Frame Material and Build Quality: Made with a powder-coated aluminum base, with scratch-proof nylon casters. Dimensions: Height: 87cm, Width: 51cm, Depth: 56cm Weight: 8.5kg Upholstery Options and Materials: Made from a wide range of premium materials, leather, vegan leather, and mesh. Maximum Payload: 110kg (approximately 17 stone)
Straight away, the chair’s packaging gives an idea of its quality - it is well packed, with each piece individually protected, and the parts are heavy and fit well together.
Admittedly though, this chair is difficult to assemble. Undoubtedly the chair takes two people to put together, and it isn’t an easy task. The instructions weren’t as clear as they could’ve been, and all-in-all, this took about 30 minutes for us to build. We actually managed to assemble it back-to-front at first, but we'd had a long day, so that's probably user error.
The chair is assembled in two halves, so make sure you have a fair bit of room before you start. It's a little fiddly, and there are a fair few parts that you need to keep track of - but it's worth the effort.
The quality of the seat is undeniable, the backrest is thick but breathable, and the material is cool and comfy. As you first sit down, there’s no wobbles or flimsiness, and you can definitely feel the care that has gone into the design.
At $499, the Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro covers the middle ground between some of the most expensive chairs around, and the most premium office chairs.
It is a bit of a step up from the Ergonomic chair ($359), but comes with six more points of adjustment, and a much sturdier build - having taken on five years of customer feedback.
Value: 4 / 5
Design & Build quality
The Branch Ergonomic Chair Pro looks simple and elegant, you wouldn’t guess it was such a hassle to assemble.
The premium quality of the parts gives the chair a durable feel and a clean appearance, with the mesh design means the chair has great airflow, and the materials give it a really cool feel - even in direct sunlight.
I'm a one of those people who can never sit still, but with all the adjustments that this chair allows, I can get comfortable however I'm sitting, even if I do then switch my position a few minutes later!
I've also got a cat who loves to sit on my lap, and I'm happy to report that the base of the chair is more than wide enough for me to comfortably cross my legs (and for anyone wondering - the material does not collect cat hair at all!).
Particularly great for me (although probably not great for my posture), is the back rest, which you can adjust to pretty much any angle - and the ergonomic support means my back hasn't hurt even after 9 hours of use - and sadly, yes, I have tested this.
The wheels are bigger than expected, but make the chair feel very stable and allow me to swivel off to the printer when I need to.
The chair also has the option for vegan leather, so is suitable for a wide range of customers.
There’s very little wobble at all in the build, except a slight shake in the arms - but the height-adjustable armrests have a nice smooth surface and padding, and are wide and secure enough to keep things like notepads, pens, or even mugs on if you're feeling risky and have your hands full.
A small piece of the back support did snap off quite soon after unboxing the chair, which looked to have been damaged in transit (see below) but overall the quality is fantastic.
(Image credit: Future)
In use
The chair sits quite low, I’m 5”7 on a tall day, and the highest the chair goes isn’t as high as I would expect. I can plant my feet firmly on the floor when its at its highest, which isn’t usual in my experience.
There are a lot of options to adjust the chair, with the height, the headrest, arms rests, the recline, and also the seat position. This can make the process of adjusting slightly fiddly, since there are so many different levers. However, it’s great to have such a customizable experience.
The arms rests are a little too easy to adjust for my liking - and knocking them a little means they sometimes rotate a bit by accident. That being said, the arm rests are wide and comfortable, and can even be removed if needed.
The recline on the chair is easy to navigate, but can be a little sticky. I've definitely had a few hours stuck in an ever so slightly too relaxed position so far, but eventually managed to get it sorted.
(Image credit: Future)
Final verdict
On the whole, I’ve had a great experience with this chair. I've been using it for a few months now and can say it has made my work from home days a lot more comfortable.
I've personally chosen to remove the top head rest, as it sat a little awkwardly against my neck, so if you're on the shorter side, bare that in mind. That being said, it was easy to remove, it is adjustable, and I don't find myself feeling like anything is missing.
As long as you can find a friend (or maybe two) willing to help with the set-up, it’s worth it. The chair is sturdy and fantastically comfortable, and stays cool even if you’ve been using it all day. I've moved house since I first got this chair, and must admit this was one of the most difficult things to transport thanks to its size and weight, but I did make sure to bring it with me since I enjoy it so much.
It's on the expensive side and it is a little bulky, but if you're looking to invest in a good quality chair that will last, then I recommend considering this chair as an option.
If you’re looking for a reliable chair for everyday use, the Ergonomic Chair Pro is certainly worth considering.
The BenQ GP520 is a promising projector for those on a tight budget. At $1,499, it provides a much cheaper alternative to the Hisense C2 Ultra and JGMO N1S Pro 4K. While there are plenty of other examples of the best projectors that can compete near its price, the BenQ GP520 has a solid edge where brightness is concerned. An LED light source lets it hit a high of 2,600 ANSI Lumens, and that’s plenty to provide a pleasing image even if you don’t completely black out your viewing space.
The GP520 beams a sharp and modestly colorful 4K picture and supports HDR10+ high dynamic range. In the right viewing conditions, it can look downright great for a projector at this price, and even has solid motion handling.
BenQ rounds out the GP520 with a potent pair of speakers that will do the job when you don’t have time to sort out a better sound system, and it has integrated Google TV for streaming. The projector is small and easy to move about, making it viable as a go-anywhere all-in-one theater system. While there are plenty of ways the GP520 could be better, it’s a great option for those on a budget.
BenQ GP520 review: Price & release date
There are no optical adjustments on the GP520, which uses automatic keystone and autofocus, and even framing and obstacle avoidance, to configure its picture for new setups (Image credit: Future)
Release date: October 2024
Price:$1,499 / £1299 / AU$ 2,199
The BenQ GP520 is a recent entry to the market and comes in at a modest price. At $1,499, it’s a small bargain next to the BenQ W2720i, and is cheaper than the BenQ X300G and BenQ X3100i in the company’s gaming projector lineup. It doesn’t have the gaming chops of those latter projectors, but it delivers a big, bright 4K picture for the money.
BenQ GP520 review: Design & features
The GP520's included Google TV remote control (Image credit: Future)
Compact, all-in-one design
Multiple tripod holes for mounting
Google TV
Like many recent mainstream home projectors, the BenQ GP520 has a simple, boxy design. With a compact, gray case and a blue accent around the lens, it looks a lot less like office equipment than other BenQ projectors. Inside, it packs an LED DLP projection system, dual 12-watt speakers, and the Google TV streaming platform. It’s a compact projector that’s easy to move and set up in new positions.
While some competitors have started including gimbal stands for angling their projectors, the GP520 has simple rubber feet that can extend to make small angle and tilt corrections. That said, the GP520 is equipped with tripod holes on the top, bottom, and rear for adaptable setups. You’ll want a rather sturdy tripod to secure this projector, though.
The GP520 will automatically configure its picture for new setups, including keystone and autofocus adjustments, and even framing and obstacle avoidance. Aside from focus, these are all digital adjustments that reduce the resolution of the 4K picture.
The BenQ GP520 runs the Google TV smart TV system, and while this provides plenty of functionality for finding and streaming content, the hardware running it isn’t so capable. After making a selection or trying to access a menu, the OS will hang up for one or several seconds. For instance, trying to access the picture settings menu from the main menu, the delay was long enough for me to be convinced the system had glitched (it didn’t).
Around back, the GP520 offers up a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports (one with eARC), a 3.5mm audio output, two USB-A ports (one for service only), and a USB-C port. That last one is special, as it not only supports 20 watts of charging power for a connected device but also serves as a DisplayPort input.
The back of the projector also features a small vent for exhausting heat, and while plenty of heat comes out of the back, the fans are not very loud. On top, it has buttons for volume, Bluetooth pairing, and power. The sides of the projector are covered in large grills that allow air to flow in and sound to come out of the speakers. While the GP520 is compact, BenQ uses a large and heavy external power brick that could get in the way of a convenient and tidy setup.
The remote included with the GP520 is basic and feels a bit cheap, but it does the job. It has the typical Google TV layout with a circular navigation dial, a microphone button for voice controls, and quick buttons for home and back. Interestingly, it includes a zoom control to quickly shrink the image down and blow it back up, and also has a dedicated button to automatically adjust keystone and focus. Thankfully, the remote has a shortcut button to change inputs, making it much quicker to jump from the somewhat slow Google TV operating system to any other input without getting bogged down in unresponsive menus.
Design & features score: 3.5/5
BenQ GP520 review: Picture & sound quality
Black levels can look elevated on the GP520, but it manages to easily draw out detail from dark shadows in movies like Dune(Image credit: Future)
Crisp, bright 4K picture
Color is a bit lacking
No gaming features
The BenQ GP520 puts on a good show, beaming a picture with 2,600 lumens of brightness. In a well-lit room, you’ll want to stick with content like cartoons and TV, but if you can draw the curtains and dim your space, the GP520 is good for movies. Enemy of the State had great visuals and solid contrast on my 100-inch screen, even with light slipping through my blinds during the day. Black levels weren’t incredibly deep, but it still looked good.
Watched in these same conditions, a 4K Blu-ray of Dune looked excellent in the GP520’s HDR10 picture mode. The picture had sharp detail, and there was also detail in dark shadows, such as fabrics and the Harkonnen armor. Occasionally, the projector exhibited judder during panning and tilting shots, but it was very subtle. There’s also an Auto HDR picture mode, but this shifts to a cooler color temperature and introduces the soap opera effect along with other odd motion artifacts.
