Apple unveiled the new AirPods Max headset wireless headphones at its September 2024 event. The headphones were announced by CEO Tim Cook alongside the iPhone 16 series phones and AirPods 4 wireless headphones. The updated model appears to be a very mild tweak to the first-generation AirPods Max, rather than an entirely new model.They have the exact same design, with the only difference being a switch from the old Lightning connector to USB-C connectivity and a wealth of new colour options. These include new midnight (blue), starlight (purple) and orange options.
The shift to USB-C will be welcome, but sadly it appears Apple hasn’t made any wider improvements, instead promising they would continue to offer the same “highest fidelity sound quality” and “personalised spatial audio for film and music” as the first generation. The new version will also retail for the same $549 as the original AirPods Max when they launch in September. They will cost £499 in the UK.
This goes against past rumblings that the company would launch a more significant next generation of its wireless headphones, commonly referred to in pre-event rumours as the AirPods Max 2.
They are expected to address some of the shortcomings of the original, such as the inability to deliver lossless audio, even when connected via cable to a compatible Apple source. This has been a desired feature from the What Hi-Fi? review team since Apple added lossless audio tracks to Apple Music in 2021. As such, the lack of a lossless-supporting upgrade feels like a key omission. We haven’t had a chance to test the AirPods Max to check for any sound improvements. But even if there aren’t, if their sound quality is comparable to the original AirPods Max, they should still be a solid choice for Apple fans.
The new device includes a range of features, including new “camera controls” on the side, which can be used to bring up and adjust the camera. Its display and battery have also been expanded.
But Apple‘s main focus seems to be on artificial intelligence – or Apple Intelligence, as the company calls it – and while it showed off new AI tools in June, such as message summarization and the ability to generate and edit images, this new phone is the first hardware product dedicated to AI.
“The next generation of iPhone has been designed for Apple Intelligence from the ground up. It marks the beginning of an exciting new era,” Chief Executive Tim Cook said at a product launch.
As with recent years, the iPhone 16 is actually four phones: a Pro and non-Pro version, in two different sizes. The Pro includes improved cameras and different materials, and both the larger and smaller sizes also expanded.
Speaking at the event to unveil the new devices, Apple chief executive Tim Cook said these were the first iPhones to be designed “from the ground up for Apple Intelligence” and that the new “personal intelligence system” would have a “profound impact” for users.“The innovation and invention these products deliver will continue to deepen the meaningful impact they have on all of our lives,” Mr Cook said. “I’m proud of our teams and what they’ve accomplished and I can’t wait for you to experience these amazing products.”The AI-powered tools use “personal context” to provide help, Apple said, for example offering edits to writing or notes made in almost any app, or being able to quickly find a specific photo or moment within a video based on a typed description.
The tools can also be used to find specific emails, flight details and other personal information instantly, as well as offer email summaries and prioritise certain notifications and enable users to create their own emoji or new image.The tech giant confirmed that the new devices will go on sale on September 20, with Apple Intelligence tools rolling out later via a software update. Ben Wood, smartphone expert and principal analyst at CCS Insight, said that while Apple has yet to fully shake off the perception that its phone launches are becoming more low-key, its new AI tools are still compelling.The tech giant also unveiled the redesigned and updated Apple Watch Series 10, which will have the ability to detect sleep apnea for the first time.
Samsung’s wearables category saw a new star this year: a smart ring designed to measure and monitor physical health. The company hasn’t given up on watches, however, with new models – the Galaxy Watch 7 and Galaxy Watch Ultra – and it’s worth noting that some of the features from the ring are already present in this line of watches. We tested the Galaxy Watch 7 to see what changes Samsung has made and what it has to offer. Visually, there are few noticeable differences from the Galaxy Watch 6, which launched about a year ago. The model I tested was the 40mm version, which looks almost identical to its predecessor. It’s a standalone model, which means it has no eSIM and relies on a cellular connection for most tasks.
The screen is round, and while there’s a slight change in the watch’s body size on paper, it’s not noticeable. The weight remains around 29 grams, making it light and comfortable to wear. The included straps didn’t feel particularly comfortable to me, but this is subjective, and they can easily be replaced.
The frame is made of aluminum, the screen is protected by sapphire crystal glass, and the watch feels durable and sturdy. It also has water and dust resistance (IP68) and, according to Samsung, can be used for diving up to a depth of 50 meters. The watch features a new, faster processor, with memory upgraded from 1.5GB to 2GB, and storage doubled from 16GB to 32GB. Software and features: notable innovations, but some are hidden The operating system is Wear OS 5, with Samsung’s One UI Watch 6 interface. The navigation and operation of the watch haven’t changed much: there are two buttons—one to return to the home screen or double-press to access the last used app, and the other to go back to the previous screen. You can navigate apps and menus by swiping on the screen.
