This review first appeared in issue 356 of PC Pro.
Representing the entry point of Qsan’s new NAS appliance family, the XCubeNAS XN5104R offers SMBs a small footprint storage solution with plenty of room to grow. This competitively priced 1U rack NAS presents four hot-swap LFF/SFF SATA drive bays at the front, secretes a pair of NVMe SSD slots inside and teams them up with four 2.5GbE multi-gigabit ports.
A quad-core 2.3GHz Intel Xeon D-1714 CPU sits in the driving seat and is partnered by 8GB of DDR4 which can be expanded hugely to 256GB. There’s room for more network ports, as the spare PCI-E Gen4 slot accepts Qsan’s dual-port 10GbE and 25GbE cards.
A compelling feature of Qsan’s NAS appliances is their enormous expansion potential, and the XN5104R is no exception. Fit Qsan’s SAS3 PCI-E card and you can daisy-chain a mix of external disk shelves for a total of 414 drives and a maximum raw capacity of 9PB.
It may have a small footprint, but the XCubeNAS has huge potential(Image credit: Future)
For deployment, we loaded four 22TB Western Digital Red Pro NAS drives and used the XFinder app to discover the appliance and install the latest QSM software. From the custom setup option, we created a big RAID5 storage pool and, if you install NVMe SSDs, you can assign one or both to a pool as a hybrid cache, which accelerates both read and write operations.
QSM offers plenty of storage management and data integrity features. The ZFS-based OS includes copy-on-write snapshots for NAS shares and iSCSI LUNs, in-line data deduplication, intelligent real-time data tiering and facilities for applying one of three WORM (write once read many) policies to NAS share data. You can use a policy to guarantee nothing already in a share can be modified, set it so that only new files copied to the share have the retention date applied, or stop anything from ever being modified or deleted by applying a WORM forever policy.
The QSM web console is easy to navigate but apps are in short supply, with Qsan only including ones for file and media management, hardware monitoring, antivirus, backup and cloud syncing. It used to offer VPN, SQL database, web services and hypervisor manager apps, but these were dropped from QSM a while ago.
The apps Qsan does provide are easy to use, however. The Backup app manages snapshot scheduling and can secure appliance data to any Rsync-compliant remote appliance, as well as Amazon S3, Alibaba OSS and HiCloud S3 cloud accounts. It can replicate folders between XCubeNAS appliances using the Xmirror service, while the Cloud Sync app handles one-way and two-way sync jobs with Dropbox, OneDrive and Google Drive.
The XN5104R can be remotely managed using Qsan’s XInsight web server(Image credit: Future)
Qsan fans will like the free XInsight app, which offers central management for all their AFA, NAS and SAN appliances. Run as a web service on any Windows host, its web console provides an overview of all activity, storage usage and alert notifications plus quick access to each appliance’s management console.
Performance over 2.5GbE is good.
A share mapped to a Dell PowerEdge R760xs Windows Server 2022 host returned 2.3Gbits/sec and 2.2Gbits/sec for both Iometer sequential and random read and write tests, and the XN5104R delivered identical results in our 2.5GbE IP SAN tests. For the latter, we increased the pressure with a dual 2.5GbE MPIO link to our 1TB iSCSI target and recorded sequential reads and writes of 4.6Gbits/sec and 4.2Gbits/sec, while random operations held firm at 4.6Gbits/sec and 4Gbits/sec.
SMBs looking for a good-value rack NAS appliance with an enormous potential for capacity expansion will find a lot to like about Qsan’s XCubeNAS XN5104R.
It’s light on apps but big on 2.5GbE performance, and Qsan’s QSM software delivers great data integrity and storage management features.
This review first appeared in issue 356 of PC Pro.
The Chromebook Enterprise Flip CB5 comes across as both a reinvention of Asus’ excellent Chromebook Flip CX5 convertible, and as a premium, supersized version of its CM34 Flip. Like the former, it’s a big-screen, 2-in-1 convertible with a metallic shell and a fast Intel Core i5 spec. Like the latter, it’s switched to a squarer display with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 1,920 x 1,200 resolution, only here the screen is a massive 16 inches. Using it as a tablet is a slightly bizarre experience and there’s no USI stylus for notes and doodles. But it’s brilliant used in tent mode for ad hoc presentations or entertainment.
