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Adobe Premiere Elements (2025) review

4:16 pm | July 18, 2025

As its name suggests, Adobe Premiere Pro is for professionals, or at the very least, people who are super serious about video editing, and want control over every aspect of their project, right down to the individual pixel…

But what about the rest of us, those who want to create with something simple, but also have fun with the process? That’s where Premiere Elements comes in.

It's a consumer-grade alternative to Adobe Premiere Pro for anyone who wants video editing software for beginners.

However, while the 2025 version comes with a great new interface, there's also a big catch we can't ignore: your purchase is limited to three years' use.

Adobe Premiere Elements: Pricing & plans

Adobe Premiere Elements during our review — (Image credit: Adobe // Future)

A good price for an easy to use video editing application. Well.. it would be a good price were your purchase not limited to three years - after which your licence expires. This isn’t a purchase: it’s a rental

Unlike Adobe’s professional portfolio, you don’t need to subscribe to the software in order to use it: you can grab Premiere Elements for just under $100 (or £87), or get it bundled with Photoshop Elements for $150 (£131).

You can download the software for Mac or Windows directly from Adobe by clicking here.

You’re even granted a 7-day trial to check out the software, although you’ll have a great big “created with trial version” plastered all across your clips during that period.

If you’re happy with what you see, you’ll need to redeem your purchase. Unfortunately there’s an annoying hoop you have to jump through, as you don’t get to put your code in the software itself, but online through a special page here.

And, frustratingly enough for us, even though we were logged in with our AdobeID and the code was recognised online, our software kept insisting it was still in trial mode. Hopefully this may just be an isolated incident, or linked to the fact ours was a review copy, but we would be remiss if we didn’t mention it here (we used our free 7 days to put the software through its paces, hence the unsightly watermark in the screenshots).

Sadly, there’s an even bigger issue we have to highlight: despite the fact you’re paying a one-off fee, and Adobe clearly refers to it as a ‘purchase’ that you are ‘buying’, you don’t get to own that software for as long as you want. Back in the day, that is what a “one-off fee” was.

As long as your computer’s hardware and OS remained compatible with the software, that fee would’ve been all you had to pay. You didn’t even need to buy any future upgrades if you didn’t want them. One fee, one app, job done.

But Adobe is changing that. That $100 (or $150 for the bundle) only gives you a license for 3 years from the date of purchase. After that, the software becomes inoperable.

So, this is no longer a purchase, but a long-term rental, paid in advance. That’s a very underhand way of introducing subscriptions to their non-professional apps.

If you’re looking for a cheap video editor, there are alternatives. For instance, DaVinci Resolve may look intimidating from a newcomer’s perspective, but it’s free, has no registration issues, and is way more powerful than Premiere Elements - although you will be venturing away from the Adobe ecosystem. Even Adobe's quick-and-easy Premiere Rush is free (see our Adobe Premiere Rush review here).

Score: 2/5

Adobe Premiere Elements: Interface

A redesigned interface that still offers the same ease of use we’ve grown accustomed to, but with a sleeker finish, and more logical repositioning of tools

OK, enough ranting. Let’s take a look at the software. As before, the interface is split into three, depending on your skill level, from ‘Quick’, to ‘Guided’, to ‘Advanced’. ‘Quick’ is designed for both beginners and those wishing to edit fast. As such, it offers a reduced set of tools and options. ‘Guided’ provides a series of tutorials to help you learn more about the software and editing in general, while ‘Advanced’ offers the full range of what Premiere Elements has to offer, which is reflected by a more intricate interface.

You can also switch from light to dark mode, which granted is not new, but the fact you can do so without having to restart the program is a definite plus. So far so good. The main issue here though, is that compared to the last time we checked out the software, everything looks radically different. In fact, Premiere Elements now looks more like Premiere Pro, complete with a totally customisable interface including tearaway windows, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it may necessitate existing users having to reacquaint themselves with their software. It also does away with the simplified, less intimidating look, it had before.

Despite that, you should find Premiere Elements to be easy to use. For instance although ‘Quick’ offers fewer tools, they can be found in the same location in the ‘Advanced’ interface. This makes it easy to switch between the two. Editing in any interface is pretty much all about dragging and dropping, the sidebar on the right offers you many changeable parameters, which you can animate through the use of keyframes, even in ‘Quick’ mode.

All in all, Premiere Elements is an elegant and well designed video editor with more than enough tools to satisfy even the most demanding amateur.

Score: 4.5/5

Adobe Premiere Elements: Updates

Improvements to existing tools, and welcome new features. It might not look like a lot, but it’s all for the better, and we certainly can’t complain about that

Aside from the new coat of paint, Premiere Elements 2025 brings a few new tools to the table, while improving existing ones. One of these is the voice-over narration tool which is no longer in the sidebar, but can be triggered directly from the Timeline: you’ll find a microphone icon at the start of any audio layer. Click on it and the recording will start (after 3 seconds) wherever the playhead is located.

Premiere Elements 2025 hosts a load of new title templates in the left sidebar, including direct access to a hundred from Adobe Stock. All those we randomly checked were free to use.

The colour correction tool has been revamped, with a host of new changeable parameters, even allowing you to set the white balance by using an eye dropper to click anywhere on your footage. Simple and effective and actually used by many if not most of Premiere Elements’ competition, so it’s about time we’ve finally got it here. You’ll also find a bunch of new filters (referred to as Video Effects) which apply a colour style to your footage.

One new feature we particularly liked is the ‘Time Stretch’ tool. Retiming a clip is nothing new, but here Premiere Elements does it as effortlessly as possible. It comes as a new icon to the left of the Timeline, along with other editing tools. With it selected, when you drag the edge of a clip in the timeline, you no longer alter its in and out points, but you retime the clip.

You can tell (in ‘Advanced’, but puzzlingly not in ‘Quick’) what you’ve done thanks to a percentage value next to the clip’s name in the timeline. This is so incredibly easy to do. If you need to be more precise, right-click on the clip, and choose ‘Time Stretch’ from the menu to reveal a floating window from which you can type in a percentage, or specific duration.

And a very useful addition for those upgrading from an older version, is the fact projects created with a previous version can now be opened in this one. They will have to be updated, and some effects or filters won’t be preserved, but having to make a few fixes is a lot better than being denied access to the work you did previously.

Score: 4/5

Should I buy Adobe Premiere Elements?

Buy it if...

You need a versatile video editor that isn’t too complex while allowing you to have simple to advanced tools, depending on my needs and skill.

Don't buy it if...

You don’t like the idea that your software will expire in 3 years despite having paid for it, and the interface looks too much like the Pro version for your liking.

For more creative essentials, we've tested and reviewed the best video editing software, the best free video editing software, and the best video editing apps for mobile devices.

Adobe Premiere Rush (2025) review

3:53 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro Software & Services | Comments: Off

Premiere Pro is Adobe’s high end video editor, so it’s not for everyone. Heck, even regular old Premiere Elements can feel too powerful to some.

Isn’t there something incredibly simple that can work on both computers and mobile devices? Enter Adobe Premiere Rush.

As the name implies, it's all about cutting content quickly. It's ranked among our best video editing apps, with its emphasis on ease-of-use and simplicity for creating social media or marketing content. I took a look at the latest version to see how it fares.

Adobe Premiere Rush: Pricing & plans

An app that’s free to use, is multi-platform, and easy to download and install. Can’t get much better than that

Getting your hands on a simple video editor is one thing, but everyone will ask, “how much will this cost me?”

And there’s good news here too: Adobe Premiere Rush is actually free. You do need to set up an Adobe ID in order to use it (if you don’t already have one), but this is free too. It also comes bundled free with other Adobe apps if you're already a subscriber.

You can download Rush for your computer via the Creative Cloud app, and for your mobile device via its app store or by clicking here.

Clean, simple and effective.

Score: 5/5

Adobe Premiere Rush: Interface

Adobe Premiere Rush during our review — (Image credit: Adobe // Future)

Premiere Rush’s interface remains very similar on various devices, and although icons may be located in different areas, it will take you seconds to transfer your skills from one machine to another

We were pleasantly surprised to see that the interface is remarkably similar whether you’re working on a computer, phone or tablet. It’s not identical, mind, as the aim is to play to each platform’s strengths, but at least the tools are grouped together.

For instance, those to control and manipulate Graphics. Effects, Colour correction, Speed adjustments, Audio and Cropping can be found top right on a computer, but at the bottom of the screen on a phone. Icons to control expanding the audio layers, revealing control tracks, cutting, deleting and duplicating a selected clip, are all on a sidebar lower left of the interface on a computer. Those tools will also be at the bottom of a phone’s screen, separated from the others by a divider line.

This may feel like the interface is different, but such changes are actually minor, and as the icons are identical, it will take you seconds to recognise what you’re after and learn where they are positioned when moving from one device to another.

Perhaps the biggest difference between devices is how the playhead behaves. On a computer, it acts as you would expect a video editor’s playhead to: click and drag it to another location to skim through your footage, or click on another location on your timeline for it to jump to that point. On a mobile device, that playhead remains fixed at the centre: the project itself moves left or right as you place your finger on the screen and drag left or right.

This plays to each device’s strengths, as a limited screen real estate demands compromises. One thing to bear in mind: you can only edit in the portrait orientation for a phone.

