Sony has released an official Linux driver for its PlayStation 5 DualSense controller. The driver allows using the controller to play Linux games, which is good news for Linux gaming enthusiasts.
The new Linux kernel driver fully supports Sony’s PlayStation 5 DualSense controller’s key functionality, including the gamepad, touchpad, and motion-sensing both in USB and Bluetooth modes, reports Phoronix. At the same time, the driver doesn’t yet support the advanced capabilities of the new controller, such as Adaptive Triggers and the VCM-based haptics.
Sony’s PlayStation consoles have long been known to be Linux friendly, and for years activist Linux users installed this operating system on their PlayStation machines. Therefore, it is not surprising that the PlayStation 5 DualSense controller is now supported by Linux. It will take some time before someone installs Linux on PS5, but enabling the controller supports the first step.
For Linux gamers, added support for PlayStation 5 DualSense controller means that they can use it for gaming and expect Sony to make other PS5 peripherals compatible with the platform.
Specifications of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra were detailed last week, and now the S21 and S21+ have also got the same treatment, leaving little to the imagination.
The S21 and S21+ will be powered by the Snapdragon 888 SoC in the US and have an Exynos 2100 chipset at the helm in Europe. Both smartphones will boot Android 11 with One UI 3.1, have 8GB RAM onboard, and come with two storage options – 128GB and 256GB. But neither of them is likely to come with a microSD card slot for storage expansion.
The vanilla S21 will feature a 6.2″ FullHD+ Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED display, while the Plus model will come with a slightly larger 6.7″ panel of the same resolution. Both screens will be protected by Gorilla Glass Victus and have a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.
Galaxy S21 (on left) and Galaxy S21+ (on right)
For photography, the S21 and S21+ will sport a 64MP triple camera on the back, with the 10MP selfie shooter placed at the center of the screen.
Keeping the lights on will be a 4,000 mAh battery on the S21, with the Plus model packing a 4,800 mAh cell. But neither phone will come with a charger included in the box. You can check out the table below for the complete specs of the S21 and S21+.
Specs
Galaxy S21
Galaxy S21+
CPU
Exynos 2100 (in Europe), Snapdragon 888 (in US)
RAM
8GB
Operating System
Android 11 with One UI 3.1
Display
6.2″ FullHD+ Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED Always-On Display with Gorilla Glass Victus, 120Hz refresh rate, 1300 nits brightness, 421 ppi pixel density
6.7″ FullHD+ Infinity-O Dynamic AMOLED Always-On Display with Gorilla Glass Victus, 120Hz refresh rate, 1300 nits brightness, 394 ppi pixel density
Rear Camera
12MP primary (F/1.8, 79°, 26mm, 1/1.76″, 1.8µm, OIS) + 12MP ultrawide (F/2.2, 120° FOV, 13mm, 1/2.55″, 1.4µm) + 64MP telephoto (F/2.0, 76° FOV, 28mm, 1 / 1.76 “, 0.8 µm, OIS) with 3x hybrid optical zoom, auto-focus, PDAF
Front Camera
10MP (F/2.2, 80° FOV, 25mm, 1/3.24”, 1.22µm)
Video Recording
8K @ 30FPS, 4K @ 30/60FPS, 1080p @ 30/60/120FPS, 720p @ 960FPS
Internal Storage
128/256GB
Connectivity
5G, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, NFC
Battery
4,000 mAh with 25W Charging, Qi Wireless Charging, and Reverse Charging
4,800 mAh with 25W Charging. Qi Wireless Charging, and Reverse Charging
Misc
IP68 rated, Wireless PowerShare, Samsung Knox, Dual SIM + e-SIM, Ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner
Colors
Gray, White, Pink, Purple
Silver, Black, Purple
Dimensions
151.7 x 71.2 x 7.9mm
161.4 x 75.6 x 7.8mm
Weight
171 grams
202 grams
In addition to revealing the complete specs, the source also corroborated the previously leaked prices of the S21 and S21+.
The regular model will start at €849 in Europe, while the Plus variant will start at €1049 for the 128GB version, and spending €50 extra will get you double storage.
Amazfit GTR 2 has a nice appearance, it offers decent fitness tracking and has now strengthened some of its capabilities including sleep tracking and the introduction of a smart assistant like Alexa. It also allows you to have a good autonomy compared to its competitors in this price range. It’s certainly not perfect, and its sports tracking is only for occasional workouts. Here is the review.
by Bruno Mucciarelli published 28 December 2020 , at 00: 21 in the Wearables channel Amazfit
Amazfit GTR 2 is a smartwatch for Android but also iOS-friendly which certainly sees in its price one of the most important features. However, it also offers many other aspects that every user expects nowadays from such a device, but also pointing to other features that can become an important plus. And let’s talk about a design made with high quality materials, an AMOLED touchscreen display clearly visible and a strap that can be quickly removed for replacement with others.
IS available in two options as regards the color of the case and this is the only difference since both offer the same functionality both for it concerns fitness than for classic notifications. Clearly present an integrated GPS and a sensor that monitors the heart rate 24 hours on 24, 7 days a week and during exercise. It can also perform blood oxygen measurements , a feature sought after in this last period of COVID and that all smartwatch or smartband manufacturers are implementing in their products. It also works as a fitness tracker and ultimately this is perhaps where one of its greatest strengths lies. It is suitable for step tracking and sleep tracking rather than sports tracking a little bit more stringent.
And then there are others too smartwatch functionality: supports basic notifications and is optimized for the AMOLED display. Interesting news is being able to interact with the Amazon Alexa intelligent assistant in the future to get some information directly from the wrist. There is also an integrated music player with 3GB of storage space to transfer music directly to the smartwatch.
To power all these features, Amazfit GTR 2, has a battery that allows you to even reach the 14 days oi 38 days in easier use according to the company. Let’s say that in reality with a constant use of all its features we will get closer to 7 days than to 14 but in fact nothing prevents you from reloading it quickly and using it again. Clearly, we will see that by turning off the always-on display and heart rate monitoring, autonomy will make a big leap forward.
UNBOXING
The packaging of this Amazfit GTR 2 is very classic since it contains inside, in addition to the smartwatch itself, its magnetic power cable which allows you to recharge the battery in a simple way by combining it with any power supply. The end is magnetic and contains two pins that allow you to join the body on the back quickly and easily. Nothing else and therefore a classic and minimal box in its components.
DESIGN and DISPLAY
We assume that the new Amazfit GTR 2 costs in Italy 169 ?? and without a doubt this is the most interesting feature of this smartwatch. At this price, in fact, you get a smart digital watch that is certainly very attractive from an aesthetic point of view which in some ways can do better than other famous competitors even more expensive. Amazfit GTR 2 guarantees a much cleaner feel than the first GTR and fits much better on the wrist too.
It changes a lot compared to its predecessor especially in its being more beautiful to see and perhaps even less sporty. It has a metal body with a classic case of 46 mm and with two physical buttons on the side just as we used to have on the first version. The strap in this case is classic, i.e. in silicone. It is very light in thickness but we admit that after a first impression not too good because of its lightness, the strap has held up well even after extreme use and is not damaged or damaged by dirt or scratches. Moreover, it can be changed in an instant thanks to the system that Amazfit has decided to insert on the case and this makes it possible therefore to customize the smartwatch to the maximum with other straps to your liking.
It is clear that the true interest in the design, however, goes on the display since the quality of the circular panel placed on the smartwatch seems to be decidedly higher than expected in this price range. We are talking about a 1.3 inch AMOLED panel with resolution 454 x 454 pixel that affects immediately due to the absence of protruding frames or even important edges. Here the display is flush with the body, slightly rounded and above all with a visual quality that is certainly higher than expected. Nice to look at especially for the colors that are well outlined, very bright and also fun thanks to the use of them on some dials and widgets that Huami has created especially for this smartwatch. Its brightness is very high especially when you go outside with direct light. Excellent news especially because this does not impact the battery which is still good thanks to an AMOLED panel that with dark skins especially black tends to consume very little.
To the below the body we clearly find all the sensors that the Chinese company sets for tracking health conditions. The back in this case is made of plastic but very well done, not too annoying and above all not too thick, a symptom that the designers wanted to make the smartwatch as light and comfortable as possible from this point of view. To underline also the presence of a red frame on the upper button of the smartwatch: a peculiarity that does not change the functionality of the button compared to the lower one but in fact allows you to give that touch of beauty and originality to the smartwatch.
HARDWARE and OPERATING SYSTEM
Hidden beneath the sleek design are the sensors and features that make Amazfit GTR 2 a fitness tracker and a pretty competent sports watch for its price range. As a practice in a smartwatch of this type there are an accelerometer and gyroscopic sensors to track the movement . But there are also sensors to allow you to monitor the activity 24 hours on 20 , 7 days a week and not only during the day but also during the night with sleep. Add to this a 3-axis geomagnetic sensor and an air pressure sensor to provide additional data when you go out for some running or climbing.
There is Huami’s BioTracker PPG sensor , which offers continuous heart rate monitoring and the ability to better measure exertion levels during exercise. It is also used to generate blood oxygen measurements : a parameter that users with the arrival of the pandemic increasingly seek to understand if there is any respiratory problem. Given the price, they are all sensors that do not want to reach a professional level of measurement but still allow you to have a rough view of what is happening to the body during a non-professional physical activity or during a walk a little longer. fast. Too bad the lack of a Wi-Fi module or even the NFC but the price to pay for the cheapness of the smartwatch is this.
For sports tracking, there are then 10 modes available in total . The number is not surprising given that it is not a smartwatch for real sportsmen but in fact the inclusion of running, cycling and swimming guarantees to cover on the one hand the greater percentage of sports users and on the other hand to be able to use the smartwatch even in water. which is resistant up to 5ATM . Just about the swimming activity, it is somehow surprising to find it on a product of this price. Clearly present the integrated GPS to ensure more precise work mapping and monitoring those outdoor activities.