Elevated black levels seen on the GP520 can be a little distracting when it displays letterboxed movies or larger areas of black, but contrast is nonetheless quite good. The GP520 performed well in Paul’s duel with Jamis toward the end of Dune. I’ve seen other projectors struggle greatly with this fairly dark scene, but the GP520 presented it clearly and brought out plenty of detail, including in Jamis’ face.
The GP520's Google TV smart interface (Image credit: Future)
The GP520 falls a bit short on color, though, with its LED light source only covering 81% of the DCI-P3 color space. That leaves plenty of room for improvement, but such improvement will generally come from more expensive triple laser projectors, like the JMGO N1S Pro or Hisense C2 Ultra. This won’t hold the GP520 back with some movies, such as the aforementioned Enemy of the State, but it loses a little punch with content that benefits from especially vibrant color, like Cyberpunk Edgerunners.
The speakers on the GP520 pack a punch for a system of this size. The balance is a little crisp, putting a lot into the mids and rolling off the bass. Sub-bass is absent, so you’ll miss some meat from movies, TV, and games.
While the projector can run games with a reasonably low latency, it can’t switch to 1080p display and bump up the frame rate like some of its competitors. Regardless of resolution, the refresh rate is capped at 60Hz.
Picture and sound quality score: 3.5/5
BenQ GP520 review: Value
Connections include two HDMI 2.1 ports (one with eARC) and a USB-C port with DisplayPort support (Image credit: Future)
Brighter than similar options
Affordable price for a 4K projector
All-in-one design enhances value
The BenQ GP520 may not be the best projector around, but it’s offering an excellent value. For one thing, it’s a complete package with integrated speakers and a streaming software that lets you power it up and start watching without any extra gear. It’s also offering solid performance for the money, with a picture that’s plenty bright, crisp, and with HDR10+ support. It could use a bit more color richness, a deeper black floor, and the option to increase refresh rate at lower resolutions, but for straightforward movie and TV watching, it’s quite good.
At $1,499, the BenQ GP520 sits in a proper place, steering clear of some of its more colorful triple-laser competition but offering better brightness compared to similarly priced projectors.
Value score: 4.5/5
Should I buy the BenQ GP520?
(Image credit: Future)
Buy it if...
You want a bright picture The BenQ GP520 scores high marks for its brightness, which helps it perform better in rooms with some ambient light. View Deal
You want a solid all-in-one at a great value The BenQ GP520 checks all the boxes. It’s a bright 4K beamer with robust stereo sound and integrated Google TV. You can find this combination in other systems, but BenQ drives a hard bargain at $1,499.View Deal
You want setup flexibility The BenQ GP520 may not have any optical adjustments, but it does have some decent flexibility thanks to its support for multiple tripod mounting locations and its ability to flip upside down, stay upright, or even tilt vertically. View Deal
Don't buy it if...
You want a gaming projector BenQ may be a big name in gaming, but the GP520 isn’t particularly well-suited for it. It caps out at 60Hz while some of its competitors can jump up to 120Hz or even 240Hz and deliver lower lag in the process.View Deal
You want the best picture for your money Rivals from JGMO and Hisense may not be able to go as bright as the GP520 at the same price, but their triple-laser light sources make for absolutely stunning visuals. As long as you can control the ambient light in your viewing area, they’ll prove more impressive. View Deal
You like motion smoothing Some devices do motion smoothing well, but the GP520 isn’t particularly adept at it. It can make panning shots and moving objects look smoother, but it introduces obvious visual artifacts into other sorts of motion. View Deal
Also consider
JMGO N1S Pro This triple-laser projector won’t beam quite as bright, but that may not be obvious when you’re appreciating its absolutely stunning color.
BenQ W2720i At a considerable markup, the BenQ W2720i steps up the visuals with better color and more advanced optics. This also allows for better positioning control for the image without relying too much on digital adjustments. It’s a little dimmer and a lot bigger, though, so it won’t work for everyone.View Deal
Xgimi Horizon Ultra This model combines LED and laser projection for a bright and colorful picture, plus it has a more elegant design to fit in with your decor. But it also won’t be as bright for the money.
Tested at home in multiple, real-world viewing conditions
Presented the display with a variety of media and formats
I have tested numerous projectors and displays over the last half-decade
I tested the BenQ GP520 at home, in real-world conditions. This saw it faced with ambient light coming in from numerous windows, in-room lighting, as well as ambient noise that both the projector and speaker systems had to overcome. The projector was tested both against a bare, white wall and an Akia Screens CineWhite screen. It was presented with streamed content, HDR and non-HDR, and PC gameplay.
My testing evaluates the projector’s performance with respect to its price and competition from other models I and colleagues at TechRadar have tested.
I have been testing projectors since 2021 and displays for even longer.
For this review, I tested the US version. There may be minor differences between different countries' models.
The Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo is a lightweight, portable fan that is outfitted with a rechargeable battery, meaning you can unplug it and take it out and about with you on warm-weather excursions. But the most exciting thing about it is that it comes with a misting function for extra cooling clout.
When you live in a state like Texas, you understand the need for a fan. They're not just indoor necessities. During the summer, my family always has a fan on the porch to cool us down – but we've never had a misting fan. As a result, I was ecstatic to test the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Misting Portable Fan.
Testing this compact fan was a joy, especially in April when the days grew warmer here in North Texas. The tiltable design made it easier to focus the airflow and I was thoroughly impressed by how far away I could feel the five different fan speeds and the BreezeBoost mode. While the battery life won't last you all day (far from it) and the fan can't oscillate, it's still an excellent cooling companion. I'm also a fan of the design. There's a range of cute colors (in the US only – sorry UK shoppers), and overall it's more attractive than others on the market.
I plan on using the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Misting Portable Fan all summer. Keep reading to see why it's the best fan I've tested this season. Or, if you want more power and are happy to sacrifice some portability to get it, check out this fan's larger sibling – read about that model in TechRadar's Shark FlexBreeze fan review.
The Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Misting Portable Fan launched in March 2025 and is available in the US, Canada, and the UK. It comes with a list price of $129.99 / £129.99 and can be purchased direct from Shark or via a range of third party retailers like Amazon, Walmart and Target. In the US, the fan is available in six colors (all the same price), but in the UK it's charcoal or nothing.
At that price, it's a mid-range fan. Considering it's rechargeable, portable, and has misting capabilities, I'm inclined to say that the price of the fan is decent, though not exactly amazing value. The full-sized FlexBreeze is a fair bit pricier at $199.99 / £199.99 / AU$249.99.
If you just want a basic desk fan, you'll be able to find one for much cheaper. Similarly, corded non-portable fans in that price bracket deliver far more features, including things like oscillation, a timer function and app control. However, you're paying for the convenience of it being portable here, and if that's your priority then it's a decent buy.
Also bear in mind that Shark runs regular sales, so you could well snag it for less than list price.
Value for money score: 4 out of 5
Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo specs
Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo review: design
Small, lightweight fan with handle to easily transport
Vertical tilt design up to 45 degrees
Integrated refillable mister
The Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Misting Portable Fan is a small tabletop fan that's less than 12 inches tall and weighs only 5lbs. It has a rechargeable battery, allowing you to unplug the fan and move it from one place to the next with the handle on the top.
Lookwise, it's an attractive modern fan that comes in six different colors. I tested the 'dove' option, a cream color that matches the lighter tones in my house. Pink, purple, and soft mint green colors could add some fun to your space. (Note, in the UK it's charcoal only.)
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
There is no assembly necessary with the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Misting Portable Fan. It comes put together, so you only need to charge it fully before the first use. The charging cord plugs into the back of the fan and then into the wall.
The fan can tilt up or down within 45 degrees, allowing you to narrow the focus of the airflow however you see fit. There are no oscillating features. In that way, it's very different from something like the Shark TurboBlade, which launched around the same time, and is designed to shoot out jets of air in any different direction.
Buttons that control the different settings can be found along the top of the fan. The power button in the center. To the left of that is a fan button that lets you cycle between fan speeds of 1-5, and a BreezeBoost mode. Green indicator lights correlating to the fan speed and boost mode sit below the buttons.
(Image credit: Future)
There is also a battery symbol next to the lights, and the color of the battery symbol indicates the amount of battery left. If it's green, the fan's battery is 70-100% charged. An amber light indicates that the battery is 30-69% charged, while a steady red light notes a 6-29% charge. When the battery light blinks red, the fan is about to die because the battery is 5% or lower.
To the right of the power button is a button with three droplets. This is the misting setting. There is a fill port at the top of the fan, right below the handle. The water mists from a port on the face of the fan, which must be opened when the mister is in use.
Sound wise, the fan emits a 46 dB rating on the lowest setting, and a 63 dB rating on the highest speed of 5. When placed on BreezeBoost, a turbo-like mode, the fan emitted a 67 dB sound rating. If none of those numbers mean anything to you, just know that the fan isn't loud or bothersome. I could barely hear it when sleeping at night and I had to go in the room where it was located to make sure it was still on (even if I was in the next room over).
Design score: 4 out of 5
Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo review: performance
Can feel the airflow of the fan 30 feet away when on BreezeBoost
Two misting modes, lasting a max of 55 mins before needing a refill
Vertical tilt is useful, but I'd love an oscillation option
There is a lot more to the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Misting Portable Fan than meets the eye. Though this tabletop fan is small, it packs a big punch in terms of airflow and power.
The first thing I wanted to see was how far away I could feel the airflow. When placed on BreezeBoost – the most powerful mode – I could feel the airflow 30 feet away. That's the full length of my house, so I didn't really have a way of testing if I could feel the airflow further away. When set on the lowest fan speed, I felt the airflow 17 feet away.
