OS - Organizer

Motorola Edge 40 review: Clean Android and long-lasting battery make for a Pixel 7 killer

7:33 pm | July 17, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets | Tags: Google Pixel, OS, US | Comments: Off

Motorola Edge 40: Two-minute review

The Motorola Edge 40 is an elegant Android phone that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using for the duration of the review period, offering a svelte design, competent cameras, a long-lasting battery, and fast charging at a competitive price.

If the Motorola Edge 40 Pro is going up against the flagships of the smartphone world, the Edge 40 faces off against their more modestly-equipped siblings. It’s smaller than the Motorola Edge 40 Plus, has less powerful components and a less impressive set of cameras, but at £529 (approximately $690 / AU$1,015) compared with the Edge 40 Pro’s £799 (approximately $1,045 / AU$1,535) it’s a compelling package.

Certainly, you don't get all the bells and whistles of a much more expensive flagship phone thrown in here – there’s no there’s no dedicated zoom camera, variable refresh rate display, or 12GB of RAM, for example. but you do get an experience that’s mostly fast, fluid and reliable. Alongside the Edge 40 Pro, the Edge 40 is certainly one of the best Motorola phones you can buy.

The Motorola Edge 40 with the screen turned off. — (Image credit: Michael Allison / Future)

It does have its flaws. Expect a smaller accessory market compared to the likes of the Google Pixel 7a, a weaker camera than the iPhone 14, and fewer regular updates than the Galaxy S23. But if none of these are overly important to you, then its considerable strengths and affordability may just seal the deal.

The target audience for the Motorola Edge 40 are those for whom value for money is a driving factor, who prefer a phone that’s relatively light and slim, and not as bulky as many of the best smartphones tend to be, and who aren’t concerned about not having the newest version of Android the moment it’s released.

Motorola Edge 40: price and availability

Priced at £529.99 in the UK (about $690 / AU$1,015)
Unconfirmed for the US, though may appear as the Motorola Edge (2023)
Available as of May 4, 2023

The Motorola Edge 40 is on sale now in the UK for £529. This is much lower than the £700-ish asking price of the OnePlus 11, Galaxy S23, and other members of the best Android phones family, so worth considering for those looking for a premium experience on a tighter budget.

However, just because it's more affordable doesn't mean it undercuts equivalent rivals by a significant margin. At the time of writing, Google sells the Pixel 7 for £549 in the UK, just £20 shy of the Edge 40. Though this is a time-limited deal, you even can grab the Pixel 7 and other powerful flagship phones for less than £500, if you keep an eye on Amazon or refurbished phone markets.

Other phones you can purchase new for around the £529 price point include: the Google Pixel 7a at £449, the Nothing Phone 1 at £499, and the iPhone 13 mini at £599, going by the prices of popular UK retailers.

All these phones are perfectly good in their own right, although the Motorola Edge 40 offers better battery life and faster charging than the Pixel 7a, and snappier performance than the Nothing Phone 1 (and looks more stylish in my opinion); while you’ll prefer it over the iPhone 13 mini if you like your phones to be of a more conventional size.

The Motorola Edge 40 is also being sold through carriers. This is a substantial improvement over the Edge 40 Pro, which Motorola has confirmed to us is only available for purchase unlocked direct from their store. You can grab the phone from Three and Vodafone, in the UK.

Value score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 40 review: specs

The Motorola Edge 40 propped up against a stand — (Image credit: Michael Allison / Future)

Motorola Edge 40 review: design

The rear of the Eclipse Black Motorola Edge 40. — The vegan leather material is grippy. (Image credit: Michael Allison / Future)

'Endless Edge' design
Curved edges
Matte acrylic or vegan leather rear

The Motorola Edge 40 is available in a choice of colors and finishes. You can get the phone with a vegan leather rear in Eclipse Black (pictured) or Nebula Green, or with a matte acrylic glass rear in Lunar Blue; that model weighs 168g, while the vegan leather phones are a little heavier at 171g. All models are IP68-rated against dust and water ingress.

Though glass phones have their issues – with some offering all the grip of a bar of soap – vegan leather isn't perfect either; more on that below. The model tested for this review was vegan leather in Eclipse Black.

The vegan leather material feels nice to hold, and it's grippy. Motorola provides a case in the box too, which you may appreciate; particularly if you get the glass-backed Lunar Blue model. Treasure it, as you may not find many on Amazon – the accessory market for phones not made by Apple, Samsung, or Google remains challengingly-thin.

While I put the phone in its case, I noticed that it still somehow tended to get a little dirty, and when it came to cleaning, the vegan leather material also proved to be a little bit of a hindrance. Where a glass or plastic phone would have been good with a wipe or two, the vegan leather of the Edge 40 was a little harder to clean – though I got there eventually. If you like to keep your phone spotless, the Lunar Blue model may be more your thing.

Overall, the Motorola’s Edge 40 design is aesthetically pleasing and well balanced, but you might want to give some thought to your choice of material, which in turn will dictate your choice of colors.

