Today Apple has unveiled the official dates for its annual WorldWide Developer Conference (WWDC). This will take place online from June 5 to June 9.
On June 5, the traditional first-day keynote will take place, and that's where the next versions of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS will be introduced.
While the event will be online, developers and students will have the opportunity to attend a special day at Apple Park on June 5 to watch the keynote and Apple's own version of a State of the Union address. Space for this in-person event will be limited of course.
Susan...
As a customer relationship management tool, SugarCRM has history on its side. Since debuting in 2004, it has served countless businesses, receiving praise for its customizability, advanced functionality and tight integrations.
Of course, SugarCRM isn’t considered one of the best CRM software solutions on the market purely because of its longevity. The platform boasts 24-hour support and a deep feature set, including plenty for developers to sink their teeth into.
As with most CRMs, SugarCRM is great for marketing, sales, and email communication but SugarCRM goes above and beyond all that. Overall, this is a CRM tool that boasts its fair share of complexity - which is both a strength and a weakness.
SugarCRM's interface has received plenty of praise (Image credit: Sugarcrm)
SugarCRM Review: Snapshot
Businesses with a sizable number of tech experts rejoice! SugarCRM is probably the right CRM tool for you. It comes with a substantial number of features and its above-average price tag is unlikely to scare you off.
SugarCRM comes in a variety of flavors depending on your precise needs - whether it's marketing automation, customer service, or sales. SugarCRM proudly declares that it is “trusted by millions worldwide” and this includes some big-name clients like CBRE and Sennheiser.
For smaller businesses, SugarCRM may not be quite right - it’s not the most user-friendly, after all. But that doesn’t mean it should necessarily be ruled out as an option entirely. SugarCRM may take smaller organizations a little longer to get up to speed with, but once they do, they'll discover a feature-rich CRM tool that can supercharge their growth.
SugarCRM Review: Plans and pricing
Top of the list of considerations for most businesses will likely be price. For all B2B software, cost considerations can’t be ignored, whether businesses are looking for cloud storage or online collaboration tools.
Where SugarCRM is concerned, there are several pricing plans to consider. At the cheaper end of the scale, there’s Sugar Sell, which starts at $49 per user, per month. Then, there’s Sugar Serve, costing $80 per user, per month, Sugar Enterprise, priced at $85, and Sugar Market, which is $1000 per month for up to 10,000 contacts.
Altogether, these prices make SugarCRM among the costlier platforms available. Sugar Sell, for example, only provides you with basic account and lead management tools, unless you stump up for Sugar Sell Advanced or Sugar Sell Premium. These tiers provide added functionality, like guided selling tools, mail and calendar integration, and geo-mapping, but will alienate smaller firms that may not have access to larger IT budgets.
If you’re comparing purely on price, it’s undeniable that SugarCRM has some work to do in order to match its competitors. Zoho CRM, for example, will only set businesses back $14 per user, per month for its cheapest plan. Of course, SugarCRM does have some pretty nifty functionality - so you might decide that it's worth the price tag.
(Image credit: Sugarcrm)
SugarCRM Review: Features
The features on offer with SugarCRM depend heavily on the exact plan that individuals sign up for. For instance, Sugar Market is an all-in-one marketing automation solution that ensures your employees have access to the most relevant leads. There is an option to engage with prospects across different channels - email, ads, social media, and more - as well as the ability for enhanced collaboration and tighter integration with sales tools.
Sugar Serve, meanwhile, streamlines your customer service operations by providing omnichannel engagement and self-service functionality. Real-time sentiment analysis is another hugely helpful feature, serving as a great way of collecting customer feedback, sharing it with your relevant personnel and, as a result, improving your customer retention rates. With the sometimes advanced nature of many of the features included in SugarCRM, the way the platform makes use of clear reports and dashboards is helpful for identifying the metrics that really matter to your teams.
Moving on to Sugar Sell, the solution provides organizations with a much clearer overview of how their sales teams are performing. Sales reps can quickly identify customers and find out all the relevant information they need - stretching back to their first interaction with the company. Proactive alerts, root cause analysis, intelligent lead prioritization, and pipeline management are also all to be found here.
And although cloud computing may be all the rage these days, there is still sometimes a need for on-premise solutions. SugarCRM meets this need through Sugar Enterprise. This version of Sugar CRM enables businesses to retain full control of their technology stack, without missing out on many important CRM features.
