vivo led the Indian smartphone market with 8.1 million shipments and a 21% share of the pie, according to new data released by the analysts at Canalys today.
Its shipments have grown 31% over Q2 2024. It's followed by Samsung with 6.2 million shipments and a 16% market share, representing a 2% year-over-year (YoY) growth. In third is Oppo with 5 million shipments, a 13% market share, and 24% growth.
Interestingly, the brands in fourth and fifth positions have both seen negative annual growth.
Xiaomi managed 5 million shipments in Q2 this year with a 13% market share, and it's...
The vivo Y50 5G is official alongside the Y50m 5G - both solid entry-level smartphones for the China market. The core specs are the same; the difference is in the memory configurations - the Y50 has a 4GB option, while the Y50m starts from 6GB.
Both have a 6.74-inch 1600x720px IPS LCD with a 90Hz refresh rate, and a potent 6,000mAh battery with 44W charging. They run OriginOS 5, and are powered by the 6nm MediaTek Dimensity 6300 with four RAM options - 4GB (Y50), 6GB, 8GB, and 12GB. You either get 128GB or 256GB of expandable storage.
The Y50/Y50m is equipped with two cameras: a...
Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2 Available on: Nintendo Switch 2 Release date: June 5, 2025
Even though I didn’t love anti-grav racer Fast Fusion as much as I wanted to, I still think you should absolutely buy it. Its $14.99 / £13.49 price tag on the Nintendo eShop is quite frankly a steal, and a very fair price considering what you’re getting from this Switch 2 launch game. There’s not a metric ton of content here, and it is an experience you can get the most out of in around 10-12 hours, but that low cost of entry is worth it for the presentation alone.
Fast Fusion is arguably the best-looking Nintendo Switch 2 launch game. It might not have the artful whimsy of Mario Kart World, but in terms of sheer graphical fidelity, developer Shin’en Multimedia has delivered in spades. To me, that comes as no surprise; I maintain that 2019’s The Touryst(also by Shin’en) is one of the most visually impressive games on modern hardware, and that’s definitely the case with Fast Fusion, too.
Another reason to buy the game is that its performance is basically bulletproof. Its Quality graphical setting, which I used for the majority of my play time in docked mode, holds 4K resolution at 60 frames per second (fps) at all times, even with some light ray-traced reflections enabled.
But even though Fast Fusion is certainly a looker, it unfortunately falls short as a racing game. While tracks look beautiful, they don’t offer much in terms of variety, usually boiling down to a handful of obstacles and one or two alternate shortcuts. AI drivers also employ an absurd amount of rubber-banding, sticking to your tail like glue even after an extended period of boosting.
I’m also not a fan of how the game handles progression, as unlocking new cups can require huge sums of currency. This has improved since launch, with patches increasing the amount of money you can earn in a championship, but you’ll still find yourself having to grind out an extra run or two just to have enough to unlock the next set of races.
Overall, Fast Fusion is a beautiful, ‘fun while it lasts’ racing game. A lack of online play definitely hurts its longevity, but given how cheap the game is at retail price, I can’t fault it too much for a lack of content, and I did have a decent time with it regardless. It's certainly not one of the best Switch 2 games, but it's hard to argue with the value on offer.
Double or nothing
(Image credit: Shin'en)
Fast Fusion is a futuristic, anti-gravity racer, inspired by subgenre legends like F-Zero and Wipeout. The goal is simple: enter a championship, drive faster than your opponents, get money for more vehicles and events, rinse and repeat.
Your vehicle is capable of boosting and jumping - the latter to avoid obstacles and grab boost tokens floating in the air. Said tokens fill up your boost meter, so collecting them throughout a race is imperative - especially as they also increase the amount of in-game currency you have.
The swap mechanic from Fast RMX also returns, which lets you change between blue and orange forms in order to make use of the same-colored boost pads littered throughout each track. Finally, boosting into an opponent who isn’t boosting will cause them to spin out, hampering their race and netting you some more tokens.
