The new Huawei Pura 70 Ultra just arrived at our office door so we're bringing you a peek inside its box.
The box itself is a big white cardboard and comes in a nice paper sleeve that imitates the phone's faux leather backing.
Inside is the phone itself - ours is the maxed-out 16GB/1TB Green with subtle gold trim. There's also a SIM tool, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a charging adapter.
It's the perfect package with both a USB-C and USB-A port - yes, you can use both - and tops out at 100W - that's Huawei's SuperCharge standard.
Check out our hands-on with the Huawei...
Not long ago a leak surfaced regarding the upcoming HTC U24 Pro smartphone, and if you needed even more proof that the Taiwanese company does in fact still exist, here you go.
Today the HTC A101 Plus Edition tablet got official in Russia. It's priced at RUB 15,990, which right now means about $174 or €162.
For that amount of cash, you get a 10.95-inch 1,920x1,200 IPS touchscreen, 8GB of RAM, 128GB of expandable storage, and a 7,000 mAh battery with support for 10W wired charging.
It runs Android 14 and is powered by the Unisoc T606 chipset. It has dual 13 MP cameras on the...
Portable power stations have become an essential item for homes and businesses, providing a back-up power solution for charging and powering a massive range of devices.
The Bluetti AC70 is a smart portable power station chiefly designed for homes, home offices, and on the road. This model boasts a 1000W pure sine wave inverter, making it better suited to lower-powered devices - think laptops, phones, other home office essentials - with a 2000W Power Lifting Mode for higher-powered household appliances.
We’ve tested out a number of the best portable power stations, and having been impressed with previous Bluetti models, we were keen to see how the new AC70 compares.
Bluetti AC70: Pricing & availability
The Bluetti AC70 is available worldwide, with an RRP of $699 / £699. However, at the time of review, it was on sale for $499 / £649. This does place the AC70 at the mid-to-high end of the spectrum for a power station of this type.
You can find the AC70 on the official Bluetti site, Amazon, and most electrical retailers.
Bluetti AC70: Design & features
(Image credit: Bluetti)
Specs
What's in the box: 1x Bluetti AC70, 1x mains charger, 1x cigarette lighter charger, 1x solar panel charging cable, 1x grounding screw Battery capacity: 768Wh Output: 1000W / 2000W in Power Lifting Mode Inverter: Pure Sine Wave AC output: 2 DC output: 1 USB output: 4 (2x USB-A, 2x USB-C) Weight: 22.5 lbs / 10.2kg Dimensions: 12.4 × 8.2 × 10.1in / 314 × 209.5 × 255.8mm
The AC70 is a compact but weighty little box (it clocks in at 22.5lb / 10.2kg) - although transportation is made easier with the built-in handle. It’s all part of the same casing as the rest of the unit, and feels firm during transit. However, we were glad to set it down after a while.
Soft, curved edges and a dark gray coloring makes this feel smart and accessible - its presence not dominating, but subtle, suitable for a range of locations. Driving the unit is a 768Wh LiFePO battery, which is relatively small when it comes to power stations, but does keep things more portable.
On the front of the power station, you’ll find a bright, clear LCD screen and buttons for powering on the device and switching between AC and DC outputs. Pressing these together lets you access and navigate the settings menu. It’s simple enough, after some trial and plenty of error, although we recommend using the Bluetti app for managing the power station, especially if you’re in and out of settings. For example, by default the unit is set to the power-saving eco mode. According to the manual, this mode is best turned off when charging smaller devices like phones. We found it far quicker to hop into the app and make that change than fiddle in the on-device menus.
When it comes to connections, the Bluetti AC70 is well-rounded for general use. Beneath the power button are two USB-A and two USB-C ports. A DC output and cigarette lighter port, letting you charge up the power station from your vehicle, sit to the left. On the right are two AC outputs. Around the side, a grounding pole and an AC input to recharge the unit via mains. A solar panel charging cable is included in the box to draw power from Earth’s yellow sun, with solar panels available separately.
