“… perhaps the most well-featured all-in-one desktop system you can buy right now,” is what we said of the Ruark R5 when we reviewed it in 2019, and that is no less true today. Now, Ruark has launched a special Signature Edition version that benefits from a performance boost and aesthetic upgrade.
For the Ruark R5 Signature, the signal paths have been revised and the cabling upgraded in an effort to make it sound cleaner than the standard R5. While the R5 comes in a a ‘rich walnut’ wood or light grey lacquer, the Signature model basks in a luxury piano lacquer finish with rose gold metal detailing.
Ruark says that each layer has been carefully built and hand sanded between coats. Once the final coat has been applied, the lacquer was wet sanded with a fine grit abrasive before being hand buffed and polished to a glass-like finish.
(Image credit: Ruark)
Of course, the Signature is just as well equipped as the original, featuring an integrated CD player, Spotify Connect, built-in access to other popular music services such as Amazon Music, Deezer and Tidal, Bluetooth, DLNA streaming and multi-room functionality.
We can also expect a sound that’s as likeably warm and organised (and hopefully clearer) than the R5, whose biggest talent is a lush and coherent midrange.
The Ruark R5 Signature will be available in a limited production run from June, priced £1250 (a not-insignificant premium over the £995 R5).
Let’s face it, it’s been a long and hard year for the denizens of our planet since Earth Day’s 50th anniversary in 2020. However, it’s possible that things are looking up somewhat. Although the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging in many parts of the world, we do have vaccines that may eventually get us past this. And in the meantime, the Biden administration in DC is putting environmental programs in place that may get the US back on track. So perhaps it’s worth doing a little partying (and educating) on behalf of this year’s annual celebration of the environmental movement, which is set for April 22nd.
Once again, most Earth Day celebrations will be virtual. What follows is a sampling of some that you can attend. For a more complete list, or to find Earth Day celebrations in your area, you can use Earthday.org’s online tool for both online and on-site events.
Earth Day Live: Restore Our Earth
Earth Day Live: Restore Our EarthImage: Earthday.org
Earthday.org’s second annual “Earth Day Live: Restore Our Earth” online live stream event will be broadcast on April 22nd beginning at noon, parallel to the Biden administration’s global climate summit (see below). It will feature a variety of celebrities, politicians, and activists from many fields. It will be preceded by two events: on April 20th, there will be a global youth summit, and on April 21st, a global education summit. To take part, visit Earthday.org on the day of the event.
Leaders Summit on Climate
Leaders Summit on ClimateImage: US Dept. of State
President Biden has invited 40 world leaders to a Leaders Summit on Climate which will take place April 22nd and 23rd. On the agenda are weighty questions, including how to reduce emissions, achieve net-zero (offsetting or reducing carbon dioxide emissions), and protect populations from climate change. You’ll be able to watch via a live stream link which will be available closer to the date of the event.
American Climate Leadership Summit (ACLS 2021)
American Climate Leadership Summit Image: ACLS
Another alternative to the Leaders Summit on Climate is the American Climate Leadership Summit, an online gathering of environmental activists happening April 27th – 29th. Sessions will offer information on the current status of climate change, strategies for activism, and other topics. It costs $25 to attend a single forum, $50 to attend the main session and a single forum, and $75 for access to the entire program.
Join a virtual march and rally
SC1.5NCE NOT SILENCEImage: EDI / March for Science NYC / Fridays for Future
Two organizations, Earth Day Initiative (EDI) and March for Science NYC, are collaborating to offer a series of online events culminating in a virtual march and rally using an online gaming platform. On Sunday, April 18th, from noon to 8PM ET, there will be an online event with speakers and presentations from politicians, artists, and activists such as Elizabeth Warren, Kyra Sedgwick, Rosdely Ciprian, and Marc Yaggi, exploring a variety of environmental issues.
On Monday, April 19th, the virtual march and rally, called “SC1.5NCE NOT SILENCE,” will take place in a 1990s-like virtual reality space created by Future Meets Present and Gather. Through an avatar, you will be able to visit booths, speak to exhibitors and other attendees, and, at 3PM ET, take part in a march and rally organized by March for Science NYC and Fridays for Future (the movement co-founded by Greta Thunberg).
You can attend by sending an RSVP via the EDI site.
Virtual 5K race
Virtual 5K raceImage: WE ACT for Environmental Justice
If you’re a runner or a walker, WE ACT for Environmental Justice is holding a virtual 5K race, where participants will be encouraged to walk or run 5K during the week of Earth Day, April 17th through April 25th. So even if your normal exercise regime is a half-mile stroll, you can still take part. You can use the race to raise money for WE ACT — or not — but all registered participants are asked to donate either a set amount or an amount of their own choosing.
Artivism for Earth
Artivism for EarthImage: University of Utah
The University of Utah is planning to present a series of online performance events on April 22nd, most taking place at the campus’ Natural History Museum of Utah. The schedule will include a video mosaic, “four immersive performances, arranged under the classical elements: earth, air, water and fire,” a feature-length film exploring nature and humanity, a panel discussion, and a final program that features several different multimedia presentations.
The Year Earth Changed
The Year Earth ChangedImage: Apple TV Plus
If you’re a David Attenborough fan, you may want to catch his latest narrated special, The Year Earth Changed, a documentary about how the global human lockdown affected the non-human inhabitants of Earth — often in a positive way. The film will debut on Apple TV Plus today, April 16th; you can watch the trailer here.