There’s access to the Google Play Store, where you can install a wide variety of apps. Some apps come pre-installed on the watch. Messages received on WhatsApp are automatically displayed on the watch, but to fully use the service, you need to install the WhatsApp watch app and link it to your account (similar to setting up WhatsApp on a computer). Browsing messages on a small screen isn’t very convenient, and the Hebrew keyboard is divided into digits, similar to old phones, where three or four letters are assigned to each digit. Voice messages can also be recorded, which is simpler. There are other useful apps, including Google Wallet for payments, Spotify for music, Google Maps for navigation (which displays well despite the small screen), and reminders.
One of the new features is the ability to perform actions by double-pinching your fingers, such as answering calls, canceling notifications, or taking photos through your phone’s camera. However, this feature is not activated by default, and you must enable it in the settings. It’s a nice gimmick, but not essential.
The watch also includes advanced features like heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, sleep apnea detection, and ECG. However, some advanced features are reserved for Galaxy devices only. Samsung’s innovation is most apparent here: in the past, the watch provided a lot of data without much explanation. Now, with the help of Galaxy AI, Samsung’s artificial intelligence service, the watch offers more than just raw data—it provides insights and personalized explanations, making the watch feel genuinely smart.
Battery life: still the weak link Battery life is still the main weakness of this watch, lasting only a day and a half to two days with minimal use – no running, no fitness tracking, just receiving notifications, replying to a few WhatsApp messages and sleep monitoring. While some watches can last for days, they’re usually less smart and less expensive. However, Samsung’s watch is just that. Charging is relatively quick, so you can at least use the watch again: it takes about 30 minutes to go from 15% to 50%, and a full charge takes a little over an hour.
Last month, Infinix announced the Infinix XPad tablet without mentioning its price and availability. India looks set to be one of the first markets to receive the tablet as its landing page is already live on Flipkart. The microsite not only announced the release date but also its key specifications.
The Infinix XPad, as seen above, will officially launch in India on Sept. 13. According to the microsite, the device has a metal unibody design and will be available in three colours: Stellar Grey, Frost Blue, and Titan Gold.
The XPad features an 11-inch LCD screen with an FHD+ resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, a refresh rate of 90Hz, and an 83 percent screen-to-body ratio. The device is also fitted with a quad speaker setup. On the connectivity front, it will offer options, such as 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. The microsite states that the launch date will reveal the XPad’s other specs. Last month’s global listing for the Infinix XPad revealed its Helio G99 Ultimate chipset, 4 GB / 8 GB of RAM, and 128 GB / 256 GB of storage. It houses a 7,000mAh battery with 18W rapid charging.In terms of photography, it comes with an 8-megapixel front camera and a 1-megapixel rear camera. The above specifications suggest that the Infinix XPad could be priced between Rs. 15,000 (approx. $178) in India.
Zhou Yibao, the Product Manager for the OPPO Find Series has confirmed that the Oppo Find X8 series devices adopt silicon-carbon anode batteries, which the company calls glacier batteries.
For those unfamiliar, this new battery technology offers higher energy density (an industry-leading 763 Wh/L) compared to traditional graphite batteries. It allows manufacturers to pack more capacity into a compact space.
According to a previous rumor from Weibo tipster Digital Chat Station, the Oppo Find X8, Find X8 Pro, and the Find X8 Ultra will pack 5600 mAh, 5,700mAh, and 6,100 or 6,200mAh battery, respectively. For context, both the Find X7 and Find X7 Ultra houses 5000 mAh batteries.
This new battery tech was first adopted by the OnePlus Ace 3 Pro launched back in June this year, where the energy density of the battery is reportedly 23.1% higher as compared to traditional graphite batteries. We have also seen super thin foldable devices such as the Honor Magic V2 and its newly launched Magic V3 that benefits from this relatively new battery technology. OPPO Find series’ product manager also revealed that their Glacier Battery has achieved the industry’s highest 6% negative electrode silicon-carbon content. Technically, the higher the silicon content, the higher the energy density should be.
Of course, increasing the percentage of silicon in the anode has its own limitations, and it’s good to see that smartphone manufacturers are pushing their limits to offer a longer battery life without sacrificing the in-hand experience.According to the company’s head, Oppo has been working with CATL, one of China’s lithium-ion battery makers, and has developed a battery technology cooperation program for the next 1-3 years. It is expected to lay a solid foundation for the battery life of future Oppo Find X series devices.
