Matthew Wilson 1 day ago Featured Tech News, Software & Gaming
Viper Gaming is back in the headlines this week with a new PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD. Boasting write speeds of up to 7,400MB/s and up to 2TB capacity, the Viper Gaming VP4300 SSD looks to be a significant upgrade over previous generations.
This week, the Viper VP4300 M.2 SSD was announced, featuring the latest Innogrit Gen 4×4 high-speed controller and DDR4 DRAM cache, this SSD offers peak performance for PCIe 4.0 capable systems. In terms of speeds, 4K random read and wire speeds reach up to 800K IOPS and sequential read/write speeds reach up to 6,800MB/s and 7,400MB/s respectively.
Cooling is becoming increasingly important for M.2 SSDs to avoid thermal throttling and maintain peak speeds for longer periods of time. To tackle this, the Viper VP4300 comes with an aluminium heatshield and a graphene thermal pad to improve heat transfer and heat dissipation. The pad carries heat away from core components and the heat shield then spreads it out to be carried away by system fans.
Here is the full feature list for this new SSD:
Built with the latest Innogrit IG5236 PCIe Gen 4 x 4 NVMe controller to unlock ultra-fast sequential Read and Write speeds up to 7.400MB/s and 6,800MB/s.
Thermal Throttling Technology and built-in thermal sensor to provide additional protection and sustain the best performance under intense workloads.
Delivers the perfect combination of overall performance, ultra-fast transfer speeds, and enhanced multitasking capabilities.
Built on a 10-layer PCB to guarantee excellent signal integrity for ultra-stability.
Two optional heatshields included in the package: Aluminum heatshield x 1, Graphene heatshield x 1
Must be on the latest AMD CPU and Motherboard, at time of release, to obtain optimal Gen4x4 speed. Other platforms will be backward compatible with Gen3x4
As usual, this SSD is backed by Viper Gaming’s five-year warranty. The Viper VP4300 will be available for $254.99 for the 1TB model and $499.99 for the 2TB version. We recently reviewed this SSD, so if you want to check out our benchmarks and analysis, you can do so HERE.
KitGuru Says: What do you all think of the latest SSD from Viper Gaming? Are you planning to make the jump to PCIe 4 this year?
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Christina Munro 1 day ago Featured Tech Reviews, Mouse, Reviews
Today we’re checking out ASUS’ latest lightweight wireless gaming mouse. The ASUS ROG Keris Wireless supports wired, Bluetooth and 2.4GHz wireless connectivity, while also sporting a PixArt PAW 3335 sensor with 400 IPS tracking and up to 16,000 DPI. Not only does it have hot-swappable switches, with spares included, you can also change the colour of the side buttons. Let’s see if this mouse is really worth the £89.99 asking price.
Watch via our Vimeo channel (below) or over on YouTube at 2160p HERE
Specifications:
Ergonomic, right handed design
Connectivity: USB 2.0
Bluetooth: RF 2.4GHz
Sensor ; PAW3335
Resolution ; 16000DPI
Max Speed ; 400IPS
Max Acceleration ; 40G
USB Report rate ; 1000 Hz
RF 2.4G Report rate:1000Hz
L/R Switch Type: ROG 70M Micro Switch
Button: 7 programmable buttons
Battery Type: 500mAh
Battery Life: 78 hours without lighting 52 hours with default lighting(Breathing)
Cable: 2.0m type-C ROG Paracord
Dimensions: 118(L)x62(w)x39(H) mm
Weight With Cable: 79g
Colour: black
You can purchase the ASUS ROG Keris Wireless from Overclockers UK for £89.99 HERE!
Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.
Pros
Lightweight.
Different coloured side buttons and spare switches included.
Built-in storage space for the USB dongle.
On the fly DPI adjustment.
Very comfortable in all grip styles.
Cons
Plastic attracts grease.
Not suited for those with larger hands.
KitGuru says: At £90 the ASUS ROG Keris Wireless certainly isn’t cheap but if you want a lightweight, wireless ergonomic mouse it’s definitely worth buying. Wireless performance is great, the shape is excellent for those with medium to small hands, and we love the hot-swappable switches.
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(Pocket-lint) – Affordable phones are getting more competitive every single year. As high end phones push new features and boundaries, the more budget-friendly devices tend to pick up on previous gen advancements.
Best budget phone 2021: Cheap phones for $200/£200 or less
Two very active players in this market are Nokia and Motorola, who often battle it out for the same corner of the market. They sell affordable Android phones at varying increments covering pretty much every price point from the lowest cost phones to the mid-range prices.
Two of the most competitively priced models are the 5.4 from Nokia and the Moto G10. So which should you get?
Design
Moto: 165.2 x 75.7 x 9.2mm – 200g
Nokia: 161 x 76 x 8.7 – 181g
Both: Plastic build
When it comes to the shape and size of the two phones, there’s not a lot to separate them. The Nokia is ever so slightly shorter and thinner than the Moto, and is lighter too, but not be a huge amount. Not enough to make a distinct difference.
What does make a bigger difference to the daily experience is the texture of the back. The two phones both use plastic cases, but Moto has gone with a ribbed design which has a grippy texture where those ripples on the case are actually subtly raised to give you a finish that’s easy to grip on to.
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The Nokia by comparison is shiny and a bit more slippery. The Moto also has a bit more of a solid feel to it too. Both the rear panel and the edges of the phone feel sturdier on the Moto than on the Nokia.
From a purely aesthetic point of view there are some nice choices made by Nokia. Firstly, that subtle patterning on the rear plastic and the blue gradient on this model. Plus, the holepunch cutout for the selfie camera looks a little more modern than the notch in the Moto’s display.
Saying that, the camera housing on the Moto does seem to have a more purposeful design about it even if it’s not perfectly centered like the Nokie 5.4.
On a more practical note, Moto’s texturerd power button is a nice touch and makes it easier to find without looking. As for shared features, both have a Google Assistant button and both have a 3.5mm port for headphones. They also both have a Micro SD card slot for expanding the storage.
There are rear-mounted fingerprint sensors on both phones too. Both are reliable, although not especially fast. But that’s to be expected at this end of the market. We rarely had to try twice to unlock, but we can’t say one phone was clearly better than the other in this specific measurement.
Display
Moto: 6.5-inch IPS LCD 20:9 panel
Nokia: 6.39-inch IPS LCD 19.5:9 panel
Moto: 720 x 1600 resolution
Nokia: 720 x 1560 resolution
Again, there are similarities when it comes to displays. Both manufacturers have gone with an IPS LCD display with 720p resolution.
It’s not in resolution where the two differ then because the sharpness is near enough identical on the two. Even colour reproduction is similar. Moto’s looks a tiny bit warmer at times when looking at pale skin tones on video, but for the most part they’re very similar with other colours like blues and greens. What makes the biggest difference to the experience is actually the brightness.
In our testing, with the display cranked up to full brightness, the Nokia is noticeably brighter than the Moto. That’s even more noticeable if you’re looking at it from a little bit of an angle. When your viewing angle changes away from directly head-on the Moto seems to get darker quicker than the Nokia.
Of course, being LCD means neither is fantastic outside in bright daylight, but the brighter panel is definitely helpful here. It just makes that experience less, well, terrible.
Performance and battery life
Moto: Snapdragon 460 processor
Nokia: Snapdragon 662 processor
Both: 4GB RAM and 64GB or 128GB storage
Both: microSD expansion
Moto: 5000mAh battery
Nokia: 4000mAh battery
What about other areas of performance? Nokia has the upper hand here too. It’s equipped with the Snapdragon 662 processor, while the G10 has the Snapdragon 460. Although, if you do want a slightly more powerful there is the Moto G30, which has a better processor.
What that means in daily use however is that things take a little bit less time on the Nokia. Neither is super speedy though, and both load up Mario Kart Tour – for example – without too much of a struggle, even if you have to wait for it to load for a little longer than you’d like.
One thing we did notice however was that the Wi-Fi performance seems better on the Moto. When we went upstairs, further away from the Wi-Fi router the Nokia lost signal in the bedroom quite a lot, where the Moto stayed strong.
It’s a similar experience with battery. Moto has a 5000mAh capacity where Nokia has 4000mAh. That’s a considerable difference both in spec and in real daily usage. In daily use, that means that with moderate use you can get to the end of a second day with the Moto. For some, maybe even up to three days if you’re a particularly light user.
Cameras
Moto: quad camera
48MP primary – 8MP ultrawide
2MP depth and macro sensors
Nokia: quad camera
48MP primary – 5MP ultrawide
2MP depth and macro sensors
Nokia: 4K video
Moto: 1080p video
As affordable phones neither of these two is going to give you stellar photography, but they will offer similar experiences when it comes to the lenses on offer. Both have 48MP primary cameras sitting alongside an ultrawide camera, plus low res macro and depth sensors.
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There’s no real competition in results though. The Nokia produces much more vibrant and colourful shots. The G10 primary sensor often washed things out quite badly and that meant it didn’t match the ultrawide colours at all often.
If you want the better photographs, it’s the Nokia that outpeforms it’s price tag, although we’d still say the macro on both are pretty useless and not worth using.
