Samsung has a pair of new laptops in development — the Galaxy Book Pro and Galaxy Book Pro 360 — which include OLED displays and will be compatible with the company’s S Pen stylus, SamMobile reports. The Galaxy Book Pro 360 is said to also be available with 5G connectivity. The laptops were first revealed in a Bluetooth certification filing that surfaced last month.
SamMobile’s report doesn’t go into details about the specs of the OLED displays such as what their resolution or refresh rates might be. However, given the laptops will reportedly be available with 13.3-inch and 15.6-inch screens, it seems unlikely that they’ll use the 14-inch 90Hz OLED displays that Samsung Display said it would be mass manufacturing starting next month.
These wouldn’t be the first of Samsung’s laptops to support the S Pen (last year’s Galaxy Book Flex 5G, the company’s first 5G laptop, had one built in for example), but it comes after the company announced a new pair of S Pen styluses alongside the Galaxy S21 Ultra. There’s a standard S Pen that’s sold separately from the phone, and later this year it’ll be joined by the S Pen Pro, an upgraded version that adds Bluetooth and air gesture support. Earlier this year Samsung said it’s planning to bring S Pen support to “additional device categories.”
Beyond their screens and S Pen support, the new Windows laptops are rumored to be powered by Intel Core i5 and i7 CPUs. The Galaxy Pro 360 is thought to be a convertible 2-in-1 laptop, with a 360-hinge to allow its screen to be flipped around and used like a tablet.
If the reports about the upcoming devices are accurate, they’d join a host of other laptops announced by Samsung recently. These include the Galaxy Chromebook 2, an Intel-powered Chromebook with a QLED display (essentially an LCD display that uses Samsung’s quantum-dot technology) and stylus support, announced earlier this year.
Samsung’s Galaxy F62 is a new affordable handset that’s releasing in India on February 22nd. It features a massive 7,000mAh battery and the same Exynos 9825 processor that powered the Galaxy Note 10 back in 2019. It’s available in two variants: one with 6GB of RAM that costs ₹23,999 (around $330), and a second with 8GB of RAM that costs ₹25,999 (around $358).
Around front you’ll find a 6.7-inch 1080p OLED display with a 32-megapixel selfie camera contained within a hole-punch notch, while on the back there’s a quad camera array. Here there’s a 64-megapixel main camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide with a 123-degree field of view, a 5-megapixel macro camera, and a 5-megapixel depth sensor. There’s a side-mounted fingerprint sensor on the phone which is available in green, grey, or blue.
Around back there are four cameras.Image: Samsung
Internally, alongside the Exynos 9825 processor, the Galaxy F62 has 128GB of storage, which is expandable by up to 1TB. There’s space for two SIM cards, and the battery can be fast-charged at 25W using the charger that comes in the box. The phone is running Samsung’s OneUI 3.1 software out of the box, and there’s support for the NFC Samsung Pay service, as well as “Single Take,” Samsung’s camera software that automatically assembles a series of photos and videos simultaneously for you to select from after the fact.
From its specs, the Galaxy F62 sees Samsung’s past flagship features trickle down to an affordable handset, accompanied by a huge battery. Samsung says it’ll be available from a variety of retailers including its own online store, Flipkart, Reliance Digital, and My Jio.
The ZH8 does a lot of things seriously well, but it makes less sense as a purchase than rival models from Samsung
For
Bright and punchy picture
Superb colours and motion
Impressive sound
Against
Blooming around bright highlights
Plays even less 8K than rivals
Missing some HDMI features
With the dearth of real 8K content likely to continue for a good while yet, manufacturers have an uphill battle to convince consumers that an 8K TV is a sensible purchase in the here and now.
With the ZH8, here reviewed as the 75-inch KD-75ZH8 model, Sony gets a huge amount right. This is one of the punchiest TVs we’ve tested, and one of the best-sounding too. It’s also aggressively priced for an 8K model, significantly undercutting our current Award-winner in the category.
That said, the ZH8 also lags a little behind its main rival in a couple of key areas, not least of which is its lack of support for the tiny amount of 8K footage that is actually already available.
Pricing
The Sony KD-75ZH8 (XBR-75Z8H in the US) was priced at £5999 ($7000) at launch, but you can now pick it up for £4999 ($4998).
Should you have the space and appetite for an even bigger 8K set, the 85in KD-85ZH8 (XBR-85Z8H) is currently available for £8499 ($9000).
Features
(Image credit: Future)
A 75in TV is always going to be a physically daunting proposition, but the Sony KD-75ZH8 is even more imposing than similarly sized rivals thanks to its chunky, industrial design. If you expect a high-end TV to be little more than a super-slim screen, you might be disappointed by the ZH8’s relatively thick bezels and 8.4cm depth – the Samsung QE75Q950TS is just 1.5cm deep. That said, there’s an undeniable stylishness to the Sony, its solidity, straight edges and pointy corners amounting to a seriously premium statement.
Sony KD-75ZH8 tech specs
(Image credit: Future / Greenland, Amazon Prime)
Screen type LCD w/ direct LED backlight
Resolution 8K
Operating system Android TV 9.0
HDR formats HDR10, Dolby Vision, HLG
HDMI x4
USB x3
Optical 1
It’s hard to imagine a pedestal stand that wouldn’t buckle under the 48kg weight of the ZH8, so it’s little surprise that Sony has opted for sturdy, low-profile feet instead. These look best when positioned at the bottom corners of the set, but a narrower placement is also an option. With this arrangement, the huge TV will stand on any furniture that’s at least 62cm wide – assuming it’s strong enough to take the 50kg weight with feet attached.
In the box, there are a number of plastic panels that can be attached to the rear of the set, concealing connections and creating an appealing chequerboard pattern. Those connections include four HDMIs, one of which is HDMI 2.1 certified. You might assume that means it has the full suite of advanced HDMI features, but that’s not the case: while the ZH8 supports 8K@60Hz, 4K@120Hz (also known as HFR) and eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) are missing. The absence of those last two features will be disappointing to next-gen gamers: the Xbox Series X makes use of both and the PS5 is due a VRR update in the not too distant future.
As is the norm for all but the most budget-oriented of Sony’s TVs, the ZH8 uses Android TV as its operating system. Android TV gets better with each iteration, and version 9 is no different. As with all Android TVs, the Android portion is installed over a more functional, core operating system, and it makes for a slightly more disjointed user experience than you get from the likes of Samsung and LG. The smart platform feels more like using an external source than it does a core component, for example. That said, Android TV brings bonuses such as Chromecast and Google Assistant (the set is also ‘Works with Alexa’ certified).
Android TV is already pretty well appointed in terms of apps, but Sony has also worked hard to fill any gaps. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, Google Play Movies and Rakuten are all here, in at least HDR10 and most with Dolby Vision (the ZH8 doesn’t support HDR10+, as is the norm for Sony). For the UK, BBC iPlayer, ITV Hub, All 4, My5, Now TV and BT Sport are all present, too. On the music front, Spotify, Tidal and Deezer are integrated, and while Apple Music and Amazon Music aren’t, you can use Chromecast to cast music to the TV from those apps on your phone.
In terms of core technology, the ZH8 is an LCD set with a direct LED backlight, and it uses the Picture Processor X1 Ultimate chip, which is Sony’s most powerful processor until the 2021 Cognitive Processor XR makes its debut with the company’s 2021 TVs in a few months’ time. The headline features here are Object Based Super Resolution, which is designed to intelligently analyse and enhance the definition of individual objects in an image, and an enhanced version of Object Based HDR Remaster, which applies a similar approach to contrast.
Picture
(Image credit: Future / Greenland, Amazon Prime)
Naturally, you’ll want to watch 8K content on your new 8K TV, but that’s even harder to do on the ZH8 than it is with Samsung’s 8K TVs. The only commercially available 8K content out there is streamed by YouTube in the AV1 format, which the ZH8 doesn’t support. You may only be missing out on aerial footage of lovely landscapes, but the fact that the tiny amount of 8K content out there is unplayable on your expensive 8K TV is hugely irritating. What’s more, it raises questions about the extent to which the ZH8 is future-proofed: it looks increasingly likely that the AV1 format is the one that will be utilised for 8K by other streaming services, including Netflix.
We are able to watch 8K content on the ZH8 for this review by using a Sony-supplied media player containing a handful of demo clips. With these clips, the ZH8 puts in a stunning performance that’s so crisp, dynamic and lifelike that you feel you could step right into each scene. However, that’s not an experience you’re going to be able to recreate at home.
Instead, what really matters is how the ZH8 performs with the content you do have access to right now, with the priority being 4K HDR. We insert Blade Runner 2049, one of our most demanding 4K Blu-rays, into our player, and are immediately impressed with the results. What strikes you first about the ZH8’s performance is how punchy and bright it is, particularly in very high-contrast scenarios. Most TVs shy away from fully illuminating the white text that appears from the black background at the beginning of the film, for example, but the ZH8 has no such reservations – this could well be the brightest rendition of this scene-setting copy we’ve seen.
This extreme contrast capability translates well to the film as a whole. As K travels around LA on foot and by flying car, the neon signs and holographic adverts jump out of the depressing dinginess of the rest of the city.
The effectiveness of that punch is further enhanced by the depth of the blacks. It’s not quite OLED levels of perfect blackness, but the ZH8 gets much closer than most LCD TVs, while also proving a dab hand at digging up dark details: on top of that striking contrast, you get superbly subtle shadows, with next to nothing being lost to the gloom.
However, there’s a problem here, and that’s backlight blooming. There are quite obvious halos of light around very bright objects on very dark backgrounds, and light frequently creeps into the black bars at the top and bottom when you’re watching an ultra-widescreen film. It is enough to be distracting at times, which is the last thing you want when you’re trying to sink right into a movie.
(Image credit: Future / Greenland, Amazon Prime)
The ZH8 is also a little soft and flat in its performance compared with the Samsung QE75Q950TS, which upscales 4K content in such a way that you could almost be fooled into thinking you were watching 8K. The Sony isn’t capable of pulling off the same trick, and the image doesn’t leap from the screen in quite the same way.