Depending on the layout of your house, you could likely feel the airflow between a couple of rooms. The only thing that would make this fan better would be the ability for it to oscillate horizontally or even vertically. At the moment, you can only tilt the fan up or down 45 degrees by hand to direct the airflow. This is not the biggest drawback, but something to note.
(Image credit: Future)
I tested the mister outside. I wasn't sure how much water it would create, though after testing it, I'd say you could use the mister inside for a bit and you shouldn't have a problem with damp floors.
There are two mister modes – consistent and interval. As you'd expect, the consistent mode pushes out a constant stream of mist, while the interval mode stops and starts. When the water drop flashes, that's when you know the interval mode is on.
(Image credit: Future)
The mister isn't overwhelming. In fact, you need to be about 2-4 feet from it to really feel the spray. I found that the wind typically blew it away (usually upwards) at about the four foot mark. This isn't a mister that will soak you.
The water emptied in 20 minutes when I used the consistent setting. According to Shark, the mister has a maximum misting time of up to 30 minutes per tank on any speed, but it looks like that figure is a little optimistic. On interval, the mister is meant to last up to 60 minutes on any fan speed; it lasted about 55 minutes for me.
Performance score: 4 out of 5
Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo review: battery life
Lasted 1hr 30 on max fan speed, and 4hrs 13 on middle mode
Shark states up to 12 hours of use on lowest speed
Takes 2 hrs 30 mins to charge from flat
While I could have kept the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Misting Portable Fan plugged in and had an infinite source of power, because it's a portable fan, I wanted to test the battery life. The fan takes 2 hours 30 mins to charge. It lasted 4 hours and 13 minutes on the 3 fan speed level, which is better than what Shark estimates (a four-hour battery life on that level) The fan also exceeded the estimated battery life of 1.5 hours on the fan speed of 5.
I set the fan on BreezeBoost, and the battery lasted 1 hour and 50 minutes. I'm inclined to believe that the battery might last longer than Shark's reported maximum cordless run time of 12 hours on fan speed 1.
In terms of battery run time, this Shark fan is about what I expected. If you took this fan to a tailgate, four hours of battery life is fairly good, as long as it's a comfortable enough temperature to keep the fan speed at 3. If you live in super-hot areas, you might want the fan to last more than 1 hour and 50 minutes when using the BreezeBoost option.
Hopefully, there's an outlet nearby to recharge the fan. I wouldn't say this portable fan is a great choice for a day at the lake, especially since the 1 or 2 speed level likely won't offer enough airflow to keep you super cool, but it's better than nothing if the wind isn't blowing. Plus, at those two speed levels, you'll get a lot more hours of use.
Performance score: 4 out of 5
Performance score: 4 out of 5
Should you buy the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo?
Buy it if...
You want a fan you can take out and about
This fan can be used cordless, and comes with a handle for on-the-go cooling. It also looks good, and if you're in the US you can choose from a range of summery pastel color options.
You want a misting fan
Misters are great for summer days, especially when you want to sit on your porch without dying of a heat stroke. This portable fan lets you enjoy mist anywhere in your yard or house without needing an outlet nearby.
You want a powerful fan that can reach long distances.
No matter the fan speed, this fan can direct airflow long distances. On the lowest fan setting, I could feel the airflow 17 feet away – and on BreezeBoost mode, 30 feet away.
Don't buy it if...
You aren't bothered about portability
If you don't need it to be lightweight, you'd be better off with this fan's big sibling: the original FlexBreeze. It can still be used cordlessly, and unlike the HydroGo, it does oscillate.
You want to control your fan remotely
If you want to change the fan speed or turn on the mister, you're going to have to walk over to the fan and press a button. It would have been nice to at least have had a remote control, and even better if the fan settings could be adjusted within an app.
You need a portable fan with a super long battery life
Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo's battery life is decent but it's not going to last you all day at the lake, unless you're willing to use the lowest fan speeds. In fact, you only get a little over four hours on the 3-speed level and less than two hours on BreezeBoost mode.
How I tested the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo
Testing the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo Misting Portable Fan was easier than testing most fans due to its portable nature. I used it around my house – in my bedroom, living room, and kitchen, as well as in outdoor spaces like my backyard and on my front porch. I even packed it in my car and tested it two hours away at my parent's house. Testing occurred in April when temperatures reached the mid-80s in Texas, so it was nice to experience the misting feature on warm days.
Glide is a no-code platform that allows users to create web apps without writing any code. It helps non-programmers build functional and responsive apps by leveraging data from Google Sheets, Airtable, and several other data sources.
In this review, we will examine Glide’s core features, user interface, ease of use, integration and extensibility, deployment and maintenance, pricing, documentation, and its competitive landscape.
Glide: Features
Glide allows you to build apps directly from your existing data. The platforms can connect to your data from various sources, including spreadsheets like Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, Airtable, data warehouses like BigQuery, relational databases like MySQL, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server, and cloud databases like Google Cloud SQL.
If you’re starting from scratch, you can also use the platform’s own Glide Tables, or Glide Big Tables if you need an enterprise-scale database.
Best of all, you can use the platform to visually create relationships, and look up values across all your tables. And whenever your data changes in Glide, it instantly syncs directly back to your original data source.
(Image credit: Glide)
To keep your data safe, Glide lets you control who can manage, view, and edit your apps with granular permissions. You can also restrict who can access or download specific rows of data based on an email address.
Another advantage with Glide is that you don’t have to rely on external automation tools. You can instead use Glide Workflows to automate tasks, which comes in handy when you need to manage processes such as sending emails, and data updates.
You can start these workflows from app interactions, schedules, emails, and more. There’s also a Webhook workflow that kicks in when it receives data from external services, such as Stripe, or TypeForm.
The platform also keeps a track of all the workflow runs to help you review their execution, and rectify any errors. That said, you can still use external workflow builders like Zapier and Make, with Glide.
In addition to starting with existing data, you can also create an app from an AI prompt, or from its existing collection of templates. Glide has templates for common business apps including CRMs, customer portals, inventory management systems, sales dashboard, and more.
Glide also lets you roll AI capabilities like natural language processing, and computer vision into your apps. The platform, very helpfully, also has a set of AI templates that you can customize as per your requirements. The platform is also beta testing a new feature that will help you build custom components that don’t exist in Glide by prompting AI.
Glide: Interface and Ease of Use
When you first sign into Glide, it’ll ask you to create an app using an AI prompt. The platform will then build the app, and suggest ways to improve your app.
As we mentioned earlier, in addition to using the AI prompt, you can also create an app from existing data. In this case, you’ll have to point Glide to your data wherever it resides. It’ll then look through the data, and automatically create an app for you.
In either case, you’ll end up in the Layout editor that’ll help you refine, and fine tune your apps.
(Image credit: Glide)
Here, use the left sidebar to add, and manage screens to your apps, and also add components to the screens. The platform has several different kinds of screens, and each one relates to your data in a different way. There’s a Data tab on the bottom of the sidebar that you can use to quickly view the data for the currently selected screen.
In the middle of the screen you can preview, and interact with your app. You can switch between the mobile, and desktop views, and also view the screen as it would appear to different users.
On the right side of the interface, you can configure each screen and its components, tweak their appearance, and bind them to your data.
From the top of the interface, you can switch out from the Layout editor to tweak other aspects of your app. The Data tab takes you to the Data editor where you can view and edit the data. On the left, it’ll list all the imported and synced tables. From here you can modify your data, add new tables, sync external data sources, and more.
The Workflows tab brings up the Workflow editor, where you can create different types of custom Workflows. You can either create a workflow from scratch, or customize one of the six existing ones. For instance, there’s one that will intercept emails, and use AI to extract data and add them to your tables. Another will automatically respond to an email with AI.
Then there’s the Settings tab from where you can adjust your apps’ name, appearance, and other settings. When you’re done, use the Publish button in the top right corner to make your app public. All apps created with Glide are responsive, which means they look good on both desktops, and smartphones.
Glide: Integration and Extensibility
Glide not only allows you to connect to various data sources, but you can connect multiple data sources to a single Glide app. For instance, you could combine data from a PostgreSQL database with business data stored in Google Sheets.
You can also use Glide to connect your apps to all over 50 useful third-party business tools. For instance, you can get your app to interact with Asana to create, and delete tasks, and projects, or with DocuSign to sign a document, generate content with Google Gemini, and OpenAI, and a lot more.
(Image credit: Glide)
Integrations in Glide can provide different features that can be used in various ways. Depending on the integration, you may need to grant permissions or enter secrets such as an API key. The project has detailed documentation on how to add and configure each of the supported integrations.
Glide: Deployment and Maintenance
Once you’ve created an app, use the Publish button to make it live. As it is with most no-code platforms, by default, all apps are published to a Glide subdomain.
The platform will also generate a QR code that you can scan to access the app from your smartphone. All Glide apps are Progressive Web Apps (PWAs), which means your device will give you the option to install, and use it like a native app.
Once an app is published, you can move it to a custom domain, or unpublish it. By default, all apps will be available to a restricted set of users. However, you can easily make the app accessible to anyone.
(Image credit: Glide)
Also, since Glide apps are basically web-based, any changes you make to the app, or to the data in the connected data source, will automatically be reflected in the app without any manual intervention. This makes maintenance incredibly easy, and ensures that all users have access to the latest version of the app.
