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The Galaxy Z Fold and Flip 3 have been in the hands of reviewers for a few weeks now, and the consensus is clear: The Galaxy Z Flip 3 5G is the first foldable smartphone that can actually be recommended to real consumers. As a lifelong Apple user entrenched into the Apple iCloud ecosystem, it would take a compelling phone for me to abandon my iPhone—but the Z Flip 3 was good enough, and cool enough, for me to take the leap. The Z Flip 3 marks the most notable improvements from Samsung since they released the original Galaxy Z Flip a year and a half ago. The Z Flip 5G brought a 5G antenna to the phone and other minor improvements—though not enough to warrant much notice. However, this new Z Flip brings upgrades in display technologies, build quality, durability, and more. The new displays are the immediate difference makers in daily use for the Z Flip 3. The cover display is now four times larger, and shows up to four lines of text in an always-on format. This allows use for notifications and widgets including music controls, weather, and quick timers. While this may seem intangible in daily use, it is quite the opposite. The compactness of the Z Flip 3 is nullified if you have to flip the device open every time; however, the cover display allows you to receive vital information without that added step. The inner, 6.7" AMOLED (Active Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diodes) display is upgraded as well with adaptive refresh rate, which allows the phone to automatically toggle between 60 Hz and 120 Hz refresh rates depending on the situation. It gives the phone a smoother user interface overall, and is crucial to serious gaming on-the-go. Unfortunately, unlike other Samsung phones with this technology, there is currently no setting to apply the high refresh rate all of the time. Most likely, the lack of this setting is due to the already underwhelming battery. The two-cell, lithium polymer battery inside the Z Flip 3 is rated at just 3300 mAh, which is significantly less than other phones in its class. Of course, this is a casualty of the fold, which requires the phone to be relatively thin when folded shut. In my daily use of the phone, the battery was decent, but falls short of flagships like the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Charging conveniently throughout the day—in cars, at desks, et.—I was able to make the Z Flip 3 last a full day without much "battery anxiety." Another feature that is cannibalized by the folding form factor of the Z Flip 3 is the cameras. The main cameras are dual 12 MP sensors that are wide and ultra wide apertures. The cover display allows these cameras to be used as selfie cameras, though there is an inner, 10 MP wide sensor for traditional selfies. All cameras are capable of shooting 4K video at 30 FPS, though the main cameras can be set to record 4K HDR at 60 FPS. While these cameras are adequate in ideal conditions, they struggle in subpar, low light situations. Specifically, the selfie camera quickly becomes grainy and pixelated in dark scenes. In those great scenarios, though, the Z Flip 3 is more than capable—the picture below was taken with the Flip at Citi Field and the finished product is fantastic. As strictly a smartphone the Z Flip 3 elegantly blends comfort and functionality. Under the hood, it features the Snapdragon 888 5G chip and eight gigabytes of RAM–the same as other Android flagship phones. For the first time in the Flip line of phones, the Z Flip 3 sacrifices nothing in terms of computational performance. In terms of comfort, the hinge can be set to any position, allowing the phone to be comfortable cradled for phone calls, mounted for pictures, and positioned for many other unique use cases. The positive changes to the durability of the Z Flip 3 solidify it as a foldable ready for consumers. The Flip has been certified as IPX8 water resistant, which means it can be submerged in up to 1.5 meters of water for as long as 30 minutes. However, it was not certified for dust resistance, and it remains to be seen whether dust entering the phone will be a long-term issue. Additionally, the aluminum used for the body of the phone has been strengthened to a material Samsung calls "Armor Aluminum." The screen is the same plastic front we saw in the original Z Flip, though the Z Flip 3 now comes with a pre-installed plastic screen protecter that protects the actual screen. Samsung recommends that users keep the protector on for the life of the phone, essentially making the protector a part of the display. The outer display is covered with Gorilla Glass Victus, which is the strongest glass Gorilla Glass has produced thus far. Overall, it is hoped that these changes will end the durability questions brought forth with Samsung's original foldables, but only time will tell. It's clear that is you're looking for the highest end device, you won't find it in the Z Flip 3. You'll find it in the Galaxy S Series, the iPhone Pro series, or even in the Z Fold series. However, if you're looking for a small, fun device that changes the way you use your phone—the Z Flip 3 may be the phone you're looking for.
I was, I ditched my iPhone for the Z Flip 3 and have not looked back since. If you're considering making the same switch, stay tuned, because I'll be documenting the peaks and valleys of this switch from iPhone to Android.