Tent mode is ideal for presentations and entertainment(Image credit: Future)
There’s a lot to like about this design, including the thin “nano-edge” frame around the display, and the way the hinge pitches the rear of the laptop upwards for a more comfortable working position. Compared to many of the plastic-heavy Chromebooks on test, the materials feel premium and the build extremely solid, with the near-black finish looking exceptionally smart. Like the old Flip CX5, it meets MIL-STD-810H certification for durability.
Connectivity goes beyond the usual basics, with two 10Gbits/sec USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a single USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port and an HDMI 2 video output, plus a microSD card slot and headphone socket. The keyboard is one of the best on test, with 1.4mm of travel and a fantastic light but slightly clicky feel. There’s little to quibble about with the layout, bar a tiny split left-Shift key and a pint-sized number pad. The touchpad is wider than average, at 128 x 74mm, and although it’s precise don’t expect the glass coating of the best units.
Unlike many Chromebooks, the finish feels premium(Image credit: Future)
Let’s get the bad stuff about the screen out of the way. Like too many Chromebook displays, color depth is poor, covering only 59% of the sRGB gamut and 43% of DCI-P3. You might not notice the difference in isolation, but whack up the brightness and put it next to the Acer Chromebook Spin 714 or the Lenovo IdeaPad 5i Gaming Chromebook Plus and suddenly both stills and video look rather drab. What’s more, the 1,920 x 1,200 resolution can look stretched at this screen size, so this screen doesn’t have the same clarity as you’ll find on the Lenovo. Yet it’s fairly bright, reaching 325cd/m2, and low black levels mean plenty of punchy contrast. This and the sheer size work particularly well for video streaming and gaming, though it’s also easy on the eyes when you’re trying to get some work done: there’s no need to squint on a screen this big.
There’s no need to plug any headphones in, either, at least if you’re not out in public, as the Harman Kardon audio system dishes out good sound at sensible volumes, with great mid-range clarity and even some bass. Throw in sensitive mics and a 1080p webcam that produces crisp and well-exposed video, and you’ve got a fine platform for calls and meetings.
The screen is large, but don’t expect a huge range of vibrant colors(Image credit: Future)
This is one of three laptops on test with the Intel Core i5-1235U processor, and it’s an ideal choice for Chromebook use. It provides more than ample performance across web-based and Android apps, plus basic 3D graphics capabilities, without the expense of the more powerful Core i7 CPUs. The Enterprise Flip CX5 came second in many of our benchmarks, just behind the Core i7-powered Acer Chromebook Vero 514. Where it didn’t it wasn’t far behind, and even the Acer Chromebook Spin 714, with its newer 13th-generation Core i5, couldn’t shake it off. What’s more, battery life is stronger than you might expect with such a big screen, with 11hrs 40mins of 1080p video playback in our tests.
It’s touch and go which is the best of this month’s big-screen Chromebooks; the IdeaPad 5i Gaming Chromebook Plus has the better screen and the lower price, but the Asus has the edge on ergonomics and design. Either way, this is an excellent option whether you’re buying for business or for home.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is coming soon - this month, most likely. It will also get a global release, and it's been rumored to sport the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset.
This has now been confirmed because a prototype has run Geekbench AI. Its listing is now in the benchmark's online database, and it reveals the Adreno 830 GPU, which only the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC has.
For what it's worth, the prototype scored a 635 single precision score, a 630 half precision score, and a 1,455 quantized score. The phone ran Android 15 as you'd expect, and had 16GB of RAM.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is rumored...
iQOO has been teasing the iQOO Neo 10R since last month, and a recent leak claimed the smartphone will launch in India on February 20. Well, that leak has turned out to be fake since iQOO has announced that the Neo 10R will arrive in India on March 11 and will be sold exclusively through its official website and Amazon.in.
iQOO recently revealed the Neo 10R's design and announced the smartphone will launch in a Raging Blue color "crafted exclusively for India."