Design score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 40 review: display

The Motorola Edge 40's Peek Display. — (Image credit: Michael Allison / Future)

6.55-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080) pOLED
Up to 144Hz refresh rate
Curved-edge display

The Motorola Edge 40’s display measures 6.55 inches and it’s a Full HD pOLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, plus a small punch-hole selfie camera.

The display is great for reading ebooks, watching movies, and scrolling social media. Viewing angles were great during testing and the display resisted color distortion, even at more extreme viewing angles. Even bright sunshine didn’t render the display unviewable – which isn’t surprising given that Motorola says it can go up to 1200 nits. It’s also features a (kind of) always-on display mode called Peek Display, which means you can see your notifications and the clock if you just touch the screen or otherwise move the phone. This is a little less convenient than the true always-on-displays that you’ll find on other top-level phones, but it serves its purpose.

It’s worth noting that the Motorola Edge 40 has a similar curved-edged display as the Motorola Edge 40 Pro. While many Android phones have slightly curved displays, I had a bit of an issue adjusting to this one in particular. Whether it’s because of the phone’s slightly thinner frame compared to larger phones, my fairly big hands, or the fact that I'm used to using much larger phones than the Edge 40, I found that the curved display edges made typing or gaming a little awkward, although if you have smaller hands, or don't hop between phones as often as I do, then this may not be an issue for you.

To sum up, the Motorola Edge 40 has a good display, but its curved edges may not be for everyone.

Display score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 40 review: software

The Motorola Edge 40's clean Android software. — Android 13 on the Motorola Edge 40 looks a lot like Google's. (Image credit: Michael Allison / Future)

Android 13 at launch
Clean take on Android
Three of years OS updates + four years security updates

The Motorola Edge 40 runs Motorola's MYUX software, powered by Android 13. It's a very Pixel-like OS that's clean and unobtrusive.

As ‘Pixel-like’ implies, the look and feature set of Motorola’s software doesn’t differ from the simplicity of Google’s all that much to the same extent as overlays from the likes of Samsung or Oppo. However, the company does add some customization features (or retains the pre-Android 12 theme options Google used to offer, depending on how you want to look at it). There’s also the Motorola Ready For feature – a tool that’s similar to Samsung’s Dex, and is designed to let you use your phone as a desktop computing experience in a pinch, when paired with a dock. It’s useful in theory, but most people who might need such a feature already have laptops so it feels redundant to me. Perhaps it’ll find its audience, but otherwise, it’s a cool party trick you’ll use once and forget about.

Motorola promises three years of OS updates for the Motorola Edge 40 and 40 Pro – so not as generous as the four years some other Android phone makers (namely Samsung) offer. The company has also committed to four years of security updates, which is still a bit short (Samsung and Google both promise five, for example), but long enough to cover the likely lifetime of the phone – you'll still have two years of coverage left if you buy an Edge 40 in 2025, for example.

Motorola's issue with software remains the timeliness of updates, with the Edge 30 series being among the last Android phones to get Android 13. In contrast, the likes of Samsung and Oppo release updates rapidly after Google rolls them out to its Pixels. If rapid software updates are something you care about, you should look elsewhere. On the other hand, considering the dwindling excitement around Android updates – as evidenced by the Google IO 2023 – it may not be much of an issue.

Software score: 3.5 / 5

Motorola Edge 40 review: cameras

The Motorola Edge 40's camera — The camera view from the Motorola Edge 40. (Image credit: Michael Allison / Future)

Dual rear camera layout (50MP + 13MP)
32MP selfie camera
Raw support

Motorola has equipped the Edge 40 with a dual-camera setup comprising a 50-megapixel main camera and a 13MP ultra-wide camera. They aren’t as good as the cameras on the much better-specced Motorola Edge 40 Pro, but they aren’t bad either. They're just fairly average. The Motorola Edge 40 is not the best camera phone; it’s not even the best one you can get from Motorola, nor is it second best, with the Edge 30 Ultra still on sale.

When it comes to using the camera, the experience is fine. The cameras are quick to capture photos in good light, but you may need to hold the phone steady in low light to get a decent image. Motorola phones also have a night mode, but it was hit or miss during testing. The colors can sometimes shift between captures without any external light source changes, and the images are a lot softer. That aside, photos are pleasing to the eye when viewed on the phone, but they don’t hold up to scrutiny when reviewed on a larger screen. Even so, they’re easily good enough for sharing on Instagram or Snapchat, with the usual suite of editing options available to you too.

If you're expecting anything more spectacular in the imaging department, it’s worth keeping in mind that this is not a Pixel, an iPhone, or a Galaxy. It’s a Motorola. You can get good-to-great photos with this phone, but its strengths are elsewhere – like its slender body, slick software and faster charging.

Motorola Edge 40 camera samples

Image 1 of 6

Testing the Motorola Edge's camera. — (Image credit: Michael Allison / Future)

The images from the phone's main sensor are decent...