Score: 4.5/5

Adobe Premiere Rush: Editing

Rush’s way of editing is similar to CapCut or Final Cut Pro, and if you’re used to that, you’ll feel right at home, otherwise it will take you a few minutes to get used to it. But this is undeniably a powerful way to edit precisely and with speed

The aim of Premiere Rush is to help you create a project very quickly and with that in mind, it uses what Final Cut Pro and CapCut users would recognise as a ‘magnetic timeline’, which means when you alter the length of a clip in your project, you don’t end up with a gap between it and any clip that you’d added further along the timeline. Instead, they all move to fill that gap. Extend a clip and they’re all pushed forward. You can easily swap the order of the clips and no gap is ever left in your timeline. This actually helps you build an edit incredibly quickly.

By default, it looks like you can only work with a single layer of audio and video, which also helps give a user the impression that this is a simple app. Although you can certainly work with it like that, Premiere Rush actually supports up to 4 layers of video and 3 of audio, allowing you to place clips over others, thereby creating much more complex projects.

Incidentally, this magnetic timeline we described above, only works on the first layer. When you add a clip above another, that upper clip will actually attach itself to a lower one. Delete the lower clip and that upper clip will be gone too. Move that lower clip to another location, and this will also move the upper clip(s) connected to it. This is something worth bearing in mind as it could easily confuse a novice editor or one not used to this way of working.

Score: 4.5/5

Adobe Premiere Rush: Effects

An acceptable range of effects, with some useful features, although some, like ‘Speed’ feel very primitive by today’s standards

Premiere Rush comes with a handful of effects, such as animated overlays, be they text layers, lower thirds, or animated transitions, and they are all applied on a second layer (meaning if you didn’t already know you could work with multiple layers in Rush, that would’ve been a big clue!) Each graphic is fully customisable with changeable parameters appearing when you select it (to the right on a computer, at the bottom on a phone).

Aside from those animated transitions, you’ll also find a handful of ‘standard’ ones in the Effects section, along with Pan and Zoom, and Reframe tools. We were somewhat disappointed the Pan and Zoom tool only worked on photos.

We quite liked that you can make colour adjustments, either based on filters or through manual alterations, and save those changes as new presets you can use and apply on other clips.

Sadly, we found the speed alteration tool to be very basic. We couldn’t detect any frame blending. Instead, the slower the clip became the more the video stuttered, as frames were simply copied to accommodate for the increased length.

Score: 3.5/5

You can upload your project to various social media sites, as well as saving a copy to your hard drive, but the loss of syncing between devices is puzzling and sorely missed

When it comes to sharing, you can export your project to your local drive, or upload it to YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Behance. You even have access to some advanced format settings if you need them, which is great for pro users.

There is however a feature that is no longer present and feels like a great loss: you used to be able to sync your project between various devices, as long as they were all logged in to the same Adobe ID. This allowed you to work on your phone, and continue editing on your computer, and vice versa, giving you great flexibility. Sadly, Adobe nuked that functionality in 2024.

We could understand that this would’ve been seen as an advanced feature for a free app, but why not preserve it for those who pay for one of Adobe’s various subscription packages? Killing it for all was very disappointing.

Score: 3/5

Should I try Adobe Premiere Rush?

Try it if...

You’re looking for a video editor that’s easy to use, which is compatible across multiple devices, and is free

Don't try it if...

You need more powerful effects tools, don’t like the concept of a ‘magnetic timeline’, and don’t like the loss of functionality.

I tested out this Hinomi ergonomic office chair – and it’s a serious space-saver with a big catch

2:12 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Comments: Off

The Hinomi H1 Pro has more adjustability than I know what to do with. There are adjustments for nearly every portion of the chair. It's the kind of chair that if you need a chair, period, this one can solve what you need it for. The arms can fold up and away, or be dialled in to exactly what you may want, the backrest can be fine-tuned to fit your needs, the piston itself can be swapped for a taller one to suit all heights, and even if you don't have storage for a chair at your desk you can fold this chair in half, something I have never seen before, and you can then tuck it away under your desk space to save on that room.

Of all of the features that this chair packs into a reasonably priced chair, the folding is by far the best for me - it's a feature not even found on most of the best office chairs around.

While most people adjust the chair to fit the arms under the desk, others may adapt the desk to raise it slightly to accommodate the arms (if they have a standing desk). But, a third option arises with the H1 Pro: you can keep your desk exactly as is, and you can fold the chair completely away underneath the desk, making room for whatever else you may have planned in that space.

This is a fantastic solution if you're crammed for space, if your office is multi-purpose, or if you're particular about your workspace and want to ensure that others don't try to sit at your desk out of sheer confusion about what's happening to your chair.

Hinomi H1 Pro: Pricing and Availability

The Hinomi H1 Pro retails for around $580, with the ability to ship globally directly from Hinomi's website. You can also find this chair widely available on third-party sites, such as Amazon.

Hinomi H1 Pro: Unboxing & first impressions

The chair arrived nearly fully assembled, requiring only about 5 minutes of effort on my part to set it up. The build overall feels solid, though I was a bit weary of the abundance of plastic parts.

It may be because the grey color is a bit dull, since I opted for the flagship Ice Green colorway, or maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me, but at first glance, the grey looks a bit cheap, though it feels fine.

The Ice Green mesh feels comfortable, neither too rough on the skin nor too soft, yet firm enough to provide support as needed.

Hinomi H1 Pro: Design & Build Quality

Specs

Weight Capacity: 300 lb
Adjustments: 3D lumbar (height + tension), 5D armrests, recline to 136°, seat depth, headrest
Tilt Angles: recline to 136°

The Hinomi H1 Pro also features a unique design. I don't know what it is. It does everything at once, but in doing so, it looks a tad gimmicky. However, the features it offers are helpful. That's where I can land; this chair may look different, but its functionality makes up for it. This is the chair that won't be in an executive's corner office, but it could be in their home office, providing the comfort they want.

The plastic design helps keep the weight down on the chair; however, under load and stress, I have occasionally heard a squeak, which I don't love. But, again, the flip to that statement is that this chair is rated for up to 300 lbs, and even when I put the chair to the test and had a friend of mine who is 305lbs sit down in this chair, there were no issues, no damage, no failures in functionality, nor discomfort. My friend asked if he could keep the chair, as most are not as comfortable, especially for people of his size.

I mentioned it briefly above, but another element that makes this chair interesting is its highly adjustable, nearly modular nature. The armrests can fold away entirely, the chair has a leg rest, and it has the option to fold flat. This is quite impressive for a single chair to accomplish all of this at once.

Hinomi H1 Pro: In use

I've had this chair in my ever-so-robust rotation of chairs for 123 days now. In that time, I've put in plenty of hours working in this chair, even for hours on end. So far, the chair has performed wonderfully. I haven't noticed any issues with the features, the adjustments, or the previously mentioned folding mechanism.

Although I was concerned that the plastic pieces would break easily, I have yet to experience any damage to the chair. With that being said, I've had some team members sit on this chair and mention that the lumbar support is not comfortable for them, no matter how many times I try to adjust everything for them.

Speaking of adjustments, the footrest has been great, the recline has been smooth and easy, the armrests have been pretty good as well, sometimes coming in clutch with needing to push an arm back and out of the way entirely for specific occasions.

I've used the folding feature more often than I expected. I thought I'd use it from time to time, to move things around or try it out. However, even in my home office/studio space, where I have plenty of room, I have found it highly convenient to fold this chair down and push it out of the way under a desk I'm testing, so I can bring in more gear to test. This ability would be invaluable for smaller home offices, guest rooms, condos, apartments, and other similar spaces.

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	Sleek and minimal	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	Very easy to use	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Practicality	Practical for some	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price	Highly priced	⭐⭐⭐⭐

Hinomi H1 Pro: Final verdict

The Hinomi H1 Pro is a highly adjustable ergonomic chair featuring comfortable mesh, a convenient folding ability, a legrest, and an excellent warranty. However, it may not look like the fanciest chair, but once you sit in it, you'll see just how comfortable and adjustable it is. If you're in the market for a chair that saves space while offering high levels of adjustability, check out the H1 Pro.

I think these cheap, comfy headphones mostly overcome their flaws in testing… bar one key area

1:30 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Audio Computers Gadgets Headphones Wireless Headphones | Tags: EQ, RRP | Comments: Off

Happy Plugs Pro: Two-minute review

The budget headphones market is becoming increasingly competitive. As more manufacturers cut the cost of their cans, it’s now relatively easy to snag yourself a decent pair of over-ears for well under $100. And the Happy Plugs Play Pro definitely fit into this savings-conscious category.

These cans may not quite compete with the very best cheap headphones out there, but they still provide relatively strong audio and okay(ish) ANC (active noise cancellation). The Play Pro also rock an unfussy yet attractive design that looks classier than you’d expect at such a reasonable price. As for comfort, these are some of the most comfy headphones I’ve ever worn. Really.

Despite housing five internal mics to assist with the ANC, the Play Pro aren’t great at shielding your ears from external sounds. Getting any noise-cancelling features in a cheap pair of cans is obviously welcome, no question. Still, there’s no disguising that there are far better options out there – like the superb Earfun Wave Pro, which are actually a little cheaper than Happy Plugs’ headphones.

Battery life with the Play Pro is borderline stellar. Switch off ANC and you can squeeze 50 hours of juice out of these cans, which is more than respectable. It’s just a pity there’s no idle mode on show here, meaning you have to remember to switch them off manually or they’ll stay paired to your smartphone/tablet.

Whatever device you’re planning to pair the Play Pro with over Bluetooth, you should know Happy Plugs hasn’t provided any software to let you tweak or set custom audio profiles. With no app available, you’re stuck with the default audio experience the company has created. To the Swedish firm’s credit, the Play Pro actually sound pretty good, with these over-ears’ potent bass being a particular highlight.

