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- First reviewOctober 24, 2013
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Elite for a reason. The XR PRO was designed for the inner-city commutes. Foldable in one step, take it on the bus, the train or in a taxi if you need to make a bit longer of a commute. Weighing less than 32lbs means carrying is no issue when stairs or other obstructions get in the way.
Posted by: KusMoG
First off, the “Specifications” and “Features” listed for the GoTrax Xr Pro has a lot of incorrect information.
-It does NOT have 8.5” tires, it has 10” tires. I measured them.
-The max speed is not 15.5 mph, it’s 18 mph.
-The color is not black, it’s clearly gray, as seen in the pictures they provided. It’s even listed as gray in its model number.
-The maximum weight capacity is NOT 220 lbs, it’s 264 lbs as printed on its retail box and included manual.
-Their listed product dimensions are wrong. It’s:
-Product Height 47.5 inches (measured from floor to digital display)
-Product Length 47.5 inches (measured from back tip of back wheel to front tip of front wheel)
-Product Width 18.625 inches (measured from one end of the handle bar to the other end of the handle bar on opposite side)
-It does NOT have 8.5” tires, it has 10” tires. I measured them.
-The max speed is not 15.5 mph, it’s 18 mph.
-The color is not black, it’s clearly gray, as seen in the pictures they provided. It’s even listed as gray in its model number.
-The maximum weight capacity is NOT 220 lbs, it’s 264 lbs as printed on its retail box and included manual.
-Their listed product dimensions are wrong. It’s:
-Product Height 47.5 inches (measured from floor to digital display)
-Product Length 47.5 inches (measured from back tip of back wheel to front tip of front wheel)
-Product Width 18.625 inches (measured from one end of the handle bar to the other end of the handle bar on opposite side)
Maybe this was just the information given to Best Buy by GoTrax because the included manual was just as bad. It is littered with mistakes of all sorts: spelling errors, grammatical errors, missing pictures that the instructions refer to, and inconsistent use of terms (e.g.: in the scooter’s parts diagram what’s listed as a “safety latch” is called a “spring pin” in the printed instructions. Nowhere in the manual is the “safety latch” ever referred to again aside from the diagram that lists the parts of the scooter).
When I received the product, what should’ve been a 5-10 minute installation took me about 8 hours. The reason for that is because the brake cord was too short out of the box for me to latch on to brake lever and thread through the handlebar. The instruction manual was worthless, offering no guidance whatsoever should something like this occur during installation. If you read other reviews, you’ll see that this issue has happened to others as well. I had to be careful as to not be reckless and end up voiding the warranty. It wasn’t until hours later that I figured out for myself that the brake cord’s length can be adjusted from the rear wheel’s disc brake. You have to loosen the Allen screw that’s closest to the brake cord until it eases up the grip on the cord to a point where you can adjust the length of the brake cord. This allowed me to have enough length to finally install the brake cord on the handlebar.
When I received the product, what should’ve been a 5-10 minute installation took me about 8 hours. The reason for that is because the brake cord was too short out of the box for me to latch on to brake lever and thread through the handlebar. The instruction manual was worthless, offering no guidance whatsoever should something like this occur during installation. If you read other reviews, you’ll see that this issue has happened to others as well. I had to be careful as to not be reckless and end up voiding the warranty. It wasn’t until hours later that I figured out for myself that the brake cord’s length can be adjusted from the rear wheel’s disc brake. You have to loosen the Allen screw that’s closest to the brake cord until it eases up the grip on the cord to a point where you can adjust the length of the brake cord. This allowed me to have enough length to finally install the brake cord on the handlebar.
Adjusting the length of the brake cord will also adjust the tightness of the brakes when you squeeze the lever. I’ve read some reviews complaining about the responsiveness of the brakes. The make them more responsive, you’ll want to make the brakes tighter by shortening the length of the cord on the left side of the Allen screw before clamping it down by fastening it.
With that sour first impression out of the way, I love the look of the Xr Pro. It loses the super cheesy block of white that highlighted the GoTrax branding on the scooter’s tiller the old models had. The GoTrax branding is still on the tiller but now it’s more unassuming and looks more professional. Even the splashes of red on the scooter is unassuming and provides a nice subtle contrast to the grey for its look. I personally think it looks really nice.
The Xr Pro has 2 speed modes, which some people like to call “gears” since they familiarize them with switching gears on a car. However, the scooter’s 2 modes aren’t gears, and I wouldn’t recommend switching between the modes while in motion because the sudden difference in the handling of speed could knock you off your balance.
The 2 speeds are P1 and P2.
P1 runs at a max speed of 15 mph.
P2 runs at a max speed of 18 mph.
Its acceleration will vary depending on weight. I’m 170 lbs and on a flat surface it accelerates pretty easily. However, when I’m on the sidewalks of Brooklyn, NY where it’s not always flat, accelerating from a low speed, and maintaining speed did feel like an issue to me. I felt like it was lacking power. My best case scenario was riding on the bike lanes. Unfortunately 15mph doesn’t seem fast enough to ride with the flow of traffic on some NYC streets. P2’s 18mph does help but not on larger streets like Ocean Parkway where cars can easily go 25 mph while you’re only maxing out at 18 mph. Of course, Ocean Parkway does have a bike route, but there are other similar streets like Flatbush Ave, Ocean Ave, Coney Island Ave. And aggressive drivers will be agitated with you sharing the same street and incessantly honk at you instead of just passing you. The Xr Pro is best ridden on local roads or dedicated bike paths. Technically, riding an e-scooter on sidewalks is illegal. The only reason why it’s so prevalent is similar to jaywalking. It’s not seriously enforced.
The 2 speeds are P1 and P2.
P1 runs at a max speed of 15 mph.
P2 runs at a max speed of 18 mph.
Its acceleration will vary depending on weight. I’m 170 lbs and on a flat surface it accelerates pretty easily. However, when I’m on the sidewalks of Brooklyn, NY where it’s not always flat, accelerating from a low speed, and maintaining speed did feel like an issue to me. I felt like it was lacking power. My best case scenario was riding on the bike lanes. Unfortunately 15mph doesn’t seem fast enough to ride with the flow of traffic on some NYC streets. P2’s 18mph does help but not on larger streets like Ocean Parkway where cars can easily go 25 mph while you’re only maxing out at 18 mph. Of course, Ocean Parkway does have a bike route, but there are other similar streets like Flatbush Ave, Ocean Ave, Coney Island Ave. And aggressive drivers will be agitated with you sharing the same street and incessantly honk at you instead of just passing you. The Xr Pro is best ridden on local roads or dedicated bike paths. Technically, riding an e-scooter on sidewalks is illegal. The only reason why it’s so prevalent is similar to jaywalking. It’s not seriously enforced.
At about 35 lbs, it’s not exactly light. But it’s probably as light as you can get for an electric scooter because a lot of the weight is from the battery. I think the 35 lbs is the sweet spot for compromise for weight and mileage/power. If you can, try lifting 35 pound dumbbells and see if it’s something that’s manageable for you.
I got about a total of 18 miles on a single full battery charge with the Xr Pro, while mostly riding in P1 mode. It was 2 mile trips each way, making it 4 miles round trip, per day. So it nearly got me through the weekday. Charging it overnight would make any worry about the battery for this sort of routine a non-issue though.
Charging takes about 6 hours from 0 to 100%. The battery is non-removable.
The display is clear and easy to read even in sunlight, at least for me. It operates with a single button through a combination of holds, single, double, and triple presses. It’s very easy to get the hang of it. There is no electronic lock to prevent theft. To the right of the display is the throttle button. You accelerate as fast as how much the throttle button is depressed. To the left of the display is the bell and brake lever.
On the tiller is a bag hook, which I found pretty useless. It’s at an angle any bag you hang on it is prone to swinging around. I put my dinner on that hook, a takeout order from Popeyes, and the bag fell off the hook while I was riding. Fortunately a pedestrian was kind enough to let me know my bag fell. There’s no tension clip for the hook, and the hook’s opening is rather wide.
On the tiller is a bag hook, which I found pretty useless. It’s at an angle any bag you hang on it is prone to swinging around. I put my dinner on that hook, a takeout order from Popeyes, and the bag fell off the hook while I was riding. Fortunately a pedestrian was kind enough to let me know my bag fell. There’s no tension clip for the hook, and the hook’s opening is rather wide.
The Xr Pro folds and unfolds easily but because the handlebars from end to end take up more than 1.5 feet it’s still not that compact. The only thing you’re really reducing by folding is its height, from 47.5 inches to 16 inches. When folded, the front wheel is lifted off the ground and the bottom-side of the front of the deck touches the ground. This causes that bottom of the deck to scratch against abrasive ground, like concrete. And New York City isn’t known as a concrete jungle for nothing.
You also can’t roll the scooter when it’s folded so you can’t roll it while holding it vertically or horizontally. Your only way of transporting it safely while folded is by lifting it while held horizontally.
You also can’t roll the scooter when it’s folded so you can’t roll it while holding it vertically or horizontally. Your only way of transporting it safely while folded is by lifting it while held horizontally.
Because of the way the Xr Pro unfolds, by pressing down on the plastic back fender, you cannot place your foot on the back fender while riding. There is even a sticker on the back fender warning you not to step on it. This also means there’s no back fender brake. There’s only one way to brake, which is using the lever on the handlebar, and it controls the brake on the rear wheel. I found the brakes to be responsive. You may need to adjust the tightness to your liking. Refer to manual on page 13 to see how to do this.
There is no suspension for the wheels but the pneumatic tires seemed to handle bumps on the road pretty well for me. I got nervous when I saw garbage and debris in front of me on the road, but I was able to ride over flattened cups, a sock (smh… NYC), twigs, and pebbles without a hop or jump.
I wear a men’s size 10.5 sneakers and the deck doesn’t give me enough room to put one foot straight in front of the other. It’s about an inch short. So, I’m forced to tilt my back foot for my riding stance. If you wear a men’s size 10 or smaller, you may be able to ride one foot in front of the other, both facing straight.
I found the LED headlights and brake lights adequate for NYC streets, where they’re all lit up at night. Pedestrians and drivers could easily see me. There are no turn indicators on these lights though. Both wheels have reflectors on the side, so in case the lights fail, there’s that. I couldn’t find any real dark streets to test in my area. Turning on the lights in my pitch black apartment lit my living room up, but it’s no comparison for the real roads where you’ll want to see a few more yards out ahead of you.
Unfortunately, I’ve never had the chance to test the scooter out in rainy conditions. However, the scooter is rated IPX5. So it wasn’t rated for resistance against any solid objects or dust. The 5 liquid resistance rating means “Protected from low pressure water jets from any direction.” GoTrax’s website claims it can withstand up to mild rain, although riding on a wet surface is always a hazard due to the risk of slipping. You won’t be able to ride it during a downpour/storm since that’s probably more than the scooter’s water resistance can handle, and may end up damaging the electronics. Weather related issues with the scooter voids your warranty.
It's a decent scooter for short mileage commutes that looks great at a fair price. Just be aware of its shortcomings: non-replaceable battery; cannot roll for transporting while folded and 35 lbs may be still be too heavy to carry for some; a largely useless bag hook; no security features.
Spending a little more can get you a faster 20 mph scooter that handles longer distances per charge if 35 lbs is too heavy for you to carry so you were never going to anyway.
Spending a little less can get you a lighter scooter you can carry at the cost of a slower scooter.
It's all up to you.
Spending a little more can get you a faster 20 mph scooter that handles longer distances per charge if 35 lbs is too heavy for you to carry so you were never going to anyway.
Spending a little less can get you a lighter scooter you can carry at the cost of a slower scooter.
It's all up to you.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Design meets function in the most powerful, premium cordless stick vacuum with auto empty. Bespoke Jet AI Cordless Stick Vacuum includes our most powerful HexaJet 2.0 motor, and delivers up to 100 minutes of runtime in a single charge. AI Cleaning Mode automatically senses floor type and optimizes suction whether on carpet or hard floor for efficient cleaning performance on any surface. Innovative design combines with the All-in-One Clean Station which auto-empties, charges, and stores your vacuum, for one show-stopping solution.
Posted by: KusMoG
For the first time in my life, vacuuming doesn’t seem like such a chore. And it’s all thanks to the Bespoke Jet AI. It’s cordless, powerful, versatile, lightweight, has great battery life, and looks great!
The obvious convenience about cordless vacuums is not having to worry about cords getting in the way of your path while cleaning. Best of all, I don’t have to worry about the shortage of length of the power cord. At least not for the stick vacuum itself. The cord length of the Clean Station, where you charge the stick vacuum, is roughly 68” (5’ 8”). Underneath the base of the Clean Station, there are 4 toothed rubber feet. The teeth help keep it from moving around on carpet. The rubber helps keep it from moving around on hard floors.
And that’s just the thing: this is also the first vacuum cleaner I don’t have to worry about finding closet space for. Looks are always a subjective thing, but for me, I think the Bespoke Jet AI docked into its Clean Station looks great. The black color matches my black sofa set and my black surround sound speakers. It feels right at home out in the open in my living room. Which is perfect because whenever I need to use the vacuum it’s just out there ready for me to use.