Image 2 of 6

...just don't view them on a larger screen.

Image 3 of 6

The ultra-wide camera fits a lot in.

Image 4 of 6

And the selfie camera is good for quick Instagram photos.

Image 5 of 6

Motorola lets you capture portraits with three focal lengths, but there's a poor degree of consistency between them, especially when switching sensors.

Image 6 of 6

The night mode works, but it doesn't 'wow'.

Camera score: 3 / 5

Motorola Edge 40 review: performance

MediaTek Dimensity 8020 chipset
6GB RAM (LPDDR4X)
256GB of storage (UFS 3.1)

While the Motorola Edge 40 Pro is powered by Qualcomm’s latest and most powerful Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, the Motorola Edge 40 gets the MediaTek Dimensity 8020 instead: a new mid-level processor that would compete with a top-end Snapdragon processor of a year or two ago. So it’s not the most powerful chip, but then this isn’t Motorola’s top-end handset – if you want more oomph you’ll need to step up to the Edge 40 Pro.

In my time testing the phone, it was fast and responsive, with no lag. Whatever I was doing, I never once thought, "Hmm, this is annoying, I need more power." The Dimensity 8020 didn't call attention to itself at all – it just quietly got on with the tasks at hand without protest, and I consider that an admirable quality.

The other specs here are decent, but reflective of the lower price of this phone compared to the Edge 40 Pro. There's 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage, but it’s LPDDR4 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, so a bit older, slower and less power efficient than what you’ll find in the Edge 40 Pro. It’s the same story elsewhere: the USB-C is 2.0 and not 3.2, Bluetooth is 5.2 and not 5.3, and so on. The dual speakers for audio are tuned with Dolby Atmos and sound great, but get some of the best cheap wireless earbuds if you want to use it outside.

Once again, if you want top-of-the-line excellence, be prepared to shell out for the Edge 40 Pro. While all aspects of the Edge 40’s performance are sufficient, you’re ultimately getting what you pay for.

Performance score: 4 / 5

Motorola Edge 40 review: battery

4,400mAh battery
Supports 68W TurboPower charging
All-day battery life

When I reviewed the Motorola Edge 40 Pro, I found it to have excellent battery life, and while the Motorola Edge 40 has a very good battery life, it’s doesn't quite measure up to its Pro-branded sibling. This slight difference in performance can perhaps be attributed to the MediaTek chip, which is less efficient than the Pro’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. This is not a knock on MediaTek, however, the 8 Gen 2 is absolutely brilliant, and phones which are powered by it – such as the Galaxy S23, the OnePlus 11, and the Edge 40 Pro – offer fantastic battery life, but all cost more too.

While you won't be going multiple days without a charger if you use your phone intensively, you can get two to three days of light usage (think an hour or two of screen on time per day), or a comfortable full day of heavy usage, with a fast top-up to extend that to the next day.

Speaking of top-ups, charging is pretty fast, and the 68W fast charger bundled in the box gets the job done in roughly half an hour. Motorola continues the tradition of Android phone makers putting the charger back in the box, after a couple of years of removing it for cost-savings reasons (and charitably, to reduce e-waste). It's also great that this is happening alongside the push towards ultra-fast charging on Android phones, so you're saving both time and money.

Battery score: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the Motorola Edge 40?

Buy it if...

You want a clean, stock Android phone
There are only a few phones which offer software that's (close to) Google's take on Android. Motorola's Edge 40 is one of the best of them.

You want a thin and light phone with a sleek design
The Edge 40 is very thin and very light. Your wrist will thank you for this purchase.

You want a fast-charging phone that lasts all day
Motorola's 68W fast charging can get you up and running for the day in 20 minutes.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best cameras for this price range
Motorola does deliver good hardware, but you'll find cheaper options from Google, Oppo, and even Xiaomi that do much better, photographically speaking.

Timely and consistent updates are important to you
Motorola is not that company, when it comes to delivering OS and security updates in a timely fashion.

Motorola Edge 40: Also consider

If Motorola's Edge 40 sounds appealing but isn't quite your speed, there are some options that may scratch the same itch but tilt a little further in one direction or the other.

Google Pixel 7
Google’s Pixel 7 flagship is already here, and costs just a bit more than the Edge 40. You gain faster updates and Google’s excellent cameras. You lose the svelte design and speedy charging of the Motorola, however.

Google Pixel 7a
The Pixel 7a offers much the same as the Pixel 7, albeit it’s now sold for £449 in the UK. You lose out on a larger screen compared to the Pixel 7 and Edge 40, but a compact Pixel phone has an audience.

How I tested the Motorola Edge 40

Motorola Edge 40 lockscreen — (Image credit: Michael Allison / Future)

Review test period = 3 weeks
Testing included = Everyday usage, web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming
Tools used = Geekbench 6, GFXBench, native Android stats

I used the Motorola Edge 40 as my main phone for three weeks. During this time, I had my SIM in it and I used it to do a lot of reading and watched a few shows on Amazon Prime, as well as YouTube videos, took pictures in a variety of lighting conditions, shot fun videos for friends, and more or less used it as a typical mid-twenties male in London would.

