This exciting Star Trek-themed Raspberry Pi project comes to us from a maker known as Directive0 on Twitter. Replica tricorders just won’t cut it—Directive0 decided to make a working one with the help of a Raspberry Pi.
The project is officially dubbed TR-109 Picorder 2. The main goal was to create a self-contained Raspberry Pi “data acquisition platform” (essentially a machine with lots of sensors) that looks just like an old school tricorder.
A Pi Zero W is used as the mainboard, which provides a limited form factor and wireless support. Directive0 created custom PCBs with KiCAD to fit inside a custom 3D printed shell. The final tricorder design uses an IR thermal camera, a humidity sensor, a non-contact thermometer, and a pressure sensor.
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(Image credit: Directive0)
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(Image credit: Directive0)
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(Image credit: Directive0)
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(Image credit: Directive0)
Data is output to an ST7735 LCD display. The unit also has a few LEDs alongside working buttons. Software-wise, it uses PicorderOS, a custom Python library that links the visual interface to specific sensor modules used in the project.
You can read more about the project in detail on SquaredWave or follow Directive0 on YouTube. Be sure to check out our list of Best Raspberry Pi Projects for more cool creations from the maker community.
The iPod Touch is not only the last official surviving member of Apple’s iPod music player dynasty, it’s also the only model Apple ever released with wi-fi connection. But what if the old iPod you’ve got in a drawer somewhere could be modified to add Bluetooth and wi-fi connectivity as well as access to streaming services such as Spotify? That’s exactly what developer Guy Dupont has achieved with the 4th-generation iPod he got from his mother-in-law.
This particular iPod Classic was introduced in 2004, making it 17 years of age (yes, that makes us feel old too). It was designed with a really rather small (by today’s standards) display, a Click Wheel and no wireless connections, but by changing all of its innards Dupont has managed to bring it more or less up to date with the modern world. The player can now access Spotify’s entire catalogue and stream it to your Bluetooth speaker or wireless headphones.
So how did he do it, you ask? Those interested in repeating his feat, or anyone looking to spend their lunch break a little differently this Friday, should definitely check out his video below.
As noted by 9to5Mac and Engadget, precious little of the original 4th-gen iPod Classic remains in this modified version, bar the original case with a functioning clicky wheel (which now includes haptic feedback). But the final results are still quite special.
Dupont has named his masterpiece “sPot,” which now has a colour screen and an internal 1000mAh battery. A $10 Raspberry Pi Zero W and a Micro-USB connector were also used to create and install a version of Spotify (using Spotify’s official APIs) that harks back to the classic iPod interface.
The upcycling project apparently cost Dupont less than $100 in total, but the thrifty developer has no intention of trying to renovate and sell more Spotify-enhanced iPods. To prove it, he’s actually shared details about how he built the sPot on Hackaday and also the source code of the software he created on GitHub – presumably in case you want to have a go yourself.
Might Apple take a few pointers and release an iPod Classic line with updated features under a retro hood? Improbable, perhaps – but then again, not impossible.
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The revival of G4, a network focusing on video games with programs like X-Play and Attack of the Show!, is underway. The company announced today that it’s launching weekly series B4G4 on Friday, January 29th. The series will air on Twitch and YouTube.
B4G4 is part of the lead-up to the network’s return this summer. It will feature original sketches, music parodies, game reviews, and more. Viewers will also be able to provide feedback on that content via the network’s Reddit community.
Twitter accounts for Attack of the Show! and X-Play teased G4’s revival last year during the digital version of San Diego Comic-Con; both shows are expected to return. The network has been hunting for talent via a Twitter campaign.
YouTube is introducing clipping — the ability to make short clips of live streams or videos — starting today with a small group of creators. Those clips can be anywhere between five and 60 seconds in length and will have a new URL associated with them. Creators and viewers will be able to create clips by clicking on the clip icon, though the feature is currently limited to desktop and Android devices.
It’s a smart move from YouTube, because clipping is something of a live-streaming industry standard. You can more easily share live video content via a short video clip that can be passed around social media, rather than requiring viewers to skim through a potentially hourslong stream. Every platform from Twitch to the dearly departed site Mixer has decided that it’s something their creators need.
Today we are launching an experimental version of Clips on YouTube. Check out videos on the Creator Insider channel and test it out yourself!
Clips are 5-60 sec, shareable, segments of content (Live/VOD) that live on top of the original video.
More info: https://t.co/5fJyorxjrj pic.twitter.com/DVWNQ2BoEx
— Lester (@Chen) January 28, 2021
YouTube adding the feature is just another signal that the online video titan intends to beef up its live-streaming operation. As is the conventional wisdom in streamer spaces, clips help channels grow. A good clip that goes viral can bring in a huge influx of new viewers — and in streaming, where visibility is a big part of creating a sustainable income, that’s half the battle.
During the Exynos 2100 launch, Samsung revealed that the company was on track to deliver a Radeon equipped Exynos SoC relatively soon. However, it appears the timeline for this product has been accelerated; there are leaked reports of a new unnamed Exynos SoC with Radeon graphics smashing Apple’s A14 bionic in leaked benchmark results.
Of course, take all these results with a grain of salt, as you would with any leak. The fact that there aren’t even photos of the leak could cast further doubt. Plus, these are GPU-only related tasks, we know nothing about the CPU performance of this SoC.
All we know about this mysterious Exynos chip is that it features an RDNA powered Radeon GPU, custom-built from AMD for Samsung. In the leaked benchmark results, this Samsung SoC was compared to Apple’s current flagship the iPhone 12 Pro that packs Apple’s A14 Bionic, one of the fastest SoC’s in a phone on sale today.
Benchmark:
Unnamed Radeon Exynos SoC
Apple Bionic A14 (iPhone 12 Pro)
Manhattan 3.1
181.8 FPS
146.4 FPS
Aztek Normal
138.25 FPS
79.8 FPS
Aztek High School
58 FPS
30.5 FPS
In the several benchmark applications used above, the RDNA-powered Radeon GPU was anywhere between 25-100% faster than the competing A14 Bionic. If these results are in any way true, it is quite an impressive feat from Samsung and AMD.
It would be an amazing achievement for Samsung if they can beat both Qualcomm and Apple’s integrated GPUs in the near future, even if it’s just in gaming performance. Samsung has been woefully behind in graphics power for years compared to its rivals; To all of a sudden become the champion of ARM integrated graphics in phones would mean a lot for Samsung and the adoption of its Exynos chips.
In the wake of Robinhood’s surprise trading block, a new class of Reddit investors are looking for apps that will let them plow their money into their favorite stocks. On Thursday morning, Robinhood announced that it would temporarily block investors from purchasing or trading companies including GameStop, AMC, BlackBerry, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Nokia, all of which have been the subject of unexpected rallies over the past few days. But for the online communities that fueled those rallies, the block is being treated as an outright betrayal.
Discussion about switching ramped up on Twitter and in investment discords after Robinhood halted buying and trading on stock, citing “recent volatility” in the market with the aforementioned stock as the reason it prevented additional trading.
Since the decision, Robinhood’s app on the App Store has received thousands of one-star reviews as a form of practice known as review bombing. On the r/WallStreetBets subreddit, angry Robinhood users are calling for a class action lawsuit because “allowing people to only sell is the definition of market manipulation,” according to one post. There’s even a new subreddit specifically for suing the company. Another Robinhood user tweeted that after years of being on the platform, the move felt like a “slap to the face,” adding “to be regulated in a time of absolute prime opportunities is an embarrassment.”
On Twitter, beloved rapper and Fyre Fest promoter Ja Rule did not mince words: “Yo this is a fucking CRIME what @RobinhoodApp is doin.”
Robinhood has been central to much of the chaos within the financial sector over the last few days. Investors from r/WallStreetBets or its private Discord server used the personal finance app to inflate GameStop and other stocks as a blow against Wall Street hedge funds. But now that Robinhood has taken steps to stem the rally, the r/WallStreetBets community feels betrayed — and is already looking for alternatives.
The list of brokerages that have stopped allowing trades and buys of the aforementioned stock continue to grow: Robinhood, TD Ameritrade, and Interactive Brokers, and WeBull have all halted trading. But Public, an app similar to Robinhood, has continued to allow buys and trades without restriction, although the app “has added Safety Labels to help inform and provide context to our users before they make a trade,” a spokesperson told The Verge.
For Robinhood competitors like Public, it’s a golden opportunity. In fact, Public is doubling the free stock slice for member referrals today. Popular YouTube personality Casey Neistat tweeted on Thursday morning just after the Robinhood halting began that “everyone complaining about @RobinhoodApp delisting GameStop and I’m over here on @public about to get Bill Gates rich.” He later said that no one should take investment advice from him and that he’s an investor in Public.
“Also im an investor in public and i hope this ridiculous behavior from Robinhood brings attention to superior companies (like Public),” Neistat tweeted.
Switching to a competitor will still add some friction — and might cost investors valuable time in an exceptionally volatile situation. When creating an account on Public, for instance people may have to wait a few days for their application to be approved, according to a message that appears during the signup process. If people are trying to get in on GameStop and AMC while the magic rally is still in effect, that delay might defeat the purpose — although at least one Verge reporter had their account approved in the same day.