Price
Moto: Around £130
Nokia: Around £150
There’s no getting around the fact that the Nokia is more expensive than the Moto, but there’s not a huge amount in it and given the better performance in a number of areas, it’s more than worth the outlay.
Conclusion
Motorola has split up its G-series range even more this year, and as long as you’re able to put up with a poorer display and slightly slower performance, it could well be worth saving money and getting the G10 over the 5.4.
However, there’s no denying the better performance and display on the Nokia, which you’d expect from a slightly more expensive phone.
Still, we think in the G-series it’s the G30 that’s the one worth getting this year. It features a more fluid display than either of these two and is still affordable.
(Pocket-lint) – Back at the end of January 2021, Fujifilm announced this, the X-E4, one of the more junior models in its mirrorless camera line-up. It’s not the total baby of the range, though, a title which goes to the X-T200. The X-E4’s main difference to that camera? It brings the coveted X Trans CMOS sensor type into the fray.
When we first heard announcement of the X-E4, we thought it looked a little like the fixed-lens X100V, except with the obvious addition of an interchangeable lens mount. And given how fond we were of the X100V, that set up this interchangeable equivalent in good stead. Except this adds a flip-forward screen to the series for the first time.
So is the Fujifilm X-E4 a real mid-range champ, or does it lack innovation to elevate it above and beyond its X-E3 predecessor and surrounding X series cameras?
Design & Lens Mount
Fujifilm X mount (for XF lenses)
Dimensions (body): 121 x 73mm x 33mm / Weight: 364g
Vari-angle mounted screen, with touch controls (3-inch, 1,620k-dot LCD)
If you’ve been thinking about a Fujifilm camera then there’s three current models that sit fairly close to one another: the X-T200, the X-E4 on review here, and the higher-end X-T4. So how do they differ?
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The X-E4 sits in the middle of the trio, with a more advanced sensor technology than you’ll find in the lower-end X-T200 – but other features are otherwise fairly similar. The higher-end X-T4, meanwhile, has the exact same sensor as you’ll find here – so while the ‘T’ model doesn’t mean higher quality images, it has more dedicated control dials and can shoot much faster.
The X-E4 is designed with small-scale in mind, too, so our attachment of a 10-24mm f/4 lens (not included) makes it look a bit bigger. Really Fujifilm intends to sell this camera with the 27mm pancake lens, which is sold as a kit, because that really enhances the small scale – but we’d only suggest doing that if you know you’ll want to buy other lenses later, otherwise you may wish to look to the X100V instead (if you can find it for a good price anyway).
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Prominently the X-E4 adds a flip-forward LCD screen for the first time in the X series, enabling that selfie or vlogging angle for those who need to frame themselves. However, the design of the camera – there’s also a built-in electronic viewfinder (EVF) – means you cannot simply flip the screen up in one swift movement. Although it’s not complex, we find the two-part movement to get the screen forward is rather fiddly. And even then the EVF’s marginal protrusion stops it from being completely vertical.
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The screen quality is otherwise perfectly decent, at 1,640k-dots, and the little nub on the side makes it easy to position by 90 degrees (or similar) in a single motion – which is handy for waist-level work. The touchscreen is highly responsive, which is both great for quick reaction, yet annoying because we took heaps of unwanted pictures while the camera was in low-power mode in-between shooting proper.
A big part of any X series camera is the style, though, with this silver and black finish the epitome of retro cool. The X-E4 is made primarily from magnesium alloy, which gives it a robust feeling in the hand. However, it’s not weather-resistant like the pricier X-T4, so if you’re keen to always run around in the rain then this might not be the choice body for you.
The camera’s dials aren’t just there to look pretty either – you can quickly control the shutter and exposure compensation via their individual dedicated dials (many XF lenses have aperture control rings as the third piece of the puzzle). Sadly, there’s no lock of the exposure compensation dial, which we found was a little too easy to knock out of place (and so we took a number of images at +/-0.7EV).
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Want to point and shoot? No problem. The X-E4 can be set to auto in every regard so you can just snap away. Even applying various filters – Toy camera, Miniature, Pop color, High-key, Low-key, Dynamic tone, Soft focus – if you want to get a bit ‘arty’ with results.
Performance
Battery: 2,200mAh (circa 450 shots per charge)
Autofocus system: 117 selectable areas
Face Detection & Eye Detection AF
Low-light focus: to -7EV
Adjustable AF point size
Up to 8fps burst
The X-E4’s focus system is an echo of the X-T4 too. The camera uses a massive 2.16-million phase-detection pixels embedded across its sensor’s surface, designed to cover the full width from edge to edge. That means you can focus anywhere in the field of view, as far vertically or horizontally as you wish, and still acquire the same focus ability as you would in the centre.
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The autofocus system is pared down to 425 areas maximum – it’s 117 selectable areas though – which can be further reduced to simplify operation as you wish. The AF point can be adjusted between a variety of point sizes, too, by using the front thumbwheel; the miniature joystick to the rear, meanwhile, handles repositioning with speed – if you’re not using the touchscreen.
However, there’s still no Panasonic Lumix S1-style Pinpoint mode, which we always miss when using other brands’ mirrorless cameras. Pinpoint is great for still life work, as it enables really specific focus – not that the X-E4 struggles, but you may find focus is positioned a millimetre forward/back to expectation based on available contrast, for example.
Now we wouldn’t say the autofocus is the very best going for moving subjects, but it’s still highly capable. It’s hard to ignore Sony’s forward motion in this department, really, where it’s excelling in fast-moving subject capture.
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The 8 frames per second (8fps) burst shooting is also capable, although approaching half that of the X-T4 – which is yet another clue of the X-E4’s target audience.
Autofocus is said to be good to -7EV, which means really dim conditions. With the curtains closed and not much light available the camera had little qualms in capturing – even when the sensitivity was forced to be maxxed out to ISO 12,800 as a result.
In terms of longevity the X-E4’s battery is relatively high capacity, capable of delivering 450 shots per charge or thereabouts. This will vary depending on the screen’s on time, how much movie shooting you wish to do, and so forth. There is a low power mode that auto-activates by default, though, so the rear screen will go into a low brightness and super-low refresh rate to retain battery – but mean it’s instant to reactivate when you want it for that next shot.
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Recharging takes place via USB-C, much like an Android phone, but you’ll need to use a 15W charger at the wall for the fastest possible recharge times. It’ll take about three hours to recharge the one cell, which isn’t especially quick, but use a low power USB port and it’ll take three or four times longer than that. In short: don’t think plugging it into the side of your computer will serve the same result, as it won’t.
Image Quality
26.1-megapixel X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor
4K at 30fps, Full HD (1080p) at 60fps
Sensitivity: ISO 160 to 12,800
Inside, this lightweight camera houses the same 26.1-megapixel X-Trans CMOS 4 and X-Processor 4 combination as you’ll find in the X-T4 – so quality is, in effect, one and the same. It’s lens dependent, of course, as that’s a major part of what attributes part of the clarity and sharpness of an image.
Pocket-lint
: ISO 200ISO 200
This sensor type is backside illuminated, with the copper wiring placement beneath the photo diodes in the sensor, in order to create a cleaner signal path. But the real sell is the X Trans CMOS aspect, which uses Fujifilm’s unique colour array, not the typical Bayer array, to make benefit of a larger sequence to determine colour results.
Fujifilm shots tend to look very natural as a result, sometimes a little cooler in appearance, but there’s a lot of options within the camera to manipulate as you please – including traditional film stock equivalent, if you want to shoot Velvia for added punch, or Provia for softer portrait tones.
We’ve often praised Fujifilm for its image quality prowess, a trend that the X-E4 continues. It’s handled our various snaps well in terms of exposure, colour balance, scale and detail. The real sweet-spot is in the lower to medium ISO sensitivity, as higher up the range things beging to reveal a lot more image noise – not to the point of destruction, as such, but detail drifts away and processing is more apparent, even from ISO 3200.
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That you’re getting Fujifilm’s current best-of-best (well, ignoring its medium format line-up) in a camera that sits in the middle of the range is impressive.
Verdict
Although the X-E4 is the first Fujifilm X series camera to offer a screen that can face forward, we don’t actually think that’ll be the main appeal for its target audience (it’s also a bit fiddly to position as so) – as much as the spec can cater for vloggers wanting to shoot 4K or Full HD video.
The real appeal of the X-E4 lies in a range of points: from the top-tier image quality from the X-Trans CMOS 4 sensor, to the small-scale body and retro chic design; to the capable autofocus system and variety of filters and film stocks.
If you don’t want the super-fast shooting of the X-T4, don’t need the weather-sealing either, then the X-E4 wraps much of its higher-spec cousin’s features into a smaller, tidier body with a smaller price tag.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Sony A6400
Not the most up-to-date Sony – that goes to the over-four-figures A6600 – but the A6400 is a great example of small scale with big capabilities. And it did the whole facing-forward screen feature first too.
