Motorola was broken up into a number of different divisions about 10 years ago, but the Motorola Mobility division still makes smartphones, as well as smart devices for the home, including its new MH7600 mesh Wi-Fi routers.
Strictly speaking, though, the MH7600 range is actually produced by another company called Minim, which is licensed to use the Motorola logo and brand name, with its networking products sold directly from the Motorola website and other online retailers.
Despite Motorola’s claims of “blazing fast” Wi-Fi performance, the MH7600 mesh routers are actually fairly modest, offering dual-band Wi-Fi 6 with a top speed of 1800Mbps.
Even so, that’s fast enough for most domestic broadband services, and the routers are competitively priced and easy to use.
(Image credit: Future)
Motorola MH7603 review: Price and availability
Prices start at $129.99/£110/AU$180
Available now in the US - TBC in other regions
It’s possible to buy a single mesh router on its own, referred to as the MH7601, for $129.99, or two routers (MH7602) for $189, which should be able to cover homes of up to 3,500 sq.ft in size.
However, we reviewed the top-of-the-range MH7603, which includes three mesh routers that are capable of covering up to 5,000 sq.ft for $239.
That works out at approximately £200/AU$335, although the MH7600 routers haven’t yet received regulatory approval in those regions, so it may take a while for the routers to go on sale outside the US.
(Image credit: Future)
Motorola MH7603 review: Design
Compact design
Sturdily built
Easy to use app
The three routers included in the MH7603 are identical, with a neat, circular design that looks like a little jewelry box.
They’re sturdily built, despite the relatively low price, and stand just 66mm high and 127mm in diameter, so they can easily sit on any convenient shelf or table when you set them up. Tucked around the back of each router you’ll find one Gigabit Ethernet port for connecting to your existing broadband router or modem, with a second Ethernet port providing a wired connection for devices such as laptops or games consoles.
Getting started is very straightforward, thanks to the Motosync app - which is also designed by Minim. There are QR codes printed on each of the three routers, so you can simply scan these codes and the app will automatically link the routers together to create your new mesh network for you.
(Image credit: Future)
There are some useful features in the app too, including a speed test that can tell you if your network can handle different types of tasks, such as gaming or streaming 4K video. The app also includes content filters that can block adult web sites and other types of material that might be unsuitable for children - and, thankfully, Motorola/Minim doesn’t charge you any extra for these features, as some of its rivals do.
However, the simplicity of the app does mean that it has some limitations. The app just creates a single network that merges the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands, so more experienced users might prefer a mesh system that provides greater control over network settings.
Motorola MH7603 review: Performance
Fast, reliable mesh Wi-Fi
Routers also support wired connections
Benchmarks
Ookla Speed Test - 2.4/5GHz (download/upload) Within 5ft, no obstructions: 100Mbps/11Mbps
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 100Mbps/11Mbps
20GB Steam Download - 2.4GHz/5Ghz Within 5ft, no obstructions: 12.5MB/s
Within 30ft, three partition walls: 12.5MB/s
We set up the three Motorola mesh routers with the first connected to our normal broadband router, so that it could use our existing broadband connection.
The second router was placed in a back office where the Wi-Fi is so poor that we normally rely on a set of powerline adapters to provide a reliable wired connection, while the third router was placed in a hallway between the other two.
A top speed of 1.8Gbps is relatively modest for routers that support Wi-Fi 6, but the MH7603 proved perfectly capable of providing a fast, reliable Wi-Fi signal to that back office.
As expected, devices in the same room as our normal router provided speeds of 100Mbps when running the Ookla Speed Test, and 12.5Mb/s for Steam downloads. Those are the fastest speeds supported by our office broadband service, but the MH7603 didn’t falter at all as I picked up my laptop and wandered along the hall to that back office, maintaining the same speeds for both Ookla and Steam with no trouble at all.
Should you buy the Motorola MH7603 Mesh WiFi 6 System?
We pride ourselves on our independence and our rigorous review-testing process, offering up long-term attention to the products we review and making sure our reviews are updated and maintained - regardless of when a device was released, if you can still buy it, it's on our radar.
Sony’s A80K lies in the middle of the company’s OLED TV line for 2022, and is priced notably lower than the A95K QD-OLED models perched at the top. Even so, the performance delivered by the 65-inch A80K set we tested proved it to be a great all-around offering for the price, and one that provides some competition to LG’s similarly priced C2 OLED TVs.
While the LG C2 models rely on that company’s webOS platform for streaming and other smart TV tasks, Sony’s A80K features the tried-and-true Google TV platform with a useful Google Assistant feature that lets you speak commands directly into the remote control’s hidden mic. Google TV’s app selection hits all the high points (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, etc.), and the screen layout can be customized to highlight your regularly visited destinations.
A new wide color gamut panel for the A80K combines with Sony’s XR OLED Contrast Pro, XR Triluminos Pro, and Cognitive Processor XR features to deliver deep blacks and detailed shadows in images, along with rich, fully saturated colors. Overall picture brightness is satisfactory, if a bit below what you’ll get from the very best OLED TVs, such as the LG G2 and also the LG C2 series. Still, Sony’s mid-tier OLED manages to look great even in well-lit rooms, and it stuns in ones that are dimmed for best-quality movie viewing.
Speaking of the A80K looking great, its One Slate design gives it a sleek, attractive all-glass facade, while a three-way multi-position stand that can be set at various heights lets you easily stash a soundbar beneath the screen. For a set this slim, audio performance is impressive thanks to Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+, a feature that vibrates the screen itself to make sound, helped by two bottom-mounted subwoofers. Also included is Dolby Atmos decoding with 3D surround upscaling, a feature that creates a believable Atmos experience without having to use a separate soundbar.
Gamers will find much to like about the A80K, which provides two HDMI 2.1 inputs that support 4K 120Hz video, variable refresh rate (VRR), and auto low latency mode (ALLM). And there’s also an Auto HDR Tone Mapping feature that kicks in specifically when playing games with a PlayStation 5 console. Rounding out the Sony’s excellent feature package is a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner, making the A80K primed to receive next-gen digital TV broadcasts in the US.
Sony A80K review: price and release date
Release date: May 30, 2022
XR-55A80K: $2,000 / £2,099 / AU$3,899
XR-65A80K: $2,300 / £2,899 / AU$4,999
XR-77A80K: $3,300 / £3,999 / AU$7,999
The Sony A80K was released in late spring 2022, and as Sony’s mid-range OLED offering, A80K models are nearly half that of the company’s new flagship A95K QD-OLED TVs.
The main competitor here will be the LG C2, and the result of the price comparison here depends on which region you're in. The 65- and 77-inch A80K sets cost slightly less than LG’s mid-range C2 OLEDs at the same sizes in the US, while the 55-inch version is priced slightly higher than LG’s same-size C2. In the UK, the Sony is higher-priced at all sizes.
The A80K OLED's back panel inputs include two HDMI 2.1 ports that support 4K 120Hz video input.(Image credit: Future)
Sony A80K review: features
Google TV interface
Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG high dynamic range
HDMI 2.1 inputs with 4K 120Hz, VRR, ALLM and eARC
The A80K OLEDs come with Google TV for browsing apps and there’s Google Assistant onboard to conduct voice-based searches using the built-in mic on Sony’s remote control. The app selection includes Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Apple TV, and many more, with buttons to directly access several apps provided on the remote control.
Sony’s 2022 OLEDs feature the company’s XR OLED Contrast Pro and Cognitive Processor XR features to improve picture quality, mainly by boosting peak brightness in highlights and deepening blacks on an automated, scene-by-scene basis. A wide color gamut panel also combines with Sony’s XR Triluminos Pro feature and Cognitive processor XR to provide full DCI-P3 (the color space used for mastering movies destined for a digital cinema release and for Ultra HD Blu-ray disc) coverage.
