Robinhood has started restricting trading in cryptocurrencies this morning, just as the price of joke cryptocurrency Dogecoin has soared more than 300 percent in 24 hours. CNBCreports that Robinhood users started noticing instant deposits for cryptocurrencies were no longer working on Friday morning, and the company has confirmed it has put restrictions in place.
“Due to extraordinary market conditions, we’ve temporarily turned off Instant buying power for crypto,” says a Robinhood spokesperson in a statement to CNBC. “Customers can still use settled funds to buy crypto. We’ll keep monitoring market conditions and communicating with our customers.”
Dogecoin price on Friday morning.Image: Coindesk
Dogecoin came to life in 2013 off the back of a Twitter joke — a play on bitcoin and the doge meme. Its price started soaring yesterday, and Dogecoin currently stands at a more than $7 billion market cap thanks to a huge volume of transactions over the past 24 hours.
The market activity and restrictions over the past 24 hours have now made Dogecoin a popular meme among the r/WallStreetBets investors. Dogecoin has been consistently spammed in the WallStreetBets Discord server over the past couple of days.
Bitcoin is also on the move, up nearly 20 percent over the past 24 hours. Tesla CEO Elon Musk also changed his Twitter profile to include #bitcoin and tweeted “in retrospect, it was inevitable.”
Elon Musk’s Twitter profile now mentions bitcoin.
Robinhood’s latest crypto restrictions come less than a day after the company moved to restrict its users from buying or trading any of the popular Reddit r/WallStreetBets stocks, including GameStop ($GME), AMC ($AMC), BlackBerry ($BB), Bed Bath & Beyond ($BBBY), Nokia ($NOK), and more.
It’s a move that has been met with widespread criticism, and Google was forced to salvage Robinhood’s one-star rating on the Google Play Store by deleting nearly 100,000 negative reviews after unhappy users review-bombed the app. Robinhood says it will now allow “limited buys” of stocks like GameStop starting Friday.
(Pocket-lint) – In the world of tech we’ve become accustomed to devices with multiple purposes. One could point at the smartphone as being the ultimate example of that – with plethora of apps, it’s replaced our physical alarm clocks, calendars, to-do lits, sticky notes, cameras, and many other functions. So when a gadget comes along with a single purpose, it catches our attention.
That’s what Norway-based ReMarkable is attempting to do with its paper tablet. It’s a digital tablet, but it’s designed to replace paper and pen only. To do that, the company has focused on recreating a genuine paper-and-pen experience of writing, so that – in this age of wanting to reduce our impact on the planet – it can replace physical notebooks and notepads.
It’s not cheap, but for those who love to write with a pen or pencil on paper – whether to jot down ideas, keep a journal, or just doodling – it’s a modern alternative to books, which either take up space on our shelves, or paper, which inevitably ends up in the recycling bin.
Design and display
Dimensions: 187 x 246 x 4.7mm / Weight: 403g
10.3-inch monochrome display
One of the elements that makes ReMarkable’s second-generation tablet so appealing its its design. It’s made from super slim piece of aluminium. And when we say super slim, it really is: imagine if someone sliced an iPad Air in half and you’re pretty much there. At just 4.7mm thick, the ReMarkable 2 is much slimmer than your typical tablet.
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That slimness makes it a pleasure to hold, but also makes it really easy to carry around in your bag. You don’t need to make space for it. Likewise, at just 403 grams, it’s not that heavy either – about a third of a laptop’s typical weight.
This isn’t really for carrying around instead of your laptop, phone or tablet though. Due to the ReMarkable 2’s dedicated function, it’s really just to replace an A4 notepad. In that context, it’s far easier and more convenient to carry around than a Black’n’Red ruled notepad. And that’s where its attraction first sets in. For those of us used to carrying around paper sketchpads or notebooks, the lightness and ease of the ReMarkable 2 is really appealing.
The display takes up a lot – but not all – of the space on the front. It’s surrounded by a white bezel which is thicker on the bottom than on the top, to give you somewhere to rest your palm when you’re writing on the bottom section of the digital page. What we like is how this white frame is designed to match the default white surface of the E-Ink display. It’s also covered in the same matte-textured glass.
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This same texture and finish is on the back too, which adds consistency to the feeling and look from both sides of the tablet. It contrasts nicely with the dark grey metal frame that runs around the edges and the metal side panel on the left edge. One nice little detail is the rubber feet on the back – there are four tiny rubber dots, one per corner, so that when you place the tablet down on a desk or table to write on it, it doesn’t feel uneven or slip around.
As far as ports and buttons go, there’s not much to talk about. There’s a power/sleep button right on the top edge in the left corner, with a USB Type-C port for charging on the bottom edge. Apart from that, you have a five-dot connection point on the left edge, with magnets built into the sides that allow you to snap on one of the company’s luxurious and lovely folio cases, or the essential Marker stylus.
Reading, writing and rhythm
Textured display surface
Digital ‘Marker’ support
Multiple page formats as standard
PDF and ePUB file reading
After we’d finished gawping at the slim design, the thing that stood out is just how easy the ReMarkable 2 is to get writing on. That’s pretty much the entire point of this tablet – to feel like pen/pencil on paper.
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There’s no learning curve. No awkward repositioning of a hand because it was making the touchscreen react oddly. No having to hold the Marker (stylus) in a specific way to see what we were doing. We just put the tablet down, loaded up an Oxford-ruled lined paper template, then started writing. Easy.
That textured surface on the front is a big part of what makes this tablet such a pleasure to use. Your hand doesn’t slip like it might on a glossy slab of glass, like the displays on ‘proper’ tablets. What’s more, because it’s a transflective E-Ink display, the surface reflects the colour temperature of the light in the room, so it looks natural.
Reponse on screen is relatively lag-free. It’s not quite as instant as using a real pen on real paper, but it’s not far off and it’s not laggy enough that it stops the natural feeling. The monochrome E-Ink also means it’s easy to see what you’re doing. It’s inky black and relatively sharp thanks to its 226dpi resolution.
However, it’s not sharp enough that it looks super crisp, not so responsive that it feels effortlessly fluid. Both points that could be improved a little for third-generation model, if there is one in the future.
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The only aspect to learn is the interface, but that doesn’t take long. The home page – if you want to call it that – is an overview of your notebooks. You create new ones by tapping an icon at the top of the screen, where you select what style of paper you want, which is where its versatility shines.
Not only can you choose from a wide array of standard lined, ruled and grid papers, but for the musically minded there are useful templates like guitar tab, bass tab, guitar chords, and piano sheet templates in various sizes. There are week planner templates for those who like to get their week organised in advance, and – for artists – various isometric, symmetrical and caligraphy templates.
Essentially, if you can buy a book from a stationery story with bespoke template lines in, ReMarkable has thought of it and added it to the available options. So if you need one notebook as a journal, another for practicising your calligraphy, another for song-writing, and another just for planning and doodling ideas, you can do that all in the one place.
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Once you’re in a notebook, drawing away, you can add multiple layers to a page and hide layers you’re not working on, just like working in painting app/programme, so it’s even flexible in that regard. You can also choose which style of pen you’re using within a page. For instance, choosing a paintbrush, pencil or pen, depending on how you want to draw or write.
The only thing that took us aback a little was that the ReMarkable tablet doesn’t come with a stylus as standard – that’s an additional extra. Which is unusual given how essential it is to using the tablet. And how pricey the product is in the first place. The Marker has a built-in ‘eraser’ at the end for rubbing out text on screen. There’s no setup required and you don’t need to charge it. It just works – much like a real pen.
While the ReMarkable 2’s primary aim is as a distraction-free creation tool, that’s not all it can do. With ePub and PDF support, you can load up e-books and documents on to it as well for offline reading. What’s more, with the iOS and Android smartphone apps, plus the MacOS and Windows 10 desktop apps, you can sign into your account on a smart device and read/sync pages and notebooks for easy access everywhere.
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The biggest downside of the lot, however, is that the display is lacking a backlight. So those wanting to read, write or create while in bed at night will need a bedside lamp on in order to see what they’re doing. Again, much like real paper.
Verdict
Sometimes a gadget comes along that’s so niche and limited in its purpose that for most people it’d be a needless expense. But for those who want to reduce their impact on the planet but love handwriting notes, plans and journals, the ReMarkable 2 is simply divine. With a backlight on the display it’d be almost perfect, although it’s not cheap.
If you’re completely focussed on going paperless, there isn’t a product on the market that can replicate the pleasure of writing with a pen on paper digitally like the ReMarkable 2. It’s divine.
With that said, its limited functionality and singular purpose mean that it’s not a gadget for most people. It’s not going to replace your existing tablet, laptop, Kindle or phone, but we get the sense that ReMarkable is fine with that. It knows its audience, and for those people, it might just be the perfect device.
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign announced that it will discontinue its use of remote-proctoring software Proctorio after its summer 2021 term. The decision follows almost a year of outcry over the service, both on UIUC’s campus and around the US, citing concerns with privacy, discrimination, and accessibility.
Proctorio is one of the most prominent software platforms that colleges and universities use to watch for cheating on remote tests. It uses what its website describes as “machine learning and advanced facial detection technologies” to record students through their webcams while they work on their exams and monitor the position of their heads. The software flags “suspicious signs” to professors, who can review its recordings. The platform also enables professors to track the websites students visit during their exams, and bar them from functions like copy / pasting and printing.
Though Proctorio and similar services have been around for years, their use exploded in early 2020 when COVID-19 drove schools around the US to move a bulk of their instruction online. So, too, has scrutiny towards their practices. Students and instructors at universities around the country have spoken out against the widespread use of the software, claiming that it causes unnecessary anxiety, violates privacy, and has the potential to discriminate against marginalized students.
In an email to instructors, ADA coordinator Allison Kushner and Vice Provost Kevin Pitts wrote that professors who continue to use Proctorio through the summer 2021 term are “expected to accommodate students that raise accessibility issues,” and that the campus is “investigating longer-term remote proctoring options.”
Proctorio has been controversial on UIUC’s campus since the service was introduced last spring, and concerned students only grew more vocal through the fall 2020 semester. (Due to COVID-19, the school now operates with a hybrid of online and in-person instruction.) Over 1,000 people signed a petition calling on the university to stop using the service. “Proctorio is not only inefficient, it is also unsafe and a complete violation of a student’s privacy,” reads the petition.
UIUC is one of many campuses where remote proctoring has faced backlash. A Miami University petition, which gathered over 500 signatures, declared that “Proctorio’s design invades student rights, is inherently ableist and discriminatory, and is inconsistent with peer reviewed research.” Over 3,500 signatories have called on the University of Regina to end its use of ProctorTrack, another automated proctoring service. A 1,200-signature petition urges the University of Central Florida to dump Honorlock, another similar software, declaring that “students should not be forced to sign away their privacy and rights in order to take a test.”
Professors and staff have criticized the service as well. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) filed a complaint against Proctorio (alongside four other test-proctoring services), claiming that the services’ collection of personal information amounts to “unfair and deceptive trade practices.” Even US senators have gotten involved; a coalition including Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) sent an open letter to Proctorio and two similar services in December citing a number of concerns about their business practices. “Students have run head on into the shortcomings of these technologies—shortcomings that fall heavily on vulnerable communities and perpetuate discriminatory biases,” wrote the senators.
The complaints largely revolve around security and privacy — Proctorio’s recordings give instructors and the service access to some of test-takers’ browsing data, and a glimpse of their private homes in some cases. (Proctorio stated in its response to the Senators’ letter that “test-taker data is secured and processed through multiple layers of encryption” and that Proctorio retains its recordings “for the minimum amount of time required by either our customer or by applicable law.”)
Accessibility is another common concern. Students have reported not having access to a webcam at home, or enough bandwidth to accommodate the service; one test-taker told The Vergethat she had to take her first chemistry test in a Starbucks parking lot last semester.
