This review first appeared in issue 356 of PC Pro.
TP-Link may be best known for its affordable business networking products, but it also has a strong presence in the video surveillance market. Its VIGI family offers a range of network video recorders (NVRs) and cameras, and in this review we look at its NVR1004-4P four-channel NVR and test it with TP-Link’s latest C540V outdoor PTZ IP camera.
Costing under £100, the NVR looks great value but you’ll need to add the extra cost of a SATA hard disk to store video recordings. At the rear are four network camera ports, each delivering PoE+ services, and it has a total power budget of 53W.
HDMI and VGA ports support local monitors, two old-school phono jacks are provided for audio in and out and a separate Fast Ethernet port facilitates NVR web management. Setup is easy; after fitting a 4TB Western Digital Red Pro hard disk in the NVR, we connected an HD monitor and followed the onscreen wizard.
To secure access, you choose an admin password and provide a recovery email address. You can also set a global username and password as well as a recovery email that are applied to VIGI cameras when they first come online.
The wizard finishes by displaying QR codes for TP-Link’s VIGI mobile apps. To use them, you create a TP-Link ID account and bind the NVR to it from its web console. We also loaded TP-Link’s Security Manager app on a Windows host and linked it to our ID account for remote NVR access, although this doesn’t provide event management.
It’s great value, but you’ll need to add a SATA hard disk to store recordings(Image credit: Future)
To add the C540V camera, we connected it to a PoE port and waited ten seconds while the NVR discovered it. All security settings and firmware updates were applied for us, and the NVR assigned a base set of video parameters that included enabling the latest H.265+ codec.
This IP66-rated camera delivers great image quality. Along with good contrast and color balance, it has a sharp focus, handles bright sunlight well and its motorized pan and tilt functions cover a lot of ground. The IR LED provides good night illumination up to around 20 meters, its white LEDs are blindingly bright, and the powerful integral speaker will scare the living daylights out of intruders.
(Image credit: Future)
The NVR1004-4P can’t match Synology’s DVA appliances, which provide slick people counting, face recognition and crowd control features, but it does offer a good range of detection and recording features. For basic motion detection, you draw multiple polygonal shapes in the camera view where you want it applied, set object height and width filters, tweak the sensitivity and enable human and vehicle detection.
Smart events go further, and allow you to draw lines in the camera view to denote digital fences and choose one-way or two-way directions. Custom detection zones can be monitored for objects being removed or those that linger in them for a specific period, while entry and exit regions are used to keep an eye on specific areas such as building entrances.
Along with event recording, trigger actions can include pop-up warnings, sounding NVR and camera audio alarms and activating a camera’s security lights. Recordings can be viewed from the NVR’s local monitor or web console, the Security Manager and mobile app, with options to choose camera channels and scroll through their timelines to points of interest.
The NVR supports a wide range of motion detection events(Image credit: Future)
The NVR1004-4P supports ONVIF-compliant IP cameras and it discovered our D-Link models as soon as we connected them to the PoE ports. We customized the live view to show all camera feeds, but features are more limited as we could only apply basic motion detection events to them.
You’ll need to use TP-Link’s VIGI cameras to get the best from it, but the NVR1004-4P is a good choice for small businesses seeking affordable in-house video surveillance. It offers plenty of video analytics features, the C540V camera scores highly for image quality, and the components are offered at very competitive prices.
The Oppo Find N5 is two weeks away – the new foldable is expected to be unveiled by February 20 (though Oppo still hasn’t pinned down the exact date). The teaser campaign is in full swing, but has mostly focused on how thin the phone is going to be. Today’s teaser, coming from Pete Lau himself, focuses on another aspect.
“No crease detected 🔍 Well, not on the #OPPOFindN5 😉,” writes Lau in a post on X. Well, fine, that’s just the CEO hyping up the new product – you can still notice a crease in the photo.
The Oppo Find N5 promises to almost eliminate the crease
That said, it’s a...
