Poker has been a well-recognized game for a lot of people, especially since the online Poker boom. If you are an avid online player, you would nevertheless want to associate with 888Poker.com. Given their recent surge in popularity, the online Poker game has attracted a lot of recreational and amateur players, each of which is seeking 100% entertainment from this online game.

Is 888 Poker trustworthy?

The gaming website is reliable; unlike some of its competitors, 888 Poker has managed to steer clear of any negative publicity, ever since its launch in the virtual world. With this said and done, the company is actively trading on the London Stock Exchange; this means that they are answerable to a board of directors, in the case of any negative events, which might cause the stock prices to fall in the long run.

Apart from being a legitimate company, another fact which makes the website legal is that it pays its players on time. As soon as you ask for your payments to be released, the website will initiate the transfer process, to avoid any problems for the players.

Software quality

If you are looking for a gaming platform which offers stable graphics, with no lag time, then this is your one stop shop for all gaming needs. Along with these features, even software like Holdem Manager is well supported. Some other features include a hand replayer, chat restrictions, an option to choose your favourite seat, as well as an option to top off a stack in pot limit and no limit games being offered.

The gaming platform runs well on Mac and other users. If you are more into mobile gaming, even then you would find this game to be well equipped with the best possible graphics available in the market currently. The 888 poker app runs well on Android as well as on iOS, making it a flexible and customizable game for all types of platforms.

Players’ traffic

As per the website, there is a footfall of 10 million registered players, which gives it the title of being one of the fastest growing online games in the market currently.

Banking options

This is one of the strong areas of 888 Poker; it has made the deposit and withdrawal procedures extremely simple for the users. There are currently 15 different options which cater to withdrawals. However, there are 24 options for depositing money into your gaming account. These include all types of common methods, which include Diners Club credit cards, Giropay and SEB Pank, among many others.

Deposit Bonus

As soon as you make the first deposit, you are entitled to a bonus deposit amount as well. There is a welcome package for new players, who register for the first time on the website. The bonus money is released in $10 increments, which means that you get your bonus over a specified period. However, at the time of receiving the bonus, you might end up losing more than you bargained for, so it’s better to be cautious while playing the different available games on the website.

1More C1002 in-ear headphones review: Design positives negated by high-freq excess

1More is a relatively new headphone brand to the UK. The team sitting at the top used to work for Foxconn, so are well resourced and have a good knowledge of the consumer electronics market. The company has a heavy presence in Taiwan and is now making strides across the pond in the US too.

We’ve been using the 1More C1002 in-ears to see whether this fledgling brand can cut it against a wave of established competition.

1More C1002 review: Design

• Magnetic earpieces for storage
• Four tips included for comfort
• Travel case included

The 1More C1002 in-ears are incredibly light, sporting a slightly more unusual pill-shaped design that sees them sit flush in your ear, rather than protrude like many other pairs.

It’s a smart, clean design, which coupled with lightweight build makes them incredibly comfortable to wear. The earpieces have magnets on either end too, which means they can connect together if you take them out and hang them around your neck.

Pocket-lint

The cable from plug to splitter is fabric, which makes it very hard to tangle. It changes to silicone from the splitter to earpieces, which is good for durability. There’s a three-button in-line control module with a built-in microphone for hands-free calls too. The controls work with both iOS and Android devices. 

The earpieces have a dynamic driver with a triple layer diaphragm inside, which claims to increase response time and definition of the bass and mid-range.

1More C1002 review: Sound quality

• 20 – 40,000Hz response
• Dual drivers

When we first put the C1002s in our ears and played some music, we immediately had to turn the volume down as they were simply too bright. Even after several hours to let them run in, we found ourselves not wanting to hit the top volume level due to the high-end frequencies.

Having said that, the mid-range and low-end frequencies fare much better, making for a better listen at lower volumes. The mid-range is clear and concise and doesn’t find itself jostling for position against the decent bass weight on offer.

Pocket-lint

We would still like a little more grunt from the low-end. We did change the silicone ear tips to a pair that gave a tighter seal in the ear canal, which did make a difference in bass delivery, but we still found ourselves wanting a little more of that (and less top-end).

We also felt the C1002 didn’t pick out all aspects of the tracks we listened to and, if they did, they weren’t always impactful as some competitors. They’re not quite as exciting or engaging as other pairs we’ve listened to.

