Phone - Page 6 of 126

ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G review: Seriously good value

(Pocket-lint) – When ZTE told us the Axon 30 Ultra 5G was en route for review, we got that fuzzy feeling inside. That’s because the older Axon 20 5G was the first device we’d ever seen with an under-display selfie camera – so surely the Axon 30 Ultra would take this technology to the next level?

Um, nope. Instead the Axon 30 Ultra instead has a more traditional punch-hole selfie camera front and centre, so that fuzzy feeling quickly dissipated. Without such a ‘magic camera’ on board what then is the appeal of this flagship?

The Axon 30 Ultra is all about power and affordability. It crams a top-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor into a slender body with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display that can push its refresh rate to a class-leading 144Hz. All for just £649 in the UK and $749 in the USA. So is that as exceptional value as it sounds or are there hidden compromises?

Design & Display

6.67-inch AMOLED, 1080 x 2400 resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 144Hz refresh rate
Dimensions: 162 x 73 x 8mm / Weight: 188g
Finishes: Black, White, Blue, Light Brown
Under display fingerprint scanner
No 3.5mm port

Having moved out of the gigantic Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, the ZTE’s more slender frame and trim 20:9 aspect ratio felt like a revelation by comparison. It’s not that the Axon 30 Ultra is small, per se, but it’s a well balanced scale.

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The model we have in review is apparently black – that’s what the box says anyway – but the phone’s rear has a much softer metallic appearance about it, with some degree of blue to its colour balance. Really we’d call it a metallic grey. It looks pleasant, while fingerprint smears aren’t a massive problem thanks to the soft-touch material.

The camera unit on the rear is a fairly chunky protrusion, but that’s because there’s a 5x zoom periscope housed within that frame. It’s a relatively elegant block of cameras, though, and even with the phone flat against a desk it doesn’t rock about unwantedly.

The screen is the big selling point though. It’s a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel, the kind we’ve seen in the Redmi Note 10 Pro, for example, except the ZTE goes all-out when it comes to refresh rate by offering up to 144Hz. You can pick from 60Hz/90Hz/120Hz too, with the option to display the refresh rate in the upper left corner.

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Having a faster refresh rate means smoother visuals, especially when it comes to moving content. You’re more likely to notice it when scrolling through emails than much else, though, so we’ve found our preference for balancing rate to battery life has meant settling on 90Hz. A more dynamic software approach would be better, or the option to designate specific apps to function at specific frame rates – especially games.

Are you really going to tell the difference between 144Hz and 120Hz? No. But the simple fact the Axon 30 Ultra can do this is to show its worth; to show that it’s got more power credentials than many less adept phones at this price point.

Otherwise the screen hits all the right notes. It’s got ample resolution. Colours pop. Blacks are rich thanks to the AMOLED technology. It’s slightly curved to the edges too, but only subtly to help hide away the edge bezel from direct view – and we haven’t found this to adversely affect use due to accidental touches and such like.

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There’s also an under-display fingerprint scanner tucked beneath the screen’s surface, which we’ve found to be suitably responsive for sign-ins. Or you can sign-up to face unlock instead to make things even easier.

Having that scanner in such a position, rather than over the power button, leaves the Axon 30 Ultra’s edges to be rather neat. Other than the on/off and volume up/down rocker to the one side, and USB-C port, single speaker and SIM tray to the bottom edge, there’s nothing to disrupt the phone’s form. That keeps it looking neat and tidy. It also means no 3.5mm headphone jack, but that’s hardly a surprise.

Performance & Battery

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, 8GB/12GB RAM
Storage: 128GB/256GB/1TB, no microSD card slot
Battery: 4600mAh, 66W fast-charging
Software: ZTE MyOS 11 (Android 11)

Elegant looks complement an elegant operation, too, largely down to the power that’s available on tap. With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 processor on board, couple with 8GB RAM, there’s little else more powerful that you can buy. Indeed, the Axon 30 Ultra is knocking on the door of gaming phone territory given that 144Hz refresh rate screen.

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Navigating around the interface is super smooth and speedy, apps open quickly, and there’s no downturn in performance if you happen to open a whole bunch. Games are a breeze, too, as you’d expect from this kind of hardware – although we’d like a game centre to prevent over-screen notifications and such like.

But it’s not perfectly smooth sailing on account of ZTE’s own software, which here is MyOS 11 over the top of Google’s Android 11 operating system. It’s a common problem among Chinese makers, so we probably sound like a broken record, but there are definitely issues with notifications. WhatsApp might take a couple of hours to notify you of a message, for example, but there’s never a fixed period of time – and other times it’s immediate. The mail app Outlook rarely to never notified of new mails in the inbox either.

A lot of this is down to software management. Because there’s rather a lot of it in MyOS. Under battery settings is an ‘Apps AI-control’, which is said to intelligently manage apps to save power. Except, as we’ve highlighted above, this can stifle some apps inappropriately. It can be turned off for manual control, where individual apps can have their auto-start and background running characteristics specified.

All of this is an attempt to aid the overall battery life. Because, as you can imagine, cranking out gaming sessions using the 144Hz and top-end engine from Qualcomm’s SD888 definitely eats away at the supply pretty rapidly. The 4,600mAh cell on board isn’t as capacious as some competitors we’ve seen and that, as a result, can see a heavy use day only just about scrape through a 15 hours day. It’ll manage, but only just.

