Apple : How to watch The Flash season 6 finale online from anywhere |
- How to watch The Flash season 6 finale online from anywhere
- iPhone 11 and 11 Pro deals US: get the best prices for May 2020
- Outlook will soon be able to write your emails for you
- The best iPhone 8 Plus prices and sales for May 2020
- AMD Ryzen 7 4700G surfaces with double the cores of the Ryzen 5 3400GA
- Yet more WordPress plugin flaws undermine website security
- Google Play Music is disappearing – here's how to save your music
- Build the ultimate home office with ASUS
- Best practices for SMBs to build a website
- UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira live stream - how to watch online from anywhere
- Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 graphics cards could make 4K graphics the norm for PC gaming
- Microsoft and Intel are turning malware into images
- 4K TV deal: save £310 and get an OLED TV for under a grand at Amazon
- Intel Core i5-10400 comes close to AMD Ryzen 5 3600 in leaked benchmarks
- Xiaomi just announced a new cheap phone that could rival the OnePlus Z
- Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 remaster is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC later this year
- The best cheap Xbox One X prices, bundles and deals in May 2020 - where to buy the 4k Xbox
- Best headphones 2020: your definitive guide to the latest and greatest audio
- Beats noise canceling headphones get a massive $150 price cut at Best Buy
| How to watch The Flash season 6 finale online from anywhere Posted: 12 May 2020 02:36 PM PDT After 18 episodes and one huge multiverse crisis, The Flash is finally set for its season 6 curtain call. As the lights dim on Barry Allen and Central City once again, don't miss a moment of the action - here's how to the watch The Flash season 6 finale online and stream episode 19, 'Success is Assured', from anywhere in the world tonight. Spoiler alert: if you're not fully up-to-date with The Flash season 6, you may find some unwanted surprises below. Please bear this in mind and scroll down for specific guides to watching The Flash online in countries other than the US - where the episode order may be different. This wasn't meant to be the final episode of The Flash season 6, of course - but the Covid-19 pandemic meant the show could only film 19 out of an originally planned 22 episodes. We're still set for an action-packed send off, though, as this year's Flash season finale sees Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) finally meet the Mirror Master - and their true identity might come as a surprise. Originally an Arrow spin-off, The Flash was the second show to launch as part of the Arrowverse and quickly became one of the very best superhero shows around - as well as playing a key part in this year's Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover. That's all old news now, though, so let's cut to the chase - here's how to watch The Flash season 6 finale online and stream episode 19 of the hit Arrowverse show no matter where you are right now.
Can I watch The Flash on Netflix?Yes - but only if you have access to Netflix Canada. It's the one major country where all six seasons of The Flash, including new episodes like tonight's big finale, can be streamed on the popular service. Which is great news for those living in the Great White North - and terrible news if you happen to be anywhere else. That's because geo-blocking will almost certainly prevent you from watching the shows and movies you normally would at home, even if you pay for a Netflix subscription. Fortunately, there's an easy solution - using a VPN. This clever bit of software allows you re-point your computer back to a location in Canada so you can stream your local Netflix catalogue just like you would from the comfort of your couch. Of the many options, our testers rate ExpressVPN as the best option due to its ease of use, fast speeds, and security features - and better still, you can get a 49% discount and 3 months extra FREE if you sign up to ExpressVPN today. Allow us to explain more. How to watch The Flash season finale from outside your countryThose who already have a streaming service they use to watch The Flash season 6 finale online may find themselves unable to access it when abroad, due to pesky geo-blocking restrictions. Yes, we're aware that most of us aren't going anywhere in the near future, but global travel will one day resume and, god forbid, you may even be stuck abroad during these difficult times. Fortunately, there's an easy solution to geo-blocking. Downloading a VPN will allow you to watch Crisis on Infinite Earths and every new episode of The Flash no matter where you are. This simple bit of software changes your IP address so that you can access episodes live or on demand just like you would at home.
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| iPhone 11 and 11 Pro deals US: get the best prices for May 2020 Posted: 12 May 2020 02:15 PM PDT The iPhone 11 and 11 Pro were released in 2019 and are available to order from all major carriers and retailers like Amazon and Best Buy. To help you wade through all the different plans, we've listed the best iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro prices and deals that are available in the US today. The Apple iPhone 11 features a 6.1-inch LCD display, while the iPhone 11 Pro comes with a Super Retina XDR OLED display in either a 5.8-inch or 6.5-inch size. The iPhone 11 and 11 Pro both have updated camera hardware with a Wide and new Ultra-Wide camera on the back of the iPhone 11 and Wide, Ultra Wide and Telephoto cameras on the iPhone 11 Pro.
iPhone 11 deals from US carriers:iPhone 11 Pro deals from US carriers:iPhone 11 Pro Max deals from US carriers:The iPhone 11 Pro Max, the bigger version of the 11 Pro, is priced at $1,099 from carriers such as AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon. Sprint is offering the Pro Max for $45.84 on a Sprint Flex 18-month lease, and Verizon is offering up to $500 off with select trade-in and Unlimited. AT&T is offering up to $700 off when you switch to AT&T and port-in your number, or up to $500 off without port-in. Learn more about the newest iPhone with our hands on iPhone 11 review, iPhone 11 Pro review, and iPhone 11 Pro Max review. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Outlook will soon be able to write your emails for you Posted: 12 May 2020 01:41 PM PDT Microsoft is currently working on a new feature for Outlook called text predictions that uses smart technology to to suggest the best word possible while users are typing an email. In an Office support document, the software giant explains that users can use either the tab key (just like in Gmail's Smart Compose feature) or the right arrow key to accept Outlook's text predictions. However, if users want to ignore the suggested text, they can just keep typing and the suggestion will disappear. According to the Microsoft 365 roadmap, text predictions will be available in Outlook by the end of this month to help users compose better written emails.
Text predictions and send laterMicrosoft also explains how to enable text predictions in Outlook in its support document. To do so users will first have to go to settings at the top of the page, click on “view all Outlook settings”, go to the “mail” tab and then navigate to the “Compose and reply” section. From there, they'll need to check the “suggest words or phrases as I type” option under “text predictions”. The company is also planning to add a “send later” feature to Outlook on the web which will allow users to schedule when an email is sent. This feature is also under development and is expected to begin rolling out to Outlook during the second quarter of this year. Text predictions and send later are two very useful features that will hopefully make working from home much easier for Outlook users.
Via The Verge This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| The best iPhone 8 Plus prices and sales for May 2020 Posted: 12 May 2020 01:09 PM PDT Thanks to the recent release of the iPhone SE, it's a fantastic time to find deals on the already affordable iPhone 8. To help you sort through all the offers, we've listed the best iPhone 8 Plus prices and sales that are available online. The iPhone 8 Plus features a 5.5-inch screen and an impressive camera that continues to get better with iOS 13, even if doesn't have the extra lenses of Apple's leading phones. It's still not the cheapest handset, so you'll definitely want to peruse all the iPhone 8 Plus deals that you'll find here - but at less than half the price of the leading iPhone 11 Pro, it's the best compromise between iOS value and power in the iPhone range. The iPhone SE replaced the iPhone 8 in the Apple Store, so your best bet is finding the budget phone from a retailer. We've listed all of the available carrier options and listed the best iPhone 8 Plus prices and sales that are available from retailers like Amazon and Best Buy.
