Latest news with #ChristopherNull
WIRED
11-03-2025
- WIRED
The Apple Mac Studio Is More Powerful Than Most Will Ever Need
In her review of the 2023 edition of the Apple Mac Studio, Brenda Stolyar called the pint-sized powerhouse 'the Goldilocks Mac' – suggesting its combination of performance and price was just about perfect for power users, at least those that don't need the hemorrhage-level bleeding edge performance of the Mac Pro tower. Today Apple aims to maintain that verdict, upgrading the device to keep up with the times and again releasing the Studio in two versions, one of which should be ideal for any creative. The 2025 Mac Studio can be configured either with the new M4 Max CPU or with the M3 Ultra. It may sound counterintuitive, but the M3 Ultra version is actually the more premium of the two SKUs, and by a significant margin; the Ultra design family has been described as merging two Max CPUs that the computer addresses as a single chip. There's no M4 Ultra CPU yet, so ultra-power users get the equivalent of a pair of M3 Max CPUs instead. This isn't a consolation prize. Most head-to-head benchmarks place the M4 Max as only slightly faster than the 2023-released M2 Ultra, with the M3 Ultra significantly ahead from there. For the moment, Apple bills the new Mac Studio as 'the most powerful Mac ever made.' Christopher Null Like its predecessors, the Mac Studio is a lunchbox-sized device that does not look at all like it should be the most powerful Mac ever made, but rather like something that should be operating a really nice stereo system. But looks are of course deceiving, and inside the sealed box you'll find plenty of oomph, designed with creators firmly in mind. I tested the entry-level M4 Max version, which includes a 14-core CPU, 32-core GPU, and 16-core Neural Engine, plus 36GB of unified memory and a 512GB SSD for $1999. That lattermost spec feels a bit stingy in today's clime, but it can be upgraded (only at purchase) on the M4 Max model all the way up to 8TB of SSD storage. For comparison, the $3999 M3 Ultra version starts with a 28-core CPU, 60-core GPU, and 32-core Neural Engine, plus 96GB of unified memory and a 1TB SSD. Maxed out with an 80-core GPU, 512GB of RAM, and a 16TB SSD, your price tag will hit a cool $14,099. The most powerful Mac ever made may well equate to the most expensive Mac ever sold as well. It perhaps goes without saying that the machine is meltingly fast, to the point where it's hard to accurately convey its power in text. The M4 Pro-based Apple MacBook Pro I reviewed last fall probably provides the best comparison I can offer, considering it's only one step down on the CPU ladder from the M4 Max. Christopher Null
WIRED
23-02-2025
- WIRED
Lenovo's Yoga Slim 9i Has an Invisible Webcam and It Sucks
God help us, there are so, so many Lenovo Yoga laptops out there now. There's the Yoga 9i, the Yoga Pro 9i, the Yoga Book 9i, and now this new arrival—the Yoga Slim 9i. So much Yoga. So much 9i. If you can't keep them all straight, take comfort in the fact that I can't either. The need-to-know on the Slim 9i is that it's intended as the premiere offering in this lineup, including a hip design, Copilot+ PC features, and a feature that hides the webcam behind the LCD using what's called camera-under-display (CUD) technology. (This isn't the first time we've seen this—ZTE notably had a phone several years ago with a similarly hidden selfie camera.) Teal Shimmer Before I dig deeper into that camera trick, let's talk about the rest of the package. Though it's crafted mostly from aluminum, the cover of the 14-inch laptop is made from highly reflective shimmering glass in a hue of 'Tidal Teal.' It's eye-catching but may be too flashy for some, which is probably why glass lids went out of fashion a few years back. Photograph: Christopher Null Curvy on every corner, the only sharp edges you'll find on the device are where that glass lid comes to an end. And while this laptop doesn't have a notch for its webcam, there is a bulge on the back of the cover where that webcam resides. As such, it's not so much 'under the display' as it is 'behind the display,' an important distinction that creates a distinctly bulbous design conceit that you will likely either love or hate. (A privacy shutter switch is available on the side of the laptop.) Lenovo has always been known for its input experience, and the Slim 9i 14 offers one of the best I've seen, featuring a spacious edge-to-edge keyboard layout and keys with excellent responsiveness, all atop a surprisingly small trackpad. I greatly prefer this smaller trackpad design, but users more accustomed to enormous ice skating rinks for their fingertips may find it constraining. Five 'Quick Keys' on the right side of the keyboard offer easy access to different power and audio modes, a fingerprint reader, and other extras. Photograph: Christopher Null
WIRED
16-02-2025
- WIRED
Asus' Zenbook A14 Is Wonderfully Light but Weak in Power
