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Sony LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open review: Two designs, one clear champ

SONY’s LinkBuds range has two main purposes. First, it gave the company a platform to launch radically different designs, such as the first generation of LinkBuds in the shape of doughnuts. It also allowed SONY to develop the LinkBuds S, a more traditional product that offers a taste of its flagship product at an inexpensive price.

Two years after the launch of LinkBuds and LinkBuds S, SONY has introduced a completely new product and improved on the original. With LinkBuds Fit, the company has developed a suite of fully functional, comfortable earbuds with impressive sound. With LinkBuds Open, SONY has tweaked its unique open wear mode by updating some of its tools. Next up is the third product in the LinkBuds trio, the LinkBuds Speaker, which is designed to seamlessly integrate with two pairs of new earbuds when you get home or to work. This is what I’ve been saying about these products since SONY launched them, so be prepared because you’re going to get three reviews for one price.

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LinkBuds Fit

Sony LinkBuds Fit Truly Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds | Violet - Limited edition | WF-LS910N/V
Sony flexes its mobile audio muscle on the LinkBuds Fit, combining great sound with tons of features.

Pros

Tiny, comfy design
Surprisingly big sound
Lots of handy features

Cons

ANC performance is lacking
Battery life
Call quality is fine, but not great

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Sony’s LinkBuds S were a low-key hit in 2022. They have some of the great features from the 1000X line, with a similar overall shape, too. Small and comfy.With this year’s LinkBuds Fit, Sony has debuted the next progression in its active noise canceling (ANC) LinkBuds.
This is the option for people who prefer a closed design and a secure fit. Sony completely redesigned the LinkBuds Fit, aiming for the optimum shape for most people. To get there, the company made the main housing a lot smaller, as the whole thing tucks almost entirely into your ear. There’s a so-called Air Cushion silicon support wing that’s hollow instead of solid. This allows more flexibility, and honestly it’s more comfortable since you can tuck it into the ridges of your ears however you need to. The combination of the smaller size and the Air Cushion make the LinkBuds Fit some of the most comfy in-ears I’ve tested. Even though they plug your ears closed, they never become a burden, even after hours of constant use.

One of the best things about the LinkBuds S was the impressive sound quality for the price. That continues on the LinkBuds Fit as Sony offers balanced tuning right out of the box. There’s crisp highs, ample mid range and snappy bass throughout most genres.Vol. 2. Plus, the company’s DSEE Extreme upscaling can help restore some audio quality lost over compression for Bluetooth streaming. Audio presets and a 5-band EQ are here for adjustments, but I didn’t even think about using them.

The sound capabilities of LinkBuds Fit are on full display in BONES UK’s Soft. Crunchy guitars, humming basslines and punchy kick drums provide a full, deep sound field with textured sounds floating around. Interestingly, LinkBuds Fit’s heavy rhythm has nuances, not just the rhythm of one note. All this sound improvement is partly due to the earbuds inherits the dynamic driver X and the integrated processor V2 audio chip from 1000X. The WF-1000XM5 has more surround sound, but not much, as SONY has narrowed the gap between its flagship model and the LinkBuds line – for now.

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Sony LinkBuds Fit Truly Wireless Noise Canceling Earbuds | Violet - Limited edition | WF-LS910N/V

Features like Adaptive Sound Control, multipoint Bluetooth and Speak to Chat make their return on the LinkBuds Fit from the LinksBuds S. But Sony has gone well beyond those with a host of new conveniences. The company took a page from Apple’s book and now allows you to answer or reject calls by nodding or shaking your head. There’s also a built-in voice control that doesn’t require your phone’s assistant, something akin to what Bose offers on the new QuietComfort Earbuds. And because the earbuds are so small, there aren’t onboard touch controls. Instead, Sony employs the Wide Area Tap gestures from the original open-design LinkBuds. They work really well, but I will never be comfortable tapping my upper cheek to make adjustments.

Perhaps the only area where the LinkBuds Fit fall well short of the WF-1000XM5 is ANC performance. I’d call this active noise reduction more than cancellation. You’ll get some relief from constant sources like white noise machines or a raucous fan, but these earbuds don’t silence them. They also struggle mightily with human voices, so if you sit near a chatty coworker, you’ll have to crank up the volume to compensate.

For calls, the LinkBuds Fit will give you better-than-average voice clarity, which means you’ll sound better than if you’re on speakerphone. The earbuds also do a decent job of blocking background noise, although I noticed a slight delay in them picking up sounds that began during calls. Sony also boasts that this model has its “best ambient sound,” and while I’m not ready to bestow that honor, the audio mode does have a natural quality that makes it pleasant to use. Plus, a new Auto Ambient Sound feature can automatically adjust the level of transparency when you encounter a noisy environment.

With the LinkBuds Fit, Sony says you can expect up to five and a half hours with ANC on and 21 hours total when you factor in the case. There are a lot of advanced features at work here, and those have an impact on power consumption. With the volume at a comfortable 75-80 percent, I only managed around four hours and 45 minutes. That’s with noise-canceling active as well as Voice Control, Speak to Chat and DSEE Extreme all enabled. The good news is that Sony offers a tool called Auto Battery Save that will disable the latter three tools, as well as any EQ tweaks, to conserve power. This will extend things beyond the 5.5-hour mark, but not by a ton.

The LinkBuds Fit are a massive advancement over the LinkBuds S. In fact, they’re some of the best earbuds Sony has ever made. But they aren’t without a few significant faults. My primary gripe is ANC performance, and though it’s the only one, it’s a biggie. Like it usually does on the 1000X line, Sony has packed in a ton of features here, and for the most part they work as advertised. It’s clear the company is taking notes from the competition with the Apple-esque head gestures and automatic sound adjustments, in addition to the Bose-like built-in assistant. But, somehow, Sony managed to innovate and keep the price tag exactly the same as the LinkBuds S.

LinkBuds Open

The LinkBuds Open show progression from the first-gen model, but they’re still uncomfortable.

Pros

Improved sound quality
More features than the previous version
Unique design

Cons

More expensive than their predecessor
Still uncomfortable
Good sound requires some tweaks

The original LinkBuds were wonderfully weird. After years of very normal-looking earbuds (besides the Xperia Ear Duo), Sony took a big swing in early 2022 with the donut-shaped, open design model that sought to provide all-day wear while keeping your earbuds unobstructed from your environment. They were different, but they were unique, with their own drizzle of Sony’s special sauce. However, overall comfort was a big issue, and one the company sought to remedy on the follow-up with the LinkBuds Open.
To start, Sony reduced the overall size of the IPX4-rated LinkBuds Open. Like the LinkBuds Fit, this model also has the Air Cushion silicon support that’s more flexible. That’s a big improvement from the small hump meant to stabilize the first version that didn’t offer much added support. Unfortunately though, the casing for the ring-shaped driver that sits in your ear is still hard plastic. After about 45 minutes, it became uncomfortable, and after several hours it was downright unbearable. On the bright side, the cheek-based Wide Area Tap controls are back and they’re reliable, if not slightly awkward.

Sony made two key adjustments to improve the sound quality on the LinkBuds Open. First, it built a revamped ring-shaped driver and paired it with the Integrated Processor V2 chip from the 1000X line. These two changes make for louder sound and richer bass, according to Sony. And the claim holds up. You’ll only need around 65-70 percent volume, unless you suffer from some degree of hearing loss. And there is more pronounced low-end tone, though you’ll have to coax it out with an EQ tweak.

By default, the stock tuning is heavily reliant on treble, which means vocals tend to overpower most of the mix. However, Sony’s EQ tools actually help balance things out, and adding more mids and bass makes the LinkBuds Open’s sound profile more well-rounded. After this adjustment, the kick drum thumps under vocals and guitars, an improvement over the default sound profile for Better Lovers’ thunderous, crunching single “A White Horse Covered In Blood.”

The casing for the ring driver is still very rigid.

Like it did with the LinkBuds Fit, Sony brought over a lot of the handy tools from the 1000X earbuds to the Open. Those include multipoint Bluetooth and Speak to Chat, but Adaptive Sound Control automation isn’t here. Sony did add its voice assistant, Adaptive Volume Control and head-gesture recognition for answering calls. The company also offers a fit check via your phone’s camera, something it’s done for other products to check your positioning for 360 Reality Audio. Most of these work well, though in my experience Speak to Chat is still tripped up when I coughed or cleared my throat. And it seemed to be even more sensitive on the LinkBuds Open than other models I’ve tested.

Thanks to the design, the LinkBuds Open are nice to wear during calls since, well, you can hear yourself. However, the quality of your voice on the other end isn’t as clear as what I encountered on the LinkBuds Fit. It will get the job done, but I did sound slightly muffled. And background noise, while subdued, is noticeable at times when I’m talking.

Sony says you should be able to eke out eight hours of use on the LinkBuds Open, a significant improvement over the five and a half hours on the first LinkBuds. Indeed, I had no trouble hitting that number during my tests with DSEE Auto and other power-taxing tools enabled. If you find yourself in a pinch, Sony devised a faster quick charge solution that gives you an hour of use in three minutes. What’s more, Auto Battery Save from the LinkBuds Fit is in play here, automatically disabling advanced features when you hit 20 percent battery to extend listening time.

The LinkBuds Open offer some improvements over the first-gen model, but Sony hasn’t addressed an inherent issue with the design. Simply put, they aren’t comfortable to wear for longer than a few minutes and that will be a problem for a lot of people. I understand the outer shell around the ring driver has to be robust enough to protect it, but there needs to be even the slightest bit of cushioning to relieve the pressure. If Sony fixes that, it will have a more compelling product rather than a novelty.

LinkBuds Speaker
Sony LinkBuds is the first Bluetooth speaker series with wireless charging and IPX4 protection
The LinkBuds Speaker is designed to be a stationary companion to Sony’s earbuds and headphones, but it doesn’t offer anything more than that.