Read our full review
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Pocket-lint
Fujifilm X-T4
Want that water resistance and almost double-speed burst mode? That’s where the X-T4 comes into play. It’s far pricier, and it’s larger too, but it’s all-round more accomplished – and will feel better balanced with larger lenses, too, if that’s your future thinking.
Asus’ ROG Maximus XIII Hero is a full-featured Z590 motherboard that includes robust power delivery, premium audio with a DAC, four M.2 sockets, dual 2.5 GbE ports and integrated Wi-Fi 6E. Overall, the $499 Hero is a well-rounded premium board for Intel’s Z590 platform.
For
+ High-quality 14-phase 90A VRM
+ 10 USB ports, incl. 2x Thunderbolt 4
+ Dual 2.5 GbE plus Wi-Fi 6E
+ Four M.2 sockets
+ Premium audio
Features and Specifications
Asus’ ROG Maximus XIII Hero hits the motherboard scene offering users an extended features list, premium styling, and a price tag of $499.99. While that’s certainly expensive, it’s no longer flagship motherboard territory in terms of pricing. The latest Hero includes loads of USB ports (including ultra-fast Thunderbolt Type-C), high-quality VRMs and four M.2 sockets. All that, plus a high-end appearance and overall good performance help make this board worth the cost of admission.
Asus’ current Z590 product stack consists of 13 models. Starting from the top, the ROG Maximus XIII Extreme and its water-cooled counterpart, the Extreme Glacial, carve out the flagship SKUs, followed by the ROG Hero and the overclocking focused ROG Apex. There are four other ROG Gaming boards, Z590-E/-F/-A/-I(ITX), along with two TUF Gaming boards and three Prime boards on the budget end. Asus presents a well-rounded product stack with boards and price points for just about everyone from top to bottom.
Overall, performance on our Hero was the best out of the boards we’ve tested so far. Granted, the difference isn’t much between most of the higher-performing boards ( which bypass the Intel specification), but the Hero and its out-of-the-box settings lead the group. Overclocking went without a hitch, easily handling our 5.1 GHz clock speed along with the memory set to DDR4 4000. Of the several boards we’ve looked at, this and the MSI MEG Ace were some of the easier boards to overclock and get the memory to speed with little or no tweaking.
Generation after generation, the Asus ROG Maximus line has delivered (what this reviewer considers to be) devilishly good looks and a long list of features for the high-end segment. The Maximus XIII Hero continues this trend, tweaking the appearance a bit from the last generation and making other changes including adding PCIe 4.0 support for M.2 sockets and PCIe slots, Wi-Fi 6E, dual Thunderbolt USB Type-C ports and more. We’ll take a look at those and other features in detail. Below is the full specifications list from Asus.
Specifications – Asus ROG Maximus XIII Hero
Socket
LGA 1200
Chipset
Z590
Form Factor
ATX
Voltage Regulator
16 Phase (14+2, 90A MOSFETs)
Video Ports
(1) HDMI
USB Ports
(2) Thunderbolt 4, Type-C (40 Gbps)
(6) USB 3.2 Gen 2, Type-A (10 Gbps)
(2) USB 2.0 (480 Mbps)
Network Jacks
(2) 2.5 GbE
Audio Jacks
(5) Analog + SPDIF
Legacy Ports/Jacks
✗
Other Ports/Jack
✗
PCIe x16
(2) v4.0 x16, (x16/x0, x8/x8, x8/x4)
(1) v3.0 x4
PCIe x8
✗
PCIe x4
✗
PCIe x1
(1) v3.0 x4
CrossFire/SLI
Nvidia 2-Way SLI
DIMM slots
(4) DDR4 5333(OC), 128GB Capacity
M.2 slots
(1) PCIe 4.0 x4 / PCIe (up to 110mm)
(1) PCIe 4.0 x4 / PCIe (up to 80mm)
(1) PCIe 3.0 x4 / PCIe (up to 80mm)
(1) PCIe 3.0 x4 / PCIe + SATA (up to 110mm)
U.2 Ports
✗
SATA Ports
(6) SATA3 6 Gbps (RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10)
USB Headers
(1) USB v3.2 Gen 2×2 (Front Panel Type-C)
(2) USB v3.2 Gen 1
(2) USB v2.0
Fan/Pump Headers
(8) 4-Pin
RGB Headers
(3) aRGB Gen 2 (3-pin)
(1) Aura RGB (4-pin)
Legacy Interfaces
✗
Other Interfaces
FP-Audio, TPM
Diagnostics Panel
Yes, 2-character debug LED, and 4-LED ‘Status LED’ display
Along with the motherboard, the box includes several accessories ranging from cables to graphic card holders and a support DVD. For the price, this isn’t the most inclusive accessory stack we’ve come across, but it will get you started (hopefully) without a trip to the store. Below is a complete list of all included accessories.
Support DVD
User’s Manual
Q-connector
ROG stickers / keychain / thank you card
Graphics card holder
Wi-Fi Moving Antenna
(4) SATA cables
(1) Screw package for M.2 sockets
(1) ARGB extension cable
(1) RGB extension cable
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(Image credit: Asus)
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Handarbeit
(Image credit: Asus)
Focusing on the top half of the board, we get a better look at the massive heatsinks/shrouds that cover a significant portion of the board. Wedged between the heatpipe-connected VRM heatsink are two reinforced 8-pin EPS connectors (one required) to send power to the CPU. To the right of the socket area and its gunmetal-colored capacitors are four DRAM slots capable of supporting up to 128GB of RAM. Asus lists supported speeds up to DDR4 5333(OC). But as always, your mileage may vary.
Just above the DRAM slots are the first three 4-pin fan/pump headers (of eight total). Six headers (CPU, Chassis, and AIO_Pump, support up to 1A/12W while the W_Pump and H_Amp headers support up to 3A/36W. The AIO and W_Pump headers run at full speed while the rest are Q-Fan controlled.
Continuing right is the 2-character Q-Code debug LED, and just below it are the four Q-LEDs (CPU, DRAM, VGA and Boot) that light up during the boot process. If there is an issue during POST, that specific LED remains lit and tells you, generally, where the problem is. You can use the Q-Code display for more details.
Moving down the right edge, we see the first two (of four) RGB headers. In this area are two 3-pin (ARGB) headers. You’ll find the other two headers, a 4-pin RGB and a third 3-pin ARGB, across the bottom edge. Just below this is a large Start button to power the PC on and a smaller multi-function FlexKey button. By default, this reboots the system, but you can configure this as a quick access feature to activate Safe Boot or turn Aura lighting on/off. Further down the right edge is the 24-pin ATX power connector and below that, a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C front-panel header.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Asus went with a 14-phase ‘teamed’ VRM configuration for the XIII Hero. Power is sent to a Renesas ISL69269 controller (7+2+1), where each channel feeds two phases (no doubler inline). After that, it’s on to the 14 Texas Instrument NexFET 90A Smart Power stages. This allows the CPU to use up to 1260A, one of the higher values we’ve seen. While the Hero isn’t the most robust solution at this price point, it will have no issues with ambient and even extreme overclocking. You’ll be limited by CPU thermals long before this VRM gets in the way.
(Image credit: Asus)
Taking a closer look at the bottom half of the board, we’ll start with the audio section on the left side. Underneath the plastic shroud, Asus chose the premium Realtek ALC4082 codec along with Chemicon brand Japanese audio capacitors. The Hero also includes an ESS Sabre9018Q2C DAC/Amp for driving your headphones properly. The onboard audio solution provides more than sufficient quality for an overwhelming majority of users.
In the middle of the board we find the PCIe slots and M.2 sockets. On the PCIe front, the Hero has three full-length PCIe slots and one x1 size slot. The top two PCIe slots are wired to the CPU and support PCIe 4.0 when using an 11th generation Intel processor. These top two slots run at x16/x0, x8/x8 or x8/x4 (lane bifurcation) and support Nvidia 2-Way SLI (AMD Crossfire is not mentioned in the specifications). The bottom full-length slot is fed from the chipset and runs at PCIe 3.0 x4. Out of the box, the bottom slot runs at PCIe 3.0 x2 mode and disables SATA ports 3/4. If you need to run the bottom slot at the full x4 mode, SATA ports 1/2/3/4 get disabled.
The Maximus XIII Hero has four M.2 sockets mixed in with the PCIe slots. The top two sockets are both wired PCIe 4.0 x4. Asus accomplishes this by sharing bandwidth with the CPU-fed PCIe slots. When M.2_2 is enabled, the top PCIe slot runs at x8 and the second slot drops to x4. These sockets support PCIe modules only, with the top slot able to handle 110mm modules and the second slot up to 80mm. The third M.2 socket, connected to the chipset, runs at PCIe 3.0 x4 mode, supporting up to 80mm modules. The bottom socket supports up to 110mm PCIe 3.0 x4 and SATA-based M.2 devices. If M.2_4 (bottom right) is populated, SATA ports 5/6 are disabled. There’s a fair amount of lane sharing between the SATA ports, M.2 sockets and PCIe slots. So be sure to check out the manual for details on your specific configuration.