SugarCRM Review: Ease of use
One of the only real drawbacks of SugarCRM is that it is not especially user-friendly - especially if you are fairly inexperienced with using these sorts of platforms. The number of features on offer here can be a little intimidating, so if you don’t have a great deal of in-house IT expertise, making the best use of SugarCRM could be a struggle.
As with other CRM tools, like Sage CRM, there is a fairly substantial amount of help on offer. The similarly named Sugar University, for example, provides seminars and workshops to help users find their way around. It’s also true that setting up dashboards on the platform isn’t too tricky - although things can get more complicated if you want them to.
Overall, SugarCRM seems like it has been designed for larger enterprises - the kind that has dedicated tech teams ready to train up its staff on the intricacies of using the platform. If you’re a smaller firm that doesn’t have these kinds of resources, a more user-friendly CRM might be a better option.
SugarCRM Review: Final Verdict
In some ways, SugarCRM may be the best CRM tool we’ve reviewed. There’s simpy not enough space in this review to list all the features on offer here - particularly if businesses look across the various different platforms that come under the SugarCRM umbrella.
That being said, this is a CRM solution that is geared towards larger enterprises - and, at times, it shows. The complexity on offer here may scare off smaller teams, but if they can get to grips with the functionality on offer, they will be richly rewarded.
Sony today announced the ZV-E1 vlogging camera. This new model sits at the top of the company's ZV line and is the first to feature a full-frame sensor.
The ZV-E1 has the same 12MP full-frame sensor found on the A7S III and the FX3, which is a very high quality sensor with remarkable low light capabilities and 15+ stops dynamic range. It couples this with the same BIONZ XR image processor from those two other cameras, which should ensure nearly identical image quality.
The ZV-E1 makes some concessions compared to the A7S III and FX3. It currently maxes out at 4K 60fps with 4:2:2...
The Nokia Design Team has crafted a new user interface design language dubbed Pure UI. This is intended to be used on Nokia phones, of course, but also all kinds of other Nokia products.
The design is intended to be consistent, flexible and future-proof and has a clean, minimalistic look, which is the leading design trend right now. There are multiple components, starting with templates and guidelines that determine the overall look.
A major part of the new look is the Nokia Pure typeface, which will be used throughout the UI.
The Nokia Pure typeface
New icons have been...
The Cyrusher Ranger is a full-package, premium electric bike that’s shares genes with a mountain bike about as much as it does with a dual-purpose motorcycle. It’s not a cheap e-bike, but it’s making sure you get a lot for your money.
Many of the best electric bikes simply embed a little bit of motor power in an otherwise standard bicycle, like the Ribble Hyrbid AL e or Marin Sausalito E1. Some take a different tack. With front and rear suspension and fat tires, the Cyrusher ranger provides a supremely smooth ride, which is great given the 28mph top speed you can find yourself cruising along at with ease using the 750W motor. Even when you’re flying, the bike offers plenty of range from its 52V20Ah battery. With a half-twist throttle that can pull the bike along at 20mph, it really is much like a motorcycle.
The Cyrusher Ranger might be a bit over-the-top for some. If you live somewhere that doesn’t allow Class 2 or Class 3 ebikes, you’d be spending a lot for tech you can’t tap into. If you just want a casual commuter and are largely riding on smooth pavement, the Ranger suspension and big tires will be less useful while playing a large part in the pricing.
But, if you want an e-bike that’s happy to zoom down city streets, hop up and down curbs, and then hit trails all while enjoying plenty of motor assistance and range, the Cyrusher Ranger makes a competent option that’s not a bad value.
Cyrusher Ranger: Specifications
(Image credit: Mark Knapp)
Cyrusher Ranger: Price and availability
$2,799 in US
£2,799 in UK
Unavailable in AU
The Cyrusher Ranger is available now directly from Cyrusher for $2,799 in the continental United States or Alaska and Hawaii with extra shipping charges. It is also available in the UK for £2,799. Discounts are often available on the site, and it’s as-yet-unavailable in Australia.
