Operating System - Page 24 of 40

Windows works on Macs with M1 chips: a developer manages to virtualize Windows for ARM

Using QEMU a developer can virtualize Windows on new Macs with M1 chips. Nothing stable, but it is a first demonstration of the possibility of running Microsoft’s operating system on the new Apple processors

of Andrea Bai published on 27 November 2020 , at 17: 33 in the Apple channel

Apple Windows

Developer Alexander Graf managed to launch a virtualization instance for the Windows for ARM operating system on a Mac system equipped with the M1 chip , thus demonstrating the existence of the possibility – albeit for now only in the form of a “geek” experiment – to run the operating system of Microsoft on recent Apple systems equipped with internally developed processors.

Currently, we remind you, Macs with M1 chips do not offer official support for Windows and there is no utility like Boot Camp which allows Windows to run natively on new Apple machines. However, this is a possibility that was greatly appreciated with Macs equipped with Intel processors, and that many users would like to be able to exploit also with new systems.

It can be done!!! Windows for ARM on Macs with M1 chip

Graf used QEMU , an open source virtualizer, which allowed him to virtualize Windows for ARM on the M1 chip without having to perform any emulation. However, the developer pointed out that when Windows ARM 64 is virtualized on a Mac M1 it is then able to run the x applications in emulation 86. According to Graaf, the performance is not like that of Rosetta 2, but it would be very close to it.

Who said Windows wouldn’t run well on #AppleSilicon? It’s pretty snappy here 😁. #QEMU patches for reference: https://t.co/qLQpZgBIqI pic.twitter.com/G1Usx4TcvL

— Alexander Graf (@_AlexGraf) November 26, 2020

Developer could run Windows ARM 64 Insider Preview virtualizing it via Hypervisor.framework, a resource that Apple itself underlines is useful for interacting with virtualization technologies without having to write kernel extensions.

Graf then applied a custom patch to QEMU, known for being able to achieve “near native” performance when running guest code directly on the Host CPU. In other words: the Windows ARM version 64 can be virtualized on Mac M1s with minimal performance degradation and almost negligible. The developer is convinced that the experiment can be easily replicated. “It’s still early days, but my results are definitely reproducible – all patches are on the mailing list – but don’t expect a stable, fully functional system.” But, in any case, Graaf proved that Windows can work on Macs with M1 chips and documented the whole thing.

Craig Federighi, head of Software Engineering for Apple, recently pointed out. that the presence of Windows on Macs equipped with the new Apple Silicon processors “depends on Microsoft”. The M1 chip contains all the essential technologies to be able to run Windows, but Microsoft must decide whether to license its version of Windows for ARM to Apple users.

Test Hyperbook V17 – Gaming Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070S

A few months ago we prepared a large comparison of two Hyperbook notebooks. I’m talking about the Hyperbook V models 13 and Hyperbook Z 15 that were equipped with Intel processors 10 generation (Comet Lake) and AMD Ryzen series 4000. This time for testing, we received a larger model with a diagonal 17, 3 “. This is the premiere Hyperbook Pulsar V notebook 17, which in addition to the larger matrix has also been equipped with solid components. The laptop itself, like other models of the company, has a very simple design. Nevertheless, I have some concerns about the profitability of choosing any laptop with an NVIDIA GeForce card RTX 2000 as the premiere of the next generation GPU for high-performance gaming laptops is approaching.

Author: Damian Marusiak

Compared to many other Clevo or Tongfang hulls (the tested model is based on the design of the latter company ), here it was decided to prepare a laptop with a housing largely made of magnesium alloy. You can feel it in everyday use, because the material used for production is characterized by a much better quality and overall better stiffness. Adding to this efficient components in the form of the 8-core Intel Core i7 processor – 10875 H and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card 2070 SUPER, we get a solid notebook for gaming and work at first glance. At first glance, it looks very good, but I am curious if the relatively slim design will cope with cooling the components – experience makes me look at such a set with a pinch of salt.

Hyperbook Pulsar V 17 is a new one CPU-based gaming notebook 10 Intel Core i7 generation – 10875 H and NVIDIA GeForce RTX mobile graphics 2070 COOL.

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Notebook Hyperbook Pulsar V 17 was equipped with the NVIDIA graphics chip belonging to the architecture Turing. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX card 2070 SUPER was made in an improved, 12 nm process FFN (NVIDIA FinFET), including 13, 6 billion transistors, and everything was placed on a much larger surface of 545 mm². this is due to the addition of dedicated Tensor cores and RT units which support pro tracking technology by default changes in real time (Ray Tracing) and a new form of upscaling (DLSS and DLSS 2.0) based on artificial intelligence algorithms. The base clock of the GeForce RTX card used 2070 SUPER was set at 1140 MHz, while in GPU mode Boost 4.0 increases to 1380 MHz with a TDP of 115 W. Unfortunately, you can see that in relation to the desktop version of the card the clocking has been severely twisted due to energy limits.

Hyperbook Pulsar V Specification 17:

Intel Core i7 – 10875 H (2.3 GHz – 5.1 GHz)
Memory: 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz
Dedicated graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 COOL
Screen: 17, 3 “/ IPS matte / 144 Hz / 1920 x 1080 pixels
Samsung 1TB SSD 970 EVO / M.2 PCIE 3.0 x4 NVMe Interface
Operating system: Microsoft Windows 10 Home 2004 Version

Hyperbook Pulsar V 17 is equipped with a powerful Intel Core i7 processor – 10875 H. It is “almost” the top representative of the latest, 10 generation of Intel Comet Lake-H chips, which is equipped with 8 physical cores and 16 threads, however being a model with a locked multiplier. The processor also supports the Intel Thermal Velocity Boost technique, thanks to which the clocking for up to two cores under appropriate conditions can be 5.1 GHz. The default CPU TDP is 45 In And Yes is also set in the presented notebook. In turn, with a short-term load, the TDP increases to 60 Hyperbook Pulsar V 17 therefore offers very slight increase in TDP, and therefore lower power consumption compared to other laptops with these processors. Processors 10 Intel Comet Lake-H generation also have a 2-channel DDR4 memory controller 2933 MHz.

ASUS ZenBook Flip S test – Laptop with Intel Tiger Lake and OLED screen

In early September, ASUS unveiled new ZenBook laptop models that will feature processors 11 Intel Tiger Lake generation. Attention was also focused on screens, thanks to which we will get more models with OLED matrices or IPS panels with a 3: 2 aspect ratio. One of the most interesting new products is ASUS ZenBook Flip S UX 371 a few days ago it also started in Poland. We, on the other hand, are in a hurry in our premiere test of this device, which looks great visually. Black and gold colors, aluminum housing, quite good processor and a very good, integrated graphics chip. The whole is seasoned with an OLED screen, characterized by excellent blackness and rich colors. The icing on the cake is the support for the ASUS Pen. Is it worth spending close 7500 zlotys for such a configuration? Damian Marusiak

One of the novelties of the Taiwanese manufacturer, which is slowly going on sale in Poland, is the ASUS ZenBook Flip S (UX 371), which uses Intel Tiger Lake processors, Xe Graphics and an OLED matrix (Ultra HD 4K) with 100% coverage of a wide range of DCI-P3 colors and brightness 500 rivets. For people who prefer a Full HD screen, the manufacturer has prepared the ZenBook Flip S UX model 363, which will be equipped with a Full HD 1W screen. In both cases the panel has a diagonal 13, 3 “. The version I tested (the only reviewer in Poland!) Was equipped with an Intel Core i7 processor – 1165 G7 and 4K OLED matrix with HDR support 10.

ASUS ZenBook Flip S UX 371 is a brand new laptop that uses both Intel Tiger processors Lake as well as the 4K OLED matrix.

