Dennis Villeneuve’s Dune isn’t the only film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s novel getting a 4K release this year. That’s because the original adaptation, made in 1984 by a young David Lynch, is getting a limited edition 4K Blu-ray release on August 30th. The film was both a critical and box office bomb that Lynch later disowned, but it’s also a fascinating historical artifact and sci-fi cult-classic.
Arrow Films, the distributor handling the release, says the 4K restoration is sourced from the film’s original camera negative, scanned at 4K 2160p and mastered in Dolby Vision HDR. It also includes uncompressed stereo audio and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound mix.
There are two versions of the 4K release available to pre-order: a standard edition containing the film along with a bonus disc of extra content, and a steelbook edition which adds a third non-4K Blu-ray disc containing the HD version of the film. Extra features include brand new audio commentaries (from film historian Paul M. Sammon and podcaster Mike White), a new feature-length documentary, and mix of new and old featurettes. It will be available to buy in the UK, US, and Canada when it releases next month.
It’d probably be an understatement to say the original Dune got a mixed reception upon its release. Critic Robert Ebert called it “an incomprehensible, ugly, unstructured, pointless excursion into the murkier realms of one of the most confusing screenplays of all time.” But the story of how it came to be is fascinating, with Ridley Scott being attached to direct at one point before he dropped out and directed Blade Runner instead. Vulture has a good timeline of the struggles various filmmakers have been through over the years trying to adapt the novel.
Meanwhile, the 2021 Dune adaptation is currently due to release on October 1st, when it will be available simultaneously to watch in cinemas as well as HBO Max in 4K HDR.
, AMD has finally introduced FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), the company’s upscaling technology to rival Nvidia’s machine learning-powered DLSS. It was introduced during AMD chief executive Dr. Lisa Su’s virtual keynote address at Computex, which is being held online this year. The new feature will launch on June 22.
AMD promises that FSR will deliver up to 2.5 times higher performance while using the dedicated performance mode in “select titles.” At least ten game studios will integrate FSR into their games and engines this year. The first titles should show up this month, and the company also detailed FSR’s roots in open source. The feature is based on
AMD’s OpenGPU suite
.
(Image credit: AMD)
FSR has four presets: ultra quality, quality, balanced and performance. The first two focus on higher quality by rendering at closer to native resolution, while the latter two push you to get as many frames as possible. FSR works on both desktops and laptops, as well as both integrated and discrete graphics.
In its own tests using Gearbox Software’s Godfall (AMD used the
Radeon RX 6900 XT
,
RX 6800 XT
and
RX 6700 XT
on the game’s epic preset at 4K with ray tracing on), the company claimed 49 frames per second at native rendering, but 78 fps using ultra quality FSR, 99 fps using quality, 124 fps on balanced and 150 fps on performance.
(Image credit: AMD)
But FSR works on other hardware, including Nvidia’s graphics cards. AMD tested one of Nvidia’s older (but still very popular) mainstream GPUs, the GTX 1060, with Godfall at 1440p on the epic preset. It ran natively at 27 fps, but at 38 fps with quality mode on — a 41% boost. In fact, AMD says that FSR, which needs to be implemented by game developers to suit their titles, will work with over 100 CPUs and GPUs, including its own and competitors.
(Image credit: AMD)
We’ll be able to test FidelityFX Super Resolution when it launches, starting with Godfall on June 22, so keep an eye out for our thoughts. While the performance gains sound impressive, we’re also keen to check out image quality. We’ve been fairly impressed by
Nvidia’s DLSS 2.0
, but the original DLSS implementation was far less compelling. It seems as though AMD aims to provide similar upscaling but without all the fancy machine learning.
Su’s keynote included other graphics announcements, such as the launch of the
Radeon RX 6800M, RX 6700M and RX 6600M mobile GPUs
based on RDNA 2, as well as a handful of new APUs.
When the soldering iron gets hot, makers have been known to cook up some sweet music on the Raspberry Pi. In some cases, we mean that literally, like today with Keith Bloemer’s NeuralPi project.
NeuralPi is a Raspberry Pi-based guitar pedal that uses machine learning to create custom effects. We’ve always insisted the best Raspberry Pi projects are the ones you can personalize—in this case, you can train the system with existing models or a new one of your own to get the sound you want.
Recreating this project will set you back just a little over $160. Bloemer used a Raspberry Pi 4 alongside a HiFiBerry ADC +DAC housed inside a HiFiBerry case. A male RCA to 1/4-inch female audio adapter is necessary for guitar pedal output, and he used a dual 1/4-inch female to a 1/8-inch male stereo adapter to connect the guitar to the HiFiBerry module.
NeuralPi is designed to work specifically with Elk Audio OS, an open-source OS catered to optimizing audio processing on embedded devices. You can find the NeuralPi source code on GitHub, along with a couple of Machine learning models you can use to get started right away.
If you’re interested in recreating this project, check out the full tutorial at Towards Data Science written by Bloemer himself. Be sure to follow him for more Pi projects and updates on this one.
The Razer Kraken V3 X will keep you satisfied with an excellent microphone and solid rich audio reproduction.
For
+ Lightweight
+ Solid audio reproduction and thump
+ Great, microphone
+ Succulently soft ear cups
Against
– ll-plastic design
Designed to compete with the best gaming headsets, without breaking the bank, Razer’s Kraken V3 X combines a comfortable ear cup design with strong audio output, an excellent microphone and software that greatly enhances the experience. This $69 set of USB cans are thumpy thanks to Razer’s patented Triforce 40mm drivers while offering a dash of RGB style in-the-ear cups.