Cyrusher Ranger: Design
Big, bulky and robust
Heavy-duty off-roading wheels
Removable battery
Electric bikes come in all shapes and sizes, but the Cyrusher Ranger’s shape and size are both decidedly big. From its monstrous wheels and motorcycle-esque dual-crown fork to its giant battery compartment and expanded bottom bracket, everything goes big on this bike. That goes especially for the weight. While Cyrusher rates the bike as weighing 66 pounds before jumping to 74 pounds with its battery installed, we weighed our test unit at 78.2 pounds before finally hitting a total of 90.4 pounds with the battery installed and all included accessories accounted for — a confusing discrepancy.
The Cyrusher Ranger makes sense of all that size with the gear it’s packing on. It squeezes in supple, grippy 26” x 4” offroading wheels, which are held on with a curious axle that connects with a bolt threaded onto each side — not your typical thru-axle or skewer. It has a deep Cyrusher-branded spring suspension fork in front (we’re told it’s a YISHUO Kunshan Yishuo Strong-DH/P171-26 suspension fork, but can find no details on this model online) with preload and compression adjustment dials, and a comfy soft tail with air suspension in the back that can also lock out.
The rear suspension is also Cyrusher branded but we’re told shares much in common with this DNM shock system. The bike uses Logan dual-caliper hydraulic disc brakes and includes motor cut-off circuitry with the brake levers. It’s even tacked on a 9-speed Shimano Altus drivetrain It fits a large LCD display with a USB port for charging extra gadgets onto the handlebars, though sadly most of the screen is taken up by a large green and gray arc that doesn’t actually indicate anything.
Even the controls are stacked. There’s a two-button controller for the headlight-horn combo unit, which has a decent headlight but seriously lackluster beeping noise that’s neither loud nor attention-getting. Next to that is the control unit for the bike’s assist modes and power. Meanwhile, the right handle has a half-twist throttle. This does result in quite a bit of cable mess at the front end of the bike, but it’s well-grouped with cable ties.
(Image credit: Mark Knapp)
The beefy downtube is housing the bike’s 52V 20Ah battery, which is about as large as you’ll find on standard e-bikes before breaking into the sort that is really not even pretending they're not motorcycles anymore. The battery has a latch to keep it from falling out and has a keyed locking pin.
Unfortunately, the battery comes out the bottom of the frame, which can see make it tricky to remove around the front tire, and it doesn’t provide any easy spots to get a grip and pull it out. Still, it’s good the battery is removable because the bike is incredibly unwieldy to carry as large as it is and at XX pounds, so anyone who can’t plug it in to charge in a garage will desperately want to just take the battery alone in for charging.
The Ranger comes in a few different colors, all of which use a different color for the rear triangle. Cyrusher goes a little overboard with accents on the bike, giving a bit of a gaudy appearance to a bike that already has a loud presence due to its size.
Despite all that the bike has going on, it’s fairly easy to put together. The handlebar needs attaching, and the front wheel needs to be seated in the fork (a job best for two people), the pedals need attaching, and then a few accessories need to be connected. But it’s a quick job and Cyrusher includes the necessary tools.
One problem with the bike’s size that we don’t want to overlook is how hard this can make it to safely lock up. A U-lock can really only effectively go around the top tube, and it will take a long tether to get around both wheels. Locking through the fork is possible, but less secure. You’ll likely want a long, robust chain lock for this bike, which is going to add considerably to the amount of weight you’re already dealing with.
Design score: 4/5
Cyrusher Ranger: Performance
Frame and seat awkwardly sized
Powerful motor and throttle
Holds charge well
As a bike that’s tuned for offroad riding, the Cyrusher Ranger is supremely comfortable on pavement. There’s a major confluence of comfort from the bikes various components. The front and rear air suspension combine to soak up substantial amounts of shock. That’s on top of the exceptional absorption offered by the bike’s enormous tires.
In comparison, the saddle and handlebars feel like weak links. Part of this comes from the available riding positions. The Ranger comes with an exceedingly short seatpost, so even though the bike is advertised as fitting riders up to 6’6”, taller riders will be stuck with a very low seated position that puts more weight into the saddle and will have to stand to pedal comfortably. The handlebars have basic, cylindrical grips that feel surprisingly comfortable, but that may simply be because we don’t get to put a lot of weight into our hands given the riding position.
For those who want a more natural riding experience, a new seatpost is an inexpensive upgrade. Though Ranger is styled like a mountain bike, it’s more of an urban all-terrain vehicle, so the out-of-saddle riding that’s common for mountain biking doesn’t seem all that appropriate for the Ranger. No less because the Ranger’s hub motor doesn’t have the same smooth response of a mid-drive, which would be preferable for trail riding where a jerky motor could be hazardous.