I spent the better part of a month with these cheap – but, crucially, not “cheap-feeling” – cans and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I’ve enjoyed listening to them. If nothing else, I’ll always remember them for being the headphones I was wearing during the last walk I took my beloved husky on before I had to reluctantly rehome him.

The Play Pro’s reasonably well-balanced audio brought tears to my eyes as I was listening to my all-time favorite song – Sonnet by The Verve – thanks to their loud, fairly punchy soundscape. Here come the waterworks again.

Moving past my doggo sadness, I’ll also give props to the Play Pro for being excellent for hands-free calls. Happy Plugs claims its headphones have a radius of around 50ft, and I experienced no distortion or break up when talking on calls even when I was several rooms away from my phone.

If you don’t want to break the bank on your next set of headphones, the Happy Plugs Play Pro are a solid option that are well worth a look. There’s no denying the likes of the fantastic 1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51 are superior, though, while the Panasonic RB-M600 are also worth considering, along with the best over-ear headphones on the market.

Happy Plugs Play Pro review: Specifications

Drivers	40mm
Active noise cancellation	Yes
Battery life (quoted)	50 hours (ANC off) 35 hours (ANC on)
Bluetooth type	Bluetooth 5.4
Weight	253g
Waterproofing	IPX4

Happy Plugs Play Pro review: Price and availability

Close up of the control buttons on the earcups of the Happy Plugs Play Pro over-ear headphones — (Image credit: Future / Dave Meikleham)

Released in March 2025
RRP of $59.99 / £59.99 / AU$120 (approx.)

The Happy Plugs Play Pro currently retail for $59 / $59 / AU$120 (approx.) – though at the time of writing, availability is limited on the Happy Plugs store. They first launched after CES 2025, and are available in either no-nonsense White or Black colorways.

Be warned: they’re not all that easy to find. Currently, they’re unavailable on Amazon US or UK, though I did find them in stock from retailers like B&Q and Very here in my native Blighty. Seeing as the Play Pro haven’t been out for long, it’s hardly surprising they haven’t dropped below that initial price tag just yet.

Happy Plugs Play Pro review: Features

Close up of the the control buttons of the Happy Plugs Play Pro over-ear headphones — (Image credit: Future / Dave Meikleham)

Long-lasting battery life
Middling ANC
IPX4 waterproof rating

Look up “no frills” in the dictionary, and you’ll see a picture of the Happy Plugs Play Pro. Not literally, of course, but when it comes to features, it's safe to say these headphones are lacking.

Considering there’s no software or app support, these budget cans' biggest selling point has to be their excellent battery life. Once you juice these pups up, you won’t have to give your charger as much as a glance for days at a time.

With ANC turned off, I found the Happy Plugs’ claim that the Play Pro will last for 50 hours pretty much bang on the money. That’s some impressive sonic stamina for a pair of over-ears that cost less than $60. A word of caution, though – the review sample I’ve been testing wouldn’t enter idle mode when I accidentally left them connected to my iPhone 14 Pro.

Instead, you have to manually hold down the power button to send these cans to sleep. This is a flaw I discovered when I forgot my phone while going to see Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning recently, only to be greeted by a blue power light on the Play Pro once I got back to my apartment after 2 hours and 49 minutes of death-defying Tiny Tom stunts. The lack of a sleep mode is a missing feature that could prove annoying if you mistakenly leave them paired with a device overnight.

As for ANC, Happy Plugs’ cans are obviously no match for the best noise-cancelling headphones at such a change purse-friendly price point. They cost just $59, so I’m simply happy ANC makes the cut at all… even if the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

Do these cheap-and-cheerful over-ears keep out distracting indoor sounds? More or less. Once I clicked the noise-cancelling button – which allows you to switch between ANC and Transparency mode – and ramped the volume up to around 50%, my lobes were mercifully spared the din of my upstairs neighbor’s daily attempts to butcher ever last note of Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street on his saxophone.

The Play Pro’s ANC isn’t anywhere near as effective in outdoor surroundings. During many walks with these over-ears, I was constantly distracted by the rumbling of passing cars and screeches of vexed children, even when my favorite tunes were playing at 100% volume. I appreciate that Happy Plugs has managed to squeeze ANC into these aggressively priced cans, but the end results aren’t impressive.

While I’m giving the firm a pat on the back (albeit not a hearty one), kudos to Happy Plugs for making the Play Pro IPX4 waterproof rated. Granted, it’s been uncommonly warm and dry in my homeland of Scotland recently. Yet the one time I was caught in a brief downpour while wearing these headphones, the passing shower happily didn’t cause any audio distortion.

Features score: 2.5/5

Happy Plugs Play Pro review: Design

Earcups, turned inwards, of the Happy Plugs Play Pro over-ear headphones — (Image credit: Future / Dave Meikleham)

Pleasingly lightweight
Supremely comfortable to wear
Fold up design allows for easy storage

Wearing the Happy Plugs Play Pro is akin to giving your cranium a cuddle. These over-ears are light, breathable and come with foam cushions that are oh-so-kind on the lobes.

I’ve worn these affordable ANC cans for dozens of hours and I’m struggling to recall a more comfortable set of headphones I’ve either owned or tested. As much as I love my Apple AirPods Max, I usually find the cups start to irritate my ears after 90 minutes or so. By contrast, I can cheerily wear the Play Pro for hours on end and forget I still have these budget offerings clamped around my ears.

With a minimalist-yet-sturdy design constructed from matte plastics, these cans definitely feel like they should cost more than $59. The foam used on the cups and the middle of the Play Pro’s adjustable headband may attract a little sweat, but I can handle my ears getting a tad moist when the materials feel this comforting wrapped around my dome. I also dig the silver brushed metal that appears on the band should you extend it.

While it might be a slight stretch to describe the Play Pro as “premium”, they certainly don’t feel cheap. Tipping the scales at a svelte 253g, these cans are easy to carry around, and they’re made even more portable thanks to their fold-up design.

Design score: 4/5

Happy Plugs Play Pro review: Sound quality

Happy Plugs Play Pro over-ear headphones on a stand, on a wooden surface — (Image credit: Future / Dave Meikleham)

Resonant, ear-rumbling bass output
Vocals can get drowned out
A lack of software means no EQ tweaks

Unlike Goldilocks, that porridge-stealing scoundrel who had her pick of breakfast options, you’re stuck with the Play Pro’s out-of-the-box audio serving. As there’s no available app, fiddling with EQ settings is off the table. OK, I’ll drop the stupid Three Bears analogy.

At this price, I won’t overly slam Happy Plugs for not providing software options for its sub-$100 over-ears. That’s not just due to the price of the Play Pro; it’s also because these headphones actually sound pretty good even though you can’t tweak their audio profile.

Naturally, the soundscape these cans offer can’t rival the best headphones out there. Yet if funds are tight, you could do way worse than the Play Pro. Bass feels relatively weighty, mostly avoiding that dreaded tinniness often associated with budget headphones, while also stopping short of dominating tracks that rock deeper melodies.

My musical tastes normally run the gamut of old to, well… older. While testing the Play Pro, I forced myself to listen to tracks that were at least semi-contemporary to complement the ageing bangers that prop up my iPhone’s various playlists.

Enter Alex Warren’s Ordinary. The chamber pop mega hit feels like it has dominated the charts for a veritable ice age, even if it was only released this past February.

The stirring percussion of this love song’s chorus is the audio equivalent of the T-Rex’s approaching footsteps in Jurassic Park. And that’s before you get to the singer himself, who has a baritone so deep, it makes the late, great James Earl Jones sound like Alvin or one of his chipmunk bros. I love a lower register and the Play Pro’s bass performance instantly impresses.

Alas, vocals can occasionally get a little drowned out during songs with a lot of instruments. A recent playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077 on my gaming PC inspired me to fire up snappy synthpop melody I Really Want to Stay at Your House by Rosa Walton & Hallie Coggins. Like Ordinary, the Play Pro handle the bass-heavy chorus sections with aplomb, however the song's flatter mid-sections come across as rather flat and muddled.

Not that vocal clarity is something these headphones are incapable of delivering. As someone who obsessively listens to podcasts on a daily basis, I found the Play Pro produced precise audio that was rarely difficult to pick out as long as the voices in question weren’t having to speak over background music.

And no, you spent three hours listening to a movie podcast about surprise ‘80s baby blockbuster, Look Who’s Talking. Don’t ask.

Generally speaking, the Play Pro sound loud and decently punchy. Mid-range audio doesn’t always come across as hugely accurate or detailed, but at this price I’m fairly content with the soundscape Happy Plugs has landed upon with these cans.

Sound quality score: 3.5/5

Happy Plugs Play Pro: Value

Happy Plugs Play Pro headphones and their carrying bag on a wooden surface — (Image credit: Future / Dave Meikleham)

Quality cups and sturdy plastic
Travel pouch is appreciated

Like to make a saving without massively compromizing on quality? The Happy Plugs Play Pro hit a pretty good sweet spot between price and performance. Sure, there are better sub-$100 cans out there – the aforementioned Earfun Wave Pro say hello – yet these perfectly decent headphones remain attractive at an alluring $59.

Well-built and with a carry pouch thrown in for good measure, the Play Pro are exactly the sort of affordable, commute-friendly cans you can throw in a bag and not worry about thanks to their price tag.