Razer Kraken V3 X Specs
Driver Type
40mm neodymium magnet
Impedance
32 Ohms
Frequency Response
12 Hz – 28kHz
Microphone Type
Cardioid Hyperclear Unidirectional
Connectivity
USB Type-A (PC)
Weight
0.6 pounds (285g)
Cord Length
USB Type-A cable: 6 feet
Lighting
RGB on Earcups
Software
Razer Synapse and 7.1 Surround Sound
Design and Comfort of Razer Kraken V3 X
Image 1 of 4
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 2 of 4
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 3 of 4
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 4 of 4
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Though it’s made from lightweight plastic, the Razer Kraken V3 X feels very sturdy. The unit’s Hybrid-Fabric memory foam ear cups are succulently soft and the headband is highly adjustable, fitting comfortably on my obnoxiously large head. When I plugged it in, the three-headed snake logo on each ear cup illuminated in RGB.
On the left earcup, you will find the flexible Razer Hyper Clear cardioid microphone, which is quite bendy, with a volume knob and a mute button. The Razer Kraken V3 X is fine to wear for long periods of time as they do not tend to get very hot or warm with long usage, unlike many other over-the-ear styled gaming headphones I have previously reviewed.
Audio Performance of Razer Kraken V3 X
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The headset uses a pair of 40mm Triforce drivers that are designed by Razer and they pump out thunderous distortion-free bass and sweet sound throughout the audio spectrum. From sweet, warm, throaty lows, to angelic highs, the rich sound on the Razer Kraken V3 X surprised me.
First, I went to Youtube to listen to Busta Rhymes’ “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See,” because the thick bold bassline would be an excellent test of the Kraken V3 X’s capabilities. The unit came through with flying colors as they pushed out clear, loud, thunderous bass that Thor Odinson would be proud of.
My favorite moment came while listening to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September.” At the beginning of the song, the Razer Kraken V3 X reproduced the softer tones of the finger snaps and guitar melody sweetly. When the horn section takes over with its powerful rhythm, the Krakens proved they were audio titans.
The Razer Kraken V3 X also has plenty of gaming prowess. While playing Borderlands 2, the 7.1 spatial surround sound helped me hear some creeps off to my right and I was able to turn around swiftly with my sniper’s rifle and blow a villain’s head off before he could roast me with a flamethrower. The sound of explosions was exquisite when I shot out a barrel filled with chemicals, taking out three enemies.
After I was done with Borderlands 2, I decided to knock some heads and so I launched Batman Arkham Knight and again the spatial sound software helped me as I heard footsteps to my left and I bataranged a would-be attacker. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the bone-crunching punches, and then my favorite sound, the thruster on the Batmobile firing, was bombastically reproduced, as it launched me across off a bridge and onto a rooftop.
To test the movie viewing experience, I watched Avengers Infinity War via Disney Plus. The audio captured the thunderous bass and every nuance so well that it sounded like it did when I watched this film in an IMAX theater.
During the scene where Starlord is feeling insecure about Thor’s presence and starts deepening his voice, I picked up the subtle difference in tone from the moment when Chris Pratt starts his impression. Every fight scene and explosion was so realistic. When Iron Man is battling Thanos and he roots his armor’s feet and then double punches Thanos and he slams against the debris, I literally could hear individual rocks fling off and land elsewhere.
Microphone on Razer Kraken V3 X
The Razer Kraken V3 X comes with Razer’s HyperClear cardioid microphone, which has a rated frequency response that ranges from 100Hz-10Hz with a sensitivity of -42dB. It’s very flexible and bendy and really does a nice job when recording audio.
I took part in an afternoon Google Meet, and everyone said that my voice came in loud and clear, my natural deep timbre was nicely picked up by the microphone and when I made an appearance on my friend’s baseball podcast, he commented that the mic had an excellent pickup and recorded very nicely.
Features and Software of Razer Kraken V3 X
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Razer Kraken V3 X is a solid performer on its own but, I highly, recommend you download Razer’s Synapse software which will allow you to configure the RGB lighting effects, create lighting profiles, and adjust the volume.
The real winner here is Razer’s 7.1 Surround Sound download; it is the game changer and takes the sound quality up many notches. The normal audio performance as previously mentioned is solid. However, the truly thunderous, high-quality audio that makes these cans worth their weight, is when the unit is paired with the software. They go from sounding like $69 headphones to sounding like a pair of $200 headphones.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
For $69.99 you get an excellent pair of sounding headphones, especially if you remember to download Razer’s 7.1 surround sound software. Yes, they’re plastic, but they’re very stylish with the RGB lighting adding a little panache and flair. The Kraken V3 X is also super lightweight, the hybrid cloth and memory foam cups will cradle your ears in soft comfort.
With the excellent microphone performance, you will be able to bark orders out to your friends during games or even host a podcast with crystal clear audio. If you don’t mind spending a bit more money and want a headset with a 3.5mm jack, you should consider the HyperX Cloud Alpha, but if you want a high-quality, affordable USB gaming headset, the Razer Kraken V3 X is a great choice.
THX’s debut product is nicely made and well-featured, but it lets itself down in the sound department
For
Neat, versatile design
MQA support
Adds power, clarity and cleanliness
Against
Sonically basic
Outclassed by cheaper rivals
Next time you’re in a cinema, take a moment to appreciate THX. After all, the US firm will be in some way to thank for the audio presentation you’re experiencing.
THX was born out of George Lucas’s disappointment at the quality of audio systems in theatres showing his Star Wars movies. Members of his Lucasfilm team, including sound engineer Tomlinson Holman, were tasked with developing a certification program for audio standards, and the first film to meet those specifications was the 1983 release of Star Wars Episode VI: Return Of The Jedi.
Almost 20 years after becoming a separate company, THX is celebrating another milestone, with its first crack at the consumer electronics market in the THX Onyx, a DAC/headphone amplifier. The company’s Achromatic Audio Amplifier (THX AAA) technology sits at the heart of the THX Onyx, a compact, portable device designed to enhance the sound between your source device and wired headphones.