Students have also reported that services like Proctorio have difficulty identifying test-takers with darker skin tones, and may disproportionately flag students with certain disabilities. Research has found that even the best facial-recognition algorithms make more errors in identifying Black faces than they do identifying white ones. Proctorio stated in its response that “We believe all of these cases were due to issues relating to lighting, webcam position, or webcam quality, not race.”
“We take these concerns seriously,” reads UIUC’s email, citing student complaints related to “accessibility, privacy, data security and equity” as factors in its decision. It recommends that students for whom Proctorio presents a barrier to test-taking “make alternative arrangements” as the program is phased out, and indicates that accessibility will be considered in the selection of the next remote-proctoring solution.
We’ve reached out to UIUC and Proctorio for comment, and will update this story if we hear back.
Google is actively removing negative reviews of the Robinhood app from the Google Play Store, the company confirmed to The Verge. After some disgruntled Robinhood users organized campaigns to give the app a one-star review on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store — and succeeded in review-bombing it all the way down to a one-star rating — the company has now deleted enough reviews to bring it back up to nearly four stars.
Robinhood came under intense scrutiny on Thursday, after the stock trading app announced it would block purchases of GameStop, AMC, and other stocks made popular by the r/WallStreetBets subreddit, and some users have already replaced their deleted one-star reviews with new ones to make their anger heard.
Here’s a screenshot from the Play Store page captured by 9to5Google when the app had a one-star rating and nearly 275,000 reviews:
Robinhood’s page on the Play Store earlier on Thursday.Image: 9to5Google
And here’s a screenshot we took shortly before publishing this article, showing a nearly four-star rating and around 180,000 reviews.
Robinhood’s Play Store rating later on Thursday.
It’s not outside Google’s purview to delete these posts. Google’s policies explicitly prohibit reviews intended to manipulate an app’s rating, and the company says it has a system that “combines human intelligence with machine learning to detect and enforce policy violations in ratings and reviews.” Google says it specifically took action on reviews that it felt confident violated those policies, the company tells The Verge. Google says companies do not have the ability to delete reviews themselves.
On Apple’s App Store, Robinhood has a 4.7 rating, and we didn’t see any reviews newer than Wednesday. However, popular apps like TikTok, Uno, and Genshin Impact also didn’t have reviews from any later than Wednesday when we checked.
Unhappy Robinhood users aren’t just using reviews to show their ire — they’re also calling for a class action lawsuit. Later on Thursday, Robinhood said it would allow “limited buys” of certain stocks on Friday. The company said that halting purchases on Thursday was “a risk-management decision.”
Before the Raspberry Pi Pico arrived, there was a sharp distinction between the Raspberry Pi and Arduino ecosystems. The Pi is a Linux computer that boots up into a full operating system and the Arduino is a microcontroller that just runs one program at a time. With the arrival of the Raspberry Pi Pico, which is itself a microcontroller, and the new RP2040 SoC, the distinction has blurred. Raspberry Pi Foundation now makes its own silicon, and is enabling partners to use ‘Pi Silicon’ in their boards including Arduino which is working on its own RP2040-based board with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Both the Arduino and the Raspberry Pi Pico are great for physical computing projects where the main goal is to activate lights, motors and sensors reliably, without all the overhead of running a full-operating system. You can even use either one in combination with a regular Raspberry Pi, and use one for higher-level tasks like A.I. and the other for interfacing with electronic components.
The first Arduino board was introduced in 2005 and, since then, millions have been sold and a huge ecosystem has arisen. Meanwhile, the Raspberry Pi Pico just launched recently, but already we’re seeing a ton of support for it. So which is better and which should you use in your next project? To help you decide, we’ll compare the two platforms based on functionality, value, power consumption and more.
Functionality and GPIO of Raspberry Pi Pico vs Arduino
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Raspberry Pi Pico introduces a new form factor to the Raspberry Pi ecosystem, a 40 pin ‘DIP’ style PCB. All 40 pins are broken out to standard pads and, around the perimeter, there are castellations which can be used to solder the Pico to a carrier board in a similar fashion to surface mount electronics.
The DIP package is nothing new, Arduino boards such as the Micro have been using it for years. The DIP package can be soldered into a carrier board, placed into a breadboard or stacked atop compatible addons. It is a more convenient package compared to the Raspberry Pi and Arduino Uno style layouts which favour a larger layout. Adopting the DIP layout, the Raspberry Pi Pico provides us with an easy to use form factor which is easy to embed into a project.
The Raspberry Pi Pico GPIO offers plenty of digital IO, three analog inputs and multiple I2C, SPI and UART connections. But what the Pico also offers are a series of programmable IO (PIO) pins which can be configured to simulate other interfaces / protocols such as WS2812 “NeoPixels”, they can also be used to offload complex tasks to a background process. All of this from a $4 board means the Raspberry Pi Pico is a low cost “Swiss Army knife” of GPIO pins.
Winner: Raspberry Pi Pico
SoC of Raspberry Pi Pico vs Arduino
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The older and more popular Arduino boards are powered by Atmel chips such as the ATMega328P but the later boards now feature Arm CPUs. For example Arduino’s Portenta H7 has a dual core Arm Cortex M7+M4 CPU. While the ATMega328 is never going to compete with an Arm processor, it is a reliable chip for projects, proven by the countless number of Arduino projects on offer.
Arm chips are becoming more common with microcontrollers, Adafruit, Seeed and SparkFun have all developed boards with Arm chips. Microcontrollers do not necessarily need multiple cores and fast speeds as they are typically used for a single part of a process.
The RP2040 used in the Raspberry Pi Pico is a level above a typical microcontroller. First of all, we have a dual core Arm Cortex M0+ running at up to 133 MHz, much faster than an UNO’s 16 MHz 328P. SRAM on the RP2040 is 264KB, again much more than the Uno’s 2KB. With only 32KB of flash storage the Uno again falls short of the 2MB found on the Pico.
But how does the Pico shape up against Arduino’s flagship board the Portenta H7? Well the Portenta H7 features a dual core Arm Cortex M7 + M4 that can run up to 480 MHz and have up to 2MB of flash storage and 1MB of RAM. The Portenta H7 also comes with WiFi, Bluetooth, camera interface and a GPU. The Portenta H7 blows the Raspberry Pi Pico out of the water in every way, except the price. Retailing for €89.90 (excluding taxes) which is approximately $109, the Portenta H7 has a high price for the level of tech squeezed within it. To put it into perspective, $109 would buy 27 Raspberry Pi Pico boards.
Winner: Raspberry Pi Pico
Coding Raspberry Pi Pico vs Arduino
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Arduino IDE is the go to editor for Arduino projects, but there are alternatives in the form of PlatformIO and Arduino Create, a cloud IDE from Arduino. But the Arduino IDE is still what many use and think of when they see “Arduino.”
The Arduino IDE has improved over the years and now we see built in features such as multiple board management and a means to search and install libraries of packages for add-ons and accessories. Arduino Create is a cloud version of the Arduino IDE. It is designed for IoT projects, but it can still be used to tinker with even the most basic Arduino code. PlatformIO comes in three versions, a command line tool, a dedicated IDE, or it can integrate with your existing IDE for example Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code.
As we noted in our Raspberry Pi Pico review, the new platform has two officially supported languages, C and MicroPython. Currently C/C++ on the Raspberry Pi Pico is a workflow best left for advanced users. In fact, Raspberry Pi officially suggests using MicroPython with the Pico especially for new users.
If you would like to write C code on your Raspberry Pi Pico, then you have two main choices. Write the code in an editor (Vi / Vim. nano etc) and then build the code using terminal tools, or set up Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code and use a number of extensions to create a workflow to build and flash code to the Pico. Both of these approaches are possible but they are not the most user friendly. However, help may soon be at hand via an update to the Arduino IDE with support for the RP2040 chip.
If Python is your preferred language, then you are in luck as the Raspberry Pi Pico supports MicroPython, a version of Python 3 for microcontrollers. At launch, MicroPython can be written in two ways, directly into the Python Shell, known as the REPL (Read, Eval, Print, Loop) or we can use an IDE such as Thonny which has support baked in from version 3.3.0 onwards. The path of least resistance is via MicroPython: we can quickly write and deploy our code from the fantastic Thonny editor and we’re using a standard language that’s very popular and used across a variety of platforms.
Winner: Raspberry Pi Pico
Ease of Use on Raspberry Pi Pico vs Arduino
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Other Raspberry Pi boards are computers. Once we have our OS on the SD card, we use them in the same manner as any computer. But with the Raspberry Pi Pico we see a change of workflow.
No matter our language choice, we need to flash the Pico with an image for that language. This then enables us to write and save code directly to the board. The format of choice for images is UF2, a USB flashing format from Microsoft which has been championed by Adafruit for their CircuitPython range of boards. We just need to press the BOOTSEL button as we plug in the micro USB cable, drop the UF2 file onto the RPI-R2 drive and, in a few seconds, we can start writing code. This ease of use is evident in the MicroPython workflow. Once we have the MicroPython UF2 file on the Pico, we can simply connect using Thonny and start writing code.
The C/C++ workflow is a little more advanced and something that would put off those new to the scene as it requires significant “hoop jumping” in which to create a final product. From a terminal, we need to write the project code in a text editor, then after downloading extra applications and dependencies, we can “build” the project into a UF2 file which is then manually copied to the Pico.
A slightly more automated process is available via Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code, in which we can write the project code and build via just a few clicks. That’s not the most user friendly process for newbies, but this is set to change and it is thanks to Arduino. The Arduino team announced that they are working on an Arduino core for the RP2040. What does this mean? Well it offers the chance to use the Arduino IDE with the Raspberry Pi Pico and other RP2040 based boards
The Arduino IDE workflow has been influenced by years of improvements and feedback; the entire process happens in app with very limited interaction from the user. ore advanced users can change the board, ports and libraries used in a project, features which have seen great improvement in recent Arduino IDE releases.
There are alternatives to the Arduino IDE, including Arduino Create, a cloud version of the IDE which is free for limited use, but to do anything “serious” we need to sign up for a paid plan. The Arduino Create IoT Cloud is a means to create applications based around the Arduino ecosystem and it works exceptionally well, but you will need to invest a little time to learn the process.
How easy to physically use are the Pico and Arduino boards? The first big difference is that the Raspberry Pi Pico comes unsoldered. This is no great issue as it is easy to solder your own pins, provided that you have a soldering iron. Typically Arduino boards comes pre-soldered, with the exception of DIP based board such as the Arduino Nano Every and Nano 33 IoT. With presoldered Arduinos we can start hacking straight out of the box.
Winner: Raspberry Pi Pico
Power Consumption on Raspberry Pi Pico vs Arduino
The Raspberry Pi Pico is an efficient board for embedded projects. Compared to a typical Raspberry Pi, the Pico consumes much less current, because it is a microcontroller with none of the overheads that a computer brings.
In our review test we powered a Raspberry Pi Pico running 12 Neopixel LEDS at full brightness from a 5V power supply. We recorded 140mA current draw, 0.7W! This is remarkable as a Raspberry Pi 4 running idle with nothing connected would run at 4-5W. So compared to Raspberry Pi, the Pico sips power but how does it compare to an Arduino Uno running the same test?
We recorded 5V at 90mA, 0.45W! So the Arduino Uno consumes the least amount of power but then that was to be expected given that it has the slowest processor. If we were to repeat the test with another board, say the Portenta H7, then we would see a much higher power use as the Arm CPU used on the Portenta is more powerful than even the RP2040.
Winner: Arduino
Which is Better: Raspberry Pi Pico or Arduino?
At $4 and with an impressive selection of GPIO pins, ease of use and great documentation, the Raspberry Pi Pico is the best board for microcontroller projects. For such a small amount of money you get official hardware and know that it will work as expected, unlike other clone boards.