To the right of the PCIe area is the chipset heatsink, with the ROG symbol illuminated with RGB LEDs from underneath. On the right edge is another fan header, six SATA ports and two USB 3.2 Gen1 front panel headers that bookend the SATA ports.
Across the board’s bottom are several headers and buttons, including more USB ports, fan headers and more. If you’re into monitoring your custom water loop, there are headers for temperature and water flow as well. You can keep an eye on your entire cooling system, be it air or water. Below is the full list, from left to right:
Front-panel audio
RGB and ARGB headers
Retry button
Chassis fan and High Amp fan headers
(2) USB 2.0 headers
(2) Chassis fan headers
Temperature sensor, water flow headers
Speaker
Front panel header
(Image credit: Asus)
The Asus ROG Maximus XIII Hero comes with a pre-installed rear IO panel sporting a black background with white writing for all of the ports and buttons. There are a total of 10 USB ports: two USB 2.0 ports, six USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A and two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports for ultra-fast USB storage. Located above the Type-C ports are the two 2.5 GbE ports, while next to those are the two Wi-Fi 6E antenna sockets. A single HDMI port handles video output when using integrated graphics. The audio stack is the full 5-plug analog, plus SPDIF output. Finally, also here are the BIOS flashback button to flash without a CPU and a Clear CMOS button.
Blink’s cheap wireless cameras have seen better days.Photo by Thomas Ricker / The Verge
Blink, the Kickstarter success bought by Amazon in 2017, has long been synonymous with inexpensive battery-powered home video cameras that don’t require a monthly contract for cloud recordings. Open-source projects like Homebridge, Home Assistant, and HOOBS have made the cameras even more extensible by allowing Blink’s temperature and motion sensors to work with smart home platforms like HomeKit and act as triggers for various automations. This combination of price and functionality led many smart home enthusiasts to buy Blink cameras in bulk for whole-home monitoring, especially those who don’t want to be beholden to a corporate overlord (and its requisite subscription fees). But instead of embracing its most passionate fans, Amazon has turned against them, threatening to terminate Blink accounts while challenging the very concept of ownership.
To set the stage, I recently set up a Raspberry Pi running Homebridge with the goal of creating a single iPhone dashboard to tie my smart home together. I started automating my home about 12 years ago, long before you could buy into complete ecosystems from Amazon, Google, and Apple. Now it’s a devil’s brew of Z-Wave and Zigbee devices, some controllable with Siri, some with Alexa, and a few with Google Assistant. It’s held together with a smattering of IFTTT recipes and four disparate hubs from Ikea, Aqara, Philips Hue, and Vera. It works, kind of, but requires several different apps, many interfaces, and lots of patience, especially from my family.
Homebridge turns this Blink XT outdoor camera into a temperature and motion trigger for other automations in Apple’s Home app.
Over most of a weekend, I was able to configure Homebridge to link every one of my 50+ smart devices to HomeKit and each other in the Apple Home app. This allowed me to create rules that were previously impossible, like using the Blink XT camera’s motion sensor in my garden to trigger a Z-Wave siren and Hue lightbulbs at night. Nerdvana unlocked!
My sense of delight and intense pride lasted exactly one week before my Blink cameras suddenly went dead. The reason was delivered in an email from Amazon the next morning:
“My name is Tori and I am with the Blink team. While doing a routine server audit, your account was flagged and subsequently disabled due to unsupported scripts or apps running on your system. The only automation that is permitted for use with the Blink system is through Alexa and/or IFTTT. Please disable these scripts or apps and reach back out to me so that I can re-enable your account.”
After a brief WTF exchange whereby I explained that Alexa and / or IFTTT are wholly inferior to the capabilities of Homebridge, Tori helpfully directed me to the exact paragraph of the Blink Terms of Service that I had violated. Terms which, admittedly, I was now reading for the first time (emphasis mine):
“We may terminate the Agreement or restrict, suspend, or terminate your use of Blink Services at our discretion without notice at any time, including if we determine that your use violates the Agreement, is improper, substantially exceeds or differs from normal use by other users, or otherwise involves fraud or misuse of Blink Services or harms our interests or those of another user of Blink Services. If your use of Blink Services is restricted, suspended, or terminated, you may be unable to access your video clips and you will not receive any refund or any other compensation. In case of termination, Blink may immediately revoke your access to Blink Services without refund.”
It turns out that Amazon’s crackdown on Blink automators has been a known issue in the community for at least a year. My question is: why does Amazon bother?
My Homebridge integration may well be in violation of Blink’s terms and conditions, even if the terms seem unduly restrictive. But why is Amazon, owner of those massive AWS server farms that earned nearly $50 billion in 2020, resorting to such draconian measures in response to my meager deployment of five Blink cameras? I could see a crackdown on large-scale corporate installations hammering away at the Blink API, but why me and other small-time enthusiasts?
According to Colin Bendell, developer of the Blink camera plugin for Homebridge, there are at most 4,000 homes using open-source plugins like his. “Even if we round up to 10,000 users, I think this is probably small potatoes for Amazon,” says Bendell, who should know. Not only did he reverse engineer the Blink app to mimic its behavior, but the O’Reilly author and self-proclaimed IoT hobbyist is also the director of performance engineering at Shopify.
Blink could easily look the other way for small home deployments like mine without waving its rights. It says so right in the T&Cs it sent me:
“Blink’s failure to insist upon or enforce your strict compliance with this Agreement will not constitute a waiver of any of its rights.”
But that’d be a cop out. Really, Amazon should be embracing Blink hobbyists. Homebridge is, after all, a project that extends Apple HomeKit to work with a wide variety of uncertified devices including cameras and doorbells from Amazon-owned Ring. And study after study have concluded that Apple device owners love to spend money. Surely this is a community Amazon should encourage, not vilify.
At the risk of saying too much (please don’t shut me down, Amazon!), why is it that my two Ring cameras aren’t raising any red flags during “server audits”? I certainly check them more frequently as one is my doorbell. Perhaps it’s because I already pay a monthly subscription to Amazon for Ring and pay nothing to Blink. (Although sadly, even that early benefit has come to an end. As of March 18th, Amazon requires owners of newer Blink cameras to pay a subscription fee to unlock every feature.)
When I reached out to Amazon with the questions I raise above, and asked if enthusiast initiatives like Homebridge would be officially (or unofficially, wink) supported, I was given this boilerplate response:
“Blink customers can control their cameras through the Blink Home Monitor app, and customize their experience using the If This Then That (IFTTT) service. We are always looking for ways to improve the customer experience, including supporting select third-party integrations for our devices.”
Gee, thanks.
One of Blink’s biggest advantages has come to an end.Image: Blink
We kid ourselves about ownership all the time. I say I own my house, but, in fact, the bank owns more of it than I do. I listen to mymusic on Spotify, but those Premium playlists I’ve so carefully curated for years will be plucked from my phone just as soon as payments lapse. But somehow, Blink cameras were supposed to be different. They were for people drawn to Blink on the strength of that “no monthly contract” pitch. These were devices you were supposed to own without limitations or tithes.
How things have changed.
In 2017, Blink stood alone in the field; today there’s Wyze, Eufy, TP-Link / Kasa, Imou, and Ezviz to name just a few of the companies making inexpensive wired and wireless cameras for every smart home ecosystem, including Amazon’s, often with better features and value.
I’ve been a smart home evangelist for more than a decade, doling out advice to friends, often solicited, often not. Blink used to be an easy pitch: cheap and dead simple to install for normies, and highly extensible if you’re willing to put in the effort. But Amazon’s heavy-handed enforcement of T&Cs alongside the introduction of subscription fees have negated any advantage Blink once held over its camera competitors. While Blink sales will undoubtedly benefit from Amazon’s promotion machine, longtime Blink enthusiasts like myself will be taking their allegiances elsewhere.
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The words “Swiss design” conjure images of luxury watch movements and delicately sculpted eyeglasses, not hulking e-bikes with thickly welded frames and face-melting power. Stromer is here to challenge those assumptions and force a rethink of how its Swiss-made electric bikes, with top speeds of 45 km/h (28 mph), can disrupt urban transportation for the benefit of residents. I’ve certainly seen the light after testing a new 2021 edition ST2, Stromer’s first e-bike with a carbon belt drive.
Broadly speaking, US cities have all of the fast e-bikes and no bicycle infrastructure, whereas European cities have all of the protective infrastructure and few fast e-bikes. It’s exceedingly rare to see fast e-bikes known as speed-pedelecs in my Amsterdam home, for example, where half of all new bikes sold are electric, and bicycles outnumber people by a lot.
It’s not that EU bike makers are an effete bunch of cheese-eating milquetoasts; they manufacture slow, underpowered e-bikes to avoid the draconian measures triggered by EU Directive 168/2013. It states that any e-bike that goes faster than 25 km/h (15.5 mph) with a continuous rated power above 250 watts is to be treated the same as a gas-guzzling moped. Makers of s-pedelecs like the Stromer ST2 are subjected to a grueling certification process that then requires owners to hold a moped-class driver’s license, liability insurance, and registration. By contrast, a similarly specced Class 3 e-bike in the US usually requires… nothing, other than a helmet.