Bluetti AC70: Performance
(Image credit: Bluetti)
In use, the Bluetti AC70 portable power station works exactly as intended. Quietly powering our devices, turning the screen off after a minute, and generally being as unobtrusive as possible through our testing process. It’s worth checking the specs for any high-energy device you connect here. For example, our standard UK kettle (average 3000W) wouldn’t work even in Power Lifting Mode, which increases the power station’s reach to 2000W. Impressive technology, but hardly a game-changer compared to many we’ve tried.
That makes it a fairly low-level portable power station for more casual everyday use. In this regard, we had no issues at all, with the AC70 easily handling all devices within the 1000W range without any issue at all. Phones, battery chargers, laptops, lamps all worked instantly via AC and USB (DC) connections. However, if you use this for camping trips, you’ll want to store it somewhere safe and dry - keep it in the van. While the sockets do have rubber caps to protect from water and dust, the unit itself has no MIL-STD or IP ratings to complement the lifestyle of more rugged adventurers and road warriors.
For extra utility, the AC70 also boasts turbo charging when plugged into the mains. Documentation states the unit charges to 80% in forty-five minutes, and full charge in 1.5 hours in this mode. In our own tests, this was broadly accurate. You can switch between Standard, Turbo, and Silent charging modes in the app, and even charging on standard mode, it took the device from 33% to 75% in forty-five minutes. So, you won’t have to wait long to put the power station to use, whatever charging mode you use. We checked and the AC70 also supports pass-through charging, powering devices while you charge or run the unit off the mains.
You control this, and much more, within a beautifully designed app. It's incredibly easy to navigate and find what you need, with a series of taps and toggles for controlling pretty much every feature, from Power Lifting and Eco Mode to Grid Self-adaption, an option that lets you continue a steady charging rate even during electrical spikes and volatility. Connecting the device to the app took us seconds after signing up, with any changes made in the app immediately reflected on the AC70’s screen.
Bluetti AC70: Final verdict
(Image credit: Bluetti)
The Bluetti AC70 is a solid portable power station ideal for household use and the van-life - although in this regard, it’s likely best as a secondary or tertiary back-up unit, given its lower wattage output. Capable of powering most everyday devices, such as laptops and phones, it works very well, with a range of charging options and minimal fuss for those who just want to charge up devices on the go. For us, the companion app was a real highlight. Using this was absolutely seamless, giving you as much (or as little) control over the AC70 as you need.
It’s not perfect - what is? - and certain users are going to find the power output simply too low, the battery too small for their needs. But then, this isn’t designed for high-capacity or industrial use. If your needs are smaller, then it's a very nice unit, with a pleasing design and construction that, while heavy, remains highly portable for solo users.
Motorola is currently working on the Moto G85, a device that will obviously become the successor to the G84 from last year when it hits the streets. And while we don't yet know when that will happen, keep in mind that the G84 was announced last August, so the G85 could still be a ways off.
The G85 has been listed by a European retailer, confirming a launch in Europe, but of course it should also be offered in other places. The G85 is expected to cost €300, which is the same launch price its predecessor had, but the twist is that for this price you'll be getting 12GB of RAM and 256GB of...
A few hours ago a comprehensive leak detailed the upcoming Sony Xperia 1 VI's specs, and now a bunch of official-looking renders of the phone have been outed, showing a design that's unsurprisingly very reminiscent of the Xperia 1 V from last year, but with the new and oft-rumored screen aspect ratio change (it's less tall and more wide this time around).
Sony Xperia 1 VI leaked renders
The Xperia 1 VI still has bigger 'forehead' and 'chin' bezels as you can see, which means there's no need for a hole-punch cutout up top to house the selfie camera. The phone is expected to...
Samsung’s tablet lineup can be a bit confusing, so let me help. The Galaxy Tab S9 is a fancy, expensive tablet that’s meant to compete with the Apple iPad Pro. If you want a tablet that’s priced to compete with the base-model Apple iPad, or even the iPad Air, you need to look at the Galaxy Tab S9 FE, and this tablet, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus. No, really, you do need to look at these tablets, because they’re quite remarkable, and give us some features we’ve never seen on a tablet at this price.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is aimed squarely at the Apple iPad Air (2022), and the two tablets couldn’t be more different. While the iPad Air is svelte and powerful, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is bigger, heavier, and packed with more features than you’d expect on a tablet at this price point.
