Despite the minimalist design, Billy said that the AirPods Max is a pleasure to use – the controls are simple but effective and the battery life is solid. Billy had no trouble reaching the 20-hour mark, thanks to the device’s low power mode. The sound quality was good in different genres with a ‘natural’ sound that offered bass-y blossoms and subtle atmosphere. However, Billy does not like the Smart Case, which offers the headphones little protection, and the price of $ 549, which makes it steeper than competitors.
Brian Oh / Engadget
Although Amazon introduced the Echo Frames more than a year ago, it is only now widely available to those interested in wearing paired glasses. Cherlynn Low likes the way the smart specs fit: she said it was so comfortable that she forgot to wear it. The glasses are available in a single style with three color choices and are compatible with prescription lenses. The Echo Frames has no screen or camera, but users can take calls, listen to music and notifications, and use Alexa hands-free. Cherlynn found Alexa to be fast and responsive, even when there was background noise.
But the sound quality on the Echo Frames did not impress Cherlynn. The music she listened to sounded hollow and without bass, and the open-ear design meant that colleagues in the area could hear her songs even at only 30 percent volume. The main drawback, however, was with notifications – it was easy to accidentally fire because of the touch-sensitive panel on the right, not to mention difficult to adjust. Despite this, she still liked the Echo Frames and found that they wear them regularly for calls and Alexa services.
Steve Dent / Engadget
Sony’s A7C is a compact version of its A6600 camera, but with the 24-megapixel sensor and specifications of the A7 series. The A7C is lightweight and portable and is similar to other Sony models, specifically the popular full frame A7 III and the A6600 crop sensor. Steve Dent says the A7C has similar image quality and recording speeds as the A7 III, but uses AI to improve autofocus tracking. However, it does not have a rotary knob on the front, the joystick and other manual operation, which slows down Steve’s shooting and causes clumsy handling.
Steve said you can speed things up by setting up custom menus and buttons before using the A7C. Otherwise, it has an impressive battery life and can charge 680 shots. The A7C can take sharp 4K videos and have decent stabilization, and is great for sports, game or other action shooting. Steve believes it would be ideal for hybrid shooters looking for an affordable full-frame camera. But at a price of $ 1,800, it is more expensive than competing models from Canon, Panasonic or Nikon.
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget
The RTX 3060 Ti is the cheapest GPU in NVIDIA’s new video card setup, but that’s not stopping it from performing well even at 1080p or 1440p. Devindra Hardawar expected the 3060 Ti to be an improvement over its RTX 2060 Super predecessor, and he was significantly impressed by the fast speeds, 4,864 CUDA cores and the 1.67 GHz clock speed provided by the new Ampere architecture was manufactured.
Although ray tracing slowed down the map a bit (and it showed its limits during 4K version), the 3060 Ti easily tested the RTX 2080 Super in Devindra’s standard – and also not much slower than the 3070. Setting up the fan kept the map running cool and quiet, rotating around 41 Celsius and hitting a high of 74 Celsius. The ports – three DisplayPort 1.4a and an HDMI 2.1 connector – support 4K beyond 60Hz and 8K screens. This makes it very good for those who are looking for an upgrade at a decent price.
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
The Hologram Electronics Microcosm is a flexible effect pedal in the style of the Empress Effects Reverb or the Earthquaker Devices. Able to add subtle texture or transform an instrument completely, the Microcosm can offer a variety of effects, from glitchy to spacey, thanks to its 44 presets. Terrence O’Brien calls it a one-stop ambience shop.
The Microcosm also has a wide range of additional features, including a reverb unit, a modulation section, a resonant low-pass filter and a 60-second phrase looper on board. However, it is a significant pedal, but contains a large variety of inputs and outputs such as 5-pin MIDI In and Out / Thru and an expression pedal connection. Terrence said he was able to get lost by examining the different sounds and presets, although he admits that all the features have a small learning curve. Nevertheless, he encountered many happy accidents while realizing it.
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget
Devindra Hardawar was not sure who the HP Reverb G2 would want after reviewing it. The $ 600 Windows Mixed Reality Headset is designed for computer users who want sharp displays and ergonomic designs, but do not want to spend the $ 999 on Valve’s Index. Devindra likes the high quality produced by the speakers of the near field, the sturdy headband and the comfortable cushioning around the lenses. He also enjoyed the game, thanks to the screens of 2,160 x 2,160 resolution, the refresh rate of 90Hz, the field of view of 114 degrees and the impressive shell produced by the four sensors.
The controllers were disappointing, though he found the curved handles more comfortable than Microsoft’s straight handle design. He thought they felt hollow, and on top of that, he could not respond well with the gamepad buttons. But the game did not disappoint – Microsoft’s Flight Simulator was so engrossed with the headset that he started dreaming about it. He claims that the Reverb G2, despite its flaws, is still the best WMR headphones to date.