How fitness tracker does a good job on the accuracy front although maybe something will have to improve on the software and algorithm side. As regards the count of the daily steps that we have recorded, comparing them to those of a more sophisticated fitness tracker, we can say that we do not have a big difference since we are talking about only a few tens of steps of difference. This means that Amazfit GTR 2 does its monitoring job well and will allow you to actually understand how much you have moved during the hours of the day. The step count can be easily viewed as they are accumulated directly in the various interfaces of the chosen watchfaces or even in the appropriate screen which can be called up quickly.
Huami also includes the PAI Health scores, which take into account the heart rate and through algorithm try to make the user stay more active especially on of a longer time span. For sleep monitoring, it did a fairly well done job as the smartwatch actually recognized when we fell asleep, and then reported the various stages of sleep including REM sleep with some problem likely caused by heart rate detection. it didn’t work properly.
And this brings us to heart rate monitoring in general , which is more or less suitable for the price at which the smartwatch is sold too if the measurement is really very slow compared to the competition. It is the cons of this Amazfit GTR 2: the heartbeat is detected only after about ten seconds and sometimes even more. Moreover sometimes the values do not really reflect reality exceeding by 10 / 15 beat the actual value. Also to be improved on the reception of the GPS signal which sometimes is not accurate on tracking the distance.
FUNCTIONALITY’
For the smartwatch features the new Amazfit GTR 2 basically does nothing but bring what was already seen with the first GTR version. In this case the smartwatch works well on the connectivity side both on Android and iOS devices, managing notifications well. There are music controls, the ability to answer calls via Bluetooth, check the weather forecast and set reminders for events.
There are also a nice range of watch faces , or watchfaces if you prefer, to choose from to show your fitness, sleep or also to display only the time in a more or less scenic way. There are several and we admit that we liked them for completeness and also for the possibility of customization. Moreover, through the application it is also possible to download others directly from the store.
Scrolling down with a swipe it will be possible to enter a series of quick commands where we also find the one for the do not disturb mode: here is the smart function that is activated automatically when it recognizes the user has fallen asleep. By swiping upwards, always with a swipe, you can then access the notifications. They are reported promptly and the icon for some apps is also shown. You can read the title and in various cases the content of the message, but unfortunately it is not possible to respond to the notification in any way. This is a flaw that makes it more of a visualizer than a real smartwatch.
Interesting presence on the offline voice assistant clock which allows you to perform some operations on the smartwatch but which only works if you set English as the language system. However, Alexa will also arrive via an update within the year and this perhaps will allow us to make more sense to a voice assistant on a smartwatch given the potential of Alexa. In this case we could not evaluate this aspect.
The other big news is the presence of a integrated music player with 3GB of sufficient space to be able to insert a good amount of music: from 300 to 600 songs in MP3 format. To load music on the watch you will simply need the Zepp app which will allow you to synchronize them. Once the music is loaded, just pair some Bluetooth headphones and listen to it. It is certainly not the most complete experience we can find on a smartwatch but it does the basic things quite well and this may be enough for many. Hopefully future improvements to music features and the arrival of Alexa to make it even better.
AUTONOMY
One of the most interesting aspects of the new Amazfit GTR 2 is undoubtedly the autonomy that since it will not be necessary to recharge the smartwatch every night before going to sleep. It was possible before with the GTR and is still possible with the new GTR 2. There is a battery with a capacity of 471 mAh that according to the company it should provide 14 days of typical use and 38 days of basic use. The first is based on the use of features such as listening to music, using GPS, the display in always-on mode and continuous heart rate monitoring. The second ” basic ” instead involves the abandonment of the Bluetooth connection used to pair it with the phone, as well as heart rate monitoring and the use of other features such as GPS in a more economical way.
With the typical scenario, we found that the smartwatch can easily make it through seven days and has the potential to go further. Features such as heart rate monitoring, music streaming, sleep assistant activation and always-on display will have a major impact on battery performance.
We also spent a few days in that more basic mode and is a smartwatch that keeps its promises with an autonomy that it can even go up to several weeks with much lighter use. If you are willing to juggle less intensive uses and you don’t have the real interest in keeping everything under control, even the 18 days on a single refill. And especially when it runs out it will take 2.5 hours to go from 0 to 100%. There is no fast charging support but still it doesn’t seem to be such an important shortcoming.
CONCLUSIONS
As said the new Amazfit GTR 2 costs 100 ?? . A decidedly affordable price for a smartwatch that on its side sees the presence of a good level AMOLED circular panel capable of making it readable in any situation and above all very scenic thanks to the 3D finish. The materials are aluminum and polycarbonate and make the smartwatch solid even if very light on the wrist. A considerable advantage for users who can always put it on their side, even and especially during a workout or even a swim or an elegant evening.
There are some things to update. And in this case we are talking about the software. Well done the application that allows to have a vision of any type of information that is the classic one on the activities that regarding the customization of the dials or other. In fact it is slow recording of the heart rate and sometimes it is not even too precise. Ok the price range is not high but in fact a heart rate sensor even inexpensive can quickly evaluate the pulse on the wrist. Hopefully it’s a software issue because it would be a shame not to fully recommend this new Amazfit GTR 2 which from its side really possesses many peculiarities between autonomy, design, lightness and its will to be youthful, elegant but also suitable for every day.
Introduction to the characteristics of the GoodRAM IRDM M.2 SSD
M.2 drives are already the cornerstone of any modern computer, in any format, both for laptops, where this format was undoubtedly an important improvement, to modern compact systems such as the Nuc or any desktop computer worth its salt, all motherboards on the market currently mount one of these connectors to install quality storage on the motherboard itself.
This format, especially the one we see in newer units of 80 mm long and 28 mm wide, it is the one that has spread the most in the domestic market and little little by little the most economical option has been made to find reasonable capacities at reasonable prices as we will see and n our review of the GoodRAM IRDM M.2 of 1TB capacity .
PCI Express 3.0 Drive with NVMe
The GoodRAM IRDM M.2 is not an exceptionally modern unit, it uses a consolidated controller and PCI Express 3.0 connectivity that we can find in computers for several generations, it is not the most modern, without a doubt, but it is a combination that is still very solvent and that also translates into a more affordable entry price and usually also lower consumptions and more accessible working temperatures.
These units offer us links PCI Express 3.0 up to 4x which translates to bandwidths of up to 32 Gbps (8GT / s) with actual speeds up to 3000 – 3500 MBps of trans speed Sustained difference in reading and very similar also in writing.
This type of units also take advantage of the NVMe protocol, which has been used for a long time in professional solutions, ranging from the reduction notable latencies in reading and writing as well as the possibility of using multicore controllers that can work with data input and output operations in parallel. They are the foundation on which all modern high-performance units have been built, including also this unit that we are testing today.
The construction of control units capable of this computing in parallel with configurations of high capacity SSD memory in multiple layers and channels is what makes up the foundation of these high speed and performance drives.
The GoodRAM IRDM M.2 uses NVMe version 1.3c which is a revision of the standard that was released in August of 2018. It is a minor revision, and it is not the most recent since the 1.4 standard was released in June of last year, although nowadays there are no domestic units that support it. s) which translates to more than 3000 MBps of actual bandwidth. On SATA drives
3D TLC memories and format
The GoodRAM IRDM M.2 is a completely conventional unit with the standard format that we expect for laptops and desktops, although we can currently find more compact formats, it is rare that we go them to be needed in more or less conventional format laptops or desktops. In fact, other formats such as 2280, or the 22110, are practically in disuse, leaving only the intermediate lengths of 64 and 80 mm, like this unit , as the really accessible formats.
GoodRAM has integrated one of the most reliable controllers that we can find with this interface, it is specifically a Phison E 12 (5012-AND12) , the predecessor of the PCI Express 4.0 controllers of this same designer integrated, and used in some of the best units on the market with this same interface.
It is a controller dated 2018, which began to be integrated into units of high performance that same year, before PCI Express 4.0 was a reality in AMD’s Ryzen systems and used in conjunction with Toshiba TLC memory from 450 Gb in 80 layers achieving the expected yields of 3200 MBps of read bandwidth and up to 3000 MBps in writing . It is a classic in this format, a classic for the better because it has formed some of the most solvent units on the market.
It has everything we expect from a good modern drive, including 1GB of DDR4 memory, 2GB on the 2TB model of capacity, with which we can enjoy excellent writing performance. This memory is used to speed up the recording of the cell writing structure and does not depend on the support by the operating system.
This controller includes the second generation of the Phison CoXprocessor , the third generation of the LDPC unit and a second generation signal processor. At the time it was the best of the best developed through a process of 28 nm. Supported up to 8 channels of Flash memory and up to 32 Chip Enables (CE) . This is what makes it possible to offer capabilities with this controller, without too much loss of speed, with only 256 GB capacity, although it shines in the densest configurations of 1 and 2TB capacity.
Technical specifications of the GoodRAM IRDM M. 2 of 1TB
GoodRAM takes advantage of the wide versatility of the Phison E 22 to offer powerful performance units for this interface at affordable prices. You also have the option of offering varied capacities between 256 and the 2TB of capacity. In fact, it is a unit that requires less cell pre-allocation, which allows you to enjoy a higher real capacity.
In 1TB units, like this one, we usually have 938 GB once the unit is formatted, in this we reach the 953 GB allowing to still have a certain capacity to place damaged cells as they appear and replacing them with cells in good condition. Models up to 600 GB use 512 MB of DRAM, 1TB 1GB and 2TB increases to 2GB of DRAM memory.
