2016 Lexus GS F review – Roadshow
The Good The GS F’s V8 is responsive and sounds magnificent at wide-open-throttle. Automatic transmission is smooth around town, but also delivers dual-clutch-like performance on track. Chassis and suspension tuning yields great grip for hard driving, but still has enough give for daily running.
The Bad Since the GS F doesn’t have a force-induced engine, it’s down on power compared to its German and American competition. Lexus infotainment systems still aren’t able to run Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The Bottom Line The Lexus GS F is outgunned in the power department, but it’s still a worthy high-performance sedan offering an attractive mix of punch, handling, looks, luxury and involvement from behind the wheel.
Blitzing GingerMan Raceway’s back straight in the Lexus GS F at 120 mph all day is easy, but braking for the 90-degree right hander at the end gets sketchy after a few laps in a street car. Seven rotations later, I’m still smirking as the V8 howls at wide-open-throttle, and surprisingly the brakes show no signs of fade.
After a few more sessions out, my admiration only increases for the GS F’s excellent handling, responsive and weighty steering, playful nature and fade-resistant Brembo stoppers. This is a Lexus that’s legitimately fun to wheel around a race track, and built to handle the grueling exercise. It doesn’t feel over-engineered and void of personality, which is something I wouldn’t have expected from Lexus, given its history.
Toyota’s luxury division initially rose to prominence with its reputation of producing well-built, smooth and coffin-quiet vehicles. The knock against them were that they lacked drive character, soul and visual flare. Things have changed, though, with the effort put into becoming a serious performance threat to its German and American competition now paying off.
A producer of beautiful noises.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
The GS F is the second sedan in the Lexus performance lineup to receive the full F makeover, following the first-generation IS F that includes bigger power, extensive chassis revisions, suspension upgrades and more aggressive looks. With it, Lexus aims to give the likes of the BMW M5, Mercedes-AMG E63 and Cadillac CTS-V a run for their money.
Flashbacks on track
The idea of Lexus producing performance vehicles on par with BMW and Mercedes-Benz is something that I’m still getting used to, but the GS F unearths memories from five years ago, when I flogged the LFA supercar around this very same 2.1-mile west Michigan circuit. Prior to piloting that V10 animal, I didn’t think Lexus could produce a sporty driver, period. Now in the GS F, I see some of that LFA magic.
This GS F becomes wildly entertaining on track with Drive Mode Select in Sport S Plus, unlocking all of the V8’s fury, tightening steering and activating the stability control’s Expert mode, which kills traction control and gives you enough rope to pitch through corners sideways. If you get really out of shape, however, the computer still cuts in to save your keister.
A hard-charger around GingerMan Raceway.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
Most impressive is how the GS F behaves when you stop screwing around and put down clean laps. Sharp turn-in gets the nose quickly darting in whatever direction you tell it, while it hangs on through corners with superhero-like composure. It handles GingerMan’s fast transitions beautifully, and exhibits only a smidge of understeer through the really tight stuff. It feels solid and eager, thanks to upgrades like additional underbody braces, bigger and stickier Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, torque vectoring rear differential and reworked suspension.
The fixed suspension uses Sachs mono-tube shock absorbers with steel springs, which some may skewer as a cheaper alternative to adaptive suspensions found on the M5, Audi RS 7 and CTS-V. True, the GS F doesn’t have as wide of a damping range, but Lexus’ tune works well for the track and street.
Lexus makes the steering communicative, tricky to do with an electric system. And the torque vectoring diff, which overdrives the outside wheel in a turn, helps in getting the power back on in corners.
Speaking of power, the five-liter V8 punches in at 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers may sound weak compared to the force-induced nuclear reactors in some of its rivals. Today, the M5 has 560 horsepower, the RS 7 Performance packs 605 ponies and the CTS-V comes with a staggering 640 horses.
The screaming 5-liter V8 packs 467 horsepower.
Nick Miotke/Roadshow
If you’re horsepower drunk and value bench racing with your buddies yammering about specs, then the Lexus isn’t going to be for you. However, the GS F’s engine does have its benefits. Being naturally-aspirated, the V8 features a linear powerband as well as lively throttle response, and it belts out magnificent sounds at full bore.
Google Pixel XL initial review: first 48 hours
The latest and most official Google device is here. We’ve only had it for a few days total and while we are able to draw some conclusions in that time, we definitely wanted to continue putting the Pixel XL through its paces to be sure our thoughts indeed hold weight.
For now, we are bringing you what we think in this initial review of the Google Pixel XL!
Don’t miss:
- Best Android smartphones of October 2016
- Android 7.0 Nougat review: an Android version for Android fans
First, we open up the box. As the new de facto ambassador in the world of Android, it comes as little surprise that an adapter for USB and Lightning cables is included so that transferring data from other Androids or iOS devices is easy – simply connect the original cable to your previous phone and the other end, adapter ready, into the Pixel. The phone takes care of the rest. A USB-A to USB Type-C cable is included, but the plug adapter requires a cable that is fitted with USB Type-C on both ends, which is also in the box.
Google brings their own design sensibilities to the Android world, in a phone that was built from the ground up. The results are, unfortunately, pretty polarizing. Many of you have already sounded off on the design of the Pixel XL, either saying that it has a beautifully simple look or lamenting its almost generic aesthetic.
We are as split about the design as all of you.
We here at Android Authority are about as split as all of you. Personally, I had become rather accustomed to the somewhat barebones style of previous Google devices, considering that it mattered more what the capabilities were underneath the surface. There was a quiet but effective capability to the Nexus line, but each device brought single quirks to the style. The Nexus 6P had its camera ridge and the Nexus 5 had a large piece of glass adorning the camera, for example. For the Pixel line, Google gave their new phone one key differentiating feature – a top third encased in glass. I don’t particularly find it an eyesore, but I rather think of it as a boring alternative to the different quirks we used to get from phones that bore the Google name.
