Lenovo’s Yoga Pad Pro is a new 13-inch Android tablet that can easily double as an external monitor, Gizmochina reports. It will be available to buy in China for 3,299 yuan (around $517) on May 31st.
It’s not tricky to get most tablets on the market to work as a second monitor, but for the most part you’re limited to using them with specific devices. Apple’s iPads can be used as external monitors thanks to their built-in Sidecar feature, for example, but this only works if you’re using them with a Mac. But the Yoga Pad Pro has a full-on Micro HDMI port built into its grip, meaning you can plug basically any HDMI device into it and use the Yoga Pad Pro as a 13-inch monitor. And yes, that absolutely includes a Nintendo Switch.
For use as a tablet, the Yoga Pad Pro is powered by a Snapdragon 870 paired with 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a 10,200mAh battery. It’s got four Dolby Atmos-compatible speakers arranged around its 2K, 16:10 LCD display, and it also includes a kickstand that can rotate a full 180-degrees out from behind the back of the device. Why would you want a 180-degree kickstand on a tablet? For hanging it on a wall, obviously.
Sure, there are plenty of other portable monitors out there, often available with bigger screen sizes and lower price tags. Take Lenovo’s own 14-inch ThinkVision M14 as an example, which is half the price at $249. But the Yoga Pad Pro has the advantage of being a capable standalone device in its own right, complete with stylus compatibility and an 8-megapixel selfie camera (though there’s no rear camera).
It’s unclear if the Yoga Pad Pro will ever see a release outside of China. But if it does, we’ll be ready.
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:
It’s been a couple of years now since Acer overhauled its big-screen Helios 500 desktop replacement rig. But the laptop is back in a 17-inch shell that’s a bit of a departure from
the 2018 model
. As expected, it brings current top-end 11th Gen Intel/Nvidia components, plus perhaps more RGB than I’ve ever seen on a portable PC. Aside from the per-key RGB keyboard, there are light bars that run along all four edges of the laptop (yes, even the back). And the light show can be set to dynamically react to sound playing from the system’s speakers, or even what’s on the screen.
Acer sent us a pre-production sample in the days before its announcement to get some hands-on time with the new gaming flagship. Sadly, one of the most intriguing options of the new laptop wasn’t included in the sample they shipped. There will be an optional Mini LED 4K panel with a 120 Hz refresh rate and full-array local dimming, which Acer says is “comparable to VESA Display HDR 1000.” If you’re a top-end competitive gamer, the crazy-fast 360 Hz 1080p screen that came with our unit is undoubtedly the better option. But my slow reflexes and HDR-happy eyeballs would love to see what a bright, pixel-dense display with 512 backlight zones looks like on a laptop.
Design of the Acer Predator Helios 500 (2021)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
First off, Acer would probably like me to reiterate that what it sent us was a pre-production unit, and some things will change. For instance, the Predator logo on the lid will be RGB-lit, rather than the basic blue seen here. And while the light bar at the back will remain, there are lights in the rear exhaust that will go away (which is good because they’re very bright). Also, as this was a pre-production unit, we were not allowed to test performance or battery life. The laptop is expected to arrive in August, with a starting price of $2,499.
Also note that, as this is a configuration with both a Core i9-11980HK and an Nvidia RTX 3080, the laptop does ship with two large power bricks. You’ll want to keep both plugged in for long gaming sessions, but with the system asleep or while doing basic productivity, one brick was more than enough to keep the laptop charged.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
If you’re expecting something approaching a thin-and-light gaming experience, you should look elsewhere (and expect less performance). At 8.59 pounds and approximately 12.6 x 15.75 x 1.75 inches, the Helios 500 is unapologetically a high-end desktop replacement.
And the black metal shell with silver and blue accents back up the ‘gaming’ looks–accented nicely by the blue-metal heatsinks that can be seen from the rear sides and back of the laptop.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
As noted earlier, the stand-out visual element here is the sheer abundance of RGB, in the form of diffused light bars that run along most of the front, about two-thirds of both sides, and nearly the entire back edge. The Helios 500 is a light show in a box, if ever there was one.
And if you’re into light shows, the laptop makes good use of all the RGB here. Aside from being able to choose from the usual number of presets or individually select the color of each key, the company’s PredatorSense software’s Pulsar Lighting tab has an Interactive section, which lets you set the keyboard and bars to react to audio being piped through the laptop. You can choose between four presets for this, and there’s also a Screen Sync feature that tends to mimic what’s on the lower portion of the screen.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Screen Sync option is a bit crude. For instance, when I went to YouTube and an ad for YouTube Premium popped up in the bottom-left corner, the keys below it turned red and a purplish-white, mirroring the ad. But when watching trailers (and ads) for action movies, the flashing keys echoing gunshots did add something to the effect–I’m just not sure it’s something I like.
Having the lights and keyboard echoing what’s on the screen is distracting when you’re trying to watch a TV show or movie, but it could add to the level of immersion when gaming in the dark. And for music, the light show that the Helios 500 kicks out is almost like a party in and of itself. That said, I was not impressed with the sound output of the laptop, at least for music.
Acer bills the Helios 500 as having “True 5.1 channel surround sound” with a subwoofer, and licensed DTS X software is included for audio tweaking. But out of the box, highs and mids sounded harsh, while lows were minimized and there was little in the way of bass, especially for a laptop that literally says Subwoofer on the bottom. To be fair, this audio may be pre-tweaked for gaming, bringing key strategic elements up in the mix, but it certainly doesn’t make music sound good.
It’s possible that audio will improve with final units, but a few minutes playing with the various DTS presets, first choosing the music preset and then fiddling with the manual EQ, didn’t yield the kind of pleasing sound output I’d like from a laptop this big and expensive.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Unlike the version of the Helios 500 we looked at back in 2018, there are no ports on the back, save for the power connections. The left edge has a pair of tightly packed Thunderbolt/USB-C ports, as well as a USB 3 Type-A, a full-size HDMI port, and an anachronistic Mini Displayport.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The right edge houses separate headphone and mic jacks, two more USB 3 Type-A ports, and a Killer Ethernet E3100G jack. Wi-Fi 6 is also included. Note that Acer has yet to provide us with full specs, so we are unsure of the exact port speeds/specs.
Display on the Acer Predator Helios 500 (2021)
We weren’t able to test the 1080p 360 Hz display (or any other aspect) of our pre-production sample. But elite gamers will no-doubt appreciate the speed. And in casual use and gaming, we didn’t find it to be particularly dull or dim. Acer says it will also offer a 2560 x 1440 display option with a 165 Hz refresh rate.
But the most interesting screen option will be the 3840 x 2160 (4K) IPS screen that supports 120 Hz refresh and has a Mini LED matrix, giving it 512 backlight zones, plus what should be high-brightness HDR support. In short, that should be one dynamic display, with bright lights and dark blacks, which should be great for both AAA gaming and movies. But we’ll have to await a final review unit to say for sure. And we’re very curious to hear how much that panel adds to the laptop’s cost.