Most apps also allow investors to transfer their portfolios from other brokerages, including Robinhood, which could be faster. But there’s still likely to be a significant delay.
Webull is another investment app, and the FAQ states that “in most cases, account application is approved automatically.” Webull’s website also states that people can trade in the same day if “you deposit via ACH before 4:00 pm on a trading day” — basically, if funds are transferred from something like a bank to Webull. The site also states, however, that people “will get a provisional credit (up to $1000 depending on the incoming deposit) of buying power after your deposit,” which gives people “provisional buying power to trade.”
Transferring stocks from one app to another, or flocking to another app to buy stocks, seems tedious — but as long as it’s unclear when Robinhood and other brokerages will allow purchases, GameStop’s new stockholders are left with no other choice. At the time of publication, GameStop’s stock was sitting at $155 — down from yesterday’s high of $468, but still more than triple where the stock was last week.
“You’d think with a brand name like Robinhood you’d be all about the working class outsmarting the rich,” popular YouTube creator Ricky “FaZe Banks” Bengston tweeted. “You guys fkn blew it.”
Google is ending development on the virtual reality painting app Tilt Brush — one of the most well-known VR applications — and making it open source. Tilt Brush was acquired by Google in 2015 after launching for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, and it was soon folded into the company’s larger VR plans, like its Google Cardboard and Daydream headsets.
Tilt Brush’s main feature is three-dimensional painting in VR, but the app received interesting updates over its tenure at Google, including multiplayer support and an open-source toolkit that offered the ability to export Tilt Brush drawings for use in animation. With this latest announcement, that development is coming to an end, and future support of Tilt Brush is in the hands of the community that still uses it.
Tilt Brush’s code can be accessed on GitHub now, but Google says some features had to be removed from the open-source release because of licensing restrictions. Should you want to try your hand at tinkering with open-source Tilt Brush, the company is providing detailed instructions on how to rebuild those missing features in the app. Additionally, Tilt Brush will still be available to download on all of the major VR app stores.
Tilt Brush is just the latest in a series of discontinued Google VR projects. Daydream VR headsets were discontinued around the launch of the Pixel 4, Google Cardboard received a similar open-source send-off in 2019, the Jump camera and video service were 86’ed that same year, and the VR field trip software Expeditions rode off into the sunset in 2020. Its surviving projects include VR versions of YouTube and Google Earth, as well as game development studio Owlchemy Labs.
Google and Alphabet are no strangers to killing off former darlings and other people’s current ones. (Look no further than Loon for an odd and exciting project that was recently ended.) But shifting things to open source seems like a meaningful compromise for the people who still use these products every day. Without Google resources, whatever’s next for Tilt Brush will still be a ways off, but it’s nice that the graveyard was spared a new headstone.
Three weeks after Google promised it would add Apple’s mandatory app privacy labels “as soon as this week,” none of the company’s main apps have the labels, including Gmail, search, Photos, Docs, and YouTube.
There have been some questions about whether Google is purposefully not updating its apps to avoid the labels, so I looked through every Google app in the iOS App Store to find out whether the updates have been coming.
Some have: 12 apps now have the iOS privacy labels, though they may not be as recognizable as YouTube or Gmail:
Stadia
Google Translate
Google Authenticator
Google Play Movies and TV
Google Classroom
Google Fiber
Google Fiber TV
Wear OS
Onduo for Diabetes
Project Baseline
Google Smart Lock
Motion Stills – GIF, Collage
Clicking through to the privacy labels, they seem to make sense. Some of the apps, like Google Authenticator, don’t capture much information, while Google Translate and Classroom have a pretty hefty list of privacy notices.
Again, this doesn’t necessarily mean that Google is capturing all of that information just from you opening the app. The privacy label just shows all of the things the app may capture depending on which features you use. And while you may have to scroll a bit through the list, it’s nothing like Facebook’s seemingly endless list.
The privacy info for Authenticator fits on one screen.
Google promised a while ago that it would start adding privacy labels to its apps on the App Store. They’ve now been added to Google Translate. pic.twitter.com/aC4jhExywM
— Mitchell (@strawberrywell) January 26, 2021
There are some oddities, though. “Motion Stills – GIF, Collage” is an app that hasn’t been updated for three years, yet it has the privacy labels. It’s probably fair to say that this wasn’t the app we had in mind when Google promised it would start rolling them out.
The privacy label for an app that hasn’t been updated in three years.
Apple launched these privacy labels on December 14th, and companies like Google can no longer update their apps unless they add these privacy labels first. So when some people noticed that Google had stopped updating its apps, they speculated that it may be to avoid having to admit how much data it was collecting.
Google has denied that, though, explicitly telling TechCrunch that it wasn’t holding back updates and that it was committed to adding the labels when those updates were ready. The company reiterated that promise in a privacy-focused blog post on January 12th:
As Google’s iOS apps are updated with new features or to fix bugs, you’ll see updates to our app page listings that include the new App Privacy Details. These labels represent the maximum categories of data that could be collected—meaning if you use every available feature and service in the app.
They are rolling out. It’s just not clear when Google will update its most popular apps — the ones that likely suck up the most user data, anyhow.
Falcon Acoustics has launched the second do-it-yourself speaker in its ‘Complete@Home’ range, following the introduction of the two-way IMF100 standmounters last summer. The new Q7 Mini-Monitor is another self-assembly set of speakers that require no specialist tools, and this pair can supposedly be built in under two hours.
The Q7 comprises production-grade Italian Baltic birch ply cabinets, Falcon’s B110 and T27 drive units and a Falcon 23.2 factory-assembled, pre-wired crossover. The cabinets have been specially extended beyond the size of the company’s famous LS3/5a to produce comparatively more bass. The cabinet baffles, meanwhile, are veneered in either natural walnut or rosewood, provided with magnetically secured cloth grilles.
So what about the at-home assembly? It will probably please you to know that it requires no soldering. In fact, all tools are provided. Better still, there’s an online instruction manual and accompanying YouTube video to guide you through the process.
The Q7 Mini-Monitor costs £995, with Tygan front grilles and Q7 Silver Badge crossover upgrade options available at a premium. Falcon Acoustics has plans to launch a total of six models under the ‘Complete@Home’ umbrella, so there are still four more to be revealed…
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The Xperia Pro, Sony’s first smartphone with 5G in the US, is launching today for $2,499.99. Sony is targeting the device at professional users, who it hopes will use its HDMI input to turn the phone into an external camera monitor and its 5G connectivity to quickly upload or live-stream footage. Sony says it currently has no plans to release the Xperia Pro in Europe.
Outside of its HDMI input and US 5G support, the Xperia Pro’s hardware is very similar to last year’s Xperia 1 II (which shipped with 5G support in Europe but was limited to 4G LTE in the US). That means it’s powered by a Snapdragon 865 processor with a 4,000mAh battery, and around the back, there are the same 12-megapixel wide, telephoto, and ultrawide cameras. The Xperia Pro also includes a tall 6.5-inch 21:9 aspect ratio OLED display, which Sony is once again describing as 4K but actually has a sub-4K resolution of 3840 x 1644.
At $1,200, the Xperia 1 II was already an expensive smartphone, and the Xperia Pro is over double its price. But Sony argues its 5G support and HDMI input could be incredibly useful to professional users.
Let’s start with the HDMI input, which is located on the bottom of the phone where the Xperia 1 II’s USB-C port. (The Xperia Pro’s USB-C port is still on the bottom of the device, but it’s shifted to the left.) Sony says it’s capable of taking up to a 4K 60fps HDR video stream and should work with any cameras that have an HDMI output.
In practice, what this means is that you can connect the Xperia Pro to a camera’s HDMI output, for example, and use its bigger screen to get a clearer view of whatever’s being filmed or photographed. You can pinch to zoom into the image displayed on the screen or overlay gridlines to help with framing.
Where this functionality gets especially interesting is with the Xperia Pro’s 5G connectivity, which enables it to act as a live-streaming link for your camera in addition to being an external monitor. The Xperia Pro can stream footage from its HDMI input to YouTube directly, and it supports StreamLabs and StreamYard for streaming to other platforms like Twitch and Facebook Live.
The phone supports both Sub-6GHz and mmWave 5G, and Sony claims that it has a unique four-way mmWave antenna array to maximize reception. There’s also a built-in network visualizer app that can be assigned to its shortcut key to help you find the best position to get a signal. Hopefully Sony’s software and hardware are enough to mitigate mmWave’s problems with limited coverage.
Ever since it started teasing the Xperia Pro early last year, Sony has emphasized that it’s a device for professional users, and its $2,499.99 price tag makes this more obvious than ever. When I asked Sony why it hasn’t released a 5G device aimed at consumers in the US, it told me it’s waiting for the technology to be more broadly implemented by carriers. Until then, Sony says it’s focusing on professional users who it thinks can get more use out of it.
(Pocket-lint) – Throughout 2020 the battle for dominance in the mid-range smartphone market burned fierce. With one group of companies in particular showing it was more than willing to add some competition to a market that had grown a little stagnant in the wake of manufacturers chasing that four-figure price bracket.