That said, the phone’s look and feel still do their job properly – they make the phone feel really solid and sleek despite a measure of blandness in particularly this Very Silver version. The Quite Black version might be a little easier on the eyes while the North American-only Really Blue edition is, indeed, very different, but doesn’t add much more than a different hue.
A smaller Google Pixel is available with a 5-inch screen but we have the Pixel XL which sports a 5.5-inch screen. Larger upper and lower portions make the phone feel a little taller than it probably needed to be, but if there is plenty going on underneath all that surface area, then it can be excused. Overall, the XL feels plenty hefty and takes the usual amount of hand gymnastics in order to be used in one hand. Despite the glass on the back of the device, most of the backing is made of a smooth metal that unfortunately makes it slide about in the hand a bit too easily.
The sides of the device remind us of the Moto Z Force, which had a pretty aggressive chamfer to add texture to the sides. This was definitely the right choice considering how much the phone can slide around because if the sides were just as smooth, dropping it would probably be much more likely.
We will try our best not to compare the Pixel to the Nexus too much, but we do admit that the sideways Nexus logo is a bit missed. Even with a barebones overall design, that logo was distinctive. This time around, it is simply a large G on the bottom third and the glass upper side, all of which basically make for a phone that does look different, but does it in a somewhat boring fashion.
Google opted for AMOLED touchscreens for the Pixel phones, but the smaller Pixel comes with 1080p resolution. The XL sports Quad HD, and it looks pretty dang incredible. A lot of YouTube videos have been viewed in our first few days with the device, and everything from animated content to daily vlogs look great at resolutions 720p and higher. We also had a good time with games, as colors are rendered with the proper amount of vibrancy. So far, the only gripe I had with this display is that it gets just a little too dim at the lowest brightness setting – then again, this is a common facet of AMOLED displays. On the other hand, the screen looks great even in broad daylight when pumped up to the highest setting.
There is a sense of polish and smoothness that is undeniable.
As one of the first phones to sport the Snapdragon 821, it should come as no surprise that the Google Pixel XL simply flies through its tasks without any issues. Especially considering the streamlined and pure version of Android that the Pixel sports, there is a sense of polish and smoothness that is undeniable. This is not to say that other Android devices lack in the speed department, there just seems to be a great deal of attention given to the transitions and movements among all of the Nougat 7.1 elements.
But even in situations when slowdown should have been experienced, the phone has performed wonderfully – for example, the first boot up and long setup process that included downloading and installing a ton of applications might have made the phone feel a bit warmer, but it didn’t give me the usual slowdown I experience with other phones.
We will be playing more games and performing more tasks for the coming days, but so far the Pixel XL is a good poster child for the Snapdragon 821 and, indeed, for point of using pure Android in the first place.
Hardware is a part of the Pixel phones that might put it at a disadvantage – after all, a Google device tends to not have all of the extra features plenty of Android devices sport.
Hardware is a part of the Pixel phones that might put it at a disadvantage.
That starts off with the lack of expandable storage, which I have already had to contend with in my weekend with the Pixel XL. My unit is a 32GB version, which means that 4K recording is not only stifled, but is a nuisance. Having a plethora of applications and, in particular, games installed takes up a lot of the 29.70GB made available to the user. With MOBIUS Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy 7, and Final Fantasy 9 installed, only about half of the available storage was left for me to do photos and videos with. And at the high quality 4K recording option, the camera constantly reminded me of the less than 15 minutes of recording time I had available to me. Granted, Google Photos on the Pixel allows for the full resolution uploading and saving of all photos and videos, but having to find Wi-Fi to upload and, for that matter, the need to let the app clean up the Camera folder is a step I am still not used to doing.
Sound is a welcome highlight for the Pixel, a phone that is supposed to take voice inputs at any time and play the soothing, if not robotic, voice of Google Assistant. To that end, the bottom mounted speaker (only one, the left one) is one of the best of its kind. It gets plenty loud and yet retains a good amount of body. It is by no means a good bass performer, but especially for evoking the voice of Google Assistant, it does the job incredibly well. For viewing videos or playing games, I did not feel the need to reach for a pair of headphones. Even so, the headphone experience on the Google Pixel is above average. There are no extra options and features in the phone for catering the sound like in the LG V10 or the HTC 10, but the default sound profile is still very enjoyable, with the headphone jack properly driving my pair of Audio Technica ATH-M50x headphones.
Our battery life testing is still ongoing, but I can definitely relay my experience after the last few days. A 3,450 mAh battery unit keeps the Pixel XL going for what can be described as the expected portion of the day, which can be easily tracked with the battery section of the settings. Personally, I really enjoy the way Nougat 7.1 shows the graph and the amount of time that has elapsed since unplugging the phone, even in the quick settings dropdown. With all that said, a day of somewhat aggressive usage that included GPS navigation and plenty of built-in speaker blasting took the phone out in about 16 hours with 4 hours of screen on time.
Which brings me to an interesting change in my battery usage that has only come about due to the Pixel. As I mentioned, the speaker got a lot of play and was a part of the overall battery drain. This is because Google Assistant, the main software addition the Pixel introduces, is so effortlessly useful that I have been talking and listening to this phone more than any that came before it. This is also due to a great microphone that sports noise cancellation and voice recognition that remind me of previous Moto X devices.
See also: Google Assistant: The top features you should know26
Due to one key feature of Google Assistant – the Daily Briefing – I’ve not only gotten used to saying ‘good morning’ upon waking without even touching the phone, but I’ve listened to the Assistant’s built-in podcast player that only plays a curated list of news shows. The last two days saw over an hour of news brief listening in the morning – which actually registers on the battery usage tally.
