Realme's GT6 family just had its first member become official - the GT 6T. But there's a GT6 Pro on the way later this year too, as well as a GT6 that should arrive earlier. This one has already been certified by the FCC with a 5,500 mAh battery on board, and today its retail box has been leaked along with some more details about it.
So, the GT6 will come packaged in the box you can see below, which isn't anything out of the ordinary for Realme. Note the "NEXT Ai" inscription above the model name - Realme will be riding the AI buzzword horse high with this one for sure.
Realme GT6...
Adobe Lightroom is a very good tool to organize and edit your photos and videos. We’re big fans of Adobe’s professional photography software - you can see what we thought in our Adobe Lightroom review - but can you really slim down that feature-rich experience for mobile devices?
We put Lightroom for iOS and Android to the test to see if it’s the best photo editor for photographers using phones and tablets.
Adobe Lightroom Mobile: Pricing & plans
The Generative AI tool to remove unwanted objects from your shot works impressively well, even if it’s still in ‘Early Access’ (Image credit: Adobe)
A free sample is good, but the best tools are always hidden behind a paywall. Still, the full features come bundled with a subscription to the desktop version of Lightroom, so that’s got to be a plus.
The good news is Lightroom Mobile can be downloaded for free, but its feature-set is limited. You have the ability to organize and share your photos, as well as use most editing tools, but the juiciest ones are restricted behind a paywall.
Any Adobe subscription that includes the main Lightroom application includes the mobile version too, and unlocks all of its features. $10 a month on a yearly contract gets you either Lightroom with 1TB of online storage, or 20GB bundled with Photoshop, while $20 a month includes everything: Lightroom, Photoshop and 1TB cloud storage.
Alternatively, you can subscribe to the Creative Cloud All Apps plan, which bundles Lightroom for mobile and desktop alongside Photoshop, premiere Pro, InDesign, and more. For an individual, this costs $60 a month on a one-year contract. However, prices vary if you're an individual, student, business, or university, and whether you pay monthly or annually.
Pricing & plans: 4/5
Adobe Lightroom Mobile: Accessing media
Lightroom Mobile’s sliders are easy to use and even get out of the way as you’re performing alterations (Image credit: Adobe)
It’s easy to choose how much of your device’s media to share with Lightroom, all your shots saved on Adobe’s servers are but a tap away, and you can get inspiration via the community tab.
As with all mobile apps, Lightroom needs to ask you for permission to access the images stored on your device. You’re free to deny this, grant it full access or limit it to just a select few, safe in the knowledge you’re able to grow or shrink that list in the future.
In addition to that, any media you have saved on Adobe's servers can be accessed via the ‘Lightroom' tab at the bottom of the interface when browsing through your collection. This integrates perfectly with all versions of Lightroom, meaning you can effortlessly bring in media from any device, knowing you'll be able to work on it on any machine logged in to the same Adobe ID. This is a huge plus, and can be a wonderful time saver, giving you great flexibility with your workflow.
Finally, there's the Community tab, which not only lets you explore other people’s work, follow specific artists, and grab inspiration from them, but you can also save their color correction parameters as presets, which you can use for your own images, and customize them to suit your needs.
Score: 4/5
Adobe Lightroom Mobile: Interface & experience
The interface automatically analyses your image and offers a selection of presets it thinks would help improve your shot - should you wish to use one of them (Image credit: Adobe)
A great interface, well designed, simple to use, with a wealth of powerful tools at your fingertips. What’s not to love?
Lightroom Mobile's interface is incredibly polished and easy to understand. Once you've selected an image to work on, the majority of the screen will be taken up by it, with a sidebar on the right offering you a list of tools broken down by category: edit, presets, crop & rotate, remove, masking, lens blur, and version history.
Essentially, anything you can do on the desktop version of Lightroom, you can do on a phone or tablet, offering you immense versatility. Let's just take a look at a handful of features that really impressed us.
Let’s start with some well thought out interface touches: when you’re in the process of changing a parameter, the whole editing sidebar disappears, allowing you to focus on the image while dragging that slider left or right. Release the slider and all the tools reappear instantly. It’s subtle, well implemented, and a great way to remove any distraction from precision work.
The Presets are a nice inclusion, although there are so many to choose from. What we liked was that the software analyzes your photo and offers you a choice it thinks would suit your composition well. You don’t need to go with that selection of course, but considering the sheer volume of available presets, it’s nice there’s a feature that can help you narrow down your search, should you want it. It’s also possible for you to create your own presets, defining a unique look which you can use again and again.
