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HUAWEI Vision S 65 In-Depth Review – A Love Hate Experience

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HUAWEI is now more than just smartphones. They are an ecosystem of products that forms a bigger picture of Internet of Things (IoT). HUAWEI has been making products other than smartphones for a while now though. The only issue is that you do not know about it because they do not make those things available in Malaysia.

One of their most successful products from China is their televisions. Yes, you read that right, televisions. Now, you can experience that too, in the HUAWEI Vision S, touted to be available in Malaysia now.

Here is the thing though; why should you buy a television from HUAWEI? There are other smart TVs around that you probably have been eyeing for a while now. You get really good options from the likes of Sony, LG, and Samsung. If you need something that fits a smaller budget, and still want 4K with smart TV functions, there are manufacturers like HAIER, TLC, and even HiSense.

The HUAWEI Vision S 65 is and interesting and compelling product on its own though. It has its own smart TV functions, and its packs quite powerful speakers. All of that costs less than MYR 5,000 too. That said, should you actually consider buying this hardware? We find out.

Design

Right out of the bat though, we have a problem with the 65-incher HUAWEI Vision S. It barely fits our TV surface. Then again, our TV surface is made for TVs at up to 55-inch. The good news is that its legs still fit on the surface and we can work with the TV at a comfortable angle. That is more of an us problem than HUAWEI problem though.

They say that the simply straight and somewhat plain legs that comes with the TV is inspired by ice skates. But its design and angle help make the TV look like it is somewhat floating when you place it on any surface. It hides itself well is what we are saying. Its minimalist design cues help the projecting surface stand out a little bit more and does not leave too much dead space below the TV. In that sense, we like that very much.

The rest of the front silhouette of the TV is pretty much an expected thing. It has thin bezels, like any modern smart TV you can buy today, even the super cheap ones. Really, the thing that should stand out on a modern TV should be its projecting panel, in this case the LCD panel on this large glass thing in front of you.

Once you move to the side of the TV though, there is a small difference between this HUAWEI Vision S and a lot of the modern Smart TVs. The I/O panel is on the right side of the TV instead of the left. While it is not that big of an issue in most cases, if you are used to something that came out of Sony, or LG, or even Samsung, you might want to reconsider rearranging some of your things to fit that layout. Either that, or make sure that you extend your HDMI or AUX cables a little bit.

Other than those though, nothing really makes the HUAWEI Vision S stands out compared to other TVs with its projection panel turned off. Just like any other modern Smart TV, it is just a slab of glass you can either rest on a shelf or hang on the wall. You can turn it into a digital photo frame if you really want too.

Features

What differentiates a TV from one another is usually their features. What separates this HUAWEI Smart TV and other Smart TVs in the market is the Operating System (OS) on it. That OS is also unique to this TV only and will come in the other HUAWEI TV that will come later. They call it HarmonyOS, and it is unlike any other TV OS we have come across, which may not be entirely a good thing.

Keep in mind that the unit we are reviewing is a China unit and there may be some differences between it and the official Malaysian unit. For one, the Malaysian unit will not have VMall pre-installed, and there will not be any exercise guide app. The Malaysian unit also will not have as much content within the App Gallery.

Webcam – MeeTime and Family Photo Time

While we are going to go into HarmonyOS, we first have to talk about the thing that is sticking out of the TV, or the optional item that could stick out of the top of the TV, its camera. When we say optional, it comes with the TV when you buy it. You can choose to keep it detached, however.

If you choose to attach it to the TV, the procedure is pretty simple. Just line up the gold pins to the port on the back of the top of the TV and the webcam will snap in place. HUAWEI also includes a cap to protect the gold pins on the TV just in case you do not want the webcam in place. For a TV, the webcam sticking out looks quite odd to us. If you are buying this for a meeting room though, you might be glad to know that it comes with a webcam, and you do not need to buy one

There is a caveat however, it is a HUAWEI device after all. That also means that it does not work like an Android TV and it has limited apps available to it. That means, you cannot just pick up the TV remote and start a video call on it on any app.

There is only one app you can use for video calls on the HUAWEI Vision S currently and that is MeeTime. MeeTime, as you may have found, can only be used with other HUAWEI devices. So, if your entire office uses HUAWEI’s most current devices, you are good. If not, you are out of luck, because you cannot use it to make calls to anyone else.

If you do have friends with a current HUAWEI device that supports MeeTime though, you are going to get a very cool Full HD video calling capability That also means that you get very crisp, very clear videos transmissions. Audio is not half bad too. Sadly, we do not have enough people using MeeTime in the office to test it out.

Of course, you can also use the webcam to take a family photo of sorts. It is a 13-Megapixel camera, good enough for most social media use and even sharing it with your friends or family. Of course, you need to make sure to share the photo to your smartphone first before sharing it out. That, or you can just use it as a wallpaper for the TV. Make sure you have the Home Vision app for that though.

HarmonyOS on top of Honghu 818– Mirror, Control, and Mirror Control

This brings us to HarmonyOS, a sort of peculiar TV OS that is, on its own, quite brilliant. Once you compare it to other TV Systems though, it starts to show a lot of cracks. We do not know how to feel about the HUAWEI Vision S mostly because of HarmonyOS.

HarmonyOS looks great on the 65-inch panel. We are guessing that it will translate nicely on the smaller 55-inch display too. We like it because it looks pretty, it is smooth, it looks light.

Navigating through the interface is a breeze as well. Everything is laid out clearly and all of them are labelled properly. The settings make plenty of sense and is very intuitive as well.

We like how minimal and simple the remote is though. It is a far fetch from TV remotes of old. The minimalist approach is also remarkably similar to Samsung’s approach with TV remotes these days. The extra space below the buttons are not wasted too, because it is an NFC detection panel, for One Hop sharing features from your smartphone to the TV and vice versa.

That feature itself makes the Vision S a compelling purchase. Only thing is that it only works with HUAWEI devices. Then again, the unit we have is China unit. The HUAWEI Home Vision app will be available the Google Play Store when the official Malaysian units launches, so we do not know if HUAWEI will bring the One Hop feature for the Vision S TV available to other Android devices.

Home Vision App

The Home Vision app will allow you to do a few things with the TV via your smartphone. You can use your smartphone as a regular remote control. You can also control the TV via mirroring the TV on the smartphone screen itself.

You can fire up MeeTime directly from the app itself too. You do not need to go into the TV to even pick your contacts. All you have to do is go into the Home Vision app itself and fire up MeeTime from the home page.

Limited Screen Mirroring

Of course, all Smart TVs should be able to do simple screen mirroring from your smartphone today. The HUAWEI Vision S can do that too, of course. But take it with a pinch of salt though, it does not scale all the way to 4K. Most of the time, you get up to Full HD resolution when you mirror your smartphone to the display.

We use a HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro and a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra to mirror its contents to the display. This is also the only way you are going to get Netflix contents to project on the TV, if you are using the HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro. If you are on other Android devices, you may not be able to get Netflix on the TV. You most likely will not get Amazon Prime Video on the TV panel, we tried on both the HUAWEI Mate 40 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.

If you have a HUAWEI device though, you do not have to dig through your smartphone settings to mirror your display. All you need to do is to tap your device to the remote’s OneHop NFC receiver area, and you get your TV to display what your smartphone displays. Keep in mind that for you to get a full screen experience though, you want to make sure that you are displaying in HUAWEI Desktop Mode instead. Again, not all apps can be mirrored from the smartphone.

Hey Celia!