Before we get deeper into Google Assistant, we have the other marquee feature of the Pixel XL – the camera, which is a 12.3MP main camera with f/2.0 aperture and a front facing unit shooting 8MP. While the cameras of the Pixel phones might look very similar to the Nexus 6P on paper, there are a few key enhancements that we’ve already noticed and thoroughly enjoy.
First of all, the app is the same Google Camera that you may already be used to from the Nexus and the Google Play Store, meaning that it is a simple to use, auto interface without manual controls. Modes include Panorama and Lens Blur, with Slow Motion available at 120fps at 1080p resolution.
HDR is now HDR+, a version of color and contrast enhancement that is technically always on. Though the option will show HDR+ Auto, most pictures show processing of HDR+ when they are accessed in the gallery immediately after shooting. Pictures are already well rendered, but having the HDR+ add that little extra bit will make for pretty consistently pleasing photos. That said, HDR+ does do a good job of adding some extra vibrancy to photos while bringing down the highlights in any picture that has a blown out area like the sun soaked sky. And the best part about the HDR+ is that it has basically no shutter lag – in only a few photos did I notice a small amount of processing after hitting the shutter.
Which brings us to the other main feature of the cameras – video stabilization. The camera of the Pixel XL does not come with optical image stabilization and instead relies on analysis of the gyroscope while recording and software based post-stabilization. One immediate positive feature of this electronic image stabilization is that it is available while recording 4K video, which is not a feature commonly found on current Android phones. However, it is very common for software stabilization to lead to weird warping of a video and the dreaded ‘jello effect’ that Google hopes their version of stabilization will remedy.
So far, video stabilization has been incredible
And so far, it has blown me away. I put it through a few simple tests that included one walking shot and a couple stationary handheld examples. In all cases, the difference is basically night and day – the stabilization does a great job of noticeably making footage smoother, making it seem like the phone was on a gimbal during my walking example. Even more impressive is the lack of the ‘jello effect’ when moving from side to side. For a user like me that likes to vlog, the stabilization makes this already good performing 4K shooter an even more impressive companion to have for pictures and video, even if available space is an issue in this 32GB device.
Overall, the camera has so far been very impressive and we will be doing more testing and comparisons with other Android devices to further consider its capabilities. For now, however, I have been very impressed with the camera and already consider it one of the better automatic shooters.
Which brings us to software, which is the latest version of pure Android in Nougat 7.1. Though the LG V20 was the first phone to come with Android Nougat, the ‘.1’ that the Pixel brings is quite significant and might make it one of the most sought after versions of Android. Unfortunately, it is unclear how much of this version of Android will actually make it to other, non-Google branded devices. And that might be a shame, because 7.1 is a delight to use, mostly due to Google Assistant.
Hold the home button and Google Now on Tap is nowhere to be found – unless you swipe up from the bottom again, that is – because it is replaced with the voice-centric Google Assistant. Talking to an Android device is now as seamless as it has ever been, as everything from questions to search queries to even time-killing can be done with Google speaking right back at you. As already mentioned, this means that certain features like a daily briefing can be enjoyed by just asking the phone to do it. Even better, setting up the voice recognition makes Google Assistant ready no matter where the phone is, as long as it is near enough to hear ‘OK Google.’
The microphone is delightfully sensitive and accurate, while Assistant is really responsive and quick. There is one hiccup, as Assistant doesn’t seem to be opening appropriate apps automatically based on the query anymore like it did during my First Look. Even the quick display of the top search result is still accurate, so a small tap on it is a small trade-off. Plenty of other features are available via Google Assistant and I found myself asking random questions just to see what it can do – I even played an odd game of Mad Libs where the Assistant asked me for all of the different words it needed to construct the ridiculous narrative.
Assistant is already quite robust, but I can only imagine how much more it will grow over the life of the Pixel XL – after all, it is the centerpiece of the new Google ecosystem that incorporates Google Home.
Assistant is already quite robust, but I can only imagine how much more it will grow over the life of the Pixel XL
Otherwise, all of the different elements of Android remain very familiar even with the Pixel Launcher as the interface. The app drawer is still around, thankfully, and is accessed by swiping up on the homescreen. Google Now is still available to the left of the homescreens, while the big ‘G’ at the top gives easy access to a search bar that felt a little obsolete once I got used to using my voice instead. There are a lot of built-in wallpapers that can be used singularly or cycled from a curated list that is updated every day. Personally, I am a fan of the Live Earth wallpaper that rotates with the homescreens and mimics the real life sun, moon, and cloud conditions.
The settings area is a little easier to navigate now in Nougat, and it now has an entirely separate area for on-demand help, though I haven’t used it yet. Multitasking users finally have a Google-made multi-window feature that is accessed by dragging a window in the recent apps screen to the area up top, but this is also something that I have not used extensively because moving in and out of the recent apps screen has been as smooth as ever.
As long as Assistant continues to evolve, the Pixel has a feature that, if it never comes to other Android devices, does a great job of differentiating itself. The usefulness of Assistant predicates on whether or not the user actually takes advantage of it, and so far I think that everyone really should. Try it out with Allo and if you really enjoy Assistant, imagine having that functionality baked into the rest of the experience.
We have definitely drawn a lot of conclusions about the Google Pixel XL so far, and we are going to see if that positivity continues in our testing. A full review of the phone will be done in the coming days, perhaps just after the release of all the pre-order devices on October 20. All versions of the phone are still sold out in the Google Store, which undercuts what many users thought would be the Pixel’s Achilles’ heel – the price. For $649 on the base 32GB Pixel, the Google phones certainly hold a premium price point even if, at first glance, it doesn’t seem to offer nearly as much as the rest of the Android army. This is a very valid argument considering the Google Pixel XL at 32GB is a whole $120 extra.