The best iPhone 8 Plus prices and deals from US CarriersIf you want to shop for newer iPhone models you can see the best iPhone XR deals and the best iPhone 11 and 11 Pro prices and deals. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| AMD Ryzen 7 4700G surfaces with double the cores of the Ryzen 5 3400GA Posted: 12 May 2020 12:10 PM PDT AMD Ryzen 4000 “Renoir” desktop APUs are having quite a month in the Twitterverse. First, an unidentified desktop Renoir APU was spotted by TUM_APISAK on UserBenchmark touting 8 cores, 16 threads and a base clock of 3GHz. And now, tipster @_rogame has leaked another chip bearing the Ryzen 7 4700G moniker. Spotted from an Ashes of the Singularity benchmark, the Ryzen 7 4700G is shown to have the same 8 cores and 16 threads as the previous APU, though we urge you to take this with a grain of salt.
If this processor is real, it’s expected to utilize the same Zen 2 architecture and 7nm process that made the mobile Renoir chips a staggering success. More importantly, it could double the core count of the current Ryzen 3000 APU line and its flagship, the Ryzen 5 3400G, which only has four cores. UserBenchmark has seen fake submissions before, so this is hardly proof that a 8-core, 16-thread Renoir desktop APU is definitely coming. However, it’s worth noting that AMD’s Ryzen 7 chips typically sport 8 cores, so if this rumored APU does in fact have 8 cores, the name is certainly fitting. If the AMD Ryzen 7 4700G is real and on its way, it would be the very first APU to carry the Ryzen 7 branding. Here’s what Ryzen 7 4700G could look likeNot much else is revealed about the Ryzen 7 4700G in this leak, unfortunately. But, that hasn’t stopped anyone from speculating before. As reported by Tom’s Hardware, if this chip and the previously leaked desktop Renoir APU are actually one and the same, then the Ryzen 7 4700G will have a base clock of 3GHz, with 3.95GHz boost. On the other hand, _rogame did argue that there are currently two 8-core Renoir APUs being tested, one with a 3GHz base, the other running at 3.5GHz. In any case, these are decent numbers that could potentially be higher in the final production units. Tom’s Hardware expects the processor to support DDR4-3200 memory modules out of the box, though perhaps not PCIe 4.0 as the mobile Renoir processors only offer PCIe 3.0 support. Still, the Ryzen 3000 desktop chips are on the PCIe 4.0 interface, which means that it’s also possible for the desktop Renoir APUs to take after them. It further speculates that the Ryzen 7 4700G could take after the Ryzen 9 4900H’s iGPU design, which will give it eight Compute Units (CUs) and up to 512 Stream Processors (SPs). Since current flagship Ryzen 5 3400G has up to 11 CUs, this could be a downgrade. However, AMD may offset that with a higher graphics clock. Obviously, there’s no word yet on the pricing. But seeing as the Ryzen 5 3400G sells for $149 (£139, AU$240), the price tag on Ryzen 7 4700G – again, if it does exist – is expected to stay competitive, especially with AMD’s ethos of offering powerful components for less than the price of the competition. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Yet more WordPress plugin flaws undermine website security Posted: 12 May 2020 11:54 AM PDT The WordFence Threat Intelligence team has discovered two high severity vulnerabilities in SiteOrigin's plugin Page Builder that can be exploited by hackers to create new admin accounts, plant backdoors and even take over compromised websites. The popular WordPress plugin is installed on over 1m sites and the vulnerabilities in Page Builder version 2.10.15 and below are a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) that can lead to Reflected Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. To exploit these vulnerabilities, an attacker needs to trick a site administrator into clicking on a specially crafted link or attachment in order to execute malicious code in their browsers.
The Page Builder plugin allows WordPress users to easily build “responsive column based content” using both widgets from WordPress and widgets from SiteOrigin's Widgets Bundle plugin. The plugin also includes a built-in live editor which allows users to update content and drag/drop widgets in real time. Page Builder vulnerabilitiesAfter discovering the two high severity vulnerabilities in its WordPress plugin, WordFence contacted Site Origin and the developer quickly released a patch the following day. In a blog post describing the vulnerabilities, WordFence's Chloe Chamberland explained just how dangerous using an older version of the plugin can be for site owners, saying: “This flaw could be used to redirect a site’s administrator, create a new administrative user account, or, as seen in the recent attack campaign targeting XSS vulnerabilities, be used to inject a backdoor on a site.” A skilled attacker can even fully take over compromised WordPress sites after they have created rogue admin accounts and planted backdoors to maintain access. At the time of writing, just over 250,000 of Page Builder's 1m users have updated the plugin to the latest version, 2.10.16. If your site uses this plugin, it is highly recommended that you update it immediately to prevent falling victim to any attacks that capitalize on the two high severity vulnerabilities in Page Builder 2.10.15 and below.
Via BleepingComputer This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Google Play Music is disappearing – here's how to save your music Posted: 12 May 2020 11:24 AM PDT Quick reminder: by the end of the year Google Play Music will no longer exist. The company has been inching towards the inevitable shutdown day-by-day but, until now, carrying over your purchases to YouTube Music was a pain in the butt. Thankfully, that's about to change. As Google prepares to close down its long-running Play Music streaming service, the company has enabled a new transfer function inside the YouTube Music app to bring your music, playlists and preferences to their new home on YouTube. According to Google, all Google Play Music subscribers will soon receive an email with detailed instructions on how the migration works, but essentially it’s as simple as downloading the YouTube Music app and clicking the transfer button. The good news is that you’ll be able to take all your uploads, purchases, added songs and albums, personal and subscribed playlists, likes and dislikes, curated stations and personal taste preferences along with you in the transition, and there’s no difference in price between the services. For now you’ll still be able to use both services, but Google is telling people to start making the transition early to avoid a panic when Play Music shuts down later this year. How to save your Google Play Music songs to YouTube MusicAccording to Google, Play Music subscribers should have basically no issues transitioning to the new service and have provided three steps to moving over all your songs, playlists and preferences: Step 1. Download the YouTube Music app (iOS/Android). Step 2. Click on the transfer button in YouTube Music Step 3. That’s it. Your updated recommendations will appear immediately on the YouTube Music home screen, and Google will notify you when your music library transfer is complete.
Are there any advantages to YouTube Music?If you've been using Google Play Music for years, it can be tough leaving it behind. You've probably gotten used to how things work inside the app and are more than a little leery transitioning to a service that hosts a billion cat videos. But honestly, YouTube Music does have some huge advantages over Play Music. For starters, YouTube Music has a larger song library – somewhere in the ballpark of 50 million songs compared to the 30 million you might've had on Google Play Music. For another, you'll get YouTube's highly advanced recommendation engine by using YouTube Music, which should make finding new songs easier and faster. Last but not least, if you're already a heavy YouTube user, Google is offering a subscription that combines ad-free YouTube and YouTube Music Premium for $11.99 (£11.99, AU$14.99) per month that offers offline listening, too.