Four HDMI inputs are provided, two of them with HDMI 2.1 features including 4K 120Hz support, variable refresh rate (VRR), and auto low latency mode (ALLM).
The A80K also features a built-in ATSC 3.0 tuner in the US. This lets viewers watch free over-the-air digital TV from stations broadcasting in the latest format, which is capable of delivering 4K resolution video with Dolby Atmos audio. After a slow start, ATSC 3.0 is starting to gain traction in the US, with coverage expected to hit 75% of markets by late 2022.
Features Score: 4.5/5
The A80K OLED's One Slate design uses a single pane of glass to cover the set’s full front.(Image credit: Future)
Sony A80K review: picture quality
Rich color reproduction
Deep blacks with detailed shadows
Good HDR brightness for an OLED TV
Along with its full coverage (we measured it at 99.5%) of DCI-P3 color space when displaying 4K HDR, the A80K is capable of good brightness for an OLED TV. We measured 785 nits (on a 10% window pattern) in Vivid picture mode, and a still-impressive 616 nits in Cinema mode.
While that falls far short of the same-size mini-LED QLED models like the Samsung QN95B (which can reach over 2,500 nits of peak brightness) – and also LG’s 2022 flagship G2 OLED, a model that can hit 1,000 nits in Vivid mode – it should be plenty bright for all but the most well-lit rooms.
How bright is the A80K for real-world viewing? When streaming the Netflix doc My Octopus Teacher (a 2021 Oscar winner for best documentary) with my room’s overhead lights on, the Sony’s picture still looked plenty bright and punchy, and there was no apparent reduction of color saturation. And while the A80K lacks the anti-glare screen coating found on specialty TVs like Samsung’s The Frame, onscreen glare was minimal and generally not a problem. As expected from an OLED TV, picture uniformity was excellent even at well off-center viewing positions.
While many higher-end TVs provide a Filmmaker picture mode intended to give you movie-friendly picture settings that you don’t have to fuss with, the A80K lacks that amenity. (There is a Netflix Adaptive Calibrated Mode that automatically adjusts picture brightness based on ambient room lighting, but it only applies to programs streamed from that service.)
The good news here is that the set’s Cinema picture mode was accurate straight out of the box (as confirmed by our measurements). The bad news is that the set’s Motionflow processing is turned on by default in Cinema mode, so movie purists will need to visit the picture settings menu to modify it.
While motion handling with the A80K, which has a 120Hz refresh rate, is very good overall, there were instances where I encountered motion-related artifacts. When watching a clip early on in the James Bond re-boot No Time to Die where Bond walks across a hill outside of an Italian village to visit a grave site, for example, I noted fluttering effects in the landscape as the camera panned over it. Watching with Motionflow in its default Auto setting eliminated this, but also added a video-like “soap opera” effect. Setting Motionflow to its lowest level corrected for that, however, and also reduced the artifacts I was seeing in No Time to Die.
Same as with other Sony TVs (and projectors) I’ve reviewed in the past, the A80K did an excellent job upconverting standard-definition HD programs to 4K. This was confirmed when I watched a regular Blu-ray version of No Time to Die, which looked 4K/HDR-like in terms of detail, color, and contrast. This could very well be due to Sony’s Cognitive Processor XR feature, which received tweaks for 2022 specifically aimed at enhancing color vibrancy and image depth.
Settling in for dark room viewing, I cued up two 4K Blu-ray titles that I knew would provide the Sony TV with an HDR challenge: Dune and The Batman. Both looked great on the A80K, with deep shadows coming across as a true black, and dark scenes revealing plenty of detail. Against this solid foundation, bright HDR highlights like the floating, glowing orbs in Dune, or sun coming through the windows of Bruce Wayne’s manor in The Batman, had a powerful effect and contributed to an overall 3D-like quality in some scenes.
One related measurement note: Sony’s OLED measured 0 nits on a full-black window pattern, meaning that it’s capable of ‘infinite’ contrast. This accounts for the set’s exceptionally deep rendition of blacks, along with its powerful picture contrast, especially when viewing in dim lighting conditions.
Picture quality score: 4.5/5
A three-way multi-position stand lets you adjust the height to accommodate soundbar placement.(Image credit: Future)
Sony A80K review: sound quality
Acoustic Surface Audio+ uses TV’s screen for sound
Acoustic Audio Calibration tunes sound for viewing environment
Dolby Atmos with effective 3D surround upscaling
A80K series OLED TVs feature Sony’s Acoustic Surface Audio+. This positions five actuators – three directly behind the screen, and two at the sides – that vibrate it to create full-range sound, and they are accompanied by two subwoofers for enhanced bass. Other audio features include Acoustic Audio Calibration to tune the set’s sound output to your viewing environment, Voice Zoom for dialogue enhancement, and 3D surround upscaling.
Having rarely relied on a TV’s built-in audio system when watching movies these days, I was surprised at how clear dialogue was and how loud the speakers could get without sounding strained. Switching to the Dolby Atmos sound mode, I also noted distinct vertical and overhead effects coming from the TV.
Would a separate Dolby Atmos soundbar have improved audio performance? Probably. But I think someone who isn’t a regular viewer of action movies and doesn’t want to spring for a soundbar would be quite satisfied with the X80K’s built-in audio.
Sound quality score: 5/5
Sony's basic remote limits the button count to the most essential controls.(Image credit: Future)
Sony A80K review: design
Sleek, all-glass One Slate design
3-way multi-position stand clears space for soundbar
Simplified remote control lacks backlit keypad
The A80K has a very slim profile (the panel itself is around 0.5 inches deep) and features Sony’s One Slate design that uses a single pane of glass to cover the set’s full front. I found its effect to be visually striking. An inset panel allows for easy connections, and there’s a snap-on cover that can be used to manage cables and conceal the rear-panel ports.
A three-way multi-position stand is included that can be set at different heights for a flush-to-stand installation or one that clears plenty of space for a soundbar. I used the latter and appreciated the three inches of elevation it permitted. Not all soundbars are that chonky, but if yours is among them, Sony’s multi-position stand has you covered. An optional wall-mounting bracket is also available.
Sony’s remote control is a compact and fairly basic one that’s a far cry from the big, fully backlit handsets the company used to provide with its TVs. It was easy enough to familiarize myself with the limited button layout, though I missed having a backlit keypad when watching in the dark or even in dim lighting conditions. Bonus points to Sony for the remote’s textured casing, which should go a long way to preventing it from slipping from your hand and in-between the sofa cushions.
Design score: 4.5/5
The Google TV interface used by the A80K is easy to navigate and relatively uncluttered.(Image credit: Future)
Sony A80K review: smart TV & menus
Google TV interface
Google Assistant voice control using remote
Picture adjustments easily accessible from menus
The Sony’s Google TV interface is fairly busy, though it’s less annoying than the interface you’ll find on some other smart TVs. Signing in with your Google account gives you a greater level of personalization, and if you’re already a Google/Gmail user, makes complete sense.
I was fully satisfied with the selection of streaming apps, and also appreciated the Google Assistant voice control feature, which is switched to off by default when you first set the TV up. Google TV can also be configured to display a rotating selection of pictures from your linked Google Photos account, which gives you a nice screensaver when the set isn’t displaying video.
Hitting the Input button on the remote control calls up a menu panel at the screen’s bottom that lists not just physical inputs (HDMI 1, etc.) but streaming apps and digital TV broadcast stations. The list of options in this menu can also be edited so you only see your regularly used options, including AirPlay wireless streaming.
Otherwise, the Sony’s menus are straightforward and let you easily access picture modes and settings, though it would be nice to have some of those basics directly accessible from a remote control button.
