Tech Life Australia-August 2021

Live life smarter ASUS ROG STRIX G15THE ALL-AMD LAPTOP WE LOVE!

ISSUE 118
AUGUST

2021

INSIDER APCA Award
SECRETS ÃĤŅŅăŬŰ

The best PC tech
of 2020/21 inside!

HTC Vive Pro ˣ

The latest evolution
in virtual reality

TIPS & TRICKS Page 68

MAKE THE MOST OF THE BEST APPLE OS YET! Camera
Buying
AUS $10.95 INC GST NZ $10.90 INC GST Page 80 Guide
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3

CONTENTS
Inside this issue of TechLife

PAGE 54

TIPS & TRICKS

MAKE THE MOST OF THE BEST APPLE OS YET!

Cracking Cameras

Whether you’re after a pocket-friendly
snapper or something with a greater
degree of control, we’ve tried them all

Page 70

The complete guide to
Ultra Portable laptops

We’re on the verge of another revolution
in the world of portables Page 80

4

40 51 003 Intro
16
008 Editorial
38
24 010 Hotspot
012
48 016 Asus ROG Strix G15 AMD
53 018 Advantage Edition
36 020 Essential tech news
022 APCA Winners
024 Samsung Odyssey G7
Pop science
026 Apple TV 4K (2021)
028 Gadget Guru
030 Rode Wireless Go II
032
034 Discover

036 Emerging tech
038 New apps
040 Games news
042 Games reviews
044 Special report
045
046 Test Bench
047
048 HP Elite Dragonfly G2
049 Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
050 HTC Vive Pro 2
051 Espresso Display 15.6-inch
052 Hisense ULED 8K Series U80G
Samsung Neo QLED QN900A
053 Dyson Omni-glide
JBL Charge 5
068 AnyCubic Photon Mono X
076 Epson EcoTank ET-8550
080 Fitbit Aria Air
Salomon Index.01
086 Tapo C310 Outdoor Security
Wi-Fi Camera
088 Apple Music
090
092 Features
094
Cracking cameras
096 Fitter, Happier, Stronger
098 Ultraportable laptops
100
Help Station
102
104 Expert solutions for everday
106 problems.
Find Control Panel’s secrets
110 Run iOS apps on your Mac
Master the App Library
114 How to get the most from an
Android Home Hub
A look at security in iOS 15
VPN-ing your router
Is there such a thing as ‘British
Hi-Fi Sound’?
Get a better night’s sleep
Shoot a woodland sunset
Make majestic scenes with the
Magic Wand

Buyer’s Guide

The best tech products

The back page

Ridiculous tech

5

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HOTSPOT
Your guide to hot new tech

$TBC, www.asus.com

2020

EDITOR
APPROVED

AMD’s swing at the high-end gaming laptop is here.

The best gaming laptops, for years, Strix G15 is going to cost when it all-black colorway with red accents,
have been dominated by Intel and hits the streets, but we have been both at the back of the laptop, and one
Nvidia hardware, something that told that it will cost around $2,130. that serves as a rubber foot for the
only really started to change in That’s a pretty high price, and puts laptop – which means you’ll only see
2020 when AMD launched its it in between the Razer Blade and it when the laptop is upside down.
Ryzen 4000 laptop processors. The Asus’ own Zephyrus G14, both of That rubber foot also has some text
Asus ROG Strix G15 is the next step which are some of the best gaming engraved on it that says “Back on
in that direction, launching with laptops in the world right now. Top” next to the Asus ROG logo. So,
not only Ryzen 5000 series yeah, this is very much a gaming
processors, but paired with the Design laptop. That’s not necessarily a bad
latest high-end Radeon graphics thing, but if you don’t want everyone
announced at Computex 2021. If you were to close your eyes and thinking you’re grinding away in
imagine a gaming laptop, you World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade
So, admittedly, there’s a lot probably wouldn’t come up with Classic every time you break out your
riding on this gaming laptop, as it ŰŎłăŹĠĤŅę ŹŎŎ ėØŬ Ŏƫ ėŬŎł ŹĠă ŰƀŰ laptop, this might not be for you.
is going so against the grain of the ROG Strix G15. This is as traditional
hardware we typically see in Ø ęØłĤŅę ĺØŨŹŎŨ ØŰ ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ ƱŅû But while it does have a bit of a
devices like this, especially in its today, even though it is on the nicer dated design aesthetic, don’t go
price range. We’re not sure yet end of the gamer aesthetic. thinking that it’s cheaply put together.
exactly how much the Asus ROG The top of the laptop and the keyboard
This gaming laptop has an

8

Packed with an AMD
Ryzen 9 5900HX,

16GB of RAM and an
AMD Radeon RX 6800M,

it’s no surprise that the
Asus ROG Strix G15 is an
absolute powerhouse of a

gaming laptop.

deck are aluminum, and while the ™ØûăŎŅ ™È ˝˟˗˗n̐ n' The red accents literally all day, because this is one
keyboard deck does have a little bit ŰŨăõĤƱõØĺĺƛ ŹØŬęăŹăû ŹĠă qƔĤûĤØ make no bones of the longest lasting gaming
of give, you really have to push FăDŎŬõ㠙§È ˚˗˞˗̐ ØŅû̐ ƕăĺĺ̐ ŹĠă about this being ĺØŨŹŎŨŰ ƕă̵Ɣă ăƔăŬ ŹăŰŹăû̖
ûŎƕŅ ŎŅ ĤŹ ŹŎ łØķă ĤŹ Ʋăƚ̖ ˝˟˗˗n õŬƀŰĠăŰ ĤŹ̖ RŅ ŨŬ㏏ƛ łƀõĠ a gaming
every benchmark we throw at this machine, but it’s §Ġă ŰƀŰ ™{F ŹŬĤƚ F˘˜ łØŅØęăŰ
However, while the top of the ĺØŨŹŎŨ̐ ĤŹ ŨØŰŰăŰ ƀŨ qƔĤûĤØ̵Ű F•®̖ RŅ not as garish as ˘˘ ĠŎƀŬŰ ØŅû ˙˚ łĤŅƀŹăŰ Ŏė òØŹŹăŬƛ
laptop is aluminum, the bottom of Metro Exodus̐ ŹĠ㠝ŹŬĤƚ F˘˜ ŨØŰŰăŰ some. ĺĤėă ĤŅ ŹĠ㠕!nØŬķ ˘˗ òăŅõĠłØŬķ̐
the laptop still seems to be plastic, ŹĠă ˞˚ ėŨŰ ŹĠØŹ ŹĠă ˚˗˞˗̪ăūƀĤŨŨăû which simulates various real-world
òƀŹ ĤŹ̵Ű ØŹ ĺăØŰŹ Ŏė ĠĤęĠ ūƀØĺĤŹƛ̖ Ņû ŰƀŰ ™{F ÒăŨĠƛŬƀŰ F˘˜ łØŅØęăŰ̐ workloads you might encounter
then because it’s a gaming laptop ƕĤŹĠ ˞˟ ėŨŰ̖ §ĠØŹ̵Ű ĴƀŰŹ Ø ˞ ŨăŬõăŅŹ ƕĠĤĺă ûŎĤŅę ŎƬõă ƕŎŬķ̖ RŹ ėØĺĺŰ Ø
in 2021, there’s a strip of RGB ûĤƫăŬăŅõă̐ òƀŹ ŹĠØŹ̵Ű ŰŹĤĺĺ Ø ƕĤŅ little under that in our video
lighting that runs along the front ėŎŬ n'̖ streaming test, where it manages
Ŏė ŹĠă ĺØŨŹŎŨ̖ ĴƀŰŹ ˠ ĠŎƀŬŰ ØŅû ˙˙ łĤŅƀŹăŰ̐ òƀŹ
This happens in synthetic that’s still a full eight-hour day
There’s also RGB lighting in the òăŅõĠłØŬķŰ̐ ŹŎŎ̖ RŅ ˚'nØŬķ §Ĥłă ØŅû õĠØŅęă̖
keyboard, and all of this lighting Ũƛ̐ ŹĠ㠝ŹŬĤƚ F˘˜ òăØŹŰ ŹĠă
can be controlled through the the ÒăŨĠƛŬƀŰ ƕĤŹĠ ˘˗̐˗ˠ˟ ŨŎĤŅŹŰ ŹŎ RŅ ƛăØŬŰ ŨØŰŹ ęØłĤŅę ĺØŨŹŎŨŰ ĺĤķă
ŰƀŰ ŬłŎƀŬƛ !ŬØŹă ØŨŨ̐ ĴƀŰŹ ĺĤķă ˠ̐˚˚˚̖ RŹ ęŎăŰ ăƔăŅ ėƀŬŹĠăŬ ĤŅ DĤŬă ŹĠă ŰƀŰ ™{F ŹŬĤƚ F˘˜ ƕŎƀĺû ĺØŰŹ
ØŅƛ ŎŹĠăŬ ŰƀŰ ęØłĤŅę ĺØŨŹŎŨ̖ ŹŬĤķă̐ ƕĠăŬă ĤŹ łØŅØęăŰ ŹŎ òăØŹ ĴƀŰŹ Ø õŎƀŨĺă ĠŎƀŬŰ̐ ØŅû ĤŹ ƕØŰ ĴƀŰŹ
ŹĠ㠙§È ˚˗˟˗̪ăūƀĤŨŨăû nR F1˞˝ something you accepted due to the
§Ġă ķăƛòŎØŬû ĤŹŰăĺė ĤŰ Ø ûăĺĤęĠŹ̖ ™ØĤûăŬ òƛ ˜ ŨăŬõăŅŹ̖ ŨŎƕăŬ Ŏė ŹĠă ĠØŬûƕØŬă ŎŅ ŎƫăŬ̖ ƀŹ
Nice, deep travel makes it great for with more and more gaming
playing games, including long RŹ ŰŎƀŅûŰ ĺĤķă Ø ûŬăØł łØõĠĤŅă̐ laptops breaking the eight-hour
grinding sessions in World of ØŅû ĤŅ Ø ĺŎŹ Ŏė ƕØƛŰ ĤŹ ĤŰ̖ NŎƕăƔăŬ̐ threshold, it’s not unreasonable to
Warcraft Classic, getting ready for ăĤŹĠăŬ n' ŎŬ ŰƀŰ ĠØŰ ŰŎłă ķĤŅķŰ ăƚŨăõŹ Øĺĺ̪ûØƛ òØŹŹăŬƛ ĺĤėă ŎƀŹ Ŏė Ø
ŹĠă Ņăƕ ̦Ŏĺû̧ ăƚŨØŅŰĤŎŅ ŹĠØŹ õŎłăŰ ŹŎ ƕŎŬķ ŎƀŹ ĠăŬă̖ NØĺėƕØƛ ŹĠŬŎƀęĠ ęØłĤŅę ĺØŨŹŎŨ̖
ŎƀŹ ŎŅ aƀŅă ˘̖ RŹ̵Ű ŅŎŹ ūƀĤŹă ØŰ ęŎŎû our testing, we started getting
for long-form typing as many drastically reduced performance, Despite some bugs and a dated
Ultrabooks, but it’s perfect for ƕă̵Ŭă ŹØĺķĤŅę ˘˟ ėŨŰ ĤŅ Metro design, the Asus ROG Strix G15
gaming, and really, that’s all you ̩ łƀõĠ ĺŎƕăŬ ŹĠØŅ ŹĠă ˞˟ ėŨŰ ĤŹ might be one of the best value
õØŅ ØŰķ ėŎŬ̖ ƀŰƀØĺĺƛ łØŅØęăŰ̖ Ãă ƕăŬă gaming laptops in its class. If
thankfully able to get it back to you’re after some seriously
Performance normal with a simple reboot, but powerful gaming performance,
ăƚŨăõŹ ŰŎłă ęŬŎƕĤŅę ŨØĤŅŰ̖ you should keep an eye on this
•Øõķăû ƕĤŹĠ ØŅ n' ™ƛƤăŅ ˠ one – but only if you’re comfy
˜ˠ˗˗NÈ̐ ˘˝F Ŏė ™ n ØŅû ØŅ Battery life being an early adopter.
n' ™ØûăŎŅ ™È ˝˟˗˗n̐ ĤŹ̵Ű ŅŎ Bill Thomas
ŰƀŬŨŬĤŰă ŹĠØŹ ŹĠă ŰƀŰ ™{F ŹŬĤƚ 1ØŬĺĤăŬ ƕă ŹØĺķăû ØòŎƀŹ ŹĠă
G15 is an absolute powerhouse of a absolutely massive power supply,
ęØłĤŅę ĺØŨŹŎŨ̖ but unless you’re going to be out

RŅ ĤŹŰ ķăƛŅŎŹă ûăòƀŹĤŅę ŹĠă

9

HOT SPOT

What you need to know

Google is running a new The rumored Facebook
undersea web cable smartwatch looks set to
between the US and take on... GoPro?
South America
An action cam in a smartwatch.
Google is expanding its network of
undersea internet cables with a new Back in February 2021 rumours surfaced housed on the back of the display and
fiber optic line running between the that Facebook was working on its own can record video when removed from
US and South America. The Firmina health-tracking smartwatch. More the strap.
cable, named after Brazilian rumors have surfaced about this
abolitionist Maria Firmina dos Reis, Zuckerberg watch, but far from a fitness That’s not to say there are no health
will run from the east coast of the tracker, they suggest it’ll function more features on the Facebook watch, as the
US to Argentina, with two branches like an action cam. report suggests it will have a heart rate
docking in Brazil and Uruguay. Once tracker and will be marketed as a
finished, Firmina will be the longest According to The Verge, which fitness device.
subsea cable capable of running apparently spoke to people involved in
from a single power source. the Facebook smartwatch project, the The watch will have LTE connectivity
wearable will have a screen that can be apparently, come in white, black and
Biden overturns Trump removed from the strap. This display will gold, and launch in 2022 for about$520.
era bans on TikTok, have a front-facing camera so you can That’s all subject to change, though, as
AliPay and more take selfies whenever you want, as well as the project sounds far from completion.
a rear, higher-resolution one, that’s Tom Bedford
After canceling the sale of TikTok to
Oracle earlier this year, US President iPhone 13 could have improved cameras and Face ID
Joe Biden has signed an executive
order revoking the previous Fire up the Dino widget.
administration’s bans on TikTok,
WeChat, AliPay and seven other A lot of components go into building an The sheer popularity of its phones doesn’t
apps. However, the apps in question iPhone, and one of those components is a account for this, as the company is
aren’t out of hot water just yet as voice coil motor (VCM), something which apparently ordering more than usual.
Biden has directed the Department this year Apple is reportedly using a lot Rather, the sources speaking to DigiTimes
of Commerce to evaluate any apps more of due to planned camera upgrades claim that it’s down to upgrades in the
or software with ties to foreign in the iPhone 13. camera modules and the 3D sensors for
adversaries and take action where Face ID.
appropriate. That’s according to DigiTimes Asia,
which claims that Apple is increasing This is the first we’ve heard about
Vivaldi 4.0 browser VCM orders this month, and will continue improvements to Face ID, but there are
comes with built-in increasing them through July, with the various camera upgrades expected. We’ve
email overall number of VCM’s for Apple previously heard that they might be used
hardware apparently set to match the for sensor-shift OIS (optical image
Vivaldi Technologies has given its total number used in Android devices stabilisation) on the entire iPhone
browser a complete visual overhaul this year. 13 range.
packed with new features to help James Rogerson
users break free from Big Tech. So why does Apple need so many VCMs?
Vivaldi 4.0 is now available for
Windows, Mac, Linux and Android
and the updated browser now
includes its own email, calendar,
RSS reader and translation services
to provide users with a compelling
alternative to Google, Microsoft
and Apple.

10

Sony Airpeak S1 drone is a DJI
rival with a sky-high price tag

The powerful Airpeak has finally landed.