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Another oddity we’ve experienced with the Axon 30 Ultra is Wi-Fi connectivity seems to be a little up and down. With less strong signal our Zwift Companion app was very choppy in its updating of data – something that hasn’t been an issue with other phones we’ve compared in the same environment. We suspect that’s because the ‘a/b/g/n/ac/6e’ designation is catering for higher frequencies (‘ac’ is 5GHz only, for example, whereas ‘ax’ caters for both 2.6GHz and 5GHz, while the newly adopted ‘6e’, i.e. 6GHz, isn’t widely supported yet).

Cameras

Quad rear camera array:
- Main (25mm): 64-megapixel, f/1.6 aperture, 0.8µm pixel size, optical stabilisation (OIS)
- Portrait (35mm): 64MP, f/1.9, 0.7µm
- Wide (13mm): 64MP, f/2.2, 0.7µm
- Zoom (123mm): 8MP, f/3.4, OIS
Front-facing selfie camera: 16MP

On the rear the Axon 30 Ultra houses an apparent four lenses: a 64-megapixel main; a 0.5x ultra-wide (also 64MP); a 5x periscope zoom lens (just 8MP); and what we would call a ‘portrait lens’ with 2x zoom (also 64MP).

It’s a bit of a mish-mash when it comes to results though. The main camera, at its best, is really great. It snaps into focus quickly, reveals heaps of detail – as you can see from the main flower shot below – but isn’t the most subtle when you look in detail, as images are over-sharpened.

The ability to zoom in the camera app is actioned on a slider to the side, but you don’t really ever know which lens you’re using – until there’s a clear ‘jump’ between one visualisation and the next, because, for example, the 5x periscope zoom is far poorer in its delivery. It’s only 8-megapixels, for starters, so there’s not nearly the same clarity revealed in its images. Plus the colour balance looks far out of sync with the main lens. Really this periscope is overoptimistic.

The 2x portrait zoom lens we also can’t really work out. Sometimes zoom shots are great, sometimes they’re quite the opposite – all mushy and, again, over-sharpened. It seems to depend which sensor/lens the camera is using at that particular moment – because the image of a horse in a field that we captured (within gallery above) looks fine, whereas the sheep in a field (shown in our wide-to-main-to-zoom-to-periscope gallery, below) is miles off the mark.

Motorola’s new Moto G9 Plus is a stunner of a phone – find out why, right here

By Pocket-lint Promotion
·
27 May 2021

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: Ultra-wide lensUltra-wide lens

There’s potential here overall. The specifications read rather well, but somehow the Axon 30 Ultra gets away from itself a little. It needs to rein in the offering really, simplify things, and deliver a more detailed app that explains specifically what kit you’re shooting with. That said, the main lens will please plenty, while close-up macro work – with the artificial intelligence ‘AI’ activated – snaps into focus really well.

Verdict

To answer our opening question: what compromises do you have to accept if looking to buy the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G? Relatively few at this price point. There are some irks, though, such as the software causing notification problems (by which we mean absences), the battery being a little stretched, and the cameras get away from their potential somewhat – despite the main lens being perfectly decent.

Otherwise ZTE has crammed one heck of a lot into the Axon 30 Ultra. Its screen is commendable and having that headline-grabbing 144Hz refresh rate is sure to bring attention. The subtlety of the design is elegant, too, delivering a well-balanced scale that’s comfortable to hold and fairly fingerprint-resistant on the rear. And there’s bundles of power from the top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 platform, ensuring apps and games run a treat.

There might be less ‘wow factor’ than if there was an under-display front-facing camera to captivate prospective customers (like there was in the Axon 20), but given the Axon 30 Ultra 5G’s price point undercuts the big-dog Samsung, that’ll be enough of a lure to many.

Also consider

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Samsung Galaxy S20 FE

The ‘Fan Edition’ Galaxy might be a year older than the ZTE, but it’s a similar price, has more stable software in our experience – and that makes all the difference to everyday use.

Read our review

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Writing by Mike Lowe.

OnePlus’ Digital WellPaper visualizes your app usage as a funky live wallpaper

OnePlus’ new Digital WellPaper app turns your app usage into one of three live wallpapers on Android. Apps are simplified into six categories — social, lifestyle and communication, entertainment, gaming, information and business, and tools — which translate to six colors within each wallpaper that become more or less prominent as you use the apps.

Both iOS and Android already have the ability to track app usage at a system level, but generally you have to go into a dedicated menu to actually see the information. The advantage with Digital WellPaper is that it puts this usage information — albeit in an abstract form — front and center, so you’re aware of it every time you look at your home or lock screen. OnePlus says it hopes this will help Android users “visualize and better understand their day-to-day digital habits.”

The live wallpapers are also available as lock screens.

Image: OnePlus

Google has experimented with similar initiatives in the past. In 2019 it released a series of experimental Digital Wellbeing apps in the Play Store, including Unlock Clock, a live wallpaper that shows a tally of how many times you’ve unlocked your phone that day.

OnePlus says the new app, which was “curated” by its internal experimental software team OneLab, should work without consuming too much of your phone’s battery. It’s just generating a new image once when you unlock your phone, rather than constantly updating in the background. More details on individual app usage can be found within the Digital WellPaper app.

More detailed information is available in-app.

Image: OnePlus

Digital WellPaper is now available from the Google Play Store, and works on devices running Android 7.0 and above.

Samsung Galaxy A22 5G gets priced in Europe

The Samsung Galaxy A22 5G still hasn’t become official, but it definitely can’t be long now. The phone’s name implies that this is going to be Samsung’s cheapest 5G handset yet, and today a supposed retailer listing from the EU has pretty much confirmed that unsurprising fact.