The A14 is available only in dark gray and in one configuration: a Snapdragon X (X1-26-100) CPU with 32 GB of RAM and a 1-TB SSD. The 14-inch screen (nontouch) has a 1,920 x 1,200-pixel resolution. Ports include two USB-C jacks with USB 4.0, a single USB-A 3.2 port, and a full-size HDMI jack. One of the USB-C ports is used for charging. Average Performance All of those specs are fairly entry-level for a laptop of this pedigree, but it's the CPU that should draw some amount of your attention. The Snapdragon X is Qualcomm's newest microprocessor, and it's also its cheapest and least powerful, a dialed-back version of the Snapdragon X Plus, which already felt sluggish in use. Photograph: Christopher Null The good news is that the Snapdragon X-equipped A14 doesn't perform significantly differently from laptops outfitted with the Snapdragon X Plus. The bad news is that performance is not terribly impressive, and these laptops (including the A14) all tend to drag a bit. It's not the end of the world if you're browsing the web and typing emails, but it would be nice for a machine of this svelte stature to show off a little power—small but mighty. The A14 is particularly sluggish when it comes to graphics and video performance, and buyers shouldn't dream of using it for creative work. Fortunately, Qualcomm has made strides in software compatibility in recent months, and previously unusable apps like Google Drive are now working fine. Asus specifies a maximum battery life of a whopping 32 hours for this device, and while I didn't approach that level with a full-screen, full-brightness, YouTube playback test, I was able to squeak out just over 20 hours of uninterrupted run time. (I tested this twice just to make sure.) You'll surely be able to stretch that further by turning off Wi-Fi and dialing down the brightness—which is solid when dialed up—but even at a 'mere' 20 hours, the machine is record-breaking on the longevity front. The audio is better than expected, surprisingly rich and plenty loud. That's aided by a dead silent machine. There are fans inside the A14, but I never got them to fire up, even under the heaviest load I could throw at it. Usability is likewise solid, as the keyboard has plenty of action, and the trackpad, while spacious, is short of being overbearingly large.
WIRED
14-02-2025
- Business
- WIRED
Zepp Clarity's New OTC Hearing Aids Need More Time to Bake
Feb 14, 2025 10:00 AM Zepp's upcoming try-before-you-buy plan wants to encourage greater hearing aid adoption. Unfortunately, the hardware on offer still needs work. Photograph: Christopher Null; Getty Images If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more. Please also consider subscribing to WIRED At the start of the year, hearing aid brand Zepp Clarity announced a new program to try to encourage more of the millions of people with hearing loss to give hearing aids—and particularly Zepp Clarity's aids—a spin. The idea: try before you buy, with no strings attached. Zepp Clarity hasn't rolled out that business model yet, and a spokesperson says there's still no ETA for the launch. Meanwhile, Zepp Clarity is still selling aids on a pay-up-front basis, with a 60-day money-back guarantee offer. (That's in line with most other over-the-counter hearing aid sellers, which typically have generous returns policies.) The hearing aid hardware isn't changing after the try-on plan goes live, and Zepp Clarity will continue to sell the three hearing aid models I've reviewed below after it does. They are all markedly different. What they have in common is the basics: All have rechargeable batteries and a case that recharges via USB-C, and they come with various open and closed ear tips. All of them work with the Zepp Clarity app (Android, iOS)—pay attention, because there are a lot of apps called 'Zepp' out there—though the interface is different for each device. None of the aids let you upload an audiogram, so you'll need to do all your tuning within the app. I tested all three—here's what they're like. Zepp Clarity Omni Photograph: Christopher Null These are the only behind-the-ear hearing aids in the Zepp Clarity collection, and they're the cheapest of the trio. They're also—by far—the largest, weighing a massive 4.97 grams each, heavier even than the Elehear Beyond hearing aids and just shy of twice the weight of the Jabra Enhance Select 500. The large aids at least leave room for physical controls, with a volume up/down rocker on each (volume is controlled universally via either aid) and a multifunction button that can change the environmental mode or be used to stop/start streaming media. Completing a basic hearing test in the app is mandatory during setup, after which each aid is programmed with one of six preset frequency-tuning configurations. These are somewhat blunt configurations that can't be further refined, but for users with relatively mild hearing loss, these types of programs—which are commonplace in lower-cost competitors—usually get the job done well enough. The listening experience is hit-or-miss. After configuring the aids to my hearing needs, I found their overall audio quality to be on the thin and tinny side, dulling a lot of the lower frequencies and making for a slightly unnatural aural experience. There was quite a bit of feedback while putting them on, but this settled down quickly after getting them situated in my ears. On the plus side, I found the aids to be nearly hiss-free, which goes a long way toward smoothing out any complaints about the way the aids sound. The experience was roughly the same while using the aids to stream media: There's no real bass response, so music and dialog both sound a little unnatural, with none of the depth needed to make for an enriching listening session. The aids do however include Auracast, should you find yourself in the presence of a compatible streaming source. While the units carry a respectable 18-hour battery life—with another 65 hours of charge available through the compact yet quite tall case—they have one fatal flaw, and that's their gigantic size. I've never tested a pair of behind-the-ear hearing aids that are this big and bulky. They're heavy and quickly become uncomfortable on their own. When paired with eyeglasses, they were almost nonfunctional, unable to coexist