Google has revealed the full schedule for its I/O tech conference next month, and a Google Pixel 6 announcement could be on the cards. While the handset isn’t mentioned in the event schedule, Google’s CEO has said we’ll see “significant product updates and announcements” at the conference, 9to5Google reports.
Sundar Pichai made the comments to investors during an earnings call.
The Pixel 6 is expected to follow in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Pixel 5 (pictured), and offer decent specs at a more accessible price. Google usually announces its Pixel handsets in September or October, and according to Pichai, “product releases are returning to a regular cadence” following the disruption caused by the pandemic. So, I/O might actually be a bit early for a full reveal. Nevertheless, Google could always tease the device, or at least confirm its existence.
Google is also rumoured to be working on a foldable phone codenamed Passport, which it could choose to show off at the event.
The Pixel 6 is expected to boast 5G connectivity, a 6in high refresh rate screen (either 90Hz or 120Hz), and facial recognition.
Google I/O takes place online from 18-20th May. It is also expected to include updates on Android 12 and Google TV.
MORE:
Everything you need to know about the Google Pixel 6
These are the best smartphones for music and movies on the move
(Pocket-lint) – The Amazfit T-Rex Pro is a sportswatch built for outdoor lovers. Its maker, Zepp Health, has sought to make it a better companion for trail runs, hikes and open water swims than the original 2020 T-Rex model – by making the Pro better suited to surviving in extreme conditions and adding new sensors to offer richer metrics too.
A core part of the T-Rex Pro is its affordable price point – it’s significantly cheaper than most outdoor watches, so could save you some money if you wanted something to take out on adventures. But while the price and feature set might read as appealing, does this T-Rex bring future goodness or is it a bit of a dinosaur at launch?
Design & Display
Measures: 47.7mm (diameter) x 13.5mm (thickness)
1.3-inch touchscreen display, 360 x 360 resolution
10ATM waterproofing (to 100m depth)
Weighs: 59.4g
The T-Rex Pro largely sticks to the same design formula as the T-Rex. There’s a similar-sized 47mm polycarbonate case, matched with a 22mm silicone rubber strap, all weighing in at 59.4g. To put that into perspective: the 47mm Garmin Fenix 6 weighs 80g, and the Polar Grit X weighs 66g. So the T-Rex Pro is a lighter watch thanks to that plastic case. We’d almost like a bit more weight to it, if anything.
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There’s also a chunky bezel with exposed machined screws to emphasise its rugged credentials – and it’s passed more military grade tests than the original T-Rex to make it better suited to the outdoors. The Pro attains 15 military grade tests – up from the original’s 12 – and is built to handle extreme humidity and freezing temperatures.
Along with those improved military grade toughness credentials, it’s also ramped up the water-resistance rating – offering protection up to 100 metres depth (10ATM). The ‘non-Pro’ T-Rex can be submerged in water up to 50 metres.
At the heart of that light, rugged, chunky exterior is a 1.3-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, which can be set to always-on. Tempered glass and an anti-fingerprint coating has been used to make it a more durable and smudge-free display – and we can confirm it’s a screen that doesn’t give you that unattractive smudgy look as its predecessor suffered.
Pocket-lint
It’s a bright and colourful screen, with good viewing angles. In bright outdoor light, that vibrancy isn’t quite as punchy as in more favourable conditions, but it’s on the whole a good quality display to find on a watch at this price.
Around the back is where you’ll find the optical sensors and the charging pins for when you need to power things back up again. It uses the same slim charging setup as the T-Rex, which magnetically clips itself in place and securely stays put when it’s time to charge.
Fitness & Features
GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo satellite system support
Firstbeat training analysis
Heart rate monitor
SPO2 sensor
In true Amazfit fashion, the T-Rex Pro goes big on sports modes – and includes the kinds of sensors that should make it a good workout companion.
There’s 100 sports modes up from just the 14 included in the standard T-Rex. It still covers running, cycling and swimming (pool and open water), but it’s also added profiles for activities like surfing, dance, and indoor activities like Pilates.
The majority of these new modes will offer you the basics in terms of metrics, though modes like surfing and hiking will offer additional ones like speed and ascent/descent data in real-time. The addition of an altimeter here means you can capture richer elevation data, which is useful if you’re a fan of getting up high and hitting those mountains and hilly terrain.
For outdoor tracking, there’s support for four satellite systems with GPS, GLONASS, Beidou and Galileo all on board to improve mapping accuracy. You don’t have any type of navigation features to point you in the right direction, though, nor can you upload routes to follow on the watch.
For road and off-road runs, we found core metrics were reliable during our testing. GPS-based distance tracking came up a little short compared to a Garmin Enduro sportswatch, plus we had issues inside of the app generating maps of our routes as well.
Best Garmin watch 2021: Fenix, Forerunner and Vivo compared
By Chris Hall
·
Swim tracking metrics were generally reliable and it was a similar story for indoor bike and rowing sessions. In the pool, it was a couple of lengths short of the Enduro’s swim tracking, though stroke counts for indoor rowing largely matched up to what we got from a Hydow rowing machine.
But when you dig a little deeper beyond core metrics, some of the T-Rex Pro’s data seems a little questionable. If you’re happy to stick to the basics, though, then the Pro does a good enough job.
Along with manual tracking, there’s support for automatic exercise recognition for eight of those sports modes. This is something we’ve seen crop up on Fitbit, Garmin and Samsung smartwatches with varying success. On the T-Rex Pro, you’ll need to select whether to automatically track activities like running, swimming and indoor rowing. As Zepp Health outlines: there can be instances where accidental recognition can happen with some activities when you jump on a bus or a car. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case for us.
Zepp Health’s newest BioTracker 2 optical sensor is included to power a host of heart-rate features outside of continuous monitoring and measuring effort levels during exercise. It’s also used for the PAI scores, which seeks to shift the attention away from counting steps to regularly raising heart rate through exercise. It’s also used for taking heart rate variability measurements to track stress levels and is used for training insights – like those found on Garmin watches – that will generate VO2 Max scores, training effect, training load, and recovery times.
As far as the reliability of that heart rate monitoring, the Amazfit is better suited to resting heart rate and continuous heart rate data as opposed to relying on exercise and those additional training and fitness insights. In our testing it generally posted higher maximum heart rate readings and lower average heart rate readings compared to a Garmin HRM Pro heart rate monitor chest strap. Those readings were enough to put us in different heart rate zones, which undermines the usefulness of those training insights and PAI scores.
That sensor also unlocks blood oxygen measurements with a dedicated SpO2 app on board to offer on-the-spot measurements. It can be used to offer alerts when you hit major altitude changes. We didn’t get up high enough to trigger those altitude alerts but did compare on-the-spot measurements against a pulse oximeter and they largely all matched up.
Pocket-lint
You’ll get those staple activity tracking features here too, such as capturing daily step counts and monitoring sleep as well as naps, capturing sleep stages and breathing quality, which is tagged as a beta feature and makes use of the new onboard SpO2 sensor.
We found step counts were at times well within the counts of a Fitbit smartwatch – but also some days where we registered longer step totals there was a much bigger difference.
When you’re not tracking your fitness, the Pro does do its duty as a smartwatch too. It runs on Zepp Health’s own RTOS software – and while it might not be the most feature-rich smartwatch experience, it will give you a little more than the basics.
Google Android and Apple iPhone users can view notifications, control music playing on your phone, along with setting up alarms, reminders and changing watch faces. You don’t have payments, the ability to download apps, a music player or a smart assistant, which has appeared on some Amazfit watches.
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Notification support is of the basic kind, letting you view notifications from native and third-party apps, but not respond to them. They’re easy to read, but what you can read varies based on the type of notification. If you happen to have multiple notifications from the same app, it struggles to display them all and merely lets you know you have multiple messages. Music controls work well as they do on other Amazfit watches and features like weather forecasts and watch faces are well optimised to that touchscreen display.
Performance & Battery Life
Up to 18 days in typical usage
Up to 9 days in heavy usage
40 hours of GPS battery life
The T-Rex Pro features a 390mAh capacity battery – matching what’s packed into the T-Rex. That should give you 18 days in typical usage, 9 days in heavy usage, with an impressive 40 hours of GPS battery life.
Like other Amazfit watches, those battery numbers tend to be based on some very specific lab testing scenarios. In our experience, it’s always felt a little on the generous side. In our time with the T-Rex Pro, we got to around the 10 day mark on a single charge. That was with regular GPS tracking, continuous heart rate monitoring, stress monitoring, and the richer sleep tracking enabled. We had the screen on max brightness but not in always-on mode.