While content in Fast Fusion is light overall, there’s still a decent amount of it to check out. The main championship mode features five cups of three races, split across three speed classes. Local multiplayer (including GameShare) and time attack modes are featured, too.
There’s also Super Hero Mode, which is an additional challenge mode that mimics the F-Zero series’ style of play. Here, your boost gauge is also your health bar, and crashing or running out of health retires you from the race. It’s a pretty thrilling side mode and quite challenging, adding some much-needed replayability to Fast Fusion.
Two become one
(Image credit: Shin'en)
Easily my favorite part of Fast Fusion is its titular fusion mechanic. By accessing the Fusion Shop from the main menu, you can not only unlock new vehicles with currency, but also choose two to fuse together into one super-powered machine.
Every combination is accounted for, leading to an extremely impressive array of vehicles. They all have unique looks, liveries, and name amalgamation depending on your chosen two. Not all are made equal, though; the game will let you know how powerful the fusion is on a grading system. For example, a lower rank ‘C’ fusion will have worse stats, but cost less to fuse. Meanwhile, an ‘A+’ beast can get close to maxing out in performance, but will naturally cost more.
Best bit
(Image credit: Shin'en)
I love the titular ‘fusion’ mechanic in Fast Fusion. Combining two vehicles into one for a more powerful craft, it’s always interesting to see the results. Especially when it’s an amalgamation of both crafts, complete with a livery change and a hybridized name. There’s loads to see here, and experimentation is practically necessary in order to beat the more challenging championship events.
You’ll need to rely on the fusion system when tackling the game’s hardest speed classes, too. Not only do AI drivers rarely make mistakes, but they have some of the most egregious rubber-banding I’ve seen in a racing game in quite some time. You can fully maximize a track, hit every shortcut, and spend most of your time boosting, and you’ll still get at least two AI drivers zooming past you on the final lap.
And as I mentioned earlier, racing in general, despite being a futuristic anti-grav racer, feels disappointingly grounded. Vehicles are extremely grippy, and hitting a wall has practically no negative impact. Track design also plays it rather safe - there’s very little in the way of demanding corners like hairpins, meaning braking and tilting rarely get used outside of the final speed class. It’s a far cry from Wipeout or F-Zero GX, where you often really have to wrestle your machine around corners and you are heavily punished for colliding with walls.
Should you play Fast Fusion?
Play it if...
You want a real showcase of the Switch 2’s graphical chops Fast Fusion is stunning to behold, sporting a high level of graphical fidelity, rock-solid performance, and convincing motion blur and incredible weather effects. The low price of admission is worth it for all those ‘wow’ moments, especially if you own a 4K display.
You want a cheap game that’s actually worth it The Nintendo eShop’s relationship with cheap games is a sloppy one, but Fast Fusion proves you can still offer a very compelling experience at a budget price.
Don't play it if...
You were hoping for bags of content Overall, Fast Fusion will probably last you around 10-12 hours if you’re planning on doing absolutely everything. While that’s expected for the price, it certainly doesn’t have the longevity of F-Zero GX or Mario Kart World.
You want a true anti-grav racer The vehicles in Fast Fusion may as well have wheels, given how overtly grippy they are. The ships all look very cool, but their handling doesn’t exactly scream ‘anti-gravity’.
Accessibility
There isn't much in the way of accessibility settings in Fast Fusion. You can fully rebind controls in the options menu to suit your preferences, as well as enable tilt controls via gyro aiming should you prefer. However, don't expect anything in the way of colorblind settings or other visual options.
How I reviewed Fast Fusion
I played 10 hours of Fast Fusion on Nintendo Switch 2, clearing all Grand Prix and Super Hero Mode content across the three speed classes, while also unlocking most vehicles and playing around a good bit with the fusion system.
I primarily played the game in ‘Quality’ mode, which offers 4K 60fps performance while docked, as well as some basic ray-traced reflections. I also tried out the ‘Ultra Quality’ mode, which increases fidelity further at the cost of a 30fps frame rate. While this mode does look utterly stunning, I much preferred the smoother performances offered by other graphics modes.