Smart TV & menus score: 3.5/5
Sony A80K review: gaming
HDMI 2.1 with 4K/120Hz, VRR, and ALLM support
Low 12ms input lag in Game mode
Auto HDR Tone Mapping for PS5 games
The A80K’s solid next-gen gaming features – 4K/120Hz video input, variable refresh rate (VRR), auto low latency mode (ALLM) – are supported by low input lag: 12ms as measured by our 4K test meter – an excellent result. And when paired with a PlayStation 5 console, an Auto HDR Tone Mapping feature kicks in that will ensure PlayStation games with HDR are properly displayed on the set’s screen.
Outside of a game mode, there are no gaming-specific menu options outside of Auto HDR Tone Mapping for PlayStation 5.
Gaming score: 4/5
Sony A80K review: value
High performance for a mid-tier model
Reasonable price for an OLED
OLED TVs more expensive than QLED TVs
The Sony A80K series sits in the company’s 2022 OLED lineup between the flagship A95K QD-OLED and A90K models, and the entry-level A75K models, which are available in Europe but not the US. As such, it is designed as an option for those seeking both high performance and high value.
Given that for US buyers, the 65-inch A80K costs less than LG’s mid-range C2 series OLED models while delivering mostly equivalent video performance, it ranks as a very good buy. For UK buyers, it costs a little more, though you do get better audio than the LG C2.
The only potential better value would be to opt for a TV that uses QLED tech, although those models often come with performance tradeoffs when you get into the budget range. Overall, I’d judge Sony’s 65-inch A80K as a perfect option for those intent on buying an OLED 4K TV, though those wanting to get the biggest screen for their money, but also demanding better-than-acceptable picture quality, would be better served by QLED.
Value score: 4/5
(Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Sony A80K?
Sony A80K
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Features
Solid picture-quality enhancements, along with HDMI 2.1 features like 4K/120Hz, VRR, and ALLM.
4.5/5
Picture quality
Deep blacks, strong shadow detail, and rich color distinguish this set's picture.
4.5/5
Sound quality
Powerful overall sound for a TV, including Dolby Atmos effects.
5/5
Design
Sony's sleek One Slate design is enhanced here by a stand with adjustable height.
4.5/5
Smart TV and menus
The Google TV interface is fine, but picture adjustments mean digging through menus.
3.5/5
Gaming
A solid HDM1 2.1 feature set, with Sony's Auto HDR Tone Mapping for PS5 games.
4/5
Value
A good overall value, but faces stiff competition from LG's C2 series.
4/5
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider...
If our Sony A80K OLED review has you considering other options, here are three more TVs to ponder.
This is TechRadar's Ride1Up Prodigy full review, with its XR frame. As a mid-range bike, we were surprised to find the Ride1Up Prodigy truly fronts with quality components and some serious power.
The best electric bikes make getting from A to B a breeze, whether it’s a straight shot, a hilly journey, a considerable trek, or a jaunt through the meanderings of a city. The Ride1Up Prodigy aims to go a long way in delivering that versatile experience at a shocking value. It’s packing in a lot of goodies for an electric bike at just $2,295. While there are plenty of cheaper options out there (just check out our list of the best cheap e-bikes for a few examples), some of them tend to skimp on features to bring that price down, or even in some cases opt for cheaper parts or weaker components.
Not so here. Allow us to get technical for a moment: you’ll find a drivetrain using a 9-speed Shimano Alivio derailleur and cassette to provide lots of options and a comfortable ride for flat speed and leverage on hills. Tektro hydraulic disc brakes are a step above the single-piston mechanical disc brakes found on a lot of cheaper e-bikes. Ride1Up also throws lights, a rear rack, and front and rear fenders onto the bike to deck it out.
The star of the show in the Prodigy is of course its electric system, which combines a deliciously powerful Brose TF mid-drive motor offering 90Nm of torque with a roughly 500Wh battery. The combo provides plenty of speed, topping out at 28mph, and gets good range out of the battery. At this price, it’s rare enough to find a mid-drive motor that benefits from being able to apply its power to the multi-speed drivetrain, let alone to find such a powerful one.
The bike is pretty hefty given all its packing in, plus the added weight that tends to come with electric bikes. It weighs in at 56.6 pounds, enough to make it a pain to get up or down stairs, and a bit of a nuisance to ride without motor power.
But, with the motor, it’s an enjoyable ride. It offers an upright riding position that’s comfortable, though can put a bit too much weight into the sit bones for extended riding. The torque sensor does a good job responding to input, making for natural pedaling that doesn’t get jerky with the motor kicking in.
Whether casually cruising at a low assist setting or flying down the road in its "Turbo" setting, the Ride1Up Prodigy puts its power to good use. And even when using the bike fairly egregiously (a lot of high-speed riding with a heavy payload), it can muster a respectable range – going over 26 miles on a single charge during our testing all while providing conservative estimates on the range, which helped us avoid getting stuck partway through a ride with a dead battery.
There are better bikes out there, like the Specialized Turbo Vado 4.0, but they tend to cost considerably more — $4,000 / £3,900 / AU$5,000 in the case of the Specialized. Meanwhile, Ride1Up shows its admirable value against a bike like the $4,000 (about £3,000 / AU$5,500) Bluejay Sport, which it closely matches in riding experience while even edging it out in design thanks to a hidden battery pack.
For $2,295, mid-drive e-bikes aren’t really coming any better than this. The Marin Sausalito E1 comes close, but it’s trailing far behind in performance as a Class 1 e-bike topping out at 20mph and still costs a little more.
Ride1Up Prodigy: Price and availability
The Ride1Up Prodigy with the XR frame we tested or with a step-through frame is available now for $2,295 in the United States. There’s also an XR model available for $100 more, which opts for more mountain bike components, like hydraulic shocks on the fork, and ditches the cargo racks.
(Image credit: Mark Knapp)
Ride1Up Prodigy: Design
Decked out
Heavyweight at 56.6 pounds
Semi-stealthy
The Ride1Up Prodigy is about as decked out as you can ask a bike to be. Fenders? Yep, it’s got metal ones. A carrier rack? There’s a hefty one in the back that can haul up to 40 pounds, though it’s worth noting that it’s integrated with the rear fender. There’s an adjustable headlight and a tail light, both powered off the bike’s battery, though these kinds of included lights are rarely as bright as we’d like them to be. There’s also a kickstand attached far enough back that it never gets in the way of the pedals. The bike also has two sets of water bottle cage bosses in the frame. It feels like the one thing the bike is missing is a bell.
Then there’s the hardware the bike is kitted out with. Ride1Up has opted for Tektro hydraulic brakes with 180mm discs. The calipers have dual pistons, helping make adjustments to the brakes easier. There’s a 9-speed Shimano Alivio transmission all managed by a rear derailleur and an integrated shift sensor.
The bike has some bulk as a result of all this gear as well as the electrical components. We weighed it at 56.6 pounds, so it’s a good thing it’s packing in a Brose mid-drive motor with up to 90Nm of torque. That motor’s activated with an integrated torque sensor and powered by a roughly 500Wh battery hidden away inside the downtube. You can remove the battery with a key, though it takes some finagling to undo a latch that keeps that battery from simply falling out when you turn the key. You can recharge the battery while it’s in the bike or when it’s outside the bike.
While the battery doesn’t have a visible charge meter when it’s slotted into the bike, battery levels can be monitored on the 1.5-inch color LCD display, which also provides plenty of other metrics. Given all the various components connected to the bike and the added complexity that comes with electronics, the Ride1Up loses a bit of its elegance to all the cables running to and fro. It’s a proper mess in front of the handlebars.
The size and weight of the Prodigy make it a bit of a drag to deal with in an upper-floor apartment, but those with garages won’t regularly have to contend with its bulk.
Ride1Up has thrown on comfortable, ergo hand grips and a slightly plush seat. The upright riding position of this bike especially benefits from that seat padding. We’re riding with the seat just about as high as it can go, and we’re still not leaning forward enough to put much weight into our hands.