That said, there’s a naturalism to the ZH8’s performance that few can match. Its edges aren’t as sharp as those of the Samsung Q950TS, but there’s a smoothness and subtlety to the presentation that’s utterly convincing. It’s significantly better with motion, too, smoothing and sharpening everything without any shimmer or unpleasant artificiality. Its rivals are closing the gap in this regard, but Sony remains out in front.
Arguably the greatest contributor to the ZH8’s naturalism is its colour reproduction. It is capable of stunning vibrancy, but it’s also superbly subtle and nuanced, delivering every character’s unique skin tone, every building’s interior lighting, and every neon sign with unquestionable authenticity. Others might entice the eye a little more effectively, but this Sony (like many of its siblings) delivers on the creator’s intent in a way that few can match.
Dropping down to Looper in 1080p, that overall authenticity remains a strength, and it’s actually sharper and more detailed than the Samsung Q950TS. That said, it’s a fair bit noisier, too, exaggerating the intentional film grain to a degree that some will find distracting. It can be toned down by reducing sharpness and/or increasing noise reduction, but doing so softens the picture too much for our tastes. The perfect balance feels just out of reach, but this is an issue that you’ll encounter only occasionally as few films these days have this level of grain.
Those qualities with Full HD content roughly translate when you switch to standard-definition material. We play our trusty Dirty Harry DVD and the performance is sharp and detailed, which is impressive when you consider the amount of picture information that the TV is creating itself. Again, it’s effortlessly natural and convincing, particularly in terms of colours, although there’s still more picture noise than you’ll get from rival models.
Sound
(Image credit: Future)
Sony has been much more creative than its rivals in recent years in terms of TV sound, most notably by turning the entire panel of its OLED models into a speaker. That feature, called Acoustic Surface Technology, isn’t possible with an LCD model such as the ZH8, but Sony has sought to recreate the effect (which it calls ‘Sound from Picture’) by using a couple of tweeters to vibrate the frame of the TV. These work in conjunction with two forward-facing drivers mounted at the bottom to make it seem as if the sound is coming directly from the screen, while two rear-mounted woofers fill out the presentation.
All that effort has paid off handsomely. The ZH8 is clear and direct in its presentation, with the sound and picture linked in a way that’s supremely engaging. This is no one-trick performance, though – the sound is also detailed and dynamic by the standards of a TV sound system, making for an overall delivery that’s both engaging and exciting.
Dolby Atmos is supported and, in conjunction with the Acoustic Auto Calibration feature, which tailors the audio performance to your room, gives appropriate soundtracks plenty of scope and scale without sacrificing that directness. Few if any TV-integrated sound systems can fill a room quite as effectively, while also clearly projecting dialogue.
You can even use the ZH8 as the centre speaker of a surround sound package, should you wish, using the standard speaker terminals on the rear of the set. We wouldn’t recommend that, though – while the ZH8 sounds mighty impressive for a TV, even the best AV amplifier will struggle to tonally integrate it with a set of traditional speakers.
Verdict
There’s so much that the ZH8 gets right, most notably its supremely authentic picture performance and very impressive sound, but we can’t give it our wholehearted recommendation.
8K TVs are already a hard sell, and the fact that the ZH8 won’t play the tiny amount of 8K content that’s already available is a real issue, not least because it raises doubts about its ability to play other 8K content that might appear in the future. What’s more, it doesn’t make use its extra pixels with 4K content the way that the rival Samsung Q950TS does.
As such, the ZH8 may as well be a 4K TV. Even viewed on those terms it’s almost worth the full five stars, but the high price and backlight blooming hold it back to a four.
Samsung may be getting closer to refreshing two popular midrange devices: the Galaxy A52 and A72. Leaked press renders and prices have popped up over the last month, and now SamMobile is reporting that the phones will get higher refresh rate screens. This is a welcome feature that’s trickling down from much pricier flagship devices; faster refresh rates make for a much slicker experience, with smoother animations and scrolling than the typical 60Hz screen offers.
The A52 and A72 are both expected to sell in LTE and 5G versions; the LTE phones will allegedly have 90Hz displays, while the 5G versions get 120Hz panels. (SamMobile only indicates that the A52 5G will have the 120Hz screen, but it seems likely the A72 5G would, too.) A 90Hz panel isn’t unheard of in the A52’s budget / lower-midrange class — the $300 OnePlus Nord N10 5G is equipped with one — but it’s still uncommon.
SamMobile also reports a few more specs for the A52 5G: it will include a Snapdragon 750G chipset, 6.5-inch OLED screen, and a 4,500mAh battery with 25W fast charging. It’s also expected to ship with Android 11. Variants with 6GB of RAM / 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM / 256GB of storage will likely be offered.
On the camera front, it will allegedly include a 64-megapixel main sensor with a 12-megapixel ultrawide, 5-megapixel macro, and a 5-megapixel depth-sensing camera. It’s also reported to include a 32-megapixel selfie camera. It’s expected to cost around €450 (close to $550), while the non-5G model could cost $400.
The Galaxy A51 was one of the bestselling phones worldwide in the first half of 2020, and Samsung looks keen to build on its success with attractive features like the higher refresh rate screen. We liked the A51’s high-quality screen and good build quality but found its processor to be a bit slow loading apps — something Samsung will want to rectify in this follow-up.
The A51’s 4,000mAh battery performance was also so-so. A higher refresh rate screen would likely require even more power, which may be part of the reason why this year’s model will allegedly offer a bigger battery. Capacity is only part of the equation, though, so it’s something we’ll keep an eye on when this device eventually makes its official debut.
(Pocket-lint) – Welcome to our guide to the best 65-inch TVs. As manufacturers find new ways to harness their technology and take leaps forward technically, the sets that almost always get those innovations first are the bigger ones in their ranges.
Best 4K TV: Premium Ultra HD smart TVs to buy today
If you’re used to smaller TVs, the jump to a 65-inch television can feel like a really big one, but trust us that it’s worth it if you can fit one in. You’ll be transported into the content you’re watching or playing and will be able to plan movie nights that really are like going to the theatre. So, to that end, we’ve gathered some of the very best 65-inch TVs on the market right now for you to choose from.
Our pick of the best 65-inch 4K TVs to buy today
LG
LG OLED CX
squirrel_widget_272813
LG is sort of the kind of OLED TVs at the moment – it’s got the display tech down to a tee, and the CX is another in a long line of hits for the manufacturer.
It’s nicely designed with a stand that’s attractive without being too big, and bezels that are practically non-existant. On top of that you get stunning picture-quality on a really well-made OS, making it a joy to use. Of course, you’ll pay handsomely for the privilege.
LG OLED CX 4K TV review: Superb picture quality
Samsung
Samsung Q80T
squirrel_widget_234212
Samsung’s Q80T is a real stormer of a release – it’s still pretty pricey, but by Samsung’s standards brings the pricing down nicely, and has a range of sizes to pick from.
The 65-inch version, like the others, is a really superb display that uses Samsung’s trademark QLED technology to get deep blacks and impressive colour range without using OLED tech.
Samsung Q80T 4K QLED TV review: A 4K sensation
LG
LG NANO90 65-inch
squirrel_widget_231755
LG’s got another ace up its sleeve in the form of this NANO90 TV, which is perfect if you’re a big gamer and want to guarantee low lag to give you every possible advantage.
It might look like any old TV nowadays, but the picture quality is great and by cutting on the cost of OLED, using standard LED, LG’s been able to make sure the TV is super-fast, perfect for games.
LG NANO90 4K NanoCell TV review: Can it outshine OLED?
TCL
TCL 5-Series S535
squirrel_widget_3956184
This is a high-quality 4K QLED TV but it isn’t outrageously expensive. TCL’s Natural Motion 240 tech is designed to reduce motion blur, especially when watching sports or other fast-moving scenes.
As you’d expect the TV is HDR compatible (HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Vision) while there are all the smart TV apps you’ll need, four HDMI ports and Google Assistant/Alexa integration.
TCL’s 5-Series is also available in 55, 75 and 50-inch sizes.
Samsung
Samsung Q65T
squirrel_widget_305557
If you like the look of Samsung’s televisions, but don’t want to fork out the money needed for the Q80T, the Q65T is a fabulous compromise.
You still get a brilliant QLED panel that’s gorgeous to watch 4K content on, and it’s a dab hand at upscaling, too. Sound quality could be better, we feel, but that’s not exactly the top concern when you buy a TV.
Samsung Q65T 4K QLED TV review: Punchy picture at an attractive price
Insignia
Insignia NS-65DF710NA21
squirrel_widget_3956205
This is a stunningly good value 65-inch 4K Ultra HD TV that’s based around Amazon’s Fire TV interface. if you’ve used an Amazon Fire TV Stick or similar you’ll know that it’s easy to use.
Fire TVs have an Alexa remote, so there’s full voice control, too.
And you can be safe in the knowledge that your TV will support all the latest streaming apps and services, too.
There’s full HDR support, too.
This model is also available in 43, 50, 55 and 70-inch sizes.
Sony
Sony XH95
squirrel_widget_273473
Sony comes in swinging with this huge TV that specialises in colour – its HDR is as good as you’ll find out there, making for amazing contrast and depths.
This isn’t an OLED or QLED display, instead representing the best of what an LCD display can offer with a bunch of refinements and improvements, and we’re suitably impressed. At this price, though, we wonder if OLED would be a better investment.
Sony XH95 4K TV review: Punchy pictures
Writing by Max Freeman-Mills. Editing by Dan Grabham.
Apple is working with TSMC to develop ultra-thin and energy-efficient micro OLED displays for its upcoming augmented reality devices, Nikkei Asia is reporting. The R&D project is said to be in a trial production stage, focusing on displays that are smaller than one inch in size and “several years” away from commercialization. Apple is also said to be developing MicroLED displays at the same Apple lab in Taiwan.
According to Nikkei, the micro OLED displays in development are able to be so thin and compact because they’re built directly onto chip wafers, rather than glass like traditional OLED or LCD screens. News of the project follows reports that Apple has both VR and AR headsets in development. It could release its first VR headset (codenamed N301) as early as next year, while a more lightweight pair of AR glasses (codenamed N421) could follow in 2023. N301 reportedly features two 8K displays and a fabric exterior to cut down on its weight, while future headsets could eventually use this new panel technology to become slimmer and lighter.