Pocket-lint
The standard T-Rex felt like it was good for a solid week using it in similar conditions, orring 20 days in typical usage by comparison – but the Pro can get you longer than a week even with some of the more demanding features in use.
Things seem to have improved on the GPS battery front as well. An hour of using the GPS usually knocked the Pro’s battery just under 10 per cent, while the T-Rex usually lost 10 per cent from 30 minutes using the GPS. It might not be the 40 hours that was promised, but the Pro does seem to hold up a little better than the T-Rex when it comes to tracking.
Verdict
The T-Rex Pro is a solid outdoor watch offering that’s missing one key ingredient that would makes it a great one – there’s no maps to point you in the right direction when you think you’re lost.
Otherwise, if you want something that offers a durable design and can track your outdoor activities, then the T-Rex Pro’s chunky-but-light design will no doubt appeal to adventurers on a budget. Its fitness and sports tracking features by and large do a good enough job too.
So if you’re hoping that you’ll be able to get an experience that rivals what the Garmin Fenix, Instinct, and the likes of the Polar Grit X can offer, then this T-Rex isn’t quite the full package. But that’s reflected in the price – which is so much less that you should be willing to accept such compromise.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Garmin Instinct Solar
Garmin’s outdoor watch that sits underneath the pricier Fenix does still cost considerably more than the T-Rex Pro, but will give you those navigation features and great long battery life too.
Read our review
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Pocket-lint
Polar Grit X
The Grit X will give you navigation features, a light design, and help you fuel for long runs and hikes to make sure you’re not running on empty.
Organising your digital music collection, you might be struck by the number of different audio file formats in your library. Almost everyone’s heard of MP3, but what about OGG, AIFF, MQA or DSD?
If the list leaves you wondering whether all those songs studied at different universities to get such official-looking letters after their names, don’t worry. We’re here to break down the meaning of the most common music file formats, the differences between them, and why you should care.
Whether you’re listening to low-quality MP3 files, probably slightly better AAC tracks, or hi-res audio in FLAC or WAV, it’s time to understand exactly what you’re getting – and which is the best file format for you.
Read on to learn about the pros and cons of each audio file format…
File formats and codecs at-a-glance
Want to cut straight to the chase? Here’s a handy guide to all the file formats and the differences between them. If you want to know more, read on below for a more in-depth look at the differences in size, sound quality and compatibility.
AAC (not hi-res): Apple’s alternative to MP3 – stands for ‘Advanced Audio Coding’. Lossy and compressed, but sounds generally better. Used for Apple Music streaming.
AIFF (hi-res): Apple’s alternative to WAV, with better metadata support. It is lossless and uncompressed (so big file sizes), but not hugely popular.
DSD (hi-res): The single-bit format used for Super Audio CDs. It comes in 2.8mHz, 5.6mHz and 11.2mHz varieties, but due to its high-quality codec, it’s (mostly) impractical for streaming. Uncompressed.
FLAC (hi-res): This lossless compression format supports hi-res sample rates, takes up about half the space of WAV, and stores metadata. It’s royalty-free and is considered the preferred format for downloading and storing hi-res albums. The downside is, it’s not supported by Apple (so not compatible with Apple Music).
MP3 (not hi-res): Popular, lossy compressed format ensures small file size, but far from the best sound quality. Convenient for storing music on smartphones and iPods.
MQA (hi-res): A lossless compression format that packages hi-res files for more efficient streaming. Used for Tidal Masters hi-res streaming.
OGG (not hi-res): Sometimes called by its full name, Ogg Vorbis. A lossy, open-source alternative to MP3 and AAC, unrestricted by patents. The file format used (at 320kbps) in Spotify streaming.
WAV (hi-res): The standard format in which all CDs are encoded. Great sound quality but it’s uncompressed, meaning huge file sizes (especially for hi-res files). It has poor metadata support (that is, album artwork, artist and song title information).
WMA Lossless (hi-res): A lossless incarnation of Windows Media Audio, but no longer well-supported by smartphones or tablets.
Best music streaming services 2021: free streams to hi-res audio
MQA audio: everything you need to know
What is DSD audio?
Compressed vs. uncompressed audio files
First, let’s talk about the three categories all audio files can be grouped into. It comes down to how compressed the data is (if at all) and as a result, how much quality or “loss” you’ll experience, as a listener.
If no compression algorithm (or codec) has been used to compress the audio within your file, two things happen: zero loss in sound quality, and soon-enough, a “startup disk full” warning on your laptop.
Essentially, an uncompressed track is a reproduction of the original audio file, where real-world signals are transformed into digital audio.
WAV vs AIFF vs FLAC: uncompressed file formats
WAV and AIFF are arguably the most popular uncompressed audio file formats, both based on PCM (Pulse Code Modulation), which is widely recognised as the most straightforward audio storage mechanism in the digital domain. Both WAV and AIFF files use similar technology, but store data in slightly different ways. They can store CD-quality or high-resolution audio files.
WAV was developed by Microsoft and IBM, hence it’s used in Windows-based platforms, and is the standard format all CDs are encoded in.
AIFF was developed by Apple as an alternative to WAV, and although not as widely popular, AIFF files have better metadata support, meaning you can include album artwork, song titles and the like.
The drawback? These babies are big. A CD-quality (16-bit, 44.1kHz) file will take around 10MB of your hard drive per minute in length.
ALAC vs FLAC vs WMA Lossless: lossless audio formats
Everyone loves a FLAC. A lossless file, the FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) is compressed to nearly half the size of an uncompressed WAV or AIFF of equivalent sample rate, but there should be no “loss” in terms of how it sounds. FLAC files can also provide a resolution of up to 32-bit, 96kHz, so better than CD-quality.
Other lossless audio file formats include ALAC (Apple Lossless) and WMA Lossless (Windows Media Audio). The former is a good iOS and iTunes compatible alternative to FLAC, although the files are slightly less compact than FLACs. Check for smartphone and tablet compatibility, though.
AAC vs MP3: lossy audio formats
Who’s heard of an MP3? Course you have. Steve Jobs famously pulled 1000 of them out of his pocket on 23rd October 2001. It is easily the most common audio format, and MP3s are convenient for storing music on portable players or tablets and work on almost all playback devices. But to do that, you have to lose a load of information in the process. In order to make audio files up to ten times smaller than CD quality files, some original data must be discarded, resulting in a loss of sound quality.
The bit-rate at which an MP3 is recorded also affects the sound quality. MP3s encoded at 128kbps will incur more sound loss than those encoded at 320kbps (kilobits per second, where each “bit” is essentially a “piece” of the song). Now that storage is so much cheaper, we’d avoid 128kbps at all costs, though 320kbps MP3s still have their purpose if your storage is limited – and they remain a standard on download stores.
Another lossy format is AAC (Apple’s Advanced Audio Coding) which is compressed much like an MP3, but it’s slightly more efficient and sounds better. AAC is used for Apple Music streaming (at 256kbps) and YouTube streaming.
The Vorbis format, often called Ogg Vorbis owing to its Ogg container, (the best way to think of this is that OGG is the can, Vorbis is the ring-pull) is a lossy, open-source alternative to MP3 and AAC, unrestricted by patents. Ogg Vorbis is the file format used (at 320kbps) in Spotify streaming.
If you’re sticking with lossy, it’s worth remembering this: while more “bits” usually means better sound, it depends on the efficiency of the codec in your file. Although you might notice that much of the music in your collection is encoded at 128kbps so should be much of a muchness, an MP3 will likely sound a fair bit (see what we did there?) worse than an AAC or Ogg Vorbis file, due to the inefficiency of the codec in an MP3.
What about high-resolution audio?
Unlike high-definition video, there’s no single universal standard when it comes to high-resolution audio.
However, in its simplest terms, hi-res audio tends to refer to music files which have a higher sampling frequency and/or bit depth than CD – which is specified at 16-bit/44.1kHz. Hi-res files therefore come in the form of 16-bit/96kHz or 24-bit/192kHz, for example.
So why should you care? Quite simply, hi-res audio files have a lot of extra audio information and thus sound a lot better than compressed audio formats, which lose information in the compression process. They will take up more storage space but we definitely think it’s worth the trade off.
Uncompressed files like AIFF and WAV are hi-res, as are those lossless FLAC and ALAC file formats. DSD (the somewhat niche format used for Super Audio CDs) is also hi-res, but it’s not as widely supported. When it comes to streaming, MQA is a file packing format used by the likes of Tidal Masters, which helps to bring hi-res audio to streaming services using as little bandwidth as possible.
As for playing hi-res audio, an increasing amount of products now support it. Premium portable music players such as the Award-winning Cowon Plenue D2 plus the newer and rather splendid Cowon Plenue D3 support 24-bit/192kHz WAV, FLAC, ALAC and AIFF files. Both players boast DSD128 file compatibility too – and that support is native, so DSD files aren’t converted to PCM during playback.