Other than integrating it into my daily life as my main phone over the testing period, I also ran benchmarking apps to compare the Edge 40’s performance to other top Android phones. This included Geekbench 6, in which the Edge 40 landed an average single-core score of 1109 and an average multi-core score of 3578, as well as GFX bench.

As for my personal experience of reviewing phones, I've been writing about and reviewing mobile technology since 2014. Prior to joining TechRadar, I worked at Digital Trends in the mobile section, and before that I was at Android Central, writing about Android phones on a daily basis.

Unboxing and First Impressions

Right off the bat, this desktop is massive. Much like a Mac Pro, this PC takes up some serious space and is quite heavy. Anytime a computer has integrated carrying handles, you know it's pretty large. Beyond the impressive size, this computer screams workstation-class performance. It has locking drives in the front, a locking panel that can open up the entire left side of the computer, and five expandable slots in the back to add even more to this beast.

Dell Precision 7865 Tower Workstation — (Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Design and Build Quality

Specs

*as tested

Processor: AMD Threadripper Pro 5995WX
Memory: 64GB
Storage: 2x 1TB Raid 0
Graphics: NVIDIA RTX A6000
Network: 1x 1GB Ethernet, 1x 10GB Ethernet
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Ports: 5x USB-C 3.2, 5x USB-A 3.2, 1x 1GB RJ45 Ethernet, 1x 10GB RJ45 Ethernet, Headphone, audio out
Dimensions: 16.3 x 6.8 x 16.9in

Dell has designed this beast for use in the enterprise world. There are no flashy colors, RGB lighting, or translucent areas to show off components. This is essentially a black box, safely tucking away all components in a secure shell. Further proving that this is a secure enterprise build, the accessible drives on the front top of the workstation are lockable to avoid unwanted access, and the left access panel is also lockable. In addition to rack mounting and vertical orientation, Dell has included rubber feet on the right side of the tower, making it easy to lay this down on its side to use if desired.

Moving on, Dell wanted to ensure that professionals could use this machine in all enterprise scenarios. Knowing that some involve rack-mounting a machine, Dell made this one a bit of a transformer so that, if needed, you can remove the top panel to reveal hardware to rack mount. Upon removing panels, including the main side access panel, Dell has also included easy-to-follow service diagrams, which is incredibly helpful for those making quick upgrades or minor repairs.

The cables in this workstation are well-organized, and everything has been assembled seamlessly, resulting in an exceptional quality build, precisely what is needed when relying on a computer such as this one for vital tasks at an enterprise level.

In Use

The computer barely yawned at everything I threw at this workstation for testing purposes. Data transfer was quick, even noticeably faster than transfer from an M1 Mac. This computer will easily handle tasks like emailing, document editing, working with spreadsheets, and creating presentations without any difficulty.

This machine shines in when using 3D modeling software, video editing software, and other demanding programs for creatives, designers, architects, system admins, and engineers. The Dell Precision 7865 Workstation Tower isn't the computer you'd buy an office admin or journalist. But instead, this computer is meant for those who need the highest-powered computers in the business world.

While using this computer, the front ports were quite helpful. I could plug in several USB drives to transfer data, and I could even plug in some USB-C devices to transfer data or plug-in accessories. For content creators, the SD card slot on the front will be a welcomed offering, and so will the audio port to plug in a set of headphones quickly without needing to dig around the back of the machine. While I have not needed to use an optical drive in years, Dell has an optional optical drive slot in case you still need access to one.

Lastly, I sadly did not get a chance to test this, but Dell tells me that the Precision 7865 is also VR and AI Ready, meaning Dell has their eye on this and is future-proofing their high-end devices to ensure they can handle what is to come.

Final Verdict

This machine is impressive. Every area I tested surpassed my expectations except for no Thunderbolt ports. However, I can look past that thanks to the 10Gb transfer speeds from the USB-C and the 10GB Ethernet ports.

This machine is not cheap, and it is not small. But if you are looking for what may be the best beast of an enterprise tower, you should be looking into the Dell Precision 7865 Tower Workstation.

Samsung Galaxy M34 announced with 4 OS updates, 50MP camera with OIS

2:23 pm | July 7, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: OIS, OS | Comments: Off

The Galaxy A34 (and A54) started shipping in India back in March with the 8/128GB A34 costing ₹31,000. But now that the Samsung Galaxy M34 has arrived on the scene fans have an alternative in front of them – the M34 pricing starts at just ₹17,000 for a 6/128GB unit and is ₹19,000 for 8GB of RAM. Despite being significantly cheaper than the A34, the M34 gets Samsung’s best Android support – 4 OS updates and 5 years of security patches. For comparison, a ₹44,000 Pixel 7a will only get 3 OS updates, while the ₹20,000 Nord CE 3 Lite from yesterday will get 2 OS updates and only 3 years of...