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| Build the ultimate home office with ASUS Posted: 12 May 2020 11:22 AM PDT These days, we’re all spending a lot of time in our homes, and for many of us, there’s a good bit of remote work to be done. Your office likely supplied task-ready computers, plenty of screen real estate, and a solid network to keep everyone productive and connected, but you may not have that same infrastructure available to you at home. With ASUS’s suite of products, you can soon be working from home with all the efficiency of the office. These awesome products will help get you up to speed: ExpertBook B9450The ASUS ExpertBook B9450 should be your go-to partner when it comes to working away from the office. This laptop is built to meet every demand your work might have. It’s powered by the latest Intel Core processors backed by plenty of RAM and fast storage. You also get the best internet connection thanks to its support for the new WiFi 6 standard. While some work machines can be big and clunky, this laptop maintains a svelte design that weights just 2.2 pounds, giving it impressive portability. You won’t have to worry about accidents getting in the way of work, either. The design has been built to meet MIL-STD 810G military standards for reliability and durability and has a spill-proof keyboard. A 24-hour battery life can also keep you going for the long haul, and you can easily top back up with fast-charge technology that will restore 60% of the battery’s charge in just 39 minutes. ZenScreen MB16ACEDepending on your work, a small difference in screen space can make a huge difference in productivity. Laptops may offer the best in portability, but that does come at a trade-off in screen real estate. The ASUS ZenScreen MB16ACE solves that pain point. This 15.6-inch display is small enough and light enough to come with you wherever you go, making it the perfect complement to your laptop. The display offers up a Full HD resolution, keeping the visuals crisp. It also has an anti-glare finish, so you don’t have to worry about sunlight making it impossible to see. And, thanks to a built-in sensor, you can set it in portrait or landscape modes and the display will automatically orient. All that capability and the ZenScreen MB16ACE just requires a USB connection to function. ZenWiFi XT8Nothing can hinder a productive workday like spotty internet. When everyone is at home at the same time, there can be many devices competing for bandwidth from the home Wi-Fi, and it can lead to serious slow-downs. ASUS’s ZenWiFi XT8 system will keep you up to speed. The system employs the latest WiFi 6 standard, supporting connections to many devices at once while keeping high speeds. The ZenWiFi XT8 package includes two Wi-Fi hubs, giving it a massive, 5,500-sq-ft coverage area. It also has intelligence when it comes to prioritizing traffic. If you have a lot of important business calls, you can have the router prioritize call packets over other data so someone streaming Netflix won’t disrupt your meeting. The Zen WiFi XT8 will also protect your home network and data with AiProtection and a built-in VPN. ZenBook Pro DuoIf you have creative work to handle, the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo is one of the most impressive and competent laptops you can find for the task. It pushes laptop design forward by not just offering a 15.6-inch 4K UHD display with virtually no bezels but by also building a secondary display into the bottom portion of the laptop. This gives you substantially more screen space, and lets you keep toolbars and menus on the lower display so you can maximize your view on the main display. Both of the screens feature touch support, and ASUS includes an active stylus for more nuanced input. The main display also uses OLED technology and delivers 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut with HDR support for truly stunning visuals. For a portable computer solution that does just a bit of everything, the ZenBook Pro Duo fits the bill. ASUS Accessories to Complete Your SetupWhile your computer delivers on performance and your monitor keeps your eyes busy, your hands are also going to have a lot to do while you’re working, and they shouldn’t have to settle for any old keyboard and mouse. ASUS has many high-quality accessories that can help keep you working smoothly. ASUS’s most impressive accessories come from its Republic of Gamers (ROG) brand. You can complete your home office setup with the wireless ROG Chakram for all your mousing needs, the ROG Strix Scope for a distinct typing experience, and the ROG Delta wireless headset can help you hear and be heard in all of your work calls. Make your home a well-rounded home productivity center with ASUS products and accessories starting today. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Best practices for SMBs to build a website Posted: 12 May 2020 11:00 AM PDT In today’s digital age, having a website can be extremely beneficial to your business regardless of how big or small your company is. Even if you run a small shop or sell your items locally, a website is a great way to grow your brand and reach even more customers. Getting started is often the hardest part of creating your first website which is why TechRadar Pro spoke to SiteGround’s WordPress initiatives manager, Hristo Pandjarov to find out more about how SMBs can begin creating their own online presence.
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| UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira live stream - how to watch online from anywhere Posted: 12 May 2020 10:13 AM PDT After Justin Gaethje turned in the performance of his career to dispatch Tony Ferguson with a 5th round KO at UFC 249, all eyes are now on the MMA promotion's next card - a mid-week Fight Night event pitting two former light heavyweight title challengers against each other. Here's how to watch UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira - live stream Wednesday's clash online from anywhere in the world with the help of our guide. It's a tasty card from start to finish, but topping the bill is Smith vs Teixeira - both former light heavyweight title contenders who lost to the seemingly invincible Jon 'Bones' Jones last year. 31-year-old American Anthony Smith enters the fight as the marginal favorite, sitting at #3 in the UFC lightweight heavyweight rankings. The journeyman has a 33-14 professional record and most recently recorded an impressive submission win over Alexander Gustafsson - albeit back in June 2019. In March of the same year, he lost his title shot against Jones in a unanimous ecision. On the other side of the Octagon, 40-year-old Brazilian Glover Teixeira is ranked #8 in the UFC light heavyweight rankings. He last fought in September 2019, defeating Nikita Krylov by split decision to take his professional fighting record to an impressive 30-7. However, he hasn't been in the title picture for a while, losing his lone shot at the belt to Jones all the way back in 2014. Both fighters no doubt think that a victory in Jacksonville could give them one last chance to become a UFC champion, though, so we're expecting a fierce encounter - follow our guide as we explain how to live stream Smith vs Teixeira and watch UFC Fight Night online no matter where you are in the world.
How to live stream UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira in the USLive stream UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira in the UKLive stream UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira in CanadaHow to live stream UFC Fight Night: Smith vs Teixeira in AustraliaThis posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Nvidia GeForce RTX 3000 graphics cards could make 4K graphics the norm for PC gaming Posted: 12 May 2020 10:00 AM PDT Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 3000 range is set to be something truly special, and could usher in a new era of 4K gaming on PC, at least if a freshly revealed graphics card leak turns out to be on the money. This comes from the YouTube channel Moore’s Law is Dead, which we should note upfront is not one of the major hardware leakers that seem to pop up constantly. That said, the channel has been gaining traction of late, and we’ve seen some interesting details from it in recent times.