The masking tools are amazing, work great, are easy to use and supremely powerful - what more could you ask for? (Image credit: Adobe)
The mask tools are, for us, probably the most impressive in the range. Making particular changes to a specific part of an image was something you most likely would’ve gone to Photoshop to perform, but no longer. With these masks, you can perform such alterations without needing to leave Lightroom. Yes, Photoshop is included with certain subscription packages, including Photoshop for iPad, but isn’t it better if you can just remain in a single app and keep on working uninterrupted? We think so, and clearly, so does Adobe.
You get to add as many masks as you need to an image, and make use of special algorithms to automatically select the sky, a person, a specific color range, or the shot’s luminance. Then, any changes you make will only affect the area selected by the mask. Adding or removing sections is as easy as tapping on the relevant menu. You can create incredibly unique looks that way, and it’s so easy to use, it’s almost effortless.
And finally a quick word on the Lens Blur: it uses AI algorithms to create an artificial depth of field to your image, blurring our sections while keeping others in sharp focus. Again, the interface is very easy to master, with a graphic slider to help you select how much of the foreground or the background to keep in focus, a crosshair to be more specific about your selection, a slider to select the amount of blur, and a choice of five lenses. It’s as easy as pointing and clicking.
Score: 5/5
Should I buy?
The blur tools use AI to create an artificial depth of field. You have a choice of lenses, can alter the strength of the blur and easily select which part of the image you wish to focus on (Image credit: Adobe)
Buy it if...
You like to edit your images on the go, enjoy a clean, easy to use interface that’s quick to master, love being able to work on the same image both on your mobile device, and your computer.
Don't buy it if...
The power Lightroom Mobile offers is too much for your needs, you don't want to subscribe, or you just want the best Adobe Lightroom alternatives.
Adobe Lightroom is a tool designed to organize and edit your photos. This might make it sound like it’s nothing more than a souped up organizational app that comes bundled with your computer, but as you’d expect from Adobe, it’s much more powerful than that. We wanted to see what one of the best photo editors offers professional photographers today - so, we put it to the test.
Adobe Lightroom: Pricing & plans
If you need to make complex alterations, Photoshop is just a right-click away for subscribers (Image credit: Adobe)
Adobe offers a good number of Lightroom subscriptions - but no local storage on the standalone 1TB plan
Lightroom used to be an app you paid for, before adding a complementary subscription plan. Now, as with most of Adobe’s professional offerings, you only have the option of subscribing - either as a standalone plan or as part of the Creative Cloud All Apps package, which bundled in Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, and more.
The CC All Apps prices vary depending on whether you opt for a yearly contract, choose to go on a month by month basis, and if you’re an individual, student, teacher, or business. Taking the individual as an example, this will cost you $60 a month on a one-year contract.
A single subscription to Lightroom is $10 a month, which includes 1TB of online storage. And you’ll also find a Lightroom and Photoshop combo for the same price, although your online storage would drop to 20GB unless you opt for the terabyte subscription.
There’s one thing you need to be aware of though: the 1TB Lightroom-only subscription option doesn’t allow you to work with photos stored locally. It’s cloud-based all the way. The other options include an offline facility.
Pricing & plans: 3.5/5
Adobe Lightroom: What is It?
Adobe Lightroom lets you make advanced color adjustments to get your photo to look just right (Image credit: Adobe)
An excellent and versatile application designed to help you organize, catalog, edit and share your work.
The reason why Adobe includes so much bundled storage with a Lightroom subscription is because it’s primarily designed to work online: you upload your media and work from there. This has the advantage of granting you access to your library wherever you might be, and on whichever machine you happen to be logged into. This is undeniably an advantage, but you can also opt to keep your data safely on your own machine should you prefer, by switching from ‘Cloud’ to ‘Local’ on the left sidebar (and you’ve chosen the proper subscription of course). Even better, you can choose which photos or videos to keep locally, and which to send to the cloud, giving you the most control over your work, and offering you the best of both worlds.
The Local side of things grants you access to your entire hard drive, so if you’ve organized anything into specific folders there, you’ll find it all replicated within Lightroom. Click on a folder from the sidebar and if it contains any images, they’ll show up at the bottom of the interface.
To the right are all the tools available to you to make alterations to your photos. Everything is neatly divided by category, including a large selection of presets, the usual colour adjustment curves and parameters, cropping, healing brushes, masking, and a very handy version history of all the changes you made to an image, enabling you to roll back the clock if needed.
Lightroom also has a community center, where you can follow your favorite artists, and contribute to the platform (Image credit: Adobe)
All of this is fantastic, and makes for an extremely powerful cataloging and editing application. It’s safe to say that most of the tweaks you need to make can be done without ever having to leave Lightroom, although Photoshop is but a click away (as long as you subscribe to it as well).