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One of the new features of the ASUS ZenBook Flip S laptop is undoubtedly the use of Intel Tiger Lake processors (11 Intel Core generation) There was a lot of talk about processors long before their final debut (September 2). First of all, they use the redesigned Willow Cove architecture, based on last year’s Sunny Cove. Mainly the cache subsystem was changed, increasing the number of L1 cache, L2 cache and L3 cache. Moreover, a noticeably improved 10 nm technological process, named 10 nm SuperFin. Name associated primarily with using new SuperF transistors in, which are to allow you to work with a higher clock with lower voltages. The tested version of ASUS has an Intel Core i7 – 1165 G7, equipped with 4 cores and 8 threads. The base clock of the processor is 2.8 GHz with the possibility of increasing in Turbo Boost 2.0 mode to a maximum of 4.7 GHz. Intel Core i7 – 1165 G7 has a default TDP of 28 W. The processor supports not only the Thunderbolt 4 platform, but is also the first to introduce PCIe 4.0 for notebooks. Also supports DDR4 3200 MHz, LPDDR4X 4267 MHz and LPDDR5 5400 MHz – the latter will appear in laptops, however, only next year.

ASUS ZenBook Flip S setup:

Intel Core i7 processor – 1165 G7 (2.8 GHz – 4.7 GHz)
16 GB RAM LPDDR4X 4266 MHz / Dual Channel
Integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Matrix 12, 3 “/ glossy OLED / resolution 3840 x 2160 pixels
Western Digital SN SSD 730 / 1 TB / PCIe x4 Ge interface n.3 NVMe
Microsoft Windows operating system 10 Pro 2004

Also new is the integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics (Intel Gen. 12), which for the first time completely severs itself from older architectures and is based on a completely new Xe architecture. Intel Iris Xe Graphics is a representative of the weakest line of Xe-LP (Low Power), which have built-in maximum 96 EU (execution units). This translates into the presence of a total 768 stream processors. The integrated Iris Xe Graphics chip still uses RAM, while the manufacturer is also preparing a dedicated version of the Xe-LP chip called Intel DG1. Unlike the iGPU, it will have its own VRAM of either 3 or 6 GB GDDR6, which in many games will definitely improve the results even further. The new Intel Xe-LP also has low energy consumption and uses the same technological process known as 10 nm SuperFin. The computing power of the new iGPU is 2, 07 TFLOPS, which at least in theory should give priority. In the case of an integrated graphics chip, performance in e.g. games will also be heavily dependent on bandwidth, and therefore on the clock speed of the RAM.

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The domestic Jolla phone turned seven years old

With its seven-year days, the original Jolla moves to spend retirement days under its belt as much as 34 operating system update.

Domestic Jolla has its roots in the year 2011 and former Nokia MeeGo project employees. The company’s first phone, Jolla, was released exactly seven years ago, 27. November 2013

Jolla’s first phone once aroused a lot of interest, but the popularity never really took off. However, the company never gave up the cult popularity of its phone, but has supported it to this day as much as 34 in the form of an operating system update. The current Sailfish OS 3.4.0 “Pallas-Yllästunturi” will remain the last officially supported version of Sailfish on the original Jolla phone.

A blog post published by Sami Pienimäki, CEO of Jolla, one of the founders, states that the reasons for ending Jolla 1’s upgrade support are very practical. Its Android app support is badly outdated and cannot be upgraded due to its antique architecture, it is the only product in the company that relies on the old 3.4 kernel version, which prevents the phone from taking advantage of new features, and its outdated BlueZ 4 Bluetooth support has become difficult to maintain. . However, a seven-year support period can be considered exceptionally long in the mobile world, where there is usually talk of a couple of three-year support periods.

We immersed in the news Jolla’s original release video to bleed up memories of the end of Jolla’s first support.

Source: Jolla

AMD's Smart Access Memory or PCIe Resizable BAR support will be extended to other platforms

AMD’s 400 series motherboards already have the first BIOS versions with support, and the company is working with Intel and NVIDIA to expand support.

AMD released a new Smart Access Memory feature with the new Radeon RX 6000 series graphics cards. The company said SAM requires a Ryze 5000 series processor, a 500 series motherboard, and an RX 6000 series graphics card to run, but the truth is not quite so straightforward.

Smart Access Memory is AMD’s term for Resizable BAR support under the PCI Express standard. Normally, the processor sees 256 MB of video card memory, but with Resizable BAR support, that window can be resized to the desired size, even if it covers the entire video card memory. This is an advantage in some tasks where the processor can send more data directly to the video card’s memory.

Resizable BAR has been included in the optional features of PCI Express since PCIe 2.1, but operating system support has dragged on badly. Support for Linux was once implemented by AMD and for Windows by Microsoft through Windows 10. Support for motherboards also appears to remain variable, although many motherboards support the necessary functionality, at least for iron

. AMD’s claim about feature requirements was true when it was made; That combination of AMD’s iron was the only platform on which the company had validated its operations. NVIDIA announced shortly after AMD’s announcement that it would also support it, at least with Ampere-based graphics cards, with a later update

. AMD has since said that support for the feature will not remain in this respect either. In an interview with PCWorld, Scott Herkelman confirmed that the company’s Radeon team is working with Intel and the Ryzen team should be working with NVIDIA to extend support to as many platforms as possible. Support is also promised for AMD’s older platforms, as Cracky, a member of Rawiiol, which produces live streams, among others, noticed that ZR 3 BIOS, previously released by ASRock for B 450 motherboards, would also activate Ryze

on Smart Access Memory. series processor. MSI has also released the first beta BIOSs with SAM support for its 400 series motherboards, so it is expected that support will be officially introduced for the 400 series motherboards in the new Zen 3: a with supported BIOS versions. However, it is not yet known whether the support will be extended to older processors.

Source: ComputerBase

Thin-client operating system openthinclient 2020.2: Farewell to 32-bit

With the now presented version 2020. 2 of their thin client operating system, openthinclient GmbH cuts off old braids and says goodbye to 32 – bit platforms. In addition, the software was given the ability to boot over the network via UEFI-PXE even on newer hardware. The support for 30 – bit devices is not applicable, openthinclient 2020. 2 works exclusively on Intel-compatible 64 – bit thin clients or – PCs.

As a substructure, openthinclient uses a Debian 10 (Buster) on the, among other things, for the connection to the terminal server FreeRDP 2.2 and the Citrix client 2009 are available with plug-ins for Zoom and Teams. To work with older Windows servers up to 2008 there is RDesktop 1.8.6. In pure cloud environments, Chromium serves as a browser, Firefox has been removed by the manufacturer.

Central management included The software is available in two options. On the one hand as a server installation for central management of the thin clients with the Linux-based operating system. They are available either as an installer (Linux and Windows, each approx. 170 MByte) or as a virtual appliance (HyperV and VMare, 2, 7 or 2.9 GB). On the other hand, with the client-OS-on-a-Stick version, openthinclient has a live system in its portfolio that can only be installed on USB sticks. In addition to the OS and the apps already mentioned, this includes its local management. It can be used via the integrated OpenVPN in order to be able to securely access the company server from branches or from the home office with a thin client.

The openthinclient environment can be controlled via a clear management interface manage.

(Image: openthinclient)

The creation, booting and administration of a new thin client takes place via the central openthinclient management GUI within a few minutes. Depending on the configuration, the clients boot an adapted thin client operating system over the network or load it as an image from the USB stick. Typical server-based computing applications such as Citrix or RDP are then started. The thin client then accesses the virtual desktop and users can start their work. Settings such as user rights, approved applications, etc. are made via Citrix Workspace Environment Management or via the Terminal Server Manager.