For gameplay, my gamepad of choice was the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, while also using the Joy-Con 2 controllers while playing in handheld mode.
Google is launching the Pixel 10 family at its upcoming event taking place on August 20, and ahead of that, today the vanilla Pixel 10 has been portrayed in some official-looking leaked renders.
These show all four colors that the phone will allegedly be offered in: Obsidian, Indigo, Frost, and Limoncello. Interestingly, Porcelain (Google's name for white) is gone from the Pixel 10, if these are in fact all the colors as the source of the renders implies.
Google Pixel 10 leaked renders
Obsidian has long been the name used by Google to refer to a dark gray or black hue,...
Nokia and HMD Global started to part ways last year, which included de-listing Nokia-branded phones from hmd.com and replacing most with corresponding HMD-branded models. But the Nokia brand may live on in the phone world if the Finnish company finds another partner.
On the Nokia sub-reddit, a Nokia Community Manager posted that the company is open to collaborating with a “large scale mobile manufacturer”. Of course, the words of a social media account manager don’t carry much weight and Reddit isn’t the best place to find a smartphone ODM.
Nokia had licensed its brand in several...
Released at the tail end of 2024 on Xbox Series X|S and Windows, action-adventure gameIndiana Jones and the Great Circle quickly established itself as not only one of the year's best games, but an incredibly immersive, cinema-rivaling romp that perfectly captured the spirit of Spielberg's beloved trilogy. Surpassing expectations, the first-person game didn't deliver the Uncharted or Tomb Raider rip-off many assumed we'd get. Nor did it turn out to be a shooter similar to developer MachineGames' successful Wolfenstein games.
Review information
Platform reviewed: PS5 Pro Available on: PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC Release date: April 17, 2025
While either of those approaches probably would have worked just fine, the Swedish studio and publisher Bethesda Softworks went off the beaten path – much like Dr. Henry Jones Jr. himself – to produce an ambitious, story-driven, sublimely satisfying experience that's on par with the archeologists' best big screen adventures. As a result, it's now one of the best PS5 games and best PS5 Pro games you can play.
A thrilling ride worthy of the films
(Image credit: Bethesda)
For those yet to don the fedora, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle spins an original canon yarn set in 1937, between the events of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade (remember, Temple of Doom serves as a prequel to Raiders). The globe-trotting tale finds Indy exploring the likes of Vatican City, Thailand, Egypt, and beyond in his quest to uncover the secrets and mysteries behind the titular Great Circle.
For fans, this means participating in plenty of relic-hunting, puzzle-solving, and Nazi-pummeling antics across incredibly detailed, semi-open world maps. But it's the deft pacing and organic implementation of these various elements that make the game shine brighter than the Ark of the Covenant. Puzzles hit the sweet spot between being challenging but never to the point that frustration overshadows the fun, while the combat – which sees you fighting fascists with everything from fly swatters to frying pans – is a visceral blast.
Best bit
(Image credit: Bethesda)
It feels fantastic wielding Indy's signature whip and pistol, but beating up baddies with every random object – from spatulas and brooms to candlesticks and various musical instruments – is a surprisingly satisfying way to thin the Third Reich's ranks, especially with the DualSense's bells and whistles upping the immersion.
On the subject of putting Hitler's heavies in their place, the game, of course, arms you with Indy's trusty pistol and bullwhip. But rather than regularly relying on these items, you use them smartly and sparingly, supplementing them with lots of sneaking around, stealth takedowns, and improvisational melee combat. Seriously, breaking a mandolin over a baddie's head never gets old.
This sort of balanced, organic approach also translates to puzzle-decryption and environmental exploration, as you'll rarely find yourself simply mimicking on-screen prompts, chasing down shiny symbols, or following icons. Instead, you'll rely on Indy's intuitive camera and info-packed journal to naturally progress through objectives.