The left sidebar also gives you access to the ‘Community’, where you can see other people’s works, follow your favorite photographers, and even contribute yourself. It’s a great way to draw inspiration from others, or just ignore it completely if that’s not your kind of thing. Above it, is ‘Learn’, a place filled with tutorials to help you make the most of Lightroom.
In addition to that, there’s an app for mobile use (for both Android and iOS), as well as a web version, so wherever you are, as long as your photos are stored online, you can view, edit and share your work with ease. You can see what we thought of the app in our Adobe Lightroom Mobile review.
Score: 4.5/5
Adobe Lightroom: What’s new?
Lightroom has a wealth of presets, each with a slider, enabling you to alter their intensity, some of which are AI-driven (Image credit: Adobe)
Lightroom is constantly being updated, offering ever more useful and advanced tools to your arsenal.
As it’s been a while since we last looked at Lightroom, a lot has changed, and the pricing structure mentioned above is just the tip of the iceberg. We thought we’d highlight a handful we found interesting and useful.
We discussed the Masking tool’s location in the interface earlier, but being able to make changes to specific areas while leaving the rest untouched is one more reason not to have to pay a visit to Photoshop!
You’ll find a series of different ‘adaptive’ presets available. These use AI to analyze and modify a specific portion of your photo, such as the sky, someone’s clothes, their teeth, etc. and make pre-defined alterations to them. The seven blur presets are designed to help you subtly blur your image’s background, for instance. You also have control over your presets as they now have sliders to allow you to tweak the intensity of the effect you’re adding.
Cameras can do more than taking photos: they can also record videos, and Lightroom’s been able to edit those since 2022, from the basics, such as trimming, flipping and rotating, to color correction. As of May 2024, you can also make use of curves when altering your clips. You also have the ability to extract and export still frames.
Would it surprise you to know that AI is creeping more and more into the tools you use everyday? The Denoise feature is AI-driven for instance (only available if you’re working with Bayer and X-Trans mosaic RAW files), and the content-aware heal tool can do some moderately interesting work, but it’s nothing next to the new Generative Remove (currently in Early Access). It does an incredible job not only at removing an unwanted part of an image (the standard heal tool could do that already), but the generated background fill is truly incredible. We tried it on a person in front of the sea, or flecks of bamboo off of fur, and the results were astounding. We also went a little too far by trying to remove the entire foreground and those results were more comical than anything else, so use it in moderation. For an early access feature, and for detailed work, we were most impressed.
Score: 4.5/5
Should I buy?
The latest tool (currently available in Early Access), uses AI to remove objects from a photo, expertly filling in the background; we were very impressed by the results (Image credit: Adobe)
Buy it if...
You’re a photographer, you need advanced tools to alter your images and videos, you need to be able to access a community, and work on your computer, tablet and the web.
Platform reviewed: PC
Available on: PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC
Release date: May 31, 2024
Codemasters is back with the latest annual entry in its EA Sports Formula 1 racing game series. For F1 24, the developer has elected to focus its efforts on a much-needed Career mode overhaul, which is good news for players who enjoy the series’ offline offerings, and I’m happy to report that Codemasters has seriously improved this aspect of the game.
F1 24’s Career mode is a massive step up over the last few years, introducing or refining several elements for a much richer experience overall. Simply being able to (finally) play as a real-world F1 or F2 driver is huge, allowing players to don the lid of their favorite driver and take their future career in any number of directions. On top of that, additions like secret meetings between yourself and other teams, on-track objectives, strict team expectations, and an improved rivalry system all bolster a highly replayable single-player mode.
Some slick track updates, in terms of both aesthetics and accuracy, are welcome, and the return of the Chinese Grand Prix reintroduces a fantastic race track to the game. Furthermore, the addition of the new Challenge Career mode adds moreish, bite-sized seasons on a rotating basis.
However, beyond these changes and updates, F1 24 remains largely identical to the last few entries in most other areas. F1 World (outside of the new Fanzone feature), My Team, and other single-player offerings remain largely unchanged. Elsewhere, driver AI seems to have taken a bit of a step back, feeling a little too clinical and, well, boring, during race events. F1 24 is still an entry that’s well worth playing, especially if you’ve been pining for a better Career mode, but don’t expect much else new beyond that.
Raring to go
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)
So, F1 24’s big draw is its overhauled Career mode – and what an upgrade this is over previous years. Simply put, Driver Career now feels like the fully fleshed-out mode it always should have been. This is helped in no small part by the ability to play as your favorite real-world driver and the team they occupy for the 2024 season.