Glide: Pricing and Documentation
Glide has a tiered pricing model, starting with a feature-restricted Free tier. For instance, Free users can browse through the list of Free templates, but will need to upgrade to a paid plan to use them.
Paid plans start with the $60/month ($49/month billed annually) Maker plan. You can use this plan to connect your app with Google Sheets, import data from Excel, or CSV files, or use Glide’s own data sources.
The $249/month ($199/month billed annually) Business plan lets you use Airtable, and Excel as additional data sources over the Maker plan. To unlock all of the supported data sources, you’ll have to switch to the Enterprise plan, which is priced according to usage.
Also, remember that each plan also restricts the number of rows you can have in your app, and the list of available features. Furthermore, with the Maker plan you can only make your app available to users who sign in using a public email service, such as Gmail, or an education domain (.edu).
To complicate matters further, each plan has a limited number of updates. These are like credits that you consume to change, and sync data from external sources like Google Sheets, and Airtable. However, these don’t apply if you use Glide’s own data sources.
In terms of documentation, Glide has enough text and video resources to help you get started with the platform. It’ll teach you how to use the platform’s essential functions such as automations, and workflows. You can take your questions with the platform to Glide’s forum boards, though users on the paid tiers get priority support as well.
Glide: The Competition
There are lots of other no-code platforms, but Glide mainly competes with Softr, which also allows you to build apps from your existing business data.
While it originally started as an interface on top of Airtable, Softr too can now work with popular third-party databases, ranging from simple options like Google Sheets, to relational databases like PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, and more. Glide however offers its own in-house data sources.
When compared to Softr, Glide offers a more robust platform with built-in workflow capabilities, and very handy AI-powered features. But that also gives it a stepper learning curve as compared to Softr.
Then there’s Bubble. Unlike Glide, which helps create data-driven apps for internal use, Bubble is more versatile, and can help create all kinds of SaaS platforms. Also, while Glide can create PWAs, if you want to create native mobile apps, there’s Adalo, which like Bubble can be used to spin up all kinds of business apps.
Glide: Final Verdict
Glide is a good option if you’re looking to quickly build data-driven apps without much effort. The platform combines ease of use with powerful features, which help make it appealing to both beginners and experienced users.
However, Glide has a complex pricing plan, and might turn out to be a little more expensive than its peers, depending on your exact use case.
That said, it has a lot going for it in terms of its seamless integration with popular data sources, intuitive interface, visual editors, and built-in automations, and customization options. These features make Glide a must try option for anyone looking to convert their existing business data into visually appealing PWAs.
Thunkable is a popular cloud-based no-code platform that helps users build mobile apps even without having any prior coding experience. It has gained considerable attention due to its intuitive interface, powerful features, and support for both Android and iOS app development.
In this review, we’ll analyze various aspects of Thunkable, including its features, interface and ease of use, integration and extensibility, deployment and maintenance, pricing, documentation, and competition.
Thunkable: Features
Thunkable offers a wide range of features that cater to the needs of different users, from beginners to more advanced builders.
One of Thunkable's biggest strengths is its ability to build apps for both Android phones and iOS devices, and tablets, at the same time. Users can create apps that work across both platforms without needing to write platform-specific code.
Thunkable's core strength lies in its intuitive drag-and-drop interface. The platform also offers a large collection of pre-built components to cover a wide range of functionalities. Users can easily add essential user interface components like buttons, sliders, as well as media components, sensors, and more, to their apps, with a simple drag-and-drop.
(Image credit: Thunkable)
This visual approach helps make the platform highly intuitive, particularly for those with little or no coding experience. While it doesn’t offer templates as many of its peers, there are also sample apps that you can remix and customize to meet your requirements.
Another wonderful feature is Thunkable’s Scratch-inspired block-based programming system, that you can use to define your app’s logic. You create logic by dragging and connecting blocks to create event handlers, control flow, and perform actions. This makes programming easier and more accessible.
Another interesting feature is Thunkable’s ability to let you infuse Artificial Intelligence (AI) into your apps for things like image and voice recognition. The platform can also integrate with OpenAI for adding generative AI functionality to your apps.
Thunkable: Interface and Ease of Use
Thunkable's interface is clean and intuitive, which makes it fairly user-friendly and accessible to beginners. As we’ve said before, the platform's drag-and-drop system makes it easy to design and build apps without any coding knowledge.
Thunkable’s interface is broadly divided into two tabs, namely Design, and Blocks.
You use the Design tab to create the UI of your app by dragging elements like buttons, labels, switches, and such to the canvas. You can also customize each element's properties, such as color, size, and layout, to match your app's branding and requirements.
Each app can have multiple screens, and each screen has its own Design tab. This allows you to create different views or pages within your app, each with its own layout and components.
The Blocks tab is where you add the logic and functionality to the app. Again, you just drag and drop to connect code blocks to define the app's behavior, which can be everything from reacting to a button press, and handling user input, to accessing device’s sensors, and interacting with external services.
(Image credit: Thunkable)
Similarly, the other sections, particularly, Data, Assets, and Cloud Variables, help you easily manage various aspects of your app's data and resources. There’s also the Settings section where you define different details of your app, such as its name, default layout, some important Android and iOS publishing settings, and more.
Thunkable also provides a couple of mechanisms to test and preview your apps. There’s the Web Preview that you can use to test the app from within the browser itself. Then there’s the Live App that can help test your apps in your mobile phone. Any changes you make to the app are reflected instantly in the device.
Thunkable: Integration and Extensibility
Thunkable offers a wide range of integrations with popular services and tools, such as Google Maps, Stripe, Firebase, Airtable, Google Sheets, Xano, RevenueCat (for in-app purchases, and subscriptions), and more.
The platform also allows you to connect your app to any Application Programming Interface (API). You can also use it to connect to a database, or integrate with external data sources, including Google Sheets, and Airtable, to store and manage data within your app.
There’s also the Web Viewer component that allows you to display websites in your apps. More importantly though you can use this component to run HTML and JavaScript commands. This flexibility enables you to extend the platform's capabilities and customize apps beyond the platform’s built-in capabilities.
Thunkable also integrates with Figma, a popular web-based design tool that offers more design versatility. You can compose the interface for your app in Figma, and then import it into Thunkable.
Thunkable: Deployment and Maintenance
Thunkable also helps simplify the deployment and maintenance process for all mobile apps you create with the platform. Once an app is ready, you can easily publish it to the Google Play Store and Apple App Store directly from Thunkable.
Remember though, the Apple and Android app publishing processes are quite different. For instance, to publish with Apple, you first complete the process in the Thunkable publishing wizard, and the app file is sent directly to your Apple TestFlight.
On the other hand, to publish with Android, you receive an email from Thunkable with your app's Android App Bundle (AAB) file, which you download and then submit to the Google Play Store for review.
(Image credit: Thunkable)
You’ll still have to do some running around to register, and submit the app to the relevant app store. However, Thunkable provides step-by-step guidance to help you submit new apps and subsequent updates. This helps streamline the otherwise complex app submission process, especially for first timers.
Thunkable: Pricing and Documentation
Thunkable offers a tiered pricing structure, including a free tier with limited features, and paid tiers with more advanced capabilities. The free tier is suitable to explore, and experiment with the platform, while the paid tiers are necessary if you want to deploy your apps.
Premium plans are priced on a monthly or annual basis. The Builder plan costs $59/month or $37/month billed annually, and can be used to put custom branding, and publish one app each on the Apple or Google app stores.
If you want to publish multiple apps, you’ll need to switch to the Advanced plan that costs $189/month or $99/month billed annually. In addition to unlimited apps, this plan will also let you roll in in-app payments, and ads in your apps.
Thunkable provides comprehensive documentation, including text and video tutorials, to help users get started and make the most of the platform. The documentation covers everything from the basics of app creation to advanced integration, database management, and app deployment.
Thunkable also maintains an active community forum where users can share projects, ask questions, and get help from other users.
Thunkable: The Competition
Thunkable faces competition from several other no-code platforms that also cater to mobile app development, particularly Adalo, which too primarily focuses on mobile apps, and offers a similarly intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
One area where Adalo scores over Thunkable is in terms of the number of third-party integrations. Thunkable, on the other hand, is good for defining more advanced backend capabilities. This means you can build more versatile apps with Thunkable, while Adalo is easier to get started with.
However, Thunkable’s lack of templates can be an issue for first timers, though of course they can remix one of the demo apps to get a rolling start. And although both platforms don't let you publish mobile apps on the free plan, Thunkable’s free plan is more restrictive than Adalo's.
Thunkable: Final Verdict
Thunkable has everything you need to build and roll out mobile apps without coding. It’s both easy to use and offers advanced functionalities to experienced campaigners. The drag-and-drop interface, pre-built components, and the Scratch-inspired logic system makes it a good option for both beginners and intermediate users.
That said, as with any platform, there is a learning curve when it comes to more complex functionality. For example, while the drag-and-drop interface simplifies app design, integrating third-party APIs, creating, and managing complex database structures, or building advanced app logic might require a bit of time to master.
Also, while the block-based logic system is relatively easy to learn, it can make it quite cumbersome to define complex app logic, especially when working on larger projects.
Squint, and you could mistake the Honor 400 Lite for an iPhone 16 Pro Max. Honor is clearly enamored with Apple's whole approach to smartphones, or more likely the enduring popularity of the very best iPhones, and it's evidently not afraid to wear that admiration on its sleeve.
The prospect of a £250 phone with a Dynamic Island (or 'Magic Capsule') and Camera Control (or 'AI Camera Button') is an undeniably enticing one. Honor has executed those two elements well, delivering a budget Android phone that feels slightly different from its rivals. That's hard to achieve in a staid smartphone market.