That group, of course, is BKK. For those unaware, that’s the family that contains Oppo, OnePlus and Realme. Look at the volume of phones released by those three brands in 2020 and you’ll see there are quite a number of devices.
One of the more affordable from that offering is the Reno 4 Z. It’s one of Oppo’s most accessible smartphones and one with plenty about it to make it more than useful for most people.
Sleek and shiny
Dimensions: 163.8 x 75.5 x 8.1 mm / Weight: 184 g
3.5mm input/output for headphones
Side-mounted fingerprint sensor
In this day and age, we’ve stopped being surprised when phones are included in certain families of phones but without really looking like they belong. Look at the Reno 4 Pro, then look at the Reno 4 Z, and you’ll likely assume the two phones aren’t related at all. They just don’t look the same.
Pocket-lint
The most obvious differences are apparent from the back, where the Reno 4 Z has square camera housing with a diagonal raised element in the middle. The 4 Pro features a nicer looking rectangle panel. Still, there’s something quite eye-catching about the Z’s arrangement. At least, there is if you go with the white and gold model. We were sent the navy and black model which doesn’t have that same visual ‘pop’. Although, in the right light, the way the dark blue gradients into silver is attractive.
Being a more affordable device means more affordable materials have been used. In this case, that means there’s a glossy plastic on the back and – unlike the Pro – it’s completely flat. You don’t get any fancy curved glass here, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After all, it’s less likely to crack or break, but it being flat does mean it’s not the most ergonomic feeling phone in the world. It’s quite wide too, so definitely feels more like a two-handed device than a smaller, rounder phone would.
One other thing that’s worth noting about this glossy navy blue version: it attracts fingerprints like crazy. Hold it once and that shiny plastic soon turns into a grease-smudged mess, and being a dark colour also means it shows up any dust or pocket-fluff too. The panel on the front, covering the screen, seems to suffer from that same ease of smudging, but being glass it’s really easy to wipe off with a microfibre cloth.
Pocket-lint
The Reno 4 Z features Oppo’s trademark super-slim individual volume buttons on the left and – because it has an LCD display (which we’ll get to later) – there’s a physical fingerprint reader built into the power button on the right side. We’ve found it really quick to unlock and very responsive, so it’s certainly not a negative compared to an under-screen solution.
Those who want to can also use facial recognition using the dual camera system built into the front of the phone. That reliability makes unlocking the phone convenient, and there are other practicalities to consider. It has a 3.5mm input/output port for wired headphones and headsets and the removable SIM tray has space for a microSD card slot if you want to expand the onboard memory.
Screen and software
6.57-inch LCD display
1080 x 2400 resolution
Android 10 – ColorOS 7.2
The Reno 4 Z has an LCD panel on the front and that means a few things in terms of features. You don’t get the always-on display – which shows a clock and notification badges when it’s in standby – because, unlike OLED, an LCD display doesn’t switch off individual pixel lighting.
But that’s not really a problem, it just means you don’t get that one useful feature. The main issue with the display is that it doesn’t appear to have any sort of oleophobic protection over it. That means fingers leave smudges, and even when wiped clean, that can cause some unusual rainbowing patterns which is most noticeable on mostly white screens.
Pocket-lint
It’s worth noting this is true after removing the pre-applied screen protector. Not that a film is any better at reducing fingerprint smudges, but be aware that removing it won’t necessarily improve clarity or finger oil resistance like it would on properly coated glass.
Otherwise, it’s a decent enough display. It’s Full HD+ in resolution, so it’s plenty sharp enough for anything you’d want to use it for. Text is clear and colours – while lacking a tad in vividness – are natural enough, with whites coming through clean. It’s big enough and bright enough to make streaming Netflix or YouTube shows a pleasant experience.
It’s not great in brighter conditions – like outside in brighter daylight – and seems to struggle with reflections quite a lot. Even in rooms indoors with bright ceiling lights we had to adjust the angle often to avoid that reflective glare made worse by those aforementioned fingerprint smudges.
Of course the screen is mostly just the platform for the software which – in Oppo’s case – seems to be leaning more towards European or Western preferences with each iteration.
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That’s to say, it utilises more of Google’s default apps and doesn’t seek to add too much of its own influence. Even to the point now where it has Google’s own Snapshot screen on the left of the home screen, collating news and weather relevant to you, rather than the old Oppo-made version that did a similar thing, but in a slightly less useful way.
The main interface is still very much Oppo-esque, with its square, green quick settings button icons in the drop down menu. Learning from its cousin, OnePlus, Oppo’s ColorOS has more customisation tools here as well. You can change app icon size and shape as well as using system-wide themes. It’s worth noting though that this is ColorOS 7 based on Android 10, not the new Android 11 based software that it’s currently rolling out across Oppo’s flagship devices.
MediaTek powered – and that’s just fine
MediaTek Dimensity 800 5G processor, 8GB RAM
128GB storage, microSD card expansion
4,000mAh battery capacity
18W fast-charging
We often speak about compromises when discussing mid-range phones that are available for lower prices than premium handsets. It goes without saying that when you buy more affordable devices, the parts inside them are reflective of being able to obtain that lower sale price.
One such ‘compromise’ – as you might first think – is Oppo opting to go with a MediaTek processor. Specifically, this phone is powered by the Dimensity 800 5G. It may be seen as a bit of a bargain-basement 5G chipset by many, but with its 7nm process and eight powerful cores, it’s certainly no slouch.
Pocket-lint
As you’d likely expect from a more accessible product, the phone doesn’t especially feel zippy, but in our experience it’s reliable and doesn’t seem to struggle all that much with anything. We played a few of our favourite games like Forza Street, Mario Kart Tour and Sky, and it was responsive enough that it didn’t detract from the overall experience.
There was the odd occasion when we noticed some stutter and delay in action on screen, but it wasn’t hugely significant. Although saying that, it does seem to load lower resolution graphics in order to keep it feeling relatively smooth. It doesn’t seem all that sharp when loading games, with edges of items on screen looking quite rough at times. This is fairly typical of similar devices.
For important stuff like keeping in touch with friends on Messenger, WhatsApp or via Facebook, it’s a perfectly fine device. We didn’t have any issues with connectivity or any major problems with loading times and overall speed of such apps. It gets the job done – which is what you want from a phone at this price range.
Best smartphones 2021: The top mobile phones available to buy today
Pocket-lint
It’s a similar story with battery life. You’ll get plenty of mileage from the 4,000mAh cell inside the Reno 4 Z. Given its relatively low-powered internals, it’s not uncommon on a moderate day of use to get all the way through to bedtime with 40 per cent left over, but then mileage will certainly vary depending on user. For most users it’ll be more than enough to get you through the day.
More cameras than required
Quad rear camera system:
Main: 48-megapixel, f/1.7 aperture
Wide (119-degree): 8MP, f/2.2
Depth sensors: 2MP each
Dual selfie camera system:
16MP main & 2MP depth sensor
Sadly, one trend that’s stuck in 2020 – and one we hope dies in 2021 – is the compulsion for phone makers to put four cameras in the back of their phones, just to say it has a quad camera system. Truth is, for most of them – at least, most of the more affordable ones – is that they have one relatively decent camera, with the other three either being mostly useless, or poor quality. It’s the same with the Reno 4 Z.
Pocket-lint
This phone has not one, but two low resolution depth sensors in addition to the 8-megapixel ultra-wide and 48-megapixel primary camera. Having used it a number of times in testing, we can safely say that it’s the primary camera you’ll want to be using nearly all of the time. The dual depth sensor is really pointless.
With that out of the way, the primary lens is certainly good enough to keep any buyer happy. It’s perhaps a little happy to overexpose when left to its own devices, but a quick adjustment using the exposure gain slider on screen is enough to get it looking good again.
In good lighting conditions the main sensor takes good looking shots that represent colours naturally without being overly saturated nor muted. Similarly, when you get close to a subject, it focuses and is able to produce some nice-looking, soft background blur that blends evenly with the foreground. It doesn’t need the exaggerated portrait mode for that (although it does have it, of course, as those depth sensors are doing some work).
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The option of the ultra-wide angle lens means you get a bit more versatility, but the quality from this lens just isn’t quite as good as the main camera. Colours, light and contrast combine to make for a less vivid and harsher looking result. But that’s something that seems to be normal for a lot of mid-rangers with multiple cameras.
In the end, you’ll probably want to stick with the main camera, and if you do you’ll be more than happy with the shots that it produces in good outdoor daylight.
Verdict
The Reno 4 Z is capable phone that won’t let you down in all the ways that really matter. It’ll snap a photo, let you play pretty much any of your favourite games, and go all day without an issue. But even at this end of the market it’s not hugely competitive.
As with a few of Oppo’s phones, the Reno 4 Z is curiously positioned in terms of price. Compare its features and capabilities with sister brand, Realme, and you’ll feel you don’t get as much for your money. As an example, you could get the Realme 7 Pro; a phone with much faster charging, smoother performance, a bigger battery and an AMOLED display.
The one thing the Oppo does have over the Realme phone is 5G support which – depending on where you live – could be the clincher. Still, in our testing so far, 5G hasn’t proved all that essential in everyday life and – despite being much faster than 4G – still isn’t close to offering the reliable and consistent coverage required to make it necessary. At least, not in the UK just yet.