Samsung has traditionally released Enterprise Editions of its Galaxy S flagships a bit later than the regular models, and that’s the case this year. The Galaxy S25 and S25 Ultra Enterprise Editions are now available for pre-order across Europe, and they bring the same perks as before – namely, a one-year subscription to the Samsung Knox suite, three years of enhanced business support and the same seven years of software updates and security patches as the regular versions.
Samsung’s Knox suite allows company IT departments to remotely manage fleets of phones while also offering...
Samsung held a demo tournament between two major Call of Duty: Mobile teams to promote the gaming capabilities of its latest flagship, the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The phone comes with a Snapdragon 8 Elite and a vapor chamber that supports seamless gameplay even for high-performance games, such as CoD.
The name of the tournament was #PlayGalaxy Cup: The Greatest Rivalry with Call of Duty: Mobile,” and it had two premier teams from North America play against each other – Tribe vs Luminosity Gaming.
Samsung's press release stated that the full event, which took place on January 25, was...
INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger review
The INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger is listed at $32.99 / £26.99 on the INIU website and is also available to purchase at Amazon. This price makes it a more costly alternative to the similar non-MagSafe Anker 313 Wireless Charger Stand, but this is warranted due to its performance and flexible design.
As this isn't a magnetic charger (although phones do need to be MagSafe to charge on it), there's nothing to stop a phone from sliding off if knocked, but the design is otherwise pretty sturdy thanks to the charging stand's overall weight and square base.
The adjustable viewing angle is my favorite part of the INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger's design. The phone cradle pivots on the top with a range of 90 degrees, so my phone could be positioned vertically or laid back almost flat. The included USB-C power cable is only a meter long – this may be adequate for some, but I would have preferred a longer length, as it limited my placement options.
(Image credit: Cesci Angell / Future)
At first, I was unimpressed with the charging speed of the INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger, as it took over three hours to charge an iPhone 13 Pro from 0% - 100%, a test I perform on all chargers I review to be able to make a solid comparison. As this was a questionably long time for a charger that claims to be "fast", I had a read of the small print and found that INIU recommends using a charging adapter of 18 watts or higher.
Personally, I feel that any charger requiring a wall adapter above a specific output to achieve anywhere near the charging speeds stated should include one in the box. The INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger does not. Naturally, I have plenty of spare plugs about, but the average buyer may not; so it's worth bearing this in mind, as a further purchase may be needed to get the most out of this charger.
(Image credit: Cesci Angell / Future)
Once I'd repeated the test with a suitable plug, the INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger was able to fully charge the iPhone 13 Pro in 2 hours and 16 minutes, putting it in the same league as most of the MagSafe chargers I've tested so far. This also makes it much faster than the Anker 313 Wireless Charger Stand that currently features in our list of the best wireless chargers. This result made me do a 360 on my opinion of the INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger, as this charging speed is good for the price.
Overall, this is a well-designed and versatile phone charging stand. The vast majority of the wireless chargers I test are compatible with iPhones only, so to test a charger that can charge a range of devices at a good speed with a sturdy and adjustable design has been refreshing. So if you're on the lookout for a decent and fairly priced phone charger that'll remain usable even if you switch your allegiance come upgrade time, the INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger is a good shout.
Should I buy the INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger?
Buy it if…
You want viewing flexibility If you're anything like me and will more often than not continue to use your phone as it recharges, then an adjustable stand is a must. The viewing angle on this INIU charger is easy to alter, making it easy to consume content while it's juicing up.
You want a versatile charger Whether you're rocking two phones, or want a simple charging solution located in a communal space, this INIU charger's compatibility with both iPhones and Androids means less cables and clutter.
Don't buy it if…
You're a die-hard iPhone user As much as I like this charger, as an avid iPhone user, I much prefer the reassurance that a MagSafe charger provides. It provides a more secure hold, which is appreciated by someone as klutzy as me.
You don't want to feel tethered Granted, this isn't the only charger that comes with a disappointingly short power cable, but the 3.3 ft / 1 m cable can limit placement options.