Verdict

The 1More C1002 in-ears are a well designed pair of headphones, there’s no denying it. They’re incredibly comfortable and the included silicone jackets for the earpieces will also help hold them in place if, for example, you want to go for a run without them popping out of your ears.

However, we feel there are some more accomplished performers out there. The level of brightness is a bit too dramatic for our tastes and that balance leads to a lack of depth compared to some alternatives.

We can see the potential: 1More has got design spot on in the C1002, but we can’t say the same about audio balance unless low-volume listening without big bass is more your thing.

ZTE’s Gigabit Phone wants to help usher the ‘5G era,’ will be unveiled at MWC

Why it matters to you

Phones that are capable of gigabit download speeds? As we approach 5G connectivity, our smartphone experiences can be completely overhauled with devices like the upcoming Gigabit Phone.

ZTE has quite a portfolio of smartphones lined up for Mobile World Congress this year — so much so that the company has announced what may be its next flagship device a little early: the ZTE Gigabit Phone.

The Chinese company says it’s a “forward-looking smartphone” for the 5G era, though the successor to 4G LTE is not expected to come until at least 2020. Naturally, the Gigabit Phone will allow for 1 gigabit per second download speeds, which ZTE believes would advance 360 degree panoramic virtual reality videos, allow for “instant cloud storage,” high-quality music- and movie-streaming, and more.

More: The Quartz will be ZTE’s first Android Wear watch, and it was just leaked online

Unfortunately the company’s announcement today is largely a teaser — we don’t have any other information regarding specifications or even what the Gigabit Phone will look like. You’ll have to wait until the official unveiling in Barcelona at the end of February.

ZTE said at the show it will also highlight how the Axon 7, its current flagship, received the Android 7.0 Nougat update — meaning it is now the third smartphone to be compatible with Google’s Daydream View headset for Daydream, the search giant’s mobile virtual reality platform. The Axon 7 received the Nougat update a few weeks ago.

The Gigabit Phone won’t be the only new smartphone unveiled by ZTE, though, as the company said there will be more additions to its Blade series.

More: ZTE Axon 7 mini review

We will likely learn more about ZTE’s Hawkeye project as well, which looked to crowd-source ideas for a smartphone and fund it via Kickstarter. The project has hit a few roadblocks and may need to be pulled until the company comes back from the drawing board with some tweaks.

There are also rumors that the company is building an Android Wear smartwatch with LTE connectivity — the ZTE Quartz. It’s rumored to arrive later this year, but we could see the announcement at MWC.

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more about the Gigabit Phone and other upcoming announcements from ZTE.

‘Halo Wars 2’ review

Research Center:
Halo Wars 2

When the Halo universe is done right, it can be a really fun place in which to play, whether it’s in the form of a first-person shooter, a novel, a cartoon, or a real-time-strategy (RTS) game like Halo Wars 2. And in Halo Wars 2, Halo is done right — if far from perfectly.

The game itself is structured similarly to a main series Halo game, with about ten hours of story content spread throughout 12 missions and explosive cinematic cutscenes to tell the story in between. Captain Cutter, the Spirit of Fire’s commander, and other characters (including a female AI construct) keep the chatter up throughout missions. A variety of multiplayer options, including campaign co-op and the new Blitz mode, round things out and add replay value.

More: Star Trek fans can board the Enterprise-D in a new ‘Halo 5: Forge’ creation

All in all, Halo Wars 2 feels like a Halo game in many ways — arguably more than some games from the main series, such as Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. However, it is not a Halo game in the way that matters most: It isn’t an accessible shooter, but a much more complex real-time-strategy game. And as a console-first game, it operates within some limitations (like the Xbox One controller) that can make it frustrating for newcomers or strategy veterans alike.

Tales of grandeur

The Halo series’ signature faux-epic sci-fi, with its rampant Biblical metaphors and cheesy hoo-rah attitude, is in full force in Halo Wars 2.

Halo Wars 2 feels like a Halo game – arguably more than some games from the main series.

This sequel picks up the story of the Spirit at Dawn, a UNSC (United Nations Space Command) colony ship whose occupants have been frozen for 28 years. During that time, a lot went down in the Halo-verse, including the events of the original trilogy, up through Halo 3.