Read next:
- Google Pixel XL vs Galaxy Note 7
- Google Pixel and Pixel XL vs the competition
So, before scoring the phone on its own merits, we will leave this initial review at this thought: if the rest of Android did not exist and the Google Pixel stood on its own, it would be one of the best phones we’ve ever seen or used. Unfortunately for the Pixel, the rest of Android undoubtedly offers more and for far better prices across the board. But the Pixel damn near perfects the basics where plenty of Android phones inexplicably falter. And for the first outing of the Pixel, Google has so far done a damn good job.
Bluboo Maya Max: Massive potential but massive disappointment (phone review)
Before we get into the review, I want to start out with a bit of an explanation. I’ve had the Bluboo Maya Max for around two months. The journey with this device has certainly been an interesting one and is the central case of why people are afraid to buy products from companies they don’t know.
I’ve had two review units and neither have worked correctly. The software on the first device was not final and frankly broken. Working with Bluboo’s support saw them ask me to download an application onto my computer that was in Chinese to apply an update and I could not get to work even with assistance.
The second review unit seemed to have faulty hardware. The battery discharged down to nothing and then refused to turn back on after charging. To me, this says faulty hardware but Bluboo told me they’d have another software patch for me to flash before no longer responding to emails.
I will conduct as much of this review as I can because I believe that these issues are important to consider when purchasing a phone intended for other markets. Companies that have no infrastructure in the United States tend to be a risky proposition due to the lack of support and updates. This is the prime example of what can go wrong. Now, on with the rest of the review.
Introduction
The rise in popularity of importing devices is on the rise. We’ve seen excellent offerings from companies like Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, Gionee, and ZTE that don’t have great infrastructure in the US and importing them from third-party marketplaces like Gearbest tends to be the only way to get them. Popular in these devices has been rising because customers see them as a fun and cost-effective alternative to any old Galaxy or iPhone.
Bluboo is a Chinese company that is stuffing amazing specs in a phone for a low, low price. Normally priced at $179, the Maya Max features has some excellent specs.
- Processor: MediaTek MT6750 1.5GHz octa-core
- RAM: 3GB
- Storage: 32GB
- Display: 6.0″ 1080P with Gorilla Glass 4
- Camera: 13MP Main, 8 MP front
- Battery: 4200mAh with Quick Charge
- Software: Android 6.0
- Connectivity: USB type-C
Build
As you can see, the Maya Max is spec’ed like a flagship but with a budget price. The phone also includes features like 6000 series aluminum, a fingerprint scanner on the back, a mute switch, VoLTE, and a dual-sim card slot. Beyond the specs, the phone feels really nice in the hand and looks like a show-stopper. On paper, it’s one of the better phones for the price available right now and in person, it’s very impressive.
The Maya Max has an impressive 85% screen to body ratio. The phone is only slightly larger than my Pixel XL but fits an extra .5″ of display in there. While the size difference does feel significant the phone is still pretty easy to handle due to good weight distribution and even better ergonomics. The back of the phone is very slightly curved so it sits in the hand nicely. Add in the fact that it’s relatively light for its size and it turns out that the Maya Max is easier to handle than some smaller phones.
One thing that really can make or break the experience of a device for me is volume and power buttons. Crappy, mushy buttons show a true lack of attention to detail or the company cheaping out on an important component. Luckily, Bluboo stuck true to its design principals with high quality and well functioning buttons. There is a mute switch that sits directly below the sim tray on the right side of the device that reminds me why I miss my iPhone sometimes. The switch puts the phone into silence, rather than vibrate mode, but it’s a convenient solution none the less.
The phone utilizes on-screen buttons so the chin is bare, while the top of the phone is dotted with a camera and sensors around the speaker. If it’s one thing that Bluboo nailed with the Maya Max it’s the bezels. The bezels on the side of the device are almost nonexistent and the chin and top of the device are just big enough to get the required components in. I love the design of the Maya Max.
The top of the device houses the headphone jack (thankfully) and the bottom houses two drilled grills. A speaker sits behind the right grill and a microphone behind the left. Around back we find a fingerprint scanner that reminds us of the Nexus 6P and a raised, round camera hump with a dual-tone flash in-between.
I really couldn’t have been more pleased with the physical design of the Maya Max. It really screams “premium” and goes toe-to-toe with any other device on the market in terms of quality, in my opinion. While you may prefer others for their size or materials, you’ll be forced to admit that the Maya Max is a beautiful device.
Software
This, unfortunately, is where things fell apart for me. My first unit shipped with broken software that saw constant app crashes and the phone locking up for long periods of time. I was informed that the phone couldn’t accept an over-the-air (OTA) update and I would have to update the phone by plugging it into my computer and downloading Bluboo’s software. As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, it never happened due to the software being in Chinese. I do hope that Bluboo gets the software finalized and in good working order because a beautifully built device is being held back by broken software.
I believe a lot of these Chinese or Korean companies will not have success in the US market due to their software. These companies tend to strip out a lot of what makes Android great (stop taking away my app drawer!) and replaces it with bright, obnoxious colors and the duplication of apps that are already on the device. Samsung seems to have gotten the message with its recent iterations of TouchWiz. Hopefully, companies like Bluboo follow suit because even when the software was working, I didn’t enjoy the experience.
Yes, the app drawer is noticeably absent on the Maya Max. I also found it odd that on a 6.0″ device, Bluboo limited you to four icons across. There is obviously room here to add more icons comfortably and it’s needed since all of your icons will be showing. Folders are for whatever reason incredibly hard to create due to the fact that the touch sensitivity and accuracy isn’t excellent.