Get ready for the ultimate revolution in performance and design with the #iQOONeo10R! ⚡Launching on 11th March—mark your...
Realme has announced it will attend the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain, next month to showcase cutting-edge mobile technologies. The brand said that "attendees can expect groundbreaking technologies, including cutting-edge optical imaging that elevates mobile photography to DSLR levels."
In addition, Realme will unveil its latest AI innovations from its NEXT AI lab, designed to enhance user interactions and camera performance.
The Chinese brand will also reveal its "ambitious three-year strategic plan" and release the Realme 14 Pro series for global markets at MWC...
For years we've been hearing how Apple wants to cut its reliance on China for manufacturing iPhones, and how India would be the next China - in this regard. And while the company has steadily increased the number of iPhones it produces in India, it's nowhere near the number of iPhones still made in China. But the race could get closer.
That's because India has now removed import duties on some components "key to producing mobile phones" - PCBs, parts of camera modules, and USB cables. This is obviously aimed to boost local production of smartphones, and the move should benefit Apple and...
For years we've been hearing how Apple wants to cut its reliance on China for manufacturing iPhones, and how India would be the next China - in this regard. And while the company has steadily increased the number of iPhones it produces in India, it's nowhere near the number of iPhones still made in China. But the race could get closer.
That's because India has now removed import duties on some components "key to producing mobile phones" - PCBs, parts of camera modules, and USB cables. This is obviously aimed to boost local production of smartphones, and the move should benefit Apple and...
Following a bunch of leaks and rumors, Realme has officially started teasing the upcoming P3 series. Well, it's actually Flipkart doing the teasing through a dedicated microsite for the family, but we assume this is done with Realme's blessing.
The teaser isn't saying much at the moment, just confirming that a P3 series is coming, and that the Realme P3 Pro will be one of the members. The P3 devices are allegedly "born to slay" and at least the P3 Pro will come with "BGMI Tournament-Certified Performance", stable frame rate, high frame rate support, optimized device temperature, stable...
Earlier today we brought you official images of the upcoming iQOO Neo 10R, shared by the brand itself. iQOO hasn't yet revealed when the phone is going to be launched, but a new leak tells us just that.
Apparently, the launch date is February 20 in India. The phone is very likely to be a rebranded iQOO Z9 Turbo Endurance Edition, which comes with a 6.78-inch 1260x2800 AMOLED touchscreen with 144 Hz refresh rate, a dual rear camera system (50 MP main with OIS, 8 MP ultrawide), a 16 MP selfie snapper, and a 6,400 mAh battery with support for 80W wired charging.
iQOO Z9 Turbo Endurance...
The Dyson Car+Boat is a handheld vacuum with suction and battery life that put other handhelds to shame. The reason for that is that it's not really a handheld at all; it's a V8 bundled with different attachments. At time of writing, it's the only handheld option in the Dyson lineup. I put it to the test to see how it compares to the rest of the best handheld vacuums on the market, and if it's worth the extra investment.
I'll start by making it clear that despite being called the Car+Boat, this is not a wet-dry vacuum – Dyson is just suggesting it would be well suited to that. I don't have a boat, so I tried it out on my Fiat Panda.
Overall, it fared well. The suction is powerful, picking up dust and mud with ease, and – if I unleashed Max mode – also sucking up the many little stones that had collected in my footwells. The dust cup is generously sized and you'll get three attachments bundled in. Of those, the most interesting is a small, motorized head that's perfect for tackling larger, relatively flat surfaces like seat cushions and car mats. The Crevice tool is also essential for getting into narrow gaps. Battery life is far longer than most handhelds, offering up to 50 minutes on a single charge.
The compromise you'll have to make for the extra suction and longer battery is that the Car+Boat is a little bulky and heavy compared to many of today's best car vacuums. I was also annoyed by the fact that the trigger must be continually compressed for use – this is tricky when you're trying to maneuver the vacuum into small, awkward spaces.
