Despite the minimalist design, Billy said the AirPods Max are a joy to use – the controls are simple but effective and the battery is solid. Billy had no problem reaching the 20-hour mark thanks to the device’s low power mode. The sound quality was good in several genres with a “natural” sound that provided bass sounds and a subtle atmosphere. However, Billy did not like the Smart Case, which offers little protection for the headphones, and the $ 549 price tag, which makes it more inclined than its competitors.
Brian Oh / Engadget
Although Amazon launched Echo Frames more than a year ago, they are now widely available to those who are interested in wearing a pair of connected glasses. Cherlynn Low liked the way the smart specs fit together: she said they were so comfortable that she forgot she was wearing them. Available in a single style with three color options, the glasses are compatible with prescription lenses. Echo Frames do not have a screen or camera, but allow users to receive calls, listen to music and notifications and use Alexa hands-free. Cherlynn found that Alexa was fast and responsive, even when there was background noise.
But the sound quality at Echo Frames did not impress Cherlynn. The music she listened to was hollow and lacking bass, and the open-ear design meant that close co-workers could hear her music even at just 30% volume. However, the main drawback came with the notifications – they were easy to accidentally ignore because of the touch panel on the right side, not to mention the difficulty of customizing. Despite this, she still liked Echo Frames and found herself using them frequently for Alexa calls and controls.
Steve Dent / Engadget
Sony’s A7C is a compact version of its A6600 camera, but with the 24-megapixel sensor and A7 series specifications. Lightweight and portable, the A7C is similar to other Sony models, specifically the popular A7 III full-frame and the A6600 culture sensor. Steve Dent says the A7C has image quality and shooting speed similar to the A7 III, but uses AI to improve autofocus tracking. However, it lacks a front dial, joystick and other manual controls, which slowed down Steve’s shots and caused awkward handling.
Steve said you can speed things up by configuring custom menus and buttons before using the A7C. Other than that, it has an impressive battery life and can take 680 photos on one charge. The A7C can record crisp 4K video and has decent stabilization, and is great for sports, wildlife or other action scenes. Steve believes it would be ideal for hybrid photographers looking for a modestly priced 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 the new line of graphics cards from NVIDIA, but that doesn’t stop it from offering solid performance even in 1080p or 1440p. Devindra Hardawar expected the 3060 Ti to be an improvement over its predecessor RTX 2060 Super and he was significantly impressed by the fast speeds, 4,864 CUDA cores and 1.67 GHz clock speed produced by the new Ampere architecture.
Although lightning tracking slowed the board a bit (and showed its limits during 4K play), the 3060 Ti easily outperformed the RTX 2080 Super in the Devindra benchmark test – and it wasn’t much slower than the 3070 either. The fan configuration kept the card running cold and quiet, idling around 41 Celsius and reaching a high of 74 Celsius. The ports – three DisplayPort 1.4a and an HDMI 2.1 socket – support 4K displays in addition to 60 Hz and 8K. This makes it a great deal for anyone looking for an upgrade at a decent price.
Terrence O’Brien / Engadget
The Hologram Electronics Microcosm is a flexible effects pedal in the vein of Empress Effects Reverb or Earthquaker Devices’ Afterneath. Able to add subtle texture or transform an instrument entirely, the Microcosm can provide a variety of effects from glitchy to spacey thanks to its 44 presets. Terrence O’Brien called it a one-stop environment store.
The Microcosm also has a wide variety of additional features, including a reverb unit, a modulation section, a resonant low-pass filter and an integrated 60-second phrase looper. It is, however, a considerable pedal, but it contains a good variety of inputs and outputs such as MIDI In and 5-pin Out / Thru and an expression pedal jack. Terrence said he could get lost exploring the various sounds and presets, although he admits that there is a small learning curve for all features. However, he found many happy accidents upon discovering them.
Devindra Hardawar / Engadget
Devindra Hardawar was not sure who would want the HP Reverb G2 after analyzing it. The $ 600 Windows Mixed Reality headset is made for PC users who want crisp screens and ergonomic designs, but don’t want to spend $ 999 on Valve’s Index. Devindra liked the high quality produced by the near-field speakers, the sturdy headband and the comfortable cushioning around the lenses. He also enjoyed the gameplay, thanks to the 2,160 x 2,160 resolution screens, 90 Hz refresh rate, 114 degree field of view and impressive tracking produced by the four sensors.
The controllers were disappointing, although he found the curved handles more comfortable than Microsoft’s straight handle design. He thought they looked empty and, furthermore, he was unable to get a good response from the gamepad buttons. But the gameplay did not disappoint – Microsoft flight simulator I was so involved with the headset that I started to dream about it. He said that despite its flaws, the Reverb G2 is still the best WMR headset.