Both The management server and the on-a-stick variants can be tried out free of charge – and without support. possible. For both you have to register and make a € 0 purchase, which is a bit cumbersome. The on-a-stick variant can be tried out 30 days, the management server can be used up to 49 Use clients permanently for free. The fee-based licenses start at 60 euros per year for openthinclient-on-a-stick.

(avr)

More Arm Notebooks: Rockchip Develops High-End RK3588 SoC

(Image credit: Rockchip)

Apple and Qualcomm are certainly not the only adopters of the Arm architecture that develop system-on-chips for PCs. Rockchip, a major fabless chip developer from China, is working on its high-end RK3588 SoC that promises to bring together performance and low power consumption.

Rockchip expects its RK3588 to address various kinds of performance-hungry applications, including high-end tablets, laptops, AR/VR, televisions, and even NVR (network video recorder) surveillance systems, according to a report from CNX Software that cites information revealed at the Rockchip Developer Conference (RKDC).

Modern high-end SoCs for flagship smartphones and tablets already offer compute performance comparable or exceeding that of processors that were used for mainstream PCs several years ago. In fact, Rockchip’s RK3588 packs quite a punch with eight general-purpose cores (four high-performance Cortex-A76 and four energy-efficient Cortex-A55 in DynamIQ configuration), a quad-cluster Arm Mali ‘Odin’ GPU, a 6 TOPS NPU accelerator, and an advanced multimedia engine supporting 8Kp30 video encoding as well as 8Kp60 video decoding. As for memory, the RK3588 has a 64-bit (4×16-bit) LPDDR4X/LPDDR5 controller that supports up to 32GB of DRAM.

But performance alone is not enough to address a broad range of PC-based and emerging applications. To power a competitive computer, an SoC needs to support traditional PC interfaces, but for emerging applications like AR/VR gear, it also has to support mobile I/O. This is exactly what the Rockchip RK3588 does. The SoC supports dual GbE, SATA, PCIe 2.0, PCIe 3.0 x4, DisplayPort 1.4, eDP, HDMI 2.1, MIPI DSI, eMMC 5.1, SDIO, and USB 2.0/3.1 interfaces. The chip does not seem to have SPI and UFS interfaces, which might be a cost-cutting measure.

Staying true to its mobile roots and in a bid to enable devices like AR/VR geat as well as tablets, the Rockchip also features 48MP (2x 24MP) ISP with HDR and 3D NR support.

Rockchip plans to use Samsung Foundry’s 8LPP (8 nm) manufacturing technology to produce the SoC. This fabrication process does not use extreme ultraviolet (ULV) lithography and was primarily designed for relatively cost-effective applications. Meanwhile, it is hard to estimate the pricing of the RK3588.

As for operating systems support, Rockchip officially claims that the RK3588 SoC will work with Google’s Android, Linux, and China’s ‘domestic’ OS. For some reason, Rockchip did not reference Microsoft’s Windows on Arm, but perhaps the company did not want to mention a proprietary operating system designed by a U.S.-based company at its RKDC 2020 event held in China.

Rockchip originally planned to launch its RK3588 SoC sometime in the second half of 2020, but for some reason, the chip was delayed to Q2/Q3 2021.

How to Create a Steam Link with Raspberry Pi

Being able to play your console and PC games at a desk is convenient. But what happens if you want to play your PC games from your couch? Well, you could get a 72-inch monitor and really long cables for your mouse, keyboard, and controller. Or you could create a Steam Link box using a Raspberry Pi. A Steam Link is a connection between your Steam account on your PC and a TV in your home or even in a hotel when you’re on the road.

What You Need to Create a Steam Link with Raspberry Pi

Raspberry Pi with microSD card, Cables, Power: If you don’t already own a Raspberry Pi, I recommend getting a Raspberry Pi 4 starter kit, though a Raspberry Pi 3 model will also work. There are many Raspberry Pi kits on the market, but for my project, I chose a CanaKit model that came with every Pi element I needed: a Raspberry Pi 4 (4GB), a USB-C power adapter, a mini HDMI to HDMI cable, a 64GB microSD card, a case to house the Pi, a cooling fan, and a USB card reader, and a Pi switch. Since we’re streaming video games, we’ll be using an ethernet cable. The kit is recommended because the operating system is already installed on it. And you don’t have to purchase the cords you need to connect it to the TV of your choice. If you already have a Pi, you do have to take extra steps to install the software. For this tutorial, we’re using a kit to skip the installation process.

Steam account: Steam is free software that allows you to download and play games on your PC. Sign up for an account here.

PC: Minimum PC specs are required to run a Steam account. It depends on the games you would like to play. The recommended specs will vary based on the game settings at which you want to play.

Keyboard/Mouse: I decided to go with a mini keyboard and a touchpad mouse instead of using a separate mouse and keyboard. The Pi has USB ports that can support a mouse and keyboard. Or you could do a headless Raspberry Pi set up and control your Pi remotely from your PC.
The Pi does have 4 USB ports and is able to connect a wired/wireless mouse and a keyboard. This mini keyboard is a bit more practical to use than a mouse and keyboard.

Ethernet Cable: A wired connection is going to give you the least latency and experience with this Steam link. You can use it on a wireless connection.

TV: This is where you’re going to play your game.

Static Free work zone: Just be sure that you’re not generating a lot of electricity like standing on carpet while wearing socks, and a wool sweater. If handled incorrectly static electricity can cause damage to your Pi.

Setting Up Your Steam on Your PC

1. Download and install Steam on your PC, if you haven’t already.

2. Launch Steam.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

3. Select Steam in the top-left corner.

4. Select Settings in the dropdown menu or Preferences for Mac.

5. Select Remote Play on the left side of the screen.

6. To the right of the menu, check the box next to Enable Remote Play.

Leave your computer up and running as we start to setup the Raspberry Pi.

Setting up Your Raspberry Pi

If you already have a Pi up and running or know how to set up one up, you can skip ahead from this section.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

1. Put the Pi in a case, add cooling. In starter kits, there is usually a manual that shows you how to attach the cooling fan, Pi switch, and heatsinks, which come pre-installed with adhesive. Putting the Raspberry Pi correctly into the case is integral otherwise you won’t be able to connect the cords.

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2. Plug micro HDMI to HDMI cable to your TV and Ethernet cable from your Pi to your router.

3. Attach your keyboard and mouse (unless you are doing a headless install and remote controlling the Pi from a PC.

4. Insert your microSD card. If you don’t already have a card with Raspberry Pi OS preloaded, see our article on how to set up Raspberry Pi to make one.

5. Power on. And now it’s ready to be plugged in. Some kits come with on / off switches that sit between the power supply and the Pi itself, but in many cases, you just turn on the Pi by plugging it in.

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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

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After connecting everything, the Pi will boot up and start-up installation. Once it’s done installing, you’ll see this screen.

6. Complete the setup process. Once you fill in your preferences you will see the desktop. If you accidentally back out of preferences they can be found in the left-hand corner. In the same corner, you’ll see a little black and blue box. Thats is the terminal you’re going to use to install Steam link.

Installing Steam Link on Raspberry Pi

1. Open a terminal window. You can get there by hitting CTRL + T or clicking the terminal icon.

2. Enter the following commands to update your OS packages and install Steam Link

sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install steamlink

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The Steam Link app will appear in your Raspberry Pi’s start menu.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Finish Steam Link Setup on Computer

Since your Raspberry Pi and PC are on the same local network, your Steam Link will detect your PC.

1. Launch the Steam Link app on Raspberry Pi.

2. Search for a device by entering your computer’s hostname or IP address.

3. Select your PC from the list.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Once your Steam Link and PC connect. An Authorized Device box will show up on your PC. It’s going to send a four-digit PIN number to your TV.