The Spirit of Fire’s occupants wake up after 28 years of cryo-sleep to find their colony ship floating above the Ark, a key location from Halo 3. They send some Spartans — not the Master Chief, but some of the series’ other, more rarely seen super-soldiers — down to the surface, where they encounter a powerful Brute leader, Atriox, and a terrified AI construct, Isabel.

They learn that Atriox is the leader of a powerful rebel army — the only such ever to stand up to the alien Covenant from within and succeed. The Covenant and humanity are more or less at peace after the events of Halo 3, so this rebellion retcon gives Halo Wars 2 a good narrative excuse to throw familiar Halo enemies like grunts, brutes and elites at players instead of the newer, far less interesting foes seen in Halo 4 and Halo 5.

That’s the story. Atriox and the human forces battle for control of the Ark, and the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance, as it always does in a Halo game.

Moving parts

Halo Wars 2 is more complex than its predecessor, but still operates within some limitations — on Xbox One, you use a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard, which presents some problems. Elsewhere the game is simply held back by some small, but meaningful design choices.

More: Halo Wars is finally on PC, but you’ll have to shell out $80 for it

Some missions start you off with just a handful of units, tasking you with fending off some enemies or navigating to a specific point before you can start building. But every mission involves constructing at least one base and often several mini-bases, all at pre-set locations, then deciding exactly what to build on the limited plots around that base and managing your resources accordingly.

A typical scenario might go something like this: You spawn with a few units and fight your way to the location of a base. After building the main building you start with a couple of supply pads and a power station to continuously generate resources, then send some units out to collect resources around the map and scout out other potential base locations. Then you build a barracks, garage, and/or air pad, and start cranking out units, hoping you’ve balanced resource generation and unit production craftily enough to build up your power by the time the battle really starts.

While the mechanics of playing the game seem basic, there are systems upon systems that affect what you need to build, and how you need to fight if you want have the advantage. The vast number of different unit types all have their own upgrade paths, such as giving marines grenades and rocket launchers to use. Your headquarters need to be upgraded to make better units, and you can purchase “leader powers” like air support and healing drones.

On top standard stats, there’s a rock-paper-scissors strength/weakness system ruling every battle: Vehicle units are strong against infantry; infantry is strong against air; and air is strong against ground vehicles. However, there are exceptions to that, too, such as the special anti-air warthog jeeps.

Tracking and directing all these moving parts is simply too difficult with the controls and interface on Xbox One. Developer Creative Assembly did a pretty good job, given that RTS games have never matched well with the limited number of buttons on a controller. Despite a valiant effort, you’ll find yourself frustrated at certain limitations when the battle really starts to take off.

For example, Marines can be upgraded to throw grenades. To use them, you have to select your marines and press “Y.” That’s fine when you’re managing a single team with a small number of units, but when your forces are numerous and diverse, just finding your marines can be a pain.

You can pull up a clumsy unit list that spreads across the bottom of the screen, pulling the right trigger continuously until you land on your marine units (and needing to send the cursor all the way back around the list if you go past them). Or you can locate one marine unit on the map and double-tap A to select all units of that type, then direct them to throw their grenades — though if your forces are divided into multiple groups, this will pull marine units from all over the board, which isn’t ideal.

More: 343 Industries details ‘Halo Wars 2’ multiplayer mode to kick off open beta

That’s to say nothing of units with more complicated extra abilities. Kodiak ground tanks can hunker down at your command to fire powerful mortar volleys at distant targets, which sounds great until you direct all your forces to move but forget to tell the kodiaks to switch back to mobile mode, leaving them stranded around the map.

Cycling between different units on the map involves haphazardly jamming on a d-pad button until you get the ones you want, or manually dividing them into separate “armies” using a complex system that involves holding the right trigger and tapping, holding and double-tapping various d-pad directions. There’s not even a global unit list you can pull up to see everything you have on the board, and without the ability to zoom in on it, your mini map is of limited utility.

None of this is to say Halo Wars 2 is by any means unplayable on Xbox One. But it often works in spite of, not thanks to, these control and interface systems.