National Geographic’s Earth Day Eve
National Geographic’s Earth Day Eve 2021Art: Cachetejack
If you want to head into Earth Day with a party, join National Geographic on April 21st at 8:30PM ET for its Earth Day Eve 2021 virtual celebration, with performances by artists such as Angélique Kidjo, Willie Nelson, Yo-Yo Ma, and Ziggy Marley, and appearances by a number of environmental activists such as Dr. Jane Goodall. You can join at the NatGeo website or at its YouTube channel — and afterward, continue with the music of Jayda G on the organization’s TikTok channel.
Blink’s cheap wireless cameras have seen better days.Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
Blink, the Kickstarter success bought by Amazon in 2017, has long been synonymous with inexpensive battery-powered home video cameras that don’t require a monthly contract for cloud recordings. Open-source projects like Homebridge, Home Assistant, and HOOBS have made the cameras even more extensible by allowing Blink’s temperature and motion sensors to work with smart home platforms like HomeKit and act as triggers for various automations. This combination of price and functionality led many smart home enthusiasts to buy Blink cameras in bulk for whole-home monitoring, especially those who don’t want to be beholden to a corporate overlord (and its requisite subscription fees). But instead of embracing its most passionate fans, Amazon has turned against them, threatening to terminate Blink accounts while challenging the very concept of ownership.
To set the stage, I recently set up a Raspberry Pi running Homebridge with the goal of creating a single iPhone dashboard to tie my smart home together. I started automating my home about 12 years ago, long before you could buy into complete ecosystems from Amazon, Google, and Apple. Now it’s a devil’s brew of Z-Wave and Zigbee devices, some controllable with Siri, some with Alexa, and a few with Google Assistant. It’s held together with a smattering of IFTTT recipes and four disparate hubs from Ikea, Aqara, Philips Hue, and Vera. It works, kind of, but requires several different apps, many interfaces, and lots of patience, especially from my family.
Homebridge turns this Blink XT outdoor camera into a temperature and motion trigger for other automations in Apple’s Home app.
Over most of a weekend, I was able to configure Homebridge to link every one of my 50+ smart devices to HomeKit and each other in the Apple Home app. This allowed me to create rules that were previously impossible, like using the Blink XT camera’s motion sensor in my garden to trigger a Z-Wave siren and Hue lightbulbs at night. Nerdvana unlocked!
My sense of delight and intense pride lasted exactly one week before my Blink cameras suddenly went dead. The reason was delivered in an email from Amazon the next morning:
“My name is Tori and I am with the Blink team. While doing a routine server audit, your account was flagged and subsequently disabled due to unsupported scripts or apps running on your system. The only automation that is permitted for use with the Blink system is through Alexa and/or IFTTT. Please disable these scripts or apps and reach back out to me so that I can re-enable your account.”
After a brief WTF exchange whereby I explained that Alexa and / or IFTTT are wholly inferior to the capabilities of Homebridge, Tori helpfully directed me to the exact paragraph of the Blink Terms of Service that I had violated. Terms which, admittedly, I was now reading for the first time (emphasis mine):
“We may terminate the Agreement or restrict, suspend, or terminate your use of Blink Services at our discretion without notice at any time, including if we determine that your use violates the Agreement, is improper, substantially exceeds or differs from normal use by other users, or otherwise involves fraud or misuse of Blink Services or harms our interests or those of another user of Blink Services. If your use of Blink Services is restricted, suspended, or terminated, you may be unable to access your video clips and you will not receive any refund or any other compensation. In case of termination, Blink may immediately revoke your access to Blink Services without refund.”
It turns out that Amazon’s crackdown on Blink automators has been a known issue in the community for at least a year. My question is: why does Amazon bother?
My Homebridge integration may well be in violation of Blink’s terms and conditions, even if the terms seem unduly restrictive. But why is Amazon, owner of those massive AWS server farms that earned nearly $50 billion in 2020, resorting to such draconian measures in response to my meager deployment of five Blink cameras? I could see a crackdown on large-scale corporate installations hammering away at the Blink API, but why me and other small-time enthusiasts?
According to Colin Bendell, developer of the Blink camera plugin for Homebridge, there are at most 4,000 homes using open-source plugins like his. “Even if we round up to 10,000 users, I think this is probably small potatoes for Amazon,” says Bendell, who should know. Not only did he reverse engineer the Blink app to mimic its behavior, but the O’Reilly author and self-proclaimed IoT hobbyist is also the director of performance engineering at Shopify.
Blink could easily look the other way for small home deployments like mine without waving its rights. It says so right in the T&Cs it sent me:
“Blink’s failure to insist upon or enforce your strict compliance with this Agreement will not constitute a waiver of any of its rights.”
But that’d be a cop out. Really, Amazon should be embracing Blink hobbyists. Homebridge is, after all, a project that extends Apple HomeKit to work with a wide variety of uncertified devices including cameras and doorbells from Amazon-owned Ring. And study after study have concluded that Apple device owners love to spend money. Surely this is a community Amazon should encourage, not vilify.
At the risk of saying too much (please don’t shut me down, Amazon!), why is it that my two Ring cameras aren’t raising any red flags during “server audits”? I certainly check them more frequently as one is my doorbell. Perhaps it’s because I already pay a monthly subscription to Amazon for Ring and pay nothing to Blink. (Although sadly, even that early benefit has come to an end. As of March 18th, Amazon requires owners of newer Blink cameras to pay a subscription fee to unlock every feature.)