This is one feature we did not try extensively on the HUAWEI Vision S because the unit we have is a China unit. We got a quick hands-on the official Malaysian unit before its launch though. We have to say that the AI assistant is responsive and sensitive enough to voice inputs even though you may be sitting four feet away from the TV. That is a good thing, you can sort of lose your remote in this case. The only issue is that it is no Google Assistant, so there could only be so much you can do if you do not own other HUAWEI devices at home.

HUAWEI Video and Music

Despite the lack of Netflix, or Amazon Prime Video, or even YouTube, there are still things you can watch on the TV though. HUAWEI’s Video and Music platform still has a selection of movies and TV series to work with. Although, you will have to live with less contents than the likes of Netflix and Prime Video. Even HUAWEI Music’s library will not be as extensive as Spotify or even Tidal.

Performance

Yes, there are shortcoming on the HUAWEI Vision S. The shortcomings are mostly with the HarmonyOS. In that sense, its hardware does shine through.

65-inch of 120Hz 4K Goodness

 HUAWEI did not specify the sort of projection panel they use on the HUAWEI Vision S. We suspect that they are probably working with an IPS panel. There is a reason for our suspicion, more on that later.

HUAWEI claims a DCI-P3 colour gamut of up to 92%, and TUV Rheinland certified Low Blue Light and Flicker Free certification. They also claim that the panel produces vivid, vibrant colours very close to what you might see in real life. We believe them.

We say that the display could very well be an IPS display because of the colour reproduction of the TV panel. Videos and images looks amazing on the HUAWEI Vision S. While HUAWEI did not mention anything about local dimming features, there is very little colour bleeding on bring images with black background. The blacks are really deep as well when it needs to be.

Colours, as per HUAWEI, are super vivid and vibrant. Vibrant films like ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel’ shines on the Vision S. While it is a shame we could not test Netflix or Prime Video films natively on the Vision S, we were able to test the TV with our contents at 4K as well. Yes, they look really good too.

The Honghu 818 processor is also not just to keep the TV trundling along at a respectable pace. It can also upscale Full HD contents to 4K when it recognises it. Since it is also a 120Hz panel, the processor also scales to 120 frames a second when it can. That also means that you get very smooth viewing experience too at 4K.

The thing is though, when you upscale contents, you tend to get some screen tears and even weird shadow flickers. You tend to not notice too much of that on the HUAWEI Vision S though. What we are trying to say is that even Full HD movies that plays at 30fps tend to look really good on the HUAWEI Vision S. Of course, you would get the full benefit of 4K and 120Hz when you game on it.

HUAWEI Sound – Do You Really Need a Soundbar

This is another thing we really liked about the HUAWEI Vision S. We usually would recommend our friends to get a good piece of sound bar to really elevate their entertainment experience. There are just a few TV out in the market that may not need a sound bar to work with, if you are on a budget.

The HUAWEI Vision S is one of those TVs that we think may not need a soundbar to work with. That is because HUAWEI bothered to fit this TV with four speakers within the TV. The result of the four speakers really changes what we know about modern Smart TVs with the kind of dimensions modern TVs boasts.

There is a lot of detail coming from the quad speaker array on the HUAWEI Vision S. We expected the speakers to sound a little on the weak side. That is the total opposite of what you will get on the HUAWEI Vision S though. The audio profile is pretty much powerful in all ranges of frequencies.

Of course, there will be some benefits to a soundbar. You get dedicated woofers that would really enhances the lower frequencies for bigger booms. But they have not forgotten on the higher frequencies too.

This also means that you can even enjoy music on the TV itself. To save some power the HUAWEI Vision S still can play audio without the display being on. Again though, the HUAWEI Music App is a little limited currently. You can connect your smartphones to the TV via screen mirroring and play music via Spotify or Tidal though.

Gaming on the HUAWEI Vision S

With 4K 120Hz, the HUAWEI Vision S is really made for the new next-gen gaming consoles. The Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X are made to handle games at 4K at up to 120fps to fully take advantage of high refresh-rate displays like the HUAWEI Vision S. Unfortunately, we do not posses any of the next-gen console just yet.

We have a PlayStation 4 Pro and Nintendo Switch though. We also tried plugging our gaming PCs to the TV, for the native high refresh-rate support. We must say that we are impressed here too.

While Nintendo Switch does not scale up to 4K, most of the games on Nintendo Switch are made with more vibrant colours and softer textures in mind compared to detailed, sharp graphics. Vibrant colours shine on the HUAWEI Vision S. Animal Crossing: New Horizons look gorgeous on the 65-inch panel because the colours look so vivid and sweet. God of War on PlayStation 4 Pro looks amazing too. Of course, there is no 120Hz here. Thing is HUAWEI’s Vision S will try to scale it up a little to 120Hz. It is barely noticeable though because you are just blown away by the colours and details you get on games like God of War. You technically can play CS:GO and push the fps boundaries to 120Hz if you connect your PC. But you would have to sit a little further away too. Thankfully though, the blacks are so black and detailed that you still can see the darker spots when you play games like PUBG.

HUAWEI’s website markets its gaming capabilities via your smartphone though. Obviously, we gave that a go. But then again, you are just mirroring your smartphone’s content on the display, so there is nothing too special there. There are also games within the HUAWEI Vision S’s HarmonyOS AppGallery. We did not try any of them though.

HUAWEI Vision S – Yes, But No

HUAWEI’s Vision S (65-inch as tested) commands MYR 3,999 in asking price. If you go for the one smaller, at 55-inch, it will set you back MYR 2,999. While you might want to say that the commanding price is what we call expensive, you might want to hold back your horses though. HUAWEI mentions that the Vision S is meant to go up against models like Samsung’s latest AU9000 series TV. That also means the HUAWEI is also in the league of Sony’s X80H TV and LG’s UN74 series TV.  Against the competition, the HUAWEI suddenly looks like a bargain at MYR 3,999. The difference in price is up to MYR 1,000 compared to its competition.

Where the HUAWEI Vision S falls apart though is the contents itself. It is the only Smart TV to feature the HarmonyOS and Honghu 818 CPU. In all fairness, HarmonyOS and Honghu 818 works like a charm, they work great; we like them.

While it does look like a bargain, I would still suggest you consider getting the Sony or the LG TV hard. While there can be a significant price difference between the TVs, we would say contents and compatibility matter. In the case of the HUAWEI Vision S, you might want to consider getting and Android TV box, or Apple TV box, or plug in a PC, and even a gaming console to get to contents you want and love. We resorted to relying on our Sony PlayStation 4 Pro to get Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube, and even Spotify working.

The HUAWEI Vision S is an enticing product, with its excellent colour reproduction that rivals even other higher end TVs. It even has sound system we can stand behind, because the four speakers are that good. But to us, its content matters. We really wanted to like it, but we could not.

Android, Editorial, Mobile

How Co-Engineering Partnerships with LEICA, Hasselblad and ZEISS are Upping the Ante in Smartphone Photography

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Mobile photography seems to be gaining steam with industry leading companies like ZEISS partnering with mobile manufacturers like vivo to push the boundaries of photography – particularly when it comes to mobile. Over the past few years, it seems like more and more people are turning to their smartphones as their go to phones and with companies like Sony pushing the boundaries with camera sensors, more attention has been paid to complementing them with better software and hardware.

The partnerships between brands like vivo and ZEISS can take many forms. In fact, we’ve seen the different ways these can play out in just the past two months. Of course, one of the partnerships we’ve seen is in the recent announcement of Hasselblad’s collaboration to improve mobile photography. In their collaboration, Hasselblad’s know-how is applied in the algorithm that is used to process the information from the sensor into the final photo. We also see partnerships where the imaging companies provide only the hardware, in the form of lenses or augmented sensors, for mobile brands to use similar to the partnership LEICA is involved in.