War never changes

Thankfully, Creative Assembly nixed its plan for crossplay between Xbox One and PC, meaning most anyone you play against online will be under the same limitations as you. And Halo Wars 2 provides a large toolbox to keep the basic mechanics of fighting against other players interesting for a long time.

Halo Wars 2 Compared To

Dead Rising 4

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare

Battlefield 1

Forza Horizon 3

Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Mighty No. 9

Doom (2016)

Mortal Kombat X

Battlefield Hardline

Dying Light

Far Cry 4

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare

Battlefield 4

FIFA 14

You can set up custom matches that include both friends and AI opponents or teammates, taking control of human and alien armies with various leaders that have different powers. The rulesets are flexible too, with game types like domination and deathmatch, all of which have sliders to change match parameters like score, time, and resources. It’s even possible to play matches with unlimited resources to see who can simply go nuts and build the craziest army first.

You’ll find yourself frustrated when the battle takes off.

The most novel (and divisive) of these modes is the card-game/RTS hybrid, “blitz,” where you summon units based on a hand of cards that can be played at any time (granted you have enough energy). You compete with others to capture points around the map. Card packs are, of course, available to purchase for real money, so whether you’ll even try the mode out will depend on your stomach for microtransactions (though the game does seem to provide free card packs at a decent pace, especially your first time through the campaign). Luckily, there are enough more traditional modes that you can ignore this whole in-game economy if it doesn’t suit you.

It may be in playing against friends that you find the most chaotic joy, especially as you pay close attention to one another’s styles across multiple matches. Your opponent is obliterating your ground troops with vehicles? Take a gamble on the next match and funnel all your resources into maintaining a giant air fleet that soars around the map raining death. Maybe they’ll fall for it, or maybe you’ll learn another new tactic from them. But it’s in friendly duels that Halo Wars 2 transcends those rock-paper-scissors and starts to feel a little more like chess.

Our Take

Halo Wars 2 doesn’t always work thanks to limitations of the controls and issues with the interface, but it’s a decent real-time strategy game and great fun for Halo fans.

Is there a better alternative?

There’s no shortage of real-time-strategy games on PC: Even if you’re bored with the obvious (Starcraft II), there are plenty of great ones, including new games like Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak, and older gems like Company of Heroes 2. On Xbox One, Halo Wars 2 is about as good as you’re going to get.

If you’re coming to the game because you’re a die-hard Halo fan, Halo Wars 2 has plenty of lore to get excited about.

How long will it last?

It should take about 12 hours for most players to beat the campaign on normal, but there’s a huge amount of replayability in the forms of harder difficulty levels, challenges and optional objectives, and online campaign co-op. Plus, a range of multiplayer modes and options will keep deliver new challenges until you get tired of the game.

Should you buy it?

If you’re looking for the best real-time strategy game on the market, look elsewhere. But if you want a solid Halo game with some surprisingly complex strategy gameplay, and can look past its flaws. Halo Wars 2 may be worth your time.

Space Poop Challenge: NASA reveals the winner

Why it matters to you

It’s kind of comforting to know that future astronauts heading to the final frontier will be able to do so in constantly clean underpants.

When British astronaut Tim Peake was on board the International Space Station (ISS) recently, he admitted that the question he gets asked most by the public is how astronauts poop in microgravity conditions.

Keen to provide the curious folks back on Earth with all the facts, Peake shot a video inside the space station’s bathroom, showing off various apparatus such as funnels and pipes, while at the same time highlighting the importance of air flow, which ensures waste is taken away rather than left floating in front of your face.

But NASA recently revealed it’s yet to come up with a sound solution for future missions into deep space. For these lengthier journeys, astronauts may sometimes be required to wear spacesuits for long periods of time, for example, in the case of an on-board emergency caused by a sudden loss of vehicle pressure. So when they’re stuck in their suit, they can’t use the regular john like the one on the ISS.

Turning to Earthlings for ideas, the space agency launched the exquisitely titled Space Poop Challenge last October. The contest invited design solutions for spacesuits that astronauts could wear – and poop in – for up to six days.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the contest really caught the imagination of space fans, with around 19,000 people submitting more than 5,000 ideas.

The winning suggestion, announced by contest organizers HeroX on Wednesday, was the work of Thatcher Cardon, who’ll pick up a handy $15,000 for his MACES Perineal Access & Toileting System (M-PATS). Think of all the toilet tissue you could buy with that.