In terms of performance, the 1TB and 2TB models They are the ones that maintain the performance in the appropriate and expected way for this controller, this is due to the use of parallel channels, which are the ones that allow to develop all the performance of the controller. In short, we can enjoy linear speeds of up to 3200 MBps read, 2280 Write MBps with processing powers up to 250 k IOPs in reading and up to 500 k IOPs in writing.
The larger memory configuration also allows this unit to offer up to 600 TBW of durability, 600 TB of average writing before failure, which are also the ones that mark the guarantee of the unit. GoodRAM offers us two warranty limits, or 5 years, or this writing limit, from then on the unit will be out of support.
The disadvantage, in my opinion view, is that this unit requires double-sided to develop its full potential. This means that the 1 and 2TB capacity units place Flash memory chips on both sides of the unit and that limits the possibility of installing it in certain compact systems, mainly portable.
GoodRAM also adds a small aluminum heatsink on the main side, where almost all the memory and the controller are installed, leaving on the other side uncovered, but with less thermal load since fewer memory chips and DRAM memory are placed there. This flat aluminum heatsink does not prevent us from using other larger thermal solutions on top and in fact serves as an equalized contact base for these types of solutions.
It has a M.2 Socket 3 format with dimensions 2280 and a PCI Express 3.0 interface with 4x that generates up to 8GTs which is more than enough for the performance of the unit and that increases the compatibility because it makes it compatible with sockets of type M and B.
Its consumption is 4.9w in the 1-2TB model, 4.2w in the model of 500 GB, drops to just 5mW in the deepest idle states. It is fed, like all this type of unit, through the 3.3v rail. Supports working temperatures up to 80 degrees, much higher than the temperatures that we have detected during our tests.
To manage the unit we can use the application GoodRAM Optimum that will allow us to know the performance of the unit, update firmware, know the useful life that the unit has left and of course know if it has any problem in its operation so that we can anticipate and not lose data. It even has a utility to move data from our old drive to the new one if we are looking to migrate to a larger, faster drive or both.
Mean time between failures (MTBF, hours): 1. 800. 000
Limited warranty (years): 5 years
Average Running Power Consumption (W): 4.9
PS3 Standby Power Consumption, Average (mW): 22
Low current mode L1.2 (mW): 4
Internal operating temperature (° C ): From 0 to 85
GoodRAM IRDM M.2 1TB temperatures
Idle temperature
Load temperature, without heatsink
High-end performance, on PCI Express 3.0
Not the first unit we tested with this type of controller, we have already tested other units based on this controller and memories, such as the Corsair MP 512 with 1TB of capacity, which is one of my favorite drives of all time and that I still use daily in some of our test benches, or the Gigabyte Aorus RGB that we tested in a slower setting of 600 GB capacity.
TO Sequential Read tto
Atto Sequential Write
AS-SSD Sequential Read
AS-SSD Sequential Write
Crystal DM Sequential Read
Crystal DM Sequential Write
IOMeter QD 32 Read (KIOPs)
IOMeter QD 32 Write (KIOPs)
Anvil Storage Pro 1.0 read x 10
Anvil Storage Pro 1.0 Write x 10
A classic, for the good
We are not going to fool ourselves, currently there are PCI Express 4.0 units much faster than this, in fact, GoodRAM itself, has released one of these units together with the one we are analyzing today, but our experience in the past with this controller, and our new experience with this unit, confirms that this controller is d e the best thing we can find with this interface, which produces fast and quality units and which is undoubtedly an economical solution now.
In our tests we see what is expected, without surprises about what we already knew, and that is not bad at all, it reminds us that you can still enjoy cheap units with a PCI Express 3.0 interface with adequate capacities, expected consumption and a very long guarantee with very adequate prices.
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We asked successful developers whether in-app sales, subscriptions or advertising work better and which tips future developers should heed.
(Image: Thorsten Hübner)
Apple and Google’s App Store: This is how developers can make money with apps iOS or Android Four payment models App Stores: Help and Obstacle Epic as a champion Conclusion Article in c ‘t 21 / 2020 read Big money for small developers: As Apple 2008 introduced its App Store and Google launched the Android Market, which is now called Google Play, resonated with nothing less than the promise of a revolution. One-man developer booths could suddenly fall back on the same distribution channels as multi-million dollar software companies. There was virtually no pre-selection, only the rules of the app stores had to be observed. For 30 Percent of the sales of each app, Apple and Google also took most of the ballast of marketing and sales from the developers. This way the developers should be able to concentrate fully on their core activities. In the years that followed, Apple and Google displayed huge checks with billions in their keynotes in order to underpin the success of the app stores. The good news was: Look here, dear developers, this money is for you!
In the year 2020 the glory and glory of the pioneering days have given way to increasing disillusionment among developers. Experience shows that the software market has been democratized on paper, but the obstacles to advancement still exist. It is not without reason that the new big names are often old friends. While the game company Epic is arguing with Apple and Google about the amount of the commission on the millions in sales, many small developers would be happy if they even achieved four-digit income. We talked to several developers of small, successful apps about it.
iOS and Android do not speak the same (programming) language. Some tools like Xamarin, Unity or Flutter help with cross-platform development, but the second operating system still eats up resources and training time – something that small developers in particular cannot afford. So a decision has to be made: iOS or Android?
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The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold, the first folding-screen PC, shows a clever way of moving mobile computing forward and is built solid. But there are some kinks to work out in Windows 10 and other software.
For
Folding OLED display
Feels surprisingly durable
Luxury materials
No bloatware
Against
Starts at $2,499 without accessories
Subpar battery life
Some software bugs need to be ironed out
Intel’s Lakefield chips aren’t very powerful
For every innovation to happen, someone has to go first. The worry is how they stick the landing, as that often has implications for the perception of new technology for months or years.
Lenovo is the first to market with a foldable Windows 10 PC. The ThinkPad X1 Fold ($2,499.00 to start, $3,099.00 as tested) is a tablet. Or maybe a laptop? Maybe a book?
That price is eye-popping, which is often the case for first-generation technology. Lenovo has built this with an eye on durability, and added in some premium leather. It’s powered by Intel’s low-power Core i5 Lakefield processor, which enables the form factor.
But Windows 10 wasn’t made for foldables. Lenovo has done some nice work with its own software to soften that blow, but there’s still a bit to be done to make foldables like this take their place among the best Ultrabooks.
Design of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Your first impression of the ThinkPad X1 Fold may be disbelief. The device ships flat, like a tablet. Then you can just fold it closed. Like a book. Open, close. Open, close. Yup, this laptop… tablet — whatever you want to call it — can fold.
This isn’t the first foldable device in the world, of course. Samsung, Huawei, and Lenovo’s own phone arm, Motorola have all released folding phones, which have been of varying (often disappointing) quality. But this? No, this feels solid.
When it’s closed, the ThinkPad X1 Fold looks like a fat notebook – but a premium one, like a Moleskine. It’s bound in black leather with the ThinkPad X1 logo stamped in the front. On the back, there’s a kickstand that folds out. There is a bit of a space between the screens, though if you use the optional physical keyboard (more on that below) then no space shows at all.
You open the device the same way you would open a book, and that’s when the 13.3-inch foldable touchscreen amazes, revealing itself without showing the crease. There is, however, a significant bezel hiding some of the components.
While you can’t see the crease while the display is on (it’s visible when off), you may feel it. All you need to use the screen is a light touch. But if you press a bit harder, you can feel some of the pieces under the OLED panel. But I opened and closed this plenty, and I really didn’t have any doubts about durability, as long as you don’t toss it around.
The bezel and the sides are made from plastic, but the X1 Fold doesn’t feel cheap. There are, however, only two ports: a pair of USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports. You can use either for charging, and depending on the way you use the device (more on that in the next graph), it’s possible the other port will be covered. The rest of the sides are populated by a power button, volume rocker and some speaker grilles.
There are a handful of different ways you could hold or use the device. The most obvious is using the Fold as a straightforward Windows 10 tablet. That works exactly how you would expect, and you can use it in landscape or portrait, with Windows rotating automatically.
You could also bend the X1 Fold part way and hold it like a book, perhaps if you have an e-reader program that supports two pages at once, or if you wanted to consult two documents at the same time. This was the posture I used the least while trying the Fold though; I was just more comfortable holding it like a tablet.
But you can also use it folded part of the way on its side, sort of like a laptop. The Windows 10 touch keyboard leaves a lot to be desired, but you can attach the Fold’s small Bluetooth keyboard to the half with magnets and use half of the 13.3-inch display like a regular laptop.
Alternatively, you can keep the Fold like a tablet and stand it up with a kickstand. Pair that with either the mini keyboard (which works both on or off the screen and has a touchpad) or your own separate Bluetooth keyboard and mouse and you’ve got an instant work setup. It won’t replace a primary monitor, though if you plug one in via USB Type-C, it could be a secondary one. This, to me, was my favorite way to use it. The kickstand works great in landscape mode, but while it works in portrait mode for those who want a taller display, it doesn’t feel as steady.
At 2.2 pounds, the X1 Fold isn’t much heavier than competing notebooks. But in such a compact package, it can feel a bit heavy in your hand. It’s 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches folded and 11.8 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches unfolded, which is remarkably thin for a Windows device.