However, in the case of vivo and ZEISS, the companies are looking break new ground. They have first laid the groundwork for a partnership and collaboration that doesn’t just come in smartphone technology. They have setup the “vivo ZEISS Imaging Lab” which is focusing on developing and improving optical performance when it comes to mobile imaging. Of course, these developments will naturally trickle down to vivo’s premium flagship smartphones where, in recent years, vivo has been working to push the boundaries of creative expression.

The vivo X60 Series – A True Camera First Premium Flagship

vivo’s X60 series is the first smartphone to be on the receiving end of the partnership between vivo and ZEISS. Over the past few years, vivo has used the X series of smartphones to zoom in on creators and imaging enthusiasts. They have infused the smartphones with revolutionary technologies that up the ante in a way we’ve not seen in the industry just yet.

vivo’s quarter of a decade of experience in creating mobile devices is further honed by their X50 series. The first debut of their gimbal technology brought a fresh breath of air into a still space when it came to technological innovations. That’s further enhanced in their collaboration with ZEISS. The collaboration is a pervasive marriage of both companies’ prowess ranging from the software to hardware of the cameras featured on the X60 series of smartphones.

ZEISS Biotar Portrait Style

The new vivo X60 series comes with a whole slew of features that put the collaboration front and centre but, perhaps, the most visible inclusion of ZEISS in the ability of the X60 series to reproduce pictures taken with ZEISS’s signature Biotar lenses. The pictures taken in this mode on the X60 series come with the central resolution and rotational bokeh that are the hallmark of ZEISS’s Biotar lenses. This is achieved with the progressive bokeh simulation and distributed blurred spot rotation of the algorithm on vivo’s X60 series smartphones.

Of course, the ZEISS Biotar Portrait style isn’t the only filter or style available on the X60 series. In fact, it actually joins a formidable arsenal that includes multiple night filters such as Black and Golden which highlights the shadows and turns the photo a golden sepia for a deep, emotional flare.

Gimbal Stabilization 2.0

The hallmark of vivo’s X series since its introduction last year is Gimbal Stabilization. This year, the vivo X60 series brings along Gimbal stabilization 2.0. The new updates to the feature include a new, customised Sony IMX598 with a larger aperture for better low light performance and sharper images. The feature also comes with vivo’s own VIS 5-axis video stabilization which allows the sensor to compensate for sudden jerks and movements that can occur when shooting videos, particularly action shots. The sum of these features is a cinema grade, stabilised video which is ready to upload and show off to the world.

Powered by A Flagship Grade processor

The vivo X60 series doesn’t just bring features some might consider gimmicks. It comes packing the Snapdragon 870 SoC which packs quite the punch when it comes to performance. The performance oriented SoC comes with 8-cores which allows it to take on more demanding tasks with more gusto. In fact, the built-in AI features power some of the vivo X60 series’ hallmark features and is responsible for the optimisations that result in better battery life. The SoC also enables the many algorithms that help create the filters and features that complement the camera hardware on the vivo X60. This includes the ZEISS powered filters.

All in all, the ground-up approach vivo is using in its partnership with ZEISS has only just begun. ZEISS has the prowess and know-how to help vivo level up its camera game in the long run and it’s very clear that the vivo X60 series is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the fruits of this partnership.

DISCLAIMER:
This is a paid advertorial and does not represent the views and opinions of the techENT editorial board.

Editorial, News, Podcast

[Podcast] Tech & Tonic S02 Episode 6 – Disney+ is Coming! Is it Going to Be Worth it?

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Disney+ is coming to Malaysia! Finally, we can watch all the series legally. Here is the question though, is it worth subscribing to? Especially with all the services we have already subscribed to. Should we fork out extra money for more contents that we might not even watch?

This is we are talking about though, they are one of the largest entertainment companies in the world, if not the largest. They are going to have more compelling shows in their catalogue. Is this going to be the case of iflix vs. Netflix again though? Who will emerge the victor in the long run? We don’t know yet. Still we discuss about it and more in Tech & Tonic Podcast Season 2 Episode 6.

Business, Contributed, Editorial

AWS Committed to Accelerating Malaysia’s Digital Transformation

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Amazon Web Services (AWS) has been a part of Malaysia’s digital transformation journey since 2015 when we established our presence in the country with a local marketing entity, AWS Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. The announcement by the Malaysian Government outlining the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint via MyDigital marks a milestone in the nation’s journey to transform to a digital economy, built on cloud computing. As part of this journey, AWS is delighted to be named as a Cloud Service Provider for the Government of Malaysia by the Malaysian Administrative Modernisation and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU).

With the right technology, governments, nonprofits, economic development organisations, and other entities can improve their internal operations, become more productive and, ultimately, focus more acutely on serving citizens. This can support business growth and help citizens enjoy improved quality of life. As organisations increasingly embrace cloud-based solutions, long-lasting effects can be realised in the form of community-wide collaboration, partnerships with local businesses, and increased innovation. These organisations can in turn wield greater influence on economic development and growth. The cloud also provides affordable IT services for entrepreneurs, helping them start and scale companies quicker and more reliably. These efforts pave the way toward building new businesses and a more productive workforce, which boosts local economic development.

Photo by Su San Lee on Unsplash

AWS works closely with state governments, education institutions, and not-for-profit organisations in Malaysia to accelerate innovation, increase agility, and drive cost savings through the cloud. Our Malaysian customers range from public sector entities such as Smart Selangor Delivery Unit (SSDU), Asia Pacific University, and other government agencies, to enterprises including Petronas, Maxis, Astro, and Boost (Axiata), to startups like StoreHub, FashionValet, and 123RF.

SSDU leverages cloud computing to transform government services

SSDU started working with AWS in 2018 when they first built a Citizens Electronic Payments Platform for Malaysians to access paid government services through a highly scalable and reliable central mobile and web portal on AWS. Using the centralised platform, SSDU was able to conduct data analysis in identifying trends with near real-time data generated across the entire Selangor state to forecast and optimise services, accelerating the development of new solutions without large upfront investments. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, SSDU rolled out an operation dashboard on AWS that provided critical data for making real-time decisions to enforce containment measures. Simultaneously, SSDU facilitated the shift of over 1,000 local traders to sell products from physical to online stores to enable business continuity.

Using AWS, SSDU gained the control and confidence they needed to securely run their platform with the most flexible and secure cloud computing environment available today. As an AWS customer, SSDU benefits from AWS data centres and a network architected to protect all customer information, identities, applications, and devices. With AWS, SSDU has improved its ability to meet core security and compliance requirements, such as data locality, protection, and confidentiality using AWS’s comprehensive services and features. We look forward to partnering with more government agencies, empowering them to transform their digital service offerings for citizens.

Optimising the educational experience with cloud

Education institutions, like Asia Pacific University in Malaysia, have gone all-in on AWS, moving their entire technology infrastructure to AWS in order to transform the teaching and learning experience. They are running a mobile application for a cashless campus, deploying IoT services for their student attendance and queue systems, and using artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) for part of its learning environment. Asia Pacific University is delivering education resources to students 116 times faster than when they were using on-premises infrastructure, vastly improving students’ user experience. 