The Texas-based family physician and flight surgeon started with the viewpoint that no one wants to go about their day with a suit full of you-know-what. So he came up with a design that allows the astronaut to safely remove waste out of the spacesuit.

More: What’s for dinner? NASA funds research for turning poop into astronaut meals

It incorporates a small airlock in the spacesuit’s crotch, “with a variety of items — including inflatable bedpans and diapers — that could be passed through the small opening and then expanded” once inside the suit, according to NPR. The system even allows an astronaut to change underwear while still inside the spacesuit – an important option should things get messy.

“I never thought that keeping the waste in the suit would be any good,” Cardon told NPR, adding that his surgical experience helped inspire his design.

“I thought about what I know regarding less invasive surgeries … they can do some amazing things in very small openings. I mean, they can even replace heart valves now through catheters in an artery. So it should be able to handle a little bit of poop!”

It’s not clear if NASA will incorporate the precise design into future spacesuits or simply use elements of it as inspiration for a modified system. Either way, the first astronaut who gets to use it will be able to enjoy a celebratory giant poop for mankind, secure in the knowledge that it can be safely extricated from their spacesuit as they journey ever deeper into the universe.

Huawei P10 leak highlights Leica dual cameras, front home button

Huawei P10 and P10 Plus break cover ahead of their official debut.

Press renders of the Huawei P10 have leaked ahead of its official unveil at Mobile World Congress, courtesy of Evan Blass. The images highlight an interesting design change from the Huawei P9 in the form of a home button at the front, which is likely to feature an embedded fingerprint sensor. Round the back, the phone sports the now-familiar Leica dual-camera setup, with the overall design remaining largely intact.

Huawei P10 in (left to right) blue, gold, and green. pic.twitter.com/Li1jh55Y46

— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 16, 2017

Current leaks suggest the Huawei P10 will feature a 5.2-inch Full HD display, the HiSilicon Kirin 960 (the SoC powering the Mate 9), USB-C, 4GB of RAM as standard along with 32GB and 64GB storage options, and a variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage.

Huawei is also said to be mulling a P10 Plus that will feature a 5.5-inch dual-curved QHD display along with a fingerprint sensor at the back. The phone is expected to feature the same hardware as the standard P10, with the main difference being the curved display and the lack of a home button up front.

Huawei could be developing its own voice assistant for the Chinese market

Huawei is working on a voice assistant for Chinese customers.

Huawei already develops its own application processors through its HiSilicon subsidiary, and it looks like the manufacturer is now working on a voice assistant to further differentiate its products in its home market. According to Bloomberg, work on developing a voice-based assistant that will rival Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant is underway:

A team of more than a hundred engineers is in the early stages of developing the technology at its Shenzhen, China offices, one of the people said. The efforts are extensive and are aimed at Apple Inc.’s Siri, Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa, and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Assistant, not smaller players, the person said.

The Bloomberg report suggests that Huawei’s technology will be limited to the Chinese market, with the company partnering with Google and Amazon in global markets:

Huawei’s assistant would communicate in Chinese languages and target domestic users while the company will continue to work with Google and Amazon outside China, one of the other people said.

The two-pronged strategy makes sense for Huawei as it can leverage already-existing solutions — like Alexa — in Western markets, while focusing its attention on the competitive Chinese segment.

Huawei retained its position as the second-largest smartphone vendor in China last year with 76.6 million shipments, and with OPPO and Vivo cornering the market with their extensive retail presence, Huawei will be looking to standout features — such as a voice-based AI assistant — to attract new customers.

Xiaomi is already working on a Mi Mix successor with even thinner bezels

Xiaomi is looking to trim the bezels even further with the Mi Mix II.

Xiaomi’s bezel-less Mi Mix was one of the most innovative products of 2016, with the phone rightfully receiving accolades from around the world. It looks like Xiaomi has already begun work on the successor to the Mi Mix, which will allegedly be dubbed the Mi Mix II. According to a recent Weibo post by Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun, the company is once again partnering with French designer Philippe Starck for the Mi Mix II.