Don’t get us wrong; we have many clone boards in our workshop, but each of those boards has its own quirks that we must work around. Right now MicroPython is your best bet to quickly get up and running with your Pico, but once the Arduino IDE is updated to support the Pico, this will greatly improve the C/C++ workflow to a point where even Arduino fans may just be tempted to try out the Raspberry Pi Pico over their previous favorite.
With the superb construction, elegant design and perfectly natural sound of the Michi P5 and S5 combo from Rotel, the only question left to ask is ‘how much?’ The pair offer awesomely low noise with huge output and do so in a gorgeous package.
For
Superb sound
Prestige appearance
Great built-in DAC
Against
No AES/EBU input
Cross-talk between each unit’s remote
Incredibly heavy and bulky
Aus Hi-Fi mag review
(Image credit: Future)
This review and test originally appeared in Australian Hi-Fi magazine, one of What Hi-Fi?’s sister titles from Down Under. Click here for more information about Australian Hi-Fi, including links to buy individual digital editions and details on how to subscribe.
Rotel Michi S5 tested at £3299 (AU$5999). Rotel Michi P5 tested at £5399 (AU$10,399).
Can a famous brand be a victim of its own success? Ask any professional marketing person that question and their answer will be a resounding “Yes!” Take, for example, one of the world’s most famous motor vehicle manufacturers, Toyota.
Toyota is not only one of the most famous car companies in the world, it also sells more passenger vehicles than any other car manufacturer. But when it first tried to enter the luxury vehicle market to compete against the likes of Rolls Royce, Mercedes Benz and Daimler, with its fabulous – and famous – Century model, it could not gain any traction on the world market.
No-one wanted to buy one, despite its technical superiority and the provision of luxury fittings no other vehicle had, such as reclining rear seats with built-in massage systems, and doors that opened and closed electronically at the touch of a button. Still in production, the Toyota Century is the vehicle that is used to transport both the Japanese Emperor Naruhito and the former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzō Abe.
It wasn’t the money that stopped those who could afford it from buying a Toyota Century (the current model will set you back more than AU$250,000), it was the badge on the bonnet. Because anyone could own a Toyota, it seems that the rich didn’t want to be seen in one. Motoring enthusiasts didn’t want to be seen in one either. Imagine if, when asked what type of exotic vehicle they drove, they had to answer “a Toyota”.
So what did Toyota do? It started building luxury vehicles that didn’t have the Toyota badge on them, but another one. That name?
You know it already: Lexus. And they sold like hot cakes (and still do), because, quite frankly, not everyone can own a Lexus.
Which brings us to Rotel.
At the start of the hi-fi era, in the 70s, Rotel was by far and away the best-selling hi-fi component manufacturer in Japan and, indeed, in all probability the best-selling hi-fi brand right around the world, with a well-deserved reputation for delivering top quality at reasonable prices.
However, as more and more manufacturers entered its particular niche in the hi-fi market, Rotel’s market share diminished, so that in the early 90s, the company decided to start building high-powered, high-performance ‘luxury’ models to compete against the likes of Luxman and Accuphase in its home market, and against the likes of McIntosh and Audio Research on the world stage.
The models it built were undeniably fabulous and were certainly completely different visually from all other Rotel products, exemplified by the appearance of the RHC-10 preamplifier and RHB-10 dual mono power amplifier, to name but two. The company also learned from Toyota’s marketing faux pas and branded the models ‘Michi’, which is often translated from the Japanese as meaning ‘Righteous Way’. But instead of leaving it at that, it marketed the brand as ‘Michi by Rotel’. You can guess the rest.
This time around, twenty years into a new century, the Michi brand name is just ‘Michi’, the marketing is for ‘Michi’ and the brand writ large on the front panels is also just ‘Michi’. It’s only if you look around the back that you’ll find small lettering that says ‘By Rotel’. “Michi is taking Rotel’s values of excellent performance and value into the high-end segment with models that offer new levels of engineering, build and design while setting new reference standards for audio performance,” says managing director Peter Kao. “We have used all of our 55 years of design and manufacturing experience to create our best-ever products.”
Best stereo amplifiers: best integrated amps for every budget
Michi S5 preamplifier
The front panel of the Michi S5 Control Preamplifier’s austere exterior, with its black glass plate and two large rotary controls gives absolutely no clue as to the complexity of what’s inside it… at least it doesn’t until you switch it on and its brilliant full-colour OLED panel springs into life.
Then, if you spin the left-most control to see what sources might be on offer, you’ll discover that the P5 has no fewer than six line level inputs, four of which are unbalanced (via RCA inputs) and two of which are balanced (via XLR) plus a single phono input which you can switch between being most suitable for either moving-coil or moving-magnet cartridges.
On the digital side, you get six SPDIF inputs, three optical and three coaxial, as well as USB and Bluetooth. Curiously, there is no AES/EBU input.
The Michi S5’s extensive menu system allows owners sophisticated customisation options for all inputs, so you can switch off the ones you’re not using so they don’t appear when you’re scrolling through inputs, rename any or all of the inputs to more accurately reflect whatever component you have connected to them, plus you can use the Michi’s bass and treble controls to make specific tonal modifications attach to the specific input you’re using.
You can also fix a specific volume level to each input that will override any other volume setting and cannot itself by changed using the front panel volume control or the infra-red remote control’s up/down buttons. Michi says of this feature: “This is useful for input sources that include their own volume setting like common Apps on phones or tablets.”
Look around the rear of the amplifier and you’ll find some additional digital connections, but the network port is only for firmware updates and control over IP, and that USB-A socket is only there to power external devices. It has no digital signal capability. The RS232 connector is there, of course, to facilitate custom installation integration.
Also on the rear panel are six pairs of stereo line outputs, labelled ‘Line Out’, ‘Mono Sub Out’, ‘Pre Out1’ and ‘Pre Out2’, ‘Balanced Out1’ and ‘Balanced Out2’. The ‘left’ and ‘right’ subwoofer outputs are not stereo: as the labelling suggests, each one outputs a summed signal derived from both channels. You also get two digital outputs, one coaxial and the other optical.
The USB input supports 16-bit and 24-bit PCM from 44.1kHz up to 384kHz as well as DSD64 and DSD128, but to do this via a PC, you’ll have to load a Windows Driver, which Michi helpfully supplies on a USB stick. Mac users, of course, don’t need a driver: their computers will just work properly with the Michi. The SPDIF inputs support 16/24 PCM up to 192kHz. Digital decoding is accomplished using an AKM4490EQ 32-bit/768 kHz dual DAC, one of the best of the currently available devices.
Whereas Rotel equipment was once manufactured in Japan, like the great majority of Japanese hi-fi manufacturers (and many other hi-fi manufacturers around the world), it is now manufactured in China, and the same is true for components bearing the Michi name. However, Rotel retains a point of difference from most manufacturers because it owns its own factory in Zhuhai in China, which it established in 2005. Rotel says that although Michi components are manufactured at that same facility, they are made in a separate section of one of the factories.
(Image credit: Rotel)
Best phono preamps: budget to high-end
Michi P5 power amplifier
Me saying earlier on that the front panel of the Michi S5 was austere doesn’t leave me much to say about the Michi P5 stereo power amplifier’s front panel because, as you can see for yourself, it’s even more umm… austere.
There’s just a single button at the bottom centre of its front panel, which is actually a standby power switch, since the main power switch is on the rear panel. Since power amplifiers consume a lot of power even when they’re not being used, and particularly so in the case of the Michi P5, which is rated with a power output of 500-watts per channel into 8Ω, you can choose to have the Michi P5 switch itself off automatically after a no-signal period of 20 minutes, 1, hour, 2 hours, 5 hours or 10 hours. Alternatively, you can disable the automatic power-down circuit completely so it never switches off.
As with the S5, the P5 has a very bright OLED display whose primary feature is its ability to act as a spectrum analyser, showing the spectrum of the music being played in your choice of 8, 12 or 16 bands, or you can choose to have the display act as a VU meter, for which there are four different options (VU/x2/x4/x8). For either setting you can choose between four different brightness levels, or you can choose to switch the display off entirely.
The display also shows the input voltage at the top right of the display and the temperature of the heatsinks at the top left. The voltage shown on the display (240V) didn’t actually reflect the mains voltage in my home at the time, which was 244V, so it might just show the intended operating voltage, rather than the actual voltage being delivered to the amplifier.
Being a power amplifier, all the action is around the rear, and you should be able to see from the photograph that the Michi P5 has two sets of inputs, one balanced (XLR) and the other unbalanced (gold-plated RCA). The rocker switch that selects which of the two will be active is located above them, with a network port and RS232 to its left, and 12V trigger inputs and outputs to its right.
There are two pairs of high-quality speaker terminals that are colour-coded and have collars that make it very easy for the knobs to get a grip on bare wire, plus you can also use banana plugs. In a really welcome move, the knobs are completely removable, so you can use ultra-secure insulated eye terminal terminations on your speaker cables if you like.
As you might have guessed from the size of the Michi P5’s chassis, the rated power output into 4Ω (800-watts) and the relatively limited amount of heatsinking – along with the fact that the heatsinks are covered by a protective layer of aluminium – the output devices are fan-cooled, for which purpose there are two large (90mm diameter) holes in either side of the rear panel.
These holes are the exits for air-cooling ducts at the other end of which are located ultra-quiet, low-speed fans that switch on when the output transistors reach a temperature of 39°C. These fans are so quiet that when they’re operating you’ll only be able to hear them by putting your ear up to the duct exit, and even then you’ll hear only a very soft sound; one that sounds uncannily as if someone is exhaling softly through their fully opened mouth.
As for those output transistors, there’s quite a few of them to be cooled – 32 of them, in fact. The power delivered to them issues from a pair of 2.2kVA transformers made in-house by Rotel itself. This is not surprising, because Rotel has been making its own mains power transformers for many years. What is rather surprising is that the four 47,000µF capacitors linked (two each via regulators) to each of these transformers are made in the UK.
I say “surprising” because Rotel is also famous for making its own capacitors, but its website informed me that it “always sources the best capacitor for each specific application”, which means that in the case of its Michi components, it uses slit-foil and T-Network electrolytic capacitors from the UK; Rubycon electrolytic capacitors from Japan; and LCR polystyrene capacitors from Wales. The integrated circuits come from Analog Devices, Texas Instruments and Burr-Brown, companies that are all domiciled in the USA.
Can I warn you in advance not to attempt to lift – or even manoeuvre – a Michi S5 on your own? Its dimensions (485x238x465mm) would make it an awkward lift at the best of times, but no matter what its dimensions, its dead weight of 60kg would make it impossible… unless you’re an Olympic weightlifter.
Performance
Rather unusually these days, Michi includes interconnects with its components. I say “unusually” because most manufacturers try to cull favour with their retailers by not including interconnects, so those retailers can make additional profit by adding interconnects to the sale.
While I have to admire Michi for doing this, the quality of the interconnects it supplies would have me asking my friendly retailer what other interconnects he might have available. The quality is, however, a moot point, because Michi provides only unbalanced interconnects, and given the choice between using balanced or unbalanced connectors to link a pre-amplifier with a power amplifier, I’d choose balanced connectors every time, so that means I’d have to spring for balanced interconnects anyway.
Each component comes with its own remote control, but the two are identical, so you can keep one for a spare. The remotes are of extremely high quality and very attractive. If only Michi had seen fit to supply high-quality name-brand alkaline (or even lithium) batteries to install in them rather than the ones it does provide. I didn’t chance it, and used my own Eveready batteries instead. Why Eveready? Because the company guarantees that its batteries will not leak, and a remote control can be ruined by a leaking battery as, to my chagrin, I once discovered.
Both units not only have identical remote controls, those controls also use identical infra-red remote codes. This has the advantage that the same remote signal turns both units on and off, and adjusts display brightness, for example. But in this case it also introduces a curious quirk so that when you’re using the remote to tell the P5 to do something, the same remote signal will tell the S5 to do something completely different… which may be, for example, to switch the display from spectrum analysis to VU.