And that’s just the thing: this is also the first vacuum cleaner I don’t have to worry about finding closet space for. Looks are always a subjective thing, but for me, I think the Bespoke Jet AI docked into its Clean Station looks great. The black color matches my black sofa set and my black surround sound speakers. It feels right at home out in the open in my living room. Which is perfect because whenever I need to use the vacuum it’s just out there ready for me to use.
The height of the Clean Station with the vacuum docked is 47” (3’ 11”).
The length and width of the Clean Station are both 12” (1’).
The length and width of the Clean Station are both 12” (1’).
On the top of front of the vacuum itself is an LCD display that displays the charge percentage while it’s charging. On the top of vacuum’s handle in the back is the battery with a bright horizontal LED battery level indicator. It’s red when it’s low on battery, orange when it isn’t low on battery but charging, and green when fully charged. Unfortunately, I haven’t found a way to turn this LED off, so if you plan on storing it in your bedroom be mindful of this. Otherwise, the light from the LED is actually kind of convenient in the dark because it makes it easy to find and use since it’s located on the handle. The included brush has an LED light so you can clean in spaces where it’s dark, or just clean in the dark with no lights on. It would just be difficult to place the vacuum back in its station in the dark since there are no lights on the outside of the Clean Station itself.
The inside of the Clean Station is accessible from the front’s magnetic cover, which is easy to open and close. Inside it is a button to toggle the “Auto Empty” function of the vacuum’s dustbin. There are also 2 LED indicators that are labeled. One indicator shows whether “Auto Empty” is enabled or not. The other indicator shows whether it’s connected to WiFi or not.
Let’s talk about the “Auto Empty” feature first because it’s really interesting. The Bespoke Jet AI is a bagless vacuum cleaner. But the Clean Station uses bags, making it a bagged system… right? Not quite.
The Bespoke Jet AI is a bagged vacuum system BUT it does NOT have to be if you don’t want it to be and save yourself from spending money on new bags. To make the Bespoke Jet AI a bagless system, simply turn off the “Auto Empty” feature. You can still empty the vacuum’s dustbin manually just like other bagless stick vacuums. You simply press a button in the front of the vacuum to remove the dustbin from stick vacuum, then press the button on the back of the dustbin top release the dustbin’s bottom door to empty out the dust inside. It’s so simple. But I won’t sugar coat it either. By cleaning it out manually, you are paying for an expensive feature you’re not using. But at the same time, you’re saving money by not needing to continuously buy new bags. OR you can have the luxury of doing both and lessen the frequency of buying new bags. Or when you’re out of bags, you’re still able to use the vacuum.
When the “Auto Empty” feature is disabled, you can manually start the process where the vacuum empties the dustbin into the Clean Station’s bag by pressing the Start/Stop button in the front of the Clean Station. If connected to Samsung SmartThings via WiFi, you can also empty the dustbin from the SmartThings app, even remotely when you’re not at home, to remove the unsightly dust from the dustbin if you don’t want it to be seen by people while you’re away, since the dustbin is clear. This is just one of the many ways the Bespoke Jet AI is versatile.
The Bespoke Jet AI is a bagged vacuum system BUT it does NOT have to be if you don’t want it to be and save yourself from spending money on new bags. To make the Bespoke Jet AI a bagless system, simply turn off the “Auto Empty” feature. You can still empty the vacuum’s dustbin manually just like other bagless stick vacuums. You simply press a button in the front of the vacuum to remove the dustbin from stick vacuum, then press the button on the back of the dustbin top release the dustbin’s bottom door to empty out the dust inside. It’s so simple. But I won’t sugar coat it either. By cleaning it out manually, you are paying for an expensive feature you’re not using. But at the same time, you’re saving money by not needing to continuously buy new bags. OR you can have the luxury of doing both and lessen the frequency of buying new bags. Or when you’re out of bags, you’re still able to use the vacuum.
When the “Auto Empty” feature is disabled, you can manually start the process where the vacuum empties the dustbin into the Clean Station’s bag by pressing the Start/Stop button in the front of the Clean Station. If connected to Samsung SmartThings via WiFi, you can also empty the dustbin from the SmartThings app, even remotely when you’re not at home, to remove the unsightly dust from the dustbin if you don’t want it to be seen by people while you’re away, since the dustbin is clear. This is just one of the many ways the Bespoke Jet AI is versatile.
The Bespoke Jet AI is powerful when set to its highest setting, “Jet”. It actually feels as powerful as my corded canister vacuum that I’m replacing. I can tell by how aggressive it is with my carpet on the Jet setting. The trade off is battery life. The vacuum has a countdown timer on its LED display while you are cleaning which displays in hours and minutes. Using the Bespoke Jet AI’s main brush, the Active Dual Brush, Jet mode lasted 12 minutes 50 seconds when I timed it with a stopwatch. When I started, the LED display said I had 13 minutes. So, it’s fairly accurate.
But something I learned too late and what my mom tried to warn me was that vacuuming often can damage the carpet over time. All that aggressive vacuuming from my old heavy duty upright vacuum cleaner and canister vacuum that replaced my upright afterwards destroyed the plushness of my carpet. It's gone. My carpet is now flat and lifeless. Underneath my sofa, my carpet is as plush and soft as the day I first moved into my apartment.
That’s where the Bespoke Jet AI comes in. I *WISH* I had this vacuum when I first moved here, but it didn’t exist. The Bespoke Jet AI has 5 modes: MIN, AI, MID, MAX, and JET. It has a 6th mode if you’re using the optional (must be purchased separately) Spray Spinning Sweeper tool: WET.
MIN, MID, and MAX modes are self-explanatory. It’s low, medium, and high power, respectively. MAX is a misnomer because it’s not the vacuum’s maximum power. The JET setting is.
It's the AI mode that’s the shining feature with the Bespoke Jet AI. It senses the type of surface its on and automatically adjusts the suction power and the brush rotation speed. This really would have helped preserve the life of my carpet while it was still new and while still cleaning my carpet. AI mode doesn’t necessarily sacrifice cleaning power. For the times when it is underpowered and not sucking up dirt you’re trying to clean up, you can manually increase the suction power on the fly with the + (plus) button located conveniently on top of the vacuum. You can also decrease the power with the – (minus) button.
When you lift the vacuum head off the ground in AI mode, the brush will stop rotating.
My only really gripes about AI mode is:
1) that sometimes it doesn’t detect the surface correctly or misinterprets it. So, the brush would stop rotating, thinking it’s on a hard surface when it’s still on carpet, albeit with very low pile. But it doesn’t happen often for me. Your mileage may vary. You still have the option of manually selecting the power yourself. Again, versatility.
2) it takes 1-2 seconds for the AI to process a surface change and change its mode accordingly. When it’s 1 second it’s not so bad, but when it takes 2 seconds, it’s noticeable to me.
MIN, MID, and MAX modes are self-explanatory. It’s low, medium, and high power, respectively. MAX is a misnomer because it’s not the vacuum’s maximum power. The JET setting is.
It's the AI mode that’s the shining feature with the Bespoke Jet AI. It senses the type of surface its on and automatically adjusts the suction power and the brush rotation speed. This really would have helped preserve the life of my carpet while it was still new and while still cleaning my carpet. AI mode doesn’t necessarily sacrifice cleaning power. For the times when it is underpowered and not sucking up dirt you’re trying to clean up, you can manually increase the suction power on the fly with the + (plus) button located conveniently on top of the vacuum. You can also decrease the power with the – (minus) button.
When you lift the vacuum head off the ground in AI mode, the brush will stop rotating.
My only really gripes about AI mode is:
1) that sometimes it doesn’t detect the surface correctly or misinterprets it. So, the brush would stop rotating, thinking it’s on a hard surface when it’s still on carpet, albeit with very low pile. But it doesn’t happen often for me. Your mileage may vary. You still have the option of manually selecting the power yourself. Again, versatility.
2) it takes 1-2 seconds for the AI to process a surface change and change its mode accordingly. When it’s 1 second it’s not so bad, but when it takes 2 seconds, it’s noticeable to me.
Operation is easy. Thankfully, there is no trigger. To start the vacuum, you simply press the On/Off button that is easily accessible on the top of the vacuum while you are gripping the handle. To stop the vacuum, simply press the On/Off button again. Above the On/Off button is a clear, easy-to-read informative LCD display. While the vacuum is turned on, there is a countdown timer that automatically adjusts depending on the mode you’re using. No more guessing how much time you have to clean with the vacuum before the battery dies. With the Bespoke Jet AI you have the peace of mind of knowing.
With the included Active Dual Brush, MIN lasts about 58 minutes. MID, about 40 minutes. MAX, about 24 minutes. JET, about 14 minutes. In AI mode, the time will vary depending on surface and conditions.
The display will also alert you with messages and troubleshooting tips when things go wrong. Like if hair gets tangled on the brush heads roller and stops the roller from moving. The LCD display will tell you. When docked in the Clean Station, it can tell you when to clean your filter or replace your dust bag.
The display will also alert you with messages and troubleshooting tips when things go wrong. Like if hair gets tangled on the brush heads roller and stops the roller from moving. The LCD display will tell you. When docked in the Clean Station, it can tell you when to clean your filter or replace your dust bag.
The Active Dual Brush head effortlessly twists 90° in both left and right directions and has a bright LED flashlight that automatically turns on while in use.
The Bespoke Jet AI also includes an Extension Crevice Tool that can telescopically extend for those hard-to-reach places.
It comes with the Pet Tool+ head that specializes in picking up pet hair.
The last head that comes included is the Combination Tool for dusting and cleaning furniture/upholstery, even tables and window sills. When you don’t use the telescopic pipe, and attach the brush head directly to the main vacuum, you basically got yourself a superpowered dustbuster! Compact, lightweight- perfect for vacuuming your car, and powerful.
The Bespoke Jet AI also includes an Extension Crevice Tool that can telescopically extend for those hard-to-reach places.
It comes with the Pet Tool+ head that specializes in picking up pet hair.
The last head that comes included is the Combination Tool for dusting and cleaning furniture/upholstery, even tables and window sills. When you don’t use the telescopic pipe, and attach the brush head directly to the main vacuum, you basically got yourself a superpowered dustbuster! Compact, lightweight- perfect for vacuuming your car, and powerful.
With the SmartThings app, you can empty the dustbin, set the default suction power setting, view battery status, monitor electricity usage & cost, and information about your vacuum like dust bag status, how long ago the dustbin was last emptied, and how long you've used it for each day of the current week.
The Bespoke Jet AI is lightweight because it is mostly made of plastic. But it’s high-quality plastic that feels durable and premium. The bulk of the weight is from the motor, making it top-heavy. But the top is where you hold your grip, so when you’re pushing around the vacuum it actually feels lightweight thanks to the weight distribution.
The battery is replaceable, and you can buy a spare with its own external charger. It’s worth the money for all the power and convenience it gives you. You may not be buying a new vacuum for the next decade, if ever again.
Easily the best vacuum I have ever used.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The Pixel Tablet is engineered by Google to be more helpful at home ~ and in your hand. Place it on the Charging Speaker Dock for great-sounding music and video streaming.[1] Control your smart home, and say ~Hey Google~ for hands-free help.[2] It~s all powered by the Google Tensor G2 chip, and it~s the perfect companion to your Pixel phone.
Posted by: KusMoG
When the Pixel Tablet was first announced I thought it would just be a Next Hub Max with a removable screen to double as a tablet and this concerned me. I thought the tablet would be of cheap quality considering the price of the Pixel Tablet, which is around the starting price of a decent tablet alone. But from the first moment I had the tablet in my hands- how light it was; how solid and premium it felt- I realized I was probably wrong. And then when I powered it on and found out it had a 2560x1600 resolution screen, not the 1280x800 of the Nest Hub Max or 1080p, which was the resolution bump I expected from the Nest Hub Max. I was shocked! On top of that, it’s an IPS display! You can view the display from all angles without much distortion. I was wrong. The Pixel Tablet’s tablet isn’t a cheap quality tablet AT ALL. It’s a high quality mid-range Android tablet.
Build
The tablet is lightweight at 480 grams. It’s slightly heavier than an iPad Air, but slightly lighter than the Galaxy Tab S8. Yet not as expensive as either.
The tablet is lightweight at 480 grams. It’s slightly heavier than an iPad Air, but slightly lighter than the Galaxy Tab S8. Yet not as expensive as either.
It’s made of metal so it’s solid- no creaks or flex. But the back is coated with a material that feels grippy but not sticky. It has a very satisfying feel because it’s smooth but it has friction and doesn’t feel slippery. I don’t feel worried about accidentally dropping it from slickness. Thanks to this unique texture, it isn’t a fingerprint magnet.
The power button is nearly on the same level as the edges of the tablet for some reason. Normally buttons stick out of the edges like the way the volume rocker buttons do on the Pixel Tablet. Not this power button. It made it a bit tough for me to find at times. On that power button is a fingerprint reader that is very responsive and quick. My only issue is finding it at times.
It’s the volume rocker buttons that I’m not the biggest fan of. If I lightly tap on it, the button makes that cheap rattle sound from it being loose. It feels cheap. Thankfully, the actual button presses don’t feel as cheap though.