4. Enter that PIN into the box on your PC. Click to Pair Steam Link.

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5. When Steam launches in Settings menu select Remote Play

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

Now your Steam link is connected and running. You can now play any game on your PC from your TV of choice via the Raspberry Pi. You can also download and install games to your PC via your Steam Link.

Playing PC Games Away from Home

To play games while you’re away from home you need to leave your PC turned on and online.

1. Leave your PC on sleep mode.

2. Attach Steam Link Raspberry Pi to a monitor/TV.

3. Connect to the Wifi or use an ethernet cable

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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

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4. Use your mouse and keyboard to launch the Steam app on the Steam link.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

It’ll search for your computer and wake it up from sleep mode.

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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

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Now that’ it’s connected you’ll see the Steam UI, just like you’re on the computer.

5. Choose a game from your Steam library.

6. Launch the game.

Connecting Your Controllers

You can use either an Xbox or PS4 controller either by direct USB connection or via Bluetooth. Note that older Xbox controllers won’t work over Bluetooth. You can also use standard PC controllers.

Apple security can block the removal of “unwanted programs”

Apple’s process for issuing special app authorizations has come under fire: The group already has two providers of disreputable Mac software (“Potentially Unwanted Program” – PUP) special authorization to use its macOS 10. 15 integrated “Endpoint Security” interface, reports AV manufacturer Malwarebytes. This makes it impossible for your own tool to remove such software.

Apple Entitlements for special functions One of the providers sold, among other things, a “garbage antivirus program”, in the other case it was a tool that “Mac admins hated”, which has already been accused of fraudulent behavior in class actions, writes the Security researcher – apparently this is MacKeeper.

Endpoint Security is part of Apple’s new system extensions, which are intended to replace the previous kernel extensions from third-party manufacturers in macOS. Security software from macOS 11 must use the Endpoint Security API, software manufacturers must apply for the required special authorization (a so-called “Entitlement”) from Apple . Apps that have the entitlement are protected by the operating system so that they can no longer be removed by other software, explains Malwarebytes.

This is an advantage for AV tools as they are no longer targeted by Malware can be deleted. However, if Apple also grants the entitlement to providers of potentially unwanted software, then these could no longer be removed even by tried and tested security software.

Opaque award process Apple’s award process for entitlements, which are also used in many other areas of iOS and macOS, has long been considered to be very slow and opaque: developers sometimes wait weeks and months for a request to be issued Authorization and finally receive a rejection, sometimes without a reason. Malwarebytes now fears that Apple could seal off macOS in the style of iOS against the use of security tools from third-party developers – they are no longer able to protect their own users from certain things.

(lbe)

The best Chromebook 2020: Our pick of the top Chrome OS laptops for school, college and more

(Pocket-lint) – Looking for a new Chromebook, eh? Chromebooks have been getting more and more successful, and are available from many big names in laptops including HP, Acer and Asus.

Education has also been a big market for the devices, but they’re also great for a simple home laptop for Gmail, Google Docs and web browsing.

Can’t decide whether to choose between a Chromebook and a standard Windows or Mac laptop? Then check out Chromebook vs laptop: Which should you buy?

Chrome OS is Google’s alternative to Windows and, essentially, is a more complex version of the Chrome browser with a desktop. It’s ridiculously simple to use, updates itself and lacks the confusion and complexity that often hobbles Windows and macOS. That said, it is less capable for professional use than the other operating systems. But for most users at home or in education it provides more than enough functionality.

Here’s our list of the best Chrome OS laptops and we’ll be adding more in as time goes on.

Our pick of the best Chromebooks to buy today

Pocket-lint

Pixelbook Go

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If you’re impressed by the Pixelbook line but have a tighter budget, the Pixelbook Go is a hugely impressive entry at a lower price-point (though it’s still pricey for a Chromebook). It’s a uniquely-designed machine that makes some brilliant choices, such as the ripple texture on the unit’s bottom side.

It’s got impressive power under the hood, too, to make sure that you’ll feel like you’re using a more premium machine than its price suggests, and we comfortably rate it as one of the best Chromebooks we’ve ever used.

Google Pixelbook Go review: A sublime Chromebook experience

Lenovo

Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3

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Sitting at the lower end of Lenovo’s Chromebook range is this brand new IdeaPad Flex 3.

An 11-inch laptop with an IPS display, this great entry-level laptop is powered by an Intel Celeron processor while there’s up to 10 hours of battery life on board in addition to a plethora of ports – two USB-A, a USB-C and an audio jack.

Although it’s available with 32GB of storage, we’d recommend this 64GB option.

Pocket-lint

Asus Chromebook Flip C434

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A more recent entry in Asus’s line of Chromebooks, the Flip C434 is a great 2-in-1 that feels really premium while still undercutting the Pixelbook’s price nicely. It’s got the holy triumvirate for a laptop, in a solid screen, great keyboard and impressive battery life.

The trackpad lets the team down a little bit, but it runs really nicely and has great ports. Plus, with the option to use it like a tablet, it’s really adaptable and useful in different scenarios.

Asus Chromebook Flip C434TA review: One of the best Chromebooks money can buy

Acer

Acer 714 Chromebook

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Acer is a super choice for your Chromebook buy and while this 714 has a bit of a utilitarian design, there’s a powerful dual-core Intel Core i3 processor in our preferred version alongside 128GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.

There’s a Full HD display, too, powered by Intel’s UHD 620 graphics.

What’s more, there’s an embedded fingerprint reader for accessing the laptop without your password.

HP Chromebook 14 G5

View offer on HP Store (sponsored link)

There’s nothing better for portable productivity than the Chromebook 14 G5. This machine deploys the secure, intuitive Chrome OS to deliver seamless compatibility with Google’s apps, and the HD webcam and noise-cancelling microphone gives you confidence when collaborating.

The Chromebook has a responsive, spill-resistant keyboard, 802.11ac wireless networking and 8GB of memory – and it’s powered by Intel’s latest generation of Celeron processor.

Pocket-lint

Acer Chromebook 11

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If you’re looking at the budget end of the market then a Chromebook is a savvy choice. The Chrome OS operating system has developed considerably over the course of time, with both online and offline use possible, including the option to run Play Store apps.

Sure, the Acer Chromebook 11 isn’t going to bring design excitement with its plastic finish, but it’s befitting of the price point. Besides, it’s smartly made, portable has a 360-degree hinge so the screen can be positioned as you please, and it works for many hours at a time too.

If your school or college season is incoming and you don’t have heaps of cash then this is a savvy buy to crack on with your homework.

Pocket-lint

Asus Chromebook Flip C436

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You want how much for a Chromebook? The Asus Chromebook Flip C436 is one of the most expensive Chromebooks we have tested to date, priced at just under a grand.

It’s a premium Chromebook with design appeal – but its high-end spec isn’t as useful in Chrome OS as a comparable Windows machine and, therefore, it’s slightly harder to recommend than the C434 above.

Asus Chromebook Flip C436 review: Flippin’ powerful, but flippin’ pricey too

Writing by Dan Grabham.

heise + | Raspberry Pi 400 in the test: Small computer for beginners and hobbyists

The cheap Raspberry Pi 400 is a mini-PC with Raspi-4 technology, which is primarily intended for schoolchildren, but is also attractive to others.