Pros

Tiny but loud
Charging dock is included and convenient
Auto Play routines are handy

Cons

Pricey for the size
Restrained bass, absent mid range

The LinkBuds Speaker is an unexpected part of the new LinkBuds lineup. It’s a small Bluetooth speaker that’s designed to be your go-to device when you’re stationary, and is equipped with several features that sync with the LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open in a bid to make your life easier – at least in terms of listening to music or podcasts.
The LinkBuds Speaker won’t win any design awards, but that’s par for the course with small Bluetooth speakers. Up top are volume and playback controls which you can also use to start music from select streaming services with one tap (Amazon Music, Spotify and Endel). There’s also a microphone for calls, if you’re okay with a no-frills speakerphone option. Around back, the power button sits at the bottom just above a USB-C charging port. There’s also an attached loop here so you can hang the LinkBuds Speaker on a hook or carabiner. That USB-C port is technically the backup charging method though, since the IPX4-rated speaker comes with a charging cradle that connects via metal contacts on the bottom.

All three of the new LinkBuds products are compact for their respective product categories.

The LinkBuds Speaker works with Sony’s new Sound Connect app for access to various settings. There’s one key feature I’ll discuss since it’s unique to this device. First, the app allows you to set up routines so that your music starts at specific times during the day. There’s also an automatic switching element to this that works with the LinkBuds Fit and LinkBuds Open, along with additional support for the LinkBuds S, WF-1000XM5 and WH-1000XM5. All of this is managed in the Auto Play section of the app.

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon) review: 21 hours of battery life

First ThinkPad with a Qualcomm Snapdragon Elite X sticks the landing.

Verdict

With 21 hours of battery life, the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s will last you all day and then some while also providing strong productivity performance and great usability in a lightweight package.

Pros
+Extraordinary battery life
+Bright screen
+Great keyboard and navigation
+Solid performance
Cons
-Expensive
-Slower SSD than competitors
-Windows on Arm still not compatible with all software

With the release of the Qualcomm Snapdragon X series processors earlier this year, a new crop of laptops have focused on power efficiency and AI features. Lenovo’s ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6 with Snapdragon) is the first ThinkPad powered by the chip and it specifically runs on a 12-core, Snapdragon Elite X1E-78-100 with a powerful NPU with 45 TOPS.

Starting at $1,666 (current street price and the price of our review unit), the ThinkPad T14s is not only one of the best Snapdragon-powered laptops on the market, but one of the best ultraportable laptops you can buy with any processor. It lasted an incredible 21 hours on our battery test – one of the longest marks of any system we’ve ever tested – and yet it offers all the best features you can find on a ThinkPad. It has a world class keyboard, an accurate pointing stick, a bright and colorful screen, good performance and a sturdy, sub-3 pound chassis. So, though it’s not cheap, if you’re willing to commit to an Arm-powered laptop, the T14s is a fantastic system.

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Design of the the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)

The ThinkPad T14s is thin, light and very consistent with Lenovo’s time-tested ThinkPad aesthetic. Like most other ThinkPads, it has a matte, raven black color with a red pointing stick in the middle of the keyboard, a red status light on the lid and some red accents on the TrackPoint buttons.
The lid and deck have a luxurious soft-touch feel that’s really pleasant, particularly when I put my wrists on the palmrest. Many other ThinkPads, including the X1 Carbon (Gen 12) don’t have a finish that feels quite this soft so it’s a real plus. The lid itself is made of 50 percent recycled carbon-reinforced plastic while the deck is made from 90 percent recycled magnesium alloy.
At 2.72 pounds, the T14s is really light, but some competitors are even svelter. The ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 12) is just 2.42 pounds (1.24 kg) and the Dell XPS 13 (9345), which has a 13-inch display, is 2.62 pounds. The T14s is 12.35 x 8.64 x 0.67 inches (313.6 x 219.4 x 16.9 mm), but the X1 Carbon (Gen 12) is just a tad smaller at 12.31 x 8.45 x 0.59 inches and the HP OmniBook X (12.32 x 8.8 x 0.56 inches) and Dell XPS 13 (11.63 x 7.84 x 0.60 inches) are also quite a bit smaller.

The T14s manages to pack in all the ports you’ll need, including two Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C ports, two USB 3.2 Type-A Ports (5 Gbps), a 3.5-inch audio jack and a full-size HDMI 2.1 port.

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Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon) Specs

CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100
Graphics	Qualcomm Adreno GPU
Memory	32GB LPDDR5x-8448
Storage	1TB M.2 2242 SSD
Display	14-inch, 1920 x 1200 IPS
Networking	Qualcomm Wi-Fi 7 NCM825A, Bluetooth 5.3
Ports	2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB Type-A (5 Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5 audio
Camera	FHD 1080p + IR
Battery	58 Whr
Power Adapter	65-watt USB-C
OS	Windows 11 Pro
Dimensions (WxDxH)	12.35 x 8.64 x 0.67 inches (313.6 x 219.4 x 16.9 mm)
Weight	2.72 pounds (1.24 kg)
Price (as configured)	$1,666.56

Keyboard, Touchpad and Trackpoint on the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
Like most other ThinkPads, the T14s has a world-class typing experience, complete snappy keys have curved keycaps that make them easier to locate by feel. There are also raised lines on the Enter, Fn, Down Arrow and F + J keys so you find these markers in the dark (or if you’re visually impaired). The F + J keys have had these marks on prior ThinkPads but the others are new additions.

Tapping away on the T14’s keyboard was a pleasure as I managed a strong 100 words-per-minute on the 10 Fast Fingers typing test, along with a 3 percent error rate. Those are both good marks for me on any laptop, and I was able to achieve them because I was comfortable typing.

Using the built-in Lenovo Commercial Vantage control panel software, you can configure the F12 key to launch any program, open a website or enter any text you want. Unfortunately, you can’t use the app to remap F12 into another key such as Print Screen, but you can do that with a third-party utility such as SharpKeys.

For navigation, the T14s has both a TrackPoint pointing stick and a 2.4 x 4.53-inch glass (non-haptic) touchpad. I always prefer the TrackPoint because it gives me the most accurate navigation around the desktop and I don’t have to lift my hands off of the home row and disrupt my typing position to use it. Double-tapping the TrackPoint brings up the TrackPoint Quick Menu, which gives you easy access to Microphone, Audio Playback and Camera settings.

If you don’t like pointing sticks – and really, you should give them a try – the touchpad has a lot to offer. In my tests, it offered smooth navigation with just the right amount of friction. It also responded flawlessly to multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom and three-finger swipe.

Audio on the ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
The ThinkPad T14s’s dual speakers, located on either side of the keyboard, provide sound output that’s loud enough to fill a small conference room and is accurate, though not rich. When I played AC/DC’s “Back in Black,” there was some separation of sound between the drums on the right side and the vocals / guitar on the left. And the percussion, while not layered, was mostly free from tinniness.

Using the included Dolby Access app, I was able to choose among different sound output profiles for Music, Movies, Games and Dynamic. I found that Dynamic, which automatically predicts the kind of output you need, to be not only the best but the loudest choice.

Upgradeability of the Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
While you can’t upgrade the RAM, which is soldered to the motherboard, you can change out the SSD, but you’ll pay a premium for the replacement. While most computers and laptops use 2280 length SSDs, the T14s requires a 2242 drive, which is less common and costs more.
To upgrade the laptop, you need to loosen the five captive Philip’s head screws and pry open the rear panel, an easy process that takes just a couple of minutes. The SSD is located underneath a copper heatsink in the upper right corner of the motherboard.

Battery LIfe on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
We need only one word to describe ThinkPad T14s’s battery life: wow.

On our battery test, which involves surfing the web and streaming videos with the screen set at 150 nits of brightness, the T14s endured for 21 hours and 3 minutes. That time is the longest we’ve seen on a laptop. The Dell XPS 13 (9345), which uses the same Snapdragon Elite X CPU, came close to matching this mark, hitting a time of 19 hours and 31 minutes, though that’s with a smaller display.

Heat on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 6, Snapdragon)
The ThinkPad T14s stayed cool throughout our testing . It never got particularly warm, even when we pushed it to its limits.

When I ran Cinebench 2024 and took the temperatures after 15 minutes, the middle of the keyboard was a mere 92 degrees Fahrenheit and barely felt warm to the touch. The touchpad was a cool 77 F, which is barely room temperature. However, like most laptops under load, the bottom got toasty, hitting 114 F.

Software and Warranty on the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 6, Snapdragon)

The ThinkPad T14s comes blissfully free of unwanted bloatware and has just a bare minimum number of utilities. Lenovo Commercial Vantage is the company’s major control panel software and it allows you to do everything from downloading updated drivers to configuring the power settings from one place. However, for many of the settings – Camera and Display settings for example – Commercial Vantage simply links you to the appropriate part of Windows 11’s Settings app. That’s probably for the best, because in most cases, you don’t need a proprietary settings panel in lieu of the one that’s built into the operating system.

However, Vantage does provide some extra settings such as the ability to configure whether the USB ports can still charge devices even when the computer is asleep or powered off. In addition to Vantage, there’s the Dolby Access app which lets you change sound profiles, choosing among Movie, Music Game or Dynamic settings. On the Start Menu, there’s also User Guide which is nothing more than a link to an online manual for the T14s, located at Lenovo.com.

It almost goes without saying that Microsoft has some Windows 11 preloaded apps on here such as Clipchamp and Spotify.

This is a Copilot+ PC, so Windows comes with a few extra local AI features you can’t get on older PCs, but will soon come to on Ryzen AI-powered and Intel Lunar Lake-powered laptops. These include Cocreate, a feature of Windows Paint that draws AI images locally and Windows Studio Effects, which allow you to get background blur and a few other webcam special effects. There’s also Live captions with real-time translation and, in the near future, Recall, which will allow you to query all your past screen activity to remember things you’ve done.

Because the T14s has an Arm processor, there are a few Windows programs, including Adobe After Effects, Google Drive for Desktop and many games that won’t run on it. And there are many other apps such as Discord and Audacity that will run but only in emulation mode, which makes them slower. A site called windowsonarm.org tracks which apps are and are not compatible with Arm and it’s clear that most of the key productivity programs do work on Arm. So, while it’s possible you could find an app that won’t work, most knowledge workers will find that their most-used apps, including Microsoft Office, Chrome browser and Visual Studio, all run well.