Display
It’s an LCD display but it’s gorgeous! First off, for an always-on smart home display, you wouldn’t want OLED since the clock text doesn’t change often, especially the hour. You’d risk burn-in. LCD is the smart choice here until there’s a better solution. Its resolution is also 2560x1600 on a 10.75” viewable display. It makes the pixel density fantastic, to a point where it looks like the content is painted on the display. It’s tough to see a single pixel. As mentioned earlier, it uses an IPS display which allows you to view the screen at an angle with little distortion. The screen itself doesn’t attract fingerprints thanks to the coating on it.
It’s an LCD display but it’s gorgeous! First off, for an always-on smart home display, you wouldn’t want OLED since the clock text doesn’t change often, especially the hour. You’d risk burn-in. LCD is the smart choice here until there’s a better solution. Its resolution is also 2560x1600 on a 10.75” viewable display. It makes the pixel density fantastic, to a point where it looks like the content is painted on the display. It’s tough to see a single pixel. As mentioned earlier, it uses an IPS display which allows you to view the screen at an angle with little distortion. The screen itself doesn’t attract fingerprints thanks to the coating on it.
The one knock on it is that it’s a 60Hz display. But that’s what you would expect from a tablet of this price range. A popular tablet of this weight and size with a 120Hz display costs $200 more. With that said, if you’ve never used a 120Hz touch display, you won’t notice any issues because 60Hz is pretty much the standard. 120Hz is premium at the moment.
Performance
The Pixel Tablet comes equipped with a Tensor G2, which is the same System on a Chip (SoC) used on the Pixel 7, which is the current generation of Google’s line of Pixel phones. It comes with 8 GB of RAM which is what other tablets in this price range offer, and is enough to work with multiple apps open. I’m actually writing this review on the Pixel Tablet with Chrome open in a split window, and Twitter on the other side of the split window. I also have ESPN playing in PIP for a total of 3 apps running simultaneously. For input, I have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse connected to the Pixel Tablet. I haven’t experienced any lag from normal use. However, if I push the processor with gaming while having another video app open, the tablet will eventually get warm and thermal throttling kicks in. This slows the tablet down. But this is an extreme case. The way I had it happen was by opening a Wii emulator with a game running, and a PS2 emulator with a gaming running, both in split window, and the HDHomeRun app playing TV in PIP. So, that was 3 apps running simultaneously, with the 2 emulators being CPU-hungry. It took a while for the tablet to get warm and have the throttling kick in too; not sure how long. I didn’t hear any fans, but when powered off, the tablet cools down rather quickly. It never gets hot to touch; just warm.
The Pixel Tablet comes equipped with a Tensor G2, which is the same System on a Chip (SoC) used on the Pixel 7, which is the current generation of Google’s line of Pixel phones. It comes with 8 GB of RAM which is what other tablets in this price range offer, and is enough to work with multiple apps open. I’m actually writing this review on the Pixel Tablet with Chrome open in a split window, and Twitter on the other side of the split window. I also have ESPN playing in PIP for a total of 3 apps running simultaneously. For input, I have a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse connected to the Pixel Tablet. I haven’t experienced any lag from normal use. However, if I push the processor with gaming while having another video app open, the tablet will eventually get warm and thermal throttling kicks in. This slows the tablet down. But this is an extreme case. The way I had it happen was by opening a Wii emulator with a game running, and a PS2 emulator with a gaming running, both in split window, and the HDHomeRun app playing TV in PIP. So, that was 3 apps running simultaneously, with the 2 emulators being CPU-hungry. It took a while for the tablet to get warm and have the throttling kick in too; not sure how long. I didn’t hear any fans, but when powered off, the tablet cools down rather quickly. It never gets hot to touch; just warm.
As for gaming, I’m not much of a traditional Android gaming. My preference is console gaming, or games ported over from consoles. So I deal with emulation. It can handle PS2 emulation and most of Wii emulation just fine (aside from the bugs associated with the emulation itself, not hardware) with up to 2x upscaling. The Pixel Tablet’s GPU is a Mali G710.
Storage
The model I have is 128GB but it also comes in 256GB. There is expandable storage, so I wish Google would have offered a 512GB model. You won’t need that much space if you’re mainly streaming your content, but not everyone uses a tablet that way. If you want to store your game library locally the extra space is invaluable.
The model I have is 128GB but it also comes in 256GB. There is expandable storage, so I wish Google would have offered a 512GB model. You won’t need that much space if you’re mainly streaming your content, but not everyone uses a tablet that way. If you want to store your game library locally the extra space is invaluable.
The internal storage speeds is as follows:
Sequential write: 208.38MB/s
Sequential read: 631.72MB/s
Random write: 43.99MB/s
Random read: 28.81MB/s
Sequential write: 208.38MB/s
Sequential read: 631.72MB/s
Random write: 43.99MB/s
Random read: 28.81MB/s
It’s fairly fast.
Sound
There are 4 speaker grills on the tablet itself but the sound from the tablet speakers really lack bass and has a poor sound stage. Everything sounds so internalized; compact. But they’re not the worst. They’re serviceable and decent enough for a tablet.
There are 4 speaker grills on the tablet itself but the sound from the tablet speakers really lack bass and has a poor sound stage. Everything sounds so internalized; compact. But they’re not the worst. They’re serviceable and decent enough for a tablet.
When connected to the magnetic speaker charging dock, that’s when the sound shines. It’s essentially like a Nest Hub Max. You can hear the bass and the sound stage is much more open now. It doesn’t sound like the sound is coming from inside the tablet, but it’s emitting out of it. The bass won’t please listeners that want the exaggerated thumping bass. It lacks the power. But the bass from the speaker dock sounds pretty clean, not muddy. Vocals are heard clearly and not masked by the bass.
Dock
The dock really unlocks the optimal sound of the Pixel Tablet. You can use the tablet in Hub mode without the dock, but the tablet’s speakers are lacking for a smart home display that would need to cover a whole room.
The dock really unlocks the optimal sound of the Pixel Tablet. You can use the tablet in Hub mode without the dock, but the tablet’s speakers are lacking for a smart home display that would need to cover a whole room.
The dock has 4 magnetic prongs which incredibly powerful. When you bring the tablet around its vicinity, the magnets will tug the tablet towards it to seat it properly for charging.
The angle is perfect sitting in front of it on a desk. While I’m typing this review it feels like I have a mini PC. When standing, it’s based viewed from a distance.
When you’re connecting the Pixel Tablet to its dock while playing sound on the tablet speakers, the Pixel Tablet will seamlessly switch the sound to the dock nearly instantaneously. There’s a slight pause when connecting to the dock because it plays a connection sound effect first, before resuming the audio you were listening to. When switching from dock to tablet speakers though it’s closer to instantaneous because it doesn’t play that connection sound effect.
Hub
Unfortunately, Google Assistant is pretty inconsistent when it comes to reliability. Some days it will respond to smart home commands quickly. Other days it will take up to 5 seconds sometimes for it to respond or carry out a voice command.
Unfortunately, Google Assistant is pretty inconsistent when it comes to reliability. Some days it will respond to smart home commands quickly. Other days it will take up to 5 seconds sometimes for it to respond or carry out a voice command.
The way Google responds to your inquiries can change without warning either. For what seemed like over a year, when I asked Google for store hours, it would do a Google Image search of the store instead.
Ironically, it can act erratic if you own other Google Nest Hub devices in your home. When I first set it up, every time I asked it to play music, my Nest Hub Mini from a different room intercepted the command even though my Pixel Tablet that was docked was only less than 1 foot away from me in a silent room. Eventually it corrected itself I guess because it doesn’t happen anymore. It’s frustrating as there appears to be no rhyme or reason to it.
So if you’ve never used a Google Nest Hub device before take that to consideration. My main reason for sticking with the Google Nest Hub was because I found the ability to cast video to the display with Chromecast invaluable. Unlike other mirroring solutions, which has the content playing on the host device too, Chromecast only plays the content on the display you’ve casted it to freeing up the device you’re casting it from. Now that the Pixel Tablet runs on full Android, I don’t even have to rely on Chromecast. I can play video from the apps on the tablet itself and enjoy a more reliable experience and access to more content since Chromecast is limited to apps that support it.
Camera
There is a front/selfie camera and rear camera and they’re decent. Not terrible or cheap. But also not meant for any meaningful photography by any means. The shots I took from both cameras were clear, and the colors looked accurate, but also looked soft and loses detail when zoomed it.
There is a front/selfie camera and rear camera and they’re decent. Not terrible or cheap. But also not meant for any meaningful photography by any means. The shots I took from both cameras were clear, and the colors looked accurate, but also looked soft and loses detail when zoomed it.
The front camera is great for video conferencing. It doesn’t display a lot of noise.
Both front and rear cameras take pictures in 6MP, and shoot video in 1080p.
Battery Life
While streaming video non-stop, 90% brightness, 75% volume, and occasionally opening some apps like Twitter in split window while the video was playing I got 9 hours and 49 minutes.
But realistically, no one is going to use their tablet that way, non-stop. Real life usage will last you longer than this.
While streaming video non-stop, 90% brightness, 75% volume, and occasionally opening some apps like Twitter in split window while the video was playing I got 9 hours and 49 minutes.
But realistically, no one is going to use their tablet that way, non-stop. Real life usage will last you longer than this.
While running 2 games in split window, and HDHomeRun playing TV, non-stop, I got 4 hours 25 minutes. If it were only one gaming running continuously, I’d have to imagine the battery would only last much longer.
Charging
from 0% to 100%
Dock: 3 hours 11 minutes
USB-C 45W charger: 2 hours 39 minutes
from 0% to 100%
Dock: 3 hours 11 minutes
USB-C 45W charger: 2 hours 39 minutes
So, using a 25W or better USB-C charger makes charging from 0% to 100% roughly 30 minutes faster.
The difference between a 25W and 45W charger is negligible though 45W is a hair faster. Anything above 45W has no added benefit.
The difference between a 25W and 45W charger is negligible though 45W is a hair faster. Anything above 45W has no added benefit.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Officially licensed for the PlayStation5 console, the WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe SSD for PS5 consoles allows you to store more titles with worry free installation. Instantly add up to 4TB of storage to hold more of your favorite games. With an optimized heatsink built specifically for the PS5 M.2 slot, you won~t need to worry about compatibility. Experience uninterrupted gameplay as your WD_BLACK drive runs cool with quality you can trust. The WD_BLACK SN850P NVMe SSD for PS5 consoles is certified and tested for PlayStation 5 consoles so you can store more, play more, fast.
Posted by: KusMoG
There's nothing really too complicated about this M.2 SSD. It's not just PlayStation branding on a SSD. It takes away a lot of the guesswork with compatibility for the PS5 because it's made for the PS5. It's designed with a heatsink and fits inside the PS5 with no issues.
What's impressive is the speed! Everything loads up so quickly! Unfortunately, if you're transferring games from an external drive to the SSD, it will only go as fast as the external drive, so it'll be MUCH slower and not indicative of the speed performance the SN850P delivers, so keep that in mind.
Installing games after downloading them was noticeably quicker than the stock SSD the PS5 comes with. And playing them immediately after, I didn't experience any slowdown, not even after 2 hours of continuous gameplay of Spider-Man Remastered in 4K, 120Hz VRR.
To get a better idea of the SSD's capabilities, I temporarily installed the SN850P on my desktop PC to run a CrystalDiskMark benchmark test on it. The results were surprising.
Sequential Read:
SEQ1M Q8T1: 7377.19 MB/s
SEQ128K Q32T1: 7376.76 MB/s
SEQ1M Q8T1: 7377.19 MB/s
SEQ128K Q32T1: 7376.76 MB/s
Sequential Write:
SEQ1M Q8T1: 6693.06 MB/s
SEQ128K Q32T1: 6695.91 MB/s
SEQ1M Q8T1: 6693.06 MB/s
SEQ128K Q32T1: 6695.91 MB/s
Random Read:
SEQ1M Q8T1: 4816.91 MB/s
SEQ128K Q32T1: 88.99 MB/s
SEQ1M Q8T1: 4816.91 MB/s
SEQ128K Q32T1: 88.99 MB/s
Random Write:
SEQ1M Q8T1: 4718.49 MB/s
SEQ128K Q32T1: 300.34 MB/s
SEQ1M Q8T1: 4718.49 MB/s
SEQ128K Q32T1: 300.34 MB/s
The random write speeds are fantastic! So, not just for the PS5, it makes a great M.2 SSD for a PC as well. Be aware that the heatsink is just under 0.5" so you'll need the clearance. It's also slightly wider than the average M.2 SSD because of its heatsink design. I'd say about 1mm wider.