However, in the process of seeking to offer an iPhone-style experience on the cheap, Honor appears to have taken its eye off the ball in some fundamental areas. The Honor 400 Lite doesn't perform as well as many of its peers, while its camera system feels undercooked.
Meanwhile, Honor's MagicOS feels as cluttered and unappealing as ever, emulating the basic look of iOS without achieving the same level of refinement. It's good to see a six-year update promise, though, which is among the very best in its class.
(Image credit: Future)
Solid battery life and a good 6.7-inch OLED display also help the Honor 400 Lite's cause, though its 35W charging speeds are nothing to write home about, and that sizeable notch probably won't appeal to those who watch a lot of movies and TV shows on the go.
Ultimately, the Honor 400 Lite is a budget phone designed to appeal to those who equate 'iPhone' with 'smartphone', but who lack either the resources or inclination to spend upwards of £600 on their next handset.
It'll serve such people reasonably well, but those same people should know that they won't be getting the most from their money. There are faster, more robust, and just plain better phones in the sub-£300 bracket.
Honor 400 Lite review: price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
Released on April 22, 2024
On sale in the UK and Europe for £249.99 / €269
Only one variant (8GB RAM / 256GB storage)
No US or Australia availability
The Honor 400 Lite was announced in April 2025 and is due to go on sale in the UK and Europe on May 22. Honor smartphones aren't sold in the US, while an Australian launch for the Honor 400 Lite is also off the cards at the time of writing.
It'll be available in just one variant in these territories: 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. This sole model will cost £249.99 / €269 (about $330 / AU$520).
At this price, the Honor 400 Lite is competing with a whole host of affordable phones, including the Samsung Galaxy A26, the Poco X7, and the Motorola Moto G75 5G. All of these rivals have superior water resistance, while the Moto G75 5G also has MIL-STD-810H durability.
Samsung's phone has wider availability and that familiar One UI software, while the Poco X7 has a clear performance edge.
Value score: 4 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: specs
Honor 400 Lite review: design
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Clearly iPhone-influenced design
Magic Capsule notch supplies widgets and selfie light
Skinny, lightweight all-plastic build
Dedicated camera shutter button
Honor wouldn't be the first company to take a page out of Apple design playbook, but the Honor 400 Lite takes it to the next level. It looks more like an iPhone (specifically the iPhone 16 Pro Max) than pretty much any other phone I've seen.
Yes, you have the flat-edged look with the curved corners, just like the Google Pixel 9a and Samsung Galaxy S25. But the similarity runs to the smaller details, too. The camera module looks extremely similar to that of the iPhone 16 Pro, with only a triangular motif marking it out.
Flip the Honor 400 Lite onto its front, and there's an extended floating notch that looks a lot like Apple's Dynamic Island. Honor calls it the 'Magic Capsule', but it serves a similar function.
Honor's psychedelic-sounding notch facilitates tiny heads-up widgets when doing things like playing music or running a timer. Tap one of those widgets, and it'll expand slightly to a larger, width-spanning version.
(Image credit: Future)
One thing the Honor 400 Lite's Magic Capsule doesn't copy from Apple is a truly secure Face ID system, with no 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor to capture the required depth information. That's doubtless a cost issue, as the flagship Honor Magic 7 Pro does include such a feature.
Instead, the Honor 400 Lite's extended notch gives you a dedicated selfie light, though it has fairly limited utility. It'll technically allow you to record videos and take video calls in very low lighting, provided you really want to convey that mid-noughties webcam vibe.
A more consequential addition is the AI Camera Button, situated a little way below the volume and power buttons on the right-hand edge. It's another direct lift from Apple, with a similar look and somewhat unsatisfactory positioning to the iPhone 16's Camera Control.
It too serves as a dedicated camera shutter button, complete with two-stage operation for locking focus and a swipe-to-zoom facility that might actually be better than Apple's. It also serves as a two-tap camera shortcut, while a long press will bring up Google Lens, much as it brings up Visual Intelligence on an iPhone.
Hold the Honor 400 Lite in your hand, and all the iPhone comparisons flake away. This is an all-plastic affair, despite the metal-effect frame. It's well-built, with no creaks and a subtle pearlescent finish to the rear.
It's also very light, given its large 161 x 74.6mm footprint, at just 171g, while it's only 7.3mm thick.
You'll also notice the uneven bezel, which gets thicker at the corners and across the chin. That's a sure sign that we're shopping in the £250 category here, though a 93.7% screen-to-body ratio is still pretty decent for a budget phone.
Design score: 3.5 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: display
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
Solid 6.7-inch FHD+ OLED
Gets nice and bright
Only a mono speaker
Honor has equipped the 400 Lite with an accomplished 6.7-inch OLED display, with an FHD+ (1080 x 2412) resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.
These are all specifications that we've come to expect in the £250 category, and they see the Honor 400 Lite matching the likes of the Poco X7 and the Samsung Galaxy A26.
Not many budget phones can boast a 3500-nit peak brightness, however. PWM dimming of 3840Hz, meanwhile, cuts perceptible flickering and potential eye strain.
In general use, I found this to be a really pleasant display to use, at least once I'd switched away from the ramped-up 'Vivid' color mode to the more muted and natural 'Normal'. It's big, sharp, color-accurate, and responsive, while its brightness scales evenly from very dark (great for low-light viewing) to quite bright.
It's a shame the Always On Display function doesn't meet the description, however, requiring a screen tap to activate.
Also a shame is Honor's enduring insistence on packing its affordable phone with a single downward-firing speaker. It doesn't feel like too much to ask for a solid set of stereo speakers, even at this price.
Display score: 4 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: cameras
(Image credit: Future)
108MP main camera struggles with HDR and night shots
Poor 5MP ultra-wide
Only 1080p/30fps video
Honor has simplified the camera setup from last year's Honor 200 Lite, with the pointless 2MP macro camera dropping out altogether.
This leaves you with what appears to be the same pair of cameras, specifically a 108MP 1/1.67" f/1.8 main sensor and a 5MP f/2.2 ultra-wide.
The main camera is a competent shooter under ideal conditions, capturing plenty of detail. It's even good enough to produce fairly convincing 2x and 3x crops in the absence of a dedicated telephoto.
There are issues with this main camera, however. It seems to struggle with HDR scenarios, either failing to lift very dark shady areas or otherwise blowing out background highlights.
I also noticed some odd processing effects, including a strange halo effect around distant birds in front of a blue sky.
(Image credit: Future)
Night shots, too, aren't very good, with poor detail and bags of noise. The lack of OIS here is quite evident.
The ultra-wide, meanwhile, is of a pretty substandard quality, lacking in detail and failing to match the tone of the main sensor.
The selfie camera has also changed since the Honor 200 Lite, dropping from a 50MP f/2.1 unit to a 16MP f/2.5. It captures adequate shots with reasonably rich colors, but again struggles with blown-out highlights.
The provision of an LED light is an interesting one. It definitely improved the clarity of my low-light selfie shots and videos when I activated it manually, but is it strictly necessary when most phones simply use a white screen for the job? I'm not so sure.
Talking of video, the main camera maxes out at a weedy 1080p at 30fps. That's a pretty poor effort when rivals such as the Galaxy A26, Moto G75 5G, and Poco X7 can all record at 4K.
Camera score: 3 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: camera samples
Image 1 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 4 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 5 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 6 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 7 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 8 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 9 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 10 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 11 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 12 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 13 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 14 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 15 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 16 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 17 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 18 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 19 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 20 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 21 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 22 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 23 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 24 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 25 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 26 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 27 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 28 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 29 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 30 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 31 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 32 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Honor 400 Lite review: performance
(Image credit: Future)
MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra is merely adequate
Solid 8GB of RAM
256GB of storage
The Honor 400 Lite is equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra chipset, which isn't a very strong performer even within the budget phone category.
I've used a phone with this chip before in the Redmi Note 14 5G (which didn't ship in the UK), and I was left pretty unimpressed. Suffice it to say, the Honor 400 Lite did nothing to change my mind on this component.
Across CPU and GPU benchmark tests, it's outgunned by the Moto G75 5G, the Samsung Galaxy A26, and the Poco X7.
I'd like to say that this doesn't matter in practical terms, but that's not the case. There's a generally wallowy feel to everything from unlocking the phone to app startup and even basic animations.
It would be unfair to call this performance halting or stuttery, but everything seems to take a beat longer than it should. I'd be tempted to let it off the hook given the price, but the Poco X7 (to use one example) feels nice and snappy by comparison.
Indeed, while the Poco X7 is capable of running Genshin Impact quite well on Medium settings, the Honor 400 Lite needs to run it at Low or even Lowest if you're to maintain a decent frame rate.
The solitary model available in the UK gives you a solid 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is most welcome.
Performance score: 3 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: software
(Image credit: Future)
Android 15 with MagicOS 9
Six years of OS updates and security patches
With the Honor 400 Lite, you're getting Android 15 fresh out of the box, coated in Honor's latest MagicOS 9 UI. It's not my favorite Android skin by any stretch of the imagination.
Honor evidently doesn't think much of the flowing, vibrant UI design that Google baked into the latest version of Android, preferring instead the square icons and split notification menu of Apple's iOS.
The two UIs really look uncannily alike in places, right down to the look of the Settings menu and the lock screen. The aforementioned Magic Capsule drives this familiar sensation home with its Dynamic Island-style mini-widgets.