The phone is listed at €185 sans VAT, which strongly implies a final price, inclusive of the tax, around €229, depending on country (since VAT is different in each one). Perhaps in some nations we might even see it go lower, but it’s very unlikely the price will be below €199.

Still, that will in fact make this the cheapest 5G Samsung ever to launch in the EU, if not by much – the Galaxy A32 5G can currently be had for €238 at the moment (although it did launch at €279).

The Galaxy A22 5G is expected to have the MediaTek Dimensity 700 chipset at the helm, 64GB of base storage, a 6.4-inch FHD+ LCD touchscreen, a triple rear camera system (48 MP main + 5 MP macro + 2 MP depth), and a 5,000 mAh battery with 15W charging support.

Via | Image source

Panasonic launches the LUMIX GH5 II, teases the upcoming GH6

Panasonic today announced an updated version of its venerable LUMIX GH5 camera. The new GH5 Mark II is a relatively modest upgrade over its predecessor but if you look at the other thing Panasonic announced today, you’d realize it’s just a stop-gap.

The GH5M2 features a revised set of specifications, largely due to the upgrade to the newer and latest generation Venus Engine processor. The camera is now capable of internally recording 4K 60p in 10-bit at 4:2:0, which is an improvement over the GH5 that could only do 8-bit internally. The GH5M2 will also be able to simultaneously record in 4K 60p in 10-bit 4:2:2 to an external recorder.

The GH5M2 comes with the Panasonic V-Log L log profile pre-installed, which was an optional paid extra on the GH5. This allows you to color match the camera to other Panasonic cameras using V-Log (S1/S1H) or V-Log L (GH5/GH5S). The GH5M2 also adds two Cinelike presets (D2 and V2) along with MonochromeS and L.ClassicNeo.

The 20.3-megapixel Micro Four Thirds sensor is nearly identical to the one on the GH5. The GH5M2 sensor features anti-reflective coating, which should reduce the amount of flare around bright objects.

The use of a faster processor has enabled some improvements to autofocusing. While the GH5M2 still uses the same contrast-based DFD system, it is not faster to lock focus and 2x faster at detecting eyes and faces than the GH5.

The GH5M2 also features improved in-body image stabilizer and is capable of 6.5-stop slower shutter speed.

The GH5M2 features a smaller 3.0-inch display compared to the 3.5-inch display on the GH5. However, this new display has higher 1840k dot resolution and is also brighter outdoors.

The connectivity hasn’t changed much but the microUSB port has been ditched in favor of USB-C with USB-PD charging.

Finally, the GH5M2 is capable of live streaming to YouTube or Facebook directly through the camera. All you need is the camera and an internet connection, either through home Wi-Fi or through your phone’s data connection and the Panasonic app and you’re good to go. Aside from the two services mentioned above, you can also stream to any other RTMP/RTMPS protocol compatible streaming service and stream at 1080p 60fps at 16Mbps. A future update will also add wired IP streaming (RTP/RTSP).

Aside from that, this is basically the same camera as the GH5. All you get to differentiate externally are some red accents and a reassigned F1 button. However, this isn’t a bad thing, as the GH5M2 is being launched at $400 lower than the launch price of the GH5 and starts at $1699.

However, the thing to look out for is Panasonic’s upcoming GH6, which the company also teased today. The camera is said to be in development and will be launched by the end of 2021. The GH6 will be able to do 4:2:2 10-bit DCI 4K 60p internal recording without any time limits and also 10-bit 4K 120p HFR recording. The Gh6 will also be able to do 10-bit 5.7k 60p video with the new Micro Four Thirds sensor.

The Panasonic LUMIX GH6 will be priced around $2500.

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Samsung on 10 year partnership with Wacom, Galaxy Book Pro 360’s S Pen

Samsung and Wacom have been partnering for 10 years now, ever since the first S Pen made an appearance with the huge-screened by the standards at the time Galaxy Note.

Samsung is the largest phone maker in the world, while Wacom is renowned for its digital pen tablets. Together they make devices that have almost no rivals in the smartphone world.

The pair’s latest joint-product is the Galaxy Book Pro 360′ S Pen, which is different from its tablet and smartphone counterparts.

Starting with the size, the S Pen that comes with the Galaxy Book Pro 360 laptop is thicker than your usual pen, which is said to feel very similar to a real pen and aid in long-term comfort.

The S Pen is also coated in a special paint, which enhances the grip during writing or sketching sessions.

The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 360 comes with either a 13.3-inch or 15.6-inch AMOLED, Intel’s new 11th gen processors, up to 16GB of RAM, 256GB of SSD storage and Mystic Bronze or Mystic Navy paint job. The S Pen is preloaded, but doesn’t have its own compartment within the laptop.

Source

Royole unveils stretchable micro-LED displays that can be shaped into globes or domes

You don’t hear much abut them, but Royole unveiled the first foldable phone in the world and is now working on another technology – stretchable displays. These are based on micro-LED tech built on a stretchy, elastic circuit. Why would you even want a stretchable display?

For one these can be stretched into various shapes, creating spherical and dome-shaped displays. It’s like those curved screens you see on TVs, monitors and phones, except with a curve on two axes.

Royole sees applications in the fields of health and fitness, sports and fashion as well as transportation. Stretchy displays can be molded to fit the shape of the human body or create an interactive globe.