The Astell & Kern Kann Alpha and another 2020 Award-winner, the Astell & Kern A&futura SE200 digital audio players are like many A&K players (including the entry-level A&norma SR25) in that file support goes all the way up to 32-bit/384kHz and includes native DSD256 and MQA playback.
KEF’s new LS50 Wireless II speakers will play 24-bit/192kHz files in all their glory, and support for DSD256 is also onboard too this time, as is MQA decoding for the playback of compatible downloaded files and hi-res Tidal Masters.
Hi-res audio can also be played on most flagship Android smartphones, but you can’t play hi-res on a box-fresh iPhone. We’ve found ways around that, but it’s worth remembering that hi-res audio isn’t quite as portable as its lossy brethren – yet. You can find more info on which hi-fi products support hi-res audio here.
Which is the best audio file format for you?
The file format you choose will depend on whether storage or sound quality is your key concern, as well as which devices you intend to use for playback.
MP3s became hugely popular when storage was at a premium. Now that phones, music players and laptops have far more storage space, we think you really should be looking to use better-than-CD-quality files.
If you’re archiving your audio files, a FLAC or other lossless file might be a good shout for ripping your music, though. Lossless files strike a good balance between compression and sound quality, allowing you to listen to the best quality digital music without taking up all your storage space. Just make sure your devices are all compatible with your file format of choice.
High-resolution audio: everything you need to know
Best portable music players 2021: from budget to hi-res music
The Fives offer sonic performance to match their lengthy feature list, if not exactly their ambitious moniker
For
Punchy presentation
Good features set
Versatile nature
Against
Uneven tonality
Not the most organised presentation
It’s not often we are presented with a product such as the Klipsch The Fives. They’re clearly a pair of stereo speakers, and yet we have to ask ourselves what they are actually for. That only happens when a product’s feature list blurs the lines between hi-fi and TV sound, and also occasionally the morning after the What Hi-Fi? Awards ceremony.
Klipsch describes The Fives as a ‘powered speaker system’, which is about as specific as you can get. They can be used as a hi-fi system – either standalone or with a source plugged in – as desktop speakers, or indeed as a true stereo alternative to a soundbar thanks to the seemingly simple, but nonetheless shrewdly incorporated, HDMI ARC connection.
Klipsch sees this as a potential driver for many customers adopting The Fives. And, as a publication that generally favours stereo speakers as an alternative to a comparatively priced soundbar – in terms of basic audio performance for the money, at least – we don’t see anything wrong with that concept.
This isn’t due to a lack of focus on Klipsch’s part, but part of the forward movement of the company as a whole. The company is trying to expand its reach, rather than simply throwing what it can at their speakers to see what sticks.
The Fives represent a step towards what Klipsch describes as a more global sound. The ‘American’ tuning with which the brand is so familiar remains, but some of the leanings of the European and Asian markets – typically favouring delicacy over sheer scale – have been deliberately addressed.
What we hear is not exactly the final destination, and there isn’t, we’re told, a particular sound at which Klipsch would like to arrive. But anyone on our side of the Atlantic who might have written the brand off for its sonic presentation could afford the brand a keener ear in the future.
Pricing
An open mind is preferable when approaching The Fives, as are some relatively deep pockets. At £839 ($699), they aren’t going to be an impulse buy for many.
That price tag places The Fives in roughly the same realm as the Naim Mu-so Qb, Sonos Arc and KEF LSX. The fact that those are three entirely different products only highlights just what a versatile product you’re getting for the money. Its rivals depend entirely on how you plan to use them; there isn’t really a direct competitor.
Features
In short, The Fives will connect to virtually anything. The HDMI ARC connection for TVs is joined by analogue RCA, 3.5mm aux, digital optical and USB inputs. Bluetooth 5.0 is also present for simple wireless playback, while a subwoofer output allows for expansion into the lower frequencies.
(Image credit: Klipsch)
Klipsch The Fives tech specs
(Image credit: Klipsch)
Drivers 25mm tweeter; 11.5cm mid/bass
Reflex port Rear-firing
Cabinet MDF with wood veneer
HDMI ARC Yes
Phono Yes
Bluetooth Yes
Dimensions (hwd) 30.5 x 16.5 x 23.5cm
Weight 5.35kg (primary); 4.85kg (secondary)
There is also a phono preamp built in, proving Klipsch’s dedication to hi-fi and that these are not only TV speakers, so by adding just a simple deck you really can have a tidy home entertainment system with The Fives as its mouthpiece.
The Fives are capable of hi-res music playback, while Klipsch’s Dynamic Bass EQ is designed to enhance low frequencies at lower volumes. It can be turned off as a feature, for a more traditional bass response, or you can cut the bass if it’s getting too boomy near a back wall. That is indeed a possibility, due to the rear-firing reflex port. It features Klipsch’s Tractrix horn shape, in a similar but narrower form to that found on the front surrounding the 25mm titanium dome tweeter.
Just below is an 11.5cm long-throw woofer, which appears smaller than it is thanks to the proportions of the horn above it, but is well capable of filling a small to medium-sized room without overstretching.
Build
(Image credit: Klipsch)
Despite Klipsch speakers’ reputation for room-filling sound, at 30cm tall and 23.5cm wide, these are relatively small bookshelf speakers; don’t expect them to project across a room the size of an air hangar. Besides, you will want to be close by to admire the design.
The walnut veneer on our review sample resonates with the price tag, but of all this almost mid-century design, the rollers on the top of the right-hand speaker stand out most.
If we were to compile a coffee table book of dials and knobs found on hi-fi kit since What Hi-Fi? was first published 45 years ago, the controls on these Klipsch speakers could easily make the first edition. The fact The Fives come packaged with a remote is almost irrelevant, given how keen you’ll be to get up and use these dials to change volume and source.
The Fives would feel like a premium product with the kind of touch panel we usually see on powered speakers such as these, but the individuality of this design should be praised – especially if it is an indicator of the attention paid to everything else.
Sound
(Image credit: Klipsch)
At least we can say that Klipsch has paid equal attention to each of The Fives’ many potential sources. It’s no faint praise when we say how pleased we are that these speakers’ character is pretty much uniform, however we decide to use them; that can’t be a simple task when being asked to take material from a TV, turntable, streamer, laptop and a smartphone.
The Fives do well, all told. They offer a good level of detail that will dig out texture and timbre regardless of whether it is from the voices of a chamber choir or daytime soap. Is it comparable to a grand’s worth of hi-fi separates? Not quite – nor would we expect it to be – but it is enough to deliver a kind of sonic maturity you won’t get from a budget soundbar or wireless speaker. And as a package, they’re a neater proposition than separates.
It’s a punchy sound, too, able to take on stabbing snares and hi-hats as well as heavy artillery. A good pair of hi-fi speakers should always be able to do both, and so it transpires with The Fives. Stereo imaging is good, provided the speakers are positioned with care and placed on a solid support.
So The Fives are a pleasing listen, but they’re not perfect. We’d like a more even frequency balance with better top-end refinement. While there’s a decent amount of bass for the speakers’ size and treble doesn’t sound particularly rolled off, certain frequencies tend to stick out in an almost arbitrary fashion – and, to a degree, this detrimentally affects the way these Klipschs convey timing and organisation.
Verdict
Overall, though, you do get a good return on your investment as a one-stop shop for home audio. If you want to use them for one thing in particular, you might get better value with a more dedicated component, but if it’s a do-all pair of speakers you crave, it’s well worth giving The Fives a go.
SCORES
Sound 4
Features 5
Build 4
MORE:
Read our guide to the best stereo speakers or best desktop computer speakers
Another internet meme has sold for big bucks online: Zoë Roth, best known as “Disaster Girl” for the popular image macro taken by her father in 2005 of her smirking at the camera while a house burns down in the background, has sold the original copy of the meme as an NFT for 180 Ether, worth almost $500,000.
Roth tells The New York Times that she’ll use the money to pay off her student loans and to donate to charity. And as is the case with many NFT sales, the Roths also retain the copyright to the image and will make 10 percent off any future sales of the NFT.
She’s by no means the first meme star to leverage the boom in crytocurrency-based artwork into a small fortune. Chris Torres — the creator of Nyan Cat — sold an NFT of the rainbow, Pop-Tart-bodied cat for close to $600,000 and has since worked with other internet meme owners, like Kyle Craven (aka the guy in the “Bad Luck Brian” meme) to help them profit off their previous internet fame (or infamy). Craven’s original meme image sold for $36,000, while Laina Morris (“Overly Attached Girlfriend”) sold her meme for $411,000 earlier in April.