Features
(Image credit: THX)
The THX Onyx is one of the most discreet portable DACs we’ve seen. It has a thin metal body, longer and narrower than the average USB stick, at the end of a short, thick USB-C cable.
THX Onyx tech specs
(Image credit: THX)
3.5mm output Yes
USB-C output Yes
USB-A adapter Yes
With that connection, and the USB-A adapter supplied in the box, the Onyx works with any Windows 10 PC, Mac or Android device via either of those output sockets. iPhone and iPads require the slim Apple Lightning to USB Camera Adapter (not supplied), although it’s worth noting that, in this case, your headphones’ in-line remote functionality won’t work.
Neither method requires specific drivers or installation – simply stick it into your chosen device, select it as your device’s sound output (if necessary) and plug your wired headphones into the 3.5mm socket at the other end of the DAC.
THX says the Onyx produces a power output comparable to that of entry-level desktop headphone amps, or five times more powerful than similar USB DACs. The claim is that its feed-back and feed-forward error correction method reduces distortion and noise levels up to 40dB lower than conventional power amps.
This amplification design works alongside an ESS ES9281PRO DAC chip, which can handle files up to 32-bit/384kHz PCM and DSD128, as well as a Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) renderer for fully decoding and playing back MQA hard files and (MQA-encoded) Tidal Masters in their native quality – handy for Tidal HiFi subscribers who can access hi-res tracks in the Tidal catalogue.
Build
(Image credit: THX)
The Onyx’s metal casework doesn’t just house the amplifier, DAC chip and MQA renderer: it also has LED lights that indicate the file type and size being played. Blue denotes 44.1kHz or 48kHz PCM files and yellow signifies sample rates above that, while red and pink shine respectively when DSD and MQA signals are played. It’s a neat function, providing reassurance for those with hi-res music collections, and adding some visual interest to the design.
Apart from the LED lights and THX logo, the Onyx is as smart and discreet as the category demands, with both the casing and rubber cable feeling sturdy. THX has magnetised part of the casing and cable so that they can clasp together. It can be a balancing act when connected to the bottom of a phone, but a helpful method of cable management on a laptop or computer.
Sound
(Image credit: THX)
Whatever way you arrange the Onyx, it delivers sound much more powerfully than your source device – it’s cleaner and clearer, too. We use a range of earbuds and over-ear headphones, from reference models to more price-appropriate pairs, and various source devices, including Android phones and Apple MacBooks. Compared with the sound coming straight from the devices’ outputs, the THX amplifies the music, making it much bigger, more direct and more involving to listen to. A noisy and compressed sound, this is not.
There’s a hefty dose of clarity and degree of polish to the presentation that wasn’t there before as the THX certainly improves on the typically paltry output of such portable or desktop devices. However, we have concerns about its inability to enhance the source’s sound in every aspect – and as well as other similarly priced portable DACs can.
The five-star Audioquest DragonFly Red (£169, $200, AU$280) – the class-leading portable DAC at this price – provides a much wider window into a song, bringing musical details and instrumental textures to the surface that the THX overlooks.
The THX is second best when it comes to communicating the dynamics and timing, and therefore the rhythm and musicality of a track. Even the five-star Astell & Kern AK USB-C Dual DAC Cable and Audioquest DragonFly Black v1.5, both around half the Onyx’s price, fare better on these fronts.
We play Destroyer’s Savage Night At The Opera and, while the Onyx delivers Dan Bejar’s vocals with clarity and solidity, the DragonFly Red gets under his deadpan delivery more convincingly, while revealing more insight into, and tighter interplay between, the starry haze instrumentation. It’s a more mature presentation that makes the Onyx sound rather crude. And it’s this lack of transparency that makes its laudable efforts to support hi-res formats and MQA seem pretty futile.
Verdict
The THX Onyx has a logical design to serve a logical purpose, but the sonic execution lets down what is an otherwise well-considered product. It clears the first hurdle in amplifying device sound and bringing more clarity and cleanliness, but fails the all-important second by not delivering the level of detail or rhythmic quality required at this price. Suffice to say, you can do better.
So tonight is the finale for Mare of Easttown and there are so many threads that need to be tied up that I legitimately don’t know how they’ll answer all the open questions. I have a theory of who the killer is, and I don’t think it’s the same person who fathered Erin’s baby. Will Mare ever find happiness? It seems unlikely, I’m afraid. But maybe she’ll find answers or closure.
I realized that in this week’s trailer roundup that— in addition to a time-traveling theme— we have two movies that feature Sam Richardson, who played Richard Splett, arguably the best supporting character on the late great HBO show Veep. Please cast him in all the things, Hollywood, he’s hilarious.
The Tomorrow War
Chris Pratt is drafted into a war where he has to go into the future and fight aliens that sound and look (from the brief glimpse we get) like the Aliens aliens, because if present-day people don’t help, all human beings will be wiped/disappear “from the face of the Earth” (which we know is Very Serious because two separate characters say so in the trailer). Lots of guns, lots of Pratt wisecracks (which somehow don’t quite land here), and lots of stuff blowing up, plus an Independence Day weekend release date ensure many people will watch this movie. And what a cast: J.K. Simmons, Betty Gilpin, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Yvonne Strahovski, and Sam Richardson all join Pratt, so hopefully they can breathe life into what seems like a movie we’ve seen once or twice before. The Tomorrow War comes to Amazon Prime July 2nd.
Werewolves Within
Based on the Ubisoft VR game of the same name, Werewolves Within takes place in the small town of Beaverfield, and stars Sam Richardson as new-in-town Forest Ranger Finn, who discovers a dead body that may have been the victim of a wolf attack. But not just any wolf! A snowstorm forces a group of the very weird townspeople to hole up in an inn with Finn, and oh yeah one of them is probs a werewolf. Horror/comedy combos aren’t always easy to pull off, but the trailer shows Richardson’s comedy chops are in fine form. Werewolves Within will release in theaters June 25th and on demand July 2nd.