Flashback: phones that weren’t, part 3: making a new smartphone OS is hard

7:07 am | July 2, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Mobile phones news | Tags: OS | Comments: Off

The more tech-savvy among you probably know that Android is based on the Linux kernel. But it is nothing like a typical Linux that you may have seen on PCs – or on smartphones. Nokia and Intel spent a lot of time and money trying to launch a Linux-based smartphone operating system. The Nokia N9 saw the two companies join forces to create MeeGo, the union of Nokia’s Maemo and Intel’s Moblin. However, it was caught between Symbian and Windows Phone and never lived up to its potential. There were followups like Samsung’s Tizen, a successor to MeeGo that powered some phones in the past,...

Acer Chromebook Enterprise Vero 514 Review

2:31 pm | May 2, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets | Tags: CPU, GPU, OS | Comments: Off

The Chromebook Vero 514 Enterprise edition is an impressive Chromebook with some serious power under the keyboard, hindered only by the limitations of ChromeOS.

This Chromebook performs exceptionally well as a business laptop and has a keyboard we enjoy using for extended periods. Our model had the Enterprise upgrade from Chrome, showcasing Acer's drive to be a proper business computer through fleet management and more included in the enterprise upgrade, compared to the standard Chromebook Vero 514.

Unboxing and First Impressions

Initially, unboxing the computer was a typical process involving a box within a box and some packaging around the computer. However, upon examining the packaging, we discovered that all the packing materials were recyclable and made from recycled materials, which is an excellent to see.

> Check out our full HP Dragonfly Pro Chromebook Review

> These are our pick of the best laptops for writers

> I found the cheapest 8K monitor but there’s just a tiny problem

On the same track, the box that Acer wrapped around the power brick and cable to charge this Chromebook can fold together to create a laptop riser, fitting wonderfully under the back of the Vero 514, giving it a lift.

Another thing we noticed right away was the unique texture and coloring of the Chromebook Vero 514. The speckled grey color looks better in person than in pictures, and rather than looking cheap like we have seen with some past recycled computers, this one seems intentional. Acer calls this chassis its "Cobblestone Gray Finish," which includes 30% PCR plastic, and we don't mind it. Granted, it doesn't look like a luxury item, but it still looks well-built and of high quality.

Acer Chromebook Vero 514 Enterprise PCR (Post Consumer Recycled) badging (Image credit: Collin Probst // Future)

Design and Build Quality

The focus on recycled materials continues throughout the Vero 514. The keycaps are made of 50% PCR (post-consumer recycled) content, the screen itself is 99% recyclable, and the trackpad is 100% ocean-bound plastics. Acer calls this trackpad its OceanGlass touchpad, and we found it quite responsive and enjoyable to use. The overall chassis of this laptop is entirely paint free, giving it a unique look and feel.

While we initially expected the build quality of the Vero 514 to allow for some flex and cheap-feeling materials, we are pleasantly surprised with just how sturdy this laptop is with daily use. We can use this laptop, not keep it carefully placed on a desk, afraid to take it to work or on the go.

In Use

Having used this Chromebook for the last few weeks, we have been wildly impressed with its speed. While somewhat hindered by ChromeOS, the Vero 514 is snappy for those who only need a Chrome browser to complete their work. In addition, we were pleasantly surprised with the battery. While we couldn't run our standard benchmark software of choice due to this computer not having a full version of Windows, we tested through daily use, and we were able to achieve 8-10 hours of use regularly with standard settings and doing basic work - nothing too demanding.

Specs

Display: 14-inch (1920 x 1080), 16:9

Brightness: 300 nits

CPU: 12th Generation Intel Core i7

GPU: Intel Iris X Graphics

Memory: 16GB

Storage: 256GB SSD

Ports: 2x USB-C 3.2 (10Gb/s), 1x USB-A 3.2, 1x HDMI, 1x 3.5mm headphone/speaker/line-out port

Battery: 56Wh (10hrs)

OS: ChromeOS

Weight: 3.09lb / 1.4kg

Dimensions (W x D x H): 12.81 x 8.83 x 0.80in / 325.4 x 224.3 x 20.4mm

We found the Vero 514's 14-inch screen to be an excellent size for an enterprise laptop. We could see all the content we wanted to (understanding that it's a laptop and not one of our large ultrawide monitors) and, at the same time, did not feel like we were carrying around anything that was ridiculously large.

While using the Vero 514, we noticed the audio quality could have been better. It got the job done for virtual meetings or the occasional quick video. We frequently reached for headphones for music or any time we were in a long meeting, and there was a decent amount of background noise.

We chose the Enterprise Vero model, which includes an i7 upgrade, 16GB RAM, an anti-glare Corning Gorilla Glass touch display, and more. This bump-up in specs shows that Acer is genuinely trying to become a reasonable and quality option for a business fleet of computers. That could be possible depending on the workforce and the employees' tasks.