Here are a few details about the new type of display panel. They can be stretched to 130% and bent to 40º. They can be transparent too, letting through 70% of the light (much more than transparent OLED panels do, e.g. LG’s transparent TV lets through only 40% of the light). The current designs can have pixel densities up to 120 ppi, comparable to a typical laptops.

Below you can see a 2.7” 96 x 60 pixel panel that was built to prove that the technology works:

A proof of concept 2.7″ stretchable display (96 x 60 px) • It’s transparent too

And here’s the stretchiness in action:

True to their name, micro-LEDs are smaller than OLEDs, which allows for a bigger gap between individual pixels. This means more room for stretchy material between the pixels (and more room for light to go through).

Royole believes this stretchable technology can be applied to the manufacturing processes for foldable displays made today, which will help scale the production capacity quickly.

Source | Via

Moto G30 arrives for pre-order in the United States

The Moto G30 arrived in Europe in February and later it expanded its availability to India. Now, the phone has gone on pre-order in the United States on Amazon, revealing its price – $299.99.

The phone was initially launched with 128GB storage, but the US version is getting downgraded to 64GB, as well as just 4GB RAM. At this point the only available in Black with the flashier Pastel Sky color missing.

Other specs of the phone include a Snapdragon 662 chipset, a 5,000 mAh battery and four cameras on the back, with the main one having a 64MP sensor. This device is not 5G-enabled, maxing out at LTE networks but it does support NFC and Bluetooth 5.0.

The Moto G30 will start shipping on July 30 according to the listing. This is more than two months from today, but at least the phone is not tied with any telecoms and is sold unlocked for all carriers.

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See inside Apple’s colorful new M1 iMac, thanks to iFixit’s latest teardown

iFixit has published a detailed teardown of Apple’s newly redesigned M1 processor-equipped iMac, and it contains bad news about how easy the new all-in-one is to repair. Whether it’s the fans, USB ports, headphone jack, power button, or speakers, iFixit says virtually any repairs to the new desktop require battling through Apple’s adhesives.

Like the other M1 Macs, everything is soldered together now — so there’s no upgrading RAM or internal storage even if you do crack it open. The good news is if you do go through the effort of cracking it open, iFixit says most of the other internal parts (including the ports, webcam, and speakers) are relatively easy to swap out with replacements.

Photo: iFixit

These problems might not matter right now while the iMacs are shiny, new, and generally excellent, but they could make a world of difference in a few years when their components start to wear out and fail. iFixit has long been critical of the repairability of Apple’s devices, but it’s arguably much more important for a device like the iMac, which tends to get replaced less often than a phone or tablet. In our review, we called it “the computer to get if you just want to buy it and not think about it for the next five to ten years.”

If you thought the new iMac looks a lot like a massive iPad on a stand, then you might not be surprised to hear that much of what makes the iPad difficult to repair has been inherited by the new iMac. iFixit has awarded the machine a total score of 2/10 for repairability.

Apple’s M1 processors haven’t even been around for a year yet, so we don’t yet know how they’re going to hold up over time. But if any issues do crop up, this design could make it harder and more expensive for users to fix the machines they’re powering.

Photo: iFixit

This is far from the first time that iFixit has criticized the repairability of an iMac. In 2015, for example, it awarded Apple’s 21.5-inch iMac a low score of 1/10 for its repairability for design elements like having its RAM and CPU soldered onto the motherboard, preventing easy replacements or upgrades. Other iMacs like the 27-inch 5K iMac from 2014 or the 2018 iMac Pro fared better, thanks to their replaceable CPUs and RAM, but these are absent from the new machine.

“Apple’s newest iMac follows the other M1 machines down an interesting, but even-less-repairable path,” the teardown concludes — an expected, albeit slightly disappointing direction that Apple’s ever-thinner hardware has been trending in for years.

The affordable Nokia G10 is coming to the US with a great support policy

HMD’s Nokia G10 is coming to the US with a big battery, a low $149 price, and a surprisingly good security support schedule. Phone Arena reports that the G10 — available for preorder now at Amazon — will go on sale directly through Nokia’s website later this week. The G10 was first announced in Europe last month alongside five other midrange devices.

Low-cost Android phones aren’t typically known for great software support. It’s common for manufacturers to offer only two years of security updates on an infrequent schedule and typically just one (or no) OS platform updates. HMD is breaking with that norm by offering two years of OS platform updates — Android 12 and 13 in this case — and three years of security updates, a policy that should see the G10 through a few years of use.

The Nokia G10 is offered in the “dusk” color pictured here as well as a dark blue “night” flavor.

Image: HMD

The Nokia G10’s other specs include a 6.5-inch 720p display, huge 5,050mAh battery, MediaTek G25 chipset with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, and a 13-megapixel rear camera accompanied by 2-megapixel macro and depth sensors. It’s expected to go on sale Thursday, May 27th at Nokia.com.

You can now buy Asus’ gaming-ready ROG Phone 5

Asus’ ROG Phone 5 is now available in the US from its official store, with a price tag of $999.99. It’s Asus’ latest maxed-out gaming phone, with all of the top-notch specifications: a Snapdragon 888 Plus, 144Hz display, front-facing speakers, and a massive 6,000mAh battery.

Asus says the Ultimate and Pro versions of the phone will be available later this year. We reviewed the Ultimate in March and found that it was a good phone that went a little — okay, maybe a lot — overboard with its specs. The vanilla version available for sale today, though, is perhaps a bit more reasonable: it “only” has 16GB of RAM (as opposed to the Ultimate’s 18GB), has half the storage (256GB instead of 512GB), and features an RGB logo on the back instead of an entire OLED screen.