Interestingly, Roth’s NFT was purchased by 3F Music, a Dubai-based music studio with surprisingly deep pockets that also bought several other big-ticket NFTs, including Overly Attached Girlfriend ($411,000) and The New York Times’ meta NFT-column ($560,000).
In a statement provided to the NYT in March, 3F Music explained its purchase by commenting that “Our management team is always in cooperation with some highly knowledgeable and experienced art advisers who believe that we must grow with technological movements that help us to not only promote our business but also to support artists and the art market.”
Spotify has launched its paid podcast subscription service. This lets podcasters who host their shows on Spotify’s Anchor platform to charge listeners for their podcasts. As rumoured, podcasters can choose to offer subscriber-only extras such as bonus content and no adverts.
Spotify has opened a waiting list that podcasters can join. Once their turn comes, they should be able to offer subscriptions.
For the first two years, Spotify won’t take a cut of podcasters’ earnings, but creators will have to cover the cost of transaction fees through Spotify’s payment partner Stripe. From 2023, Spotify will take five per cent of creators’ subscription revenue, which is less than Apple will take with its forthcoming podcast subscription service.
Spotify’s service is currently only available in the US, but will come to other countries “in the coming months”. It launched with 12 independent podcasts, including Tiny Leaps, Big Changes and Mindful in Minutes, offering subscriber-only content.
Broadcaster NPR will also offer subscribers ad-free versions of certain shows from 4th May. These include How I Built This with Guy Raz, Short Wave, It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders, Code Switch, and Planet Money, with more following in the coming weeks.
These NPR shows will be tagged as ‘Plus’ – for example, Planet Money Plus.
Spotify claims the new service will help podcasters grow their audiences.
“By enabling wide distribution of subscriber-only content, our aim is to help podcasters maximise their subscription audiences and grow them from their existing listener bases,” it said in a blog post. “Within Spotify, this content will be searchable and discoverable like any other podcast episode.”
Paid-for shows will show up with a lock on the Play button. Because subscribers pay through Spotify’s Anchor platform, Spotify won’t have to pay Apple any cut of in-app purchases.
Anyone hosting podcasts elsewhere will also soon be able to integrate them into Spotify, though it’s not clear exactly how this will work.
Apple announced last week that it was launching its own podcast subscription service next month. As well as setting the price, podcasters on Apple’s platform can decide what extras (if any) you get for paying – examples include bonus content, early access, and ad-free shows. Free trials and sample episodes are also options.
With the news that Spotify raised its UK prices this week, hopefully, this service will be worth paying that little bit extra for.
(Image credit: Future / Leben / Fyne Audio / Columbia / Antonio Guillem / Shutterstock)
Always give your opinion piece an incendiary or inflammatory headline, and then follow that up with a provocative statement and a hardline stance you’ll spend the rest of the article attempting to climb down from:
There is no such thing as a test track, no such thing as real music and nobody takes your existence as self-appointed cultural gatekeeper at all seriously.
I’m not referring specifically to you, of course. But we all know someone to whom this does refer, don’t we? (If you don’t then please concentrate, because I probably am referring to you.)
Firstly, I have to raise my hands and admit my role in this circus of snobbery. I am a part of this industry, after all, which tends to celebrate machinery over art. I spend most of my time explaining why a lack of dynamic expression with this or that component makes it undeserving of your attention beyond my review.
I don’t even hide particularly well the part I play in the whole test track phenomenon, to be honest. I’ve written literally tens of articles listing them and my name is on the top of every single one.
But if there is a hill I’m prepared to die on, it is that music cannot be treated as a science. Music is vital, and it is to do with the soul. Not forgetting that is the key to doing this job.
Missed the What Hi-Fi? Virtual Show? You can still register and watch all the sessions until 24th May, completely free of charge.
So I suppose it’s worth distinguishing between what I refer to as test tracks in those articles, and what I mean for the purpose of this one.
When I test an amplifier or pair of speakers, I have to use music. There’s no real way around that. So by definition there are test tracks, but their only defining feature is that they are music. Some highlight certain aspects of sound better than others, and that is what I try to get across when making suggestions, but mostly I’m just trying to share music I like. The most important point is that those lists are varied.
What I can’t abide is the idea that there are tracks that can and tracks that can’t be used for testing hi-fi. That only the very cleanest recordings, or those of a certain genre, are capable of telling us how well a piece of equipment is performing.
Testing a pair of speakers, for me at least, is only about whether they allow that music to speak. And if I can’t hear the music, metaphorically I mean, then further listening is required to find out why not. But that most important aspect invariably reveals itself almost immediately.
In fact, using only one type of music while tuning something is a common pitfall of even the most experienced engineers and designers. That’s because it forgets why we have a pair of speakers, or an amplifier, or a CD player. It is as a mouthpiece only.
It is not the lungs, nor the voice box, nor the brain figuring out what to say. That is all to do with the music; and that means any music. There is no hi-fi music, there is no real music, and there isn’t even good music; there is just music.
So, who is it with whom I’m actually arguing? Well there are some people like this inside the industry, of course, though they only reveal themselves really when a product they’ve created or a brand they represent has received a less favourable review than hoped for.
To make this point, I once referenced the same piece of music in a five-star review that had caused great consternation when used in a four-star write-up for the same brand, and heard nothing about its unsuitability second time around. Petty, yes, but the legs of this high horse could not have grown themselves.
I am also speaking to a small section of some of our readers. Or, at least, I am talking to certain people who comment on our articles and on social media; I know that actually reading an article beforehand is not truly a pre-requisite when one aims to have an opinion.
I do read those comments though because, as much as I enjoy being abrasive, I am also extremely sensitive and want to make you all happy. I am also genuinely interested in finding out what you have been listening to, and what you’d add to various lists. What I’m not interested in is why the production of certain records is not good enough for testing a headphone amplifier, as if it is the job of the music to make the kit sound good rather than the other way round.
A wider problem
(Image credit: Future / Chord / Island / Antonio Guillem / Shutterstock)
Still, it is quite a trivial nuisance to be so animated about; I’ll give you that. But I think the reason I am so is because it’s symptomatic of a larger problem of pretentiousness present among so-called music fans.
The idea of music as a meritocracy makes me nauseous. And those who consider their tastes better or more refined than others, or any more worthy of note due to some arbitrary parameters, can quite honestly miss me with their nonsense.
I will make a couple of concessions. There is, I understand, objectively bad music. Anybody who has given up time to attend a child’s recorder recital frankly deserves some kind of tax relief. And I’ve played enough gigs in empty halls to know the majority of unsigned bands make their contractual status abundantly clear within a few bars of their opening number.
It is fun to make sweeping statements about music, too. And sometimes, despite being hugely reductive, those also end up being true. All 80s pop songs sound like Christmas songs, for example. But the concept of real music or good music almost constituting a separate genre is as excruciating as it is insulting.
That said, we all know immediately what someone listens to when they opine as such, don’t we? It’s either things with guitars – usually from the 1960s to 1980s, with a smattering of more modern bands they believe to share the same influences, but never anything more brusque than Led Zeppelin – or it is western classical.
Rarely, if ever, are they referring to music that wasn’t created either at the time or within the culture in which they grew up, or fed to them at an early age. For the record, in twenty years these types of people – currently teenagers – will be saying the same thing when referring to trap and drill, and they’ll be equally as wrong.
Bach, Beethoven, Pink Floyd and Dire Straits: all real music, yes, but not even beginning to scratch the surface of the art form, or what you could hope to put forward as definitive.
The duty of a music fan
(Image credit: Future / Vertere / PMC / Warner Bros. / Antonio Guillem / Shutterstock)
You don’t have to listen to every type of music, of course, and you are allowed narrow but very intense tastes. I’m not trying to be a hypocrite; I’m attacking an attitude, not anyone’s musical palate.
Because of course it gets continually more difficult to find music you like. And that’s the case for everyone, since music began. Nothing is going to hit you now in the same way your favourite artists did when you were 14 years old. Nothing will ever be so immediate, nothing will ever be so fresh.
But then you’ll probably remember your elders at the time telling you just how awful that music was, how it was derivative and who came up with it first. And hopefully, if you were any sort of 14-year-old at all, you’ll have told them where to go.
It’s okay to be that kind of adult now, too. You can’t be expected to bite your tongue each time a new act is just a little overly inspired by the band that helped shape your adolescent personality. But, just as younger generations don’t have to listen to Madonna to enjoy Lady Gaga, you have to remember things weren’t better or particularly that original back then either.