That’s not to discount the motor on the Cyrusher Ranger. The 750W Bafang hub drive is a blast. On throttle alone, it takes little time to cruise up to the bike’s 20mph cap. Even at that speed, the motor hums along quietly while the large wheels are responsible for the bulk of the noise coming from the bike. Even more speed is available by pedaling. The bike will zoom up to 28mph with ease. The system uses a torque sensor, responding to the force we put into the pedals to ramp up the motor.
The result is far more natural than a cadence sensor, which just measures how fast the pedals are spinning. The sensor may be a little oversensitive, though, as we often find it kicking in when we’re making small maneuvers at stoplights. That can be a concern since there’s a lot of motor power to wrangle after it unexpectedly kicks on.
(Image credit: Mark Knapp)
Thankfully, the bike has motor cut-offs built into the brake levers. The 180mm hydraulic disc brakes are also predictably effective. Our ability to come to a quick stop has never been a concern even with a payload of around 330 pounds between our weight and the bike’s.
Between its speed and super-smooth ride, the Cyrusher Ranger has more appeal as a low-cost motorcycle alternative. While the Super73-R Brooklyn was more overt in its attempt to make a “bike” that was as close to a motorcycle as possible, the Cyrusher Ranger stays closer to a true pedal bicycle while still being able to bleed over into that motorcycle-like category. Part of that comes from the 9-speed gearing, which makes it possible to easily find a gear where pedaling is actually useful, unlike the aforementioned single-speed Super73.
For those looking to tool around on a motorcycle, the roughly 1kWh battery provides plenty of juice for doing just that. Cruising around on the Ranger largely using the throttle and set to its highest assist level, we’re able to go over 33 miles before the battery is on its last legs and giving too little support to continue providing an enjoyable, electrified ride. As fun as e-bikes are to ride while they’re powered, they’re nearly equally un-fun to ride when that power runs out because of all their added weight.
Gearing on the Ranger makes it fairly easy to continue riding at low speeds, getting up to 12mph casually even when the battery gives up. It’s worth noting that we tested the Cyrusher Ranger in winter conditions, including some freezing days, which negatively impacts the battery performance. The 33.8-mile range we got is all the more impressive as it's effectively a worst-case range. Lighter riders, better weather conditions, and less stop-go city traffic should all make for an even longer range.
Bowers & Wilkins is a UK audio specialist that's not noted for its cheap and cheerful pricing strategies, and that certainly hasn't changed with the Pi7 S2 earbuds. Nevertheless, audiophiles will be aware of the inaugural earbuds this second iteration (note the 'S2' suffix, above) are based on. Why? Because to paraphrase Rhianna, they shine bright like a diamond, sonically speaking – and that has also not changed in this updated set.
If you came here to discover whether the Pi7 S2 are as detailed, crisp, insightful, weighty and immersive as the original Bowers & Wilkins PI7 – and whether Bowers & Wilkins has once again bettered other best-in-class buds for sound – take it as read. Yes, these earbuds offer a better-quality listen than any other similarly wireless design on the market.
If you're waiting for the 'but' though, it's coming. Usually, when a fresh iteration rolls off the production line, you can expect some big upgrades over the previous model. And here, the Pi7 S2 boasts… an extra 30 minutes of stamina, plus a more reliable Bluetooth connection. The battery life in the buds has been improved from 4.5 hours to five hours in the new version – hardly a headline grabber. Most of the competing options in our best noise-cancelling earbuds guide can beat even that upgraded figure quite comfortably.
And while you do get a more reliable connection overall now (including a longer Bluetooth range of up to 25m), thanks to a re-engineered antenna design, plus hi-res audio from compatible sources with aptX Adaptive, the two-way audio setup of a 9.2mm driver with a balanced armature treble unit in each bud here is largely the same as in the previous generation.
And the noise-cancelling, which wasn't much to write home about in the original, is now supposedly smarter about noise-nixing with Adaptive Noise Cancellation. Only, I initially struggled to select the in-app 'auto' option – the indicator light simply danced between 'on' or 'off' under my gaze. The passthrough function also refused to comply to the taps on my iPhone once or twice – and it's important to note that this is the only way to access passthrough, since on-ear controls are limited to playback functions, scrolling through the ANC profiles (via a long hold of the left earbud, choosing between 'on', 'adaptive' or 'off') and accessing your voice assistant.