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Apple’s new computer chip, the M1 system-in-package processor, has taken the computer world by storm. The M1 can outperform many similar low power chips by Intel and even AMD while running in an emulation layer. This type of performance is unprecedented—but Apple’s CPU changes aren’t. They’ve gone from Motorola to the PowerPC coalition, from PowerPC to Intel, and they are now in the transition from Intel to “Apple Silicon.” What can we learn from these earlier transitions that apply to this one? Apple’s switch from PowerPC to Intel is the most direct comparison. The company’s Power line of computers were performing well, but Intel’s chips were performing better. There is a key similarity here—the A13 Bionic in the iPad Pro regularly outperformed the base Intel i3 chip in the Macbook Air. The key difference in the Intel transition was that Apple rebranded and redesigned their portable computers as “MacBooks,” as opposed to iBooks and PowerBooks. This hasn’t been the case so far. In fact, the external housings for the new Macbook Air, Macbook Pro, and Mac Mini are completely unchanged. As a result we can expect the design of these computers to be updated very soon, possibly with new 14” and 16” laptops that take advantage of the low-power Apple Silicon. However, the most important thing to learn from these transitions is one key point: the second generation products always have more support than the first. There is no better example of this than the transition to Intel, and thus, to MacBooks. The first ever Macbook, a glossy snow-white polycarbonate laptop, was released in early 2006 with an all-new Intel Core Duo processor. It was a massive improvement over the previous generation of PowerPC laptops. What followed was only one additional software update, and the original MacBook became obsolete in just a few years. Just months later, Apple released the upgraded late 2006 models of the MacBook with Intel’s new Core 2 Duo processor, a dual core chip which greatly improved the machine. Two models were released: a glossy white polycarbonate MacBook and the only ever matte black MacBook, affectionately dubbed the “BlackBook.” The new Core 2 Duo MacBooks received more software updates than the original MacBook despite being released just months later. The 2009 unibody MacBook can run MacOS 10.16 Catalina, a software update that was released ten years after the MacBook was released. There’s a pattern here. Although the original MacBook (Intel) was groundbreaking at the time, it aged horribly. The BlackBook and new MacBooks aged better, but still became obsolete quicker than expected. The 2009 Macbook, released three years after the Intel transition began, can be patched to run the latest MacOS 11 Big Sur. To learn from this history, we have to be cautious when purchasing new MacBooks. If you have to buy a new computer, you won’t be disappointed with a new M1 Mac. But if you don’t—and you’re just impressed by the M1’s performance—don’t buy it. The next Apple Silicon line of MacBooks will be significantly better than the M1, and the only proof that I need is that I am typing this entire article in Microsoft Word 2011 on the 2007 BlackBook.
Apple follows its history, and its patterns are known. The second generation MacBooks, iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches, and other Apple products have been significant improvements over the first. If you’re in awe of the M1, be in awe from afar—because something much greater is coming in the near future. Physical media is making a comeback. In 2020, vinyl was the largest seller of "pure album" sales. A pure album is an album purchased digitally or physically, and this does not include streaming services. In this context, that means that most people that enjoy music will usually stream and own physical copies of music. True-wireless headphones are the cheapest and most popular they've ever been—it's impossible to walk through New York City without seeing tens of AirPods, Powerbeats Pro, Galaxy Buds, and various smaller earphone models. So what happens when you want to connect bluetooth headphones to a record player? An MP3 player? Older computer? Even the latest Nintendo Switch models? TwelveSouth thinks they have the answer in the Airfly (pictured in title photo) and the Airfly Pro (pictured above), a bluetooth transmitter directly marketed for AirPods, hence the name. I've got my hands on a mid-tier turntable (AT-LP60), a modified iPod Classic, the Airfly, the Powerbeats Pro, and AirPods Pro. I'll be testing the standard Airfly, retailing for just $29.99, in these situations marketed by TwelveSouth themselves. Testing the AirFly with the iPod Classic and Nintendo SwitchIt's easy to jump right to the most practical application of vinyl and CDs, but let's start small. The iPod Classic and Nintendo Switch both have internal DACs, or digital-to-analog converters. Digital sound, and thus music, is coded in numbers which are arranged in a way that produces a specific sound. A DAC is needed to convert those numbers back into an analog format, that is, audible sound that you can hear through headphones. This means it'll be a much easer task for the AirFly to transmit something that already has a DAC. So how does it work? Let's start with the pairing process. You'll hold down the only button on the AirFly to put it in pairing mode, and then you'll put the headphones in pairing mode. This'll very based on model, but on the AirPods Pro have a button on the back that you hold down for up to 5 seconds to enter pairing mode. After a few seconds, they're paired. One important thing to note: the AirPods must remain in the case while pairing every time you use them, and they won't work properly if they're in your ears before connecting. The sound quality