A mockup showing what Apple’s VR headset could look like.Image: The Information
As well as working on micro OLED, Nikkei reports that Apple is also working on MicroLED display technology at the same secretive lab in Taiwan. These self-emissive panels, which use miniature LEDs to remove the need for a traditional backlight, could eventually end up in devices like the Apple Watch, iPad, and MacBooks. Samsung already sells a MicroLED TV called The Wall, though the technology is a long way from being mainstream or affordable.
As a sidenote: micro OLED and MicroLED are distinct from Mini-LED, which uses an array of LEDs as a backlight behind a more traditional LCD display. Mini-LED technology is already available in TVs from the likes of TCL, and Apple is also reportedly working to bring it to devices like iPads and MacBooks in the not-too-distant future.
According to Nikkei, Apple’s R&D efforts are an attempt to reduce its reliance on other companies, like Samsung, to supply its displays. The iPhone 12’s OLED display is thought to be its second most expensive third-party component behind its Qualcomm 5G modem, for example. While Apple may end up using these technologies in its products, it could also just use its work to acquire technology patents, giving it more control over these next-gen technologies, Nikkei notes.
Apple isn’t the only company working to develop these display technologies. Sony Semiconductor Solutions has developed micro OLED displays for AR and VR headsets, while a partnership of BOE, Yunnan North OLiGHTEK Opto-Electronic Technology, and Kopin are also working together on the tech. Meanwhile, Samusung, BOE, and San’an Optoelectronics are also working to commercialize MicroLED displays.
YouTuber Print ‘N Play has put his Raspberry Pi Pico to good use by building a miniature version of the arcade classic Space Invaders using just a few components and plenty of MicroPython.
Building a miniature video game is entirely possible with Raspberry Pi Pico. In fact the Pico can emulate many 80s computers and consoles.
In Print ‘N Play’s detailed video he covers how to connect the hardware for the project, a small I2C OLED screen with a 128 x 32 pixel resolution, a 10K potentiometer used to control your ship, and a simple buzzer for sound effects. We learn how to connect these devices to a breadboard, test that they are working and learn how to write the code that eventually becomes a Space Invaders game.
The Raspberry Pi Pico looks set to become the go to device for retro hardware projects. The Pico can output video via VGA / DVI and it can access SD cards enabling the storage of larger game files. With Print ‘N Play’s project we could reduce the size to fit inside a 3D printed arcade cabinet!
Zendure’s SuperTank power bank is $100 at Wellbots today, which is the lowest price we’ve seen that doesn’t require a coupon code. It will ship for free and is a tax-free purchase for people who live outside of New York state, as well. This battery’s best feature is that it can recharge devices requiring up to 100W (this includes the 16-inch MacBook Pro, among other powerful machines) at the same speedy pace that their factory chargers can deliver, yet it’s smaller and more portable.
It contains a 27,000mAh 99.9Wh battery (the maximum you’re allowed to legally bring onto a commercial flight, according to the Federal Aviation Administration), and it hosts two USB-C ports, two USB Type-A ports, and a display to see the remaining battery capacity.
I spent time with this model in 2019, comparing it to a few others on the market that can also provide lots of watts to recharge power-hungry devices. The SuperTank is the most compact, user-friendly model out the bunch, and it’s still one of the best around today. Zendure more recently came out with the $250 SuperTank Pro, which has the same capacity and wattage but with more fast-charging USB-C ports and a detailed OLED screen.
Each SuperTank includes a USB-C to USB-C cable, but if you have an iPad or iPhone, I suggest picking up Zendure’s high-quality braided cable that’s USB-C to Lightning. It’s $10 at Amazon.
Zendure SuperTank
$100
$180
45% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
This little suitcase-looking device is the SuperTank, a 27,000mAh power bank that supports up to 100W recharge speeds through its USB-C PD port. It features four ports in total and an LED to show remaining battery life.
$100
at Wellbots
The SuperTank (left) next to the SuperPort wall charger.Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
Of course, Zendure also makes a device that can help the SuperTank recharge as quickly as it puts out juice (recharging such a big battery with a standard 18W or so phone charger takes forever). That’s called the SuperPort, and it plugs into the wall, acting like a USB power hub. It features a USB-C port capable of 100W PD to recharge the SuperTank (or anything else that you have that needs a lot of power), an 18W PD USB-C port, and another two 18W USB Type-A ports. Usually $100 at Amazon, it’s $80. Just click below the price on the product page to clip the $20 off coupon.
Since yesterday, several retailers have begun taking up to $200 off Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 phones. Those came out just a few weeks ago, and while it seems surprising to see a price drop so quickly, this is typical of Samsung phones. If you didn’t place a preorder but are still interested in getting one unlocked for $100 off the S21, or $200 off either the S21 Plus or S21 Ultra, check out the links below.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (128GB, unlocked)
$1,000
$1,200
17% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
The flagship model in the Galaxy S21 line includes a 6.8-inch 3200 x 1440 OLED display, support for the S Pen Stylus, 12GB of RAM, and five image sensors, including a 108-megapixel sensor.
The HP Spectre x360 has an attractive design and long battery life, though the 16:9 display feels dated. Its only performance downside is in bursty workloads, which we saw some issues with.
For
Sliim, attractive chassis
Solid speakers for a laptop
Long battery life
Still squeezes in a USB Type-A port
Against
16:9 display is dated, especially as a tablet
Not great with bursty performance
Difficult to upgrade
Sure, the
best ultrabooks and premium laptops
are tools, but you also want your computing device to look good. Design is important, after all.
The HP Spectre 360 13t ($949.99 to start, $1,249.99 as tested) continues to be one of the best-looking Windows devices out there, with a refined, thin design and clever port placement with both Thunderbolt 4 and USB Type-A.
But a tool also has to do the job well. With a 16:9 screen, the Spectre x360 can still, well, compute, but it doesn’t show as much as some others. And then there’s the question of whether or not this laptop can tame Intel’s latest Tiger Lake processors.
Design of the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
HP’s Spectre lineup has had an aesthetic that would make a jeweler proud for the last few years. The Spectre x360 13t is no different there. The laptop, made from silver aluminum (it comes in black or blue for an extra cost), and has a reflective, modernized HP logo that I think the company should really start using on all of its products. But what makes it stand out are the cut-off corners near the back hinge, one of which has the power button while the other houses a Thunderbolt 4 port.
Those corners are always accessible, and easy enough to reach whether the laptop is being used as a notebook or a tablet.
The 13.3-inch display has very thin bezels, but looks short and squat with a 16:9 aspect ratio. As more notebooks move to taller 16:10 displays, like the
Dell XPS 13
and
MacBook Pro
or a 3:2 display like the
Microsoft Surface Laptop 3
, it makes the whole design here, not just the screen, seem a little cramped and dated. (HP does have a 3:2 Spectre x360 with the 14-inch version of this laptop, which we hope to be able to test soon.)
HP has packed in a full-size keyboard, including a row for home, page up, page down and end keys, and the rest of the construction is aluminum. This thing is built solid.
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
While thicker notebooks may have more ports, HP hasn’t given up on USB Type-A here, which I really appreciate. The left side of the notebook has a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A with a drop-jaw hinge to squeeze it into the chassis, as well as a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The right side has two Thunderbolt 4 ports (one in the top-right corner), a kill switch for the camera, and a microSD card reader.
The Spectre x360 13 measures 12.08 x 7.66 x 0.67 inches and weighs 2.8 pounds. That makes it ever so slightly lighter than the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 9310, which is 2.9 pounds and 11.6 x 8.15 x 0.56 inches. The Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371 is a slighter 2.7 pounds and 12 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches. Apple’s MacBook Pro, a clamshell, is 3 pounds and 11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches.
HP Spectre x360 13-inch Specifications
CPU
Intel Core i7-1165G7
Graphics
Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Memory
16GB LPDDR4X-4266
Storage
512GB PCIe NVMe SSD with 32GB Intel Optane
Display
13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen
Networking
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX 201 (2×2) and Bluetooth 5
Ports
2x Thunderbolt 4, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, Headphone/microphone jack, microSD card reader
Camera
720p IR
Battery
60 WHr
Power Adapter
65 W
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Dimensions(WxDxH)
12.08 x 7.66 x 0.67 inches / 306.83 x 194.56 x 17.01 mm
Weight
2.8 pounds / 1.27 kg
Price (as configured)
$1,249.99
Productivity Performance HP Spectre x360 13-inch
The Spectre is the latest machine we’ve tested with Intel’s Core i7-1165G7 “Tiger Lake” mobile processors. Our configuration of the 2-in-1 has paired that with 16GB of RAM, a 512GB Intel SSD and 32GB of Intel Optane memory.
Image 1 of 4
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 2 of 4
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 3 of 4
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 4 of 4
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
On comparable versions of Geekbench 5, an overall performance benchmark, the Spectre had a single core-score of 1,574 and a multi-core score of 4,749. The ZenBook Flip S had a higher multi-core score (4,952) but a lower single-core score (1,512) with the same CPU. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, also with the same Core i7, has a far higher multi-core score (5,639) but a lower single-core score (1,532). On the same test, the MacBook Pro had a multi-core score of 5,925 and a single-core score of 1,316, and that was through Rosetta emulation that can decrease performance.
The Spectre transferred 25GB of files at a rate of 452.62 MBps, edging out the XPS 13 2-in-1. But the ZenBook Flip S out-performed here at 979.37
It took the Spectre x360 18 minutes and 39 seconds to complete our Handbrake test, which transcodes a 4K video to 1080p. That’s faster than the ZenBook, though the XPS 13 2-in-1 had it beat, while the MacBook Pro was more than five minutes faster than the Spectre, even through Rosetta 2 emulation.
We also ran the Spectre through our stress test, which runs Cinebench R23 twenty times on a loop. The results were largely in the high 3,000’s, occasionally peaking over 4,000. Towards the end, it was a bit erratic. The CPU ran at an average of 2.52 GHz and an average temperature of 64.88 degrees Celsius (148.78 degrees Fahrenheit). HWInfo’s monitoring software detected several instances of cores’ power limits being exceeded.
Display on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch Specifications
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Our review unit has a 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1080 touchscreen with a 16:9 aspect ratio. That seems a bit squat, even outdated, compared to some competitors, which have moved on to 16:10 or 3:2 displays that are taller and show more of your work at once. It’s also more natural for tablet mode.