The other thing the regular version is missing is the extra touch-sensitive buttons that provide an alternative to touchscreen controls (though it does still have two of the ultrasonic sensors).

For those who want more buttons, though, there’s always the gamepad bundle or the AeroActive Cooler 5 accessory, which has two buttons built in. They do cost extra — with the gamepad bundle coming in at $40 more than just the phone and the cooler costing $70 — but that’s still likely going to be way less than shelling out for the Ultimate version.

Pansonic teases a GH6 and focuses on streaming with the GH5 Mark II

Panasonic has announced not one but two follow-up cameras to the Lumix GH5, a camera that’s been popular with videographers since it launched in 2017. There’s the GH6, which Panasonic says features a brand-new sensor and will launch by the end of the year for $2,500, and the GH5 Mark II, which is going up for preorder today, with a body-only package coming in at $1,700.

The GH6 will feature a new image engine along with the sensor and will have the capability to record 10-bit 4K at 120fps and 10-bit 5.7K at 60fps. The camera also promises DCI 4K60 at 4:2:2 without a recording time limit. The GH6 is currently in development, so Panasonic didn’t provide many more details, but it did say that the camera would feature a Micro Four Thirds sensor. The impressive video capabilities might sound familiar, as they’re very similar to the full-frame Sony A7S III (which also has a much heftier price tag).

While the details on the GH6 were light, we got a very good look at the GH5 Mark II. It’s, as the name implies, an improved version of the GH5, and Panasonic’s idea for it seems to be that it’s built to serve people who aren’t looking to spend $2,500 on a GH6 but want something more capable than a G7 or older GH4. When the GH5 originally launched it was $2,000, so it seems like Panasonic is trying to split the difference with the Mark II and GH6, offering cameras on both sides.

There’s also a kit that comes with a 12-60mm f/2.8-4 image-stabilized lens for $2,300.

Image: Panasonic

The GH5 Mark II has the same body as the GH5 (making it compatible with any previous accessories or cages), but it packs internals that make it an even more powerful video camera. While the original did support 4K recording at 60 frames a second, it was only 8-bit — the Mark II supports it at 10-bit 4:2:0, which can simultaneously be recorded internally and externally (with some HDMI recorders supporting 4:2:2). The cinema 4K mode, which provides a wider-than-16:9 aspect ratio, also now supports 30p and 25p, where the GH5 only supported 24p.

The color profiles have also gotten a revamp in the Mark II, with the camera including Cinelike D2 and V2 profiles. It also now includes the V-Log L profile for free, which was previously a $100 upgrade to the GH5. In addition to the improved color, the sensor (which is the same as the one found in the GH5) has also gotten an anti-reflective coating to avoid unwanted lens flares, and Panasonic claims it has 25 percent wider dynamic range.

The GH5 Mark II’s in-body stabilization is getting a bump in performance, too: the original could provide five stops of compensation, according to Panasonic, while the Mark II will be able to compensate up to 6.5 stops (though for longer lenses, achieving this number will require the lens to also have optical stabilization).

Panasonic is also saying that the autofocus system will be improved — a good sign, given the GH5’s lackluster performance in the area. The GH5 Mark II will feature head and body detection, as well as support for tracking animals, in addition to the eye and face detection found on the previous camera. The tracking will also be twice as fast, with the system looking for objects 60 times a second, while the GH5 tracks at 30 times a second. Panasonic also says that the system should lock on to subjects better and will have better support for tracking people who are farther in the distance.

Panasonic says the screen is 1.5 times brighter.

Image: Panasonic

The Mark II also has some creature comfort improvements and really nerdy additions. The rear LCD is both higher-resolution and brighter, and the USB-C port is now compatible with the Power Delivery standard so it can run the camera and trickle-charge the batteries at the same time. It also takes higher-capacity batteries, though the older batteries the GH5 used will still work in the camera, and vice versa. There’s also now the option to add a red border around the screen when recording, and the ability to have two levels of zebra patterns to help determine exposure.

When shooting with supported lenses, creators will now be able to change the focus ring mode, setting it to be linear if that’s what they prefer, and even setting a specific focus throw if their use case calls for it. Panasonic has also updated its in-camera anamorphic de-squeezing feature (which allows people shooting with the special lenses to get a non-distorted preview of their picture) to include more lenses: the GH5 supported lenses with 1.33x and 2x aspect ratios, while the Mark II also supports lenses at 1.3x, 1.5x, and 1.8x. There’s also now support for image stabilization with anamorphic lenses.

The GH5 Mark II can, of course, also shoot pictures, but it seems like Panasonic knows its audience is mostly made up of video people: new photo features were largely absent, apart from a brief mention of improved color science and some new profiles. But while Panasonic doesn’t seem to be putting in a lot of work to entice photo shooters to its platform, it does seem to be trying to make the GH5 Mark II appealing to a different breed of video creators: the livestreamers.

The GH5 Mark II’s presentation for journalists focused heavily on its livestreaming capabilities: it can stream to platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch directly over Wi-Fi, with compression being done on-camera. The streaming compression can be done at various levels and resolutions, depending on the requirements of the platform. Streamers can either input their streaming URLs and keys manually, for platforms like Twitch that support RTMP (or RTMPS), or they can directly sign on to Facebook or YouTube if they’re using the Lumix Sync smartphone app to set up the stream. Panasonic says that the ability to hardwire to a phone or even directly to a LAN via USB will be coming in a future firmware update.