And while the critical path will keep you busy, the expansive sandboxes are brimming with optional collectibles, secrets, and surprises worth seeking out. On that note, expect to discover plenty of manuals that help you upgrade Indy's abilities, an especially cool feature that forgoes the usual, game-y skill trees in favor of a leveling system that more naturally suits the character.
Whether you're cracking ancient conundrums or Nazi skulls, the game offers an absorbing visual and audio experience that seamlessly blends its first and third-person perspectives. Most of the action unfolds from the former, while the latter perfectly frames some platforming sequences – like climbing and swinging – as well as cutscenes. Toss in some epic set pieces and Troy Baker's spot-on Harrison Ford performance, and the Great Circle puts the whip in your grip like never before.
PS5 fortune and glory
(Image credit: Bethesda)
All that said, the game's original release did suffer from some graphical and performance issues, especially on the Xbox Series S. With this PlayStation 5 version - particularly when played on a PS5 Pro - however, those problems have been squashed like a crypt-inhabiting creepy crawly beneath Indy's boot.
Where many titles on both the standard PS5 and Pro consoles offer a choice between Performance and Fidelity modes, the Great Circle ditches those options for a beefy default that delivers both native 4K resolution at 60fps. Supported by advanced ray tracing tech – putting some of the prettiest lighting and reflection effects I've ever seen on screen – the result is an absolutely stunning, incredibly sharp visual presentation complemented by performance that feels as smooth as a poison-dipped date.
Of course, the PS5 release also cranks the immersion through the DualSense controller's nuanced haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, LED lighting, and touchpad effects. Whether feeling the building rumble of Raiders' iconic boulder trap, splintering a guitar over a goose stepper's head, or pulling your whip as it wraps around a foe's limbs, you'll never experience the same tactile sensation. Smaller touches, like the LED light flashing green when you apply a life-saving bandage, further make you feel like you're actually under the hat.
More than a mere port, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle on PS5 is easily the definitive version of the game, thanks to the various features, upgrades, and enhancements that this version built for Sony’s consoles brings to the adventure.
Should you play Indiana Jones and the Great Circle for PS5?
Play it if...
You love the Indy films Highly evocative of Indy's Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Last Crusade era, The Great Circle offers an incredibly immersive action-adventure romp that's as close as you'll come to a playable Indiana Jones movie. A must-play for fans of the franchise.
You have a thirst for adventure While the Great Circle puts you under the hat like never before, you needn't be an Indy nerd to enjoy it. The rewarding mix of deep exploration, puzzle-solving, collectible-gathering, and improvisational combat will satisfy any fan of the genre’s thirst for adventure.
You've been waiting for the best console version of the game PlayStation owners may not have gotten Indy's latest interactive adventure when it arrived late last year, but the wait was worth it. While the Great Circle impressed on Xbox platforms, its PS5/PS5 Pro release is the prettiest, most immersive console version of the game.
Don't play it if...
The content didn't get you cracking the whip the first time Indiana Jones and the Great Circle receives notable graphics and performance upgrades on the PS5/PS5 Pro, but its content is identical to that of the Xbox and PC versions released last year. If you're looking for different or new content – like the upcoming Order of Giants DLC – you won't find it here.
Accessibility
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle goes pretty deep in terms of accessibility features, offering a solid suite of options for those looking to tweak and tinker. Both the size and color of the user interface elements can be adjusted, while subtitles and closed captions can also be personalized to your preferences. Camera modes, like motion blur and screen shake, can also be turned on or off.
There are also protanopia, deuteranopia, and tritanopia color filter modes for color blind players, as well as various HUD adjustment settings. The game also offers a number of difficulty settings for both its action elements, which can tweak enemy quantity and behavior, as well as adventure aspects, which can adjust puzzle difficulty and toggle objective markers.