You’ll start a Driver Career by signing a new contract with your team. At this first step you’ll set targets for yourself, including the Driver Rating you’re aiming for by season’s end. There’s a welcome bit of risk versus reward here; higher ratings will naturally be harder to obtain but will make you a more enticing prospect for other teams in future seasons. On that note, I recommend picking a backmarker driver like Zhou Guanyu or Alex Albon, as I felt that working your way up from the back of the pack provided the most rewarding and challenging career experience.
The added features of this year’s Career mode do a great job of making you feel less like you’re going through the motions. You can still influence your team’s research and development by spending resource points accumulated over a race weekend, but there’s now a huge focus on developing your driver, too.
Best bit
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)
F1 24's overhauled Career mode is a very welcome update. Rivalries, on-track objectives and secret meetings between teams lend an element of unpredictability. Meanwhile, updates to car handling make for thrilling and accurate racing in all weather conditions.
One avenue where this comes into play is the expanded rivalry system. For one, your teammate is now treated as a rival from the start, and you’ll be expected to outperform them each race weekend. And as the season progresses, you’ll also develop rivalries with other drivers and even constructors. I feel this does a great job of cementing a season-long narrative for your driver. And at higher difficulty settings it can be tense to butt heads with your rivals, especially when crucial points are on the line.
Another fantastic addition is on-track objectives. During a race, your team can issue you an objective to meet in order to to further boost your driver rating, and these are impressively dynamic. Examples include overtaking another driver within a number of laps, beating a set lap time, or using a certain amount of fuel. On-track objectives are a fantastic way to help races feel more exciting, and they’re not too intrusive, happening only once or twice in any given race.
One of my favorite additions to Career mode has to be secret meetings. As the name implies – and much like in real-world F1 – these will see you attempt to go under your team’s radar to engage in talks with another constructor who may be interested in signing you on for a future season. This can be a gamble, though, as there’s a chance your team can learn of the meeting, thus knocking you down a peg in their estimation.
Overall, Driver Career is superb in F1 24, and is the clear highlight of the package. However, some more antiquated features do remain. Namely, that ‘1-100’ difficulty slider is still here, making it incredibly tough to find your sweet spot. I’d hoped that Codemasters would introduce a more detailed and nuanced difficulty breakdown to give players a better idea of what they’re getting themselves into.
Back on track
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)
Naturally, the quality of the career mode experience would be for naught if the racing wasn’t any good. But once again, Codemasters has further refined its handling model in F1 24. This year, particular effort has gone into an improved tire model, allowing cars to more realistically react to various surfaces.
On-track racing already felt great in previous entries, and that remains the case here. However, I did notice some serious improvements to wet-weather racing, where car handling is significantly more slippery. Wet-weather conditions now make for seriously edge-of-your-seat racing, and I found myself begging for rain every race weekend due to the sheer amount of fun each shower provides.
Over on the circuit front, a handful of tracks have been updated to better represent their real-world counterparts. For example, Spa-Francorchamps’ iconic Eau Rouge/Raidillon section now bears its striking red and yellow stripes along the run-off area. Meanwhile, Silverstone, Qatar, and Jeddah have all seen updates to aesthetics and layout. On top of all this, the return of the Chinese Grand Prix to the F1 calendar means the track returns in-game, and it’s a brilliant drive.
Yet while the racing is as good – if not better than – it’s ever been, a handful of issues are present. I feel there’s been a step back when it comes to driver AI. It’s not bad; in fact, it’s perhaps a little too clinical for its own good. I played Career mode at a difficulty of 80 out of 100, which is a considerably challenging setting.
(Image credit: Electronic Arts)
What I found at this level was that AI drivers largely prefer to race as cleanly and safely as possible, sticking almost magnetically to racing lines and rarely going for risky overtakes. For tracks with few opportunities to overtake, like Monaco or Imola, this makes sense. However, the AI applied this safe behavior at high-speed tracks too, including Baku, Monza, and Jeddah. What's more, AI drivers are still extremely slow to launch off the grid, making it incredibly easy to gain tons of positions before turn one.
Perhaps most concerning of all is that I didn’t experience a single racing incident, red flag, or safety car within the entire first half of my debut season, nor were there any retirements, be they from accidents or mechanical failures. This is a step back from F1 23, where I felt the number of racing incidents was proportionate to real-world racing. It can lead to races against AI drivers feeling quite sterile, and I hope this is something Codemasters can look into with future patches and updates.
Another feature debuting in F1 24 is driver voices. That means, just like F1 Manager, you’ll hear your driver talk over the radio, with authentic voice lines pulled from real-world team radio. It’s a nice addition, but feels underbaked in its first rendition. You’ll only ever hear your driver talk at the checkered flag or after a crash, and they won’t respond to team radio updates during a session – these interactions are featured in F1 Manager 23, and I’d love for Codemasters to expand on this feature going forward.