I was shown a live demo of the streaming, which was conducted over YouTube, and to my eye it looked about as good as a stream can be expected to. Panasonic also said that the XLR microphone adapter built for the camera would work while streaming, and that an HDMI recorder could be used to capture a full-quality recording of any stream (though internally recording stream footage isn’t possible).

It’s hard to find a direct competitor to the GH5 Mark II, especially in its price range: Fujifilm’s X-T4 is no slouch when it comes to video, but it doesn’t have the heaps of options the Panasonic does (for example, you probably won’t get a custom menu for your most-used frame rates and resolutions, or filters to help pare down that information in the main menu like the GH5 Mark II has). The story is similar with Sony’s A7C, and the A7S III has similar specs but costs almost twice the price. And while BlackMagic’s Pocket Cinema Camera 4K has comparable video power as well as RAW video support, there are some places it falls way short when compared to the GH5 Mark II: the lack of a flip-out screen and autofocus spring to mind.

Panasonic has also announced that its G9 and GH5S cameras would also be getting firmware updates, bringing some of the new features from the GH5 Mark II. Both cameras will be getting the autofocus performance improvements, along with the frame indicators and markers, as well as support for vertical video detection. The GH5S will additionally be getting 12-bit raw over HDMI support when outputting to an Atomos Ninja V.

Panasonic also announced that it was working on a new lens, the Leica DG 25-50mm f/1.7. The aperture is constant throughout the 50-100mm full-frame equivalent focal range, and while there weren’t any additional details announced, Panasonic has emphasized it as a companion to the existing 10-25mm f/1.7. That lens features dust and moisture resistance and produces some lovely images, so it’s exciting to hear that the more tele-oriented version in the works will likely be similar in terms of build.

Panasonic is still, for better and worse, dedicated to Micro Four Thirds. In its presentation to journalists, it said that the format was necessary to get all the features and readout speeds it wanted at the price point it was looking to hit. It’s obviously invested a lot into these cameras, with the addition of livestreaming and the upcoming GH6’s monster specs, but the limitations of the format are something aspiring cinematographers will have to keep in mind when choosing their next video camera.

Former NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson is returning to space — this time, on a private ride

Peggy Whitson, one of NASA’s most experienced retired astronauts, is going back to space — this time with a racecar driver and two other passengers in the latest mission planned by Axiom Space. The Houston-based space company announced on Tuesday that Whitson will serve as the mission commander for its second private flight to the International Space Station, with John Shoffner, a GT racer, serving as mission pilot.

The Ax-2 mission with Whitson and Shoffner will be similar to Ax-1, Axiom’s first planned flight for early next year: a crew of four private citizens will fly to the International Space Station for a roughly eight-day stay conducting scientific research. It’s the latest private spaceflight planned so far as companies like SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Virgin Galactic race to offer tourists a trip to space — either to the ISS, orbit, or the edge of space.

Axiom serves as a mission manager that procures other companies’ spacecraft to fly people to space, charging passengers somewhere around $55 million per mission if it’s on SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule and probably more if it’s on Boeing’s Starliner capsule, which has yet to be flight-certified by NASA.

Whitson, 61, has tallied 665 days in space across three missions, the most for any NASA astronaut. She and Shoffner have been training as backups for Ax-1, which is slated to launch three entrepreneurs and former NASA astronaut Michael López-Alegría to the ISS in January 2022. That flight will use SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule, which has flown three crews of government astronauts to the ISS since May last year under NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. The ride for Ax-2 hasn’t been confirmed yet, Axiom says, and the two other Ax-2 crewmates are still being sorted out.

Ax-2’s mission commander Peggy Whitson (left) and pilot John Shoffner (right).

Photo: Axiom Space

When Whitson retired from NASA in 2018, she didn’t think she’d go back to space again. “I didn’t think it was likely. Probably because of that, I was more excited to be assigned as an Axiom backup for Ax-1 and then prime commander for Ax-2 than even for my first spaceflight,” she told The Verge in a phone interview. “It seemed even more unexpected.”

Shoffner, 65, is a trained pilot, investor in the life sciences industry, and a racecar driver who started a GT3 motorsports racing team named J2-Racing with his wife. He and Whitson will do research on the ISS for 10x Genomics, a California-based biotechnology company that manufactures gene sequencing technology for researchers. Shoffner, an investor 10x Genomics, plans to test single-cell sequencing methods while in microgravity, a first for the company.

“I’m going to try and help because I’m a geek. I like this stuff, too,” says Whitson, who holds a doctorate in biochemistry from Rice University and was once the deputy division chief for the Medical Sciences Division at Johnson Space Center, NASA’s astronaut headquarters in Houston.

Axiom says its private missions will launch every six months, meaning Ax-2 would launch in the middle of 2022 (or roughly half a year after Ax-1 in January 2022). But the date for Ax-2 depends largely on traffic at the space station, which only has two international docking adapters that serve as parking spaces for both cargo and government astronaut missions. Axiom will have to squeeze into the station’s increasingly busy schedule and reserve one of those adapters for the 10-day trip, including eight days docked to the ISS.

Earlier this month, NASA signed an agreement with Axiom to greenlight the company’s Ax-1 mission. The Ax-1 crew is still going through a rigorous training process intended to adjust crew members to the G forces of launching to space.