The most important feature, to me, is IP68 water and dust resistance. While Samsung phones have been IP68 rated since the Galaxy S5, only the business-focused Galaxy Tab Active tablets have been this durable. That changed with the Tab S9 family.
The Tab S9 (Ultra shown) was Samsung's first water resistant Tab S (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
The Galaxy Tab S9, launched in August 2023, was water resistant, and I was pleasantly surprised to find this feature carried over to the Galaxy Tab S9 FE family, which launched later that year. This tablet is so durable that you can watch Netflix in the bathtub, or browse the web (and even get work done?) by the pool, weather permitting.
Even better, you won’t have to worry about spills or dirt – you can rinse the Tab S9 FE Plus in the sink if you must.
In addition to water resistance, which I hope becomes standard on all tablets thanks to Samsung, the Tab S9 FE includes support for Samsung’s Wacom-powered S Pen. The S Pen is much better than Apple’s Pencil, no matter which generation you use, because it doesn’t have a battery so there are no awkward charging considerations. Samsung even includes an S Pen, where Apple forces you to buy its Pencil with your iPad, whichever model you choose.
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE arrived with the Galaxy S23 FE (Image credit: Future / Philip Berne)
Don’t let the weird ‘FE’ badge fool you. Samsung says FE no longer stands for ‘Fan Edition’ (it doesn’t stand for anything at all), but the ‘S’ in S9 stands for Samsung’s premium Galaxy lineup, and Samsung doesn’t mess around with S branding. That means you get One UI made for easy multitasking; real DeX desktop environment support when you plug a mouse and keyboard into your Tab; and many more Pro-level features that you wouldn’t expect on a base-model tablet.
The biggest negative is performance. Where Apple endows the iPad Air with a desktop-class Apple M1 processor, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus uses a Samsung Exynos 1380 chipset, the same processor as found in the Galaxy A54 bargain phone. It isn’t bad – it can even handle multitasking well. You just won’t be editing professional video on this tablet.
In classic Samsung fashion, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus looks at the competition and says “more, more, more!” You get a bigger display, more storage (including microSD!), more features, and more of almost everything. It comes in a bigger package, but it’s worth the extra heft for so much more.
Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus review: price and availability
5G available in some areas, not in US (get the Tab S9 FE instead)
Samsung’s tablets seem expensive because the base-model tablet, the Galaxy Tab S9, competes with the Apple iPad Pro, and not the base-model iPad. If you’re looking for a better deal, without sacrificing what makes a Samsung special, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus hits a sweet spot. It’s priced to match the Apple iPad Air, or a basic iPad 10.9 loaded with 5G and more storage.
While Apple gives you a powerful chipset, but relatively few features, Samsung takes the opposite approach. For the price, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is loaded with features. Compared to the comparable iPad Air, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus gives you a water-resistant frame, an S Pen in the box, a microSD card slot, twice the storage, plus a larger display and a bigger battery.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
That said, the iPad Air's advantage is its performance, which is closer to that of a desktop computer, so it can run professional-grade video editing software, for instance. Because it’s so powerful, it will also last longer, and Apple is renowned for supporting its devices with iPadOS updates for five years. I’d expect three years of security patches for the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus, but probably not three major Android OS updates.
Oddly enough, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is not available with 5G networking in the US, although you can buy a 5G-connected Tab S9 FE, the smaller version of this tablet, from a US mobile carrier. In the UK and Australia, Samsung will sell you a 5G Tab S9 FE Plus directly.
Samsung also unfortunately skimps on RAM for the 128GB model. You can bump the RAM from 8GB to 12GB if you buy the 256GB Tab S9 FE Plus – my review unit doesn’t have the extra RAM, and it performed just fine, although it could have run a little smoother when I had a lot of windows open at once.
If you’re using this tablet as a professional device, with multi-window tasks and maybe even a DeX connection, it’s worth paying more for more memory. If those things are meaningless to you, don’t worry about it – the 8GB model will handle all of your browsing, streaming, and basic chores with ease.