Sound is solid, their design assured without being garish, and battery performance above and beyond for a cheap pair of headphones. Yes, ANC could perform better, but it can just about get the ambient sound-slaying job done in the right circumstances.

Though I wish Happy Plugs had designed a companion app to allow me to create custom audio profiles, if a lack of such support was necessary to get the Play Pro in at $59 / £59 / AU$120 (approx.), then so be it. On the value front, the Swedish company has done a commendable job with these cheap yet reasonably classy over-ears.

Value score: 4/5

Happy Plugs Play Pro review: scorecard

Category	Comment	Score
Features	Impressive battery life, but zero software support and subpar ANC drag the score down.	2.5/5
Design	Fairly stylish, extremely comfortable and easy to reach media controls.	4/5
Sound quality	Punchy without hitting premium territory, big bass makes up for muddled mid-range performance.	3.5/5
Value	Sound is decent, materials don’t feel cheap, ANC makes the cut, and battery life excels.	4/5

Happy Plugs Play Pro: Should I buy?

Happy Plugs Play Pro over-ear headphones bent inwards on a wooden surface — (Image credit: Future / Dave Meikleham)

Buy them if...

You want quality and comfort
Well-built, with foam ear cups that practically feel like cushions once you slip them around your head, these cheap headphones feel like they’ve been made with love. If you frequently go on long trips, you’ll love how comfortable these cans are.

You dig big bass
The Play Pro bring the bass… and then some. If you listen to a lot of R&B or like musicians with a Darth Vader-esque register, you’ll appreciate the audio output of these over-ears, which do a top notch job of emphasizing lower end tones.

Don't buy them if...

Quality ANC is crucial to you
There are so many headphones out there that do noise cancelling more effectively than the Play Pro. While ANC is reasonably effective in quieter indoor situations, go for a walk in a crowded area with these cans and you’ll hear every last bellow, laugh and tire screech.

You like to tweak EQ settings
As someone who constantly fiddles with the settings of his Sony Inzone H9, the lack of an app for the Play Pro really bugs me. If the default audio isn’t to your liking when you first unbox these over-ears, there’s nothing you can do about it.

Also consider

	Happy Plugs Play Pro	1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51	Earfun Wave Life
Drivers	40mm	400m dynamic	40mm
Active noise cancellation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Battery life	50 hours (ANC off); 35 hours (ANC on)	100 hours (ANC off); 65 hours (ANC on)	60 hours (ANC off); 37 house (ANC on)
Weight	253g	246g	264g
Connectivity	Bluetooth 5.4	Bluetooth 5.2; 3.5mm	Bluetooth 5.4; USB-C
Waterproofing	IPX4	N/A	N/A

1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51
The overlord of cheap over-ears sport super-strong sound quality, top-tier ANC for the price and exceptional battery life. For less than $100, you’ll be hard pressed to find a more durable, better-sounding pair of budget headphones. Bravo, 1More.
See our full 1More Sonoflow Pro HQ51 review

Earfun Wave Life
At around $10 / £10 cheaper than the Play Pro, the Earfun Wave Life offer better ANC and longer-lasting battery life than Happy Plugs’ cans. Audio quality between the two is generally on par, though the winning Earfun app gives these over-ears the edge.
See our full Earfun Wave Life review

How I tested

Happy Plugs Play Pro over-ear headphones on a wooden surface — (Image credit: Future / Dave Meikleham)

Tested for three weeks
Used at home, outdoors and during commutes

I tested the Happy Plugs Play Pro over a three-week period. During that time I used these over-ears in different environments, spanning my ground-floor apartment, on walks through the center of my city and on public buses. I primarily connected the headphones to my iPhone 14 Pro – and to a lesser extent my iPad Pro 13-inch (2024) – to listen to my favorite tunes and various podcasts.

While listening to music, I ensured I covered a variety of genres, as outlined in the TechRadar testing playlist. I also tried to connect Happy Plugs’ cans to my Windows 11 laptop via a USB-C cable, but this only charges the headphones – you can’t listen to them over a wired connection.

UPerfect UMax 24: Pricing and Availability

The UPerfect UMax 24 can be found on UPerfect's website for $439.99, currently on sale from $540. The UMax 24 can also be purchased from Amazon and a few other retailers.

The screen comes with a two-year warranty and global delivery, making it accessible to almost anyone who wishes to obtain one.

UPerfect UMax 24: Unboxing & first impressions

I'll be honest, I didn't realize what I was getting into when I grabbed this monitor, nor did I understand how beneficial it could be. It was going to be a big display that wasn't powerful enough to be my main and not portable enough to take with me. Instead, I found that it was a fantastic in-between, giving me a near desktop-level monitor experience but in something that I can toss in the carrying case, easily carry with me around the house, or to a special location or on a road trip, or if needed I could even throw this in a larger bag like a suitcase and fly with it.

Right off the bat, I appreciate the dual USB-C inputs and the HDMI port, although I wish it were a full-size HDMI port instead of Micro-HDMI. However, I can look past that, and I love the kickstand. There is a VESA mounting point, but I'll discuss that further later. What would be super annoying is if this screen didn't have a way to hold itself up, but thankfully, this one does.

At first glance, this thing is impressive. And that feeling only continued once I plugged it in. Even the people around me when I plugged it in had to make comments. The matte display, rich 2K on a massive portable screen —everything. It's beautiful. Of course, I wish it were higher resolution, but I also understand why it isn't. At this size, not everyone wants a 4K display, and creating a 4K portable panel at this size would be more expensive and power-hungry. I'm sure that's just the start of it.

UPerfect UMax 24: Design & Build Quality

Specs

Display: 24.5″ IPS
Resolution: 2560×1440
Refresh Rate: 165 Hz
Response: 10 ms
Brightness: ~320 nits
Color: 100% sRGB
Ports: 2× USB-C (Alt‑DP + PD), HDMI 2.0
Weight: 2.64 kg

The UMax 24 is well-built. The screen feels sturdy, the matte coating feels and looks of high quality, the bezel is relatively thin, and the kickstand is made of nice metal that stays in place nicely.

The ports come with some adapters to curve the ports around, pointing them towards the middle of the display rather than the outside, which helps enhance the elegant design of this display even more. Lastly, the kickstand tucks away neatly when not in use, making it disappear when not in use.

UPerfect UMax 24: In use

I talked about my not-so-temporary setup on the second story of my home in previous reviews. This is the setup on the Tribesigns Mobile Standing Desk, which once featured the fantastic Dell Pro 32 monitor. After I finished my review on that display, I expected to change up this area and get rid of this desk. It felt either too built out or not built out enough for what I wanted to do with it. Overall, I didn't need another workspace, but then I remembered the UPERFECT UMax 24 monitor that I was testing as well, and I figured it would make a perfect addition to the setup.

I've tried a ton of setups with this now, I've used the monitor on the desk itself, with the kickstand holding it up. All around, this might be my favorite setup for this simple workstation. I have also tried with a few different monitor arms from MSI, such as their new MAG MT201D. I have also tried BenQ's monitor arm, the BSH01, and a few others, I can't remember the name of. All of these worked well, providing a few different styles and feels for this space. However, since I am going for a super minimalist setup here, driven by the minimalist monitor, I chose to stick with the display's built-in kickstand to hold it up.

Using this display as a workstation, a single monitor for my MacBook Pro has been great. It's crisp and smooth, and thanks to the USB-C connectivity, I can also use this with my iPad Mini, another iPad, a laptop, or even a Nintendo Switch if I want to.

I can run from my laptop of choice with a single USB-C cable to the monitor, and I can see everything. I can also run the monitor off my laptop's battery, and we can get to work very simply. I also wanted to charge while doing this, so I connected a cable to the second USB-C port and ran that line to the wallet outlet.

So far, this monitor has been great for writing content, emails, web browsing, project management, research, and more. While yes, there is a part of me that, of course, wishes this was a higher resolution, what I have noticed is that I don't mind the 2K resolution as much as I thought I would for this specific monitor. It feels right. it feels like if this were 4K it would feel wrong.

Using this monitor in a setup location is an experience. Setting one up in a semi-permanent location has been wonderful. It is, in fact, one of the largest portable monitors around, so it feels like it was meant for this kind of simple setup.

As I mentioned, I have also been able to take this monitor to one of the businesses I work with a handful of times. Carrying it in the second bag feels a bit clunky, but pulling it out and having all that screen real-estate has been fantastic.

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	Minimalistically massive	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	Incredibly easy to use	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Practicality	Highly practical for those who want more screen	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price	Priced well for the product	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

UPerfect UMax 24: Final verdict

The UPerfect UMax 24 has set out to do the unthinkable, create a portable display that is far larger than most portables, and yet also make it work well enough to be a semi-permanent to permanent setup.

If you're looking for a solid monitor for your desk, and you move a lot, work from anywhere, you have space or budget constraints, or you just like having fun tech, this portable monitor is great for you.

After a couple of weeks testing the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i, I found its performance and screen impressive, but its battery life? Not so much

7:33 am |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Computing Gadgets Gaming Computers Gaming Laptops | Tags: CPU, OLED, RAM, Total War | Comments: Off

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Two-minute review

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is an ideal desktop replacement with more than enough power to take on just about everything in PC gaming spaces and at max settings for the most part.

While there are some situations you might need to bring some settings down a smidge (cough*Cyberpunk 2077*cough), that’s only really due to the higher resolution OLED panel that only requires a bit of power.

Starting at $2,909.99 / £2,700 / AU$4,999, the Legion Pro 7i comes with an Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU, Nvidia RTX 50-series GPUs, a 16-inch 2560 x 1600p OLED display, and up to 64GB DDR5 RAM and 2TB PCIe SSD storage.

