Reviews

Ryzen and 16:10 for the masses. The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 Pro 16ACH might be the result of a combination of the trends towards 16:10 displays and AMD processors. The multimedia laptop stands out with its large, high-resolution 120 Hz LCD in a less wide format and with its fast Ryzen 5000H CPUs.

Square or round? We recently tested the round realme Watch S Pro and the angular realme Watch 2 Pro almost simultaneously. The prices of the almost identically named Pro smartwatches are quite far apart. This comparison specifically addresses the differences.

350 percent faster graphics performance. The 2021 Toughbook FZ-55 MK2 is an excellent example of how far Intel has come since its Whiskey Lake-U days on the original 2019 Toughbook FZ-55 MK1. If you want to maximize performance without necessarily drawing more power, then the FZ-55 Mark 2 is a no-brainer.

With a replaceable battery. The Gigabyte G5 KC is available starting at around 1,000 Euros (~$1,184), and it aims to win gamers' hearts over with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 and very good upgradeability. Our review will reveal how well this works.

... and good maintenance options. The Fujitsu LifeBook U7311 offers a unique selection of ports and good maintenance options. The LifeBook is intended for business users and is now available with Tiger Lake CPUs.

NUC alternative? MSI Cubi 5 10M is a compact office PC without many frills. Together with the Cubi 5 10M, we also took a closer look at the MSI Modern MD271 monitor and the MSI Modern LED Lux Lightbar.

Leaves a good impression. With the Nokia XR20, the Finns intend to launch a rugged phone that is both sturdy and good-looking. Moreover, the company wants to offer a lot of performance while still keeping the phone affordable. Has Nokia taken on too much?

For gaming, Intel is faster where it matters. The Win Max sounds great on paper and its portable form factor is attractive for handheld gaming, but there are enough drawbacks for us to hit the brakes on putting down $1000 USD for this Windows 10 UMPC.

RAVPOWER has extended its range of high-wattage chargers with a new 120 watt (W) variant. This upgraded spec entails the potential of powering pretty much anything with a USB type-C port, some laptops included, through 2 of its 4 ports. Can its rated specs work out in real life?

OLED and Core i9 performance. Quality-of-life changes like OLED, RGB keyboard backlight, and the merging of GeForce and Quadro options make the latest ZBook a more versatile solution for professional workstation environments and content creators alike.

Plenty of battery. Wiko's latest trick is called Power U30 and is characterized by a powerful 6,000 mAhbattery and a large display. The smartphone is supposed to change hands for well under 200 Euros (~$236). Find out how it performs in this review.

The Elecrow CrowPi is an all-in-one electronics education kit complete with a Raspberry Pi (3B+ or 4B) and enough buttons, sensors, buzzers, and LCDs to get any student started with electronics and programming.

Now also with 5G. HP's EliteBook 830 compact subnotebook gets a new Tiger Lake processor in its 8th generation, but it sticks with the familiar 16:9 displays. The 1,000-nits SureView monitor protects users from prying eyes, but it continues to have an impact on image quality.

5G is foolish. If this is what you think sometimes and are looking for a mid-range smartphone without support for the newest mobile communication standard, Samsung has an offer for you: The Galaxy A22 4G is more compact than its 5G version, but also slower at a similar price. So is the 4G smartphone only something for 5G fiends?

Almost a Mi 11. The Redmi K40 Pro+ comes to Europe under the name Mi 11i, and it plays in the big leagues in terms of performance. Just like the flagships of the Mi 11 series, the Mi 11i also features the high-end Snapdragon 888 SoC. Only the price takes a different direction. The Mi 11i starts at a price of 100 Euros (~$117) less than the very similarly equipped Xiaomi Mi 11, and the trend is sharply downwards.

Selfie queen. The Vivo V21 5G focuses on the cameras. The highlight is supposed to be the 44 MP front-facing camera, which is equipped with an OIS and dual LEDs. However, a promising 64 MP lens is also the centerpiece on the back. We took a closer look.

More than just 5G. Contrary to what the name suggests, the Oppo A74 5G is more than just a simple 5G upgrade of the LTE model with the same name. Among other things, the cameras and the display have been optimized. We will find out whether everything has changed for the better in our review.