The Gigabyte Aorus 17G pushes out solid RTX-30 series performance while offering a mechanical keyboard.
For
300 Hz Screen
Physical Mechanical Keyboard
Against
Not much faster than prior-gen laptops
Slightly dim screen
Slightly low color gamut
Ampere has finally landed on laptops, with Gigabyte’s 2021 refresh of the Aorus 17G in particular representing our first chance to look at how RTX 3080 performs on mobile. This refresh also brings a 300Hz display to an Aorus laptop for the first time, plus sees the return of Aorus’ mobile physical mechanical keyboard. But the GPU still steals the show here, for two particular reasons. The first is to see if mobile Ampere is enough to propel this to our list of the best gaming laptops, and the second is that this represents yet another way to buy the notoriously rare RTX 30-series of GPUs.
Still, transitioning to mobile always comes with its tradeoffs, so the question remains- does the mobile RTX 3080 live up to the reputation set by its full-size cousins, or will PC owners still be left without many ways to get their hands on the best Ampere has to offer?
Specifications
CPU
Intel Core i7-10870H
Graphics
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GDDR6 8GB
Memory
32GB DDR4-2933MHz
Storage
1TB M.2 NVMe SSD
Display
17.3 inch, 1080p, 300Hz, IPS-level
Networking
802.11ax Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0
Ports
3x USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A), 1x Thunderbolt 3, 1x UHS-II SD Card Reader, 1x RJ-45 Ethernet, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x Mini DP 1.4, 1x 3.5mm Headphone jack, 1x 3.5mm Microphone jack
Camera
720p
Battery
99Wh
Power Adapter
240W
Operating System
Windows 10 Home
Dimensions(WxDxH)
15.9 x 10.8 x 1.0 inches
Weight
5.95 pounds
Price (as configured)
$2,699
Design of Gigabyte Aorus 17G
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Like Gigabyte’s other Aorus laptops, the 2021 refresh of the Aorus 17G unabashedly wears its gamer branding on its sleeve, with an angled hinge, copious vents and a full physical mechanical keyboard. It does look a little cluttered upon opening the lid, mostly due to all the stickers advertising this laptop’s new features, like an RTX GPU and 300Hz screen. But removing those stickers reveals a slick look that speaks to its gaming nature while still not coming across as embarrassing.
Take the lid, which has a simple matte black finish that mostly resists fingerprints and is only accentuated by a single logo in the center. And the hinge, while angled, is also pleasingly rounded. The webcam placement is questionable- it’s under the screen- but that affects usefulness more than looks and at least allows for a thin bezel.
Despite looking reasonably restrained for gamer gear, the Aorus is still bulky enough to draw attention. When compared to other high-end gaming laptops, its 15.9 x 10.8 x 1 inch dimensions were only matched by the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17’s 15.7 x 11.53 x 1.02 inch dimensions. The Razer Blade Pro 17, meanwhile, is far more compact at 15.5 x 10.24 x 0.78 inches, while the similarly RTX-equipped, 15-inch Alienware m15 R4 is also smaller at 14.2 x 10.9 x 0.7 ~ 0.8 (depending on model) inches.
Despite its girth, though, the Aorus is slightly lighter than its competition at 5.95 pounds. While by no means lightweight, only the Alienware’s 5.25-pound weigh-in beat it. The Scar 17 and the Blade Pro 17, meanwhile, came in at 6.28 and 6.06 pounds, respectively.
The Aorus’ size also means it has plenty of room for ports. On its left side, you’ll find two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A ports, an SD card reader, an RJ-45 ethernet port and 2 separate 3.5mm audio jacks, one for headphones and one for microphones. That last feature in particular is a nice upgrade from, well, pretty much every other laptop I’ve reviewed. The laptop’s right side, meanwhile, has an additional USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A port, a single Thunderbolt 3 connection, plus connections for both Mini DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.1. You’ll also find the DC In here, but there’s no lock slot anywhere on the Aorus.
Gaming Performance of Gigabyte Aorus 17G
What makes the Aorus 17G’s 2021 refresh special is that it’s the first laptop we’re looking at with a mobile RTX 3080 inside. Nvidia Control Center suggested the the laptop is utilizing Max-Q technologies. The Aorus 17G is also packing an Intel Core i7-10870H CPU and 32GB of RAM. So, how does the Aorus compare to both the m15 R4, which has the same CPU and 16GB of RAM, as well as powerful Turing laptops like the Scar 17 (i9-10980H, 2080 Super, 32GB RAM) and the Razer Blade Pro 17 (i7-10875H, 2080 Super Max-Q, 16GB RAM)?
In general? It sat towards the top of our results but didn’t make the RTX 2080 feel obsolete.
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In Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, the Aorus 17G hit an average 65 fps at 1080p on its highest settings, which was slightly behind the m15 R4’s 67 fps average but slightly above the 63 fps average of both the Scar 17 and the Blade Pro 17.
In Shadow of the Tomb Raider, both the Aorus 17G and the Scar 17 had average frame rates of 86 fps, while the m15 R4 was significantly lower at 77 fps and the Blade Pro 17 hit the bottom of the ranking at 75 fps.
Far Cry: New Dawn was fairly close across all contenders save the Blade Pro 17, with the Aorus 17G scoring 92 fps, the Scar 17, hitting 95 fps and the m15 R4 lagging imperceptibly behind at 91 fps. The slowest contender here was the Blade Pro 17, with 87 fps.
I also personally played Control for about a half hour on the Aorus using DirectX12 and High settings. With ray tracing off, I tended to fall between 79 – 84 fps, and with ray tracing on its high preset lowered that to 46 – 55 fps. The computer never felt hot to the touch during this time, nor did the fans get loud. The frame rate was also stable regardless of the amount of action on screen, though I did notice that it tended to load in at 94 – 105 fps before dropping a few minutes into play, I assume as more assets get loaded.
We also ran the Aorus through our typical Metro: Exodus stress test, where we ran the game’s 1080p RTX benchmark on a loop 15 times in a row. This is to simulate a half hour of intense gaming. The laptop scored an average frame rate of 59.6 fps, with a CPU clock speed of 3.47 GHz and a GPU clock speed of 1.19 GHz. The average CPU temperature during this time was 77.32 degrees Celsius (171.18 degrees Fahrenheit) while the average GPU temperature was 75.62 degrees Celsius (168.12 degrees Fahrenheit).
Productivity Performance of Gigabyte Aorus 17G
We’ve seen how the Aorus 17G handles games, but what about the productivity software that gaming laptops so frequently moonlight in? The Intel Core i7-10870H and 32GB of RAM provide a solid amount of power.
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In Geekbench 5.0, which is a synthetic general productivity benchmark, the Aorus 17G scored 7895 points on multi-core tests and 1,265 on single-core tests. That puts it above both the Razer Blade Pro 17’s 5776/1,179 points and the Alienware m15 R4’s 7642/1,252 points, but behind the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17’s 8708/1,290 points.
In Handbrake, where we track how long it takes laptops to transcode a 4K video down to FHD, the Aorus 17G jumped down to third place, with a time of 8:33. That’s slower than the Scar 17’s 7:06 and the m15 R4’s near-identical 7:07, but still beats the Blade Pro 17’s 9:31.
The Aorus 17G was also in third place in our file transfer test, where we test the rate at which laptops can move 4.97GB of files. The Aorus did so at 845.02 MBps, which was about on par with the Blade Pro 17’s 844 MBps. That’s a far cry from the 1570.76 MBps score from the Scar 17 or even the m15 R4’s 1,055 MBps.
Display of Aorus 17G
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Aside from its GPU, another key innovation for the Aorus 17G is its 300 Hz
IPS
-level display. I tested this screen in two separate ways. First, I watched a trailer for Wandavision (one with color and widescreen, don’t worry), and second, I played Overwatch on it.
In Wandavision, I was impressed by the color quality and even the depth of blacks, but found viewing angles and reflectivity to be a big problem. While vertical viewing angles were almost complete, the screen’s image washed out whenever I strayed more than 45 degrees away from it horizontally. More problematic than this, though, was glare. I had to be certain my screen was pointing away from light, or else my image would reflect back at me even within perfect viewing angles.
In Overwatch, I was in love. While I’m doubtful that refresh rates over 144 Hz can really make one better in a game if they haven’t trained for professional esports, high refresh rates just feel responsive and pleasing to my eyes. I love being able to see as many frames of Overwatch’s gloriously detailed animation as possible, and to feel like my screen is almost instantly reacting to me. That said, I’m not sure I noticed too much of a difference between this display and the 240 Hz display I saw on the last Aorus I reviewed. How well you can distinguish between frame rates, however, tends to be highly personal.
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Looking at our benchmarking results, I was surprised to see that the Aorus 17G actually covers less of the DCI-P3 color spectrum than competitors. It tops out at 79% versus the Scar 17’s 88.5% score, the Razer Blade Pro 17’s 84.1% score and the Alienware m15 R4’s whopping 149.5% score (thanks to a slower OLED screen). This is something I didn’t notice much in practice, though while my colors didn’t come across as flat, neither were they especially vivid.