So – grab your handfuls of salt now – the YouTuber claims to have spoken to inside sources at Nvidia who have gone to great pains to eke out and share a lot of details on the firm’s next-gen graphics cards. (The other obvious major caveat being that this info pertains to the current engineering sample boards, so the info may change before launch, but should – broadly speaking – be in the right ballpark). Much of the most interesting spillage concerns the GA102 GPU which will theoretically be Nvidia’s top-end Ampere consumer offering that’ll most likely be named the RTX 3080 Ti (assuming Nvidia logically carries on with its current generational naming scheme). Whatever it ends up being called though, it’s set to be an out-and-out beast of a graphics card, allegedly running with hugely fast boost clocks of up to 2.2GHz, offering 21 TFlops of raw performance, and 18Gbps video memory – 864GB/s of memory bandwidth, around 40% more than the 2080 Ti (at 616GB/s). It will support PCIe 4.0, too. A full lineupOther lesser graphics cards in the 3000 range (GA103 and GA104) may even push those boost clocks to a mighty 2.5GHz, although that particular spec isn’t yet certain, but the Nvidia engineer who was the source of the leak expects this to be the case with the finished versions of the GPUs, apparently. The overarching observation is that these 7nm RTX 3000 cards hit ‘massive’ CPU bottlenecks at 1080p and 1440p, and Moore’s Law is Dead argues that 4K graphics will become the mainstream standard with these new Ampere models. Yes, they will apparently be that much of a major performance leap for PC gaming. Furthermore, he put some numbers on 4K performance, with claims that the RTX 3080 Ti will beat out its predecessor the 2080 Ti with at least a 40% frame rate boost in unfavorable (unoptimized) games – but it’s generally more like 50% faster, and even up to 70% better with certain titles. That is a massive claim, of course, and note that this pertains to performance with traditional rasterization (which most games still use, of course) rather than ray-traced graphics. RTX OnSpeaking of ray tracing, the raft of information divulged in this leak also covers that particular facet of Nvidia’s next-gen graphics cards. With Ampere, Nvidia is reportedly not increasing the amount of RT cores (which accelerate ray tracing frame rates) on the card, but it’s making them perform better – a lot better. In fact, the claim is that the Ampere RT cores can pull off processing intersections at a rate four times faster than current RTX Turing cards. In basic terms, even low-end cards from the RTX 3000 series (presumably meaning the RTX 3060) will ‘run rings’ around flagship Turing models when it comes to ray tracing (and that’s something we’ve heard hinted at with previous rumors regarding Nvidia’s next-gen cards). To underline this, the YouTuber observes that the RTX 3080 Ti is something like four to five times faster than a current Titan RTX in Minecraft RTX. So again, these are massive strides forward, although he does take the time to also clarify that we are still far away from a full-on implementation of ray tracing – but that Ampere will be able to handle better ray tracing effects than we have now, while upping the performance ante to maintain ‘reasonable’ frame rates. Shrouded in mysteryAs to the appearance of Nvidia’s next-gen Ampere graphics cards, at least going by the current design configurations, they have a similar cooler to the existing RTX 2000 Founders cards except with three fans (rather than two) which should obviously provide better cooling (and apparently runs quieter, too). The YouTuber further notes that sample cards are currently using just two 8-pin power connectors, whereas at the same stage in development, Turing models were using three – which could be a hint of a decent stride forward on the power efficiency front, too. He also mentions DLSS 3.0 which will be ‘much better’ than version 2.0, which in itself was already a big improvement over the original implementation, so that’s interesting. Although it won’t be a silver bullet applied to all games – titles will still need to be specifically coded to take advantage of DLSS, although this should be easier for game devs with this incoming version 3.0. Nvidia’s next-gen Ampere graphics cards are expected to arrive in the third quarter of 2020, perhaps following the Turing launch schedule in terms of keeping the lowest-end RTX model (3060) waiting in the wings until a later date, according to other gossip on the graphics grapevine. Even if a Q3 launch is intended, though, there’s a possibility that coronavirus-related disruption may still interfere. We shall have to see, and keep our fingers crossed that we might just get some kind of a teaser relating to consumer Ampere GPUs at Nvidia’s GTC keynote, which is due to air on YouTube later this week (May 14).
Via PC GamesN This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Microsoft and Intel are turning malware into images Posted: 12 May 2020 10:00 AM PDT Researchers from the Microsoft Threat Protection Intelligence Team and Intel Labs have come together to work on a new research project that utilized a novel approach to detect and classify malware. The project, called STAtic Malware-as-Image Network Analysis (STAMINA), used a new technique to convert malware samples into grayscale images which were then scanned for textural and structural patterns specific to known malware samples. During the first part of their collaboration, the researchers built on Intel's previous work on deep transfer learning for static malware classification and used a real-world dataset from Microsoft to better understand the practical value of approaching malware classification as a computer vision task.
The STAMINA approach makes the argument that malware can be classified at scale by performing static analysis on malware codes represented as images. Turning malware into imagesThe researchers first prepared the malware binaries by converting them into two-dimensional images using pixel conversion, reshaping and resizing. The binaries were then converted into a one-dimensional pixel stream by assigning each byte a value between 0 and 255 which corresponded to pixel intensity. Each Pixel stream was then transformed into a two-dimensional image by using the file size to determine the width and height of each image. These resized images were then fed into a pre-trained deep neural network (DNN) that scanned the 2D representations of malware strains and classified them as either clean or infected. To serve as a base for the research, Microsoft provided a sample of 2.2m infected Portable Executable (PE) file hashes. Microsoft and Intel researchers used 60 percent of the known malware samples to train the original DNN algorithm, 20 percent of the files were used to validate the DNN and the other 20 percent were used for the actual testing process. According to the research team, STAMINA was able to achieve an accuracy rate of 99.07 percent in identifying and classifying malware samples with a false positive rate of only 2.58 percent. When working with smaller files, STAMINA was accurate and fast though the project wavered when working with larger images. Based on the project's success at identifying malware, Microsoft could one day end up using STAMINA to spot malware on Windows PCs or even in its antivirus software Window Defender.
Via ZDNet This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 4K TV deal: save £310 and get an OLED TV for under a grand at Amazon Posted: 12 May 2020 09:59 AM PDT Amazon has just dropped a fantastic 4K TV deal on this 55-inch Philips 55OLED754 for just £989 - a hefty price slash of £311 in total, and your chance to pick up an OLED TV for under a grand. A big discount doesn't mean this cheap OLED TV is lacking in features. With Ambilight, Amazon Alexa built-in, Philips' P5 Perfect Picture Engine, HDR10+ support, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, this is a really feature-packed 4K TV and will punch its weight alongside the likes of LG and Sony - the current OLED giants to beat. OLED TVs are currently the most premium 4K TV deals on offer and they're right at the very bleeding edge of the latest tech and best picture quality money can buy. It's extremely rare to see one for under a grand in the UK, so if you've been waiting out for that big upgrade, now's your chance to save a huge chunk of money. Not in the UK? Check out all the best 4K TV deals in your region down below. The best 4K TV deal this week at Amazon:
Want to shop around? Our cheapest OLED TV prices article is thoroughly recommended if you're in the US or UK and we're sure we can save you big bucks on your next OLED TV. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Intel Core i5-10400 comes close to AMD Ryzen 5 3600 in leaked benchmarks Posted: 12 May 2020 09:54 AM PDT The soon-to-be-released Intel Core i5-10400 is just shy of beating AMD’s year-old Ryzen 5 3600 in leaked benchmarks. The Core i5-10400 is an affordable mid-range Comet Lake CPU that’s expected to launch at the end of the month priced at $182 (around £145, AU$285). Though it’s based on Intel’s ageing 14nm architecture, it offers similar specs to AMD’s 7nm Ryzen 5 3600; it’s a 6-core, 12-thread locked processor with a base clock of 2.9 GHz and a Turbo Boost of 4.3GHz.