Price competitively, will absolutely fit the PS5, and just incredibly fast, I can definitely recommend getting this SSD. I'd even go as far as recommending it for PC. The fantastic random write speeds make transferring a large size of a numerous amount of small files more speedy and less of a chore.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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TCL Q7 Class Smart TVs offers the perfect TV for fast action movies, sports, and next level gaming with QLED Quantum Dot technology and HDR ULTRA with Dolby Vision IQ you can enjoy enhanced contrast and vivid colors. TCL~s High Brightness PRO Direct LED Backlight produces up to 1,000 nits peak brightness for dazzling specular highlights, perfect for any viewing environment. Full Array PRO local dimming with up to 200+ zones adapt to on-screen content for deep blacks without image blooming powered by TCL's AIPQ Engine Gen 3, an advanced processor optimizing each scene with machine learning for an unrivaled cinematic experience. 120Hz native panel refresh rate with Motion Rate 480 focuses on best-in-class motion clarity producing smooth video playback. With TCL's Game Accelerator 240 and Auto Game Mode gameplay is blistering fast keeping you ahead of the competition. TCL Q Class Smart TVs are True Premium TVs.
Customer Rating
4
Excellent picture quality at a reasonable price
on June 14, 2023
Posted by: KusMoG
The TCL 65Q750G's picture quality is great thanks to local dimming. With local dimming it leverages the cheaper LED LCD technology to achieve the same concept as OLED by improving the contrast of blacks and dark colors. The results don't come close to OLED but it’s much less expensive.
When viewed from a close distance, using the "Apple Original Films" production splash screen's fade to black as a reference, I can still see the blacks as a very deep dark gray or faintly illuminated black. Watching the same animation on my phone and tablet, which have OLED displays, the blacks are *completely* black and it looks like the screen is turned off. There is a knock on OLED technology though besides price: it is more susceptible to screen burn in than LED LCD displays. So, with local dimming, you can achieve something similar to OLED but with worry of screen burn-in, which occurs when a pixel remains static for too long, combined with heat.
The 2 most popular formats of HDR are supported, Dolby Vision and HDR10.
The colors are vibrant, and images are clear when viewed from a distance of at least 5 feet away from the TV. It looks so good that images on the home screen look like they're painted on. 4K content looks extremely GORGEOUS! Part of what helps with this is that the screen is matte, not glossy. It will still show reflections but it's resistant to them.
When viewed from 4 feet away you begin noticing jagged edges. From 3 feet away you can start seeing individual pixels.
Non 4K content looks great on it as well thanks to the uniformity of the brightness, the color depth, and the matte display. You'll still see fuzziness though, when viewed from close proximity, and most over-the-air and live TV streaming content is still in 720p or 1080i. ATSC 3.0 (marketed under the branding "NextGen TV") supports 1080p and up to 2160p 4K/120Hz but it's bleeding edge technology and many TV stations don't support it yet. I live in NYC and to my knowledge, there is only one station that supports ATSC 3.0, and it's a Korean language station that my TV antenna isn't even able to get reception for. I see no ATSC 3.0 or NextGen TV branding for this TV anywhere, so it's probably a safe assumption that it doesn't have a ATSC 3.0 tuner.
Non 4K content looks great on it as well thanks to the uniformity of the brightness, the color depth, and the matte display. You'll still see fuzziness though, when viewed from close proximity, and most over-the-air and live TV streaming content is still in 720p or 1080i. ATSC 3.0 (marketed under the branding "NextGen TV") supports 1080p and up to 2160p 4K/120Hz but it's bleeding edge technology and many TV stations don't support it yet. I live in NYC and to my knowledge, there is only one station that supports ATSC 3.0, and it's a Korean language station that my TV antenna isn't even able to get reception for. I see no ATSC 3.0 or NextGen TV branding for this TV anywhere, so it's probably a safe assumption that it doesn't have a ATSC 3.0 tuner.
There are 4 HDMI ports, but each have specific capabilities:
Port 1: up to 4K/144Hz
Port 2: up to 4K/120Hz
Port 3: up to 4K/60Hz
Port 4: up to 4K/60Hz; is also the ARC/eARC port
Port 1: up to 4K/144Hz
Port 2: up to 4K/120Hz
Port 3: up to 4K/60Hz
Port 4: up to 4K/60Hz; is also the ARC/eARC port
It’s a shame that its ARC/eARC port is only HDMI 2.0 and only capable of up to 4K/60Hz. You can’t make use of HDMI 2.1 inputs on your AV receiver if you’re using one and get HDMI audio or HDMI-CEC for them at the same time. You’d need to plug the receiver to a HDMI 2.1 port, which doesn’t have ARC, so it won’t return sound over HDMI. To get sound, you’ll need to connect the optical port on the TV to your receiver. With this connection, you’ll lose HDMI-CEC so you can’t control the receiver’s volume with the TV’s remote.
For PC gamers, the TCL 65Q750G supports FreeSync.
The TCL 65Q750G is powered by Google TV so if you've already invested in the Android ecosystem, you may be very happy with it. It runs on TCL's AIPQ 3.0 processor. When I use the app, "DevCheck" to survey the hardware, it identifies the processor as a Mediatek MT5889, which is a 800MHz-1300MHz ARMv8 processor BUT the apps that are compatible with it are armeabi-v7a because it's a 32-bit processor. You will NOT be able to install 64-bit apps on it.
I had no issues with playing 4K Dolby Vision content with Dolby Atmos. Every app I ran on it was quick, including loading times. I didn't experience any lag with navigation inside apps. I did experience occasional lag while navigating around Google TV's home screen.
Be aware that it's a Google TV interface, which is based off Android TV, but heavily driven by promotional content, unlike a standard Android TV interface. Google TV's home screen is littered with content recommendations, that you CANNOT hide. Your personal library of apps is relegated to just a single row, with 7 app icons fully visible at one time for a total of 12 apps on that row. You have to navigate all the way to the last icon on that row to get the option to view your entire app library, and it's the only method to view it, unlike on a standard Android TV where you have a dedicated tab on the top of your home screen to view your entire library of apps. On Google TV, the Library tab only shows your purchased video content from Google's Play Store. It will NOT show your purchased apps. The Apps tab focuses on promotional video content. Your apps, just like on the home screen, is relegated to a single row of 7 app icons at a time.
If you can get past this annoyance, it's essentially Android TV natively on your TV. You won't have to select a different input. The TV input *IS* Android TV unless you select the option to set the TV up as "Basic TV" (more on this later). You'll have access to Android TV's library of apps, as well as the ability to sideload standard Android apps, which usually require the use of a keyboard and mouse to use since they're not designed for TV remote use.
The 65Q750G comes with 24GB of usable internal storage (from 32GB but 8GB is reserved for the system).
With Google TV comes Google Assistant and Chromecast built-in. There is a physical switch for the TV’s microphone (for hand-free operation) on the bottom of the TV, to the left of the multi-function power button. If you turn off the microphone via the switch it will alert with 4 bright yellow LEDs that will remain on while the microphone is off. If you have another Google Assistant device in the same room, the 65Q750G has priority and will intercept all "Hey Google" commands, while intrusively interrupting the content you're watching by muting the volume and displaying the Google Assistant overlay over what you're watching. If you don't have a Google Assistant device in your room, it's arguably convenient because now you do have one. You can control your smart home devices (like light bulbs) or ask questions with your voice.
Even if you have the TV’s microphone off, you can still use the microphone that’s on the remote.
Even if you have the TV’s microphone off, you can still use the microphone that’s on the remote.
For owners of Google Assistant devices that don't want the TV to intercept commands, pay close attention during the initial TV setup and opt NOT to set up “Hey Google” when it asks.
With Chromecast, you can cast Chromecast-enabled videos to the TV. Unlike mirroring, you don’t have to have the video playing or open on the device you’ve casted it from.
If you set the TV up as "Basic TV" as opposed to "Google TV" during the initial TV setup, you will lose access to nearly all Android TV functions. You'll only have Live TV (which is the coaxial tuner input), HDMI inputs, and the preinstalled bundle of Android TV apps to access.
Unfortunately, the 65Q750G is not compatible with Wi-Fi6 (802.11ax). For internet streaming, chances are your internet speeds won't even go as fast as Wi-Fi5 (802.11ac), never mind 6. But 6 still offers a more stable connection (particularly for distance away from router/access point), especially with multiple Wi-Fi devices in your area, so your connection reliability will only go as far as Wi-Fi5 on this TV.
There is also an ethernet port for a wired network connection.
The remote control is excellent! It's simple rectangle with curved edges that make it comfortable to hold, and lays flat on a table without wobbling. The build is a nice solid feeling plastic, and the buttons are pleasantly soft, shallow, but tactile, not gummy. The buttons on the remote are intuitive, and the branded media keys are well placed on the bottom, away from the main controls and shaped very differently so you don't accidentally press them. Every button also lights up automatically when its surroundings are dark.
The battery compartment is a simple standard slide off compartment, and holds 2 AAA batteries. The remote is operated by Bluetooth (it has infrared too but I don’t know when it’s used) so you can control the TV without being in the line of sight of the TV.
There are no dedicated media control buttons like Play, Pause, Forward/Next, or Rewind/Previous. These functions are only available on the remote via the "123" button inside apps when media is playing. Pressing this button displays on overlay on the bottom-right corner that auto-hides
after 10 seconds of inactivity. This overlay has Play, Pause, Stop, Rewind, Settings, Forward, Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue functions selectable on-display as a substitute for physical buttons on the remote.
There are no dedicated media control buttons like Play, Pause, Forward/Next, or Rewind/Previous. These functions are only available on the remote via the "123" button inside apps when media is playing. Pressing this button displays on overlay on the bottom-right corner that auto-hides
after 10 seconds of inactivity. This overlay has Play, Pause, Stop, Rewind, Settings, Forward, Red, Green, Yellow, and Blue functions selectable on-display as a substitute for physical buttons on the remote.
The TV is mountable on a VESA 300x300 mount and uses 4 x M6 18mm screws, which thankfully are a common type and length of screw easily found in hardware stores, including national chain ones like Home Depot. These screws are not included with the TV. The screws that are included are meant for the TV stand, should you choose to use them. Curiously it does come with 2 x M6 16mm screws on the top 2 mount locations. For the safety of the TV, I don't advise using them for mounting since they're shorter than 18mm.
It has a USB port that can be used for power and external USB storage BUT the port is only USB 2.0. Once again, not making it future proof. The USB 2.0 makes file transfers of large files like movies, extremely slow over a local network. You can use USB 3.0 external storage and transfer content to the drive from a capable PC, then plug it back into the TV when done, but this makes things more inconvenient.
Pros:
-Excellent picture quality, brightness, and contrast.
-Excellent backlit remote that automatically lights up when dark and makes buttons look clearly and legible.
-Google TV includes Google Assistant, Chromecast, and a vast library of apps from the Google Play Store
-Excellent picture quality, brightness, and contrast.
-Excellent backlit remote that automatically lights up when dark and makes buttons look clearly and legible.
-Google TV includes Google Assistant, Chromecast, and a vast library of apps from the Google Play Store
Cons:
-ARC/eARC port is HDMI 2.0 so inputs from a receiver is limited to 4K/60Hz if you want HDMI audio and HDMI-CEC for them
-USB port is only USB 2.0
-Lack of options to customize home screen to show your content/apps
-ARC/eARC port is HDMI 2.0 so inputs from a receiver is limited to 4K/60Hz if you want HDMI audio and HDMI-CEC for them
-USB port is only USB 2.0
-Lack of options to customize home screen to show your content/apps
I would recommend this to a friend!
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MX Keys S Logitech Wireless Keyboard ~ a low-profile full-size keyboard that offers a fluid, precise typing experience and customizable, time-saving Smart Actions that automate your most repetitive tasks with a single keystroke. The backlit keyboard features smart backlighting that lights up when your hands approach it and automatically adjusts to suit the time of day.
Posted by: KusMoG
16.75 x 5 x .25" (front) / .75" (back)
1 lbs 12 ounces
1 lbs 12 ounces
The MX Keys S keyboard is nearly identical to the MX Keys and even moreso to the MX Keys for Business since that version used the Bolt receiver instead of Logitech's older less reliable Unifying receiver.
It does come with an upgrade that will make you willing to trade up if you're already an owner of one of them.
And if you're not, with the MX Keys S, this is one I can finally recommend getting. I'm not going to bury the lede. I'm going to straight to it.
The MX Keys S finally allows Backlighting customization. This is what many, myself included, have been waiting for. Asking for. BEGGING for. It's not perfect, and I'm betting it will still anger some with the way Logitech settled. But it will work for most.
It does come with an upgrade that will make you willing to trade up if you're already an owner of one of them.
And if you're not, with the MX Keys S, this is one I can finally recommend getting. I'm not going to bury the lede. I'm going to straight to it.
The MX Keys S finally allows Backlighting customization. This is what many, myself included, have been waiting for. Asking for. BEGGING for. It's not perfect, and I'm betting it will still anger some with the way Logitech settled. But it will work for most.
With the Options+ software the MX Keys S allows you to keep the backlighting on for up to 30 minutes. And THANKFULLY, it's very generous with the customization of backlight's duration. You adjust the backlight duration using a slider and from 5 to 60 seconds, the selections are 5 seconds apart. From 1 minute to 30 minutes, the selections are 1 minute apart.
With this, you can combat the finicky behavior of the proxity sensor and eliminate the flashing. The proximity sensor will only come to play to wake the keyboard after a lengthy period of time of your choosing (up to 30 minutes) instead of relying on it to detect activity while you're in the middle of typing.