The same pattern applied to brightness. The Aorus 17G had 300 nits of average brightness, while the Scar 17 had 336 nits, the Blade Pro had 304 nits and the m15 R4 had 362 nits. 300 nits of brightness was plenty for my purposes, and was a welcome increase over the unfortunately-dim 243 nits I saw on my last Aorus laptop.
Keyboard and Touchpad of Aorus 17G
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While not new to the Aorus line, another key way this laptop differentiates itself from the competition is the inclusion of a full physical mechanical keyboard. It’s got a number pad and full-size keys, plus an easy to read Arial font and media controls baked into its Fn row. Full per-key RGB and clicky low profile Omron switches with 2.5mm of key travel and a 1.6mm actuation point make the gaming implications obvious, so I tested this in both general typing and Overwatch.
In general typing, I scored an average word-per-minute count of 65 – 70 on 10fastfingers.com. That’s lower than my usual score range between 75 – 80 wpm, which isn’t what I’d expect from a mechanical keyboard. However, I found that because these keys sit higher than the typical laptop keyboard (despite resting inside a divot into the case), my wrists had to come at them from an awkward angle where I had to manually raise them above where the wrist rest encouraged me to place them. Additionally, the perfectly smooth keycaps leave my fingers without any identifying features to use as landmarks when typing by touch alone.
In Overwatch, by contrast, I found button presses were satisfying and easy to register through touch and audio alone. This made actions like triggering my shift ability feel like second nature, and more importantly, made spamming A/D to stay evasive and help with aiming both easy to perform and easy on my fingers.
The 4.1 x 2.8 precision touchpad, meanwhile, is comfortably smooth without losing the friction needed for precise input and handles multitouch well. It does have a fingerprint reader in the top-left corner, though, rendering it unusable for input.
Audio on the Gigabyte Aorus 17G
The Aorus 17G has two bottom-firing speakers, one on either side, that tend to produce accurate sound but have an issue with volume.
I tested these speakers by listening to Driver’s License by Olivia Rodrigo. The most noticeable issue I had was that the song didn’t become audible until I hit about 30% volume and didn’t get comfortable until about 55 – 60% volume. On max volume, that song was able to fill my whole office, but didn’t hit much of the rest of my 2-bedroom apartment.
Sound quality was full-bodied during the test, with clear voices and bass and no sign of tinniness. However, throughout my whole test, the song also sounded somewhat muffled, as if the laptop was struggling to push it out.
Upgradeability of Gigabyte Aorus 17G
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Being a 17 inch laptop, the 17G has plenty of room for extra storage and memory. It’s a bit of a hassle to open — you’ll need a Torx screwdriver (we used a TR 6 bit) — and a spudger, but upgrading is easy once the case is off. Inside, you’ll have easy access to the two RAM slots and two M.2 SSD slots, plus the networking card. Our configuration came with both RAM slots filled with unsoldered memory, plus one of the SSD slots already taken, but there’s nothing to stop you from substituting your own parts.
Battery Life on Gigabyte Aorus 17G
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The Aorus 17G has the type of battery life you’d expect from a high-powered gaming laptop, which is to say “not much.” It clocked in at 4:42 during our battery life test, which continuously streams video, browses the web and runs OpenGL over Wi-Fi tests at 150 nits of brightness. That’s about on par with the Razer Blade Pro 17’s 4:41 hours of battery life and longer than the Alienware m15 R4’s 4:01 battery life, but still falls short of the ROG Strix Scar 17’s 5:25 battery life.
Heat on the Gigabyte Aorus 17G
We tested the Aorus 17G’s heat after 15 minutes of streaming video on YouTube, and found that it stays cool during non-gaming use. Its touchpad was the coolest touchpoint on the laptop at 71.4 degrees Fahrenheit (21.89 degrees Celsius), while the center of the keyboard (between the G&H keys) was slightly hotter at 75.2 degrees Fahrenheit (24 degrees Celsius). The bottom of the laptop generally hit 81.9 degrees Fahrenheit (27.72 degrees Celsius), but the center of the bottom, which is just below the vents, did hit 85.5 degrees Fahrenheit (29.72 degrees Celsius).
Webcam on the Gigabyte Aorus 17G
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The Aorus 17G suffers from what we like to call a “nosecam.” Placed below the screen rather than above it, this webcam has the unfortunate tendency to look directly up your nose. The idea here is usually to save bezel space, but we have to wonder if the unflattering angle is worth it? You can rectify it a little by stretching in uncomfortable ways, but if you’re looking directly at your screen, be prepared to show off your nostrils, your chin, pretty much everything a good selfie avoids.
Quality is mixed, with accurate color and decent shadows, but fuzzy texture. On the plus side, the Aorus 17G’s webcam does come with a sliding privacy cover.
Software and Warranty on the Gigabyte Aorus 17G
The Aorus 17G comes gracefully free of bloat, with the only examples we could find being standard Windows pre-installs like Microsoft Solitaire Collection and Spotify. In addition to these, you’ll also find utility apps like Nahimic Companion, Intel Graphics Command Center and Thunderbolt Control Center. These let you adjust and customize your audio and display as well as check what’s attached to your Thunderbolt ports.
Gigabyte Aorus 17G Configurations
The Aorus 17G has two different configurations, one with an RTX 3080, dubbed the Aorus 17G YC and one with an RTX 3070, listed as Aorus 17G XC. We reviewed the 3080 configuration, which is $2,699. Both configurations are otherwise identical, each packing an Intel Core i7-10870H, up to 64GB of DDR4-2933MHz RAM (our unit had 32GB) and 1TB of SSD storage. They also both have the same 17.3 inch 300HZ IPS-level display.
The version we reviewed costs $2,699, while the 3070 version costs $2,099.
Bottom Line
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I’m of two minds on the 2021 refresh of the Aorus 17G. While I was hoping for a laptop equipped with a mobile RTX 3080 to far outperform its 2080 and 2080 Super cousins, what I instead got was a machine that was largely on par with them in performance. However, the Aorus 17G is also about $1000 cheaper than its competitors, even with the same CPU and memory/SSD loadouts.
That means you can now regularly hit frame rates anywhere from 60 – 90 fps on ultra settings in graphically intensive games for less than $3000 on a laptop.
Which brings us to the display. This is the first Aorus with a 300Hz option, and it’s just as responsive and satisfying as you’d think. The tradeoff here is that the screen is limited to FHD, and while it is IPS-level, its color and brightness don’t quite hit the peaks of its competitors. The 2021 refresh of the Aorus 17G also sees the return of its physical mechanical keyboard, though its featureless keycaps and awkward height leave it a little more useful for gaming than typing.
While I’d love to see an Ampere laptop pushing out significantly more frames than the competition, I have to compare it to what we have benchmarks for right now. And doing that, it’s still plenty enticing. The Aorus 17G gives you similar power to what you may find in a Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 G732 or Razer Blade Pro 17 for almost $1,000 less, plus a 300 Hz screen and a physical mechanical keyboard.
That said, we have recently reviewed another Ampere laptop, the Alienware m15 R4, which comes with a mobile RTX 3070 as opposed to a 3080. The upside here is that the Alienware lets you choose between a 300Hz screen or a 4K OLED, which drops the refresh rate to 60Hz but far eclipses the Aorus on color and brightness. You’ll also gain some performance on Handbrake and file transfer speed, but will generally be weaker on gaming. At $2,499 against the Aorus’ $2,699 (or $2,099 if you go for the RTX 3070 configuration), it’s up to you if those seem like worthwhile tradeoffs.
The Asus TUF Dash F15 is an attractively thin gaming clamshell with an eSports-ready screen. But you can squeeze more frames out of other RTX 30-series laptops.
For
Decent battery life
Fast screen
Successful software-based noise cancelling
Easy upgrades
Against
Frame rates could be better
No webcam
Flat keyboard
Gaming laptops are trying to slim down. This growing trend finds vendors promising power comparable to the best gaming laptops, which often require bulky chassis and cooling to support high-end components, in a PC that’s closer in size to a mainstream notebook.
The Asus TUF Dash F15 ($1,100 to start, available as tested on March 8 for $1,450) is a next-gen example. It offers the latest in Nvidia RTX 30-series mobile graphics and is one of the first machines to use an Intel H35-series chip. The Dash F15 is 20% thinner and 10% lighter than Asus’ usual TUF gaming laptop.
But while the Dash F15 can handle high-end titles, its gaming performance overall feels more like a last-gen Super card than the latest and greatest.
Asus TUF Dash F15 Specs
CPU
Intel Core i7-11370H
Graphics
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 (8GB GDDR6)
Memory
16GB DDR4-3200
Storage
1TB M.2 2230 NVMe PCIe
Display
15.6-inch IPS panel, 1920 x 1080 resolution @, 240 Hz
Networking
Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), RJ45 Ethernet, Bluetooth 5.2
Ports
Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C), 3x USB 3.2 Gen1 (Type-A), HDMI 2.0, 3.5mm audio jack
Camera
None
Battery
76 WHr
Power Adapter
200W
Operating System
Windows 10 Pro
Dimensions (WxDxH)
14.17 x 9.92 x 0.78 inches (360 x 252 x 19.9mm)
Weight
4.41 pounds (2kg)
Price (as configured)
$1,450
Design on the Asus TUF Dash F15
Available in moonlight white or a more subtle eclipse gray, the Dash F15 can be striking or muted. Its trim build won’t grab attention on its own, but if you opt for the bolder white or decide to activate the keyboard’s “bolt blue”-colored backlight, you may make a head or two turn.