Part of my testing included watching the trailer for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Some explosions early in the trailer showed some intense burst of orange, though some scenes on a football field had fireworks that didn’t pop against the night sky as much as I would have liked to see. It’s usable, but not the best I’ve seen.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Spectre’s IPS display covered 67.7% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, in the range of the XPS 13 2-in-1 (70%). We reviewed the ZenBook Flip S with an OLED display that hit 113.1% (you can get the Spectre with OLED; see configurations below). Apple’s 13-inch MacBook Pro reached 78.3%.
HP’s display measured an average of 391 nits of brightness, beating the ZenBook, but falling short of the MacBook Pro and the XPS 13 2-in-1.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The keyboard on the Spectre x360 is comfortable, with a satisfying click (at least, as far as membranes go), that bounces up in a responsive fashion.
My bigger issue was the wristrest. The deck is a bit short, so my hands hung off it while I typed. I hit 88 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which is a bit low for me; I’m generally in the high 90’s. It wasn’t because of the keyboard, but because I was floating my wrists in the air. A taller screen would require a longer deck, which could help solve this.
I would prefer that the 4.4 x 2.2 inch touchpad be a bit taller, but there’s also not any room for that on the device. Still, the vertical height was slightly limiting, and I often hit the edge of it. That said, the precision touchpad is sensitive enough that I was able to perform gestures, even with four fingers, without any issues.
Audio on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
For such a trim device, HP is offering up decent quality sound. The bottom-firing speakers, tuned by Bang & Olufsen, were clear with detailed sound. In Yellowcard’s “City of Devils,” the mix of violins, guitars, cymbals and drums were well leveled and textured, though, like many laptops, the bass wasn’t particularly perceptible.
The included Bang & Olufsen Audio control app helped that a bit when I switched to the Bass equalizer preset, but I preferred the overall mix of the default settings, which better highlighted the violins and vocals.
Upgradeability of the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
There are only two visible screws (a pair of Torx) on the bottom of the Spectre x360. If only things were that easy.
There are four additional Phillips-head screws beneath one of the laptop’s two adhesive-backed rubber feet. Removing the foot could potentially rip or tear it, making it difficult to replace later, so the average person probably shouldn’t attempt to open the laptop up.
Per HP’s maintenance manual for this laptop, the battery, Wi-Fi card and SSD are all replaceable if you do get in there, though the RAM is soldered down.
For most people, we recommend ensuring you get the configuration with enough storage and RAM to future proof it for you. Enthusiasts who can risk that rubber foot will find some upgradeable and repairable parts inside.
Battery Life on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
This 2-in-1 has some endurance. While it comes with a nice USB Type-C charger with a braided cable, you should be able to go quite a while without it. The Spectre ran for 12 hours and 32 minutes on our battery test, which continuously browses the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams video over Wi-Fi, all at 150 nits of brightness.
It outlased both the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, which ran for 10:52, and the Asus ZenBook Flip S, which lasted 8:11. But Apple’s MacBook Pro, powered by its incredibly-efficient M1 processor, lasted four hours longer at 16:32.
Heat on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
Beyond internal temperatures, we took skin temperatures while we ran our Cinebench R23 stress test.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The center of the keyboard, between the G andH keys, measured 36.2 degrees Celsius (97.16 degrees Fahrenheit), though the keyboard was a cooler 29 degrees Celsius.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The hottest point on the bottom of the laptop hit 41.7 degrees Celsius (107.06 degrees Fahrenheit).
Webcam on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
The 720p camera in the Spectre x360’s bezel produces blurry images and doesn’t capture color well. In a shot at my desk, My blue eyes looked dark, my orange shirt muted, and the whole image was covered in visual noise.
Is it usable? Sure. But you may also want to consider buying best webcams for improved image quality. There’s a kill switch on the right side of the laptop for extra privacy when you’re not using the webcam.
Software and Warranty on the HP Spectre x360 13-inch
Most of the software preinstalled on the Spectre is from HP itself. The most important is HP Command Center, a one-stop-shop to choose between performance presets, network prioritization for applications and system information. The others include HP Support Assistant (which I think could be rolled into Command Center), HP Privacy Settings and a link to the user manual for the laptop. There’s also MyHP, which gives you easy access to your serial numbers and a bunch of short tutorials for Windows and Microsoft Office.
Of course, there’s still the bloat that comes with most Windows 10 installs, like Spotify, Hulu, Roblox and Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure.
HP sells the 13-inch Spectre x360 with a 1-year warranty that can be extended at an additional cost.
HP Spectre x360 13-inch Configurations
We tested the Spectre x360 with an Intel Core i7-1165G7, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage with 32GB of Intel Optane memory and a 1920 x 1080 IPS touchscreen. All of that comes for $1,249.99.
The base model is $949.99, with an Intel Core i5-1135G7, 8GB of RAM, a 1080p screen and a 256GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.
Many of the components are configurable. You can go up to a
4K
UHD OLED touch screen (add $180), or opt for FHD
OLED
(add $30) or even WLED with Sure View Privacy (a $60 extra.) Storage goes up to a 2TB PCIe SSD. If you don’t want the silver color, you can pay $10 for black or $20 extra for blue.
The most expensive version, with a “Poseidon blue” chassis, Windows 10 Pro and the maximum specs runs $1,869.99.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
In its latest iteration, the 13-inch HP Spectre x360 continues to be an attractive choice, quite literally. The Spectre remains one of the best-looking notebooks on the market, and it’s sleek and trim. Its battery life is impressive, and the Bang & Olufsen audio is pretty good for a 2-in-1 laptop.
While many ultrabook owners may not use their laptops for the most intense workloads, those who do may notice the issues we saw in our Cinebench gauntlet. That’s not a huge issue for day-to-day use, but enthusiasts or power users may seek other options.
If you’re looking for a convertible 2-in-1, the go-to continues to be the
Dell XPS 13 2-in-1
, which offers strong performance and a taller, 16:10 display that works better as a tablet. You will, however, give up the full-sized USB Type-A port. HP also offers a comfier keyboard, in this author’s opinion, though a short wrist rest mars the typing experience.
But if a mix of style and endurace strikes your fancy, the Spectre x360 should be under consideration, though I’m hoping we can check out the 14-inch, 3:2 version soon.
Samsung’s new line of Galaxy S21 smartphones launched less than two weeks ago, but Amazon, B&H Photo, and Best Buy have already marked down the phones to their lowest prices to date, with up to $200 in savings.
If the Galaxy S21 is the phone you’re looking for, you can grab an unlocked model with 128GB of storage for only $700 or a 256GB model for $750. It includes a 6.2-inch 1080p screen with refresh rates of up to 120Hz and is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888. My colleague, Dieter Bohn, praised the Galaxy S21 in his review for having a fast processor, nice screen, and good battery life.
The S21 Plus normally starts at $1,000, but you can grab an unlocked model with 128GB of storage for $800 or a 256GB model for $850. It includes a 6.7-inch 1080p screen with adaptive refresh rates of up to 120Hz. The Galaxy S21 Plus also includes a 12-megapixel wide-angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, and a 64-megapixel telephoto lens on the back, in addition to a 10-megapixel selfie camera on the front. As my colleague Chaim Gartenberg points out in his hands-on, the S21 Plus no longer has a depth sensor.
Lastly, Samsung’s flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S21 Ultra, is on sale starting at $1,000 if you want an unlocked 128GB model, $1,050 if you want 256GB of storage, and $1,180 if you want the highest storage configuration available for this phone, which is 512GB.
The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the only phone in the S21 line to include support for Samsung’s stylus, the S Pen, a first for the S-line of smartphones. The S21 Ultra also includes a 108-megapixel sensor. In his review, Dieter praised the S21 Ultra’s battery life and camera system.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (128GB, unlocked)
$1,000
$1,200
17% off
Prices taken at time of publishing.
The flagship model in the Galaxy S21 line includes a 6.8-inch 3200 x 1440 OLED display, support for the S Pen Stylus, 12GB of RAM, and five image sensors, including a 108-megapixel sensor.
(Pocket-lint) – In the recent past there was a moment when Huawei – the then champion Chinese export – looked poised to strike as the next brand (sure, it’s still huge, just less global right now). But the tables turned fast, locking out Google Services – largely down to tumultuous political wars – which left the door open somewhat in Europe.
Pushing its foot through that gap with keen assertion is Xiaomi. No, this other Chinese tech mega-company is no stranger to phone-making – having revealed some of the earliest near bezel-free devices to the market – but it’s now at a position, in design terms at least, where it’s at the very cutting edge.
For the Mi 11, complete with its curved screen design and fresh take on cameras, is a visual delight (to us it somewhat echoes Huawei’s P40 Pro, hence the comparison).
But the Mi 11 is also the first phone to every deploy Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 top-tier processor, showing Xiaomi is a step ahead in the hardware stakes too. So are we looking at the next big brand that’s about to blow up?
Design & Display
Dimensions: 164.3 x 74.6 x 8.06mm / Weight: 196g
Frosted glass finishes: Midnight Gray, Horizon Blue
Display: 6.81-inch AMOLED quad-curved panel
Resolution: 3200 x 1440 (WQHD+)
Refresh rate: adaptive 120Hz
In-screen fingerprint scanner
Sound by Harman Kardon
“It’s just a phone”, right? Sure, there’s only so far you can push the mold when it comes to creating a rectangular interactive screen, but the Mi 11 is refined at every turn.
Pocket-lint
Whether it’s the subtle curved glass edges, the subtle gradient and light-catching properties of the frosted glass rear, or the deftly cut punch-hole camera to the front (it’s way neater than most others), the Mi 11 is poised to perfection; a chiselled model on a flagship phone catwalk.
Wrapped into that design is a lot of top quality specification too. The screen, a 6.81-inch AMOLED panel, is large but proportioned so it’s not ridiculous for thumb-reach across it (the aspect ratio is 20:9). The always-on panel can glow to those subtle curved edges as a not-too-intrusive alert mechanism, too, which looks wonderful.