There’s one other laptop powered by the same Intel Lakefield chip to enable lightweight designs: the Samsung Galaxy Book S, which is 2.1 pounds and 12 x 8 x 0.5 inches in a more standard clamshell shape. Another portable tablet-style device, the non-folding Microsoft Surface Go 2, is lighter at 1.2 pounds and is 9.7 x 6.9 x 0.3 inches.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold Specifications
CPU
Intel Core i5-L16G7
Graphics
Intel UHD Graphics
Memory
8 GB LPDDR4X-4267
Storage
1TB PCIe SSD
Display
13.3-inch, QXGA, 2048 x 1536 foldable OLED touchscreen
Networking
802.11ax Intel Wi-Fi 6. Bluetooth 5.1
Ports
2x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2
Camera
720p
Battery
50 Wh
Power Adapter
65 W
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro
Dimensions(WxDxH)
Folded: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.1 inches / 236 x 158.2 x 27.8mm
Unfolded: 11.8 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches / 299.5 x 236 x 11.5 mm
Weight
2.2 pounds / 1 kg
Accessories
Lenovo Mod Pen, Lenovo Fold Mini Bluetooth Keyboard
Price (as configured)
$3,099.00
Productivity Performance on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
With the Intel “Lakefield” Core i5-L16G7, 8GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, the ThinkPad X1 Fold trades some performance for flexibility. The processor is good enough for basic computing needs, but no more. Ths chip uses one Sunny Cove core for loads that need bursts of power along with four low-power Tremont cores. If you have a few browser tabs and email, you’ll be fine. Beyond that, consider alternatives.
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On Geekbench 5.0, the Fold notched a single-core score of 871 and a multi-core score of 1,799. Both of those are higher than the scores from the Lakefield processor in the Samsung Galaxy Book S, but there may have been some optimizations and software updates since then. The Microsoft Surface Go 2, with an Intel Core m3-8100Y, had a higher single-core score (1,147) and multi-core score (3,117).
The X1 Fold copied 4.97GB of files at a rate of 452.51MBps. That’s not the fastest out there, but it’s speedier than both the Galaxy Book S and the Surface Go 2.
It took the ThinkPad 33 minutes and 42 seconds to complete our Handbrake test, which transcodes a 4K video to 1080p. The Galaxy Book S took 41:16 and the Surface Go 2 lagged at 48:14. Mainstream laptops often take less than 20 minutes. The Dell XPS 13, for instance, took 18:22.
To stress test the ThinkPad, we also ran a modified version of our Cinebench R23 gauntlet. Usually, it goes for 20 repetitions, but because of Lakefield’s slow performance and an attempt to complete the test before the heat death of the universe, we ran it five times to stress test the Fold. It was largely stable. Surprisingly, the first score was the lowest at 1,775. It went up to the 1790’s across the next three runs, and then settled in the 1780’s.
Usually, we measure CPU speeds. Logging software we tried seemed to be way off on measurements, listing impossibly fast clock speeds that you can’t achieve even on high-end desktop processors. HwInfo did, however, suggest CPU temps of around 81.4 degrees Celsius (178.5 degrees Fahrenheit) on the Sunny Cove core and 82.7 degrees Celsius (180.9 degrees Fahrenheit) on the Tremont cores. But you should take that with a grain of salt, considering the clock speeds displayed.
Display on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
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If there’s anywhere the ThinkPad X1 Fold has to completely and utterly nail it, it’s with the 13.3-inch, 2048 x 1536 foldable OLED touchscreen. After all, it’s the part the entire device literally hinges around, and it has to look and feel good.
You can’t see the hinge when the screen is flat, as long as the display is on. But it does appear faintly when the display is powered off. You also can’t feel the hinge, though if you press hard enough you may feel other components under the display. Luckily, a soft touch is all you need.
I’m not all that worried about durability or anything getting under the screen. Unlike the original Samsung Galaxy Fold smartphone, the X1 Fold has a border completely surrounding the screen. Something could get in the leather folio’s spine, maybe, but it would be tough to get something under the screen.
The 13.3-inch screen has a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is a good choice. As a tablet or monitor, it’s tall and provides plenty of space for work. When you fold it to use like a laptop, it’s more cramped — half of the monitor is covered and you get a 1536 x 1006 resolution and around 9.5 inches diagonally. The netbook is back, baby!
The display covers 104% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is one of the benefits of OLED. The blacks are deep, and in a trailer for Wonder Woman 1984, the blue seas outside Themyscira made me long for an island vacation (or any vacation, really). The Galaxy Book S (80.5%) and Surface Go 2 (76.1%) are still good, but they don’t use OLED. That preserves the battery (see the battery section below), however.
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The X1 fold measured 301.4 nits on our light meter, falling behind both the Book S (334 nits) and Surface Go 2 (408 nits). I didn’t have any issues with this in the most colorful scenes, but there were a few rare times where I wanted to mash the brightness toggle just a few more times.
Keyboard, Touchpad and Stylus on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
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Without any other accessories, the keyboard on the ThinkPad X1 Fold is the touch keyboard that’s built into Windows 10. If you have the device folded halfway like a laptop, it’s still a bit cramped, and a touch solution won’t let you type as quickly or efficiently as on a physical keyboard.
There are solutions to this — you can use any Bluetooth keyboard and mouse you want, especially if you have it set up as a full display with the kickstand.
Our package included the $89.99 Lenovo Mod Pen and $229.99 Lenovo Fold Mini Bluetooth Keyboard, which really feels like the way the X1 Fold is intended to be used. The keyboard is super thin, tiny, and can be attached to half of the X1 Fold with magnets (this shuts off that half of the screen). You can also use it like a normal Bluetooth keyboard.
But to fit in the Fold, the keyboard is tiny and cramped. The letters and numbers are laid out well enough, but when you get to special characters, things get weird. For instance, one key is used for a period, right carrot, question mark and slash. It’s a period by default, or a right carrot with a shift. That’s expected.
For a slash, you need to press function and that key, and for a question mark you need to hit function, shift and that key. There are several keys like that, and most of them have common special characters that require three keys to use. It’s incredibly frustrating for even the most simple documents and emails. Some keys, like the colon and tilda, are dramatically shortened. There’s no backlight, but I can get past that.
I hit 98 words per minute on the 10fastfinger.com typing test, which is fairly low for me, and my errors skyrocketed. And that was on a test without special characters.
The touchpad is minuscule. It’s honestly kind of adorable. I was surprised to see it uses Windows Precision drivers, and with the exception that I often hit the edges of the touchpad, it largely was OK to use, even if it didn’t feel great. If you like four-finger gestures, that may be out of the question, but I could make three-finger gestures work.
You can charge the keyboard wirelessly by placing it in between the folded screen.
In the future, I would love to see Lenovo try to make something wider, or perhaps that extends. I might even be willing to work with something that wraps around the foldable for a better typing experience.
The Mod Pen fits into a loop on the side of the keyboard, so it all travels as one package. Mercifully, the pen charges over USB Type-C rather than using batteries, which many styluses of this size do. Lenovo claims it will last 156 hours on a charge. It has 4,096 degrees of pressure sensitivity and works at up to a 60 degree angle. I don’t see this being used much for art on this type of device, but it’s fine for note taking.
I do wish Lenovo would steal from Microsoft’s Surface Pen and include an eraser on the back, but you can assign that feature to one of two programmable buttons if you use Lenovo’s optional Pen Settings software.
Audio on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
I’m not going to say that the audio experience on the Fold is amazing, but it’s far better than I expected. In general, I’d say it’s about as good as the average laptop, but not as loud. It didn’t quite fill my apartment with sound as I listened to the Arctic Monkeys’ “Do I Wanna Know?”, though for listening on my own it’s fairly usable. The song’s drums and bassline were clear, but lacked a kick. Interestingly, all of the speaker grills are on the left side of the device, or the top when in portrait mode, which did kind of throw off my balance.
You can change some equalizer presets in the Dolby Access software that’s included, but it’s not very in-depth, and I didn’t find it to make much of a difference.
Upgrading the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
The big difference between configurations of the X1 Fold is storage. Buy what you’ll think you’ll need for the long run, because the device is effectively sealed.
Yes, there are some visible screws underneath the kickstand. There’s even a small door, but you can’t completely access it, as it’s partially covered by the cover. A maintenance manual shows that you effectively have to remove the entire leather cover and then open the device to get to anything, which could void your warranty if you’re not careful. Consider this thing a closed box.
Battery Life on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
An OLED display and a battery small enough to fit into a foldable won’t get you all-day battery life. On our battery test, which browses the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams video, all while connected to Wi-Fi and set at 150 nits of brightness, the X1 Fold ran for 6 hours and 3 minutes. This number was achieved from a separate unit with 256GB of storage, due to testing equipment being spread out during the pandemic, but we expect numbers would be similar on the 1TB version.
That means that while the device itself is extremely portable, you may have to also consider bringing the charger along, which is a bit of a bummer.
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The Samsung Galaxy Book S, another Lakefield device, ran for 9:40. That didn’t have an OLED screen, though. Microsoft’s Surface Go 2 ran for almost two hours more than that, lasting 11:38.
Heat on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
We took heat measurements while running our Cinebench R23 stress test. That benchmark is far more than one would usually run on this computer, so it shows us some worst-case scenarios for heat.
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Notably, our heat camera showed that the left side of the tablet (in landscape) heated up far more than the right side, suggesting that the processor is in that portion of the device. The hottest it got was 40.5 degrees Celsius (104.9 degrees Fahrenheit). On the back, the same portion hit 36.4 degrees Celsius (97.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
Webcam on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
The 720p webcam on the ThinkPad X1 Fold is about what you might expect. Like many laptop webcams released this year, it takes a picture you could consider serviceable, but not great. A photo at my desk was grainy and a bit dim. The Surface Go 2 was the gold standard this year, with a camera that supports 1080p video, and I hope to see something like that in more laptops and foldables in 2021.
But the bigger issue is the placement. As a tablet held in landscape, the camera works exactly as you would expect. But if you turn it to portrait, or use it like a laptop with the keyboard attached, the image appears sideways in video calls, as that’s the way the camera is oriented (my colleagues were very confused when I called into a meeting like that).