The Sony Airpeak S1 drone has just ØŨŨØŬăŅŹĺƛ òă ŰŹØòĺă ĤŅ ƕĤŅûŰ Ŏė ƀŨ õŎŅŹŬŎĺĺăŬ ƕĤĺĺ ØŨŨØŬăŅŹĺƛ ęĤƔă ƛŎƀ
ŎƬõĤØĺĺƛ ŹØķăŅ Ŏƫ ĤŅ Ø ėƀĺĺ ĺØƀŅõĠ ŹŎ ˞˙ķŨĠ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ĤŰ ØŬŎƀŅû ŹƕĤõă ŹĠă ŰăŨØŬØŹă õŎŅŹŬŎĺ ŎƔăŬ Øĺĺ ØŰŨăõŹŰ Ŏė ŹĠă
– and it’s promising to be a DJI- ŬăŰĤŰŹØŅõă Ŏė ŹĠă 'aR RŅŰŨĤŬă ˙̖ ŰƛŰŹăł̐ ĤŅõĺƀûĤŅę ŹĠă ûŬŎŅă̐ õØłăŬØ
òăØŹĤŅę ØăŬĤØĺ ŹŎŎĺ ėŎŬ ŨŬŎ ØŅû ęĤłòØĺ̖ Ņû ĤŅ ØŅŎŹĠăŬ ĠĤŅŹ ØŹ
ƱĺłłØķăŬŰ̖ ăƛŎŅû ŹĠăŰă ŰŨăõŰ̐ ŎŅƛ ĤŰ ĠŎŨĤŅę ĤŬŨăØķ̵Ű ŨŬŎėăŰŰĤŎŅØĺ ƱĺłłØķĤŅę
ŹĠă ĤŬŨăØķ ˘̵Ű ķăƛ Űăĺĺ ƕĤĺĺ òă ĤŹŰ ĺăØŅĤŅęŰ̐ Ø ûƀØĺ ŎŨăŬØŹĤŎŅ łŎûă ƕĤĺĺ
Sony has been teasing the õĺŎŰă õŎłŨØŹĤòĤĺĤŹƛ ƕĤŹĠ ĤŹŰ ėƀĺĺ̪ ØĺŰŎ ØĺĺŎƕ ĤŅûăŨăŅûăŅŹ õŎŅŹŬŎĺ Ŏė ŹĠă
ĤŬŨăØķ̐ ĤŹŰ ƱŬŰŹ ûŬŎŅă̐ ŰĤŅõă ŹĠă ėŬØłă ĺŨĠØ õØłăŬØŰ̐ ĺĤķă ŹĠ㠝ŎŅƛ ØĤŬõŬØėŹ ØŅû ęĤłòØĺ̖
ŨŬŎĴăõŹ ƕØŰ ƱŬŰŹ ØŅŅŎƀŅõăû ĤŅ ˞ RRR ØŅû ŎŅƛ ˘̖ §ĠăŰă õØłăŬØŰ̐
qŎƔăłòăŬ ˙˗˙˗̐ òƀŹ ĤŹ̵Ű ŅŎƕ ØŅû ŹĠăĤŬ ĤłŨŬăŰŰĤƔă ŬØŅęă Ŏė F Ãă̵Ɣă ŰŹĤĺĺ ŎŅĺƛ ŰăăŅ ŰĠŎŬŹ ŰŅĤŨŨăŹŰ
ŬăĺăØŰăû ŹĠă ėƀĺĺ ŰŨăõŰ ØŅû ŨŬĤõă ŹØę nØŰŹăŬ ĺăŅŰăŰ ØõŬŎŰŰ Ø ƕĤûă ŬØŅęă Ŏė Ŏė ŹĠ㠝ŎŅƛ ĤŬŨăØķ ĤŅ ƲĤęĠŹ̐ ŰŎ ĤŹ
Ŏė ĤŹŰ ĺŨĠØ̪ėŬĤăŅûĺƛ ƲƛĤŅę łØõĠĤŅă̖ ėŎõØĺ ĺăŅęŹĠŰ̐ õăŬŹØĤŅĺƛ ŨŬŎłĤŰă ŹŎ ŬăłØĤŅŰ ŹŎ òă ŰăăŅ ƕĠăŹĠăŬ ĤŹ õØŅ
ŨŬŎûƀõă ŰŎłă ŰŨăõŹØõƀĺØŬ ØăŬĤØĺ łØŹõĠ ŹĠă ŰŹØòĤĺĤŹƛ ØŅû ŨăŬėŎŬłØŅõă Ŏė
ŎŅƛ ŰØƛŰ ŹĠă ĤŬŨăØķ ˘ ƕĤĺĺ òă Ø ėŎŎŹØęă̐ Ĥė ŹĠă ĤŬŨăØķ ˘ ƲĤăŰ ØŰ ƕăĺĺ ĤŹŰ 'aR ŬĤƔØĺŰ ĤŅ ŹĠă ŬăØĺ ƕŎŬĺû̖ ƀŹ ŎŅƛ
ŹĠŬăă̪ŨØŬŹ ƱĺłłØķĤŅę ŰƛŰŹăł̐ ØŰ ĤŹŰ ŰŨăõŰ ŰƀęęăŰŹ̖ ĤŰ ŨŬ㏏ƛ õŎŅƱûăŅŹ ŹĠØŹ ŹĠă ĤŬŨăØķ ˘̵Ű
õŎŅŰĤŰŹĤŅę Ŏė ŹĠă ûŬŎŅă̐ ŹĠă ĤŬŨăØķ õŎłòĤŅØŹĤŎŅ Ŏė ƱƔă ŰŹăŬăŎ õØłăŬØŰ̐
DĺĤęĠŹ ØŨŨ ̦ƕĠĤõĠ ĤŰ̐ õƀŬĤŎƀŰĺƛ̐ ÃĠĤĺă ĤŹ̵Ű ŨŬăƔĤŎƀŰĺƛ òăăŅ ŨŎŰŰĤòĺă ŹƕŎ ĤŅėŬØŬăû ŰăŅŰŎŬŰ ØŅû ŎŅƛ̵Ű ÂĤŰĤŎŅ
Ĥ{̪ŎŅĺƛ̧ ØŅû ŹĠă ĤŬŨăØķ •ĺƀŰ õĺŎƀû ŹŎ ƀŰ㠝ŎŅƛ̵Ű õØłăŬØŰ ƕĤŹĠ ŎŹĠăŬ ăŅŰĤŅę •ŬŎõăŰŰŎŬ ƕĤĺĺ ŨŬŎƔĤûă Ø ŰŎĺĤû
ŰăŬƔĤõă̖ {ė õŎƀŬŰă̐ ŹĠă ûŬŎŅă ĤŹŰăĺė ĤŰ ûŬŎŅăŰ ƀŰĤŅę ęĤłòØĺŰ ėŬŎł 'aR ØŅû ØăŬĤØĺ ŨĺØŹėŎŬł ėŎŬ ĤŹŰ ĺŨĠØ õØłăŬØŰ̖
ŹĠă łŎŰŹ ĤŅŹăŬăŰŹĤŅę Ŏė ŹĠăŰă̐ ØŅû ŎŹĠăŬ ŹĠĤŬû̪ŨØŬŹƛ õŎłŨØŅĤăŰ̐ ŹĠăĤŬ
the Airpeak S1 has some very ĤŅŹăęŬØŹĤŎŅ ƕĤŹĠ ĤŬŨăØķ ŨŬŎłĤŰăŰ ŹŎ §ĠĤŰ õŎłòĤŅØŹĤŎŅ Ŏė ĤŅ̪ĠŎƀŰă
ĤłŨŬăŰŰĤƔă ŰŨăõŰ̖ òă łƀõĠ ŰĺĤõķăŬ̐ ŹĠØŅķŰ ŹŎ ėăØŹƀŬăŰ ŨŬŎõăŰŰĤŅę ØŅû ŰăŅŰĤŅę ŨŎƕăŬ ƕĤĺĺ ØĺŰŎ
ĺĤķă ŹĠă Ņăƕ ĤŬŨăØķ DĺĤęĠŹ ØŨŨ̖ ØŨŨØŬăŅŹĺƛ ØĺĺŎƕ ŹĠă ĤŬŨăØķ ˘ ŹŎ
ŎŅƛ ŰØƛŰ ŹĠă ĤŬŨăØķ ˘ ƕĤĺĺ òă łØĤŅŹØĤŅ ŰŹØòĺă ƲĤęĠŹ ƕĤŹĠŎƀŹ Fq
Øòĺă ŹŎ ƤĤŨ ėŬŎł ˗̪˟˗ķŨĠ ĤŅ ĴƀŰŹ ˚̖˜ Mission control ŰØŹăĺĺĤŹă ĺŎõØŹĤŎŅ ûØŹØ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ĤŰ ŨŬ㏏ƛ
ŰăõŎŅûŰ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ĤŰ ˘̖˜ ŰăõŎŅûŰ ėØŰŹăŬ ăŰŰăŅŹĤØĺ ĤŅ ŬăłŎŹă ØŬăØŰ̖
ŹĠØŅ ŹĠă ăūƀĤƔØĺăŅŹ ØõõăĺăŬØŹĤŎŅ Ŏė ŹŬØŅęăĺƛ̐ ŹĠĤŰ ØŨŨ ĤŰ õƀŬŬăŅŹĺƛ
ŹĠă 'aR RŅŰŨĤŬă ˙̐ 'aR̵Ű ėØŰŹăŰŹ ûŬŎŅă Ĥ{̪ŎŅĺƛ ƕĤŹĠ ŅŎ õƀŬŬăŅŹ ŨĺØŅŰ ėŎŬ ØŅ RŅ ėØõŹ̐ ŎŅă Ŏė ŹĠă ŎŅĺƛ ØŰŨăõŹŰ Ŏė ŹĠă
ŎƀŹŰĤûă ŹĠă ŹĤŅƛ 'aR D•Â̖ ŅûŬŎĤû ƔăŬŰĤŎŅ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ŰăăłŰ Ŏûû Airpeak system that isn’t made by Sony
given that Sony Xperia phones run on ĤŰ ŹĠă ęĤłòØĺ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ĤŰ ĤŅŰŹăØû ŰƀŨŨĺĤăû
§ĠĤŰ ėØĺõŎŅ̪ĺĤķă ØęĤĺĤŹƛ ĤŰ òØõķăû FŎŎęĺă̵Ű {̖ ƀŹ ĤŬŨăØķ ƲĤăŬŰ ØŬă òƛ Ø ŹĠĤŬû̪ŨØŬŹƛ õŎłŨØŅƛ õØĺĺăû
ƀŨ òƛ Ø ŹŎŨ ŰŨăăû Ŏė ˠ˗ķŨĠ ̩ ƕĠĤĺă łŎŬă ĺĤķăĺƛ ŹŎ ƀŰă Ø ŹØòĺ㏠ĺĤķă ØŅ Ĥ•Øû FŬăłŰƛ̖ RŹ̵Ű łØûă Ø õƀŰŹŎł ƔăŬŰĤŎŅ Ŏė
ŹĠØŹ ĤŰŅ̵Ź ăƚØõŹĺƛ ĤŅ ŬØõĤŅę ûŬŎŅă ØŰ ŹĠăĤŬ ƔĤăƕƱŅûăŬ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ĤŰ ƕĠăŬă ĤŹŰ ŹĠŬăă̪ØƚĤŰ §˚ ęĤłòØĺ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ĠØŰ Ø
ŹăŬŬĤŹŎŬƛ̐ ĤŹ̵Ű ŨŬ㏏ƛ ŅĤŨŨƛ ėŎŬ Ø ûŬŎŅă ŹĠă Ĥ{̪ŎŅĺƛ õŎłŨØŹĤòĤĺĤŹƛ ŰŹØŬŹŰ ŹŎ ĠØŅûƛ ūƀĤõķ̪ŬăĺăØŰă ŰƛŰŹăł̖
ŹĠØŹ ƕăĤęĠŰ ˙̖˜˚ķę ̦ĤŅõĺƀûĤŅę Ø łØķă łŎŬă ŰăŅŰă̖ Mark Wilson, Axel Metz
õØłăŬØ̧̖ §Ġă ĤŬŨăØķ̵Ű ƕăĤęĠŹ ØŅû
ėŎƀŬ ŨŬŎŨăĺĺŎŬŰ ØĺŰŎ ăŅŰƀŬă ĤŹ̵ĺĺ §Ġă ĤŬŨăØķ DĺĤęĠŹ ØŨŨ ØŅû

11

Celebrating the very best in PCs an PC gear.

Each year, as we put together the 2020 to March 30 this year (Covid performance machines that we could
Australian PC Awards, we carefully trust. And, through that period the PC
consider the products, technologies and ØƫăõŹăû ŎƀŬ ŨĺØŅŰ ŹŎ ûŎ ĤŹ ĤŅ ŹĠă ƀŰƀØĺ delivered. Some PCs and some gear rose
the companies behind the gear from the above the rest, though, and that’s why
year leading up to this. As hardcore tech tidy calendar year). In that time we not we’re here today – to acknowledge that
fans, this is always a most excellent which was simply better, and pleasingly
ŎŨŨŎŬŹƀŅĤŹƛ ŹŎ ŨØƀŰă ØŅû ŬăƲăõŹ ŎŅ ŹĠă only saw generational leaps for almost in many cases, gear that raised the bar
events of the year passed – but this time well above what we had any right to
we’re looking at 2020, and we all know every component – ut t eer reasonably expect.
how impactful that year was.
importance of the PC cam o a t er The teams from TechLife, APC, and
There are many reasons why these many of our Future Publishing editorial
particular awards are notable. They focus than ever, as so many people colleagues considered every corner of
cover the period from the beginning of the PC, and we think we’ve picked the
shifted to working from home, thus most especially worthy ones.

placing critical importance on our PCs, In an exciting change of format we
ĠØƔă ØĺŰŎ Ʊĺłăû Ø ŰŨăõĤØĺ ƔĤûăŎ
and what we asked of them. presentation! So head to the site in the
left box and catch us as we award the
We worked on our PCs, and quite likely very best in the world of the PC.

gamed on them at night to unwind and

escape. We needed reliable high-

Watch the complete Australian PC Awards video

event, hosted by the team from TechLife and APC at
www.australianpcawards.com.au From June 23rd

MOTHERBOARDS - BROUGHT TO YOU BY

BEST MOTHERBOARD MAKER BEST VALUE MOTHERBOARD BEST PREMIUM MOTHERBOARD
FINALISTS Asus, Gigabyte, Asrock, MSI FINALISTS MSI MAG Z490 Tomahawk, Asus FINALISTS Asus ROG Zenith II Extreme Alpha,
TUF B550M Wi-Fi, Asrock A520M-ITX/AC, MSI Gigabyte Z590 Vision G, Gigabyte Z590 Aorus
WINNER Asus B550 Tomahawk Master, MSI MEG Z490 Ace, Asus Crosshair VIII
Motherboards from Asus consistently deliver Dark Hero X570
great BIOSes and good physical layouts, albeit WINNER Asrock A520M-ITX/AC
not as competitive at the value end of the The perfect partner for one of AMD’s lower- WINNER Gigabyte Z590 Aorus Master
market in this latest generation. priced CPUs (or APUs), this $150 board offers Mega VRM and huge heatsinks that give lots
a great featureset for the price and even has of surface area for outstanding cooling, great
Asus motherboards have proven to their AC Wi-Fi. quality components and even 10G LAN, which
owners time and time again that they are is unheard of at this pricepoint.
both reliable and capable of the highest HIGHLY COMMENDED MSI MAG Z490
performance. They also often lead the Tomahawk HIGHLY COMMENDED Asus Crosshair VIII
industry with innovative features. We like A great choice for a user looking to build a Dark Hero X570
the clear family split across budget to high- powerful system without spending the big The best AM4 motherboard we’ve yet tested,
performance products that gives good choice bucks. we’re so enamoured with it that it’s become
without being overly complicated, and Asus our AMD testbed. Fantastic memory support,
offers well above average customer service. supporting a very wide range of frequencies.

12

GRAPHICS CARD - BROUGHT TO YOU BY CPU - BROUGHT TO YOU BY

BEST GRAPHICS CARD MAKER BEST VALUE GRAPHICS CARD BEST PREMIUM GRAPHICS BEST VALUE CPU
FINALISTS MSI, Nvidia, Gigabyte FINALISTS MSI RTX 3060 Ti CARD FINALISTS Intel Core i5-11400F,
Aorus, Inno3D, Sapphire, Asus Gaming X Trio, PowerColor 6700 XT FINALISTS Nvidia 3080 FE, Intel Core i5-10600K, AMD Ryzen
Hellhound, Gigabyte 3060 Vision Asus ROG-Strix-RTX3080-O10G- 3 3300X, Intel Core i5-10400F, Intel
WINNER MSI OC, Inno3D 3060 Ti iCHILL X3, Gaming, MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Core i3 10105F
Consistently first-rate coolers Gigabyte 3060 Ti Vision OC Suprim, AMD Radeon 6800XT,
from top to bottom of the range, WINNER MSI RTX 3060 Ti Gaming Sapphire RX 6800 XT Nitro+ WINNER Intel Core i5-11400F
enabling high performance and X Trio With impressive performance for
safe operation, and often priced A mid range card with a flagship WINNER Asus ROG Strix less than half the price of a 5600X,
cheaper than other brands. design. RTX3080 O10G Gaming for those on a budget, this is a
HIGHLY COMMENDED Gigabyte A quiet, cool, powerful and slam dunk.
HIGHLY COMMENDED Nvidia 3060 Vision OC feature loaded card. It's got
30-series Founders Edition cards Ideal for gaming or creating. the lot. HIGHLY COMMENDED AMD
feature genuine engineering PowerColor RX 6700 XT Ryzen 3 3300X
innovation with a unique cooling Hellhound HIGHLY COMMENDED MSI It’s a special little gem if you can
solution not seen before, and is Great value, excellent cooling. GeForce RTX 3080 Suprim get your hands on one.
superbly built. A powerhouse of high clocks and Intel Core i5-10600K
quality cooling to tame it. This CPU offers the performance
of a flagship CPU from just a
couple of years ago.

STORAGE - BROUGHT TO YOU BY

BEST INTERNAL STORAGE BEST EXTERNAL STORAGE BEST SOHO OR HOME NAS BEST PREMIUM CPU
MAKER MAKER FINALISTS Synology DS1621+, FINALISTS Intel Core i9-10850K,
FINALISTS WD, Samsung, Adata, FINALISTS WD, SanDisk, Crucial Synology DS920+, Terramaster Intel Core i5-11600K, AMD Ryzen
Crucial by Micron by Micron, Samsung, Adata, F5-221 NAS, QNAP TS-130 NAS 7 5800X, AMD Ryzen 9 5950X,
Seagate AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
WINNER Samsung WINNER Synology DS1621+
An unblemished record of quality, WINNER WD A great combination of WINNER AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
value and choice. Samsung is the Thoughtfully engineered performance, capacity, features, A great enthusiast processor, Intel
first choice of many looking for storage products covering every expandability and price point for can’t beat it, does everything well
great internal storage. conceivable need. any SMB. without breaking the bank.

HIGHLY COMMENDED Adata HIGHLY COMMENDED Seagate HIGHLY COMMENDED HIGHLY COMMENDED AMD
A smaller brand gunning to take Innovative products like Synology DS920+ Ryzen 5 5600X
on the premium makers, and the Firecuda Gaming Dock Simultaneously a great For a gaming-only focus the
delivering across its range. demonstrate Seagate’s expandable entry point for NAS 5600X is perfect.
commitment to innovation. newbies and a powerful, feature- Intel Core i5-11600K
laden office server for SMBs. Very competitive performance at
this price point.

SYSTEMS - SPONSORED BY

BEST VALUE LAPTOP OR 2-IN-1 BEST PREMIUM LAPTOP OR 2-IN-1 BEST GAMING LAPTOP BEST DESKTOP PC MAKER
FINALISTS Asus Zephyrus G14, FINALISTS Asus ZenBook Duo FINALISTS Asus ROG Zephyrus FINALISTS Thermaltake,
Asus ZenBook 14, Asus ViVoBook 14, Asus ZenBook Flip 13 OLED, Duo 15, Asus ROG Zephyrus Aftershock, MSI, PC Case Gear, JW
S15, MSI Summit E14, Apple Gigabyte Aero 15 OLED, Razer G14, Gigabyte Aorus 15P, Aorus Computers, PLE, Mwave
MacBook Air (M1), Asus TUF A15, Blade Pro 17, Aftershock Vapor 17G XC, Aftershock Vapor 15X,
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 17X, MSI Creator 15 A10UGT, Apple Aftershock Vapor 17X, MSI GL75 WINNER Aftershock
MacBook Pro (M1), Dell XPS 13 Leopard 10SFSK, MSI GE76-Raider Insane personalised builds, at
WINNER Apple MacBook Air (9310), MSI Prestige 14 Evo A11M a price premium but you get a
13-inch M1 WINNER Asus ROG custom-built Ferrari for it. They
The biggest laptop innovation WINNER Apple MacBook Pro M1 Zephyrus G14 also have the quality sewn up.
we’ve ever seen. Incredible performance, double A perfectly executed AMD
the battery and cheaper. package by Asus. HIGHLY COMMENDED PC Case
HIGHLY COMMENDED Asus TUF Gear
A15 (2021) HIGHLY COMMENDED MSI HIGHLY COMMENDED Aorus Well balanced and value builds,
Performance, price and perks. Prestige 14 Evo A11M 17G XC PCCG is always on the ball.
Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 Great all-round professional. A powerful gaming weapon. MSI
Chromebook Asus ZenBook Duo 14 (UX482) Alienware m15 R3 MSI often pushes the boundaries
A great cheap alternative. A unique premium product. Seriously well engineered. of PC design.

13

PERIPHERALS & COMPONENTS - SPONSORED BY

BEST MEMORY MAKER BEST COOLING PRODUCT BEST MONITOR
FINALISTS Thermaltake, Adata, Crucial by FINALISTS Asus ROG Ryujin 360, Corsair FINALISTS Asus ROG Strix XG27UQ, Gigabyte
Micron, Corsair, G.Skill, HyperX, Team Group iCUE H100i Elite Capellix Liquid CPU Cooler, M27Q Gaming monitor, Samsung Odyssey G9,
Thermaltake Toughfan 12 PWM High Static Samsung Odyssey G5, Samsung Smart Monitor
WINNER Team Group Pressure Radiator Fan, Be Quiet Pure Rock 2, M7, MSI Optix MAG272C 165Hz Gaming
Team Group’s second Australian PC Noctua NH-D15S Chromax Monitor, Alienware AW3821DW, Gigabyte G27F,
Awards win in this category, once again LG CX OLED48
for remarkable and consistent value and a WINNER Corsair iCUE H100i Elite Capellix
competitive range. 240mm ARGB AIO CPU Cooler WINNER Alienware AW3821DW
A cooler that hits just the right balance of A gaming screen that also really delivers for
HIGHLY COMMENDED G.Skill performance, low noise levels and value. productivity, and is very good value.
A range to please both enthusiasts and value-
seekers, with unique aesthetics and usually HIGHLY COMMENDED Noctua NH-D15S HIGHLY COMMENDED Gigabyte G27F
offering very good value. Chromax Amazing value for a 27-in 144Hz IPS screen
If you’re after a high performance air cooler, that does it all.
look no further. LG CX OLED48
Be Quiet Pure Rock 2 For a TV - this is an incredible gaming monitor.
A great step up from bundled coolers that
offers excellent value.

BEST KEYBOARD BEST MOUSE BEST GAMING HEADSET
FINALISTS Asus ROG Strix Scope RX, Corsair FINALISTS Asus ROG Chakram, Razer FINALISTS Asus ROG Strix Go 2.4, Corsair HS75
K100 RGB Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, DeathAdder V2 Pro, Glorious Model O XB Wireless Gaming Headset for Xbox Series X,
Thermaltake Argent K5 RGB Gaming Keyboard, Wireless, Logitech G Pro X Superlight Razer BlackShark V2 Pro, HyperX Cloud Alpha S,
Razer Huntsman V2 Analog, Ducky One 2 Audeze LCD-GX Gaming Headset
Pudding, Logitech G915 TKL WINNER Logitech G Pro X Superlight WINNER Razer BlackShark V2 Pro
Small, light, simple and ideal for gaming as Brings in key gamer features like 2.4 wireless
WINNER Razer Huntsman well as regular use. A real delight to use. and THX Spatial Audio in a quality package
V2 Analog with top notch sound quality.
A rare case of an expensive product delivering HIGHLY COMMENDED Razer DeathAdder HIGHLY COMMENDED HyperX Cloud
everything it promises and offering real value. V2 Pro Alpha S
Analog keys are game-changer – literally. An updated sensor and extremely durable Priced at the upper end of ‘value’ but with
switches make this a great mouse for premium features.
HIGHLY COMMENDED Logitech G915 TKL dedicated gamers. Audeze LCD-GX Gaming Headset
Absolutely everything you could wish for in a Supreme planar-driver sound quality derived
wireless productivity keyboard. from audiophile cans.
Ducky One 2 Pudding
No fancy tricks, but it’s just beautiful to look RESELLER - SPONSORED BY
at and use.

BEST PC CASE BEST ROUTER BEST RESELLER
FINALISTS Corsair 5000D Tempered Glass Mid- FINALISTS Asus ZenWiFi XT8, Asus ZenWiFi FINALISTS PLE, Mwave, Scorptec, Aftershock,
Tower, Thermaltake The Tower 100 Mini Case, CT8, D-Link COVR-X1873 AX1800 Mesh Wi-Fi Computer Alliance, Umart, PC Case Gear, JB
Thermaltake Divider 300 ARGB, Fractal Design 6, Tenda MW12, Linksys Velop WiFi 6 AX4200, Hi-Fi
Define 7, Lian Li Lancool II Mesh, Phanteks Netgear Nighthawk AX8
Eclipse P300A Mesh Edition WINNER PLE
WINNER Netgear Nighthawk AX8 PLE’s excellent website allows easy editing of
WINNER Lian Li Lancool II Mesh Enhanced security and top performance. It pre-built designs and their unique and wide
Excellent air ventilation plus styling that’s got may be expensive, but the RAX80 is the Wi-Fi range of cases is impressive.
universal appeal. 6 router to get.
HIGHLY COMMENDED Scorptec
HIGHLY COMMENDED Thermaltake The HIGHLY COMMENDED Tenda MW12 A huge range of gear that covers everything
Tower 100 Mini Case Fast, well-featured, easy-to-use with good, you could want.
A sleek, vertical, mini-ITX case with nice cable reliable coverage, and super-affordable –
management. everything you could want from Wi-Fi.
Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh Edition
Under $80 yet with tempered glass, a PSU
cavity and great styling.