Keyboard and Touchpad of the Acer Predator Helios 500 (2021)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The input devices on the Acer Predator Helios 500 are nothing if not colorful and roomy. With nearly 16 inches of width to play with, the keys are reasonably large, with lots of separation between them. And aside from the per-key backlighting, there’s also an RGB ring that runs around the touchpad, which is about 4.8 inches on the diagonal.
There’s also plenty of travel, in both the keys and touchpad buttons, likely thanks in part to the fact that Acer clearly wasn’t aiming for slimness here. And the WASD keys, apart from being visually offset in translucent blue, also have a stiffer feel than the surrounding keys, helping your fingers find them in the event that you were grabbing a snack and suddenly find yourself in the heat of battle.
All that said, personally I’ve never been a huge fan of these kind of flat keycaps on a gaming keyboard, and the white edges of the keys, while they help the RGB lighting shine through, look a bit garish in the daylight, against the darkness of the rest of the laptop’s design. I really hope more laptop makers shift back to offering mechanical switch options,
like Alienware has recently
.
Gaming on the Acer Predator Helios 500 (2021)
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
With the limited time I had with the new Acer Predator Helios 500, I didn’t have the luxury of long nights lost in raids and quests. But I did take the laptop through a few rounds of Doom Eternal and the decidedly less-demanding strategy title, Becastled. At the high frame rates that come with an RTX 3080 and an Intel Core i9 on a 1080p display, the 360 Hz screen was buttery smooth, and I found the roomy keyboard a bit more enjoyable for executing the games sometimes complicated jumps that I did for typing.
And while the cartoonish graphics of Becastled weren’t quite as colorful on the Helios’ display as they are on the Sony HDR TV that I use as my primary monitor, things didn’t exactly look dull eiter. Again, I’d love to see what these games (and frankly everything else) would look like on the 4K, 120 Hz HDR display option with localized dimming. And I’m curious to hear how much that screen will add to the price of the laptop.
As far as cooling goes, the Acer Predator Helios 500 was far from silent under load, but we wouldn’t expect that given its pairing of top-end components. But it also didn’t get overtly loud either. And the fans didn’t often fluctuate up and down, which can be more noticeable than a higher-decibel, but more constant whir. We’d need more time with the laptop (and the ability to test temps) to pass final judgement on the cooling system here, but nothing stood out as problematic or bad on that front, not that the laptop was quieter than we’d expect, either.
Final Thoughts
Given that every gaming laptop maker is using the same current core high-end components (though there is more more variety these days, with AMD’s CPUs more in the mix), and those parts have the same thermal requirements, there are only so many ways for a high-end gaming laptop to stand out.
Acer makes an attempt here by tossing in extra RGBs so that the Predator Helios 500 is as much a light show as it is a gaming powerhouse. It also doesn’t look or feel cheap or flimsy, as we’ve seem from some gaming portables in the past, when the aim was to keep costs as low as possible, or keep the chassis as slim as can be.
But really this Predator’s most striking trick might just be its Mini LED 4K display with full-array local dimming and 120 Hz refresh. Sadly, we’ll have to wait for a final version to get our eyes on that impressive-sounding display. The 360 Hz 1080p panel in our sample is certainly impressive in its own right, but its wow factor isn’t apparent unless you spend your time with highly competitive esports titles.
(Pocket-lint) – The HTC Vive Pro 2 has arrived – and you could easily be forgiven for thinking it’s virtually the same VR headset that the company released back in 2018. That’s because outwardly it hasn’t changed much from the original, aside from some colour changes on the front faceplate.
However, under the hood things have been beefed up quite significantly. So much so that HTC is now claiming to have the best-in-class display and ‘true’ 120-degree field of view too.
It seems that HTC has abandoned its efforts with the HTC Vive Cosmos – which we found underwhelming – and has chosen to build on the foundations of the frankly awesome HTC Vive Pro instead. A sensible move in our mind.
But is an upgraded Pro enough to handle the now strong competition from HP and Oculus? We’ve been experiencing what the Vive Pro 2 has to offer to virtual reality fans looking for the best of the best.
Best-in-class display?
Fast switch LCD IPS panel, 2448 x 2448 pixels per eye (4896 x 2448 total)
120Hz refresh rate, ‘true’ 120-degree field of view
Dual-stack lens setup with RGB Subpixel design
57 to 72mm IPD (interpupillary) adjustment
The most significant upgrade to the Vive Pro 2 over the previous generation comes in the form of the visuals on offer. This headset has a display featuring the “highest resolution to date” – with 2448 x 2448 pixels per eye, totalling 4896 x 2448 visible pixels.
That’s a significant jump over the previous Vive Pro – which had a 2880 x 1600 pixel display. It’s also superior to the Vive Cosmos (2880 x 1700 pixels), HP Reverb G2 (2160 x 2160), and of course the Oculus Quest 2 (1,832 x 1,920). And it really shows too.
That high pixel count means you get a stunning VR experience. During our gaming sessions, we were struck by how impressive the graphics are on this headset. The screen door effect is essentially a thing of the past, too, and you’ll just find yourself getting lost in the experience.
HTC also has used a dual-stack lens design this time around, with two lenses redirecting the image for a wider field of view. This is said to have a bigger sweet-spot and a more realistic view of the world around you. This is also how the company claims to have a ‘true’ 120-degree field of view.
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There are some niggles though. For some reason, HTC has decided to change the shape of the lenses. Now the top and bottom of the lenses have a flat, straight edge to them, whereas before they were rounded. This means that prescription lens adapters for previous headsets don’t fit the Vive Pro 2. It also means that the view is different. We quickly noticed we could see the edges of the lenses more easily when playing and we sadly found this quite distracting.
Another small gripe is the rubber nose shields at the bottom of the headset. We found these kept flapping up and into the view of the screen while we were gaming, again interfering with our view.
Aside from these minor problems though, there’s no denying the Vive Pro 2 looks great. We revisited classics and our favourite VR games to give it thorough testing. That included Creed Rise to Glory, Space Pirate Trainer, Half-Life: Alyx, Superhot VR, Skyrim VR, LA Noire and Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. We soon found that not only do these games look and sound great on the Vive Pro 2, but they also handle well too.
Of course, you need a pretty significant gaming machine in order to run it at this resolution and at the 120Hz available refresh rate, but if you can manage it from that perspective then things will truly look magnificent.
What spec PC do I need to run a HTC Vive Pro 2?
If your PC can’t quite handle such a high-end display then there’s no need to panic. HTC has worked with Nvidia and AMD on something called Display Stream Compression. This is a system that enables the Vive Pro 2 to run at a lesser resolution on less powerful gaming systems, meaning you can still get a great experience. The company says if your PC can run the original Vive Pro, then it can cope with the Vive Pro 2 as well. In other words, it’s backwards-compatible and will work with DisplayPort 1.2.