Sadly, such an admiration for Apple's work doesn't extend to the company's no-nonsense approach to bloatware. You'll find Facebook, Booking.com, TikTok, Amazon Shopping, ReelShort, LinkedIn, and the Temu shopping app all sitting on the second home screen straight from first boot-up.
There's also a Top Apps folder with four more third-party apps. It's a little excessive, if far from unusual, on Android.
Elsewhere, there's a whopping great themed 'Essentials' folder on the main home screen containing nine of the company's own apps, and another large folder filled with AI-suggested apps that I never found remotely useful.
(Image credit: Future)
Honor also provides its own App Market, which feels completely pointless with the Google Play Store present and accounted for (Honor is no longer part of Huawei, so it isn't hampered by the same sanctions).
There's a smattering of AI features here, including some Google-affiliated ones such as Smart Vision (essentially Google Lens), Google Gemini, and Circle to Search.
Honor has implemented a feature called Magic Portal that somewhat overlaps the latter Google provision, permitting you to draw around text and images before opening up a shortcut menu for sharing the resulting snippets to other apps. It's nowhere near as smart as Circle to Search, but it can actually be quite useful in this more localized on-device application. Or it would be, if the knuckle-based input system wasn't so flaky.
Favourite Space is a folder to quickly stash these hastily scrawled-out snippets. However, given the large number of superfluous preinstalled apps, I'm not sure why there isn't a standard Favourite Space app. I encountered numerous references to it and saved several snippets before it offered to create a shortcut (in the shape of an app icon) on the home screen.
When it comes to image editing, Honor offers a reasonably effective AI Eraser for deleting unwanted objects and people. AI Outpainting is a bizarre but technically impressive feature that essentially turns your regular shots into ultra-wides, using AI to infer what might be just out of frame. It kind of works in terms of creating convincing (though not accurate) images, but I'm not sure why you'd ever want to make use of such fakery beyond a tech demo.
Perhaps the most positive aspect of Honor's software provision on the 400 Lite is the promise of six years of OS and security updates. That's right up there with the Samsung Galaxy A26 in this budget class.
Software score: 3 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: battery life
(Image credit: Future)
5,230mAh battery
35W wired charging
No charger in the box
Honor has supplied a larger-than-average 5,230mAh battery with the 400 Lite, which is significantly larger than the 4,500mAh battery of the Honor 200 Lite.
It results in predictably strong stamina. I found that I was able to go through a day of moderate to heavy usage, with 4 hours 40 minutes of screen on time, and be left with 58%.
You could conceivably go through a full two days here, though more intensive applications and mixed network use will, of course, drain that battery much faster.
In an increasingly common move, there's no charger supplied in the box. Honor claims that if you buy the dedicated 35W Honor Wired SuperCharge charger, the phone can power up to 100% in 75 minutes.
In my experience, you don't necessarily need to go out of your way to secure the official brick. While a Xiaomi 120W Hypercharge brick trickled along at a glacial pace, a Samsung 65W Super Fast charger got the job done in just 72 minutes.
As charging rates go, that's not especially quick. The Poco X7, with its 45W charging support, can get its similarly sized battery up to 100% in 50 minutes. The Moto G75 5G only supports 30W charging, but that budget rival also includes wireless charging, which the Honor 400 Lite does not.
Battery score: 4 / 5
Should I buy the Honor 400 Lite?
Buy it if...
You'd really like a super cheap iPhone Honor's design and software decisions reflect an admiration for Apple's iPhone and iOS, but the package on offer here is a fraction of the price.
You want manual camera control The Honor 400 Lite's AI Camera Button offers a handy two-stage camera shutter button, as well as a camera shortcut.
You want a big phone, but not a heavy one The Honor 400 Lite gives you a big 6.7-inch display, but the phone itself only weighs 171g.
Don't buy it if...
You want to play lots of games The Honor 400 Lite runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra processor, which is far from the fastest in this class.
You want a crisp UI Honor's MagicOS is pretty cluttered and charmless, and a world away from stock Android.
You take a lot of night shots In the absence of OIS, the Honor 400 Lite is far from the best low-light shooter.
Honor 400 Lite review: also consider
The Honor 400 Lite isn't the only classy affordable phone on the market. Here are some of the better alternatives to consider.
Motorola Moto G75 5G Motorola's tough little phone is unusually robust, performs better, and has wireless charging, though its LCD screen is inferior.
Poco X7 The Poco X7 leaves the Honor 400 Lite in the dust on performance, has a better camera setup, and gives you stereo sound. We haven't yet reviewed it fully, mind.
How I tested the Honor 400 Lite
Review test period = 1 week
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Tools used = Geekbench 6, GFXBench, 3DMark, native Android stats, Samsung 65W power adapter
Squint, and you could mistake the Honor 400 Lite for an iPhone 16 Pro Max. Honor is clearly enamored with Apple's whole approach to smartphones, or more likely the enduring popularity of the very best iPhones, and it's evidently not afraid to wear that admiration on its sleeve.
The prospect of a £250 phone with a Dynamic Island (or 'Magic Capsule') and Camera Control (or 'AI Camera Button') is an undeniably enticing one. Honor has executed those two elements well, delivering a budget Android phone that feels slightly different from its rivals. That's hard to achieve in a staid smartphone market.
However, in the process of seeking to offer an iPhone-style experience on the cheap, Honor appears to have taken its eye off the ball in some fundamental areas. The Honor 400 Lite doesn't perform as well as many of its peers, while its camera system feels undercooked.
Meanwhile, Honor's MagicOS feels as cluttered and unappealing as ever, emulating the basic look of iOS without achieving the same level of refinement. It's good to see a six-year update promise, though, which is among the very best in its class.
(Image credit: Future)
Solid battery life and a good 6.7-inch OLED display also help the Honor 400 Lite's cause, though its 35W charging speeds are nothing to write home about, and that sizeable notch probably won't appeal to those who watch a lot of movies and TV shows on the go.
Ultimately, the Honor 400 Lite is a budget phone designed to appeal to those who equate 'iPhone' with 'smartphone', but who lack either the resources or inclination to spend upwards of £600 on their next handset.
It'll serve such people reasonably well, but those same people should know that they won't be getting the most from their money. There are faster, more robust, and just plain better phones in the sub-£300 bracket.
Honor 400 Lite review: price and availability
(Image credit: Future)
Released on April 22, 2024
On sale in the UK and Europe for £249.99 / €269
Only one variant (8GB RAM / 256GB storage)
No US or Australia availability
The Honor 400 Lite was announced in April 2025 and is due to go on sale in the UK and Europe on May 22. Honor smartphones aren't sold in the US, while an Australian launch for the Honor 400 Lite is also off the cards at the time of writing.
It'll be available in just one variant in these territories: 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. This sole model will cost £249.99 / €269 (about $330 / AU$520).
At this price, the Honor 400 Lite is competing with a whole host of affordable phones, including the Samsung Galaxy A26, the Poco X7, and the Motorola Moto G75 5G. All of these rivals have superior water resistance, while the Moto G75 5G also has MIL-STD-810H durability.
Samsung's phone has wider availability and that familiar One UI software, while the Poco X7 has a clear performance edge.
Value score: 4 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: specs
Honor 400 Lite review: design
Image 1 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 3
(Image credit: Future)
Clearly iPhone-influenced design
Magic Capsule notch supplies widgets and selfie light
Skinny, lightweight all-plastic build
Dedicated camera shutter button
Honor wouldn't be the first company to take a page out of Apple design playbook, but the Honor 400 Lite takes it to the next level. It looks more like an iPhone (specifically the iPhone 16 Pro Max) than pretty much any other phone I've seen.
Yes, you have the flat-edged look with the curved corners, just like the Google Pixel 9a and Samsung Galaxy S25. But the similarity runs to the smaller details, too. The camera module looks extremely similar to that of the iPhone 16 Pro, with only a triangular motif marking it out.
Flip the Honor 400 Lite onto its front, and there's an extended floating notch that looks a lot like Apple's Dynamic Island. Honor calls it the 'Magic Capsule', but it serves a similar function.
Honor's psychedelic-sounding notch facilitates tiny heads-up widgets when doing things like playing music or running a timer. Tap one of those widgets, and it'll expand slightly to a larger, width-spanning version.
(Image credit: Future)
One thing the Honor 400 Lite's Magic Capsule doesn't copy from Apple is a truly secure Face ID system, with no 3D Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor to capture the required depth information. That's doubtless a cost issue, as the flagship Honor Magic 7 Pro does include such a feature.
Instead, the Honor 400 Lite's extended notch gives you a dedicated selfie light, though it has fairly limited utility. It'll technically allow you to record videos and take video calls in very low lighting, provided you really want to convey that mid-noughties webcam vibe.
A more consequential addition is the AI Camera Button, situated a little way below the volume and power buttons on the right-hand edge. It's another direct lift from Apple, with a similar look and somewhat unsatisfactory positioning to the iPhone 16's Camera Control.
It too serves as a dedicated camera shutter button, complete with two-stage operation for locking focus and a swipe-to-zoom facility that might actually be better than Apple's. It also serves as a two-tap camera shortcut, while a long press will bring up Google Lens, much as it brings up Visual Intelligence on an iPhone.
Hold the Honor 400 Lite in your hand, and all the iPhone comparisons flake away. This is an all-plastic affair, despite the metal-effect frame. It's well-built, with no creaks and a subtle pearlescent finish to the rear.
It's also very light, given its large 161 x 74.6mm footprint, at just 171g, while it's only 7.3mm thick.
