Series and allow you to connect with one tap. It’s essentially the same as Apple’s system with the AirPods and iPhone, linking the Buds to the Google account you register them with so they are then available on other devices too.
If you’re using a Pixel phone then you’ll have native support for the Buds; if using another brand Android device you’ll be prompted to download the Pixel Buds app, which will provide access to firmware updates and details on how to use all the features, as well as some options.
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As far as setup is concerned, that’s all there is to it: you’ll be asked to walk through things like Google Assistant, and you’ll be prompted to allow notifications access, so you can unlock the potential of the Pixel Buds.
The touch-controls are fairly easy to master, too, with both left and right sides offering the same function: single-tap to play/pause; double-tap to skip forward; triple-tap to skip backwards; press-and-hold to get a notifications update.
The last of those is interesting, because you’ll get a report of the time and then you’ll be told about your notifications – with the option to reply, needing a press-and-hold to speak your reply, before it’s confirmed and then sent.
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Missing from this selection of touch-controls is volume: unlike the Pixel Buds 2, you can’t swipe to change the volume, you have to ask Google Assistant to do it or you have to thumb the volume controller on your device instead.
This, we feel, is the biggest flaw of these headphones: volume control is pretty important when you’re listening to something, so having to ask Google using voice just isn’t appropriate in all situations.
Google Assistant and smart features
Google Assistant integration
Adaptive Sound
With a lack of volume control, Google pushes its Adaptive Sound option as a solution. This is designed to adapt the volume to the ambient sound levels. As the external noise goes up, so does the volume of the headphones. That’s fine in principal and works when you move from and area of consistent background noise to another – from a quiet library to a server room with whirring fans, for example – but it’s hopeless when you have varying noise levels.
Just walk along a busy street with Adaptive Sound on and you’ll find the volume of the headphones yo-yoing, because it’s not constant noise, it depends on what’s driving past at that moment. This could be corrected by a software update with Google reducing the frequency of volume changes. If you manually adjust the volume then it suspends the system for a bit and leaves the control to you, but in reality, it’s just too irritating to use in many situations and you might as well turn your phone volume up instead.
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As we’ve said, Google Assistant is fully integrated into the headphones, so you can ask Google anything that you might on your phone or Nest Hub at home. For fans of the system, that’s a great addition, because you don’t need to fish your phone out of your pocket first. Sure, there are lots of headphones out there that offer Google Assistant, but naturally, Google puts Google first and the experience is nice and smooth.
It’s also a two-way experience, with Google Assistant notifying you of incoming messages and it’s able to read them out to you too – with the option to speak a reply. You can disable messages from any apps you don’t want in the Pixel Buds app, to maintain privacy (or, indeed, a barrage of non-stop voiced messaging). You can also trigger message sending through voice – and you’ll get to confirm the message that’s being sent.
Thanks to Voice Match, it will only respond to your voice – and that also means you can access things like your calendar and so on. It’s plain sailing all round.
Sound quality and performance
Buds: 5 hours battery life
Case: 19 hours extra
Spatial Vents
Bass Boost
When it comes to the performance, Google is taking a bit of a gamble. Rather then pursuing isolation from the outside world, it wants to provide an experience that lets some of the ambient sound in, so you don’t feel cut off.
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Google uses what it calls Spatial Vents, while claiming that the headphones provide a gentle seal rather than trying to block everything out. We’re not huge fans of this approach and with the rise in headphones offering active noise cancellation (ANC), it suggests that generally speaking that’s what people are buying.
Needless to say, there’s no ANC here and you’ll be able to hear what’s happening around you a lot of the time. At home that’s perhaps useful – you can hear the doorbell or the dog bark – but out on public transport, you’ll hear every announcement, door crash, clatter of the wheels on the tracks, and that’s not something we want. This is exactly the same experience as the previous Pixel Buds and whether that suits you will depends very much on where you wear your headphones. If that’s a busy place, the A-Series might not be the best for you.
Aside from that, in quiet conditions, the sound quality is actually very good. The Pixel Buds A-Series benefits from the Bass Boost option that Google added as a software update to the previous Buds in late 2020, so they offer better performance for tracks which want a driving bassline. In quiet conditions at home we have no complaints: the Pixel Buds A-Series is a great pair of headphones, especially at the asking price and given the smart options they offer.
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When it comes to calling there are two beam-forming mics on each ‘bud, but they still let noise through to the caller. This is reduced, but they’ll hear every car that drives past as a hiss. If you’re after a better calling experience, the Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro offers a far better experience, providing a better veil of silence when making calls.
The Pixel Buds A-Series provides battery life of 5 hours, which we’ve found to be accurate – although we found the left ‘bud to drain slightly faster than the right one. The case supplies 24 hours of life, recharging the buds when they are back in it, and charged itself via USB-C. This isn’t the longest battery life on the market, but it matches the Apple AirPods.
Best Bluetooth headphones 2021 rated: Top on-ear or over-ear wireless headphones
By Mike Lowe
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Verdict
The Pixel Buds A-Series have a lot to offer considering the price: Google Assistant integration, comfortable design, a lovely case, plus great audio performance when in quieter conditions.
The biggest downsides are the lack of on-bud volume controls and the design decision to not strive for isolation from external noise. The Adaptive Sound – which auto-adjusts volume – is a good idea in principle to compensate for this, but it sees the headphones’ volume yo-yo unnaturally.
Compared to the older Pixel Buds 2, we’d pick the Pixel Buds A-Series every time: they do the important things just as well but the price is much more approachable, meaning you can forgive the omissions given the context of price.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro
Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro offer great noise-cancelling – which is especially effective when making calls – while also offering a great set of features.
Read the full review
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Jabra Elite Active 75t
These headphones are a little more bulky, but they offer noise-cancellation that will almost entirely eliminate external noise. If you want silence, Jabra delivers it.
Read the full review
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Writing by Chris Hall.
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