Upskilling the next generation of cloud talent

Additionally, AWS Educate programme provides students and educators with resources and content that focus on building cloud skills in education institutions in Malaysia such as Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation. In August-September 2020, AWS held the ASEAN DeepRacer Women’s League to encourage young women in higher education institutions to acquire skills in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML), and discover how technology can be used to create innovations to solve real-world problems. Two Malaysian students attained the first and second runner-up in the ASEAN League. 

young lady using laptop at table in modern workspace
Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.com

AWS has also been nurturing the local startups in Malaysia, and providing cloud skilling to develop the future workforce. Through AWS startup programmes, we have helped reduce cost of experimentation and accelerate innovation with AWS promotional credits. For example, the AWS Trusted Advisor online tool helps startup customers reduce costs, increase performance, and improve security by checking their use of AWS services, and making suggestions to help optimise performance. We further offer a variety of free online education and livestreamed or on-demand training events for startups across Asia at every growth stage, including AWSome Days and the AWS Builders Online Series for early-stage founders new to the cloud. To date, AWS has supported and helped grow hundreds of startups that are headquartered in Malaysia.

AWS is deeply committed to providing Malaysia with the best-in-class cloud technology. We look forward to building upon our worldwide experience in working with over 7,500 government agencies, more than 14,000 academic institutions and over 35,000 nonprofit organisations, alongside millions of active customers across other vertical industries around the world, to support the Government of Malaysia on its digital transformation journey.

Android, Editorial, Mobile

3 Reasons Why The vivo X60 Series with ZEISS Technology May Defy Your Expectations

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vivo isn’t a name you would necessarily associate with photography. However, the company has been honing its offerings over the past few years, becoming an innovator when it comes to developing new technologies in the smartphone photography space. Just last year, in 2020, vivo introduced one of the most compelling, feature packed smartphones – the vivo X50 series. The X50 series was also the first smartphone to come with built-in gimbal stabilization. This year’s vivo X60 Series is upping the ante even more with a new, camera centric collaboration with ZEISS.

Source: vivo

The collaboration isn’t just done on a whim. ZEISS and vivo are working together to develop technologies that will take smartphone imaging leaps and bounds. As part of this collaboration, the two companies have setup the vivo ZEISS Imaging Lab to research and develop new technologies that will improve smartphone photography. The new vivo X60 series is the first smartphone series to bring the fruits of this collaboration mainstream.

That’s enough of a history lesson. Let’s get into the fun parts! Here’s why the vivo X60 series will defy your expectation.

1.   ZEISS Lenses Help Capture Every Moment with Clarity

Source: vivo

As mentioned, the vivo X60 series is the first series bringing technology and innovations from the vivo-ZEISS partnership. This includes a whole new set of camera lenses and technologies which will up your photography game significantly.

ZEISS is bringing its Vario-Tessar lenses to the vivo X60 which will allow you to capture clear, crisp pictures. These lenses come with ZEISS’s T*anti-reflective coating which allows more light to be captured by the sensor on the vivo X60 Pro. vivo’s Extreme Night Vision 2.0 further enhances low light performance in the vivo X60 series. The AI algorithm helps reduce noise under low light, giving you crisp, rich details. Simply put, you’ll be able to capture amazing pictures even under low light!

These paired with apertures as large as f/1.48 on the customised Sony IMX598 sensor and vivo’s Pixel Shift Ultra HD Imaging you’ll be capturing pro-level, detail rich pictures with a single click.

2.   Steady Shot move aside, Gimbal Stabilization 2.0 is bringing the heat!

The vivo X60 Pro will be coming equipped with an improved version of vivo’s Gimbal Stabilization which debuted with the vivo X50 Pro. The improved Gimbal stabilization technology allows the smartphone to catch even steadier shots. So, you won’t have to worry about blurs thanks to shaking.

Source: vivo

The improved Gimbal Stabilization technology stabilizes the camera across four axes in addition to the pitch and yaw of the cameras. This allows the camera to remain still even when your hands are shaking or when you’re walking. It helps minimise sudden jerks and even allows you to take videos with cinematic movements. This is helped further by VIS 5 axis video stabilization technology.

3. 5G connectivity & Top of the line performance without breaking the bank thanks to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 processor

vivo’s X60 series comes powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 870 processor. While it may seem like the Snapdragon 870 is a generation behind, that cannot be further from the truth. Announced earlier this year in January, the Snapdragon 870 brings improved performance over last year’s flagship Snapdragon 865. However, it also walks the tightrope when it comes to affordability.

Source: Qualcomm

It packs a super capable Qualcomm Hexagon 698 processor which not only boasts better performance over last year’s processor but also provides better power efficiency. It has a 10% boost in GPU and CPU performance and even supports 5G connectivity. The Qualcomm Spectra image signal processor allows you to capture even clearer images and supports multiple AI functions such as portrait mode. It also supports 4K videography at simultaneous 64MP image capture. The vivo X60 series will have a new ZEISS Biotar Portrait style which will allow you to capture artistic, centre-weighted portraits without the need for extra accessories.

That’s only the tip of the iceberg.

Source: vivo

That’s right, these 3 reasons are simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to vivo’s new X60 series. The features are still being revealed as we speak in leaks and even announcements. We’re definitely anxious to see what vivo has in store for us with the vivo X60 series. The smartphone is turning out to be one of the most exciting smartphones of 2021!

Don’t forget to tune in to the official launch of the vivo X60 series happening on March 22 2021 at 9.30 p.m.!

Computers, Editorial, Reviews, Video, Writer's Choice

[Video] Acer Swift 3x In-Depth Review – Small Package, MAX Power

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Ultra-thin, stylish and all the power to satisfy your mobile needs. We got our hands on one Acer Swift 3x. This ultra-portable package packs a powerful combination of the 11th Generation Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor and Intel® Iris® Xe MAX Graphics discrete GPU. All of these packaged in an all-metal chassis worth MYR 4,599 (as tested).

It is thin, not Swift 5 thin, but thinner than most textbooks. The Steam Blue colourway is also stylish. But does it give you all the power you need on-the-go though. We put it through its paces to find out if this ultra-thin, stylish package has all the power that you really need out of it. Of course, we want to know if its worth your MYR 4,599 too.

Accessories, Editorial, Reviews

Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro In-Depth Review: Hitting the Right Notes with Room for Improvement

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Samsung’s Galaxy Buds series has been steadily improving over the years. Its many iterations seem to build on the strengths of the previous iterations while tweaking the weaknesses from the previous iteration. The Buds Pro is no different. It’s possibly Samsung’s best Buds to date building on lessons and features that the company introduced with the Buds Live.

The Galaxy Buds Pro brings new features that Samsung hopes will help enhance the aural experience of their ecosystem. While this may be the lofty goal of their latest true wireless earphones – the question remains: Is it really worth the price tag and should you be investing in the experience even if you’re not in the Samsung ecosystem?

Design

Samsung is definitely hearing the feedback it’s receiving from reviewers and customers. The Galaxy Buds Pro dropped the bean-like design of the Galaxy Buds Live like a hot potato – which is a shame but a very much needed step to help Samsung get on track with its Buds line up. That said, remnants of the Galaxy Buds Live still remain in some of the design queues we see in the Pros – particularly in its shiny finish.

The new Pros adopt a more conventional earbud design but manages keeps the comfort level of the Galaxy Buds Live. It has just enough heft for you to handle in your hands but when it comes to having them in your ears, they seem to disappear. Wearing the Buds Pro was truly a weightless experience – pretty similar to the Live. However, it has one major edge over the Buds Live – you literally have minimal ear fatigue. During the review, we were able to wear the buds for more than 4 hours on end without the feeling of fatigue you get from other earbuds on the market.