You'll also notice the uneven bezel, which gets thicker at the corners and across the chin. That's a sure sign that we're shopping in the £250 category here, though a 93.7% screen-to-body ratio is still pretty decent for a budget phone.
Design score: 3.5 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: display
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 2
(Image credit: Future)
Solid 6.7-inch FHD+ OLED
Gets nice and bright
Only a mono speaker
Honor has equipped the 400 Lite with an accomplished 6.7-inch OLED display, with an FHD+ (1080 x 2412) resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz.
These are all specifications that we've come to expect in the £250 category, and they see the Honor 400 Lite matching the likes of the Poco X7 and the Samsung Galaxy A26.
Not many budget phones can boast a 3500-nit peak brightness, however. PWM dimming of 3840Hz, meanwhile, cuts perceptible flickering and potential eye strain.
In general use, I found this to be a really pleasant display to use, at least once I'd switched away from the ramped-up 'Vivid' color mode to the more muted and natural 'Normal'. It's big, sharp, color-accurate, and responsive, while its brightness scales evenly from very dark (great for low-light viewing) to quite bright.
It's a shame the Always On Display function doesn't meet the description, however, requiring a screen tap to activate.
Also a shame is Honor's enduring insistence on packing its affordable phone with a single downward-firing speaker. It doesn't feel like too much to ask for a solid set of stereo speakers, even at this price.
Display score: 4 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: cameras
(Image credit: Future)
108MP main camera struggles with HDR and night shots
Poor 5MP ultra-wide
Only 1080p/30fps video
Honor has simplified the camera setup from last year's Honor 200 Lite, with the pointless 2MP macro camera dropping out altogether.
This leaves you with what appears to be the same pair of cameras, specifically a 108MP 1/1.67" f/1.8 main sensor and a 5MP f/2.2 ultra-wide.
The main camera is a competent shooter under ideal conditions, capturing plenty of detail. It's even good enough to produce fairly convincing 2x and 3x crops in the absence of a dedicated telephoto.
There are issues with this main camera, however. It seems to struggle with HDR scenarios, either failing to lift very dark shady areas or otherwise blowing out background highlights.
I also noticed some odd processing effects, including a strange halo effect around distant birds in front of a blue sky.
(Image credit: Future)
Night shots, too, aren't very good, with poor detail and bags of noise. The lack of OIS here is quite evident.
The ultra-wide, meanwhile, is of a pretty substandard quality, lacking in detail and failing to match the tone of the main sensor.
The selfie camera has also changed since the Honor 200 Lite, dropping from a 50MP f/2.1 unit to a 16MP f/2.5. It captures adequate shots with reasonably rich colors, but again struggles with blown-out highlights.
The provision of an LED light is an interesting one. It definitely improved the clarity of my low-light selfie shots and videos when I activated it manually, but is it strictly necessary when most phones simply use a white screen for the job? I'm not so sure.
Talking of video, the main camera maxes out at a weedy 1080p at 30fps. That's a pretty poor effort when rivals such as the Galaxy A26, Moto G75 5G, and Poco X7 can all record at 4K.
Camera score: 3 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: camera samples
Image 1 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 2 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 3 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 4 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 5 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 6 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 7 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 8 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 9 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 10 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 11 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 12 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 13 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 14 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 15 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 16 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 17 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 18 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 19 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 20 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 21 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 22 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 23 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 24 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 25 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 26 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 27 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 28 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 29 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 30 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 31 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Image 32 of 32
(Image credit: Future)
Honor 400 Lite review: performance
(Image credit: Future)
MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra is merely adequate
Solid 8GB of RAM
256GB of storage
The Honor 400 Lite is equipped with a MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra chipset, which isn't a very strong performer even within the budget phone category.
I've used a phone with this chip before in the Redmi Note 14 5G (which didn't ship in the UK), and I was left pretty unimpressed. Suffice it to say, the Honor 400 Lite did nothing to change my mind on this component.
Across CPU and GPU benchmark tests, it's outgunned by the Moto G75 5G, the Samsung Galaxy A26, and the Poco X7.
I'd like to say that this doesn't matter in practical terms, but that's not the case. There's a generally wallowy feel to everything from unlocking the phone to app startup and even basic animations.
It would be unfair to call this performance halting or stuttery, but everything seems to take a beat longer than it should. I'd be tempted to let it off the hook given the price, but the Poco X7 (to use one example) feels nice and snappy by comparison.
Indeed, while the Poco X7 is capable of running Genshin Impact quite well on Medium settings, the Honor 400 Lite needs to run it at Low or even Lowest if you're to maintain a decent frame rate.
The solitary model available in the UK gives you a solid 8GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, which is most welcome.
Performance score: 3 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: software
(Image credit: Future)
Android 15 with MagicOS 9
Six years of OS updates and security patches
With the Honor 400 Lite, you're getting Android 15 fresh out of the box, coated in Honor's latest MagicOS 9 UI. It's not my favorite Android skin by any stretch of the imagination.
Honor evidently doesn't think much of the flowing, vibrant UI design that Google baked into the latest version of Android, preferring instead the square icons and split notification menu of Apple's iOS.
The two UIs really look uncannily alike in places, right down to the look of the Settings menu and the lock screen. The aforementioned Magic Capsule drives this familiar sensation home with its Dynamic Island-style mini-widgets.
Sadly, such an admiration for Apple's work doesn't extend to the company's no-nonsense approach to bloatware. You'll find Facebook, Booking.com, TikTok, Amazon Shopping, ReelShort, LinkedIn, and the Temu shopping app all sitting on the second home screen straight from first boot-up.
There's also a Top Apps folder with four more third-party apps. It's a little excessive, if far from unusual, on Android.
Elsewhere, there's a whopping great themed 'Essentials' folder on the main home screen containing nine of the company's own apps, and another large folder filled with AI-suggested apps that I never found remotely useful.
(Image credit: Future)
Honor also provides its own App Market, which feels completely pointless with the Google Play Store present and accounted for (Honor is no longer part of Huawei, so it isn't hampered by the same sanctions).
There's a smattering of AI features here, including some Google-affiliated ones such as Smart Vision (essentially Google Lens), Google Gemini, and Circle to Search.
Honor has implemented a feature called Magic Portal that somewhat overlaps the latter Google provision, permitting you to draw around text and images before opening up a shortcut menu for sharing the resulting snippets to other apps. It's nowhere near as smart as Circle to Search, but it can actually be quite useful in this more localized on-device application. Or it would be, if the knuckle-based input system wasn't so flaky.
Favourite Space is a folder to quickly stash these hastily scrawled-out snippets. However, given the large number of superfluous preinstalled apps, I'm not sure why there isn't a standard Favourite Space app. I encountered numerous references to it and saved several snippets before it offered to create a shortcut (in the shape of an app icon) on the home screen.
When it comes to image editing, Honor offers a reasonably effective AI Eraser for deleting unwanted objects and people. AI Outpainting is a bizarre but technically impressive feature that essentially turns your regular shots into ultra-wides, using AI to infer what might be just out of frame. It kind of works in terms of creating convincing (though not accurate) images, but I'm not sure why you'd ever want to make use of such fakery beyond a tech demo.
Perhaps the most positive aspect of Honor's software provision on the 400 Lite is the promise of six years of OS and security updates. That's right up there with the Samsung Galaxy A26 in this budget class.
Software score: 3 / 5
Honor 400 Lite review: battery life
(Image credit: Future)
5,230mAh battery
35W wired charging
No charger in the box
Honor has supplied a larger-than-average 5,230mAh battery with the 400 Lite, which is significantly larger than the 4,500mAh battery of the Honor 200 Lite.
It results in predictably strong stamina. I found that I was able to go through a day of moderate to heavy usage, with 4 hours 40 minutes of screen on time, and be left with 58%.
You could conceivably go through a full two days here, though more intensive applications and mixed network use will, of course, drain that battery much faster.
In an increasingly common move, there's no charger supplied in the box. Honor claims that if you buy the dedicated 35W Honor Wired SuperCharge charger, the phone can power up to 100% in 75 minutes.
In my experience, you don't necessarily need to go out of your way to secure the official brick. While a Xiaomi 120W Hypercharge brick trickled along at a glacial pace, a Samsung 65W Super Fast charger got the job done in just 72 minutes.
As charging rates go, that's not especially quick. The Poco X7, with its 45W charging support, can get its similarly sized battery up to 100% in 50 minutes. The Moto G75 5G only supports 30W charging, but that budget rival also includes wireless charging, which the Honor 400 Lite does not.
Battery score: 4 / 5
Should I buy the Honor 400 Lite?
Buy it if...
You'd really like a super cheap iPhone Honor's design and software decisions reflect an admiration for Apple's iPhone and iOS, but the package on offer here is a fraction of the price.
You want manual camera control The Honor 400 Lite's AI Camera Button offers a handy two-stage camera shutter button, as well as a camera shortcut.
You want a big phone, but not a heavy one The Honor 400 Lite gives you a big 6.7-inch display, but the phone itself only weighs 171g.
Don't buy it if...
You want to play lots of games The Honor 400 Lite runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 7025 Ultra processor, which is far from the fastest in this class.
You want a crisp UI Honor's MagicOS is pretty cluttered and charmless, and a world away from stock Android.
You take a lot of night shots In the absence of OIS, the Honor 400 Lite is far from the best low-light shooter.
Honor 400 Lite review: also consider
The Honor 400 Lite isn't the only classy affordable phone on the market. Here are some of the better alternatives to consider.
Motorola Moto G75 5G Motorola's tough little phone is unusually robust, performs better, and has wireless charging, though its LCD screen is inferior.