Eternals
As my colleague Chaim Gartenberg noted earlier this week, this trailer doesn’t really tell us much about the plot of Eternals, the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We see how the Eternals, a band of immortal heroes, have helped humans across the centuries. But something is amiss, because as Salma Hayek says in the voiceover “We have watched and guided. We have helped them progress and seen them accomplish wonders. Throughout the years, we have never interfered — until now.” The all-star cast includes Gemma Chan, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Hayek, Lia McHugh, Don Lee, Richard Madden, and Kit Harington, and it’s directed by Chloé Zhao, whose Nomadland garnered Best Picture and Best Director Oscars. Eternals is set for a November release.
Infinite
Mark Wahlberg stars as a man haunted by memories he doesn’t recognize because surprise! he’s an Infinite, a person who has had multiple past lives and is part of a secret group of warriors who are trying to save humanity from one of their own, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor. This is one of the many movies whose release date was pushed back from last summer by the pandemic, but oddly isn’t getting a theatrical release. Based on the book The Reincarnationist Papers byD. Eric Maikranz, Infinite also stars Sophie Cookson, Jason Mantzoukas, Rupert Friend, Toby Jones, and Dylan O’Brien, and was directed by Antoine Fuqua. It hits Paramount Plus on June 10th.
Old
This is the first official trailer for the latest M. Night Shyamalan flick (we got a teaser during the Super Bowl (and side note, what is the difference between teasers and trailers anymore?). A family (and others) on a beach vacation begins aging rapidly, adding years in a matter of hours. Is it something in the water? We don’t know! Gael Garcia Bernal, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, Aaron Pierre, Alex Wolff, Vicky Krieps, Abbey Lee, Embeth Davidtz, Rufus Sewell, and Ken Leung star in Old, which comes to theaters July 23rd.
Jungle Cruise
A movie based on a Disneyland ride starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt. OK sure, why not, we base movies on books, video games, and board games, so this is the next logical step, right? And the second trailer for this movie gives a glimpse of Jesse Plemons, usually a sign that things are headed in the right direction. Jungle Cruise comes to theaters and Disney Plus (with Premier Access) on July 30th.
Unredacted documents in Arizona’s lawsuit against Google show that company executives and engineers were aware that the search giant had made it hard for smartphone users to keep location information private, Insider reported.
The documents suggest that Google collected location data even after users had turned off location sharing, and made privacy settings difficult for users to find. Insider also reports that the documents show Google pressured phone manufacturers into keeping privacy settings hidden, because the settings were popular with users.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a lawsuit against Google last May, alleging the company illegally tracked Android users’ location without their consent, even if users had disabled location tracking features. The lawsuit suggested Google kept location tracking running in the background for some features, and only stopped the practice when users disabled system-level tracking.
The unredacted documents show one Google employee asked if there was “no way to give a third party app your location and not Google?” adding that it didn’t sound like something the company would want revealed to the media, according to Insider.
Google spokesperson José Castañeda said in an email to The Verge that Brnovich “and our competitors driving this lawsuit have gone out of their way to mischaracterize our services. We have always built privacy features into our products and provided robust controls for location data. We look forward to setting the record straight.”
Update May 29th, 8:11PM ET: Added statement from Google spokesperson
Unredacted documents in Arizona’s lawsuit against Google show that company executives and engineers were aware that the search giant had made it hard for smartphone users to keep location information private, Insider reported.
The documents suggest that Google collected location data even after users had turned off location sharing, and made privacy settings difficult for users to find. Insider also reports that the documents show Google pressured phone manufacturers into keeping privacy settings hidden, because the settings were popular with users.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich filed a lawsuit against Google last May, alleging the company illegally tracked Android users’ location without their consent, even if users had disabled location tracking features. The lawsuit suggested Google kept location tracking running in the background for some features, and only stopped the practice when users disabled system-level tracking.
Earlier this week, a judge ordered parts of the documents in the case to be unredacted in response to requests from trade groups Digital Content Next and News Media Alliance, Insider reported. The unredacted documents show one Google employee asked if there was “no way to give a third party app your location and not Google?” adding that it didn’t sound like something the company would want revealed to the media, according to Insider.
Google did not immediately reply to a request for comment Saturday. The company said in a statement to The Verge last year that Brnovich had “mischaracterized our services” in the lawsuit.
Soon after my quick look at the Philips PH805 headphones was published, news came of the company releasing a successor to the wildly successful Fidelio X2/X2HR in the form of the new Fidelio X3. My local contact sought to make sure I covered the product here, and we all know what happened next. Months of limbo later, yours truly is settled in again for reviews, and it just so happened that the UK arm of Philips had the same idea. So here we are with our first full review of a Philips product on TechPowerUp, and thanks again to the company for loaning a review unit to TechPowerUp!
The Fidelio X2HR is one of my go-to headphones, so much so that I have actively been using it for listening to audio and quick changeovers to online meetings with an Antlion ModMic USB, which works so well with the magnetic mesh lining on the headphones that you don’t need any sticky pads for permanent installation. It is one of the most comfortable and neutral-sounding headphones I have in my possession currently, and there is added warmth with some bass boost that I was not expecting either. It is not the most accurate set of cans, however, and when Philips mentioned that the Fidelio X3 was designed with accuracy in mind foremost my interest was piqued. Let’s see how these sound as we begin the review with a look at the product specifications in the table below.
Specifications
Philips Fidelio X3 Headphones
Distortion:
Diaphragm:
LMC
Speaker Diameter:
50 mm
Sensitivity:
100 dB @ 1mW
Maximum Power Input:
500 mW
Impedance:
32 Ω
Frequency Response:
5–40,000 Hz
Magnet Type:
Neodymium
Acoustic System:
Open
Type:
Dynamic
Dimensions:
11 (L) x 19 (W) x 23 (H) mm
Weight:
380 g / 0.84 lbs.