If F1 24 is to be your first foray into Codemasters’ long-running racing-sim series, then I can highly recommend it. The fantastic Career mode updates alone, along with F1 World and Challenge Career modes, mean there’s plenty to offer both offline and on.
Accessibility
If you played last year’s entry, then F1 24’s impressive array of accessibility features will be familiar to you. Gameplay assists like rewinds and anti-lock brakes still exist, as well as numerous colorblind options for the racing line (protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia are available) and a tinnitus relief filter to aid players with more sensitive hearing.
Should I play F1 24?
Play it if...
Don't play it if...
How we tested F1 24
I played F1 24 on PC, via Steam, for just over 25 hours. This was enough to complete two Driver Career seasons at small-to-medium race length, experiencing improvements to the Career mode like on-track objectives, secret meetings, and seasonal driver moves. I also played a good chunk of the moreish F1 World mode, which provides a wide range of bite-sized race challenges. Unfortunately, I was not able to test the game’s online features prior to launch.
In terms of hardware, I played F1 24 with an Xbox Wireless Controller on a 1080p Asus monitor. I found that my setup, featuring an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti, was more than enough to run the game at a stable 60fps at maximum settings without ray tracing. I also played the game with the JBL Quantum 910P gaming headset; its support for spatial audio really helped those engine roars feel especially punchy.
The Poco M6 family is about to grow some more, many months after the release of its first member - the M6 Pro 5G - back in August of last year. The M6 and M6 Pro have been added in the meantime, and now we should be getting ready for the launch of the Poco M6 Plus.
This model has been certified for sale in India by BIS, so at least one market where it will be offered is very clear. The Poco M6 Plus is allegedly going to be a rebranded Redmi Note 13R, a device which was recently made official in China.
Now it looks like it will go international under a different name. If this...
Dimensions/Weight: 425 x 461 x 430 mm (WxDxH) / 23.6kg
If Canon’s latest laser all-in-one looks pretty stylish for an office printer, the spec sheet looks even better. With a print speed of 35ppm, auto duplex scanning and a customizable touchscreen, this premium MFP (multifunction printer) is already one of the best laser printers for small and medium-sized businesses. The Canon Color imageCLASS MF753Cdw is called the Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw in Europe and as I happen to be testing the UK model, I’ll go with that product name throughout this review, but the US variant is identical aside from the plug.
The Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw is a four-in-one, so it can print, copy, scan and fax and it’s aimed both at the individual and a shared office. Like all the best small business printers, that means it’s compact and thoughtfully designed, while having a rapid print speed and a high recommended monthly duty cycle of 40,000 pages. There’s no inbuilt NFC, but otherwise, this feature-rich desktop printer lacks nothing in terms of connectivity or functionality.
(Image credit: Canon)
Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw: Design & build
(Image credit: Canon)
Multifunction laser printers are too often the office eyesore, but not so this classy and compact Canon model. It’s a little smaller than its predecessor and all of its comparable competitors without sacrificing features. The 50-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) on top is a particularly neat design. Despite the size, there’s plenty of room for paper with the main tray holding 250 sheets and the MP tray and ADF each holding another 50. The output tray can hold 150 sheets which is twice the capacity of the outgoing Canon model. You can also expand the paper input capacity by adding a second drawer beneath the first. The PF-K1 Paper Feeder accessory costs around US$249.99 (£150) and holds another 550 sheets of Letter or A4 paper.
The Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw has the same form factor as just about every other laser all-in-one printer with the ADF on top, a glass scanner beneath this, the main paper in-tray at the bottom and the out-tray in the middle. Canon has improved on its previous design by moving the MP tray to the front for faster loading of special media such as headed letter paper and envelopes.
You’ll find connections for Ethernet, USB and fax modem cables at the rear and a USB Host port conveniently located at the front for walk-up printing from a USB flash memory drive. The 12.7cm touchscreen LCD is also very user-friendly with its tilting panel and customizable display. Overall, the design is excellent and the build quality feels pretty strong too. It already looks like a dangerous rival to the Brother MFC-L8690CDW.
(Image credit: Canon)
Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw: Features & specifications
(Image credit: Canon)
The Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw is a 4-in1, which means it can send or receive a fax in addition to duplex printing, duplex scanning and copying. At 35ppm, the print speed for single-sided printing is fast while the first print out time (FPOT) of 7 seconds is similarly impressive. It scans quickly too. But what’s more significant is that it can scan both sides of a document automatically. Single pass 2-sided scanning is a trick only the more expensive machines can manage.