INIU I212 Adjustable 15W Fast Wireless Charger review: Also consider
Anker 313 Wireless Charger Stand If you're just looking for something cheap and cheerful, and aren't fussed about charging speeds or adjustable angles, then this Anker charger may just take your fancy. Like the I212, it's compatible with iPhones and Androids and can accommodate phones up to 5mm thick.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is coming later this month, and we just saw another hands-on image of the phone.
It closely resembles previously leaked renders, but the placement of the camera lenses is not as aesthetically pleasing as we expected. Still, the new image shows us a back panel that is a quarter metal and three quarters leather, just like the classic design of a Leica camera.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
We can see four cameras on the back, lined up in two rows – the top one is reserved for the 200 MP sensor and the periscope lens, and yes, it really needs that much room on the side. The...
A few days ago, Asus unveiled the ROG Phone 9 FE but today, it’s time to focus on its other product line. The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra arrives a bit earlier than usual with an early February launch instead of mid-July like its predecessor.
The big change this generation is the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which is paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The new chip promises 45% higher CPU performance, a 40% faster GPU and a 40% boost in NPU performance.
Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra
That last one is important as the add-on features from Asus add a lot...
A few days ago, Asus unveiled the ROG Phone 9 FE but today, it’s time to focus on its other product line. The Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra arrives a bit earlier than usual with an early February launch instead of mid-July like its predecessor.
The big change this generation is the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset, which is paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and up to 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. The new chip promises 45% higher CPU performance, a 40% faster GPU and a 40% boost in NPU performance.
Asus Zenfone 12 Ultra
That last one is important as the add-on features from Asus add a lot...
The CMF Watch Pro 2 is undoubtedly one of the best cheap smartwatches you can buy right now, if not the absolute best pick, and it wins huge points purely for its incredibly affordable price tag.
Despite the cost-saving efforts, it has an impressive design and build and comes with plenty of features that make it a perfect beginner smartwatch for anyone new to the form factor. The screen is perfectly adequate, the software works well enough, and there are myriad smartwatch features including workout tracking, sleep monitoring, GPS, and more.
However, it lacks a couple of key features, including NFC payments, and it can't really be used in water. Also, some of its features, like raise and tap to wake, as well as workout detection, are a little temperamental. Perhaps my biggest issue with it is that I prefer the larger, squircle shape of the previous model, but I've reviewed it here on its own merits.
Nothing still sells both, and it's a big departure from what I believe is the ultimate smartwatch success formula. However, it does deliver some good upgrades, including a better display and more watch faces.
CMF Watch Pro 2: Specifications
CMF Watch Pro 2: Price and Availability
(Image credit: Future)
$69 / £69 / AU$99
Four colors
The CMF Watch Pro 2 is available now in two colors from Nothing's website as well as from retailers like Amazon. It costs $69 / £69 / AU$99 but does occasionally see discounts of up to 25%.
There's only one size, the 42mm watch face, available in four colors: Blue, Ash Grey, Orange, and Dark Grey pictured here.
Pound for pound, this has to be the best-value smartwatch you can buy on the market right now, considering it's compatible with both iPhone and Android and it has an impressive feature set. It only gets a 5/5 because I can't award a higher score.
Value score: 5/5
CMF Watch Pro 2: Design
(Image credit: Future)
Cool circular display
Divisive change from the 1st-gen
Solid, premium build
You're going to hear a lot of "for a $69 watch" in the next few minutes. But honestly, for a $69 Watch, the CMF Watch Pro 2 is a really impressive piece of design.
Nothing is famous for making cool-looking tech gadgets, and the CMF Watch Pro 2 is no different. However, we need to talk about the elephant in the room. I'm very much team "smartwatches should be squircle," but the CMF Watch Pro 2 eschews the design of the first CMF Watch Pro in favor of a completely circular design more akin to the Google Pixel Watch 3. It's a big change, and one fans of the first watch might not like. The 42mm display is housed in a 45mm chassis, and the rather thick bezel is tapered towards the middle to create a unique bowl effect.