Cables:
Split 3.5 mm (L/R) to 3.5 mm TRS, split 3.5 mm (L/R) to balanced 2.5 mm TRRS, and 3.5 mm to 6.3 mm adapter plug
Apple’s AirPods Pro cleverly solve one of the trickiest parts of earbud design with a unique button — even if it’s not technically a button at all.
Officially referred to as the “force sensor” (a title that makes the button sound far more interesting than it actually is), it’s technically nothing more than an indented portion of the AirPods Pro’s stems, with some fancy hardware that measures not just capacitive touch but also pressure. But the faux-buttons solve one of the most annoying things about earbuds: how to control them.
The issue of controlling truly wireless earbuds is a relatively new one. Older in-ear headphones often included a row of buttons on their wires, which allowed for volume and playback controls to be placed in a spot that’s easy to reach and find. But in-ear wireless earbuds don’t leave a lot of space for buttons, joysticks, or control wheels to manipulate playback, forcing manufacturers to come up with alternate solutions.
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Touch controls, employed by headphones like the Galaxy Buds or the regular AirPods, have emerged as the most common answer. Tap, double tap, or triple tap your earbuds, and you’ll be able to play, pause, and skip around your tracks.
The problem, though, is that in-ear headphones — as the name suggests — are already nestled pretty firmly into your ear. And tap controls mean that you’re either shoving those earbuds further into your ear (painfully so, sometimes) or dislodging them entirely, at which point you’re risking loss or damage when your expensive buds plummet to the ground.
Apple avoids both of those problems with the force sensor. Instead of putting pressure on your ear, Apple has users squeeze the stem of the AirPod. It’s a far gentler movement that doesn’t move the earbud as much, reducing both the risk of discomfort and dislodging.
Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
Its controls are pretty similar to the other methods of headphone control: one squeeze to toggle play / pause, two to skip forward a track, and three to skip back. There’s also a fourth long press, which toggles the various noise cancellation modes.
The whole design guides you through how to use them, too. The indented pad makes it clear where to press to activate the “button,” while the requirement for some slight force makes it hard to trigger unintentionally.
And while there’s no physical haptic feedback from the force sensor, Apple does some masterful work in tricking your brain that there is, through clever clicking sound effects relayed through the earbuds to make it feel like you’re pressing a button.
The controls might not be long for this world — Apple is rumored to be testing a new version of the AirPods Pro that would remove the stem (and the force sensor) entirely. It’d be a disappointing change, given that the force sensor isn’t just a great control method; the AirPod stems are one of the more recognizable parts of the product, so much so that it’s the main thing copycat designs tend to replicate.
Is it a lot of engineering work for a relatively simple function? Undoubtedly. But it makes a crucial part of operating the AirPods a seamless, aesthetically pleasing, and comfortable process. And what more can you ask than that?
This is the Raspberry Pi Pico on steroids. The power of the RP2040 with the extra conveniences that make creating projects a breeze.
For
+ Identical Pico pinout
+ Battery charging
+ Stemma QT / Qwiic connector
+ Large flash memory
+ USB C
Against
– Costs much more than a Pico
There are now a slew of RP2040 powered boards on the market. From the smallest, Adafruit’s QT Py RP2040 and Pimoroni’s Tiny 2040, to the largest, Adafruit’s Feather RP2040 and our Editor’s Choice Cytron Maker Pi Pico. The Raspberry Pi Pico itself is a $4 microcontroller, that offers lots of GPIO pins and a programmable IO which can be used to simulate many types of interfaces, even full retro computer systems.
The Raspberry Pi Pico form factor, a DIP package, is at home in a breadboard, protoboard or surface mount soldered into your project, and Pimoroni’s $17 Pico LiPo shares that same form factor but adds many more features. The board is three times the price of a typical Raspberry Pi Pico, but that extra money is well spent as it provides a drop in replacement for an existing Pico project with added features such as battery charging, a USB-C port, 16MB of Flash memory and a Stemma QT / Qwiic connector. All of these extras make this board a joy to use. And use it we did!
Pimoroni Pico LiPo Hardware Specifications
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
System on Chip
RP2040 microcontroller chip designed by Raspberry Pi in the United Kingdom.
Dual-core Arm Cortex M0+ processor, flexible clock running up to 133 MHz.
264KB of SRAM, and 4 / 16MB of on-board Flash memory
8 × Programmable I/O (PIO) state machines for custom peripheral support.
Stemma QT / Qwiic connector
SWD debug breakout
Castellated module allows soldering directly to carrier boards.
Power
USB C for data and power
2 pin JST connector for LiPo / Li lon batteries. Onboard battery monitoring and LED status indicator.
Design and Use of the Pimoroni Pico LiPo
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Pico LiPo works great with MicroPython. Pimoroni have their own spin which comes with modules for the range of boards. To get the best from Pico LiPo we need to use CircuitPython, especially when using Stemma QT / Qwiic components. If you really need MicroPython, but want to use Stemma QT / Qwiic devices then you can try our Adafruit’s latest project which merges the two. Pimoroni even has a download ready to go which works with the Pico LiPo.
Pimoroni’s Pico LiPo is the Raspberry Pi Pico on steroids. It shares the same size and form factor along with the same GPIO pinout, but we also get battery charging, Stemma QT / Qwiic and a toggle power button. The most important feature on this board is the battery charging. Controlled using an MCP73831 charge controller, it uses a steady 215mA charging current which easily charged our LiPo battery as we tested the board.