Poco X7 The Poco X7 leaves the Honor 400 Lite in the dust on performance, has a better camera setup, and gives you stereo sound. We haven't yet reviewed it fully, mind.
How I tested the Honor 400 Lite
Review test period = 1 week
Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, gaming, streaming video, music playback
Tools used = Geekbench 6, GFXBench, 3DMark, native Android stats, Samsung 65W power adapter
This review first appeared in issue 343 of PC Pro.
Businesses that don’t want to commit to long-term contracts for cloud collaboration services should check out HiDrive from web-hosting company Ionos. You can choose between four plans, and all are available on affordable monthly contracts so you can cancel them with minimum notice.
Ionos doesn’t offer free trials but you can try it out for next to nothing, with a one-year HiDrive Business contract currently costing a piffling 50p per month for five users and 1TB of cloud storage. We wanted to see everything HiDrive has to offer so we tried out the Pro plan, which costs £20 per month, starts with 2TB of cloud storage for ten users, enables support for the SMB/CIFS, FTP/SFTP, Rsync, SCP and Git protocols, and rounds it off with data backup services for users’ personal devices.
The HiDrive admin portal is simple to use, and you create new users by sending email invitations. For greater security, you can globally enable two-factor authentication (2FA) and assign admin rights to selected users, although roles aren’t supported so they will have full access to all settings.
Automatic backups can be run regularly and Ionos provides a handy app(Image credit: Future)
After creating their account, users can download the Windows or macOS desktop syncing app. This worked fine on our Windows 11 clients, and the latest version sees a redesigned interface with easier access to all features.
Users choose the cloud folders they want synchronized to their local mapped drive and how to respond when external storage devices are inserted. Along with encryption of data in flight and at rest in the HiDrive cloud servers, the Pro plan enables end-to-end encryption, although this is left in the hands of each user who can choose to apply this from the desktop app and manage their own keys.
Device backups are also controlled entirely by users. They can enable this for selected folders, schedule it to run regularly and recover data from the app or their own portal. A concern is that total cloud storage is not per user but shared among them all and, as admins have no control over device backups, they’ll need to monitor usage closely.
HiDrive doesn’t do file versioning, but all plans provide automatic backup of cloud data. Admins can run this as often as every four hours, retain data for up to a year, and users can access the backups from their portal and restore selected items to a cloud folder or download them as ZIP files.
There’s a simple web portal, and the desktop app offers user-managed backup services(Image credit: Future)
Each user has a personal repository in their portal for creating folders and uploading files to them. They can choose to share selected items in this area with anyone, including external collaborators, by emailing a web link with optional password protection, read/write privileges and expiry dates.
Sharing files between team members is handled by a “Common” area in the web portal. Only account administrators are allowed to create new folders within this and determine which users have read or read/write access, after which they become accessible in their own portal.
No Outlook or Gmail plugins are provided so all sharing and file upload requests must be sent from the user portal, with the latter limiting maximum file sizes to 2GB. HiDrive doesn’t integrate with any third-party apps, but users can load popular files such as Word documents or Excel spreadsheets from their portal and edit them in a browser without needing the relevant app installed.
Small businesses that want simple cloud file-sharing services will find Ionos HiDrive Pro ticks a lot of boxes. App integrations and collaboration tools are minimal, but it’s easy to use and, although cloud storage is shared, it’s still comparatively good value.
This review first appeared in issue 343 of PC Pro.
Businesses that don’t want to commit to long-term contracts for cloud collaboration services should check out HiDrive from web-hosting company Ionos. You can choose between four plans, and all are available on affordable monthly contracts so you can cancel them with minimum notice.
Ionos doesn’t offer free trials but you can try it out for next to nothing, with a one-year HiDrive Business contract currently costing a piffling 50p per month for five users and 1TB of cloud storage. We wanted to see everything HiDrive has to offer so we tried out the Pro plan, which costs £20 per month, starts with 2TB of cloud storage for ten users, enables support for the SMB/CIFS, FTP/SFTP, Rsync, SCP and Git protocols, and rounds it off with data backup services for users’ personal devices.
The HiDrive admin portal is simple to use, and you create new users by sending email invitations. For greater security, you can globally enable two-factor authentication (2FA) and assign admin rights to selected users, although roles aren’t supported so they will have full access to all settings.
Automatic backups can be run regularly and Ionos provides a handy app(Image credit: Future)
After creating their account, users can download the Windows or macOS desktop syncing app. This worked fine on our Windows 11 clients, and the latest version sees a redesigned interface with easier access to all features.
Users choose the cloud folders they want synchronized to their local mapped drive and how to respond when external storage devices are inserted. Along with encryption of data in flight and at rest in the HiDrive cloud servers, the Pro plan enables end-to-end encryption, although this is left in the hands of each user who can choose to apply this from the desktop app and manage their own keys.
Device backups are also controlled entirely by users. They can enable this for selected folders, schedule it to run regularly and recover data from the app or their own portal. A concern is that total cloud storage is not per user but shared among them all and, as admins have no control over device backups, they’ll need to monitor usage closely.
HiDrive doesn’t do file versioning, but all plans provide automatic backup of cloud data. Admins can run this as often as every four hours, retain data for up to a year, and users can access the backups from their portal and restore selected items to a cloud folder or download them as ZIP files.
There’s a simple web portal, and the desktop app offers user-managed backup services(Image credit: Future)
Each user has a personal repository in their portal for creating folders and uploading files to them. They can choose to share selected items in this area with anyone, including external collaborators, by emailing a web link with optional password protection, read/write privileges and expiry dates.
Sharing files between team members is handled by a “Common” area in the web portal. Only account administrators are allowed to create new folders within this and determine which users have read or read/write access, after which they become accessible in their own portal.
No Outlook or Gmail plugins are provided so all sharing and file upload requests must be sent from the user portal, with the latter limiting maximum file sizes to 2GB. HiDrive doesn’t integrate with any third-party apps, but users can load popular files such as Word documents or Excel spreadsheets from their portal and edit them in a browser without needing the relevant app installed.
Small businesses that want simple cloud file-sharing services will find Ionos HiDrive Pro ticks a lot of boxes. App integrations and collaboration tools are minimal, but it’s easy to use and, although cloud storage is shared, it’s still comparatively good value.
This review first appeared in issue 343 of PC Pro.
Epson’s WorkForce Pro WF-C5890DWF will appeal to small workgroups with big print demands who need to keep a close eye on running costs. This versatile multifunction A4 inkjet printer can churn out mono and color pages for only 1.4p and 6.3p respectively, while a monthly duty cycle of 5,000 pages means it can take a lot of print punishment.
The WF-C5890DWF offers plenty of features, combining print, copy, scan and fax functions with USB, gigabit wired or 802.11n wireless, Wi-Fi Direct and AirPrint connectivity. The color flatbed scanner provides a 50-page automatic document feeder (ADF), there’s an 80-page multipurpose feeder at the back and the standard 250-sheet tray can be augmented with up to three 500-sheet cassettes.
Slotting into a drawer under the paper tray, Epson’s ink packs offer plenty of choices with K available in 3,000 (L), 5,000 (XL) and 10,000 (XXL) page capacities while C, Y and M come in L and XL page volumes. There’s very little difference between them for overall running costs, but note that the “Initial” packs supplied with the printer are only good for around 300 pages.
Installation is swift – Epson’s utility discovered the printer on our network, downloaded the latest software, installed a desktop status monitor, ran an automatic firmware upgrade and offered to load a wealth of free utilities. The Scan 2 desktop software includes a TWAIN driver with plenty of network scan controls, Document Capture Pro manages personal scan jobs and saves them for fast one-click access, while Epson’s iOS and Android mobile apps provide remote print and scan tools.
You can keep an eye on consumables from the printer’s web console and register it with Epson’s Connect remote print service. This assigns a customizable email address to the printer so remote users can print documents by sending them as mail attachments.
Epson provides great cloud support as well as mobile apps(Image credit: Future)
Scanning and faxing to the cloud couldn’t be easier. After adding personal Box, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive and OneDrive accounts at the Connect portal, they’ll appear in the printer’s touchscreen menu. The panel presents more icons for copying documents and scanning them directly to computers, network folders, FTP and email servers, a local USB stick and Windows PCs using Web Services on Devices (WSD).
Performance depends on the selected resolution. A 25-page Word document printed at standard mode in precisely one minute but dropped to only 6.4ppm with the driver’s high mode selected. We also saw this with our 24-page color DTP document, which averaged 23ppm and 6.1ppm for each mode. The good news is that the standard setting is fine for text: print quality is sharp enough for general office use, with only fonts smaller than 12pt showing hints of dusting. Color quality is another winner, with graphics and photos looking sharp and detailed without any signs of banding in large single-color areas.
Using Document Capture Pro to scan a 20-page sheaf of bank statements to a PC as a searchable PDF returned speeds of 22ppm. Duplex scans take much longer, though, as the ADF has to flip each page to scan both sides, with a double-sided scan of the same test document averaging only 4.3ppm.
You won’t need a high resolution for document archiving as output quality at 200dpi is fine for these tasks, with Epson’s OCR services correctly converting every word on the statements down to 6pt fonts. The software provides plenty of scan management tools along with a good range of output formats, and each PC that has it installed appears in the printer’s touchscreen menu for quick scan selection.
Epson’s WorkForce Pro WF-C5890DWF ticks all the right boxes for busy workgroups with high print and scan demands. The starter ink packs are a bit stingy but ongoing running costs are low, it offers great output quality and packs in an impressive range of user-friendly scan services.
