Reviews – Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com Serving the Technologist for more than a decade. IT news, reviews, and analysis. Tue, 23 Apr 2024 17:43:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0.3 https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/cropped-ars-logo-512_480-32x32.png Reviews – Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com 32 32 Rumored new 4K Chromecast may fix long-standing storage issues https://arstechnica.com/?p=2019305 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/rumored-new-4k-chromecast-may-fix-long-standing-storage-issues/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2024 17:43:44 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=2019305
Pictures of the new Chromecast.

Enlarge / The 2020 4K Chromecast with Google TV. It comes in colors. (credit: Google)

It sounds like Google is cooking up another Google TV dongle. 9to5Google's sources say a new 4K model of the Chromecast with Google TV is in the works. It would be a sequel to the aging 2020 model that was never really fit for the job in the first place. It would also sit alongside the 2022 HD model.

The report says the new device would stay at the $50 price point and come with a new remote. A new chip would be the primary motivation for a new device. The current 4K dongle has an Amlogic S905X3 (it's just for Cortex A55 CPUs), and if Google sticks with Amlogic, a good upgrade would be the upcoming Amlogic S905X5. Besides a faster CPU and GPU, it also supports the AV1 video codec, something Google has been pushing across its ecosystem because it can cut down on what must be an incredible YouTube bandwidth bill. It has made AV1 a requirement for some new devices in order to get the YouTube app, and despite forcing it on competitors like Roku, Google's best dongle doesn't have hardware support for the codec yet. Technically the S905X5 is not official yet, so we don't have a full spec sheet, but partners have been talking about it since last year.

The No. 1 thing a new Google TV dongle needs, and has needed for years, is more storage. Google Hardware is supposed to make devices that are purpose-built for Google's software, but the 4K and HD Chromecasts with Google TV have never really been up to the task thanks to the 8GB of total device storage. Back in the early Chromecast days when these dongles ran a custom OS and only showed video streams, that was fine. These new devices run full-fat Android now, complete with a Play Store, access to millions of apps, and lots of preinstalled software. 8GB is not nearly enough.

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The Maven: A user-friendly, $2K Cargo e-bike perfect for families on the go https://arstechnica.com/?p=2014802 https://arstechnica.com/cars/2024/04/a-cycling-newb-tries-a-cargo-e-bike-the-user-friendly-maven/#comments Fri, 05 Apr 2024 11:30:54 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=2014802
The Maven.

Enlarge / The Maven. (credit: B. Mole)

The first thing I should say in this bike review is that I am not a bike enthusiast.

My preferred form of exercise is running, where no mechanical components are necessary. But I'm acting as reviewer here because what I lack in longstanding opinions on brand-name bike gearing and motor hubs, I make up for by being the exact target audience for the bike under review: the Maven Cargo E-bike by Integral Electrics. This is a cargo bike designed not for hardcore cyclists but for smaller riders, women specifically, who would happily swap out their family's second car for a simpler e-bike—as long as it can handle the needs of family life: toting children, running errands, and making short commutes.

This is exactly what Integral CEO and co-founder Laura Belmar and her family were looking for amid the pandemic, she told me in an interview. But while her husband picked out e-bikes that were comfortably designed for him, who is taller than her, she consistently found herself top-heavy and struggling as soon as her two kids were loaded onto the bikes. "They were scared to ride with me," she said of her kids. "One time, we were literally going down in the park and a jogger came by and grabbed the rack and pulled us back up."

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Getting a charge: An exercise bike that turns your pedaling into power https://arstechnica.com/?p=2005793 https://arstechnica.com/reviews/2024/03/getting-a-charge-an-exercise-bike-that-turns-your-pedaling-into-power/#comments Thu, 28 Mar 2024 21:39:49 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=2005793
Getting a charge: An exercise bike that turns your pedaling into power

Enlarge (credit: LifeSpan)

I enjoy getting my exercise but hate doing it indoors. I'd much rather get some fresh air and watch the world drift past me as I cycle or hike somewhere than watch a screen while sweating away on something stationary.

To get a bit more of what I like, I've invested in a variety of gear that has extended my cycling season deeper into the winter. But even with that, there are various conditions—near-freezing temperatures, heavy rains, Canada catching fire—that have kept me off the roads. So, a backup exercise plan has always been on my to-do list.

The company LifeSpan offers exercise equipment that fits well into a home office and gave me the chance to try its Ampera model. It's a stationary bike that tucks nicely under a standing desk and has a distinct twist: You can pedal to power the laptop you're working on. Overall, the hardware is well-designed, but some glitches, software issues, and design decisions keep it from living up to its potential.