Though it’s yet to arrive on shelves, a PC enthusiast on ChipHell has managed to put the CPU through its paces. Testing the Comet Lake chip on an MSI MAG Z490 Tomahawk motherboard teamed with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070, they ran a number of benchmarking tests, using Cinebench R15 and R20, various forms of CPU-Z bench, and SuperPi. Compared to the Core i5-9400F, the incoming Core i5-10400 recorded modest gains of 2-5% in single-core performance. However, thanks to its added Hyper-Threading, it shamed its budget predecessor in multi-thread tests with impressive 35-45% performance gains in CPU-Z, a 41.85% gain with Cinebench R20, and 45.05% gain with Cinebench R15. The CPU didn’t fare so well compared to AMD’s Ryzen 5 3600, however. Even though Team Red’s hexa-core chip debuted a year ago, the chip posted 5-10% single-core gains over the Core i5-10400. It also came out on top when it comes to multi-core performance, scoring 3746 in Cinebench R20’s multi-core test, compared to the 3186 racked up by Intel’s mid-range CPU. Though it failed to topple the Ryzen 5 3600, the Intel Core i5-10400 is still shaping up as a decent mid-range chip when it comes to gaming performance. Earlier this month, leaked benchmarks showed that the CPU outperformed Intel’s pricier Core i7-9700F chip in certain scenarios, despite having two fewer cores and a slower Turbo clock.
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| Xiaomi just announced a new cheap phone that could rival the OnePlus Z Posted: 12 May 2020 09:24 AM PDT With OnePlus phones – most recently the OnePlus 8 – coming with increasingly high price tags to match their strong specs, the title of ‘flagship killer’ which they once held is arguably up for grabs, and the latest phone from Xiaomi looks a strong contender to take on the title. The newly-announced Poco F2 Pro comes from Xiaomi's sub-brand Pocophone, which previously put out the popular Poco F1, and it's sporting some top-notch specs, but without a top-end price tag.
The phone is available to buy in Europe already, priced at €499, which is roughly $540 / £440 / AU$830, for the base model with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage, and €599 (around $630 / £530 / AU$1,000) for the 8GB and 256GB model. That looks pretty affordable, but those converted prices might not be exact when the phone goes on sale in other regions, so we'll need to see the final pricing before labelling it a 'flagship killer' for sure. According to Xiaomi the phone is coming to the UK later this year, and it'll possibly come to Australia at some point too as the company releases some of its phones there; however, it doesn't release its devices to the US, so we'd be surprised to see it appear there. The F2 Pro could go toe-to-toe with the OnePlus Z, a mid-range smartphone that's rumored to be coming later this year, and which is expected to be OnePlus' pitch to reclaim its former reputation. Is there space in a crowded field for two such phones? Only time will tell. Poco F2 Pro specsThe Poco F2 Pro has a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen with a 1080 x 2400 resolution. No mention is made of a high refresh rate, so it seems the phone will have the standard 60Hz, rather than the 90Hz or 120Hz of the latest flagships. The screen itself isn't broken up by a notch or cut-out – instead the 20MP selfie camera is housed in a pop-up module, a feature that a few brands have flirted with, but which has yet to really take off. The phone has four rear cameras, with the main 64MP snapper joined by 13MP ultra-wide, 5MP 'telemacro' and 2MP depth-sensing cameras. The chipset here is a Snapdragon 865, which is the top-end processor available to Android phones right now, and an indicator of Xiaomi's ambitions for its sub-brand. There's also 5G connectivity, and a 4,700mAh battery with 30W fast charging. So the Poco F2 Pro certainly looks like it could potentially be a flagship killer – we'll bring you our verdict as soon as we're able to review the phone, so stay tuned. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 remaster is coming to PS4, Xbox One and PC later this year Posted: 12 May 2020 09:14 AM PDT Update: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater is returning, but not exactly for a new entry. Instead, it's a shiny-looking remaster of the first two PSone games for PS4, Xbox One and PC (via the Epic Games Store) which will be released on September 4, 2020. It'll feature some of the original soundtracks, as well as classic levels and skaters from the series' history. You'll also be able to play online multiplayer as well as splitscreen, and create a skate park and share it online. Activision is calling it a remaster, but it looks more like a full remake. Newer tricks from the later games will be added to this version, like revert manuals. The developer on this new edition in the series is Vicarious Visions, responsible for the Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Trilogy package. Check out the trailer about 30 minutes in to the below. Hawk himself turns up to discuss the game afterwards. Original story: There’s a real possibility that you’ll be playing a new Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game sometime in 2020 – and, potentially, a new Skate game from EA as well. Those tidbits of information are according to professional skateboarder Jason Dill, who said in a recent podcast that both Activision and EA are working on new entries in their respective skateboarding franchises. That could be some seriously good news if you’re in need of some ’90s and early 2000’s nostalgia in these tricky times, but according to Dill, you shouldn't get too excited just yet: the next Skate game is probably just a mobile port of 2010's Skate 3, not a launch game for Xbox X Series or PS5 like you'd hope. "So this woman [from Skate series publisher EA] emailed me and said 'Hey Jason we want to do a mobile version of Skate 3,'" Dill said on The Nine Club podcast. "So I wrote back and said, 'Look, no big deal, [but] no one wants your stupid mobile version of Skate 3. Make Skate f*****g 4 already." That’s probably not great PR on his part, but he’s probably not wrong there. How credible is a new THPS or Skate game rumor?Well, there’s no guarantee, but if you match it up with recent earnings statements and projections from EA and Activision, both of whom are promising two new mobile games and two library-based titles respectively, the stars could align for two new skating games to ollie our way in 2020. In its most recent earnings call, Activision Blizzard said it would introduce ‘two titles based on library IP’ from Activision this year – and though fans already suspect that could mean a new Crash Bandicoot or Spyro game, Activision Blizzard does have the rights to Tony Hawk so it’s in the running. As far as the Skate Mobile claim is concerned, EA recently confirmed it will launch FIFA 21, Madden 21, NHL 21, Burnout Paradise on Nintendo Switch, Command & Conquer Remastered, plus one EA HD title, four EA partner titles and two new mobile games. EA is expected to unveil some of these games during a June 11 all-digital version of its EA Play Live event that it typically holds in Los Angeles around the time of E3. Unfortunately there’s no E3 2020, but EA is moving forward with EA Play Live where it’s promising "world premieres, news and more". Again, we're not betting the entire skate park on the rumor, but Dill definitely seems to have some insider information on what's coming next.
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| The best cheap Xbox One X prices, bundles and deals in May 2020 - where to buy the 4k Xbox Posted: 12 May 2020 08:57 AM PDT Xbox One X bundles are hanging on by a thread this week, so if you're on the hunt for a 4K Xbox you might want to jump before stock completely dries up. With Microsoft themselves all out of inventory in both the US and UK, signs aren't pointing to a speedy refresh any time soon. That said, we are seeing some Xbox One X deals landing on both sides of the pond, so there are still savings to be made. Not only are Xbox One X bundles available at the moment, but we're seeing some stray away from the $399 / £349 sales price we've come to recognise over the past few weeks. If you're looking for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order or some sweet Game Pass Ultimate months, therefore, you'll be right at home with the latest Xbox One X deals. Gamers looking for the most powerful console ever made have been keen to pick up Xbox One X deals since release but there was a high cost to pay in the early days. You'll find all the latest Xbox One X bundles available here, with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, the Gears of War collection, and Forza Horizon 4 leading the pack in discounts. If you're after something a little cheaper, you can head over to the latest Xbox One S bundle deals. If you're after information on the latest Australian deals, head over to our Australian page. The best Xbox One X deals
US Xbox One X bundles are running low this week, after Microsoft's previous sale all but wiped out stock. The Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order bundles are still in stock at Amazon, but otherwise check out our links below to see which retailers will replenish their stocks the quickest.