Since any changes implemented on the P5 by this behaviour are completely benign (i.e. they have absolutely no affect on the amplifier’s sound quality or its performance or, in fact, anything that could affect the music playing at the time) I didn’t worry about it and just regarded it as a quirk. However, if you’re particularly bothered by it, you could just obscure the P5’s IR receiver so it couldn’t receive the signal.
Set-up is quite intuitive, so you are unlikely to have reason to have recourse to either of the two Owners’ Manuals, but if you do you’ll be pleased to find that they’re well-written, well-illustrated and highly informative. During set-up please resist the temptation to place the P5 on top of the S5, despite the obvious physical and visual temptations to do so. Both devices will return better performance if they’re placed side by side, or one above the other on separate racks of a proper hi-fi component shelving system.
My review units were obviously relatively new, so I made sure to burn them in continuously for several days using pink noise at relatively high volume to do so, avoiding any sonic annoyances by wiring one of the two speakers out of phase then facing it directly in front of the other loudspeaker so almost everything cancelled out. (If you haven’t ever tried this, it’s not only a great burn-in aid, but also a great party trick!)
After the long wait I was pretty eager by the time the listening sessions were scheduled and I’m here to tell you it was well worth the wait. The sound was absolutely enthralling, totally realistic and completely captivating.
I knew I was in for a treat because there was no need to acclimatise myself to anything or work my way into the listening session. Right from the outset it was all just wide smiles and toes a-tapping and allowing tracks to play right through, rather than switching to other tracks to evaluate different areas of performance.
The result of all this was that I spent rather more time listening to the Michis than I really should have given the time constraints involved in preparing a review for this issue, but there were no complaints from me. If the Michis had been performers, I would would certainly have been on my feet calling for an encore.
This same high level of performance proved true for whatever input I used, because the Michi P5’s digital and phono stages are truly excellent. If you’re a true vinylista you’ll want to use an external phono stage that enables greater precision with cartridge matching than the P5’s ‘one input fits all’ phono stage, but if you play vinyl only irregularly, I think you’ll be more than happy with the sound of the phono stage… I certainly was. I couldn’t fault the digital inputs either, whether I used SPDIF or USB. They’re so good that there would be absolutely no need to invest in an external DAC unless you’re one of those audiophiles that actually likes fiddling with different filter settings and oversampling rates. So full marks to Michi here as well.
What did I find so enthralling about the sound? Everything really. But overall, I’d have to say that what’s most impressive is the totality of the very real and tangible feeling that a musical event is taking place right there in your own room. The sonic presentation is so lively and so true-to-life it will take your breath away.
And if you’re into trying to achieve true-to-life listening levels, then the Michi S5 is amongst those very few amplifiers that will be able to realise this for you effortlessly, without stress, without distortion, without impacting on your mains power bill… and without its chassis becoming so hot you need to ruin the ambience by turning on the air-conditioning.
That said, the Michi S5’s chassis can become warm if you work it very, very hard, so do give it some room to breathe, but that said, I found that it runs far cooler than most amps of its ilk.
‘Massive’ would be the best descriptor for the bass I heard from this Michi combo, but it was at the same time delicate and tuneful. I can think of no better demonstration of these twin virtues than to suggest that you listen to the tympani in the second movement of Beethoven’s Ninth, the famous Choral Symphony.
Yes, their sound is impactful, impressive and thunderous, but many high-end amplifiers can do this. What most can’t do is reveal that there’s only two being played, or that they’re tuned an octave apart. But using this Michi duo, I could hear this instantly… and that’s a metric I’d call not just revealing, but a revelation.
But if the Michi’s ability to reveal minutiae in the bass regions is impressive, its ability is equally impressive across the midrange… if not more so. And if you want to check the midrange ability of any component, one of the best albums to use is the one that debuted Chick Corea on electric keyboard but also has two of my favourites, Joe Farrell and Flora Plurim. Despite being recorded in 1972 (or perhaps because of it), the recording is stunningly good, whether it’s Plurim’s rich scat singing or the clarity with which Corea’s staggeringly lyrical electric piano playing is revealed, and the Michis revealed everything with crystal clarity.
On this album, you can really hear how an amplifier’s ability to deliver air in the midrange aids one’s ability to hear multiple instruments clearly, no matter how closely they compete for space. Whereas I think that many of the once-revered jazz fusion albums now sound dated, ‘Return to Forever’ sounds as though it could have been recorded yesterday.
The Michis’ high-frequency performance didn’t disappoint either. I’m generally a great fan of Ludovico Einaudi (though perhaps not of his more minimalist stuff) and his album ‘Elements’ from 2015 is one of my favourites for testing the extreme highs, and most particularly the second track, Night. Just listen to that ethereal opening synth as it loops and then the way Einaudi layers all the other sounds over it. The stabbing piano notes are interjected at the perfect moments. It’s a great example of why timing is everything, and why component-chain timing is crucial for an authentic high-fidelity listening experience.
Great stereo separation and magnificent stereo imaging are crucial to tricking the ear and the brain into imagining the reproduced sound is ‘live’, and the Michis demonstrated both to perfection when replaying Canadian chanteuse Holly Cole’s Train Song, from her 1995 Tom Waits tribute album ‘Temptation’. Although it’s also a great tester of bass, I prefer to use the myriad sounds of Cyro Baptista’s tinkly percussion to evaluate high-frequency reproduction, stereo imaging and, for amplifiers, channel separation. And what I heard from the Michis was as good as I’ve ever heard from any pre/power combo. Bravo!
(Image credit: Rotel)
Final verdict
You need to see the Michi P5 and M5 in the flesh to see how superbly they’re built. Words can’t really begin to describe that. But you also need to hear for yourself how music that’s played through them sounds, because words can’t even begin to describe that… though if you started off by saying “totally and completely natural”, you’d be off to a very good start.
This Michi P5/S5 combo gets it right. Really nails it, in fact. If you want good looks, insanely high power output, low noise, superb performance and, most importantly, great sound, you’ve arrived at your destination.
Best DACs: USB, portable and desktop DACs
Laboratory test report
Before going into detail about the results of Newport Test Labs’ test results, it’s extremely important to note that for the purposes of this test, Australian Hi-Fi specified that all tests had to be conducted with both the Michi S5 and Michi P5 in the ‘test loop’. Therefore there are very few results that can be compared with Michi’s own specifications, which are gained by testing the components individually, or indeed against the results from any other audio test laboratory that has not tested the two amplifiers as a ‘combo’.
It means that, in effect, we’re reporting ‘worst case’ results because for results such as distortion, the inherent distortion of the Michi S5 are here added to that of the Michi P5, which obviously does not occur if the components are tested individually.
One of the few outcomes that would not change is power output, of course, and Newport Test Labs measured the power output of the Michi S5 at 612-watts per channel (27.8dBw), both channels driven into 8Ω, when it was delivering a 1kHz test signal. It was also able to deliver this exact same power when delivering a 20Hz test signal.
However, when Newport Test Labs used a 20kHz signal to test power output, the Michi P5’s protection circuitry kicked in when the output voltage reached 45 volts RMS, which is around 253-watts (24.0dBW) into 8Ω, and around 506-watts (27.0dBW) into 4Ω. The fact that the protection circuit kicked in was not a surprise in itself, because 20kHz is a very high frequency to use for testing power output, and the power spectrum of music is such the Michi P5’s rated output power (500-watts into 8Ω) would never be required at this frequency.
But because the protection kicked in a little earlier than we expected, we checked with Michi, which told us: “The S5 has been engineered and tested for continuous power output of 20Hz–20kHz but as you noticed we have protection circuitry to monitor what is considered abnormal operating conditions including short circuit, d.c. voltage on the outputs and over-current. As normal operations would not typically have a signal of this type (frequency/power) we do shut down the unit into protection at high power outputs at high frequency. We found it best practice to monitor and use an abundance of caution with the power output generated by the S5.”
When Newport Test Labs tested the power output of the Michi S5 into 4Ω loads, the same protection circuitry kicked in with 20kHz test signals, but the Michi S5 easily delivered 1052-watts (30.2dBW) per channel with 1kHz test signals, both channels driven into 4Ω and 1,024-watts (30.1dBW) per channel with 20Hz test signals (both channels driven into 4Ω). These independent laboratory test results at 1kHz and 20Hz show power output levels that are well above Michi’s power output specification for both loads.
It should also be noted that if Newport Test Labs had tested dynamic (short-term) power output, the Michi S5 would have delivered its rated power output, because the test signal used for this purpose is so short-term that it would not have triggered the protection circuitry, but the Australian amplifier power measurement standard specifies that the power output of high fidelity audio amplifiers must be measured (and stated) on a continuous, rather than a dynamic basis.
Frequency response is one test that would certainly be impacted by measuring both the P5 and S5 as a combo, yet as you can see from the tabulated results, the Michi combo delivered superlative performance, with Newport Test Labs measuring a response of 5Hz to 480kHz –3dB. The Michi combo’s frequency response across the audio band, which is shown in Graph 7, was measured as 20Hz to 20kHz ±0.18dB, which is self-evidently an excellent result.
The frequency response measured when the Michi S5 was driving a test load that simulates the load that would be presented to it by a typical hi-fi loudspeaker system is shown by the black trace on Graph 7, below.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
You can see that it tracks the response gained with a non-inductive load almost perfectly, which shows that the Michi S5 will sound the same no matter what speakers you connect to it, and will also be able to perfectly control the back-emf from speakers that have large bass drivers. Although the Michi S5’s damping factor was more than will be required by any speaker system, it’s not overly high, with Newport Test Labs reporting it as DF61, on the back of an output impedance (at 1kHz) of 0.13Ω.
Channel separation was outstanding at low and midrange frequencies, as shown in the tabulated results, with the Michi combination returning test results of 105dB at 20Hz and 98dB at 1kHz. The 72dB result at 20kHz is excellent, and more than will ever be required in order to deliver perfect stereo imaging and separation, but a little short of what I might have expected.
However, this could easily have been influenced by where the amplifiers were placed on the test bench relative to each other, as well as by the interconnects connecting the two, so even-better results might be achieved under different conditions. The same could be said for the inter-channel phase results, even though these, too, are really excellent results.
Channel balance was amazingly good. Taken merely on its value of 0.019dB, no-one would ever have guessed this would be the result of testing a pre/power combination; It’s more like you’d get by testing a state-of-the-art stereo power amplifier on its own. This is a superb achievement by the engineers responsible for designing the Michis.
Newport Test Labs measured the A-weighted signal-to-noise ratio of the Michi P5/S5 combination as 76dB referenced to an output of 1-watt, and 103dB referenced to rated output. The 103dB result is excellent, but further suggests that the result at 1-watt, although good, could be further improved by careful component placement and interconnect routing.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
Graph 1 shows the total harmonic distortion measured by Newport Test Labs when the Michi combo was delivering 1-watt into an 8Ω load. You can see there’s a second harmonic component at –95dB (0.00177%) and a fourth harmonic at –110dB (0.00031%) and that’s it: otherwise the noise floor above the fundamental is perfectly clean, and also sitting right down at –115dB (referred to one-watt). This is an excellent result, as both harmonics are harmonically related to the fundamental, which will ensure good sound.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
Graph 2 shows the total harmonic distortion measured by Newport Test Labs when the Michi combo was delivering 1-watt into a 4Ω load. You can see the second harmonic component has increased slightly, to –88dB (0.00398%), and the fourth to –112dB (0.00025%) plus a third harmonic has appeared at –108dB (0.00039%) and a fifth at –113dB (0.00022%). Once again, this is excellent performance.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
Graph 3 shows the total harmonic distortion measured by Newport Test Labs when the Michi combo was delivering 20-watts into an 8Ω load. As you’d have expected given the increase in power output, additional distortion components have been introduced, but the essential structure of the lower-order components is maintained, with the second harmonic component at –93dB (0.00223%), the third at –110dB (0.00031%), the fourth at –112dB (0.00025%) and the fifth at –115dB (0.00017%).