The last thing we will mention about the Vero 514 is the overall display experience. It could have been better, but not great. It is a good enough screen for indoor use, but the brightness can't quite keep up once you get outside, and it gets tough to see. Again, if you or your business use these indoors, the 1920 x 1080 displays will be fine for most tasks.

Final Verdict

The Vero 514 is a snappy Chromebook model that is a solid contender for writers, web browsers, email responders, and Google Workspace lovers. Essentially, anyone who works from the web could look into this Chromebook as a wonderful option to upgrade their old laptop or find one that works better for what they do.

Looking for a great bag to carry your gear in? Check out our guide to the best laptop backpacks and bags

AyaNeo Air Plus review

6:12 pm | April 26, 2023

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets | Tags: CPU, OS, RAM, SSD | Comments: Off

AyaNeo Air Plus: Two minute review

AyaNeo is making PC handhelds as fast as you can buy them. It seems only a few weeks have passed since we looked at the gorgeous AyaNeo 2, another excellent handheld gaming PC. Yet, here we are with the all-new AyaNeo Air Plus device — available in several different configurations, no less, and all very exciting.

The flagship version I’ve been testing packs in the same AMD Ryzen 7 6800U chipset that we saw in the more-premium AyaNeo 2, but in a smaller form factor that makes it a far more comfortable device for portable play. As a result, for my money, this is currently the best handheld gaming PC on the market. It offers the same AAA performance of the AyaNeo 2, at a price point closer to the Steam Deck, but in a device that’s just simply more comfortable to play for extended lengths of time by virtue of its compact design, fronted by a 6-inch 1080p display.

The end result is something quite special — a truly portable gaming PC capable of better performance than the Steam Deck, with full-fat Windows 11 to play about in. Yes, it remains more expensive than Valve’s handheld, and the Steam Deck is the recommended option for those who want a more console-like experience. But for those that are willing to trade a degree of convenience in favor of frame rate, resolution and portability, the AyaNeo Air Plus is an incredible device.

AyaNeo Air Plus: Price and availability

AyaNeo Air Plus screen — (Image credit: Future / Gerald Lynch)

How much does it cost? Starts at $599 (model reviewed RRP $979)
When is it available? Available now in Glacier Blue, Starlight Black and Classic Grey
Where can you get it? Available online direct from AyaNeo, with third-party retailers to follow soon

AyaNeo Air Plus: Specs

Here is the AyaNeo Air Plus configuration sent to TechRadar Gaming for review:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 6800U

RAM: 32GB LPDDR5 6400 (16GB option available)

SSD: 512GB (1TB and 2TB options available)

Size: 237mm X 91.4mm x 23.1mm

Weight: 525g

Screen: 1920 x 1080 / IPS / 6-inch / 400nits / 368 PPI / Touch-enabled

Input: Hall sensor joysticks / Hall sensor triggers / Fingerprint scanner

Battery: 46.2Wh / PD3.0 65W Fast Charge

Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6 / BT 5.2 / USB-C (USB 4) x 2 / Micro SD

OS: Windows 11 Home

The AyaNeo Air Plus starts at an affordable $599 for its lower-powered models, but to get into the Steam Deck-beating territory, it stalks, you need to cough up for the premium AMD Ryzen 7 6800U model. At that point, you’ve comfortably got a machine that outperforms Valve’s model — at a significantly higher price, of course, which is fair enough, considering Valve helps to subsidize Steam Deck costs through Steam store game sales. In terms of value, you’ll likely get more pure gaming mileage with a gaming laptop of similar cost, and more functionality with keys and trackpad too. But you’ll lose the magic of it being a truly handheld machine along the way. And this is still cheaper than the premium AyaNeo 2, despite near-identical internal specs delivering the same fantastic AAA PC gaming performance.

AyaNeo also offers other variants of the Air Plus in less powerful configurations, including Intel Alder Lake Core i3 1215U builds starting at $649, and additional AMD Ryzen 3 7320U and Ryzen 5 7520U variants starting at $599. Each offers either 128GB or 512GB SSD storage, and 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR5 storage. All other specs remain the same.

Value: 3.5 / 5

AyaNeo Air Plus: Design

AyaNeo Air Plus controls — (Image credit: Future)

Great size for a Windows portable
Ergonomic controls
Premium Hall sensor triggers and sticks

AyaNeo has had a fair few goes at creating handheld PCs at this point, and the refinements it’s been making along the way are really starting to pay off. While this is not as luxurious as the AyaNeo 2, instead designed to land at a more affordable price point, I’d argue this is the better machine for portable play in many ways.