Several themes come with the device and you can download more through a theme store. I didn’t find any of the included ones very appealing and they honestly don’t alter the appearance that much. It’s nice that they included this feature, but it’s certainly not going to sell any devices.
The Play Store is installed, but that’s about it for Google’s apps. I downloaded a few apps here and there but it’s mostly filled up with Bluboo’s apps like Hitap Keyboard, SIM toolkit, FM Radio, and Theme Store.
The software is pretty spartan. If stock Android bothers you for its lack of features, the Bluboo Maya Max isn’t going to be your cup of tea either. Bluboo just isn’t consistent in its software enough. Some Google apps are skinned, some are replaced, some are completely untouched. Add in the weird quirks like not being able to reset the device to factory settings (yes, seriously) and you have a difficult to use contradiction on your hands.
Battery
Unfortunately due to the software issues we had with the Maya Max we cannot provide a reliable review of the battery life. However, we can give you some of the facts about the device and that will play into what battery life you may get.
The Maya Max has a 6″ 1080P display and a 4200mAh battery. Those are both pretty big numbers and the battery capacity being on the high end of anything on the market today. Bluboo made a choice to go with a 1080P display (probably due to cost) and it really should benefit you in battery life. Pushing all the extra pixels of a QHD display not only takes processing power but battery power too.
One thing that will negatively affect your battery life is the lack of supported bands in the United States. I tested the Maya Max with a T-Mobile sim and was disappointed to find that I only picked up Edge coverage. The device supports the following bands:
- 2G: GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz
- 3G: WCDMA 850/2100MHz
- 4G: FDD-LTE 800/1800/2100/2600MHz
If you’re using AT&T you will be able to pick up 3G on the 850 frequency, but no LTE for you either. With the constant searching for a better signal (especially indoors), the battery life could take a hit.
Reference guide to US carrier bands and networks
Conclusion
If you’re afraid of buying a Chinese phone from a site like Gearbest, this review is not going to do you any favors. This is pretty much the worst case scenario. Luckily for me, Bluboo supplied the review units so I’m not out any money, but I could easily see that happening to someone. There are a lot of great companies making wonderful devices that haven’t hit the shores of the US yet and I would encourage you to do you research to see how they deal with their customers when you’re making a purchase. Don’t let this one case scare you off.
As for the Maya Max… if I could load stock Android onto it, it might be an amazing device. Unfortunately, it’s held back by broken software and puzzling design choices. If Bluboo gets the software figured out, I’d love to give the phone another review because I think there’s a ton of potential here. It has one of the best-built phones out there with some excellent features and a comfortable design.
Jaybird X3 review – CNET
The Good The Jaybird X3 wireless sports headphone is smaller than the X2, has improved battery life, costs less and sounds excellent for an in-ear Bluetooth headphone. It’s sweat resistant and comes with a compact protective carrying pouch.
The Bad Don’t lose the charging accessory or you’ll have no way to charge the headphone; not as comfortable as the Bose SoundSport Wireless; noise-isolating design may be a safety issue for runners.
The Bottom Line The Jaybird X3 is a significant improvement over the X2 and one of the top Bluetooth sports headphone currently available.
Visit manufacturer site for details.
The Jaybird X3, the third iteration of the company’s popular sweat-resistant wireless sports headphone, is probably the best headphone the company has produced.
What’s new about it? Well, for starters it’s smaller than the X2. Also, its inline remote has been redesigned, and its battery has been upgraded from NiMH (nickel-metal hydride) to lithium ion to deliver up to eight hours battery life playing music at moderate volume levels.
On top of that, Jaybird, now owned by Logitech, says it’s tweaked the 6mm drivers inside the earbuds. I will say these are among the best sounding wireless sports headphones out there right now. And at $130, they cost $50 less than the initial price of the X2. (The headphones will launch in the UK and Australia in “the next few months” for £109 and AU$179, respectively.)
The X3 comes in four colors: Military green (shown here), black, white, and red.
David Carnoy/CNET
As for other improvements, the fins that help secure the buds in your ears have also been redesigned for the better, and Jaybird now includes a clip to attach the headphone to the back of your shirt that’s similar to the one found on the Bose SoundSport Wireless.
I’ve never liked Jaybird’s cord-shortening accessories, but for those who do like them, they’re back. A set of are included along with plenty of eartips — silicone and foam — and chances are one of the tips will allow you to get a tight, comfortable seal to maximize sound quality. The only downside to this design is that this is a noise-isolating earphone, which means it seals out a lot of ambient noise, preventing you from hearing traffic while you’re running. Headphones such as the Plantronics BackBeat Fit and Bose SoundSport Wireless have open designs and allow some ambient noise to filter in.
It’s also worth mentioning that Jaybird includes a little charging accessory that connects to a Micro-USB cable, which you then clip onto the inline remote. It’s one of those items that’s easy to lose (the accessory has a little lanyard built into it), but Jaybird reps told me it went to this charging method because sweat and grime from people’s hands sometimes ended up in USB charging port on the X2 and caused the headphone to fail. The only problem is that if you misplace the accessory, you can’t charge the headphone and you’ll have to call Jaybird customer support to send you another one (Jaybird says that till the end of 2016 you’ll be able to get a replacement for free, but after that you’ll have to order the accessory through the company’s website for a small fee).
What you get in the box.
Sarah Tew/CNET
Jaybird’s more expensive Freedom headphone has a similar charging scheme, but the Freedom’s charging accessory incorporates a built-in battery to extend battery life, and the Freedom’s inline remote is too beefy (there’s a battery inside it). The X3’s earbuds house the batteries and the inline remote is smaller and lighter, making it less noticeable when you’re running.