Although noise was noticeably quashed when using the 'on' mode for ANC, it was still far from perfect. While tapping on my keyboard at work, I once heard tinny, unusually high-pitched sonic articles from the movement of my fingers filtering through into my earbuds – yes, using ANC rather than passthrough. Odd.
The Bowers & Wilkins Music app is otherwise an excellent companion, however, rounding all of my streaming services and playlists into one place and showing me B&W's curated options, as well as the usual battery life information and status of the buds – including wear sensor and streaming quality (which I set to 'highest').
Fans of the unusual feature will be happy to note that the nifty audio retransmission perk is still on board. Fans of on-ear volume tweaks from their earbuds, though, will be sad to see it still doesn't feature.
Oh, and you do get new colors – mine are a lovely midnight blue with gold-tone accents.
What you really need to know is that sound is still the star. And what a bright, shining star it is against this new midnight blue colorway. But given that the originals were sonically stellar already, whether or not you should buy this new proposition is a question you need to answer for yourself.
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review: Price & release date
B&W Pi7 S2 on the left; S1 on the right… so, not a huge shift visually (Image credit: Future)
$399 / £349 / AU$700
Released on Januarya 25, 2023
These second-gen Bowers and Wilkins’ Pi true wireless earbuds retail for $399 / £349 / AU$700. The keen-eyed will note that this pricing is practically identical (depending on where you live) to that of the original Pi7, which retailed for $399 / £350 / AU$599 when they launched in 2021.
And even if you're not keen-eyed, you'll have spotted that these numbers are not small – those prices dwarf even Apple's. The inaugural buds went beyond any other earbuds in terms of sound quality – but they also cost about 50% more than the likes of the AirPods Pro 2, so you'd hope for a lot more again here.
Bowers & Wilkins has recently launched a step-down option, the Pi5 S2, which retail for a slightly more palatable $299 / £249 / €299 / AU$450.
What do those buds offer? Well, this might not be the place, but okay: a 9.2mm driver, but not the extra balanced armature – so the dynamic range may be affected. They have the same battery life and do support aptX, but not aptX Adaptive, plus you lose the audio retransmission feature in the case. They also have active noise cancellation, but not the adaptive tech used in the PI7 S2 (though you can adjust the level of cancellation). Good? Good. On with the Pi7 S2 review…
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review: Specs
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review: Features
Spot the subtle (very subtle) differences between the S1 and S2 earbuds (Image credit: Future)
Hi-Res with aptX Adaptive support is a triumph
Audio retransmission from charging case
Adaptive ANC is just so-so
B&W's nifty audio transmission feature – whereby you can connect the case's USB-C port to a computer or analog audio source, and sound would broadcast in aptX quality to the buds – is a cool addition. It's not entirely unique – LG's T90Q buds offer a similar feature – but it's still nice to have. Let’s say you’re on an aeroplane and don’t want to use the free wired headphones. No problem! Connect the case and listen with your B&Ws instead.
Unlike earbuds at (and let's face it, slightly beneath) this level, B&W has shied away from ear-fit tests, EQ presets and hearing profiles here – and when they sound this good, we couldn't care less. Nevertheless, if you're someone who likes to crank up the bass in your earbuds, you cannot do that here. Also, you can't alter the volume on the earbuds. This may seem a minor gripe, but I'd much rather touch an earbud to lower my music and thus hear a train announcement than go foraging in my bag for my safely-stored phone – particularly when traveling alone.
I'll get more granular regarding sound quality later (there's so much to celebrate!), but B&W's Music app makes it very clear that multipoint connectivity is not an issue for the Pi7 S2, giving you options for managing your current connections, and whether you're happy to auto-connect to the last-paired device. I found chopping and changing between my laptop and phone without lifting a finger was easy-breezy.
Musically, it's all very slick too, linking your streaming services including Deezer, Tidal and Qobuz (although Apple Music seems to be an omission here, which is a shame given its hi-res content) and playlists on your device. The app makes your music collection the star, rather than the buds themselves – which feels like the right direction for B&W to be heading. Very quickly, the app becomes something I wonder how I lived without, rather than surplus to requirements.