Raspberry Pi 400 in the test: Small computer for beginners and hobbyists With power button Meager computing power Few connections Conclusion and test table Article in c’t 25 / 2020 read After the surprising presentation of the Raspberry Pi 4 in summer 2019 e.g. the Raspberry Pi Foundation is now pulling another rabbit out of its hat: the Raspberry Pi student computer 400. Its compact keyboard housing contains the slightly modified technology of the Raspi 4. If you want to get started right away, buy the Raspi 400 as 100 Euro expensive kit including power supply unit, mouse, micro-HDMI connection cable, printed manual and a micro-SD card on which Raspberry Pi OS is pre-installed. Versions with different keyboard layouts for several countries are available in stores, including Germany. We have the kit version with the pre-installed 31 – Bit version of Raspberry Pi OS tested and that 64 – bitter Ubuntu 19. 09 for Raspberry Pi tried.

With power button The kit version is very easy to put into operation, the microSD card with the operating system is already in it. When starting for the first time, the setup asks for the desired settings for language, time zone, user name and password. Then updates run through and after one or two restarts the Raspi 400 ready for operation. On the not particularly fast MicroSD card from the Edge series by SanDisk for embedded systems, around 10 GByte free.

If you know the Raspi 4, you will find your way around immediately – and you will be happy about a new feature: The function key F 10 serves as an off switch in combination with the Fn key. In the keyboard controller, the Raspi Foundation has placed a switch-on logic that other Raspis lack. After the “shutdown” the Raspi 400 with the Original power supply only 0, 13 watts of power and can be accessed via F 10 key up again. In operation without computing load, the Raspi 400 only needs about 2 , 6 watts, sometimes a little over 5 watts under full load – significantly less than a normal mini-PC.

Access to all contents of heise + exclusive tests, advice & background: independent, critically sound c’t, iX, Technology Review, Mac & i, Make, c’t read photography directly in the browser register once – read on all devices – can be canceled monthly first month free, then monthly 9, 95 € Weekly newsletter with personal reading recommendations from the editor-in-chief Start FREE month Start your FREE month now heise + already subscribed?

Sign in and read Register now and read the article immediately More information about heise + Raspberry Pi 400 in the test: Small computer for beginners and hobbyists With power button Meager computing power Few connections Conclusion and test table Article in c’t 25 / 2020 read

Video: Review of the Xbox Series X.

An overview of the features, interiors and gaming of the most powerful game console on the market.

Commercial cooperation with Gigant

Microsoft released 10. new Xbox Series X and Series S game consoles went on sale in November, giving us a more powerful and 4k gaming X model. 509 The interior of the € X series features an AMD 8-core Zen 2 processor and a graphics controller using the RDNA2 graphics architecture with computing power 12 teraFLOPSia. Other features include a total of 16 gigabytes of memory for the video card, processor and operating system, a terabyte-sized NVMe SSD and a 4k Blu-ray drive.

The video introduces the technical features of the Xbox Series X, takes a peek inside the device and tries out 4k and 120 FPS gaming with the new Optimized for Xbox Series X | S games.

Giant, Xbox Series X 509 €
Giant, Xbox Series S 309 €

Both consoles can be purchased from Gigant 24 for a monthly Xbox All Access monthly fee, Series X 33, 99 € / month and Series S 24, 99 € / month, which includes more than game to play with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription and EA Play membership.

If you liked the video, subscribe to io-Tech’s YouTube channel for free, thanks!

Watch the video on Youtube

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War – Ray tracing and DLSS performance test

Autumn always brings new versions of immortal tapeworms, among which the most common are Assassin’s Creed, FIFA, Need for Speed and of course a real veteran – Call of Duty. Although the current year brought a lot of serious problems and bitter disappointments, with the power of the powerful Activision, he miraculously spared fans of shooting at enemies of democracy. The latest incarnation with the lengthy title of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War continues the tradition by sending the player on a sensational trip to various regions of the world as a defender of the global order. What are the hardware requirements for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War? It’s worth checking out, especially since the production supports ray tracing and DLSS.

Author: Sebastian Oktaba

The first installment of Call of Duty debuted in 2003 year, and from 2005 subsequent parts are released regularly, which is why the series already includes seventeen full-fledged computer games, being an indispensable element of the autumn-winter publishing schedule . Although the realities and characters have been changed many times over the decades, and not necessarily sensible solutions have been introduced, one thing has remained untouched – the cinematic formula of the game intended to increase the immersion of the player. The age-old graphics engine, once considered the most archaic in the world of first-person shooters, has not been changed for a long time, but last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has finally made a decisive step in the right direction. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War uses the achievements of its predecessor and adds some new things, catching up with the competition, among others Battlefield. We will soon find out how programmers approached the optimization issue.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is based on the modified IW 8.0 engine that drove its predecessor, but introduces DLSS in addition to ray tracing.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War hardware requirements are divided into four categories, depending on what settings and additional functions we plan to enable The basic configuration should have an Intel Core i3 processor – 4340 / AMD FX – 6300, which are really old units with the performance of today’s low-end. The same applies to eight-year-old NVIDIA graphics systems GeForce GTX 670 / AMD Radeon HD 7950, whose counterparts currently occupy the lowest segments, but everything needs to be replaced with 8 GB of RAM and 175 GB of free disk space. and the machine includes an Intel Core i5 processor – 2500 K / AMD Ryzen 5 1600 X and NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphics 970 / AMD Radeon RX 580, so the equipment that is within reach of the average player is again indicated. The stairs only start when we want to turn on ray tracing, because then the requirements grow exorbitantly. According to the developers, you will need at least NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 / AMD Radeon RX 6800 and Intel Core i7 – 8700 K / AMD Ryzen 7 1800 X .

	Minimum	Recommended	RTX Medium	RTX Ultra
AMD processor	FX – 6300	Ryzen 5 1600 X	Ryzen 7 1800 X	Ryzen 7 3700 X
Intel processor	Core i3 – 4340	Core i5 – 2500 K	Core i7 – 8700 K	Core i9 – 9900 K
AMD card	HD 7950	RX 580	RX 6800	RX 6800 XT
NVIDIA Card	GTX 670	GTX 970	RTX 3070	RTX 3080
RAM	8 GB	12 GB	16 GB
16 GB
Disk space	175 GB	175 GB	165 GB	250 GB
Operating system	Windows 10 64 – bit	Windows 64 -bit	Windows 10 64 – bit	Windows 10 64 – bit

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War uses the Black Ops Cold War Engine, which is essentially a modification of the IW 8.0 developed for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Production works only under the DirectX command 12, using PBR lighting (Physically-Based Rendering), volumetric lighting and realistically reproduces thermal thermal radiation. The engine also supports NVIDIA Reflex, Adaptive Shading, DLSS 2.0 and real-time ray tracing. The ray-tracing implementation is primarily focused on lighting effects and shading, including sun shadows, local shadows and ambient occlusion, i.e. the package has been extended to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The previous version did not receive DLSS support, which was made up for by introducing DLSS 2.0, which offers a much better quality of the reproduced image and a significant increase in performance compared to the native resolution. It is also worth adding that the buyers of GeForce RTX 3080 and GeForce RTX 3090 (eg ASUS TUF) at selected partners, should get Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War for free.

ASUS GeForce RTX Test 3070 TUF Gaming – Non-reference Ampere

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Moto e7: Motorola's low-mid-range smartphone has arrived

The US company launches its device economical with interesting technical specifications. Motorola guarantees excellent autonomy and a 48 MP camera at a low price

by Lorenzo Tirotta published 25 November 2020 , at 08: 01 in the Telephony channel

Motorola

Motorola has formalized the launch of its cheap smartphone Moto e7 , the younger brother of the Moto e7 Plus announced in September. The US brand has decided to create a smartphone with cutting-edge features at an affordable price for everyone, in an attempt to satisfy a medium-low target of customers.