High-end MX450. Lenovo's 16-inch all-rounder delivers more than enough computing power for office and Internet applications. It also brings all modern computer games smoothly onto the 16:10 screen - at least in HD resolution. The Tiger Lake processor and GeForce MX450 GPU make this possible.

One model, two different thicknesses. The G713 series consists of at least 16 different configurations of various AMD CPUs, GeForce GPUs, battery sizes, and even thicknesses. There are good options to be found in there, but ours is perhaps not the best.

Well-rounded. The Ryzen 7 APU and the GeForce RTX 3070 laptop GPU bring all the latest games smoothly onto the matte QHD display. Because of the low TGP, the GPU performs below its capabilities. The laptop offers space for three storage drives.

17 inches with the MX450. With its 17-inch display, the HP Envy 17 is well-suited for the consumption of media contents, as well as for simple games and office tasks. An Intel Core i5-1135G7 and Nvidia's GeForce MX450 are supposed to deliver sufficient performance for this. Our review shows how well this works out.

Saved on the display. The Samsung Galaxy Book Go is a very affordable notebook that is suitable for everyday office tasks and web surfing. With the ARM processor, the laptop offers a very good battery life, but also limitations. We will clarify what these are in our test report.

The return of the killer. The OnePlus Nord 2 5G also aims to embody the manufacturer's original aspirations: A budget smartphone that can keep up with much more expensive premium devices. This worked out quite well for the predecessor, but will the second attempt be convincing as well?

The Sporty. With over 90 sports modes and a VO2max test, the realme Watch 2 Pro seems to serve athletes better than the round, and in several points better equipped realme Watch S Pro smartwatch. However, the realme's training log is poor.

Not quite the ace of spades. The AceBook 1 will attract a lot of eyes with its sub $400 USD price point, but it comes with a bunch of caveats buyers should be aware of. This passively-cooled Celeron laptop can only get you so far before things slow to a crawl.

Rockspace might not be a big name yet, but the AC2100 wireless router feels like a mature product and it delivers a lot for its price. At less than US$80, this piece of hardware sports beamforming MU-MIMO technology, four antennas, wireless speeds of up to 1733 Mbps, as well as excellent management software.

Rarity value. Samsung's Galaxy Tab A7 Lite is an exotic: one of the rare 8-inch tablets, available starting at 169 Euros (~$199) and also with LTE for an additional 30 Euros (~$35). The Android-11 tablet is equipped with an eight-core SoC from MediaTek, 32 GB of storage, speakers with Dolby Atmos and a family-friendly Kids Mode. Our test shows what the small Samsung can do.

Idea(l)Pad? The Lenovo IdeaPad 5 15ALC05 offers a powerful CPU/GPU combo and a large battery for less than 1,000 Euros (~$1,174), but it also surprises in the test with a few points of criticism compared to its 14-inch sister model. Our review reveals the exact strengths and weaknesses of the 15.6-inch laptop.

The sporty one. Meanwhile, more wearables measure the oxygen saturation in the blood than leave the display permanently on. The Oppo subsidiary's realme Watch S Pro is also the only smartwatch with an always-on display so far. Our review explains what else it can do and what it has over its predecessor.

Slowed down. Acer only grants the installed GeForce RTX 3080 laptop GPU a relatively low TGP. As a result, the frame rates are clearly below average. A firmware update provides some improvement.

Raytracing for the middle class. Ray tracing was reserved for expensive high-end graphics cards in the past. With the GeForce RTX 3050 (Ti), Nvidia now brings the exciting technology to the mid-range range. We test the GPU with the Acer Nitro 5 AN517-53-54DQ.

Office Tiny! If you think that Intel has small office PCs in its portfolio with its NUC series, you should take a closer look at the mini PCs from Newsmay Technology. The AC6-M model offers a full-fledged office PC in a miniature format with a footprint of only 63 x 63 millimeters and a height of 58 millimeters.

Silver star. The EliteBook 850 G8 is the latest business laptop from HP. It features a SureView screen, metal housing, and a lot of useful features for business users. Read our review to find out whether the 15-inch laptop is worth its price.