It's expensive, although that's partly justified by the excellent performance, and that you're getting the mechanics of a full-sized vacuum. You'll need to weigh up whether it's worth just paying a little more for a Dyson stick vacuum (which, after all, can easily be converted into handheld mode). Alternatively, for less intensive cleaning tasks, there are plenty of far cheaper handhelds on the market.
If you're looking for a more heavy-duty handheld, though, the Car+Boat is a strong choice. It's great for larger cleaning sessions, and I'd especially recommend it to pet owners who need that extra suction, and a dust cup that can handle plenty of hair. That's the short version; read on for my full Dyson Car+Boat review.
(Image credit: Future)
Dyson Car+Boat review: price & availability
List price: $279.99 / £249.99 / AU$449
Launched: February 2025
The Dyson Car+Boat was announced in late January 2025 and went on sale in the US, UK and Australia at the start of February. It's available direct from Dyson as well as via a selection of third-party retailers. At list price it costs $279.99 in the US, £249.99 in the UK, or AU$449 in Australia. That puts it in the premium price bracket for a handheld vacuum.
It's no surprise that this is an expensive option, but is it worth the extra outlay? It's certainly an excellent handheld. The specs are well above most handheld vacuums, and the design and build quality are high, too. If you're on a budget, there are certainly plenty of cheaper handheld vacuums to choose from. Rival vacuum brand Shark's top handheld model – the Shark UltraCyclone Pet Pro handheld vacuum – is a third of the price at $89.99 / £79.99 (about AU$150).
You'll need to factor in that the Car+Boat isn't really a handheld – it's a full stick vacuum, without its wand and floorhead. That means the mechanics are in line with what you'd get with a full-sized vacuum, and you'll also want to consider if you'd be better off just buying a stick vacuum, when it comes to value for money. The base model for this is the Dyson V8, and prices for that start at $349.99 / £329 / AU$799.
Value for money score: 3.5 out of 5
Dyson Car+Boat specs
Dyson Car+Boat review: design
Base model is a Dyson V8
Crevice tool, Combination tool and new handheld tool included
On the bulky / heavy side for a handheld vacuum
The base model for the Dyson Car+Boat is the Dyson V8 – the only difference is the attachments included. That model launched in 2016, and as a result, you're getting a slightly older configuration and motor here. There are cylones, the motor, dust cup, and removable battery, and the attachments can easily be swapped on and off. The motor spins at 110,000rpm, and there's a whole-vacuum filtration system that can capture 99.99% of particles as small as 0.3 microns.
Operation is via a trigger that needs to be continually depressed, and there are two suction modes (regular and Max), which you can toggle using a switch. The 0.54L dust cup is generous for a handheld, and empties by pulling the whole cyclone array upwards, at which point a flap at the base of the bin will drop open.
Pull the whole cyclone section upwards to empty the generous dust cup (Image credit: Future)
You get three attachments bundled in with the Car+Boat. Two are standard tools included with almost all other Dyson stick vacuums: a long, narrow Crevice tool for getting into tight spaces, and a Combination tool that looks like a wider nozzle with retractible brush surround. (More on these in my Dyson vacuum tools guide.)
The third looks like it's new to the Car+Boat, and it's a small motorized head for cleaning relatively flat surfaces like car seats, boat cushions and car mats. It includes a brushroll, and a cover that will move to sit flush with the surface as you clean, to maintain suction.
The new handheld-specific attachment (left) and Combination tool (right) (Image credit: Future)
It probably goes without saying, but there's no long wand or full-sized floorheads, as you'd get with the regular V8.
Dyson stick vacuum comparison
Because the Car+Boat is essentially a V8, and because all of Dyson's stick vacuums can be used as handheld models, it makes sense to briefly cover how the Car+Boat compares.
The V8 was released in 2016, and at time the launch of the Car+Boat, there are three newer vacuums in the lineup – the Dyson V11, the V15 Detect and Gen5detect – all of which have more powerful motors and longer battery life. There are further design differences: all have a more suction-efficient in-line configuration of bin, wand and motor, all have useful LCD screens to provide information, and all have a slightly simpler and more efficient bin-empty mechanism.
Although the V8 isn't the best Dyson vacuum by specs, it is perhaps the best option for handheld use. It's lighter than all the newer models (considerably so, in some cases), and more compact.