When I reached out to Amazon with the questions I raise above, and asked if enthusiast initiatives like Homebridge would be officially (or unofficially, wink) supported, I was given this boilerplate response:
“Blink customers can control their cameras through the Blink Home Monitor app, and customize their experience using the If This Then That (IFTTT) service. We are always looking for ways to improve the customer experience, including supporting select third-party integrations for our devices.”
Gee, thanks.
One of Blink’s biggest advantages has come to an end.Image: Blink
We kid ourselves about ownership all the time. I say I own my house, but, in fact, the bank owns more of it than I do. I listen to mymusic on Spotify, but those Premium playlists I’ve so carefully curated for years will be plucked from my phone just as soon as payments lapse. But somehow, Blink cameras were supposed to be different. They were for people drawn to Blink on the strength of that “no monthly contract” pitch. These were devices you were supposed to own without limitations or tithes.
How things have changed.
In 2017, Blink stood alone in the field; today there’s Wyze, Eufy, TP-Link / Kasa, Imou, and Ezviz to name just a few of the companies making inexpensive wired and wireless cameras for every smart home ecosystem, including Amazon’s, often with better features and value.
I’ve been a smart home evangelist for more than a decade, doling out advice to friends, often solicited, often not. Blink used to be an easy pitch: cheap and dead simple to install for normies, and highly extensible if you’re willing to put in the effort. But Amazon’s heavy-handed enforcement of T&Cs alongside the introduction of subscription fees have negated any advantage Blink once held over its camera competitors. While Blink sales will undoubtedly benefit from Amazon’s promotion machine, longtime Blink enthusiasts like myself will be taking their allegiances elsewhere.
Arcade Fire has a new single out — sort of. The Canadian indie rock band has released a new 45-minute instrumental composition called “Memories In The Age Of Anxiety,” but the new song is actually a collaboration with meditation app Headspace, and you can only listen to it there.
The new track was created in collaboration with John Legend and, as Stereogum notes, is one of the first new pieces of music from the group since its cover of “Baby Mine” in the 2019 live-action version of Dumbo. (It’s the band’s first original song since its 2017 studio album Everything Now.)
Unfortunately for frugal Arcade Fire fans, it’s also locked behind a paywall in Headspace as part of the app’s Headspace Plus subscription, which costs $12.99 per month or $69.99 per year. You can listen to a snippet in the group’s Instagram post announcing the collaboration, which gives a mere glimpse of the soaring synthesizers and pulsing beats that Arcade Fireis known for. But if you want to hear the whole thing, you’ll have to pay up.
Disclosure: John Legend is on the board of directors for Vox Media, The Verge’s parent company.
Spotify started installing its Car Thing music player into the cars of some Spotify Premium customers a couple of years ago. The aim? To find out more about their listening habits. And now, Spotify has given the device a limited release in the US.
Only Spotify Premium subscribers in the US are eligible, and they have to be invited before they can buy. If you’re selected, you only have to pay for shipping, not to cover the cost of the device itself. Spotify is basically giving it away.
Car Thing lets you play Spotify in your car without taking out your phone. You can speak to control it using voice search – just say “Hey Spotify” followed by your request and it’ll do the rest. There’s also a physical dial that allows you to scroll through menus and select items, or you can use the touchscreen.
There are physical buttons on-hand, too: four presets that you can program to bring up whatever you wish, be it the news, a podcast, radio station or playlist.
Just as it did when it first went public with the Car Thing, Spotify is keen to stress it isn’t getting into the music hardware business.
“Our focus remains on becoming the world’s number one audio platform – not on creating hardware – but we developed Car Thing because we saw a need from our users, many of whom were missing out on a seamless and personalized in-car listening experience,” the firm wrote in a blog post.
“No matter the year or model of your vehicle, we feel everyone should have a superior listening experience.”
So, it looks like we’re unlikely to see Car Thing arrive in other territories around the world any time soon, but it’s hopefully a sign of more interesting things to come in the world of in-car streaming.
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And in-car home cinema: Panasonic/Klipsch support in-car Dolby Atmos Music
Spotify has begun rolling out an updated version of its desktop app and web player, according to The Verge. The green streaming giant hopes it will offer users a more cohesive and intuitive experience, equivalent to its mobile apps.
In addition to a refreshed design, Premium subscribers will now be able to directly download music and podcasts for offline listening by hitting the download button instead of convolutedly adding tracks to a playlist first. The update will make it much easier to manage and curate their library.
(Image credit: Spotify)
The new and improved version also includes tweaks to improve playlist management. All desktop users will have the ability to write descriptions, upload images and drag and drop tracks into existing playlists. Listeners can also edit their Queue and view Recently Played songs while searching within playlists has been simplified courtesy of an integrated search function.
The new redesign for the Spotify app on desktop and web is starting to become available to all Mac, PC and browser users worldwide.
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Spotify’s desktop app refresh seems to be rolling out to users, and it brings with it a very handy feature: album downloads. The app has supported downloading playlists to your computer for quite a while. The update should make it easier to keep your library managed if you want to keep the music going even when you’re offline. It is worth noting that this feature is limited to Premium subscribers — according to Spotify’s documentation, free users are only able to download podcasts.
Downloading an album works similarly to downloading a playlist: just navigate to the album’s page and press the download button. It should then be available the next time you go into Offline mode. This should make it easier to manage your offline library if you’re the type of person who’s very particular about what you want to listen to. (For example, I had a carefully curated playlist called “Downloads” that I would dump songs and albums into as a workaround to not being able to save individual things for offline listening.)