Along with the performance and OLED screen are a nice assortment of ports, a full keyboard, and a responsive touchpad that is, unfortunately, not ideally aligned.

For some, especially those who don’t take their gaming laptops on the road all that much, this might be among the best gaming laptops out there. But poor battery life might make one take pause if you plan on getting a laptop that you want to use regularly untethered.

Still, if you have the cash and don’t plan on transporting your gaming laptop often (or have a big backpack), the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is worth a look, especially if you want a larger 16-inch screen for your gaming experience.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Price and availability

A Lenovo Legion Pro 7i on a table — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

How much does it cost? Starting at $2,909.99 / £2,700 / AU$4,999
When is it available? Available now
Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK, and Australia

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i might not be Lenovo’s most expensive gaming laptop – that honor goes to the Legion Pro 9i – but it’s still very expensive. Its most affordable price is a sizable $2,909.99 / £2,700 / AU$4,999.

Starting out with an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti GPU, 32GB DDR5 RAM, and 1TB SSD, pricing goes up from there. The review unit I have, upgraded with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 and 2TB SSD, costs $3,559.99 / £2,990.00 / AU$6,839.00, while the maxed-out configuration of Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU, Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090, 64GB DDR5 RAM, and 2TB SSD is a jaw-dropping $4,424.49 / £3,900.00 / AU$7,079.00.

As expensive as the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is, larger gaming laptops tend to come with an even heftier price tag. The Origin EON17-X v2 I reviewed last year started at $3,400.00 (about £2,610.00 / AU$5,120.00) for a configuration of Intel Core i9-14900HX, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080, 16GB of RAM, and a 17-inch 1440p@240Hz screen.

Of course, you can customize the lid on the EON17-X v2 with whatever design you want, but this does make the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i look affordable in comparison.

Price: 4 / 5

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Specs

The underside of the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

No matter which configuration you choose, the CPU you get is the Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX, a 24-core/24-thread processor with a peak frequency of 5.4GHz.

However, there is some wiggle room with the GPU where you can choose from an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080, or RTX 5090, 32GB or 64GB RAM, and between 1TB or 2TB SSD storage.

	Lenovo Legion Pro 7i base configuration	Lenovo Legion Pro 7i review configuration	Lenovo Legion Pro 7i max configuration
Price:	$2,909.99 / £2,799.99 / AU$4,999.00	$3,559.99 / £2,990.00 / AU$6,839.00	$4,424.49 / £3,900.00 / AU$7,079.00
CPU:	Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX	Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX	Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX
Graphics:	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti Laptop GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU
RAM:	32GB DDR5	32GB DDR5	64GB DDR5
Screen:	16" WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, HDR 1000 True Black, 500 nits, 240Hz	16" WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, HDR 1000 True Black, 500 nits, 240Hz	16" WQXGA (2560 x 1600), OLED, HDR 1000 True Black, 500 nits, 240Hz
Storage:	1TB SSD	2TB SSD	2TB SSD
Ports:	HDMI 2.1, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C (power delivery 140W), 3x USB-A, Headphone / mic Combo, RJ45	HDMI 2.1, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C (power delivery 140W), 3x USB-A, Headphone / mic Combo, RJ45	HDMI 2.1, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C (power delivery 140W), 3x USB-A, Headphone / mic Combo, RJ45
Wireless:	Wi-Fi 7 / BlueTooth 5.4	Wi-Fi 7 / BlueTooth 5.4	Wi-Fi 7 / BlueTooth 5.4
Camera:	720p with e-privacy shutter	720p with e-privacy shutter	720p with e-privacy shutter
Weight:	Starting at < 2.72kg / 6lbs	Starting at < 2.72kg / 6lbs	Starting at < 2.72kg / 6lbs
Dimensions:	21.9mm-26.6mm x 364mm x 275.9mm / 0.86″- 1.04″ x 14.33″ x 10.86″	21.9mm-26.6mm x 364mm x 275.9mm / 0.86″- 1.04″ x 14.33″ x 10.86″	21.9mm-26.6mm x 364mm x 275.9mm / 0.86″- 1.04″ x 14.33″ x 10.86″

Considering that the base configuration is still fairly expensive, it’s no wonder that all the configurations keep the more premium appointments. Specifically, no matter what you do, you’ll get that OLED 1600p @ 240Hz panel with HDR 1000.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Design

The right-side ports on the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

This is a big computer
Large keyboard, touchpad aligned to the left
Lots of ports including Thunderbolt 4

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is big. It is a 16-inch laptop, after all. It’s fairly imposing in its matte “Eclipse Black” finish with only Legion emblazoned on the back of the lid and Lenovo in silver on the top back as flourishes. It’s also a little over an inch at its thickest.

This is not the most portable of gaming laptops. So, while it makes for a great desktop replacement, leave plenty of space in your backpack if you plan on getting this.

The left-side ports on the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Almost all the venting is underneath and back, so you don’t have to worry about hot air being blown onto you when gaming, assuming you’re using a mouse situated next to the laptop.

Besides the large 16-inch OLED screen, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i comes with a full-size keyboard complete with a ten-key numpad. There aren’t any standalone hotkeys, but plenty of keys have secondary functions, so I didn’t really miss them.

The keyboard of the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

The keycaps have a quality feel to them with a concave shape and textured feel that makes typing a relative pleasure. I do find the keyboard to feel a little big for some reason and find myself sometimes pressing the wrong button when reaching (mainly when gaming).

The touchpad is not oversized, but it’s set off to the left, which makes sense as the keyboard with the Numpad pushes the natural hand placement to the left as well. However, I’m not a fan of the touchpad’s placement – I would prefer it to be a bit more centered. At least, it’s accurate and responsive.

If you do want to use the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i as a desktop replacement, you’ll be happy to know that the port selection is fairly plentiful. It comes with an HDMI 2.1 port, a Thunderbolt 4 port, and a USB-C port, both of which support DisplayPort 2.1. There are also three USB-A ports and an Ethernet one, along with an eShutter button for privacy’s sake.

Design: 4 / 5

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Performance

A Lenovo Legion Pro 7i on a table playing a game — (Image credit: Future / James Holland)

Strong performance that’s limited somewhat by the power-hungry panel
Can run most games at max settings with speedy results
Sound quality is pretty good

Considering the powerful Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU and higher-end Nvidia 5000-series GPUs – I tested the model with an RTX 5080 – not to mention a minimum of 32GB of RAM, the gaming performance here is going to be quite robust.

Now, all that hardware has to power the 16-inch OLED panel which has a 2560 x 1600p resolution with a refresh rate of 240Hz. That panel also manages 500 nits of brightness and has HDR 1000 True Black support.

So, that can knock off up to 20 or 30 fps from the Lenovo Legion 7i’s performance if you want to take full advantage of this laptop’s display. It’s worth noting that it also achieves a DCI-P3 of 100%, making this a sharp looking, vibrant display. I definitely preferred running games like South of Midnight, Starfield, RoboCop: Rogue City, and Cyberpunk 2077 at that higher resolution.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Synthetic Benchmarks
Benchmark		Score
Geekbench 6.4 Single Core		3,103
Geekbench 6.4 Multi Core		19,829
Crossmark Overall		2,163
Crossmark Productivity		1,998
Crossmark Creativity		2,525
Crossmark Responsiveness		1,727
25GB File Copy Transfer Rate (MB/s)		2,030.38
3DMark Fire Strike		34,434
3DMark Time Spy		16,928
3DMark Fire Strike Ultra		11,388
3DMark Time Spy Extreme		8,337
3DMark Speed Way		4,301
3DMark Steel Nomad		3,999
3DMark Port Royal		10,958

Speaking of, I was able to run all those games at basically max settings, including Ray Tracing where applicable, with smooth results and crisp, clear images. I didn’t experience any skipping, stuttering, or screen tearing. Any way you cut it, this is a powerful gaming laptop that will hold up.

If you look at our benchmarks, you can get a solid idea of what to expect. Cyberpunk 2077 with everything maxed will look good and will be smooth enough, but won’t really take advantage of that high refresh rate as it gets just an okay 30 fps on average on 1600p, so if you plan on playing at the display's native resolution, make sure to use DLSS for the best experience.

However, there are plenty of games where I can achieve up to and above 100 fps even before compromising on settings.

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Gaming Benchmarks
Game & settings		Frames per second
Assassin's Creed Shadows (Ultra High, 1080p)		45 fps
Black Myth: Wukong (Cinematic, 1080p)		45 fps
Cyberpunk 2077 (Ultra, 1080p)		50 fps
Metro: Exodus (Extreme, 1080p)		63 fps
Monster Hunter Wilds (Very High, 1080p)		73 fps
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (Very High, 1080p)		163 fps
Total War: Warhammer III (Ultra, 1080p)		144 fps
Web Surfing Battery Informant		4:37
PCMark 10 Gaming Battery Test		1:36

As mentioned before, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i has a four-speaker system. I didn’t mention that it supports Nahimic Audio, so you get some spatial audio support. Laptops often have mediocre audio at best, but this one sounds pretty good.

Besides the usual caveat that laptop speakers will never surpass dedicated headphones or speakers, the sound is full with plenty of clarity. There’s not a lot of rumble (to be expected, of course), but there’s not anything else missing from the frequency range.

Lastly, the webcam with its 5MP resolution looks good and is pretty smooth to boot. If you get this laptop to stream, you might not need to get a dedicated webcam. It’s also nice that it has a privacy eShutter button.