The bike rides on 27.5 x 2.0-inch Maxxis Refuse wheels that, though large, are actually slicker than the mountain bike-style tires we’d expect. However, since this bike is meant for the roads, it makes sense.
Given the complexity of this bike, the pain of it being a direct-to-consumer bike is all the easier to feel. While assembly isn’t all that involved — attaching the handlebars, bolting on the front fender, screwing on the pedals, and slotting in the front wheel — there’s just that much more that can be not quite right from the get go. Our brakes needed adjustment to keep from rubbing and our rear derailleur was skipping one of the larger cogs every time until we re-indexed it.
The front fender also has a very narrow tolerance between its side supports and the front wheel, making rubbing a constant risk. These adjustments can take some time if you do them yourself, especially if you’re new to bike maintenance, or they can add a little extra to your cost at a bike shop (probably not more than $50 for the adjustments mentioned).
Design Score: 3.5/5
(Image credit: Mark Knapp)
Ride1Up Prodigy: Performance
Class 3 speed
Stiffer than expected
Natural feeling
The Ride1Up Prodigy puts on a strong show when it’s out on the road. Almost all the mid-drive e-bikes we can find that come anywhere close to this price are Class 1 with a top speed of 20mph, but the Brose TF motor on the Prodigy is more than up to the task of going faster. In its second-highest mode, Sport, it’s ready to help push past 20mph with ease and can do a lot of comfortable riding just setting in fifth gear. 28mph actually proved more difficult to get to, but 27.5mph wasn’t so tough with the bike in its most powerful setting.
At those faster speeds, there is the matter of comfort. The bike rides plenty steady, but the upright riding position puts a lot of weight right into the seat and that leads to all the shocks and bumps of the road going right into the sit bones. This is a bike you’ll absolutely want to raise up slightly on when you see a bump coming up.
Despite the perceived stiffness of the ride, the bike shows some clear flexibility when we’re riding, with the frame bending slightly with firm pedalling. This isn’t unusual for a bike, but after about a 100 miles of riding, the motor/bottom bracket started groaning whenever we pedal with much pressure. It’s unclear whether this is an issue with the frame or motor not holding up to the pressure we’d applied or simply a production fault, but something like this may be covered under the one-year warranty Ride1Up includes. Annoying as the sound is, it doesn’t slow down our rides noticeably.
Creaking aside, the bike has enough gear range and enough assist settings to make for some smooth riding. Pedalling feels natural thanks to the torque sensor, and the motor never feels like it’s doing all the work for us. Some riders might prefer a motor that’s going to do all the work, but the Brose motor here will do a ton of work, making a steady 20-25mph as easy as a casual 10mph would be on an non-electric bike.
On the flipside of speeding up there’s slowing down. The hydraulic disc brakes don’t always feel that powerful, with a gentle pull slowing the bike down rather gradually. But with a forceful squeeze, the brakes can really bike into the disc and bring the bike to a screeching halt. On one of our rides, we were hauling along near the bike’s top speed when a rat ran out in front of us, and the brakes where strong enough to slow us down in a hurry, though the tires skidded a bit.
Performance score: 4.5/5
(Image credit: Mark Knapp)
Ride1Up Prodigy: Battery Life
504Wh put to good use
Useful range estimates
The Ride1Up Prodigy isn’t decked out to have the longest range. A roughly 500Wh battery isn’t there to break records. But the Prodigy uses its power well. We largely ride with e-bikes in their higher assist settings, and with a combo of its "Sport" and "Turbo" modes, we took a solid 27.6-mile adventure.
Near the end of the ride, the bike was suggesting only another mile of range, but we kept on winding around the neighborhood and it just wouldn’t give out, proving it offers somewhat conservative estimates that help avoid finishing up rides on a dead battery.
Across our testing, the battery maintained this level of performance, so Ride1Up’s estimate of 30-50 miles of range ring true, as the lightest assist level and lighter riders would very likely eke out considerably more range than we did operating at high assist levels and carrying upward of 240 pounds on the bike.
Battery life score: 4/5
Ride1Up Prodigy: Value for money
Affordable for a mid-drive
Very affordable for a Class 3 mid-drive
The question of value comes down largely to what you’re hoping to get for your money. You can get some excellent road bikes for $1,000, but you’ll be pedalling entirely under your own power. There are also some solid electric bikes that offer a fun and easier riding experience for under $1,500, including Ride1Up’s Roadster V2.
But, if you’re looking for a relaxed ride that feels natural while having all the extra power available from a mid-drive e-bike, you’re not going to find much that can compete in value against the Prodigy. The only Class 3 mid-drive e-bike we could find that cost anywhere close to it was the cheaper, Lectric XPremium folding e-bike, which would offer a significantly different ride.
Value for money score: 4/5
Buy it if...
Don't buy it if...
Also consider:
Whether the Prodigy is too much bike or too much money, we’ve know of a few alternative options that might be a better fit.
The Samsung HW-Q990B continues the company's recent tradition of giving its flagship soundbar four physical boxes – but until now, Samsung has consistently managed to increase the number of channels squeezed into those four boxes. This year, the total channel count has stuck at 16, just like last year, leaving Samsung to rely on other improvements to keep its soundbar story moving forward.
Happily, the Samsung HW-Q990B's improvements are all focused on improving the sound quality those 16 channels deliver, making it one of the best soundbars of the year. The subwoofer, for instance, sports a fancy new Acoustic Lens over its hefty 8-inch driver to make bass more smooth and refined, while the rear speakers feature a new angled top and small pedestal stands to deliver purer and better-positioned effects.
Samsung has finally introduced an auto-calibration system to its latest flagship soundbar too (also seen in the impressive-sounding Samsung HW-S800B) making it much easier to get the best from its peerless channel count. You can even get it to join forces with the speakers in many of Samsung’s latest TVs for an even bigger soundstage.
But as this Samsung HW-Q990B review will reveal, it doesn't need any help. By adding new control, balance and precision to the vast power and channel counts its predecessors have become renowned for, the Q990B creates the most fully rounded and immersive surround sound experience we’ve ever heard from even the best Dolby Atmos soundbars.
Samsung HW-Q990B review: Price and release date
Released in May 2022
Launched at $1,899 / £1,599 / AU$2,199
The Samsung HW-Q990B’s price in all the territories where it’s available now, or set to launch soon, certainly puts it at the high end of the soundbar market. It’s pretty much the same price as its successful predecessors, though, despite introducing a few key new features – and Samsung soundbars often drop in price nicely after launch, though these high-end models can still stay pricey for a while.
It offers four components, too, as well as a peerless channel count and power in spades, when there are a number of one-bar, hi-fi-oriented soundbars out there that cost even more, such as the Devialet Dione.
You can spend a lot less on a soundbar, but at the level this is aimed at, the price is in line with the competition from the likes of LG.
The Samsung HW-Q990B has great audio format support, and strong connectivity.(Image credit: Future)
Samsung HW-Q990B Review: Features
11.1.4 channel count
Comprises four separate elements
Dolby Atmos and DTS:X playback
The HW-Q990B stretches the notion of soundbar about as far as it can go. After all, alongside the main soundbar and external subwoofer combination that represents the furthest extent of most soundbar ambitions, the Q990B also ships with a pair of wireless rear speakers.
These are no ordinary rear speakers, either, since despite their relatively compact dimensions each of them manages to house no less than three separate channel drivers. One firing out of their front as you would expect, but also one firing out of their top edges for Atmos heigh, and another firing out of their outer sides.
These drivers contributed to a class-leading (at the time of writing) channel count of 11.1.4. So that’s front center, front left, front right, side left, side right, front side left, front side right, rear side left, rear side right, rear left, rear right, the subwoofer’s bass channel, and four upfiring drivers to provide Dolby Atmos’s overhead/height effects. Phew.