Emicro One Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Cars get stuck in traffic. Buses and trains don’t get you all the way to your destination. Walking is slow, and bikes take up too much room. If you need to get from A to B in a hurry, a folding electric scooter can kick some serious ass.
The Emicro One is the folding electric scooter that won’t break your back. While many portable electric vehicles can tip the scales at well over 30 pounds, this itty-bitty scooter weighs half that. It’s so small, and looks so much like a regular kick scooter, people stop me on the street to ask about it.
And yet, this tiny scooter can carry a 220-pound person and/or travel up to 15 miles per hour. Those numbers are all pretty competitive for a folding electric scooter in 2016. You can buy it direct from Micro for $1,000, £750 or AU$1,500 in the US, UK or Australia.
What’s the catch? There’s no throttle on this scooter: you have to kick.
Up close with the lightweight Emicro One…
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Pros
- Light weight: It’s not as light as a kiddy Razor scooter, but at 16.5 pounds (7.5 kg) it makes most electric scooters feel unbearably heavy. With most scooters, I feel I need to unfold them ASAP so the wheels can carry their weight. I can carry the Emicro without issue.
- Low deck height and free-spinning wheels mean you can keep kicking like a regular scooter long after the Emicro runs out of juice.
- Curved handlebars make it easy to steer, without being so wide that you bump into pedestrians on the street.
- A powerful 500W motor means this tiny scooter can actually carry you up shallow hills — so long as you kick harder too.
- Its simple folding mechanism shrinks down fairly fast. Pick it up and press the buttons on either side to fold. You’ll still need to disengage a quick-release lever to shrink the handle, though.
- Fast charging: Just one hour to fully charge.
- A handy built-in kickstand is strong enough to take a beating if you forget to retract it. I speak from experience.
The Emicro One.
Josh Miller/CNET
Cons
- Some parts aren’t durable: With months of normal use, we managed to break off the quick release lever on the folding mechanism, dislodge one of the handlebar height pins, and twist the rear brake off-axis. One of the rubber grips is also starting to tear. The scooter still works fine, though.
- It only goes fast if you work at it: Instead of using power buttons and throttle levers, the motor activates when you kick. You’ll go about three times faster — or further — than you would without the motor, but that’s a lot of kicking to stay at top speed.
- Sidewalk or smooth streets only. There’s no real suspension on this scooter to absorb the bumps, merely a set of air-core tires. My feet and gums practically feel numb after a teeth-chattering ride on San Francisco’s terrible downtown streets. On the sidewalk, it’s not so bad.
- Short range. Emicro quotes 7-10 miles on a charge. I got more like 5-7 miles, but I’m a heavy guy — a lighter co-worker got 9-10. Still, that’s less than most scooters.
- Easy to slip and slide. Like a Razor scooter, the smooth rear tire means it’s easy to slide out — particularly when the streets are wet. I’ve also fallen when trying to turn too tightly, since the front wheel spins 360 degrees.
- The four-dot battery life indicator is fairly inaccurate. It’s not nearly as bad as on some other scooters, but I still don’t know how far I’ll get on one to two dots-worth of charge.
- Low handlebars. They’re adjustable, but don’t lift high enough for tall people.
Yep, it’s small.
Josh Miller/CNET
Trade-offs
- Kick-sensitive motor means you have to keep kicking to get up to speed instead of simply pressing a button — but you get exercise you wouldn’t get with other electric scooters.
- You can fool the kick sensor by jerking back on the handlebars every so often to maintain speed, but sometimes it confuses the scooter and slows down instead. Plus, it sometimes activates accidentally over bumps. Nearly crashed a couple times due to unwanted speed boosts.
- Rear foot brake doubles as an electric brake, slowing you down faster than friction alone, but it isn’t as efficient as the front electric brakes I’ve tried on other scooters.
- You’ll only fit one foot on the scooter’s small deck. Good for kicking, but no place for your other foot to relax.
- Fixed handlebars feel solid, but don’t fold down smaller like many other scooters.
Bottom line
The Emicro One isn’t really suited for roads, which (obviously) limits its mobility. Plus, I’m a little worried about its durability, long-term. But if you commute by sidewalk, it’s an impressive little machine that’ll pull harder and go far faster than you’d think. It’s fun to ride, and it definitely makes heads turn.
If the Emicro One isn’t for you, though, don’t go away. I’ll be bringing you more folding electric scooter reviews to CNET in the weeks ahead. Perhaps you’d like the Fuzion V-1000, for instance?
Sony Xperia X Compact review – CNET
The Good The Sony Xperia X Compact is a small, 4.6-inch phone with a beautiful display, an excellent camera and good battery life.
The Bad Only the Japanese model is waterproof, and the fingerprint sensor is disabled in the US. There’s a bit of lag when editing pictures or taking low-light photos.
The Bottom Line Sony’s Xperia X Compact is a small phone with an excellent camera, but it lacks some creature comforts, like waterproofing and, in the US, a fingerprint sensor.
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For some people, the Sony Xperia X Compact will fit like a glove.
Josh Miller/CNET
The Sony Xperia X Compact is a rarity — a small phone with a big, terrific camera. That’s 23 megapixels’ worth of snapping power in a body small enough to fit into almost any pocket. And to me, the pint-size X Compact seems a pretty good fit.
Coming in at $449 and £379, the X Compact is large on charm. (No mention has been made of the X Compact coming to Australia, but hope springs eternal. In the meantime, its US price works out to AU$587, converted.) But the odd exclusion of conveniences found on the X Compact in other countries is a real head-scratcher. For example, buyers in Sony’s home country of Japan get waterproofing and a fingerprint sensor, but UK residents don’t get the H2O resistance, and US users get neither.