Performance: 4.5 / 5

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i: Battery life

Suffers from the typical short battery life of a gaming laptop
Doesn’t do a great job of retaining charge while in sleep mode

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i Battery Test Results
Web Surfing Battery Informant		4:37 hours
PCMark 10 Gaming Battery Test		1:36 hours

The battery life on gaming laptops is typically not all that great. There are some exceptions, but a powerhouse sporting a 16-inch OLED screen with a 1600p resolution is not going to be one of them.

For proof, just look at our benchmarks. In our web surfing test, it lasted a whopping four and a half hours. That’s not great, but this isn’t a new MacBook Air that lasts almost 15 hours, nor is it supposed to be.

It’s not surprising that in the PCMark 10 gaming benchmark, it lasts just over an hour and a half. If you want extended cordless gaming, you should probably get a Steam Deck (or one of its competitors).

A little more concerning and a little more unexpected is the fact that the battery runs down even when in sleep mode. Now, this is not atypical, but there are plenty of laptops that don’t drop down to 35% battery life after being unplugged for a day, even though they haven’t been used.

Battery life: 3.5 / 5

Should you buy the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i?

Lenovo Legion Pro 7i scorecard
Category	Notes	Rating
Value	It may start at a hefty two grand asking price, but that’s not unusual for large screen gaming laptops.	4 / 5
Design	This laptop is massive, making it more of a desktop replacement than a portable gaming machine. At least, it has plenty of ports.	4 / 5
Performance	The gaming performance here is pretty great, only really limited by the fact that it also has to power an OLED screen.	4.5 / 5
Battery Life	The battery life is not great, though about what one would expect with a gaming powerhouse. However, it could do better holding a charge when asleep.	3.5 / 5
Final score	Despite a high cost and low battery life, the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is a very powerful machine, ideal for those wanting a gaming desktop replacement.	4 / 5

Buy the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i if...

You want a powerful desktop replacement
The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is quite big, and it’s quite powerful. If you’re looking for something that can replace a gaming desktop, this model is more than capable.

You want an OLED screen
The OLED screen here comes with a higher resolution and frame rate, not to mention strong HDR support and DCI-P3 color coverage. If you want a good OLED screen with your gaming laptop, you’re certainly getting it here.

You can afford it
This laptop has the latest and greatest powerful components (at least for a laptop), so it comes with a hefty price tag. Consider this one if money is no object.

Don't buy it if...

You have a limited budget
If you have limited cash for a gaming laptop, then the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is going to be out of your price range, considering its starting price is around 2K.

You want good battery life
Gaming laptops typically don’t have good battery life, and this laptop is no different. If you want one that can last a while without being plugged in, there’s a short list of options out there that don’t include this one.

How I tested the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i

Tested for a couple weeks
Used it for work, gaming, and streaming
Played different types of games

I used the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i for a couple of weeks, playing all sorts of games including Battlefield 2042, RoboCop: Rogue City, and Cyberpunk 2077, to get a feel for what this laptop is capable of.

I tried them at max settings, including Ray Tracing where applicable, mainly Cyberpunk, to see where their limitations are. I wrote most of this article on it and used it for some day-to-day browsing and streaming.

The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is ideal for gamers who want a desktop replacement that can handle just about everything gaming-wise and have the budget to afford that kind of gaming rig.

I’ve spent the last few years reviewing tech gear for gaming and otherwise, where I’ve gotten a feel for what to look for and how to put a piece of kit through its paces to see whether it’s worth the recommendation.

First reviewed July 2025

I reviewed the Haworth Upside Sit-to-Stand desk – and it’s a beautiful, minimalist desk that’s perfect for working from home

11:02 pm | July 17, 2025

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Comments: Off

The Haworth Upside Sit-to-Stand desk is a simple yet refined standing desk that can easily blend into most workspaces without looking overly extravagant or flashy.

Granted, it still costs a pretty penny, but it doesn't look overdone or gaudy. The Haworth Upside is understated, minimalist, and professional. But how does it stack up against the best standing desks I've reviewed? I tested it to find out.

Haworth Upside Sit-to-Stand Desk: Pricing and Availability

The Haworth Upside Standing Desk currently starts at $611, 15% off its original price of $719, as I write this paragraph. This price can range from around $1,000, depending on features, sizing, colorways, and whether you opt for the upgraded base type and paddle.

You can also add some accessories directly from Haworth, such as a power module, wire management clips, and a wire tray to catch all your cables and keep them tidy.

Haworth Upside Sit-to-Stand Desk: Unboxing & first impressions

The Haworth Upside Standing desk arrived super well-packaged in its box, ensuring that nothing would be damaged in transit to me. Once I started building, I was able to assemble my desk in just 18 minutes.

True, it's heavy, but I was able to do it by myself. One of the first things I noticed was the paddle. While intuitive, and many desks have had similar paddles, I wish there were a button of some kind so I could easily save multiple heights, just a press away. The paddle does work well, though, especially considering its purpose.

The desk itself is sharp. By sharp, I of course mean in design, as the corners are rounded, ensuring that they are not a sharp point, even though they are sharper than some of the softer-edged designs I have seen. I love the look of a sharper edge, but I also appreciate having them not be sharp to the touch.

Haworth Upside Sit-to-Stand Desk: Design & Build Quality

Specs

Dimensions: 23x58 inches
Height Range: 22.6–48.7 inches (dual-stage electric)
Load Capacity: 150lbs
Top Material: Landmark high-pressure laminate
Base Color: Smooth Plaster powder coat
Warranty: 10 years standard; GREENGUARD/BIFMA certified

This desk is simple, minimalist, and clean. I said it earlier, but that's the best way to describe this desk. There's no frills, nothing flashy, nothing distracting. It's a fantastic desk if you prefer a clean setup.

While you could, I probably wouldn't build out a super complex and fancy setup on this desk, but what I would love to do is have a clean laptop or iPad setup with a notebook, some physical books perhaps, maybe a single monitor setup, with a computer in a stand off to the side, and so on—a clean, simple setup, dedicated to focus and simplicity.

Adding to this simplicity, I love how clean the legs look, and I appreciate that they are more C-shaped than T-shaped. I prefer the C-Shape as it feels like there is more room for my legs. It also helps the legs appear closer to a wall if you are pushed up against it, making the legs look less bulky and stand out less.

The desktop appears to be resistant to scratches, yet it doesn't feel like I'd want to drop anything on it anytime soon. The wood feels a bit soft, but with how I use desks, I'm not too worried.

Haworth Upside Sit-to-Stand Desk: In use

I've had this desk in my rotation of desks for the last 124 days at the time of writing this review. So far, it's been functioning great. There haven't been any issues. I've used this desk for precisely what I mentioned above. It's been a fantastic laptop desk, I've gotten some dedicated writing done here, some project planning, some idea sketching with my iPad, some reading with physical books, and more. It's been an excellent desk for all of that.

The paddle controller was easy to get used to right away. Up is up, down is down. Easy enough. Since this desk appeared simple to me at first glance on the website, I chose the standard, simple paddle, which works just as expected. Up is up, down is down. Suppose you want to upgrade to the programmable paddle. In that case, it adds the ability to display the height and even set vibration alerts to remind you to move throughout the day, according to Haworth's website.

Moving up and down, even while holding the paddle, is smooth and effortless. The desk moves pretty quickly, but it's stable and relatively quiet. What more could you ask for in a standing desk?

Along with the Haworth desk, I also grabbed the Fern ergonomic chair (a review is coming soon) and the Elements 4-function table. This, paired with the Haworth Upside desk, makes for a powerful setup. The Elements 4-function table can serve as a footrest, a side table, an extension of the desk, or a riser for the desk. Expanding the functionality of your Haworth setup even further.

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	Minimalistically massive	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	Incredibly easy to use	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Practicality	Highly practical for those who want more screen	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price	Priced well for the product	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Haworth Upside Sit-to-Stand Desk: Final verdict

The Haworth Upside Desk is a beautifully simple electric sit-to-stand desk that makes me want to simplify even my most beautiful setup down to the essentials, streamlining everything. This desk is a great fit for home offices or if you have a private office where you can set up your own little space. If you prefer being able to click to a specific height, you'll want to opt for the more expensive paddle, but remember that it's still a paddle, just an upgraded one.

For more professional essentials, we've reviewed the best office chairs for ergonomics and comfort.

I tested a $6,799 Velocity Micro workstation – and it’s not what I expected

9:02 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Tags: CPU, GPU, PSU, RAM | Comments: Off

Velocity Micro's ProMagix HD80 is a powerhouse desktop computer, with a focus on professional users rather than gamers. That distinction is necessary because gamers notoriously require the best graphics available.

Unlike many of the best workstations I've seen, this computer does not boast the newest GPU; however, it does have a top-of-the-line CPU, ample RAM, solid storage, powerful ports, and effective cooling, making it an excellent machine for productivity and business work that may not be as graphics-intensive.

The GPU is no slouch, but it's not an RTX 5090, so don't expect to game at maximum settings. However, this is a work machine, and sometimes that distinction is still necessary, even in 2025, where the lines between work and home are more blurred than ever.

Velocity Micro ProMagix HD80: Pricing and Availability

The Velocity Micro ProMagix HD80 is a pre-built computer from Velocity Micro. They specialize in building computers to the specifications that are best suited for certain groups of people. A middleman that helps connect great computer hardware with consumers.

This model is meant for business productivity and is spec'd out to cost nearly $7,000. If you are interested in something like this, reach out to Velocity Micro or check out their website for their builds.