While the executive didn’t reveal any additional details, rumors suggest that Xiaomi is aiming to hit a 93% screen-to-body ratio, outdoing the 91.3% ratio of the original Mi Mix. The Mi Mix II will also likely be made out of ceramic, and Xiaomi is said to be exploring an option where the entire front of the phone is covered with the display. The Mi Mix II could also turn out to be the first phone from a Chinese vendor that lacks any physical buttons.

With the phone still in preliminary stages of design, it is likely we’ll see several iterations before Xiaomi settles on a final design. That said, it will be interesting to see what Xiaomi brings to the table this time around, considering that Samsung and Apple are also said to be mulling bezel-less panels for their flagships.

LG G6 gets UX 6.0 to make best use of massive 18:9 display

LG has been drip feeding nuggets of information about its forthcoming flagship smartphone, the LG G6, for over a month. It will be unveiled the day before Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, on Sunday 26 February, but we already plenty.

The latest official confirmation from LG is about the user experience. The phone will sport LG’s latest UX 6.0, the proprietary layer on top of Android. It comes with several new features, some of which are designed to make full use of the 5.7-inch QHD+ (2880 x 1440) FullVision display we already knew about.

The 18:9 screen has been designed to offer more real estate for browsing the web or reading eBooks and the like, but will also be used to its fullest for video viewing or games.

• LG G6: Release date, rumours and everything you need to know
• Mobile World Congress 2017: Nokia, Sony, Huawei, smartphones and more

The new UX has an upscaling feature to make 16:9 videos expand to fill the FullVision display without overt image artefacts, while LG claims that new games and videos will be released to make use of the full picture ratio.

Its camera software has been enhanced too, with the ability to review and take photos simultaneously. A square camera feature splits the screen into two identical squares to shoot 1:1 images and view them in the adjacent window. A new Food Mode also adds additional saturation and colour for when shooting, you guessed it, food. Ideal for sharing on social media.

LG has also focused on multi-tasking with UX 6.0. You can open windows next to each other, such as a call reception window next to the calendar app. There are “endless” combinations available, says LG.

LG

We hope to host the LG G6 press conference here on Pocket-lint as it happens. We will also be at MWC 2017 all week to bring you the latest news.

Beats X headphones review: Bass marks the spot

Beats X are the Apple-owned company’s attempt at a lightweight in-ear listening experience with good battery life and, in hallmark Beats style, plenty of bass to boot.

They’re not wireless like the Apple AirPods, nor specifically sport-focused despite the appearance of their neck-positioned flexible cable. So just who are these casual in-ear headphones aimed at and are they any good for their £130 price point?

Beats X headphones review: A new design

• Wireless Bluetooth connectivity 
• Flexible cable that sits around your neck
• Various sized tips to fit various ears come in the box 

Sporting a brand new design, the Beats X feature two small earpieces that are connected via a cable that sits around your neck. That cable features the battery and power switch on the right side, and a physical remote control on the left all wrapped in a bendy rubberised cable.

Pocket-lint

This means there’s a bulge to the cable which keeps it sat in place around the next. However, it’s worth noting that if you wear shirt collars you’ll be forced to decide whether you wear it under or over the collar – these in-ears are designed for casual attire only really.

The in-built remote has three buttons and gives you the usual array of quick controls when listening to music or taking a call, and is certainly easier than having to worry about shouting instructions to Siri as you do with the completely wireless and remote control-less Apple Airpods.

To accommodate a better fit, the headphones come with a range of different ear tips in the box that can be easily swapped out according to the size of your ear canals. There are even a couple of tips for those who need extra help with ear tips staying in their ears. 

When the earpieces aren’t in your ears they are left to dangle around your chest. To keep them somewhat in control, the backs of the earpieces feature magnets so the two earphones clip together in one. It keeps them safe and out the way, but doesn’t automatically stop the music when they are magnetised together – now that would have been a nice touch.

Pocket-lint

When worn, the Beats X certainly don’t turn as many heads as the polarising design of the AirPods, but they are comfortable. These aren’t designed to be distinct running headphones, but we found they easily coped with a short run or general exercise. You’ll have no problem on the commute.

Beats X headphones review: That W1 chip

• Apple’s W1 quick-connection chip 
• Bluetooth connectivity

Like the Solo 3 Wireless and the Apple AirPods, the Beats X headphones feature Apple’s W1 chip which makes connecting them to your Apple iPhone, iPad, MacBook, or Watch incredibly simple.