While its crew members will have to go through the same training, the Ax-2 mission is likely to be more costly than Ax-1. NASA has shifted the prices for hosting private astronaut missions on the space station, primarily a government-run research platform. Axiom’s second mission will be subject to the agency’s latest pricing table: a base of $5.2 million per person, and $4.8 million per mission to pay for planning and integration. The day rate for each passenger is anywhere between $88,000 and $164,000 to accommodate food, cargo, and other services. Axiom says it sorts this out with NASA and includes all of these charges in the customer’s single ticket price.

Axiom, founded in 2016 by a veteran NASA ISS program manager, is building its own private space station modules that it plans to attach to the ISS as soon as 2024. Whitson says her mission will help open doors for more ambitious crewed missions into space. “The future of spaceflight depends on us building an infrastructure that enables us to step further and further away from Earth,” she says. “This step by Axiom, introducing private astronauts to the space station, is going to be just the initial step.”

Go read iFixit’s damning take on Samsung’s ‘ruined’ upcycling program

In a new blog post, iFixit heavily criticizes Samsung’s recently announced Galaxy Upcycling program (via ArsTechnica), an initiative which the repair specialists helped launch in 2017. It’s a damning look at how the initiative morphed from its ambitious origins to a “nearly unrecognizable” final form, and completely sidelined iFixit in the process.

Here’s how iFixit describes the original plan:

The original Upcycling announcement had huge potential. The purpose was twofold: unlock phones’ bootloaders—which would have incidentally assisted other reuse projects like LineageOS—and foster an open source marketplace of applications for makers. You could run any operating system you wanted. It could have made a real dent in the huge and ever-growing e-waste problem by giving older Samsung devices some value (no small feat, that). It was a heck of a lot more interesting than the usual high-level pledges from device makers about carbon offsets and energy numbers.

You can see this original vision on display in a Samsung trailer from 2017 (embedded below). Samsung outlined how an old smartphone could be turned into a sensor for a fish tank, simultaneously re-using an old phone while at the same time helping to stop people from needing to buy a dedicated single-use device. Other potential ideas included turning old phones into smart home controllers, weather stations and nanny cams.

It sounds like a cool initiative, and iFixit was initially heavily involved. It lent its branding to the launch, and its CEO Kyle Wiens helped announce the project onstage at Samsung’s developer conference. It had even planned to expand its support pages and spare parts program for Samsung phones had the project shipped, but…

Instead, we heard crickets. The actual software was never posted. The Samsung team eventually stopped returning our emails. Friends inside the company told us that leadership wasn’t excited about a project that didn’t have a clear product tie-in or revenue plan.

So what’s the problem with the program in its 2021 form? Two things: it only goes back three years to the Galaxy S9, and it only gives it basic smart home functionality. Less, in other words, than what’s possible from a cheap $40 Raspberry Pi.

So instead of an actually-old Galaxy becoming an automatic pet feeder, full-fledged Linux computer, retro game console, a wooden-owl Alexa alternative, or anything else that you or a community of hackers can dream of, the new program will take a phone you can still sell for $160 and turn it into something like a $30 sensor.

Most will have probably just shrugged and moved on when they saw Samsung’s upcycling announcement in January. But it’s disappointing to realize that the project could have been so much more. iFixit’s post is well worth reading in its entirety.

Best retro record players 2021: Rekindle nostalgic sounds

(Pocket-lint) – Speak to any diehard music lover and you’ll always get the same answer: there’s nothing like vinyl. Forget about the new trends of getting the purest form of music, this is it.

These record players age are modern in approach but have a retro style. You’ll find a lot of retro-styled options out there complete with wooden finishes and maybe even a suitcase aesthetic.

But don’t be fooled. Many of these new record players not only play your parent’s vinyl, some of them even connect to your Bluetooth speaker so you can mix generations, too.

Best retro record players to buy today

Crosley

Crosley Sterling Turntable

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It’s not very often that you come across a music player that makes so much of a statement as the Crosley Sterling Turntable.

Its bold, retro design makes it as much an ornamental piece in your house as a great way to listen to music. You have the option of removing the legs too if you have a nice table to put it on.

It plays 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records and houses dual stereo speakers. You can connect it up via RCA output or even Bluetooth if you fancy.

Audio-Technica

Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB-BK Direct-Drive Turntable

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Not all record players are made alike, and the Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB-BK Direct-Drive Turntable is one that stands out among the crowds.

It has a classic look and is packed with features. It’ll play 33 1/3, 45, and 75 RPM records, and while it doesn’t come with speakers, it can be connected to your favourite speakers through RCA cables or USB.

If you’re a die-hard turntable enthusiast, then Audio-Technica’s fantastic reputation and the long list of features on this record player make it a worthy option.

Steepletone

Steepletone BT-SMC386r PRO

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For those who use every way imaginable to listen to music, there are few systems that will cater to them. There is the Steepletone BT-SMC386r PRO, however, an 8-in-1 music player.

It definitely has an air of old-school to it. The main body houses a record player on top, twin cassette tape players, an FM and AM radio, CD player, a place for a USB stick, SD card slot, and Bluetooth.

Then there are two classic-looking speakers on either side as well for a stereo sound.

If you’ve got a whole host of different ways to listen to music from pretty much every generation, then the Steepletone BT-SMC386r PRO is something to look at.

House of Marley

House of Marley Stir It Up Record Player

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The House of Marley Stir It Up Record Player brings the record player right up to modern standards. Its sleek bamboo cover will match right up in your stylish living room.

It connects to your Mac or PC via USB, so you can digitally record your vinyls if you like, in case you want to take that classic music with you in the car.