It’s not the striking visage that many gaming laptops proudly carry but with the large TUF block typography that may or may not have been inspired by Alienware (Asus hasn’t stated) on the lid accompanying the TUF logo, there’s enough to keep this more mature laptop from being a complete snooze. But if you’re looking for more fun, the aqua backlight sure looks special coming out of white keycaps compared to our review unit’s more traditional black ones.
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The Dash F15 isn’t the only trim gaming laptop on the block. At 4.41 pounds and 14.17 x 9.92 x 0.78 inches, it’s a little lighter and wider than the Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model (4.7 pounds, 14 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches). The Acer Predator Triton 300 is also of a similar build (4.4 pounds, 14.3 x 10 x 0.7 inches), but the Alienware m15 R4, which also holds an RTX 3070 graphics card, is heavier than the Dash F15 (5.25 pounds).
When you open the Dash F15, you’re greeted by a more gamer-friendly font and a darker deck. The deck loves to attract fingerprints and is side-flanked with diagonal line carvings that complement the vents north of the keyboard. Liberties were also taken with the shape of the power button. White WASD keys also add to the gamer aesthetic but can look kind of cheap, as you can see the keys’ cross-armed-like white retainers, especially if you turn the blue backlight on.
You get some offset media controls, including a mute button, which is particularly handy as we do more conference calls from home offices. Less welcome is the button for launching Asus’ Armoury Crate software. I’d much rather have the volume mute button here, alongside the other volume buttons (it’s on the FN row instead). There are also no play or pause functions on the keyboard.
Thankfully, the Dash F15 doesn’t sacrifice ports in its quest for sleek. The left side hosts the port for charging the laptop, along with an Ethernet jack, HDMI 2.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A) and even Thunderbolt 4 (USB Type-C). The right side carries two more USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports. All the ports are closer to the laptop’s lip, and the charger is shaped like a right angle, so it can be easy for attached cables to get in the way of one another or you.
The Dash F15 isn’t the only trim gaming laptop on the block. At 4.41 pounds and 14.17 x 9.92 x 0.78 inches, it’s a little lighter and wider than the Razer Blade 15 Advanced Model (4.7 pounds, 14 x 9.3 x 0.7 inches). The Acer Predator Triton 300 is also of a similar build (4.4 pounds, 14.3 x 10 x 0.7 inches), but the Alienware m15 R4, which also holds an RTX 3070 graphics card, is heavier than the Dash F15 (5.25 pounds).
Accompanying the travel-friendly form and backing the TUF moniker is military-grade MIL-STD-810H certification for durability. The machine was tested for drops, extreme temperatures, humidity and vibration. Its plastic deck feels a little more solid than the average laptop, especially a budget one, but there’s a little bit of give when pressing the function row buttons. The lid is thin and also has a small amount of flex. The laptop doesn’t open all the way flat, which was a rare nuisance.
Gaming and Graphics on the Asus TUF Dash F15
The Dash F15 we reviewed uses an RTX 3070 (we confirmed that it’s a Max-Q design; however, Asus isn’t using the Max-Q label anymore) mobile graphics card, a member of Nvidia’s newest lineup. With Nvidia’s Dynamic Boost 2.0 AI feature, Asus says the card can clock to over 1,390 MHz (Nvidia specs the card to run from 1,290-1,620 MHz with boost). This is combined with Intel’s latest H35 series processor, a 35W, 4-core/8-thread part based on 11th Gen “Tiger Lake,” rather than the 45W parts we often see in gaming notebooks.
The machine handled Control well on high settings with ray tracing off. The game typically showed frame frame rates in the high 60s to low 70s, going as low as 57 frames per second (fps) and as high as 75 fps. With ray tracing set to high, the average frame rate dropped to the mid to upper 40s. However, it was sometimes down to 33 fps and managed as much as 53 fps.
There’s an obvious hit to frame rate, but ray tracing does provide a noticeable change in graphics in Control, since it uses ray tracing in five ways (on reflections, transparent reflections, diffuse lighting, contact shadows and debris). With ray tracing on, an office wall inside the Oldest House looked very high-end, with a shiny mirrored finish. I could see Jesse’s reflection, as well as that of the light fixture behind her. The wall’s gold paneling reflected a large staircase. But with ray tracing off, I could no longer see the light fixture or my reflection. The wall looked less like a pricey, executive border and instead had a large rectangular area that just looked whiter. The paneling was so washed out it barely looked gold and also lacked reflections.
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The Dash F15 and Alienware both rock the midrange card in Nvidia’s latest mobile GPU lineup; however, the pricier Alienware was able to push out much more impressive frame rates with its RTX 3070 in the Shadow of the Tomb Raider benchmark (1920 x 1080 resolution, highest settings). Even the Razer and Acer laptops, which use a last-gen RTX 2080 Super Max-Q and RTX 2070 Super Max-Q, respectively, did better than the Asus, though those are also paired with 10th Gen 45W Intel CPUs.
Our review focus ran the Grand Theft Auto V benchmark (very high) at an average of 87 fps, tying with the Razer and beating the acer (77 fps). But at 108 fps, the Alienware is starkly on top.
The Dash F15 fell to last place when it came to Far Cry New Dawn (ultra), with a 74 fps average. That’s 17 fps slower than the fastest machine in this benchmark, the Alienware. The two last-gen graphics systems were in the mid-80s.
In Red Dead Redemption 2 (medium), the TUF Dash F15 landed a solid second place finish with a 61 fps average. The Alienware beat it by just 8 fps.
The Dash F15 continued to outshine the Razer and Acer laptops on the Borderlands 3 benchmark (badass). The Razer was just 2 fps behind though, and the Alienware, again, took the crown, this time by a notable 16 fps.
To measure ray tracing prowess, we also ran the 3DMark Port Royal benchmark. The Alienware got the highest score (6,411), followed by the Razer (5,048). As a next-gen RTX card, it’s a little disappointing for the Asus to rank third (4,982), albeit a close third. The Acer took last place (3,989).
As a stress test, we ran the Metro Exodus1080p RTX benchmark on a loop 15 times, simulating 30 minutes of gameplay. During this time, the game’s frame rate was very consistent and averaged 51 fps. The RTX 3070 ran at an average clock speed of 1,238.64 MHz and average temperature of 70.8 degrees Celsius (159.44 degrees Fahrenheit). Meanwhile, the CPU averaged 3.66 GHz and 72.19 degrees Celsius (161.94 degrees Fahrenheit).
Productivity Performance on the Asus TUF Dash F15
The Dash F15 stands out as one of the first machines to arrive with an Intel H35-series CPU. Announced in January, these chips were designed specifically for ultraportable laptops and can operate at a TDP between 28W and 35W. Our Dash F15 configuration opts for an Intel Core i7-11370H. It runs at up to 35W, has four CPU cores, eight threads and a clock speed of up to 5.0 GHz. Our review laptop combines that with a 1TB M.2 2230 NVMe PCIe SSD and 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM.
That proved ample for 21 Google Chrome tabs, with one streaming a TV show, Spotify and the Epic Games launcher. The 21st tab caused the fans to kick up for a second, but not so powerfully that the sound overpowered the audio. I could quickly toggle through tabs and programs without delay or interruption to my show. Even tracking through the show was easy, with just a 1-3 second delay.
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In Geekbench 5.0, the Dash F15 bested the Alienware (same specs as our review focus but with an octa-core i7-10870H), Acer (six-core i7-10750H / 16GB DDR4-2933 / 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD) and Razer (eight-core i7-10875H / 16GB DDR4-2933 / 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD) by a few hundred points. When it came to multi-core productivity, the Dash F15 naturally couldn’t compete with its beefier rivals here. All the competing machines’ CPUs have higher core counts than that of the Dash F15. They also all use older 10th Gen chips, but they’re configured at a higher 45W TDP. If you’re running heavily threaded tasks or games, you can get better performance out of the competitors here.
The Dash F15 fared better against the competition in our file transfer test, moving 25GB of files at a speed of 1,052.03 Mbps. Only the Alienware (1,147 Mbps) was faster. The Razer meanwhile, was at a crawl compared to the other machines here.
In our Handbrake test, each system is tasked with transcoding a video from 4K resolution down to 1080p. The TUF Dash F15 accomplished this in 10 minutes and 41 seconds. That’s 3:34 slower than the winner here, which is, again, the Alienware. The Triton 300 came in third place, completing the task 1:30 faster than the Dash F15.
Display on the Asus TUF Dash F15
Asus opted for a 15.6-inch IPS panel for the Dash F15 and even went the extra mile to include Nvidia G-Sync, a high 240 Hz refresh rate and 3ms response time.
A speedy screen like that has obvious benefits to gaming, especially if you’re playing an eSports title, where it’s easier for your graphics card to near 240 fps. Keep in mind that more graphics-intensive games will be harder to hit high frame rates on.