Value score: 3 / 5
Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus review: specs
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
To understand why the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus exists, just look at the Apple iPad Air, and then turn everything up a notch. The iPad Air has a 10.9-inch display? Then the FE Plus gets a 12.4-inch screen, with a 90Hz refresh rate. The Air gives you 64GB of storage to start? Double that for the Tab S9 FE Plus. One camera on the iPad Air? Then the Tab S9 FE Plus will have two, of course.
Aside from the processor, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is simply a step up from the iPad Air in every way, at least on the spec sheet. Of course, the processor is as important to a tablet as the engine is to your car, so this is like comparing a fast, bare-bones roadster to a fully equipped station wagon. The iPad roadster looks more fun, but most people would do better with the station-wagon Galaxy Tab FE Plus.
The most groundbreaking spec on the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is its IP68 water- and dust-resistance rating. No iPad has ever earned a worthwhile IP-rating, but Samsung made its Galaxy Tab S9 family water resistant, and I was delighted to see that trend continue with the Tab S9 FE Plus.
Are you likely to drop the Tab S9 FE Plus in a toilet? No, but having that water and dust seal makes the tablet more durable all around, which should hopefully improve longevity. I personally can’t wait to read books and newsletters in the shallow end of the pool while on vacation with the Tab S9 FE – and being able to wash this tablet in the sink is a nice bonus that makes it more kid-friendly.
The tablet also has respectable speakers, with tuning from Samsung-owned audio house AKG. The two side-firing speakers are up high, so you won’t block them with your hands when you hold the tablet in landscape orientation. I’m also happy to see the selfie camera on the landscape edge, so I can have video calls in widescreen mode instead of the awkward portrait format.
Overall, I think Samsung made all the right calls with the specs on this tablet. It is the anti-iPad Air, and that’s a good thing, because the iPad Air might be overpowered and under-featured for its price range. I’d rather have water resistance, faster charging, a pen in the box, and everything else that the Tab S9 FE Plus gives you, if I’m not using my tablet as a pro laptop replacement.
Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus review: display
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Big display, larger than all but the biggest iPad Pro
Not OLED, but still bright with good contrast
The iPad Air is sharper but not as bright
If you like a brighter tablet display, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus gets brighter than the competition; it’s much brighter than the iPad Air (2022). The screen runs at 90Hz, and it looked nice and smooth when I was navigating the home screens and scrolling through web pages.
You also get a lot more space on the Tab S9 FE Plus compared to the iPad Air. Even though it’s only 1.5 inches larger, that equates to 13 square inches of screen real estate. If you don’t need a display that big, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE is the same 10.9-inch size as the iPad Air, and it costs the same as Apple’s base model iPad 10.9.
Like the iPad Air, the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is an LCD display, not OLED, so it won’t be quite as bright and colorful as the best phone screen you’ll see, but it still looks great for a tablet, especially in this price range. In our Future Labs tests, we found the Tab S9 FE was brighter than the iPad Air, producing up to 760 nits of brightness versus 485 nits on the iPad.
If you want a fancy OLED screen, the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 is only $100 / £100 more expensive than this tablet. With the Tab S9 family, you get an OLED display plus a much faster Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor.
Display score: 4 / 5
Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus review: design
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Nice colors with natural pastel tones
Designed for use in landscape orientation – a wise choice
S Pen attaches magnetically, making it easier to lose
I really like the understated design of the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus, which actually has a design language, and isn’t just a black slab on the front and a metal slab on the back. The front is dominated by the display, but there’s enough bezel to allow you to hold the tablet without accidentally tapping anything. The back has some futuristic antenna lines and a bit of branding in a mirrored finish, and it all comes together nicely.
The Tab S9 FE Plus is designed to be held in landscape orientation, which puts the selfie camera in the middle of the top bezel, and I prefer this to portrait. Held in landscape, the USB charging port is on the side, and the stereo speakers from AKG face right and left, sitting above where you’ll grip the Tab.