Stadia’s troubles, Garmin Instinct Solar review and more – Pocket-lint Podcast 89
By Rik Henderson
·
Pocket-lint
As is often the case with OLED panel balancing, however, when the screen is dimmed it crushes the blacks somewhat. Not nearly as badly as, say, the Oppo Find X2 Pro, but it’s definitely there. And, to some degree, the software seems a bit too keen to push the brightness down a notch – one of the number of quirks to Xiaomi’s MIUI software (here reviewed as 12.0.1, but 12.5 is expected very soon – and that could largely change things up).
The screen’s spec doesn’t stop reaching for the stars there either. It’s got a 2K resolution, with an adaptive 120Hz refresh rate to help smooth out animations and gameplay (oddly the refresh rate page in the settings calls 120Hz ‘Medium’ compared to 60Hz’s ‘Standard’, with no ‘High’ option – it’s not very well termed).
Pocket-lint
As ever with refresh rate, it impacts battery life, as does the resolution chosen. But the Mi 11 can run WQHD+ (that’s 3200 x 1440 pixels) at the 120Hz rate – which is as good as things get at this moment in time. There’s also FHD+ (2400 x 1080) and automatic switching options to help save that battery life all the more.
The high-spec screen is matched with high-spec innards too. As the first device to sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 platform – here with 8GB RAM, there’s supposedly a 12GB option that we don’t anticipate for global markets – it’s put heaps of core power at your fingertips.
Pocket-lint
And a fair bit of heat to match – a powerful processor, even a 5nm platform such as the SD888, can’t exactly run cool, so expect some hand-warming (which, given it’s snowing at the time of writing here in the UK, hasn’t been something of complaint).
So while the setup will run your favourite games and apps at their best – enhanced by the available refresh rate and resolution of that screen – it will of course impact battery life. Inside the Mi 11 there’s a 4,600mAh cell which is reasonable enough – and also sports 55W fast-charging and 50W wireless charging – but will drain faster than your average on account of the high-end specification.
Pocket-lint
But we’re not talking to a problematic level: we ran from 9am to 1am, including four hours of gaming off and on, and those 16 hours of use took the battery into its final 15 per cent. So even with pretty solid usage – the above meant nearly seven hours of screen time – the Mi 11 will get you through the day.
Part of the reason for this is the fairly high impact of Xiaomi’s MIUI software. There are lots of options, a number of alerts to suggest limiting certain functions to retain battery, and a lot of per-app permissions that you’ll need to tinker with to ensure everything runs as you please.
When we reviewed the Redmi Note 9T, which was initially running the same MIUI 12.0.1 software as this review Mi 11, we hit walls and walls of problems. The Mi 11, however, hasn’t suffered the same – being far more stable. That said, we’ve found some off-and-on issues with notifications not being immediate at all times – likely a tucked-away battery-saving technique? – and other little quirks.
Pocket-lint
Now, the Mi 11 is expected to launch globally with MIUI 12.5, which should bring an updated and fresher approach. How much difference this will make and what tweaks it will bring is yet to be seen. But as we find the tinkering nature of MIUI to be the biggest hurdle of this device, seeing the software advance to a more natural, usable state would be great too see.
On the cameras front the Mi 11 takes a different, rather refreshing approach: yes there’s quite a number of lenses here – three, count ’em – but none are there for the heck of it.
Pocket-lint
Each lens has its own task: the main camera is super high-resolution; there’s an ultra-wide to cram more into a scene; while the 5-megapixel telemacro is the best we’ve seen yet for close-up shooting (although it’s still not quite perfect).
That’s refreshing compared to the various phone camera setups that appear with four or five lenses, many of which do little or nothing at all. The Mi 11’s only real absence is there’s no optical zoom of any kind – which seems like an oddity at this level, but then the expected €749 starting price more than goes to explain that.
1/14Pocket-lint
Anyway, back to the cameras themselves. The main lens is 108-megapixels, but it uses four-in-one pixel processing to produce 27-megapixel images. Those are, inevitably, still massive – 6016 x 4512 pixels in 4:3 aspect ratio – but there’s heaps of detail crammed in. It’s a decent optic with good results, including from low-light conditions.
Indeed, the night mode does a grand job of long exposure handheld shots too, aided by the optical image stabilisation system to keep things steady.
The telemacro, however, doesn’t feature any stabilisation – which can make it a bit tricky to use. You’ll get some great close-ups, but there’s not the same degree of accomplishment with sharpness or detail – partly because it’s 5-megapixels only, partly because the autofocus feedback here is limited and not entirely helpful (but, hey, at least it’s a macro lens with autofocus – something you’ll barely see elsewhere).
1/4Pocket-lint
All in all, despite the absence of proper optical zoom lenses, the Mi 11’s take on cameras is pretty strong. The main lens is great, the wide-angle accomplished, and the telemacro actually useful for creating unusual close-up shots. Here’s hoping the alleged Pro and Ultra models – if they come to fruition – expand on this already great camera setup and make it better yet.
First Impressions
So is Xiaomi about to blow up as the next big thing? Well, it could suffer a similar fate as Huawei – what with the US Administration adding it to its blacklist – which would be a shame as the Mi 11 is a potentially storming flagship.
No only does the Mi 11 hit a number of firsts – such as introducing the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 to the world – it’s also attractively priced, with €749 set as the opening sum. For all that’s on offer here that’s super value.
The Mi 11’s fresh take on cameras – there aren’t lenses here for the heck of it – and accomplished design are among its highlights. Sure, the MIUI software has its quirks, which we think is the most questionable part of the package, but it’s stable and tinkerable enough to shape into a strong overall experience.
The Xiaomi Mi 11 is packed full of potential. At this price, it’s certainly worth you taking a moment of your time to mull it over as your next Android flagship.
Xiaomi is announcing the international version of its Mi 11 flagship phone today after an earlier release in China. No wild waterfall displays or sci-fi wireless charging here — this device is very much in keeping with the Mi series’ MO of offering high specs at a competitive price.
The Mi 11 has a Snapdragon 888 processor, making it the first phone to launch with Qualcomm’s latest high-end chip (though Samsung’s Galaxy S21 series beat it to market outside China). The 888 has 5G connectivity built in, of course, and the phone has 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage.
The screen appears to be the same panel — or very similar — to what’s found in the Galaxy S21 Ultra. It’s a slightly curved 6.8-inch 1440p OLED with a refresh rate of 120Hz and peak brightness of 1,500 nits, matching Samsung’s phone spec-for-spec. I don’t have the S21 Ultra to compare side-by-side, but I can tell you that the Mi 11’s screen is extremely good.
The Mi 11 has a 108-megapixel primary camera backed by a 13-megapixel ultrawide and a 5-megapixel “telemacro” camera. The selfie camera is 20 megapixels and tucked inside a small holepunch cutout at the top left of the screen.
The battery is 4,600mAh and can be charged at up to 55W with a cable and up to 50W wirelessly. The Mi 11 also features reverse wireless charging at up to 10W. It runs MIUI 12, based on Android 11.
Xiaomi hasn’t provided a full list of regions or launch dates just yet, but says the Mi 11 will be priced at €749 (~$900) for the 8GB/128GB model. XDA Developers notes the 8GB/256GB model will retail for €799 (~$960). Stay tuned for a full review.
(Pocket-lint) – For as long as the modern smartphone era has been around, Samsung and Apple have offered flagships phones that seem to be the two default choices for so many buyers. Right now, those two phones are the Galaxy S21 and the iPhone 12.
Design
iPhone: 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.4 mm
Galaxy: 151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9 mm
Both: IP68 water and dust resistant
iPhone: Glass and aluminium build
Galaxy: Plastic, aluminium and glass
If there’s one area these two phones differ the most, it’s in design. Whether you look at them from the front, the side, or the back, there’s no way you’d get them confused with each other. In fact, even if you held them in your hand, they feel nothing alike.
Featuring a frosted plastic back, the Samsung immediately feels warmer and and softer in the hand. That’s further aided by the rounded edges. That makes it the more tactile of the two devices.
For some, featuring plastic on a flagship device is unacceptable, but the way Samsung has utilised the plastic – and the finish it’s achieved with the frosted translucent panel letting through light from the reflective layer beneath – actually looks and feels great.
As for looks, there’s no doubt that the iPhone has that premium appeal. The flat edges and clean lines give it that purposeful look, and the build materials of glass and aluminium in a minimalist blend will appeal to a lot of people. It looks great.
On a more practical note, it feels a lot more solid and durable too. The frame feels practically unbendable, and even after nearly 6 months with it, there’s barely a scratch on the glass. Both phones feature IP68 water and dust resistance, so will survive if you accidentally drop them in the sink or get caught in the rain.
From the front, Samsung seems to make better use of space, by filling as much of it as possible with display. Apple’s notch cuts in considerably at the top, while Samsung only has that tiny hole punch getting in the way. In actual fact, once you load some games and apps – especially in landscape – Samsung tends to black out a portion of it and make an artificial bezel anyway, so the difference once you’re actually doing something, is minimal.
Saying that, Samsung’s bezels do seem a bit skinnier around the sides and at the top. Apple, however, kept them uniform all the way around, avoiding that tiny chin look that Samsung has.
Displays
iPhone: 6.1-inch, 1170 x 2532 resolution OLED display
Galaxy: 6.2-inch, 1080 x 2400 resolution AMOLED display
iPhone: HDR10 and up to 60Hz refresh
Galaxy: HDR10+ and up to 120Hz adaptive refresh
iPhone: 1200 nits peak brightness
Galaxy: 1300 nits peak brightness
Unlike last year, Apple’s is the one with the sharper screen here. Samsung downgraded from QHD to FHD, and while it’s 6.2-inches versus Apple’s 6.1-inches, it packs in fewer pixels than the iPhone. Not that you’d particularly notice.
Both push pixel density past the 400ppi mark, and both seem sharp and clear in daily use. Both even feature similar peak brightness: it’s 1200nits for Apple versus 1300 nits for Samsung. Both are OLED based, and that means you get vivid colours and great contrast regardless of which you go for.
Perhaps the one big difference is Samsung’s adaptive frame rate technology. It goes all the way up to 120Hz when the content on screen requires it. Some will notice it more than others, but it makes general interaction and animation seem really smooth.