14

SPONSORED BY

EXCELLENCE
AWARD

For the person, product or
technology that advanced the
PC more than any other.

FINALISTS
Apple M1 processor, ultra-fast refresh rate monitors, Intel Iris Xe Graphics,
AMD Ryzen 7 4800HS, AMD Zen 3 core, Nvidia DLSS 2.0
WINNER Apple M1 processor
The biggest WTF moment in computer processors for 20 years.
HIGHLY COMMENDED Intel Iris Xe Graphics Intel doubled integrated
GPU performance for light 1080p gaming on Ultrabooks.

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

GOLD
AWARD

The Gold Award is given to the company deemed to be the very best
of 2020. To stand out in a field of such spirited competition, in the ever-
evolving cauldron of PC tech, requires a team that has focus, talent,
fresh thinking and the ability to deliver. Winning is the mark of a team
that has it all.

Taking home the Gold is an honour its winner can be especially proud
of – and that’s because it is you that decided this one. Voting has been
running across our sites and we hope you had your say!

WINNER ASUS

Asus is the company that does it all, and does it well. With a reputation
for quality and reliability, great engineering and always pushing the
industry forwards with clever new products and ideas, Asus covers a
huge spectrum of product categories and is trusted and genuinely
loved by its customers.

THE 2021 AUSTRALIAN PC AWARDS ARE PROUDLY PRESENTED BY

AND ALSO PARTNERED WITH

15

HOTSPOT

Samsung Odyssey G7

2020

EDITOR’S
CHOICE

$1,099, www.samsung.com

Samsung Odyssey G7

Fantastic performance and unbeatable design.

The Samsung Odyssey G7 looks Samsung Odyssey G7 manages to anything over 144Hz is excessive
like it could be a dream display for
gamers looking to avoid any FOMO crank that up to a blistering 240Hz ęĤƔăŅ ĠŎƕ ĺĤŹŹĺă ûĤƫăŬăŅŹ ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ Űăă ĤŅ
given that for most folk hunting for
the best gaming monitor, the ƕĤŹĠ ŰŎłă ŰăŬĤŎƀŰ ƲØĤŬ̖ ÉŎƀ õØŅ the jump between 144-240Hz, but
market is split into two distinct
areas that depend mostly on what choose between either a 27-inch with the latest graphics cards from
genres you play and how you want
to optimise your experience. model for $999 or a 32-inch Nvidia and AMD powering gaming

If you want a high refresh rate version for $1,099, with PCs you can expect many
for buttery-smooth graphics or to
give you an edge in competitive ŹĠă òăŅăƱŹŰ ØŅû ėăØŹƀŬăŰ low-demand titles easily
titles like Apex Legends and Call Of
Duty: Warzone then you’re usually included in both sizes of smashing past 144fps.
limited to a 1080p resolution. On
ŹĠă ƲĤŨ ŰĤûă̐ ØŅƛŎŅă ƕØŅŹĤŅę ŹŎ the display. This is one of the best Whether you’d actually
enjoy crazy 4K graphics on games gaming monitors in its ŅŎŹĤõă ŹĠă ûĤƫăŬăŅõă ĤŰ ØŅ
like Red Dead Redemption 2 will Samsung open question, but you’ll
have to reel in that refresh rate to
something around the 60Hz mark. Odyssey G7 class, especially for anyone have the peace of mind
not looking to purchase knowing that if you’re
A comfortable middle has been Here is the Samsung multiple displays to cater hitting up to 240fps in your
found on a few displays that use a Odyssey G7 favorite game then your
1440p resolution (or 2K as it’s õŎŅƱęƀŬØŹĤŎŅ ŰăŅŹ ŹŎ
sometimes dubbed) with a
somewhat faster refresh rate TechLife for review: to both high refresh rates monitor is keeping up.
between 144-160Hz, but the Panel size: 27-inch, Something that is
and high resolutions.
Panel type: VA, ûăƱŅĤŹăĺƛ ŅŎŹĤõăØòĺă

Resolution: 2,560 x however is the 1000R

1,440, Brightness: 350 nits, screen that has a tight enough curve

Contrast: 2,500:1, Pixel response: to make Beyonce envious. Most

1ms, Refresh rate: 240Hz, Inputs: 1 equivalent monitors on the market

x HDMI 2.0, 2x DisplayPort, 1x opt for somewhere in the 1500R to

3.5mm headphone output, 1800R range, so this will potentially

3 x USB 2.0. need to getting used to even if you

There is a good argument that have prior experience using a curved

16

Pic: Future

display. In games this results in an certain shades and around the The curve of the arm while the monitor itself is still
incredible sense of immersion due upper/lower areas of the display. display may take tucked snuggly into the supporting
to being almost enveloped by the This appears to be a fairly common getting used to foam of the box to avoid anything
display, especially in titles like issue with the Samsung Odyssey on a working being dropped. The design of the
Subnautica or Elite Dangerous. range, but it was quickly corrected desktop, but it’s stand enables you to rotate the
by heading into the VOD and superb for display and adjust the viewing
This does mean that using the playing around with the Black gaming. angle too, but there is an
standard desktop outside of Equalizer – between 13 and 16 attachment provided in the box
gaming will take some adjustment, seems to be the sweet spot. that will allow for wall mounting if
but we found we overcame the you prefer.
‘fishbowl’ feeling after a few days The HDR support isn’t as good as
of use. Samsung opting to use a VA you’d find on a Samsung TV, but it All things considered, this is one
(vertical alignment) panel may does noticeably well with effective of the best gaming monitors in its
have quirked some eyebrows too selective dimming. The black tones class, especially for anyone not
given how often the tech is are suitable deep when in a dark looking to purchase multiple
associated with issues like motion environment and it really displays to cater to both high
blur, ghosting and lag, though we enhances your experience in heavy refresh rates and high resolutions.
didn’t experience any issues environmental games like Horizon: The lighting fast 240hz speed
during our testing. In fact, you’d be Zero Dawn. paired with 1440p resolution is
forgiven for mistaking it with an more than enough to knock your
IPS panel given how good the You’re also getting adaptive sync socks off in pretty much any title
colors and vibrancy are. support and compatibility for both you play, though you will need to
Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync use a pretty powerful PC to make
It did make the viewing angles of for a tear-free gaming experience the most of what the Samsung
the display slightly disappointing, and a funky LED light built into the Odyssey G7 has to offer.
however, with the top and sides rear of the monitor to illuminate
having minor inconsistencies that the wall with some mood lighting, The Samsung Odyssey G7 is a
were exacerbated by the dramatic though this sadly isn’t RGB, nor will fantastic curved gaming monitor
curve of the screen. It’s unlikely it sync to your other peripherals or for anyone looking for the best of
that this would interfere with your react to what’s on your display like both worlds – with 240Hz at
ability to enjoy everyday activities a Philips Hue device. 1440p you have the benefit of
or gaming, but it’s unlikely you’d speed and glorious resolution,
want to use the Odyssey G7 for any Unboxing the Odyssey G7 is an and in a stylish package to boot.
photo or video editing. easier affair than most curved Jess Weatherbed
gaming monitors, but actually
There was also a noticeable issue assembling the product can be a
with scan lines straight out of the tad awkward. We would
box that was very noticeable on recommend attaching the support

17

Pop Science Planarian flatworms
(ghost flatworm) on reef
aquarium glass.

@Getty

@Getty

HISTORY ANIMALS

Ancient tombs uncovered Decapitated worms ‘see’
in Corsica with headless bodies

An ancient necropolis with 40 Tiny worms can ‘see’ light without their eyes, or their heads.
tombs, including cylindrical jars
filled with human remains, has Planarians are a type of flatworm, NC R-opn 2, while the more centrally
been discovered on the French soft-bodied creatures that lack complex located cell populations only expressed
island of Corsica. The people organs. They have two eyes that connect to NC R-opn 1.
buried in the cemetery range a centralised bundle of ganglia in their
from infants to adults, heads that acts as a brain, and those eyes The cells producing just one opsin were
archaeologists said. Located in are sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) light. In the pigment cells. In the peripherally located
the town of L’Île-Rousse on the presence of UV light, the worms use their cells, the two opsins first detected UV light
island’s northern coast, the cilia, tiny hairlike structures on their and then triggered movement in the
cemetery seems to have been bodies, to wriggle away. However, it turns headless worm, which wriggled away in
used between the third and fifth out the worms, measuring just a few response to that light. Only mature worms
centuries CE, a time in which the millimetres long, don’t need their eyes or possessed this light-sensing superpower;
Roman Empire was gradually their brains for light detection. When newly hatched worms couldn’t detect UV
declining. researchers lopped off planarians’ heads, light after their heads were snipped off,
the worms were still capable of sensing hinting that light-sensing cells in the
Many of the deceased were UV light. worms’ bodies develop after hatching.
found buried inside amphoras,
large vessels that would normally Removing an animal’s head might seem The scientists also found that when
be used to carry goods such as like an odd way to conduct behaviour whole planarians were resting in an
olive oil, wine, or pickles. The experiments. But planarians are known for inactive sleep-like state, they would perk
design of the amphoras indicates not only surviving decapitation, but also for up in the presence of UV light, even when
that they are from North Africa, easily regenerating missing body parts. they didn’t respond to other visual stimuli.
with some possibly being Amputation is no big deal for a planarian; This suggests that whole-body light
manufactured in Carthage. cut one into multiple pieces and each piece sensing helps to protect snoozing worms
will regenerate into a new worm. from harmful UV rays by activating
Even so, the people buried in Decapitated planarians easily grow new movement when the worm is at rest and its
the necropolis, including those heads, and scientists can even tweak vision is temporarily offline.
inside the amphoras, likely lived the worms’ genetic instructions to
near the necropolis in Corsica. coax them into growing the heads of “Such a mechanism may be distinctly
Archaeologists also found that different species. advantageous to a water-dwelling,
some of the burials were covered light-aversive organism that is likely
with terracotta tiles that the Researchers found planarian bodies nocturnal and would rest during the day,”
Romans called ‘tegulae’ and contain cells that produce a type of the researchers wrote. The discovery of a
‘imbrices’. The Romans often light-sensitive protein called an opsin. whole-body light-sensing infrastructure in
used such tiles to cover the roofs Arrays of these cells found around the planarians that doesn’t require a central
of buildings, and at times to periphery of the planarians’ bodies brain or eyes represents “a major advance
cover burials. expressed two opsins: NC R-opn 1 and spanning virtually all facets of
photosensory biology”.
The necropolis is located at the
foot of the Immaculate
Conception church, constructed
in 1893. Other burials found on
the island, such as those at the
sites of Mariana and
Sant’Amanza, have been linked
to buildings of worship. More
research needs to be done to
determine what ancient towns or
cities were located near this
necropolis.
OWEN JARUS

18

SPACE

Astronauts to clean space
underwear with microbes

Sharing your unwashed underwear with another person isn’t ideal.

For astronauts on board the International ventilation draws moist air away from The Necklace Nebula shines like
Space Station (ISS), performing a spacewalk extremities, while flexible tubes that are jewellery, but it’s just a load of star farts.
requires that they share not only the sewn into the garment circulate cooling
spacesuits, but also a piece of clothing that’s water around the body and help to remove @Getty
worn underneath, known as the liquid excess heat, maintaining a comfortable core
cooling and ventilation garment (LCVG). body temperature. ESA scientists were SPACE
already investigating candidate materials
Access to a freshly laundered LCVG isn’t for upgrading outer spacesuit layers, so this ‘Necklace Nebula’ formed
an option on the ISS, but technicians with new initiative “is a useful complement, by drowning star
the European Space Agency (ESA) are taking looking into small bacteria-killing
steps to improve the antimicrobial molecules that may be useful for all kinds of Two stars, bound together in orbital
properties in LCVG materials to keep these spaceflight textiles, including spacesuit matrimony, are slowly ripping each
shared garments clean and fresh for longer. interiors,” said ESA material engineer other apart, and like many
Małgorzata Hołynska. Scientists will test relationship squabbles, this stellar
In a new two-year project called Biocidal the performance of antimicrobial properties spat ends with jewellery.
Advanced Coating Technology for Reducing in the new textiles by exposing them to
Microbial Activity (Bacterma), ESA sweat, lunar dust and radiation to simulate Meet the Necklace Nebula, also
researchers are collaborating with the conditions that could accelerate aging and known as PN G054.203.4. This
Vienna Textile Lab, a private biotechnology deterioration of the fabric in space. planetary nebula is located about
company in Austria that produces fabric MINDY WEISBERGER 15,000 light years from Earth, inside
dyes from bacteria. Compounds generated the Sagitta constellation. To
by these bacteria can also make textile Astronaut undergarments, known as liquid telescopes like Hubble, the nebula
fibres more resistant to certain types of cooling and ventilation garments, designed for looks like an emerald oval ringed
microbes. Astronauts on the ISS keep their the Space Shuttle and International Space with sparkling clusters of jewel-like
hands and bodies clean with no-rinse Station Extravehicular Mobility Unit. gas. A binary star forms a bright
cleaning solutions and dry shampoo, but speck at the centre.
laundering clothes, including underwear, © NASA
would require too much water, and is simply That speck looks like a single star,
not possible. Nor is there enough room on but it’s no bachelor; about 10,000
the ISS for astronauts to pack a fresh change years ago, the star grew so large
of clothes for every day of their mission. that its outermost layer of gas
actually swallowed up a smaller
When it comes to dirty underwear, companion star. That smaller
astronauts don’t have the luxury of being companion star is still orbiting
squeamish, and may wear a pair more than inside its larger partner’s gassy
once. American astronaut Don Pettit wrote sheath, known as a common
that he changed his underwear once every envelope. As the smaller star orbits
three or four days when he was on the ISS. through its larger partner, the gas
And when Japanese astronaut Koichi surrounding the duo begins to
Wakata tested bacteria-resistant underwear rotate faster and faster. At some
coverings in space in 2009, he wore one pair point the gas surrounding this
for about a month. When clothing becomes stellar couple started swirling so
too soiled or smelly for an astronaut to wear, fast that huge swaths of it started
it is either returned to Earth as rubbish or is spilling out into space.
packed up into a capsule, ejected into space
and burnt up in Earth’s atmosphere. That runaway gas escaped in an
oval shape, gushing outwards for
LCVGs are only worn during spacewalks, trillions of miles in every direction,
but astronauts are working harder than thus creating the necklace shape.
usual when they wear this communal As for the sparkling jewels running
undergarment. An LCVG is very form- along the outside of the ring? These
fitting, covering the limbs and torso, and it are areas where the stellar gas
keeps astronauts cool during the extreme bunched up into dense clusters.
physical exertion of working in the vacuum
of space. An adult diaper is worn For now the two stars at the
underneath, in case the astronaut needs to centre of the nebula will continue
relieve themselves during a spacewalk. Gas their mad ballroom dance around
each other, completing a full orbit in
a little more than an Earth day. But
their end is uncertain. Many binary
couples end their relationships with
immense supernova explosions.
BRANDON SPECKTOR

19

HOTSPOT

Apple TV 4K (2021)

2020

EDITOR
APPROVED

From $249, www.apple.com/au

Apple TV 4K (2021)

Apple’s streaming box may be expensive, but it’s packed full of features.

It’s taken four years for Apple to center, in the same glossy finish playback when you’re streaming
revamp its streaming box, and found on the sides. On the back are TV shows, movies or music, while
you’d be forgiven for initially the power socket, a HDMI 2.1 port the outer ring can be used to scroll
being underwhelmed – the Apple and an Ethernet socket, although forwards and backwards during
TV 4K (2021) looks identical to its it does also have Wi-Fi. However, playback, enabling you to select a
predecessor, the Apple TV 4K unlike some of the best streaming specific scene in a movie or show.
(2017) and the tweaks and devices, it doesn’t come bundled
improvements it offers over its with a HDMI cable – you’ll need to For the first time, the Siri
the previous iteration are, on the provide this yourself. remote has a power button, so you
face of it, small. However, the can use it to switch the Apple TV
interface is incredibly slick, and it As we’ve already mentioned, 4K on or off, along with your TV
brings more than just TV the revamped Siri remote is one of too, and it also now features a
streaming to the table. the big draws of the new Apple TV back button and a mute button.
4K. The new Siri remote is The Siri button has now been
Design thinner, but slightly heavier than moved to the right-hand edge of
before, and powered by a the remote.
The latest Apple TV 4K certainly rechargeable battery. The circular
isn’t the most compact TV clickpad at the top of the remote Performance
streaming device on the market, control works in the same way as
but it’s not the bulkiest either – the touch-sensitive trackpad, Like most Apple devices, the Apple
measuring 9.8 x 8.8 x 3.5cm (w x d allowing you to swipe up, down TV 4K proved extremely easy to
x h) it can slot easily into your and left to right to scroll through set up, and it was recognised by
existing home cinema setup. It apps and settings on the Apple TV our iPhone as soon as we plugged
has a matt black top with a 4K. Pressing the clickpad will it in. The iPhone took care of
discreet Apple TV logo in the open apps, or pause/restart transferring our Apple ID and
password to the Apple TV 4K

20

automatically, and we were also feature simple to use – after The new remote messing about trying to select
impressed by the One Home holding our iPhone close to our has a pleasant on-screen characters with the
Screen feature, which mirrors the TV screen with the camera heft to it. remote. You can connect two pairs
apps and layout of any existing pointed towards it, with the of Apple AirPods at the same time
Apple TV devices in your home. on-screen image cycling through for private listening, and there’s
a range of colors, we were also multi-user support, so family
The overall performance of the presented with a new color members with their own AppleID
Apple TV 4K (2021) was very slick, profile that was less vivid and can be added to the device and see
with no lag when loading or slightly more subdued. It’s easy their own personalised app, video
switching apps, and we found Siri to switch between your original and music collections.
was effective at searching for color settings and the new
content, even when a query balanced look using the on- These features are also
contained multiple parameters screen options. available on the Apple TV 4K
– when we asked for comedy (2017), and it’s the close attention
movies for children, a number of We were impressed with the to detail that makes any iteration
suitable films, including redesigned Siri remote: we found of Apple’s streaming box a real
Paddington 2 and Finding Dory, the clickpad to be far more pleasure to use.
were displayed at the bottom of accurate than the previous model
the screen within seconds. when it came to scrolling The Apple TV 4K (2021) is a slick
through apps and shows, and streaming device, which can play
When it comes to playing were also impressed that the TV 4K video in HDR and Dolby Vision,
high-frame-rate HDR, there’s could be switched off at the same and supports high-frame-rate
currently a limited amount of time as the Apple TV 4K (2021), HDR to make fast action and
compatible content available, but which means fewer remotes sports look smooth and clear. The
we were able to see a clear cluttering up the coffee table. The revamped Siri remote is a pleasure
difference when watching Red extra weight – 64g compared to to use, and there are plenty of
Bull TV on the Apple TV 4K (2021) 45g – is welcome, giving the feel small but handy features, such as
compared to the Apple TV 4K of a more premium build quality. multi-user support and the ability
(2017). On the newest Apple TV, to tweak your TV’s colour balance
Red Bull Straight Rhythm – a There are plenty of small but automatically. There’s no denying
fast-paced motorbike supercross extremely handy features built it’s expensive, but it’s more than
event – looked smooth and clear, into the Apple TV 4K (2021) too. just a way to watch movies and
while it was slightly jittery and For example, if you need to enter TV shows, doubling up a smart
not as detailed when viewed on text on the Apple TV 4K (2021), home hub.
the previous iteration. such as a password, you can type Carrie-Ann Skinner
it on your iPhone rather than
We found the color balance

21

DISCOVER

Gadget Guru

Gadget Guru

Our tame tech expert lets us
into his shed of knowledge.

What should I wear when
working from home?

Torsten Marklund

Today’s work hours outfits are should you accidentally give your themonthlytieclub.com will
very much the mullets of
clothing: business on the top, work colleagues an eyeful, but send you up to four silk ties
party on the bottom. Your
presentable areas exude an air Guru knows you never run and so every month, with the option of
of professionalism while the bit
below is basically a bomb site. do your workmates. Note adding a pocket square;

If you must work in your that these are even if you’re not in a
pants, at least make them good
pants; Guru’s partial to the comfortable enough for If over-smart Zoom tie-type situation,
sack-swaddlers from ladies too – Mrs Guru has hawkinsandshepherd.
pantsandsocks.com, which you
can buy one-off or subscribe to stolen many pairs – but calls are the order of com can sort you out ILLUSTRATIONS: STEPHEN KELLY
if you have a sandpapery check out lemonadedolls. the day The Monthly with some truly special
behind. They’re reasonably com if you’re looking for business shirts, though
priced and come from decent a nether-covering Tie Club will send they do work out about
grundlebrands – the company
does advise that they can be subscription service with you up to four silk $150 each. Sadly every
passed off as running shorts a size-positive, comfort- ties every month. Hawaiian shirt
focused female bent. subscription service

Top-half tailoring can Guru can find is

also be found in subscription US-only, so there’s an

form. If over-smart Zoom calls exploitable gap in the market

are the order of the day (or if you should you accidentally show

just don’t care) too much skin and get laid off.