Now I can download individual albums and set my Downloads playlist free.
The update also features tweaks to the look of the desktop and web player, as well as how playlist management works. It appears to be currently rolling out — some Verge staff got it yesterday, others today. So if you’re not seeing it, just hang tight. You should see a screen letting you know that you’ve got the update.
You can put down your Switch, you can retire from Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but you can never quite leave the island behind. Now, thanks to a new a multi-CD imported soundtrack for the game, you won’t have to. With seven — yes, seven — compact discs of Animal Crossing music, you can quite literally change your life’s theme music as often as it changes in the game.
Seven CDs seems like a lot, but New Horizons, like other Animal Crossing games before it, is almost constantly scored, with multiple variations of music in the game for every hour of the day (“3PM” fans, rise up), multiple locations, and weather conditions. The series’ music is one of the big reasons why it’s so beloved. Having a song for almost every situation only furthers the game’s “I could really stay here forever” power. That’s why Nintendo dropping a live version of the theme can be a little mini event in its own right.
You can own K.K. Slider’s entire discography AND the music for every hour of the day.Image: Columbia Japan
Details on the limited edition imported Animal Crossing: New Horizons soundtrack are slim, but referring to the image above, the complete package appears to come with seven CDs, custom albums to hold them, and what appears to be a K.K. Slider-themed headphone case. The soundtrack is available for preorder now from Amazon with a current release date set for this Friday, April 16th.
Till then, join me in strolling your island (mentally) at precisely 3PM wherever you are.
Amazon is today introducing its second-generation pair of Echo Buds. The new true wireless earbuds improve on the originals with a more comfortable design — they’re now 20 percent smaller — and enhanced active noise cancellation. But Amazon is staying aggressive on price: the 2021 Echo Buds are priced at $119.99 for the earbuds and a USB-C charging case or $139.99 for an upgraded case with wireless charging. For a limited time, both are being discounted. The regular set drops under $100 to $99.99, with the wireless charging pair costing $119.99. The new Echo Buds will be released on May 13th.
Aside from shrinking them down, Amazon has also made comfort-focused design changes to the Echo Buds. They now have a vented design (like the AirPods Pro, Pixel Buds, etc.) to reduce unwanted ear pressure. The company has shortened the nozzle so that the Echo Buds don’t sit as deep in your ear canal, and the external depth has been reduced for a more flush fit. The ear tips — four sizes come included — are now oval-shaped, and you also get two sizes of optional wing tips in the box.
Instead of a glossy touch surface like on the original Echo Buds, the outside-facing exterior is now all matte. But Amazon has slapped its logo onto the earbuds this time around, which I could’ve done without. They now come in white in addition to black.
Four sizes of ear tips and two wing tips come included.Image: Amazon
With the first Echo Buds, Amazon borrowed some of Bose’s noise-reduction technology. But this time, it’s doing everything itself. The company says that the second-gen earbuds “cancel twice as much noise” as before. When in passthrough mode, you can adjust the amount of ambient noise you want to come through. Sound quality has also seen some improvements, according to Amazon’s press release:
Echo Buds deliver crisp, balanced sound with extended dynamic range — so you get the most out of your music, regardless of genre. The premium speakers are optimized for increased fidelity in bass and treble, which reduces distortion during media playback, delivering vibrant melodies and clear spoken word.
The second-gen Echo Buds are rated IPX4 for water and sweat, which Amazon says should cover any exercise and “light rain.” And Amazon says the microphones on these earbuds — three on each bud — are improved, too; they’re “optimized to capture lower frequencies compared to the prior generation,” which apparently results in better quality for voice calls. Either bud can be used standalone in mono mode.
Amazon has made comfort a big priority with the second-gen Echo Buds.Image: Amazon
Battery life is estimated at five hours of listening with noise cancellation enabled, with two additional full charges in the case for a total of 15 hours. (The case now has status LEDs for each individual earbud, which is a handy addition.) If the battery runs low, charging over USB-C for 15 minutes should get you around two hours of playback.
To see just how aggressive Amazon is on pricing, let’s compare the Echo Buds against the wider market of popular true wireless earbuds. Most of these have noise cancellation, though some (like the Pixel Buds) don’t:
$279 Bose QuietComfort Earbuds $249.95 Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 2 $249 Apple AirPods Pro $229.99 Jabra Elite 85t $229.99 Sony 1000XM3 earbuds $199.99 Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro $179.99 Google Pixel Buds $179.99 Jabra Elite 75t $139.99 Amazon Echo Buds with wireless charging ($119.99 for a limited time) $129.99 Anker Liberty Air 2 Pro $119.99 Amazon Echo Buds with USB-C ($99.99 for a limited time)
Just like the first model, Amazon hopes a big part of the appeal with the Echo Buds will be the ability to use Alexa everywhere you go. You can ask for a specific artist or song, of course, but Amazon also added the option late last year to ask for music by activity type. You can control your smart home, play an Audible audiobook, ask for transit directions, or even use Alexa’s local search powers to find the nearest COVID-19 testing site.
You can also ask any nearby Alexa device to find your buds, and they’ll play an audible chime to help make them easier to locate. Amazon says “later this year,” it will add the VIP Filter feature that debuted on its Echo Frames, which allows you to choose the notifications you want to hear and avoid the rest.