As well as looking good on the Q990B’s spec sheet, there is, of course, a potential massive sound quality benefit to supporting so many ‘real’ (rather than virtual/created by processing) channels of sound. Namely the creation of the sort of perfect hemisphere of sound that’s the ultimate goal of the latest and greatest Dolby Atmos and DTS:X sound formats – even if those channels do still require some clever bouncing to get them around you.
The Q990B is not the first 11.1.4-channel soundbar. That honor actually belongs to its predecessor, 2021’s Samsung HW-Q950A. So how does the Q990B turn Samsung’s soundbar dial up to 11(.1.4)?
The most instantly noticeable difference is the addition of an Acoustic Lens to the chunky (chunkier than last year’s model, in fact) subwoofer. This sees a raised cover with open sides sitting over a promisingly large 8-inch driver, with the intention of improving the dispersion and refinement of the bass sound.
The rear speakers have undergone a redesign, too. In particular, their top edges now angle down to aid the directionality of the up-firing drivers, and their main cabinets now sit on short ‘feet’ to reduce potential sound colouration from whatever furniture or shelf you’ve got them sat on.
Samsung has also tweaked elements of its audio processing to improve sound quality, especially when it comes to upmixing sources with limited native channel counts (including stereo music) to take advantage of the system’s full 16-channel capabilities.
The Q990B finally sees Samsung adding a proper built-in auto calibration system to its flagship soundbar for the first time, too. This ‘Space Fit’ feature uses the soundbar’s mics to analyse how the sound is responding to your room shape and contents, and apparently re-runs itself every day, just in case you might have moved your coffee table, sofa or whatever around overnight. It’s backed up by an Auto EQ system, too, that monitors the way the subwoofer’s bass output gels with the rest of the sound.
In the unlikely event that the Q990B’s 16 channels of sound aren’t enough for you, Samsung has also improved its so-called Q-Symphony feature, whereby the soundbar can join forces with the speakers inside some of Samsung’s premium TVs. This now makes it possible to up the full channel count of a Samsung TV/Q990B soundbar combi to 22.
The Q990B’s connectivity is mostly impressive. Particularly good to see is an HDMI passthrough system with two HDMI inputs, in addition to the HDMI eARC connection to your TV. This means you can connect your sources directly to the soundbar and pass the video on to your TV, avoiding the audio sync issues that can, in some setups, plague the HDMI ARC system you have to rely on with soundbars that only carry single HDMI ports.
This HDMI passthrough system supports 4K HDR video, including both the HDR10+ and Dolby Vision premium HDR formats. And yes, you read that right: There is a Samsung AV product that supports Dolby Vision! If only the brand’s TVs would follow suit…
The HDMI passthrough does not, unfortunately, support 4K 120Hz and variable refresh rate signals that the latest games consoles, high-end PCs and Samsung’s own latest TVs support. To be fair, 4K 120Hz and VRR passthrough remains rare across the soundbar world, but there are at least three soundbars out there now – the Sony HT-A7000, Sony HT-A5000 and Creative SXFI Carrier – that support at least the 4K 120Hz part of the equation.
If you have a console/PC and TV capable of handling 4K 120Hz and variable refresh rates, you will have to connect your gaming device directly to your TV and rely on ARC/eARC to pass your game audio on from your TV to the Q990B, so it's not the end of the world – it's just a shame.
The Q990B is handily Samsung’s first soundbar to support – when used with compatible Samsung TVs – wireless Dolby Atmos streaming. Albeit only in the compressed ‘DD+’ version of Atmos, rather than the lossless TrueHD version that you can get over the eARC port.
As you would expect these days, the Q990B supports both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for wireless audio streaming, including Apple AirPlay 2. If you have a reasonably recent Samsung mobile phone, in fact, you can connect it to the Q990B simply by tapping it against the soundbar’s bodywork.
Supported audio files, finally, include such high-resolution options as AAC, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, OGG and ALAC. As well, of course, as MP3s.
Features score: 4.5/5
There's an array of speaker drivers packed behind the Samsung HW-Q990B's grille.(Image credit: Future)
Samsung HW-Q990B review: sound quality
Class leading sound stage creation
Huge power and impact
Bass and detail galore
The Q990B does a peerless job of creating a full-blooded Dolby Atmos soundstage in your living room.
Every one of its 16 channels of sound is made to count – especially as the integrated new auto-calibration system does an excellent job of balancing the channels out without any manual input from yourself. You feel completely wrapped within a bubble of sound that extends right down the sides of your seating position, right around the back of your head, and even, in a startlingly joined-up fashion, right over your head.
Key specs
Audio channels: 11.1.4
Audio format support: Dolby Atmos, DTS:X
Connectivity: 1x HDMI eARC, 2x HDMI passthrough, 1x digital optical, 1x ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Extra features: Wireless Dolby Atmos, Samsung Q-Symphony (both with compatible Samsung TVs)
Creating such a seamless hemisphere of sound is key to delivering a convincing Dolby Atmos sound experience. After all, the key point about Dolby Atmos is that it’s a so-called object-based sound format, where sounds are placed in a carefully crafted ‘3D’ audio space rather than just steered to specific speakers. So if your sound system can’t create that 3D space properly, it can’t then place specific sound effects within that space correctly.
Of course, last year’s Q950A also delivered what was, at the time, a peerless Atmos sound stage. The Q990B, though, does it even better. Partly, I think, because of the extra self-calibration tools it carries, but also because of the improved design of the newer system’s rear and subwoofer speakers.
Where the rears are concerned, the improved angling of their up-firing drivers helps their sound connect with the up-firing effects from the main soundbar better, creating a more convincing and consistent sense of overhead sound. The subwoofer, meanwhile, still hits the huge (by soundbar standards) depths of rumble that we’ve become used to hearing from Samsung’s flagship soundbars, but the Acoustic Lens helps its sound spread throughout your room more evenly, and its tone feels smoother across a wider range of volumes and depths.
This extra refinement together with the Auto EQ calibration feature means the Q990B’s bass, while always impressively present, hardly ever draws too much attention to itself, instead always feeling just like another well-balanced part of the wider mix.
The main soundbar component, meanwhile, continues to deliver the magical combination of immense detailing, huge power, spectacular impact and remarkably effective channel steering that we heard from last year’s awesome Q950A.
There’s a clear sense of verticality to its sound, for instance, extending (very unusually for a soundbar system) to some genuine overhead sounds. The side and front side drivers not only fill in the side of the 3D audio hemisphere, rounded out by the side-firers built into the rear speakers, but also present sound effects transitioning from front to back or side to side with a smoothness and conviction I haven’t heard from any other soundbar.
The Samsung HW-Q990B's rear units are crucial to providing its dome of sound.(Image credit: Future)
Dialog is always clear, but also effectively contextualized, and voices sound as if they’ve being slightly lifted vertically, to marry up with the onscreen action.
Even though none of its components bar, perhaps, the subwoofer are unusually large for the subwoofer world, the Q990B system can shift astonishing amounts of air, delivering enough power to achieve huge, room-filling volume levels, without breaking down into harshness or distortion.
There’s plenty of nimbleness within this massive sound, too. By which I mean that it can dial itself back for very subtle scenes built more on detail and ambience just as happily as it can crank itself up to meet the demands of even the densest, most dynamic action movie climax. It also manages to deliver hard impact sounds with consistent authority no matter how dense the rest of the mix might be.
Other than finding its handling of DTS:X soundtracks a little less dynamic and exciting than its Dolby Atmos performance, I struggled to find any significant fault with the Q990B’s movie performance. As with numerous previous Samsung flagship soundbars, though, it’s not on quite such firm ground when it comes to music.
While native Dolby Atmos mixes are enjoyable and vocals tend to be handled well, with stereo tracks the subwoofer that sounds so beautifully integrated with movies can sometimes become a bit baggy, drawing too much attention to itself. Dense, layered tracks can sound slightly congested, too. This is hard to reconcile with a soundbar that delivers such fearsome power and dynamics with movies, but there you go.