Without any digital audio gimmicks involved, the EPOS H3 is a straightforward yet versatile acoustic gaming headset that looks and feels great. Compatible with any device that features a 3.5 mm audio jack, this headset is one of the most interesting sub-US$120 offerings around. Today, we are taking a closer look at its strengths and weaknesses.

Heavyweight. The Zenfone 8 Flip comes with powerful hardware and a well-equipped camera. The fact that the latter can be flipped to the front is also a special highlight. We will find out what Asus' smartphone does in everyday use in our review.

The Ark Reactor of Legion. If you open the Legion 5 Pro gaming laptop, you will find a hidden message that indicates that Lenovo probably had the goal of creating a technological marvel here. However, despite the Ryzen 7 and RTX 3070, the designers didn't quite succeed in giving justice to the example from the comics.

Powerful. Lenovo's mobile computer scores points with a powerful Ryzen 9 5900HX APU, 16 GB of RAM, and a bright, high-contrast 14-inch display (2880x1800 pixels, 90 Hz, IPS) in the 16:10 format. This is accompanied by good battery life and low noise and heat development.

Immersive spatial audio is a hot trend in gaming. Embody takes a unique approach to this feature with its new Immerse HIVE audio software. Relying on AI-driven maps of the user's ear, HIVE creates a sound profile tuned to an individual's head-related transfer function, or HRTF.

The 5G sibling. The Galaxy A22 is available either with 4G or 5G. Although the 5G model doesn't offer an OLED display, it does provide fast Internet, a versatile camera system, and good performance rates. We take a closer look at Samsung's mid-range phone in our review.

A lot of performance and very good keyboard. Lenovo updates the third generation of its 15-inch ThinkPad E15 with powerful Ryzen 5000 CPUs as well as better displays. The very good keyboard is unchanged, so the E15 G3 is a real price-performance recommendation.

GeForce RTX 3050 debut. The Inspiron 16 introduces some notable firsts for the series including a 3K 16-inch display, GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, and a new metal chassis design. Most of it is impressive, but the Nvidia GPU in particular falls a bit short.

Windows on ARM. The HP EliteBook Folio 13.5 has a high-quality build and is versatile to use. With Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2, it's also one of the few devices that run Windows as an ARM version. Our review will clarify what that means in everyday use.

Premium laptop still has some software issues. Dell updates its XPS 15 and equips the new 9510 model with Tiger Lake-H processors from Intel as well as new RTX 3050 GPUs from Nvidia. There is also a new option for a 3.5K OLED touchscreen. Is it the best multimedia notebook you can get?

Incredibly lightweight. The 2021 Pavilion 13 is a huge leap over previous generations in almost every aspect. If you're looking to maximize performance, display quality, and portability without emptying your bank account, then the new Pavilion is looking like a top contender.

Solid. Ryzen 7 APU and GeForce RTX-3070 laptop GPU bring all current computer games smoothly to the Nitro 5's screen. However, the GPU falls short of its capabilities - Acer only grants it a relatively low TGP.

64 (sixty-four!) cores. With the current ThinkStation P620, Lenovo offers a solid platform for compact high-end workstations. We took a closer look at the 13,000-Euro (~$15,292) device in our test; it consists of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper Pro 3995WX and the brand-new AMD Radeon Pro W6800.

Power banks are handy accessories for phones, peripherals or possibly tablets, which may be why OEMs like RAVPOWER now also aims them at laptop users. This new device purports to contain the tech necessary to power an ultrabook at up to 90 watts (W) via USB type-C. Can it live up to these lofty claims?

Not only the price is hot. The RedMagic 6R is nominally a powerful gaming smartphone with Snapdragon 888, 144 Hz AMOLED display and shoulder buttons. High-end equipment rounds off the total package for less than 500 Euros (~$588). Sounds like a bargain, but it is not only the cooling that causes problems in the test.

Vodafone only. Once again. Even though the Fossil Gen 5 LTE is only comparable with Vodafone (or Verizon branded smartphones in the US), we were very curious: The LTE version, which is almost identical to the regular Gen 5, is the first smartwatch of this brand for us. Our test therefore also includes basic functions such as GPS accuracy and heart rate measurements.

Although it is ROCCAT's first keyboard to use optical switches, the Vulcan TKL Pro feels like a product that has been around for ages. Both the hardware and software are excellent, although not perfect yet. The only thing that some people will enjoy at first sight is probably the price.