The Galaxy Buds Pro has one of the most pocketable designs on the market. The simple, square design makes it easy to slip into your jean pockets or purse. It’s also substantial enough that it doesn’t get lost in the chaos in your purse or pockets. That said, if you’re putting it in your pocket, you may find yourself forgetting to remove from your pocket as it’s so light that you might end up forgetting about it.

Features

The Galaxy Buds Pro doesn’t lack in the features department. The earbuds is  definitely one of the more feature packed choices on the market coming with Active Noise Cancelling (ANC), voice pass through and even 360 sound. However, being feature packed may be a little bit of a burden for the Pro as it seems to be stuffed a little too much to the brim sacrificing some of the finesse we see in the competition.

That said, Samsung’s ability to have so many features is one of the boons of the Buds Pro. In fact, they have iterated so well from the features of the Galaxy Buds Live that most of their “legacy” features are so polished you wouldn’t think they are second generation. Some features seem to be there just because and some are more well thought out than others.

Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) & Voice Pass Through

When it comes to ANC, the Galaxy Buds is leaps better than its predecessor. The Buds Pro is able to give you a really effective seal. The form factor and it’s more conventional design is able to dampen sound from the outside a lot better. During our review period, the Buds Pro became one of our go-to earbuds to keep the world out and drown ourselves in our favourite music or podcast.

Unlike some of the other ANC capable earphones on the market, the Galaxy Buds Pro doesn’t give the feeling of pressure building up over long durations of use. Instead, it feels comfortable and simply feels like you have got a good pair of earplugs in.

Another feature which makes for a better overall experience with the Galaxy Buds Pro is voice pass through. It works pretty well on the Buds Pro however, there’s one caveat – it only works when you talk. It isn’t able to detect overhead announcements or when someone is talking to you. So, if someone is meaning to talk to you, they’ll still need to tap you on your shoulder. If you’re waiting for a flight, you’ll need to use ambient mode. That said, voice pass through could use a little fine tuning. There were times when we tried to use it that it simply couldn’t pick up the voice of the person speaking, and we had to remove one earbud to make an order.

Bluetooth Audio Source for Video

The Galaxy Buds Pro is also able to act as a Bluetooth audio source when you record in Pro mode on Samsung devices – and therein lies the biggest problem. The feature is exclusive to Samsung devices and only those who support Pro Video. It would be nice if Samsung found a way to build in the feature to the Buds itself or its Galaxy Wearables app to extend the feature to non-Samsung devices.

We tried this feature with the S21, S21 Ultra and the Note10+. To be honest, it’s just good enough. While we wouldn’t recommend using it as a main source of audio for recordings, in a pinch, the audio is definitely useable. That said, it still has some improvement to do to make it a viable replacement when you want to record videos. When we tested it, there were instances where the audio was choppy – possibly due to the wireless interference. Vocal pick up was not an issue but the clarity of the recording could use some improvement. We’re pretty sure that Samsung should be able to fix this with an OTA update.

Galaxy Wearables App & Voice Assistants

Samsung’s Galaxy Wearables app has improved over the time it has grown its ecosystem. The app has become easier to use with more and more features being put front and centre in the app. The app is also more intuitive that it was when it first was released. However, features like 360 Audio still remain hidden in the menu.

When it came to using Voice Assistants with the Buds Pro, it performed pretty well. The Buds made it easier to interact effectively with both Bixby and Google Assistant. However, the need to download a TTS file for the Buds to be able to read out your messages isn’t communicated anywhere until you try to use it. Then you have to find out where to download it – in this case it was via the Galaxy Store. We would think that Samsung would make this process more seamless particularly since we don’t expect users to actually do the hunting.

Performance

The Galaxy Buds has to be best performing in the Galaxy Buds to date. It has one of best sound reproductions – at least compared to the Galaxy Beans Buds Live. It had better sound reproduction across the sound range from lows to highs even the mids. Sound was a lot cleaner. The sound from the Galaxy Buds Pro was also a little warmer and fuller. While it still was a little bit heavy on the mids, the overall sound quality was definitely more well rounded compared to previous buds. You are able to hear the highs and lows in classical and orchestral pieces clearer in the Pro.

Aside from the tuning, Samsung’s Adapt Sound also helps when it comes to compensating for hearing/sound lost. Tuning the Buds Pro with Adapt Sound actually helped the sound feel even more full. That said, a word of warning, if you use Adapt Sound, don’t use presets on equalizer apps as the feature may result in the preset feeling off tune. We would strongly recommend you use custom profiles if you use Adapt Sound.

The Galaxy Buds Pro performed pretty well when it came to taking calls on them. In fact, callers weren’t able to tell that they were being spoken through wireless earbuds. Instead, they reported that it sounded like the call was being taken directly on the phone. Voice pick up was very good with little to no distortion. However, there were a few instances where the connection was a little choppy but it seems like Samsung has fixed this with a recent update.

Battery Life

The battery life of the Galaxy Buds Pro is decent with Samsung promising at least 5 hours of playback with a single charge on the buds and extra 13 hours with the case. That increases to 8 hours with ANC off with the charge in the case going up to 20 hours.

During our time with the Galaxy Buds Pro, we were able to get about 4.5 hours to slightly above 5 hours for a single charge. While it’s not the longest, it should be sufficient for most users. If you’re taking a long-haul flight, you may find yourself without your entertainment for a little bit as you charge your earbuds.

360 Audio

360 Audio on the Buds Pro is a mixed bag for us. While it seems to be developed with Dolby, when we used it, it felt as if it was using the smartphone as a guide to where the sound source should be. So, listening to podcasts was a little bit of a mixed bag with sound travelling everywhere when the phone was out and then 360 Audio magically turning off when the screen was off. We even tried it with 360 audio tracks on Tidal and were sorely disappointed by the performance.

Samsung’s 360 Audio goes up against Sony’s 360 Reality Audio which uses the user and earbuds as a reference for sound positioning. The experience with this was a little more enjoyable with the sound feeling more true to life and immersive. Samsung’s 360 Audio felt very flat and actually gave us a headache when using it cause of the constant shifting. While it’s just the first generation, it feels like Samsung shoehorned this feature into the Galaxy Buds Pro to keep up with the competition. We feel that it could have used a little more time in the pot before release. Perhaps an OTA update will be able to address the issues we faced. While there have been updates for the Buds Pro, none of them have addressed the issue yet.

Ambient Sound

Samsung’s implementation of ambient sound is one of the better implementations we’ve used to date. It’s good enough that we were comfortable walking on the street with the Buds Pro set to ambient mode. Ambient sound actually felt like it was giving us bionic hearing when we used it. It was able to pick up conversations and voices a good distance away from us – which we found a little creepy.

That said, Samsung also allows you control the sensitivity of the ambient sound pick up in its Galaxy Wearables app. You’ll be able to adjust it to a level where you are comfortable. You can even enhance ambient sound pick up further which makes it even louder.

Samsung’s Hitting the Right Notes but it has a ways to go to be on par with competition like Sony

The Samsung’s Galaxy Buds Pro is one of the most comfortable and responsive true wireless earphones we have used. The Buds are super reactive when you touch it, and they are comfortable to have in your ears over long periods of time. The fact that they are compact and come with wireless charging gives them a slight edge over their competition.

That said, while the Galaxy Buds Pro is overall one of the best true wireless experiences you can get on the market, the earbuds still have some work to do if they are looking to take on the experience of the likes of the Sony’s WF series. There’s no doubt that Samsung is on the right track with the Buds Pro, but the aural experience of the Buds Pro is missing that awe and umph of its competition.