The minimum required specs to run the Vive Pro 2 headset are:
Processor: Intel Core i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350 (equivalent or better) / Memory: 8GB RAM (or more)
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX1060 or AMD Radeon RX480 (equivalent or better)
OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 or Windows 10
Video out: DisplayPort 1.2 (or newer)
USB ports: 1x USB 3.0 (or newer)
The recommended specifications for the Vive Pro 2’s full 5K resolution and 120Hz refresh rate are:
Processor: Intel Core i5-4590 or AMD FX 8350 (equivalent or better) / Memory: 8GB RAM (or more)
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 or AMD Radeon RX 5700 (equivalent or better)
Video out: DisplayPort 1.4 (or newer)
USB ports: 1x USB 3.0 (or newer)
OS: Microsoft Windows 10
It’s worth noting that you do need a DisplayPort connection on your gaming machine or laptop in order to run this headset. You can use a DisplayPort Mini adapter or DisplayPort-to-USB-C adapter if required, but if you only have HDMI then you might come unstuck.
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Like previous Vive headsets, the Vive Pro 2 connects first to the Vive Link box then to your machine via DisplayPort and USB connection. That box also needs power, so be prepared with lots of empty plug sockets.
So the HTC Vive Pro 2 has had some serious improvements in terms of graphical performance. It’s essentially the best headset on the market in that department, but in other ways, the Vive Pro 2 is still stuck in the past.
With the Vive Cosmos, HTC tried to take on the Oculus Rift S by adding inside-out tracking cameras to allow users to ditch the classic base stations and opt for an easier setup. Alas, the Vive Cosmos had lacklustre tracking because of it (unlike the Rift S) and so HTC has gone back to what it knows best – SteamVR tracking base stations.
This feels old school at this point – with the need to have tracking stations setup in your play space, preferably in opposite corners of your room, plugged into the mains power and monitoring your movement. These tracking stations ensure accurate tracking and very few problems in that department, but they’re a faff as they have to be mounted up high. Which means either wall-mounting, finding a spare tripod, or precariously balancing on a shelf or something else.
We’re so used to inside-out tracking now that going back to base stations is an unnecessary annoyance in our mind. However, if you’ve been using an original Vive, Vive Cosmos Elite or Vive Pro for all this time then you probably won’t care. There’s also a lot to be said for accurate tracking, but we’d still prefer the freedom offered by inside-out tracking.
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However, the Vive Pro 2’s tracking logic means you can use Vive Tracker 3.0 to track extra things, including your entire body. You can also add on a facial tracker to capture your facial expressions in VR and upgrade to go wireless too (though that’ll mean a hit in resolution and performance).
Still, despite our complaints, there’s a lot of other things the Vive Pro 2 does well.
It’s comfortable for a start. Well, as comfortable as having a large chunk of plastic strapped to your head can be anyway.
HTC has worked to balance the headset to maintain comfort. The overall design is the same as the Vive Pro, but that’s no bad thing as it means you have that easy adjustment wheel at the back, a solid headband design, comfortable padding, and a relatively simple on-off setup too.
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The padding is certainly one of the main features we enjoyed about the design of this one. It’s soft and plush, meaning you don’t have any unnecessary pressure on your face, nose or eyes when playing. It also blocks out a lot of surrounding light and lets you focus on the VR experience instead.
Vive headsets have also come a long way since we first played on the original Vive. The Vive Pro 2 gives you access to a lot more settings right in the headset itself. That includes access to hardware as well.
Those two cameras on its front, for example, can be activated as passthrough cameras. With a couple of clicks on the settings menu you can turn on a camera view that pops out from your controller and lets you see your real world. This means you don’t need to take the headset off to re-orientate yourself or talk to loved ones who have wandered into the room.
A triple-click of the menu button on a controller also activates another passthrough system which enables you to see the room around you with a green haze. These two systems are great for not falling over objects in the real-world and make VR life easier in general.
There’s also the option to click on the menu to see your desktop so you can interact with other apps directly on your PC. Whether that’s checking for emails, recording with OBS Studio, or doing something else.
This is a great improvement as it means you rarely have to take the headset off in order to mess around with your PC to do something simple like launching a new game or agree to a firewall change.
Another feature that hasn’t changed is audio. The Vive Pro 2 has built-in adjustable Hi-Res certified headphones which can be repositioned until they’re in a comfortable spot. They’re nicely padded and deliver a great sound when gaming. You can adjust the volume easily with buttons on the earcup and mute the microphones from there too.
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We have a love-hate relationship with these headphones though. Yes, they offer great sound, are easy to position, and block out a surprising amount of surrounding noise. But we just get a bit hot while using them. We prefer the freedom offered by the back-facing speakers on the Quest 2 or the off-ear speakers on the Reverb G2. Generally speaking, we get hot while gaming in VR anyway, but the Vive Pro 2 is particularly steamy thanks to both the headphones and the copious amounts of comfortable padding.
Convenient control
At this point it’s worth us talking about the Vive Pro 2’s two options of purchase:
Just the headset (for upgraders who already own the HTC Vive or Vive Pro) – available to pre-order at a discounted price of £659 / $749 / €739.
The full kit (which includes the headset, base station 2.0, and Vive Wand controllers v2) – available from 4 June for £1299 / $1399 / €1399.
If you’re buying the full package then you’ll get the classic Vive controllers. These now sport a nifty blue colour scheme that matches the Pro 2 headset, but otherwise they control the same as ever. That’s no bad thing though, as we’ve always liked these controllers. They’re solid, durable, easily recognised by most VR games, and have never let us down.
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They have built-in batteries and charge via Micro-USB. One downside, however, is that the controllers only last for a few hours – roughly 5 hours based on our testing – before they need charging again. So you need to make sure you’re charging them between sessions to avoid disappointment. HTC has made a point of saying that the Vive Pro 2 will work with Valve’s Knuckle controllers as an alternative though.
Verdict
There’s no denying that HTC has once again returned to form with the Vive Pro 2. It delivers a high-end VR experience and offers the very best experience thanks to impressive visuals, satisfying audio, and superb comfort. It’s an utter joy to game on.
But it does come at a cost – literally. Its asking price is over three times the Oculus Rift S’s launch price, and about double that of an HP Reverb G2. We also can’t help but begrudge the hassle of the base stations and the setup required.
But if you want best-of-best then you’ve got to pay for it. The HTC Vive Pro 2 is undeniably the current leader in the virtual reality headset space. So if you’ve got money burning a hole in your pocket or you’re a Vive fan and want the upgraded experience then there’s nothing else that can compete.
Also consider
Pocket-lint
Oculus Quest 2
A much more affordable alternative. Yes, it’s not the best-in-class but this standalone headset still has a lot to offer. Even more so now Oculus is working on adding wireless PCVR support and much more besides.
Read our review
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Pocket-lint
Oculus Rift S
It might be a bit older now, but it’s still a great headset if you can find it at a bargain price. It has all the joy of inside-out tracking, plus all the comfort and convenience to use. Yes, the visuals aren’t as impressive as HP’s headset, but it’s still a worthy contender.