What's the catch? Aside from the predictable Intel Tiger Lake update, the EliteBook 840 G8 has surpassed our expectations when it comes to keeping fan noise to a minimum. Its quiet demeanor doesn't come free, however.

Hybrid work companion. The Poly Sync 20+ aims to alleviate issues with the hybrid work culture of today, at least with respect to audio. Sporting a steerable microphone array coupled with a 40 mm loudspeaker and dual passive radiators for bass reflex, the Poly Sync 20+ promises to be an improvement over conventional laptop and smartphone audio subsystems. We take a look if that's indeed the case.

Huge amount of ports. With the latest model, the Aero 15 OLED XD, Gigabyte equips the laptop with Tiger Lake, Thunderbolt 4, and HDMI 2.1, bringing almost all components up to date. An iGPU and a 105-watt laptop GeForce RTX 3070 work together as the graphics solution.

Exciting turf wars, simple graphics. Three years after the release of Monster Hunter World, the fans of the series get a new PC release. There are many differences in terms of technology and visuals. We conducted a performance analysis of the new title.

Modular tablet with three expansion bays. Panasonic's expansive Toughbook lineup is getting better and better with each iteration especially in terms of display quality. The older Comet Lake-U CPU, however, holds it back a bit.

One of the fastest Intel subnotebooks. The MSI Prestige Evo was already able to achieve a good evaluation in our tests. With a new processor, this is now supposed to be even better. We evaluate in our test whether this is really the case.

Downgrade too massive? With the Galaxy Tab S7 FE, Samsung combines the features of the premium tablets Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7 Plus. However, the Korean manufacturer noticeably cuts down on the cheapest Galaxy tablet, so the spirit of the new "Fan Edition" series is somewhat missed.

Budget laptop with potential. The Lenovo ThinkPad L series represents the entry level among the B2B models; the ThinkPad L14 Gen 2 is one of the cheapest ThinkPad laptops with a 14-inch display. Nevertheless, it convinces with its strong performance and upgradeability. However, compromises have to be made in terms of battery life and multimedia.

Mobile powerhouse. HP equips the eighth generation of its business convertible with fast Ryzen 5000 CPUs from AMD, which offer significantly more performance than the Intel competition. However, the problem is still the extremely reflective touchscreen, which can also make life difficult indoors.

One to last for a long time. Sustainability is also important for the Nokia X10, which means that buyers get three years of Android updates and a compostable case. But can the mid-range phone also convince in everyday use?

We pit the nominally best camera smartphones from the Android camp against each other for a detailed videography test. You can find out which phone delivers the best video quality in this test report.

Jasper Lake introduces itself. The Asus BR1100FKA costs less than 400 Euros (~$476) and is equipped with simple hardware. However, this is accompanied by a robust and splashproof case as well as by an unexpected expansion option. Our review shows what the Asus convertible has to offer in the end.

Generous configuration. For a 17-inch laptop, the Erazer Beast X25 is not only pleasingly compact, but it also weighs surprisingly little. Nonetheless, it packs extremely powerful gaming hardware under the hood that guarantees a high degree of future-proofing; it's also accompanied by plenty of RAM and storage.

Fan heater. The Modern 14 scores with a Core i7-1165G7 processor, GeForce MX450 graphics core, and 16 GB of working memory. However, the latter is only able to operate in single-channel mode. In addition, the laptop heats up very significantly under heavy load and produces a lot of noise.

High performance, high temperature. The Summit E14 may look like an ordinary Ultrabook, but it manages to house a full-fledged GeForce GTX 1650 Ti Max-Q to offer significantly faster graphics performance than the best that Intel Iris Xe and AMD Vega can currently do. There are some costs to be aware of, however.

Optional LTE. With the ThinkPad L15 business laptop, Lenovo delivers a solid device at a low price. The usual strengths, such as the good input devices, are available as well as the powerful hardware from AMD. Our review will clarify exactly what is to be expected from it.

Respecting your right to repair. Big manufacturers like Microsoft ought to start taking notes. A thin-and-light laptop that is also easy to upgrade and repair can actually work proving that not every component needs to be soldered or integrated.