The XB6096I2S battery protector prevents the battery from straying into voltages which may harm its health. There is no MicroPython or CircuitPython module for monitoring the battery in code, but GPIO 24 is used to detect charging, and GPIO 29 can be used to monitor the battery voltage. This does mean that we only have three analog inputs, the same as the Raspberry Pi Pico but less than Adafruit’s Feather RP2040. The sacrifice of an analog input is worth it when we consider that the pin can be used to monitor our battery status, a key feature of Pico LiPo.
A great feature of the battery is that it can act as a basic UPS. Our project can be powered via the USB C interface, but should the power drop out, it switches to battery with zero downtime. Pico LiPo shares the same GPIO as the Raspberry Pi Pico which means we get all the pins, unlike other boards such as Adafruit’s Feather RP2040. But what the Pico LiPo shares with Adafruit’s and SparkFun’s boards is a Stemma QT connector (Qwiic on SparkFun boards) which makes connecting compatible devices exceptionally easy.
Stemma QT / Qwiic is really a bespoke breakout for I2C devices, and both Adafruit and SparkFun have a slew of compatible components such as temperature sensors, screens and capacitive inputs. Using our trusty MPR121 12 point capacitive touch sensor and the latest version of CircuitPython 7 for the Pico LiPo, we quickly hacked up a demo to test the Stemma QT connector.
Everything worked splendidly and we can see Stemma QT / Qwiic being adopted by many makers. Just next to the Stemma QT / Qwiic connector is a three pin JST-SH connector which breaks out the three debug pins, typically at the base of the Raspberry Pi Pico. These pins are used to pull data from a running RP2040 without cluttering the default UART port. Using these pins and another Raspberry Pi Pico as a debug host we can interactively work with the SRAM, CPU and memory mapped IO directly from our chosen development environment. If you are building mission critical RP2040 applications, then this is a key feature. For most of us, this is a fun feature to explore.
The power button is a toggle switch. That may not sound exciting straight away, but hear us out. The power button can fully turn off the board; it is not a momentary switch that merely resets the SoC. So in the field, with a battery powered project, we can conserve battery by simply pressing a button. When we need the board, press the power button to restart your project. Simple yet effective.
The BOOT button is normally used to put the Pico LiPo into a mode where the firmware can be installed, but Pico LiPo can also use that button in your code, a trend started by Pimoroni’s Tiny 2040 board. There are three LEDs present on the board, power (lightning icon), battery charging status (battery icon) and a user LED (exclamation point) connected to GPIO 25. All of these LEDs offer an at-a-glance status update.
As we mentioned earlier, the Pico LiPo shares the same pinout, and castellations as a Raspberry Pi Pico which means we can drop this board into an existing project and benefit from the extra features present on the board. We tested this by reusing our CircuitPython weather station project along with Pimoroni’s Pico Wireless pack. It worked exceptionally well and we queried the API, returned the data and stored it to the micro SD. We tested the project on battery, with a green LED informing us that the data collection was complete, and it worked with no issues.
Use Cases for the Pimoroni Pico LiPo
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Pico LiPo provides the power of the Raspberry Pi Pico, and gives us so much more. The battery features alone make this board worth the money. Expect to see this board in portable projects such as props (NeoPixel lightsaber?), data collection projects using sensors and when joined to the Pico Wireless we have a battery powered Wi-Fi enabled data collection device. Pico LiPo would also be useful in robotics projects but an external power source would be needed for the motors and motor controller as the GPIO can only provide 3.3V at a maximum 600mA.
Bottom Line
Pimoroni’s Pico LiPo costs more than a typical Pico, but for the extra money we get a fully featured product. We get the power of the RP2040, all of the GPIO pins and icing on the cake are the Stemma QT / Qwiic connector and battery charging. This is a truly excellent board that should be in your projects!
Here’s something you don’t see every day: a brand-new Sony product launching first on Indiegogo. Motion Sonic is, in the words of Sony’s campaign, “effects gear to control sound in sync with your motion for playing music.”
The Motion Sonic device itself is a small capsule that can slot into differently shaped rubber wristbands, sort of like a Fitbit. There’s a band that attaches to your wrist for use cases like playing guitar, and another wraps around the back of your hand and is better suited to playing keys.
What it actually does is allow you to link hand motions to specific musical effects. For example, you could set it to add a delay effect when you move fingers from left to right, or to bend pitch as you roll your wrist. These effects are all created and saved on an iOS app, then you need to connect your iPhone to your instrument with an audio interface. (It’s not compatible with Android.)
Here are some demonstrations:
Sony has actually had this project kicking around for quite a while — we tried out an early version at SXSW in 2017. Shortly after, Sony posted this interview with a designer and art director on the project, who attributed the initial idea to an engineer called Heesoon Kim. The Motion Sonic Indiegogo campaign now lists Kim as project lead, quoting him as saying “I believe we can create new entertainment never seen before with Motion Sonic and I’m so excited to create a new culture with you!”
Sony isn’t new to crowdfunding, but most of its projects to date — like the Reon Pocket wearable air conditioner — have been limited to its own First Flight site in Japan. Now that Motion Sonic is on Indiegogo, Sony will ship it to the US as well as its home market. The first 400 units will sell for 23,900 yen or $218, and the retail price is 27,200 yen or $248. The product is scheduled to ship in March next year.
Respected Linux patch detective Coelacanth’s Dream has penned a new blog post decoding the latest Intel patches, giving us some insight into unreleased information about the upcoming Alder Lake-P laptop processors. The information indicates some of Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs could have a configurable TDP as high as 115W, making Alder Lake the most power-hungry Intel chips ever produced for the laptop market.
The post reveals three core configurations for Alder Lake-P, consisting of a 2+8+2, 4+8+2, and a 6+8+2 configuration. This is a result of Alder Lake using bigger and smaller cores in its architecture, meaning ‘big’ high-performance cores, and ‘small’ Atom cores for better efficiency. The first number belongs to the bigger (performance) cores, while the second number is the smaller (power saver) cores. The last number is the integrated graphics.