22

Should I treat myself to a smart shower, Guru?

NICOLE YOUNG
Time for one of GaGu’s patented ‘not the views of TechLife’ rants,
reader: oh dear, no you should absolutely not get a smart shower,
outside of some very slim niche cases. If you are disabled and can’t
easily operate standard controls, by all means do. If your skin has a
ƔăŬƛ ŰŨăõĤƱõ FŎĺûĤĺŎõķŰ ƤŎŅă Ŏė õŎłėŎŬŹ̐ Ű㏏ĤŅę ØŅ ăƚØõŹ
temperature might be the answer. In no other situation can GaGu
see any reason to pick up a smart shower, but boy can he list plenty
of reasons why they’re stupid.

DŎŬ Ø ŰŹØŬŹ̐ ƛŎƀ̵Ŭă ØûûĤŅę ØŅ ăƚŨăŅŰĤƔă ØŅû ŨŎŹăŅŹĤØĺĺƛ ƔŎĺØŹĤĺă
ŨŎĤŅŹ Ŏė ėØĤĺƀŬă ŹŎ ƛŎƀŬ ŰĠŎƕăŬ̖ Ņ e!' ŰõŬăăŅ ƛŎƀ ûŎŅ̵Ź ŰŨăõĤƱõØĺĺƛ
Ņăăû̐ õŎŅŹŬŎĺŰ ŎƫăŬăû ŹŎ ƕăăûƛ õĠĤŨŰ ŬØŹĠăŬ ŹĠØŅ òăăėƛ ĠØŅû̪
tweaked thermostatic valves and the price of both a plumber and
an electrician to get it installed. In no universe is that a preferable
ŎŨŹĤŎŅ ŎƔăŬ Ø ęŎŎû ŹĠăŬłŎŰŹØŹĤõ ŰĠŎƕăŬ ĺĤķă ŹĠă !ăƱŹŎ Ã1e ̦͊˘˘˝̧̐
which gives you an easily grokkable knob and a great shower
ăƚŨăŬĤăŅõă̖ 'ŎŅ̵Ź ăƔăŅ ę㏠FƀŬƀ ŰŹØŬŹăû ŎŅ ĠŎƕ ŬĤûĤõƀĺŎƀŰ ĤŹ ĤŰ ŹŎ
control a smart shower with your phone, because you can work that
one out for yourself.

Ņû ŹĠăŅ ØŬă ŹĠă ƔŎĤõă ØõŹĤƔØŹăû ăƚØłŨĺăŰ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ FƀŬƀ ƕĤĺĺ ŅŎŹ
name because he doesn’t want any companies to be upset with
him. They’re a fantastic idea, as long as they’re able to interpret
yelled strings of curse words as an indication that’s it’s time to
ŹƕăØķ ŹĠă ŹăłŨăŬØŹƀŬă̐ ŎŬ ĤŅûăăû ƕŎŬķ ŎƀŹ ƕĠăŹĠăŬ ̳ØęĠ̐ ĴăăƤ ƕĠØŹ
the ow’ means the shower is too hot or too cold. If they could hear
FØFƀ̵Ű ŰõØĺûăû ƛăĺŨŰ̐ ŹĠăƛ ƕŎƀĺû òă ƱęĠŹĤŅę ŹĠŬŎƀęĠ ŹĠă ØĺłĤęĠŹƛ
DNNN Ŏė Ø ŰĠŎƕăŬ ŹŎ ûŎ ŰŎ̐ ØŅû ŹĠăƛ ŨŬŎòØòĺƛ ƕŎŅ̵Ź òă Øòĺă ŹŎ
manage that. Even if they could hear all that, even if the technology
was as good as it could possibly be, Guru would still struggle to see
the point.

FØûę㏠FƀŬƀ̵Ű łØęĤõ òŎƚ facts instead: it works What nice things can
fine. Programming I put on my desk?
The nice folks at Master Lock, aware of fingerprints (up to ten of
Guru’s fascination with poking slender them) is easy enough. KEV
tools into awkward holes and wiggling Setting your own Glancing around Guru’s own desk, he
them around until something pops, sent directional-arrows cheat õƀŬŬăŅŹĺƛ ĠØŰ ŹĠă ėŎĺĺŎƕĤŅę ķŅĤõķ̪ķŅØõķŰ
your author a biometric outdoor code is similarly straightforward, and ƱęĠŹĤŅę ƕĤŹĠ ĠĤŰ ķăƛòŎØŬû ėŎŬ ĠĤŰ ØŹŹăŅŹĤŎŅ̏
padlock (the nattily-named there’s a secret (unique) backup master ŹĠă FØŅ ˘˘n •ŬŎ ™ƀòĤķ̵Ű !ƀòă õĺŎŅă̐
4901EURDLHCC, which sounds like code in there that you can discover ăƚŨăŅŰĤƔă̐ òƀŹ łØęŅăŹĤõ ØŅû ŰłŎŎŹĠ ØŰ ŰĤĺķ̛
someone attempting to write a product through Master Lock’s Vault app. As a Ø Ű㏠Ŏė qĤķŎŅ •ŬŎŰŹØƫ ˚ ˘˗ƚ˛˙ òĤŅŎõƀĺØŬŰ
name but succumbing to food convenient padlock for things you need used to spy on the activities of the local
poisoning half way through). It’s readily secured and easily released, by ƛŎƀŹĠŰ ŎŅ ŹĠă ĠĤĺĺ ŎŨŨŎŰĤŹă̛ Ø ŰłØĺĺ ƱęƀŬĤŅă
reasonably heavy, with a 9mm boron- all means this’ll work. Ŏė ÃÃD ĺăęăŅû §ăû 'ĤòĤØŰă̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ĺĤƔăŰ
hardened steel shackle secured with there because it actually looks a lot more like
servo-actuated ball bearings to prevent Here’s the but: this is a padlock. Not qŎăĺ 1ûłŎŅûŰ ŹĠØŅ ŹĠă nĤĺĺĤŎŅ 'ŎĺĺØŬ nØŅ̖
shimming. On the front you get a one that can be picked. Possibly not one
fingerprint reader with a d-pad around it quite as cool looking as his beloved, As for you… start with a good vertical
for backup access using a directional beautiful igloohome Smart Padlock wireless phone charger like the Forte from
code; pull off the base of the rubberised ($219), even if its fingerprint reader is a §ƕăĺƔ㠝ŎƀŹĠ̐ łØķĤŅę ƛŎƀŬ ŨĠŎŅă Ø ėăØŹƀŬă
housing surrounding the metal lock superb feature. But a padlock and keeping it juiced through the day, and
body and a pair of 9V battery terminals nonetheless. The universal truth of ŹŎŨ Ŏƫ ƕĤŹĠ ŹĠă ăŅ˜ õŬăăŅ ØŬ łŎŅĤŹŎŬ
offers power backup. padlocks is that brute force works: good ĺĤęĠŹ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ƕĤĺĺ ûă̪ęĺŎŎł ƛŎƀŬ ûăŰķ ėŎŬ Ø
bolt cutters will make mincemeat of any łăŅŹØĺĺƛ ăƬõĤăŅŹ ƕŎŬķ ûØƛ̖ §ŎŨ ĤŹ Ŏƫ ƕĤŹĠ Ø
On the packaging Master Lock gives shackle, a few strong kabongs with a ˜ƀØŬŹăŬ ŬõØûăŰ ƀòòĺă Ŏòòĺă̐ òăõØƀŰă ŹĠă
this full marks on its own security rating heavy hammer will destroy most ØƀŹĠăŅŹĤõ łĤŅĤ ØŬõØûă ŬăŨĺĤõØ ĺŎŎķŰ ŰƀŨăŬ̪
system, though anyone can make up a lock bodies. cool, but don’t you dare play it when you’re
rating system. Guru rates himself eleven supposed to be working.
biceps, for example. Let’s focus on the

23

HOTSPOT

Rode Wireless Go II

2020

EDITOR’S
CHOICE

$399, www.rode.com

Rode Wireless Go II

Your new go-to for wireless audio recording.

Rode’s first Wireless Go product Design and updates robust, although we wouldn’t want
was a game-changer in the to push this assumption with too
industry – an ultra compact and As we’ve mentioned, much of the many drops and there’s no
foolproof wireless transmitter design finesse that made the weatherproofing.
and receiver with an integrated original Wireless Go
microphone, all for an groundbreaking has returned with The plastic clips are quick and
affordable price. the Go II, but the updates that have simple to operate when affixing any
made their way into this release of the units to clothing, and they
Rode’s next-in-line (the aptly have done wonders to improve double as a hot shoe mount to neatly
titled Wireless Go II) improves overall quality of life. slot on the top of your camera kit.
on just about every area, taking
its place alongside its sibling as a The units themselves are really These clips along with the
highly recommendable tool for small for what they promise, with compact form factor make them
video and audio content creators each measuring around 44 x 45 x ideal for attaching to a belt in order
everywhere. 18mm and weighing only 30g. to run a lavalier microphone, or
Despite this lightweight and clipping closer to the wearer’s
compact design, they feel rather mouth (in a jacket or even dress) to
use the integrated microphone.

Each unit houses a rechargeable
battery that promises 7 hours of
activity, and each can be charged via
its USB-C input. Three USB-C cables
are included with the kit for
simultaneous charging, along with
two furry windshields, a carry
pouch, and a 3.5mm TRS cable to
hook directly into your camera or
other device. Smartphone cables
(Lightning and USB-C) are available
separately.

Aside from the 3.5mm and USB-C
ports, there’s little else to clutter the

24

Wireless Go II – each of the devices time or over 40 respectively, as “Hi guys – The hardware buttons and screen
has a multi-purpose button (more well as view any placed markers in remember to do a great job in allowing access to
on this later), the transmitters order to quickly find a good take or like and crucial functionality, and the Rode
sport a microphone and two key moment. subscribe!” Central software is incredibly
indicator lights (to display power user-friendly and covers everything
and connectivity), and the receiver Some other key features else you could need.
features an extra two buttons and a accessible via the software include
screen that indicates recording fine gain control, for setting As for the audio itself, the
level, battery life, signal strength, precise levels rather than the set integrated microphones in the
and a few other crucial details. increments available by the transmitters produce excellent
hardware buttons, as well as quality recordings, as Rode is known
Where the original promised a establishing a safety channel – a for, and you can plug in any external
70 metre line-of-sight range, both genius feature that records the mic to the TRS connection if you
transmitters in the Go II package same signal at a lower volume in have a preference for lavalier mic
can handle 200 metres. While this case the main channel clips and or similar.
measurement is a best-case you lose audio.
scenario from Rode, we certainly To ensure there’s even less of a
noticed an improvement in While the software is a great way chance of quality loss, you can
stability over longer distances to view each and every setting for connect the receiver to your camera
(whether or not it’s almost triple your Rode kit, a lot can be done or smart device directly via USB-C,
that of the original unit is difficult with the hardware alone. Changing which bypasses the analog audio
to say, but we don’t doubt it). from the default merged channel signal conversion in the receiver
to split-channel, for instance, is entirely, allowing for only one
One point worth noting is that done by holding both the dB and analog-to-digital conversion to
the Wireless Go II transmitters and link buttons simultaneously for occur at the microphone end of the
receivers aren’t compatible with three seconds. This latter option system.
the original units, and vice versa. allows each transmitter to record
We imagine this has to do with the its audio separately so you can later If your goal is to transmit and
improved transmission technology mix the two to your liking. record two independent audio
mentioned above, but it’s worth sources wirelessly over great
considering if you were hoping to We’ll avoid covering all the distances, then the Rode Wireless
add more of either device to your tweaks and features exhaustively, Go II is your solution. This kit
existing fleet. but instead say that we certainly offers a wealth of clever options in
weren’t left wanting whenever we an incredibly intuitive package,
In use needed to adjust something or and does so for a significantly
modify how the Wireless Go II lower price than it has any right to.
The setup for the Rode Wireless Go operated. Harry Domanski
II is one of the easiest out there for
products in this category, with 25
everything ready to go as soon as
you take it out of the box. For those
that like to dig in and customise
their kit, there’s plenty of fine-
tuning available either via the
receiver’s buttons or the Rode
Central app.

The software gives you the
ability to access all the settings for
your device, and includes nifty
features like setting up what the
multi-function button does on the
transmitters and receiver, such as
mute, set a marker, or enable the
backlight.

It’s in this software that you’ll
also be able to access the
recordings stored directly on each
transmitter, as well as configure
the audio’s settings. You can
choose to record uncompressed or
compressed audio, giving you
either seven hours of recording

DISCOVER

Emerging tech

Bleeding edge: the best of emerging tech

TechLife’s practical monthly roundup of emerging tech experiences, including all the latest virtual
and augmented reality apps, alongside AI apps and other useful tools.

While there’s undoubtedly been bad actors and unintended XR
consequences amongst emerging technologies over the last
few years, for the most part AI has been a force for good thus War Remains WWI VR narrated
far. Unfortunately, this month, it’s increasingly looking like by Dan Carlin
we’ve already reached the watershed point for AI’s net positive
contribution to mankind. In addition to Russia announcing its An immersive western front experience presented
intent to build fully-autonomous military assault vehicles and by Hardcore History host.
weaponised robots capable of taking human life, it seems the $8 | warremains.com
first deadly AI drones have already been deployed in conflicts
in Libya in 2020. Hey, at least we’ll be able to hide in the virtual War Remains is a virtual reality experience that explores the
world using tech like the Omni One VR Treadmill and the experience of a soldier fighting in the trenches of the First
reality might not seem so bad after watching the Dan Carlin World War through a first-person perspective. In addition to
narrated War Remains WWI VR experience. the immersive benefit of VR, the host of Hardcore History, Dan
Carlin, is the perfect narrator to draw out some of the more
conceptual elements of what it would have been like to spend
months on the front line.

XR XR

Omni One VR Treadmill Virtual Planet

VR movement in all directions. Sea Level lise explorer.
US$1,995 or $55 per month | virtuix.com Free | virtualplanet.tech

A fully mobile VR experience is basically the holy grail of Most of us are pretty aware of just how critical it is for
immersive media and the Omni One is bringing that reality a mankind to get its emissions under control to avoid
step closer with its VR treadmill prototype. We’re clearly not catastrophic climate change, but for anyone still on the
the only ones impressed with Virtux’s structural vest and fence, actually seeing the projected impacts in VR is a
treadmill contraption, since the company was able to raise over visceral way for them to grasp the impact on their
US$19 million in funding to take the company to consumer hometown. Virtual Planet is creating interactive VR
products. The clever contraption holds the user’s torso experiences that detail realistic projections of things like
allowing them to mimic running and walking in any direction sea level rise and increased bushfire risk for Oculus and
and it can even track crouching and jumping movements. other AR platforms.

26

XR AI Report details Russia’s
ambitions to build killer
Transport NSW Metro Google LaMDA AI robots
Street View
A major natural language upgrade to Russia is developing weaponised AI
NSW government takes street views Google’s large language models. systems in a concerted push to align
into complex Sydney train stations. Free | blog.google/technology/ai/lamda/ with China in developing novel AI
Free | maps.google.com In a nutshell, Language Models for technologically for advanced weaponry
Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) opens to be used in future conflicts, according
Transport NSW has partnered with the door to have a conversation with AI to a report published by the Centre for
Google on a project to expand Google’s and talk to it as naturally as you would a Naval Analyses (CNA). The independent
Street View and directions functionality friend. Conversations are often Arlington-based research center worked
to the complicated internal layout of complicated and fluid, jumping back to with the Pentagon to produce the
Sydney’s train and metro stations. topics with new ideas or moving on to report, which details the collaborative
Rolling out to 130 train stations and a new topics as they’re thought of. This effort by the two nations to create AI
dozen metro stations in the Sydney requires AI to be awar e of the chat decision making systems for weapons
region, the new directions functionality history without assuming everything is and robots that would allow them to
will guide patrons to the exact platform related to what has been spoken before. fight autonomously.
they need to go to in order to get the So we guess it won’t be long till you’re
particular train for their destination. having a ‘deep-and-meaningful’ with Autonomous AI drones
your Google Home. attacked people in 2020,
UN reports
AI AI
AI warfare is already a reality according
Debuild AI web app builder French Government AI to a UN report on the conflict between
business assessor Lybian government forces and a
AI that’ll write software for you. breakaway faction led by Lybian
Free | debuild.co New stimulus package designed for National Army commander Khalifa
Imagine if you could use natural France’s most viable businesses under Haftar. The report, which was conducted
language to describe an application to pandemic strain. by a panel of experts on Libya for the
an AI and it would go away and build $NA | economie.gouv.fr United Nations Security Council, details
the fully-formed software for you. The French Government is using AI to the use of a Turkish-built fleet of STM
Sounds a bit like magic right? Well determine businesses with a viable Kargu-2 self destructing and
apparently GPT-3, the large language future that are most at risk of collapse autonomously controlled drones on
model that’s capable of writing essay from the winding back of pandemic retreating Haftar Associated Forces.
responses to custom questions, is lending conditions and will provide While casualty numbers are unknown,
pretty good at coding too. Head over to them the funds needed to stay afloat these lethal autonomous weapons
the experimental Debuild website by through the transition. In perhaps the systems were programmed to ‘hunt
Greenhouse and Vectordash flounder most targeted stimulus package to be down’ and ‘engage’ targets without
Sharif Shameem to generate apps in rolled out at national scale the AI will human intervention.
JSX, HTML or CSS with just a few lines examine the financial statements of
of description. It’s pretty amazing. between five and eight percent of French Chinese and Europeans
companies in the hospitality and retail happy to ceed leadership
sectors to determine the most suitable to AI
candidates for the 3 billion euro package.
A study of 2,769 people from 11
countries done by the IE University
Center for the Governance of Change
found that the majority of respondents
in both Europe and China wanted
parliamentary representatives to be
replaced by AI software. While ‘the-AIs’
only secured a majority margin of one
percent in Europe, that’s all you really
need. Chinese respondents however,
seemed less divided on their preference
for AI to replace current heads of state,
with 75 percent preferring a swap to
computer based overlords… I mean
leadership.

27

DISCOVER

Mobile games

Mobile games

James Pinnell reviews the latest games for iOS smartphones & tablets.

The Oregon Trail There’s still quite a lot of reality hidden FANTASIAN
for the sake of preserving the base
CATCH DYSENTERY IN 2021. gameplay loop but all in all it’s a much MY FAVOURITE PATERNAL RADISH.
better game for it, especially when the
Apple Arcade (Subscription) “Journey” function allows players to Apple Arcade (Subscription)
enjoy wholly Native American
The Oregon Trail, a callback to the early, adventures. Fantasian, a creation of Japanese
heady days of the Apple 2 – one of the roleplaying game greats who cut their
staples of early 90s personal computing Graphics still stick to pixels – with teeth on the critically acclaimed Final
– is not only one of the best mobile õĠăăķƛ ƱŅęăŬ ŨŎĤŅŹĤŅę ŹŎ ŹĠă ŎŬĤęĤŅØĺ Fantasy ŰăŬĤăŰ̐ ƕØŰ ŹĠă ƱŬŰŹ Ŏė ŹƕŎ òĤę̐
games I’ve played in a long time but an via achievements and clever easter eggs console-realm titles that made a splash
exceptional example of how subscription – and tons of detail. There are a host of ŎŅ ŨŨĺă ŬõØûă̖ DŬŎł ŰŹØŬŹ ŹŎ ƱŅĤŰĠ̐
services on mobile allow for truly great new items to collect, like knives that Fantasian is a marvel – gorgeous, fully
titles designed for purpose. help to increase yield from skinned voiced cutscenes, hand-built dioramas
animals you hunt for food, and traits, that were pre-rendered to reduce
In the original, players were tasked like trappers who can hunt animals graphical load on less powerful devices, a
with guiding a group of pioneers across when you’ve run out of bullets. The deep and complex story, and a
the American west, braving desert, dozens of variables mean that wonderfully unique turn-based
mountains, harsh winters and plenty of replayability is very high, and I found combat system.
disease. Along the way they would be myself thoroughly enjoying all of the
ėØõăû ƕĤŹĠ ƱŅûĤŅę ėŎŎû̐ ƱƚĤŅę ŹĠăĤŬ unique scenarios that the game created If you had shown me this game and told
trusty wagon, and keeping both health to challenge the default experience. me it was coming out on the Nintendo
and spirits up before they reached their Switch or PlayStation consoles I would
ultimate destination – the state of Interestingly, you can see where the have believed you – in one fell swoop it
Oregon. The remake keeps entirely in developers could have monetised this destroys the idea that mobile devices
this same spirit, keeping everything game as a traditional “Free to Play” cannot handle graphically intense and
that made the original so clever and title and how it fundamentally would deep experiences. Each control mode
moreish, while updating both its ĠØƔă łØûă ĤŹ Ø ƔăŬƛ ûĤƫăŬăŅŹ – from touch to controller – has been
gameplay and historical accuracy. experience. carefully designed and incorporated in a
manner that makes it wonderful to play.
This new edition strips back a lot of There’s a full soundtrack scored by Nobuo
the colonial whitewash of the original Uematsu, most known for his work on
– which largely focused on Native Final Fantasy 7 and 8.
Americans as enemies or savages – and
instead now includes their characters’ Storywise, Fantasian isn’t particularly
stories, culture and unique history. outstanding – there are quite a few “save
the world” tropes here, but I would also
say that for many players, this may be
ŹĠăĤŬ ƱŬŰŹ a™•F ØŅû ŹĠƀŰ Ø ŰŎėŹ ăØŰă ĤŅŹŎ
the genre is welcome.