As mentioned, you have plenty of paper capacity here, with the opportunity to expand by adding an optional second in-tray. It can print on any size paper in Letter or A4 format but only up to 200 g/m² in weight. In other words, it can’t print on thick card. It also has decent capacity for toner with the high-yield cartridges being able to print up to 5,500 color pages and 7,600 black. However, the bundled setup cartridges only contain enough toner for 1,100 color pages and 2,100 black. Canon-branded cartridges for this printer are not cheap, so the CPP (cost per page) is slightly above average for this category of laser printer, unfortunately.
The Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw has all the features you could ask of an enterprise-level MFP with the exception of an NFC (near field communication) module. That’s a nice feature to have in a shared office environment where workers can call down personal print jobs using their NFC enabled ID cards, but it’s probably not a deal-breaker for most. Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct and AirPrint compatibility is built, there’s a USB Host port, Ethernet port and a fancy five-inch touchscreen. This interface can be customized so that your most frequently used functions appear on the first page of the menu system.
(Image credit: Canon)
Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw: Setup & operation
(Image credit: Canon)
The Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw comes with a very hefty setup guide, but don’t worry, you won’t need it. The toner cartridges come pre-installed, so it’s really just a case of filling the paper tray, plugging in and following the setup instructions that appear on the display. The touchscreen is large so entering your wi-fi password is quite easy. However, it’s also overly sensitive and I found it difficult to scroll through the menu without selecting options by accident.
Laser printers need to get up to operating temperature before they can print, and in this case, that takes 14 seconds, which is about average. Printing and scanning is fast, so it’s a satisfying printer to operate. There’s also a good companion app called Canon PRINT for iOS/Android that simplifies remote printing and scanning via the cloud.
(Image credit: Canon)
Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw: Performance
(Image credit: Canon)
The Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw performed very well in all of our tests. I found the given print rate of 35ppm for simplex pages to be pretty accurate. Duplex printing is also fast with the paper being turned quickly and quietly and without any paper jams during the test. Draft mode gives the fastest print speed and uses significantly less toner, but the printouts are so pale, they’re hard to read. In regular mode, both color and monochrome pages print at the same speed, as with all lasers, and both look pleasingly bold and detailed.
Pages of text appear consistently crisp and easy to read at very small point sizes, while mixed color documents really grab your attention with their bright colors and professional finish. Laser printers rarely do justice to photographs, but the Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw fares better than most. Overall, the print quality is very good.
The ADF is also a pleasure to use, thanks to its speed, capacity and its duplex scanning mode. The only slightly irritating thing about the Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw is the sensitive touchscreen which makes it too easy to select the wrong thing. Otherwise, it put in a very strong all-round performance.
Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw: Final verdict
(Image credit: Canon)
As a compact AOI for the home office, or a speedy do-it-all printer in a shared office, the Canon i-SENSYS MF754Cdw does not disappoint. One of the best printers of its class, it’s sleek enough to fit conveniently into any stylish office, while having the speed and paper capacity to meet very high print demands. And don’t forget that you can add a second paper tray to boost that capacity by 550 sheets. It’s also bursting with useful features such as automatic duplex scanning and a 50-sheet ADF. The customizable 5-inch touchscreen is a good size, but a little too sensitive, while the inbox startup cartridges are a little light on toner. What really sells this printer though, is its excellent print quality. If you print and scan frequently and you demand a professional finish, then this is the printer for you.
A couple of weeks ago, Tim Cook predicted that iPhone sales will grow in some markets, including China, and he was right on the money. A report from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) shows that shipments of foreign-branded smartphones are up 52% in April – and most foreign-branded phones in China have an Apple logo on their backs.
So, while we don’t know the exact number, iPhone shipments saw a huge boost last month, which in turn is an improvement on the 12% increase in shipments in March. This is a rebound after Apple recorded a significant 37% fall...
The Original Prusa XL is a colossal machine packed with innovative features that firmly place this filament multi-changer at the top of the desirability list. However, unlike the ultra-speedy Bambu machines with their multifilament AMS system, which tends to scatter filament offcuts everywhere, the XL is far more refined. Prusa Research has departed from the traditional single-head design and has opted instead for a multi-head approach. Although head swapping takes a few seconds, it's considerably faster than the filament switching used by most other systems.
While the multifilament ability should be a major feature of this machine, it is actually the sheer scale that makes it stand out. The print area is one of the largest of its type, and with Prusa Research and their machines now having an extensive reach into both the professional and enthusiast markets, this machine truly excels in terms of scale and features.
The Original Prusa XL is undoubtedly a pro-level machine, and this updated CoreXY printer marks a significant departure from the company's standard Cartesian design. The results are superb, but as with any large-scale 3D printer, the importance of the procedure cannot be overstated.. If everything is set up correctly, it's just a matter of ensuring your filament is in good condition, and the machine will handle the rest; if your filament is in the slightest bit out of condition, then the results, as with any of the best 3D printers, will be out.