Bottom Line

Lenovo ThinkPad T14s Gen 6 front view
There’s a lot to love about the ThinkPad T14s (Snapdragon, Gen 6). It has incredible battery life, which is useful when you have a 2.72-pound system and want to spend a long time away from power outlets while you get things done. And, with this system, you will get a lot done. It has the awesome ThinkPad keyboard we’ve come to expect from Lenovo, it has all the ports you might want and a screen that’s bright enough to help you work near a window with sunlight streaming in.

The ThinkPad T14s has solid performance and the promise of even more help when local AI workloads become even more useful and pervasive than the gimmicky Copilot+ features Windows has today. Its only serious drawbacks are its relatively high price) and the unlikely possibility that you’ll want to use a program that doesn’t run or run well on Arm processors. If you’re concerned about compatibility, consider waiting for the ThinkPad T14s with AMD Ryzen AI processor that will be out in a few weeks or the ThinkPad X1 Carbon (Gen 13) that will be out in November. However, if you’re willing to get an Arm-powered laptop, the T14s (Gen 6) is a fantastic choice.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max review: More than meets the eye

The best iPhone just got even better

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max: New Report Claims Bold Upgrade Coming

At a glance
Pros

Stunning 6.9-inch display with ultra-thin bezels
Premium design and build
Powerful A18 Pro chipset
Excellent battery life
Useful Camera Control button

Cons

Incomplete AI features at launch
Only 8GB of RAM at launch
Expensive

also:A2866 Battery for Apple iPhone 14 Pro

Our Verdict
The iPhone 16 Pro Max looks almost identical to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, aside from slimmer bezels and one new button. But for real change, you must look within, with excellent performance, great battery life and a slew of AI features on the way, even if most aren’t available at launch. There’s no doubt that this is one of the very best phones you can buy, though it has a price tag to match

From the outside, the iPhone 16 Pro Max only looks like a minor refinement of its predecessor – especially with the design largely unchanged.

But, with its 6.9-inch display and titanium body, it’s bigger, heavier, and ever-so-slightly more robust than the iPhone 15 Pro Max. And, of course, there’s the new Camera Control button, which yes is a physical button.

Spend some time with Apple’s latest flagship, and you’ll notice several changes (mostly on the inside) that significantly impact how you’ll use the device, especially if you’re into photography or the latest AI features.

While the A18 Pro chip makes this phone a raw performance beast, Apple has put a lot of its future into Apple Intelligence – its answer to AI. The addition of the Camera Control button and upcoming Visual Intelligence capabilities also speaks to Apple’s ambition to redefine how we interact with the world through our phones.

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Design & Build

Noticeably thinner bezels
Titanium build is premium, durable, and aids in heat dissipation
Camera Control button is innovative but questionable

The iPhone 16 Pro Max maintains Apple’s recent design ethos, making only slight adjustments. It’s a premium-looking device, and its rounder corners and Natural Titanium colour option were clear influences on the Pixel 9 lineup.

This year’s new colour option is Desert Titanium, the goldish hue that has divided the internet. While the phone looks almost identical to the iPhone 15 Pro Max at first glance, there are some differences.

Thinner bezels around the screen make the already huge display feel even more expansive. Despite the display growing to a massive 6.9 inches, Apple has managed to keep the device almost the same size as last year’s model, making it feel like you’re holding more screen than phone.

The Super Retina XDR OLED panel now stretches further into the corners, creating a more immersive visual experience for both gaming and media consumption.

The titanium body, a grade 5 titanium frame over a graphite-clad aluminium substructure, has been further refined this time around. It gives the device a premium feel while also improving heat dissipation. The edges of the iPhone 16 Pro Max have been softened, making it more comfortable to hold for extended periods despite its larger size.

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iPhone 16 Pro Max and box stood up on table

At 6g heavier than the iPhone 15 Pro Max, I didn’t notice much difference in handling. However, if you’re used to regular phones, this 227g handset might come as a shock.

The larger display size is also immediately evident. For me, it strikes the perfect balance between weight and build quality – this is a phone that feels robust but not bulky.

One new addition I appreciate is the Camera Control button, which Apple insists isn’t quite a button – but it is. It sits recessed, offering gesture control and a quick launch to the camera, much like the Action button introduced last year.

For me, the iPhone 16 Pro Max strikes the perfect balance between weight and build quality
I’ll talk more about the Camera Control later, but will share some early thoughts now. While I found the Camera Control useful for photography, it sometimes competes with the Action button for relevance. Apple may need to rethink the function of the older Action button in future iterations, as it feels underused compared to this newer control.

See how Apple and third-party case makers have dealt with the Camera Control in our roundup of the best cases for iPhone 16.

Screen & Speakers

6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED with 120Hz
Great outdoor visibility with 2000 nits of peak brightness
Stereo speakers provide clear, loud sound with decent bass

This 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display is Apple’s largest yet, and it’s a beauty. The thinner bezels allow for more screen real estate without significantly increasing the device’s physical size.

At 460ppi, the display isn’t as pixel-dense as the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra (505ppi), but Apple’s colour accuracy and HDR performance make it hard to notice any shortcomings. Apple has maintained its wide-color gamut, meaning colors are incredibly vibrant, yet remain natural and true to life.

With 2000 nits peak brightness outdoors and a new 1 nit low setting for nighttime use, it’s easy to see why this is one of the best displays on the market. Whether I’m streaming Netflix or playing a game, the visuals are vibrant and smooth, thanks to ProMotion’s 120Hz refresh rate. And the new support for 1 nit of brightness comes in particularly handy when using my phone in bed at night.

Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max Tipped To Feature 'Longest-Ever' Battery Life: All Details - News18

This 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display is Apple’s largest yet, and it’s a beauty
The 1 nit support still extends to the Always-On Display, letting you check notifications, time, or other widgets without fully unlocking the phone. It also dims intelligently to save power when not in use. While I personally don’t use the Always-On Display, it is a hit feature after being introduced a few years ago.

Then we get to the stereo speakers. While not dramatically improved from the previous model, the iPhone 16 Pro Max still offer loud, crisp sound with decent bass. For a phone this size, it’s a surprisingly capable audio device.

Specs & Performance

Powered by the A18 Pro chipset – up to 20% faster than last year
Great for gaming and multitasking
8GB RAM is low compared to competitors, but performs well due to optimisation

Powering the iPhone 16 Pro Max is Apple’s latest and greatest A18 Pro chipset, which is a significant step up from the A17 Pro, particularly when it comes to AI performance and graphical power.

According to Apple, it has a 15% faster CPU and 20% faster GPU than last year’s model. I can’t verify those figures but can say that it offers blisteringly fast performance across the board. That applies whether you’re editing 4K video, running the latest AAA mobile games, or simply multitasking between apps.

It also comes equipped with a 16-core Neural Engine, enabling more advanced machine learning and AI capabilities. It’s a big factor in making these devices capable of the full range of Apple Intelligence features, which I’ll explore in more detail later.

Gaming enthusiasts will be pleased to know that the iPhone 16 Pro Max supports ray tracing at double the speed of the A17 Pro, which makes for more realistic lighting and reflections in games available on iOS. During my tests, the device handled everything I threw at it, from graphically intensive games like Death Stranding to video editing on Adobe Premiere Rush.

The A18 Pro breezed through it all without a hiccup, though the device did get a bit warm after extended gaming sessions. However, it was noticeably less warm than the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
For an extra test, I set both phones to record 4K videos for around 30 minutes. Then, using a laser thermometer, I recorded how warm both devices got over the area where the processor sits. The iPhone 16 Pro Max was between 3-4c cooler than the 15 Pro Max.

While competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Google Pixel 9 Pro XL offer up to 12GB of RAM, Apple sticks with 8GB in the iPhone 16 Pro Max. However, Apple’s custom optimization ensures the device runs incredibly smoothly, even when handling demanding tasks or multitasking. Storage options start at 256GB and go all the way up to 1TB, providing plenty of space for apps, games, photos, and videos.

Cameras

48Mp main camera, 48Mp ultrawide, 12Mp 5x telephoto
Camera Control button offers gesture-based camera controls
4K 120fps slow-motion video, and new AI audio features

Apple has always placed a strong emphasis on photography, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max is no different. While the camera specs may seem familiar, Apple has introduced some major hardware and software upgrades that make this one of the most powerful camera systems available.

The 48Mp Fusion camera and 48Mp ultrawide camera are the stars of the show here. Apple has upgraded the sensor behind the main camera, enabling faster autofocus and improved low-light performance. Even in challenging lighting conditions, the iPhone 16 Pro Max captures impressive detail without oversaturating colours or introducing noise.

The ultrawide lens, which has been upgraded to 48Mp for the first time, offers sharper, clearer photos at wide angles. This is particularly useful for landscapes, architecture shots, or group photos. The improved macro capabilities also stand out, making it easier to capture tiny details without sacrificing quality.

The 12MP telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom also features so-called tetraprism technology, which helps to ensure minimal distortion, even at higher zoom levels. While this was exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year, this time around it is also available on the smaller iPhone 16 Pro.

I found the zoom performance to be excellent, especially when taking photos of distant subjects, where the image stabilisation helped keep everything crisp and steady. Compared to competitors like the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, which offers a higher zoom range, the iPhone still holds its own with superior colour accuracy and dynamic range.

Battery Life & Charging

Long-lasting battery life of 14-16 hours with typical use
Apple has stayed quiet on the mAh number
Faster MagSafe charging and Qi2 support

Apple has significantly improved the battery life in the iPhone 16 Pro Max, thanks to both hardware and software advancements. Even with the larger 6.9-inch display, the battery life is excellent, and I consistently got 14 to 16 hours of regular use on a single charge.

In fact, when trying to deplete the battery in order to test the charging speeds (see below), I actually found it difficult to run the battery down to 0. A combination of gaming, filming, and gaming managed to do the trick – but it was no easy feat.