There is no "Always On" option unfortunately. Not even for while the keyboard is plugged in and charging.
There's also a caveat to this setting: When plugged into USB C, the MX Keys S ignores this setting and will automatically hibernate after 5 minutes of inactivity. The proximity sensor will turn off. To wake the keyboard back up, you would need to press a key on the keyboard.
It's a step in the right direction. Logitech's other full sized wireless backlight keyboard, the K800, never had it this good.
With this, you can combat the finicky behavior of the proxity sensor and eliminate the flashing. The proximity sensor will only come to play to wake the keyboard after a lengthy period of time of your choosing (up to 30 minutes) instead of relying on it to detect activity while you're in the middle of typing.
There is no "Always On" option unfortunately. Not even for while the keyboard is plugged in and charging.
There's also a caveat to this setting: When plugged into USB C, the MX Keys S ignores this setting and will automatically hibernate after 5 minutes of inactivity. The proximity sensor will turn off. To wake the keyboard back up, you would need to press a key on the keyboard.
It's a step in the right direction. Logitech's other full sized wireless backlight keyboard, the K800, never had it this good.
You can toggle backlighting on or off.
You can also toggle Automatic Brightness.
With Automatic Brightness on, MX Keys S will manage the brightness according to the amount of light in your environment.
With Automatic Brightness off, you have the option of setting the brightness to one of its 7 levels of brightness. And the MX Keys S gets very bright. For comparison, somewhere between the MX Keys S's level 2 and 3 brightness is the max brightness of Logitech's K740. Unlike with my old K740, the lowest brightness on the MX Keys S is very usable. But I prefer mine on level 2. Besides being close to the max brightness of my K740, it lessens the intensity of the light bleed that you get coming from underneath the keys of the MX Keys S. If your keyboard on a surface low enough and easily looking over the keys, the light bleed won't be a problem at all. But I have a tall desk, where the surface is almost up to my chest. Because of this, I can see the gaps underneath the keys, hence the distracting light bleed.
With Automatic Brightness on, MX Keys S will manage the brightness according to the amount of light in your environment.
With Automatic Brightness off, you have the option of setting the brightness to one of its 7 levels of brightness. And the MX Keys S gets very bright. For comparison, somewhere between the MX Keys S's level 2 and 3 brightness is the max brightness of Logitech's K740. Unlike with my old K740, the lowest brightness on the MX Keys S is very usable. But I prefer mine on level 2. Besides being close to the max brightness of my K740, it lessens the intensity of the light bleed that you get coming from underneath the keys of the MX Keys S. If your keyboard on a surface low enough and easily looking over the keys, the light bleed won't be a problem at all. But I have a tall desk, where the surface is almost up to my chest. Because of this, I can see the gaps underneath the keys, hence the distracting light bleed.
You can toggle the Battery saving mode. When enabled, this automatically turns off backlighting when the battery level drops below 10%.
Finally with the Options+ backlight settings, there is a Reset Backlighting button to restore the backlight settings back to the factory settings.
Unlike the original retail version of MX Keys, the MX Keys S is finally running off of the Bolt USB receiver. Despite it being compatible with bluetooth, the USB receiver is a preferred option for desktop users because BIOS cannot recognize bluetooth devices. Of course, Logitech already has something similar to Bolt with its Unifying receiver, but the technology is so old, and susceptible to interference in certain environments. Bolt is based on the newer Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 standard operating on a different set of channels, which helps combat the already congested 2.4 GHz spectrum that's home to microwave ovens, phones, wifi signals, etc. Unifying will eventually become obsolete and be replaced by Bolt as no newly released devices are using it.
Everything else the MX Keys S has to offer is about the same as its original. The form factor and size is the same. It's low profile with no wrist rest, so it may be uncomfortable or take some getting used to for some. If you've used Apple's Magic Keyboard, you know exactly what you're in for. Of course a wrist rest can be bought, including one from Logitech specifically for the MX Keys but keep in mind, that also takes away part of what makes the MX Keys series attractive: it doesn't take up a lot of space.
The build of the MX Keys S is made of plastic but with how sturdy the base feels, you would think it's metal. It's not. It's a very hard premium plastic. However, it's lined on the outside with a thinner plastic that isn't as sturdy. In some areas of the lining, when I'm squeezing it from holding the keyboard, it creaks.
Fortunately the keys are atop the sturdy plastic so you never get any creaking noise while typing on it. In fact, the keys are pretty quiet. Some will say silent, but I perceive silence as no noise. You can still hear the keys while typing. But it's very quiet. The travel on the keys is great for typing with a satisfying tactile response. It's good enough for gaming too but clearly nowhere near the kind of tactile response you'd get from a mechanical keyboard.
Fortunately the keys are atop the sturdy plastic so you never get any creaking noise while typing on it. In fact, the keys are pretty quiet. Some will say silent, but I perceive silence as no noise. You can still hear the keys while typing. But it's very quiet. The travel on the keys is great for typing with a satisfying tactile response. It's good enough for gaming too but clearly nowhere near the kind of tactile response you'd get from a mechanical keyboard.
In its effort to accomodate use across multiple devices it compromises its layout:
-For Windows, the MX Keys S is missing the Print Screen and Pause/Break keys. You can program these funtions to any of its 17 programmable keys using the Options+ app but out of the box, these buttons do not exist.
This is a huge problem for users that rely on those keys and work with computers where they're not allowed to install software on them. Logitech made the curiously poor decision of mapping its Screen capturing key specifically to Windows' Snipping Tool app. So without Options+ you can't perform the Print Screen function or have apps map to the print screen key because it doesn't exist on the MX Keys S. There is also no Pause/Break key, which can be a hassle for programmers and terminal users. Logitech's out of the box workaround shortcut for this function is pressing Fn + B.
While you can program both functions with Options+, the software doesn't even list either function in a way that's intuitive.
If you try to map Print Screen to a key, Print Screen isn't among one of the selectable options on Options+. It's listed as "Screen capture". It makes sense, but there's already been a name for it since forever. By listing it as Screen capture, it's not clear if it's the Print Screen key function or another Screen capturing function the way the default function opens Windows' Snipping Tool.
The Pause/Break function is completely absent from its list. You need select "keyboard shortcut" when mapping the key and use Fn+B as the keyboard shortcut. When you do, you'll see that Options+ recognizes the shortcut you entered as "Break".
But again, this is only possible with the Options+ app installed. Out of the box, these keys do NOT exist.
-For macOS, to the right of the space bar are the Command, Fn, and Option keys, in that order. Whereas the traditional Mac keyboard layout goes: Command, Option, Control.
The MX Keys S, like Logitech's Master MX mice series, can pair with up to 3 compatible devices by either Bolt or bluetooth. Switching between devices is as easy as pressing the numbered device button on the keyboard.
If you have a mouse that's compatible with Logitech Flow you can link that mouse to MX Keys S in the Options+ app. With Logitech Flow, you can operate your paired computers with the same mouse like a multi-monitor setup. The mouse seamlessly moves across the screen to the next paired device as if they were the same computer. And you can arrange them like monitors within Options+. The clipboard is also shared. With MX Keys linked to the mouse, it will automatically switch devices (no matter the OS) to the same one as the mouse without needing to press the device key.
With the Options+ app, you can map the 17 programmable keys per application as well.
Something that's currently in beta is "Smart Actions", which are basically macros programmed with If this then that instructions, similar to Samsung's Routines. You'll be able to assign these Smart Actions you create to keys. Conditional triggers will range from Application, Device, and System but they're presently not all available yet.
-For Windows, the MX Keys S is missing the Print Screen and Pause/Break keys. You can program these funtions to any of its 17 programmable keys using the Options+ app but out of the box, these buttons do not exist.
This is a huge problem for users that rely on those keys and work with computers where they're not allowed to install software on them. Logitech made the curiously poor decision of mapping its Screen capturing key specifically to Windows' Snipping Tool app. So without Options+ you can't perform the Print Screen function or have apps map to the print screen key because it doesn't exist on the MX Keys S. There is also no Pause/Break key, which can be a hassle for programmers and terminal users. Logitech's out of the box workaround shortcut for this function is pressing Fn + B.
While you can program both functions with Options+, the software doesn't even list either function in a way that's intuitive.
If you try to map Print Screen to a key, Print Screen isn't among one of the selectable options on Options+. It's listed as "Screen capture". It makes sense, but there's already been a name for it since forever. By listing it as Screen capture, it's not clear if it's the Print Screen key function or another Screen capturing function the way the default function opens Windows' Snipping Tool.
The Pause/Break function is completely absent from its list. You need select "keyboard shortcut" when mapping the key and use Fn+B as the keyboard shortcut. When you do, you'll see that Options+ recognizes the shortcut you entered as "Break".
But again, this is only possible with the Options+ app installed. Out of the box, these keys do NOT exist.
-For macOS, to the right of the space bar are the Command, Fn, and Option keys, in that order. Whereas the traditional Mac keyboard layout goes: Command, Option, Control.
The MX Keys S, like Logitech's Master MX mice series, can pair with up to 3 compatible devices by either Bolt or bluetooth. Switching between devices is as easy as pressing the numbered device button on the keyboard.
If you have a mouse that's compatible with Logitech Flow you can link that mouse to MX Keys S in the Options+ app. With Logitech Flow, you can operate your paired computers with the same mouse like a multi-monitor setup. The mouse seamlessly moves across the screen to the next paired device as if they were the same computer. And you can arrange them like monitors within Options+. The clipboard is also shared. With MX Keys linked to the mouse, it will automatically switch devices (no matter the OS) to the same one as the mouse without needing to press the device key.
With the Options+ app, you can map the 17 programmable keys per application as well.
Something that's currently in beta is "Smart Actions", which are basically macros programmed with If this then that instructions, similar to Samsung's Routines. You'll be able to assign these Smart Actions you create to keys. Conditional triggers will range from Application, Device, and System but they're presently not all available yet.
Battery life is advertisted to last for 10 days with the backlight on its default settings:
30 second backlight duration, Automatic brightness on, battery saving mode on.
With backlight off, it's 5 months.
I haven't had the time to test it but it seems feasible from my short testing of the default settings. It stayed at 100% then at 95% for several hours.
What I did test was battery life with the max settings. Max brightness (level 7), 30 minute brightness duration, battery saver disabled. It lasted about 24 hours on continuous use; a little over 24 in real time when I went out to eat for breakfast and lunch, and slept for 5 hours.
30 second backlight duration, Automatic brightness on, battery saving mode on.
With backlight off, it's 5 months.
I haven't had the time to test it but it seems feasible from my short testing of the default settings. It stayed at 100% then at 95% for several hours.
What I did test was battery life with the max settings. Max brightness (level 7), 30 minute brightness duration, battery saver disabled. It lasted about 24 hours on continuous use; a little over 24 in real time when I went out to eat for breakfast and lunch, and slept for 5 hours.
Charging the MX Keys S from 0% to 100% took about 4 hours (3 hours and 57 minutes) using my 100W laptop charger. So there's no fast charging. It won't take advantage of higher wattage adapters.
You can use the keyboard while it's charging but the USB cable is for charging only. It's not transporting data or operating as a wired keyboard. It's still running wirelessly while charging.
You can use the keyboard while it's charging but the USB cable is for charging only. It's not transporting data or operating as a wired keyboard. It's still running wirelessly while charging.
As far as portability goes, while its minimalist design makes it really slim, it's relatively heavy from the materials and battery. Due to its length, it will only fit lengthwise inside a laptop bag made for a 17" laptop.
Now that we're able to extend the backlight duration for longer than 5 seconds, I can safely recommend the MX Keys S. This is the keyboard most of us have been waiting for. But Logitech shouldn't stop here. We need always on backlighting while the keyboard is charging, PLEASE!
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Experience breathtaking 8K video and immersive 3D audio with our new 7.2-channel 8K receiver. Enjoy space-filling sound from your 7.2 or 5.2.2 setup with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. It~s easy to enjoy all your content with Works with SONOS, Chromecast Built-in, Apple AirPlay, and Spotify Connect~all via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
Customer Rating
3
Great sound, but characteristics of cheap receiver
on April 5, 2023
Posted by: KusMoG
My speaker setup (5.1):
2 x Pioneer SP-FS52 for front left and right (6Ω, 130W)
Pioneer SP-C22 for center (6Ω, 90W)
2 x Logitech Z-5500's individual speakers for rear left and right (8Ω, 69W)
Pioneer SW-8MKS subwoofer (100W)
2 x Pioneer SP-FS52 for front left and right (6Ω, 130W)
Pioneer SP-C22 for center (6Ω, 90W)
2 x Logitech Z-5500's individual speakers for rear left and right (8Ω, 69W)
Pioneer SW-8MKS subwoofer (100W)
I used the Sony STR-AN1000 to replace my previous AV receiver for the HDMI input upgrades because this receiver supports 8k, variable refresh rate, and auto low latency mode, whereas my old one didn't. That's the bad thing about receivers: they can sound amazing as the day you got them for years since amplifier and speaker technology haven't made dramatic advancements over the years but it's things like audio/video formats that have.