If you’re an Android fan looking for a small-screen phone, your choices are few. You’d do right with the Xperia X Compact, so long as you can accept the omissions.
If iPhones are just as good for you, the SE sticks to the same pricing scale — though it has a much smaller display. You can also upgrade to the similarly sized iPhone 7 or cheaper 6S — but you’ll definitely pay more.
Design and basics
No joke — the first thing you notice about the Sony Xperia X Compact is that it’s small. Or at least, it looks small. The screen is 4.6 inches, a filament smaller than the iPhone 7 (4.7 inches). But its chunky body and thick bezel mean there’s actually more phone in your hand than you’d guess. Still, the X Compact is wonderful to use one-handed.
You will either love or hate its blocky, flat looks — no camera bump here. In a market dominated by superthin phones made of glass and aluminum, the Compact X’s thick plastic demeanor is refreshingly unique, especially in Mist Blue.
The 720-pixel display is bright and sharp, and it handles direct sunlight like a pro. Battery life was a solid 11 hours, 28 minutes in our video loop tests. Some of that longevity comes from it the fact that it runs Android 6.0.1.
Just how small is Sony’s 4.6-inch Xperia…
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The X Compact handled daily-tasks without a problem — posting social media, messaging and watching the occasional “Carpool Karaoke” video. Gaming (FIFA Mobile, Clash Royale) on the X Compact was a breeze, but made me yearn for a bigger screen.
If you own a PS4, Sony’s preloaded PlayStation app connects you to the console as a remote or even a second screen.
Microsoft Surface Dial Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Microsoft’s new collapsible all-in-one desktop PC, the Surface Studio, is made for designers and optimized for the new “Creators Update” to Windows 10. To keep you fully immersed in a project, the company also unveiled a new haptic feedback accessory dubbed the Surface Dial that puts a clever twist on workflow interaction.
The Surface Studio’s haptic “Surface Dial” accessory.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The device, shown off at an event Wednesday, is roughly the size of a hockey puck and connects wirelessly to the Surface Studio, but it also works with the Surface Book and the Surface Pro 4.
Along with the keyboard and mouse, the touch-sensitive Dial adapts to whatever application you’re working with to add a third level of contextual control.
For example, Microsoft’s Surface Studio introduction video showed an artist using it to scroll through project notes on the desk.
After that, she placed it directly onto the display, which turned it into a virtually rotating color palette for the various paintbrush colors.
Along the way, the knob’s haptic feedback vibrates to let you know it’s working.
You can also engage the Surface Dial in more passive environments, too, such as volume control for music apps like Spotify or quick vertical scrolling down websites.
Microsoft Surface Dial redefines a creative…
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You might assume the Dial would come bundled with the $2,999 Surface Studio, but no such luck. Unlike the mouse and keyboard, it’ll be sold separately in the Microsoft store for $100 starting November 10. No UK or Australian details have been released yet, but that converts to about £80 or AU$130.
Microsoft Surface Studio Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
With last year’s Surface Pro 4, Microsoft’s vision of a tablet that could replace your laptop finally came together. Now, it’s setting its sights on your desktop.
The $2,999 Surface Studio, unveiled in New York today, is a desktop PC aimed squarely at artists and designers in need of high-end horsepower and a pixel-perfect display. Just 13 mm thick, Microsoft calls the Surface Studio’s 3:2 ratio display the thinnest LCD computer monitor ever built — and one that boasts 13.5 million pixels on its 28-inch touchscreen (compared to 8.3 million pixels on a 4K screen).
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The Surface Studio’s haptic “Surface Dial” accessory.
Sarah Tew/CNET
With a “zero-gravity hinge,” the monitor is designed to fold down to a 20-degree angle on your desk — similar to a drafting table — and optimized to take full advantage of the new “Creators Update” to Windows 10 which brings, among other things, a new 3D update for Microsoft Paint.
The display also features “TrueScale,” which is aimed at offering designers a real-size, “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” view of their images and creations.
We’ve seen tabletop creation stations before, but Microsoft hopes to set the Surface Studio apart with a haptic accessory called the Surface Dial. Like a magic metallic hockey puck, the touch-friendly dial is designed to sit beside your keyboard for fine contextual controls in whatever program you’re using. You can even put it directly on the screen to create your own rotary selector dial.
Of course, you’ll need to shell out an additional $100 for that Surface Dial — unlike the mouse and keyboard, it’s sold separately. In addition to the Surface Studio, it’ll work with the Surface Book and the Surface Pro 4.
The Surface Studio packs a sixth-gen Intel i5/i7 Core processor, a 4GB Nvidia GeForce GPU, up to 32GB of RAM and a 2TB hard drive. Along with a single dedicated power cable, ports include four USB 3.0 jacks, a Mini DisplayPort, an SD card slot and an Ethernet port.
Hands-on impressions
There are a lot of all-in-ones already. But even so, the Surface Studio looks really nice. Its lines, and its chrome arms, give it a look like an industrial iMac.
But what makes the Surface Studio different is its folding-down action, and its wild accessory, the Surface Dial. In a reclined tablet mode, the Dial is a metal wheel that attaches to the Surface Studio display and becomes an interactive art tool, picking colors or adjusting elements on the fly. It’s also a tabletop tool.
In tabletop mode, the Surface Dial and Surface Pen offer double-handed creation controls.
Sarah Tew/CNET
The new Surface Pen also seems refined, aiming for an even more pen and ink feel than the last Surface Pro 4.
Really, though, this is all about the Surface Dial, a wild new idea that instantly excited people from its on-stage demos. The metal dial can be an on-screen tool as much as a desktop one, and looks like the other-hand tool designed to work alongside the Pen in everyday Surface creative use.