Lenovo does have software to try to combat this, and you can use it to rotate the image. At best, then, using the X1 Fold in those postures creates an image more like a phone, tall with black bars on the side. It’s better than being sideways, but it feels more than a little unrefined.
Software and Warranty on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold
The ThinkPad X1 Fold we reviewed had no junk at all, not even the usual bloat that comes with Windows 10.
On most Windows 10 notebooks, Lenovo only includes its Vantage software (seen here in a dedicated enterprise version) for easy access to warranty status, quick camera and microphone toggles and to easily check your serial number.
But in this case, Lenovo has a bunch of other software just to make the foldable work as expected. When the X1 Fold was originally revealed, there was a plan to release it with Windows 10, and then later with Windows 10X, a touch-focused version of the operating system designed for foldable devices. But with Windows 10X delayed to 2021 — and starting on single-screen laptops instead of foldables — it working on regular Windows 10 is more important.
Most of the hard work is handled by Lenovo Mode Switcher, which lives in the task bar, recognizes which way your device is aligned and provides a method to move windows side-to-side or one on top of the other. It works as expected, but if you switch modes or rotate the device, the windows often don’t stay organized.
There’s also Lenovo Camera Settings, which lets you rotate your camera picture, Lenovo Display Optimizer to calibrate the OLED screen and the optional Lenovo Pen Settings to adjust the buttons on the pen and check its battery status.
All of this points to one issue — Windows 10 isn’t fully there as a tablet-only operating system, nor as one for foldables. Windows Hello is needed, and Lenovo deserves credit for getting it to work this much, even if there is some jankiness around it. Once, I got the Windows 10 login screen to turn vertical, as if it were on a Windows phone, with large black bars on the sides. It stayed that way on the desktop, too.
Lenovo sells the ThinkPad X1 Fold with a 1-year warranty, which can go up to three years at an additional cost.
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold Configurations
Our ThinkPad X1 Fold review unit was the top-end, $3,099 configuration with an Intel Core i5-L16G7 “Lakefield” processor, 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM a 1TB PCIe SSD and Windows 10 Pro.
There are a number of other configurations, but they all have the same CPU and memory. The other differences come down to the amount of storage, which version of Windows 10 you get, and if the package includes the keyboard and stylus accessories.
The base option is $2,499, with 256GB of SSD storage and Windows 10 Home. Notably, this option doesn’t include the keyboard or stylus. If you want those later, the Mod Pen costs $89.99 on its own, while the mini keyboard runs for an eye-watering $229.99.
To get that option with the accessories included in the box, it’s $2,749 with Windows 10 Home or $2,799 with Windows 10 Pro. From there, prices increase with storage and all have Windows 10 Pro.
In 2021, configurations with 5G support will be available, but exact pricing and availability hasn’t been announced.
Bottom Line
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There is no doubting that the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Fold is a first-gen product that isn’t for most people. If the $2,499 and up price tag (before accessories) doesn’t scare off all but tech-savvy CEO’s, it’s the fact that there are still some kinks to work out in the software.
And yet, I’m really surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed using it. While the Core i5 Lakefield chip isn’t the most performance-oriented slice of silicon, all of my x86 apps work on it, and as long as I stick to my normal workflow of browsing, writing, using some spreadsheets and watching video, this will handle things nicely. For photo editing, I would want just a tad more power.
The keyboard is a smart idea that needs more time in the oven. No individual key on the keyboard should require three buttons to press, especially if it’s as commonly used as a plus sign, a hyphen or a question mark. I would also like to see it somehow attach to the back of the device, as I tended to leave it elsewhere in my apartment and had to search for it when I needed it.
The hardware could use some slimming down, but it’s sturdy. I trust this to fold and not break. But I need Lenovo — and any other PC vendor considering moving into folding PCs — to ensure that the UX is perfect. That may mean waiting for Windows 10X, if Microsoft does a better job of adapting its own OS to the form factor than an OEM could do.
But Lenovo, for a first try, has impressed. Still, the expense and the quirks you get for this high price mean that you should probably wait for future generations. But I have hope that these kinds of devices will get a lot better before too long.
5G in the US isn’t mind-bogglingly fast, but it is going to get betterIllustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Your guide to the current state of 5G carrier plans in the US, what they cost, and whether it’s worth upgrading your plan
You’re the proud owner of a new 5G phone — congratulations! We’ve got some bad news, though: if you live in the US, 5G probably isn’t going to be the mind-bogglingly fast experience that you’ve been promised. For most regions, it’s just a little faster than the 4G speeds we’re used to using. But here’s the good news: 5G is going to get better, so if you have a 5G phone you may want to make sure your plan delivers it.
If you got a phone recently, there’s a good chance it supports 5G. Pretty much every new phone in 2021 — with the exception of some budget models — will offer some form of 5G support. Whatever your preferred brand or operating system, 5G is coming your way soon if you don’t have it already.
Your phone is ready for the next big thing, but what about your data plan? Across the board, the major US carriers’ unlimited plans already include access to 5G. However, carriers offer a mix of 5G bands that vary in speed and coverage. It’s complicated, as all things 5G have been since it first appeared in the US.
Consider this your guide to the current state of 5G and data plans in the US — which ones include 5G, which don’t, what variety of 5G they include, and whether you should consider upgrading depending on your carrier’s implementation of 5G.
One important note for those with a 5G phone: even if you discover that your current plan does include 5G and it’s available in your area, you may still need to upgrade to a new SIM card if you moved it over from an older device. A SIM card that was activated in a 4G device will still work with a 5G device, but you may have trouble connecting to the 5G network. Check with your carrier if you’re not seeing the little 5G logo pop up on your screen and you think you should be.
For comparison purposes, the prices listed in this article are for one line of service per month before taxes and fees. Additional lines bring down the monthly cost per line, but your total bill increases, of course.
Verizon
TL;DR: Unless you live in one of the few areas with Verizon’s truly fast UW 5G, we don’t think there’s a reason to change your plan just yet.
Verizon offers two varieties of 5G, the faster of which it calls “Ultra Wideband” (also referred to as millimeter wave or mmWave) and is available only in certain parts of certain cities. It’s scarce, but it is mind-bogglingly fast, and you’ll see a 5G UW logo on your phone screen if your phone is using that network. Oh, and 5G UW signals don’t reach indoors for the most part, so if you’re spending most of your time inside your house or apartment right now, you probably wouldn’t pick it up even if you live in a place where it’s available.
Verizon data plans with 5G
Plan
5G access
Plan
5G access
Unlimited (postpaid)
Start Unlimited: Nationwide 5G only. All others: UW and Nationwide
Data-capped (postpaid)
Nationwide only
Unlimited (prepaid)
Nationwide only*
Data-capped (prepaid)
Nationwide only
All but one of Verizon’s postpaid unlimited plans includes UW 5G access. *UW is coming to prepaid in early 2021.
“Nationwide” is the company’s other 5G, a low-band variety that’s slower than mmWave but offers much broader coverage. In fact, it’s sometimes a bit slower than 4G, so if you’re not happy with the 5G speeds you’re getting, you may want to try limiting your phone to LTE and see if things improve.
Check Verizon’s coverage map to see what’s available in your area. If you do live in a city with UW 5G, be sure to zoom all the way in to see the exact areas and streets with coverage — they’re marked in a darker shade of red that will appear once you zoom in close enough.
Verizon’s Shared Data (data capped) plans and its $80-per-month basic unlimited plan include the lower-tier Nationwide 5G only. For access to UW in addition to Nationwide 5G, you’ll need at least the $90 “Play More” unlimited plan. Verizon offers $10 off those monthly prices if you enroll in auto pay.
Verizon also includes 5G on its prepaid data plans, which start at $65 per month for unlimited data or $40 per month for a 5GB data-capped plan. There’s a $5 monthly discount for auto pay as well. For now, UW 5G isn’t available for prepaid customers, but Verizon says that’s changing in 2021.
AT&T
TL;DR: Don’t worry about switching up your AT&T plan for 5G.
AT&T’s history with 5G is… fraught. Early on, the company marketed what was essentially LTE technology as “5G E” and (rightfully) caught a lot of flak for it. You won’t see that term in any of the company’s marketing these days, but AT&T customers still might see a 5G E logo on their phone screen when connected to this service. If you do see it, know that what you’re getting is not really 5G.
AT&T data plans with 5G
Plan
5G access
Plan
5G access
Unlimited (postpaid)
5G and 5G Plus
Data-capped (postpaid)
None
Unlimited (prepaid)
5G and 5G Plus (Unlimited Plus plan only)
Data-capped (prepaid)
None
Most unlimited customers, prepaid or postpaid, have access to both flavors of AT&T 5G.
Outside of that debacle, AT&T has invested in its true 5G offerings, which are structured similarly to Verizon’s: a fast mmWave version called 5G Plus in limited places and slower but more widespread standard 5G coverage. However, 5G Plus may be even more scarce than Verizon’s UW 5G. The company doesn’t provide any coverage maps for it, and it says only that it is deployed in “select innovation zones” in parts of certain cities. Testers for PCMag’s annual mobile network test didn’t encounter 5G Plus in cities where AT&T offers it. The carrier’s standard 5G is of the low-band variety similar to Verizon’s Nationwide, and PCMag testers also found that it sometimes lagged behind 4G.
All of this is to say that AT&T’s 5G really isn’t worth upgrading your plan for yet, but if you’re on any of the company’s unlimited plans, you wouldn’t need to anyway. Both 5G and 5G Plus are included in all postpaid unlimited plans, which start at $75 per month ($65 with auto pay). The Unlimited Plus prepaid plan also includes it at $75 per month ($60 with auto pay). AT&T’s only postpaid 4GB data-capped plan doesn’t include 5G and neither do its other prepaid plans.