The STR-AN1000 is capable of up to:
-7.2 speaker setup
-5.2.2 speaker setup for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X (height speakers)
-5.2 wireless speaker setup (cannot add height speakers, so no Dolby Atmos when wireless speakers are used)
-7.2 speaker setup
-5.2.2 speaker setup for Dolby Atmos and DTS:X (height speakers)
-5.2 wireless speaker setup (cannot add height speakers, so no Dolby Atmos when wireless speakers are used)
They're compatible with Sony’s SA-RS3S & SA-RS5 wireless rear speakers and SA-SW3 & SASW5 wireless subwoofers.
There are 6 HDMI inputs, but only 2 with HDMI 2.1 support, which is responsible for 8K, variable refresh rate, auto low latency mode, and reliable 4k 120Hz with HDR. So it's not exactly future-proof. I learned that the hard way when I had a receiver that had only 2 inputs with HDMI 2.0 and the other 4 were HDMI 1.4. But HDR quickly became mainstream and my receiver quickly became obsolete as I had more HDR-capable devices than I had inputs. So consider that.
There are 2 HDMI outputs which allows a multi-zone setup.
Also in the rear you'll find an FM antenna input, a coaxial input, 3 composite inputs, a Toslink/optical input, an, an Ethernet port, 2 wifi antennas, and a IR remote in and out ports.
I've tried to make use of the IR Remote in port but never got it to work, even when using an IR repeater with an external power source.
The speaker connections can be done by screw (with the standard attached red/black knobs, not actual screws) or by banana plug. Impedance is 6-16Ω.
There are 2 HDMI outputs which allows a multi-zone setup.
Also in the rear you'll find an FM antenna input, a coaxial input, 3 composite inputs, a Toslink/optical input, an, an Ethernet port, 2 wifi antennas, and a IR remote in and out ports.
I've tried to make use of the IR Remote in port but never got it to work, even when using an IR repeater with an external power source.
The speaker connections can be done by screw (with the standard attached red/black knobs, not actual screws) or by banana plug. Impedance is 6-16Ω.
On the front panel there is a 1/4" headphone out jack, and a USB port (5V, 1A) which you can plug in USB storage to play audio media with the receiver's USB file explorer. It's not capable of playing video from USB storage.
There is a 1/8" calibration mic port.
There is a 1/8" calibration mic port.
There are also glaring omissions:
-There is no front HDMI input. I miss this DEARLY as it is a pain to get to the back of my receiver given how heavy the receiver is and not a lot of arm room or light in my home theater stand shelf. I would use this to plug in my laptop, gaming devices that I don't use full time, and digital cameras.
-There is no phono input. So if you plug in a turntable you won't be able to hear the sound as it'll be a whisper. You'll need to purchase a separate phono preamp for it.
-No AM antenna input. So no AM radio.
-No component video input.
-There is no front HDMI input. I miss this DEARLY as it is a pain to get to the back of my receiver given how heavy the receiver is and not a lot of arm room or light in my home theater stand shelf. I would use this to plug in my laptop, gaming devices that I don't use full time, and digital cameras.
-There is no phono input. So if you plug in a turntable you won't be able to hear the sound as it'll be a whisper. You'll need to purchase a separate phono preamp for it.
-No AM antenna input. So no AM radio.
-No component video input.
The STR-AN1000 sound just as amazing as my previous receiver it replaces with my 5.1 setup. But keep in mind a receiver alone won't work miracles if you don't have decent speakers. It's like having an expensive graphics card for a computer but a cheap monitor with bad viewing angles and low resolution. The graphics card can't help your monitor's deficiencies. And the STR-AN1000 can't help a bad set of speakers sound great.
With my speaker setup, it was plenty loud for regular listening with the volume at 23 (out of a max of 74). At max volume, the sound was still clear and clean.
With my speaker setup, it was plenty loud for regular listening with the volume at 23 (out of a max of 74). At max volume, the sound was still clear and clean.
Calibration was easy. The included calibration mic comes with a plastic stand, which is a whole lot better than the paper stands I've been used to with Audyssey calibration.
Movies sound *incredible* with the STR-AN1000 from just 5.1 sound alone. Again, you need a decent set of speakers to unlock the receiver's potential. The rear speakers have clear presence.
Unfortunately I didn't have a source with IMAX audio to test that. I also don't
Unfortunately I didn't have a source with IMAX audio to test that. I also don't
There is a 360 Spatial Sound Mapping (360SSM) feature expands a stereo sound signal to use all your speakers and output them in a way that sounds immersive but in many cases unrealistic. Like, when I'm watching baseball, when it switches to show the announcers in the play-by-play booth, their voices are coming from all over my speakers when they should just be in front of me. It's great for music though, and if you want that encompassing immersive sound. Be aware though, this mode is nothing like 360 Reality Audio, which offers actual discrete sound spacing.
It's terrible for movies because it has no regard for realistic spacing. But 360SSM isn't supported when in Dolby or DTS mode which is what you'll typically use for movies anyway.
It's terrible for movies because it has no regard for realistic spacing. But 360SSM isn't supported when in Dolby or DTS mode which is what you'll typically use for movies anyway.
There is a 3 month free trial coupon to a single service that offers 360 Reality Audio, with the most well known services being Amazon Music and Tidal.
Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music do NOT support Sony's 360 Reality Audio.
I opted for Tidal with my free trial since they offer master quality audio with their service, along with 360 Reality Audio, and Dolby Atmos audio.
Now THIS is where the 360 audio magic happens. I listened to both of Dua Lipa's studio albums in the 360 Reality Audio-encoded format on Tidal and they sound *amazing* particularly because you can hear the audio clearly spaced out by location. The singing is in front of me. Certain instruments to the left. Others to the right. Specific echo effects coming in from the rear. It's like surround sound with movies, but for music. The sound placement effects sound mastered with intent instead of just having sound all around you like the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping. Thanks to the 360 Reality Audio's sound spacing I'm able to hear more detail then in songs that I never heard before because they get muddled within the layers of sound in the traditional stereo format.
Here's the problem: 360 Reality Audio is behind a paywall of the service's highest tier. There is no standalone offline file format for 360 Reality Audio. They're tied to specific streaming services.
And there is a VERY limited catalog of 360 Reality Audio-encoded music. So it may definitively not be for you if none of your favorite artists or music are even produced in 360 Reality Audio.
When my trial is up, I won't resume my subscription because there is way too little of the music I like available for it, especially with hip hop.
Spotify, YouTube Music, and Apple Music do NOT support Sony's 360 Reality Audio.
I opted for Tidal with my free trial since they offer master quality audio with their service, along with 360 Reality Audio, and Dolby Atmos audio.
Now THIS is where the 360 audio magic happens. I listened to both of Dua Lipa's studio albums in the 360 Reality Audio-encoded format on Tidal and they sound *amazing* particularly because you can hear the audio clearly spaced out by location. The singing is in front of me. Certain instruments to the left. Others to the right. Specific echo effects coming in from the rear. It's like surround sound with movies, but for music. The sound placement effects sound mastered with intent instead of just having sound all around you like the 360 Spatial Sound Mapping. Thanks to the 360 Reality Audio's sound spacing I'm able to hear more detail then in songs that I never heard before because they get muddled within the layers of sound in the traditional stereo format.
Here's the problem: 360 Reality Audio is behind a paywall of the service's highest tier. There is no standalone offline file format for 360 Reality Audio. They're tied to specific streaming services.
And there is a VERY limited catalog of 360 Reality Audio-encoded music. So it may definitively not be for you if none of your favorite artists or music are even produced in 360 Reality Audio.
When my trial is up, I won't resume my subscription because there is way too little of the music I like available for it, especially with hip hop.
The STR-AN1000 supports Spotify, and the 360 Reality Audio provider services- Amazon Music, nugs.net, and TIDAL but not natively. You need a device with its app to cast to the receiver to make use of the aforementioned services.
It also supports Chromecast audio as well as bluetooth audio.
As far as terrestrial radio goes, it only supports FM radio. It allows up to 30 presets, all of which you can rename manually. It's unable to pull radio station names from the internet despite being connected to the internet. The default names are FM 1, FM 2, and so on.
Tuning to a radio station is a nightmare because you can't speed through the station numbers. When you hold down the button to find a station it will automatically stop at each and every station it finds, so you have to press and hold the button again and again until you get to the station you want.
It also supports Chromecast audio as well as bluetooth audio.
As far as terrestrial radio goes, it only supports FM radio. It allows up to 30 presets, all of which you can rename manually. It's unable to pull radio station names from the internet despite being connected to the internet. The default names are FM 1, FM 2, and so on.
Tuning to a radio station is a nightmare because you can't speed through the station numbers. When you hold down the button to find a station it will automatically stop at each and every station it finds, so you have to press and hold the button again and again until you get to the station you want.
The remote itself is pretty horrible. Its line of sight is terrible with a seemingly low angle range for its IR sensor. I had to purchase an IR repeater for the first time ever so I'm able to use the remote outside of its sensor's limited range. Even then, the my IR repeater wouldn't work when I plugged it into the STR-AN1000's IR in port as per the manual. My IR repeater uses an external power source since I anticipated the receiver's IR port being passive (not active like cable set top boxes). Using an external power source still did no good. So in the end, I used the old fashioned, stick an IR emitter in front of the IR sensor method to repeat the IR signal.
The problems with the remote don't end there. Volume control is also terrible. If you hold down volume up or down to quickly change volume, it will initially change the volume from 7 to 14 steps (it's inconsistent when held down) then STOP. Then resume changing the volume until you let go of the button. Why did Sony have the remote stop in the MIDDLE of changing the volume while the button is held down? It's so stupid and annoying! Because of this, sometimes I find it quicker to either rapidly tap on the volume up/down button to change the volume, or go to the volume dial in front of the receiver to quickly change the volume.
The problems with the remote don't end there. Volume control is also terrible. If you hold down volume up or down to quickly change volume, it will initially change the volume from 7 to 14 steps (it's inconsistent when held down) then STOP. Then resume changing the volume until you let go of the button. Why did Sony have the remote stop in the MIDDLE of changing the volume while the button is held down? It's so stupid and annoying! Because of this, sometimes I find it quicker to either rapidly tap on the volume up/down button to change the volume, or go to the volume dial in front of the receiver to quickly change the volume.
Another annoying thing about this unit is that it runs warmer (at times hot) than any receiver I've ever owned, even while it's turned "off" (on standby)! And generated heat means electricity usage. And this is with a 6" height clearance in my home theater stand. You'll definitely need the clearance because if you don't, considering how warm it gets, you may end up damaging it over time without proper ventilation.
As good as the STR-AN1000 sounds, it's not competitively priced for what it's lacking. My old receiver sounded just as great with a lot of the same features, such a Chromecast audio, and some that the STR-AN1000 is missing like phono, and a front HDMI aux input for nearly half the price. It just didn't have the HDMI 2.1 support. Unless you're sold on Sony's 360 spatial sound mapping and their 360 Reality Audio format, you're better off with another receiver that has the features that the STR-AN1000 has AND lacks while still sounding just as good.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Customer Rating
4
Powerful laptop best with Samsung phone/tablets
on April 1, 2023
Posted by: KusMoG
-Build & Design-
Its design is a very pleasing understated look of space gray.
It feels very solid, and largely has no flexing, except for the bottom where it’s a cover that can be unscrewed to access the internal part. It is most vulnerable around the speaker grills, where my Book3 Ultra has begun creaking when pressure is applied near the left speaker grill.
You can feel some heft to it, but at the same time, it’s light for a laptop of its class- 16” with a discrete GPU.
It's also really slim, with it being just a bit taller than half and inch with the lid closed at 5/8”.
Its design is a very pleasing understated look of space gray.
It feels very solid, and largely has no flexing, except for the bottom where it’s a cover that can be unscrewed to access the internal part. It is most vulnerable around the speaker grills, where my Book3 Ultra has begun creaking when pressure is applied near the left speaker grill.
You can feel some heft to it, but at the same time, it’s light for a laptop of its class- 16” with a discrete GPU.
It's also really slim, with it being just a bit taller than half and inch with the lid closed at 5/8”.
The display is prone to wobbling while typing but in actual use, it’s barely noticeable. However, the wobbling DOES become an issue if you plan to type while using the camera. If you’re in the middle of a video call and need to type during it, even on a flat hard surface, you will appear shaky.
The display is hard glass, so it’s similar to a phone or tablet’s display. The display bezels are relatively thin at about 1mm except for the bottom, which is about 1 inch.
The display is hard glass, so it’s similar to a phone or tablet’s display. The display bezels are relatively thin at about 1mm except for the bottom, which is about 1 inch.
The keyboard is full sized, except for the numpad which have slightly slimmer keys. The numpad may be an issue for users that frequently use it for computations since the /,*,+,- keys are awkwardly placed.
The keys are easy to read and brightly backlit with 3 levels of brightness.
They keys are shallow but have decent tactile feedback. I found it fine for typing. They just won’t satisfy serious keyboard gamers because there’s so little travel.
The keys are easy to read and brightly backlit with 3 levels of brightness.