There are some fun and quirky
additions though – players can avoid
battles if they wish but the enemies get
“banked” into a dungeon. Once that
ûƀŅęăŎŅ ĤŰ ėƀĺĺ̐ ŹĠă ŨĺØƛăŬ ĠØŰ ŹŎ ƱęĠŹ ŹĠă
entire population.

It’s also a full experience – both parts
(Part Two is out Q3 2021) will take about
20-30 hours to complete.

28

World of Demons Wonderbox Star Trek: Legends

DEVIL MAY SAMURAI. UNLIMITED ADVENTURING.. LIVE LONG AND AVOID IAPS.

Apple Arcade (Subscription) Apple Arcade (Subscription) Apple Arcade (Subscription)

Platinum Games issomething of a Wonderbox is a player-created Like The Oregon Trail before it, Star
legend in the console gaming space, as adventure “system”, more so than Trek: Legends is a game that lends
the developer of cult hits like Bayonetta, simply a game, as it allows players to itself pretty easily to
Devil May Cry, and Nier: Automata; create their own adventures, known as microtransactions. It’s a gacha game,
almost any release they drop tends to be Wonderboxes. While the game includes meaning that you “summon” your
not only polished but exceptionally well a bunch of pre-designed adventures, it bridge crew into existence and level
made. World of Demons ĤŰ ŅŎ ûĤƫăŬăŅŹ ̩ also includes a host of player-designed them up with a variety of items and
although notably toned down in terms ones, which are (arguably) more currency. There’s a shop where you
Ŏė õŎłŨĺăƚĤŹƛ̐ •ĺØŹĤŅƀł ĠØŰ łŎûĤƱăû interesting and creative than the can buy those items with said
ĤŹŰ ŹŬØûĤŹĤŎŅØĺ ƲƀĤû ØŅû ėØŰŹ õŎłòØŹ developer designed adventures. currency. But unlike The Oregon Trail,
ŰƛŰŹăłŰ ŹŎ ƱŹ łŎòĤĺă̖ ƕĠĤõĠ ûăŰĤęŅăû ĤŹŰăĺė ØŰ Ø ęØłă ƱŬŰŹ̐
1ØõĠ ĺăƔăĺ ĤŰ ŬăĺØŹĤƔăĺƛ ŰĤłŨĺă ̩ Apple Arcade has allowed Star Trek:
It goes without saying that WoD is ûăŰĤęŅăû ØŬŎƀŅû Ø Ʊƚăû ęŬĤû ŰƛŰŹăł̐ Legends to keep in all of these
elevated with a controller. While there each ‘box’ can be explored both functions yet simply remove the
are some very tight and responsive vertically and horizontally. There are a ability to pay real money to
touch controls - dedicated button variety of weapons and abilities, as well access them.
õŎŅŹŬŎĺŰ ŬăłŎƔă ƛŎƀŬ ƱŅęăŬŰ ėŬŎł ŹĠă as an easy-to-use hero creation system.
screen and provide much needed visual Stories are basic and thus more This has resulted in a strange
ŬŎŎł̖ §ĠăŬă ĤŰ Ø ĺŎŹ ęŎĤŅę ŎŅ ĠăŬă ̩ accessible for younger children to enjoy. ăƚŨăŬĤăŅõă ̩ ŬăłŎƔĤŅę ŹĠă łŎŅĤăû
from multiple, fast enemies bouncing There is also a four-player multiplayer paywall that typically hits these
around the screen to your own samurai mode that is a lot of fun, and can be games after a few hours of play forces
dodging attacks and dropping played both locally and over the internet. the title to focus on its actual game.
air combos. §ĠØŅķėƀĺĺƛ̐ ŹĠăŬă ĤŰ ŎŅă ĠăŬă ̩
I did notice a few bugs, especially there’s a story campaign featuring
Each level (or Skirmish) is separated when it comes to some of the text lots of new and classic characters
into manageable chunks, each of which displaying correctly, levels glitching from the entire realm of Star Trek
contain enemies to kill and chests to out and whatnot. None of it was lore. There are even cross-series
uncover. Each enemy, once killed, can particularly game destroying but I did threads of plot lines (including the
òă õŎŅƔăŬŹăû ĤŅŹŎ Ø łØęĤõ ŰĤûă ƱęĠŹăŬ have to restart the app a couple of times newer Discovery and Picard), side
linked to a particular element, such as ĤŅ ŎŬûăŬ ŹŎ ę㏠ĤŹ Ʊƚăû̖ missions that expand on characters’
ƕØŹăŬ ŎŬ ƱŬă̖ NŎƕ ŹĠăŰă ØŬă ƀŰăû ĤŅ backstories, and a range of PVE/PVP
collaboration with your sword abilities Games that run on player creativity ƱęĠŹŰ ØŅû ŎŨŹĤŎŅŰ̖
will raise your skill rank and unlock õØŅ ŰŹŬƀęęĺă ̩ ƕĠĤĺă ÃŎŅûăŬòŎƚ ûŎăŰ
new equipment. have plenty of content on its own, its The grind is still there, but in many
longevity is arguably tied to how the cases, it’s fairly limited since story and
If you’re a fan of Platinum Games, player base generates more over the ŰĤûă łĤŰŰĤŎŅŰ ŎƫăŬ ŨĺăŅŹƛ Ŏė
WoD is good enough to pick up Arcade long term. Being an arcade game experience and items you need to stay
on its own, at least for the trial period. reduces some of that load, as the competitive. One of the better features
It’s supremely polished, incredibly fun developer does have incentive to stay is that PVP play is now entirely fair,
and fast, and just long enough to not relevant (payments under Arcade are and skill based thanks to a lack of
overstay its welcome. Extra points for connected to downloads) as well as òŎŎŰŹăŬ ŨØõķŰ ̩ ăƔăŬƛŎŅă ĠØŰ ŹŎ ęŬĤŅû
the seamless cross-play between iPad, keeping themselves in the good books ŎƀŹ ŹĠă òăŅăƱŹŰ ŹŎ õŎłŨăŹă̖ Rė ƛŎƀ̵Ŭă Ø
iPhone, Mac and Apple TV as this looks for the next title. fan of Star Trek ŎŬ ŰūƀØû ƕØƔă ƱęĠŹăŬŰ̐
great on a big screen. this is a no brainer.

TL

29

DISCOVER

Games news

Tetris Effect has two Razer and Clearbot announce
secret levels and partnership to help protect
they’re both inspired and clean oceans
by the classic
The solar-powered robot can collect 250kg of plastics in one cycle.
Tetris Effect has 2 hidden
levels that developer Enhance Gaming hardware company Razer has The new design has “cutting-edge AI” and
has revealed how to unlock. To partnered with Clearbot to help clean the can detect marine plastics within two meters
celebrate the 37th anniversary Earth’s oceans. in rough waters. It’s also capable of collecting
of Tetris, Enhance has revealed up to 250kg of plastics in one cycle and runs
through the Tetris website (via Dedicated to helping provide a greener, on solar-powered energy to do so.
VGC) how you can unlock 2 more sustainable future, Razer has now
hidden levels in Tetris Effect. announced a partnership with Clearbot. Last The company details that there are
Despite them having been month was World Oceans Day and to “approximately 11 million tons of plastics
discovered before, this marks celebrate, Razer announced that it has been entering the oceans each year” and that
the first time that the working with Clearbot to redesign their AI cleaning enterprises face difficulties with
developer has publicly robot built to clean up marine plastics. dated technology, the costs, and their
acknowledged the levels. efficiency. Clearbot uses AI-vision that can
Razer says that its engineers and designers identify the types of plastic waste and collect
Wii Fit grandma has have “volunteered personal time and information. The waste is then responsibly
played the game technical expertise” to help turn Clearbot’s disposed of once retrieved.
every day for over 10 prototype into a mass-marketable product.
years
Overwatch crossplay is
This accomplishment was finally happening, but
shared by the Wii Fit there’s no cross-progression
enthusiast’s grandson George
Perkins on Twitter – who runs The Overwatch crossplay beta is going live soon.
the video game collecting site
Super Rare Games – along Overwatch crossplay is finally a reality, five Competitive games will not be a part of
with an adorable photo of his years after the game’s release. traditional crossplay; instead players will be
Nan posing in front of her Unfortunately, there’s no cross-progression, split into console and PC pools.
impressive stats. George had so keep that in mind when making plans to
previously shared his team up with friends. The advent of crossplay is likely part of
grandmother’s progress in Blizzard’s lead-up to Overwatch 2, which has
February 2019 when she was The Overwatch crossplay beta was new co-op PvE modes that would benefit
at the 3,949 mark but has announced today and is going live “soon”. from crossplay capabilities. Plus, with new
continued to update those The crossplay beta is powered by the newest PvP game modes like Push, it’ll be nice to
interested with her Battle.net update, allowing players around join in the fun with players across platforms.
progression. the globe to team up as their favorite
Overwatch heroes, no matter what platform In order to take part in the crossplay beta,
30 they’re on - be it PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, you’ll need to make a Battle.net account and
Xbox Series X, or Nintendo Switch. link your appropriate console (PC players
will already have a Battle.net account).

Battlefield 2042: 128 players, massive
maps, and multiplayer mayhem like
you’ve never seen it before

DICE takes us inside Battlefield 2042, the studio’s multiplayer-only
gamble to reclaim its place as an FPS kingmaker.

Battlefield 2042 is the next and narrative development and creativity for 128 players. Two
generation of multiplayer through a seasonal battle pass armies of 64 players, clashing in
shooters. The series has endured a model, which Berlin believes will sparkling head-to-head battles
cycle of creative stagnation and ensure Battlefield 2042 is with more tools than ever before:
emerged with a truly mesmerising “continuously expanding and weapon customisation, gadgets
proposition: 128 players, free to evolving”. and traits, dynamic destruction
run amok on the frontlines of the and real-time tornados, wingsuits
largest and most diverse Classes and ziplines, and even the capacity
sandboxes that developer DICE to request land vehicles on
has ever constructed. Designed to Specialists represent one of the demand – the list goes on and on.
be disruptive, tempered by most notable changes to To put this change in some
cutting-edge technology, and established play. Battlefield 2042 is perspective, the Battlefield 2042
engineered as a platform for set in a world wrought by the maps on PS4 and Xbox One will be
future evolution, Battlefield 2042 is shortage of vital supplies and scaled back to support 64 players
here to prove that there’s still resources, leading to the collapse total (the Battlefield standard for
scope for shooters to chart a path of society as we know it. As the 20 years) and it all sounds so small
beyond battle royale to more crisis worsens, the USA and Russia in comparison.
exciting and electrifying horizons. draw what remains of the world
out into an all-out war, forcing Berlin is keen to stress that it
A newfound focus Non-Patriated citizens of failed isn’t just the number of boots on
states to choose a side and fight to the ground that help sell the scale
DICE was hesitant to show too make their voices heard. of All-Out Warfare, but rather
much of the game at this early what you can see and do once
stage, but we’re already starting to DICE believes that this you’re in it: “It’s not just about
piece it together. The inscrutable backstory helps explain away the having more players or having
balance of Battlefield 2 and the decision to get rid of established more things to do, because it can
unconstrained carnage of Bad Classes in Battlefield – we’re just get too chaotic and that’s not what
Company 2. The way Battlefield 3 happy to see the studio we want. When you’re playing,
leveraged its modern setting and experiment. particularly on the larger maps,
the levolutions that defined like Hourglass, it can almost feel
Battlefield 4, pushing destruction Implausible Scale like there’s multiple maps within
beyond bullets carving holes in the map.”
drywall. These elements are the Players on PC, PS5, and Xbox
bedrock of the Battlefield 2042 Series X will fight across what Battlefield 2042 will release on
experience, a foundation for DICE maintains will be the largest October 22 this year.
expansion and experimentation maps in Battlefield history,
with a very specific focus. purpose built to leverage choice

“Across all of these games, one
thing has always stayed true,”
says Gabrielson, “multiplayer is
what we do best at DICE, period.”
The single-player campaigns for
the Battlefield games (Bad
Company 2 notwithstanding) have
been disappointing, poor
facsimiles of the large and
open-ended multiplayer
sandboxes that the series is so
comfortable playing in. As a result,
single-player is out, with DICE
slow-burning the broader world

31

DISCOVER

PC & console games

The character creation and
story beats are just the

beginning though, as this
game continues to feel at

odds with itself.

$99, PlayStation, Xbox, PC, www.biomutant.com

Biomutant

Repetitive, formulaic, and downright strange.

Biomutant is set against a backdrop only to accidentally skip over both, only options, with all of that
of a post-apocalypse world, where losing crucial slices of information exaggerated by the Biomutant
humanity has been wiped out by or quest objectives. Like Horizon breed you opted for.
pollution, corporate greed, and Zero Dawn, the characters have
nuclear power exploration. The developed their own names for The character creation and
world left behind is dominated by various human elements, which story beats are just the beginning
the titular Biomutants – strange only adds to the fact the narrative though, as this game continues
animal hybrids that are part cat, can feel like a children’s storybook. to feel at odds with itself.
part rabbit, and 100% capable of For example, a piano is a ‘string Struggle through the very linear
wielding weaponry. These plonk’, a guitar is a ‘twing-twang’, opening, and the world folds out
creatures have formed six tribes, and your mother is your Mooma, before you, only to reveal that
who’ll you need to either unite or which is said with such drawn-out Biomutant suffers from having an
destroy to bring harmony to the vowels it’s almost impossible to abundance of systems to get to
land, which is also plagued by four take seriously. The childish grips with – none of which are
world eaters – known as Puffs, for language constantly butts heads ever particularly well explained.
some reason. These huge beasts with the old-world commentary, It’s part looter shooter grind,
have been attacking the world tree failing to strike the sort of tone you with new weapons and armor
(the last bastion of life on earth), might expect from a game with hidden in old furniture and
and it’s up to you to defeat all four such bright and inviting visuals, chests across the world, but
and protect what’s left. Sounds and the fuzziest of casts. there’s also an odd and overly
dramatic, right? complicated crafting system too.
It doesn’t help that the character
Well, it’s undercut by the fact the creation is quite off-putting. Biomutant’s world and its
narrative is delivered in the most Despite my best attempts – almost characters are wonderful and
painful of ways. Characters will an hour of tweaking – I couldn’t brilliantly silly, but these
speak to you in gibberish, then ever settle on a character that I was elements clash against some of
after a pause, a narrator tells you drawn to or found even vaguely the more serious elements of
what they’ve said. It’s so slow that adorable. Big buck teeth, teenie the core story.
I found myself skipping the eyes, mismatched body parts, and Sam Loveridge
gibberish to get to the narration, other oddities were seemingly the

32

$89.95, PlayStation, Xbox, PC, www.ea.com $29.95, PlayStation, Xbox One, PC,
Switch, www.ea.com
Mass Effect
Legendary Edition 2020

The only way to play an unmissable series. 2020 Knockout City EDITOR’S
CHOICE
EDITOR’S DOWNLOAD THIS NOW.
CHOICE
Knockout City is a game about gangs
The Mass Effect trilogy is to modern consequences if you don’t give those of young folks who settle their
video games what its mass relays are to hours their due diligence - so set aside a differences by beaning each other
humanity. In the series’ lore, tens of nice chunk of time this summer. with dodgeballs. The overall vibe is
thousands of years ago an advanced like if The Warriors and Splatoon
alien race scattered mass relays around while Mass Effect 3 may falter a bit loaded into their hover cars then
the Milky Way, which acted as bread when held up against Mass Effect 2, the had a big rumble in the parking lot
crumbs leading humans to the galaxy’s Legendary Edition is a reminder of just of a ‘50s-themed diner. The
furthest stars. In 2007, Mass Effect was how damn good this game is. The combat electro-swing, big beat soundtrack
dropped into the cultural conversation is tightest in Mass Effect 3 (it feels the is an instant bop, and I loved the
by BioWare, and along with its most like Mass Effect: Andromeda), with unique aesthetic of the cosmetic
successors, acted as a beacon for nearly seamless transitions between cutscenes options, with pompadours and
every modern blockbuster game made and action and an especially satisfying poodle skirts well represented
in its impressive wake. cover system that makes popping up and alongside futuristic visors and gold
firing off a sniper shot sickeningly studded jackets. You can keep three
Consider the cavernous gap that satisfying. “Brawlers” ready to go at any time,
spans the original trilogy and its each with their own customised
re-release: there’s a console generation Mass Effect Legendary Edition strikes cosmetic loadouts, which will be
and a half lying between the last game the difficult balance of appealing to especially clutch for the dodgeball
in the series and Mass Effect Legendary both long-time lovers of the series and fashionistas out there.
Edition (Mass Effect 3 originally released people who have never played a minute
for Xbox 360 and PS3). of it. The changes to Mass Effect 1 make The highest compliment I can pay
it playable in a modern game world, to Knockout City is that I never left a
Mass Effect 1 has the tightest and while visual upgrades massage the eyes match without a raised heart rate.
most succinct plot of the trilogy, but and lightning-fast load screens ease the Each session usually takes five to
prior to the release of Mass Effect wait throughout all three titles. ten minutes, and every one I played
Legendary Edition, I told new players to Alyssa Mercante had at least one lean-into-the-
skip it. “The combat is too rough,” I’d screen moment – like the time I
warn. “The Mako will drive you mad,” faced down all three players on the
I’d say. Mass Effect Legendary Edition has enemy team in a flow-state blur of
made Mass Effect 1 unskippable. catching and throwing, ending only
when I accidentally backed into a
Mass Effect 2 is more of everything bottomless pit.
the first game does so well: more
squadmates with more personality, Clever and unique dodgeball
more stories, more side quests, and battles make this an easy pick,
more playable hours. Oh, and more especially during the free trial.
Connor Sheridan

33

DISCOVER

Special Report

Face the music

After DMCA takedowns, Twitch has to make peace with the music biz. Wes Fenlon

Metallica never scored a Legend of Zelda game, but it a lawyer who specialises in IP and technology law. Synch rights
sounded like it when Twitch replaced Metallica’s “With all new technology there’s a period of
BlizzCon 2021 concert with cheery midi music. The freedom, then a teething period, then some form of The music industry
biggest streaming platform in the world had to equilibrium between the technology and rights insists Twitch pay a
censor its own broadcast or risk upsetting an already holders. Then another technology emerges and it “synchronisation”
aggravated music industry. starts all over again.” licence, but when
exactly synch applies
In 2020 the music industry attacked Twitch in a Getting twitchy is ambiguous. “If the
letter claiming it “continues to turn a blind eye to the live stream is truly
same users violating the law while pocketing the §ƕĤŹõĠ ŹŎûØƛ ĤŰ ƱŬłĺƛ ĤŅŹŎ ĤŹŰ ŹăăŹĠĤŅę ŨăŬĤŎû̖ RŅ ‘live’ many rights
proceeds of massive unlicensed uses of recorded November, Twitch told streamers that “things can users take the
music”. After largely ignoring Twitch for years, the – and should – be better for creators” and laid out position that the
music industry started sending thousands of DMCA plans for tools that will make it easier for streamers musical composition
takedowns for copyright violations. So Twitch reacted to manage copyright on their channels. What it does not need to be
– dramatically. In October, it forced streamers to hasn’t said much about is what Twitch can do to cleared, as it is not
delete thousands of old VODs, with no good tools to prevent those DMCA takedowns. ‘fixed’ with the visual
ûăŹăŬłĤŅă ƕĠĤõĠ ƱĺăŰ ƕăŬă ŨŬŎòĺăłØŹĤõ̖ images and therefore
Twitch Soundtrack, launched last year with a does not implicate a
The music industry is upset with copyrighted music selection of licensed music, seemed like a solution. copyright owner’s
in livestreams and VODs, but Twitch’s existing But the music industry claims Soundtrack doesn’t exclusive rights,”
solutions are all for the latter. It also insists that include all the licensing it should. What’s missing? explains the Reed
Twitch needs to pay for broader licences for its Synch rights, which are complicated. Synch rights Smith guide to
Soundtrack tool, which is meant to let streamers play apply to the pairing of music with imagery. Twitch livestreaming.
licensed music safely. If the music industry continues claims Soundtrack is “fully licensed”, but its
to press, is that Metallica concert just a preview of argument is based on an interpretation of the law
what enforcement will look like in a few years, with that would mean synch doesn’t apply to streams. The
automated tools detecting and silencing copyrighted music industry doesn’t see it that way. So why the
material live, instead of just cleaning up VODs? admonishing letter and not a lawsuit?

“[That’s what] I would expect,” says Kellen Voyer, “I expect the RIAA and other groups are holding

34

LEFT: Twitch is
using a service
called Audible
Magic to detect
copyrighted
music in archived
material and mute
it automatically.