The difference in the visual appearance of the graph is due to the noise floor of the amplifier having dropped down to around –130dB, which speaks for itself.
You can see that the noise that contributed to the overall result mentioned previously and tabulated in the results is low-frequency in nature, as evidenced by the spikes at the extreme left of the graph.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
Graph 4 shows the total harmonic distortion measured by Newport Test Labs when the Michi combo was delivering 20-watts into a 4Ω load.
Essentially the distortion components are the same as when driving an 8Ω load, but interestingly, there’s a slight increase in the noise floor. This, together with the one-watt results, would seem to suggest you should prefer 6Ω or 8Ω designs when choosing loudspeakers to partner with the Michis.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
CCIF-IMD distortion (19kHz and 20kHz test signals at equal levels) into an 8Ω load is shown in Graph 5. As you can see, there’s nothing to be seen at all. Sensational performance! Not only are there not any of the side-bands around the high-frequency test signals I normally expect to see, there’s also no sign at all of a regenerated difference signal down at 1kHz.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
When Newport Test Labs used the same CCIF-IMD test signal, but increased the power output to 20-watts (Graph 6, above), both the side bands and the regenerated signal were introduced into the output, but at very low levels: around –90dB (0.00316%) for the two primary side bands at 18kHz and 21kHz, and at around –105dB (0.00056%) for the regenerated signal. Once again, these are all outstandingly good results.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
The tone control action of the Michi P5 is shown in Graph 8. You can see the bass control delivers around 11dB of boost that is nicely shelved at 20Hz, then rolls off below this, which is excellent design. It delivers rather more cut: around 17dB. This same graph also shows the action of the treble control, and you can see it offers 9dB of boost that shelves nicely at 20kHz. Again, this is excellent design.
As with the bass control, the treble control offers rather less high-frequency attenuation, but still a more-than-adequate 13dB at 20kHz. If you attenuate both bass and treble you will also reduce the overall volume slightly across the midrange, but this is of no import, as it could be easily corrected by increasing the volume slightly.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
The Michi combo’s distortion at the S5’s rated power output (500-watts per channel into 8Ω) is shown in Graph 9. Once again, Michi’s engineers have excelled themselves, with distortion completely under control, such that the second-order component is at 93dB (0.00223%), all the even-order components are more than 100dB (0.001% down, and all the odd-order components are more than 120dB down (0.0001%).
All these distortion components are too low in level to be audible, but even if they were, even-order distortion is pleasing to the ear, so it wouldn’t be an issue. Note on this graph that the noise floor right across the audio spectrum is now down at –140dB, and even the low-frequency noise at the left of the graph, which is higher in level, is still more than 110dB down. Once again, excellent performance.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
Square wave testing using a 100Hz square wave revealed what the frequency response already showed, with the tilt on the waveform indicating the Michi combo’s frequency response rolls off at low frequencies and does not extend to d.c. The slight curvature in the tilt also shows a tiny amount of group delay.
The overshoot on the leading edge shows that there is a rise in the Michi’s frequency response at an ultrasonic frequency. Further investigation into this by Newport Test Labs revealed that the rise was 3dB, and that the frequency of the peak was at 302kHz. This is interesting, and obviously measurable, but will have zero affect on the amplifier’s sound quality.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
The 1kHz square wave shows the same h.f. overshoot, and some slight tilt on the horizontals, so it’s not a perfect result, but it’s so close to perfect as really doesn’t matter.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
The 10kHz square wave’s horizontals are on the other hand, perfectly flat, and the rise-time is super-quick, so if it were not for the overshoot caused by the high-frequency rise to 302kHz, it would be a perfect result.
(Image credit: Australian Hi-Fi Magazine)
Newport Test Labs determines amplifier stability by placing a 2µF capacitor in parallel with an 8Ω load and driving the amplifier into this load using a 1kHz square wave as the test signal. As you can see from the oscillogram, the Michi was beautifully behaved, with just a quarter wave height overshoot that was completely damped within three cycles, so I can say that the S5 will be completely stable into even the most highly reactive loudspeakers.
When both units are in standby mode, they will still draw 2.41-watts from your mains power supply, which is rather higher than the Australian Government’s mandate for standby power consumption, but low enough that it would have almost zero effect on your utility bill.
When you’re using this Michi combo to listen to very loud music, the two will pull somewhere around 200-watts from your power supply, which is surprisingly modest considering the S5’s power rating. Combined power factor was measured at +0.627.
Overall, Newport Test Labs measured outstandingly good performance from this high-powered, low-distortion pre/power combination.
I would like to thank Asustor for supplying the review sample.
Asustor recently introduced the Lockerstor 4 NAS, a four-bay NAS with some interesting features. For starters, it uses a capable quad-core Intel Celeron processor for a NAS, with burst frequency of up to 2.7 GHz. Such a server has to strike a balance between power and energy consumption when it comes to the CPU since it operates continuously around the clock. A power-hungry CPU would increase the thermal load, which requires active cooling. Active cooling, on the other hand, is not as reliable as passive cooling and may get noisy. Keeping internal NAS temperatures low is of immense importance for other reasons as well—it ensures less storage-related issues over the long run. While aggressive fan-speed profiles will work, no one wants a noisy NAS at home.
Another interesting feature is the HDMI 2.0a port, which supports up to 4K resolution with a refresh rate of 60 Hz. In combination with the Asustor Portal applications, which include Plex, this NAS can be a powerful multimedia hub. Besides multimedia, there are other scenarios where an HDMI port may come in handy (e.g., surveillance). Below are a few more strong points that speak for the AS6604T.
Two 2.5 Gbit Ethernet ports
Pair of M.2 NVMe SSD ports (only be usable for cache purposes).
Upgradable RAM
Dual file-system support for internal storage (btrfs and EXT4)
Finally, if four bays are not enough for your needs some time down the line, you can easily expand your storage by connecting other Asustor NAS units over the bundled USB 3.2 ports.
Specifications
Asustor Lockerstor 4 (AS6604T) Specifications
Processor
Intel Celeron J4125 Quad Core 2.0 GHz (burst frequency of up to 2.7 GHz)
Operating System
Embedded Linux
Memory
4 GB SO-DIMM DDR4 (upgradable)
Flash Memory
8 GB eMMC
Storage
4x 3.5″https://www.techpowerup.com/2.5″ SATA II/III
M.2 Drive Slots (SSD Cache)
2x M.2 PCIe (NVMe) *M.2 2280
RAID Levels:
Single Disk, JBOD, RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10
Maximum Drive Bays with Expansion Unit
16
Maximum Internal Capacity (Raw)
72 TB (18 TB HDD x4, real capacity depends on the RAID type)
Maximum Capacity (Raw) with Expansion Units
288 TB (18 TB HDD x16, real capacity depends on the RAID types)
File System (Internal Drives)
EXT4, btrfs
File System (External Drives)
EXT4
EXT3
FAT32
NTFS
HFS+
exFAT
btrfs
iSCSI
Target & Initiator
Hot-Swap
4x
Networking
2.5 Gigabit Ethernet x2 (2.5G/1G/100M)
HDMI Output
1x HDMI 2.0a
Expansion
3x USB 3.2 Gen 1
IP Cameras
up to 40 (4x are included)
Dimensions
185.5 (H) x 170 (W) x 230 (D) mm
Weight
2.96 kg
Power Consumption
27.6 W (Operation) 12.6 W (Disk Hibernation) 0.75 W (Sleep Mode) (with Seagate Ironwolf 16 TB)
Philips has produced a brilliant OLED television, but the partnering soundbar isn’t quite at the same level
For
Tidy and appealing build
Punchy HDR and SDR pictures
Fabulous 4K detail
Against
UI a little dated
Mediocre motion processing
Sonically short on dynamics
Combining a television with an integrated soundbar can be a double-edged sword. It’s the height of TV sound convenience, but unless the soundbar is top quality, then you’re stuck with it. Enter the Philips 65OLED935 – a sleek, powerful television that aims to get around this inherent pitfall by having hi-fi specialist Bowers & Wilkins design and build the speaker system.
This isn’t Philips’s first combined television and soundbar. The company’s 2019 flagship OLED, the OLED934, was a similar creature, but with a far bigger Bowers bar built into a large floor stand. It proved to be a match made in AV heaven, so why break up the partnership?
This time, looks and price tag are considerably more modest, but its fresh take on the 3.1.2ch Dolby Atmos soundbar design makes this a tempting solution for those who like to keep things simple to use and easy on the eye.
But to describe the Philips 65OLED935 in those terms alone is doing it a disservice. Underneath that sculpted steel exterior, there is a TV with impressive specs that could even outperform its soundbar-less sibling, the five-star-rated Philips 65OLED805.
Now with a dual AI engine inside its top-of-the-line P5 processor, Philips is confident enough to describe the performance of the 935 as “OLED+”.
Build
(Image credit: Future)
Philips 65OLED935 tech specs
(Image credit: Future / Modern Love, Amazon Prime)
The Philips 65OLED935 is a classy looking set. It comes with a choice of two different chrome brackets in the box, one for wall-mounting and the other to use as a stand. The cable tidying system means that the join between the soundbar and the TV itself is seamless, leaving only your HDMI cables and power lines to tuck neatly away behind.
The stand and bracket are pretty heavy and highly polished, so take care they don’t slip out of your grasp when you’re putting this together. Fortunately, the wafer-thin OLED panel is nice and light. The stand needs a surface that’s at least 88cm wide and 26cm deep to accommodate it and if you choose to use the bracket, it stands 15cm proud of the wall.
There’s little to no bezel, just an even 2mm metal bead around the edge of the glass. On the back of the panel, you’ll find four HDMI sockets. Next-gen HDMI features are thin on the ground, though: there’s no support for 4K@120Hz (also known as HFR), VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) or eARC (Enhanced Audio Return Channel), although standard ARC and ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) do feature.
As well as the HDMIs there’s an optical audio-out, ports for connecting headphones and an external subwoofer, plus two USB slots. It’s Bluetooth-enabled for audio, too.
The soundbar houses ten separate drive units. There are two 5cm midrange cones plus a 19mm titanium-dome tweeter for the centre channel, one of the same cones and tweeters each for the left and right, and then a single racetrack-style 10cm x 6.5cm subwoofer unit on the top surface, ported to the rear. Also along that top edge are the two 5cm height speakers facing upwards for that Dolby Atmos effect.
The tweeters are decoupled from the main enclosure, with the centre one in a metal case of its own in B&W’s tweeter-on-top style. There’s a micromesh to protect those drivers on the upper surface and Philips’s acoustically transparent wool blend cloth, Kvadrat, across the front of the array.
Made from glass fibre-reinforced polycarbonate ABS, the enclosure is braced with internal rib sections to control resonance. It’s mounted to the TV with a stiff metal plate. If that sounds like an appealing level of attention to detail, you’ll also be pleased with the remote control, which is backed in Muirhead leather and feels very much the part for a premium OLED TV.
Features
(Image credit: Future)
Functionally, the remote is the same as we’ve had from Philips over the last few years. Much like the Android 9.0 operating system itself, all the right options are there but they’re not presented in a particularly wonderful, intuitive or user-friendly fashion.
Other manufacturers such as Samsung and LG are slicker and more progressive on this front and while it’s just about acceptable here, we’d expect to see the company up its game on this front before it falls too far behind the promised UI advances from Google TV and LG’s webOS 6.0.
The benefit of the Android OS is its app offering. All the UK catch-up services are present, along with Disney+, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. During testing, we experienced a little bit of crackling through the speakers when using the Netflix app, but restarting the app sorted that out.
There’s no Apple TV or Apple Music on Android TV. For that, you’ll need to add an Amazon Fire TV Stick, Apple TV or other media streamer. Instead, your pay-as-you-go film and TV options are Rakuten and Google Play Movies & TV, neither of which is up there with the Apple TV app. You’re better covered for sport, though, with BT Sport and Now TV both on board.