Android, Contributed, Editorial, Mobile

A Deep Dive into One UI’s Design

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There isn’t much you can’t do with a smartphone these days, from filming content to banking online from anywhere with just a few taps. But there is always room for improvement, and Samsung Electronics is constantly seeking to make the smartphone experience more intuitive to help us do even more. This is why One UI was created.

Unveiled in November 2018, One UI improved smartphone usability for millions of users. After two years of further evolution, Samsung launched One UI 3 in December 2020, building on the design, efficiency, and user experience of the original across various devices. Now Samsung is raising the bar yet again with One UI 3.1. From February 18th, the latest One UI is bringing updates to support powerful functionality for some existing smartphones.[1]

So what kind of experience can users enjoy with One UI 3? Samsung Mobile Press sat down with the designers of One UI to ask them what we can expect.

The 4 Principles of One UI

1) Focus on the task at hand
2) Interact naturally
3) Be comfortable to view
4) Make things responsive

These four principles were established by One UI designers to give users the best experience possible.

▲ Jeonggun Choi, Principal UX Designer in the Core UX Group, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics

The fourth principle is a completely new principal introduced for One UI 3.1.

“From tablets to foldable phones and regular smartphones, the types of devices people are using has diversified, and the number of features and functions has also increased,” said Principal UX Designer Jeonggun Choi. “Following this trend, new principles were needed to provide the best layout for our users.” Whether an app is running on the Galaxy S21, Galaxy Tab, or the foldable Galaxy Z series, the UI is optimized for each device.

When using the Samsung Notes app on smartphones with regular sized displays, for example, users can access the app menu by pressing the navigation button at the top left side of the screen. But on the Galaxy Z Fold and Tab series, users can take advantage of the larger display by having the entire menu always in view, without having to press anything.

▲ Before (left) and after (right) views of the high contrast menu function

As part of the fourth principle, Samsung has also improved the accessibility experience by recommending features that complement the ones already in use. When someone with impaired or weakened vision has High contrast fonts turned on, for example, One UI suggests other features that improve visibility such as Bold font or Dark mode on the Recommended for you screen. One UI also reduces the hassle of having to sort through several menus by allowing users to turn off any accessibility features they are using from a single screen.

“Accessibility features are so diverse that it can often be difficult to use them to their full potential,” said Jeonggun Choi. “The ‘Recommended for you’ function increases convenience and helps users get more out of those features by identifying and recommending ones that users may need. We’ve also made it easy to use these features only when needed by allowing users to turn the features on and off while in use on one page.”

Galaxy Ecosystem Allows for Seamless Connectivity Between Devices

Another perk offered by One UI 3 is the ability to seamlessly switch between smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Taking into account the increased use of tablets and laptops spurred by a boom in remote learning and work, the new update provides a ‘connected device experience.’ This seamless ecosystem is paramount to enhancing study and work productivity.

“A new feature called ‘Continue apps on other devices’[2] has been added so that users can continue whatever they were doing on their smartphone – whether browsing a web page or working on a draft in Samsung Notes – on their tablet,” said Principal UX Designer Min-Young Chang. “Users can also copy text on their smartphone and paste it onto their tablet.”

In addition, users can connect their Book Cover Keyboard to both their tablet and smartphone with the Wireless keyboard sharing feature. The new Auto Switch feature also automatically connects Galaxy Buds to whichever device is playing media, so that users can seamlessly switch between their smartphones and tablets.

Connected device experiences are not only available with mobile devices, they are also available on home appliances such as TVs. Starting with One UI 3, users can use Smart View to enjoy multimedia content from their smartphone on their TV alongside the camera feed from their smartphone. This is especially beneficial for users who work out at home, allowing them to compare their movements with those of their virtual instructor.

“Starting with the One UI 3.1 update, users can cast their Google Duo video calls onto their TV with one just click,” said Jeonggun Choi. “With an increasing number of people connecting with their family via video calls and conducting virtual work meetings, this is an especially useful feature.”

A Customizable Galaxy Experience to Suit Your Needs

Smartphones are no longer just a tool that gives users the power to do various tasks—they’ve become a means of self-expression. Perhaps the best example is decorating the Galaxy Z Flip with stickers to create your own unique phone. But there are many ways to create a custom smartphone experience with the latest updates. “We have implemented a diverse array of features to let users use their smartphone as a form of self-expression,” said Jeonggun Choi. “Users can enjoy a customized Galaxy experience by choosing a video as the incoming and outgoing call screen or changing the wallpaper in the Messages app.”

▲ Before (left) and after (right) views of the quick panel. The design has been simplified and the most commonly used icons have been placed to speed up the search process. Users can add other icons by clicking the ‘See more’ button in the top right corner.

“We first analyzed the usage for each feature available in previous models,” said Min-Young Chang. “After ranking the features based on their popularity, we placed the most used features at the top while hiding the least used features to simplify the panel.”

Saving Your Time, Even if it’s Only 1 Second

▲ Min-Young Chang, Principal UX Designer in the UX Design 2 Group, Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics

Another updated feature available through One UI 3.1 is the integration of the Clock app with Digital Wellbeing’s Bedtime mode.[3] After opening the Clock app, users can tap See More, then tap Set bedtime to set their sleep and wake-up times. Users no longer have to switch between two apps, making setting a daily sleep schedule easier and faster.

“Users might not be aware of all of the One UI design updates that have been made but these improvements combined help users recognize and react to various features quicker and in a more direct manner. Even if it saves 1 to 2 seconds of user’s time, I think it would have been worth the effort,” said Jeonggun Choi. “The One UI designers are going to continue coming up with designs that elevate our users’ happiness and satisfaction with Galaxy devices.”

[1] Features of One UI 3.1 may vary by device model. Updates may vary by carrier, country, and model.
[2] Both connected devices need to be running One UI 3.1 or above, have Bluetooth turned on, be signed into the same Samsung account, and be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
[3] The feature allows users to change the background to grayscale and mute incoming notifications in order to help them sleep better.

Android, Editorial, Gaming, Lifestyle, Mobile

ASUS ROG Phone 5: Everything You Need to Know

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Update (10 March 2021): More rumors are continuing to surface about the ROG Phone 5 in the days leading up to its release. The first is that the new gaming phone will have a variant with 16GB of RAM. Something we highlighted in our original article. In addition to this, we’ve got our first look at the phone thanks to leaker @IshanAgarwal on Twitter. It seems like the phone will be coming in a new, sleek white color similar to the Zephyrus G14/15. The official renders also show a new AeroActive Cooler with a slight redesign.

ASUS’s ROG Phone is arguably one of the most popular gaming phones on the market. ASUS launched the first ROG Phone to much fanfare in 2019 creating a new niche for loud, gamer-proud devices. They also pack specifications and software features that allow users to get the most out of their phones when it comes to performance and comes with software optimizations for gaming. Don’t forget the plethora of gaming-centric accessories that is now a signature of the ROG Phone lineup.

In the past, ASUS has announced their gaming smartphone closer to mid year. However, this year, the company has already announced that they will be revealing their new entry into the ROG Phone line up on March 10 at 7pm. With that in mind, we thought it’s be an opportune time to round up the rumours and everything else we know so far about the ROG Phone 5.