Keeping watch Twitch’s troubled history with music copyright

JUNE 2011 AUGUST 2014 JANUARY 2015 JUNE SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2020 NOVEMBER FEBRUARY 2021
2020 2020 2020
Justin.tv spins its Twitch first starts Twitch offers a Streamers are Metallica’s BlizzCon
library of Twitch receives a Twitch Soundtrack forced to delete Twitch issues a performance is
gaming content off using software to royalty-free music huge amount of is announced – a archived streams sort-of apology dubbed over with
for creators to DMCA takedown library of featuring for DMCA issues what sounds like
into a new division automatically use in their notices related to pre-approved copyrighted music and publishes a easy-listening
streams. copyrighted music in music to use at short notice. guide for creators elevator music.
called Twitch – its detect and mute archived content. in streams.

popularity leads it to copyrighted music

subsume the in archived

company. streams.

out for a deal being struck with Twitch,” uses a service called Audible Magic to system that works live, it’s not talking
says Voyer. “They’ve had a long history of
protracted, public battles over new detect copyrighted material and mute it about those plans publicly.
technologies that have never ended
exactly as they want and often been bad in VODs and clips, but it doesn’t work in “I expect most streamers want to use
for PR. There’s a lucrative relationship
that could result should the parties ink a real-time. music without having to worry about
deal so continuing to push outside of
court is a way to pursue this option.” licences, that’s their best internet

Facebook Gaming signed a deal with Stop the music experience,” says Voyer. “Conversely, the
major record companies to allow for
licensed music in both livestreams and Content ID has some real drawbacks for artists want exposure but also
VODs. There are still limits to what songs
can be played, but it’s a “throw money at YouTubers. compensation for
the problem” solution that takes some of
the risk away from creators. Mismatches can the use of their

Twitch Soundtrack included about one trigger undeserved After largely ignoring works, that’s their
million songs at launch, but doesn’t have bans, and the best internet
deals with any of the major music
companies that Facebook does, like Electronic Frontier Twitch for years, the music experience.”
Warner, Universal, and Sony. If big-name Foundation argues A solution like
partnerships and a licensing deal aren’t that it’s too good at industry started sending Content ID for live
in Twitch’s future, it seems likely some
kind of automated copyright system for ƲØęęĤŅę łƀŰĤõ̐ thousands of DMCA streams would
livestreams will be. bulldozing over takedowns for copyright probably mollify the
situations that music industry –
YouTube’s system, Content ID, is should be considered violations. and address its claim
designed to scan videos and compare
them against a database of copyrighted fair use in the US. that “Twitch
material. Content ID can even monitor
livestreams and shut them down when That’s not the major issue Twitch continues to turn a blind eye to the same
they contain copyrighted content. Twitch
streamers are dealing with today, but if users repeatedly violating the law” – but

Twitch adopts technology that scans for would also likely come with the same

copyrighted material live, not just in baggage the Electronic Frontier

VODs, it could lead to big changes. Voyer Foundation laid out. If Voyer’s right,

thinks it’s one possible outcome, if the copyright issues will continue to build on

music industry keeps pressing. Right Twitch until something breaks, “You

now, Twitch is focusing on tools for can’t appease both sides 100%, but I feel

streamers, like the ability to more easily that a new normal will appear after

delete batches of VODs and better DMCA this current period of tension (which

ŅŎŹĤƱõØŹĤŎŅŰ̖ Rė §ƕĤŹõĠ ĤŰ ŨĺØŅŅĤŅę Ņăƕ I expect will only increase before it

licensing deals or a content matching gets better).”

35

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ØŅû ƕăĺĺ òƀĤĺŹ̐ ŰŎ ƛŎƀ ĤŹ õŎłăŰ ƕĤŹĠ Ø ûăõăŅŹ
Design
ŰĠŎƀĺûŅ̵Ź ĠØƔă ŹŎ ƕŎŬŬƛ to appeal to a wide range ØŬŬØƛ Ŏė ŨŎŬŹŰ ŹĠØŹ
Ű łØŅƛ Ŏė ŹĠă òăŰŹ N• ĺØŨŹŎŨŰ ŹĠØŹ ŹĠăƛ ƕĤĺĺ òŬăØķ̐ ŅŎ õăŬŹØĤŅĺƛ ŨƀŹŰ ŹĠă
łØŹŹăŬ ĠŎƕ łƀõĠ ƛŎƀ of users.
nØõ ŎŎķ •ŬŎ ˘˚̪ĤŅõĠ

ƀŰă ŹĠă ĺØŨŹŎŨ̖ ̦n˘̐ ˙˗˙˗̧ ŹŎ ŰĠØłă̖

§ĠØŹ ŰŹƀŬûĤŅăŰŰ ăƚŹăŅûŰ ŹŎ ÉŎƀ ę㏠ŹƕŎ §ĠƀŅûăŬòŎĺŹ ˛̜®

ŹĠă ŎƔăŬØĺĺ òƀĤĺû ūƀØĺĤŹƛ Ŏė ŹĠă ˛ §ƛŨă̪! ŨŎŬŹŰ ̦ƕĠĤõĠ ØŬă ØĺŰŎ

N• 1ĺĤŹă 'ŬØęŎŅƲƛ F˙̖ §Ġă ƀŰăû ėŎŬ õĠØŬęĤŅę̧̐ Ø ėƀĺĺ̪ŰĤƤă

łăŹØĺ õĠØŰŰĤŰ ėăăĺŰ ĺĤķă ĤŹ õØŅ ® ̪ ŨŎŬŹ̐ Ø N'nR ˙̖˗ò ŨŎŬŹ

ăØŰĤĺƛ ƕĤŹĠŰŹØŅû òăĤŅę õØŬŬĤăû ØŅû ØƀûĤŎ ĴØõķ̖

ØŬŎƀŅû̐ ØŅû ăƔăŅ Ø ėăƕ ķŅŎõķŰ NØƔĤŅę ėƀĺĺ̪ŰĤƤăû ® ̪ ØŅû

ØŅû òƀłŨŰ̐ òƀŹ ØŹ ŹĠă ŰØłă N'nR ŨŎŬŹŰ ĤŰ ŨØŬŹĤõƀĺØŬĺƛ

ŹĤłă ĤŹ̵Ű ŹĠĤŅ ØŅû ĺĤęĠŹ̐ ƕăĺõŎłă̐ ăŰŨăõĤØĺĺƛ ØŰ N•

36

pitches this as a productivity and and light productivity that run on its 11th-generation
processors, especially those
business laptop. It means you can machine, while there are also with Intel Evo certification,
boast impressive battery lives
plug in older peripherals, or hook models with a Core i3 or i5 chip of nine hours or more.

the laptop up to a projector, and 8GB of RAM if you want The good news is that the HP
Elite Dragonfly G2 easily blows
monitor or TV, without needing something a bit more modest. past that. In our TechRadar
battery life benchmark, where
to carry around an adaptor. As we’ve mentioned, the HP we run a looped 1080p video
until the battery dies, it lasted a
The Dragonfly G2 is also proof Elite Dragonfly G2 is an very impressive 11 hours and 30
minutes – more than enough
that you don’t need to sacrifice expensive laptop that needs to for most long-haul flights.

connectivity and convenience for justify its high price, and when In the PC Mark 10 battery life
test, which replicates standard
a thin and light design. One thing it comes to specs, it does just day-to-day usage, the battery
depleted a bit quicker, lasting
to note, however, is that the that. The 256GB SSD in our just over eight hours, but that’s
still pretty good going, and it
USB-C ports are both on the model was fast and speedy, should mean the Dragonfly G2
lasts around a whole work day
right-hand side of the machine, and on the whole, day-to-day when unplugged and
fully charged.
which means that if you tasks were handled
The HP Elite Dragonfly G2 is
want to charge the very well. one of the best laptops we’ve
tested. For business use, there
laptop, you have to The 4K display are very few laptops that look
as stylish, and even if you’re
connect it on the left. The 4K display looks looks fantastic, and not looking for a business
This won’t always be a fantastic, and offers offers plenty of laptop, the HP Elite Dragonfly
big deal, but it can workspace for G2 is a great purchase, offering
a stunning design, great
sometimes be a little plenty of workspace for Windows 10, despite battery life and very good
awkward, and it the smaller screen. It performance. It is expensive
wouldn’t be an issue if though.
Windows 10, despite the also does a great job Matt Hanson

there was a USB-C port smaller screen. of showing off your
on either side. photos and videos,

Performance and while it doesn’t
have a dedicated graphics card,

As this is an Intel Evo laptop, the integrated Intel Iris Xe GPU

you’re getting the latest Intel is certainly good enough for

11th-generation mobile photo editing and even video

processors, and the model we editing, though professionals

reviewed comes with the may require something with a

powerful Intel Core i7-1165G7, bit more power.

paired with 16GB of RAM. Battery life
That’s a formidable

combination, and it means that One of the most important

Windows 10 Pro, which comes considerations people have

installed, feels fast and when looking for a new laptop

responsive. You can also get an is battery life, and Intel has

i7-1185G7 and up to 32GB of RAM made a concerted effort to

if you need a really powerful thin make sure that any laptops

37

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Reviews

$749, www.samsung.com

Samsung Galaxy A52 5G

A lot to like, but hard to love.

The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G is with its plastic rear and ØłŰƀŅę ĠØŰ ķăŨŹ ŹĠă ˚̖˜łł
the company’s latest entry in the
cheaper phone market, and the ØĺƀłĤŅƀł ėŬØłă̖ headphone jack on this
company has made steps to
make this handset its best yet It doesn’t feel as premium as smartphone, which you’ll
ėŎŬ ØŅ ØƫŎŬûØòĺă ŨŬĤõă̖ §Ġă ˜˙
5G isn’t the lowest price Samsung’s top-end phones, but ƱŅû ŎŅ ŹĠă òŎŹŹŎł ăûęă Ŏė
smartphone you’ve ever seen,
but it’s certainly much cheaper it feels durable enough in the ŹĠă ûăƔĤõă̖
ŹĠØŅ ŹĠă õŎłŨØŅƛ̵Ű ƲØęŰĠĤŨ
ŎƫăŬĤŅęŰ ĺĤķă ŹĠă FØĺØƚƛ ˙˘ ØŅû hand that we didn’t dislike the §ĠØŹ ŰĤŹŰ ØĺŎŅęŰĤûă ŹĠă ® ̪!
FØĺØƚƛ ˙˘ ®ĺŹŬØ̖
ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅă̵Ű òƀĤĺû̖ §ĠĤŰ ĤŰŅ̵Ź Ø ŨŎŬŹ̐ ØŅû ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ ƱŅû Ø ƔŎĺƀłă
That means the Galaxy A52
5G won’t be able to compete small device either given rocker alongside the
with the absolute best phones,
but it also isn’t trying to do ĤŹŰ ˝̖˜̪ĤŅõĠ ûĤŰŨĺØƛ̖ power button on the
ŹĠØŹ̖ ÃĠØŹ ØłŰƀŅę ĤŰ ŹŬƛĤŅę ŹŎ
ûŎ ĤŰ łØķă Ø õŎŅŰõĤŎƀŰ ăƫŎŬŹ ŹŎ ÃĤŹĠ ûĤłăŅŰĤŎŅŰ Ŏė right hand edge of the
bring features such as a
high-refresh rate screen and ˘˜ˠ̖ˠ ƚ ˞˜̖˘ ƚ ˟̖˛łł ĤŹ̵Ű ŨĠŎŅă̖ §ĠăŬă̵Ű ØĺŰŎ Ø
improved rear camera to its
õĠăØŨăŬ ŰăŬĤăŰ̖ fairly large despite being a If you want super-fast punch-hole camera in
õĠăØŨăŬ ĠØŅûŰăŹ̖ RŹ 5G connectivity, you’ll the screen, so there
Design ƕăĤęĠŰ ˘˟ˠ ęŬØłŰ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ isn’t a big bezel at the

The Galaxy A52 5G is designed to is neither heavy nor light want to opt for this ŹŎŨ ŹŎ ĠŎƀŰă ŹĠĤŰ ŹăõĠ̖
have a solid build without the for a smartphone of member of the new
òăĺĺŰ ØŅû ƕĠĤŰŹĺăŰ ƛŎƀ̵ĺĺ ƱŅû ŎŅ ŹĠĤŰ ŹƛŨă̖ Galaxy A series of Display
ƲØęŰĠĤŨ ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅăŰ̖ DŎŬ ŹĠØŹ
reason, you may feel the build of The phone comes in That display uses Super
the handset is a touch cheap
four colours, and two of smartphones. n{e1' ØŅû ĠØŰ Ø Dƀĺĺ
them are particularly bold HD+ resolution, and we

ØŅû òŬĤęĠŹ̖ ÉŎƀŬ ŎŨŹĤŎŅŰ ėŎƀŅû ŹĠă ˟˗˗ ŅĤŹŰ Ŏė

are black, white, blue or brightness to look

violet (we’ve pictured the violet fantastic when we turned the

version throughout this screen all the way up to its

ŬăƔĤăƕ̧̖ §Ġă ĠØŅûŰ㏠ĤŰ ØĺŰŎ łØƚĤłƀł òŬĤęĠŹŅăŰŰ Ű㏏ĤŅę̖ Rė

R•˝˞̪õăŬŹĤƱăû ûƀŰŹ ØŅû you’re looking for a smartphone

ƕØŹăŬ ŬăŰĤŰŹØŅŹ̖ to watch video on you’re

Little else is exciting about unlikely to be disappointed in

the design of the Galaxy A52 5G, ŹĠĤŰ ûĤŰŨĺØƛ̖

but some will be ecstatic to see §Ġă ăƚØõŹ ŬăŰŎĺƀŹĤŎŅ ĤŰ ˘˗˟˗ ƚ

38

2400 - which equals a pixel It’s not the likely find it difficult to go it being unable to undertake
density of 407 pixels per inch - greatest phone back. That said, 120Hz isn’t a basic tasks.
so you will likely find this in the world, but specific reason to opt for this
satisfactory, but it won’t 5G connectivity phone. But we found it to We found on Geekbench 5 the
compare to QHD smartphone in a mid-range perform well without having a phone was capable of an average
screens like older Galaxy S handset is very noticeable difference on multi-core score of 1,623. That’s
series models. welcome. battery life. notably lower than Samsung’s
flagship Galaxy S21, which
There’s a punch-hole at the A 120Hz display Specs and scored 2,699, but that’s also a
center of the top edge, makes for a performance far more expensive phone.
and the bezels around the smooth user
screen are thicker than experience. If you want super-fast 5G The camera on the Samsung
some may like. That said, connectivity, you’ll want Galaxy A52 5G sounds good on
it still looks great when to opt for this member of paper, and we’ve found the
you’re watching a video the new Galaxy A series of results to be similarly
or scrolling through smartphones. It allows impressive in real life. The A52
social media feeds. you to make use of 5G can even hold its own
next-gen internet against the Google Pixel 4a,
A punch-hole camera connectivity, but most which is a top smartphone
isn’t to everyone’s tastes, will find it’s just good camera in this price bracket.
but Samsung has clearly future proofing right now
made a strong effort to for when the technology This won’t give you a flagship
try and hide this away becomes more prolific. camera experience, but we
here, and it’s a suitable found the main shooter worked
alternative to a notch at There’s an octa-core well in automatic mode and we
the top of the screen. Qualcomm Snapdragon were capable of getting a lot of
750G processor doing the shots with ease.
One of the big upgrades heavy lifting here. You
from previous Galaxy A won’t get a top-end The Samsung Galaxy A52 5G
phones is the experience with this isn’t going to blow you away
introduction of a 120Hz chipset, but it’s powerful with top-end specs or a
display, which is a feature enough for most tasks remarkably affordable price,
usually reserved for and you’re unlikely to be but it’s still a solid choice for a
flagship handsets. This frustrated when it is a touch mid-range handset that can
essentially means the image on slower. compete with the likes of the
your screen refreshes faster than If you’ll be playing a lot of Google Pixel 4a. It’s a difficult
on most other smartphones, mobile games you may want to phone to love, but if you’re
which gives a smoother look elsewhere, but this is still looking for a lot for a lower
experience when scrolling a capable phone, its chipset price point than most other
through social media or playing just means you may have to Samsung devices, you may
mobile games. wait a touch longer for apps enjoy what the Galaxy A52 5G
and games to load rather than has to offer.
This is a notable difference, James Peckham
and once you’ve used this you’ll

39

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2020

EDITOR
APPROVED

$1,299, www.vive.com/au

HTC Vive Pro 2

The best VR screen yet, though heat management and ageing controllers are an issue.

Looking for a high-spec VR Design wide enough to catch action out
headset? The HTC Vive Pro 2 will
ƕĠĤŰķ ƛŎƀ Ŏƫ ŹŎ ŰƀŨăŬ̪ĠĤ̪ŬăŰ Rather than going for an all-in- of the corner of your eye, thanks
virtual reality worlds with its 5K
display, which is simply the best one, wireless headset design for to a dual-stacked lens design. It’s
VR screen available to the
average person today. But that the HTC Vive Pro 2, HTC is instead a very advanced optics system,
incredible screen is paired with
some other hardware elements targeting the high-end with the LCD display shrunk
that need to be considered
caveats to the otherwise capabilities of virtual reality that compared to previous models,
premium experience.
can only be reached by hooking up supposedly for improved heat
The original HTC Vive put
at-home virtual reality on the to a well-spec’d PC. management – though
map, with its spot-on tracking
and high resolution screen. The And the numbers it is in practice this isn’t
competition has heated up since
its 2016 debut, with the Oculus targeting are very quite the case.
Quest 2 and Valve Index
impressing VR gamers. But with ĤłŨŬăŰŰĤƔă̖ RŹ̵Ű ŎƫăŬĤŅę Ø The high resolution Pushing this many
the HTC Vive Pro 2, HTC is ready 5K resolution display (2.5k screen and fast refresh pixels may make your
to re-stake its claim as the to each eye), and is aiming rig rightly quiver at
premium VR headset
manufacturer to beat when it to maintain a silky- rate is jaw-dropping, what’s going to be
comes to PC virtual reality. And, smooth 120Hz refresh expected of your PC,
in terms of its spec sheet, the rate. That’s a much
HTC Vive Pro 2 is easily one of with an incredible sense and HTC is focussing
the most powerful, high-end VR
headsets out there. sharper display than is of presence and realism primarily on enthusiast
present with the Oculus (and business) users
Quest 2, with the Quest 2 able to shine through on here. You’re going to

also only capable of the headset. need a powerful

targeting 120Hz refresh machine to get the most

rates on selected titles. out of the Vive Pro 2.

It’s not just about resolution But HTC has done what it can

with the screen though, but also ŹŎ ŹØķă ŹĠă ŰŹŬØĤŅ Ŏƫ ƛŎƀŬ

the quality of the panels in use. components as best as possible

The headset is packing a – it’s worked alongside Nvidia

fast-switch LCD with RGB and AMD to make Display Stream

sub-pixels, and IPD-adjustable Compression optimised for the

goggles that support a VR headset. It allows for faster

˘˙˗̪ûăęŬăă Ʊăĺû Ŏė ƔĤăƕ̖ §ĠØŹ̵Ű compiling and recompiling of

40

visual data between the PC and Even older titles and deep bass sounds meaning likes of Half-Life Alyx and Lone
headset when crunching down look better than you won’t necessarily need to Echo ĤŅ ™ õĤŬõĺăŰ ØŅû̐ ØŰ ƛŎƀ̵û
the large assets needed to make ever on the Vive bring your own headphones to imagine, these sorts of titles
the 4K screen shine. DisplayPort Pro 2. the party – the audio interface is enjoy an additional sense of
1.2 is still supported too, even ØĺŰŎ NĤ̪™ăŰ õăŬŹĤƱăû ŹĠŎƀęĠ̐ ŨŎĺĤŰĠ̐ ƱûăĺĤŹƛ ØŅû ØŹłŎŰŨĠăŬă
with DisplayPort Compression meaning you can hook up through the combination of the
active. HTC’s Vive Wireless ØƀûĤŎŨĠĤĺă̪ęŬØûă ĠăØûŨĠŎŅăŰ ŹŎ ÂØĺƔă̵Ű õĺØŰŰ̪ĺăØûĤŅę ŎŨŹĤõŰ
adapter will also be supported – the headset and appreciate a and audio.
though users will not be able to łŎŬă ŬĤõĠĺƛ̪ûăŹØĤĺăû ŰŎƀŅû
hit the native 4896 x 2448 / experience if you want. ƀŹ ƕĠØŹ ƕØŰ ăƔăŅ łŎŬă
120Hz resolution and frame rate striking was going back to
target that the tethered setup Performance ăØŬĺĤăŬ ™ ŹĤŹĺăŰ̐ ØŅû ŰăăĤŅę
delivers. ŹĠăł òăŅăƱŹ ėŬŎł ØŅ ƀŨŰõØĺăû
If you can get past some of the resolution. For instance, the
Comfort and Sound, comfort, comfort and heat issues we environments in Batman
compatibility and vision are all experienced with the Vive Pro 2, Arkham VR appeared far more
the best you can you’ll be able to enjoy an detailed than remembered, with
HTC has made some adjustments get today. ƀŅŨØŬØĺĺăĺăû ™ ăƚŨăŬĤăŅõă ėŬŎł ÃØƛŅă nØŅŎŬ̐ ŹĠă ØŹ !ØƔă ØŅû
to its headsets to improve upon a visual standpoint. The high the assorted crime scenes
the ergonomics for the HTC Vive resolution screen and fast refresh oozing with gothic wonder. As
•ŬŎ ˙̖ Ű ƕăĺĺ ØŰ ŹĠă ƱŅă̪ŹƀŅØòĺă ŬØŹă ĤŰ ĴØƕ̪ûŬŎŨŨĤŅę̐ ƕĤŹĠ ØŅ anticipated however, it’s hard to
IPD slider, it’s ensured that its incredible sense of presence and go back to HTC’s wand
headstrap is quick to adjust and realism able to shine through on controllers after spending
lock thanks to a dial system, while the headset. Provided you’ve got extended time with the
its facial interface is wide enough ŹĠă ĠĤęĠ̪ăŅû •! ŹŎ ŨŎƕăŬ ĤŹ̐ ĤŹ wonderfully ergonomic
to accommodate glasses wearers. ŬăØĺĺƛ ĤŰ ŹĠă ƔăŬƛ òăŰŹ̪ĺŎŎķĤŅę ™ Oculus or Valve Index options.
Weight is evenly distributed to headset you can use at home. Ź ØŬŎƀŅû ƱƔă ĠŎƀŬŰ Ŏė ŨĺØƛ̐ ŹĠă
avoid strain on your neck, but this battery life of the controllers
is still a chunky headset. You very We regularly wax lyrical on the could be better, too.
much feel encased in its design –
ăŰŨăõĤØĺĺƛ ŎŅõă ƛŎƀ ƲĤŨ ûŎƕŅ ĤŹŰ The HTC Vive Pro 2’s super-
ŎƔăŬ̪ăØŬ̐ òƀĤĺŹ̪ĤŅ ĠăØûŨĠŎŅăŰ̖ high resolution screen is a sight
to behold, and represents the
Those 3D spatial sound future of immersive VR. But
speakers hover over the user’s the virtual reality headset’s
ears, meaning you still have a outside-in tracking system and
sense of what’s going on in their oversized controllers are
ŬăØĺ̪ƕŎŬĺû ŰƀŬŬŎƀŅûĤŅęŰ̖ ƀŹ starting to feel behind the
they can be cranked up loud curve.
ŹĠØŅķŰ ŹŎ ŎŅ̪õƀŨ ƔŎĺƀłă Gerald Lynch
controls. The audio delivery is
another highlight here, with rich

41

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Reviews

2020

EDITOR
APPROVED

$499, www.espresso.so

Espresso Display

A sublime piece of technology that sets the standard for external monitors.