All-round carefree 5G? The Vivo Y72 5G is a mid-range smartphone that wants to score with 5G reception, a particularly high-resolution main camera, and good storage equipment. Can the challenger beat established manufacturers in Europe with it?

Cool fin. Nokia's G20 is an inexpensive smartphone with a large screen, a durable battery, and several cameras. In the test, we take a look at whether the smartphone from Finland can outperform other devices in its price range.

Full AMD power! With the ROG Strix G15 G513QY, Asus adds a highly modern gaming laptop to its lineup that is fully geared towards AMD. The second-fastest mobile processor meets AMD's strongest mobile graphics card in the form of the brand-new AMD Radeon RX 6800M. Be careful, Intel and Nvidia!

AMD Ryzen 9 over Intel Core i9. Intel is no longer required for the ultimate gaming performance. Unlike the Strix Scar 15 G532, the Strix Scar 15 G533 has swapped all Intel Core options for liquid metal cooled AMD Ryzen processors alongside additional updates to the chassis, display, and graphics.

The smartphone for photo professionals? The third generation of Sony's flagship smartphone is also supposed to convince mainly with features for professional photographers. But the Sony-typical design and the high-resolution screen could also make it attractive for other users.

With a 90 Hz display. Cheap 5G smartphones are no longer a rarity. But the Oppo A54 5G offers very promising features that go beyond the latest mobile standard for less than 300 Euros (~$354). Our review clarifies exactly what these are.

Ray tracing at the start. With F1 2021, the virtual Formula 1 series not only offers a real story mode for the first time, but also ray tracing support. We tested the system requirements on several notebook and desktop GPUs.

Hot flashes. The Predator offers a Core i7 CPU, a GeForce RTX 3070 laptop GPU, 16 GB of RAM, and space for three drives (2x M.2 SSD, 1x 2.5-inch). This is complemented by a responsive Full HD display (IPS, 240 Hz) and quite good battery life. The laptop heats up considerably under load, though.

New 70 W GeForce RTX 3060. The first generation XPS 17 9700 was one of the best-looking 17-inch laptops with Core-H and GeForce RTX graphics, but it had some under-the-hood peculiarities that needed to be ironed out. The new XPS 17 9710 addresses the underlying issues while boosting performance by quite the margin.

Minimalist. The most elegant fitness tracker that we have come across so far is functionally minimalistic: Apart from health monitoring, which is certainly of high quality with Fitbit, there are hardly any additional functions on the Fitbit Luxe.

Next-level VR. HTC announced the Vive Pro 2 and advertises the high resolution, 120 degrees field of view, and integrated premium headphones. Read our article to find out how the Pro 2 performs.

16:10 and under 1 kg. ADATA has beaten the LG Gram series at its own game by offering a superlight subnotebook without any of the performance deficits that usually entail. However, there are a few setbacks related to the chassis that users should be aware of.

The X60 Pro starts with Zeiss lenses and a new gimbal camera system. Whether the collaboration with the traditional German manufacturer makes the classic OIS stabilization forgettable or serves more for marketing purposes, you can find out in our review of the Vivo phone.

Gambling extraordinaire? The Xiaomi Black Shark 4 is not quite as extravagantly designed as other gaming phones and comparatively cheap. However, it has a lot to offer with a 144 Hz display, 5G and mechanical shoulder keys. Read our review to find out whether the gaming phone is worth it.

The Flexispot Pro Series electric standing desk is a solidly built and easy-to-use standing desk. A multitude of options for both the desktop finish and support colors allow potential buyers to pick a desk that matches their office aesthetic.

Slim package. Sony squeezes a lot of modern technology into a compact smartphone. In addition to a current Qualcomm 5G SoC, fast USB port, IP certification, and powerful battery, Sony has also equipped its smartphone with a triple camera system that deserves its name. Our test shows where it stumbles.

More power! The realme GT 5G convinces with a strong performance in the test and directly attacks Xiaomi's Poco series, because the smartphone is already available for less than 400 Euros (~$472) despite its high-end SoC. Find out what else it has to offer and where savings were made in our review.