That’s in large part because of the screen size. The AyaNeo Air Plus opts for a 6-inch touch display compared to the 7-incher on the AyaNeo 2. Both are gorgeous; rich IPS displays with contrast ratios and color depth to rival an OLED panel. But the smaller screen on the Air Plus facilitates an overall smaller, lighter design, making it far easier to play and hold for longer play sessions. It puts the oversized Steam Deck to shame in this respect. And, as I’ll discuss in a bit, it also helps to increase battery life. Interestingly, the brightness steps on the AyaNeo Air Plus feel a little… off? After about 30% brightness, you’re so close to max visible brightness that I rarely went above that value, so it doesn't seem worth any potential battery trade-off to go any higher. Regardless, it’s a sharper, brighter display than you’ll find on a Steam Deck, even before you hit the halfway mark.

Not every difference in design next to its pricier AyaNeo 2 stablemate is for the better: you’ve only got two USB-C ports (one on the top edge, one on the bottom) compared to the three found on the AyaNeo 2, and the sticks are inferior Joy-Con clones rather than the Xbox-like sticks on the AyaNeo 2. But again, in service of a smaller overall device, they’re smart choices, and the drift-free Hall sensors are still present in the sticks for accurate control. Each has an adjustable RGB light underneath, too.

It's ergonomically very comfortable, and more traditional in size and shape than the Steam Deck. A slight curvature to the back shell where your palms sit lets your fingers hug the AyaNeo Air Plus without cramping (though it is a fingerprint magnet on the rear), and shoulder and trigger buttons are in easy reach, with just the right amount of travel and clickiness. Those triggers are analogue compatible too, again with Hall sensors, letting you dial in fine input — perfect for, say, revving an engine at just the right speed in a racing game like Forza Horizon 5. The D-Pad pivots well, and gives you the precision you need for platformers and brawlers. Start and select buttons sit under the D-Pad on the left, and X, Y, A, and B buttons sit above the right stick — buttons a little smaller perhaps than we’d like, but again in service of added portability.

There’s a few extra buttons that you won’t usually find on a traditional console handheld here. Next to the shoulder buttons are two clicky hotkey buttons that can be configured for whatever use you see fit —say, for instance, bringing up the onscreen touch keyboard, or Task Manager. Then below the right stick are two circular buttons, one larger than the other. The bigger opens up the Aya Space game launcher and device settings software with a long press, while a short press brings up an overlay for quick settings like TDP, brightness and volume control. The smaller button is configurable, but I left it as its default ‘Show Desktop’ function, which is always handy. Up top is a power button which also doubles up as a fingerprint scanner — it’s far, far more reliable than that seen on the AyaNeo 2, thankfully.

That top edge is capped off by a thin horizontal volume rocker, a mic spot, the first of the USB-C ports and a large exhaust vent, pushing out air pulled in from a fan intake grill on the rear of the device. The lower edge houses the AyaNeo Air Plus’s stereo speakers, the second USB-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD slot, covered by a flap. Those speakers are reasonably loud, and won’t be drowned out when the fans need to kick in.

Design: 4.5 / 5

AyaNeo Air Plus: Performance

AyaNeo Air Plus top I/O — (Image credit: Future / Gerald Lynch)

Great AAA gaming performance
Better-than-expected battery life
Could be quickly overshadowed by a growing number of rival devices

Though it’s not packing discrete graphics, the superb performance of AMD’s Ryzen 7 6800U chipset, paired with the 32GB of RAM in our review unit, means that the AyaNeo Air Plus can handle any game I throw at it. Yes, you may need to dial the resolution down a tad, drop the graphical presets to lower settings, and accept that you won’t get Cyberpunk 2077’s ray-tracing ‘Overdrive’ mode running here. But if you’ve ever dreamed of playing Elden Ring on the toilet (or should that be the nightmare?), the AyaNeo Air Plus makes that possible at solid frame rates.

Performance in many aspects is similar to that of the AyaNeo 2: though that’s a more premium device in its external design, reflected in its pricing, the internal specs are essentially identical.

As you’d expect, indie games like Hades and Night in the Woods will easily play at 1080p / 60fps without the AyaNeo Air Plus breaking a sweat, with a sweet spot between 5W and 8W for 2D titles and retro 3D games. Cranking things up a notch, a 10W TDP and 720p resolution saw an enjoyably stable 30fps for Grand Theft Auto V on medium settings — an experience that could scale to 60fp or higher resolutions with ease at a higher TDP (at the expense of battery life). Similar fun could be had with The Witcher 3 at a 30fps cap on Low settings at a 720p resolution by pushing the TDP on the chipset up to 20W — a superior handheld experience compared to the Nintendo Switch port, for instance. Those that are wanting to dabble with emulation will have a great time, too, with upscaled PS2 and Gamecube easily achieved across the vast majority of titles, and even solid performance with platforms as demanding as the PS3.