It boils down to having a kind of a duty as a music fan. If things aren’t hitting the same way as they did, you need to broaden your horizons. Instead of saying something isn’t real or good, look further afield until you find something different that you do like. Past a certain point in our lives, and certainly as more artists and genres clamour for our attention, we can’t expect music to just happen to us any more.
If you truly open yourself to all types of music, put in the work and still only like albums released by bands beginning with P, released in the first half of 1978, then fair enough. Nobody can question your diligence.
But remember, when you’re speaking to someone with differing tastes, what you like isn’t hi-fi music, isn’t real music and isn’t good music. What you like listening to is just music.
MORE:
Why not wash this down with a selection of our favourite test tracks?
12 of the best-produced recordings to test your speakers
How do you get your aspirational audio fix when High End Munich is cancelled (again)? Absolute Sounds has the answer. Having brought some of the world’s finest audio equipment to the UK for over 40 years, the firm launched a new distribution concept called Ten at the end of 2020 – a hand-selected collection of “extraordinary sonic creations” curated by Ricardo Franassovici, Absolute Sounds’ founder and MD.
The first maker to join Ten was DeVore Fidelity, creator of specialised high-sensitivity loudspeakers fashioned in Brooklyn, New York. And now, the second maker has been revealed as Robert Koda of Tokyo, Japan.
Franassovici has selected one particular piece from the small and specialised Robert Koda range to join the Ten collection: the Takumi K-15 EX preamp. Absolute Sounds considers it “unquestionably one of the world’s finest line preamplifiers” and one that “exudes extraordinary engineering of a kind more commonly associated with the finest timepieces or hyper-performance motorcars”.
(Image credit: Robert Koda (Absolute Sounds) )
Robert Koda was founded in 2008 and born from the passion of Robert Koch, a music lover and audio enthusiast who worked for Audio Note Japan (Kondo) for many years. After the death of Mr. Hiroyasu Kondo in 2006, Koch decided to work independently and called his new company Robert Koda, a combination of his first name and his wife’s maiden name. (Also a nod to a musical term: the concluding passage of a piece or movement.)
At the Takumi K-15 EX preamplifier’s heart is Robert Koda’s ITC (Inverted Transconductance Coupling) design, an arrangement of semi-conductors pioneered in the preceding K-10 preamp and supposedly taken to the next level in the K-15 EX.
Robert Koda promises that the circuit is totally effective over a dynamic range in excess of 145dB, too – although we feel duty bound to mention that this is somewhere in the region of a shotgun blast directly beside your ear, and we do not recommend listening at anywhere near those sorts of volumes.
(Image credit: Robert Koda (Absolute Sounds) )
While we’re on the subject of volume control – a critical part of any preamplifier – the K-15 EX sports one of the most extravagantly designed balanced-mode volume control we’ve encountered in some time. At its core, says the firm, is a massive, custom-built eight-channel switch incorporating 256 nude, made-for-purpose resistors of the finest audio grade. Furthermore, only two resistors are used per channel phase at any one time in this ‘L-pad’ configuration.
All inputs are hand-wired and mechanically switched, in order to eliminate the use of circuit boards, relays and solid-state switches, with the RCA sockets milled from high-purity copper and rhodium-plated to ensure optimal signal transmission.
To deliver an exterior as exquisite as the interior, a graded aluminium finish is applied to the copper chassis, with gold-plated inserts and a ruby lens adding to the elegance. Hand crafted and packed in a sturdy flight case, the Takumi K-15 EX is certainly billed as a preamplifier of the very highest order.
Ready for the damage? It is available in the UK this spring, priced at £60,000.
(Image credit: Robert Koda (Absolute Sounds) )
MORE:
Want more high-end hi-fi products? See 12 of the world’s most expensive loudspeakers
Want to know how we test products? Done. You can now watch all the sessions from the What Hi-Fi? Virtual Show
Need a best friend for your turntable? See best phono preamps 2021: budget to high-end
Audio Pro has launched a new compact subwoofer, the SW-5, designed to add “just the right amount” of bass to its Award-winning multi-room speakers.
The SW-5 arrives as the smallest offering in the company’s line-up of compact subs, shaving 5mm off the dimensions of its big sibling, the SW-10.
Its pared back, minimalist design conceals an 8in long-throw woofer on the underside, and a 150W digital class D amp and RCA input on the rear.
The Swedish manufacturer may now be best known for its wireless and Bluetooth single-box speakers, such as the What Hi-Fi? Award-winning C5 and C10, but subwoofers were, in fact, the brand’s initial focus when it started life over 40 years ago.
Speaking about the SW-5 within Audio Pro’s lineup, CCO Jens Henriksen said: “Put simply, it offers a ‘basic sub’ in relation to the others in our range but performs at a much higher level than your average subwoofer, with an impressive bass making your body literally vibrate.
“We see SW-5 as the ultimate subwoofer for those looking for excellent value for money and a small speaker with remarkable audio, meaning the SW-5 is ‘just right’ in every sense.”
Audio Pro’s SW-5 subwoofer comes in black or white, priced at £270 (€300).
MORE
Best subwoofers: deep bass for music and movies
25 of the best tracks for testing bass
Best multi-room speakers 2021: one wireless system, music everywhere
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The Moto G Play is the least expensive of four phones that Motorola introduced for the US market earlier this year. Introduced at $169, it’s already enjoying an apparently permanent $10 mark down, placing it firmly in budget territory.
Most of what you’ll find on the G Play’s spec list makes a lot of sense given that price point: a 6.5-inch 720p LCD with standard refresh rate, Snapdragon 460 processor with 3GB of RAM, and a generous 5,000mAh battery.
There’s another factor that might sway some shoppers toward the G Play, too: as LG leaves the budget phone space and its remaining stock disappears from retailers’ shelves, Motorola’s budget-friendly phone will be one of a smaller number of options. In the US. we haven’t seen the kind of sub-$150 devices from Motorola that the company has introduced in other markets this year, so for now, the G Play is a likely candidate for the budget-oriented phone shopper’s consideration.
There are a couple of aspects of the phone’s feature set that feel underwhelming even considering the price: namely, a paltry 32GB of storage (though it can be expanded after the fact) and a 13-megapixel main camera when more advanced, high-resolution pixel-binning sensors are becoming the norm at every price point, for example. But in short, the G Play performs just fine for its price. Just know that you’ll need to bring patience and acceptance of a few shortcomings, and that spending an extra $50 to $100 if your budget allows would get you some meaningful upgrades.
The G Play’s 6.5-inch display is a bit low-res for its size and hard to see in bright outdoor light.
Moto G Play performance and screen
The G Play uses a Snapdragon 460 chipset which was introduced over a year ago and is an entry-level Qualcomm processor. Coupled with 3GB of RAM, it manages to keep up with routine tasks like jumping between apps and scrolling social media, albeit with subtle-but-noticeable stuttering along the way. Heavier tasks like starting and stopping Google Maps navigation take an extra couple of beats. It’s not as frustrating as my experience with the LG Stylo 6 was, but it’s a step down from the kind of performance you can expect from a phone that’s $50-100 more expensive, including those in Motorola’s own G-series lineup.
The screen, likewise, gets the job done but doesn’t particularly shine. Its 720p resolution is stretched thin across the 6.5-inch display and images are noticeably pixelated. Colors are on the cooler side and the screen is a bit dim unless you max out the brightness. Even with the brightness cranked all the way up I had a hard time seeing it outdoors. We spend so many hours looking at our devices that this is one area where it might be worth upgrading. That said, there isn’t exactly anything wrong with the display — it’s just not very nice.
There’s better news on the battery front. The G Play includes a 5,000mAh battery, which is significantly bigger than the typical 4,000 or 4,500mAh found in other comparably sized Android phones. Motorola claims it will get three days of battery life, which is probably true if you’re a light user and conservative with your screen brightness. I had no problem getting two days on a charge with a couple of hours each day of screen-on time. A full day and then some of heavy use is definitely reasonable to expect.
The Moto G Play includes just 32GB of storage — about as low as it gets in 2021. Considering roughly half of that will be taken up with operating system files, it’s just not enough. Storage is expandable via microSD card, so plan on that extra $10-15 as a necessary part of the purchase if you don’t already have one.
The G Play ships with Android 10 installed. While it’s on Motorola’s list to receive an Android 11 update, the timing is unclear and, given the company’s track record, could be many months away. The phone will receive security updates until January 2023. That’s an unfortunately short life span, so you might want to count on trading it in or cashing in your upgrade with your carrier after a couple of years.
There’s just one camera on the Moto G Play’s rear panel — plus a depth sensor and a flash.