Read our review
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HP Reverb G2
This headset offers some serious specs for less money than HTC’s asking price. Its tracking certainly isn’t as good, but there’s no hassle of base stations to setup and it’s also surprisingly comfortable and fun to game on.
Clubhouse has hired Justin Uberti, creator of the WebRTC standard and the Google Duo video chat app. He leaves Google after nearly 15 years at the company, where he was most recently the engineering lead for Google’s Stadia cloud gaming service and led the team that made the Stadia iOS web app.
“Justin is a phenomenal engineering leader and one of the original inventors of WebRTC, on top of which Clubhouse is built,” Clubhouse co-founder and CTO Rohan Seth said in a statement. “There’s so much that goes into crafting a fantastic audio experience — the quality, the latency, the ability to use spatial distance when multiple speakers are talking. This will be a critical area of investment for us as we open Clubhouse to the whole world, and among other things, Justin will be helping lead that effort.”
Uberti’s title will be head of streaming technology, a Clubhouse spokesperson told The Verge.
“I’m really optimistic about the potential [of Clubhouse]: everyone in the world knows how to use voice, it’s such an expressive medium (compared to text), and advancements like AirPods are making it easier to consume audio,” Uberti said at the end of a Twitter thread discussing the move.
WebRTC is an open-source project that lets developers add real-time communication (RTC) features to applications, and it works on modern browsers and is supported within many native apps. The fact that Discord can instantly drop you into a voice chat in a browser? WebRTC helps power that. And if you’ve used Clubhouse, you’ve probably experienced how easy it is to jump in and out of audio rooms on the fly — that’s also powered by WebRTC. (Uberti commended Clubhouse as a “great example” of a novel RTC use-case.)
As Clubhouse looks to compete with social audio products from bigger companies like Facebook, Twitter, Discord, and even Microsoft’s LinkedIn, hiring the creator of a key technology backing its app could give Clubhouse an advantage in an increasingly crowded field.
In addition to Stadia and Duo, Uberti also had a key role in the development of Google Hangouts Video and was the chief architect for AOL Instant Messenger, according to his LinkedIn.
In addition to the multimedia powerhouse that is the new Lenovo Yoga Pad Pro, Lenovo unveiled three other tablets. The first slate is fairly powerful (though it’s still priced pretty aggresively), the other two focus on affordability (but still have a solid spec sheet).
Lenovo Pad Pro 2021
Like the Yoga model, the Lenovo Pad Pro 2021 is powered by a Snapdragon 870 chipset, but the main focus here is the display – an 11.5” OLED panel with 90Hz refresh rate and 1 ms response time. The display is sharper thanks to its 2,560 x 1,600 px resolution (16:10) and also covers the wider DCI-P3 color space 100%. This is in addition to Dolby Vision and HDR10 support. It has a typical brightness of 420 nits (600 nits peak) and supports DC dimming for a flicker-free experience.
Lenovo Pad Pro 2021
You can buy an optional stylus that can sense 4,096 levels of pressure. This is more of a work tablet though, so it has a pogo pin connector on the bottom where you can easily snap on the optional keyboard cover that also has a trackpad.
The Pad Pro 2021 is quite thin and light, measuring only 5.8mm and 485g. It has an 8,600mAh battery, which is enough for 15 hours of video playback or 8 hours of browsing the web. It supports Quick Charge 3.0 for up to 20W of power.
Speaking of video, you’ll enjoy your movies on four JBL speakers, each with a 2.5 cm³ chamber and 1.5W of power (6W total). There is Dolby Atmos support too.
Lenovo Pad Pro 2021’s top features
The S870 chipset is paired with 6GB of RAM (LPDDR5) and 128GB storage (UFS 3.1). This can be expanded through the microSD slot. Additional features include a USB-C port (3.1), Wi-Fi 6 (MIMO 2×2) and Bluetooth 5.1.
The tablet has a dual camera with a 13MP main module (with autofocus) and a 5MP ultrawide-angle cam (120º). On the front there is an 8MP selfie camera and an ToF camera for authentication (or you could use the fingerprint reader on the side).
The Lenovo Pad Pro 2021 will go on sale in China on May 31 for CNY2,500 ($390/€320).
Lenovo Pad Plus 11
This tablet features an 11” LCD with 2,000 x 1,200 px resolution. It is less impressive with a standard 60Hz refresh rate and no HDR support. You do still get four JBL speakers with Dolby Atmos, though, with a total power of 6W. And the display supports that optional stylus too.
The Lenovo Pad Plus is powered by a Snapdragon 750G chipset with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage. You can add up to 1TB more using the microSD card slot.
Lenovo Pad Plus 11″
The tablet has a 7,700mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support over USB-C. The battery is good for 12 hours of video or 12 hours of web browsing. Wireless connectivity include Wi-Fi 6 (MIMO 2×2), Bluetooth 5.1 and GPS. This tablet is rated IP52, though it’s not quite an outdoorsy tablet.
There’s only one camera on the back, 13MP, but the front keeps the setup of an 8MP front-facing camera and a ToF sensor. This one has pogo pins too, so you can get a keyboard cover if you need to type a lot of text.
Lenovo Pad Plus 11″ feature highlights
Like its sibling, the Pad Plus will go on sale in China on May 31. It will cost CNY1,600 ($250/€200).
Lenovo Pad 11
This one is similar to the Plus model. It has the same 11” 2,000 x 1,200 px LCD and four speakers with Dolby Atmos support (only 4W of power this time around, though). The camera setup is the same as well, 13MP on the back, 8MP + ToF sensor on the front.
Lenovo Pad 11″
The major difference is the Snapdragon 662 chipset and that you only get 4GB of RAM plus 64GB storage. At least there’s still a microSD slot. And the pogo pin connector is on board as is the support for the optional stylus.
The battery is the same, 7,700mAh capacity and Quick Charge 3.0 support (20W) over USB-C (wired for only 2.0 speeds, however). The Wi-Fi is slower, only version 5 is supported (aka ac), but the GPS is still on board as is the IP52 rating.
Lenovo Pad 11″ feature highlights
The Lenovo Pad 11 will be available soon at a price of CNY1,100 ($170/€140).
The newly announced Lenovo Yoga Pad Pro 13” tablet has a handle – well, it will probably see more use as a kickstand. It’s the best feature of the Yoga line, allowing the tablet to be positioned in various angles in two different orientations without needing external hardware.
Lenovo Yoga Pad Pro 13″ with a built-in kickstand
The chunky part where the kick stand is also houses two ports – there’s a USB-C on one side and a micro-HDMI port on the other. This allows you to use the tablet as an external display for your laptop or Nintendo Switch, for example.
The Yoga Pad Pro has a micro-HMDI port so it can act as an external monitor • Optional stylus
And it’s a stellar display too, it will make most laptops jealous. The 13” LTPS LCD panel has 2,160 x 1,350 px resolution (16:10) with 100% sRGB coverage, HDR10 and Dolby Vision support. It tops out at 400 nits of brightness.