Unfortunately, UK Xbox One X bundles are running perilously low this week, with most of the big retailers selling out of their main included game bundles. If you're too late to grab the ones below, then we've also included some handy retailer links with details on current stock levels.
If you're after more games for your Xbox One X, then why not check out our Xbox Game Pass deals page. There's also plenty of savings to be had on online play as well with our top picks of the best Xbox Live Gold sales. What is the Xbox One X price?The Xbox One X MSRP is $499 in the US and the UK RRP currently sits at £449. So sure, it looks like UK gamers are paying considerable more as the direct currency conversion would have it at £390. On the plus side, retailers are starting to cut prices and we're seeing games bundled in too. So you should never pay those costs for the console alone today. Why should I buy an Xbox One X?Just to be clear, this is not what you'd call a 'next-gen' console. Instead it's a more powerful version over the current Xbox One lineup. To simplify things, it's akin to Sony's PS4 Pro. Both consoles are aimed at gamers with a 4K HDR TV who want the best graphical performance possible on their favored console. There will be modest performance boosts on non-4K TVs too, but you're kind of missing the point without a 4K HDR TV. The Xbox One X will play all Xbox One games and there are no games released exclusively for the Xbox One X, so there's certainly no reason to throw away your older Xbox One. The Xbox One X is the most powerful console ever made though, even outshining some of the specs of the PS4 Pro. But given the huge asking price, you'd hope as much. The Xbox One X is making bold claims about true native 4K gaming though and if you have a 4K TV with High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology, the Xbox One X is ready to seriously impress with the likes of Forza Motorsport 7, Metro: Exodus and Anthem acting as true jaw-droppers in the graphics department. Where can I buy an Xbox One X?Most of the usual big name retailers are stocking the Xbox One X. Prices are much better than they were at launch now too. Keep an eye on the highlighted Xbox One X bundles above and our comparison chart, which we'll keep up to date on the latest prices for the Xbox One X on its own. So feel free to bookmark us and check in again soon to see if we've found the deal that's right for you. What if I don't care about 4K or want to save money?The standard Xbox One S is a fantastic games console and you'll easily be able to get one with a few games for around $220/£200 or less. There are cheap deals all year round on our Xbox One deals and PS4 prices, deals and bundles pages. Only kidding. I want 4K HDR in my face right now.4K TVs with HDR are nowhere near as expensive as you'd think. The prices have come down much faster than the original HD TVs, so you can get a decent model for a low price. Hell we've seen some nice ones for less than the price of the Xbox One X itself (what a ridiculous world we live in). For the best of the best, take a look at our best TV article. We've also rounded up the best cheap 4K TV deals too in the UK, and also a collection of US TV deals. How big is the hard drive in the Xbox One X?For now, the only option available is the 1TB option, that's 1000GB of storage. There are no official plans for larger versions.. With some 4K-friendly update patches to games coming in at over 100GB, we certainly wouldn't hold out for a cheaper 500GB Xbox One X, as it'd be a bit pointless to be honest. We think gamers are going to fill up the 1TB Xbox One pretty soon. Thankfully the Xbox One X is compatible with external hard drives using USB 3.0. So if you need some extra storage, check out our list of the best external hard drives. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Best headphones 2020: your definitive guide to the latest and greatest audio Posted: 12 May 2020 08:55 AM PDT Choosing the best headphones for you can be tricky; after all, there are so many models out there, from noise-cancelling cans to true wireless earbuds. The best headphones of 2020 deliver fantastic audio fidelity, stunning design, and a whole host of cool features, including wireless connectivity and built-in voice assistants. A good pair of headphones is a must-have for any music lover, whether you're looking for audiophile sound quality or budget-friendly buds for working out. The good news is, there's plenty of choice – and there could be even more on the way soon. Most recently, rumors of the first-ever Apple over-ear headphones and the AirPods Pro Lite are circling. With all those options out there, making the right buying decision can be difficult – and it's our mission to hook you up with the perfect headphones for your needs (and your budget). We encourage you to take a look at all the headphone lists here on TechRadar – however, if you're in a hurry and just want to find the best headphones your money can buy, check out the top picks from every category below. The Sony WH-1000XM3 Wireless Headphones are the best headphones you can buy in 2020. A dominant noise-cancelling pair of headphones, the Sony WH-1000XM3 can beat anything Bose has with ease. That’s because, while Bose has done a tremendous job working out its noise cancellation algorithm over the years, Sony has spent that time perfecting audio playback while simultaneously creating an adaptable algorithm that doesn’t just create a single sterile sound barrier, but multiple kinds that can tailor itself to whatever situation you’re in. Beyond being exceptional at keeping external noises at bay, these impressive Sony headphones are Hi-Res Audio-ready, sporting aptX, aptX HD and LDAC codecs, and offer the smarts of Google Assistant right on-board. If you need a pair of headphones that can live up to any challenge and excel in any environment, these are the pair for you. We could soon see a new contender for the top spot though; rumors of an imminent Sony WH-1000XM4 release date have been circling since an FCC filing from Sony revealed the model number of what could be a brand new pair of noise-canceling headphones. Read more: Sony WH-1000XM3 review After spending a few weeks with both the 1MORE Triple Driver in-ear headphones, we were blown away by the great value for money they represent. For $100 / £100 (about AU$168), it’s hard to think of a better-sounding and more well-built pair of earphones than the 1MORE Triple Drivers. (That said, if you want just that little extra refinement and luxury materials, the 1MORE Quad Drivers are still a bargain at twice the price.) There’s very little we can fault the Triple Drivers for. Sure, the inbuilt remote feels a little cheap, but that's more than made up for by the lush sound quality offered by these luxe-looking earbud. For the price, it’s impossible to do better than 1MORE's Triple Driver in-ear headphones. Read more: 1More Triple Driver In-Ear Headphone review If you have a tendency to lose or break headphones, but you still value sound quality, it’s hard to think of a better value pair of earbuds than the RHA S500u. These in-ear headphones have no business sounding so good for $40 / £30 / AU$52, sporting a balanced soundstage with a slight mid-bass bump to power you through your workouts and make your music sound great. Bass is slightly emphasized but not egregiously and features good impact while maintaining good control – and highs, while sibilant at times, makes music sound more exciting. In short, these are the best earphones you can buy if you're on a strict budget. Read more: RHA S500u review Again, the Sony WH-1000XM3 are our true winners in this category, but if you want an alternative, the Jabra Elite 85h are a fantastic choice. Offering class-leading battery life, stylish design, and plenty of personalization when it comes to sound profiles, the Elite 85h are easy to recommend. That said, purists will bemoan the lack of high-end codec support and there are punchier headphones on the market at this price point. When you consider that Jabra’s Elite 85h headphones are the company’s first attempt at premium wireless ANC headphones, the result is quite commendable. We can’t wait to see what the company’s next premium ANC headphones will accomplish. Read more: Jabra Elite 85h review For years, the Plantronics BackBeat Pro 2 were among our favorite wireless headphones because of their excellent sound, build quality and features. Unfortunately, they were also kind of expensive. For a lot less ($150 / £140 / AU$240), Plantronics now sells the brilliant BackBeat Go 810, which use less premium materials but sound nearly identical to its more expensive predecessor – and sport an equally chic design. With that in mind, the BackBeat Go 810 are an affordable pair of ANC headphones that will please travelers and commuters who don’t want