It’ll play both 35 and 45 RPM records powered by a preamp through speakers of your choice.

Udreamer

Udreamer Vinyl Record Player

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We love the fact that the Udreamer Vinyl Record Player delivers a retro look, but still maintains an ageless class. It wouldn’t be out of place in any living room.

It’s able to play in 33-1/3, 45, and 78 RPM, as well as 3 sizes of record: 7”, 10” and 12”. The spring and belt-driven design in combination with the wooden build help it absorb any vibrations and deliver a warm tone.

If you’re out of vinyls to play for the evening, then switch over to your phone with its Bluetooth functionality.

Victrola

Victrola Navigator 8-in-1 Classic Bluetooth Record Player

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Talk about bringing back the retro. The Victrola Navigator 8-in-1 Classic Bluetooth Record Player travels through time with its analog knobs and dials to deliver a distinguished style.

A lovely hinged door reveals the belt-driven turntable that can play 33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM records. That large radio dial is just awesome and dominates the front.

It’s not just a radio and record player, though. There’s a CD player and cassette, player, AUX jack, and even Bluetooth s you can stream from other devices. Looking at it, you’d never guess.

SeeYing

SeeYing Record Player with Speakers Bluetooth Turntable with FM Stereo Radio

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The SeeYing Record Player with Speakers is a bang-up-to-date turntable. It’s got speakers on its sides that you can even connect a Bluetooth device to when you run out of records.

No matter if you have 7, 10, or 12 inch vinyls, or need 33, 45, or 78 RPM playing speeds, this record player has you covered.

The sedate styling will make it work in most spaces too.

Victrola

Victrola Vintage 3-Speed Bluetooth Portable Suitcase Record Player

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The Victrola Vintage 3-Speed Bluetooth Portable Suitcase Record Player transports you back to a day when taking your music with you wasn’t quite as easy as it is today.

But there’s nothing like the sound of vinyl. Take this along with you to parties to give the music a bit of a taste of the classics.

Everything’s included in the Victrola Vintage, so you don’t need to connect it to any speakers. It also will play 33 1/3, 45, or 78 RPM playing speeds

WOCKODER

WOCKODER Record Player Turntable

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The WOCKODER Record Player Turntable brings back the 70s in style and does so in a compact package.

The belt driven player and spring on the turntable base make sure vibration is kept to a minimum, which is great for sound quality.

It’s simple to use with little fuss needed to get going. And it’s also got Bluetooth in case you’re keen on something not yet released on vinyl.

Kedok

Kedok Belt Driven Suitcase Vinyl Record Player

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Retro styling meets modern tech. The Kedok Belt Driven Suitcase Vinyl Record Player is a great looking turntable that allows you to listen to your records wherever you go.

It’s capable of playing three different-sized records in three speeds, and has built-in speakers so you don’t need anything more to play your classics.

Writing by Claudio Rebuzzi. Editing by Dan Grabham.

Google Photos finally stops pretending its compressed photos are ‘high quality’

Are you planning to stick with Google Photos when its free unlimited storage disappears on June 1st? If you’re anything like me, you’re probably still struggling to figure out whether you can afford to procrastinate that decision a little bit longer — and today, Google has made that reckoning a little bit easier.

First off, the company’s finally telling it like it is: Google will no longer pretend its compressed, lower-quality photos and videos are “High quality,” something that would have saved me a lengthy explanation just last week! (After June 1st, existing Google Pixel phone owners still get unlimited “High quality” photos, but if you’re on, say, a Samsung or iPhone instead, it’s not like there was ever a “Normal quality” photo that doesn’t count against the new 15GB limit.)

Soon, “Storage saver” will be the name for Google’s normal-quality photos, formerly known as “High quality.” You’ll be able to upload at either the “Storage saver” or “Original quality” tiers, both of which will count against your storage quota, with “Original quality” using more data.

What if you’ve already got 10GB worth of Gmail and 2GB of documents stored in a Google Drive like yours truly, leaving just 3GB left for photos before you’ll need to pay? First off, know that your existing “High quality” photos before June 1st don’t count against the quota — but also, Google has a new tool to help you find and delete blurry photos and large videos to help you free up even more space.

You can find it in the “Manage storage” section of the app, as you can see in the GIF above. It’ll also help you find and delete screenshots, though that’s been a feature of Google Photos for a while now. Google also promises to notify users who are nearing their quota, and you can click here for a storage estimate if you’re logged into your account.

Still confused, perhaps? I wouldn’t blame you; it took a while for me to get it all straight in my head, particularly considering that Google offers different levels of grandfathered free storage depending on which Pixel phone you own. Here’s an attempt to condense that info for you:

Everyone, including non-Pixel owners: Anything you upload before June 1st, 2021, won’t count against your 15GB quota
Pixel 3A, Pixel 4, Pixel 4A, Pixel 5: You also still get unlimited free “Storage saver,” aka “High quality” images going forward, but not “Original quality”
Pixel 3: You still get unlimited free “Original quality” photos and videos if you upload them before January 1st, 2022, after which you get unlimited “Storage saver” going forward
Pixel 2: You got (past tense) unlimited free “Original quality” photos and videos if you uploaded them before January 16th, 2021, and you get unlimited “Storage saver” going forward
Pixel (2016): You get unlimited free “Original quality” photos and videos until your phone kicks the bucket

Future Google phones won’t have these perks: existing Pixels will be the last to come with free unlimited “High quality” uploads, Google confirmed to The Verge in November.