behind my ears alongside my frames. These aids were priced at $899 when I began my review but were promptly slashed to $399 by the time I filed it. That makes for an immensely more compelling purchasing calculus, though all the discounts in the world won't get you around their distinct lack of comfort. Rating: 6/10 Zepp Clarity One Photograph: Christopher Null A much different concept than the Omni, the Zepp Clarity One is an in-the-ear hearing aid designed with invisibility in mind. With a weight of just 1.06 grams per aid, the One hearing aids stand as some of the lightest I've ever tested, barely edged out by the 0.96-gram Ceretone Core One hearing aids. They are, unfortunately, not a great experience. To start with, these aids do not work with or support Zepp's hearing test, and configurability is extremely limited. The app allows you to create up to four listening programs, each configurable with four settings for bass and treble adjustment and three for volume. I suspect most users will end up using three of the programs to set the aids to each of the three available volume levels while leaving bass/treble the same across them all. To switch among the programs, you have to tap your ear rather hard twice, and the program for each ear must be set separately. An audio prompt lets you know which program you're on, but God help you if both ears are on Program 1 and you want to move to Program 4. In a public space, the sight of you repeatedly slapping yourself on either side of your head will undoubtedly draw stares. Bizarrely, the Zepp app only interacts with the hearing aids while they are in the case. When out of the case, the app doesn't do anything except instruct you to replace them so it can 'retrieve your hearing aid information.' If you want to try different bass/treble/volume settings, you'll have to keep swapping the aids between the case and your ears until you find settings you like. And good luck on that front: The Zepp Clarity One aids are so limited in capabilities that I never found any setting that did me much good, though the level 2 volume and low-level bass and treble boosts were at least tolerable. At the highest volume level, I found the hearing aids close to unusable, creating a low-level hum that began to grate on the nerves after just a few minutes, while blasting loud noises like footsteps and keyboard taps. During parts of my testing, seemingly at random, the aids exhibited a terrifying amount of high-pitched feedback whenever the slightest noise was registered, making them all but unusable. Battery life for the aids is specified at 17 hours of continuous use, and Zepp Clarity says the case adds up to two more weeks—336 hours—of additional capacity. Note that these aids cannot be used for streaming media or taking phone calls over a Bluetooth connection; they work with real-world listening only. Like the Omni, these aids saw their price slashed, from $1,199 to $699, while I was working on the review. They're still dramatically overpriced for what they do. Rating: 2/10 Zepp Clarity Pixie The Zepp Clarity Pixie hearing aids take a design cue from the One aids, with an in-the-ear design and a per-aid weight of just 1.17 grams. The similarities diverge from there, however, as the Pixie aids are more customizable, with features more in line with the Omni than the stripped-down One. The Pixie aids support the Zepp hearing test. As I'd already taken it for the Omni, I was able to copy those settings over to the Pixie aids without having to take the test again (though I later did a retest anyway). The same six program options appear to be available to the Pixie as well as the Omni. Zepp's app for the Pixie is different from both the Omni and the One, offering a volume slider on one tab and eight preset environmental programs on another. These range from general to TV to restaurant to crowd. I'd like to say that there's a significant difference among these listening modes, but the best that I can suggest is that the main difference involves the amount of hiss and high-pitched feedback they suffer from. Much like the Zepp Clarity One aids, the Pixie aids feature frequent and random bouts of ear-piercing squeals that are impossible to ignore, even at the bare minimum volume. A layer of static underlies this, ranging from minimal to grating, which makes the listening experience even more unbearable. The amplification and clarity improvements otherwise aren't bad, and in the absence of all that feedback they might make for a compelling product. Alas, I was never able to dial the noise down to an acceptable level. The aids have no physical controls and rely on the same tap-your-ear method as described above to switch among up to three different environmental modes you select in the app (though one is always set as the default mode). The aids can't be used for streaming via Bluetooth, though they do feature a phone setting that is supposed to make it easier to hear phone calls played over your handset's speaker without removing the aids from your ears. The feedback issues unfortunately didn't make that possible for me. Battery life is specified at 17 hours per charge, with an extra 187 hours in the case. The case, incidentally, can be charged wirelessly in addition to the USB-C port. The aids are comfortable enough physically, but so acoustically troubled as to make that largely irrelevant. As with the rest of Zepp's aids, these were slashed in price from $1,999 to $999 while I was testing them. Compared to a similar product like the vastly superior Sony CRE-C20 aids at the same price, the calculus should be plainly obvious. Rating: 4/10