AT&T may have had a somewhat rocky start with 5G, but the technology will improve. And for now at least, the company isn’t charging a premium for its fastest 5G variant.
AT&T 5G coverage map
T-Mobile
TL;DR: All of T-Mobile’s postpaid plans include 5G. If you’re on the base unlimited plan and live in a congested area you might find you have more reliable access to 5G by upgrading. But no need if you don’t notice slowdowns.
Of the three big carriers, T-Mobile might be in the best position to bring truly faster-than-LTE 5G to the most people — but it doesn’t seem to be there quite yet. Verizon and AT&T’s efforts have been concentrated around high and low-band offerings. T-Mobile offers both, too, but it’s also working on converting Sprint’s former midband frequencies to 5G. This might be a sweet spot: not as fast as the mmWave stuff, but genuinely faster than 4G. Recent analysis from PCMag shows the network isn’t delivering on that promise just yet, but T-Mobile promised to extend midband 5G to 100 million people by the end of this year and doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.
All of the company’s postpaid plans include 5G, starting with the $65 per month ($60 with autopay) Essentials plan. One caveat: customers on that base-level plan are the first ones subject to slowdowns when the network is congested. T-Mobile does not offer 5G on its prepaid plans.
T-Mobile data plans with 5G
Plan
5G access
Plan
5G access
Unlimited (postpaid)
Yes
Data-capped (postpaid)
n/a
Unlimited (prepaid)
No
Data-capped (prepaid)
No
All of T-Mobile’s postpaid unlimited plans include 5G.
For now, we think T-Mobile customers can stay put on their current plan. Essentials plan customers who are happy with their network speeds and don’t notice slowdowns probably wouldn’t gain much from upgrading just yet. But it will be interesting to see if T-Mobile can make good on its ambitious promises to bring meaningfully fast 5G to more of its customers in 2021.
T-Mobile 5G coverage map
US Cellular
TL;DR: All plans (pre- and postpaid) include access to 5G.
US Cellular 5G is of the low-band variety, so it’s still only a little faster than 4G. But the good news is if you’re on US Cellular, you have access to the company’s 5G: all plans (pre- and postpaid) include it. And if you’re in a rural area, US Cellular is more likely to offer 5G to you now, while major carriers’ coverage is still mostly concentrated around bigger cities. So there’s not much to deliberate here, if you have a 5G phone and your area is covered, you should be able to connect. We just wouldn’t advise anyone to switch to US Cellular only because it offers 5G where they live.
US Cellular coverage map
MVNOs: Cricket, Metro by T-Mobile, etc.
TL;DR: If you’re happy with your MVNO plan, don’t switch things up just for 5G.
Most mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs, do include 5G on their plans. Cricket’s unlimited plan offers 5G access using AT&T’s 5G network ($60 per month for one line). All Mint Mobile plans include access to 5G on T-Mobile’s network, and Metro by T-Mobile prepaid plans come with 5G access, starting with a 10GB plan for $40 / month.
A significant caveat though: since MVNOs don’t own the networks they use, carrier subscribers are likely to get preferential treatment when there’s congestion. If you’re looking for the best of the best speeds, one of the big three might be the way to go. But again, that reality is still a ways off. Chances are, you wouldn’t be upgrading to a night-and-day experience if you did switch.
WiFi 6 has already been extended to the vast majority of devices that carry hitting the market in recent months and it is becoming easier to get compatible routers with more affordable prices. The ASUS RT-AX 68 U seeks to position itself within that sector by offering the latest in WiFi connectivity 6 (640. 11 ax) with bandwidths reaching 2.7 Gbps.
Up to 2, 7 Gbps via WiFi 6 on this ASUS RT-AX 68 U
For this it uses the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands and an improved coverage in a 80% compared to previous wireless standards. Naturally, and by definition of WiFi 6, it has support for mesh networks like the ones we have already tested, through ASUS AI MESH systems. It comes with support for OFDMA, Beamforming to boost the signal, 1024 – QAM and support for the bands of 20, 40, 80 and 160 MHz.
It offers 3 antennas placed in a vertical router format, unlike other routers of the company with horizontal orientation. In terms of physical connectivity, it has four Gigabit Ethernet ports for LAN and a WAN port, in addition to two USB-A type 3.0 and 2.0.
Inside it has a processor of 1.8 GHz dual-core accompanied by 512 MB of RAM and 256 MB of Flash ROM storage for the operating system.
Its price has not been revealed, but it is expected to place below the 100 euros.
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Antonio Delgado
Computer Engineer by training, editor and hardware analyst at Geeknetic since 2011. I love gutting everything that comes my way, especially the latest hardware that we get here for reviews. In my spare time I fiddle with 3d printers, drones and other gadgets. For anything here you have me.
The CEO of OnePlus said the brand will launch a smartwatch on the market, and it will do so at the beginning next year. We don’t have exact dates, but we are sure that this time the first OnePlus branded smartwatch will really arrive
by Lorenzo Tirotta published on 23 December 2020 , at 17: 21 in the Wearables channel OnePlus
OnePlus is a constantly evolving brand. In the last period it is broadening its horizons with the creation of a economic series NORD , a line of wireless headphones and also by TV , without forgetting the iconic high-end OnePlus smartphones. The news doesn’t seem to end there, the co-founder and CEO of the company Pete Lau , through a post on Twitter announced the launch of the first smartwatch of the brand expected for the start of 2021 .
We have no further details on the operating system it will adopt and the selling price, but they will be revealed soon. Some rumors confirm that OnePlus is already working with Google to improve the operating system Wear OS , but this does not mean that it will be adopted on the new OnePlus smartwatch even if it remains an accredited hypothesis.
The idea of making a OnePlus smartwatch isn’t entirely new. The company had already designed a smartwatch years ago and it was very close to launch, subsequently discarded for corporate decisions.
OnePlus, follows in the footsteps of OPPO which, earlier this year launched its new smartwatch. Some rumors speak of a circular dial design similar to OPPO and vivo Swatch. As we know OnePlus was born from a rib of OPPO, and together they share the owner, the Chinese multinational BBK Electronics .
Gigabyte offers two of its finest laptops, the Aorus 5 and Aorus 7 with an RTX 10750 and 144 Hz displays by 1000 Flat Euros.
The Gigabyte Aorus notebooks are on sale at PC Components, only for a limited time or while stocks last. Let us remember that these models were already on the market during the summer. The promotion is based on the Christmas period so you better decide as soon as possible if you are thinking of buying a laptop with gaming capacity. Here we have the Gigabyte Aorus gaming laptop 15 , a model that comes with a screen of 12. 6 “, IPS panel of 144 Hz and FHD resolution . The integrated processor is the Intel Core i7 – 10750 H and comes with 16 GB of RAM DDR4 in dual channel. We also have 512 GB of storage in M.2 NVMe format and the graphics part comes with a whole NVIDIA RTX 2060 .
The Gigabyte Aorus 5 and 7 are touching the 1000 Euros and are very good options for the gaming world
On the other hand we have the Gigabyte Aorus 17 , a model exactly the same as the previous one except that it is now 17. 3 “and therefore noticeably larger. The rest of the specifications are identical. It should be noted that neither comes with an operating system , so it will have to be purchased separately. Anyway, the prices are really tentative for laptops of that style, thin and with a careful aesthetic.
We can find the laptops with these discounts in PC Components by:
Gigabyte Aorus 5: 1499 1089 Euros
Gigabyte Aorus 7: 1559 1499 Euros
End of Article. Tell us something in the Comments or come to our Forum!
Pablo López
With 15 years ago I started to overclock my PC to get every extra FPS I could in games and scratch a few milliseconds in SuperPi, while I was posting relentlessly about hardware in the Geeknetic forum as a user and reader. They were probably so fed up with continually reading me on the forum that I became part of the writing team, where I continue to report on the latest in technology. Astrophysics and PC games are the hobbies that, after hardware, cover most of my free time.
Sapphire NITRO + RX 6800 XT is the first custom with AMD RDNA 2 GPU to arrive in the editorial office. With a different heatsink than the reference one and clock frequencies higher than the factory ones, will it be able to make the difference compared to the valid reference model packaged by AMD? Let’s find out together in this review!
by Manolo De Agostini published on 23 December 2020 in the Video Cards channel Radeon Sapphire Ships AMD
A few weeks have passed since the debut of the solution AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT , a card that although it is nowhere to be found offers very high performance for 4K gaming in traditional titles without ray tr acing, equal to those guaranteed by an equally powerful proposal, the NVIDIA GeForce RTX card 3080.
In our review, in addition to performance, we have seen how AMD has finally upped the ante also with regard to the design of its reference solutions , equipping them with a totally metal heatsink characterized by three fans that ensure adequate temperatures and controlled noise.
The task of the custom models of AMD’s partners is therefore today more difficult than ever, because it emerges compared to a failed project is simple, but doing it over a good cooling system is a different kettle of fish. And this is the theme of the analysis of the card Sapphire Nitro + RX 6800 XT that reached us in the editorial office in recent days. Once removed from the box, a clear difference immediately emerges with the reference model: weight and dimensions .
Sapphire’s card is longer (310 x 134, 3 x 55, 3 mm), but at the same time weighs less (just over 1.2 kg) thanks to the plastic cover. This last point, in particular, allows you to safeguard the PCI Express slot (recently we have seen many manufacturers insert support brackets in the bundle of their proposals). In terms of footprint, the NITRO + takes up approximately three slots on the motherboard.