Fortunately, the Q990B has a solution of sorts in the shape of its Adaptive sound preset. This is the one that remixes tracks to take advantage of the soundbar’s full array of channels, and it delivers surprisingly enjoyable results. Much better than those of the similar mode on last year’s Q950A. It’s so clever about how it redistributes even a vanilla stereo mix’s elements around your living room, in fact, that at times you can almost think you’re listening to a properly mastered Dolby Atmos mix.
The Adaptive preset likely won’t appeal to hi-fi purists, but it balances the musical elements better than the straight stereo Music mode, as well as making the sound appear much less congested.
Sound quality score: 5/5
The Q990B's subwoofer is very large, and works extremely well.(Image credit: Future)
Samsung HW-Q990B review: design
Four component package
11.1.4 configuration
Acoustic Lens subwoofer
The single most important thing about the Q990B’s design is that it comprises four components: The main soundbar, a subwoofer, and a pair of rear speakers. All of which bar the subwoofer carry multiple separate channel drivers each; three in each rear, and nine in the main soundbar.
Samsung has moved away from the felt finish it’s used on its main soundbar and rear speakers for the past couple of flagship soundbar generations, returning to the all-metal grilled finish of the more distant past. This gives it a harder, less domesticated look, but on balance I prefer it. Not least because it doesn’t attract dust like the felt finish.
The main soundbar is slender enough to fit under most TVs without obscuring the picture, and the rears will easily fit on a typical bookshelf. The subwoofer is hefty, for sure. But its new Acoustic Lens fitment makes it look at least a bit cool, while the extra dispersive qualities of its design make it even easier to tuck out of sight under a sideboard or next to the sofa.
The single best thing about the Q990B’s design, though, is the way it sees Samsung mercifully returning a little LED info screen to the soundbar’s front edge, where you can see it while sat on your sofa, rather than repeating the heinous error of the previous two flagship soundbar generations where the LED was sadistically placed on the top edge where you had to – shock, horror – be standing to read it.
Design score: 4/5
The Samsung Q990B's remote has a bunch of controls, which you'll mostly use for changing modes.(Image credit: Future)
Samsung HW-Q990B Review: Usability and setup
All components auto connect with no problem
Subwoofer can be placed pretty much anywhere
Auto-cal, front-mounted LED and ergonomic remote make day to day use easy
For a soundbar that consists of four component parts, it’s hard to see how the Q990B could be much easier to get up and running.
All four parts are wireless, so there’s no need to run cables between them, and during our lengthy time with the system, all four elements never failed to automatically find and connect with each other right away, with no manual input required from us.
The new Space Fit auto-calibration system is a huge boon to set up too. Especially as once you’ve run it once, it re-checks itself every day. This is so much better than the process of trying to balance channels manually that’s been required with previous Samsung soundbars.
Day to day use is pretty straightforward, too. The front-mounted LED makes it easy to track volume levels, sound formats and the input you’ve got selected, and the remote control keeps buttons to an easy to follow minimum. Plus you can control the soundbar via the more visual interface of Samsung’s Smart Things app, and there’s built-in Alexa voice control support if you’d rather have a nice chat.
The only thing that costs the Q990B a mark is that it could label its sound modes more logically, and that you need to switch between different sound presets quite regularly to keep getting the most enjoyable results with different types of music.
Usability and set up score: 4.5/5
Samsung HW-Q990B review: value
A high-end soundbar with a price to match
Still feels like good value for what it offers
Rivals a decent and likely more expensive separates system
There’s no hiding the fact that the Samsung HW-Q990B is expensive when you can get pretty decent soundbars for a third of the price. But they don't sound anything like this, and can't create anything that comes close to the total envelope of sound you get here.
And compared with the sort of very respectable separates-based surround sound speaker systems that the Q990B deserves to be compared with, the price doesn’t look unreasonable at all. You do get four seriously impressive separate elements for your money, after all, and those four units do collectively deliver a record-breaking 11.1.4 channels of sound, with no additional AV receiver unit or cabling required.
It’s worth remembering, too, that there are a few single-unit soundbars out there that cost considerably more than the Q990B even though their lack of rear speakers means they can’t create a fully fledged Dolby Atmos experience.
If you love movies and can stretch your budget far enough, the Q990B is a truly outstanding soundbar. Peerless, in fact, when it comes to delivering the full immersive qualities and power of Dolby Atmos mixes.
Value score: 4/5
The Samsung Q990B provides huge home theater thrills from a reasonably compact set of boxes.(Image credit: Future)
Should I buy the Samsung HW-Q990B?
Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Features
Excellent audio tech, and some very smart extras… but not 4K 120Hz video passthrough.
4.5/5
Sound quality
Astounding 3D sound – you've never heard anything like it from such a simple system.
5/5
Design
Fairly compact, for such big sound, and new grille is easier to dust.
4/5
Usability and setup
Useful screen on the front, and good options, but there's a lot of sound modes.
4.5/5
Value
It's expensive, but you could actually pay more and get less immersive sound. Worth the cost.
It's 2022 and here comes B&W with a new top-tier, flagship set of cans called the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 ready to kick Sony and its latest WH-1000XM5 proposition to the curb, right? Er, not quite – although these stylish wireless over-ears do replace the company's PX7 offering, there's an even more premium, reference B&W wireless headphone proposition in the pipeline, called the PX8.
So, these new cans are for the discerning listener who wants… almost the best wireless headphones Bowers & Wilkins can offer? Not exactly. The point is that this is the best the British audio specialist can manage when matching Sony's XM5 $399 / £379 price point – because the PX8 is going to cost quite a bit more, at $549 / £499.
Make no mistake though, for the same money as the Sony category leaders, you're getting the classiest Bowers & Wilkins finish yet and more importantly, a talented sound with oodles of textured detail through vocals and mid-range – in isolation. That is thanks in part to the all-new 40mm high-resolution drive units, angled within each ear cup to deliver an incredibly immersive soundstage. And if this sounds like jargon, please note that it isn't – provided you don't listen to grime or bass-heavy tracks.
These headphones sound incredibly detailed and expansive across the midrange and into the lower treble. Does this open, analytical and considered soundscape come at the expense of an exuberant, zealous, bass-thumping experience? No – but therein lies the problem. Unlike some cans that err on the side of caution in a bid to deliver space and neutrality, here, when the bass drops it really does drop, and it begins to muddy and encroach upon the audio performance in its entirety.
Elsewhere, the battery life is still 30 hours (which is the same as the older model), but you'll get two more out of them on a quick, 15-minute juice jolt (seven hours, up from five in the PX7), the comfort level has been stepped up considerably over the PX7, they feel lighter even though there's only 3g in it (although do note that the ear cups are a little smaller here) and – as long as good, rather than exemplary noise cancelling is fine by you – the PX7 S2 represent a fine return form from B&W.
OK, the on-ear physical buttons can be a little hard to locate on the right earpiece, simply because you need to send your hand pretty high up near the top of your right ear, but most of us are flexible enough to perform this. And really, that's a little nitpicky isn't it?
Ultimately though, Sony's competing WH-1000XM5 cans are more versatile across a broad genre of music. In pared back tracks, Bowers & Wilkins has nailed it here, but give them something more challenging across the frequencies and the treble seems to roll off, melting away rather than staying to compete against the rumbling and dominant bass. Mostly listen to Cocteau Twins or Simon and Garfunkel? These could well be the cans for you. Chvrches or Stormzy? You probably need to look elsewhere.
These buttons are a tad harder to locate, but useful and effective nonetheless(Image credit: TechRadar)
Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2: price and release date
$399 / £379 / approx. AU$3,399
Released June 29, 2022
The Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 are available to buy from June 29, and in the United Kingdom you’ll need to set down £379 to snag a pair. In the United States they are selling for $399, which means that in Australia they will cost around AU$575.