In terms of picture technology, the OLED935 gets one or two bumps over the soundbar-less OLED805 thanks to the improved Philips P5 processor with its AI dual picture engine. The big one is AI Machine Learn Sharpness, a local level picture sharpening tool that enhances the textures and patterns of specific parts of the image, rather than applying a blanket tightening up across the whole display.
Another is AI Smart Bit Enhanced 2.0, which should remove colour banding without sacrificing detail. Last, but not least, is a boost for the Philips Perfect Natural Reality processing which aims to boost standard-def material so it looks more like Full HD.
The other picture tech of note is an anti-burn-in logo detection feature, which recognises permanent screen logos, such as those of TV networks, and dampens their effect. In testing, this works very well – we try out a Dolby Atmos test disc and the bright white intensity of the Dolby logo in the corner of the screen is dropped to a level that won’t tire the pixels so rapidly.
On the sound front, the big news is the 3.1.2 speaker arrangement, the Dolby Atmos support and upmixing, and the involvement of hi-fi specialist Bowers & Wilkins. The TV is also compatible with the DTS Play-Fi hi-res streaming standard, meaning you can set-up your soundbar to work as part of a multi-room system along with any other Play-Fi-enabled kit you might own.
No review of a top-end Philips TV is complete without a tip of the hat to Ambilight. The company’s delightful LED lightshow tech comes in its four-sided variety for the OLED935. You can set it to change colour according to the on-screen image, to music or even to mimic a national flag for sporting events. It’s a great feature and long may it last.
Picture
(Image credit: Future / Modern Love, Amazon Prime)
The Philips 65OLED935 supports both Dolby Vision and HDR10+ alongside HDR10 and HLG. We see what it makes of the first of these by slotting Spider-Man: Homecoming into our 4K Blu-ray player and the results are impressive.
Using the Dolby Vision Bright setting, the upgrades to the picture quality over the Philips OLED805 are small but clear. The scene where Peter gets stuck in the Deep Storage Vault has plenty of monochrome textures, bright colours and a large depth of field, but right from the off, the Philips AI processing works alongside the Dolby metadata to make a brilliantly punchy and vivid HDR picture.
The spidey suit really pops against a nicely detailed and defined set of greys in the background. The AI Machine Learn sharpening tech enhances the textural differences between the rough raw concrete slabs of the hangar entrance, without doing the same to the soft marbling of the polished floor. There’s a strong sense of colour precision to the hero’s mustard yellow backpack and the different red and blue shades of his outfit.
All the same, we prefer Philips’ take on the film with the TV’s HDR AI preset, which is an excellent quick-fix solution for getting the most out of Dolby Vision films. This setting keeps things simple but leaves the user with the five main Philips processing modes to experiment with. Keep the Perfect Motion and Perfect Contrast settings at a minimum and you won’t go far wrong.
The HDR Personal mode squeezes every last drop of the excellent picture performance from this TV. Once balanced for brightness, the OLED Contrast slider offers the best customisation. The higher you go, the more zing you’ll add to the colours, however, you lose a little of the sense of depth to the picture.
Heading to the film’s climax, there are some healthy levels of dark detail on show alongside some lusciously deep OLED blacks. We can still make out the folds and the feel of the material of the Vulture’s leather jacket and sheepskin collar. Those details are just shy of the best LED-backed TVs, but the trade-off for those blacks is worth it here.
(Image credit: Future / Modern Love, Amazon Prime)
Philips has upped its motion processing game for its most recent TVs by adding a couple of extra modes. All the same, the actual quality of the underlying tech is similar to what we’ve found in previous years – perfectly decent, but not in the same league as the likes of Sony and Panasonic.
We prefer the light touches of either Pure Cinema or Movie mode, although many will prefer to turn the processing off altogether. Watching Peter rush to the rescue of his friends in the Washington Monument, we’re happy to put up with some judder in the faster panning shots in order to avoid the soap-opera aesthetic.
That decision is harder when watching SDR, where judder can be more significant. Viewing the opening scenes of Jack Reacher in Full HD on Blu-ray, there’s a case for setting the motion to Standard to avoid the over-processed look, although there are plenty of artefacts every time the car disappears and emerges again under overhead freeway signs.
Philips recommends its Vivid preset as a good starting point for SDR material, but you’ll need to step back quite far on most settings to get the right blend. Colour, Brightness and Sharpness should be below their halfway marks and the Perfect Natural Reality (fake HDR) and Perfect Contrast filters are best switched off.
Once stripped back, you’ll achieve a watchable picture. The overhead shot of the riverside crime scene is excellently handled. There’s a good feel to the paving stones, a believable colour palette to the nearby flowerbeds and plenty of dark detail as the uniformed SWAT team arrives on the scene. For SDR, it has a remarkably punchy look.
Watching standard-def material is obviously less of a treat, and you’ll struggle to pick up Philips’ good work on colour blending and image sharpening. No TV can work miracles, of course, but watching BBC News, the colour of the clothing appears faithful and the newsreader’s skin tone retains a natural feel.
Sound
(Image credit: Future)
Our expectations of TV sound are usually tempered, but here things are different. While there are small picture quality advantages of the OLED935 over the OLED805, the integrated soundbar makes up most of the difference in price.
There are plenty of sound presets to choose from, including Personal mode, which allows access to an EQ. ‘Movie’ gets our vote for the majority of our viewing. It’s not quite as clear as the AI or Original modes, but this is a speaker array with plenty of precision and we’re happy to sacrifice a little of that for the extra spatial boost.
We watch the bombing raid sequence of Unbroken in Dolby Atmos and the B&W soundbar projects an excellent soundstage, adding plenty of height and breadth to the sound. Even with our eyes closed, it’s easy to picture the planes flying across the screen and the bullets zipping by.
The agility of the drivers makes for a good separation of the effects, unveiling all the details in the clicks and clinks of the military equipment, and the creaks of the pilots’ leather jackets. But clarity isn’t quite everything when it comes to great TV sound and this set-up is missing one of the other crucial ingredients – excitement.
Dynamically, there just isn’t enough going on, with differences in scale between the various sounds too small to deliver much in the way of drama. Everything’s rather flat and lacking in impact. We hear the bombers fly over our heads, but without that level of involvement, we’ve no urge to duck whatsoever. The bullets offer little threat from our perspective, even as the cockpit becomes riddled with bullet holes.
Similarly, voices lack expression, which sells short the tension of the sequence. The young servicemen seem all too relaxed on their mission deep into the heart of enemy territory, rocked by the lifeless pops of flack exploding just inches from their heads.
The audio from the OLED935 is clearly superior to the OLED805. You won’t struggle to hear dialogue or appreciate music with more rhythm, but the results are far less enthralling than those of even a relatively affordable soundbar, such as the Sonos Beam. Compared with a more expensive Dolby Atmos-supporting soundbar, such as the Sonos Arc, the contrast is even less flattering.
Verdict
Philips has done a superb job to make improvements on what was already a first-class picture performance with this OLED+ TV. Watch 4K material on this set, whether Dolby Vision or otherwise, and it looks stunning. The picture is sharp and colourful with deep blacks and a great level of tonal detail – however, you can get almost all of that joy with the far more affordable OLED805.
Integrating a soundbar into the design of a TV brings the expectation of audio excellence and the OLED935 doesn’t quite deliver that. While there are plenty of plus points for the spatial smarts and the coherence and clarity of the sound, there just isn’t enough impact or drama.
Ultimately, while the price gap between the two TVs remains this wide, there’s a strong case for recommending opting for the OLED805 and investing in a dedicated soundbar, such as the Sonos Arc or even the much cheaper Beam. The 935 is clearly a more elegant solution and a step up in picture quality but, currently, that comes at too high a premium.
In the wake of Robinhood’s surprise trading block, a new class of Reddit investors are looking for apps that will let them plow their money into their favorite stocks. On Thursday morning, Robinhood announced that it would temporarily block investors from purchasing or trading companies including GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Nokia, all of which have been the subject of unexpected rallies over the past few days. But for the online communities that fueled those rallies, the block is being treated as an outright betrayal.
Discussion about switching ramped up on Twitter and in investment discords after Robinhood halted buying and trading on stock, citing “recent volatility” in the market with the aforementioned stock as the reason it prevented additional trading.
Since the decision, Robinhood’s app on the App Store has received thousands of one-star reviews as a form of practice known as review bombing. On the r/WallStreetBets subreddit, angry Robinhood users are calling for a class action lawsuit because “allowing people to only sell is the definition of market manipulation,” according to one post. There’s even a new subreddit specifically for suing the company. Another Robinhood user tweeted that after years of being on the platform, the move felt like a “slap to the face,” adding “to be regulated in a time of absolute prime opportunities is an embarrassment.”
On Twitter, beloved rapper and Fyre Fest promoter Ja Rule did not mince words: “Yo this is a fucking CRIME what @RobinhoodApp is doin.”
Robinhood has been central to much of the chaos within the financial sector over the last few days. Investors from r/WallStreetBets or its private Discord server used the personal finance app to inflate GameStop and other stocks as a blow against Wall Street hedge funds. But now that Robinhood has taken steps to stem the rally, the r/WallStreetBets community feels betrayed — and is already looking for alternatives.
The list of brokerages that have stopped allowing trades and buys of the aforementioned stock continue to grow: Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, and Interactive Brokers, and WeBull have all halted trading. But Public, an app similar to Robinhood, has continued to allow buys and trades without restriction, although the app “has added Safety Labels to help inform and provide context to our users before they make a trade,” a spokesperson told The Verge.
For Robinhood competitors like Public, it’s a golden opportunity. In fact, Public is doubling the free stock slice for member referrals today. Popular YouTube personality Casey Neistat tweeted on Thursday morning just after the Robinhood halting began that “everyone complaining about @RobinhoodApp delisting GameStop and I’m over here on @public about to get Bill Gates rich.” He later said that no one should take investment advice from him and that he’s an investor in Public.
“Also im an investor in public and i hope this ridiculous behavior from Robinhood brings attention to superior companies (like Public),” Neistat tweeted.
Switching to a competitor will still add some friction — and might cost investors valuable time in an exceptionally volatile situation. When creating an account on Public, for instance people may have to wait a few days for their application to be approved, according to a message that appears during the signup process. If people are trying to get in on GameStop and AMC while the magic rally is still in effect, that delay might defeat the purpose — although at least one Verge reporter had their account approved in the same day.
Most apps also allow investors to transfer their portfolios from other brokerages, including Robinhood, which could be faster. But there’s still likely to be a significant delay.
Webull is another investment app, and the FAQ states that “in most cases, account application is approved automatically.” Webull’s website also states that people can trade in the same day if “you deposit via ACH before 4:00 pm on a trading day” — basically, if funds are transferred from something like a bank to Webull. The site also states, however, that people “will get a provisional credit (up to $1000 depending on the incoming deposit) of buying power after your deposit,” which gives people “provisional buying power to trade.”
Transferring stocks from one app to another, or flocking to another app to buy stocks, seems tedious — but as long as it’s unclear when Robinhood and other brokerages will allow purchases, GameStop’s new stockholders are left with no other choice. At the time of publication, GameStop’s stock was sitting at $155 — down from yesterday’s high of $468, but still more than triple where the stock was last week.
“You’d think with a brand name like Robinhood you’d be all about the working class outsmarting the rich,” popular YouTube creator Ricky “FaZe Banks” Bengston tweeted. “You guys fkn blew it.”
Apple is now selling replacement ear cushions for the class-leading AirPods Max wireless noise-cancelling headphones. In the US they cost $69 and are available now, while the rest of the world will get them soon.
The cushions come in all the same colours as the headphones themselves – silver, black, green, blue and red – so you can simply buy a replacement pair (not that you should need to yet…) or choose to mix and match the colours of your headband and ear cushions for a more customised look.