To make matters worse, speed pedelecs are banned from riding on the vast majority of the ubiquitous bike lanes that famously protect helmet-less Dutch bicyclists in cities like Amsterdam. Why? Because mopeds are banned, and the law doesn’t differentiate. Fuck that. I wasn’t going to put my life at risk for this review by riding alongside heavy (and dangerous) automobiles just because European regulators can’t get their shit together.
Over the entirety of March, I spent my days fawning over the sophistication of the Stromer ST2 while fuming at lawmakers for holding back s-pedelecs from their full potential as car replacements. While I’ll be reviewing the ST2 on its own merits, it’s nigh impossible to recommend to Europeans without first considering the operational rules by which it’s constrained.
Before diving too deeply into why European rules suck, let’s start with what makes the new Stromer ST2 so good.
The ST2 is Stromer’s all-rounder model in a range of s-pedelecs that run from the entry-level ST1 to the ST5 (there is no ST4), with prices ranging from $4,199 / €4,628 to $11,699 / €11,428 and higher depending on configuration and options. Stromer’s motors range from 670W and 35 Nm of torque to 850W and 48 Nm. All Stromers are pedal-assisted e-bikes without throttles.
The ST2 starts at $5,699 / €6,128 and is fitted with a 750-watt Stromer CYRO Drive IG motor mounted on the rear hub. It produces a modest 40 Nm of torque to accelerate the bike up to 45 km/h (28 mph) from a standstill as safely and effortlessly as possible. A torque sensor ensures that power is delivered just as soon it detects a harder press on the pedal. The Gates Carbon belt drive linked to an internal five-gear hub propels the sturdy aluminum-framed bike forward on 27.5-inch wheels sporting high volume Cycl-e ST tires custom-designed by Pirelli.
My ST2 with the large-sized sport frame options came standard with fenders, a kickstand, and a mini rack; it did not come with the optional front and rear suspension. It weighs just shy of 33 kgs (72 pounds), which is undeniably heavy for an e-bike. But that mass makes the ride feel rock solid at top speed, without any worrisome wobble or flex when riding over bumps.
Safety is also boosted by custom front and rear hydraulic disc brakes, an electric horn, daytime running lights, and a Roxim Z4E Pro headlight that can produce between 600 and 900 lumens at night. (A dazzling 1600-lumen option is available.) There’s also an integrated brake light around back. The required rearview mirror is useful to see overtaking motorists on roads, but it makes the bike quite wide. This resulted in a few slapped car mirrors before I got a feel for the added width. Fortunately, the mirror folds to make it a bit easier to walk the bike through narrow hallways.
The keyless battery makes a pleasant “thunk” when ejected after a touchscreen and button combo.
My ST2 review bike came fitted with a 48V, 618Wh removable battery rated for up to 120 km or 75 miles, though I’d estimate real-world range for an aggressive rider like me is about half that. I managed just shy of 50 km (31 miles) with 10 percent charge remaining, according to the Stromer app, before deciding to top up. The ST2 has a customizable regenerative braking feature to make the most of the battery. That flat terrain I tested on didn’t benefit from the extended range allowed by the recuperation that’s possible on long steep declines.
I did about half of my testing while illegally riding on bicycle lanes because responsible individuals can regulate their speed for the slower flow of congested city riding. If a powerful Ferrari can share city roads with slower Hyundais, then certainly a powerful e-bike can share a dedicated lane with traditional bicyclists. Putting the ST2 into low-power mode makes this easy. My riding was an even mix of max power (setting 3) at max speed (up to 47 km/h, according to the integrated display) when commuting outside the city center, and lazy 20 to 30 km/h jaunts at low power (setting 1) around town. A beefier battery with a stated range of up to 180 km (110 miles) is also available.
The + and – buttons on the left grip make it easy to toggle between the three power modes, while the right grip is home to the shifter. The excellent 5-Speed Sturmey Archer shifter is smooth and reliable and conveniently works from a standstill.
The display washes out even on an overcast day.“,”image_left”:{“ratio”:”*”,”original_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22445516/DSC_4195.jpeg”,”network”:”verge”,”bgcolor”:”white”,”pinterest_enabled”:false,”caption”:null,”credit”:null,”focal_area”:{“top_left_x”:0,”top_left_y”:0,”bottom_right_x”:4928,”bottom_right_y”:3264},”bounds”:[0,0,4928,3264],”uploaded_size”:{“width”:4928,”height”:3264},”focal_point”:null,”asset_id”:22445516,”asset_credit”:null,”alt_text”:””},”image_right”:{“ratio”:”*”,”original_url”:”https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22445517/DSC_4196.jpeg”,”network”:”verge”,”bgcolor”:”white”,”pinterest_enabled”:false,”caption”:null,”credit”:null,”focal_area”:{“top_left_x”:0,”top_left_y”:0,”bottom_right_x”:4928,”bottom_right_y”:3264},”bounds”:[0,0,4928,3264],”uploaded_size”:{“width”:4928,”height”:3264},”focal_point”:null,”asset_id”:22445517,”asset_credit”:null,”alt_text”:””},”credit”:null}” data-cid=”apps/imageslider-1618567556_3085_133009″>
The display washes out even on an overcast day.
The touchscreen display integrated into the top tube is the interface to a bike OS that’s overwrought, in my opinion, though some might like having access to every configuration option (and there are a lot) right on the bike. I do not, especially not when all that overhead makes the bike take 20 seconds just to boot, an eternity if you’re in a hurry. My bike was also configured to boot into a lock screen that was frustratingly slow to respond to the five taps required to enter my secret passcode. The display also easily washes out in sunlight.
In my experience, it’s rare to make any changes once a bike is set up to your liking, meaning it’s best to offload more advanced features to an app. I prefer simple displays that boot fast and serve as a simple dashboard for basics like power setting and battery remaining. Stromer’s app is already very complete, offering lots of ride statistics and bike diagnostics in addition to options to tune the ride to your preferred balance of speed, torque, and agility. (I rode exclusively with the default “standard” setting.) The Stromer OMNI app is one of the best e-bike apps I’ve used.
The ST2 is as high-tech as they come, fitted with Bluetooth to auto-lock / unlock the bike when in range, GPS tracking, and 3G data for over-the-air software updates. An anti-theft mode shuts off the motor and starts blaring the horn to scare off thieves.
S-pedelecs can nearly reach the 50 km/h speed limit of most European cities, which is why they’re often pitched as true car replacements. Traditional e-bikes can already replace car commutes for many, but their top speed of 25 km/h means you’ll have to accept an extended travel time (while getting outside for some exercise). To test this theory, I “raced” a friend to a golf course to the north of Amsterdam; he in his new Tesla Model 3, me on the Stromer ST2 with a six-club pencil bag slung over my shoulder. His 30-minute trip took me just 27 minutes, and I had to wait 5 minutes for a ferry to arrive. Technically, I cheated by occasionally riding at top speed on deserted bike lanes I wasn’t allowed to use… but should have been.
Speed pedelecs are forbidden on Dutch bike lanes like the one above and must share roads with cars instead.
Now, about EU directive 168/2013. As the name implies, it was conceived years before it was fully enacted on January 1st, 2017, which is part of the problem. It failed to anticipate the explosion of electric personal mobility devices we’ve seen over the last four years, especially in countries like the Netherlands where half of all new bicycles sold last year were electric. The directive splits e-bikes into two categories of “type approvals”: type L1e-A includes electric cargo bikes like the Carqon, while type L1e-B includes s-pedelecs like the Stromer ST2 and gasoline-powered mopeds. Any e-bike maxing out at 25 km/h and 250 watts of continuous power is exempt from the directive and treated exactly like a regular bicycle.
Type L1e-B vehicles are limited to a maximum speed of 45 km/h and maximum continuous rated power of 4,000 watts. It requires mopeds and s-pedelecs to be fitted with a rearview mirror, horn, brake light, and prominent license plate; while the owner must be at least 16 years of age, wear a moped-rated helmet, possess a moped (type AM) driver’s license, be covered by liability insurance, and pay to have the vehicle registered.
Critics like the European Light Electric Vehicle Advocacy group LEVA-EU argue that because it was designed primarily for mopeds with combustion engines, the current type L1e-B approval process is unnecessarily complex and burdensome for bike makers. S-pedelec manufacturers are required to comply with 1,036 pages of text, much of which is about moped safety and emission concerns that simply don’t apply to speed pedelecs. The result is higher costs passed onto consumers and curtailed adoption and innovation because… why would any company bother?
Because Europe is Europe, there’s often variance in how regulations are set into law in each member country. While I complain about s-pedelec access to bike paths in Amsterdam, at least some bike lanes still allow them, unlike other European countries. Conversely, Belgium gives owners the choice to ride their s-pedelecs on any bike path or any road with a maximum speed limit of 50 km/h. It’s policy is informed by an effusive in-country study from 2019:
The speed pedelec has the potential to be a sustainable alternative for cars with internal combustion engines for commuting purposes. For the Belgian case, commuting with a speed pedelec can solve problems regarding congestion and air pollution.