is as perfect as you can get through bluetooth, I hear everything in AirPods that I do with my studio-quality ATH-M50x's. The volume, on the other hand, is significantly decreased—I'd guess that through the transmitter can get to about 75% of their full volume. The Powerbeats Pro on the other hand had a significantly louder max volume through the transmitter than the AirPods, and that's a trend that'll continue throughout the review. The larger profile of the Powerbeats Pro, and larger speaker driver, probably explain this. I'll offer a different reason, though: The Powerbeats Pro have volume rockers on both sides, meaning you can control the volume in the headphones themselves, while the AirPods Pro require the device to control volume. While using the Powerbeats Pro, I can control the volume on the headphones and on the iPod, resulting in a much louder volume. All in all, the experience is pretty great. The only problem is that the portability you gain by having truly wireless headphones is lost by having a long cable and a small, but noticeable transmitter attached to your iPod. I found myself reaching for wired earbuds rather than deal with the hassle. While the AirFly did come with a short cable, it was just long enough for the AirFly to dangle around constantly, and it stopped working a few months after purchase. The Nintendo Switch, though, is the perfect application for this. It doesn't need to fit in your pocket. I actually think using and adhesive like command strips to secure the AirFly to the Switch with a short, high-quality 3.5mm male-to-male cable would make a great lightweight portable Switch experience. Testing The AirFly With A TurntableThe tougher and more practical task for the AirFly will be connecting and transmitting from a turntable, or record player. In various comprehensive test, there's two distinct situations that offer two different conclusions. If your record player has a 3.5mm headphone jack output, you're good to go. 9 times out of 10 this means the player has some sort of analog output and amplifier built in, and the AirFly can convert this right to digital audio in your headphones. As with the iPod, volume is slightly decreased on the AirPods Pro and just about full on the Powerbeats Pro If your record has RCA outputs, those thick white and red cables you might remember from old televisions or speakers, the AirFly won't work right out of the box. Ironically, this is the exact example shown in AirFly's promotional photo above. These record players, which can be new or old, don't have internal amplifiers and require powered speakers or headphones. As a result, you'll only get 20-30% of your headphones' max volume when connected directly to the record player. If your record has RCA outputs, those thick white and red cables you might remember from old televisions or speakers, the AirFly won't work right out of the box. Ironically, this is the exact example shown in AirFly's promotional photo above. These record players, which can be new or old, don't have internal amplifiers and require powered speakers or headphones. As a result, you'll only get 20-30% of your AirPods' max volume when connected directly to the record player. I've gotten as high as 50-80% volume on the Powerbeats Pro with only one connected, since one earphone requires less power than two. There is a solution though, and a simple one at that. All you have to do is put a powered amplifier between the record player and the transmitter. This'll amplify your sound, allow you to control the volume, and more. Better yet--it costs just $20 on Amazon—and I've got it tested and working here. It's pictured above next to an AirPods Pro case for size comparison. Just plug your record player into the right side, and your transmitter into the left, and turn the knob to the right—and you're listening to records wirelessly. This amplifier even has a battery, so you can charge it with a micro USB cable and use it anywhere. Despite the extra hurdle due to the RCA cables and the lack of a built-in amplifier, this method works great! In some situations, the amplifier even allows a higher maximum volume than you'd usually get on AirPods or Powerbeats Pro. Should You Buy The TwelveSouth AirFly?That depends. If you're looking for a portable solution, this isn't a great product. Having a detachable cable is usually a plus, but for portability, this adds bulk. It's definitely not easily pocketable while connected to another device. As for stationary solutions, like a record player or a Nintendo Switch, this might be the best you can get for around thirty U.S. dollars. It's very easy to set up a solution that allows you to connect to your turntable or Switch in just minutes after the initial setup. Walking around the room, house, or apartment while wirelessly listening to vinyl is a very enjoyable experience. Pros: Great battery life, simple pairing process, multiple device support, detachable cable Cons: Low volume in some use cases, micro USB charging, low quality included cables, difficult to pair headphones when other devices are nearby. Overall Rating: 4.0/5 — It gets the job done for most people, and for the price, the cons are manageable. All in all, if you're looking for a way to listen wirelessly to anything with a 3.5mm aux cable, the TwelveSouth AirFly is the most compatible, easiest to use, and cheapest bluetooth transmitter specifically engineered for AirPods. DISCLAIMER: I paid for every item in this review at full price and have had no communication with the sellers about my thoughts, opinions, etc. I do not receive compensation or commission for the included links in this article.
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Brady SnyderJournalism student at St. John's University. Expert of all things Apple, both hardware and software. Categories |