Velocity Micro ProMagix HD80: Unboxing & first impressions

The ProMagix HD80 packaging is very well done. It's packed in the box tightly to prevent damage in transit. The box is massive, and since I knew what was inside, I made sure to buddy-lift this box, rather than try to muscle it up myself and risk dropping it. Once I had everything moved to where I needed it, I opened the box and set up the items.

The case build looks fantastic, even on first glance. If you're not familiar with Velocity Micro, the brief answer is that they specialize in building custom PCs for gaming and workstations. They also offer builds like these, where they pre-select a great combination of gear to create a dream setup with a specific outcome in mind. This outcome, of course, is business productivity. One of the things that Velocity Micro is known for is its excellence, and let me tell you, taking a look at the build quality of this PC, I can agree that Velocity Micro has gone above and beyond in assembling this computer with precision, care, and intentionality.

The whole build is simplistic, but not in a cheap way. They intentionally chose to omit the RGB colorways everywhere except for the CPU cooler, as RGB is a pretty clear gaming aesthetic. To further the minimalist branding and loud design, a slight Velocity Micro badge is visible on the glass case, paying homage to the company that built this beast.

Velocity Micro ProMagix HD80: Design & Build Quality

Specs

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K (24-core, up to 5.70GHz Turbo)
GPU: NVIDIA RTX 4500 Ada, 24GB GDDR6
RAM: 64GB DDR5-6000 Kingston Fury RGB
Storage: 4TB Samsung 990 Pro + 2TB Kingston NV3 NVMe SSD
Motherboard: ASUS ProArt Z890-Creator (Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, 10Gb Ethernet)
Cooling: Velocity Micro 360mm liquid cooler + ARGB fans
PSU: 1000W 80+ Gold, Zero-RPM fan mode
Chassis: SX3 steel mid-tower (ATX/EATX), tool-less side panels

The ProMagix HD80 features a solid steel construction with mesh front and top panels, creating overall fantastic airflow for this machine. The internals of this PC feature clean routing and sleek, modular components that are easy to access, service, and upgrade in the future when needed.

The materials chosen are solid and intentionally understated. Velocity Micro understands that this is not intended for gamers; it's not designed for that purpose. It's intended for professionals.

Velocity Micro ProMagix HD80: In use

The design for the ProMagix HD80 from Velocity Micro is intended for creative professionals, specifically those who would use software such as Adobe, CAD, Revit, Blender, and similar applications. The Intel Ultra 9 effortlessly handles any workload I throw at it, thanks to its 64GB of RAM. For large files, the 6TB of storage works great, making it easy to store even massive files on this machine.

Another thing that this machine is excellent for is coding. I was able to run large databases, huge Postman files, and large codebases without any issue. The only spot that I began to notice issues was with GPU-heavy tasks or programs. The RTX 4500 is not the most cutting-edge GPU, but considering the focus of this machine, I'm not too upset. Plus, if you wanted one of the brand-new RTX 5090, you could pop one in here without hardly any work.

Attributes	Notes	Rating
Design	Sleek and minimal	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ease of use	Very easy to use	⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Practicality	Practical for some	⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price	Highly priced	⭐⭐⭐⭐

Velocity Micro ProMagix HD80: Final verdict

Velocity Micro's ProMagix HD80 is a beautifully crafted custom build that is ideal for professionals who need to have a machine that they know will perform even with intensive apps and programs, but it's also good to keep in mind that just becuase it's a powerful machine.

For more performance-driven machines, we've reviewed the best mobile workstations around.

The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM is the 4K OLED monitor for creators and pros that I’ve been waiting forever for

9:01 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Tags: HDR | Comments: Off

If patience is a virtue, the reward for digital creatives is the arrival of the first relatively affordable monitors based on OLED technology. Enter the new 32-inch 4K Asus ProArt PA32UCDM.

At $1,899 or £1,599, this is far from a cheap display. But it's still much more affordable than, say, Apple's Pro Display XDR, which starts at $4,999 without a stand and makes do with inferior—by some measures, at least—LCD panel tech.

In some ways, that's not surprising. The Asus ProArt PA32UCDM uses the same 32-inch 4K QD-OLED panel sourced from Samsung that first appeared in gaming monitors over a year ago, including Asus's own Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM. Those monitors can now be bought for under $800.

What they don't offer, of course, is the full suite of professional-friendly features. And that's exactly what the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM delivers, features like a comprehensive list of colour space presets, Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, hardware calibration, 10-bit colour and more.

Asus ProArt PA32UCDM: Design & features

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Asus ProArt PA32UCDM 4K OLED monitor during our review — (Image credit: Asus // Future)

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Slick, minimalist styling
Mostly strong feature set
Connectivity isn't comprehensive

Specs

Panel size: 32-inch

Panel type: QD-OLED

Resolution: 3,840 by 2,160

Brightness: 250 nits full-screen, 1,000 nits peak HDR

Contrast: 1,200:1

Pixel response: 0.1ms GtG

Refresh rate: 144Hz

Colour coverage: 99% DCI-P3

HDR: VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack400

Vesa: 100mm x 100mm (bracket included)

Inputs: HDMI 2.1 x1, 1x Thunderbolt 4 with 90W PD, 1x Thunderbolt 4

Other: USB hub with 1x USB-A and 1x USB-C

Such is the capability of the latest QD-OLED gaming monitors, it's tempting to snag one for productivity work. One reason you might not is garish design. Gaming panels tend to have a slightly adolescent whiff. So, the slick, minimalist and professional aesthetic of the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM is an immediate win.

Some aspects of the design are reminiscent of Apple displays, including the hinge on rear, the sliding support and the neutral colour scheme. Speaking of Apple, while build quality is decent by most standards, the mix of metal and plastic definitely isn't as pleasing as the Apple Studio Display, let alone the much more expensive Apple Pro Display XDR.

For the record, this monitor offers height, tilt and rotation into portrait mode in terms of physical adjustment, but lacks swivel, which is a small pity. Elsewhere, the connectivity on offer is a bit of a mixed bag. On the upside, you get dual Thunderbolt 4 ports with support for display daisy chaining and 96W of power delivery, plus an HDMI 2.1 port with the full 48Gbps bandwidth.

However, the USB hub only offers a single USB-A and USB-C port, and Asus has fitted this display with neither a DisplayPort input nor a headphone jack. The former is arguably catered for courtesy of DisplayPort Alt Mode over the Thunderbolt interface. But for some setups, an actual DisplayPort socket would be handy. Likewise the absent headphone output.

Along with the broader display capabilities and specs, you get 10-bit per channel colour, Dolby Vision support, hardware calibration and a full suite of OLED panel protection features including a proximity sensor for automatically dimming the display when not in use. In the comprehensive OSD menu you can choose between four, eight and 12-hour panel refresh cycles.

Asus ProArt PA32UCDM: Performance

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Stunning HDR highs
Limited full-screen brightness
Needs calibration for demanding workflows

On paper, this display has so much going for it. It starts with the basic proposition of 4K resolution on a 32-inch display, which is obviously ideal for many pro workflows, provides plenty of working space and bodes well for aspects like font rendering.

To that you can add the various upsides of OLED technology, which is only now beginning to enter the pro display market. Notably, that includes perfect per-pixel lighting the likes of which no LCD monitor can replicate, ditto the exceptional pixel speed and near-perfect viewing angles. Oh and outstanding colour extension, particularly from Samsung's OLED tech, which benefits from colour-enhancing quantum dot technology, hence the "QD-OLED" moniker.

Combine that with the aforementioned 4K image detail and precision and, well, what a recipe. For the most part, what an experience, too. At its best, this is an exceptional display. Bright highlights in HDR video content, for instance, absolutely zing. The colour vibrancy is fantastic, too, and a clear step above LG's WOLED panels, which are the main alternative to Samsung QD-OLED. All of this is heightened by the glossy panel coating, which really lets the OLED technology sing.

This is not, however, a perfect display. For starters, It suffers the same limitations as all OLED panels, primarily limited brightness when large sections of the panel are being lit up. Asus provides a uniform brightness mode for SDR content. That allows for a maximum of 250 nits. For many uses and applications, that's enough.

However, it's a little less than you might want in bright ambient conditions. However, where the limited brightness performance is really apparent is with HDR content. The claimed peak 1,000 nit HDR capability is only available across 3% of the panel. Light up 10% of the panel and the brightness dips to 400 nits.

The consequence is that this monitor, like all existing OLEDs, can look utterly stellar when displaying a mostly dark image with small, super-bright highlights. But it can lack a little pop when rendering brighter scenes. Moreover, if you run the screen in HDR mode on the Windows or Mac desktop, there's significant brightness variation, when, for instance, you resize a mainly white application window.

For the record, the image detail and font rendering isn't as good as displays with greater pixel density, such as various 27-inch 5K2K panels and Apple's 6K Pro Display XDR. What's more, Asus's factory calibration does leave a tiny bit to be desired. It's a little over saturated out of the box and also very slightly crushes some shadow details.

Of course, if your workflows require the ultimate in accuracy, you'll be calibrating this monitor in any case and that eventuality is well catered for courtesy of a hardware 3D LUT, Asus's own ProArt calibration and support for third party calibration tools including CalMAN Autocal.

It's also worth noting that this is a very, very fast display. It supports 240 Hz refresh and offers a claimed 0.1ms response. This isn't a monitor aimed at gaming, but it's pretty much as good as gaming-centric monitors based on the same panel.