Motoe7, here are the technical characteristics

Moto 7 is equipped with a dual rear camera , a large 6.5 inch display and an autonomy, Motorola guarantees, up to 36 hours of activity . The main camera sensor boasts 48 MP with Quad pixel technology that allows you to merge the pixels and increase the sensitivity to light in case of low light, while the second sensor 2MP Macro Vision allows you to take pictures even from close distances. The selfie cam is from 5 MP . The smartphone mounts a 6.5 inch panel with HD + resolution and the processor on board is the MediaTek Helio G 25 2.0 GHz octa-core with paired 2GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal memory expandable via MicroSD, all powered by a battery) 4000 mAh . The device is equipped with the HyperEngine technology that promises higher graphics performance and better gaming experience.

Moto e7 is equipped with fingerprint sensor located on the Motorola logo in the back of the device, the USB type-C port and the 3.5mm headphone jack. The operating system used is stock-like Android , there is also on the right side a button dedicated to Google Assistant via voice assistant support.

Motorola Moto e7 will be available in Italy from December in the Mineral Gray color at the introductory price of 139, 90 EUR.

Sony Xperia 5 II, here is the best Sony smartphone of 2020. The review

If Sony Xperia 1 II were one smartphone aimed at very demanding users in terms of “creativity”, Xperia 5 II is less extreme and aims at a wider audience. Compared to the more expensive model it also has some additional features and the absence of 4K support is not felt that much. Reliability and performance remain, all enhanced by the 120 Hz that was missing on Xperia 1 II. Here is our review.

by Nino Grasso published on 24 November 2020 in the Telephony channel

Sony

We liked Sony Xperia 1 II a lot when we tried it last August. A complete smartphone, with a masterful and perfectly managed 4K display, and two “Pro” modes for taking pictures and shooting videos. All surrounded by powerful hardware and sober and essential software, but at the same time complete and very precise. Among the defects the price and the fact that it is a smartphone designed for very demanding and above all prepared users. Not everyone is able to understand its strengths. The solution could be Sony Xperia 5 II , which we would dare to call the “consumer” version of the Japanese top of the range. In this case the keyword is not only “creativity”, but also “speed”. We tried it and we tell you our impressions on this device.

Article index

Technical features
Equipment, prices and availability
Software and user experience
Technical analysis

Benchmark
Display
Autonomy

Camera
- Examples of shots
Final considerations

Technical specifications

Sony Xperia 5 II focuses on speed thanks to the Snapdragon 865 , but not only. The Japanese smartphone implements a display from 120 Hz , where the older brother stops at 60 Hz, also adopting a display from 21: 9 as aspect-ratio. The “elongated” form factor typical of Sony flagships therefore remains, a feature that allows an ergonomic and elegant design, but which not everyone might like. Up Xperia 5 II (you can also read here Mark Due) we find a 6.1 “diagonal (therefore smaller than the 6.5” of Xperia 1 II), Full HD + resolution support (2020 x 1080) and compatibility with the HDR standard.

Sony defines the integrated panel as OLED CinemaWide configurable in two modes: Standard and Creator, designed for maximum color accuracy based on to the reference standard used by the media being played. The high refresh rate is instead clearly designed for game lovers and the touch sampling rate is 240 Hz, with Sony promising a gaming experience at the highest levels with Triple A for Android.

This is also thanks to the integrated hardware: Sony Xperia 5 II uses as already mentioned it Snapdragon 865 5G (like Xperia 1 II) with support for sub-6GHz networks (no mmWave, as usual). On the memory side we also find 8GB of RAM and two expandable storage cuts: 128 is 256 GB. The battery is 4. 000 mAh and can be charged with 50% approximately 30 minutes with the supplied PD charger (21 W). This is a nice leap forward compared to the Xperia 5 (which had a 3140 mAh), especially considering that the dimensions remain almost unchanged.

Returning to gaming, we also have software optimizations, such as the Competition Mode (allows you to release the RAM used by the system at that time, hide all notifications, disable adaptive brightness and disable the smartphone keys while gaming) and the option Heat Suppression Power Control , which minimizes throttling during gameplay while the smartphone is charging, in order to always maintain high gaming performance.

The smartphone also allows you to block touches in parts of the screen that are not used i for gameplay purposes, record and share game screenshots with a burst at 20 fps, and there is also an audio mixer to record game audio and voice with different volumes . Sony can also take advantage of its presence in the gaming sector by offering full compatibility with the Sony DualShock 4 controller of PlayStation 4 , and the smartphone can be docked on the joypad with a dedicated holder.

In this way the player can take advantage of the dual speaker stereo audio system, well-finished as on any high-end device from the Japanese manufacturer. The 3.5mm audio jack is present and offers, through dedicated signal routing, the lowest stereo crosstalk in its category. Hi-Res Audio, Hi-Res Audio Wireless and LDAC standards are also supported, and DSEE Ultimate to convert lower quality sources (including streaming) into high resolution. There is no shortage of Dolby Atmos and 257 Reality Audio with integrated hardware decoder.

OS (at launch)	Android 10	Android 10
Processor	Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 a 7-nm 1 x Kryo 585 @ 2,84 GHz 3 x Kryo 585 @ 2,42 GHz 4 x Kryo 585 @ 1, 80 GHz
Memories	8 GB of RAM 128 – 256 GB Expandable via microSD	8 GB of RAM 256 GB Expandable via microSD
Display	6.1 “OLED (21: 9) 2520 x 1080 px (449 PPI) 120 Hz HDR BT. 2020	6.5 “OLED (21: 9) 3840 x 1644 px (643 PPI) HDR – BT. 2020
Cameras	Back: Normal (24 mm): 12 MP f / 1.7 Dual Pixel OIS Ultra-wide (0013 mm): 12 MP f / 2.4 Dual Pixel Tele 3x (70 mm): 12 MP f / 2.2 Dual Pixel OIS Ultra HD HDR Video @ 84 fps Front: Normal: 8 MP f / 2.0	Back : Normal (24 mm): 12 MP f / 1.7 Dual Pixel OIS Ultra-wide (16 mm): 12 MP f / 2.4 Dual Pixel Tele 3x (70 mm): 12 MP f / 2.2 Dual Pixel OIS ToF 3D: 0.3M Ultra HD HDR Video @ 60 fps Front : Normal: 8 MP f / 2.0
Extra	4G LTE-A Cat. 18 (1200 / 150 Mbps) Wi-Fi 6 2.4-5GHz Bluetooth 5.1 NFC Optional Dual SIM (Nano) Side fingerprint sensor DAC 24-bit/192 kHz Dolby Atmos	4G LTE-A Cat. 19 (1600 / 120 Mbps) Wi-Fi 6 2.4-5GHz Bluetooth 5.1 NFC Optional Dual SIM (Nano) Side fingerprint sensor DAC 24-bit/192 kHz Dolby Atmos
Doors	USB Type-C NO 3.5 mm audio jack	USB Type-C NO 3.5 mm audio jack
Battery	4. 000 mAh PD Quick Charge 21 W	4. 000 mAh Quick Charge PD 21 W Reverse wireless charging 11 W
Dimensions	158 x 68 x 8 mm	165, 1 x 71, 1 x 7.6 mm
Weight	163 grams	181 grams

Three rear cameras , arranged in a vertical module e , as on Xperia 1 II, they all use sensors from 11 MP. The main has an equivalent focal length of 24 mm and an OIS stabilized lens with an f / 1.7 aperture. Comes with an ultra wide angle lens from 16 mm with aperture f / 2.6 and a canvas of 70 mm with f / 2.4 aperture, also with OIS optical stabilization. The cameras use Zeiss lenses and can calculate exposure and focus 60 times per second, with maximum burst support 20 fps.