With its brushed aluminum łăØŰƀŬăŰ ˜̖ˠłł ŹĠĤõķ̛ ŹĠă õŎłŨƀŹăŬ òƛ ŨĺƀęęĤŅę ŹĠă ŨŎƕăŬ
design, gunmetal color, seamless
ƲŎƕ òăŹƕăăŅ òăƤăĺ ØŅû ŨØŅăĺ̐ 1ŰŨŬăŰŰŎ ĤŰ ăƔăŅ ŹĠĤŅŅăŬ ØŹ ŰƀŨŨĺƛ ĤŅ ŎŅ ŎŅă ăŅû ØŅû ŹĠă ĠŎŰŹ
ƲƀŰĠăû õŎŅŅăõŹŎŬŰ ØŅû Ø
ûăĺĤòăŬØŹăĺƛ łĤŅĤłØĺĤŰŹ ØŨŨŬŎØõĠ ˜̖˜łł̖ Ź ˚˜ˠ ƚ ˙˜˝łł̐ ĤŹ ĤŰ ûăƔĤõă ŎŅ ŹĠă ŎŹĠăŬ̖
to features, this monitor from
1ŰŨŬăŰŰŎ 'ĤŰŨĺØƛ ŰŹØŅûŰ ŎƀŹ̛ ĤŅ Ø łƀõĠ ĺØŬęăŬ ŹĠØŅ ØŅ ˛ ŰĠă㏠qĤėŹƛ òƀŹ ĤŹ ûăŨăŅûŰ ŎŅ ĠŎƕ
ęŎŎû ƕØƛ̖ §ĠĤŰ ŰĺØò Ŏė łăŹØĺ ØŅû
ęĺØŰŰ ̩ õŎłŨĺăŹă ƕĤŹĠ ŰĠØŬŨ ăûęăŰ ØŅû ƕă õØŅ̵Ź ĠăĺŨ òƀŹ ŹĠĤŅķ ŹĠØŹ ŨŎƕăŬėƀĺ ŹĠă õĠØŬęăŬ ĤŰ̖ §Ġă
̩ ĤŰ ƀŅĺĤķă ØŅƛ łŎŅĤŹŎŬ ƕă̵Ɣă
seen and has already been touted ŹĠă ŹĠĤõķ òăƤăĺ ØŹ ŹĠă ûĤŰŨĺØƛ õŎłăŰ ƕĤŹĠ ŹĠŬăă
ØŰ ŹĠă ŹĠĤŅŅăŰŹ ŨŎŬŹØòĺă łŎŅĤŹŎŬ
ØƔØĤĺØòĺă̖ bottom of the screen õØòĺăŰ̏ N'nR ŹŎ łĤŅĤ

§Ġă ƀŰŹŬØĺĤØŅ ŰŹØŬŹƀŨ òăĠĤŅû ̦ŹĠØŹ̵Ű Ø ƕĠŎŨŨĤŅę Aside from the N'nR̐ Ø ® §ƛŨă̪! ŹŎ
ŹĠă ŨŬŎûƀõŹ ŬØĤŰăû łŎŬă ŹĠØŅ 55mm) should go in the §ƛŨă̪ ØŅû Ø §ƛŨă̪! ŹŎ
US$633,000 on Indiegogo to
łØķă ŹĠĤŰ̖ ŅăƚŹ ĤŹăŬØŹĤŎŅ̖ 'ŎĤŅę ŰŎ aluminum and glass §ƛŨă̪!̛ ŅŎŹĠĤŅę ėŎŬ
ƕĤĺĺ ØĺŰŎ ĠăĺŨ ŰĠØƔă unibody case, Espresso Ĥ•ĠŎŅă ƀŰăŬŰ̖ Ű ƛŎƀ
Design ŰŎłă Ŏė ŹĠă ƕăĤęĠŹ̐ łĤęĠŹ ęƀăŰŰ̐ ĤŹŰ ŰƔăĺŹă

ŰĤûă ėŬŎł ŹĠă ØĺƀłĤŅƀł ØŅû ƕĠĤõĠ ØŹ ˠ˝˗ę̐ ĤŰ ĠăėŹƛ̛ happily borrows from ŨŬŎƱĺă ŨŬăõĺƀûăŰ ŹĠă
ęĺØŰŰ ƀŅĤòŎûƛ õØŰă̐ 1ŰŨŬăŰŰŎ ŅŎŹă ŹĠØŹ ŹĠă ûĤŰŨĺØƛ ̩ the classic “Book of ŨŬăŰăŅõă Ŏė Ø ķĤõķŰŹØŅû̐
ĠØŨŨĤĺƛ òŎŬŬŎƕŰ ėŬŎł ŹĠă õĺØŰŰĤõ ƀŅĺĤķă łØŅƛ Ŏė ĤŹŰ ŬĤƔØĺŰ ƕĠĤõĠ łØķăŰ ŹĠă
̱ ŎŎķ Ŏė ŨŨĺă̲ òƛ ăŰŨŎƀŰĤŅę ŹĠă ̩ ûŎăŰŅ̵Ź ĠØƔă Ø òƀĤĺŹ̪ĤŅ Apple” by espousing the ŨƀŬõĠØŰă Ŏė ØŅ ăƚŹŬØ
ûăŰĤęŅ ŨĠĤĺŎŰŎŨĠƛ Ŏė ŹĠă õŎłŨØŅƛ
behind icons such as the MacBook òØŹŹăŬƛ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ĤŅ ŎƀŬ design philosophy of the accessory, all but a
•ŬŎ ŎŬ ŹĠă ĤnØõ̖ RŹ ĤŰ ØõŹƀØĺĺƛ ƔĤăƕ ĤŰ Ø company behind icons ŅăõăŰŰĤŹƛ̖
ØŅŎŹĠăŬ ŨŨĺă ûăƔĤõă ŹĠØŹ ŰăăłŰ ŨŎŰĤŹĤƔă ŹĠĤŅę̖ such as the MacBook Pro
ŹŎ òă ŹĠă ĤŅŰŨĤŬØŹĤŎŅ ėŎŬ ŹĠă In use
1ŰŨŬăŰŰŎ̖ §Ġă ĤŅŨƀŹ ŨŎŬŹŰ ØŅû or the iMac.
controls are located on §Ġă 1ŰŨŬăŰŰŎ ĤŰ ØŅ
§Ġă Ĥ•Øû •ŬŎ ŹØòĺ㏠˘˙̖ˠ ŹĠă ĠăėŹƛ òăƤăĺ̛ ØƀûĤŎ ĤŅ ăƚŹăŬŅØĺ łŎŅĤŹŎŬ ƕĤŹĠ Ø

ŨĺƀŰ ƔŎĺƀłă ŬŎõķăŬ ŎŅ ėƀĺĺ N' ŬăŰŎĺƀŹĤŎŅ̐ Ø ˘˝̏ˠ

one side (they can also be used to ØŰŨăõŹ ŬØŹĤŎ ØŅû̐ ØõõŎŬûĤŅę ŹŎ ŹĠă

ØĺŹăŬ ŹĠă òŬĤęĠŹŅăŰŰ̧ ØŅû ŹƕŎ łØŅƀėØõŹƀŬăŬ̐ ˠˠ͹ ۙF õŎƔăŬØęă

§ƛŨă̪! ØŅû ŎŅă łĤŅĤ̪N'nR ØŅû Ø ˝˗NƤ ŬăėŬăŰĠ ŬØŹă̖ §Ġă ėØõŹ

ĤŅŨƀŹ ŎŅ ŹĠă ŎŹĠăŬ ŰĤûă̖ §ĠăŬă̵Ű ŹĠØŹ ĤŹ ĠØŰ Ø ŨØĤŬ Ŏė ŰŨăØķăŬŰ

ŅŎ ŨŎƕăŬ òƀŹŹŎŅ ØŰ ŹĠă ûĤŰŨĺØƛ onboard is a bit of a miracle but

ØƀŹŎłØŹĤõØĺĺƛ ŰƕĤŹõĠăŰ ŎŅ ØŅû ûŎŅ̵Ź ăƚŨăõŹ ŹĠăł ŹŎ ŰŎƀŅû

Ŏƫ ØŅû ƛŎƀ õØŅ õĠØŬęă ŹĠă ĠŎŰŹ ØŅƛŹĠĤŅę òƀŹ ŹĤŅƛ̖

42

The display is glossy - and The Espresso is õŎłŨƀŹăŬ̖ §ĠØŹ̵Ű ŬĤęĠŹ̐ ƛŎƀ ØŬă ŬăęƀĺØŬĺƛ ŨĠƛŰĤõØĺĺƛ ĤŅŹăŬØõŹ ƕĤŹĠ
ŹĠăŬăėŎŬă ūƀĤŹă ŬăƲăõŹĤƔă ̪ ØŅû an elegant Øòĺă ŹŎ ŬƀŅ ŹƕŎ ØŨŨĺĤõØŹĤŎŅŰ ŹĠă ûĤŰŨĺØƛ̐ õØƀŰĤŅę ĤŹ ŹŎ ƕŎòòĺă ØŰ
õŎĺŎƀŬŰ Űăăł ŹŎ òă Űƀòûƀăû ăƔăŅ devices that will ŰĤłƀĺŹØŅăŎƀŰĺƛ̐ ŰØƛ ĺØõķ ŎŅ ŹĠă ƛŎƀ ŰƕĤŨă ØŅû ŰõŬŎĺĺ̖
ƕĠăŅ ŹĠă òŬĤęĠŹŅăŰŰ ĤŰ Ű㏠ŹŎ look good with łŎŅĤŹŎŬ ØŅû ÃĠØŹŰØŨŨ ŎŅ ƛŎƀŬ
łØƚĤłƀł ƕĤŹĠ Ø ŰĺĤęĠŹ ƛăĺĺŎƕ any hardware, ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅă òƀŹ ƛŎƀ ƕŎŅ̵Ź òă The other point worth noting is
ŹĤŅŹ̐ ūƀĤŹă ŅŎŹĤõăØòĺă ŎŅ ƕĠĤŹă but especially Øòĺă ŹŎ ŬƀŅ ŹƕŎ ĤŅŰŹØŅõăŰ Ŏė ŹĠă ŹĠØŹ ŹĠă ûĤŰŨĺØƛ ûŎăŰŅ̵Ź ŰŅØŨ ĤŅŹŎ
òØõķęŬŎƀŅû̖ Apple’s. ŰØłă ØŨŨ̖ ŨĺØõă ̦ĺĤķă ŰØƛ̐ Ø ķăƛòŎØŬû õŎƔăŬ̧̐
ĤŅŰŹăØû̐ ĤŹ ŎėŹăŅ ŰĺĤûăŰ ØŅû ƕă̵û
§Ġă ŹŎƀõĠŰõŬăăŅ ĤŰ ŬăØŰŎŅØòĺƛ The display Ãă ŬăõăĤƔăû ŹĠă 1ŰŨŬăŰŰŎ ˘˜ ŨŬăėăŬ ŹŎ ĠØƔă ØŅ ØĺŹăŬŅØŹĤƔă
ŬăŰŨŎŅŰĤƔă ŹŎ ŰƕĤŨă̐ ŰõŬŎĺĺĤŅę ØŰ boasts speakers, ƲĤŨ õØŰă ØŅû ŹĠă nŎƀŅŹFŎ ŹŎ ØŬŬØŅęăłăŅŹ̖ qăĤŹĠăŬ ŹĠŎƀęĠ ØŬă
ƕăĺĺ ØŰ ŨĤŅõĠ ØŅû ƤŎŎł̖ cƀûŎŰ but don’t expect õŎłŨĺăłăŅŹ ŹĠă ŬăƔĤăƕ ŰØłŨĺă̖ ûăØĺ òŬăØķăŬƯ̋ ƛŎƀ ĴƀŰŹ Ņăăû ŹŎ ęăŹ
ėŎŬ ûăĺĤƔăŬĤŅę Ø ûĤŰŨĺØƛ ŹĠØŹ ĤŰ great sound §Ġă ƱŬŰŹ ŎŅă ûĤûŅ̵Ź ĤłŨŬăŰŰ ĤŅ ƀŰăû ŹŎ ĤŹ̖
ŅŎŹ Ø ƱŅęăŬŨŬĤŅŹ łØęŅ㏠ØŰ ƕăĺĺ̐ performance. ŹăŬłŰ Ŏė ūƀØĺĤŹƛ ØŅû ŨƀŬŨŎŰă ØŰ ĤŹ
ūƀĤŹă ŰŎłăŹĠĤŅę ŎŅ Ø ęĺŎŰŰƛ ŨŬŎƔăû õĠØĺĺăŅęĤŅę ŹŎ ę㏠ŹĠă NØƔĤŅę ŹŎƛăû ƕĤŹĠ Ø ŅƀłòăŬ Ŏė
ûĤŰŨĺØƛ̖ RŹ̵Ű ŅŎŹ ŹŎŹØĺĺƛ ėŎŎĺŨŬŎŎė ØŅęĺăŰ ŬĤęĠŹ̖ §Ġă ŰØłă ØŨŨĺĤăŰ ŹŎ ŨŎŬŹØòĺă łŎŅĤŹŎŬŰ ĤŅ ŹĠă ŨØŰŹ̐ òØõķ
òƀŹ õŎłŨØŬăû ŹŎ ŰŎłă ĠŎŬŬŎŬŰ ŹĠă nŎƀŅŹFŎ̐ ŹĠă õŎĺĺØŨŰĤòĺă ƕĠăŅ ŹĠăƛ ĠØû łĤõŬŎ® ŨŎŬŹŰ̐
ƕă̵Ɣă ŰăăŅ òăėŎŬă̐ ĤŹ ûŎăŰ Ø ėØŬ ŰŹØŅûĤŅę ûăŰķ ƕĤŹĠ ŬƀòòăŬ ėă㏠ƕăĺĺ òăėŎŬă §ƛŨă̪! òăõØłă
ò㏏ăŬ ĴŎò̖ ØŅû Ø ŰŹŬŎŅę łØęŅ㏠ŹĠØŹ ĠŎĺûŰ ƀòĤūƀĤŹŎƀŰ̐ R õØŅ ŰØėăĺƛ ŰØƛ ŹĠØŹ ŹĠă
ŹĠă łŎŅĤŹŎŬ ĤŅŹŎ ŨĺØõă̖ 1ŰŨŬăŰŰŎ ŨŎŬŹØòĺă ûĤŰŨĺØƛ ĤŰ ŎŅă Ŏė
We tested the Espresso 15 with ŹĠă òăŰŹ ƕă̵Ɣă ĠØŅûĺăû̖ §Ġă
a Dell Latitude 7490 with the Ãă̵Ɣă ęŎŹ ŹƕŎ ĤŰŰƀăŰ ƕĤŹĠ ŹĠĤŰ ØŹŹăŅŹĤŎŅ ŹŎ ŰłØĺĺ ûăŹØĤĺŰ ĠØŰ òăăŅ
§ƛŨă̪! ŹŎ §ƛŨă̪! õØòĺă ØŅû ŹĠă ØŨŨŬŎØõĠ̛ ŎŅõă ûŎõķăû̐ ŹĠă ŬØŬăĺƛ łØŹõĠăû òƛ õŎłŨăŹĤŹŎŬŰ̖
ûĤŰŨĺØƛ ƕØŰ ØƀŹŎłØŹĤõØĺĺƛ õăŅŹŬă Ŏė ęŬØƔĤŹƛ Ŏė ŹĠă õŎłòĤŅăû
ŬăõŎęŅĤŰăư̂ ŹĠă òăŰŹ Ŏė Ũĺƀę ØŅû unit is quite high (the stand Ãă̵û ŰŹĤĺĺ ƕØŅŹ Ø ėăƕ ŹĤŅƛ
ŨĺØƛ ØŹ ƕŎŬķ̖ qŎŹă ŹĠØŹ ƛŎƀ ƕĤĺĺ weighs 486g and when deployed ĤłŨŬŎƔăłăŅŹŰ ŎƔăŬØĺĺ̏ Ø ęŬăƛ ŎŬ
Ņăăû ŹŎ ƀŰă ŹĠă òƀŅûĺăû õØòĺă ØŰ łŎŰŹ Ŏė ŹĠØŹ ƕăĤęĠŹ ĤŰ ĤŅ ŹĠă ØĤŬ̧̖ ûØŬķ §ƛŨă̪! õØòĺă ̦ŹĠă ƕĠĤŹă ŎŅă ĤŰ
ŎŹĠăŬ §ƛŨă̪! õØòĺăŰ łØƛ ŅŎŹ òă §ĠØŹ òăõŎłăŰ Ø ŨŬŎòĺăł Ĥė ƛŎƀ Ø òĤŹ ŹŎŎ ûĤŰŹŬØõŹĤŅę̧̐ ăĺĤłĤŅØŹă ŹĠă
õŎłŨØŹĤòĺă̖ ŹĠĤõķ òăƤăĺ ̦ƕĠĤõĠ ƕŎƀĺû łØķă ŹĠă
ŨŎŬŹŬØĤŹ łŎûă łŎŬă ăĺăęØŅŹ̧̐ łØķă
When we paired the Espresso ŹĠă łØęŅăŹĤõ ŰŹØŅû łŎŬă ŰŹØòĺă
˘˜ ƕĤŹĠ Ø ØłŰƀŅę FØĺØƚƛ qŎŹă ˠ̐ ØŅû ŹĠă 1ŰŨŬăŰŰŎ §ŎƀõĠ ŰŎėŹƕØŬă
Ø ˜Ã õĠØŬęăŬ ķăŨŹ ŹĠă ûĤŰŨĺØƛ ŎŅ ėŎŬ nØõ ėŬăă̖
ƕĠĤĺă Ø ˘˜Ã ŎŅă õĠØŬęăû ŹĠă
ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅă̖ ŨăØķĤŅę Ŏė ŹĠă The Espresso 15 display adopts
qŎŹă ˠ̐ õŎŅŅăõŹĤŅę ŹĠă 1ŰŨŬăŰŰŎ a minimalist approach that
˘˜ ŹŎ ĤŹ ĤûăŅŹĤƱăŰ ĤŹ ØŰ Ø 'ăÈ works exceedingly well for a
ûĤŰŨĺØƛ ØŅû ØƀŹŎłØŹĤõØĺĺƛ single purpose product. It does
ĺØƀŅõĠăŰ ØłŰƀŅę̵Ű ăŅŹăŬŨŬĤŰă̪ away with the extras including
ėŎõƀŰăû ûăŰķŹŎŨ̖ – sadly in this case – a stand.
That’s perhaps our biggest
ƕŎŬû ØòŎƀŹ ŹĠă 'ăÈ complaint for an overall very
ăƚŨăŬĤăŅõă̏ ƛŎƀ õØŅ ăĤŹĠăŬ ƀŰă well designed external display.
ƛŎƀŬ ŰłØŬŹŨĠŎŅă ØŰ Ø ŹŎƀõĠŨØû Desire Athow
or use the display as a standalone

43

TEST BENCH

Reviews

2021

EDITOR
APPROVED

$6,999, www.hisense.com.au

Hisense ULED 8K Series U80G

Decent value for a rear-lit 8K TV, but it struggles in some technical areas of sound and vision.