So, definitely not cheap – but not as astronomically priced as some B&W headphones we remember at launch (PI7 earbuds, we're looking at you) and the keen-eyed will note that the price exactly matches that of the excellent Sony WH-1000XM5. It's bold from B&W – and given the considerable talents of the firm's PX7 over-ears, why not? A little confidence has been earned – but still, tough company to keep.
The headband is lovely and cushioned, as are those slightly smaller earcups (Image credit: Future)
Unbox the PX7 S2 and you know you're holding a B&W product. Much of the design language here is carried over from the PX7 – the cool oval aluminium earcup top-plate, the hook-like accent on the headband which simply glides rather than clicks as you expand it, actual physical buttons – but the ear cups are a fair bit smaller here. Not so small as to be considered on-ear, you understand, but if you're a fan of the all-encompassing feel of Apple's AirPods Max, for example, this is a little smaller than that.
The clamping force, comfort, build quality and on-ear physical buttons are all bang on the money, although the power slider on the right earcup is a little high up on the back edge, meaning you have to flex your wrist at a fairly acute angle flick it. The playback trio of buttons is far easier to find (the central one is textured for easier location, which is a nice touch) and the left earcup is where you'll find a button for scrolling through noise cancellation profiles and for call-handling.
Speaking of noise cancellation, during our testing it is fine – but not exceptional. It should be greatly improved, thanks to the improved two-mic positioning on each earpiece plus a revised algorithm, but at this money (and further up the food chain) it can be beaten. Deploy noise cancelling in the AirPods Max and it's like the bottom of the room fell out. It's almost creepy it's so good. Here, low-level noise is massaged and softened, but it isn't fully nixed. And we have less luck with the pass-through function. On our train commute, engaging it adds some of the train's engine noise to the mix, but nearby conversations and other sounds through the treble and midrange frequencies still aren't really coming through, which is both a little strange and something of a shame – since this is the kind of thing you need an ambient aware function for.
For the first time in a pair of B&W headphones, the PX7 S2 features support for the Bowers & Wilkins Music app. This not only supplies useful information about your headphones and offers scope for tweaking the EQ (bass and treble bands), but also seeks to corral the music you regularly listen to. It's well-designed and easy to use, plus you can actually set the wearer sensor to either 'low', 'normal' or 'high' depending upon how well the headphones seem to respond to the presence of your noggin. It all adds value, and even during long listening sessions, the extra cushioning on the ear pads here feels high-end and proves supremely comfortable.
In terms of wireless resolution, Qualcomm’s aptX Adaptive tech is supported, coupled with Bowers & Wilkins' newly-developed DSP to automatically optimize your wireless music transmission from compatible phones, tablets and computers.
Design and features score: 4/5
The PX7 S2 come in a hard-shell case with two cables for charging/a wired connection in the raised portion (Image credit: TechRadar)
Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2: audio performance
Detailed, expansive and emotive –until you bring the bass
Admirable timing and dynamics across the midrange and treble
A weighty listen, almost to a fault
Often, a set of over-ear headphones can be described as "fun" rather than "analytical", or "precise and refined" rather than "zealous and exciting". Bowers & Wilkins has aimed to be both here, and almost succeeded. But not quite.
Stream Cocteau Twins' Heaven or Las Vegas and gentle percussion grazes the back of our left ear as voices come in centrally, brimming with texture and emotion, especially through Elizabeth Frazer's powerful upper registers.
The strings in The Waterboys' Fisherman's Blues soar through a sparkling treble as Mike Scott's weather-beaten vocal comes in. Each musical passage in this classic folk-rock track is given due diligence and held within a cohesive and talented mix, where each sonic article has the space to be impactful.
If you're waiting for a "but", here it is: we need to talk about the bass. Stream Miles Davis' In a Silent Way and every chime, strummed guitar string or ethereal sonic article should be celebrated, but there is an issue here with the underlying bass floor. It is present but encroaching. It is heavy in the mix to the point of muddying parts of the track it shouldn't. While not a huge issue, it is our job to nitpick and in seeking to bring a snappy, exciting bass floor, B&W has overcooked things just a touch.
Stream Stormzy's Vossi Bop and it's a similar story; the bass just feels a tad overstated and we're losing the upper midrange – which includes Stormzy's emotive lyrics. Bloated is too strong a word, but it's just a little too hot and heavy in the mix.
Again, it's a relatively small issue, and if you listen to piano concertos, acoustic remixes or female vocalists you won't find a more detailed listen, but these headphones are not the most versatile we've tested by some margin.
Key specs
Acoustic design: Closed-back, over-ear
Weight: 307g
Drivers: 40mm
Cables: USB-C to USB-C and USB-C to 3.5mm
Connection: USB-C
Audio performance score: 4/5
The earcups are beautifully finished streamlines aluminium and the headband extends without clicking (Image credit: TechRadar)
Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2: value
High-end feel and finish
ANC can be bettered at the level
Not the most versatile headphones
This is Bowers & Wilkins and, as you'd expect, these over-ears certainly look and feel the part – plus, the USB-C charger can also be used to listen to wired music if your phone sports a USB-C connection (we did this with our Samsung Galaxy S21, no Bluetooth required). You get a USB-C to 3.5mm cable in the box too, in case you want to use them with source devices such as MP3 players, all of which adds value at the level.
If you really want the best ANC this money can buy though, there are better, more personalized options out there, and here we might point you to the Sony XM5 or (likely to be discounted) WH-1000XM4 over-ears.
For sound, certain music-lovers will love the extra clarity and detail through the midrange in pared-back or acoustic tracks. For us, the bass weight is just a little much at times (particularly when listening to grime or hip-hop genres) and this does count as a small mark against the PX7 S2.
Value score: 4/5
Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2: should I buy them?
Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2
Attributes
Notes
Rating
Features
Excellent app support; acceptable rather than excellent ANC
4/5
Sound quality
Glorious treble detail that fades just slightly in bass-heavy tracks
4/5
Design
Classy build, finish and comfort, provided you're fine with slightly smaller ear cups
4/5
Value
Premium materials well implemented, but the ANC and versatility can be bettered
4/5
Buy them if...
Don't buy them if...
Also consider
Think the Bowers & Wilkins PX7 S2 might not be the audiophile over-ears for you? That's OK, here are three alternative wired high-end options that might offer just the combination of sophisticated style and sound quality you're looking for.
A subtle change is occurring in the ruggedized phone market.
This sector has been dominated by Chinese phone builders over the past few years, and most of these devices have sold on their ability to withstand harsh environments alongside being competitively priced.
Of lesser importance was the quality of construction, the inclusion of unique features and overall performance.
However, that era may be concluding with products like the AGM Glory G1S coming to the market. It proves this market is no longer a race to the bottom for Chinese phone makers but an ambition to compete more directly with the best Korean, Japanese and American designs.
In this review, we’ll be looking at a flagship phone that contradicts much of what we’ve come to expect from Chinese-made hardware.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Price
The AGM Glory G1S can be got directly from the makers, and it comes in only one SKU, with a single accessory option. A flat price of $699 is the price, and for a further $20, it can come with a charging dock.
It’s important to realise that this is an international design not specifically for the US market, and therefore it only supports the frequencies used by T-Mobile in that region.
According to the AGM website, there is also a Glory Pro based on the G1S available with a slightly different feature set, double the storage, and wireless charging for $819.99.
Compared to the typical pricing of rugged phones, the G1S and the Pro are both at the very high end of what customers might expect to pay, even from Samsung or other better-known brands.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Design
It’s good to see that AGM has joined the aesthetic movement away from making everything rugged look like it was made for the army.
The Glory G1S appears to take its thematic cues from diving equipment, even if this phone wasn’t specifically designed for going underwater. The black with orange highlights is understated. And the coating, described by AGM as ‘Aramid-like texture + Bayer Soft Rubber’ provides sufficient grip that the G1S shouldn’t easily slip from the hand.