Original Prusa XL: Design
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
As already mentioned the Original Prusa XL represents a significant departure from the company's tried and tested Cartestian bed-slinger design. Instead, it adopts the CoreXY mechanism and the latest firmware supporting input shaping, pressure advance, and precise stepping. The two standout features of this printer are its multifilament capability and its size. Although available in one--, two--, or five-head configurations, opting for at least two heads is highly recommended, with the option to add the remaining heads as the budget allows. In this 3D printer, review we've been able to go all out with the five head model.
This printer reflects Prusa Research's evolution as a major player in the open-source community. While the machine is available and nearly ready to use, it is also available as an open-source project, with files accessible on printables.com. Currently, there is no bill of materials, and purchasing the machine directly is likely easier and more cost-effective.
Design-wise, the XL is considerably larger than the MK4 in both physical size and print area—360 x 360 x 360mm compared to the MK4's 250 x 210 x 220mm. The CoreXY design features a rising build platform and a distinctive belt system. Notably, the machine includes an array of five-tool heads fitted to the back, a departure from the single-head MMU3 multifilament kits for the MK3 and MK4. This new design utilizes a single carrier that picks up one of the five-tool heads, uses it for printing, and then returns it before swapping to the next, minimizing filament waste between swaps.
Filaments are neatly installed on the side of the machine, fed through filament sensors, and then into the tool heads, allowing for easy changes and updates. Each filament has its own sensor system to detect issues. If a head blocks, it can be taken out of action for repairs or replacement without pausing all work—a major consideration for businesses.
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The print platform features the usual flexible bed to aid print removal, with different textures available. The heated bed underneath is segmented, heating only the necessary sections to save energy. Should any section malfunction, it can easily be replaced. Prusa offers a wide range of accessories and replacements, ensuring minimal downtime.
The control board maintains a slightly larger, initially analogue display with a click-and-rotate dial for navigation. While the dial approach is functional, you can switch to a touchscreen with a more modern interface through the interface.
For loading files, the printer supports direct wireless connections via the excellent PrusaSlicer software or through a USB key. Networking set-up requires some effort, but detailed instructions are provided, and once connected, the connection is strong and reliable.
Despite its size, the XL's footprint is surprisingly small, thanks to side-mounted reel holders. This set-up conserves desk space compared to other multifilament systems including that of the MMU3 and MK4, making its overall space requirement comparable to much smaller machines.
Original Prusa XL: Features
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
Feature-wise, the Original Prusa XL 3D printer stands out in the professional market with a unique approach that contrasts with the more refined and less modular designs typically seen. This adaptability, informed by extensive feedback from both enthusiasts and professional users, makes the XL a product shaped by actual user needs and demands.
The base model is relatively affordable, starting at around £2,000/€2,000, with the price increasing depending on the number of tool heads selected and additional future accessories, such as a full enclosure. This flexibility will be particularly appealing to professional outfits, as it enables you to tailor the machine to specific requirements. Additionally, as a Prusa Research system, it supports third-party updates and upgrades that are available for download from printables.com, allowing further customization.
At the core of the XL is a modular system that supports up to five independent tool heads. This set-up not only enables the use of up to five different colours of the same material or various materials in one print but also promises future expandability for specialist heads and is compaitible with the superb E3D V6.
One of the standout features, besides the five-tool heads, is the substantial build volume of 360 x 360 x 360 mm, making it one of the largest available for the price. The printer also features a selectively heated bed with 16 individually controlled segments. This design not only reduces power consumption when printing smaller objects but also enhances the machine's ability to manage different materials by providing precise temperature control for multiple models made from various materials.
Specs
Print Technology: CoreXY Build Area: 360 x 360 x 360 mm (14.17 x 14.17 x 14.17 inches) Minimum Layer Resolution: 0.4 nozzle that comes with the machine, the minimum is 0.1mm with a 0.25 nozzle, the minimum layer height is 0.05mm Maximum Layer Resolution: 0.4 nozzle that comes with the machine, the maximum is 0.25mm with a 0.8 nozzle, the maximum layer height is 0.55mm Dimensions: 800×800×900 mm (31.49" ×31.49’’× 35.43") side spool holders and top enclosure cover (Future addition) Weight: 25.3Kg Bed: Modular segmented heatbed with 16 individually controlled segments Print Surface: Removable magnetic steel sheets with different surface finishes Software: PrusaSlicer Materials: Supports a wide range including PLA, PETG, ASA, ABS, and more Print Speed: 400mm/s
First-layer printing is crucial, especially with multiple heads. The XL incorporates an advanced calibration system that includes fully automatic mesh bed levelling and skew axes compensation to ensure high precision. While the machine was pretty solid over the two-month testing period, we got into the procedure of calibrating the machine at the start of the week, which helped to ensure generally trouble-free printing.