They keys are shallow but have decent tactile feedback. I found it fine for typing. They just won’t satisfy serious keyboard gamers because there’s so little travel.
The fingerprint reader on the power button is extremely fast and accurate. You also will not accidently press the power button because it is shallower than the other keys and needs a very deliberate press. I can rest my finger on it comfortably with NO worry of accidentally pressing it.
Windows 11 allows you to register multiple fingerprints. I was able to register all 10 of my fingers.
Windows 11 allows you to register multiple fingerprints. I was able to register all 10 of my fingers.
The touchpad is 5 7/8”x 4 ¼” making it larger than average. It’s also off-center because of the numpad. I thought it would bother me, but it being centered with the QWERTY portion of the keyboard does help with my touch typing since I can rest my hands normally without accidentally triggering the touchpad.
The touchpad is smooth and silent; no loose sounding parts.
However, you cannot do physical clicks on the top 1” of the touchpad. It just will not press.
The touchpad is smooth and silent; no loose sounding parts.
However, you cannot do physical clicks on the top 1” of the touchpad. It just will not press.
-Display-
It is a 2880 x 1800 AMOLED display. The blacks appear true black. I had a YouTube video end in a black screen and I thought the laptop went to sleep. Turns out it was still on.
The screen is pretty reflective since it’s a glossy display, but it hasn’t bothered me as much as I thought it would.
HDR on it looks beautiful but for me the default colors are way too saturated. You can change the screen mode with the Samsung Settings app. I’ve found the “Photo editing (Adobe RGB)” works best for me but there is also the more muted “Natural (sRGB)” mode and a “Movie (DCI-P3)” mode. “Auto” mode, which is supposed to switch the screen mode depending on content, and Samsung’s signature Vivid mode, round out the other options.
There’s a HDR+ option to brighten the screen though this does affect the look of the color profile making the lighting look bluer.
It is a 2880 x 1800 AMOLED display. The blacks appear true black. I had a YouTube video end in a black screen and I thought the laptop went to sleep. Turns out it was still on.
The screen is pretty reflective since it’s a glossy display, but it hasn’t bothered me as much as I thought it would.
HDR on it looks beautiful but for me the default colors are way too saturated. You can change the screen mode with the Samsung Settings app. I’ve found the “Photo editing (Adobe RGB)” works best for me but there is also the more muted “Natural (sRGB)” mode and a “Movie (DCI-P3)” mode. “Auto” mode, which is supposed to switch the screen mode depending on content, and Samsung’s signature Vivid mode, round out the other options.
There’s a HDR+ option to brighten the screen though this does affect the look of the color profile making the lighting look bluer.
-Sound-
The speakers are side-firing and sound loud and clear enough even without Dolby Atmos or an equalizer on. In a quiet room, volume at 13 is comfortable enough for me to hear. With Dolby Atmos on, not only can the speakers sound louder, it also expands the sound stage. I tend to keep it off though because sometimes it sounds too unnatural to me. Unfortunately, it’s lacking in bass with or without Atmos.
The microphone uses Intel’s Smart Sound which impressively eliminates all background noise. I’m able to clap and have the tv on in the background and they won’t be heard in my audio or video recordings; just my voice. You can turn this off in the settings if you want background noise recorded.
The speakers are side-firing and sound loud and clear enough even without Dolby Atmos or an equalizer on. In a quiet room, volume at 13 is comfortable enough for me to hear. With Dolby Atmos on, not only can the speakers sound louder, it also expands the sound stage. I tend to keep it off though because sometimes it sounds too unnatural to me. Unfortunately, it’s lacking in bass with or without Atmos.
The microphone uses Intel’s Smart Sound which impressively eliminates all background noise. I’m able to clap and have the tv on in the background and they won’t be heard in my audio or video recordings; just my voice. You can turn this off in the settings if you want background noise recorded.
-Camera-
Pretty mediocre. It’s not good in low lighting producing a blurry image. The images appear soft even under good lighting.
Video suffers from the same issue, made worse by the wobbly screen which will come through in your recorded videos, if it wobbles.
Pretty mediocre. It’s not good in low lighting producing a blurry image. The images appear soft even under good lighting.
Video suffers from the same issue, made worse by the wobbly screen which will come through in your recorded videos, if it wobbles.
-Ports/Slots/Expansion-
There are 2 Thunderbolt 4 (which is USB 4 compatible)/USB-C ports and a full-sized HDMI 2.0 port on the left side of the laptop. Either of the 2 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports can be used for power.
There are 2 Thunderbolt 4 (which is USB 4 compatible)/USB-C ports and a full-sized HDMI 2.0 port on the left side of the laptop. Either of the 2 Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports can be used for power.
On the right is a 3.5 mm audio in/out combo jack, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, and a microSD slot.
It’s a shame there isn’t a USB-C port on the right side because then you’d be able to charge the laptop from either side. Since I’m right-handed, I also found it inconvenient to plug in USB-C cables. I have to be careful that I don’t scratch the laptop trying to find the port with my left hand.
It’s a shame there isn’t a USB-C port on the right side because then you’d be able to charge the laptop from either side. Since I’m right-handed, I also found it inconvenient to plug in USB-C cables. I have to be careful that I don’t scratch the laptop trying to find the port with my left hand.
It's not HDMI 2.1 so 8K resolution is not supported, nor will any other future technologies that require 2.1.
The microSD reader is a spring-loaded push slot. When a card is inserted, nothing protrudes out of the laptop. It sits completely flush.
I think I was a poor decision to go with microSD instead of a full sized SD because most creators with high end cameras use SD cards. You can easily use a microSD to SD adapter, which some microSD cards tend to include for free and leave it inside the laptop if you mainly use microSD.
The microSD card reader doesn’t appear to be capped, as I was getting max UHS-I read and write speeds with my SanDisk Extreme microSD card.
The bottom of the laptop is a cover that can be unscrewed. The screws are underneath the rubber feet.
With the cover off you’ll have access to the inside of the laptop where you’ll find 2 m.2 slots; one with the included 1TB SSD, and the other is empty.
With the cover off you’ll have access to the inside of the laptop where you’ll find 2 m.2 slots; one with the included 1TB SSD, and the other is empty.
RAM is NOT expandable.
-Battery/Power-
On a set 120Hz refresh rate with HDR on, with web browsing, MS Word, and light video watching (less than 30 minutes total) I got a screen on time of about 4 hours.
On a set 120Hz refresh rate with HDR on, with web browsing, MS Word, and light video watching (less than 30 minutes total) I got a screen on time of about 4 hours.
On 60Hz, HDR off, I got 6 hours of screen on time.
It comes with a 100W USB-C charger. Thanks to it being USB-C, you’re not tied to proprietary chargers. In fact, I was able to charge with my 65W charger while working. It just charges slower than the stock 100W.
Charging the laptop from 0% to 100% took me 1 hour, 14 minutes.
One huge problem is, the charger isn’t powerful enough to charge the laptop when used in High Performance Mode. So the battery will always drain when you’re trying to use the laptop to its full potential, particularly with gaming, which uses the discrete GPU. It’s expected as Samsung warns you about battery drain in High Performance mode in its Settings.
-Performance-
It uses the latest generation of Intel’s processors, a 13th Gen i7-13700H.
The 1TB SSD is plenty fast with sequential reads of 6600 MB/s and sequential writes of 4900 MB/s.
Startup time from power off to Windows desktop-
using power button: 16 seconds.
lifting the lid with Auto booting on: 18 seconds.
It uses the latest generation of Intel’s processors, a 13th Gen i7-13700H.
The 1TB SSD is plenty fast with sequential reads of 6600 MB/s and sequential writes of 4900 MB/s.
Startup time from power off to Windows desktop-
using power button: 16 seconds.
lifting the lid with Auto booting on: 18 seconds.
Surprisingly I never felt any performance drop from thermal throttling, even while gaming in High Performance mode with maximum settings.
Loading Photoshop and Premiere Pro both took 7 seconds each.
Working with both was a breeze with no slow down. With Premiere Pro, I always found it useful to change the Performance Mode (accessible via the Quick Settings icon in the system tray) to High Performance when exporting because it does shorten the time to complete.
Loading Photoshop and Premiere Pro both took 7 seconds each.
Working with both was a breeze with no slow down. With Premiere Pro, I always found it useful to change the Performance Mode (accessible via the Quick Settings icon in the system tray) to High Performance when exporting because it does shorten the time to complete.
Gaming was the complete surprise. I was able to run Shadow of the Tomb Raider with its highest preset setting in its native 3k resolution and still get over 60fps frame rates. In fact, I’m able to get 60fps with the game in near max custom settings.
The huge caveat is gaming needs to be played on High Performance mode to get the best settings. On Optimized, it’s 1080p gaming. And on battery it’s 720 with the lowest settings. This laptop was not meant for graphically demanding games to be played on battery.
While playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on max settings plugged into power, I got about 10%-15% battery drain per hour.
The huge caveat is gaming needs to be played on High Performance mode to get the best settings. On Optimized, it’s 1080p gaming. And on battery it’s 720 with the lowest settings. This laptop was not meant for graphically demanding games to be played on battery.
While playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider on max settings plugged into power, I got about 10%-15% battery drain per hour.
-Samsung features/software-
The only real bloatware preinstalled is McAfee. The rest is Samsung software where bloatware is subjective. The problem is a lot of Samsung’s apps don’t offer a uniform experience and are inferior versions of their Android counterpart.
The only real bloatware preinstalled is McAfee. The rest is Samsung software where bloatware is subjective. The problem is a lot of Samsung’s apps don’t offer a uniform experience and are inferior versions of their Android counterpart.
Bixby cannot open all apps the way the Android version can. It recognizes Photoshop but won’t open it when I tell it too. It won’t enable/disable Dolby Atmos. There are no Routines.
Samsung Studio Plus can add audio and stickers (which include your own images) to videos. You can crop and resize videos.
Samsung Notes is the familiar app you’d find on Samsung’s Android devices. Only now you can access your notes on your laptop since they sync.
Samsung Pass only works with Chromium-based browsers, so no Firefox or Windows apps.
If you have a Samsung phone or tablet, you use the following:
Quick Share allows you to send files wirelessly over WiFi. It’s Samsung’s version of AirDrop and works seamlessly as long as the Quick Share app is logged into your Samsung account. If it’s not logged in, Samsung phones can still find the Book3 Ultra, but you’ll need accept a prompt with a PIN number that shows up on the laptop to confirm it’s the same PIN on your Samsung mobile device. It’s SO much better than transferring files over Bluetooth, which is dreadfully slow.
Quick Share allows you to send files wirelessly over WiFi. It’s Samsung’s version of AirDrop and works seamlessly as long as the Quick Share app is logged into your Samsung account. If it’s not logged in, Samsung phones can still find the Book3 Ultra, but you’ll need accept a prompt with a PIN number that shows up on the laptop to confirm it’s the same PIN on your Samsung mobile device. It’s SO much better than transferring files over Bluetooth, which is dreadfully slow.
Multi control allows you to connect to your Samsung phone and/or tablet and control them with your laptop as if they were additional screens. After you connect, you’re given the option to arrange the devices as if they were monitors. You can drag and drop files to and from your laptop and connected Samsung phone/tablet.
All in all, the Book3 Ultra is a powerful laptop not held back by throttling and best for users with a Samsung phone and/or tablet. Just bear in mind that in High Performance mode the charger won’t be able to hold a charge.
I would recommend this to a friend!
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The high-performance USB4 multi-port hub incorporates the latest USB4 controller from Intel, offering compatibility with Thunderbolt and older USB specifications. With up to 20Gbps of throughput, dynamic data, and display bandwidth allocation for efficient display data flow, you can easily create a dual-monitor setup. Enjoy up to 4K resolution using DisplayPort, HDMI, or USB-C and access data faster without affecting system performance. Additionally, it has two USB SuperSpeed+ 10Gbps ports (1 USB-C and 1 Type-A) for charging or connecting peripherals. It is also equipped with a USB-C Power Delivery port to charge your laptop and power your connected devices with up to 85W pass-through power.
Customer Rating
3
Good companion for 2 monitor setup but has limits
on January 6, 2023
Posted by: KusMoG
At 3.8 oz and 5"(L)x2"(W)x0.5"(H) it's lightweight and compact enough for a laptop on the go in need of a multi-monitor setup. Just be aware that you will need either a USB 4 port, a Thunderbolt 4 port, OR a Thunderbolt 3 port in order for this hub to work.
There are vents behind each port, and the casing itself appears to be made of aluminum, which is great because if you push the hub to its limits (e.g. transferring large amounts of data over a long period of time) it will get warm. I can't tell if there are heatsinks inside but it never got too hot to touch during my testing. Just be aware that the hub will generate heat with use.
***If you are using it on a desktop PC, review your motherboard's Thunderbolt 4 capabilities: you MAY need to use a Displayport cable to connect the DisplayPort in to your graphics card's DisplayPort out in order to drive a display from the port.
I was able to drive one 4k monitor at 60Hz using the hub just fine with no lag or any other issues.
I was also able to drive a 1080p HDMI monitor at 60Hz.
I was also able to drive a 1080p HDMI monitor at 60Hz.