Moto G Play camera
The G Play has just one 13-megapixel rear-facing camera (accompanied by a 2-megapixel depth sensor) and a 5-megapixel selfie camera. That’s it. Even in the budget class, that’s not many cameras in 2021. I don’t think anyone (myself included) will miss having the low-quality macro camera that manufacturers keep putting on their devices these days, but not having an ultrawide is a bummer considering it’s not hard to find a phone that offers one at this price.
If nothing else, the G Play’s camera offerings are very straightforward. There are just two main shooting modes in the native camera app: photo and video. Portrait mode and a few other extras are available in the shooting menu, but there’s no night mode here.
Outside in good lighting, this 13-megapixel camera does okay. Overall exposures are balanced and the camera doesn’t try to do too much HDR-ing, which I appreciate, but you don’t have to look too close to notice that details in grass and leaves are smoothed over. Things go downhill quickly in less good light — the G Play just isn’t up to low-light photography. The selfie camera is also guilty of aggressive over-smoothing at its default “Face Beauty Auto” setting that made my face look like a glazed donut. Thankfully, you can turn this off.
The G Play is well-priced for what it offers, but spending a bit more would mean some valuable upgrades.
Clearly the G Play has its share of shortcomings — at $160, it has to. The question is whether these are trade-offs you can live with for a couple of years. If you enjoy a very casual relationship with your phone, the G Play will do all of the things you need it to do.
Everyday performance for the basics — light web browsing, social media, email, music — is sufficient. If you just use your phone camera for quick snapshots out and about and don’t expect too much from it, the G Play will do fine.
If you suspect that you need a little more from your phone, or that you want the experience of using your phone to be a little more enjoyable, then I’d strongly encourage spending a bit more on something like Motorola’s own Moto G Power for a better camera. Samsung and OnePlus have recent entries in the sub-$200 class that are worth looking at, too; I haven’t tested them, but they’re specced competitively.
If your relationship with technology is less complicated than those of us who spend hours each day of our precious time on this Earth staring at the little glowing screen in our hands, jumping between social media apps, and pushing our phone cameras to their limits, then you’ll get along fine with the Moto G Play. Just spare a thought for the rest of us, please?
(Pocket-lint) – There will always be those who clamour for the latest specs, studying all the latest flagships to ensure that when they eventually part with their hard-earned cash it goes on the device that has the top numbers. Those phones will come with the highest resolution screens, the latest processor, and the most cameras on the back.
But here’s the thing: you don’t necessarily need all of those things. Which, if you’re looking to save a bit of cash, is where the likes of Oppo’s Find X3 Neo comes in. Unlike its predecessor, the Find X2 Neo, Oppo’s second-in-command phone from its Find X series has a previous flagship chip instead of a current mid-range processor. Does that make it the perfect balance of power to price?
Design & Build
Dimensions: 159.9 x 72.5 x 7.99mm / Weight: 184 grams
Finish options: Galactic Silver / Starlight Black
In a market filled with big-scale devices, it’s always a relief – specifically for the hands – when a smartphone comes along that’s noticeably more nimble. That’s the Neo through and through.
Pocket-lint
The Find X3 Pro was noticeably more comfortable to hold than most of its competitors, and the Neo is smaller and therefore feels even more compact in the palm.
It’s about 8mm thick, which is technically thicker than an iPhone 12, but its curved edges on the front and the back make it feel sleek and slim when you actually hold it. The camera protrusion on the back is fairly minimal too. Despite featuring four cameras, it retains that compact rectangular design of the phones that came before it, not the more heavily protruding set – like you’ll see in, say, Samsung’s Galaxy S21 Ultra.
Captured in the right kind of light, the Find X3 Neo’s shape and overall design has a minimalist quality about it. The dark blue/black model we were sent for review – that’s where the Starlight Black name comes from – has an unmistakeable glittery quality to it. It also has a soft almost-grippy texture to the glass on the back, but a visual sparkle whenever it catches the light. We have a feeling you’ll either love or hate this.
Pocket-lint
Still, that texture on the back means it’s refreshingly non-slippery. It won’t fall from your hand, it doesn’t randomly slide off flat surfaces and – more crucially – struggles to pick up fingerprints. It’s a great finish, whether or not you’re a fan of the twinkly quality.
Display & Software
6.55-inch FHD+ (1440 x 1080 resolution) AMOLED display
90Hz refresh rate, 120Hz touch sampling rate
1100 nits peak brightness
We’ve seen more than one manufacturer opt to put a Full HD display into its phones in 2021. In fact, where QHD+ resolution used to be the norm for flagships, it now seems having that 1440p panel is reserved for only the ultimate, top tier devices.
That’s the same for Oppo. The Find X3 Pro is the one with the higher resolution, 120Hz high frame-rate display. That means the Neo has the lower Full HD+ resolution and mid-level 90Hz with this one.
Pocket-lint
We find the 90Hz refresh is more than adequate for pretty much everything. In our testing we’ve not seen too much to suggest that 120Hz is an absolute must from any phone. In fact, even those that can push 120 frames every second have recently opted to use adaptive rates as to not waste battery life.
In reality, 90hz means that all your animations – whether they be general interface or during gaming – will be smooth and respond quickly to your gestures on screen.
As for the display’s visual properties, those a decent too. Granted, you don’t get the same eye-popping brightness and colours as you might from the Pro, but it’s certainly not a dim screen. The Neo’s smaller panel is bright and vivid, with deep blacks lending a hand to make visuals pop.
If there’s any criticism it’s that it seems to suffer a little with excessive contrast, most notable when the brightness is low. Some colours at these times seem a bit too dark and unnatural. Once you have your favourite show on, or you’re smashing the latest levels of your favourite game, you don’t particularly notice any real issues though.
Software-wise, it’s practically identical to what we saw on the Pro model. Here you’ll find Oppo’s ColorOS 11, based on Google’s Android 11, which means lots of useful and fun features. We like the customisation interface that lets you see your changes in real-time on the home screen as you pick the wallpaper or adjust the shape and design of the icons.
Other highlights include the completely customisable always-on display. There’s also the Relax app that plays soothing sounds to help you get rest or fall to sleep at night – this includes nature sounds and relaxing music as well as sounds recorded in cities around the world.
Pocket-lint
As well as the same software benefits as per the Pro, the Neo experience similar quirky issues. There’s some inconsistency in the way it handles notifications, in that visual alerts don’t appear everywhere you’d expect. For instance, you might have icons on the always-on display and in the status bar, but not on the lock screen. It made it impossible for us to see what a notification was without opening the app and checking. It’s little irks like this that hold ColorOS back a mite.
Apple’s spring product line-up special – Pocket-lint Podcast 100
By Rik Henderson
·
Performance & Battery
Snapdragon 865 processor, 12GB RAM
256GB storage, no microSD
4500mAh battery capacity
65W Super VOOC 2.0 flash charging
As we alluded to at the beginning of this review, this phone isn’t equipped with 2021’s top-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. It’s not got a step-down Snapdragon 700 series chipset either. Instead, Oppo opted for the last-gen top-tier option, the Snapdragon 865.
Pocket-lint
By going down this route, Oppo has effectively skipped the ‘almost-flagship’ range and gone with a proper flagship one instead – albeit from 2020. And when you consider the Neo’s screen refresh rate tops out at 90Hz and it’s a Full HD+ resolution, that processor choice is more than enough to make it feel like a properly fast phone.
As you’d expect, the resulting experience is one that’s quick and responsive. Because, after all, a processor which was the fastest and most powerful just a few months prior to launch hasn’t suddenly just become slow and sluggish over night.
Settle into your daily routine and there’s just no trouble from the Oppo phone. It loads games and apps without a care in the world. Loading screens transition quickly, graphics start sharp and remain that way while the high refresh touch sampling rate ensures that your gestures on screen result in quick animations from the display.
It’s a similar situation with battery life. Having a Full HD+ display and a relatively large 4500mAh battery capacity means you can easily get through a full day with the Neo, even on really busy days. Oppo’s battery optimisation is famously quite aggressive – and that means for some moderate/light users that two days on a full charge isn’t out of the question. We’d often get to the end of a day with more than 40 per cent left over.
Pocket-lint
The other plus side to this battery is that it features Super VOOC 2.0 charging, which makes it possible to refill it really quickly. It uses the 65W wired flash charging tech that can completely fill the battery in around 35 minutes. It’s not quite as speedy as the updated OnePlus 9 Warp Charge, but it’s still fast enough to make battery anxiety a thing of the past.
Like its internals, the camera makeup is of a flagship level too. Or, at least, the primary camera is. It uses the same 50-megapixel sensor as its more expensive sibling, the Find X3 Pro.
Pocket-lint
: Primary lensPrimary lens
That means when you’re taking photos in the ‘1x’ mode you’re going to get great-looking pictures, especially when there’s good light. Shooting outside will get you sharp images with great colour and a lovely natural depth – more pronounced when shooting objects that are close to the camera.