At the close of 2020, Stromer bikes registered in Belgium (4,061) were more than double that of my Dutch home (1,558), according to Bike Europe. And despite being the market leader for s-pedelecs throughout Europe, Stromer produced just 12,417 s-pedelecs in 2020, which is the same number of slow e-bikes Amsterdam-based VanMoof makes in a month. European S-pedelec demand is clearly being stifled.
So, what’s to be done?
The good news here is that the European Commission seems keen to address the regulations that currently govern e-bikes. In October, the EC asked TRL, a UK-based mobility researcher, to initiate a review of the EU’s type approval process required by EU directive 168/2013. TRL recently concluded its findings and recommended that s-pedelecs be moved out of the L1e-B moped category and into the far less restrictive L1e-A category. L1e-A type approvals currently cover 1,000-watt e-cargo bikes capped at 25 km/h and some vehicles with throttles.
It’s a positive sign but still “unfortunate” for s-pedelecs from the perspective of LEVA-EU. The advocacy group has been pushing for an entirely new set of vehicle regulations for zero-emission vehicles like e-bikes, standing scooters, and electric skateboards based upon weight and speed only, not maximum continuous power. LEVA-EU believes that vehicles with similar levels of kinetic energy should be subjected to similar rules. It would therefore distinguish between vehicles with a maximum speed of 25 or 30 km/h and those capable of 45 or 50 km/h, instead of trying to bend the current regulations dictated by Directive 168/2013 (and the related Machinery Directive) to the realities of modern transportation. While the TRL did recommend to “create a dedicated approval process for PMD [personal mobility devices] separate from Regulation (EU) No 168/2013 and the Machinery Directive,” it capped this at a max speed of either 25 or 30 km/h, thus excluding s-pedelecs from the PMD category.
The EC isn’t bound by TRL’s recommendations so we’ll have to wait until 2022 for it to reveal its legislative proposal. Even then, any proposal would have to be negotiated with the member states; a process that could go on for years before new legislation is enacted.
The Stromer ST2 is also available in dark gray.
As much as I’d love to call for revolution and demand that urban commuters act on the moral obligation to disobey the unjust laws governing s-pedelecs in Europe, I can’t really apply the logic I used for a short-term review to long-term ownership — especially not with ST2 prices starting at $5,699 / €6,128.
If you’re in the US, then no problem. But anyone in Europe interested in owning the ST2 or any speed pedelec that falls under the current L1e-B type designation had better do their homework. Not only do you need to factor in local laws that might differ from EU rules, but also the costs to register and insure yourself for such a nascent and confusing transportation category.
The Stromer ST2 is easily the most sophisticated and thrilling e-bike I’ve ridden since I began reviewing the category back in 2016. It also did the rarest of things by letting me glimpse a better future that’s just out of reach.
S-pedelecs could help accelerate European initiatives to green our cities and reclaim all of that space allocated to idling cars. But that won’t happen until EU regulators first remove the barriers to adoption and then create incentives to get city-dwellers out of their cars, even the electric ones, and onto bikes like the Stromer ST2.
iPhone 13 leaks aren’t unusual, but the latest disclosure is more intriguing than normal. A new 3D render (above) suggests Apple could be making some “strange” design changes, claims 9to5Mac.
The renders originate from MySmartPrice, which tips the iPhone 13 for an iPhone 12-like design and a smaller notch. The same publication also claims the iPhone 13 could boast two front cameras, though we’d take that with a generous pinch of salt.
The biggest surprise, however, is the new camera bump: it seems to sport a pretty radical ‘diagonal arrangement’. The cameras are stacked vertically on the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12, but on the iPhone 13 the rear lenses are depicted top-left and bottom right of the camera module. Cue much head-scratching.
We’re expecting very few technical upgrades to the iPhone 13 cameras, so it seems curious (or unlikely) that Apple would rejig the position of the lenses. Could it be an aesthetic choice? And will the design of the triangular camera on the iPhone 13 Pro models also be changing?
One theory is that the reshuffle could free up space for a LIDAR sensor, but that would more than likely be reserved for the more expensive Pro models. Others have questioned the authenticity of the leak. As 9to5Mac says, MySmartPrice has a good track record when it comes to iPhone renders but past material has typically surfaced with the approval of respected leaker Steve Hemmerstoffer (aka @OnLeaks). We shall see.
In the market for a new smartphone? The iPhone 13 is tipped for an 120Hz OLED display that uses variable refresh rate technology to prolong the battery life. It’s not due to drop until September but in the meantime, Cupertino is expected to unveil a new iPad Pro at its Spring Loaded event on 20th April.
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(Pocket-lint) – DJI has long been the champion of the consumer drone market, pushing boundaries and implenting technology that makes it easy for the average person to do previously impossible aerial photography and videography.
It was undoubtedly through the Mavic series that it saw success reach new heights, but over the past couple of years DJI has been focusing on its smaller, more nimble drones.
It ditched the Mavic name with the Mini 2, and has now followed up the excellent Mavic Air 2 with a new-and-improved Air 2S. No ‘Mavic’ moniker in sight.
What’s new?
For the most part the DJI Air 2S looks just like the Mavic Air 2. It has the familiar Mavic-style sharknose front and arms that fold inwards to make it compact and easy to carry around.
The new stuff isn’t necessarily all that visual. Improvements are almost entirely performance enhancements. It has a bigger 1-inch sensor and more advanced sensors for spotting obstacles. That means better photos, better video quality and much smarter obstacle avoidance.
That’s not to say there aren’t any visual changes. For example, the extra upward-facing obstacle sensors are easy to spot on the front. Plus, the propeller blades now have bright orange tips – just like the Mini 2 – and the camera housing is silver rather than black.
If it ain’t broke…
Dimensions (unfolded): 183 × 253 × 77mm
Dimensions (folded): 180 × 97 × 80mm
Weight: 595g
DJI’s Mavic design is the company’s best idea to date. By making it possible to fold the drone up into a small enough size that it can easily fit in your backpack, it made quadcopters accessible. That’s still here with the Air 2S, which is small enough to fit in your hand when it’s folded.
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FOLDABLE AND COMPACT
Like its predecessors, the top arms fold outward, while the bottom ones pivot down and out to form the traditional quadcopter shape. Those front/top arms sit slightly higher, too, with feet that rest on the ground to ensure the camera system has enough space beneath it.
This particular camera is mounted underneath the nose and mounted to a three-axis mechanical gimbal, meaning that any movement or shakiness is counterracted – resulting in smooth and sharp images and video. It’s a pretty familiar mechanism by now, and has worked well in previous models.
The removeable battery makes up part of the body of the drone too. In fact, the rear two-thirds of the drone is practically all battery. It’s held in place by a couple of internal clips that you release by pressing a button on either side of the battery. It’s a secure system and keeps it in place unless you really want to take it off.
Pocket-lint
As you’d expect, the drone ships with the redesigned controller we first saw ship with 2020’s Mavic Air 2. It’s a larger, chunkier controller than the old control pads, but it’s practical. It’s easier to grip for one, and the phone holder is much sturdier and less likely to mess with the buttons up the sides. Plus, it’s easier to fit larger phones in it.
Sensors galore!
Four-sided obstacle avoidance
3500mAh battery capacity
31 minutes max flight time
8GB internal storage
microSD to 256GB
DJI drones have led the way when it comes to obstacle avoidance and smart flight paths, and that’s not likely to change any time soon. This latest drone features sensors to avoid obstacles on the front, back, underside and the top. It doesn’t just stop in front of obstacles either, it makes use of DJI’s latest version of APAS (Advanced Pilot Assistance Systems) – which can automatically plot a route and move around obstacles.
The company also says it uses something called ‘binocular zooming technology’ which means the drone can pick up obstacles from further away and detect when they’re coming towards the drone. It should result in obstacles being much harder to hit and easier to avoid, even when they’re coming in fast.
Pocket-lint
There are lots of smart flying modes included too. Those include the usual QuickShots – which can move in a preset path around a subject – but more impressive-sounding is MasterShots.
With MasterShots enabled the drone decides for itself how to fly around the subject in a number of different paths for a couple of minutes and then create a unique video from that footage.
FocusTrack is another staple, where you can focus on a subject and then either get the camera to stay locked while you manually fly the drone around it, or get it to follow the subject in a set direction.
The best drones 2021: Top rated quadcopters to buy, whatever your budget
By Cam Bunton
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Improved optics
1-inch CMOS sensor
20MP (2.4μm pixel size)
5.4K video (to 30fps)
4K (to 60fps)
Digital zoom/sensor crop up to 6x
Just a couple of years ago if you wanted really good quality images and stills from a DJI drone it meant spending quite a lot of money. The Phantom 4 Pro was the first consumer-ish drone with a 1-inch CMOS sensor, before it was followed up by the Mavic 2 Pro. Both of those drones are significantly more expensive than the Air 2S.
Now, that same-sized sensor is in the Air 2S and on first impressions the results are very good. We’ve managed to get a little time in the air testing a few of the different modes and the photo quality already looks to be a huge improvement on what the last Mavic Air 2 managed.