If the noise cancellation improvements are as significant as Amazon claims, the second-generation Echo Buds could prove quite compelling — especially at their low price versus the competition. Stay tuned for a full review in the next few weeks.
It’s been two years since Sony launched 360 Reality Audio, a format that uses Sony’s object-based spatial audio technology to deliver 360-degree sound. In that time, 360 Realit Audio has become available on Deezer, Tidal, Amazon Music HD and nugs.net, with subscribers to those services able to listen to them in all their immersive glory.
Compatible products include Sony’s dedicated SRS-RA5000 and SRS-RA3000 wireless speakers, Amazon’s Echo Studio smart speaker and certain Sony headphones (such as the WH-1000XM4) via the firm’s dedicated Headphone Connect app.
Now, however, it seems as though Sony has plans to widen compatibility for the format to more Android devices. In the Android Open Source Project, code reviews and comments from both Sony and Google have directly mentioned Sony 360 Reality Audio, as spotted by XDA Developers. The report highlights a comment by Sony software engineer Kei Murayama: “This is one of the patches mentioned in the meeting ‘Android OS 360RA support’ between Google and Sony.”
That suggests a collaboration is in the works to bring Sony’s custom decoder for the format (which is built on the open MPEG-H 3D Audio standard) to the wider Android world, presumably allowing app providers to easily offer 3D audio playback.
While 360 Reality Audio can support up to 64 channels of audio, the code mentions support for a 13-channel audio layout “which uses surround 5 channels, top 5 channels and bottom 3 channels”. It also states that a “Virtualizer can place individual sounds in a 360 spherical sound field from these channels on any headphones” – so it looks like the technology may be able to work in a psuedo capacity with any set of headphones or, indeed, speakers.
With that Sony and Google joint venture in mind, plus the fact Sony recently announced video streaming capabilities for 360 Reality Audio and 360 Reality Audio Creative Suite content creation software, we could well be seeing – and hearing – more of Sony’s immersive audio efforts in the near future. Look out, Dolby Atmos Music.
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Sony has launched a full refresh of its Xperia phone range, headed up by the Xperia 1 III (the successor to our favourite phone of 2020) and the Xperia 5 III (the follow-up to the five-star Xperia 5 II).
The new third-generation Xperia handsets are virtually identical with almost matching features and specs, but the main difference lies in their screens. The Xperia 1 III sports a 6.5in 4K OLED display – designed for those who like a big screen device – while the 6.1in Full HD+ Xperia 5 III is a little more hand and pocket friendly.
The big draw for both gamers and film fans on-the-go will doubtless be the flagship Xperia 1 III, which according to Sony has the world’s first 120Hz 4K OLED screen. It has a 21:9 aspect ratio for full width cinema and gameplay, and that refresh rate can be set to 60Hz if you want to save on battery life. Plus, there’s even space to throw in extra frames for Sony’s 240Hz motion processing tech which should smooth out any blur.
The OLED on each of these phones is individually factory calibrated with what Sony says is a highly accurate white point to mirror the colour reproduction of the company’s film industry monitors. They also benefit from a mobile version of Sony’s X1 Bravia TV engine for HDR processing.
Sony has continued its commitment to quality sound not only with its support of a 3.5mm headphones socket but also its offering of hi-res audio over wired or wireless headphones. They feature newly optimised audio circuitry aimed at improving loudness by 40 per cent while reducing distortion. Most interesting of all, though, is that it can up-mix your local and streamed two-channel music tracks into 360 Spatial Sound in real-time. That should offer some very interesting insight into Sony’s emerging immerse format.
(Image credit: Sony)
Both handsets are Dolby Atmos-enabled and have front-facing stereo speakers that Sony promises will have enriched bass and a build to reduce vibration. You’ll also be able to appreciate your tracks in 360 Spatial Sound through the speaker as well as headphones.
They are powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chip and boast a 4500mAh battery that Sony says will remain in top health for a minimum of three years. They come with 12GB RAM and the option of either 128GB or 256GB of storage space.
Naturally, the Xperia III family is replete with the kind of Zeiss photography smarts to make most compact cameras blush. Both the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III come with a 12MP triple lens camera that can handle four focal lengths (16, 24, 70 and 105mm) thanks to what Sony says is the world’s first dual-position telephoto sensor. The company has made advances with its AF tracking, its AI detailing for digital zoom and has added burst shooting of 20fps with autofocus and auto exposure.
Once again there is no support for 8K video shooting, but the phones can capture 4K video at up to 60fps as well as at 120fps for slow motion. There’s also the option of plugging your Xperia into a Sony Alpha camera to use the mobile as a large viewfinder monitor for stills and video.
The Sony Xperia 1 III will come in a choice of Frosted Grey, Frosted Black or Frosted Purple. Included in the box is a new 30W charger which offers a 50 per cent charge for 30 minutes of wall time. The colours for the Xperia 5 III are black, green and pink.
While pricing isn’t currently available, we do know that both phones will launch at the same time in early summer this year along with Sony’s mid-price phone, the Xperia 10 III. It’s a 5G handset, like the others, and it still gets the 4500mAh battery – a considerable improvement on the 3600mAh unit from the previous model.
(Image credit: Sony)
It has a 6in, 21:9, HDR OLED display, coated in Gorilla Glass, and at 154 x 68 x 8.3mm is marginally smaller than the Xperia 10 II. There’s no 360 Spatial Sound but there’s plenty of decent audio specs with support for hi-res audio (wired and wireless), LDAC and a 3.5mm socket.