The chunky part also houses some powerful speakers, four JBL speakers with 5 cm³ chambers, smart amps and a total of 9W of power (2x 2.5W and 2x 2W). Dolby Atmos is supported.
While you can hook up a Switch to the Yoga Pad Pro, the tablet is a fairly powerful gaming machine in its own right. It has a Snapdragon 870 chipset paired with 8GB of fast LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB storage (UFS 3.0).
The tablet can act as an external display • It has great sound thanks to 4 JBL speakers
It runs ZUI 12.5 based on Android 11. If you’re the artistic type, you can get the optional stylus that can sense 4,096 levels of pressure. The 10,200 mAh battery is enough for over 12 hours of video playback or for 8 and a half hours of working in display mode.
Wired connectivity includes a USB-C 3.1 with Quick Charge 4 support, as well as the aforementioned micro-HDMI port. On the wireless side of things there is Wi-Fi 6 support (2×2 MIMO) and Bluetooth 5.2.
The tablet has only one camera, an 8MP module on the front, which is joined by a 3D ToF sensor that can be used for secure face recognition.
The back of the device is coated with Alcantara, the kickstand is made out of durable stainless steel and can rotate 180º. The slate weighs 830g.
Alcantara on the back • CNC-machined stainless steel stand
Pre-orders in China started today on Lenovo’s site, the price is CNY 3,300 ($515/€420).
iFixit has published a detailed teardown of Apple’s newly redesigned M1 processor-equipped iMac, and it contains bad news about how easy the new all-in-one is to repair. Whether it’s the fans, USB ports, headphone jack, power button, or speakers, iFixit says virtually any repairs to the new desktop require battling through Apple’s adhesives.
Like the other M1 Macs, everything is soldered together now — so there’s no upgrading RAM or internal storage even if you do crack it open. The good news is if you do go through the effort of cracking it open, iFixit says most of the other internal parts (including the ports, webcam, and speakers) are relatively easy to swap out with replacements.
Photo: iFixit
These problems might not matter right now while the iMacs are shiny, new, and generally excellent, but they could make a world of difference in a few years when their components start to wear out and fail. iFixit has long been critical of the repairability of Apple’s devices, but it’s arguably much more important for a device like the iMac, which tends to get replaced less often than a phone or tablet. In our review, we called it “the computer to get if you just want to buy it and not think about it for the next five to ten years.”
If you thought the new iMac looks a lot like a massive iPad on a stand, then you might not be surprised to hear that much of what makes the iPad difficult to repair has been inherited by the new iMac. iFixit has awarded the machine a total score of 2/10 for repairability.
Apple’s M1 processors haven’t even been around for a year yet, so we don’t yet know how they’re going to hold up over time. But if any issues do crop up, this design could make it harder and more expensive for users to fix the machines they’re powering.
Photo: iFixit
This is far from the first time that iFixit has criticized the repairability of an iMac. In 2015, for example, it awarded Apple’s 21.5-inch iMac a low score of 1/10 for its repairability for design elements like having its RAM and CPU soldered onto the motherboard, preventing easy replacements or upgrades. Other iMacs like the 27-inch 5K iMac from 2014 or the 2018 iMac Pro fared better, thanks to their replaceable CPUs and RAM, but these are absent from the new machine.
“Apple’s newest iMac follows the other M1 machines down an interesting, but even-less-repairable path,” the teardown concludes — an expected, albeit slightly disappointing direction that Apple’s ever-thinner hardware has been trending in for years.
Asus’ ROG Phone 5 is now available in the US from its official store, with a price tag of $999.99. It’s Asus’ latest maxed-out gaming phone, with all of the top-notch specifications: a Snapdragon 888 Plus, 144Hz display, front-facing speakers, and a massive 6,000mAh battery.
Asus says the Ultimate and Pro versions of the phone will be available later this year. We reviewed the Ultimate in March and found that it was a good phone that went a little — okay, maybe a lot — overboard with its specs. The vanilla version available for sale today, though, is perhaps a bit more reasonable: it “only” has 16GB of RAM (as opposed to the Ultimate’s 18GB), has half the storage (256GB instead of 512GB), and features an RGB logo on the back instead of an entire OLED screen.
The other thing the regular version is missing is the extra touch-sensitive buttons that provide an alternative to touchscreen controls (though it does still have two of the ultrasonic sensors).
For those who want more buttons, though, there’s always the gamepad bundle or the AeroActive Cooler 5 accessory, which has two buttons built in. They do cost extra — with the gamepad bundle coming in at $40 more than just the phone and the cooler costing $70 — but that’s still likely going to be way less than shelling out for the Ultimate version.
(Pocket-lint) – Speak to any diehard music lover and you’ll always get the same answer: there’s nothing like vinyl. Forget about the new trends of getting the purest form of music, this is it.
These record players age are modern in approach but have a retro style. You’ll find a lot of retro-styled options out there complete with wooden finishes and maybe even a suitcase aesthetic.
But don’t be fooled. Many of these new record players not only play your parent’s vinyl, some of them even connect to your Bluetooth speaker so you can mix generations, too.
Best retro record players to buy today
Crosley
Crosley Sterling Turntable
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It’s not very often that you come across a music player that makes so much of a statement as the Crosley Sterling Turntable.
Its bold, retro design makes it as much an ornamental piece in your house as a great way to listen to music. You have the option of removing the legs too if you have a nice table to put it on.
It plays 33 1/3 and 45 RPM records and houses dual stereo speakers. You can connect it up via RCA output or even Bluetooth if you fancy.
Not all record players are made alike, and the Audio-Technica AT-LP120XUSB-BK Direct-Drive Turntable is one that stands out among the crowds.
It has a classic look and is packed with features. It’ll play 33 1/3, 45, and 75 RPM records, and while it doesn’t come with speakers, it can be connected to your favourite speakers through RCA cables or USB.
If you’re a die-hard turntable enthusiast, then Audio-Technica’s fantastic reputation and the long list of features on this record player make it a worthy option.
Steepletone
Steepletone BT-SMC386r PRO
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For those who use every way imaginable to listen to music, there are few systems that will cater to them. There is the Steepletone BT-SMC386r PRO, however, an 8-in-1 music player.
It definitely has an air of old-school to it. The main body houses a record player on top, twin cassette tape players, an FM and AM radio, CD player, a place for a USB stick, SD card slot, and Bluetooth.
Then there are two classic-looking speakers on either side as well for a stereo sound.
If you’ve got a whole host of different ways to listen to music from pretty much every generation, then the Steepletone BT-SMC386r PRO is something to look at.
House of Marley
House of Marley Stir It Up Record Player
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The House of Marley Stir It Up Record Player brings the record player right up to modern standards. Its sleek bamboo cover will match right up in your stylish living room.
It connects to your Mac or PC via USB, so you can digitally record your vinyls if you like, in case you want to take that classic music with you in the car.
It’ll play both 35 and 45 RPM records powered by a preamp through speakers of your choice.