Bringing New Design Cues from Successful Laptops

Yep. You read that right. No you didn’t miss a ROG Phone somewhere in between. Instead, ASUS has decided to skip straight to 5 as the number 4 in Mandarin and other Chinese dialects sounds similar to the word for death.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to business. You’d have realised that ASUS has been teasing the ROG Phone 5 for about a week now. If you’ve been paying attention, it looks like the AniMe matrix from the ROG Zephyrus G14 is coming along for the ride. It seems to be the hallmark design feature of the phone and will be replacing the RGB logo which was one back of the phone.

From the leaks, it looks like this may be complemented by a small display. The small strip could be used as a notification ticker or possibly in a similar way that the HTC One Ultra used it for interactive features. However, there’s no confirmations so far on the functionality of the display.

This would be an excellent complement to the triggers that we already know will be coming to the ROG Phone 5. It also seems like there is an extra red button on the phone’s lower left edge. Keep in mind, that the ROG Phone series has historically come with a side mounted USB-C port.

Asus Rog Phone 5 Live Hands on Video

Specc’d to Kill

As is the usual, it seems like the ROG Phone 5 is specced to kill – in a matter of speaking. We know the phone will be coming with a Snapdragon 888 processor. However, what we don’t know is whether the processor will come with a special build like previous years. Typically, ASUS and Qualcomm have launched the ROG Phone 5 with a “plus” or + variant of the year’s top processor. However, this year, the ROG Phone seems to be coming with the run of the mill Snapdragon 888.

We know from TENAA documentation that there will be an 8GB version of the smartphone, possibly the Tencent or STRIX version which we’ve seen in the past. However, we also have an inkling through rumours that ASUS is likely to have a 16GB and 12GB versions as well. Of course, they will be using the UFS 3.1 standard of memory for that snappy runtime. We will definitely see versions with 256GB and 512GB of internal storage however we wouldn’t put it past ASUS to offer a whopping 1TB version too perhaps paired with 16GB of RAM.

When it comes to the battery, we know for a fact that ASUS hasn’t shied away from large battery capacities. This year’s ROG Phone seems to be coming with a 6,000mAh battery if rumours are to be believed. ASUS is apparently achieving this by doubling up on 3,000mAh battery modules. Of course, the phone will be able to support up to 65W Fast Charging and come with Quick Charge 4, USB-C Power Delivery 3.0 and maybe even reverse charging. However, we don’t expect to see wireless charging in the ROG Phone 5 if ASUS keeps to its trends.

Source: ASUS

On the display front, it looks like ASUS might be equipping the ROG Phone 5 with a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen. However, rumours point to the gaming smartphone only coming with a Full HD+ resolution. That said, the display may be getting a boost from the HDR10+ feature it’s rumoured to be touting. It also looks like the smartphone will be coming with Android 11 out of the box.

Thanks to DxO Mark’s audio review, we know that the ROG Phone comes with stereo speakers and a 3.5mm audio jack – hooray~! In addition, it looks like the phone will be equipped with an ESS DAC for better quality sound and it will also have at least four microphones. On the optics side of things, not too much detail is known. However, we do have leads showing that the phone will be coming with a triple sensor setup. It will be fronted by a 64-megapixel main sensor. The remaining sensors are unknown but if we are to go with what came in the ROG Phone 3 and similar phones this year, we’re betting on an ultrawide sensor and a macro sensor.

Pricing & Availability

While nothing much has been said about the price, we’re expecting ASUS to maintain the general price point of the ROG Phone 5. The ROG Phone came with a price tag of $999 in the U.S. and €999 in Europe at launch. In Malaysia, pricing was about MYR4,499 at launch.

However, given Samsung’s move to make the barrier to ownership a little lower this year, we can probably expect that ASUS may do the same; either with a lower specc’d entry or a very slight price decrease. We’ll have to wait and see.

Accessories, Consumer Electronics, Editor's Choice, Editorial, Reviews

The Sony WH-1000XM4 In-Depth Review – It Gets Better

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We loved the WF-1000XM3, this is no secret. I personally own a WF-1000XM3. We actually went out to pre-order one to get it before they officially launched them in Malaysia. It is that good.

But there is something better than an in-ear headphone though. That is an over-ear headphone like the WH-1000XM3. There is a reason why we settled for the WF-1000XM3 though. Its performance is close enough to the WH-1000XM3 and is fractionally cheaper, and it is a lot more portable.

We still love the WH-1000XM3 very much though. It is one of the best active noise cancelling headphone in the industry at its time and still holds its own to this day. If you are looking for a noise cancelling headphone at a budget at this time, the WH-1000XM3 is still a very good choice. The problem is, the new Sony WH-1000XM4 is not that much more expensive in price.

The WH-1000XM4 is still a premium product at MYR 1,599. The question here is not whether it is better than the WH-1000XM3 or not though. The question here should be, should you change from the WH-1000XM3 to this one? Or should you get this one over the discounted Mark III? We find out.

Design

It looks exactly the same as the WH-1000XM3, and that is it. Really, they look the same. They come with the same shaped hardcase too, with a slight difference in material choices over the case. Put the two side by side and they look nearly indistinguishable other than the WH-1000XM3 and WH-1000XM4 label on the head band.

So that is that, right? Not really

The padding on the Sony WH-1000XM4 is of newer materials that is supposed to be more breathable and more comfortable than the WH-1000XM3. This is not to say that the Sony WH-1000XM3 was not a comfortable headphone to work with in any way though. The newer materials ensures that the WH-1000XM4’s earcups are slightly more breathable apparently.

In Malaysia, you are still going to sweat your ears out wearing the headphones out in the open. It will still be warm no matter how you put it, but that is not the fault of the headphone itself. We suspect also that the extra breathability has something to do with the more comfortable clamping force on the headband.

There is another subtle change within one of the earcups too. Specifically, on the left earcup there is now what seems to be a cut out for some sort of a sensor. The sensor is an optical sensor to tell the headphone whether or it is being worn.

Features

The Sony WH-1000XM4 inherits most of its great features from the Sony WH-1000XM3. That is kind of expected. What we did not expect is how much Sony added on the WH-1000XM4 to make it a class of its own.

Talk-to-Chat Transparent Mode

The new Sony WH-1000XM4 is a rather clever piece of kit to bring with you wherever you go. You technically do not have to take it off your ear ever (until the battery drains and you have to charge, of course). It turns on ambient noise mode the moment you want to start a conversation with anyone.

We tried the function in the office to have conversations with everyone else in the office. It only detects speech from you before it turns to transparent mode automatically. Which also means that your friends still need to tap on your shoulders to get your attention and you have to start talking first before the feature itself is turned on.

We do find it nifty in certain situations, and a little jarring in a lot of situations. There are times that we had to say “what?” twice before you can get the headphone to turn transparent mode on. You can still cover the right cup of the headphone to turn on ambient mode temporarily too, which might work better in our opinions.

Transparency mode on the Sony WH-1000XM4 may not be the most natural experience you have on your surroundings too. You can sort of hear your friends when you talk to them in transparent mode, but there are times where you tend to hear more environmental noise and buzz than the people you want to have conversations with. At least the delivery of ambient noise is accurate enough you know where everything is coming from.

Noise Cancelling Made Even better

The WH-1000XM4 packs the same type of audio signal processor from its predecessor. It is the very powerful Sony QN1 processor. This is also the reason why the Sony headphone is not aptX or aptX HD certified. Then again, it is not a Qualcomm processor the headphone packs.

The QN1 on the WH-1000XM4 is programmed differently compared to the QN1 in the older headphone and the WF-1000XM3 though. It is technically more powerful as it now does more complex and robust calculations for noise cancelling. That also means that the noise cancelling in the new WH-1000XM4 is technically better than the WH-1000XM3.