to spend too much money on headphones. Read more: Plantronics BackBeat Go 810 review Considering it's still rare to get noise-cancelation in wired earbuds at all, the fact that Sony has managed to pack it into a pair that are not only wireless, but true wireless is very impressive indeed. The Sony WF-1000X manage to offer a level of noise-cancelation that's very good for a pair of earbuds – they won't offer the same isolation as a pair of over-ear cans, but if you're after a sleek form factor then the compromise is worth it. That being said, in spite of a few minor problems we feel that Sony has knocked the ball out of the park with the WF-1000XM3: not only are these hands-down the best-looking true wireless earbuds out there, but they also combine serious noise cancelling tech with fist-pumping musicality. If you don’t want the inconvenience of carrying full-size cans, they’re a persuasive and smart alternative. Read more: Sony WF-1000XM3 Wireless Earbuds review You may not have heard of up-and-coming audio brand Lypertek yet, but expect to hear a lot from it soon – its Lypertek Tevi are among the best true wireless earbuds we’ve tried, especially given their low price tag ($130 / £99 / AU$185). With USB-C charging, a well-balanced sound, lengthy battery life, and waterproofing, they tick every box you could ask for, from what are basically a pair of budget buds. The Lypertek Tevi, surprisingly, might just blow you away, punching well above their weight and rivaling buds from some of the biggest audio brands on the planet. Consider us pleasantly surprised. Read more: Lypertek Tevi true wireless earbuds review The NuForce BE Sport4 wireless earbuds are a rare find: earbuds that are grear for basically all situations, whether you're looking to take them out on a run or just wear them around town. They're ideal for exercise, although any urbanite will also find their lightweight functionality and impressive sound isolation highly appealing when traveling on crowded trains or navigating busy streets. If you want proof that wireless earphones can now compete with the best wired earphones, look no further. Read more: Optoma NuForce BE Sport4 review If the Sony WH-1000XM3s are the true king of noise-cancelling headphones, the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 are next in line for the throne – and for the sake of offering an alternative, we've included them in this list. Traditionally, noise-cancelling headphones have been designed to block out the environmental sounds around you, so that you can hear your music more clearly (or catch some shut-eye on a noisy flight). This can be really effective if you’re listening to music. If you’re making a phone call however, the person you’re speaking to can still hear everything that’s happening around you, whether you’re standing on a busy street or trying to speak on a rumbling train. The Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 seek to remedy this, by applying noise-cancelation to phone calls as well as music. The sound quality is undeniably good, with a vibrant, lively character and well-balanced soundstage. If you’re trying to decide between buying the Sony WH-1000XM3s and the Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700, we’d recommend going for the former because of that lower price and better battery life. That being said, you wouldn’t be making a mistake if you opted for the Bose cans instead (and we wouldn’t blame you if you did) – they sound great, look stunning, and the noise cancellation is out of this world. Read more: Bose Noise Cancelling Headphones 700 review Sennheiser is well-known for its great-sounding noise-cancelling headphones, and its latest, the $199 / £159 (about AU$280) Sennheiser HD 450BT, offer a cheaper alternative to previous models like the Momentum 3 Wireless and class-leaders like the Sony WH-1000XM3. With a minimal design and built-in noise cancellation, these fully-foldable wireless headphones are aimed squarely at the commuting crowd. Their well-balanced profile should appeal audiophiles and bass-hunters alike. Battery life and connectivity are both very good, and the noise-cancelling works well enough, although you might find that these headphones don’t quite block out all external noise. Read more: Sennheiser HD 450BT review For your money, you can't do any better than Grado's SR60e. The third-generation of the Brooklyn, NY-based company's Prestige Series are its best and most refined yet. The SR60e in particular are a smart choice if you're looking for an entry-level pair of headphones that sound far more expensive than they really are. Their open-backed earcup design makes them feel more breathable than most on-ear headphones, delivering a wide, natural soundstage. In a few words, they're our gold-standard when it comes to on-ears. (Our review is for the SR60i, but the newer SR60e headphones are largely similar in design and performance.) Read more: Grado SR60e review While the original Plattan headphones were just fine for a pair of on-ear headphones, Urbanears wasn’t satisfied with being mediocre. The company took customer feedback to heart and addressed many complaints about comfort, sound quality and isolation. For the most part, Urbanears succeeded, making the Plattan II a worthy sequel to the company’s most popular headphone. In short, these are basic headphones without a ton of features. But, because they're feature-light, you get a good-sounding pair of wired headphones for significantly less than you would otherwise. Read more: Urbanears Plattan II review While Beyerdynamic may not be as well known as its German brother, Sennheiser, the audio company has a history of creating some of the best sounding audio gear on the market – the company’s DT770, DT880 and DT990 were renowned for their excellent build and sound quality. Above them all, however, stand the Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro, an open-back version of the Beyerdynamic DT 1770 Pro, which won our Editor’s Choice for its imaging, design and value for the money. Both headphones are priced the same ($599 / £589 / AU$1,159), so you won’t find a deal picking up one over the other. The difference here comes down to sound. As they’re open-back, the DT 1990 Pro are meant to be used at home or in the studio for serious analytical listening. Sound is able to get in and out, but the good news is that the open-back design gives the DT 1990 Pro a great sense of space. The soundstage is quite wide, too, allowing even the most lackadaisical listener to pinpoint the exact location of where each instrument is playing. If you've been searching for a pair of high fidelity cans that are used by some of the world's leading audio engineers, these are the best headphones for you. Read more: Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro review JBL is a popular name in the world of headphones and Bluetooth speakers, and rightly so. Solidly dependable, consumers know what to expect from the brand – decent sound quality for a decent price. That's what we found with the JBL Live 650BTNC last year – and now, ready to take their place are the JBL Tune 750BTNC, a superior successor to the 650BTNC's as a high-spec and well-priced set of over-ear headphones. The JBL Tune 750BTNC sound great, look great, and they fit well. Reliable and easy to use, you might miss waterproofing and a few minor features – but at this price, it feels foolish to complain too readily. Read more: JBL Tune 750BTNC review The Focal Stellias are perhaps the best-sounding headphones on the planet. Their wide-open soundstage and detailed, accurate sound treatment means they make any genre of music sound brilliant. If you listen to songs you think you know inside out, the Stellias' precise separation of the frequencies means that you will probably hear details you’ve never noticed before. If you like to keep things minimal in the headphones department, you probably won’t like the showy, opulent design of the Focal Stellias, and they can feel a little chunky for wearing on the commute into work. But if luxury is your thing, the full-grain leather cups, woven cables, brushed copper accents, and matching carrying case are likely to appeal. That luxury feel is translated right down to the presentation of the user manuals in a neat little leather-style wallet – and you may well expect to find this level of detail in exchange for parting with $3,000. Ouch. Read more: Focal Stellia headphones review Best headphones of 2020, at a glance