Udreamer
Udreamer Vinyl Record Player
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We love the fact that the Udreamer Vinyl Record Player delivers a retro look, but still maintains an ageless class. It wouldn’t be out of place in any living room.
It’s able to play in 33-1/3, 45, and 78 RPM, as well as 3 sizes of record: 7”, 10” and 12”. The spring and belt-driven design in combination with the wooden build help it absorb any vibrations and deliver a warm tone.
If you’re out of vinyls to play for the evening, then switch over to your phone with its Bluetooth functionality.
Victrola
Victrola Navigator 8-in-1 Classic Bluetooth Record Player
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Talk about bringing back the retro. The Victrola Navigator 8-in-1 Classic Bluetooth Record Player travels through time with its analog knobs and dials to deliver a distinguished style.
A lovely hinged door reveals the belt-driven turntable that can play 33 1/3, 45, and 78 RPM records. That large radio dial is just awesome and dominates the front.
It’s not just a radio and record player, though. There’s a CD player and cassette, player, AUX jack, and even Bluetooth s you can stream from other devices. Looking at it, you’d never guess.
SeeYing
SeeYing Record Player with Speakers Bluetooth Turntable with FM Stereo Radio
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The SeeYing Record Player with Speakers is a bang-up-to-date turntable. It’s got speakers on its sides that you can even connect a Bluetooth device to when you run out of records.
No matter if you have 7, 10, or 12 inch vinyls, or need 33, 45, or 78 RPM playing speeds, this record player has you covered.
The sedate styling will make it work in most spaces too.
Victrola
Victrola Vintage 3-Speed Bluetooth Portable Suitcase Record Player
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The Victrola Vintage 3-Speed Bluetooth Portable Suitcase Record Player transports you back to a day when taking your music with you wasn’t quite as easy as it is today.
But there’s nothing like the sound of vinyl. Take this along with you to parties to give the music a bit of a taste of the classics.
Everything’s included in the Victrola Vintage, so you don’t need to connect it to any speakers. It also will play 33 1/3, 45, or 78 RPM playing speeds
WOCKODER
WOCKODER Record Player Turntable
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The WOCKODER Record Player Turntable brings back the 70s in style and does so in a compact package.
The belt driven player and spring on the turntable base make sure vibration is kept to a minimum, which is great for sound quality.
It’s simple to use with little fuss needed to get going. And it’s also got Bluetooth in case you’re keen on something not yet released on vinyl.
Kedok
Kedok Belt Driven Suitcase Vinyl Record Player
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Retro styling meets modern tech. The Kedok Belt Driven Suitcase Vinyl Record Player is a great looking turntable that allows you to listen to your records wherever you go.
It’s capable of playing three different-sized records in three speeds, and has built-in speakers so you don’t need anything more to play your classics.
Writing by Claudio Rebuzzi. Editing by Dan Grabham.
Apple has announced that this year’s WorldWide Developers Conference will take place from the 7th to the 11th June. Like last year’s WWDC, the event will go ahead online.
The big news is typically revealed at the keynote speech on day one. Apple CEO Tim Cook will get the ball rolling from 6pm BST / 10am PDT this year, live from the tech giant’s Apple Park HQ. Fans will be able to stream the event via Apple.com and the company’s YouTube channel.
“WWDC21 kicks off with the unveiling of exciting new updates coming to all Apple platforms later this year”, reads Apple’s schedule. That likely means previews of Apple’s new iOS 15, iPadOS 14, MacOS 12, WatchOS 8 and tvOS 15 software.
As for hardware, we could see the latest ‘Pro’ Macs featuring Apple’s processors (the company ditched Intel’s processors last year). There’s also a (slim) chance we could see the company showcase the rumoured AirPods 3 wireless earbuds.
Following the keynote, WWDC21 will serve up “200 in-depth sessions, one-on-one labs, and more”, so that developers can learn about the latest tools to help rustle up the next generation of iOS apps.
MORE:
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Lenovo’s Tab P11 Pro is the company’s top-tier Android tablet. With an 11-inch OLED screen, quad speakers, and snap-on keyboard, it’s meant to go head to head with Samsung’s Tab S7 and Apple’s iPad Air. But while the Tab P11 Pro is excellent for watching movies — that OLED screen and the Dolby Atmos speakers are quite nice — it’s considerably less impressive when you attempt to use it for productivity.
Pricing for the Tab P11 Pro is aggressive, particularly when you add up everything you get. The list price for a base model with 128GB of storage and 4GB of RAM is $499.99, but thanks to Lenovo’s frequent discounts, you can buy one for $375 right now. The model I’ve been testing has 6GB of RAM and comes with a detachable keyboard and active stylus pen in the box. That one’s list price is $599.99, but it’s currently discounted to $460 on Lenovo’s site.
Considering the similarly sized iPad Air starts at $599 before you add a pen or keyboard to it, the Lenovo has a lot of value on its side. No matter which model you opt for, you get the same 11-inch 2560 x 1600 OLED screen; Qualcomm Snapdragon 730G processor; quad JBL speakers with Dolby Atmos tuning; 128GB of storage with the ability to expand it with a microSD card; and premium aluminum unibody design.
The screen and speakers are really the stars of the show here. The OLED panel is not as bright as you can get on an iPad, so it isn’t as good in direct sunlight. But in almost every other scenario, including outdoors in the shade, it looks fantastic. Colors are rich, blacks are deep and inky, and the resolution is sharp. It provides a great experience for watching movies or any video, really.
The P11 Pro’s OLED screen looks great, and the quad speakers sound fantastic.
Similarly, the quad speakers are loud, punchy, and immersive. The Tab P11 Pro’s speakers outclass the iPad Air’s dual speakers and easily hang with the excellent sound system on Apple’s higher-end iPad Pro. Unfortunately, Lenovo is taking the same route as Apple and omitting a headphone jack, so you have the option of using a USB-C dongle (not included) or wireless headphones for personal audio.
Combined, the OLED screen and quad speakers provide the best movie-watching experience on a tablet anywhere near this price. To get something better, you’re going to have to pay a lot more money.
But Lenovo isn’t pitching this as just a couch potato tablet — it’s following Apple and Samsung’s lead in presenting the P11 Pro as a tablet that you can also get work done on. And that’s where the P11 Pro falls on its face.
Starting with the keyboard and pen accessories that are included with the top-end bundle, there’s as much to dislike as there is to like. The snap-on keyboard has a nice fabric cover and comes in two pieces: a back cover with a built-in kickstand that attaches via magnets and the keyboard itself that communicates with the tablet through pogo pins on the bottom edge of the P11 Pro. It’s a similar design to what Samsung uses on the Tab S7 line, and I like the flexibility it affords. I can use just the back cover to prop the tablet up for movie watching without having to have the keyboard in the way all the time. It’s great to have this flexibility when you’re using the tablet on a cramped airplane tray table.