Of course, Apple won’t tell us the exact mAh figure of the battery, though GSMArena estimates it to be 4685mAh. However, the brand does claim that this is the biggest battery ever seen in an iPhone. So far, that seems true, and my results line up with Apple’s estimates.

This all-day battery performance is primarily due to the power efficiency of the A18 Pro chip, which optimises power consumption during less demanding tasks. Whether I was streaming video, using GPS for navigation, or taking photos throughout the day, the phone easily made it to the evening with battery to spare.

Apple has also enhanced MagSafe charging, which is now faster than ever before. Apple claims the phone can charge up to 50% in 30 minutes using a 30W charger, which is impressive for a battery of this size. In my testing, it beat that, getting from 0-50% in 28 minutes. Also, this year the USB-C port has been bumped up to Thunderbolt 4, enabling faster data transfer.

It also supports Qi2 wireless charging, making it future-proof as more third-party charging pads adopt this new standard. Though USB-C is now standard for charging, the iPhone 16 Pro Max can also be used to charge other devices, like AirPods or an Apple Watch, through reverse wireless charging.

Should you buy the iPhone 16 Pro Max?
The iPhone 16 Pro Max builds on what Apple does best – elegant design, powerful performance, and excellent cameras.

The introduction of Apple Intelligence and the Camera Control button makes this phone especially appealing to photographers and those interested in AI-enhanced functionality. The 6.9-inch Super Retina XDR OLED screen is the best Apple has ever produced, while the A18 Pro chip ensures that the phone is future-proof for years to come.

However, the full potential of Apple’s AI features is not yet available, and with many features not launching until later in the year, some users may want to wait.

Apple iPhone Fold: will there be a foldable iPhone and will Apple Flip or not Flip?

Will Apple finally make some waves and flip out?

The Android world was quick to turn sci-fi folding displays into tech reality. Samsung, Google, Motorola, OnePlus, Xiaomi… almost every brand has a flip-style or book-style foldable on their books – or is about to, looking at Stuff’s list of upcoming smartphones. So when can we expect Apple to follow suit?

iPhone fans are in the dark as to whether Apple is experimenting with folding or flipping designs, and will likely stay that way until the firm makes it official – unless the leakers and tipsters get their way before the grand reveal, that is. Here’s everything we know so far about a potential “iPhone Flip” or “iPhone Fold”.

Will Apple join the fold?

Apple iPhone 16 blue horizontal
Apple hasn’t made any significant design changes to the iPhone range for a few years now. The iPhone 16‘s vertical camera bumps and new colour options are the biggest departure, but the flat sides, flat screen and rounded corners are very similar to previous efforts. Not even the new camera control touch button breaks the iPhone’s distinctive lines.

Patents awarded to Apple related to foldable phone concepts don’t give much away, with rather generic-looking handsets shown in the diagrams filed to the US patent office. Patent number US10955880B2 describes a hinge mechanism for foldable phones, while patent number US11550369B2 describes a multi-layered construction for flip phones.

Additionally, Apple has obtained at least five US patents related to a possible iPhone Fold. Among these, patent number US10694624B2 describes a foldable smartphone with an exposed display region. Another depicts a foldable phone with a self-healing crease.

The fact Apple holds these patents doesn’t even guarantee a foldable iPhone is on the way, but does suggest the company is considering it.

When might we see an iPhone Fold or iPhone Flip?

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

In 2022, reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo suggested that a foldable iPhone would not launch until at least 2025. Another influential Apple analyst, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, said an “iPhone Fold” would eventually arrive, but “it may be quite a while.” This was seemingly backed up by industry analyst Trendforce, indicating it will now be 2027 at the earliest. This is reportedly because foldable displays don’t meet Apple’s standards for reliability, and a visible crease is deemed unacceptable.

But the latest news brings things forwards a little. A new report from Digitimes reveals that Apple has signed a contract with Samsung for display panels. Typically, this happens two years ahead of a product’s release, which would put the first foldable iPhone on the cards for 2026. This report also revealed that Apple will opt for a top-down folding design, like the Galaxy Flip. It should be around the same size as current iPhones when unfolded.

Apple likes to stay up-to-date with what’s hot in the market, and usually does so in a way the wider world quickly forgets another brand did it first. If foldable smartphones become the norm, it wouldn’t be surprising if Apple decided to keep up with the competition and offer a foldable iPhone.

Pros and cons of foldable displays
Flexible OLED panels let gadget makers squeeze much larger screens into smaller devices – either letting you carry a larger screen around more easily (see every book-style foldable on sale right now), or shrinking the device down without entirely compromising on screen space (the modern take on the flip phone).

Durability and price are the biggest concerns right now, though both are improving with each new generation of panel. It has to withstand lots of repetitive flexing, and the hinge makes it very tricky to achieve the same water and dust resistance ratings as a traditional phone. The added complexity of manufacturing makes costs much higher than a regular flat OLED panel, too.

There’s also the matter of the crease. Every foldable phone we’ve tried has some form of crease; it’s more visible on some than others, but it’s always there. Whether Apple considers this acceptable, or if it wants to engineer a folding screen without a visible crease appears to be the biggest cork in the iPhone Fold bottle.

What do we want to see in an iPhone Fold?

iPhone
The iPhone Fold’s most significant selling point would undoubtedly be its unique design, setting it apart from all previous iPhone models. However, attention would quickly shift beyond the design to how iOS operates on this new device.

To make the most of the larger display, it would be best for Apple to have a future version of iPadOS available when the phone is fully opened. When unfolded, the phone should look like any other iPhone. After all, iOS is one of the significant reasons why iPhones are so popular.

The bottom line: Apple needs to provide more than just the ability to fold to make it a worthwhile purchase.

Xiaomi Mix Flip review: my new clamshell camera pick

Can a first try flip phone really raise the bar?

又有小摺疊機新選擇，Xiaomi MIX Flip 登台| TechNews 科技新報

Verdict
An accomplished clamshell with plenty of power, a big battery, and appealing image processing. The Xiaomi Mix Flip is a fine first effort that turns the category into a three horse race.

Pros

Equally usable whether open or folded, with two stellar screens
Clean, detailed photo with striking Leica colours
Long-lasting battery with rapid charging

Cons

Outer screen support still in the early stages
No water resistance rating
Heavy use sees it get toasty

Introduction
Having previously stayed firmly on home soil for its book-style foldables, Xiaomi has decided there’s now enough excitement around clamshells to go global with its debut effort flip phone. The Mix Flip has some catching up to do, with main rivals Motorola and Samsung already several generations deep – but Xiaomi reckons having one of the biggest batteries in the class and a novel take on the cover screen will make all the difference.
Of course it comes with a few AI smarts – what phone doesn’t right now? Leica-influenced image processing also promises to extract the full potential from a pair of 50MP cameras, which should make photography fans sit up and take notice. However, it’s priced to almost directly rival the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 here in Europe, leaving the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra to go it alone as the more affordable alternative.

After spending a few weeks using one as my main handset, I’m not convinced Xiaomi has cracked the flip phone formula at the first time of asking – but it definitely does a few things better than any alternative.

>>>>EB-BF742ABE Battery for Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6

Design & build: hip to be square

Xiaomi Mix Flip review weather Xiaomi Mix Flip review Leica branding Xiaomi Mix Flip review outer screen front 小米摺疊機來了！Xiaomi MIX Flip三萬內就入手、多款智慧穿戴新品同步開賣- ZEEK玩家誌
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. With flat sides made from polished metal, rear glass with a matte finish, and a front-filling screen with two big bites taken out by a pair of exterior snappers, the Xiaomi Mix Flip is about as on trend as a flip phone gets right now. The materials used fend off fingerprints rather well, or at least they did on my black review unit – I’ve yet to see the purple variant in person.

Weighing a respectable 192g and measuring 16mm thick when folded, it’s a little heavier and ever-so-slightly thicker than either the Galaxy Z Flip6 or Razr 50 Ultra. I still had no issues holding it one-handed while folded, and the square shape helped it slip perfectly into my pockets. Though on the subject of slipping, that rear glass does make it quick to slide around on soft surfaces. Don’t expect to put it down on a sofa cushion and it be in the same place when you return.

Opened up this is a tall, slender phone, but the slightly rounded outer panels both have slightly rounded edges that make it more comfortable to grip than the Samsung alternative. You also get one extra goodie the Galaxy omits: an IR blaster for controlling other gadgets.

>>>>>BP4R Battery for Xiaomi 14 Pro

Screen & sound: so much space for activities

Xiaomi Mix Flip review speakers Xiaomi Mix Flip review display 2
The Mix Flip’s 4.01in cover screen is larger than pretty much every other clamshell, and makes space for the two large camera lenses in a sensible way. The portion of AMOLED panel directly beneath them is reserved for a bunch of widgets, leaving the rest free to run apps in a familiar 16:9 aspect ratio – with no awkward cutouts or obscured areas like you’ll find on Samsung’s Z Flip6 and the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra.

It’s a real treat for the eyes, being bright enough to see clearly outdoors and with the same impactful colours as the larger inner display. Contrast is unsurprisingly epic (it is an OLED, after all), text looks crisp courtesy of a high 1392×1208 resolution, and viewing angles are great, too. Waking it up can be tricky using the power button, which really needed a textured finish to make it stand out from the volume controls; better to activate double tap-to-wake for when you’re just checking the time or glancing at new notifications.

Inside there’s a sizeable 6.86in flexible AMOLED good for 120Hz refresh rates and a peak 3000 nits brightness. That makes it brighter than the Galaxy Z Flip6 on paper, and on par with the Razr 50 UItra. All three are usable outdoors in my experience, and those numbers mainly refer to the brightest bits of HDR content anyway. The Xiaomi is packing plenty of pixels, and has a great colour balance.

Motorola is still the best at hiding its screen creases, with Xiaomi’s being a lot more noticeable. The protective layer on top of the flexibler panel also really highlights light reflections, but I’d say that’s also the case with every other flip phone I’ve used.