However, the supporting act cameras just aren’t quite as strong. The ultra-wide camera sometimes left us with pictures that looked a little flatter in terms of colour and depth, and it’s not as strong at focussing on nearby subjects. Similarly, the overall look of those pictures was just a tad rough compared to the main camera.
As for that 2x optical zoom camera, that’s similar to the ultra-wide – in that it can capture decent enough pictures, but again they lack some of that crispy vibrance you see from pictures from the primary sensor.
Pocket-lint
: 1x Primary1x Primary
Still, while they’re far from perfect, those additional focal lengths do at least mean the camera system is versatile. They add an extra dimension to the photography experience and will let you capture those wide landscapes or zoom in on something a little further away to good effect.
The one camera that really isn’t up to scratch is the macro sensor. It’s baffling that instead of equipping the system with an ultra-wide camera that can also be used for macro, Oppo utilised a 2-megapixel macro sensor – the kind we’d expect to see in a much cheaper phone.
Shots from camera’s dedicated macro mode are really quite harsh. Details are lacking, there’s a real lack of decent colour, and the background blur is awful looking.
Pocket-lint
: Macro Macro
In our testing we found it was better just to switch to the main camera in regular photo and get close up to a subject. If you want a tighter shot, simply crop the photo afterwards – as that way you get far better detail, colour and depth.
Verdict
It’s easy to see the appeal of the Find X3 Neo. It’s a slim and nimble phone with great battery life, flagship speeds, and a very good main camera. The Snapdragon 865 processor inside means it’s not just an over-priced mid-range device.
However, the Oppo’s biggest challenge will likely be competing with other similarly priced phones. The OnePlus 9 is technically more powerful and costs less, while the Samsung Galaxy S20 FE is a phone powered by the same chipset but for less money.
For many, we suspect it might come down to the battle of the cameras. And with the Neo’s primary camera sensor delivering great results – not that can be said about its other cameras – it’s in with a shot.
On the whole, the Oppo Find X3 Neo is a refined experience – one that offers an appealing alternative to the much bigger and much more expensive premium devices on the market.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
It may have a plastic back, but the ‘Fan Edition’ was one of the surprise hits of 2020 – and is still a great buy. It has a fluid and smooth display, IP68 water- and dust-resistance and similar internal hardware to the Oppo. Crucially, it’s also cheaper.
Read our review
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Pocket-lint
OnePlus 9
If your main aim is getting the top-tier processor for as little money as possible, the OnePlus 9 is a great shout. It’s not quite as nimble and thin as the Oppo, but it’s got a Snapdragon 888 processor, fast charging, and great software. Also at a lower price.
Best Media Streamers Buying Guide: Welcome to What Hi-Fi?’s round-up of the best media streamers you can buy in 2021.
No BT Sport or ESPN+ app on your TV?You need to get yourself a media streamer, but which one? Not all media streamers are the same. The best media steamers will provide a total and endless supply of TV shows, films and music but there are performance differences too. Some look and sound better than others.
Whether it’s Netflix, Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play Movies & TV, a service dedicated to skateboarding or free 1970s kung fu films, it’s a media streamer’s job to deliver them.
Few smart TVs cover all the apps and a media streamer will put that right without you having to spend big. It’s a media streamer’s raison d’etre to make sure that they’re stacked with services. With more competition in the market than ever, prices are low, standards are high and any gaps in their app offerings could be a killer weakness.
TV streaming devices are pretty much foolproof too. All you do is plug them into your flatscreen, connect them wirelessly to your home wi-fi network and get watching. Despite their ease of use, though, there is quite some difference in how much they cost. More advanced models that offer 4K, HDR and voice controls will charge more, but there are plenty of simple streaming sticks for those on tight budgets too.
Before you chose, bear in mind that to enjoy HD and 4K content, you’ll need a fast broadband connection. Netflix recommends a steady connection of 25Mbps or higher for 4K video, for example.
You should also check which services each device offers, especially as exclusive, original TV shows and films are all the rage. So whether you want to use Apple’s library or Google’s, watch the latest Netflix, Disney Plus or Amazon Prime Video TV show, independent films on MUBI, or live sport courtesy of Now TV, our round-up of the best media streamers has got you covered.
HDR TV: What is it? How can you get it?
Disney Plus streaming service: everything you need to know
(Image credit: Google)
1. Chromecast with Google TV
Google’s cracked it this time.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max resolution: 4K | Audio: Dolby Atmos | Output: HDMI | HDR: HDR10, HLG, HDR10+, Dolby Vision | Dimensions (HWD): 12.5 x 6 x 16cm
Reasons to Buy
Lots of apps
Excellent HDR picture
Dolby Vision and Atmos
Reasons to Avoid
No Apple content available
Rivals sound more dynamic
Google was in Amazon’s media streaming shadow until the arrival of the most recent Chromecast and, specifically, the Google TV user-interface that comes with it. While this streamer and the Fire TV Stick 4K are an even match for performance, it’s Google’s superior operating system that wins the day.
Google TV is the successor to Android TV and is beginning its roll-out across smart TVs from 2021. It’s better looking, more intuitive, more searchable and, crucially, excellent at making suggestions of what to watch next.
That’s best underlined in the way that it presents search results with an even hand. Top suggestions will always be from streaming services to which you already subscribe, and in top quality where possible, rather than Google trying to sell you content to which you already have access.
While, natively, it doesn’t have quite as many apps as some rivals, you can make up for that by casting anything it doesn’t have from your mobile or tablet instead. The only caveat is that it won’t bring access to Apple TV or Apple Music. If you need those, then try Amazon or the more expensive Apple TV 4K instead.
Read the full Chromecast with Google TV review
2. Amazon Fire TV 4K
Amazon’s excellent streaming stick is amazing value.
Amazon’s 4K streaming stick is as worthy a no.2 as you’ll find. It offers unbeatable value, 4K streaming, support for multiple HDR formats and all with the Alexa voice-activated personal assistant.
Amazon Prime Video comes as standard (of course), alongside Netflix, the terrestrial catch-up services (BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4 and My5), Now TV, BT Sport, Apple TV, Disney Plus and the bonus of music services Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music and Tidal. The only minor omissions are an official Rakuten app and Google Play Movies & TV.
The main reason that this device doesn’t score quite as well as the Chromecast above is because its operating system isn’t as good. It’s too Amazon-focused doesn’t perform quite as well for suggestions. That said, it’s worth noting that Amazon’s latest Fire TV OS will arrive on the Fire TV Stick 4K in the coming months and that could be a game-changer for usability. Watch this space or, specifically, the one just above.
Read the full review: Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
3. Apple TV 4K
Not cheap, but up there with the best streaming devices around.
This box of tricks offers the typically slick experience we’ve come to expect from Apple. Voice controls come courtesy of Siri – Apple’s personal assistant – while 4K and HDR are all part and parcel of the package. There’s plenty to watch too, thanks to Apple’s extensive catalogue of 4K and HDR content.
And with the arrival of the Apple TV+ streaming service that’s only got better. Netflix, iPlayer and Amazon Prime Video are offered with Now TV and All 4 both present now too. It’s not cheap – it’s positively exorbitant compared to some on this list – but if you’re happy with life in the Apple ecosystem and you can afford it, it’s money well spent for the home streaming enthusiast.
Read the full review: Apple TV 4K
4. Google Chromecast (2018)
A cheap, quick and convenient media streamer.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max resolution: 1080p | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 | Output: HDMI | HDR: n/a | Dimensions (HWD): 5.2×1.38×1.38cm
Reasons to Buy
Affordable
Casting is neat
Good video and sound
Reasons to Avoid
Little new of note
No dedicated remote
At just £30/$30, this is one of the cheapest video streaming devices around. Chromecast is a decent little device and if you don’t have a 4K TV, its 1080p resolution is all you need. You can ‘cast’ Netflix, BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, All 4, My5 and Now TV, along with Google Play Movies and YouTube TV. On the music front, Spotify, TuneIn and Tidal are all catered for. Amazon Prime Video is now included too.
You have to control Google Chromecast from your phone or tablet, so it’s a different proposition from most of the streamers here. But it does what it does very well indeed.
Read the full review: Google Chromecast (2018)
5. Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa
This sophisticated streaming device is a joy to use.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max resolution: 1080p | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 | Output: HDMI | HDR: n/a | Dimensions (HWD): 3×8.6×1.3cm
Reasons to Buy
Alexa voice control
Responsive UI
Multiple streaming services
Amazon’s cheaper streaming stick loses the 4K and HDR, but retains the Alexa personal assistant for voice control. All the major streaming services are supported, apart from Now TV, and the sound quality is impressive for such a cheap device. If you’re looking for a cheap and easy way to start streaming, this might be the one for you.