The cushions attach to the ear cups using magnets so are easy to swap in and out without any fiddly parts or screws. According to a recent teardown, Apple has shied away from using glues and other tricky to disassemble parts, making the AirPods Max the most repairable AirPods ever.
The AirPods Max are Apple’s first on-ear headphones – and what a debut they have proven to be. In our five-star AirPods Max review, we praised their sound quality, stating that “sonically, the AirPods Max don’t put a foot wrong”. Not only that, we lauded them as “hands-down the best wireless noise-cancellers you can buy”. High praise indeed.
But they don’t come cheap. They cost £549 ($549, AU$899), which is a lot more than rivals such as the Sony WH-1000XM4 and Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700. But then the best never does come cheap, does it?
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(Pocket-lint) – The Apple Mac mini has been around in one form or another for the best part of 15 years. It may not be a top seller, or a model you see millions upon millions of people using, but it clearly has strong appeal that’s seen it last as long as any of Apple’s product families.
What makes it attractive now is the same thing that made it attractive back in 2005 (when the PowerPC G4 version first shipped): it’s small, it’s powerful and it’s a lot less expensive than an iMac.
And while this Mac mini looks identical to the one that’s been on store shelves for the past couple of years, it has a totally new brain: Apple’s M1 processor. So what does that mean and does it make for the best miniature desktop machine you could buy?
Minimalist to the extreme
Case built from recycled aluminium
Dimensions: 197mm square x 36mm tall / Weight: 1.2kg
Like the M1-updated MacBook Air and MacBook Pro, nothing has changed for the Mac mini from a visual perspective. It’s still that minimalist rounded-edged square aluminium case with the Apple logo in the centre, with nothing but a single white LED on the front. All the ‘ugly’ ports are hidden at the back, so that if you want to hide all your messy cables then it’s easy.
Size wise, it’s maybe not as ‘mini’ as it could be though. Watch enough teardown videos and you’ll see how much space there is inside the new M1-powered Mac mini. That’s because the M1 hardware and all that entails fits into a much smaller space than all the previous components. We’d be surprised if the next-generation model wasn’t even smaller for that very reason.
Still, compare it to a tower PC or any other Mac desktop computer and it takes up a lot less space than most. Despite being a bit old now, there’s something quite attractive about a sleek metal box sitting on your desk with no seams, joins or screws visible (well, unless you you turn it upside down or look at it from the back).
That minimalism also applies to the port selection on the back, but there’s still much wider support here than on either of the M1 MacBooks. For starters, you get two USB-A ports, along with the two USB 4 Type-C/Thunderbolt ports. You even get an Ethernet connection point, HDMI 2.0, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s also an opening to allow airflow from the fan.
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We’d love to see one or two more Thunderbolt ports and an SD card reader in future models though (as much as the latter is highly unlikely). It certainly seems like there’s adequate space, though, so we can’t fathom why there isn’t a card reader on a machine that’s otherwise primed and ready for creators. The same can be said of the MacBook Pro, really.
It’s not unusable with this number of ports, of course, but we had to rely on a Thunderbolt 3 desktop dock to get constant access to an SD card and microSD card reader. It also expanded our options for additional ports and – just as usefully – gave us a headphone port that we didn’t need to reach around the back of a computer to gain access.
Which monitors can I use?
Thunderbolt supports 6K up to 60Hz
HDMI 2.0 port supports 4K up to 60Hz
Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2, DVI and VGA adapters available
We can’t talk ports without talking monitors, which is certainly something to consider before deciding on whether to get a Mac mini or not. In this home office there’s been a USB-C LG monitor for a good few years. Primarily because it’s a monitor with multiple input options, and because for a good chunk of time, the MacBook Pro was our home computer of choice.
The model we paired up is the LG 27UK850. It’s a 4K 27-inch monitor that supports up to 60Hz refresh rates and is pretty much perfect for the Mac mini. You can plug it either into the HDMI 2.0 port on the back, or use one of the USB-C/Thunderbolt ports.
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The good thing about this particular monitor is that it also features two USB-A ports on the back, so you can effectively use it as a desktop hub if you need to plug an extra couple of peripherals in, like a USB microphone or a wired keyboard.
Anyway, enough about the monitor. The real thing to note with this Mac is that you can connect up to two monitors. But you do need to split it between the HDMI port and one Thunderbolt port. Using two screens, you get 4K and 60Hz on both. For higher-resolution monitors, you’re limited to just one monitor and you have to use one of the Thunderbolt ports as the HDMI maxes out at 4K. Those power users who like three or more screens won’t have much luck here, but we suspect those users are few and are already using a Mac Pro.
M1 power
8 core M1 processor, 8GB or 16GB RAM
8 core GPU + 16 core Neural Engine
256GB/512GB/1TB/2TB storage
A lot has been said about Apple’s M1 processor. That’s not exactly a surprise though. Following years of partnership with Intel, Apple used the expertise it’s built up following years of putting powerful ARM-based chipsets in its smartphones and iPads, and applied that to a custom processor for ‘proper computers’.
In our use-case – primarily video editing in Final Cut Pro and Affinity Photo – the apps are already optimised for the M1 processor, so the experience is dreamy.
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It’s worth noting at this point, however, that our unit is 16GB RAM model, so it’s a custom order from Apple which – as well as being pricier than the standard configurations – takes longer to ship. Compared to the other Macs it’s by far the most affordable and best value if you have monitor, keyboard and mouse already.
It took us by complete surprise how quickly Affinity opened images. Where our older Intel Core i5-powered MacBook would take a second or two to open large image files, the M1 Mac mini is virtually instant.
Likewise when zooming and out of those images using trackpad gestures, it’s instant and smooth, making the process of editing photos so much more convenient Even compared to using our previous powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080Ti-powered desktop PC with 32GB RAM and SSD storage, Affinity Photo feels much quicker. We’ve been genuinely blown away by it.
It’s a similar feeling when editing 4K video in Final Cut Pro: skimming through timelines of 4K/30 projects is smooth and rarely resulted in any noticeable frame drop. It’s worth noting, our edits aren’t especially complex – we’d have a maximum of three video streams – but it remains smooth in ways we don’t typically see.
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For instance, when we show screen recordings on top of an expanded and blurred background of that same recording, or when adding masks and censoring to parts of the screen. These are the areas when we’d typically see a little stutter or frame drop on a lot of our previous MacBook setups. With the M1 Mac mini that just didn’t happen.
Export times are fast, too, but it’s the buttery smoothness when actually working with footage, photos and timelines in the M1-optimised apps that makes the most day-to-day difference.
We also dabbled with Pixelmator Pro, using it to edit thumbnails for videos, and found it as fast and responsive as Affinity Photo. For those interested in benchmarks, there are plenty available to view on Geekbench.
For those apps that aren’t yet M1-optimised, there’s Rosetta – which is like an app translator, to ensure things can run – but the list of programmes and apps that needs Rosetta is slowly getting smaller. Both Zoom and Chrome now have M1-optimised versions, while Microsoft Edge is close at the time of writing.
For creatives, the list of apps that are M1 optimised is getting bigger too. Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom are both ready, as is Microsoft Office. In terms of video editors, both Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve have beta versions available with M1 support but – at time of writing – no official, stable release.
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Like its laptop-shaped cousins, the desktop Mac does everything quietly with a barely an audible whirr from its built-in fans. It’s just ridiculously efficient. It didn’t seem to matter what we were doing with it, we didn’t hear the fan, even when exporting a video. That would normally be enough to send an Intel Mac’s fans spinning furiously.
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As for other apps, we tested a whole load of them during our testing of both the M1-powered MacBook Pro and M1-powered MacBook Air, both running Big Sur, and our experience was pretty much faultless. Of course, those using specific enterprise software and systems my have a different experience and it’s worth looking up examples of tests on your specific needs before making the jump to M1. For the average user though, we don’t anticipate any significant issues arising.
Verdict
This miniature desktop might be small, but it’s still mighty thanks to the M1 chipset. It won’t be for everyone, however, especially if you’ve invested in a lot of apps not yet optimised for M1 support. Otherwise it’s a speedy and reliable workhorse that, given its small size, doesn’t draw attention to itself and helps you gets stuff done quickly.
The Mac mini has long been about being a versatile tool that works for most people. Given how fast and efficient it now is, it’s also a great tool for digital creatives. Whether you edit lots of photo or video, or just need something at home that works for you.
It’s the lowest price Mac available, yet its performance with optimised apps blows away some of the supposedly more powerful Intel-powered versions that cost far more. The Mac mini M1 really delivers big bang for your buck.
Recently, I reviewed the Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 2 (reviewed here), a $40 analogue gaming headset with excellent value for the money. The F.R.E.Q. 4 is only slightly more expensive, coming in at $53 if you’re buying it in the US. For European customers, the price gap is currently wider as the F.R.E.Q. 2 goes for €38, while the F.R.E.Q. 4 costs €61. The differences between these two headsets boil down to connectivity—instead of a 3.5-mm analogue connection, the F.R.E.Q. 4 sports USB connectivity and boasts some extras that come along with it.
The Mad Catz F.R.E.Q. 4 is based on a pair of 50-mm dynamic speaker drivers (compared to 40-mm drivers on the F.R.E.Q 2). According to the manufacturer, these are “tuned for gaming,” promising a remarkable bass and crisp highs. The USB connectivity brings three features which don’t exist on the F.R.E.Q. 2: RGB lighting effects, Xear 7.1 virtual surround sound, and a software driver for tweaking. The microphone didn’t change. As such, it’s still omnidirectional, retractable, and equipped with ENC (Environmental Noise Cancellation) technology used to suppress external noise.
Specifications
50-mm dynamic drivers (neodymium magnet)
32 Ω impedance
20–20,000 Hz frequency response (specified by the manufacturer)
Closed-back, over-ear design
Retractable, omnidirectional microphone
Customizable RGB lighting system
Xear 7.1 virtual surround sound
2.2 m rubberized USB cable
In-line remote control with volume, microphone, and surround sound controls
There are many moving parts involved in the Biden administration’s goal to administer 100 million vaccine doses in its first 100 days. Boatloads of data need to flow between manufacturers, health agencies, state officials, and local clinics. An article by Cat Ferguson and Karen Hao, published in MIT Technology Review today, lays out each step of vaccine distribution and explains the hurdles that come up along the way.
At the federal level, the Department of Health and Human Services uses a Palantir-designed system called Tiberius to plan vaccine allocation. At the same time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s VTrckS helps states order vaccines. Both digital systems are constantly being fed data from a variety of sources. The number-crunching involves census data, reports of which areas have clusters of health care workers and elderly people, and information about which places have cold freezers.
“When thinking about the utility of the system, it’s worth noting that many health departments have a shallow bench of tech-savvy employees who can easily navigate data-heavy systems,” Ferguson and Hao wrote. In addition to Tiberius and VTrckS, there are dozens of other technical systems at play, and some clinic workers are still entering vaccination records by hand.
Actually getting the vaccines into people’s arms is the trickiest part. There’s a mixed bag of systems across jurisdictions for scheduling vaccinations and keeping track of who’s been vaccinated. Scheduling through an online system requires digital literacy that not all elderly people possess, and call centers set up as alternatives are quickly overwhelmed.
There’s a lot of technological coordination going into the difficult task of vaccine distribution. To get a fuller picture of all the systems at work, read the full article here.
It can be clunky, but a chilling, gruesome atmosphere makes it work
The Medium is a game about a person who is able to live in two worlds, experiencing the realms of the living and the dead at the same time. Developed by the same team behind the 2019 adaptation of Blair Witch, it’s not an especially original concept, as games have toyed with light and dark worlds as far back as the early Zelda titles. But it’s presented in a way that’s just aboutperfect for a video game: you can wander through both realms simultaneously, controlling two versions of the character as if you were in split-screen multiplayer. It’s a clever and fascinating way of experiencing the story, and — alongside a truly haunting atmosphere — it elevates what would otherwise be a relatively trite and clunky psychological horror experience.