Loud and clean-sounding stereo speakers help the Mix Flip make a good impression when streaming music or watching videos. There’s even a small hint of bass, though not to the extent you’ll want to leave your headphones at home. Bluetooth or USB-C only, of course – there’s no 3.5mm port in sight.

Cameras: has the Leica look

Xiaomi Mix Flip review outer cameras
After a few years in the doldrums, it’s great to see flip phones finally getting the sort of camera hardware that can compete with traditional handsets. We’re not talking the true flagship-grade stuff yet, but thew Mix Flip’s twin 50MP snappers are nothing to be sniffed at. The lead lens has an f/1.7 aperture and optical image stabilisation, while the secondary is good for 2x optical zoom – or 4x magnification with some sensor cropping. There’s also a 32MP punch-hole camera which is best reserved for video calls.

That there’s no ultrawide lens will divide opinions. Some will argue the main camera’s high pixel count should be good enough for cropped 2x snaps to negate the need for a dedicated telephoto; others will be glad to see the back of a lens they rarely used in favour of one more suited to portraits. I’m in the latter camp.

What matters most is that the two sensors are wonderfully consistent, with the same excellent colour treatment courtesy of two Leica-backed processing modes. The vignetting seen on Leica Authentic shots adds an almost analogue feel that few clamshell rivals can match. It won’t be to all tastes, though, so Xiaomi wisely defaults to the Leica Vivid setting instead. These colours will probably appeal more to Samsung phone owners, who like their pics a little more vibrant.

Either way, you should expect an excellent level of detail across the board, with plenty of dynamic range, minimal noise and the sort of dramatic contrast that gives depth to even mundane scenes. The 2x zoom lens holds up very well during the day, albeit with a softer presentation the further you get from the centre of the frame. 4x shots are softer still, but you won’t notice unless you’re peeping at pixels. That you can use this lens for close-ups is a real win, too.

Software experience: first flip steps

Xiaomi Mix Flip review app drawer
Xiaomi’s Android UI, HyperOS, hasn’t been tweaked all that heavily to accommodate the Mix Flip’s outer screen. A new entry in the Settings screen lets you change its wallpaper, pick from a handful of widgets to fill the bottom corner, and select which apps are available without opening the phone up.

Not every app is supported, and I couldn’t find a way to test my luck with ones Xiaomi had yet to greenlight, unlike Motorola’s more relaxed approach or Samsung’s jump-through-hoops workaround. The firm reckons there are at least 200 heavy hitters at launch, including Facebook, Spotify, Google Maps, Chrome and YouTube. They all work about as well as you’d expect, crammed into a space roughly the same size as the original iPhone’s screen, with small icons that can be fiddly to tap. I was surprised how well I could type out SMS messages on the diddy onscreen keyboard, though.

The selection of widgets that can fill the small chunk of screen real estate beneath the camera lenses is pretty limited at launch, and while Xiaomi has committed to four new Android generations, it remains to be seen whether it’ll expand the Flip-specific features any time soon. There’s no way to download more through its Themes app, either.

As a higher-end handset, the Mix Flip has less pre-installed bloat than the Xiaomi 14T Pro. There’s mostly just the own-brand ones vying for your attention alongside Google’s usual selection.

Elsewhere, Xiaomi is ploughing on with AI adoption, bringing Google Gemini at launch and Circle to Search soon with an OTA update. Artificial intelligence also powers system-wide subtitles (a nice push for accessibility, if not always accurate), and will eventually include text summaries, audio transcription and language translation – though none were on my review unit.

I could try AI expansion, which extends images you’ve cropped in on too tightly, and AI Magic Erase Pro to remove unwanted objects and people from photos. I’d say both work as advertised, though Google and Samsung’s algorithms produce pics that are a little more convincing right now.

Performance & battery life: plentiful power, not always needed

Xiaomi Mix Flip review USB-C
With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 12GB of RAM and a healthy 512GB of storage, the Mix Flip ticks the same hardware boxes as most top-tier Android phones released this year, clamshell or otherwise. That gives it an advantage over the Razr 50 Ultra’s downclocked S variant, and should mean it slots beneath Samsung’s “for Galaxy”-tuned silicon.

Benchmarks say otherwise, with the Xiaomi carving out a lead in both AnTuTu and the Geekbench single- and multi-core tests. Unsurprisingly that translated to near-flawless performance in regular use, with apps opening in a flash and split-screen multitasking always smooth.

The problem is it can’t maintain peak performance for too long without getting hot under the collar. That’s unlikely to cause issues if you’re sticking to streaming, image editing and productivity tasks, but could mean a slightly diminished performance in games over time. Demanding releases like Zenless Zone Zero let me crank the details and played smoothly for a short burst, but gamers might want to think about alternatives. Then again, I’m hopelessly addicted to Balatro right now, which doesn’t push the phone anywhere near its limits and can easily wipe away hours of my evenings.

It has the largest battery capacity of any flip phone I’ve tried to date, but the Mix Flip also has a flagship-grade CPU sapping power at a considerable rate. In a video rundown test, it managed between 14 and 15 hours – roughly the same as the Razr 50 Ultra. Motorola’s phone has a smaller battery, but also a less potent processor, so it evens out overall.

The nature of a clamshell meant I wasn’t opening the Mix Flip every time a notification came through, so I was less likely to check in on my social feeds and news apps. That resulted in better real world battery life than I’ve seen from traditional phones with even bigger batteries. I had to work hard to drain it completely in a day spend connected to Wi-Fi, and it was only while travelling exclusively on 5G that I felt the need to plug in before the evening was out. Xiaomi has done far better in this respect than Samsung’s latest flip phone.

The Mix Flip has the Galaxy Z Flip6 soundly beaten on wired charging speeds, too. On a 67W power brick, a full charge takes a little over 50 minutes, or half the time it takes the Samsung to do the same. You don’t get wireless charging here, though – something you will find on the Galaxy.

Xiaomi Mix Flip verdict

Xiaomi Mix Flip review verdict
I don’t think the Xiaomi Mix Flip is the very best clamshell phone around – but it does dominate the competition in a few key areas. Battery life and charging speeds are fantastic, the sensibly-shaped outer screen is a great shape for full-screen apps (if still a little cramped), and the cameras produce wonderfully atmospheric photos with very little effort.

If those features are higher on your wish list than water resistance or a clean take on Android, this is a phone that deserves your attention – even if that means accepting a less than subtle crease on the inner screen. Xiaomi’s burgeoning app ecosystem and AI enhancements are a step behind Samsung’s, too – and the Mix Flip doesn’t have price on its side compared to the Z Flip6, now that discounts and contract deals have come into effect.

It’s the outside choice, but one that’ll reward keen photographers in a way few flip phones can.

Xiaomi Mix Flip technical specifications

Screen	4in, 1392×1208 AMOLED w/ 120Hz, 3000nits (outer) 6.86in, 2912×1224 AMOLED w/ 120Hz, 3000nits (inner)
CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
Memory	12/16GB
Cameras	50MP, f/1.7 w/ PDAF, OIS + 50MP, f/2.0 w/ PDAF, 2x optical zoom rear 32MP, f/2.0 front
Storage	256GB/512GB/1TB on-board
Operating system	Android 14 w/ HyperOS
Battery	4780mAh w/ 67W wired charging
Dimensions	74x74x16mm (folded) / 168x74x7.6mm (unfolded) 190g

Samsung Galaxy A16 5G just announced — and it could be the cheap Android phone of the year

Samsung’s promising six years of Android OS and security updates

A promo image of the Samsung Galaxy A16 5G from Samsung's Dutch website.

(Image credit: Samsung)
While it’s still yet to be officially announced, Samsung has lifted the curtain on the Galaxy A16 5G, confirming it’ll be the company’s first budget smartphone guaranteed to get six generations of Android updates alongside six years of security patches. So if you snag a Galaxy A16 5G, that means you can expect it to run the latest Android OS until 2030 — a level of software support virtually unheard of at this price point. Not only is it a best cheap phones contender, but it also has a good chance at dethroning the Moto G 5G (2024) as the top pick in our best cheap phones under $300 guide.

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Samsung seems to have jumped the gun a bit with a listing for the Galaxy A16 5G on its Dutch website (via AndroidPlanet), which reveals several notable upgrades over its predecessor, the $200 Galaxy A15 5G. This time around, Samsung’s bumping the screen size up from 6.5 inches to a 6.7-inch Super AMOLED display, slimming down the design to a width of 7.9mm (from 8.4mm on the A15 5G), and unfortunately following the trend of ditching the 3.5mm headphone jack. The latter did earn the A16 5G an improved IP54 rating for basic dust and water resistance, another first for a budget Samsung phone.

Under the hood, the A16 5G packs the same 4GB of RAM and 5,000 mAh battery that charges at 25W as its predecessor. However, it does sport a new octa-core processor that’s believed to be the Exynos 1330 chip (Samsung doesn’t mention processor names in its official specs list). It comes out of the box with 128GB of storage, which you can bump up to 1.5 TB with a microSD card.

In terms of the camera setup, you can expect more of the same. Like the A15 5G, the A16 5G packs a set of 50MP main, 5MP ultrawide, and 2MP macro lenses on the back along with a 13MP selfie camera on the front. You’ll have your choice of color options between Blue Black, Light Gray, Gold, and Light Green, though availability could vary by market.

>>>EB-BS926ABY Battery for Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus 5G

Samsung Galaxy A16 5G Listed Online, Will Get 6 Years of Android Updates; India Launch Timeline Leaked

And as we mentioned before, for the first time in Samsung’s budget smartphone series, the A16 5G is promised six years of Android OS and security upgrades. Given that Samsung’s flagship Galaxy phones like the Galaxy S24 are eligible for seven years of updates — just one year more — it definitely gives the A16 5G a leg up.

How much it’ll cost is a bit more up in the air. Samsung’s Dutch website doesn’t list a price, but its French website has it listed as €249, the same as the A15 5G. We expect the A16 5G’s price to remain in the same ballpark as its predecessor, so our guess would be somewhere between $200 and $250. Shipments are expected to start soon, so stay tuned.