The printer also includes several advanced features that are more common, such as power panic recovery, filament sensors, and advanced motion algorithms (Input Shaper and Pressure Advance), which are essential for maintaining high print speeds without compromising quality.
Like other PRUSA printers, the XL comes with removable magnetic steel sheets tailored for different materials, and a dab of glue stick is included for more challenging prints. The machine boasts wide material compatibility, and an enclosure is forthcoming to maintain a stable printing environment, which is especially beneficial for specialized materials. Although details about the casing are yet to be announced, the enclosure may include features like a heated environment with filters and possibly a filament drying chamber to enhance its utility further.
Original Prusa XL: Performance
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
It's important to note that the Original Prusa XL is a large-scale printer. Yet, it manages to maintain the precision typically seen in much smaller machines; essentially, it's a big little printer. When conducting benchmark tests with a single head, the machine focuses its heating and operations on a small area, achieving the speed and precision that one would expect from smaller counterparts.
A key to this high level of performance is the weight and rigidity of the XL, which significantly reduces the shake or wobble that can affect lighter, smaller models. This stability is crucial for effectively handling the speed and power of the motors and filament delivery. Initial tests displayed impressive accuracy, although there were some issues with surface finish and filament stringing in the first large print, this turned out to be due to the use of an older, exposed filament that was sat around for testing. After switching to a fresh reel, the surface quality of subsequent large-scale prints significantly improved, showcasing the importance of using well-maintained materials.
The environment and material handling are critical for the XL. Similar to best practices emphasized by teams like CEL-UK, maintaining filaments in optimal condition is vital. Once the enclosure is integrated into the system, it should further stabilize print conditions and enhance quality control. All subsequent prints in the workshop, using fresh or dried filament, showed that while small prints were not drastically different, the surface quality of larger prints was noticeably better.
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
The XL's performance is exemplary when printing with a single filament. The PrusaSlicer software offers comprehensive control over settings, allowing adjustments across three user modes tailored to different levels of experience. Switching to dual-filament printing for support and main build structures, the XL showcases its capability to handle complex models that might be challenging or frustrating on other machines.
The real advantage of multifilament printing isn't just the ability to use multiple colours; it's the capacity to combine different materials in a single print. For instance, PRUSA Research provides a test model of a small protective box, where the main body is printed in PLA, the locks are PETG, and the rubber weather seal is made of a flexible material. This multi-material approach allows the entire box to be printed as one piece but with functional diversity, such as lever locks and a watertight seal.
Continued tests utilizing mixed materials demonstrate the system's versatility, enhancing what can be achieved with the printer. The XL excels in overall print quality and speed, benefiting from the CoreXY mechanics. Filament swaps are notably quicker than other systems, and the print quality remains distinctly Prusa, achieving the highest benchmark results recorded to date at a perfect 30.
Adding up the totals gives a final score of 30 out of 30.
Original Prusa XL: Final verdict
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
While the Original Prusa XL's cost may make it beyond the reach of many hobbyists, the MK4 and MMU3 options well-serve the enthusiast market. The XL, however, is primarily aimed at professionals or enthusiasts looking to upscale their projects. The design of the XL nods to the build-it-yourself ethos of the open-source community but presents a more refined version that can be tailored to user specifications.
Addressing some of the smaller concerns with the XL, one notable issue is the absence of an enclosure. Although one has been announced, details regarding its features—such as heating, filtration, or an integrated filament drying station—are still pending. Additionally, some standard features commonly found in enthusiast machines, like a camera for remote monitoring and a touchscreen interface, are not included but can be retrofitted with some technical skill, guided by online tutorials.
Another point of critique involves the tool head mounting system. Initial installation can be challenging, and while the tool heads generally secure in place adequately, the fittings may not feel robust over time, raising concerns about long-term reliability.
These are all but small issues, and in reality, the XL is a robust machine offering significant adaptability for both individuals and businesses. Out of the box, even as a single-head printer, it ranks among the largest and best solutions available in this price range. The multifilament capabilities and the efficient operation of the tool heads set it apart from competitors, including the ultra-fast Bambu machines, which target the enthusiast sector directly rather than professional.
The XL is unmatched in terms of accuracy and speed in its category. With the forthcoming enclosure and potential additions like a touchscreen and camera, the Original Prusa XL is poised to set a new standard for FFF printers in its price range, making it an exceptional choice for those seeking top level performance and adaptability.
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