That’s no surprise really. Larger sensors mean bigger pixels and that means more data is captured and you usually see better colours and more light, which is more noticeable in low-light situations. We’ve not done enough testing yet to give our final say, but it’s looking to be a very competent camera so far.
It’s similar for video. It can shoot 4K resolution up to 60fps, so you can capture that sharp and smooth footage. If you want to up the sharpness for cropping in post production, you can up it to 5.4K resolution – but this tops out at 30fps.
Of course, there are other resolutions and frame rates which includes slow-motion options. Full HD (1080p) resolultion can go all the way up to 120fps to help give you that slowed down footage. In addition, DJI has added digital zoom to this latest drone, so depending on which resolution and frame-rate you’re filming at you can zoom up to 6x.
Should you get the Fly More combo?
Two additional batteries (three total)
Charging hub – charges all three at once
Ships with 4 ND filters
Carrying bag included
While battery life should be pretty strong on the DJI Air 2S, the 31 minutes flight time might not be quite enough if you’re planning on a long stint out in the hills. And those are 31 minutes in windless and sterile conditions.
Extra batteries are always a good idea – and the Fly More combo gives you more than just extra batteries. You get a charging hub that allows you to charge all three batteries at the same time, plus a little case with four ND (neutral density) filters.
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These filters attach to the front of the camera and offer varying strengths. If you’re shooting on a bright day, or shooting near a lake or the sea, it’s always worthwhile to have an ND filter or two kicking around to reduce some of the harsh light and highlights.
The kit comes in a bag which can carry all of it, meaning you don’t have to take your own backpack if you don’t want to carry a big bag around with you.
Of course, getting the Fly More combo pushes the cost up by £270 in the UK, so it’s not cheap, but is a far more cost effective way to get extra batteries and accessories. Just one Intelligent Flight Battery for the Air 2 costs £105 on its own, while the charging hub would set you back £49 and the shoulder bag costs £69.
First Impressions
To get a 1-inch sensor in a DJI drone used to mean spending over four-figures and going with something quite big. Granted, the older Mavic 2 Pro is still foldable, but it’s nowhere near as compact as the Air 2S.
What’s more, the new Air drone still features a lot of the same capabilities of its bigger, more expensive siblings. It’s a win-win. It’ll cost you less, do mostly the same stuff, and takes up less room.
On the whole, based on our short time with the Air 2S so far, this could quite possibly be the best drone for consumers that DJI has ever released. It’s well-equipped, has a great camera, and all the tech and sensors you’d usually expect come in a much bigger and more expensive machine.
Seeed Studio announced the reTerminal, its latest addon for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. This $195 Compute Module 4 machine learning and industrial application carrier board comes enclosed inside a robust case and sports a 5-inch touchscreen and plenty of expansion possibilities.
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Seeed’s reTerminal works with all models of the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4. For the $195 price tag, it comes with a Compute Module 4 with 4GB RAM and 32GB of eMMC flash. You can easily swap out the Compute Module 4 if you need to change the config to accommodate your use case.
The 5-inch capacitive touch LCD has a 1280 x 720 (293 PPI) resolution, much more useful than 800 x 480 resolutions found on other screens. On the front of the unit, we see four user buttons, which can be programmed as required for useful quick access to common tasks.
On reTerminal’s left side, we find two USB 2.0 ports, Gigabit Ethernet, micro HDMI output (4Kp60), and a USB C power input for the 5V 4A required to power the unit. On the other side, we see a breakout for the Raspberry Pi GPIO. This is not directly compatible with add ons/HATs, but we can use one of the many Raspberry Pi add-on boards with a breakout board.
On the rear, we see a finned radiator used to keep the Compute Module 4’s 1.5 GHz quad-core Cortex-A72 CPU cool. We can only assume that this is passive cooling as there is no mention of active cooling. Also present is a MIPI camera interface, which enables using the official Raspberry Pi Camera and the HQ Camera. A useful addition when we consider that reTerminal is aimed at machine learning applications such as Edge Impulse, PyTorch and TensorFlow. An interesting addition is an industrial high-speed interface, which provides a PCIe 1 lane host, an additional USB 2.0 port, 28 GPIOs, and Power over Ethernet, according to the press release.
A series of M4 screw mounts at various points around the device are used to secure the reTerminal to several external modular accessories. We can see an industrial GPIO breakout from the supplied images and a unit that connects to the industrial high-speed breakout connector. We find a standard camera mount at the bottom of the unit, enabling reTerminal to be held in place using many different camera accessories.
A series of sensors are hidden inside of the reTerminal. First, we have a mic array that can be used with machine learning for voice recognition projects, an accelerometer for display rotation, data collection and gesture input, and a light sensor with proximity detection. An onboard real-time clock provides a means to keep your Compute Module 4’s clock in time, useful for projects where connectivity to NTP servers could be problematic.
Seeed’s reTerminal looks to be a nice and tidy means to use a Raspberry Pi Computer Module 4-powered machine for machine learning. Tom’s Hardware will have all of the reTerminal information you need in a future review. Seeed is offering $5 off if you register here.
(Pocket-lint) – Samsung is rumoured to announce the ‘Fan Edition’ – also known as FE – of its Galaxy S21 later this year, succeeding the Galaxy S20 FE.
The Galaxy S20 FE is a fantastic device, offering many of the great features of the Galaxy S20 but for a lower price thanks to a couple of compromises, and there have been several rumours suggesting the S21 FE will follow in those footsteps.
How is the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE expected to compare to the Galaxy S20 FE though? We’ve put the rumoured specifications for the S21 FE up against the S20 FE so you can see.
Design
S21 FE: 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm, TBC
S20 FE: 159.8 x 74.5 x 8.4mm, 190g
Rumours suggest the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will look similar to the Galaxy S21, with a centralised punch hole camera at the top of its flat display, a plastic back and an IP65/68 water and dust resistance.
Leaked renders show a triple rear camera with the housing positioned in the top left corner, and flowing into the frame of the device. It’s said to measure 155.7 x 74.5 x 7.9mm.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE meanwhile, takes its design cues from the Galaxy S20. It too offers a centralised punch hole camera at the top of the flat display though, as well as a plastic back and waterproofing.
There’s a triple rear camera on the back, within a housing in the top left corner, but the housing is more of an island, differentiating it from what is expected from the Galaxy S21 FE. It measures 159.8 x 74.5 x 8.4mm and weighs 190g, which means the S21 FE could be shorter and slimmer if the rumours are accurate.
The S21 FE is said to be coming in gray/silver, pink, violet, and white colours. The Galaxy S20 FE comes in blue, red, lavender, mint, white and orange.
Display
Galaxy S21 FE: 6.4-inch, Full HD+, 120Hz, HDR
Galaxy S20 FE: 6.5-inch, Full HD+, 120Hz, HDR
According to reports, the Samsung Galayxy S21 FE will have a 6.4-inch display with a Full HD+ resolution. It’s also expected to have a 120Hz refresh rate, though it is not currently clear if it will offer a variable refresh rate, like the Galaxy S21 range.
As mentioned, the display is expected to be flat and it will no doubt be a Super AMOLED panel with support for HDR, like the S20 FE offers.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE has a slightly larger 6.5-inch display than what is reported for the S21 FE, though it has the same Full HD+ resolution and it also has a 120Hz refresh rate. The refresh rate is not variable on the S20 FE though so if the Galaxy S21 FE offer variable, then this will be one of the differences aside from size.
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is expected to run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, or the Exynos 2100, though no rumours have suggested this as yet. Instead, the rumours have claimed the S21 FE will be a 5G device, run on Android 11 and come in 128GB and 256GB storage options.
There’s no word on whether microSD will be supported, but given the S21 range doesn’t offer microSD, it is possible the S21 FE won’t either. Currently, no rumours have detailed RAM or battery capacity for the S21 FE.
The Galaxy S20 FE 5G handset runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865, while the 4G model runs on Exynos 990. There is a choice of 6GB or 8GB of RAM on board, both of which have 128GB of storage, as well as support for microSD.
In terms of battery, the Galaxy S20 FE has a 4500mAh capacity so we would expect similar from the Galaxy S21 FE.
Camera
Galaxy S21 FE: Triple rear
Galaxy S20 FE: Triple rear
Main: 12MP, f/1.8, 1.8µm, OIS
Tele: 8MP, f/2.4, 1.0µm, OIS, 3x optical
Ultra-wide: 12MP, f/2.2, 1.12µm
Front: 32MP, f/2.2, 0.8µm, FF
The Samsung Galaxy S21 FE is rumoured to come with a triple rear camera, though there are currently no specifics on what sensors might be on board. It’s likely we will see the same main camera as the Galaxy S21, along with a telephoto and ultra wide angle lens, but the resolution and pixels could be different on the latter two lenses, like the S20 FE did compared to the S20+.
The Galaxy S20 FE has a triple rear camera, made up of a 12-megapixel main sesnor with an f/1.8 aperture, 1.8µm pixels and optical image stabilisation, which is the same as the S20+ offers. It also has an 8-megapixel telephoto lens that has an f/2.4 aperture, 1.0µm pixels, OIS and 3x optical and there is a 12-megapixel ultra wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture and 1.12µm pixels.