Samsung also just recently announced the Galaxy S24 FE, which appears to have a slight advantage in offering Galaxy AI features and support for Samsung DeX. Otherwise, you’re getting a substantial amount of savings with the A16 5G.

Sony LinkBuds Open review: an interesting sequel

Sony’s new earbuds are open for business

Sony LinkBuds Open Truly Wireless Earbuds | Violet | WF-L910/V

(Image from Sony)

Sony LinkBuds Open
The Sony LinkBuds Open are a credible update to their predecessor, the Sony LinkBuds. However, the open design isn’t for everyone, and you need to be sure that you want open earbuds before choosing these. If that sounds like you, then you should definitely give these a chance.

>>>>723741 Battery for Sony WH-1000XM5

What we like

Stabilizer fin
Fit
LE Audio

What we don’t like

Price
Open design means sound quality tradeoffs

Open earbuds are starting to see their day in the sun, and one of the more high-profile options was Sony’s original LinkBuds. But how do the sequels stack up? I had a few days to give them a whirl, so let’s listen in.

>>>Z52H Battery for Sony LinkBuds S WFLS900N/B WFL900/H

What’s it like to use Sony LinkBuds Open?
Using the Sony LinkBuds Open is an interesting experience, even if you’re used to unsealed or open earbuds like AirPods and the Nothing Ear (Open). I say that because they definitely blur the line a lot more than either of those products do between merely unsealed and open earbuds. On the one hand, the earbuds let in just about all noise around you, but on the other, they still sit in your ears right in front of your ear canal.

Sony LinkBuds Open Fit Speaker Release Date | Hypebeast

(Image from Sony)

To hold these earbuds in place, Sony added a very flimsy rubber ear fin. However, having a low amount of resistance allows the fin to fit more comfortably to your ear. By having this secondary method to secure the earbuds in your pinnae, even a really bulbous earbud stands a decent chance of fitting you even if it’s not the ideal shape for your ear. I found this to be comfortable, though I was constantly afraid of the earbuds rocketing out should I move quickly — they didn’t, but the feeling of loose-fitting earbuds is something I’ll never get used to.

The earbuds do not have an ingress protection rating, but they do have what Sony is calling “IPX4 equivalent” moisture protection. If true, this would mean the earbuds could take incidental moisture from sweat or rain and keep kicking, making them a decent choice for workouts.
When it’s time to recharge, the Sony LinkBuds Open come with a very small charging case, clad in a marble-patterned top. The back of the case has a USB-C port for charging, and does not support wireless charging.

Should you use the Sony Sound Connect app for the Sony LinkBuds Open?

In order to make the most of the Sony LinkBuds Open, you’ll need to install the Sony Sound Connect app for the earbuds. Though installing extra utilities on your phone can make some squeamish for totally-understandable reasons, you’ll want the latest firmware, and the ability to customize your sound a bit with the equalizer if you struggle to get the results you want.

Additionally, installing the app unlocks a few extra features, like Sony 360 Reality Audio with head tracking, answering or rejecting calls with a nod and head shake, adjusting the wide area tap sensitivity, and toggling sound priority modes. If you’re hoping to use the Sony LinkBuds Open in a low-latency mode, toggling the LE Audio will reduce latency should your phone support it.

How do the Sony LinkBuds Open connect?
The Sony LinkBuds Open connect to their source devices via Bluetooth 5.3 over SBC, AAC, and LC3. I’m happy to see the LC3 here, as that means that the earbuds are fully embracing the advantages of LE audio, such as minimizing latency on Android devices.

…the earbuds are fully embracing the advantages of LE audio
If you’re liable to swap products often, the Sony LinkBuds Open support Bluetooth Multipoint, and you can manage your connected devices through the app. I didn’t have any trouble swapping between devices in the lab, and that was a nice departure from other recent devices. In fact, I was far less frustrated using the Sony LinkBuds Open than I was my old headphones, as I didn’t have to pair and repair every time I switched devices. Though Multipoint is everywhere nowadays, there are definitely some products that do it better than others.

How long does the Sony LinkBuds Open battery last?

Sony Intros Revamped Open and Active Earbuds Under LinkBuds Series

（Image from Sony)
Subjecting the Sony LinkBuds Open to our standardized battery endurance gantlet, the earbuds were able to last 9 hours and 30 minutes of playback time. This is an outstanding result, and we don’t often see earbuds last this long — even if it’s not unheard of. Though you’re probably not going to be listening to these for ultra-long periods of time, it is nice to know that you should be able to listen at a safe level for long periods of time.

How well do the Sony LinkBuds Open block out noise?

The Sony LinkBuds Open are designed to not block out noise, so it shouldn’t be terribly surprising that they don’t isolate their listeners much. There’s a little bit of noise softened in the highest octaves of your hearing, but there’s a low likelihood that you’ll notice or care much. That’s really not the point of open earbuds like the Sony LinkBuds Open.
This is very good for activities where you need to hear the world around you, say, biking or interacting with other people. But it’s very poor for listening to music in a city or on a commute. As long as you understand that outside noise will be a constant nuisance, you can adjust your expectations accordingly.

Should you buy the Sony LinkBuds Open?
If you find that you make extreme use of transparency mode, or you find yourself in situations where you need to hear the world around you at all times, a set of open earbuds like the Sony LinkBuds Open is a good choice. Just remember that all open earbuds struggle in the presence of noise, and their semi-in ear design can be tough to fit. Still, it’s a clever design with an undeniable appeal. The creative controls and features make for an interesting experience, and the use of LC3 to reduce latency also is a very nice future-proofing feature. I’d like to see more earbuds follow this path, and it’s important to note products that offer genuinely cool features.
Open earbuds like the Sony LinkBuds Open are not the best fit for those who primarily need their earbuds for commuting, as they don’t attenuate noise very well by design. So if you find yourself wanting active noise canceling or less noise, you’re going to want to keep looking.

ASUS Zenbook S14 review: A showpiece for Intel’s Lunar Lake AI PC chips

It looks great and has the best battery life we’ve ever seen from an Intel laptop.

ASUS’s latest Zenbook S14, much like the Zenbook 14 OLED we reviewed last December, is a solid ultraportable with one major selling point: It’s among the first laptops to use Intel’s newest CPUs. In this case, it’s the Core Ultra 7 258V, a processor that sits in the mid-range of the company’s “Lunar Lake” lineup. While Intel touts these chips as its most efficient ever, I’ve been curious about what that means for raw performance, especially since they top out with just eight cores.

Based on my testing, I can confirm that the Zenbook S14 delivers the best battery life we’ve ever seen from an Intel laptop. It reached 16 hours and eight minutes in the PCMark 10 battery benchmark. In comparison, the Zenbook S16 powered by AMD’s new Ryzen AI 9 365 chip only hit 12 hours and 47 minutes. The Intel system’s timing is close to the 17 hours and 45 minutes we saw from the Dell XPS 13 Copilot+ , which is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite.

>>>>C31N2105 Battery for Asus Vivobook M1403QA M3502QA X1403ZA M1503IA K3502ZA

ASUS Zenbook S14
The Zenbook S14, powered by Intel’s new Lunar Lake chips, is an attractive ultraportable that’s ready to tackle AI-infused features. It’s an incredible value, especially with an OLED screen, and it offers stunning battery life.

Pros

Attractive modern design
Incredible battery life
Excellent OLED screen
Useful port selection
Responsive and large trackpad

Cons

Keyboard could use more feedback
Performance isn’t much better than Intel’s last gen
We’re still waiting for more AI ready apps to appear

While it’s astounding to see how much progress Intel has made with battery life, that does come with some compromises. In a few benchmarks, the Zenbook S14 doesn’t score much higher than Intel’s last-gen Core Ultra chips, and it’s often bested by AMD’s Ryzen AI on multithreaded tasks. But, as we often say, benchmarks don’t tell the entire story.

<p>ASUS Zenbook S 14 (2024) rear case</p>

A gorgeous ultraportable
When I reviewed the Zenbook 14 OLED a year ago, I couldn’t help but point out how dated it looked. It was practically the same as ASUS’ laptops from a decade ago (albeit with slimmer screen bezels). Not so with the Zenbook S14. It’s impressive the moment you open it up and feel its lid, which is built with a material ASUS calls “Ceraluminum.” As the name implies, it’s a combination of ceramic and aluminum, and it feels almost uncanny, like something between high-end plastic and smooth metal. It’s still premium, but it’s also distinctly different from most other laptops.
Combining ceramics and aluminum isn’t exactly new — ASUS notes that it’s a popular option for aerospace and watch designs — but we haven’t yet seen it deployed in laptops. It’s not just for looks, either. The material should also be more durable than standard metal. The rest of the Zenbook 14 S’s body is made out of a solid block of metal, but ASUS added some unique tweaks there as well. The lower part of the case features a geometric grille above the keyboard, consisting of 2,715 circular cooling vents. ASUS claims this design enhances airflow while also keeping dirt and dust out.

<p>ASUS Zenbook S 14 (2024) bottom view</p>

ASUS 14-inch 3K “Lumina” OLED display dominates the Zenbook S14, and it delivers everything I want from a modern laptop screen. It sports a fast 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits of peak brightness. While its bezels are relatively thin compared to older ASUS systems, they’re still noticeably chunkier than Dell’s latest InfinityEdge screens on the XPS 13 and 14. The system would look much sleeker if ASUS could shave off more of its bottom and side bezels. Most importantly, though, the OLED display looks glorious, with deliciously dark black levels and colors that pop off the screen.

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The Zenbook S14 is surprisingly sturdy for a 14-inch laptop that weighs 2.65 pounds and measures 0.47 inches thin. It’s slightly lighter and a hair thicker than the most recent 13-inch MacBook Air, and feels similarly polished. Notably, it also offers many more useful ports than Apple’s ultraportable. The S14 includes two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections, a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, a headphone jack and even an old-school USB Type-A port. The only thing it’s missing is Ethernet and an SD card slot.