Where the AyaNeo Air Plus beats out the AyaNeo 2; however, by some distance is in battery life. With a smaller 6-inch display, the Air Plus is less power-hungry, and given that the smaller screen size facilitates a smaller handheld overall, that, combined with battery improvements, makes for a better device all around, in my opinion. Lower-end games, such as indies or retro titles, will happily run for between 3 and 4 hours at a 1080p resolution and between a 5W or 8W TDP, while an online shooter like Destiny 2 can get upwards of two hours of play at 720p and a 30fps cap. The real top-tier titles, like the PC God of War port, is still going to push the AyaNeo Air Plus to its limits in terms of battery life. But if you’re conservative in your settings, you can still eke out close to an hour and a half of play before the battery throws in the towel.

As has become the norm with PC portables, your mileage will vary based on your stomach for lower frame rates and resolutions versus battery life. You will have to be prepared to tweak TDP settings to find the happy balance you’re comfortable with. This isn’t quite pick-up-and-play, then, though honestly, PC gaming in any form factor never has been. But the compromise feels much fairer here than with its AyaNeo 2 predecessor. In portable PC terms, this is as good as it currently gets.

Just how long the AyaNeo Air Plus sits on top of the PC gaming handheld pile is debatable. However — as AyaNeo’s own recent, busy product roadmap shows, this is a product category growing at an incredible rate. Competition is landing thick and fast, and devices like the upcoming ASUS ROG Ally will give the AyaNeo Air Plus a run for its money. For now, however, the AyaNeo Air Plus is leading the pack.

Performance: 4.5 / 5

AyaNeo Air Plus: Software and features

Homescreen of the AyaNeo Air Plus — (Image credit: Future / Gerald Lynch)

The AyaNeo Air Plus runs full-fat Windows 11 Home, meaning you can dig around in the back end of Microsoft’s operating system with impunity. If you want to install any and every Windows application, fire up a Word document or even run your business, nothing is stopping you from doing that on the AyaNeo Air Plus.

That’s a double-edged sword, however. Despite technically supporting touch input, it’s still an operating system best navigated with a keyboard and mouse, and AyaNeo’s efforts to translate that to touch, stick and face button mappings is admirable but ultimately flawed. Likewise, its Aya Space frontend, which acts as both a game launcher and hardware setting configuration application, is better in theory than in practice. It is not quite a match for the Steam Deck SteamOS experience, let alone something as well polished and focused as the Nintendo Switch operating system. The shortcut overlay, accessed by pressing the AyaNeo logo ‘Home’ button on the device, is more useful, though, letting you quickly tweak fan settings, TDP draws to eke more power from the device, as well as resolution settings, brightness, volume and quick-launch buttons for apps or features like the onscreen keyboard.

Should you buy the AyaNeo Air Plus?

Buy it if...

You want relatively powerful PC gaming on the go

This is a handheld PC with as much power as you can currently fit into a device this size, making for a great gameplay experience.

You want your mobile devices to actually feel portable

The size and shape of the AyaNeo Air Plus makes it far easier to actually travel with, without compromising comfort.

You are comfortable with Windows

AyaNeo Air Plus gives you access to the full functionality of the Windows operating system — and all the potential that brings with it.

Don't buy it if...

You’re on a tight budget

You’ll get a ‘good-enough’ handheld PC gaming experience from a Steam Deck, but at a much cheaper price.

You want a more console-like experience

The Aya Space software isn’t good enough to keep you from having to delve back into Windows constantly.

You want to be able to get real work done on your gaming PC

If that’s the case, you may want to pick up a keyboard-equipped gaming laptop instead.

Also Consider: Valve's Steam Deck

If our AyaNeo Air Plus review has you considering other options, you should consider…

How I tested the AyaNeo Air Plus

Review test period: two weeks
Gaming across Steam / Epic Games. AAA games and indie titles
Light web browsing and general Windows PC tasks

Over the course of two weeks testing the AyaNeo Air Plus, I played a range of modern, classic, indie, and AAA PC gaming titles, ranging from everything from Cyberpunk 2077 to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. I even played some retro titles via emulation software.

Though it’s pricier than the Steam Deck, the AyaNeo Air Plus justifies that by being the superior machine in many ways. For example, it’s more powerful, has a more comfortable form factor, and has better specs in key departments, including screen quality. Its only drawback is its software, which hasn’t been as perfectly optimized for handheld play in the same way that the Steam Deck equivalent has. Having said that, you get far more flexibility with the native full-fat Windows on offer here.

Working as a technology and gaming journalist for more than 15 years, I’ve tested (and in many cases owned) every major games console since the SNES, dozens of gaming PCs, and reviewed countless games along the way. I’m a regular gamer at home across Xbox Series X, PS5, and Nintendo Switch consoles, and I have my own gaming PC equipped with the latest generation of Intel processors and an Nvidia RTX 3080 GPU. I’ve also tested many of the new wave of gaming handhelds, including devices from Ayn, Anbernic, PowKiddy, and other AyaNeo models.

How the Steam Deck breathes life into underrated old games

AyaNeo Air Plus review

6:12 pm |

Author: admin | Category: Computers Gadgets | Tags: CPU, OS, RAM, SSD | Comments: Off