Each core configuration scales with higher TDPs; the chip with two high-performance cores operates at a max of 55W for the PL2 turbo rating. The quad-core operates at up to 64W, and the hexacore operates at a peak of up to 115W.
(Image credit: Coelacanth’s Dream)
While this number may sound insane for a notebook, even for some of the largest notebooks on the market, TDP is a very different animal than it used to be. Intel allows OEMs to adjust the TDPs of its chips significantly, so the CPU is geared more toward the notebook’s design, rather than static TDPs which were once popular.
Intel has also introduced two levels of Turbo Boost behavior to help optimize efficiency in both notebook and desktop form factors. These levels are known as PL1 and PL2 states. PL2 is the most aggressive turbo clock available and is designed to go way beyond the CPU’s base power consumption for a short amount of time. This is why Intel’s mobile chips in general have seen higher TDP numbers over the past few years, making them look more power-hungry than they actually are.
Even for notebooks that are equipped with a high core count Alder Lake chip that boosts up to 115W, it’s doubtful it will boost that high for any long duration of time. And don’t expect many notebooks to be configured with that high of a TDP.
The DualSense controller for PS5 has great haptic feedback for games like Returnal and Demon’s Souls. But today I found out that it’s also good at humming along to tunes on Spotify when plugged into a PC.
While browsing Reddit, I stumbled across an ancient thread from six months ago where a user explained that, by plugging in a DualSense and tweaking a few settings, the device’s built-in haptics motors will do their best to play your music from the Spotify app on Windows 10. If you press your ear to the controller, it’s like listening into the world’s smallest rave ever, perhaps with a few Astro Bots in attendance.
I assume you just ran to go get your controller to try this out — because that’s the same reaction that I had. Okay, but first lower your expectations before you get started. The haptics likely won’t blow you away, as they aren’t tuned for this particular use case — this is just for fun!
Plug your controller into your PC via a USB-C cable and wait for Windows to automatically install the driver.
Once it’s installed, tap the speaker icon near the bottom-right corner of your display where the time is shown. Set “Speakers (Wireless Controller)” as your audio output.
Open the Control Panel and click “Sound.” From there, click on your current audio output and select the “Properties” button just below that.
Click “Enhancements,” the third tab from the left on the pop-up window. Check the box next to “Speaker Fill,” then hit “Apply.”
You’ll need to restart the Spotify app for the haptic playback to begin. Once you start the app up again, you should be able to feel your music. You might even be able to hear the haptics motors doing their best at playing the music if you press the DualSense to your ear.
If you actually want to listen to your music, in addition to feeling it in haptics form, just plug a set of headphones into the DualSense’s 3.5mm jack and the audio will be passed through. Your audio setup will look a little silly this way, but who cares?
Here’s a track that I feel shows off the effect well. Click the Spotify logo in the top right of the embed to have the track open within the PC app:
(Pocket-lint) – When ZTE told us the Axon 30 Ultra 5G was en route for review, we got that fuzzy feeling inside. That’s because the older Axon 20 5G was the first device we’d ever seen with an under-display selfie camera – so surely the Axon 30 Ultra would take this technology to the next level?
Um, nope. Instead the Axon 30 Ultra instead has a more traditional punch-hole selfie camera front and centre, so that fuzzy feeling quickly dissipated. Without such a ‘magic camera’ on board what then is the appeal of this flagship?
The Axon 30 Ultra is all about power and affordability. It crams a top-tier Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor into a slender body with a 6.67-inch AMOLED display that can push its refresh rate to a class-leading 144Hz. All for just £649 in the UK and $749 in the USA. So is that as exceptional value as it sounds or are there hidden compromises?
Having moved out of the gigantic Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, the ZTE’s more slender frame and trim 20:9 aspect ratio felt like a revelation by comparison. It’s not that the Axon 30 Ultra is small, per se, but it’s a well balanced scale.
Pocket-lint
The model we have in review is apparently black – that’s what the box says anyway – but the phone’s rear has a much softer metallic appearance about it, with some degree of blue to its colour balance. Really we’d call it a metallic grey. It looks pleasant, while fingerprint smears aren’t a massive problem thanks to the soft-touch material.
The camera unit on the rear is a fairly chunky protrusion, but that’s because there’s a 5x zoom periscope housed within that frame. It’s a relatively elegant block of cameras, though, and even with the phone flat against a desk it doesn’t rock about unwantedly.
The screen is the big selling point though. It’s a 6.67-inch AMOLED panel, the kind we’ve seen in the Redmi Note 10 Pro, for example, except the ZTE goes all-out when it comes to refresh rate by offering up to 144Hz. You can pick from 60Hz/90Hz/120Hz too, with the option to display the refresh rate in the upper left corner.
Pocket-lint
Having a faster refresh rate means smoother visuals, especially when it comes to moving content. You’re more likely to notice it when scrolling through emails than much else, though, so we’ve found our preference for balancing rate to battery life has meant settling on 90Hz. A more dynamic software approach would be better, or the option to designate specific apps to function at specific frame rates – especially games.
Are you really going to tell the difference between 144Hz and 120Hz? No. But the simple fact the Axon 30 Ultra can do this is to show its worth; to show that it’s got more power credentials than many less adept phones at this price point.
Otherwise the screen hits all the right notes. It’s got ample resolution. Colours pop. Blacks are rich thanks to the AMOLED technology. It’s slightly curved to the edges too, but only subtly to help hide away the edge bezel from direct view – and we haven’t found this to adversely affect use due to accidental touches and such like.
Pocket-lint
There’s also an under-display fingerprint scanner tucked beneath the screen’s surface, which we’ve found to be suitably responsive for sign-ins. Or you can sign-up to face unlock instead to make things even easier.