Everything important on board. The OnePlus Nord CE 5G competes in the smartphone mid-range and makes a bold promise: The 6.43-incher is supposed to offer exactly the features that users really need and make as few compromises as possible. At the same time, the OnePlus Nord CE 5G starts at 300 Euros (~$354). Our review clarifies how all that fits together.

Good battery life. Asus combines an AMD processor with an Nvidia graphics card in the TUF Gaming A15 and sells the whole package at a reasonable price. Our review will clarify what the installed AMD Ryzen 7 5800H and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 can do.

Multi-functional. HP’s 2-in-1 device features the Core i5-1135G7, 16 GB of dual-channel RAM and an NVMe SSD. The Pavilion x360 14 can handle all modern tasks. What is more, it offers good battery life and has a touchscreen that can be operated with the fingers or the HP Tilt Pen, which is sold separately.

Elegant. The VivoBook scores with a Ryzen 7-5700U APU, 16 GB of working memory (dual-channel mode) and good battery runtimes. The Vega 8 iGPU remains below its capabilities. The dark, low-contrast screen (FHD, IPS) is not convincing.

Open Sesame! Laptops have little space to adequately cool powerful hardware. Asus probably wondered, "why don't we just open the case and let the hardware get a direct supply of fresh air?" No sooner said than done, but does this actually work? Does it deliver the promised advantages in terms of noise and temperature, and is it stable enough at the same time? We put this to the test.

Finally with brighter displays. Lenovo’s inexpensive ThinkPad E-series offers solid business features and good input devices. The third generation is now equipped with powerful Ryzen 5000 processors from AMD and finally brighter displays. Is the new E14 G3 the ThinkPad with the best price-performance ratio?

Inspired by Inspiron? The Dell Inspiron 13 5301 can definitely be described as compact and stylish. Our review of the Dell Inspiron 13 will reveal whether the 13.3-inch device with the Intel Core i5-1135G7, Iris Xe graphics, and 8 GB of RAM is also able to score points with other features such as impressive performance and endurance.

Hipster appeal. Lenovo is taking the concept of "stylish" to another level by incorporating fabric onto the chassis for a unique look and feel. It actually works, but its visual appeal will likely divide users especially since the fabric can make the laptop look like an old piece of clothing.

These smartphones compete in our extensive test: the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, OnePlus 9 Pro, and ZTE Axon 30 Ultra. Find out in this camera test which flagship smartphone of 2021 will win in the end.

Slim and versatile. The ZenBook Flip 13 from Asus is an ultra-compact 13-inch convertible with an excellent OLED display. However, the compact design doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice performance, because Intel's latest Tiger Lake SoCs provide enough power. This detailed review with numerous measurements and benchmarks will reveal how well the device performed in our benchmark circuit.

Flexible The Huawei Watch 3 Pro is the first smartwatch with the Harmony OS operating system. The interface looks familiar. New features of the Watch include the Huawei App Gallery and LTE. Unlike wearables with WearOS so far, Huawei does not only use the Vodafone network.

A round thing. The compact Erazer Beast X20 scores with a Core-i7-10870H processor, GeForce-RTX-3070 laptop GPU, 32 GB of RAM (dual-channel mode), space for two NVMe SSDs, and a responsive WQHD display (IPS, 165 Hz). The metal chassis used has proven to be very stable.

Versatile. HP’s 2-in-1 device features the Core i5-1135G7, 16 GB of dual-channel RAM and an NVMe SSD. This is why it can handle all modern tasks. The touchscreen can be operated with the fingers or the HP Tilt Pen.

Moto G10 with 90 Hz? The Motorola Moto G20 has an unusual processor but looks a little less fancy than the Moto G10. On the other hand, it offers a 90-Hz display. So is this an affordable mid-range smartphone for everyone?

Second place. The Motorola Moto G50 is a mid-range device that costs around 250 Euros (~$295) and features a 90 Hz display and 5G support. That sounds like a good configuration for the Moto phone, but there are also weaknesses. We'll look at them in more detail in our review.

Standstill in the Amazon cosmos. Amazon offers a Plus model for the first time with its 2021 Fire HD 10 generation. With a "premium soft touch design" and a RAM upgrade as well as wireless charging, the Fire HD 10 Plus is supposed to be the spearhead of Amazon's tablets. Read here whether the plan works out and we can recommend the Alexa tablet.