IPS is known for good color reproduction, and the shades, including the hints of brown cabinets in the darkest shadows or the pale robin’s egg blue of cabinets, came through. Smoky effects with rainbow prisms looked smooth and realistic with hints of purple, blue and red striking through. The area I was playing in is quite dark, however, and in my sunny room I did find myself wanting to nudge up the brightness a smidge.
Mission: Impossible – Fallout didn’t lose its luster on the Dash F15. Subtle shades, like pink in a light purple sky, were apparent, and reds were especially strong. The movie was bright enough head on, but from a side view, I could see reflections on about 80% of the screen.
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The TUF Dash F15 is a bit shy of our 300-nit preferred minimum. At 265 nits, it’s in last place here, although the Triton 300 isn’t too far ahead (286 nits). Not surprisingly, the Alienware’s OLED ran away with both the brightness and color tests. The TUF Dash F15’s more equal color competitors are the Razer and Acer machines, and the Asus tied with the Razer with 79% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space, while just barely edging out the Acer.
Keyboard and Touchpad on the Asus TUF Dash F15
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The keyboard on the Dash F15 is a mixed bag. There’s backlighting, but it’s only a teal-ish blue. On the plus side, you can toggle it across three brightness settings or turn it off straight from the keyboard. There’s also an Aura button on the keyboard that toggles through effects, which are all basically flashing blue at different speeds.
The keys have a good amount of travel at 1.7mm, but they’re excruciatingly flat. Typing felt swift and snappy, but it was harder to figure out where my fingers were without any grooves to help them feel grounded in between presses. The travel makes most of the keys comfortable to press, but larger keys, like backspace, enter and shift (interestingly, not the spacebar) felt a little loose and hollow.
On the 10fastfingers.com typing test I averaged 112 words per minute (wpm) with a 93.97% accuracy rate. That’s slightly below my typical 115 wpm average and 98% accuracy rate, and I attribute all that to the flat keys.
Making the keyboard even more home office-friendly, Asus built the keyboard to be quiet and claims that the keys exude less than 30dB of noise. They certainly shouldn’t drum up any complaints. Their gentle clicking is neither silent nor annoying or distracting.
The 4.1 x 2.9-inch touchpad on the Dash F15 is on the smoother side, but doesn’t offer the ice rink-like gliding that some premium competitors offer. Clicks are heavy and clunky, but Windows gestures worked well though.
Audio on the Asus TUF Dash F15
The Dash F15 has two speakers that pump out virtual 7.1 surround sound audio via four cutouts on the laptop’s underside. They’re clear and accurate for gaming, but I wished for a little more volume.
When I played Control, it was sometimes hard to hear voices, such as those chanting in the background or my character’s voice. I also wanted to pump up the volume to better focus on key dialogue providing instructions. Footsteps were also hard to hear, sometimes, especially if the laptop’s fans were whizzing, and the experience wasn’t comparable to the virtual surround sound experience you can get with some of the best gaming headsets. Gunshots, however, sounded crisp and with solid pop.
Again, when I listened to music I want to turn it up about 15% louder for stronger effect. It was loud enough to enjoy but not to blast. Chaka Khan’s “Through the Fire” came through accurately and without sounding tinny. But some of the strength and echo in her voice, along with the instruments, didn’t come through, and there was little bass. More electronic sounds, such as those in ABBA’s “Dancing Queen” suffered more. The song’s sound lost warmth and sounded tinny at times. Playing around with the equalizer and presets in the included Realtek Audio Console software didn’t yield significant improvements.
Upgradeability of the Asus TUF Dash F15
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Dash F15’s back covers prys off easily after unscrewing 14 Phillips head screws. Once inside, there’s space for a second PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD. You can also add up to 32GB of RAM, but you’ll have to get past some thermal tape to get to the SO-DIMM slots, as is the case with the Wi-Fi card.
Battery Life on the Asus TUF Dash F15
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Despite its trim build, the Dash F15 packs decent battery life for a gaming laptop. Our battery test surfs the web, runs OpenGL tests and streams video while connected to Wi-Fi and set to 150 nits brightness. The TUF Dash 15 kept up the workload for 6 minutes and 32 seconds, which is 41 minutes longer than the closest competitor, the Triton 300. The Alienware has been a favorite among our benchmarks, but all that power cost it battery life, and it placed last.
The Dash F15 comes with an AC charger, but you can also charge it at up to 100W via USB-C. Sadly, our review unit wasn’t bundled with a USB-C laptop charger. Still, it’s a nice feature to have. If you’re ever in a pickle, it keeps getting more likely that you or someone around you has something that uses a USB-C charger.
Heat on the Asus TUF Dash F15
As you might expect with a slender laptop, this isn’t the coolest machine around, but the Dash F15 still manages to keep warm temperatures relatively at bay. Although, it gets harder not to sweat when you get gaming. When I fired up Control, my right hand controlling my mouse immediately felt warm air blowing out of the side of the laptop, which remained as long as I was playing.
After 15 minutes of watching YouTube, the Dash F15’s hottest point was the center of the underside, where it measured 93 degrees Fahrenheit (33.9 degrees Celsius). The spot between the G and H keys was 90.5 degrees Fahrenheit (32.5 degrees Celsius), while the touchpad was 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25.6 degrees Celsius).
After 15 minutes of gaming, the touchpad was still a cool 78 degrees Fahrenheit, but the spot between the G and H keys jumped up to 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit (38.6 degrees Celsius), and the hottest point reached 117.5 degrees Fahrenheit (47.5 degrees Celsius. For comparison, the Alienware hit 108.7 degrees after YouTubing and 111.4 degrees when gaming.
To keep a 0.78-inch machine cool, Asus implemented its ROG Intelligent Cooling hardware-software solution. The Dash F15 uses 5 copper heat pipes (covering the CPU, GPU, VRAM and VRM) and two 83-blade, liquid crystal polymer fans to pull heat away from the CPU, GPU, VRAM and VRM and disperse it through the machine’s four heatsinks and fan outlets. There’s venting by the WASD keys to let the fan beneath generate airflow. Additionally, Asus upgraded the self-cleaning capabilities over last year’s TUF lineup with 5% more airflow space.
On the software side of the cooling solution, the TUF Dash F15 uses Nvidia’s Dynamic Boost 2.0, which switches power to the CPU or GPU, depending on what needs the most push. There’s also Armoury Crate, which, once downloaded, lets you choose among performance modes, including a “Silent” one that promises a max sound level of 35dB.
Webcam on the Asus TUF Dash F15
There’s no webcam integrated in the slim bezel on the Dash F15’s display. There’s no making up for that, especially with more people taking so many video calls these days, but Asus tries by offering software-based artificial intelligence (AI) to block out background noise on both ends of a call.
That’s right, Asus claims its tech can remove the sound of your noisy keyboard while also silencing your friend’s dog annoyingly barking in the background. Once you activate AI noise cancelling in the Armoury Crate software and switch to the appropriate speaker and mic in your chatting platform, it provides a helpful service.
In a video call with a friend, I was able to silence his TV and banging in the background. And on my end, he could “barely” hear me tapping my pen right next to my laptop on my desk.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Asus claims its software can reduce noise by 95% and eradicate 500 million “types of background noise.” The technology purposely uses the laptop’s CPU instead of its graphics card, so as to not interfere with gaming performance. You can also tweak its settings in Armoury Crate, and Asus provides recommended settings based on the scenario.
Software and Warranty on the Asus TUF Dash F15
Asus kept the Dash F15’s bloatware light. Our review unit came with RealTek Audio Console, McAfee Personal Security, Skype, Your Phone, Xbox Game Bar and Xbox Console Companion, courtesy of Windows 10, but not much else — not even your usual smatterings of Candy Crush Sagas.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Asus does include Armoury Crate, but it’s worth keeping for the AI noise cancelling and, partially, because two of the keyboard’s buttons are useless without it. If you do download the app, you’ll also get access to other perks, the most helpful being the ability to select and tweak different cooling profiles and display presets.
Asus backs the TUF Dash F15 with a 1-year warranty.
Asus TUF Dash F15 Configurations
We tested the middle configuration of the Dash F15 (SKU FX516PR-211.TM15). Available on March 8 for $1,450, it includes an Intel Core i7-11370H CPU, RTX 3070 graphics card, 16GB of DDR4 RAM, a 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD and a 240 Hz display.
The cheapest configuration (SKU FX516PM-211.TF15) will be available on February 15 for $1,100. It comes with the same CPU and RAM as our review focus but drops down to an RTX 3060 GPU, a less roomy 512GB SSD and a slower 144 Hz refresh rate.
The most expensive version of the Dash F15 is $1,700 and matches our review configuration, except it bumps up to an Intel Core i7-11375H and RTX 3070.
Bottom Line
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The Asus TUF Dash F15 continues the trend of slim gaming laptops and does it justice, but there are inherent limitations to a gaming laptop focused on staying thin.
For one, frame rates might not match what you expect from Nvidia’s next-gen RTX 30-series on thicker machines. The Dash F15 fell behind the Alienware m15 R4 using the same GPU in our gaming benchmarks, and overall, its gaming performance was more similar to an RTX 20-Series Super card. .