Having that scanner in such a position, rather than over the power button, leaves the Axon 30 Ultra’s edges to be rather neat. Other than the on/off and volume up/down rocker to the one side, and USB-C port, single speaker and SIM tray to the bottom edge, there’s nothing to disrupt the phone’s form. That keeps it looking neat and tidy. It also means no 3.5mm headphone jack, but that’s hardly a surprise.
Performance & Battery
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, 8GB/12GB RAM
Storage: 128GB/256GB/1TB, no microSD card slot
Battery: 4600mAh, 66W fast-charging
Software: ZTE MyOS 11 (Android 11)
Elegant looks complement an elegant operation, too, largely down to the power that’s available on tap. With Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 processor on board, couple with 8GB RAM, there’s little else more powerful that you can buy. Indeed, the Axon 30 Ultra is knocking on the door of gaming phone territory given that 144Hz refresh rate screen.
Pocket-lint
Navigating around the interface is super smooth and speedy, apps open quickly, and there’s no downturn in performance if you happen to open a whole bunch. Games are a breeze, too, as you’d expect from this kind of hardware – although we’d like a game centre to prevent over-screen notifications and such like.
But it’s not perfectly smooth sailing on account of ZTE’s own software, which here is MyOS 11 over the top of Google’s Android 11 operating system. It’s a common problem among Chinese makers, so we probably sound like a broken record, but there are definitely issues with notifications. WhatsApp might take a couple of hours to notify you of a message, for example, but there’s never a fixed period of time – and other times it’s immediate. The mail app Outlook rarely to never notified of new mails in the inbox either.
A lot of this is down to software management. Because there’s rather a lot of it in MyOS. Under battery settings is an ‘Apps AI-control’, which is said to intelligently manage apps to save power. Except, as we’ve highlighted above, this can stifle some apps inappropriately. It can be turned off for manual control, where individual apps can have their auto-start and background running characteristics specified.
All of this is an attempt to aid the overall battery life. Because, as you can imagine, cranking out gaming sessions using the 144Hz and top-end engine from Qualcomm’s SD888 definitely eats away at the supply pretty rapidly. The 4,600mAh cell on board isn’t as capacious as some competitors we’ve seen and that, as a result, can see a heavy use day only just about scrape through a 15 hours day. It’ll manage, but only just.
Pocket-lint
Another oddity we’ve experienced with the Axon 30 Ultra is Wi-Fi connectivity seems to be a little up and down. With less strong signal our Zwift Companion app was very choppy in its updating of data – something that hasn’t been an issue with other phones we’ve compared in the same environment. We suspect that’s because the ‘a/b/g/n/ac/6e’ designation is catering for higher frequencies (‘ac’ is 5GHz only, for example, whereas ‘ax’ caters for both 2.6GHz and 5GHz, while the newly adopted ‘6e’, i.e. 6GHz, isn’t widely supported yet).
On the rear the Axon 30 Ultra houses an apparent four lenses: a 64-megapixel main; a 0.5x ultra-wide (also 64MP); a 5x periscope zoom lens (just 8MP); and what we would call a ‘portrait lens’ with 2x zoom (also 64MP).
It’s a bit of a mish-mash when it comes to results though. The main camera, at its best, is really great. It snaps into focus quickly, reveals heaps of detail – as you can see from the main flower shot below – but isn’t the most subtle when you look in detail, as images are over-sharpened.
The ability to zoom in the camera app is actioned on a slider to the side, but you don’t really ever know which lens you’re using – until there’s a clear ‘jump’ between one visualisation and the next, because, for example, the 5x periscope zoom is far poorer in its delivery. It’s only 8-megapixels, for starters, so there’s not nearly the same clarity revealed in its images. Plus the colour balance looks far out of sync with the main lens. Really this periscope is overoptimistic.
The 2x portrait zoom lens we also can’t really work out. Sometimes zoom shots are great, sometimes they’re quite the opposite – all mushy and, again, over-sharpened. It seems to depend which sensor/lens the camera is using at that particular moment – because the image of a horse in a field that we captured (within gallery above) looks fine, whereas the sheep in a field (shown in our wide-to-main-to-zoom-to-periscope gallery, below) is miles off the mark.
Motorola’s new Moto G9 Plus is a stunner of a phone – find out why, right here
By Pocket-lint Promotion
·
Pocket-lint
: Ultra-wide lensUltra-wide lens
There’s potential here overall. The specifications read rather well, but somehow the Axon 30 Ultra gets away from itself a little. It needs to rein in the offering really, simplify things, and deliver a more detailed app that explains specifically what kit you’re shooting with. That said, the main lens will please plenty, while close-up macro work – with the artificial intelligence ‘AI’ activated – snaps into focus really well.
Verdict
To answer our opening question: what compromises do you have to accept if looking to buy the ZTE Axon 30 Ultra 5G? Relatively few at this price point. There are some irks, though, such as the software causing notification problems (by which we mean absences), the battery being a little stretched, and the cameras get away from their potential somewhat – despite the main lens being perfectly decent.
Otherwise ZTE has crammed one heck of a lot into the Axon 30 Ultra. Its screen is commendable and having that headline-grabbing 144Hz refresh rate is sure to bring attention. The subtlety of the design is elegant, too, delivering a well-balanced scale that’s comfortable to hold and fairly fingerprint-resistant on the rear. And there’s bundles of power from the top-end Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 platform, ensuring apps and games run a treat.
There might be less ‘wow factor’ than if there was an under-display front-facing camera to captivate prospective customers (like there was in the Axon 20), but given the Axon 30 Ultra 5G’s price point undercuts the big-dog Samsung, that’ll be enough of a lure to many.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Samsung Galaxy S20 FE
The ‘Fan Edition’ Galaxy might be a year older than the ZTE, but it’s a similar price, has more stable software in our experience – and that makes all the difference to everyday use.
Read our review
squirrel_widget_3491297
Writing by Mike Lowe.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