Read the full review: Amazon Fire TV Stick with Alexa
6. Roku Streaming Stick+
An excellent, all-round video streamer with a tempting price tag.
Roku might not be as well known in some parts, but it’s a big global player in the streaming market and this device is a solid bet. It’s affordable, boasts 4K and HDR (albeit limited formats for the latter) and doesn’t need mains power to run. Because Roku doesn’t make its own shows, there’s no hard sell as to what to watch, as there is with Amazon devices, and all the major streaming services are supported, including Now TV (which you won’t find on an Amazon device).
Read the full review: Roku Streaming Stick+
7. Now TV Smart Stick
Sky content streamed via a stick, without the subscription.
SPECIFICATIONS
Max resolution: 1080p | Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1 and 7.1 | Output: HDMI | HDR: n/a | Dimensions (HWD): 8.4×2.3×1.3cm
Reasons to Buy
Inexpensive
Easy-to-use interface
No contract or dish
Reasons to Avoid
Limited app selection
Sky content limited to 720p
At under £20, this is one of the cheapest ways to turn your old TV into a smart TV. Most of the main streaming services are here, except for Amazon Prime Video, and as you’d expect, it gently nudges you towards Sky’s Now TV streaming service at every turn. While it can stream in 1080p, Now TV tops out at 720p. If you can put up with these limitations, it’s a bargain, and a great way to get Sky TV without a subscription.
Read the full review: Now TV Smart Stick
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Spotify now boasts 158 million premium subscribers and 356 million monthly active users, according to its latest earnings report released today. That’s a 21 percent and 24 percent year-over-year increase, respectively. It’s up from 155 million premium subscribers and 345 million monthly active users last quarter.
The streaming service has continued to focus on podcasts both as a way to convert free listeners to premium subscribers, and as a way to generate ad revenue. Spotify said that ad-supported revenue outperformed its forecast thanks in part to its podcasting efforts. In particular, the company said the Joe Rogan Experience, which it now exclusively licenses, “performed above expectations.” Spotify says it’s seen a “strong increase” in the amount of hours of podcast listening on the platform, though the actual proportion of users listening to podcasts was “consistent” with the previous quarter
Just yesterday Spotify announced the launch of podcast subscriptions. However, it’s only rolling them out for select partners at the moment and has said podcasters won’t have to pay it for the service for the first two years, meaning we’re unlikely to see it generating any extra revenue for Spotify until 2023.
It’s a similar story with the company’s Car Thing music player which is only getting a limited launch for now, and which the company is currently giving away rather than selling.
Today’s release follows Spotify’s announcement that it will soon be increasing prices for its family plan in the US and Duo, Student, and Family plans in the UK and some European countries. Today’s numbers give a possible reason for the increases: Spotify’s falling average revenue per subscriber. Spotify says it earned an average of €4.12 (around $4.97) per premium subscriber. That’s a decrease of 7 percent compared to the same period the previous year. Within Spotify’s premium business, average revenue per user has declined for five out of the six previous quarters due to Spotify using discounted plans to attract subscribers in new markets like Russia and India, according to the WSJ.
Spotify consistently cites “product mix” as the reason for this decline, suggesting that more of its users are opting for cheaper subscription bundles. Increasing the price of these bundles could help slow the trend. Today’s earnings release only covers the period up until the end of March, so we won’t see any impact of this week’s price increases until next quarter, if that. But Spotify reports that the increases have shown no “material impacts” on cancellation rates.
Amidst these price increases, Spotify is also attempting to push back against criticism that it doesn’t pay artists enough to stream their music. Last month it launched a new website called Loud & Clear where it attempted to offer more transparency about its payments.
Overall, Spotify made a profit of €23 million, up from €1 million a year before, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Perhaps the biggest change to Spotify’s core music streaming business is due to arrive later this year when it launches its HiFi lossless streaming tier. The service promises it “will deliver music in CD-quality, lossless audio format to your device and Spotify Connect-enabled speakers” in the “select markets” where it’s launching. Pricing for the new subscription tier is yet to be announced.
In a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience, the world’s most popular podcaster suggests that healthy young people don’t need the COVID-19 vaccine, contrary to the advice of health professionals trying to stem a pandemic that’s killed more than 3 million people.
Rogan said he believes “for the most part it’s safe to get vaccinated” and that his parents are vaccinated. But then he adds: “But if you’re like 21 years old, and you say to me, ‘Should I get vaccinated?’ I’ll go no.” The remarks were highlighted by Media Matters, which published a transcript of Rogan’s April 23rd conversation with fellow comedian Dave Smith.
A source close to the situation says Spotify reviewed this Rogan episode and left it live because he doesn’t come off as outwardly anti-vaccine. He also doesn’t make a call to action, this source says, noting that the company has taken down other, explicitly anti-vaccine podcasts and music. One show that was pulled said vaccines kill, they say, while another said vaccines cause skin conditions. Musician Ian Brown also had a song taken down in March in which he said the vaccines inserted microchips into people. In January, Spotify removed Pete Evans’ podcast over COVID-19 misinformation.
At the time, Spotify issued a statement saying: “Spotify prohibits content on the platform which promotes dangerous false, deceptive, or misleading content about COVID-19 that may cause offline harm and/or pose a direct threat to public health. When content that violates this standard is identified it is removed from the platform.”
The company declined to comment for this article.
Spotify brought The Joe Rogan Experience exclusively to its platform last year, and since then, he’s courted multiple controversies, particularly around remarks that have been criticized as transphobic. Episodes of the show have mysteriously disappeared, and Spotify employees have voiced their dissatisfaction at their employer paying Rogan and keeping his show live.
His recent recommendations on vaccines aren’t based in science. While older people are at a higher risk of contracting the most severe forms of the disease, healthy 21-year-olds can and do get COVID-19. Some might suffer long-term chronic symptoms after contracting the disease. And as more older people get vaccinated in the US, researchers have noticed that the demographics of the disease are starting to shift. In Michigan, which is currently a COVID-19 hotspot, hospitals are seeing more young people coming in with severe symptoms.
“I am putting more patients in their 20s and 30s and 40s on oxygen and on life support than at any other time in this pandemic,” emergency room physician Erin Brennan, told The New York Times.
Unvaccinated people can also put others at risk by spreading the disease. An unvaccinated care worker in Kentucky spread a variant to more than 40 people in a nursing home where they worked. The Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine has also been approved for people aged 16 and older, while Moderna is approved for use in people aged 18 and up.
Other tech platforms have flagged or removed posts, videos, and other content that spreads untrue vaccine information. Twitter, for example, labels tweets that spread misinformation. The labels include links to relevant information from official bodies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the company says it enforces a five-strike system for repeat offenders that can lead to locked accounts and permanent suspension.
Meanwhile, Facebook removes posts that spread vaccine misinformation or anything that’s “debunked by public health experts.” This includes conspiracy theories — like vaccines containing microchips — and false claims about the safety, efficacy, ingredients, or side effects of vaccines.
Spotify has, so far, not introduced any label or banner on its content.
Apple is now rolling out iOS 14.5 to the iPhone alongside iPadOS 14.5 and watchOS 7.4. This is a pretty sizable update that brings a lot of new features but here’s a quick rundown of some of them.
The main new feature is that you can now unlock your iPhone with your Apple Watch if you are wearing a mask. A new ‘Unlock with Apple Watch’ option has been added in phone’s settings, which should cause your iPhone to unlock automatically if you are wearing a mask and also your Apple Watch. This feature requires you to have also updated to watchOS 7.4.
Another major new feature is App Tracking Transparency, which lets you control which apps are allowed to track your activity across other companies’ apps and websites for ads or sharing with data brokers. Once this update is installed, apps that have to track you now need to ask for your explicit permission before they can do so and with one click you can allow or deny them.
iOS 14.5 also adds support for AirTag. This includes activating the hardware features that let you track your AirTag device and also an updated Find My app that will help you locate it.
Siri has also received an update with more voice option. There are now 14 different voices from different regions and genders. Siri can now also announce incoming calls and caller name and if you’re wearing AirPods or compatible Beats headphones you can also answer hands-free. You can now also call your emergency contact using Siri.
iOS 14.5 will also perform a recalibration of your phone’s battery. This will show the battery’s health more accurately and can take a few weeks to complete. This feature is only available on the 11-series iPhones.
iOS 14.5 features
Other improvements in this update include new emoji, sharing lyrics through Apple Music, new Podcasts app, redesigned News app, improvements to 5G connectivity, support for Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 controllers, and more.
Source
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