To put it in words, you might hear the headphone feeding you anti-noise at times, when there is no other audio playing through the headphone. When the music comes alive, most of the world is tuned out and quiet. There are still some situations that you can hear the rest of the world, especially when loud noises are involved, but no active noise cancelling technology can remove noise or sounds completely.

Using the active noise cancelling feature on the WH-1000XM4 for an extended period of time is a very comfortable affair. You do not feel like your head is stuck in a vacuum chamber or feel like your eardrums are being sucked dry by the headphone. What we mean to say is that you will not get a headache or discomfort.

DSEE Extreme

But the QN1 does more than just clever noise cancelling. It upscales audio now with Sony’s proprietary DSEE Extreme, an even more powerful version of Sony’s DSEE HX from the WH-1000XM3. What it does is it upscales audio and delivers them more cleanly via Bluetooth. The technology fills gaps in an audio and delivers it to the listener for a better listening experience.

Again, the differences are very marginal to a regular listener. To us at least, the differences between audio delivery between the new headphone and older headphone is hardly noticeable and very easy to miss if you do not pay attention. The differences lie in some of the higher-end frequencies and a slightly fuller low-frequency notes.

In theory then, even Spotify should sound a little more amazing and impressive with DSEE Extreme. It does though, it does work. It does make Spotify sound less Spotify and a little more Tidal. To put it into perspective, Spotify can be likened to compressed MP3 audio format and Tidal delivers up to CD AAC audio format, which has higher bitrate and throughput. In turn, AAC audio format tends to be more detailed and in higher fidelity compared to MP3.

Multi-Device Connection

There was not much we could complain about when it comes to the WH-1000XM3. The only thing we thought was a little lacking was the fact that the headphone could only connect to one device at a time. Sony also fixed that with the new WH-1000XM4.

While the new WH-1000XM4 headphones does connect to multiple devices, do not be fooled into thinking you can connect your smartphone, your notebook PC, and your tablet at the same time. You can only choose up to two devices to connect to the Sony WH-1000XM4.

Connecting your WH-1000XM4 to both devices as simple as you would expect too. You can use your smartphones to connect to the device via NFC and then Bluetooth. Connecting your PC too is just about a simple working with Windows’ Bluetooth.

You might have to keep in mind that the Sony WH-1000XM4 turns off the moment you plug a USB Type-C cable to the headphone. The headphone will automatically go into charge mode. You can still plug the headphones in to a 3.5mm AUX jack for listening though, just that you do not get to use the noise cancelling function.

Performance

Of course, the whole point of a headphone is an audio experience. That is what this MYR 1,599 Sony WH-1000XM4 is all about, the aural experience. For that kind of money, you will not be disappointed with the Sony headphones.

An Aural Experience

It is a solid product no matter how you look at it for MYR 1,599. While the build is mostly plastic, most of the money goes into making the internals as good as it can be. You are looking at a 40mm driver that is capable of producing frequencies from as low as 4hz all the way to 40,000hz. Of course, what you hear depends on your own ears and the music format itself.

We tested most of our audio products with Tidal because it streams at 16-bit/44kHz quality. Spotify streams at half that. That also means that you get higher quality audio and more detailed audio from Tidal to work with.

As with plenty of Sony audio products, we can safely say that the WH-1000XM4 produces a very balanced sound signature. Sound is detailed enough through all the frequencies. Some might say that it lacks lower frequency punch (bass) though, and that is also mostly a matter of preference. Still, the mid and high frequencies shine with detail and there is enough punch for us in the lower frequencies.

What it lacks in punch though, the Sony WH-1000XM4 makes up in detail. The lower frequencies forms with distinction, not just booms that you hear in your ear. You also have to keep in mind that too much lower frequencies can hurt your ears too. This will not do that.

The headphone gets pretty loud too on Bluetooth. If you plug it in though, depending on your source device, the headphone tends to be a little softer and less punchy. We do somehow find a bit more detail when you plug it in though. Just remember that you still need to use the battery if you want to use the Noise Cancelling function and DSEE Extreme.

Listening on the WH-1000XM4 can be very personal though. Via the app, you could also take a picture of your ears and let Sony tune the headphone to your ears. In that case, your friends might not get the same experience as you do on the headphone itself. Of course, the app also allows you to adjust your own equaliser to make it even more personal.

With the WH-1000XM4 as well you get the benefit of Sony’s 360 Reality Audio that gives you some spatial effect. Of course, not all streaming platforms have this feature. That is also why we refer to Tidal for our audio needs, they support the 360 Reality Audio feature.

Battery Life

Sony claims that the WH-1000XM4, like the WH-1000XM3, has 30 hours of continuous playback. That is technically longer than the world’s longest direct flight at 18 hours. We have not had the privilege to travel from Singapore to New York directly for that matter. No thanks to the pandemic situation too, travelling is rather limited to intercity travels by car. Which also means that we have not sat in an airplane for over a year now.

If we do though, we are glad that we have the WH-1000XM4. In our tests, we can assure you that it the headphones can last more than 20 cumulative hours of use. Of course, this also depends on how high or how low you set your volume to. We set our volumes to an average 70 to 75% most of the time and we mostly use it with our PC and smartphone wirelessly. In that regards, we only had to charge the headphone once in a week.

Call Quality

Of course, because we pair it to our smartphone as well, we use it to make phone calls from time to time. On PC as well, by default the headphone connects to the device as two separate devices and go into handsfree mode the moment you get into a conference call. This is also to prevent the headphone to go into talk-to-chat transparency mode.

In hands-free mode, or when you make a call, the audio gets a little distorted for some reason. It is not as bad as before where audio sounds tiny and extra distorted though. We just thought that it sounds a little sketchy at times and it could be a little better and clearer.

It is still convenient for you to just pick-up a call and tune everything else out. Whenever a call comes in, the headphone prioritises feed from the calls on your smartphone or your video conferencing tools first.

On the PC, you will hear the difference between conference calls made in hands-free mode and with hands-free mode turned off. It is night and day. You also want to keep in mind that if you want to use this headphone for multiplayer gaming (it is quite excellent for gaming too, if you must know), you really want to disable hands-free mode and Talk-to-Chat function.

The Sony WH-1000XM4 – Oh Yes!

We really like the Sony WH-1000XM4. They never really changed its design compared to its predecessor. To be fair, the design language has not changed all that much since their first iteration of the noise cancelling over-ear headphone series. Then again, why fix something that is not broken? That is also very Japanese, if we must say.

Issue with that is that ergonomics is the same and the touch controls are the same too. The touch controls are not exactly the Sony WH-1000XM4’s strongest suit. Thank goodness you have a smartphone app to control the headphone too. Of course, the app makes the WH-1000XM4 even more personal.  

It is a slightly more comfortable headphone compared to the older WH-1000XM3. It is also better sounding and packs better active noise cancelling algorithm. We thought talk-to-chat function was something that would be a game changer, but we end up looking at it as more of a gimmick now instead.

So, if you are looking to spend a little bit more money for a headphone, the WH-1000XM4 is a good buy. We would recommend it very strongly. The problem only comes if you already own a WH-1000XM3.

To solve the problem, we would not recommend you change from your WH-1000XM3 to this new one. While all the small improvements may make it seem like the fourth-generation headphone from Sony holds a big gap over the WH-1000XM3, the improvements made in the areas that matter is not so much that the older generation headphones become obsolete. If you do want the latest and greatest though, who are we to say that you should not spend your money on the Sony WH-1000XM4?