Looking at an overview of the various Glory models AGM makes, the phone appears to have been modularised into a core chassis, battery, cameras and a top module.
They all share the same SoC, 6.53-inch FHD+ (2340 x 1080) screen and fit the charging dock, but have different battery sizes, storage capacities and camera options.
The G1S comes with a smaller than the rest 5500mAh battery, and it lacks wireless charging, but at 315g it’s the lightest of its series, and it comes with the best camera options.
There are three features of this design that are worthy of note, but one in particular aspect addresses an issue we’ve seen with numerous rugged designs.
That’s the charging port, or rather the rubber plug that needs to be dislodged each time the phone is connected to be charged or data transferred directly.
If not correctly seated, these rubber plugs undermine the phones’ ability to stop water and dust ingress, and each time they’re removed, they become less effective at doing this job.
Our first reaction to the USB port on the G1S wasn’t good. We discovered that AGM engineers decided to modify USB-C to be magnetic. Therefore, if you use a standard USB-C cable with the USB port on this phone, it will fall out, as it only works with the magnetised cable AGM provides.
Skewing standards isn’t good, but thankfully AGM provides a means to avoid pulling that rubber plug out and using this port at all through a custom charging dock.
Instead of connecting to the USB-C port, the charging dock operates using four surface-mounted pogo-pin contacts on the underside of the G1S and entirely circumvents the plug removal mess.
What looked like it was one of the worst features of the G1S turned out to be a feature that more rugged phones need to embrace.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
A couple of other oddities of this phone were less impressive, starting with the placement of the fingerprint sensor.
It sits just below the camera cluster in the middle of the phone back. A place where you are highly likely to put fingerprints on those camera lenses while you try to locate the sensor.
Why AGM designers didn’t use a thumb-based reader on a side button, we’ve no idea.
Another curious feature is that the top module on this model has a laser pointer. When we first used this feature, we tied activating it to the user-definable button on the left side. Only to then discover that the button will turn the pointer on but not off.
It can be toggled using the drop-down control panel, thankfully.
What those implementing this feature missed was an excellent opportunity to make the laser pointer much more useful, perhaps as a level marker. The raised part of the camera cluster causes the phone to rest on a surface at a slight angle.
If this angle could have been adjusted on the laser or a small projection on the bottom added to make it flat and perhaps offered a laser line mode, this would have made significantly more of that feature.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Hardware
Spec Sheet
The AGM Glory G1S that was sent to us for review came with the following hardware:
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 5G GPU: Qualcomm Adreno 619 RAM: 8GB LPDDR4X Storage: 128GB Screen: 6.53" LPTS TFT Resolution: 1080 x 2340 SIM: Nano + Nano or Micro SD Weight: 315g Dimensions: 172.8 x 82.8 x 14.8 mm Rugged Spec: IP68, IP69K and MIL-STD-810H Rear camera: Triple camera still/video (48MP Sony IMX582 + 20MP +1.9MP) night vision and thermal imaging/video Front camera: 16 MP Sony sensor OS: Android 11 Battery: 5500 mAh
Most phones of this type we’ve seen in the past few years were built around inexpensive SoCs by MediaTek and other cheaper SoC producers.
That’s not a direction that AGM took the Glory G1S, as it uses the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 SoC that the Moto G50, Redmi Note 10 JE and a slew of Nokia designs, including the XR20, X100, X20 and X10.
The core of this chip is an Octa-core CPU built from two units of A76-based Kryo 540 Prime CPU, clocked at 2GHz and six units of A55-based Kryo 560.
What this silicon doesn’t do is offer the raw power of the top-level Snapdragon SoCs, but it is highly efficient. The GPU is the Adreno 619, a decent option for those that might need graphics performance.
In this SKU, the Snapdragon 480 is coupled with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, and you can increase storage by using a Micro SD card in the SIM slot. It’s the typical deal where the card slot either takes two Nano-sized SIMs or one and a Micro SD card.
An area where the G1S justifies its cost is in the clarity of the display. The larger 6.53-inch panel has high enough resolution to playback 1080p content with room to spare and is admirably bright and sharp.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
While some flagship designs from Samsung and others have more powerful processing potentially, the G1S does have a camera specification that is fantastic, with no less than five cameras.
The primary rear camera is a Sony IMX582 48MP sensor with an f/1.79 aperture. It can take images at 8000 x 6000 resolution. Sadly, as good as it is at stills, this performance isn’t reflected in its video capture, which has a maximum of 1080p resolution. No 4K or even 2.7k here.
Alongside that sensor is a small 2MP sensor for macro work and a 20MP night vision camera with an infrared LED. And, a thermal imaging camera with a resolution of 256×192.
Finally, there is a 16MP front-facing facetime camera for those that like to talk face-to-face.
The parts used in the G1S aren’t cheap, which is reflected in the asking price.
Performance
Benchmarks
This is how the AGM Glory G1S performed in our suite of benchmark tests:
The Snapdragon 480 is a high-quality SoC that delivers excellent performance on the G1S, especially where power efficiency is a factor.
With two performance and six efficiency configured cores, the G1S is geared towards delivering consistently over a working day or two. And, even with the smallest battery in the AGM Glory series, this isn’t a design where battery life quickly ebbs away.
However, it isn’t all good news.
What few Chinese phone makers are prepared to pay for is Widevine stream certification, the secure mechanism that controls the quality of streaming services.
The G1S is yet another phone with a screen of high enough resolution for 1080p and 5G connectivity that is only rated to Widevine L3 stream certification. Therefore, the best streaming you will experience from most services, including Netflix and Disney+, is just 480p.
Because of this omission, we wouldn’t recommend this or any recent Chinese rugged design as a good streaming platform.
The cameras are a mixed bag, as the main Sony IMX582 with autofocus optics is very good for still image capture but much less compelling for video.
But where this phone excels is that it not only offers excellent night vision mode, using an infrared emitter and sensor combination, but it also has some top-notch thermal technology.
The thermal camera has a resolution of 256 x 192 and a frame rate of 25 FPS, enabling it to reveal excellent detail about the distribution of heat in a scene. At the focal point of the image, the temperature is read numerically on the screen, along with any hot spots and the lowest value overall.
This sort of information could be invaluable to anyone trying to fix a vehicle or looking for an overheating component on an electronics circuit. We played with it attempting to detect variation in the heating of a 3D printer bed, and the detail, even at this resolution, was great.
If night vision and thermals are useful to you, then the G1S might well be worth whatever AGM is asking for it.
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Final verdict
There are things we genuinely liked about this design alongside a few mildly annoying choices that we also encountered.
In the plus camp, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 480 SoC and the efficiencies that come with such an evolved platform. That’s combined with a good still camera, night vision and one of the best thermal sensors we’ve seen used in a phone.
AGM wrapped it all up in a tough abuse-resistant shell that uses Pogo-pins to avoid breaking the rubber seal on the USB port for those with the $20 charging dock.
We also liked the relatively clean version of Android 11 that AGM used, providing an excellent level of Google compatibility and relatively few pre-loaded apps.
The flipside of these desirable aspects is a few niggles.
That this design isn’t suitable for other networks than T-Mobile in the US is a disappointment, as is the lack of Widevine L1 stream certification.
A few things, like the placement of the fingerprint sensor and the laser pointer functionality, needed more consideration from the design team, but these aren’t deal-breakers.
Easily the most significant issue here is the price. Most international users won’t spend this amount on a Chinese-branded phone almost irrespective of what features it has.
If you want thermal imaging, the Cat S62 Pro is significantly less outlay to get that feature, and the Blackview BV6600 Pro is less than half the cost if you accept lower thermal resolutions.
With pricing, all phone makers are navigating a fine line. Because just a little cheaper, and we’d probably recommend the AGM Glory G1S over these alternatives, as it’s a better overall design that uses better components.