I wasn't able to drive 2 monitors (one monitor connect to DP, another connected to HDMI) at once using the hub though despite using a Thunderbolt 4 port and additional power by connecting the hub's "Power In" port to my second Thunderbolt 4 port with a power delivery capable USB cable. And that's why I'm taking away 2 stars.
As a USB data hub, you'll find a USB 3.2 10Gbps Type A connector port, and a USB 4 Type C connector port which is capped at 10Gbps. So you will NOT get full USB 4 speeds (40Gbps) with this hub. It seems like it was designed to be a display hub first and foremost.
If you're aware of its limits, j5create's USB4 hub is a good companion for your multi-monitor needs, particularly on the go. However, my inability to drive 2 monitors at once left much to be desired, and with USB4's large bandwidth capabilities, I'm sure there are other hubs that can or will be able to do this.
And while the 10Gbps cap for the data ports is fine for now, I question its ability of being future-proof as the USB4 standard begins to become the mainstream norm.
And while the 10Gbps cap for the data ports is fine for now, I question its ability of being future-proof as the USB4 standard begins to become the mainstream norm.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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Meta Quest Pro is a virtual reality system that unlocks new perspectives into how we work, create, and collaborate, so you can go beyond what was previously possible. A completely reimagined headset is slimmer and more well-balanced for long-lasting comfort. Breakthrough high resolution mixed reality passthrough uses full-color sensors to let you see and engage with the physical world around you~even as you connect, work and play in virtual spaces. Multiple room-sized displays let you skip between tasks to get more done, more easily. Connect better with friends or collaborate with peers like never before with real-time avatar expressions that mirror your authentic facial reactions. Intuitive, redesigned controllers dispense with tracking rings, using self-tracking cameras to capture a greater range of motion and fine motor controls to translate detailed finger operations like writing and drawing into VR. Advanced multi-point haptic feedback makes virtual interactions feel more real. Meta Quest is for ages 13+. Certain apps, games, and experiences may be higher.
Customer Rating
3
A high quality Quest 2. But is that what you want?
on November 2, 2022
Posted by: KusMoG
Pros:
-Build Quality and design of headset and controllers
-Comfortable
-Slim, portable charging dock
-Sharper display and colors with a slightly better horizontal field of view
-Passthrough camera is now in color
-Build Quality and design of headset and controllers
-Comfortable
-Slim, portable charging dock
-Sharper display and colors with a slightly better horizontal field of view
-Passthrough camera is now in color
Cons:
-Very poor image quality from color passthrough, unable to read off of backlit digital displays
-No network storage support (eg. Samba)
-Lack of standalone business and productivity apps
-Very poor image quality from color passthrough, unable to read off of backlit digital displays
-No network storage support (eg. Samba)
-Lack of standalone business and productivity apps
The Quest Pro is a good looking piece of kit. It’s an unassuming matte black, aside from the front of the headset, which is glossy. The build feels solid and premium, especially the Pro controllers.
The Pro controllers feel nice in the hands and the buttons are responsive and relatively quiet, including the trigger buttons. They’re a lot better than the Quest 2 controllers. They’re able to track independently so they don’t need to be in the line of sight of the headset. You can replace the strap with included nibs for use with apps that support it for better precision.
The Pro controllers feel nice in the hands and the buttons are responsive and relatively quiet, including the trigger buttons. They’re a lot better than the Quest 2 controllers. They’re able to track independently so they don’t need to be in the line of sight of the headset. You can replace the strap with included nibs for use with apps that support it for better precision.
The headset wears comfortably as long as you don’t tighten the fit too tight. Otherwise the pressure of the wear is felt mostly on your forehead. There is an ample amount of cushioning from what feels like faux leather to me.
Unlike the Quest 2, which had only 3 preset IPD distances, the Quest Pro has continuous IPD adjustment from the range of 55-75mm. Instead of using a glasses separator like the Quest 2, the Quest Pro has a dial in front of the headset which allows you to adjust how near or far lens are from your face, which allows spacing for glasses. There’s no dioptric adjuster like with the GearVR or binoculars, so if you wear glasses, you’ll need them when wearing the headset.
It comes with a USB-C charging dock which is surprisingly slim and lightweight, so it’s portable. It’s about 1.75” at its thickest but mostly ¾" inch thick elsewhere. The dock charges both the headset and the controllers. And because it’s powered through a USB-C port, you don’t need proprietary cables or chargers. The controllers connect to the dock magnetically, while the headset doesn’t.
Setup is simple and straightforward. If you’ve owned a Quest 2, it is exactly like that.
In fact, the whole operating system is just like the Quest 2. You’re just running it on Quest Pro hardware.
With that said, out of the box it isn’t traditionally suited for enterprise use. There’s no way to centrally manage the device or provision them for deployment. No biometric security, despite having facial recognition cameras. No network drive support. No external USB storage support.
There is also no way to organize files or the apps you’ve downloaded. Any app you’ve downloaded will permanently remain visible in your library, regardless of whether it is installed or not.
The Quest operating system is best suited for VR gaming and entertainment.
You can however, multitask by opening up to 3 different 2D windows or apps at once.
In fact, the whole operating system is just like the Quest 2. You’re just running it on Quest Pro hardware.
With that said, out of the box it isn’t traditionally suited for enterprise use. There’s no way to centrally manage the device or provision them for deployment. No biometric security, despite having facial recognition cameras. No network drive support. No external USB storage support.
There is also no way to organize files or the apps you’ve downloaded. Any app you’ve downloaded will permanently remain visible in your library, regardless of whether it is installed or not.
The Quest operating system is best suited for VR gaming and entertainment.
You can however, multitask by opening up to 3 different 2D windows or apps at once.
The Quest Pro has a color passthrough camera, which appears to be a black and white camera with a color overlay. At times, I can see part of the visuals in black and white. The quality of this camera is unfortunately similar to that of the Quest 2’s. The only noticeable difference is that it’s in color. There’s a lot of noise, which results in things appearing blurry. It makes it tough to read things in the real world, making the Quest Pro a very poor Mixed Reality device. You also can’t read anything from a backlit screen because it produces a glare when seen from the Quest Pro. So you can’t see what's on your monitor, smartphone, or TV, among other things.
The visuals are what shine with the Quest Pro, and I believe it’s due to the pancake optics. Compared to the Quest 2, you get a slightly better horizontal field of view (no change with vertical though), and the colors look more robust on the Quest Pro. It is so much easier to find the sweet spot of the display when putting on the headset than it was with the Quest 2. The visuals are also slightly sharper despite having roughly the same resolution as the Quest 2. But that’s another problem with the Quest Pro. There’s no improvement in resolution. So when you’re multitasking with multiple windows on the Quest Pro, everything still looks soft, and the edges look jagged, despite text being legible. It can make working on it an uncomfortable experience. By no means would it ever be a desktop replacement for me.
While it disappoints me in work, with gaming it’s a welcome improvement over the Quest 2. Since the headset doesn’t apply pressure to my face, I can wear it for a longer period of time comfortably. The controllers feel like a high-end gaming console’s controllers. And the visuals in games pop a bit better than the Quest 2.
Unfortunately, the battery only lasts about 2 hours from my tests. I read that Meta suggested it was 1 to 2 hours but I was never able to get it to be as bad as 1 hour.
The Quest Pro has a USB-C port located on the left side of the headset that you can charge or transfer data from. Or you can charge the headset on the included dock. Both methods will take 1.5 hours to charge the headset from 0% to 100%, using the included 45W charging adapter.
The controllers take 3 hours and 8 minutes to charge from 0% to 100%.
The Quest Pro has a USB-C port located on the left side of the headset that you can charge or transfer data from. Or you can charge the headset on the included dock. Both methods will take 1.5 hours to charge the headset from 0% to 100%, using the included 45W charging adapter.
The controllers take 3 hours and 8 minutes to charge from 0% to 100%.
There are facial recognition cameras that can capture your facial expressions for your avatar to display. However, this feature along with other biometric features such as hand tracking, are turned off by default for privacy concerns. At the moment, with the lack of apps supporting it, I find it more of a novelty. It also makes for an awkward experience as an early adopter as the other people you collaborate with will need a Quest Pro also to be able to have the facial expression feature.
While the Quest Pro supposedly has a 50% better processor than the Quest Pro, I haven’t been able to notice its benefits. All the apps made for Quest were designed for the Quest 2 or earlier headsets.
Besides that, I’ve found that the Quest Pro still struggles with loading pages quickly with the native Meta Quest Browser. The browser also isn’t supported by some websites, making it difficult to work from as a true standalone device. I couldn’t find anything in the options to sign into VPN.
Besides that, I’ve found that the Quest Pro still struggles with loading pages quickly with the native Meta Quest Browser. The browser also isn’t supported by some websites, making it difficult to work from as a true standalone device. I couldn’t find anything in the options to sign into VPN.
The native file manager is barebones and has no access to the local network via Samba or anything of the sort. There is no native option to access popular 3rd party cloud storage, such as Google Drive or Dropbox. It only allows cloud syncing with Meta.
Unfortunately, almost everything I loved about the Quest Pro I could already do with the Quest 2. I don’t think the better comfort and the premium controllers justify the additional cost, especially when I take into account pricey features like facial recognition, which doesn’t have real practical use at this stage.
Meta set such a low bar with its color passthrough camera, which was absolutely critical for the Mixed Reality experience on it to be worth anything while. But instead it settles for mediocre visuals.
Meta set such a low bar with its color passthrough camera, which was absolutely critical for the Mixed Reality experience on it to be worth anything while. But instead it settles for mediocre visuals.
Because of that, I can’t with good conscience recommend buying the Quest Pro. Not right now.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
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KusMoG's Review Comments
Make your home an internet haven with this versatile Linksys Velop wireless Wi-Fi system. Three identical tri-band dual-stream AC2200 routers, each equipped with a quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor, deliver lightning-fast internet. Equipped with Bluetooth 4.0/LE, this Linksys Velop wireless Wi-Fi system is simple to set up and pairs easily with computers, tablets and smart devices.
Overall3 out of 5
3 out of 5Optimized for distance, not speed. Limited admin
By KusMoG
First off, let me preface by saying that I'm coming off using an EA9500, a traditional router that costs $100 less than a Velop 3 pack. I also live in an apartment building with a highly congested 2.4GHz space; so bad it affects speeds dramatically and makes the connection highly inconsistent.
With that said, I wasn't really impressed with the Velop at all, for the amount of money it will cost you. It runs on 2.4 and 5.0GHz bands but which your device is connected to is entirely managed by the Velop mesh router themselves. You can't select it yourself. So for some *stupid* reason, even though my Galaxy Note 5 is capable of connecting to the 5.0GHz band, it connects me to 2.4. Because of this I get a slower and inconsistent connection due to the 2.4GHz congestion in my building.
There's also no web administration page, so you can't configure your Velop Wi-Fi from a computer. You need to do it through their app. That means your doing all the heavy lifting of port forwarding and such, from your phone. I'm not sure if they have an app for tablets.
As far as range goes, it will do the job. You will get a strong signal as long as you are near one of the nodes. But the catch is it only extends the wireless signal for as well as it currently performs in your environment at 100% signal and you have no control over which wi-fi band it connects to, like you do with a traditional router. So if your 2.4GHz band wi-fi is terrible to begin with at 100% signal, I suggest you stay very far away from this unless you want buyer's remorse.
I can only recommend the Velop wi-fi 3-pack to users, most especially with wi-fi dead spots in their home, that have great consistent connection in terms or speed and reliability on both 2.4 and 5.0GHz band with a traditional router at 100% signal. This mesh router will be music to your ears since it will be capable of extending your wi-fi range through your house with minimal signal loss.
I can't stress this enough but this router isn't 5.0GHz friendly. I suspect it recognizes when a device is a phone and connects it to the 2.4 GHz band to prioritize distance. It just doesn't offer the flexibility and power administrators want to manually control these connections. I'll be putting all my wireless devices back on my EA9500 because it clearly outclasses the more expensive, less admin-friendly Velop.
KusMoG
Attention Kristine the Linksys Support rep
March 29, 2017
Hi Kristine,
So I called the number you gave me and spoke with a Linksys representative named Kim (Badge ID# 21791) and she agreed with my review. She said it was a product limitation and that users are not able to select the wi-fi band since it's designed to run on a singular network. She also said there is a web UI but it's virtually the same as the app and offers no additional settings or features. So I stand by my review.
It's an awful lot of spend to spend to have so little control. 2 5.0 GHz bands exists on the node but it's USELESS if and when the Velop decides on its own not to connect using that band, instead choosing the inferior 2.4GHz band. This router is a huge step back for IT professional users.
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KusMoG's Questions
KusMoG has not submitted any questions.
KusMoG's Answers
Bring your A-game anytime, anywhere. Introducing a universal mobile gaming controller that fits most smartphone devices, designed to bring console-level control to your on-the-go gaming. With this controller by your side, wherever you go, victory will follow.
Will it fit the Galaxy Note 20 ultra
Yes it will. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra, while not officially listed as supported, probably because it wasn't available for Razer to test at the time, is the Kishi's limit.
4 years, 11 months ago
by
KusMoG