At $1,450, our configuration of the Dash F15 seems fairly priced . It performed similarly to the Acer Predator Triton 300, which was $1,600 when it came out with a six-core Intel Core i7-10750H and RTX 2080 Super Max-Q. The aforementioned Alienware, meanwhile, is $2,499 as tested. So the Dash F15 offers good gaming performance for the price; it’s just not much of an upgrade over last-gen machines.
In terms of the new Intel H35-series chip, the Dash F15 excelled with lightly threaded workloads, even compared to pricey rivals. But for workloads requiring more cores, the Dash F15’s 11th Gen quad-core chip can’t keep up with beefier 10th Gen CPUs.
The performance conundrum of a slim gaming laptop is something Asus hasn’t fully solved with the Dash F15. But if you’re after a lightweight laptop with the premium screen and components that can handle high-end gaming with good frame rates for the price, the Dash F15 may be for you.
With over 300 million active users worldwide (almost half of which are paying subscribers), Spotify is the world’s largest and most popular music streaming service. But thanks to Spotify Connect – arguably the streaming world’s most important feature – you’re no longer restricted to listening to the catalogue solely through your phone or desktop.
The feature allows you to play the catalogue over wi-fi to any compatible audio product (more on that later) you have in your home – and with just two presses of a button! It’s so simple and convenient that streaming service rival Tidal has now launched its own Tidal Connect feature.
Spotify Connect is a godsend for house parties – so long as you trust your friends with the controls! – but it’s really for anyone who wants to easily access Spotify’s 60-million-song-catalogue and curated playlists on hi-fi and AV kit and smart speakers without the hassle of Bluetooth pairing.
So how does it work? How do you set it up? And what are the perks of Spotify Connect?
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What is Spotify Connect?
As we touched upon above, Spotify Connect is a way of playing Spotify through your wireless speaker, soundbar, AV receiver, voice-control smart speaker, or any other compatible device, over wi-fi. That means you can play your favourite tunes anywhere in the house, all without the need for any convoluted Bluetooth pairing between devices every time you want to listen to music. Just note that it’s a Spotify Premium feature, so you won’t be able to benefit from it if you’re a user of Spotify’s free, ad-supported tier.
Best of all, Spotify Connect doesn’t use your smartphone (or tablet or desktop) app to stream music. It plays music directly from its servers to the device, leaving your smartphone free for making calls and all other uses. You only have to use your phone to identify the speaker in the first place and then control music playback.
To ensure the best quality possible, Spotify Connect always streams in 320kbps, which is the highest bitrate Spotify currently offers.
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How does Spotify Connect work? What products support it?
Just like Apple AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect works over wi-fi. It seeks out compatible devices that are connected to the same wi-fi network and links them together to wirelessly to stream music.
To use Spotify Connect, you’ll first need a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer with the Spotify app downloaded on to it. To use Spotify Connect with most devices you’ll also need a Spotify Premium subscription, although some (the PlayStation 4, for example) are happy to work with Spotify Free. Other perks of paying for the Spotify Premium subscription (£9.99, $9.99, AU$11.95 a month) include no ads and being able to pick songs on the mobile app rather than just shuffle.
And then you just need the right product. Chances are you might already have a speaker or amp that supports Spotify Connect: there are heaps of Spotify Connect-enabled products, including smart speakers, music streamers and other hi-fi streaming components, wireless speakers, smart TVs, wearables and car audio systems. You can find the full list of compatible kit here.
Spotify Connect really has become a must-have feature in the AV and particularly audio world, and these days you won’t see many streaming-enabled products without it. In fact, it’s become so ubiquitous it’s usually the first feature you’ll see on a streaming-capable product’s feature list.
Spotify Connect works on one device at a time, unless you’re using a multi-room system such as Sonos, where you can select a group (two rooms or more, set up via Sonos’s app) to stream music to.
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How to set up Spotify Connect
Spotify Connect is simple to use. Download the latest version of the Spotify app to your control device – a smartphone, tablet or computer, say – and make sure both it and your chosen product(s) are connected to the same wi-fi network.
On your smartphone, launch Spotify, log into your subscription account, and select a song to start playing. Click the ‘Now Playing’ bar, then the device logo at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. This will show which of your connected products can play from Spotify. Select a device (the text will go from white to green) and music will start playing on that device. Magic!
If you’re using Spotify Connect to listen to a song on another smartphone or tablet, make sure both devices are logged in to the same Spotify account and simply follow the steps above.
On the desktop app, click the ‘Connect to a device’ button in the bottom-right corner. This brings up the devices menu. Select the one you’d like to use, and it’ll do the rest.
Spotify claims using Connect lets you switch between multiple products “without skipping a beat”. In reality, there’s always a tiny bit of delay when you swap products, but it’s much quicker than having to pair to Bluetooth every time.
Once you’re all set, your smartphone or computer becomes the remote control: select a song or playlist, pause, skip or shuffle through Spotify’s vast catalogue.
Another big advantage of using Spotify Connect (especially on a product that supports it natively), is when you fire up the app or switch between products, it will always adjust the volume automatically for the chosen audio product. Pretty neat.
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How do you use your smartphone while using Spotify Connect?
You can use it normally without worrying that whatever you’re doing – sending a text, playing a game, watching a YouTube clip – will interrupt the music.
All songs are streamed directly from Spotify’s cloud servers to your Spotify Connect product; your phone acts purely as a controller.
First of all, this means playing Spotify won’t sap your smartphone’s battery – a fine reason to invest in a Premium account. Since you’re only using your smartphone or tablet to control playback, it goes a long way in prolonging the battery life.
Secondly, it means you can wish your mum happy birthday or make that pizza delivery call without having to pause and interrupt your carefully curated playlist.
You can also switch between devices seamlessly. Were you listening to Spotify through your headphones on your way home? Once you’ve walked through the door, simply select your Spotify Connect-compatible stereo system in the app and the song will carry on playing through your speakers without having to pause or restart it. If it’s non-stop music you want, you’ve got it.
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Does Spotify Connect work with voice control?
If you use a smart speaker, such as the Amazon Echo, Sonos One or Google Nest Audio, you can use voice commands to play music from Spotify on them.
Add your Spotify account to the list of music streaming services (this can be done in the Alexa or Google Home apps) and make sure you select Spotify as your default music player so you don’t have to specify which service to use at every turn. Then simply say “Alexa, play the new Taylor Swift album” or “OK Google, play the John Wick soundtrack” and your smart speaker will comply.
We can’t see the Apple HomePod and HomePod Mini with Siri voice control supporting Spotify Connect anytime soon, although you can play Spotify through those Apple speakers via AirPlay.
But you might not need to rely on other brands and services to get voice controlled Spotify music: there are reports that Spotify is testing its own in-app “Hey Spotify” voice assistant.
We hope that if and when it does happen, Spotify finally unveils that lossless Hi-Fi tier – we’ve had our fingers crossed for over three years now.
MORE:
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YouTube has paid out more than $30 billion to creators, artists, and media organizations over the last three years, according to a new letter published by CEO Susan Wojcicki.
In Wojcicki’s first letter to creators of 2021, the CEO spent some time addressing YouTube’s growth. The number of new channels that joined the company’s Partner Program, which allows creators to earn advertising revenue, more than doubled in 2020. YouTube also “contributed approximately $16 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2019, supporting the equivalent of 345,000 full time jobs,” according to an Oxford Economics report that Wojcicki highlights.
The letter also focuses on the work YouTube’s team still has in front of them. Mainly, transparency, especially where content strikes and advertising dollars are concerned. Wojcicki noted that at the “scale we operate, it’s hard for creators to keep up with changing Community Guidelines.”
Wojcicki’s letter states that YouTube wants to be better about communicating changes to avoid channel strikes. After three strikes within a 90-day period, a channel is terminated.
“In December, I spoke with creator Charlie White from the channel penguinz0 after he tweeted about being given a strike for an older video due to a new policy,” Wojcicki wrote. “We know this situation is similar to frustrations shared by other creators.”
One example that came up after the 2020 presidential election was YouTube’s decision to ban any videos that propelled misinformation about voter fraud. The new policy went into effect in December, but YouTube gave a grace period for creators to ensure none of their videos violated the new policies.
YouTube executives have also faced mounting pressure to do a better job of moderating the site and preventing misinformation from spreading. YouTube is now shifting its focus to vaccination misinformation. “We’re always working to strike the right balance between openness and responsibility as we meet the guidelines set by governments around the world,” Wojcicki wrote.
One other interesting part of Wojcicki’s letter was a focus on regulation. A recent hot topic in tech policy circles is reform of Section 230, which effectively allows social media platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter to operate without being liable for content people post. Wojcicki referred to Section 230 as an act that “enables us to both keep YouTube open and allow a large amount of content on the internet as well as take the actions necessary to protect our platform.” Although Wojcicki didn’t issue a stronger sentiment, she did bring up that the debate over Section 230 happening in Congress has caught the attention of creators like Hila and Ethan Klein.
Wojcicki’s full letter, which includes more details about creator revenue and an update on YouTube Shorts, the company’s answer to TikTok, can be read on Google’s blog.
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