How I reviewed Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
I playedIndiana Jones and the Great Circle for over 40 hours, with about a third of that time invested in optional activities and additional exploration. I reviewed the game on the PlayStation 5 Pro, but also put several hours into the Xbox Series X version to compare the visuals and performance. I also tested all the new DualSense-specific features. I played on my budget model TCL 4K display with HDR enabled. For audio, I used my television's onboard stereo speakers, but also tested with PlayStation's Pulse Explore earbuds.
With few exceptions, smartphones are cooled passively – the new Oppo K13 Turbo and K13 Turbo Pro buck that trend and bring a tiny fan to keep their chipsets cool even during long gaming sessions.
The Oppo K13 Turbo is powered by the Dimensity 8450, a 4nm (TSMC) chip with eight Cortex-A725 cores and a Mali-G720 MC7 GPU.
Oppo K13 Turbo with Dimensity 8450 • Oppo K13 Turbo Pro with Snapdragon 8s Gen 4
The Oppo K13 Turbo Pro features a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 instead – another 4nm (TSMC) chip with eight CPU cores (one Cortex-X4, and seven Cortex-A720) plus an Adreno 825 GPU. The Pro...
Details on the Google Pixel Watch 4 have been trickling out in the build-up to the August 20 unveiling. The latest scuttlebutt reveals that the new model will have a brighter display and new silicon for improved efficiency.
The Pixel Watch 4 will be available in 41mm and 45mm sizes, which should correspond to 1.2” and 1.4” displays (as it did on the Watch 3). Said displays will go up to 3,000 nits – 50% more than the 2024 watch. This brightness matches the newly arrived Samsung Galaxy Watch8 series as well as the Apple Watch Ultra 2 (the Apple Watch Series 10 displays only go up to 2,000...
Terramaster has effectively carved out a niche in the NAS world with a combination of well-constructed hardware that supports a feature-rich environment and is aggressively priced.
As a result, it has attracted many home and small business customers who wouldn’t pay Synology, Asustor, or QNAP prices, but wanted solid equipment to manage and distribute data.
The F4 SSD isn’t the first SSD-based NAS that TerraMaster has produced, but it immediately stands out as something distinctly mainstream, significantly cheaper than the majority of products in this sector.
This small box can mount four PCIe Gen 3 NVMe drives, providing a total capacity of 32TB, and then distribute them over the network using a 5GbE LAN port.
The core of this solution is an Intel N85 processor, and it comes with 8GB of DDR5 memory, which is easily upgradable to 32GB by the user.
It utilises TerraMaster’s own TOS 6.0 operating system, although you don’t invalidate your hardware warranty if you use a third-party NAS OS, such as TrueNAS SCALE, Proxmox, etc.
With all this flexibility for a modest price, what’s the catch here?
The issue with this system is that the CPU’s power is on the low side, and therefore, it wouldn’t be ideal for running multiple simultaneous applications, Docker containers, or virtual machines.
At best, this hardware is best for primary tasks with perhaps a secondary role, but accept that file serving will take much of the power in this machine.
However, even with those limitations, this is a neat and helpful platform for those who want a tiny, silent and efficient NAS solution.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
TerraMaster F4: Price and availability
How much does it cost? From $400/£380
When is it out? Available now
Where can you get it? Direct from the makers or through an online retailer
Unlike some brands, TerraMaster is widely available and also sells its hardware directly from its website.
The asking price for the only available SKU is $399.99 on Amazon in the United States and £379.99 on Amazon in the United Kingdom. That’s $200 less than the larger F8 model, and half the price of the F8 Plus.
That’s dramatically cheaper than the Ugreen NASync DXP480T, which costs about double this and still only takes four NVMe drives. However, that machine has a much more powerful i5 platform, a 10GbE LAN port and Thunderbolt.
The Asustor Flashstor 6 FS6706T is slightly more expensive, offering a six-drive option with increased processing power and dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, but it comes with only 4GB of memory.
Closer to the Ugreen option in price is the QNAP TBS-464-8G for $589.99 from Amazon, powered by the Intel Celeron N5105/N5095. The downside of that option is, other than the price, that the 8GB of RAM is not upgradable.