While the styling is divisive, it's certainly not generic. The digital crown is also premium and feels nice and responsive to use. My only build gripe is the liquid silicon strap, which is pretty thin and not very premium-feeling. That being said, it is comfortable, and I didn't experience much in the way of wrist fatigue during any of my testing.
The bezel is interchangeable, so you can pop it off and replace it with a purchased alternative to change up the style and color of your watch pretty quickly. This is another fairly unique feature that you won't really find on other smartwatches.
(Image credit: Future)
The display is a 1.32-inch AMOLED measuring 466x466. It's a slight upgrade on the previous generation, now putting out 620 nits of peak brightness with a 60fps refresh rate, vs 58Hz and 600 nits in the old one. The display is considerably smaller than the previous model, another divisive change. However, the overall shift makes the watch much smaller in profile, so people with smaller wrists or those who want a more unintrusive experience will prefer this.
The screen has a new auto-brightness feature, as well as five levels you can manually select from. At 620 nits peak, it's not exactly a looker (even the Apple Watch SE 2 puts out 1,000 nits) but it's perfectly adequate. In fact, for a $69 watch, it's definitely a decent display.
Some colors look a little washed out, like the temperature dials on my multifunction face. But colorful faces like the Prismatic Time face definitely have some pop to them. There are some weird pixel-shifting issues I've seen on some of the interfaces, lines that should be straight are wonky in places, but I can't tell if this is a hardware or a software issue. At a glance, it's not really that noticeable.
Durability-wise, the CMF Watch Pro 2 comes with an IP68 water rating. That means it's dustproof and can withstand immersion in up to 1.5 meters of water for 30 minutes. However, Nothing says the Watch Pro isn't suitable for use while swimming, in the shower, saunas, steam rooms, or any kind of water sports or activity. Basically, water is a no-go, which is definitely a key weak spot.
Design score: 4/5
CMF Watch Pro 2: Features
(Image credit: Future)
Lots of sports tracking and health metrics
Bluetooth, GPS, heart rate metrics
No NFC
For a $69 watch (I won't stop), there's an awful lot going on here. The CMF Watch Pro 2 offers a myriad of features you'd expect to find in a smartwatch, with a couple of key missing features reflective of the price.
Let's start with what you do get. Underpinning most of the best smartwatches these days is health and fitness, and the CMF Watch Pro 2 offers 120 sport modes, as well as five smart recognition activities that can detect your workouts without manual input (I'll get to whether this works in the Performance section). Some exercises even have a warm-up option that triggers a quick slew of animated warm-up stretches and movements before you work out, something you won't even find on any of the best Apple Watches.
Health tracking delivers an Active Score, round-the-clock heart rate and blood oxygen monitoring, sleep tracking, menstrual cycle tracking, step count, calories, resting heart rate, and alerts for abnormal heart rate and blood oxygen.
You also get key features like reminders, music controls, a remote camera control, a calendar, a calculator, and alarms. The Watch Pro 2 works with both iOS (13 and above) or Android (8.0 and above), so you should get plenty of cross-compatibility and synchronization between features like reminders and alarms on your watch and whichever smartphone you use.
You'll also get a Find My Phone feature, flashlight, and a voice assistant functionality, although I found the latter one is a bit of a gimmick, it's supposed to trigger your phone's voice assistant, and while I could see the watch waking up Siri on my iPhone, I couldn't actually ask questions or use it for anything.
Crucially, the Watch Pro 2 lacks NFC, so can't be used to make mobile payments from your wrist, which might be a deal breaker for some.
Features score: 4.5/5
CMF Watch Pro 2: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
Decent workout tracking
Some obvious quirks
Snappy day-to-day use
Good battery life
I'll start with the performance positives because there are a couple of quirks with the CMF Watch Pro 2 you should be aware of.
I generally found workout tracking to be consistent. A direct test with my Apple Watch Series 10 for an indoor run measured almost identical readings for distance traveled. The average heart rate was just one bpm off, and the range was pretty much spot-on. As far as workout tracking on a smartwatch can be accurate (the jury is out on just how useful it is generally), I'd say the CMF Watch Pro 2 delivers pretty reasonable accuracy across the board.