Watch the same video or look at the same photo side by side, and you’ll spot other differences too. Even in its ‘natural’ mode, Samsung’s screen seems to boost pink/red/orange colours. White skin tones look a bit pinker, and oranges are fiercer. iPhone is a little bit more muted, but other colours are similar on both. That said, Samsung seems to make stuff look sharper because it boosts contrast.
On the one hand, it’s great because it’s sharp and bright during video, but on the other, there’s the red saturation makes things look less balanced.
The other plus side for Samsung is that you can tune it to your liking if you want to. Using the Vivid mode you can adjust the colour temperature. Whereas Apple likes it a certain way, and that’s pretty much it. Although you can enable True Tone to get it to adjust its white balance to suit the ambient lighting.
In performance and battery just reading the specs would be useless, because comparing those is like comparing Apples with Orang-Utangs.
The real thing to note here is that in every day, day-to-day use, both phones give you fast and reliable performance. Whether you’re loading the latest graphically intense games, browsing the internet or catching up on social media. They’re fast and smooth.
It’s the same with battery life. With our own personal use, using either phone as a daily device – with a 2-3 hours of screen time playing games or watching movies – we’d get to the end of the day with about 40 per cent left over. Not quite two-day batteries, but not far off either.
Both have 5G, wireless charging and fast charging, but neither ships with a charger in the box anymore.
Cameras
iPhone: Dual camera
12MP primary f/1.6 wide camera
12MP f/2.4 ultrawide
4K video up to 60fps
Galaxy: Triple camera
12MP primary f/1.8 camera
12MP f/2.2 ultrawide
64MP f/2.0 telephoto 3x hybrid zoom
8K video at 24fps and 4K up to 60fps
In the camera department, Samsung does have at least one advantage over the iPhone. It’s got three lenses on the back, and that gives you more flexibility when it comes to focal lengths. As well as your primary and ultra-wide lenses – which the iPhone has – Samsung gives you a telephoto zoom lens, with 3x hybrid zoom.
It achieves that partly because that telephoto lens has a 64MP sensor, giving you the ability to crop without losing tonnes of detail. If you want to, you can zoom digitally all the way up to 30x on the Samsung, giving you huge range, even if some of those results at the upper end of the scale are quite ropey.
iPhone will let you do up to 5x zoom, but it uses the primary sensor and uses a digital zoom, losing a bit of detail when it does. Still, results from both cameras are good.
Stick to the standard focal lengths and the two phones will both get you good results, and both offer effective night modes. iPhone’s results seemed cleaner, brighter and sharper than Samsung’s using night mode, like it did a better job of stabilising the image. Samsung’s by comparison was a tiny bit blurrier and didn’t seem to draw in as much light.
In day time there were some differences. iPhone pictures on the whole seemed to up the contrast and saturation by default. Sometimes that means a lovely vibrant and rich picture that looked sharp, with Samsung looking a bit over exposed in the highlights by comparison. Other times, for landscapes, iPhone seemed maybe a tad too dark, with the Samsung offering the better picture without over egging the blue skies and darkening the shadows too much.
The colour difference between the main and ulrawide cameras was noticeable though. As for selfies, yet again, Samsung seemed to do a better job of a natural look. iPhone went a bit aggressive on the HDR completely washing out faces one second, and the next when switched to portrait selfie making it too dark and saturated.
And then there’s the fact that Samsung offers so many additional shooting modes to choose from, if you have the time, that’s a lot of fun to play with.
Both do 4K video at 60fps, with the Galaxy also capable of shooting 8K at 24fps. Samsung looking a little over sharpened, but both are great quality, and offer effective stabilisation.
Price and Conclusion
iPhone: from £799/$799
Galaxy: from £769/$799
In the end, both of these phones offer a great all-round experience and choosing one over the other might just come down to having premium build and a better display, in which case I think the iPhone is the better choice. Or if you’re all about cameras, Samsung has a lot going for it there. But even in that department, it’s not a clear winner. Both have strengths and weaknesses.
squirrel_widget_4139178
As for software, iPhones benefit is that you get updates as soon as they’re available and will likely be supported for a good number of years before it no longer gets them. Samsung is getting better in that regard – in terms of long term support – but you do have to wait until Samsung tests and releases its own versions of major Android updates.
The Razer Huntsman V2 Analog keyboard is premium in its feature set, design and price; although, dedicated macro keys would’ve been nice. Pressure-sensitive keys bring a fine level of control in supported PC games, and they’re highly programmable, from their sensitivity to their reset point and functionality. For those who can put Razer’s new analog optical switches to work, this is as swanky as it gets.
For
Highly customizable analog mechanical switches
Satisfying typing experience
Comfortably padded RGB wrist rest
Handy media controls
Against
Wildly expensive
No macro keys
Customizable actuation could go lower
Limited PC support for analog control
The best gaming keyboards can come in flashy colors, offer high levels of programmability and different typing feels, but they still haven’t ousted controllers or become the cemented leader in gaming control. A big reason for that is the joystick. Not only do joysticks provide a fun, assertive and even nostalgic way to play games, but they also provide a type of input keyboards typically can’t offer: analog input.
It’s been a slow movement, but mechanical keyboard makers have been introducing keyboards with analog input, with keys that are sensitive to how much pressure is applied. Some, like the Wooting lineup, use optical mechanical switches to achieve this. With that in mind, it’s not too surprising to see Razer enter the analog race (crawl?). As one of the leaders in optical mechanical switches, the introduction of the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog with new Razer Analog Optical switches almost makes complete sense. That is, until you see the $250 price tag.
Razer Huntsman V2 Analog Specs
Switches
Razer Analog Optical
Lighting
Per-key RGB
Onboard Storage
4 profiles (no RGB)
Media Keys
Yes
Interface
USB
Cable
USB Type-C, plus USB Type-A for USB passthrough
Additional Ports
1x USB 3.0 passthrough port
Key Caps
Doubleshot PBT
Software
Razer Synapse
Dimensions (LxWxH without wrist rest)
17.53 x 5.52 x 1.71 inches
Extra
USB-C to USB-A Adapter
Razer Analog Optical Switches
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The big difference between analog mechanical switches and standard mechanical switches is how they read key presses. Most keyboards have digital input, meaning that they read either a 0 value (not depressed) or 1 value (depressed). Analog switches can get more specific. They work like a controller joystick in that they’re able to tell how hard you’re pressing a key and report the input appropriately. In a driving game, for example, this could mean a slight left turn when tapping A or a sharp turn when pressing it hard and bottoming out. Or in a FPS game, it could be the difference between creeping forward into a dark room cautiously or sprinting full force ahead.
With Razer’s Synapse software, you can set any of the keyboard’s keys to work like the functions offered via an Xbox controller’s left and right analog joysticks. It’s easy to set W,A,S and D, for example as left joystick up, left down and right, respectively. Afterward, pressing W lightly in a racing game might move your car forward a bit, while pressing it all the way down will rev you up to max speed.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
In this way, the Huntsman V2 Analog can let you play supported games with the same type of control you’d have with a controller with joysticks. But Synapse even offers more customization, letting you select one of its preset configurations or choose what point in key travel represents what analog input value from 0-255.
We’ve seen analog mechanical keyboards before, but the tech isn’t all the same. For example, the Cooler Master MK850 uses Aimpad tech that essentially takes standard Cherry MX Red mechanical switches and applies infrared (IR) tech to a select cluster of keys to give them analog functionality. The Huntsman V2 Analog is more like the Wooting Two in that every switch is analog and also optical mechanical (or optical for short). In general, optical switches activate when their stem crosses a light beam, differing from standard mechanical switches, which actuate via metallic contact.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With Razer’s analog optical switches, light travels down a triangular opening in the switch’s stem. That opening widens as you press a key. A photosensor in the switch reads how much light is going through that triangle and makes an analog signal in line with how much light is detected.
Adjustable Actuation Points
The Huntsman V2 Analog’s switches also offer adjustable actuation points. If you download Synapse, you can set individual keys actuation points anywhere from 1.5-3.6mm in 0.1mm increments, as well as the reset point. The amount of force required to actuate an input will also change, starting at 54g if set to 1.5mm actuation and reaching a heavy 74g at 3.6mm.
Customizable actuation (not customizable reset) is something we’ve seen in other analog keyboards, like the Wooting Two. You can also find this feature on the SteelSeries Apex Pro OLED, but its SteelSeries OmniPoint switches aren’t pressure-sensitive.
Synapse makes setting your preferred actuation points simple and even offers a real-time pressure gauge. You can press a button as light or hard as you want, and a meter will visually show you your proximity to the 1.5mm actuation minimum or 3.6mm maximum. It’d be nice if the meter also told you how many millimeters you were at with that press (instead of just a representative green bar), but you can also set actuation points by entering a specific number.
One Keystroke, Two Inputs
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
And for the advanced gamer, Razer’s Analog Optical switches also allow for two inputs in one press if you program the feature via software. In the image above, Q works as Q until I bottom out, when it turns into E, letting me to quickly use two of Ashe’s special moves in Overwatch with rapid ease but still allowing me to just stick with just the Q move if desired.
To use any of these features on your PC, you’ll need to play a game with analog input support. The Huntsman V2 Analog’s namesake switch features are only available in PC games that support both mouse/keyboard and controller input if you set a key to a joystick function and try to use it without such a game, that key will do nothing when pressed). We’ll see how much those requirements limit our analog gameplay and how well the switches fare on the battlefield in the Gaming Experience section below.
Design of Razer Huntsman V2 Analog
Image 1 of 6
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 2 of 6
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 3 of 6
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 4 of 6
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 5 of 6
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 6 of 6
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Razer’s Huntsman lineup is always pricey, partially due to the optical switches. The Huntsman V2 Analog is on the upper echelon of the upper-tier and carries a very similar design to what it’s replacing as the brand’s most expensive keyboard, the Razer Huntsman Elite. That includes pleasing media keys and a lavish RGB wrist rest. The design here has some legs up on the Huntsman Elite’s design though and, believe it or not, one of its biggest advantages is its wrist rest.
The Huntsman V2 Analog has a fake leather wrist rest that’s also RGB-ready. To set it aglow, all you have to do is plug in the keyboard and magnetically attach the wrist rest to the keyboard. It’ll metallically snap on securely, and thankfully, doesn’t require plugging in an extra cable to light up (like the Huntsman Elite does).