Under the hood is a slightly lowered powered set-up of the Snapdragon 690 processor, 6GB RAM and 128GB of storage space. It has an 8MP front-facing camera, an 8MP 16mm ultra-wide lens, a 12MP 27mm wide and an 8MP 54mm lens for portraits.
All of the Xperia phones will ship with Android 11.
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Take a look at our choice of the best Android phones 2021
And how about a pair of the very best headphones to go with them?
No matter what you do during your waking hours — work at home or outside of it; commute in a car, a train, or by walking from your bedroom to your living room; or spend your days watching the kids or job hunting — you’re probably spending at least some of that time listening to music. But where do you find that music? And if you already have a site you go to regularly, would you like to try something new?
There is a wealth of streaming music services now available to anyone who wants to listen and experiment. Some offer both free and paid subscription versions. Others are completely free.
We asked the staff of The Verge to tell us about their favorite music streaming services. Some listen to major outlets such as Apple Music, Spotify, or YouTube Music, while others have discovered lesser-known but interesting venues.
Here’s what they recommend.
Radio Dismuke
Image: Earl 1900s Music Preservation
For some reason, my partner and I have become addicted to the popular music of the early 20th century, mostly the 1920s and ’30s. Over the past few years, we’ve become happily familiar with the sounds of Cliff Edwards, Bessie Smith, Ruth Etting, Annette Hanshaw, Paul Whiteman, Cab Calloway, and Ethel Waters. (Here she is, in one of her sadly few motion picture appearances, singing “Birmingham Bertha.”) So we spend a lot of time listening to Radio Dismuke, a little-known streaming service sponsored by Early 1900s Music Preservation, which gives us a constant diet of pop and jazz from the early part of the last century. —Barbara Krasnoff
Soma fm
Soma fm started life as an actual micropower radio station in San Francisco in 1999 but flipped over to the internet in 2000. It has been one of my go-to audio sources ever since. The site has tons of different genre stations. While working, I bounce between Groove Salad (ambient / downtempo), Secret Agent (think classic Bond meets modern sensibilities), and Drone Zone (very chill). In the early 2000s, Indie Pop Rocks was my secret weapon for finding new bands my friends didn’t know yet. When the holidays come around, Soma’s holiday stations will make your party twice as festive and half as corny. There are apps for it on all platforms, but if you’re using TuneIn for terrestrial radio, Soma’s stations are listed there, too. It’s all free, but if you use it a lot, find a way to chip in a bit — after more than 20 years of streaming, Soma deserves it. —Dieter Bohn
YouTube Music
Most of my time on YouTube isn’t spent watching videos; it’s listening to music. YouTube Music is everything I wanted out of Google Play Music, plus some. Its catalog of music is incomparable, mostly thanks to users who upload music that otherwise isn’t available on streaming services. It has recent hits and full albums if you want to use it like, say, Spotify, but it’s my destination for listening to uploads of older music or obscure tunes, live performances, and compilations of video game soundtracks. (For some reason, I know the Ghost Trick original soundtrack by heart, yet I haven’t played much of the game.) I’m always a little concerned that my favorite playlist or an upload of a hard-to-find album will be delisted, but perhaps it’s that rush that keeps me listening to it more often than any other music streaming service these days. —Cameron Faulkner
8tracks
I’ll confess that I don’t listen to 8tracks regularly these days, but using it is a predictable way to trigger a burst of nostalgia. The streaming service launched in 2008, and it lets users upload playlists of at least eight songs (aka 8 tracks). You can search through playlists based on their tags (which could include artists, genre, or “mood”), but you can’t see the list of songs ahead of time. They’re revealed as you listen. You also only get three skips per playlist per hour. The forced discovery helped me find songs and artists I never would have listened to. 8tracks shut down in December 2019 but was brought back to life by a new startup called BackBeat last April. All of the playlists I made in high school are still intact, but they are very embarrassing — so I’m keeping that username a secret. —Nicole Wetsman
KEXP
Image: KEXP
KEXP, a public radio station based in Seattle, is my favorite radio station in the world. It primarily plays alternative and indie rock, but there are also weekly blocks with completely different genres like blues, Latin music, songs entirely by Pacific Northwest-based artists, and my wife and I especially enjoy reggae on Saturday mornings. We regularly stream the station to our kitchen speaker while eating dinner or doing chores. The music selection is consistently excellent, and it’s also a regular reminder of the city where we met and fell in love. —Jay Peters
Aux Live
As The Verge’s resident Post Malone fan, I recently discovered Aux Live when a recording of his performance at PostyFest in 2019 was featured. My first intention was to only keep the subscription long enough to watch that one concert, but I ended up really enjoying the service. Aux Live is a music-focused service with a range of live concerts and documentaries across an expansive range of genres and legendary artists. It works both in-browser and via app. It costs $4.99 a month, but that feels reasonable given the vast number of artists featured in the service. —Kaitlin Hatton
Qobuz
Image: Qobuz
After purchasing a portable DAC to listen to higher-resolution music on my phone, I was looking for a place where I can actually listen to higher-resolution music. I found Qobuz, which allows you to stream songs with up to a 192kHz sampling rate and 24-bit depth. You’re also able to buy hi-res songs or albums and download them from the Qobuz store without having to subscribe to the service. Revisiting some of my favorite albums that I listened to during my iPod days gave me a newfound appreciation for those recordings, and I ended up paying closer attention to the way they were mixed and mastered. —Andru Marino