The front camera on the Galaxy S20 FE is a 32-megapixel, f/2.2 aperture, sensor. We’d expect similar on the S21 FE.
Price
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Pricing for the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE hasn’t been rumoured as yet, though we’d expect it to fall around the same ballpark as the S20 FE and certainly cheaper than the Galaxy S21 range.
The Samsung Galaxy S20 FE starts at £599 in the UK for the 4G model and £699 for the 5G model. The 4G model isn’t available in the US, but the 5G model starts at $699.99 in the US, with the 8GB of RAM model costing $769.99.
Conclusion
Based on the rumours so far, the Samsung Galaxy S21 FE will feature a slightly different design to the S20 FE from the rear, keeping in tune with the lastest Galaxy S21 series, though it will look similar from the front.
Speculation suggests the S21 FE will be shorter and slimmer than the S20 FE, pack a slightly smaller display and come with an upgraded processor and possibly some camera upgrades too, even if only in terms of features.
We will update this feature as more rumours appear surrounding the S21 FE, but for now, you can keep track of all the latest in our separate Galaxy S21 FE feature.
Forget iPhone 13 – iPhone 14 will bring a host of drastic changes, says respected tech analyst Ming-Chu Kuo. Apparently, Apple’s 2022 iPhone will boast a notch-less design and 8K video recording for the first time.
It’s bad news for iPhone Mini fans, though: Kuo claims Apple will kill off the 5.4-inch model from 2022. Rumours suggest that the compact mobile hasn’t sold well, so the iPhone 13 Mini, which is expected to be announced this September, could be the Mini’s swan song.
Kuo is quick to point out that the 2022 iPhone line-up will still consist of four models: two high-end ‘Pro’ phones with 6.1- and 6.7-inch screens and two ‘affordable’ iPhones with the same 6.1- and 6.7-inch screens – sans the top-tier camera tech.
As for the design, whereas the latest leaks tip the upcoming iPhone 13 for a 10 per cent-smaller camera notch (via 9to5Mac), Kuo is convinced the iPhone 14 will see Apple transition to a much sleeker ‘punch-hole’ design, where the only display cutout is used for the front selfie camera.
And from 2023 – yes, we’re onto the iPhone 15 now – Kuo reckons Apple could plump for a bezel-free design with both the selfie camera and FaceID infrared projector hidden beneath the phone’s display. Given that the iPhone 15 is probably nothing more than a napkin-sketch right now, anything’s possible.
Back to iPhone 14, though. The same future-gazer expects the more expensive ‘Pro’ models to sport an upgraded 48MP sensor because “the best resolution for augmented and mixed reality is 8K to 16K”. That ties in nicely with the rumour that Apple is planning to launch a mixed reality headset in 2022. As for stills, Kuo reckons they’ll be scaled down to 12MP to produce manageable files with stunning levels of detail and almost no noise (a technique already used by many of the best Android phones).
Finally, Kuo tips all four 2022 iPhones to support 8K video recording – a first for Apple. Given that Samsung has already released two smartphones that support 8K recording – the 2020 Galaxy S20 and 2021 Galaxy S21 – some would say the Cupertino giant has fallen behind its competitors on that front. Then again, Samsung manufactures 8K TVs, so it makes sense to put 8K-capable mobiles devices into its customers’ pockets.
Of course, 2023 is a long way off. For now all eyes are on Apple’s 20th April event, which is expected to feature a new iPad Pro with Mini LED display and the AirPods 3 wireless buds (maybe).
MORE:
Our review of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Mini
Apple’s first over-ear headphones rated: AirPods Max
Budget or blow-out? The best smartphones you can buy
ZTE has unveiled the Axon 30 Ultra alongside two other 30-series devices — the Axon 30 and Axon 30 Pro — though the Ultra has at least one unique feature: it will be sold in the US and Canada. Exact availability and pricing are still TBD, but we do know that the 30 Ultra has all of the trappings of a high-end Android device. It will offer a Snapdragon 888 processor with 8GB or 12GB of RAM, a 6.67-inch 1080p OLED with adaptive refresh rates up to 144Hz, four rear cameras including a 5x zoom, and 66W fast charging.
The 30 Ultra features a prominent camera bump that houses plenty of pixels, starting with a 64-megapixel f/1.6 main camera with optical image stabilization. There’s another 64-megapixel camera — unstabilized with a 35mm-equivalent f/1.9 lens — and an ultrawide with (you guessed it) a 64-megapixel sensor. A periscope-style telephoto lens is coupled with an 8-megapixel sensor and includes optical stabilization. Unlike the Axon 20 5G, it offers a traditional hole-punch 16-megapixel selfie camera around front; no under-screen camera here, which is a good thing in our book. Video recording from the main camera tops out at 8K/30fps.
ZTE calls the phone’s 6.67-inch display a “borderless, curved” OLED panel with a 95% screen-to-body ratio. It’s protected with Gorilla Glass 5 — as is the rear panel — and includes HDR10 support. It offers adaptive refresh rates of 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and 144Hz, which it uses depending on the application to save battery life.
Rounding out the feature set, the Axon 30 Ultra 5G includes a large 4,600mAh battery that supports fast 66W wired charging. It ships with Android 11 and offers an in-screen fingerprint reader for biometric unlock.
The step-down Axon 30 Pro still includes the Snapdragon 888 chipset, but features a different rear camera configuration, a non-variable 120Hz screen, and less-speedy 55W charging. The Axon 30 base model is the only one to get the next iteration of the in-display selfie camera, as teased by ZTE earlier this year.
For now, the Ultra looks like a whole lot of phone, but it’s hard to judge just how competitive it will be in the US until we have a confirmed price. When it is available, it’ll be sold online unlocked from ZTE.
Founded in 2020, Pulsar is a gaming peripherals company based in Korea. The right-handed ergonomic Xlite is their first gaming mouse and all about getting the weight as low as possible. Aside from the rib-shaped holes, the Xlite does without RGB lighting, a dedicated CPI button, and even without much of the bottom shell to achieve a weight of just 48 g, which is doubly impressive given it is by no means small. Equipped with PixArt’s PAW3370 sensor capable of 20,000 CPI, Omron switches for the main buttons, pure PTFE mouse feet, and a particularly flexible paracord-like cable, no compromises have been made in terms of performance. Pulsar also includes additional mouse feet, grip tape, and a micro-bungee in the box. The usual customization options are provided in software.
Ford has a name for its “hands-free” advanced driver assist system (ADAS): BlueCruise. The company said it would begin pushing the feature via an over-the-air software update to select 2021 Ford F-150 and 2021 Mustang Mach-E owners later this year.
According to Ford, BlueCruise will allow hands-free driving on “prequalified sections of divided highways called Hands-Free Blue Zones that make up more than 100,000 miles of North American roads.” Yes, Ford is even branding the highway.
BlueCruise is Ford’s answer to General Motors’ Super Cruise, which is considered the gold standard for Level 2 advanced driver assist systems. These systems work in concert with a number of distinct features, like adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist, blindspot detection, pedestrian monitoring, and stop sign detection.
What makes these systems stand apart, though, is the inclusion of an active driver monitoring system in the form of an infrared sensor on the steering column that tracks the drivers’ eyes to make sure they are keeping them on the road.
Not every F-150 and Mach-E will be automatically eligible for the software update. F-150 owners who opted for the $1,595 Ford Co-Pilot 360 Active 2.0 package can purchase BlueCruise for an additional $600. For Mustang Mach-E owners, BlueCruise will come standard on the CA Route 1, Premium, and First Edition variants as part of the $3,200 Comfort and Technology package.
Until then, owners will have access to the second generation of Ford’s ADAS, known as Co-Pilot 360. This includes improved versions of features like lane centering, adaptive cruise control, active park assist, blindspot assist, and more.
Ford is also shifting into high marketing gear for the new feature. The company deployed 10 test vehicles — five F-150s and five Mach-Es — on a 110,000-mile road trip through 37 states and five Canadian provinces to test BlueCruise in a variety of road conditions.
“There are highway intricacies and driving conditions that you simply cannot replicate in a lab,” said Hau Thai-Tang, Ford’s chief product platform and operations officer, in a statement. “Sending these vehicles out for real-world driving experience is just one of many ways we ensured that BlueCruise technology offers confidence and convenience for drivers all across the continent.”
Ford said it expects to sell more than 100,000 vehicles equipped with BlueCruise in the first year, based on company sales and take-rate projections.
Car consumers are certainly attracted to more high-tech systems, especially if they can promise a safer, more stress-free driving experience. A survey conducted by Edmunds in late 2017 found that 58 percent of car shoppers would pay an extra $1,000 or more for a vehicle equipped with active safety features.
A lot depends on how these systems are marketed to customers. For example, Tesla has said Autopilot should only be used by attentive drivers with both hands on the wheel. But the feature is designed to assist drivers, not replace them. And it’s far from foolproof: there have been several high-profile incidents in which some drivers have engaged Autopilot, crashed, and died.
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