In recent years Hisense has fancied •ĺØƛĤŅę ˛c ĺƀ̪ŬØƛ õŎŅŹăŅŹ performance was seriously
itself as a premium brand without demonstrated that letterbox bars ĤłŨŬăŰŰĤƔă̐ ØŰ ƕă̵Ɣă õŎłă ŹŎ ăƚŨăõŹ
really producing premium remained impressively black (and from Hisense. It was very good at
ŨŬŎûƀõŹŰ̖ NăŬă̵Ű ĤŹŰ ƱŬŰŹ ˟c §Â ̩ not distracting) but when bright removing jaggies without softening
how will this 75-inch beast fare? ØŬăØŰ Ŏė õŎĺŎƀŬ ƕăŬă ŅăØŬòƛ̐ ŹĠăƛ ŎòĴăõŹŰ ŹŎŎ łƀõĠ̐ ăƔăŅ ƕĠăŅ
could become illuminated. While ƕØŹõĠĤŅę ŰŹØŅûØŬû ûăƱŅĤŹĤŎŅ
RŅ ŎƀŬ ˛c̐ ˝˗ėŨŰ̐ Costa Rica̐ {e1' §ÂŰ ăƚõăĺ ØŹ ûĤŰŨĺØƛĤŅę ŰƀõĠ content. Gamers will like Game
ŅØŹƀŬă̪ŰĠŎƕŬăăĺ ŹăŰŹ̐ ƕă ƕăŬă Ø content they’re expensive and we nŎû㠕ŬŎ̐ ƕĠĤõĠ ŰƀŨŨŎŬŹŰ ÂØŬĤØòĺă
little disappointed to see occasional haven’t seen many LCD-based Refresh Rate and Auto Low Latency
juddering in some horizontal and screens do much better. Mode when game consoles are
ƔăŬŹĤõØĺ ŨØŅŅĤŅę ŰĠŎŹŰ̖ NŎƕăƔăŬ̐ detected.
fast-moving animals rendered Ãă ƕăŬă̐ ĠŎƕăƔăŬ̐ ûĤŰØŨŨŎĤŅŹăû
smoothly. Colours were impressive òƛ ŹĠă ĺŎõØĺ̐ ŬăØŬ̪ĺĤŹ̐ e1' ûĤłłĤŅę §Ġă ŅûŬŎĤû §Â { ĤŰ ŬăŰŨŎŅŰĤƔă
when we turned on the Dynamic ăƫŎŬŹŰ ƕĠăŅ ûĤŰŨĺØƛĤŅę Ø ŰŹØŬ Ʊăĺû ØŅû̐ ėŎŬ ŹĠă ƱŬŰŹ ŹĤłă̐ ƕă ŨŬăėăŬŬăû
picture mode but were rather (or any bright object on a dark ƀŰĤŅę ŎƀŬ ƔŎĤõă ŹŎ Źăĺĺ ŹĠ㠧 ƕĠØŹ ŹŎ
muted in Standard and Natural òØõķęŬŎƀŅû̧̖ §ĠăŬă ƕăŬă ûŎ̖ !ŎŅƔăŬŰăĺƛ̐ ŹĠă õĠăØŨ̐ ŨĺØŰŹĤõ
modes. Artefacts in uniform areas ŅŎŹĤõăØòĺă ĠØĺŎ ăƫăõŹŰ ØŅû ĺĤęĠŹ ŬăłŎŹă ƕØŰ ĤŅėƀŬĤØŹĤŅę̐ ăŰŨăõĤØĺĺƛ
of colour were minimal as was òĺăăûĤŅę ŹĠØŹ̐ ĤŅ ŰŨØõă ŰõăŅăŰ̐ ĤŅ Ø ûØŬķ ŬŎŎł̐ ƕĠăŬă ŹĠă ĺŎƕ̪ŬĤŰă
banding in colour gradients. became something of a confusing buttons were hard to identify
łăŰŰ ̩ ŅŎ łØŹŹăŬ ĠŎƕ ƕă Ű㏠ŹĠă by touch.
One of our contrast tests involve òØõķĺĤęĠŹ̖ §ƀŬŅĤŅę ĺŎõØĺ ûĤłłĤŅę
watching scenes from The Darkest Ŏƫ łØûă ŹĠĤŅęŰ łƀõĠ łăŰŰĤăŬ ƕĤŹĠ The $6,999 price tag is cheap for
Hour̖ §ĠĤŰ ŰĠŎƕăû ƀŰ ŹĠØŹ ûăŹØĤĺŰ ŹĠă §Â̵Ű õŎŬŅăŬŰ ăŰŨăõĤØĺĺƛ ęĺŎƕĤŅę a premium 75-inch TV but it’s still
(impressively) only disappeared in òŬĤęĠŹ ĺĤķă Ø õĠăØŨ §Â̖ over $2,000 more than budget
the darkest of shadows. While rivals from TCL and LG. History
there were some bands in §Ġă ŰŨăØķăŬŰ ƕăŬă Ø łĤƚăû òØę̖ suggests real-world Hisense
monochromatic colour gradients §Ġăƛ ęŎŹ ĤłŨŬăŰŰĤƔăĺƛ ĺŎƀû òƀŹ pricing will collapse at launch in
ŹĠĤŰ̐ ØęØĤŅ̐ ƕØŰ ŎŅĺƛ ƔĤŰĤòĺă ƀŨ ƱûăĺĤŹƛ ƕØŰ ŰĺĤęĠŹĺƛ ØƕķƕØŬû ƕĤŹĠ which case this would be a
õĺŎŰă̖ DŎŬ ØŅ N'™ §Â̐ ƕă ƕăŬă Ø treble sometimes distorting and decent, all-round (rear-lit)
little disappointed at how little òØŰŰ ƲƀõŹƀØŹĤŅę òăŹƕăăŅ òăĤŅę performer. But it’s good not great.
highlights in dark scenes ‘popped’ łƀƯăû ØŅû ŨƀŅõĠƛ̖ Nick Ross
Ŏƫ ŹĠă ŰõŬăăŅ̖
Heavily upscaled image

44

2021

EDITOR
APPROVED

$13,999, www.samsung.com/au

Samsung Neo QLED QN900A

Samsung seeks to re-join the top tier of TVs.

Samsung TVs are often notable for backgrounds and letterbox bars mode reduces input lag and also lets
their high brightness, poor- don’t stay true black when bright you use super-widescreen PC
contrast, packed-in features and, content is displayed near to them. resolutions which can be shifted up
for the top models, high prices. We expect performance will evolve and down the screen to match the
Now, here’s its new 85-inch, 8K with future generations of the height of your chair. ‘DEX’
flagship model, sporting a brand technology when the precision technology enables home office
new, Neo QLED picture technology involved in illuminating the tiny applications.
that supposedly rivals the LEDs improves.
all-conquering quality of OLED. Everything can be operated
Will it break the mould? Nonetheless, all Ultra HD intuitively by the Smartthings app
content (that didn’t resemble or by the small, solar-powered
Neo QLED replaces the traditional outer-space-like, bright-on-dark remote, which offers intuitive
arrays of button-sized LED contrast) looked superb. access to the Tizen ribbon OS.
backlights with strips of tiny LEDs
that measure in the thousands per While upscaled content for Sound comes via 14 built-in
square inch. The result is a brighter, resolutions of Full HD and above directional speakers that sound
thinner LCD panel that should offer was impressively sharp, standard great on their own, but can be
superb contrast with more precise definition content exhibited further enhanced by combining
dimming. significant image softening. with a matching soundbar.
However, this is inevitable when
In a well-lit room, performance stretching a tiny image across a Ultimately, while OLED’s quality
is impressive with colourful images gargantuan screen. might still be superior, it’s prone to
being displayed with high contrast. image burn-in and so the peace of
However, watching in a dark room The features are excellent. Voice mind afforded by a good LCD will
demonstrates that this first assistant options let you choose tempt many.
generation of the technology is not between Alexa, Google (via your
(yet) perfect. Despite the tiny size phone) and Bixby. Ambient mode At $13,999 it’s not cheap, but LG’s
of the LEDs, they are still turns the TV into a translucent similarly-sized 8K rivals start at
illuminated in banks of thousands work of art which, combined with $59,999! It’s an excellent LCD TV
at a time. Consequently, bright the super-thin bezel makes it and Neo QLED looks to be a
objects still exhibit significant almost vanish from sight – winning technology, but it will be
‘halo effect’ light bleeding on black replaced by an artwork or high- future generations that seriously
concept information service. Game challenge for the quality crown
Nick Ross

45

TEST BENCH

Reviews

2021

EDITOR
APPROVED

$599, www.dyson.com.au

Dyson Omni-glide

Is Dyson’s lightest and most compact cordless vacuum a winner for your hard floors?

The Dyson Omni-glide certainly cleaning so that you can cordless cleaners, the handle is
looks different to other cordless maneuver it under furniture and much longer, which makes it
vacuums from the brand. Rather in tight spaces. cumbersome to use in this mode.
than a traditional trigger-style
handle, the Dyson Omni-glide has The Omni-glide can be Emptying the Dyson Omni-glide
a vertical handle, which houses converted into a handheld cleaner is simple – just disconnect the wand
the swappable battery, with a in the same way as other Dyson and cleaning head from the canister,
power button on the front, along vacuums, by removing the main then press the button on the back,
with another button to switch to wand and attaching any of the sliding the canister down. The ‘point
maximum power. three extra tools it comes with and shoot’ mechanism ejects the
directly to the dust canister. dust and debris from the canister
The motor, which generates the Weighing in at 1.9kg, it’s the into a bin in one swift move and
suction, and the eight cyclones, lightest vacuum Dyson has made works in the same way as other
which generate 98,000g of to date. Dyson vacuum cleaners, although
centrifugal force to ensure that the canister is the smallest we’ve
microscopic dust particles remain In our testing, the Dyson seen on a Dyson vacuum, so will
in the canister, sit below this, Omni-glide proved very effective need regular emptying if you have a
followed by the 0.02-liter dust bin. at sucking up the fine dust, biscuit larger home.
crumbs and cereal we sprinkled
As we’ve already mentioned, on hard floors, even on the Eco The Dyson Omni-glide is a new
the Dyson Omni-glide is designed power setting. It glided easily, and type of vacuum for hard floors that
for hard floors, and it ships with was able to trap all the debris in can be maneuvered in any
just one cleaning head, which has just one slow pass – we were also direction. Its two-brush-bar
two brush bars. These are covered impressed that we were able to cleaning head can cover a wider
in soft nylon to capture large steer the vacuum in any direction area in one sweep, and its powerful
particles without damaging hard with the lightest of pressure. suction is almost on par with more
floors, while anti-static carbon expensive Dyson models. However,
fiber filaments collect fine dust at Converting the vacuum to it’s expensive compared to rivals
the same time. handheld mode and back again is offering similar features, and it also
easy – as on other Dyson cleaners has a smaller-than-average dust
It has two power levels: Eco this requires removing the main canister and a short run time.
mode, which is the lowest setting, wand and cleaning head. Carrie-Ann Skinner
and Max, and can be laid flat while However, unlike other Dyson

46

2020

EDITOR’S
CHOICE

$279, www.jbl.com

JBL Charge 5

Small speaker, big sound.

JBL has a long history of making Charge 5 drops support for the Bass is impactful and deep, which is
great Bluetooth speakers and the 3.5mm aux jack from the JBL surprising for a speaker of this
Charge line has always stood out Charge 4, which is a bummer for sound. We’ve heard bookshelf
for its value. Historically, the some who have legacy devices they speakers that produce less bass than
Charge series offered incredibly want to hook up. the Charge 5. Mids are clear with
impressive sound for its size. vocals given good presence, and
Battery life has always been In terms of technical specs, the highs are rolled off for a warmer
impressive, allowing users to use Charge 5 includes Bluetooth 5.1, a presentation, until you start pushing
their Charge speakers as a battery 7500mAh battery capacity, and a the volume up and up.
bank in a pinch. frequency response rated 65 Hz
- 20k Hz. However, like other JBL For the best sound quality, we
The design of the JBL Charge 5 is portable speakers, the Charge 5 recommend keeping the speaker
an iteration of the cylindrical features the “PartyBoost” mode, around 50-60% volume – when
design it has had for years. The which allows users to pair a second you have to push beyond this
biggest visual change is the large JBL speaker to either amplify volume, there’s likely so much
JBL logo on the front of the speaker. music or use as a stereo pair. ambient noise that sound quality
On the front, the individual power isn’t the first priority.
LEDs have moved from the bottom The feature is great if you want
base to an LED strip under the JBL to play music across a large area The JBL Charge 5 is an iteration on
logo, which looks sleeker. where multiple speakers can help a winning formula. The Charge
amplify sound. It’s also nice to get series of speakers is known for
Physical controls remain the true stereo playback out of a pair balanced sound, high volume, and
same with slightly raised buttons of speakers. long battery life, and that hasn’t
on top of the speaker. There are changed in this fifth generation.
buttons to control playback, Overall, the sound quality of the However, the Charge 5 improves on
volume, power, Bluetooth pairing, JBL Charge 5 hasn’t changed much just about every aspect of what
and “Party Boost”. from the Charge 4. There’s an made it great, making it an easy
additional tweeter in the Charge 5 recommendation for those looking
Around the back, the JBL Charge that helps with overall clarity, and for big, balanced sound with
5 has a waterproof USB-C charging bass is slightly more impactful all-day battery life.
port as well as a flap hiding the than the Charge 4, too. Lewis Leongr
USB-A port that can be used to
charge up your smartphone. The Tonally, the JBL Charge 5 sounds 47
balanced at medium to low volume.

TEST BENCH

Reviews

2020

EDITOR’S
CHOICE

$819, www.anycubic.com

AnyCubic Photon Mono X

Take the step from FFF to SLA.

Compare prints from an FFF (fused follows a similar design ethic. The and switch it on. I’ve tested quite a
filament fabrication) and a SLA main washing and then curing few of these LCD SLA printers last
(Stereolithography) 3D printer and station, once the tub is removed, year, and all have produced
you’ll instantly see why model are on top with a button to switch excellent results. However, they’re
makers, jewelry designers, between wash and Cure with a dial not as straightforward as FFF
engineers and even dentists look used to adjust the timings. The UV printers, and you do need to invest
to SLA as their printer technology light used by resin printers is time to ensure the best quality
of choice. dangerous to human eyes, and print and success rate. The Photon
therefore the print area must be Mono X makes things as simple as
There’s no doubt that the SLA covered by some protective shield. possible, and after the first print
technology enables prints that are AnyCubic has come up with a success, I looked at printing a
a level up from what is achievable simple lift on and off solution, it’s selection of my 3D models.
by a standard FFF printer, but that not the most elegant solution that
quality comes at a cost. I’ve seen, but there’s no faulting its Importing into the Photon
effectiveness. It may be simple, but Software was easy enough to
Both the LCD-based SLA printer sensors detect whether the shield navigate all the functions and
and the wash and cure machine is in place or not; if not, the features, density, position and
follow the same design style, machine will sit idle until the punching holes for drainage etc.
making them a perfectly matched shield is in place. Software for 3D
pair. Setting up both on the work printers is essential to the success AnyCubic’s latest Photon Mono X
surface and it has to be said that of the print, and here AnyCubic has is a large scale LCD-Based SLA
they look great with the bright designed a relatively simple and 3D printer. Not only does it offer
yellow protective shield and only easy to understand solution. one of the largest print areas for
the simple touch screen LCD on this style of machine, but coupled
one and dial on the front AnyCubic has a reputation for with the new Wash and Cure unit
differentiating the look of the providing solid 3D printers that available separately or in a bundle,
bases. The design is simple and require only the slightest set-up. this combination offers a huge
straightforward, helped in part by Set-up of the Photon Mono X case technological leap forward for
the excellent AnyCubic set-up follows AnyCubic’s usual slick home and small business SLA
guide that truly reflects the approach, remove the packaging, printing.
machine’s function. set the printer on a level surface Ali Jennings

Likewise, the Wash and Cure

48

$1,149, www.epson.com.au

Epson EcoTank ET-8550

6-ink EcoTank is ideal for A3 photos.

The early EcoTank printers the office, so there’s no ADF Android/iOS app. This
looked like regular cartridge- (automatic document feeder) or companion app called Epson
based inkjets with bulbous ink fax facility, but it is generously Smart Panel let’s you use your
reservoirs bolted onto the side. kitted out with other features. It smartphone to get up and
But this sleek design has the six can auto duplex with A4 paper for running. Typing in your Wi-Fi
tanks seamlessly integrated into instance, enlarge photocopies password to get the printer
the design. As a result, the from A4 to A3 and print on a very online is quite easy whichever
footprint of the Epson EcoTank wide variety of blank media. It you choose and filling the ink
ET-8550 is roughly A3 in size can handle any size paper up to reservoirs is easy.
while standing only 16cm tall, so A3+ and even manage 2m banners
it’s much easier to accommodate via the rear tray. It can also print In all of our tests, the Epson
than most A3 printers. on sticky labels, thick card and EcoTank ET-8550 performed
blank CDs. well, but its real strength is in
There are two paper trays at printing photos on glossy photo
the front, but neither are big Another attraction of the paper. The optimised resolution
enough for A3 paper. A third Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is the is good and high at 5,760 x 1,400
paper tray at the rear will take amount of ink you get with it. dpi with 180 nozzles per colour
anything up to A3+ paper. It’s There are six bottles in the box, and 360 black nozzles putting
actually quite a neat solution which is enough for 2,300 prints together very finely detailed
because this rear tray provides a (10 x 15cm photos). That’s pictures. The five dye-based
much flatter paper path which generous, although it is a big Claria inks look especially
means your A3 photos won’t curl climb-down from the ten bottles vibrant and always well
up. It also means you can print on and 3,600 photos bundled with contained on coated paper. If
some quite thick card. Though it the Epson EcoTank ET-7750. you want photos that pop, this is
looks like it should accommodate the printer and ink combination
A3 paper, the scanner bed is only Setting up the Epson EcoTank for you.
big enough for A4. ET-8550 is simplified by the large
tilting touchscreen. You can Finally, a premium A3 printer with
The Epson EcoTank ET-8550 is either follow the step-by-step superior six-ink photo print quality
a 3-in-1 device, which is to say onscreen prompts, or follow the that’s also economical to run.
that it can print, copy and scan. It QR code displayed on screen that Jim Hill
is aimed at the home rather than takes you to a downloadable
2020

EDITOR’S
CHOICE

49

TEST BENCH

Reviews

$99, www.fitbit.com

Fitbit Aria Air

A solid choice for Fitbit fans, but lacks body composition data.

Before you invest in the Fitbit Aria account. This is synced This could be inconvenient if
Air, you should know that unlike immediately with the Fitbit you’re not in the habit of taking
other Fitbit smart scales, it mobile app, where you can track your phone into the bathroom in
doesn’t use a small electrical changes over time and see how the morning, but does mean
current to estimate your body close you are to meeting your there’s no limit to the number of
composition (including fat, target weight. It also makes it people who can use the scale.
muscle and bone mass) – a easy to see how any lifestyle Most smart scales only support
method known as bioimpedence. changes, such as increased between four and 16 users, but
This means you’ll get a less exercise or improved sleep the Aria Air has no such cap,
complete picture of changes to patterns, may have affected provided each person has a
your body, but means it’s safe for your weight. Fitbit account.
people with implanted devices
such as pacemakers. The Fitbit Aria Air connects to Weight is shown on the bright
your phone via Bluetooth, and LED display as soon as you step
We were surprised how heavy has no Wi-Fi connectivity. This on, and provided you have the
the Fitbit Aria Air was. It weighs means it’s very quick and easy to Fitbit app open on your phone, it
3.9lb (1.7kg), which isn’t much set up, with no need to enter the will appear there straight away.
less than Wi-Fi scales like the password for your home network, Unlike Salter’s Bluetooth smart
Garmin Index S2, and much less but your phone will need to be scales, there’s no need to tap a
than the Eufy Smart Scale C1 within Bluetooth range for your button to initiate the syncing
Bluetooth scale. Fitbit advises data to sync. progress.
always storing the scale upright,
so you’re unlikely to be moving it Because the scale doesn’t track Just open the app, step aboard,
often, but it’s something to bear body composition, it’s unable to and your weight and BMI will sync
in mind if space in your bathroom identify you unless your phone is automatically. There’s no body
is limited. within Bluetooth range. Step composition data though, so if
aboard without a connection and you’re interested in checking out
Instead, the Fitbit Aria Air you’ll see your weight, but your changes to fat and muscle mass
measures weight (in imperial or data won’t be synced. It’s not over time, you’ll need to look
metric units), and calculates your stored on the scale itself, as there elsewhere. If your needs are
BMI using the height entered would be no way to pin it to a simple, though, it’s excellent.
when you created your Fitbit particular user. Cat Ellis

50