Spotify
Okay, fine — I’ll be the boring member of staff who recommends Spotify. Yes, other streaming services might offer better audio quality or curation, but Spotify has a nice user interface and compatibility with almost every piece of streaming hardware on the market, and that’s really all my basic music tastes require. And soon, with Spotify HiFi launching later this year, audio quality will receive a big boost. It helps that I’ve been using Spotify for close to a decade at this point, so it has near-limitless data on me to create custom playlists tailored to my tastes. Its daily mixes are far from perfect, but they’re good enough that I regularly use them when I can’t be bothered to pick a specific band to listen to. —Jon Porter
Apple Music
Photo: Apple
I use Apple Music for a very specific reason: because it lets me listen to music that’s not on Apple Music. Let me explain. A solid 10–15 percent of the music I listen to isn’t on Spotify or any streaming service. Whether it’s something I made or one of my friends made, a rip from a long-forgotten song posted to YouTube or SoundCloud, an album that’s too copyright-infringement-astic to be allowed on streaming services, or just music that’s on Bandcamp but not streaming services, I still want to have a good way of syncing all of the music I like across devices — and Apple Music does a great job of that. I just drag something into the application formerly known as iTunes, and in a few moments, it shows up on my iPhone, syncs to my iPod, and can even be played through my HomePods. I’d write more about how much I love this one aspect of Apple Music, but honestly, I’m starting to sound like an annoying hipster, even to myself. —Mitchell Clark
Live Music Archive
Did you know you can listen to over 200,000 concerts in lossless audio quality for free? And I really do mean free. The Live Music Archive, part of the Internet Archive, hosts an enormous vault of live performances from a wide range of artists who’ve given their blessing to have concerts traded among fans. Yes, there’s a ton of material from the Grateful Dead and jam bands in there, but the LMA also contains hundreds of recordings from acts like the Drive-By Truckers, John Mayer, Elliott Smith, Smashing Pumpkins, and more. Every so often, I’ll start digging through the archive and land on a gem I hadn’t heard before. Most are audience-recorded shows, as commercial releases (understandably) aren’t allowed.
Now, the Internet Archive isn’t exactly known for intuitive navigation, and the Live Music Archive site can be very kludgy to use. Thankfully, there are apps like this one for iPhone or this for Android that serve as easier-to-browse portals for everything inside the Live Music Archive, complete with features like offline downloads. —Chris Welch
Microsoft is launching Surface Headphones 2 Plus today alongside two new headsets, all with dedicated Microsoft Teams buttons. It’s Microsoft’s latest hardware attempt to push Microsoft Teams, after the company launched new intelligent speakers for Teams last month and monitors started appearing with Teams buttons earlier this year. These aren’t the only headsets to feature a Microsoft Teams button, but now Microsoft’s trying to make it the new norm.
First up is Microsoft’s Surface Headphones 2 Plus for Business. Much like the Plus moniker on the Surface Pro 7 Plus, this is more of a refresh than a major redesign. All of the same features on the Surface Headphones 2, including battery life, remain the same, but Microsoft is now certifying these headphones for Teams usage. That means there’s a dedicated Microsoft Teams button and a new USB dongle that includes a light to let you know whether you’re on mute.
As the name implies, Microsoft is only selling the Surface Headphones 2 Plus for Business (what a mouthful) to business and education customers. The headphones will only be available in a black color option for $299.99 starting today.
Alongside the Surface-branded headphones, Microsoft is also launching two new headsets with dedicated Microsoft Teams buttons. After launching an impressive Xbox Wireless Headset last month, Microsoft’s new Modern Wireless Headset offers a somewhat similar option for laptops and PCs. This wireless headset includes padded ear cups, a microphone that automatically mutes when you flip it up, and on-ear controls for mute, volume, and Teams controls.
While the headset includes Bluetooth support, it will require the included USB-A dongle for the Microsoft Teams features. Microsoft is promising up to 50 hours of music listening on this Modern Wireless Headset, or up to 30 hours of Microsoft Teams talk time. The headset can be charged fully in two and a half hours. Microsoft isn’t releasing pricing for the Modern Wireless Headset yet, but the company says it will ship in select markets this June.
If you’re not interested in wireless, then there’s the Microsoft Modern USB Headset. Despite the modern name, it connects over USB-A, not USB-C, and includes in-line controls for volume, mute, and the Microsoft Teams button. It’s mostly a lightweight headset with padded ear cups that’s designed to be a somewhat affordable Microsoft Teams headset for $49.99. This headset will ship in June for business and education customers.
Spotify’s first gadget has landed. Car Thing, a Spotify-only, voice-controlled device for the car, is launching today in limited quantities to invited users. It’s a dedicated, Bluetooth-connected device for controlling Spotify without the need for a phone screen, which seems to be meant for people who drive older cars without built-in infotainment systems or phone connections.
Before getting to the device details, let’s focus on the basics. Car Thing is only being released as a “limited product launch,” so you can’t buy one outright. Instead, you can sign up for the waitlist and hope Spotify reaches out. It’s only available for US customers, and you have to subscribe to Spotify Premium to qualify. Another thing to know: if you’re chosen to try Car Thing, the device is free, but you have to pay for shipping. Spotify declined to comment on how many units it’d be giving away. The company’s also billing the gadget as an “exploration,” so it’s unclear how serious the team is about the product and its future.