Red Magic has extended its line of tablets. The latest offering from the brand is the Red Magic Gaming Tablet Pro. the product comes in two versions with different specifications. As the name suggests, they are mainly used for gaming. The key USP of the tablet is its transparent back panel design, which is a first in the field. It gives it a sci-fi feel. Let’s see what Red Magic Gaming Pad has in store for us.
Beginning with the main highlight, the Red Magic Gaming Tablet Pro has a Deterium transparent design. The left side of the rear panel features a transparent strip housing a camera sensor and LED flash unit at the top and a circuit board design in the background with imprinted texts such as the processor name, cooling system, and branding that can light up and change color. The tablet sports a CNC aluminium middle frame and a metal back cover.
In terms of display, the Red Magic Gaming Tablet Pro comes with a 10.9-inch screen bearing a 2.8K resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate for a clear and immersive visual experience. Meanwhile, the 3D Explorer Edition has a 12.1-inch 144Hz display with the option to switch between 2D and 3D modes.
Under the hood, the Red Magic Gaming Tablet Pro is equipped with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Leading Version while the 3D Explorer Edition houses a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It packs up to 16GB LPDDR5x RAM and 512GB UFS 4.0 storage. The device features a 3D internal circulation air duct, a 3D heat pipe, and a large under-screen heat dissipation alloy. The tablet draws its power from a 10,100mAh battery unit with support for 120W fast charging and the 3D Explorer offering maxing out at 66W. The latter is also 5G compatible. Despite being a gaming tablet, the Red Magic Gaming Tablet Pro comes with a 50MP rear camera and a 20MP front-facing selfie camera.3D Explorer Edition comes with a 13MP dual rear camera and an 8MP dual front-facing camera. On the audio front, there are 4-channel speakers.
The Red Magic Gaming Tablet Pro carries a price tag of CNY 4,099 and CNY 4,599 for the 12GB + 256GB and 16GB + 512GB variants respectively. The top-end 24GB + 1TB configuration retails at CNY 5,699. On the other hand, the tablet also comes in a 3D Explorer Edition priced at CNY 6,499 and CNY 7,299 for the 12GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB variants respectively.
Acer has so far stayed out of the handheld gaming PC race, but that’s about to change. It’s just announced its first Steam Deck and Asus ROG Ally competitor, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7, which looks like it sits somewhere between last year’s Asus ROG Ally and the new ROG Ally X.
Instead of using the same AMD Z1 Extreme chipset as Lenovo Legion Go or Asus ROG Ally X, Acer has opted for a Ryzen 8000 HS-class laptop processor paired with the same Radeon 780M GPU as the Ayaneo Kun. However, while the Ayaneo Kun is an expensive device built for enthusiasts expensive device, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 should make things a bit more palatable, even if we don’t yet know how much it will cost.
The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 features a 7-inch 1080p display that’s surrounded by a type of gamer aesthetic that will remind you of the 2010s. The all-black chassis is marked with red and white highlights, with little white markers around the joysticks that make it look like they’re being measured for something. It’s certainly a departure from the more plain-looking handheld gaming PCs we’ve seen over the last year or so, but if you want a louder design out of your handheld, you’ll get it here.Acer hasn’t announced when the Nitro Blaze 7 will be on store shelves, or how much it’ll cost. However, with this level of hardware, it’s certainly not going to be cheap. Here are the relevant specs. AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS (8 core, 16 threads, 24 MB cache, 5.1 GHz max boost). Supports Ryzen AI. AMD Radeon 780M (Up to 2.7 GHz, AMD RDNA 3 12 CUs) 7″ Full HD (1920×1080) IPS Display, 144 Hz, 500 nits, 10-point touch panel, 7 ms response time 16GB LPDDRTx SDRAM, 7500 MT/s Up to 2 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 x4 Gen 4 SSD 2 x USBR 4 ports, Micro SD Card (SD 4.0) 50.04 Wh Li-Polymer Battery. 65 W Type-C AC Adapter.
A Different Approach It’s not the first time the AMD Radeon 780M has found its way into a gaming handheld like this, but it is a break from the Z1 Extreme that has powered the most recent mainstream handhelds. It’s not hard to see the appeal – after all the Ayaneo Kun is still one of the most powerful handhelds we’ve reviewed, even a year later. This may mean better performance, but it will consume more battery than competing handhelds. The Ayaneo Kun, which comes with similar hardware, solves this problem to some extent by coming with a 75Wh battery, which is probably why this handheld lasted more than 9 hours in our tests. However, the Acer Nitro Blaze 7 only has a 50Wh battery. We’ll have to wait until we get our hands on it for a full review, but the high-powered hardware could drain the battery quickly. The Acer Nitro Blaze 7 is quite possibly the most powerful gaming handheld to date, and that alone is worth the price of admission. But with a 50Wh battery, you’ll be lugging around power blocks wherever you take it. Acer Nitro Blaze 7 No pricing or release date yet.