This tablet is admittedly chunky. It’s not much thicker than the iPad Air, but it is much heavier. The Tab S9 FE Plus weighs 166g more than the iPad Air – that’s almost six ounces heavier. You can really feel that weight, especially when you add the official Samsung Book Cover, which I recommend.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus, like all of the Galaxy Tab S-family tablets, comes with an S Pen. However, unlike the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which has a built-in silo for the pen, the larger Tab S Pen sits on the back of the tablet, held in place by magnets, and this is my least favorite way to attach a stylus, even though it’s the most common. It looks fancy, but it’s terribly impractical – the first time you slip the Tab S9 FE Plus into a bag with the stylus attached, it will fall off.
Samsung sent me the Book Cover accessory as well, which is a two-piece cover and stand. The front cover attaches at the bottom of the tablet, but I hardly used it. The back cover slaps onto the back of the Tab, and it includes a nice S Pen garage to keep your pen in place. It also has a fancy origami-style stand that folds down.
I kept the back cover attached all the time, mostly to make sure I didn’t lose the pen. Sadly, that meant I rarely saw the gorgeous mint finish, and it also added extra weight.
Design score: 5/5
Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus review: software
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
OneUI is better on a tablet than on a phone
Powerful pro-tablet tools for multitasking
Still bogged down with too many options
Samsung makes the best tablet software for Android. While iPadOS is basically a scaled-up version of the iPhone’s iOS software, Samsung’s OneUI has always been designed for larger screens, so it works naturally on a tablet. In fact, I think OneUI 6 works much better as a tablet OS than it does on a phone like the Galaxy S24.
I usually complain about Samsung software because it’s so heavily laden with features, floating tabs, extra windows, and pop-ups, but on the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus, with its huge, 12.4-inch display, Samsung’s OneUI almost seems organized, without the clutter issues that arise on a smaller phone screen.
Managing multiple windows on the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus is easier than on any other device short of a Windows laptop. I can snap apps to the sides, pop-up multiple apps in frames, or reduce apps to buttons that I can recall later. Everything works intuitively with simple finger gestures, with no need to learn anything fancy.
If you want to get serious with your Tab S9 FE computing, you can connect a keyboard and mouse and enter Samsung’s DeX environment. This makes the interface look more like a Chromebook’s, with a traditional toolbar and floating windows that you can easily manipulate. You don’t even need to connect the Tab to an external monitor, as you do with a Galaxy S phone – you can use DeX with just the keyboard and mouse.
Software score: 5 / 5
Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus review: performance
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Sluggish performance on intense games
No problems with multiple windows and multitasking
If you need a race car get the Tab S9 (or an iPad)
I won’t hammer Samsung too hard on its performance disadvantage versus the iPad Air, because Samsung gives you plenty to do with the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus that doesn’t rely on having the fastest chip around. Even without the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 as found on the original Galaxy Tab S9, the S9 FE can handle browsing, running multiple apps at once, and most games, with no trouble. It looks great in DeX mode for real desktop work, too.
I had to push to find the hiccups, but I found them. Editing photos in Adobe Lightroom is great on the large screen, but performance can lag a bit, and my edits stuttered as I dragged the sliders with the included S Pen. I didn’t have these problems on the Tab S9 Ultra, of course.
Playing games with detailed graphics, like Marvel Snap, worked just fine, even in the top performance modes. When I added multiplayer or huge environments, when playing Call of Duty or Genshin Impact, I saw more of a slowdown, and the games ran better when I turned the graphics settings to a medium level.
If you aren’t a hardcore gamer or a multimedia editor, you won’t hit any performance bumps on the road to enjoying the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus. For drawing and artwork, the tablet is perfectly responsive, with Wacom’s EMR pen technology backing up Samsung’s longtime stylus chops.
Performance score: 3 / 5
Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus review: battery
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Great battery life, beats the iPad by a work day
Faster charging than the iPad Air
With a larger display than the Apple iPad Air, you’d expect the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus would have a larger battery, and hence more battery life, but the Tab S9 FE Plus actually scored much higher in our Future Labs battery rundown tests. While the Air lasted for 10 hours while working through our intensive suite of chores, the Tab FE Plus lasted an impressive 18 hours before it died.
It then also charged up faster than the iPad Air, although only by a few minutes. In any case, using that mid-range processor certainly has benefits for the Galaxy Tab S9 FE family, and longer battery life may be the biggest of those. In my casual usage tests, the Tab S9 FE Plus lasted days when I used it to watch shows occasionally on my commute, check my email, and browse the web from my couch. It lasted longer than my iPad even in casual use, aside from our formal battery testing.