Sony Xperia 5 II has some very interesting numbers to show such as the size of the main module’s Exmor RS sensor, from 1 / 1.7 “ and much larger than that of its predecessor (1 / 2.6 “). This, together with the integrated BionzX for mobile processor and an improved RAW + JPG shooting mode, should lead to brighter, less noise photographs. Individual sensor pixels are 1.8μm large (on Xperia 5 they were 0.8μm), with Sony Xperia 5 II only using 10 ms from taking the shot to saving the photo.

There is no lack of support for the “Foto Pro” apps and “Cinema Pro”, designed for the most demanding users. The smarpthone can also record in 4K at 120 fps in slow-motion with HDR, with apps that allow you to manually set any setting. Among the noteworthy features we also have a dedicated shutter button , and a button for launch the Google Assistant . Android 10 is natively pre-installed.

Sony Xperia 5 II: prices and equipment

Xperia 5 II is available in Italy in black, blue and gray and the price is much more interesting than the big brother: 899 ??. The original equipment is quite sparse, since it only includes charger and cable, however those who buy the smartphone by 30 November 2020 gets bundled i Sony WF – 865 XM3 , true wireless earphones with active noise cancellation with excellent audio quality.

Sony Xperia 5 II : 899, 00 ??

Considering the technical features of this device and attention to detail, in addition to the sober and top quality design, we believe the outlay requested by Sony is extremely competitive. The purchase can be made through the official e-store.

Software and user experience

The experience of Sony Xperia 5 II very closely resembles that of Xperia 1 II, so here too we find ourselves with a top-of-the-range performance, free of lag, jamming or waiting for no reason. Here everything is embellished with the possibility of activating the update frequency at 120 Hz which allows for smoother animations and overall more enjoyable experience? At what cost? During our tests we found a slightly higher power consumption, but not such a noticeable impact. The day can be completed without problems both at 60 Hz both at 120 Hz.

The Japanese smartphone is fast and responsive and helps the little customized Android version. Few additional functions, such as the sidebar natively integrated on the operating system: compared to the first implementations on previous Sony smartphones, it is now much less difficult to activate it, however we would not miss it if it were eliminated completely. This is to allow the user to give the most frequent actions with one hand: it is accessed with a double tap on the edges of the display, but it probably takes less time to search for the desired functions or apps on the Home or in the typical quick commands of Android.

The smartphone also implements a “Game enhancer” function, which has been translated into Italian with “Game enhancer” : used to inhibit notifications, to search online for suggestions on the gameplay of various titles, or even to record game sessions in order to share them with friends and contacts. Gaming side Sony Xperia 5 II also offers support for Sony’s DualShock 4 , which can thus be used to play Android titles.

There are few apps pre-installed on the device, just as the Settings do not have great customization possibilities (which is not necessarily bad). However, the user can go into detail with the display settings , while the whole multimedia creation experience is based on the two pre-installed apps, Cinema Pro and Foto Pro , which we will discuss in the chapter dedicated to the camera.

Excellent l ‘ergonomics also thanks to the weight of only 163 grams, while the side fingerprint sensor is easily accessible and allows you to unlock your smartphone in an instant. The bezels above and below the display are quite evident compared to the “frame-less” fashion of the moment, however in our opinion they are not a problem. Aesthetically, the Xperia 5 II, just like its older brother, is one of the most successful devices of the 2020.

I 21: 9 clearly help to make the smartphone usable at all times, however – despite the integrated functions – it is quite inconvenient use with one hand (which is now true for almost all smartphones on the market). The elongated format on paper can give satisfactions, but it must always be kept in mind that the vast majority of the Google Play Store apps are designed for the most common formats.

Small consideration more technical: i 21: 9 of the display can all too often represent a compromise in use of multimedia contents , especially online where they are presented in the vast majority of cases in 16: 9. Panorama format films are an exception, but even in this case the exact format is 2, 39: 1 (the CinemaScope is instead in 2. 35: 1 ). That of Xperia 5 II can be approximated in 2, 30: 1 therefore it is practically impossible to see a content without black bands, more or less large, or to cut a portion of the image.

Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

Format 2, 39: 1 – Small black bands above and below

Good viewing experience

Video on YouTube

Format 1, 78: 1 (16: 9) – Huge black bands on the sides

I 21: 9 are not comfortable even in photography, so they can be mainly justified with the creation of contents on device through the dedicated apps and their display.

Xperia 5 II is then equipped with the technology Dolby Atmos both with headphones and when listening with the integrated speakers. By activating the function, the sound gains volume, detail and spatiality, even and above all when listening through the two integrated front-facing stereo speakers. For headphone lovers, the 3.5mm jack, absent on the predecessor, makes a great return. Finally, an “old style” vibration motor should be noted, which gives an effect that is not very pleasant to the touch.

Technical analysis

Xperia 5 II uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon processor 865 that we find on Xperia 1 II, a processor that is no longer very recent but still extremely valid, representing one of the best solutions for Android devices to date ( find here our in-depth analysis). The CPU part offers a maximum operating frequency of 2, 78 GHz for the main core, while we have two other clusters, always with Kryo core 585, three and four cores at lower frequencies. The GPU is an Adreno 650, while on the memory side we have LPDDR5 RAM for RAM (8GB) and UFS 3.0 chip for storage. On the archiving side there are two versions for sale, one from 93 GB and the other – as the top of the range – from 256 GB , both with the possibility of expansion via microSD to be purchased separately.

Performance offered by the Sony smartphone are absolutely very high, even if from the benchmarks it is possible to deduce a slightly conservative management especially of the graphics section, just as it happened with Xperia 1 II. During our tests, the smartphone did not give any signs of excessive overheating, becoming lukewarm at most during demanding sessions on the computational level.

Benchmark

Below are the benchmarks we performed with the terminal .

Display

Sony Xperia 5 II uses a more “normal” panel than Xperia 1 II, but still valid also on the front of the definition. In fact, in practical use there are no huge differences between the 4K of the top of the range and the Full HD + of this device (equal to 2520 x 1080 pixels), while the 84 Hz that the Xperia 5 II can pull off. The management of the update frequency is up to the software, which establishes on which apps to keep the maximum value and on which instead it is convenient to fall back on 60 Hz. The touch sampling rate is 192 Hz, and in fact it is definitely reactive with the scrolling animation that perfectly follows the movement of the finger.

As happens on all Sony top-of-the-range, the panel can be managed in a capillary manner through the integrated “standard” settings, with simple commands to understand especially for more technical users. For example, you can change the White Balance by choosing between three presets (warm, medium, cold), or by customizing the three primary components via three separate sliders or by choosing the preferred temperature for white also on the basis of the various standards (D 50, D 55, D 61, D 65, until93) .

The management of the content being played resembles that found on Apple iPhones: the smartphone extends or not the color gamut based on the color profile of the displayed content. Two modes are user configurable: Creation , which aims to provide a reproduction that is as faithful as possible; Standard , which instead blocks the chromatic extension “for brighter and more intense color effects”. However, both refer to the profile color of the file being played, with Creation trying to be as close as possible to the reference (be it, for example, DCI-P3 or sRGB, extending or not the covered gamut triangle); while Standard aims to provide more saturated colors even going beyond DCI-P3 or sRGB, with a gamut triangle that is always slightly wider than the reference.

With the Standard mode you can choose whether to enable the Creation Mode dynamically when opening certain apps (in order to have the “wow” effect of the Standard Mode with some, and the chromatic precision of the Creation Mode with others), or enable the Video image enhancement which uses integrated technology X1 for mobile , so as to transform into HDR also content with SDR encoding.