The device is shockingly small and lightweight. It has a thin profile and features two prominent buttons on the front, a small one that serves as a back button and a larger knob that lets you interact with whatever’s on-screen. There’s no speaker, so it’s easiest to think of the device as, essentially, a Spotify remote. Yes, you could use your actual phone to play Spotify content, but instead, Spotify is betting that you’ll want voice controls and a dedicated interface to control your audio.
Photo by Ashley Carman / The Verge
I’ve tested Car Thing for a couple days and found the voice controls to be easy to use and relatively intuitive. I drive a 2009 Honda Fit and already keep my phone mounted to the dash for navigation, so I ended up mounting the Car Thing on my vent. This meant I had two bright screens facing me throughout my drive. (I do have a screen built into my car, which you’ll see in photos, but I don’t use it for anything because I prefer Google Maps.)
The voice controls mostly worked — for some reason it only got tripped up on a Kid Cudi request — but I grew frustrated with the steps it took to control music. When a song that I didn’t like played, it took longer to say, “Hey Spotify, skip” than it would have to just tap the skip button on my phone. I generally felt like I could more efficiently navigate Spotify just by using my phone at stop lights. The device does shine, however, when you ask the voice assistant to start a playlist, and it registered those commands easily.
As for the hardware itself, Car Thing pairs with a phone over Bluetooth. It needs this phone for a data connection, so yes, users will require a decent amount of data to stream. In a press briefing, Spotify noted that right now, there’s no way for users to pull only from their downloaded content, although that functionality could come in the future. Depending on a car’s connectivity, users can either rely on an auxiliary cable for sound or keep their phone paired to their car’s Bluetooth to play audio content over the speakers. The Car Thing doesn’t have a speaker itself, and it’s basically controlling the Spotify app on your phone. It’s a strange setup.
The device comes with a 12V adapter into which you’ll plug the provided USB-A to USB-C cable. Car Thing does not include a rechargeable battery and needs to be plugged in at all times. The device also ships with three different mounts: a vent mount, a dashboard mount, and a CD player mount. You can clip a magnetic attachment to these mounts, which then lets you take the Car Thing off easily. (Also worth noting is that the dash mount doesn’t come with a suction cup and instead requires that you stick it to your dash with 3M adhesive backing.)
Spotify
Once mounted, you can interact with Car Thing in three ways: through your voice using a “Hey Spotify” command, through its tactile buttons and knob, or through its touchscreen. It also features four preset buttons on the top of the device, which you can set to specific content.
Now that I have a Car Thing, can I see it being a success? I guess it depends on how comfortable people are with a Spotify-owned microphone in their cars and whether they think the device offers a more meaningful experience than their built-in infotainment systems. Because my car is older, it did provide a hands-free interface for music while also adding another screen to my setup. But I also feel uneasy about a Spotify microphone being within earshot of all my conversations. (The device does feature a digital setting to turn the microphone off, probably to address concerns like mine, but still.) Spotify’s voice privacy page says it only records and stores what users say after its “Hey Spotify” wake phrase is spoken, but I still don’t love the idea of an always-listening microphone near me. The privacy page mostly details the company’s interactive voice ads, which I have yet to come across.
Broadly, I’d assume people with modern infotainment systems likely won’t need or want a Spotify-only Bluetooth remote, whereas people like me, whose cars are older, might end up wanting to stick with whatever system they’ve already figured out. One thing that Spotify might accomplish with Car Thing, however, is getting users who default to the radio to switch to Spotify instead. It’s clearly making a play for the space with its Your Daily Drive playlist, which updates daily with music and spoken word content, as well as its push into podcasts. I default to the radio often because it’s the easiest thing to put on. Car Thing, if I keep it in my car, would admittedly change that and give Spotify more of my listening time, and that’s likely all Spotify wants.
Microsoft’s long-awaited new webcam is finally here, alongside a number of accessories designed for the work from home era. Rumors of a new Microsoft webcam have been circulating for years, and the result is what Microsoft calls the Modern Webcam. It’s a fairly basic and affordable 1080p webcam that will start shipping for $69.99 in June.
The Microsoft Modern Webcam will support up to 1080p HDR output at 30fps and connects via USB-A, not USB-C. It’s not the 4K webcam found on Microsoft’s Surface Hub 2, and it doesn’t include Windows Hello support either. It’s really a simple webcam designed for students or workers to quickly add a better video calling option to an existing laptop or PC. Microsoft is also including a privacy shutter and LED indicator to let people easily see when the webcam is active.
Microsoft’s Modern USB-C Speaker.Image: Microsoft
Microsoft is also launching a new USB-C speaker. The Modern USB-C Speaker is designed primarily for Microsoft Teams, and it even includes a button to launch a control panel for Teams with quick actions for meetings. Microsoft’s USB-C speaker includes omni-directional microphones and background noise cancellation to improve audio quality. There are also the usual mute, volume, and call-button controls on the top deck of the dark fabric design.
It’s a compact speaker that’s just five inches wide, with cable storage for the USB-C connection and even a carrying case for protection when moving it around. While it’s designed primarily for meetings, you’ll be able to output any audio out of the speaker so it should be fine for music, too. Microsoft’s USB-C speaker will be available in June priced at $99.99.
Microsoft is also launching new USB and wireless headsets, as well as Surface Headphones 2 Plus today. All three devices include a Microsoft Teams button, and you can read more about them right here.
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