Battery score: 5 / 5
Should you buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab S8 FE Plus?
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider
Not convinced by the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus? Here are a few other options to consider:
How I tested the Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus
I used the Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra as my primary tablet for a review period of more than a week. I used it as my primary productivity tool for work as much as possible, including photo editing, writing in Google Docs, and communicating via Slack and Airtable. I also paired the Tab S9 Ultra with both USB and Bluetooth keyboards and mice, as well as with external monitors via HDMI.
I used the Tab S9 Ultra with a variety of streaming services, using both download and streaming features. I also used the tablet extensively for photo editing, viewing, and organizing, primarily with Google Photos but also with Adobe Lightroom. I played games with the tablet, including Call of Duty Mobile, with an Xbox wireless controller connected via Bluetooth.
I used the Tab S9 Ultra while traveling, taking it on a family trip and using the tablet as my main screen for entertainment while I was away. I checked email, used it for web browsing and communication, and also checked my Nest Indoor Camera from afar.
For battery testing, I spent time using the tablet nonstop until it died, then charged it again to check the long charging times. I downloaded movies to Amazon Prime and let them play nonstop until the tablet died, timing the total playback. I took the tablet to work and used it successfully for full work days without connecting it to a charger.
I tested the tablet with benchmarking software that TechRadar's mobile team relies on for internal note keeping and reference, but I typically prefer to report performance only in terms of real-world use cases and responsiveness.
The Poco F6 Pro was certified by the FCC about a couple of weeks ago with a 5,000 mAh battery. Now, the smartphone has popped up on Geekbench with more specs.
Geekbench revealed that the Poco F6 Pro, sporting model designation 23113RKC6G, is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, runs Android 14, and has 16GB of RAM onboard. But there will likely be more RAM options that are yet to be confirmed.
The Poco F6 Pro scored 1,421 and 5,166 points in Geekbench's single and multi-core tests, respectively. The single-core score is lower, while the multi-core score is higher than what some...
Apple posted its financial results for its second fiscal quarter, which is the period between January 1 and March 30, 2024. Sales of iPhones dropped 10% on a yearly basis, while Services reached its highest sales result ever, with a 14% increase over the same period last year.
Cupertino's total sales were $90.75 billion, 4% down from last year. Net income was $23.63 billion, also down compared with January – March 2023.
Apple Store in Hong Kong
According to the report, the sales decline came from all across Asia. Net sales were down in Greater China (PRC, Taiwan & Hong Kong),...
Cameras are getting smaller, but lenses – especially zoom lenses – appear to be getting bigger. It’s normal now to be shooting with a mirrorless camera with a compact body but a big, hefty standard zoom that makes it feel front-heavy and unbalanced.
Sony, however, has started turning its attention to more compact lens designs, refusing to compromise on performance but instead sacrificing a little focal length or zoom range in exchange for smaller, lighter and perhaps cheaper optics.
The Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G is an excellent example. It has the same constant f/2.8 maximum aperture as Sony’s flagship FE 16-35mm f/2.8 G Master II lens, but in a smaller, lighter design that’s also little more than half the price. It doesn’t have that premium G Master label, but Sony’s regular ‘G’ lenses are now so advanced, both optically, physically and in AF technology, that it’s getting increasingly hard to see a difference.
The one compromise in the FE 16-25mm F2.8 G is its focal range. Most lenses in this category are 16-35mm zooms, but this lens stops at a maximum focal length of 25mm. It covers the same ultra-wide angles of view, but is less versatile if you need a more general semi-wide angle of view.
Does this matter? On paper it gives the FE 16-25mm F2.8 G an almost laughably limited 1.6x zoom range, but in practice that may be all you need in an ultra-wide zoom. Whether it's landscapes, architecture or interiors, you're very often going to be shooting in this narrow focal range. If you’re also carrying a regular 24-70mm, 24-105mm or Sony’s new FE 24-50mm f/2.8 G lens, it just means you’ll swap to your standard zoom sooner. You’ll get the same overall focal range from a wide/standard lens combination, just with less overlap in focal lengths.