Wrist rests feel like an odd place for RGB because you’ll rarely see it. From my typical seated positions, I couldn’t usually see the RGB running along the wrist rest’s bottom lip or on the left and right sides. Nor could I see the RGB framing the actual keyboard’s on the bottom lip (if the wrist rest’s not attached) and left and right sides and bottom lip (if the wrist rest’s not attached). Sometimes it’d peek out from the bottom lip, especially if I was sitting lower, but I could never see it on the slides.
But with RGB brightness boosted up to about 40%, I got an impactful glow on my desk — even in a sunny room. And from afar or on a stream, the Huntsman V2 Analog’s RGB is definitely impressive. Whether on the deck, wrist rest or keys, the lighting shines with brilliance, clarity and accuracy with what’s programmed via software. Speaking of, you can set effects or colors to individual keys, and the deck and wrist rest carry 40 individual lighting zones total.
But who cares about RGB under your wrists when there’s so much comfort there too? The wrist rest here is Razer’s plushest yet and provides a clean, natural look with its bezel-less design. The filling has a good amount of density but isn’t quite in the firm category. It’s also not as plush and doesn’t have the same squishy, cooling gel feel of our favorite standalone wrist rest, the HyperX Wrist Rest. But in terms of comfort, this is one of the few pack-in wrist rests I’d consider using with other keyboards.
Razer’s Huntsman V2 Analog has two non-detachable USB cables coming out of it. The second one is for the USB 3.0 passthrough port on the left side of the clacker’s deck. These are thick, braided fiber cables, but we’ve encountered bulkier. Cable management is on you, but one nice touch is that this is a USB-C keyboard natively. (The USB passthrough port cable is USB-A). If you don’t have a USB-C port, Razer includes a USB-C to USB-A adapter in the box.
Media controls work wonders on a keyboard, and Razer has nearly perfectly nailed it with the rewind, play/pause, fast forward and volume wheel/mute button. The volume wheel is the real star. It has a tactile scroll with a healthy amount of resistance, so there won’t be accidental spins. There’s a premium feel that makes the wheel seem like it can take a lot of spinning — which is great because playing with this thing makes me feel like a DJ.
Razer even gave the media buttons customizable RGB. The problem is that the inscriptions are hard to read, so you’ll have to memorize them or get the right angle to read the black-on-black writing. This is also the case with the indicator light south of the navigational buttons.
Premium design touches come in the form of an aluminum top plate sitting atop the plastic bottom and doubleshot PBT keycaps that look as good as they feel. If you look very closely, there’s a subtle finish to the top plate that provides a mild shimmer that matches the effect brought on by the keycaps’ visible texture. The keyboard’s overall finish is clean but not fingerprint-proof.
The keycaps specifically, however, fight off fingerprints well, since Razer opted for the pricer PBT plastic option. They’re also doubleshot, or made with two layers of plastic injection mold, ensuring durability and that the writing never fades. The writing is less striking than other gaming keyboards with loud fonts; although the lower-case lettering on some keys adds playfulness.
Razer claims its manufacturing methods allow for the “thinnest font possible on a doubleshot PBT keycap.” There’s light bleed in between the keys and a lot of light reflecting on the button of the FN row particularly at max brightness. But you can curb this by reducing RGB brightness.
Analog Gaming Experience
The Huntsman V2 Analog’s customizable actuation points and double inputs work with any game or app, but for the keys to be pressure-sensitive like a joystick, you’ll need a supported game. Razer told me this is any game that allows for both game/mouse inputs and controllers. Inconveniently, the brand’s yet to share a list of supported games, but a similar tech, Aimpad, has its own list of supported games, which will also likely work with the Razer keyboard’s analog features too. We’ll update this review if Razer shares a list of supported games.
To try out the switches’ pressure sensitivity, I turned to Grand Theft Auto V (GTA V), hoping to get the same amount of vehicular control I get when playing the game on-console. Have you ever tried to drive like a sane person in GTA V? It’s a game in itself, and with pressure-sensitive input, I was able to get the fine level of control needed to do this successfully.
With the WASD cluster set to control navigation, I was able to tap A to make a light turn instead of one that sharply veered me offroad into local prostitutes. With the A and D keys set to turn my heisted vehicles left and right, a light tap helped me slowly accelerate to the left, and I can hold the key at that level to maintain speed. If I needed to swerve or turn sharply, bottoming out quickly got the wheels turned as far as possible.
Feeling natural and comfortable while keeping a key pressed, say, halfway, will take some getting used to though. Since these switches are linear, at first it felt challenging to maintain just the right amount of pressure to achieve the amount of acceleration I wanted with my car.
Linear switches are great for fast, interruption-free input, but I’d love to see an analog mechanical switch with tactile feedback. It may be easier to keep the key half-pressed (or so) comfortably if there’s a bump along the travel that can serve as a resting point. Full disclosure: I generally prefer tactile switches over linear ones.
General Gaming Experience on Razer Huntsman V2 Analog
Even if you’re not playing a game that supports our review focus’ analog features, there’s a potential advantage to be had in the Huntsman V2 Analog’s customizable actuation points. The most popular linear switch, Cherry MX Reds, have a 2mm actuation point, 4mm total travel and require 45g. Since you can set the Huntsman V2 Analog’s switches to have an actuation point as low as 1.5mm, your fingers can have 0.5mm less to travel to register an input. On top of that, the reset point is also customizable, so you can really get the feel you want. Actuation force is greater than Cherry Reds though, with the Razer switches ranging from 54g with 1.5mm actuation and maxing at 74g.
But in terms of keyboards with customizable actuation points, we’ve seen shorter. The Apex Pro OLED’s OmniPoint switches can actuate at 0.4-3.6mm. And the hard-to-find Wooting Two can actuate from 0.1-4mm with 65g of force. At 0.1mm you’d have to be careful not to accidentally brush up on a key and add accidental pressure, but for very skilled and quick gamers, it’d be nice to have 0.1-1.5mm actuation points be an option.
In general, the keyboard’s well-spaced layout and premium keycaps with their pleasant sound and slip-0resistant texture made long hours of game a breeze.
One of the keyboard’s most unique features is the ability to assign two functions to one key press. With the right execution, this can be fun and efficient and let you complete your two tasks quicker.
I used this trick in Overwatch with the E key. I set the keyboard so that pressing the E key down 1.5mm served as pressing E, which makes Ashe throw dynamite. Then, if I continued pressing E down to 3.6mm, the input would change to Q, which fires Ashe’s shotgun. Being able to hit E and Q in one stroke let me throw dynamite and then quickly shoot it, so it’d instantly explode in an enemy’s face. I could set a macro like this on many mechanical gaming keyboards, but then I wouldn’t have the option to not use the shotgun if, for instance, my aim was off, and I, therefore, didn’t want to waste a shot making it explode.
Again, I’d like to see how tactile, instead of linear switches, might make this feature easier to leverage. With a tactile switch, I could set the secondary input to a point after the bump, which would bring a clearer distinction between input 1 and input 2.
Typing Experience on Razer Huntsman V2 Analog
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Huntsman V2 Analog debuts Razer’s Analog Optical mechanical switches, which have a lot of tricks to them, as we detailed above. But in their simplest form, they’re linear switches. One of the best parts is that the typing experience is, somewhat, up to you. No matter what, you’ll have linear presses that go down smoothly with no bump or clicking noise along the way. But with the ability to set each switch’s actuation point from 1.5-3.6mm, you can decide if an input requires a light press or nearly bottoming out. Lighter actuation points can make for quicker input, while requiring a harder press may help avoid accidental inputs.
Linear switches are known to have zero clickiness, but the doubleshot PBT keycaps make a delightful noise that reminds me of someone writing with chalk. The spacebar is especially loud with a slightly higher and more hollow noise to it.
The switches are also specced for 4mm total travel and actuate with 54-74g of force. For comparison, the linear analog optical switches found in the Wooting Two, Flaretech Linear55 Reds, can also have a 1.5-3.6mm actuation point, have 4mm total travel and require 55g of force to actuate.
To see how different actuation points can affect my typing performance, I tried the 10fastfingers.com typing test at the lowest and highest actuation settings With a 1.5mm actuation point, my best time was 126 words per minute (wpm) and my accuracy about 1% shy of my average. With actuation set to 3.6mm, my best time was also 126 wpm, with less than a 1% drop in accuracy.
I’m an aggressive typer, so when typing a lot, I’m usually bottoming out. As a result, bringing up the actuation point didn’t make a big difference for me, since I probably continued bottoming out anyway. That said, I have experienced speed boosts with a more dramatic drop in actuation point, specifically with the SteelSeries Apex Pro, which can drop to 0.4mm. But if you’re someone who types lightly and isn’t frequently bottoming out, you may be able to pick up speed by reducing the actuation point.
In general use, using the higher actuation point was noticeably different. Sometimes I’d try to tap something like backspace or an arrow key, and it wouldn’t register. I’m used to bottoming out when typing, but having keys like the function row and navigation keys also require this much fore felt unnatural. Thankfully, Razer’s Synapse software lets you set actuation points for each key, allowing me to bring some down to a lighter 1.5mm. With only a light tap required to make actions like take a screenshot, I felt more productive.
With Synapse, it’s easy to set up different profiles and settings for different uses. For example, my work profile has typing keys set to 2mm, with navigational keys, the FN row and numpad at a lighter 1.5mm. I love firmly asserting a space or enter, so those keys are at 3.6mm.
Features and Software on Razer Huntsman V2 Analog
Razer’s Synapse software is essential for adjusting the Huntsman V2 Analog switches’ actuation point but also offers other customization options.
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Razer)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Customize menu lets you assign different functions to each key and even the media controls. The scroll wheel even has three programmable functions (scroll up, down or press in). There’s a massive range of options, from launching programs and switching profiles or RGB, to macros. You can even assign mouse functions to the keyboard. And if you assign a button as the Razer HyperShift key, every key will offer an additional function when you’re holding down that key. This all equates to a massive amount of input customization, even without the analog features.
You can turn off or change RGB brightness without software, but to toggle presets or make your own effects, you’ll need Synapse. If you open Synapse’s Chroma Studio add-in, you get a complex UI that lets you make advanced per-key RGB effects after you get the hang of it.