I've seen other reviews comment on GPS quirks, but I didn't experience any issues with it. Battery life on the Watch Pro 2 is pretty impressive, rated for up to 11 days of typical use, 9 days of heavy use, or 25 hours using GPS. I've found that generally to hold true in testing, and the battery life is definitely one of the positives.
(Image credit: Future)
While syncing with iOS and my iPhone was generally seamless, it doesn't play nice with Apple's notifications because these are restricted for third-party hardware. As such, iOS Focus modes don't work, one consideration for iPhone users. Notifications are pretty limited in use also, whereas you can respond to them in watchOS on devices like the Apple Watch or Wear OS, all you can do is read and dismiss them here.
As you might have picked up, the CMF Watch Pro 2 runs Nothing's proprietary smartwatch software rather than Wear OS. I actually prefer the look and feel over Wear OS, but like Wear OS, some elements of the UI remain poorly optimized for the circular display. Scrolling and swiping were very snappy overall, and I never experienced any performance lags. In fact, the Watch Pro 2 is noticeably snappier than even the Garmin Instinct 3 I was recently hands-on with.
Throughout my testing, I couldn't get 'raise to wake' to work at all. I even wrote this portion of the review, describing it as the CMF Watch Pro 2's biggest flaw and one that really hobbled the user experience. Then, out of nowhere, the feature began to work perfectly.
Now, whenever I lift my wrist, the watch immediately springs into life. Tap to wake is less reliable, and I've seen other reviews flag that raise to wake is an issue. So while I can no longer say it doesn't work full stop, it is definitely quirky and a problem to watch out for.
Workout detection does work, sort of. While out walking, my watch notified me that I was doing exactly that and asked if I'd like to track the experience. I tapped yes, but the tracker started from zero. Workout detection on Apple Watch is always running in the background, so if you get a detection notice after 10 minutes of walking, that 10 minutes of activity is included in your metrics. The Watch Pro 2 starts from scratch, which isn't exactly how I'd expect workout detection to function. Basically, it's handy if you forget to start your workout and need a reminder.
One final flaw, the vibration motor isn't nice. It resonates at just the wrong frequency and shakes the whole watch with an annoying, high-pitched buzz, it's the only part of the experience that feels cheap.
Performance score: 3/5
CMF Watch Pro 2: Scorecard
CMF Watch Pro 2: Should I buy?
Buy it if...
You've never had a smartwatch before
This is a perfect beginner smartwatch, an easy investment to see if using one is for you.
You're on a budget
You'll struggle to find a better smartwatch at this price.
Don't buy it if...
You like water
Nothing warns against use in any kind of water, so this is not the pick if you want a watch you never have to take off.
You want true software synchronization
Both Apple Watch or Wear OS models are going to offer better integration with their respective operating systems
CMF Watch Pro 2: How we tested
I used the CMF Watch Pro 2 over a number of weeks, as a daily smartwatch, during workouts, and more. I tested all of its main features and it was connected to an iPhone for the duration of testing.
CMF Watch Pro 2: Also consider
The original CMF Watch Pro is still fantastic, similarly priced, bigger, and has more battery life. It's a great alternative, as there aren't a ton of improvements in the new one.
For exactly the same price, this Amazfit offers a similar experience with a more Apple Watch-esque design. It's GPS is impressive and it's light and comfortable, but you won't get the same build quality or workout tracking accuracy. Really, consider this pick vindication that Nothing is king of the cheap smartwatch.
The OnePlus 13 series currently includes two phones - OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 13R. These are rumored to be joined by a third model in March, which is expected to be named the OnePlus 13 Mini or OnePlus 13T. Last month, popular tipster Digital Chat Station claimed the OnePlus 13 Mini would feature a triple camera setup; however, contradicting their leak, DCS now says the OnePlus 13 Mini will sport two rear cameras.
DCS says the OnePlus 13 Mini will feature a 50MP primary camera, which will be joined by a 50MP telephoto unit having 2x zoom. Previously, the tipster said that the OnePlus 13...