However, not all competitor devices are sold as NAS. One competitive alternative is the Minisforum MS-01-S1260 Mini Workstation, a mini PC that utilises the Core i5-12600H processor, supports three M.2 2280 drives, and features dual 2.5GbE LAN ports and USB4.
In a barebones configuration where the customer must provide an operating system, RAM, and storage, the MS-01-S1260 can be purchased for just $399.99 on Amazon, and there are SKUs that feature more powerful Core i9 CPUs.
Excluding mini-computers overlapping NAS territory, the TerraMaster F4 is the cheapest mainstream branded SSD NAS around, and represents excellent value for money.
But, only if the use case doesn’t require significant amounts of processing power.
The design and layout of this machine seem vaguely familiar, as it employs a concept similar to that of the Beelink Me mini system I recently reviewed.
What they share is a cooling solution where the case acts as a chimney, drawing cool air from below, gathering heat as it rises over the motherboard and M.2 storage before being expelled out of the top.
In the F4, the air is propelled by two almost silent 50mm fans on the bottom, and the book-like form factor is arranged with the M.2 slots on one side and the processor and memory on the other.
What’s slightly different is that the front face of the unit, where it says TerraMaster F4, is clearly not the end that should be facing you. As all the ports and the power button are at the opposite end, which is the rear.
What’s great about this unit over some other NAS is how easy it is to get inside to add drives and upgrade memory. A single thumbscrew on the rear releases the outer skin, allowing it to slide off easily.
With this plastic shell removed, the M.2 slots and the memory are available, and this doesn’t require any tools. However, TerraMaster does include a screwdriver, which is useful for those easy-to-misplace M.2 screws, and thankfully, some spares are included in the box.
I’m surprised that the designers didn’t use a sprung plastic retainer, like those on the Asustor Flashstor 6 FS6706T, as it would have made this design entirely tool-free.
According to TerraMaster, the M.2 slots are designed for up to 8TB drives, and there is sufficient room for modules with integrated heatsinks to be used. What I recommend is that if you use any double-sided modules, you should add a heatsink to them, as there’s no thermal pad connecting them to the case, which is mostly made of plastic.
For those wondering what the best drives to use are, TerraMaster has a good selection of approved brands and models in stark contrast to the own-brand path that Synology has recently taken.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Interestingly, I used an idiosyncratic mix of brands in my testing, some of which weren’t on this list, but I didn’t have any issues. The only ones the makers suggest to avoid are S500PRO modules by Fanxiang, and that’s across all their NAS boxes that can accept M.2 modules.
The only limitation on physical size for the F4 is that all drives must be NVMe and 2280, as there are no retainer positions for 2260, 2242, or 2230 drives.
If I were deploying one of these on a budget, I’d be considering using a drive like the Crucial P3, where the 4TB model can be found for under $220. Using these, a system with 16TB of storage can be constructed for close to $ 1,200, and as SSD NAS go, that’s cheap.
The strength of this design lies in its relatively low power consumption and vertical tube topology, which make for a simple-to-deploy and nearly silent NAS.
For those who would like a small NAS to sit on their desk, perhaps to keep a live backup of a running system, the F4 is ideal in many respects.
Design: 4 / 5
TerraMaster F4: Features
Intel N95 CPU
No ECC memory
Only 9 PCIe Lanes
When Intel first introduced the Atom series of processors, many wondered why customers would purchase such low-power systems. These days, platforms that are scaled back to run 24/7 or deliver just enough performance for the primary task are common.
The Intel N95 is where low-power computing took Intel, and it’s not anything you would ideally wish to use on a desktop computer.
While it does have an integrated GPU with sixteen execution units, this processor is more limited by its four-core CPU, which doesn’t support hyperthreading. Four cores on Windows 11 would be a nightmare, but for the custom Linux platform of TOS 6.0, it is sufficient. Additionally, with 8GB of RAM, expandable to 32GB, it is also more than enough for file-serving duties.