Pocket-lint

Get them out of the box, turn them on, and then wave them nearby your iPhone and you are instantly prompted to connect the two together. Once paired with one device, they’ll appear as a profile on all of your other Apple devices, as long as you are signed into your iCloud account.

The W1 connectivity approach is an Apple-only feature, although the Beats X do work with Android and any other Bluetooth device, such as a Windows laptop. It’s simply a case of connecting via Bluetooth as you usually would.

Beats X headphones review: Battery and range

• 8-hour battery life per charge
• Long range Bluetooth connection

Being so small you aren’t going to get a month’s commute from a single charge from the Beats X. However, you will get around eight hours before you need to top up again.

Furthermore, in a nod to making sure you’re on the road again at a moment’s notice, the Beats X headphones feature a quick charge feature, as so many battery-powered headphones do. This means you’ll get two hours of playback from just five minutes connected to a power supply.

Pocket-lint

Rather than using Micro-USB, it’s an Apple Lightning cable, and you’ll get what appears to be the shortest Lightning-to-USB cable in the world included in the box (bad luck 2016 MacBook Pro users).

The quick-charge feature is really handy if you’ve suddenly realised that you’re low on juice just before you head out on a long journey. We’ve already found ourselves doing so a number of times. Battery levels can easily be checked via the widget on the home page on your iPhone, again within seconds.

Also the Bluetooth range is really good. We’ve been able to walk around the house/office some distance away from the iPhone the Beats X have been connected to without loss of connection or quality. It’s something we’ve noticed from the Solo 3 Wireless and the AirPods in our testing previously and believe the W1 chip certainly plays a part in improving connectivity performance. Some running headphones we’ve tested can’t even cope with being in a pocket just 50cm away without cut-outs, so this is a huge positive from the Beats X.

Beats X headphones review: Performance

• Bass-heavy performance 

Beats are renowned for being bass-heavy and the Beats X continue this trend. Because of the many tip options in the box getting a snug in-ear fit is easy, and that only goes towards amplifying the bass performance.

At louder volumes the bass can overly dominate, especially on dance tracks with high treble and vocals, but you certainly won’t hear the outside world either.

Pocket-lint

That said, the bass, from such small earphones, is great – often exactly what people will be looking for from in-ears. Slam on some Dre and it’s sublime. But then you kind of expect nothing less from Beats: if it can’t cope with Dre then these probably aren’t your kind of earphones anyway.

But it doesn’t have to be just Dre. The Beats X cope well with most male vocals from Phil Collins to Mura Masa. It’s only when you start focusing on female vocals paired with a heavy bass line – like Garbage or Florence and the Machine, for example – that the ‘phones start to drown things out with the low-end.

Verdict

The Beats X headphones offer all the cool connectivity functionality of the Apple AirPods in a more conventional form factor.

The neck-resting design is ideal for all-day wearing, while having somewhere to rest them when they aren’t in your ears. That said unless you are a t-shirt and hoodie kind of person you might still feel uncomfortable with this “high-tech tie” fighting with your shirt collar.

If you like bass, the Beats X certainly deliver, even given their small form factor.

Beats X headphones: The alternatives to consider

Pocket-lint

Apple AirPods

Buy the Apple AirPods on Apple for £159

They might polarise opinion when it comes to design, but a great battery life, easy connectivity options, and a surprisingly decent sound combined with good voice-cancellation features for phone calls makes them appealing if it’s not just about “bangin’ hits”.

Read the full review: Apple AirPods review

Pocket-lint

Bose SoundSport Pulse

Buy the Bose SoundSport Pulse headphones on Amazon.co.uk for £170

These sports-focused headphones are also wireless, deliver a great sound, and have the added bonus of also offering a built-in heart-rate monitor with support for popular third-party fitness apps.

Read the full review: Bose SoundSport Pulse review 

Pocket-lint

JBL Reflect Aware

Buy the JBL Reflect Aware headphones on Amazon.co.uk for £169

Wired rather than wireless, the JBL Reflect Aware headphones come with a Lightning cable making them Apple iPhone 7 friendly and offer a good sound. Designed to stick in your ear while doing sports the only catch is that cable.

Read the full review: JBL Reflect Aware review