What I did need more of was ANC, and, for that matter, passthrough. I truly wish I could report on the efficacy of these options, but all I can say is that with 'auto' or 'on' deployed, the sonic isolation was slightlybetter. Essentially, not all regular low-level thrums were nixed. It's not exactly bad, it's just not great – and for this top-tier money, I'd hoped for a little more. Passthrough was a similar story; despite turning it on and taking the slider up to the max, I heard very little of my surroundings. Other options (such as the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II) are winning, here.
Call-handling was a pleasurable experience though, with the Pi7 S2's three mics per earbud giving me subtle access to my own voice, as well as the caller's, thus making conversations feel supremely natural. This feature – often called sidetone, and very well implemented in the Sennheiser CX Plus True Wireless earbuds – is one I wish more companies would include.
Features score: 4/5
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review: Sound quality
B&W's Pi7 S2 earbuds are unobtrustive and relatively comfortable (also, my other earring reads 'The sisterhood') (Image credit: Future)
No head-tracked spatial audio or Dolby Atmos support
Get ready for the praise. Switching all ANC profiles off, you're in for a sonic masterclass and then some. The 2001 remaster of XTC's Wake Up on Tidal is crisp and frankly joyous, as jagged guitars attack each ear in a cohesive and well-balanced mix.
In fact, so analytical is the presentation of the Pi7 S2s, I actually hear elements within tracks that artists might wish I hadn't. In Rod Stewart's This, for example, (recorded in 1995), I clearly hear the strain in Rod the Mod's voice. I know and love the track, but here I'm granted access to his struggles at the time. There's a slight wavering through the upper registers that other earphones have failed to divulge, on all but one other occasion – and those were not wireless earbuds.
Dynamically, these earbuds are incredibly immersive and agile, despite the lack of support for head-tracked spatial audio. FKA twigs' Two Weeks celebrates every drop of bass and thud in the backing track, but never at the expense of Tahliah Debrett Barnett's ethereal and breathy vocal. Allow your playlist to continue to Cellophane and there's an injection of volume, of fullness, half-way through the track which is delivered with more zeal and energy than I've heard from any set of true wireless earbuds to date – including the first-gen model.
Sonically, these earbuds are a delight. And that's not a statement I make lightly.
Sound quality score: 5/5
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review: Design
The case is smooth and feels premium. Oh, and did I mention that midnight blue colorway? (Image credit: Future)
Re-engineered driver housing caps
Classy build and finish
Smaller ears may struggle with fit
The Pi7 S2 look very similar to B&W’s previous generation, including the jewel-like rounded sides, and a raised circular outer case housing the buds' capacitive touch controls.
Fresh colorways aside (the Pi7 S2 is available in Satin Black, Canvas White and Midnight Blue), Bowers and Wilkins claims it has well and truly fixed the biggest issue users encountered with the older Pi7 – connectivity. The original Pi7 had a tendency to drop out, especially in busy signal areas such as crowded airports. The good news is that the company has re-engineered parts of the buds to fix the issue. The caps at the end of the earbuds have been made from a new material that's more transparent to Bluetooth signals, and the antenna is redesigned and repositioned within the earbud endcap to improve antenna performance.
And it worked. I experienced no dropouts during testing, and the claimed 25 metre range (double what it was before) also proved true – and I tested them through a thick stone wall.
This is Bowers & Wilkins, and the finish here is classy. In my palm, the buds look glorious, with the perimeter of the endcap shining as if glowing under the right lighting, and the gold accents reminding me of Swiss watch-style craftsmanship. The case too is pocketable, and feels every millimeter a premium product.
My only issue with the design (aside from the still slightly anaemic battery life) is the size. At 7g per bud, they're a fair bit heavier than the Sony LinkBuds S at 4.8g. Want a little more comparison? It's not that heavy – each Sony WF-1000XM4 earpiece weighs 7.3g, although reports suggest Sony may be shaving a fair bit off this for the Sony WH-1000XM5.
Here's the thing: the shape of the Pi7 S2 is not especially small or ergonomically shaped, to the point that I have to actually stretch my right ear around the main body of the unit and sort of push the earpiece down, wedging it in place. Now, I have a slightly smaller and more particular right ear (a discovery made while trying UE's novel heat to fit earbuds), but nevertheless, it's worth noting that if your ears are small, you may struggle here. It's not a question of the neck or size of the eartips (two alternate options are given, although more would be welcome); no, the actual earpieces are just on the large size.