The card is accompanied by three fans, two side by 100 mm and a central 90 mm (which runs in the opposite direction to the others), as already seen on other products. These fans, according to Sapphire, are “ hybrid “, as they blend the characteristics of the axial and blower fans, improving both the flow and the air pressure, while at the same time containing noise. Like all cards now on the market, also in this case the fans remain stationary in the absence of load, i.e. under a certain operating temperature, not generating any type of noise.
The radiator is made up of three aluminum parts, connected to the copper base which is solely responsible for cooling the GPU. The heat produced by the graphics chip is transported into the three-part radiator via six 6mm heatpipes . Sapphire has also installed another radiator, which takes care of cooling the memory chips and power supply circuitry.
In the back of the card we find a metal backplate that hides K6.5 thermal pads, characterized by various openings and a final part with a window designed to let the hot air pass towards the top of the case, so that it can be captured and ejected outside the chassis. On the backplate we also find a logo that lights up with RGB LEDs , one of the luminous elements in addition to the classic side part .
The card, however, has other interesting details: there is a switch that allows you to switch between a Performance and a Silent BIOS . In reality, the positions that the switch can take are three, as one allows you to switch between Performance and Silent modes through the Trixx software directly from the Windows operating system. Another peculiarity is the presence of a ARGB connector towards the end of the card to synchronize the lighting with that of your motherboard. Model i is completed by two 8-pin PCIe connectors for power supply and video outputs, three DisplayPort 1.4 (one more than the reference model) and one HDMI 2.1 . The NITRO + 6800 XT therefore has no USB C port.
Radeon RX 6800 XT reference
Sapphire NITRO + RX 6800 XT
Architecture
RDNA 2
RDNA 2
Productive process
7 nanometers
7 nanometers
Number of transistors
26, 8 billion
26, 8 billion
Die size
519 mm2
519 mm2
Compute Unit
72
70
Stream processor
4608
3840
Ray Accelerator
72
70
Texture unit
288
288
ROPs
128
128
Game Clock
until 2015 MHz
BIOS Performance: 2110 MHz BIOS Silent: 2045 MHz
Boost Clock
until 2250 MHz
BIOS Performance: 2360 MHz BIOS Silent: 2285 MHz
AMD Infinity Cache
128 MB
128 MB
GDDR6 memory
16 GB a 16 Gbps
16 GB a 16 Gbps
Memory bus
256 bit
256 bit
Memory Bandwidth
until 512 GB / s
until 512 GB / s
Regarding the PCB, the Sapphire board has one more phase than the AMD reference: 13 phases are dedicated to the GPU, three more to the memory . As for the specifications , the BIOS Performance pushes the frequencies to 2110 MHz in Game Clock (+ 95 MHz on the reference specifications ) it’s at 2360 MHz in Boost Clock (+ 110 MHz on the reference ), while the rest of the technical characteristics are identical to the RX 6800 XT reference. The Silent BIOS, on the other hand, sets the two frequencies respectively to 2045 MHz and 2250 MHz.
Test configuration
Tests were conducted at resolutions of 1920 x 1080 pixel, 2560 x 1440 pixel and 3840 x 2160 pixels, looking for if mpre to use very high quality settings to shift the load as much as possible on the GPU. Below are the video cards included in this comparison:
AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT (reference)
Sapphire NITRO + RX 6800 XT (custom)
AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT (reference)
AMD Radeon RX 6800 (reference)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 (Founders Edition)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (Founders Edition)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 (Founders Edition)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti (Founders Edition)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (Founders Edition)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 (Founders Edition)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super (Founders Edition)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Super (Founders Edition)
Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 (Founders Edition)
AMD Radeon VII (reference board)
AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT (reference board)
AMD Radeon RX 5700 (reference board)
AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT (Sapphire Pulse)
Below is the configuration of the system used for the tests:
Operating system: Windows 10 Pro Italian
Processor: Intel Core i9 – 10900 K
Power supply: CoolerMaster S ilent Pro Gold 1200 Watt
We performed a restricted selection of tests that we carry out at the launch of a new design, on the other hand it is not necessary to do many to verify the performance differences between one 6800 XT reference and Sapphire’s NITRO + model. The custom board tests were carried out with the BIOS Performance and we also included two tests with only the ray active tracing, mostly to show the difference between AMD and Nvidia cards in that respect (and Nvidia, remember, can count on DLSS).
Despite the higher frequencies of Sapphire’s proposal (+ 4.7% on the Game Clock – + 4.9% on the boost clock), the difference in performance with the reference version is very contained , in the order of 1-2%.
Frequencies, consumption, temperatures and noise
Let’s move on to the more interesting analysis, namely the comparison in terms of clock, consumption, temperatures and noise between the Sapphire NITRO + RX 6800 XT and the Radeon RX 6800 XT of reference. We ran six consecutive sessions of the Metro Exodus benchmark in 4K with Ultra details, in order to load the cards just enough to put tighten the cooling system.
In terms of clock frequencies, Sapphire’s card climbs steadily beyond 2300 MHz, which the reference version does not do and neither does the Silent BIOS setting . If we take the entire test session, therefore also the periods of low frequency and decline between the loading of one session and the other, the average tells us that the custom card touches 2050 MHz, against 1990 MHz of the reference one: therefore dance about sixty megahertz, and it is for this we do not see significant performance differences.
Sapphire NITRO + RX 5916 XT
Sapphire NITRO + RX 6800 XT
Sapphire NITRO + RX 6800 XT
Sapphire NITRO + R X 6800 XT
If we pass to the temperature , a very interesting topic since it is the cooling system an important element to consider when buying a custom solution, we see that Sapphire’s proposal keeps the GPU at about 70 / 71 ° C , while the reference card goes to 78 / 79 ° C (Sapphire’s Silent BIOS stops 2 ° C below peak, but the temperature is more ballerina). Nothing to worry about in all the cases analyzed, but Sapphire’s proposal comes out very well because it combines everything with a contained noise, even with the BIOS on Performance.
To conclude, the consumption : the highest power limit of the GPU on the Sapphire card leads to an average of 255 watts throughout the test session with the Performance BIOS, while the Silent one stops at just over 232 W. The GPU on the reference proposal touches about 228 W.
Overclock
Overclocking is not an exact science, and the capabilities of one sample may differ from those of another, even with the same design. The only certainty is that from the AMD control panel for now you can’t raise the memory frequency beyond 2150 MHz . As for the GPU, the chip on our board managed a minimum frequency of 2450 MHz and a maximum of 2600 MHz with the power limit at “full scale” and intervening to partially modify the profile of the fans. A nice leap that returns a further improvement in performance and demonstrates the “malleability” of the RDNA 2 architecture at high frequencies. The problem is that the GPU consumption rises to 290 W, but clearly those who overclock do not pay attention to this parameter.
Conclusions
Let’s sum up this NITRO + proposal from Sapphire. The Radeon RX solution 6800 XT has proven to be a card capable of good performance in 4K or 1440 p combined with a high refresh rate monitor, at the level of the GeForce RTX 3080 . This is true for traditional rendering, while in ray tracing AMD still has to work to reach the levels of Nvidia (which among other things can count on DLSS). Sapphire’s proposal delivers performance in line with AMD’s reference proposal – the higher clock doesn’t seem to have much impact.
Regarding the design of the card, not only we like the aesthetics (neither tacky nor anonymous) , but we also appreciated the weight much lower than the reference proposal . The dual BIOS functionality is useful for those who are a fussy about silence, even if we must say that in Performance mode we have identified problems from this point of view. The Silent BIOS tries to reduce the noise slightly, and in fact in our test it “cuts” roughly 200 RPM compared to the Performance profile , but in terms of noise the difference is not so marked.
The dissipator therefore does its job very well , maintaining the pretty cool card without making a fuss. The price is clearly a “ neo “of this proposal, at least for the moment: the card is nowhere to be found and the few that appear are sold at off-market prices. Sapphire has communicated a price list for Italy of 989 euro, an increase of 320 euro on the price communicated by AMD for the 6800 XT reference: this is a value that we understand, being the flagship Sapphire proposal, but which represents a much, too high premium. A problem that however takes a back seat in front of the persistent absence of the new Radeon RX 6000 in stores and at the prices circulating in these weeks.
The manufacturer, known in the world of desktop and portable solutions, has decided to introduce a new desktop computer for developers. MSI Creator P 88 X, as the computer is called, is an extremely compact device, but don’t let its dimensions fool you. There is quite a powerful set of components inside that will support creative work in projects requiring huge computing power. Depending on the selected configuration, users will be able to count even on the presence of 10 – Intel Core i9 – 10900 K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards 2000 and 64 GB of DDR4 RAM operating at the frequency of 2933 MHz . Today we are taking the most powerful configuration of this set for the workshop, valued at nearly 15000 PLN.
Author: Damian Marusiak
When we look at the design of MSI Creator P 100 X, we can see a lot of similarity to consoles. The novelty from the Taiwanese manufacturer is really “compact”, if you can say that about a desktop computer. The equipment is available in two color variants – matt white with gold accents and gray with silver elements. We received a white color version for testing, which looks very tasteful live. In a housing with dimensions of 131. 85 x 372. 2 x 408. 88 mm closed motherboard with Intel Z chipset 490. In the top configuration we find 10 – core and 20 – Intel Core i9 thread processor – 10900 K with 3.7 GHz base clock (up to 5.3 GHz in Intel Thermal Velocity Boost mode) and NVIDIA GeForce RTX card 2080 COOL. Processors will be supported by up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM clocked at 2933 MHz (two U-DIMMs).