<p>ASUS Zenbook S 14 (2024) HDMI, USB-C and headphone jack</p>

Unfortunately, ASUS couldn’t get everything right with the Zenbook S14. Its quad-speaker audio system is serviceable, but the sound loses any sort of depth and detail as you ramp up the volume. And while it’s nice to have a Windows Hello-compatible webcam for fast logins, the 1080p sensor looks far grainier and less detailed than Dell’s XPS line and the MacBook Air.

<p>ASUS Zenbook S 14 (2024) keyboard</p>

Its keyboard also feels merely serviceable, with little responsive feedback while typing. That’s a particular shame, since that’s been a constant complaint we’ve had with ASUS keyboards. At least the touchpad is large and responsive to swipes and multi-finger gestures. You can also adjust the volume and other settings by sliding your finger along the sides of the touchpad.

In use: Capable, but don’t stress it
Thanks to Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V chip, the Zenbook S14 felt impressively zippy from the start. I breezed through the Windows setup process, downloaded the latest updates and installed my usual testing programs in just a few minutes. It didn’t sweat whenever I needed to jump between apps like Spotify, Slack and Evernote, and I didn’t notice any of the lag I often see on Windows notebooks bogged down by third-party bloatware. It was always ready to get work done.

In PCMark 10, the Zenbook S14 scored almost exactly the same as the Surface Laptop 7 for Business, which uses the last-gen Core Ultra 7 165H. It also matched the XPS 13 Copilot+ edition, which had a Snapdragon X Elite chip, in the PCMark 10 Applications benchmark. The Zenbook’s multithreaded performance was noticeably worse than either of those machines in Geekbench 6, likely due to the reduced core count this generation.
The big selling point for Intel’s Lunar Lake chips is their dramatically improved NPU (neural processing unit), which can reach up to 47 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) of AI performance. In comparison, the previous Core Ultra chips had a significantly less powerful 11 TOPS NPU, while AMD’s new Ryzen AI chips reach up to 50 TOPS. (More powerful Lunar Lake chips can hit up to 48 TOPS.) Higher TOPS figures means Copilot+ PCs like the Zenbook S14 will be able to tackle demanding AI workloads more quickly, without impacting overall CPU performance.

Unfortunately, there still aren’t a ton of AI features to test at the time of this review. Microsoft’s Copilot+ Windows 11 update for Intel and AMD systems isn’t arriving until November, and even that will only include a beta version of the controversial Recall feature. It’s also hard to find apps that take advantage of a local NPU — most entries in the Windows Store “AI Hub” rely on cloud AI processing.

ASUS Zenbook S 14 (2024) showing the Windows 11 login screen

At least there’s Audacity’s OpenVino plugin, which Intel developed to show off its AI PC hardware. It offers NPU-powered features like noise suppression and transcription, but it also requires an involved setup process that may be confusing to Audacity novices. I was able to completely remove incessant jackhammering from a five-minute clip in one minute and eight seconds using the NPU alone. That’s not very fast in the world of audio editing (CPU rendering can tackle a noise-filled 90 minute file in three minutes and thirty seconds), but what’s key is that the NPU handles the same work using very little power. That could be important if you’re stuck editing on battery in a plane or remote location.

I was also impressed by Intel’s latest Arc 140V GPU, which let me play Halo Infinite between 35 fps and 45 fps in 1080p with low quality graphics settings. That’s far from a smooth experience, but it’s fascinating to see it from a built-in GPU. Intel’s graphics also scored well above the Snapdragon X Elite across the board, especially in the Geekbench 6 GPU test.

Wrap-up
The Zenbook S14 leans more on efficiency than raw power, but it’s still an incredible achievement for Intel, a company that used to be infamous for energy-devouring mobile chips. While the Lunar Lake chip’s NPU makes the Zenbook ready for Copilot+ and AI features, its true selling points are its excellent battery life, slick ASUS design and gorgeous OLED display.

I tried Xiaomi’s 14T Pro – it beats the pricier iPhone 16 in these 5 ways

Thinking about defecting from Apple? The Xiaomi 14T Pro is a value-tastic iPhone 16 alternative

If you’re thinking about the best phones and jumping ship from iPhone to Android, then Xiaomi’s new 14T Pro makes an incredibly compelling case.

Specifically, when comparing the Xiaomi 14T Pro to the iPhone 16, Apple’s entry-level 2024 smartphone, the 14T Pro runs rings around the iPhone in a few key areas despite costing significantly less. I’m not talking about insignificant, nice-to-have features either, with Xiaomi’s phone packing much more storage, superior camera specs, a higher-capacity and faster charging battery, and even giving you a case and a pre-fitted screen protector in the box.

Are you reading this and waiting for the catch, though? I’ve tried Xiaomi’s 14T Pro and this isn’t a clunky plastic Android phone with hardly any power. From the glass back that curves into the metal frame, to its IP68 dust- and water-resistant body, the Xiaomi 14T Pro looks and feels fantastic. It’s also powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ chipset, a flagship processor that chews through the latest AAA mobile games, and most of Xiaomi’s artificial intelligence (AI) features are ready to go from launch.
Having tested out the new Xiaomi 14T Pro, here are 5 key features that I think are its biggest appeal. Especially if you’re looking for one of the best Android phones and don’t want to pay big money for your purchase.

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1. More storage for less money

As you can see from the breakdown below, the Xiaomi 14T Pro’s price-to-storage ratio is much better value than the iPhone 16’s.

The 14T Pro’s starting capacity is 256GB, making its matching 256GB iPhone 16 rival far more expensive, despite, as I’ll come onto, its inferior spec in so many key areas.

In fact, if you want years of storage, you could buy the 1TB Xiaomi 14T Pro for the same price as the 128GB iPhone 16.

Gamers and geeks might be wondering if Xiaomi uses slower UFS 3.1 storage or past-gen LPDDR4X RAM to hit that kind of price, but the 14T Pro runs with nippy UFS 4.0 and LPDDR5X memory, matching the iPhone 16 and 16 Pro head-on.

Where the iPhone edges ahead is with its 3nm chipset, which uses a more cutting-edge manufacturing process, but truth be told, the MediaTek 9300+ is a beast of a chip – so neither phone is left wanting in terms of performance.

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2. Bigger battery and faster charging

A photo of the Xiaomi 14T Pro
iPhones always have smaller batteries than their Android counterparts. One reason is that Apple’s iOS software is more power-efficient than its Android equivalent. Another is that iPhones tend to have smaller screens and bodies, reducing the need and space for huge-capacity cells. A final point is that folks with smaller iPhones are typically used to settling for less screen time than Android users.

When you look at the iPhone 16’s battery specs and charging credentials alongside those of the 14T Pro, anyone concerned about not making it through a full day or in need of fast top-ups looks set to be better served by Xiaomi’s new phone.

Starting with capacity: the iPhone 16’s battery is a modest 3561mAh. This should get most through a full day, especially considering the phone’s compact 6.1-inch screen, but power users will struggle if hot-spotting and video recording for long bouts.

The Xiaomi 14T Pro’s 6.67-inch screen saps battery quicker, but I still found it easy to get through a busy day with 15-20% power remaining thanks to its much higher capacity 5000mAh cell.

Going beyond battery life, the Xiaomi 14T Pro’s charging speeds are also much faster than those of the iPhone 16, across both wired and wireless charging. Neither phone ships with a charger in the box, but both phones support a standard of fast-charging called Power Delivery (PD), with the iPhone 16 Pro capping out at PD 2.0, and the Xiaomi 14T Pro at a faster PD 3.0.

Xiaomi also implements its own proprietary fast charging in the 14T Pro – 120W HyperCharge – which powers the phone up fully in 19 minutes, while the iPhone takes roughly 2 hours.

Even though Apple has bumped up its wireless charging speed to 25W for 2024, it still can’t keep up with Xiaomi’s 50W wireless charging, which takes 45 minutes to charge the phone. That’s less than half the time it takes when plugging in an iPhone 16.

To hit those max speeds across Apple and Xiaomi devices, whether wired or wireless, you will need to pick up compatible chargers, but it’s great to see both phone makers support the PD standard, which increases compatibility across the 14T Pro and iPhone 16 with a huge number of third-party charging solutions.

3. Better camera hardware and pro features

Apple has a long history of handicapping standard iPhone camera software when compared to the company’s Pro series. Going beyond hardware, vanilla iPhones have missed out on raw capture in past years, haven’t supported more manual photo modes and don’t offer advanced video capture options either. Unsurprisingly, the iPhone 16 also has a much smaller camera sensor than the iPhone 16 Pro and no optical zoom camera.

In stark contrast to the pricier iPhone, Xiaomi loads up its 14T Pro with a near-iPhone 16 Pro-sized sensor (1/1.31-inch compared to the iPhone 16’s 1/1.56-inch). That means it can create more natural background blur when snapping close-up objects and grabs more light in low-light scenes. Both phones sport fast f/1.6 aperture lenses with optical stabilisation (OIS), and high-resolution sensors (circa 50-megapixels), so are matched in most other areas.

It isn’t a clean sweep for Xiaomi on the camera front. The 14T Pro’s ultra-wide camera misses out on autofocus, while the iPhone 16 Pro’s ultra-wide can capture super close-up objects for more versatility. As for zoom, though, Xiaomi’s 14T Pro is a clear winner.

While Apple only puts two cameras on the iPhone 16 – a wide and ultra-wide – Xiaomi adds a third on the 14T – a 60mm equivalent telephoto camera, which works out at a 2.6x optical zoom. This combination of optical zoom and in-sensor zooming makes for a better zooming experience, especially in bright environments.

Xiaomi also packs a pro mode with full manual controls into its 14T Pro, with support for handy photographer tools like an on-screen histogram, manual controls, focus-peaking and exposure verification (also called zebra lines).

Anyone who plans on editing video shot on their phone will appreciate Xiaomi’s LOG capture, which ekes out maximum detail from shadows and highlights, and the 14T Pro also has Leica photo processing, creating more dramatic-looking photos.