However, the wall and running into that barrier are never too far away with the N95, and this isn’t a system that would enjoy being pre-loaded with demanding applications. Those who put Plex on it don’t expect it to do that and also run a torrent client, a mail server and three Docker containers, because it won’t be smooth sailing.
Precisely where the N95 runs out of road entirely depends on how demanding the apps are, but if you want to run many applications, then there are alternatives that use more powerful Intel and AMD processors that will be better choices.
The other limitations of the N95 are that it can only address a single memory module and has limited PCIe Express lanes. There is only one memory channel, and thankfully, TerraMaster engineers used a DDR5 module on it to maximise bandwidth.
Intel claims it can address up to 16GB, while TerraMaster says 32GB, but whichever is correct, they both agree it doesn’t support ECC memory, unfortunately.
I believe, and this may be misinformation, that the standard memory model of the N95 allows only 16 GB. The additional 16GB of memory can be used for things like virtual machines.
If you don’t intend to use VMs, then putting more than 16GB in the F4 is probably pointless.
Even 16GB is a good amount of memory for a small server, especially when you consider that the drives in this unit don’t require much caching to perform well.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
A bigger issue is the PCIe lanes, since these dictate exactly how much data can flow through the system and to externally connected devices.
With only nine PCIe 3.0 lanes, there isn’t enough bandwidth for the SSDs to have the full X4 lanes that modern NVMe drives are designed for. Two of the slots have been downgraded to X2, while the other two remain at X1. Therefore, it’s a futile exercise to populate these slots with modules meant for PCIe 4.0, since they will be downgraded to PCIe 3.0 by the system.
Being pragmatic, achieving 1GB/s from two drives and possibly 2GB/s from two others is still well beyond the performance required to saturate the 5GB/s of the single LAN port fully.
As there were no PCIe lanes left to add a card slot, the only way to get more network bandwidth is by using USB adapters. There are relatively inexpensive 5GbE adapters that can utilise USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, but I cannot personally confirm whether they would work on this platform.
Again, if you want better than a single 5GbE LAN connection and more PCIe lanes for faster drives, then this probably isn’t the NAS for you.
Overall, the F4 makes the most of its hardware, but this machine won’t break any records for having excess performance on tap or for its responsiveness.
Features: 3 / 5
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
TerraMaster F4: Software
TOS 6.0
Applications
Yes to TrueNAS and UnRaid
For those who started with TerraMaster early on, and I’m happy to say that includes me, the evolution of the TerraMaster OS, or TOS, has been impressive.
Now in its sixth incarnation, this is a pretty mature platform that offers a wide range of functionality and applications.
While it doesn’t quite reach the levels of polish that Synology prides itself on, the feature set of TOS 6.0 ticks plenty of boxes.
One interesting change of direction that TerraMaster isn’t unique in taking is a shift away from first-party applications to those that are installed either as Docker-packaged containers or as virtual machines. Some compiled TOS apps, such as Qtorrent and Plex, are available on the TerraMaster application store. However, you can install later versions of these tools by finding the Docker container and using it instead.
While TerraMaster isn’t competing with the likes of QNAP and Synology for the number of available apps on its platform, there is more than enough for the majority of customers, and it isn’t a closed environment that requires approved tools.
TOS 6.0 isn’t for everyone, but TerraMaster is one of those NAS makers that is entirely customer-focused and is happy for their hardware to be used with TrueNAS Scale, UnRaid, Proxmox, or any other NAS OS the owner wishes. You won’t receive software support from TerraMaster if you opt for this approach, but hardware issues are still covered during the warranty period.
It’s interesting to see that TerraMaster and Ugreen are both pitching the ‘NAS-your-way’ approach, whereas other brands seem less confident about allowing alternatives into their playgrounds. This direction appears opposed to where Synology is heading, where the turnkey solution comes with much stricter limits on what you can and can’t do.