Design score: 4 out of 5
Dyson Car+Boat review: performance
Excellent suction and tools work very well
Slightly bulky in small spaces
Awkward to keep the trigger compressed in use
I used the Dyson Car+Boat to clean my embarrassingly dirty Fiat Panda, and overall I was impressed. The suction is excellent, picking up mud and dust easily, and even pulling up various small stones that had collected on the carpets. I found the Max mode useful for tackling tougher, more ingrained dirt.
The attachments are useful and, for the most part, very well designed. The Crevice tool is long enough to get right into small gaps like down the side of the seats, and the new motorized tool great for larger, flatter areas. The rotating cover works well to maintain a 'seal' around the roller and maximize suction efficiency. I found myself using the Combination tool the least, but it's still useful to have as an option.
The new motorized tool is great for flatter surfaces (Image credit: Future)
All of these tools are well designed, although not quite perfect. The brushroll can be prone to getting tangled with hair, which isn't a massive issue but is something Dyson has addressed elsewhere – its Hair Screw tool has a conical brushroll that directs hair straight into the dust cup. I think you could use a Hair Screw tool as an effective alternative to this new attachment. I also found the button that locks the brush surround on the Crevice tool into place could be a little fiddly.
The Car+Boat is on the chunky side for a handheld vacuum, and could be awkward for getting into tight spaces. I couldn't use it to dust my dash, for instance, because the motor wouldn't fit far enough under the windscreen, and it was a little tricky to maneuver under the seats, too.
A long Crevice tool gets right into tight corners (Image credit: Future)
My main complaint is that the trigger must be continually pressed in when using the vacuum – there's no clip or switch for continuous running. That's annoying even on a floor vacuum, but doubly so here, where you're trying to shift it at awkward angles spaces. (Dyson has upgraded this to a button on the newest Gen5detect, but none of the others.)
The design is excellent for larger, flatter spaces, however. I also think it'd be a great choice for pet owners, because the suction is powerful enough to handle pet hair, and the dust cup large enough to hold relatively large volumes of it (especially compared to other handhelds). The battery life is also outstanding, but I'll get to that in a second.
Performance score: 4 out of 5
Dyson Car+Boat review: battery life
Up to a quoted 50 minutes on one charge; less in Max mode
Far longer runtimes than the majority of handheld vacuums
Battery removable and swappable
Battery life is one of the areas where the Car+Boat really stands out from competitors. Dyson quotes a maximum of 50 minutes cleaning on a single charge. That's way above average – most cordless handheld vacuums offer a maximum of 30 minutes of cleaning, but sometimes it's more like 15 minutes. 50 is in line with some of today's best cordless vacuums. Note that Max mode will bleed the battery much faster, but that's to be expected – this mode is really only for tough spot cleans.
On test, I really appreciated this longer runtime. Cleaning cars and furniture is fiddly – it takes time to do it properly, and there's nothing worse than running out of battery halfway through the job, once you've wedged yourself into a footwell. I imagine it's the same with boats.
The battery is removable and swappable, so theoretically if you wanted to extend runtimes further, then you could purchase a spare.
Battery life score: 5 out of 5
Should you buy the Dyson Car+Boat?
Buy it if...
You want to clean large areas The long battery life and relatively large dust cup (for a handheld) make this model perfect for bigger cleaning jobs.
You're dealing with pet hair You might not need such powerful suction if you're just clearing dust from your car floors, but if you have molting pets that travel with you, it might be worth the extra investment in a Car+Boat.
Don't buy it if...
You already have a V8 The Car+Boat is just a V8 without the floorhead and wand – so if you have that model (or even a different Dyson one) you could just use that in handheld mode.
You have a small car and are on a budget If you don't need the long battery, there are lots of alternatives at a far lower price.
How I tested the Dyson Car+Boat
I used the Dyson Car+Boat to clean my Fiat Panda, including seats, carpets, footwells and as many nooks and crannies as I could get into. I also tested it on furniture in my home. I used all the various attachments, and compared it to other vacuums I've tested out in terms of both specs and usability.