So is the size saving worth losing that extra focal range. Sort of. The FE 16-25mm F2.8 G is certainly smaller and lighter than a regular 16-35mm f/2.8 lens, but it’s still not exactly small. I tested it on a Sony A7C II, and it still felt pretty big on that. It would balance nicely on a regular A7 body, though.
At the time of writing, the Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G is on pre-order, but with supplies expected around May 10th – so by the time you’re reading this, it’s probably available amongst the major resellers. The US price is around $1,198, in the UK it’s £1,249, while in Australia it's AU$2,189. You wouldn’t call it a cheap lens, but it’s way cheaper than Sony’s other constant f/2.8 ultra-wide G Master zooms.
It looks very good value for an own-brand lens with a sophisticated optical construction, fast and silent dual linear AF motors and excellent external controls. It’s also weather-sealed with a fluorine-coated front element to repel oil, grease and water.
Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G: design
Sony certainly hasn’t stinted on build quality and controls. This lens uses ‘engineering plastics’ to keep the weight down, but there’s no harm in that and the finish is excellent. The aperture control ring is first rate too, with firm and positive clicks between each 1/3 aperture setting and an extra firm detent at f/22 to switch it to auto aperture control.
If you’re shooting video and changing aperture/iris settings while filming, you can use a Click On/Off switch on the underside to enable stepless silent aperture adjustment.
Focusing is so fast as to be practically instantaneous, and silent too. This is where you’re likely to notice most difference between Sony’s newer own-brand lenses and cheaper third-party alternatives. There’s a slightly stiff AF/MF switch on the barrel, and in manual focus mode the focus ring at the front of the lens feels a fraction light but offers progressive and accurate focus control.
This lens is compatible with Sony’s focus breathing compensation mode, depending on the camera you’re using. The focus breathing doesn’t seem particularly strong, though objects do appear to grow somewhat smaller as they go out of focus.
There’s one other external feature worth highlighting – the FE 16-25mm F2.8 G has a very compact front element that doesn’t protrude, so it’s perfectly possible to attach regular filters and it has a pretty common 67mm filter thread, so you may not have to buy any outsize filters just for this lens.
Focusing is full internal, and while there is a change in the length as you zoom from one end of the range to the other, it’s only a few millimeters, so if you’re balancing a gimbal you probably only need to do it once and not keep changing it for different zoom settings.
The limitations of this lens's focal range are obvious, but its build quality, handling, features and performance are a pleasant surprise, and it certainly feels as if you're getting your money's worth.
The advantage of an ultra-wide zoom like this is that you can get in front of obstacles and spectators that would otherwise be in the way, and still get the whole of your subject in the frame. (Image credit: Rod Lawton)
The weather was not kind during testing, so I mixed indoor and outdoor shots. The indoor shots were good for checking angles, of view, distortion and close focusing capability, while the outdoor shots were at a motorcycle meet that tested the practicality of this 16-25mm zoom range for this kind of walkaround shooting. I also did a brick wall test at both ends of the zoom range to check for optical quality across the aperture range.
I also paid attention to the autofocus performance, both for speed and silence, to see how effective Sony’s dual linear motor setup actually is, and I paid particular attention to the feel and operation of the external controls, as these are a significant selling point for this lens.
I also wanted to find out how the Sony FE 16-25mm F2.8 G handled on the smaller A7C series body (OK, as it happens), whether it was especially nose-heavy on a tripod and how easy it was to balance on a gimbal. My Ronin SC had a long enough camera plate and fore-aft adjustment to cope easily, and the very small lens extension when zooming meant no rebalancing was necessary.
The OnePlus Ace 3 Pro smartphone should have a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, according to one reliable leakster on Weibo. The user Smart Pikachu reiterated previous rumors we heard that the phone will also have 1 TB storage – an option OnePlus is still offering only in China.
The user also suggested a new overall design, which is in line with previous reports – that is if their new information is genuine and not just parroting what another leakster already revealed two weeks ago.
If the user is correct, this means the Ace 3 Pro will have a 50 MP main camera with a Sony IMX890 sensor behind...