Unfortunately, the typing experience on the keyboard itself leaves a bit to be desired. The layout is as cramped as expected with an 11-inch tablet, and there’s no backlighting available. The trackpad is small and has palm rejection issues — even just using the keyboard to write this relatively short draft was an exercise in patience, as my cursor would randomly jump around any time my left hand brushed against the trackpad as I typed. There’s also very little software support; I can’t adjust the scrolling direction on the trackpad as I can do with a laptop or other tablets.
The bundled stylus is nice to have, but it, too, falls behind the competition. It has many levels of pressure sensitivity, and it writes smoothly enough for my basic note-taking needs. But it doesn’t charge on the back or side of the tablet like Apple or Samsung’s pens (you instead need to plug it in via a USB-C port on its end), and there’s nowhere to safely store it on the tablet. Lenovo includes a rubbery holster for the pen that you’re supposed to stick to the back of the P11’s case with adhesive. But the adhesive is weak, and the pen holder falls off very easily. It all just feels like an afterthought.
Similarly, the software support for the pen is weak. Lenovo includes the Squid notes app (the basic free version, not the full version) for jotting down notes, and you can download many other options from the Play Store. But the pen doesn’t integrate into the system like it does on Apple or Samsung tablets. You can’t use the pen to take quick notes from the lock screen or easily capture screenshots and mark them up like you can on the iPad Air or Tab S7.
The P11 Pro’s “productivity mode” leaves a lot to be desired.
When you attach the keyboard to the tablet, Lenovo’s custom productivity mode launches. This is designed to provide a desktop-like interface, similar to Samsung’s DeX feature. But it’s a mess: few apps can be launched full-screen with it, and every app opens in a tiny, windowed box that you have to resize each time. I was able to successfully create a split-screen between a Google Doc and another window, such as Slack or the browser. But in general, the productivity mode feels like a tacked-on afterthought, just like the pen, and really isn’t a great experience.
Elsewhere, the software is standard Android (version 10; there’s no update to Android 11 as of the date of this review, though the P11 Pro does have the latest security patch available), which works best when you’re watching a full-screen video or playing a game, and doesn’t have as many tablet-oriented apps as iPadOS. The Snapdragon 730 processor isn’t as powerful as you get in Apple or Samsung’s tablets, but it’s not really a bottleneck here. You’ll be limited by the lack of tablet-optimized apps way before you hit the performance ceiling of the chip.
In all, the Tab P11 Pro is the tablet to get if you are looking for an excellent movie watching experience and don’t want to spend more than $400. You won’t find a better display or speakers for this price. I’d personally skip the pen and keyboard bundle entirely (even though that does mean you give up the handy back cover and its kickstand) and just use this tablet for what it does best: entertainment.
The latest iPad Air gets more than just a makeover – it’s a brilliant all-rounder and all the tablet most people could ever need
For
Great picture and sound
Attractive design
Excellent user experience
Against
Imperfect front-facing camera
Touch ID button is awkward
Not the cheapest tablet around
It’s not every day an Apple product gets what you could call a major revamp. On many occasions in the past, there has been a slight change here and a minor tweak there, leaving the tech world slightly underwhelmed. However, by Apple’s standards, it has positively gone to town on the iPad Air (2020).
Not only does the fourth generation iPad Air boast a brand new design, complete with a new Touch ID sensor and speaker layout, there’s also a bigger screen, more powerful processor and improved main camera. Everything is set up for the iPad Air (2020) to make quite the splash, but where does it rank when it comes to the best iPads you can buy?
Pricing
The fourth-generation iPad Air slots between the entry-level iPad and the flagship iPad Pro (2021). It’s available with either 64GB or 256GB of storage and prices start at £579 ($599, AU$899) for the entry-level 64GB Wi-Fi-only model and £729 ($749, AU$1129) for the Wi-Fi/Cellular model.
That makes the latest generation iPad Air around £100 ($100, AU$120) more expensive than the previous model. If Apple had just touched up the design and kept the status quo, you’d probably consider that a big jump in price. But the new model is a clear improvement on iPad Airs of old.
Build
(Image credit: Apple)
Nowhere are the changes more obvious and apparent than with the new iPad Air’s exterior. It has been redesigned to mirror the iPhone 12, and if you like the look and feel of that smartphone, you’re going to love the iPad Air 4.
Apple iPad Air (2020) tech specs
(Image credit: Apple)
Screen size 10.9in
Resolution 2360×1640 pixels
Storage 64GB/256GB
Finishes x5
Battery life 10 hours
Cameras 12MP rear / 7MP front
Dimensions (hwd) 24.8 x 17.9 x 0.6cm
Weight 458g
Those flat sides and crisp edges give the tablet a more purposeful appearance from the off. It makes for quite the contrast switching from the smooth, curved edges of the previous version, but it doesn’t feel uncomfortable, and those flat sides make it easier to grip when you’re watching in portrait or landscape.
It’s similar in look and feel to its big brother, the iPad Air Pro, although the Air is the first iPad to be made available in a range of optional colours. There are Rose Gold, Green and Sky Blue variants to choose from, in addition to the more traditional Silver and Space Grey. We find the Green finish of our review sample particularly easy on the eye.
Run your eyes around those flat edges and you’ll also spot a couple of new additions. The first is the presence of speaker grilles on the top and bottom of the tablet. Instead of offering speakers along just the bottom, the iPad Air 4 now offers landscape stereo speakers. That’s right, no longer does audio sound lopsided.
The iPad Air is now fitted with a USB-C port instead of Lightning, which makes one wonder why Apple is persisting with Lightning on the iPhone. Perhaps we’ll see the socket on the iPhone 13 when it makes an appearance later in the year?
The iPad Air’s volume buttons remain in the same location, as does the power button, although it’s slightly larger and longer, likely because it now handles Touch ID duties. We find that this takes some time to get used to and is at times a little more awkward to operate than the dedicated face-mounted Touch ID button of before. We can’t help but think a fingerprint sensor built under the screen, which is already used by smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 range, might work better.
Features
(Image credit: Apple)
The big news on the screen front is that the new iPad Air is bigger than ever. At 10.9in, it’s marginally larger than the previous model (10.5in), but you only notice the difference when viewing the two tablets together. The effect is emphasised by the slimmer bezels at the top and bottom, which have been achieved by ditching the fingerprint scanner/home button. It all makes for a streamlined viewing experience.
Resolution is 2360 x 1640 (vs 2224 x 1668 on the iPad Air 3) with a pixel density of 264ppi and a maximum brightness of 500 nits.
It’s still a wide colour display with True Tone, so the iPad Air can adjust the balance of its screen based on ambient lighting conditions. The only thing it doesn’t have compared to its more expensive Pro sibling is a 120Hz refresh rate, which would be nice, but not vital.
The new iPad Air (2020) has the brains to match its beauty too. It is powered by Apple’s A14 Bionic chip, the same silicone that drives the entire iPhone 12 line.
In terms of CPU performance, Apple claims the iPad Air 2020 is 40 per cent faster than the previous generation A12 Bionic chip, while its GPU performance is supposedly up 30 per cent, too, for faster graphics processing.