4. Smoother ProMotion-beating display

Xiaomi 14T Pro Review » YugaTech | Philippines Tech News & Reviews
Apple has been loading up its vanilla iPhones with disappointing 60Hz displays for years. While most Android phones run with smooth 120Hz screens, making social media feeds and menus flow like butter on a frying pan, Apple’s digging its heels in and saving its ‘Pro Motion’ 120Hz refresh rate tech for its 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max. Meanwhile, in the Xiaomi camp, the 14T Pro’s screen is an ultra-smooth 144Hz, out-performing even the Pro iPhones when it comes to on-screen fluidity.

Now while you probably won’t be able to tell the difference between 120Hz and 144Hz, you can definitely spot the difference between 60Hz and 144Hz, and the Xiaomi 14T Pro looks gloriously fluid when set against Apple’s iPhone 16.

Refresh rate isn’t the only area the 14T Pro takes the crown when it comes to screen performance, with the much bigger 6.67–inch size commanding attention when set alongside the iPhone’s 6.1-inch panel.

The 14T Pro’s in-display fingerprint scanner also means it doesn’t require Face ID for secure unlocking, so there’s no big pill-shaped cutout at the top (the Dynamic Island), just a punch-hole selfie camera. Finally, the Xiaomi 14T Pro’s peak brightness edges ahead of the iPhone 16 as well.

5. In-box accessories
Neither Apple or Xiaomi ship chargers in the box with their phones anymore (for European users), but Xiaomi’s still packs in extra value with an in-box black, soft-touch opaque case, and a pre-fitted screen protector with the 14T Pro.

With both phones being IP68 water- and dust-resistant and sporting tempered glass displays, they’re relatively durable out of the gate, but if you still want an extra layer of protection from all sides, only Xiaomi’s got you covered without the need for additional purchases.

Initial impressions
Of course, if you’re sold into the Apple ecosystem, then upgrading to an iPhone 16 will be a much smoother experience than switching to Android. The iPhone 16 is also available in a bunch of fun colours, and if you’re after a bigger phone, you could always go for the larger (and pricier) iPhone 16 Plus. I also can’t fault Apple’s after-sales service from experience, especially if you’re signed up for Apple Care (at an additional fee, of course).

Whichever way you slice it, though, having spent a couple of weeks with the Xiaomi 14T Pro, I’ve no doubt it’s an excellent phone that represents great value, especially in the NZ, making it one of the smartest choices for any prospective iPhone user thinking about going to Android in 2024.

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus review: business as usual in the Snapdragon era

The Dell Inspiron 14 Plus sees the venerable PC-maker embrace the Snapdragon platform, and do it well.

Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 Review: Mainstream Snapdragon X Laptop Delivers Supreme Battery Life - CNET

Our Verdict
Dell makes business PCs, and this is one. It brings all the strengths of the Snapdragon platform – long battery life, cool and quiet running – and melds them with a thin and light design. Creatives may bemoan the lack of GPU power, but as something to take with you when you’re working away from your desk, this makes a good choice.

For

Cool and quiet
Huge battery life
Bright, sharp touchscreen

Against

Keyboard could be better
Slim port selection
No webcam shutter

Think of a Dell laptop and you’ll probably picture a grey machine that’s been built for stability and reliability. It’s not going to be an exciting PC, but this is a brand that makes much of its business credentials, and when you’re likely to be supplying the portable PC fleets of large businesses, what you need is solid, dependable performance on a large scale.

This version of the old reliable Inspiron sees Dell embrace the nascent Qualcomm platform in the form of the Snapdragon X Plus processor, rather than the Elite model found in something like the Microsoft Surface Laptop 7 (you can find the Elite in Dell’s Inspiron and Latitude ranges, but we’re reviewing an X Plus here). Snapdragon has many benefits for a portable machine that’s likely to be used in business situations, such as extended (like, really extended) battery life and mostly silent operation, and Dell has capitalised on them. But is enough to make this one of the best laptops for office workers and writers?

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Key specs

CPU	Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (10 cores)
GPU	Adreno integrated
RAM	16GB LPDDR5X
Screen	14in HDR IPS touchscreen
Resolution	3200 x 1800 (16:10)
Refresh rate	60Hz
Colour coverage (stated)	100% sRGB
Storage	1TB SSD, MicroSD
Connectivity	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, 2x USB4, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1X 3.5mm audio
Dimensions	15 x 224 x 314mm
Weight	1.4kg

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Design & build

As an office laptop rather than something more directly targeted at the creative or gaming communities, the design of the Inspiron Plus is somewhat more restrained than the average laptop you’ll see on this site. No detachable OLED screens or rainbow lights here, just a plain white keyboard backlight, a simple circular Dell logo printed on the lid, and only one sticker next to the trackpad, advertising that it uses the Snapdragon X Plus processor. Sadly, the keyboard itself is merely ok to type on – the keys are a little lacking in feel, and their grey tone against the silver casing looks washed out. Much better is the trackpad, the texture of which feels good under the fingers and, despite not being the largest out there, is easy to use if you’re fond of swipe gestures.

Elsewhere, things are equally businesslike. There’s a fingerprint reader at the top of the keyboard, a decent-sized Enter key rather than an enormous #, and the Copilot button that summons the chatbot. There’s no numpad, but two speakers have been squeezed down the sides, which makes the keyboard in the 14in chassis a decent size.

Features

Around the edges of the Inspiron 14 Plus you’ll find a fairly standard range of ports. There’s no HDMI, so you’ll need an adapter to connect to a projector, and no Ethernet, though the presence of Wi-Fi 7 takes the edge off this omission a little. With two USB 4 (also used for charging) and a single USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (the 5Gbps type), plus a MicroSD card slot, it’s fairly well equipped, especially if you team it with a dock, but the native ports will fill up quickly once you add an external monitor, a charger, and a mouse and keyboard dongle.

The IPS screen is touch sensitive, and can display a 60Hz refresh rate. Its QHD+ resolution translates as 3200 x 1800 pixels, which gives it a 16:10 aspect ratio. It’s an extremely nice thing to look at, and the colourful Windows 11 desktop background set as default looks bright and sharp. When tempted by the siren song of our colorimeter, it performed well, showing us 96% of sRGB, 76% of Adobe RGB and 75% of the P3 colour gamut – not the best we’ve ever seen, but a respectable response. Brightness hit 365 nits, slightly down on the claimed 400 but not too bad overall.

The presence of a 3.5mm headset port is nice to have, especially for a laptop that will probably see more than its fair share of Teams and Zoom calls, while the 1080p webcam integrated in the top of the screen is joined by an IR counterpart for Windows Hello duties, there’s no physical shutter to block it off. Luckily, Post-It notes are fairly cheap, especially in the office stationery cupboard.

As a Copilot+ model, you get the beginnings of what might be a n exciting new AI ecosystem, with Paint able to upgrade your drawings after you enter a text prompt, plus some nice video background filters and live captioning. At the time of writing Recall is still an experimental feature, and there’s still no reason to buy a Snapdragon machine just because of its AI capabilities and NPU. At the time of writing, Creative Cloud apps such as Acrobat, Illustrator, InDesign and Premiere Pro are still running via emulation in beta form, with only Photoshop and the cloud version of Lightroom getting fully native ports, while Lightroom Classic remains MIA. It’s early days for the platform, but worth checking before you dive in that the app you want to use works.

Benchmark scores

Cinebench 2024
Single core	108
Multicore	640
GPU	N/A
Geekbench 6
Single core	2413
Multicore	13290
GPU (OpenCL)	20555
AI (ONNX single precision)	1888
PC Mark 10
Applications benchmark	13357
Battery life	15h 38m
Handbrake video encoding	05:17, 60.8fps

Performance

Naturally, as the Snapdragon X Plus has fewer processing cores than the Elite (10, capable of a 4GHz single-core boost) we should see lower results in tests than the 12-core Elite chip. And so it partially comes to pass. The Inspiron’s single-core result in Cinebench 2024 is actually 7.5% higher than that of the Surface Laptop 7 (possibly down to superior cooling by Dell?), while the multicore test sees a 27% difference in favour of Microsoft’s machine.

How does it do against Intel? We’re glad you asked. The Core Ultra 9 185H in the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra has a total of 16 cores and turbos up to 5.1GHz, so should be superior according to the Law of More Being Better, yet scores almost identically in the single-core Cinebench test, with only a 3.7% difference in the Dell’s favour. The plucky little Inspiron then proceeds to win when given a multicore workout, coming in 21% ahead. The Galaxy absolutely flattens Dell’s machine (and Microsoft’s) in rendering tasks by virtue of its Nvidia GPU – the Adreno in the Snapdragon chipset isn’t compatible with the Cinebench test, but we know from runs through 3D Mark that it’s comparatively weak. No integrated GPU is able to take on the RTX 4070, but the Galaxy Book Ultra is more than three times the price of the Inspiron.

Battery life is great, as is the case with many Snapdragon machines. Intel’s latest chips, such as the Core Ultra 9, are rivalling Qualcomm in this area with their low-power cores, but the Inspiron’s score of more than 15 hours is even better than the almost 13 hours that we observed from the Samsung Galaxy Book 4 Ultra.

Who is it for?
No Snapdragon released so far has been ideally targeted at creatives. Some of this is software support, and some is rooted in the fact that the Adreno GPU is not suited to the kind of heavy rendering or effect acceleration that we put our Nvidia cards to. We’re sure that will come, along with better utilisation of the NPU for generative AI and other neural networking applications that still run on the GPU in many apps. So for now, thanks to the lightning-fast way Office and other apps run on it, we have to say that this is more of a general admin and office work machine, ideal for presenting and getting ideas down, perhaps a bit of light Photoshop work, rather than something to thunder through raw image files with. And that’s ok.

Buy it if

You need long battery life
The new AI and NPU features intrigue you
Photoshop and Lightroom (Cloud) are enough

Don’t buy it if

You need to use incompatible software
Especially Creative Cloud apps
You need a GPU