Analysis Display

Creation Mode

Gamut

White Balance

Gamma curve

Color Fidelity (DCI-P3)

Standard Mode

Gamut

White balance

Gamma curve

Color Fidelity (DCI- P3)

HDR playback

Gamut

White Balance

Gamma Curve

Color Fidelity (DCI-P3 HDR SMPTE 2084)

The maximum luminance of the display is 778 cd / m² with an APL of 15% on HDR content, 645 cd / m² with SDR content, sufficient but not a lot for example under the sunlight. The contrast ratio is optimal, thanks to the presence of an OLED that can turn off the pixels to “reproduce” the black, and also in terms of color we are faced with excellent values. The display of Sony Xperia 5 II is, in this area, among the best in the entire category.

The analysis of The fidelity of primary and complementary colors at maximum saturation shows how the Creation mode is more precise in all cases even without manual calibration compared to Standard mode. Xperia 5 II, as already mentioned, restricts the playback gamut in the presence of SDR content, while activating material with content saved with more extended profiles or HDR brings the maximum saturation of the various color components up to the DCI-P3 standard. Both in SDR and HDR we find ourselves with a color temperature close to the reference, with a white point only slightly shifted towards cold shades. Manual calibration is still very simple, even by choosing a hottest preset among the many available basic settings in the device Settings.

Color fidelity is excellent in Creation mode , both with SDR content (DeltaE = 3.7, good ) and HDR (DeltaE = 2.4, excellent). The gamma is also very correct (apart from some small inaccuracy in the highlights in SDR), in Creation Mode, with both SDR and HDR content. In the first case we have an average range of about 2.3 (the reference value is 2.4), with a linear trend on all white levels. The behavior with HDR content is even better, where the reference is followed up to a white level of 75%, when you start to manifest the clipping that stops the maximum luminance from the 75% onwards to a value of approximately 780 nit (very high, although not at the top of the category).

Autonomy

Smaller display and lower resolution are good for the ‘operating autonomy of Xperia 5 II compared to Xperia 1 II. The differences are not striking, but certainly there are compared to the flagship, while the situation appears more balanced when the 120 Hz. In our test (which we made at 60 Hz), we got a decidedly decent result for Sony Xperia 5 II, in the category average: 810 minutes , over an hour more than the big brother.

The test was carried out by running an automated script that simulates human interaction with different web pages, after setting the brightness of the display at the value of 200 nit. Here are the comparisons with other relevant smartphones.

Camera

The photographic sector of Sony Xperia 5 II is very similar to that of the older brother, with all the sensors of the rear module that can shoot up to a resolution of 12 Mpixel. The only difference between the two models is the absence of the ToF 3D module for the analysis on the depth of the pixels. There are three shooting modes: wide angle with focal length of 24 mm equivalent in the format from 35 mm, with an aperture of f / 1.7; ultra wide angle with focal length of 16 mm; and finally canvases from 70 mm equivalent.

Both the main sensor and the telephoto sensor are optically stabilized, a feature that can be used in both photos and videos. It is very interesting, in fact, the possibility of exploiting all the modules, even the optical zoom and the ultra wide angle, for recording videos by dynamically switching from one to the other. All modules can then also shoot in RAW mode.

Sony Xperia 5 II, features camera

Standard
- Sensor from 12 MP
- Lens f / 1.7 OIS
- Dual Pixel Autofocus
- Length focal 24 mm equivalent
Ultra-wide
- Sensor from 12 MP
- Lens f / 2.4
- Dual Pixel Autofocus
- Focal length 16 mm equivalent
Zoom 3x
- Sensor from 12 MP
- Lens f / 2.4 OIS
- Autofocus PDAF
- Focal length 65 mm equivalent

Video 4K Ultra HD HDR @ 120 fps

Besides Cinema Pro , the application dedicated to manual video recording that we had already seen with the previous generation, sau Xperia 5 II is also natively installed Photo Pro , which it works in a similar way to the first but is dedicated to taking pictures. Several smartphones allow you to manually set values such as exposure, focus or white balance, and there are a myriad of applications on the App Store or Google Play Store that allow you to gain fully manual control in taking photos and recording videos.

Sony Xperia 5 II implementation is native, though, and allows for a more reliable approach in setting the various modes. Compared to Cinema Pro , however, Photo Pro does not add much to the smartphone usage experience . While it is true that it brings the interface of Sony digital cameras to the smartphone, it is also true that those interfaces were born and designed on very different devices. In short, the standard point and click interfaces are more effective and easier to use, in many ways, and the ability to manually set the focus on a smartphone can only help in very special cases.

The Photo Pro interface allows you to set different shooting modes through a dial, like on digital cameras, between AUTO, P (Program), S (shutter priority) and M (fully manual). You can then access a menu where you can set the various settings in a more intuitive way for the inexperienced user or activate the level and histogram. The user can choose to use the three different modules for shooting and access a bar that offers all the chosen shooting settings, including shutter speed, aperture, exposure and ISO. On the right side of the screen there is also a panel for quick access to all functions.

This is a professional approach to photography, which on a smartphone is a little out of place. above all because point and shoot is often preferred, or in any case simplified interfaces that highlight the characteristics of sensors and lenses typical of smartphones.

More useful in our opinion the “old” Cinema Pro , which now also allows you to record to 120 fps at 4K resolution (on Xperia 1 II we stopped at 60 fps) and to set all the recording options manually and with a dedicated interface. More useful on a video is the ability to lock white balance, stop autofocus by setting it to different modes, and choose a shutter. Here too, however, the same considerations can be made: it is difficult to use a smartphone for professional purposes, with the videos recorded with the mobile device that are mainly used for quick sharing.

In case on the contrary, if you often find yourself recording complex videos with your smartphone to be edited later on the computer or with dedicated apps, the Cinema Pro app can guarantee very interesting results by simplifying post-production and editing itself, albeit with all limits of sensors and lenses installed on the smartphone.

Sony Xperia 5 II shot examples

Click on the thumbnails to see the original photos

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Main in the dark with flash

The camera of Sony Xperia 5 II offers good quality shots in all conditions, with the zoom from 70 mm which manages to offer excellent detail even in intermediate light conditions, indoors. The smartphone manages to be very incisive even in the most difficult shots, thanks to the (automatic) activation of a long exposure mode with merging of several shots to obtain a single photo rich in detail and with true colors. The secondary modules are also of high quality, with the ultra wide angle that manages to generate a good level of detail under the sunlight, without excelling compared to other products of the same market segment.

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Ultra-wide

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Main in the dark with flash

Final considerations

Sony does not aim at the sales volumes of Samsung or Huawei, however if everything were to play on the quality of the product it would have nothing to envy to the two market leaders. Sony Xperia 5 II confirms all the quality of Xperia 1 II that we had tried with great satisfaction, and adds the 120 Hz, a more compact form factor (perhaps too much, considering the 21: 9) and an even greater focus on fluidity and speed in general with support for slow-motion videos at 84 fps also in 4K Ultra HD with HDR.

Xperia 5 II is in our opinion the best Sony smartphone of the 2020, also in virtue of the significantly higher quality / price ratio than the absolute top of the range (which costs 1200 ??, we remember). Compared to the latter, it lacks support for reverse charging, but it is a deficiency that is hardly felt in everyday use (except for sporadic emergencies).

It is an excellent smartphone in absolute and can be a great buy for those who want to stand out from the crowd. It is in fact a smartphone for more savvy than average users : not everyone can understand its merits, and its peculiarities require experience in the corresponding sectors.

It goes without saying that an app like Cinema Pro or the ability to balance the colors of the display based on the temperature of the white they are not for everyone, whereas other competitors grind huge numbers so that with one or two taps you get more than satisfactory results. The problem is that sometimes the competitive results are very similar to those obtainable with the Xperia 5 II or even better, all with half the effort.

PRO

Great display at 120 Hz
Excellent performance
Photo Pro and Cinema Pro
Features aimed at PlayStation fans

VERSUS

Some features for expert users only
In some cases i 21: 9 represent a problem