MSI Creator P 100 X is the newest computer from a Taiwanese manufacturer, prepared for content creators, e.g. . photo or video. Equipped with 10 – Intel Core i9 core processor – 10900 K and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER is one of the most efficient cards based on the Turing architecture, the base clock is 1560 MHz, which in GPU Boost 4.0 mode increases to 1740 MHz , the card’s TDP is 225 W. Here we find a full, not truncated Turing TU core 104 from total 3072 CUDA cores 8 GB GDDR6 type VRAM with effective clock speed 15 500 MHz, which in turn translates into bandwidth of the order 500 GB / sec. Core Turing TU 100 further equipped with 384 Tensor Cores, 48 RT cores for hardware acceleration, Ray Tracing and DLSS 2.0, 192 texturing units and 64 rendering units. Turing TU chip surface 104 equals 545 mm² next to 13, 6 billion transistors.
Dedicated graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER
Power adapter 650 In 80 Plus Gold Certified PSU
1TB SSD / Samsung SM 981 / M. 2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe
2x 2TB HDD / Seagate BarraCuda / SATA III
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 10 Professional 20 H2
MSI Prestige P 100 X has a motherboard with Intel Z chipset 490, and the installed processor in the LGA socket 1200 this 10 – core and 20 – threaded Intel Core i9 – 10900 K. Intel Core i9 – 10900 K successor to Intel Core i9 – 9900 K, which has ten physical cores and can execute twenty threads simultaneously, thanks to Hyper Threading technology support. The base frequency of Intel Core i9 – 10900 K is 3.7 GHz, although under full load of all cores the actual value orbits in around 4.9 GHz (or at least under certain specific conditions). A single thread can achieve a maximum of 5.3 GHz in Thermal Velocity Boost mode, at least as long as the temperatures allow the clocks to be raised and the unit has an energy budget. Intel Core i9 – 10900 K also has a Turbo Boost 3.0 profile that guarantees 5.2 GHz on the two best cores, while the absolute minimum is 5.1 GHz. The default TDP of the tested processor is 125 W – On MSI PC, PL1 is as high as 130 W while short-lived PL2 ( seconds) reaches 250 W. The set also has 64 GB of RAM with a clock speed of 2933 MHz, so compatible with the processor’s memory controller.
Unfortunately, the company did not specify the timetable in more detail in the “coming months”.
Phone manufacturers are slowly starting to activate on the Android 11 update front. Now Motorola is joining the ranks, announcing updates for its Motorola, Moto and Lenovo phones.
Motorola’s Android phones use an almost “standard” Android operating system, although its definition has become a little more obscure as Google imports its own veneers for Pixel phones. According to the company’s press release, the line is not changing, as the proposed innovations are directly a feature of the operating system itself.
Updates starting in the coming months are expected for the following phones:
Interestingly, the Motorola One Action will be left in North America without the Android 11 update, as this model was released under Android One only in Latin America and Europe (excluding Russia).
Andrew Munro 5 hours ago Featured Tech Reviews, PC, Reviews
We love reviewing the biggest, most powerful systems here on KitGuru but not everyone needs a huge PC glowing like a disco. For casual users and businesses there are some far more practical options available. The ASUS PN50 Mini PC is a tiny system but don’t let that fool you. Featuring a Ryzen 7 4700U, integrated AMD Radeon Vega 7 graphics, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5, 8K and 4x 4K monitor support as well as upgradable memory and storage, this little machine punches above its weight class.
Watch via our Vimeo channel (below) or over on YouTube at 2160p HERE
Specifications:
Review model: ASUS PN50 Barebones system (No OS, SSD or RAM included)
Barebones configuration price: £369.99
AMD Ryzen R7-4700U (8-core, 15W TDP)
Integrated AMD Radeon Vega 7 Graphics
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200 (Gig+)
Bluetooth 5
Monitor support: 8K support, 4 x 4K support
IR Sensors for use with remote control
Dual-array microphones
3 in 1 card reader
Front I/O: 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C (Support Display Port 1.4, Battery Charging 1.2) 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 1 x Audio Jack (Line in/ Mic in/ Headphone out) 2 x Microphone Array 1 x IR receiver 1 x 3 in 1 Card reader
Side I/O: 1x Kensington Lock
Rear I/O: 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C (Support Display Port 1.4) 2 x USB 3.2 Gen1 1 x HDMI 2.0 Port 1 x Display Port 1.4 1 x RJ45 LAN 1 x DC-in
90W Power Adapter
Storage supported: 1 x SATA 6Gb/s for 2.5″ 500G/1TB HDD 1 x M.2 2280 for SATA & PCIe 128G/256G/512G/1TB SSD (Supports NVMe)
RAM supported: 2 x SO-DIMM, DDR4-3200MHz memory (4GB to 64GB)
Dimensions: 115 x 115 x 49 mm
Weight: Under 0.7Kg
The PN50 is aimed at businesses, both office and retail, those that just want a compact system and even home-theatre setups. Since it’s so small it can easily be tucked out of sight where other systems would struggle to fit, and can even be attached to the back of a monitor via the included VESA mount. Weighing less than 1kg, dimensions of 115 x 115 x 49 mm and a sleek black, brushed, aesthetic the PN50 will suit any home or office setup.
As this is a barebones system it does not come supplied with any storage drives, RAM or even operating system. Of course, depending on your use for the system will depend on what you choose to install but for our test purposes we chose 16GB of G-Skill Ripjaws SO-DIMM DDR4 3200MHz RAM and 1TB WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD.
Installation is easy, even if you’re not a confident PC builder the instructions are clear. I don’t think you should be put off and I’d give it a good 8/10 for how easy it is to install or even upgrade.
If you take a look at the specifications above, connectivity wise, it really does have a lot going for it, more so than a lot of full-sized systems. This is excellent for business users as well as home use too. On the front we also have one combination audio jack for line in, mic in and headphone out, dual-array microphones for use with Windows Cortana and an IR receiver for use with a remote control, which is another great feature that will appeal to businesses and a 3 in 1 micro-SD card reader.
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In mid-November 2020 the Certificate Authority (CA) Let’s Encrypt warned of the expiry of the IdenTrust root certificate with which its own free X. 509 certificates are cross-signed. Instead of solving the problem with a new cross signature, the CA wants to rely entirely on its own root certificate ISRG Root X1 in the future in favor of more independence.
For Android devices with operating system versions prior to 7.1.1, this would have meant that apps and internal browsers would no longer have been able to connect to servers with certificates from Let’s Encrypt. At least not without manual “contortions”, because with these versions Let’s Encrypt’s own root certificate is not contained in the memory of the root certificates. From the start of the changeover to ISRG Root X1 on 11. January 2021 it would have hailed error messages when surfing many websites – because an alternative “Intermediate Certificate”, the previous root certificate “DST Root X3” from IdenTrust until it expires on 11. September 2021 should have been explicitly requested by the server operator.
A comprehensive solution to the problem was initially missing. But now Let’s Encrypt has convinced IdenTrust to continue to act as a higher-level certificate authority and to provide the new root certificate ISRG Root X1 with a cross signature for another three years. This means that the compatibility problems feared from January will no longer apply, according to a current blog entry by Let’s Encrypt.
DST Root X3 long-term as an anchor certificate Already when Let’s Encrypt was founded almost five years ago, IdenTrust came up with the DST Root X3 root certificate as Partner on because this s ch was already established in the leading web browsers as well as under Windows, Mac OS X, iOS and Android. The cross-signature ensured that these systems and browsers also trusted Let’s Encrypt from the start, whose own root certificate ISRG Root X1 was still largely unknown.
Current browsers and systems have long known this certificate, but old ones Android versions whose certificate store cannot be updated by Google, simply not. Let’s Encrypt will therefore continue to provide a certificate chain that contains its own ISRG Root X1 with a cross signature via IdenTrust’s DST Root X3.
Since the validity of DST Root X3 in September 2021 is an unusual action, so Let’s Encrypt. As an anchor certificate, it is still not worthless, as these basic root certificates in particular are not assigned an expiration date on Android – they remain valid indefinitely on this platform. Other operating systems and browsers ignore the cross-signature because of the expiry date, but are satisfied with the current ISRG Root X1 anyway.
But not complete independence The ISRG (Internet Security Research Group) consortium behind Let’s Encrypt and IdenTrust have obtained confirmation from the auditors that this procedure continues to meet the guidelines of the CA / Browser Forum. As a higher authority and association of CAs, browser manufacturers and developer companies, it monitors the issuing practice of recognized X. 509 certificates.
For IdenTrust, this step means continuing to share part of the responsibility for Let’s Encrypt. And for the free provider, a dependency remains, from which Let’s Encrypt actually wanted to free itself, according to its now updated statement. The need to continue to use the older Android versions, which are still in widespread use, ultimately outweighed the desired independence via one’s own root certificate.
Longer term, longer certificate chain The change to the new, downwardly compatible certificate chain as the standard will take place on 11. January 2021 now in late January or early February 2021 respectively.
The The new certificate chain with two intermediate certificates (center) still contains the DST Root X3 from IdenTrust as a cross signature for old Android versions.
(Image: letsencrypt.org)
Nothing changes for the server operator and visitors and no further actions are necessary than the usual certificate renewal with one of the Let’s Encrypt clients. However, the provider points out that the client used must be up-to-date in order to use the latest version of the ACME (Automatic Certificate Management Environment) used for domain validation. As an official client, Let’s Encrypt offers its own Certbot written in Python, but also maintains a list of compatible clients in other languages.
For connecting to servers and services with certificates from Let’s Encrypt, this means longer certificate chain with the additional intermediate certificate, more effort for the TLS handshake, since the server presents two certificates. Let’s Encrypt wants to make the handshake more efficient again in the future and is therefore planning ECDSA-based root and intermediate certificates in the coming year, which will be significantly shorter than the previous RSA-based certificates. (ovw)
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