Finally, the Asus ProArt PA32UCDM does have a cooling fan that runs in max brightness HDR mode. But it's barely audible.

Asus ProArt PA32UCDM: Final verdict

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The transition of OLED into monitors aimed at digital creatives and other pros has taken a little longer than expected. But it's now happening and this Asus display is an excellent showcase of what the technology brings.

Thanks to the perfect per-pixel lighting, at its best the HDR performance totally blows away any LCD-based monitor, even one with mini-LED full-array dimming. The colours are explosive, in a good way, the viewing angles pretty much perfect. Combine that with the 4K pixel grid and features like Thunderbolt 4 with daisy chaining support you have a very compelling display for creative tasks.

The brightness limitations of current OLED tech, however, mean that this isn't a cheap alternative for authoring pro-grade HDR content. Like all other OLEDs, it simply can't sustain sufficient brightness across enough of the panel. Slightly patchy factory calibration is another weakness, though only slight and mitigated by excellent calibration support.

All told, this is a very welcome addition to the pro monitor market. It's not perfect, but it does bring some genuinely new abilities to the class. Mini-LED monitors still rule for full-screen brightness. And for now, there aren't very many format and resolution options available with OLED panels in the pro market. But this is almost certainly just the beginning for OLED technology aimed at creative pros.

For more displays for creative professionals, we've rounded up the best monitors for photo editing, the best monitors for graphic design, and the best monitors for video editing.

I ran the tests and now I’m stunned by the print quality of Canon’s pro photo printer

8:02 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets Pro | Comments: Off

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 is an expensive and feature-light print-only inkjet with all the emphasis on print quality. It’s large enough to take 13” x 19" A3+ sheet paper, but small enough to share your desk.

There’s no touchscreen, no auto-duplex mode and the print speed is slower than its nearest rival, the Epson SureColor SC-P600. However, with ten cartridges delivering Canon’s industry-leading pigment ink through 7,680 nozzles, this could be one of the best large format printers enthusiast and professional photographers can buy.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310: Design and build

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 during our review — (Image credit: Canon // Future)

Specs

Type: color inkjet photo printer

Functions: Print only

Connectivity: Ethernet, USB, Wi-Fi

Data storage slots: none

Print speed: A3+ in 4min 15sec

Max paper size: A3+, 13” x 19"

Print quality: 4,800 x 2,400 dpi

Memory: 1GB

Apple AirPrint: yes

Consumables included: 10 x 14.4ml cartridges

Dimensions/Weight: 639 x 379 x 200 mm (WxDxH)/31.7lb/14.4kg

The torpedo-shaped Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 looks very much like a scaled down version of the rugged and uncompromising Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100, which of course it is. While the flagship model takes A2+ sheets, its baby brother takes paper half that size and is cheaper by about a third. The compact design is the same, with two paper inputs and sturdy paper feed trays that fold neatly away to leave a compact unit that’s only 14 inches high and 19 inches deep. But be warned, with the flaps extended those dimensions grow to 16 inches and 33 inches.

The top-loading tray can hold up to 100 sheets of A4, or 50 sheets of A3 plain paper, while the rear-loading manual feed is for single sheets of any size up to A3+. The ten inkjet cartridges are tucked away inside and can be accessed somewhat awkwardly by lifting the printer’s bonnet. By necessity, the cavity and the cartridges are much smaller than those of the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 I reviewed.

That upward-facing three-inch color display is not a touchscreen, unfortunately, and there are no frontal slots for a USB thumb drive, or the memory card from your Canon camera. At the rear are ports for a USB data cable and Ethernet cable. The whole unit is covered in textured plastic and it feels like it’s built to last.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310: Features & specifications

This is a pure photo printer, so there’s no scanner and few additional features. There’s no touchscreen, USB Host port or Bluetooth connectivity for instance and no auto-duplex mode. It might seem surprising that a printer costing over $700 can’t turn over a sheet of paper, until you understand that the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 is all about image quality.

To achieve a maximum print resolution of 4,800 x 2,400 dpi a total of 7,680 nozzles spray minute droplets from ten individual inkjet cartridges. That’s 768 per color. In addition to the usual four colors, C/M/Y and photo black, you also have PC/PM/GY/R/CO and matt black. This makes for a much wider gamut and more natural and realistic shading.

Printing is rather slow at more than four minutes for one A3+ print, but Canon’s paper compatibility is especially versatile. The main input tray on top can handle any kind of paper from Canon’s 5” square photo paper to borderless A3+ prints of 13”x19”. Canon’s menu of paper presets offers no less than 29 choices, including Photo Paper Plus Glossy II, Premium Fine Art Rough and matt. You can load up to 100 sheets of A4 in this tray, or 50 sheets of A3.

There’s also a manual feed tray, which takes one single sheet at a time and here you can load envelopes or heavy card up to 380 g/m2 or 0.6mm thick. There’s actually a third input tray stored underneath the printer which makes it possible to print on blank CDs, for the few who still do that.

The only media this printer can’t handle is roll paper. Without the roll-adapters you find on some large format printers, you can only load sheets of cut paper. Fortunately, this does include 13-inch-wide banners of paper up to 70 inches long.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310: Setup and operation

The setup procedure is the same as most other inkjet printers, but it takes slightly longer as there are so many cartridges to load. The supplied quick-start manual is very brief and clear, but Canon also has a helpful iOS/Android app to help you get going. This app makes it easy to connect your phone to the printer’s 5GHz Wi-Fi, then the printer to your local Wi-Fi network.

Having loaded the ten supplied cartridges, plus some paper and chosen a language for the on-screen menu, you then have to wait a few minutes while the inks are agitated before you can print your first page. It does this automatically from time to time to ensure the best ink flow.

It’s a pity there’s no touchscreen interface, but the 3-inch color display and familiar navigation wheel buttons are large enough that accessing the onscreen menu to make your paper selection or set security options is quite easy to do at the printer. It’s worth mentioning here that Canon has ditched all internal polystyrene packaging in favor of more sustainable cardboard.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310: Performance

The Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 prints slowly, but the results are well worth waiting for. I found that connecting by USB cable (not included) was slightly faster than with Wi-Fi. Canon’s quoted print rate of just over four minutes for an A3+ photo proved accurate enough, and it’s the same speed if you print in black and white or color. While that sounds slow, we should remember that the printer is crunching the data of very large images and Canon’s L-COA PRO processor is actually working hard and more importantly, it’s not making mistakes.

If you were considering using this machine to double as your office printer for running out plain text documents, you might want to think again. Its black and white text output is unremarkable, except for its slowness. And without auto-duplex, you have to turn each sheet yourself. With color photos, on the other hand, the results are excellent across the board.

Black and white photos look especially impressive thanks to the use of matte black and grey inks in addition to photo black to help achieve strong contrast and improved greyscale. Color photos also look remarkably lifelike thanks to the wide color gamut, natural shading and fine detail reproduction. Just like the similar, Epson SureColor SC-P600, Canon is using nine inks to great effect. However, Canon’s additional cartridge containing the chroma optimizer appears to give it an advantage when it comes to the glossy finish. It really is hard to fault the Canon’s output onto coated photo paper and it makes the company’s longevity claim of up to 200 years light resistance believable.

Canon sells a very wide selection of printer paper, all of which is supported by this printer. I tried out Pro Platinum, Pro Luster, Plus Glossy II, Matte and Premium Fine Art. That last paper is quite thick and only works in the multi-purpose tray at the rear which has the flatter paper path. It’s hard to choose a favorite, but the glossier finishes tend to take the fullest advantage of this printer’s capabilities, in my opinion.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310: Consumables

The big catch with this superb photo printer, is the cost of its consumables. Canon’s 5100 cartridges are specific to this model and it costs around US$130 (or £150) for a new set and they’re not big cartridges.

The volume is just 14.4ml which is a fraction the capacity of the larger Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100 at 80ml per cartridge. Canon’s estimates for the yield of these little cartridges is complicated by the fact that no two colors yield the same figure, but broadly speaking, you can hope to print up to fifty A3+ photos before needing to replace one or more of them.

That’s a higher ongoing cost than the Epson SureColor SC-P600, but Canon’s newly reformulated LUCIA PRO II pigment inks are industry leading in their longevity and the image quality looks superior. If you need to print a higher volume of photos, an ink tank alternative such as the excellent Epson EcoTank ET-8550 would be a better bet.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310: Maintenance

If left standing unused for long periods, the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 is as susceptible to drying out as any other inkjet and it has the usual maintenance programs built into the menu to solve this. These are basically cleaning cycles that flushes ink through the 7,680 nozzles to unblock them and given the cost of the ink, you won’t want to run these cycles too often.

Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310: Final verdict

Any enthusiast or professional photographer will appreciate the print quality of this premium A3+ photo printer. The nine reformulated LUCIA PRO II pigment inks plus the innovative chroma optimizer combine to give you exceptionally realistic images on coated photo paper. I’ll have to take Canon’s word about the industry leading 200-year longevity of its prints, but they certainly look great.

The printer itself feels robust and well designed with only the essential features such as Wi-Fi with AirPrint compatibility. There’s no touchscreen, no USB Host port and it can’t even auto-duplex, but it does have a very wide media compatibility that takes in everything from blank CDs and 4x6-inch photo paper, to rough A3+ card and 70-inch-long banners. The only thing it can’t print on are paper rolls.

The ink cartridges specific to this model are small and expensive, but if you don’t mind paying for prints that look as good as a professional print shop and last even longer, the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-310 is worth the investment.

For more print solutions, I've comprehensively tested the best small business printers and best home printers.

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