And using Surface Dial? Well, it’s a haptic-feedback wheel. Not all apps will be a perfect fit. I tried it, and its gentle buzzes felt less tap-tap-tappy than an Apple Watch: think more like an Xbox One controller. Its sticky base attaches to the angled Surface Studio display, but I kept worrying it would fall off.
Preorders for delivery by the end of the year start today, and Microsoft says quantities are limited. UK and Australian details were not announced, but $2,999 converts to around £2,450 or AU$3,915. The Dial’s $100 price is roughly £80 or AU$130.
Updated 1:10 p.m. ET: Added hands-on impressions from CNET senior editor Scott Stein.
Microsoft Surface Book i7 Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
Microsoft’s ultimate laptop is now even more ultimate.
Joining the all-new Surface Studio all-in-one and current Surface Pro 4, the new Surface Book i7 two-in-one is a juiced-up version of Microsoft’s original Surface Book (which is still part of the Surface family) for people who found those configurations lacking in graphics performance and battery life.
Pushing pixels with twice the graphics performance of the prior highest-end Surface Book is an Nvidia GeForce GTX 965M GPU with 2GB of GDDR5 memory. Microsoft claims the graphics processor as well as its sixth-gen Intel Core i7 processor delivers twice the performance of the current highest-end MacBook Pro 13.
Related Links
- Microsoft’s Surface Studio: A desktop creation station with a magic dial
- Microsoft’s Surface Books get massive battery life boost
To handle the performance bump, the Surface Book needed a full thermal redesign on the inside, including the addition of a second fan and a set of hyperbolic cooling fins. The other major internal change: More batteries.
Even with the increased performance, Microsoft claims the additional batteries bring the Surface Book i7’s runtime up to 16 hours. (We got 11 hours and 24 minutes when we reviewed it the first time around.)
Other specs appear pretty much unchanged:
- 13.5-inch PixelSense display with 3,000×2,000-pixel resolution (267 ppi)
- Two full-size USB 3.0
- Full-size SD card reader
- Mini Displayport
- Headset jack
CNET Senior Editor Scott Stein got a little hands-on time and confirmed that little has changed on the outside from the original:
If you remember the Surface Book last year, that’s what the new Surface Book is…with a thicker base. The slightly thicker base isn’t as super-razor-thin as last year, but it gives a similar feeling overall. The rest, as they say, is performance tests. But the little gap between the hinge when the Surface Book is shut remains the same as last year, like it or hate it.
The Microsoft Surface Book i7 is available for preorder from the company’s store starting at $2,399. That converts to approximately AU$3,150 and £2,000 in Australia and the UK, respectively. Microsoft expects to start shipping by mid-November.
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Ezviz Mini Plus Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET
You can attach the Ezviz Mini Plus to a magnetic surface.
Ezviz
Security device manufacturer Ezviz may not be a big name in the smart-home space, but I found a lot to like about its ultra-affordable $70 Mini camera when I reviewed it last year.
Now the team is back with the $100 Mini Plus, a next-gen model that promises to be even better than the original Mini. Complete with 1080p high-definition live video streaming and a 135-degree-field-of-view lens, the Mini Plus boasts a better resolution and a larger viewing angle than its predecessor. It also works with IFTTT via the Ezviz channel, which gives you free rein to link your Mini Plus to Amazon Alexa products, connected LEDs and a smattering of other smart-home gadgets.
The Ezviz Mini is the budget security cam you’ve been waiting for
This cute camera costs just $70 and streams video in high definition.
by Megan Wollerton
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The Mini Plus does share a lot of similarities with the first-generation Mini (check out the video above for more details on the Mini). It comes with a microSD card slot if you favor local storage — select the $120 option when you check out on Amazon, and you’ll get a 16GB microSD card with your purchase. You can find Ezviz’s Mini Plus at Home Depot, Best Buy and other chain retailers as well. And like the Mini, the Mini Plus does have a magnetic base for effortless mounting on a fridge, filing cabinet or another magnetic surface.
If local storage isn’t your thing, you can opt in to Ezviz’s event-based cloud subscription, CloudPlay. Unfortunately, prices have gone up to $6 per month/$60 per year for seven days of storage or $11 per month/$110 per year for 30 days of storage (the previous rate was from $5 per month/$50 per year for seven days and $10 per month/$100 per year for 30 days). You do get a month’s worth of free seven-day cloud storage with the Mini Plus, but that’s disappointing since Ezviz offered Mini customers a full year of free cloud services back in 2015.
Ezviz’s $100 Mini Plus, $80 Mini O and $130 Husky cameras.
Ezviz
Ezviz is clearly trying to become a more prominent name in the smart-home market, but I’m not totally sold on the Mini Plus over the last-gen Mini. You can still find the Mini on Amazon, currently for just $67.87, and it covers a lot of the same ground as the new version, just in 720p HD instead of 1080p. The IFTTT channel even works with the original Mini cam, so you aren’t limited to the Mini Plus for connecting to smart products from other manufacturers.
Related Links:
- The $70 Ezviz Mini security camera is big on value
- Ezviz Mini Cube home camera scans either outdoors or inside
- New Ezviz camera boasts a high IQ for a low price
- Ezviz promises new ‘affordable’ security systems in 2016
In addition to the Mini Plus, Ezviz has also rolled out two other cameras — the $80 Mini O and the $130 Husky. The Mini O is a baby monitor with motion detection and HD resolution — head over here to check out more of our baby monitor coverage. The 1080p HD Husky comes with a 16GB microSD card and is designed for outdoor use; Ezviz claims it works in the “snow, rain, sun and heat.”
I’m tracking down review units of the Mini Plus and Husky cams now to see how these budget options compare to pricier DIY models.
35 connected cameras for a safer smart home…
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AIVAnet 