Although it can’t match the specs of the iPad Pro 2021, both in terms of processing power and storage, Apple still claims the Air is more than powerful enough to be able to edit 4K video on and it’s fully compatible with the Apple Pencil 2, which will come in handy for creative types.
So how do Apple’s claimed performance percentage increases translate into real life? The iPad reacts extremely well to multiple apps being open and even the rigours of gaming. In fact, the iPad Air arguably turns the iPad Pro into even more of a niche product. For most people, the iPad Air 2020 will be a powerful enough tool.
Apps such as Netflix and Amazon Music boot up without hesitation, and even if you have more than a handful of apps running in the background, the iPad Air won’t struggle to cope. Navigating between apps via a series of simple swipes is quick and hassle-free, and once again, Apple’s intuitive iOS operating system delivers a smooth and class-leading user experience.
As far as cameras are concerned, the iPad Air 2020 sports a 12MP snapper on the rear (up from 8MP on the previous version) while it sticks with the old 7MP FaceTime HD camera on the front. The Air can record in 4K resolution at 24, 25, 30 or 60fps and capture slow-mo video in 1080p at 120fps or 240fps.
Apple has stripped down the accessories included in the box for the iPhone, but you still get a 20W charger to go alongside the USB-C charging cable. With a full battery, the iPad Air 2020 should be good for up to 10 hours of battery life under average use. As an occasional web browser and viewing device for the odd episode of The Crown, you should be more than covered.
Sound
(Image credit: Apple)
One of the more exciting changes to the iPad Air’s design from an AV perspective relates to its speakers. On the previous iPad Air, they were positioned on one side, on the edge beneath the Touch ID sensor. Here, the speakers have been repositioned to fire out from either end of the tablet, so you can be treated to proper stereo audio with both sides of your iPad contributing equally.
Not having the audio offset to one side makes a big difference. It’s a better fit for watching programmes in landscape mode, especially while bingeing episodes of your favourite series on Netflix. The most obvious improvement is a wider spread of sound, which helps give it a more cinematic and immersive feel. It’s not exactly surround sound, but it is better than it was previously.
The sound coming out of the speakers is more solid and defined too. There’s extra weight to dialogue and although the vibrations through the iPad’s chassis can be pretty disturbing at higher volumes, it never seems to muddy the clarity of what you’re hearing. Stick to normal volume levels and you’ll be just fine.
You still need to be a little careful about hand placement if you’re holding the iPad in landscape mode, although it is much improved on the older model.
Switch to playing tracks through a pair of wireless headphones and Apple’s trademark musicality is there to enjoy. The iPad makes quick work of Radiohead’s 15 Steps and its attempts to trip the tablet over, displays an excellent sense of rhythm and there’s a real snap to the claps that help keep the track on course. There’s plenty of precision to the percussion including a solid, weighty kick drum.
Screen
(Image credit: Apple)
Apple’s tablets have a reputation for delivering excellent images when watching video and the iPad Air 2020 doesn’t let the side down. It’s punchy and bright, but also throws in a great level of subtlety when the scene demands. Compared with the previous model, the latest iPad Air appears a bit sharper, slightly better detailed and capable of great subtlety in dark scenes.
Playing the second episode of Jupiter’s Legacy on Netflix, as everyone lines up at the funeral of their fallen comrades, the detail and definition in each character’s suit really captures the eye. Blacks are deep and rich, but there’s subtlety around creases and where light casts a shadow on certain areas. There’s a great general sense of depth to the scene too.
The iPad peers into the nooks and crannies and paints different gradations of black and grey with great care and attention. It also picks out subtle differences in the intensity of the white shirts worn by some of the characters. Skin tones also appear natural. As Sheldon, Walter, Grace and Brandon sit down for dinner, the bulbs in the chandelier bulbs emit a welcoming, warm glow and there’s a great sense of depth.
Verdict
If you want the ultimate iPad experience, Apple would probably point you in the direction of its Pro range. But the iPad Air 4 (2020) is all the iPad most people will ever need. It’s such a solid and capable all-rounder, that very few will feel the need to spend the extra for the iPad Pro.
The design is superb, the user experience is tough to beat and both sound and picture quality are on point. It’s an excellent tablet, and even with a slight price increase, we still feel it’s worth every penny.
SCORES
Picture 5
Sound 5
Features 5
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Last week, Apple announced that lossless audio was coming to Apple Music, but it was also revealed that not all Apple devices would be compatible. We now know that the HomePod and HomePod Mini will in fact support these higher-quality music streams. We just don’t know when.
All Apple has revealed on its new lossless audio support page is that “Support for lossless is coming in a future software update”.
The page also reiterates that the new Apple TV 4K 2021 doesn’t currently support the Hi-Res Lossless format, although the use of the word “currently” could suggest it might change in the future.
Apple’s page also runs down how to listen on other devices, and repeats what we told you last week, that Apple’s AirPods, AirPods Pro and AirPods Max don’t support lossless. That’s no great surprise for the true wireless earbuds, but more of a blow for the AirPods Max, as some had assumed their wired connection would enable lossless.
Apple’s iPhones and iPads support Apple Music’s two lower tiers of lossless, namely CD quality (16-bit/44.1kHz) and Apple Music Lossless (24-bit/48kHz). If you want to listen to Apple Music tracks above 24-bit/48kHz on your iPhone/iPad, you’ll need to connect an external DAC and use a wired pair of headphones. Check out our guide for how to listen to hi-res audio on an iPhone.
There’s better news for Apple fans looking to enjoy the Spatial Audio feature also coming to Apple Music next month. It’s much more widely supported on Apple devices including AirPods headphones and HomePod speakers.
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Recognising the convenience of Bluetooth and the fact that not every hi-fi system – especially those of the vintage variety – has it integrated, McIntosh has launched a device that brings it onboard any home audio set-up.
The MB20 Bluetooth transceiver is a two-way device that can both receive and transmit audio wirelessly. In receiver mode, the MB20 can accept audio from a phone or any other Bluetooth source for playback through the system it’s connected to. In transmitter mode, the transceiver can send music playing on a system, including from vinyl and CDs, to a pair of Bluetooth headphones or speakers. A back-panel switch changes the device to the required function.
The MB20 supports the latest Bluetooth 5 codec, as well as aptX HD, aptX Low Latency and AAC for higher quality transmission between compatible devices. It can connect to systems via a range of outputs and inputs, which include RCA, XLR, optical and coaxial connections.
(Image credit: McIntosh)
As a receiver, it utilises a 32-bit/192kHz DAC (if used with an external DAC, its output is fixed at 96kHz). And when in transmitter mode, it uses an ADC with a 110dB signal-to-noise ratio.
The Class 1-supporting MB20 can transmit audio within a 150-foot (45.7m) range – 10x greater than a typical Class 2 Bluetooth device – and features an external antenna designed to maximise its range.
The McIntosh MB20 is available to order now, priced £649 ($500), with shipping expected this month for the United States and Canada, and in June for the UK.
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