Lenovo showed off a concept laptop (called the Lenovo Auto Twist AI PC) at IFA Berlin yesterday that rotates the lid on its own to maintain proper visibility. The lid also closes automatically when the laptop is left unattended. While the highlight of this machine is between the lid and the base, it also has AI features designed to enhance the user experience. Let’s take a look.
The automatic lid movement has the potential to uplift video calling experience According to the company, the Dual Degree of Freedom automatic rotation makes it an ideal companion for both personal and professional use. Apparently, device AI models help the device track the user’s movement.
This rotating feature becomes especially helpful in keeping the user within the field of view during video calls.The machine also supports voice commands to auto-switch between different modes, like “close laptop”, “laptop mode”, and “tablet mode”. This concept comes after the Lenovo Thinkbook Plus Twist launched last year with an additional E Ink screen on the other side of the lid.
While the company noted “exceptional performance” while describing the capabilities of this AI PC, they didn’t reveal much about the internals of the machine. According to The Verge’s Jennifer Pattison Tuohy, the concept Auto Twist AI PC responds to voice commands in a second or two. However, she mentioned that the motor is slow and takes about 10 seconds to execute commands.
We’re still experimenting with this,” said Jeff Witt, director of communications at Lenovo. A lot of these concepts aren’t on the market yet, but you may see elements of them in the future. It has facial tracking; it’s basically a videoconferencing system built into a laptop. It has a lot of potential for accessibility.” We just hope it hits the shelves in the near future.
HMD Global, the company that reintroduced the classic Nokia design, is reportedly working on a new smartphone that borrows its design from the popular Nokia Lumia 1020. This news comes on the heels of their release of the HMD Skyline, which pays homage to the Lumia series in its design.
Word has it that this upcoming phone will have a circular camera setup, setting it apart from the Skyline’s more angular vibe. Renders that leaked out show five cutouts in the camera area, which is probably meant for four camera lenses and an LED flash. We don’t know the exact specs yet, but back when the original Lumia 1020 launched in 2013, it had a jaw-dropping 41-megapixel camera.
As for the frame of the new phone, it looks like it will stick to the Lumia aesthetic, which could give it an edge in today’s crowded market. You’ll see the HMD logo at the bottom, which highlights their goal of creating a brand identity
The leaked images suggest that this phone could be aimed at the mid-range or even high-end market, which is a departure from HMD’s usual affordable Pulse lineup.HMD really seems to want nostalgia in their products, and the performance of this Lumia-inspired device could be the key to finding a unique place for them in the highly competitive smartphone space. It’s important not to get too far ahead of the game, as there aren’t too many details floating around yet.HMD Global has yet to release any information about its features, specifications, or when the phone will actually hit store shelves.
Microsoft is ready to start selling its Qualcomm-powered Surface devices to businesses. Beginning September 10, the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7th Edition will be available for the first time to enterprise customers, following the launch of the devices to consumers in June as part of Microsoft’s Copilot Plus PC line of devices with the Windows on Arm promotion program.
The hardware inside the Surface Pro 11 and Surface Laptop 7th Edition for businesses will be identical to the consumer options. Businesses will be able to pick between two main options for the Surface Pro 11. There’s the 10-core Snapdragon X Plus Surface Pro 11 with 16GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, and the regular LCD display, or there’s the OLED model with the 12-core Snapdragon X Elite, up to 32GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of storage.
The Surface Laptop 7th Edition will be available in Snapdragon X Plus or X Elite models for the 13.8-inch models or just the X Elite for the larger 15-inch model. All Surface Laptop 7 models have options for up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of storage.
Microsoft is also launching a 5G model of the Surface Pro 11 on September 26th and a 5G variant of the Surface Pro 10, which is powered by Intel’s Ultra Core processors. Microsoft previously launched the Intel-powered Surface Pro 10 exclusively to business customers earlier this year, alongside the Surface Laptop 6. In addition to the new Surface options for businesses, Microsoft is also releasing a new Surface keyboard on October 3rd. The full-size keyboard includes Microsoft’s new Copilot keys and an expanded set of keys to cover options such as Call, Mute, and Snip & Sketch function keys.