Considering the Huntsman V2 Analog’s high price, we’re happy to see Razer include 5 onboard memory profiles. Once set up in Synapse, you can plug the keyboard into another PC, and it’ll remember up to 4 profiles without having to download Synapse again. You can toggle through the profiles quickly by pressing FN and menu, and the keyboard will flash the profile’s color to let you know where you’re at. Unfortunately, these profiles won’t remember your RGB settings.
If you do download Synapse, you can save as many profiles as you want and set them to automatically launch with specific games or other apps.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
At $250, the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog is one of the most expensive gaming keyboards you can get. And it does a lot to try to earn that title. With premium keycaps, a wrist rest with RGB and comfort to match,a delicious typing experience and advanced gaming features, like onboard memory, it leaves out very little.
A big part of the cost is the analog switches. These are immediately useful in letting you set actuation points, allowing for a more customized experience that may aid in productivity. But you’ll be limited to PC games that take both keyboard / mouse and controller input, making this investment a bit harder.
Unlike some other analog keyboards, such as the $160 Cooler Master MK850, Razer thoughtfully included analog keys in every switch. But we would’ve sacrificed that to get a more attainable price. There’s also a cheaper full-keyboard analog alternative in the Wooting Two, which is $160 as of writing and hot-swappable with either linear or clicky switches.
The SteelSeries Apex Pro, meanwhile, isn’t a true analog keyboard, nor is it optical (if that matters to you). But it does offer arguably the most frequently usable feature of the Huntsman V2 Analog switches: customizable actuation points across the board. It’s also cheaper (currently $180).
In the $200 range alone, there’s also, naturally, tough competition. If you’re willing to spend that much, the Corsair K100 RGB may have more usable bonuses, like a control wheel and macro keys. There’s no analog input or customizable actuation, but the linear switches are optical.
So, unless you know how you’ll put the Huntsman V2 Analog’s pricey switches to good use, there are probably other keyboards that’ll give you more use for your money.
But ultimately, as both an analog keyboard and premium gaming peripheral, the Huntsman V2 Analog checks off nearly every box. We just wish it’d check the ‘expensive’ box a little less hard.
HP’s Spectre x360 14 is a luxury worth paying for.
I have used a heck of a lot of laptops in the past year, and some of them are quite nice. MacBooks have nailed the “premium” look and feel for years, and I’ll never waste an opportunity to gush about the build quality of Dell’s XPS line.
But I’ve never touched a consumer laptop as gorgeous as the Spectre x360 14. The new Spectre’s sturdy black body, lustrous accents, and boldly sharp edges would make it a standout among convertible laptops across the board, even if it didn’t have a slew of other excellent qualities — which, from its 3:2 screen and packaged stylus to its stellar performance and battery life, it absolutely does.
With a starting MSRP of $1,299.99 ($1,589.99 as tested) the Spectre x360 is easily my new favorite 2-in-1 laptop. Today’s market is full of capable convertibles that look good, work well, and do certain things really well. But while the Spectre x360 14 isn’t a perfect laptop, it tops the pack in almost every area. It’s a stylish chassis, premium panel options, stylus support, a powerful processor, and fantastic battery in one. It’s proof that you can have it all — for a price.
The HP Spectre line is second to none when it comes to design, and this latest model is no exception. Like its 13-inch predecessor, the Spectre x360 14 is made of CNC-machined aluminum. Also like its siblings, you can get the 14 in “nightfall black,” “Poseidon blue,” or “natural silver.” Take a look at some pictures before selecting your color because they each have pretty different vibes. The nightfall black option has a sophisticated, svelte aesthetic that looks tailor-made for a boardroom. Poseidon blue is friendlier and probably the one I’d go for myself.
The accents, though, are what make the Spectre stand out from the legions of other black laptops out there. Lustrous trim borders the lid, the touchpad, and the deck. The hinges share its color, as does the HP logo on its lid. It’s bold without being obnoxious. The two rear corners are diamond-shaped, and one of them houses a Thunderbolt 4 port on its flat edge. (On the sides live an audio jack, a USB-A, a microSD slot, and an additional Thunderbolt 4, which is a decent selection — gone is the trapdoor that covered the USB-A port on the 13-inch model.) And the edges are all beveled, making the notebook appear thinner than it actually is (it’s 0.67 inches thick). Careful craftsmanship is evident here — I’m not exaggerating when I say this Spectre feels like artwork.
Take it in.
And, as the “x360” moniker implies, the Spectre is a 2-in-1. At 2.95 pounds, it’s a bit heavy to use as a tablet for long periods, but it’s smooth and easy to fold and the hinges are quite sturdy. Unlike with many convertibles, there’s barely any wobble when you use the touchscreen. The display is also stylus-compatible; the Spectre ships with HP’s MPP2.0 pen, which attaches magnetically to the side of the chassis.
Despite its design similarities, this Spectre looks noticeably different from its ancestors, and that’s because of the screen. The new model has a 3:2 display, which is 13 percent taller than the 16:9 panel on last year’s device. (It’s kept the same 90 percent screen-to-body ratio.)
Microsoft’s Surface devices have been using the 3:2 aspect ratio for years, and I’m glad that the Spectre line is finally making the switch. If you’re used to using a 16:9 display (which many modern Windows laptops have) and you give a 3:2 a shot, you’ll see what I mean. You have significantly more vertical space, which means less scrolling up and down and less zooming out to fit everything you want to see. It makes multitasking significantly easier without adding much size to the chassis.
This 3:2 panel can come in a few different forms. My test unit has an FHD option that HP says should reach 400 nits of brightness. I measured it multiple times, but it only reached 285 in my testing — which is dimmer than I’d hope to see from a device at this price point. I’ve reached out to HP to see what’s up and will update this review if it turns out to be a bug. (Of course, 285 nits is still more than enough for indoor office work.)
The OLED panel is certified for “low blue light.”
In addition to the FHD display, you can opt for a 3000 x 2000 OLED panel (HP didn’t provide a brightness estimate for this one; LaptopMag measured it at 339 nits) or a 1,000-nit option with HP’s Sure View Reflect technology, which makes the screen difficult to read from the sides. This will mostly be a benefit for business users.
In terms of other specs, the base model pairs the 400-nit screen with a Core i5-1135G7, 8GB of memory, and 256GB of storage (plus 16GB of Intel Optane). Then, there are a few upgrades you can go for. My test unit, priced at $1,589.99, keeps the base model’s screen but has a heftier processor (the quad-core Core i7-1165G7) and double its RAM and storage. I think this model is a good option for most people — it gets you a top processor and a good amount of storage without too stratospheric of a price tag. If you want to get fancier, you can get the OLED screen and 1TB of storage (plus 32GB of Intel Optane) for $1,699, or the Sure View screen and 2TB of storage for $1,959.99.
Of course, laptops aren’t just for looking at, but you’re not compromising on performance to get this build quality. The Spectre is verified through Intel’s Evo platform, which means that it offers a number of Intel-selected benefits including Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6, all-day battery life, quick boot time, fast charging, and reliable performance. In my testing, it more than surpassed those standards.
The system handled my heavy workload of Chrome tabs, downloads, and streams speedily with no issues. Battery life was excellent; I averaged 10 hours of continuous use with the screen around 200 nits of brightness. That means if your daily tasks are similar to mine, the Spectre should make it through your workday with no problem. (You’ll likely get less if you opt for the OLED panel.) The processor also includes Intel’s Iris Xe integrated graphics. While you wouldn’t want to use those for serious gaming, they’re capable of running lighter fare.
Elsewhere, I have almost no complaints. The backlit keyboard is snappy with a solid click — it’s easily one of my favorites. The speakers sound good, with very audible bass and percussion. There’s a fingerprint sensor to the left of the arrow keys and a Windows Hello camera, neither of which gave me any trouble.
Apart from the dimness, there are only two things about this laptop that I’m not in love with. They’re both minor; the fact that I’m even mentioning either of them in this review is a testament to how excellent this device is.
The first is the touchpad. It’s quite smooth and roomy (16.6 percent larger than that of last year’s Spectre x360 13) and handles scrolling and gestures just fine. But it’s noticeably stiffer than some of the best touchpads on the market. The press required to physically click is firm enough that I ended up doing it with my thumb most of the time. On the likes of the Dell XPS 13 and the MacBook, clicking with a finger is much less of a chore. When I first clicked with the integrated buttons, I also had to overcome some initial resistance to hit the actuation point (put plainly, every click felt like two clicks). This issue resolved itself during my second day of testing, but it’s still a hiccup I generally only see with cheaper items.
My complaints are minor — this is almost perfect.
Secondly, bloatware. There are a number of junk programs preloaded onto the Spectre and several pinned to the taskbar. Dropbox, ExpressVPN, McAfee, and Netflix are all on here, and I got all kinds of notifications from them. This is an oddity at this price point, and seeing cheap McAfee alerts popping up on the Spectre is like seeing really ugly bumper stickers on a Ferrari. This software doesn’t take too long to uninstall, but I’m disappointed to see it nonetheless.
But those are really the only two complaints I have, and neither of them should stop you from buying this laptop. It’s beautiful to look at and a dream to use. I found myself using it in my free time instead of my personal device (which almost never happens with review units — I really like my products).
When we’re evaluating a convertible laptop at the Spectre’s price point, the big question is how it compares to the gold standard of Windows convertibles, the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1. The XPS has a few advantages: it’s a bit thinner and lighter, its touchpad is less stiff, and it has a more modest look that some users might prefer.
But for me, the ball game is close but clear. The Spectre x360’s meticulous craftsmanship, classy aesthetic, and 3:2 screen put it over the top. It also edges out the XPS in a few key areas: the keyboard is more comfortable, the battery life is better, and Dell’s closest-priced configuration to this unit only has half its storage. The Spectre’s smaller amenities that the XPS lacks — like the bundled stylus, the USB-A port, the blue color, and the OLED option — are icing on the cake.
If you’re looking for a premium Windows convertible with a classy aesthetic, that makes the Spectre a no-brainer purchase. This is HP at its best; it’s a luxury laptop in pretty much every area. I can’t imagine that it won’t be the next laptop I buy.
Photography by Monica Chin / The Verge
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