Choosing the right headphones for you can be an agonizing decision – but it doesn't have to be if you look for a few key features. Above all, sound quality is the most important thing to look for. That doesn't mean you have to buy the most expensive audiophile headphones on the market; it just means that you should have an idea of what kind of sound you like. How you define good sound quality depends on your personal taste. Do you like a warm, well-rounded sound, or do you prefer ultra high-fidelity that allows you to hear every single detail of your music? Are you a dedicated bass head or a classical music junkie? If you're all about that bass, you'll want to look out for dynamic drivers that displace lots of air, leading to a bassy soundstage. If detail is everything, look for large frequency ranges – 20Hz to 20 kHz is the standard, so anything larger than this may allow for more detail in the highs and lows. It's also important to consider the soundstage as a whole; if you love a wide, open sound, try a pair of open-back headphones. Worried about sound-leakage when you're in the company of others? Try a pair of closed-back cans with a secure fit to stop your tunes bothering the people around you. You also need to consider the design of your new headphones. Do you want the freedom of true wireless earbuds or the security of a pair of sturdy over-ear headphones? Wireless or wired is also an important consideration. A few short years ago, we may have tried to dissuade you from buying a pair of wireless headphones (the technology had issues with wireless connectivity over Bluetooth and sound quality took a dive as a result). Nowadays however, advances in Bluetooth technology means that wireless headphones can sound fantastic and rarely experience annoying dropouts. If you're going for wireless headphones, make sure the battery life is decent, too. You should also think about what you'll be using your new headphones for; if you need to soundtrack your workout, you'll want to look at headphones specifically designed for running or swimming. Lastly, you need to consider price. You don't have to break the bank when your buying a pair of headphones, as evidenced by our guide to the best cheap headphones of 2020. Press on to page two to see how to pick out a good pair of headphones along more of our recommendations. Check out our videos below for a roundup of the best headphones available. There's usually more to a set of headphone than meets the eye. As such, we've provided a breakdown of what you can expect to find in each kind of headphone. Not only will learning more about headphones help you make a more informed purchase, but you'll know when you're really getting your money's worth. What headphones should you buy? Check out our video below for everything you need to know. In-ear headphones1More Triple Driver In-Ear Headphones This type of headphone, more commonly referred to as an earbud or earphone, is usually the cheapest and easiest way to pump audio into your ears. If you've purchased an MP3 player, or more recently, the new iPod touch (7th generation), it's likely that a set was included with the purchase. Earphones rest in or just outside the ear canal, creating a tight seal to keep air out and sound in. Compared to other types of headphones, these are the most discreet ones you'll find. Their small form-factor also makes them the king/queen of portability and the prime choice for athletes. You're not likely to find strong performers at the low-end of the price spectrum. Their sound delivery is generally muddled, lacking bass and overcompensating for that with harsh mids and highs. That said, it won't cost you much money at all to find a value-packed option complete with inline controls and a microphone. On-ear headphonesGrado's GW100 Wireless on-ear headphones While similar to over-ear headphones in appearance, they fit to your head a little differently. Instead of enveloping your ears with a soft cushion, on-ear headphones create a light, breathable seal around your ear. Thus, the noise isolation is much less effective than in-ear or over-ear options. This might be a dealbreaker for some, but there are big benefits to consider here. On-ear headphones are usually more portable than their over-ear brethren, and as such they appeal to travellers and the fitness crowd. Taking a walk or a jog around town is also safer, as you can hear traffic go by and be aware of potential hazards. Over-ear headphonesThe Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro headphones This ear-muff style of headphone generally provides greater richness and depth of sound, which allows listeners to pick apart the instruments and sounds much easier. Additionally, over-ear, or circum-aural headphones, go around the ear and offer a generous amount of padding. The price range for a set of on-ear headphones begins around $100 and from there, the sky's the limit. For example, the Oppo PM-1, while excellent, are priced exorbitantly at $1,099. It's definitely not necessary to spend that much. That said, you tend to get what you pay for. If your headphone budget is in the $2-300, you'll start getting into options that have excellent build quality, premium materials and amazing sound and features like ANC (active noise cancellation.) Wireless headphonesThe OnePlus Bullets Wireless 2 Wireless headphones can be split into three different categories: wireless earphones connected via a neckband, wireless on-ear headphones, and wireless over-ear headphones – all are battery-powered and use Bluetooth to connect to your smartphone, laptop, portable music player, or even your turntable. For wireless over-ear and on-ear models, you simply lose the wire connecting them to your device – otherwise, they look pretty much the same as your regular pair of wired cans, and give you the noise-isolating prowess of over-ears without the need for cumbersome wires to connect to your device. Wireless in-ear models, earphones, or earbuds (depending on your preferred vernacular), have a neckband connecting each earbud, making them ideal for runners who want the freedom of a wireless connection with the security of a wire keeping their earbuds firmly around their neck. Opting to go wireless will cost you a premium of anywhere between $50-100 over the price of wired cans. Going futuristic isn't cheap. One important thing to consider is that your music player must support the Bluetooth wireless protocol, as it's required to use this type of headphone. Speaking of Bluetooth, it has become exponentially more reliable over time, but it's always susceptible to disturbances in the force. True wireless earbudsTrue wireless earbuds on the other hand, have no cord whatsoever; no wires to get caught in your zipper, and nothing to keep each bud connected to each other. For some, this means true freedom; for others, untethered true wireless means constant danger of losing their expensive audio kit down the drain – or terrible connections. The latter, at least, has changed now – thanks to advances in Bluetooth technology like aptX HD, the best wireless headphones have never sounded better. These advances have also paved the way for true wireless earbuds to dominate the audio market. You just have to look at the popularity of the Apple AirPods (2019), Beats Powerbeats Pro, and Samsung Galaxy Buds, to understand how successful the true wireless market has become in recent years.
Noise-canceling headphonesBose's QuietComfort 35 II headphones This category, like wireless headphones, isn't limited to a form factor. You can find this clever mix of technologies integrated into the ear pieces of in-ear and over-ear headphones alike. Many companies falsely claim to offer true noise cancelation with just the padding included around the ear cups. Don't believe it. This is PNC (passive noise cancelation), and it doesn't amount to much. You can even replicate this effect by cupping your hands around your ears, so why shell out the big bucks for it? On the other hand, ANC (active noise cancelation) is the real deal. This technique employs a set of external microphones, which detect the decibel level outside. Once it has an idea of the incoming noise level, the headphone speakers inside transmit a noise generated to dampen the racket. The end result is an effect that hushes the outside noise, allowing you to focus.
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| Beats noise canceling headphones get a massive $150 price cut at Best Buy Posted: 12 May 2020 08:45 AM PDT If you're looking to score a price cut on a quality pair of headphones with noise cancelation technology, then you're in luck. Best Buy has the best-selling Beats Studio 3 headphones on sale for $199. That's a whopping $150 discount and the lowest price we've seen for the wireless earphones. Alternatively, if you're on the hunt for earbuds that are better suited for at-home workouts, Best Buy also has the Powerbeats 3 earbuds on sale for just $89.99. Noice canceling headphone deals:See more deals with the best cheap wireless headphone deals and sales, and check out our guide to the best Memorial Day sales 2020. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
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