At the outset, Marianne is mourning the loss of her adoptive father in a way specific to her particular skill set as a medium: she not only helps with funeral arrangements, she also guides his spirit so he’s able to cross over. It’s a great setup that immediately shows how she’s able to somehow be in two places at once. Almost immediately after, she receives a phone call from a strange man urging her to visit an abandoned hotel, where it’s rumored a horrific massacre happened. Totally normal request. Trusting her gut, Marianne decides to check things out.
At its most basic, The Medium plays like a third-person adventure game. You explore small, incredibly detailed spaces, collecting items and solving puzzles. It’s the kind of game where most doors are locked or missing handles, so you can’t get through until you find the right item. Many of the puzzles are fairly simple — at any given point, you only have a handful of items in your inventory — and movement can be clunky and slow, reminiscent of the original Resident Evil games. It’s also the rare big-budget game that’s light on action: even though you’re thrown into plenty of dangerous situations, you won’t have a gun or other weapons for defense.
It may sound a bit dry, but there are a few things that elevate The Medium. The first is the dual-world conceit. At times, you’re in the normal world, and at other times, you’re in the spirit realm — but when the game is at its best, you’re in both. The two worlds are mirrors of each other: the basic layout is the same, but the vibe is very different. A regular hotel lobby might be filled with pulsating tentacles in the spirit world or maybe there’s a door made out of human skin.
But while the two spaces are largely the same, there are some slight differences. This is where most of the puzzles come in, as you have to figure out how to bypass an obstacle in one world in order to progress in both. For instance, one of the earliest has you trying to get to the second floor of a hotel even though, in the human world, the stairs have been destroyed and the elevator’s out. In order to do this, Marianne has to gather up some energy from the spirit realm — she has a handful of very convenient abilities — and use it to power the elevator.
Things start out simple like this, but they get more complex as the game moves along. Later, you’ll be swapping between worlds, using magical mirrors and other mystical objects to manipulate the space around you. My favorite puzzle has you moving objects around a dollhouse to navigate the remains of a crumbling home in the real world. The Medium also uses the split screens to great effect in cutscenes, as you can see the story playing out in both worlds; sometimes when Marianne confronts a spirit or monster, her real-world avatar does the same actions without anyone else present, Tyler Durden style.
Really, the entirety of The Medium has this slow burn. For the first few hours, it verges on generic, with a confusing story and simple puzzles. But as the narrative starts to pick up, the game becomes much more interesting. Marianne learns more about her past and the origins of her spiritual powers, and there are lots of great “ah-ha!” moments when things click into place. Likewise, the puzzles become more complex as you become adjusted to the reality of parallel worlds.
But while the story and puzzles take a while to get going, the one consistent in The Medium is its chilling atmosphere. This isn’t an action game where monsters are constantly coming after you. Instead, it’s more of a creeping dread. Almost all of the areas you’ll be exploring are small and oppressive — even the real-world versions. That could be the burned-out skeletal remains of a home, with only a few surviving objects — naturally, there are lots of creepy dolls — or an underworld with twisted bodies fused to the wall.
It can be fascinating wandering around and seeing how the two worlds differ. Other times, it’s just gruesome. And adding to the sense of dread is the only real enemy, a giant monster that stalks you throughout the game, leading to a number of tense stealth sequences. (In a nice touch, there’s a button to make Marianne hold her breath and be quiet, and you can actually feel her thumping heartbeat through the controller.)
The Medium lasts around 10 hours, which is just the right length for the story to wrap up nicely. It even ends on an Inception-style cliffhanger, where what actually happens is fairly ambiguous. (I can’t wait to have people to talk about it with.) But in terms of gameplay ideas, it does end rather abruptly: just as the game starts finding really interesting ways to play with the dual-world structure, it’s over. The last few hours are far and away the most interesting, and I wish the rest of the game was as inventive. The multiworld premise isn’t quite a game-changer, but it adds just enough to make this psychological thriller worth checking out.
The Medium launches January 28th on PC and Xbox Series X and S, and it’ll also be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers.
(Pocket-lint) – Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag is a Bluetooth tracker, looking to extend the reach of SmartThings Find beyond those devices with their own connection, like a phone or a tablet.
It follows very much in the mould of Tile, the company that basically created and has dominated the Bluetooth tracker market up to this point. So does the Galaxy SmartTag impress, or is this a tracker that’s a little lost because it’s locked to Samsung-only phones?
Design & Build
Dimensions: 38 x 38 x 8mm / Weight: 12g
Finishes: Black or Oatmeal
IPX3 water resistance
CR2032 battery
There’s not much to the SmartTag. It’s a squircle, approximately 38mm square, with rounded corners. It’s about 8mm thick at the fattest point, although again it’s rounded towards the edges, so it’s like a smooth pebble.
Coming in two colours, there’s very little to talk about – apart from the important IPX3 water resistance. We left the SmartTag out in the snow over a weekend (accidentally, of course) and found it still to be working come Monday morning, which is exactly what you’d want from it.
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There’s a hole in one corner so you can attach it to things. The idea is that you put it on your keyring, slip it into a bag or attach it to other valuables, and then essentially forget about it.
One side of the SmartTag features a touch area – which is how you access the device’s features – which is not a physical button. Instead the centre of the device, where the Galaxy SmartTag logo sits, depresses with a satisfying click.
There’s a small on-board beeper that will respond to presses and also acts as the alarm so you can “ring” the tag when you’re trying to find it.
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You can prise the SmartTag open and inside you’ll find a CR2032 battery – rated for 280 days of use – meaning you can easily replace it, just as you can in a device like the Tile Pro.
How the Galaxy SmartTag works
Bluetooth Low Energy Connection (BLE)
Requires Galaxy smartphone/device
Controlled via the SmartThings app
Inside the Galaxy SmartTag is the battery and Bluetooth Low Energy chip, which is how you connect to the device. Everything is managed through the SmartThings app. Although SmartThings is available across platforms, only Galaxy devices running Android 8 or higher have support for the SmartTag – if you try to connect anything else to it, it won’t work.
Setup will require you to log into the SmartThings app using your Samsung account, then it’s a quick process of pairing with the SmartTag. That establishes a Bluetooth connection, but it also connects your tag into SmartThings, so you’ll see it appear in other devices running the SmartThings app too. That means that once you’ve connected it to one Samsung device, you’ll be able to find it on all Samsung devices (running Android 8 or later), without the need to connect it to each new phone.
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The SmartTag itself has no intelligence itself; any location that is logged, or location finding, comes from the information gathered by your phone and that’s essentially how it works.
Because it is connected to your phone, your phone will know where it is thanks to its own location tracking. While you’re within Bluetooth range of the SmartTag, you’ll always be able to “ring” it via the SmartThings app to find whatever it is attached to.
But when you’re out of range, your phone will be able to tell you the last location that it was connected to the Tag. That will mean, for example, that if you leave your keys in a café, your phone will know that it was last connected to the SmartTag at that café and show you the location via the SmartThings app.
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That side of things is simple, but Samsung is pushing tracking a little further via the Galaxy Find Network. When you lose your SmartTag, you won’t be able to detect it once you’re out of range – which is about 15 metres in our experience. But other Samsung phones will be able to detect it and report the location back to you.
Like Tile, this happens in the background, anonymously and in encrypted form, so you don’t need to worry about your privacy being compromised, whether you’re detecting someone else’s item or have someone else detect yours.
Once your SmartTag has been detected (either by your own phone or by another Galaxy user), you’ll be sent the location, at which point you can use SmartThings Find to show you the location – including getting directions from the map and a precise postcode.
A Galaxy of millions of users
While finding things in your home is much more straightforward – it will be within Bluetooth range so you can “ring” it and then go and find it – it’s the ou-of-home aspect of the SmartTag that has a lot more value.
The ability for a Samsung Galaxy phone to find your lost SmartTag is governed by the Find My Mobile system, which is tied into the Samsung account. So for someone to contribute to the system, they need to be a Samsung account user, first and foremost, which is optional on Samsung phones.
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It’s within the Find My Mobile settings that you’ll find the option to contribute to “offline finding” which is the part of the system that can anonymously find SmartTags and return information to Samsung’s system to feedback to the original owner.
That makes for millions of potential devices that can locate a SmartTag. The Tile system, on the other hand – while it works with both Apple and Android devices – only works among Tile users. Samsung has the potential to use its massive market presence to deliver a really good system. Unfortunately, you’ll never really know how well that system is working until you lose a tag and have it located by an anonymous Samsung owner.
To a certain extent you’re dependent on Samsung phone owners also using the Find My Mobile option on their devices – but unlike Tile, they won’t have to be SmartTag users or owners to help build the locator network, which is a postitive.
It’s all about SmartThings Find
Works within the SmartThings app
Gives map location and direction
As we’ve mentioned, the SmartTag sits within the SmartThings app on Samsung devices. While it will be registered to your list of SmartThings devices and appear within the app on non-Samsung phones, it will only say that it exists, but that it’s not supported.
On a Samsung phone, however, you’ll see the SmartTag listed with a nearby reading when it’s close at hand. Clicking through you can access details on the Tag, such as the battery level and the ringtone settings.
You can also opt to have the SmartTag detect your phone. This will mean you can double-press the button and have your phone ring, which is useful for finding your phone if you’ve misplaced it.
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You can also assign other functions to a single- or long-press of that button. This useful feature will let you create routines or actions within SmartThings. For example, you could have it arm the security system when you leave the house, or to open the garage door and turn on the lights when you return home. It’s customisable, so you can get it to do what you want, as long as those actions are within your SmartThings app. It uses a simple ‘If and Then’ system so it’s easy to setup.
Locating the SmartTag is handled by the SmartThings Find side of things. This is the same system that Samsung will let you use to find other Samsung devices you have registered to your Samsung account, including headphones like like Galaxy Buds Pro.
Opening up SmartThings Find will show a map displaying the location, or last connected location of all your devices, including the SmartTag. It’s within the map that you can toggle on the option to be notified when your lost SmartTag is found.
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You can also tap through to navigation instructions to take you to the location on the map. That will mean that if your missing SmartTag is detected in an unexpected location, you flip right over to Google Maps and travel to that location.
To try and help you find something you can use the Scan Nearby function which will try to move you in closer to that item. However, in the case of the SmartTag, once you’re within Bluetooth range, you’ll get a notification on your phone and you’ll be able to use the ring function so you can track down the sound and find whatever you have lost. We located a hidden tracker at night easily enough after recieving a notification of its location and using the ring function to track it down precisely.
One feature that seems to be missing is the “you’re leaving without” option, which Tile has on its Premium offering, alerting you when you’re leaving something behind. This is the system that would alert you to the fact that you’ve left the café without your keys, for example, because that strongly connected device has now lost connection.
Verdict
The Galaxy SmartTag is Samsung getting into a new area, looking to use the scale of its smartphone network to enable locating a lost item on a massive scale. The SmartTag works exactly as you’d expect it to – the alarm is loud enough to hear and we’ve had no problem with connecting to the device or locating it when we’ve delibrately lost it.
It’s likely to be slightly confusing for some people that it’s only supported on the Samsung network and not the wider SmartThings network – the latter which is universal across Apple and Android devices too. That will mean for the most benefit, everyone you want to be able to find a SmartTag will have to have a Samsung phone – while you’ll also have to stick to using a Samsung phone in the future or you’ll lose the ability to use SmartTags. Samsung says it has no plans to support other devices.
To a certain extent, the existing Tile offering is more attractive – there are more options for device types, universal support across Apple and Android devices, and an existing network of users – as you’re not restricted by Samsung’s walled garden. But for a committed Samsung user, the SmartTag will do much the same, without the need to sign-up to another service.
Also consider
Tile Pro
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It’s no surprise that Tile is the alternative, given that it’s the dominant player in this small market. Universal compatibility and a wider range of products to choose from is a natural advantage.
Read our full review
Writing by Chris Hall. Editing by Mike Lowe.
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