Design score: 4/5
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review: Value
Outstanding audio quality – and that's hard to put a price on
A little low on additional features
No on-ear volume control
Buy the Pi7 S2 and you're paying top dollar for top-quality audio. It isn't a particularly tailored experience (forget fit tests and personal sound profiles), but if the best-sounding music in a pocketable design is a must in a pocketable, you should look to this product. In fact you must look to this product. And it's hard to put a price on that.
Other options – Apple's AirPods Pro 2, Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II, Sony WF-1000XM4, Samsung Galaxy Buds 2 Pro and even Honor Earbuds 3 Pro – offer better and more reliable noise cancellation, but if you're someone who can take or leave ANC tech, that won't be a deal-breaker.
Call-handling is also good, but you don't get on-ear volume control, and the battery-life is far from class-leading. Add to this the fact that smaller-eared users may struggle to get them to stay put and you'll see where the extra star went.
As always, whether this proposition represents value to you is a delicate and deeply personal matter. But know this: in the sound-per-pound stakes, they're unbeatable.
Value score: 4/5
Should I buy the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2?
Buy them if...
Don't buy them if...
Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 review: Also consider
How I tested the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2
Tested for two weeks, listened against the Pi7
Used at work (in the office; walking through London; on a train) and at home
Listened to Qobuz, Tidal Masters and Apple Music Lossless tracks on an iPhone XR and Nothing Phone 1
When testing the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2, they became my musical wing-men for a fortnight – after a thorough 48-hour run-in period. They came with me to work on weekdays (walking brusquely to the station; boarding a train and the London Underground; at the office while call-handling) and on a long weekend walk.
To better test the comfort levels (and battery life claims, modest though they are), I wore them throughout the working day. I put some distance between my source device and the Pi7 S2 earphones to check the Bluetooth range (it is much better with this iteration) and whether the drop-out issues have been resolved (they have).
To check the audio quality across the frequencies, I listened to various playlists (spanning everything from grime to classical) on Apple Music, Qobuz and Tidal, but also to podcasts and TV shows on Netflix.
I’ve been testing audio products for five years now. As a dancer, aerialist and musical theater performer in another life, sound quality, fit and the user experience have always taken priority for me personally – but having heard how wonderful ANC can be when done well, I know what to look for.
The 2023 Major League Baseball season starts tomorrow and stadiums have been prepared new upgrades to wow fans. New York Mets partnered with Samsung to equip Citi Field with the largest scoreboard across all professional ballparks – it’s over three times larger than the old one.
You know a display is big when it’s measured in square feet rather than inches. The new centerfield scoreboard has a surface area of 17,400ft² (1,616m²). There is also an additional 6,900ft² (640m²) display on the back, which is so tall and big that it can be seen from the highway that passes by the park.
The...
The 2023 Major League Baseball season starts tomorrow and stadiums have been prepared new upgrades to wow fans. New York Mets partnered with Samsung to equip Citi Field with the largest scoreboard across all professional ballparks – it’s over three times larger than the old one.
You know a display is big when it’s measured in square feet rather than inches. The new centerfield scoreboard has a surface area of 17,400ft² (1,616m²). There is also an additional 6,900ft² (640m²) display on the back, which is so tall and big that it can be seen from the highway that passes by the park.
The...
It's not uncommon nowadays to read about tech companies implementing cost-cutting measures these days and vivo is the latest company to go in that direction. The company just announced that it's merging its sub-brand iQOO into its main business in order to reduce operating costs and boost efficiency. Which is mostly another way of saying that the firm is laying off some of its staff.
It's no secret that vivo and iQOO are sharing R&D, supply chain and just about every resource, except for some marketing and distribution channels. iQOO smartphones are even running the same software as...
It's not uncommon nowadays to read about tech companies implementing cost-cutting measures these days and vivo is the latest company to go in that direction. The company just announced that it's merging its sub-brand iQOO into its main business in order to reduce operating costs and boost efficiency. Which is mostly another way of saying that the firm is laying off some of its staff.
It's no secret that vivo and iQOO are sharing R&D, supply chain and just about every resource, except for some marketing and distribution channels. iQOO smartphones are even running the same software as...