This is certainly more customer-friendly, but will it lead to a future where NAS makers no longer bother with a branded OS and instead offer a pre-loading service of a popular third-party OS? Only time will tell.
In short, TOS 6.0 offers a plethora of features that cover the majority of tasks that NAS commonly use, and if these don’t quite match your needs, the ability to run Docker containers and VMs is a viable answer.
Software: 4 / 5
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
TerraMaster F4: Final verdict
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
There are good things about the F4, and some other things that aren’t wonderful.
Unless you kludge a NUC into a mini server, this is undoubtedly one of the most affordable SSD NAS options available. However, being realistic, the cost of the F4 is likely to be dwarfed by that of the M.2 modules unless you only install 1TB or smaller drives in it.
If you can afford to populate this with 8TB modules, or even 4TB, then you might get more performance in return by investing in an Asustor or Ugreen SSD NAS.
The other issue here is that the Intel N95 limits the system’s capabilities somewhat, as it lacks the performance to handle multiple apps or Docker containers. It also dictates that there is no USB4/Thunderbolt, which on other systems can be used to locally network to a host PC while the LAN ports support other users.
The natural space this device occupies is either as a network location for live synchronisation or as a directly connected external storage system. In both these scenarios, the 5GbE LAN port can deliver and retrieve data at over 500MB/s, making it as fast as a USB 3.2 Gen 1 attached SSD. The lure is that it can offer capacities much larger than even the biggest USB-connected SSDs, which typically only offer 8TB as their largest option.
Outside of this use, justifying the investment becomes tougher, since this doesn’t have the power to be an all-purpose NAS or the LAN connections to handle a 10GbE network.
Should I buy a TerraMaster F4?
Value
Inexpensive, if you ignore the M.2 modules
4 / 5
Design
Elegant chiney cooling and easy access
4 / 5
Features
5GbE LAN, 8GB of RAM, but only a four-core CPU
3 / 5
Software
TOS 6 has plenty to like
4 / 5
Overall
Some improvements, removed features at twice the price
4 / 5
Buy it if...
You need a live local backup With a 5GbE LAN port and up to 32TB of local storage, this could be the perfect device for live synchronising files from a desktop or workstation PC. The only caveat is that the unit must be either directly connected or used with a 5GbE network infrastructure.
You need a flexible solution The app selection on ADM 5.0 is extensive and covers all the possible requirements, and for specialist user there are always Docker containers or VMs.
Don't Buy it if...
You need massive capacity Even using 8TB SSDs, the four slots limit the practical space this NAS can have. If you use redundancy, that could be 24TB or less. Since a single conventional hard drive can have that much, this isn’t ideal for those with large datasets.
You need a flexible solution The app selection on ADM 6.0 is extensive and covers all the possible requirements, but with only four cores running, more than a couple of demanding tasks isn’t a realistic option. If you want a more flexible NAS, then there are more powerful systems.
Also Consider
Asustor Flashstor 12 Pro FS6712X An older Asustor machine that can take twelve M.2 drives, giving a maximum potential of 96TB, should you have the funds for that many 8TB drives.
What this unit lacks is processing power, as it's powered by an Intel Celeron N5105. That chip also means it only offers USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports for connecting external storage.
Ugreen NASync DXP480T Plus A beautifully engineered NVMe NAS that takes 2280 drives of all sizes in its four slots. Twice the cost of the F4, it features an integrated heatsink design, a single 10GbE LAN and Thunderbolt 4.0 ports. Given its feature set, this is a viable alternative, admittedly with the same potential capacity.
The vanilla Huawei Pura 80 is late to the party – the rest of the Pura 80 family launched in China in early June and even managed an international launch since then. The vanilla model is only now ready to go and will be available in China this Wednesday (July 23).
Or maybe not even then, Huawei’s posts on Weibo talk of a pre-sale, suggesting that actual availability will come later. The posts mention school, so Huawei seems to be positioning this as a phone for students (school in China starts in early September).
The Huawei Pura 80 is coming on Wednesday (July 23)
The official...