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Canon plans to disrupt chipmaking with low-cost “stamp” machine https://arstechnica.com/?p=1999552 https://arstechnica.com/reviews/2024/01/canon-plans-to-disrupt-chipmaking-with-low-cost-stamp-machine/#comments Mon, 29 Jan 2024 14:22:31 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1999552
Canon’s FPA-1200NZ2C nanoimprint lithography machine. The company has been developing technology to stamp chip designs onto silicon wafers rather than etching them using light.

Enlarge / Canon’s FPA-1200NZ2C nanoimprint lithography machine. The company has been developing technology to stamp chip designs onto silicon wafers rather than etching them using light. (credit: Canon)

Canon hopes to start shipments of new low-cost chip-making machines as early as this year, as the Japanese company best known for its cameras and printers tries to undercut longtime industry leader ASML in providing the tools to make leading-edge semiconductors.

The challenge from Canon comes as Western governments attempt to restrict China’s access to the most advanced semiconductor technologies and as global demand for chipmaking machines has soared. If successful, Canon’s “nanoimprint” technology could give back Japanese manufacturers some of the edge they ceded to rivals in South Korea, Taiwan and, increasingly, China over the past three decades.

“We would like to start shipping this year or next year... we want to do it while the market is hot,” said Hiroaki Takeishi, head of Canon’s industrial group, who has overseen the development of the new lithography machines. “It is a very unique technology that will enable cutting-edge chips to be made simply and at a low cost.”

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I’ve used a foldable laptop for a month, and I’m ready to return to a clamshell https://arstechnica.com/?p=1978971 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/12/hp-shows-what-a-foldable-screen-laptop-should-and-shouldnt-be/#comments Thu, 14 Dec 2023 12:20:54 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1978971
HP Spectre Fold

Enlarge / Laptops were bound to enter the foldable-screen space. (credit: Scharon Harding)

Specs at a glance: HP Spectre Foldable 17-cs0097nr
Screen 17-inch 1920×2560 OLED touchscreen
OS Windows 11 Home
CPU Intel Core i7-1250U
RAM 16GB LPDDR5-5200
Storage 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD
Networking Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Ports 2x Thunderbolt 4
Size (folded) 10.91×7.53×0.84 inches
Weight (with keyboard) 3.58 lbs
Battery 94.3 Wh
Warranty 1 year
Price (MSRP) $5,000
Other HP Rechargeable MPP2.0 Tilt Pen, Bluetooth keyboard, and HP Envy USB-C Hub included

Although foldable smartphones have been available for five years, the devices are still trying to justify themselves. And after using a foldable-screen laptop as my primary PC for about four weeks, I'm not sure they're ready for prime time.

I'm leaving my time with HP's first foldable laptop with a sense of anticipation for the future of laptops, which I think would benefit from a resurgence of creative ideas that cater to the unique ways people use their computers. But I seriously question if the benefits of having a 17-inch screen in a 12-inch laptop body are worth the trade-offs inherent in today's foldable PCs.

Early participants in the foldable laptop world have an opportunity to define the space, while consumers can decide if this is something they even want. HP's foldable is the most beefed-up option ever, and weeks of use have shown me a lot about what I want and don't want to see when the dust settles.

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Review: Apple’s 16-inch M3 Max MacBook Pro crams Ultra-level speed into a laptop https://arstechnica.com/?p=1980314 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/11/review-apples-16-inch-m3-max-macbook-pro-crams-ultra-level-speed-into-a-laptop/#comments Mon, 06 Nov 2023 14:00:15 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1980314
Apple's 16-inch, M3 Max-powered MacBook Pro.

Enlarge / Apple's 16-inch, M3 Max-powered MacBook Pro. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

The next year or two will be a turning point for people who bought into the last few generations of Intel Macs. AppleCare+ subscriptions will expire, batteries will begin to lose a noticeable amount of capacity, software updates and security fixes will gradually dry up, and normal wear and tear will slowly take its toll.

Every new generation of Apple Silicon Mac is another opportunity for Apple to get those people to update, which may or may not help to explain why Apple is introducing its new M3, M3 Pro, and M3 Max MacBook Pros fewer than 11 months after releasing the M2 versions.

(Ars Technica may earn compensation for sales from links on this post through affiliate programs.)

Like the early 2023 MacBook Pros, these late 2023 models are iterative improvements to the 2021 redesigns. They keep the things that made those laptops such a big improvement over the late-model Intel MacBook Pros while adding just a little more performance and one or two other minor improvements to entice people who still haven't made the Apple Silicon switch.

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Android 14 review: There’s always next year https://arstechnica.com/?p=1954547 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/10/android-14-review-theres-always-next-year/#comments Sun, 29 Oct 2023 12:00:53 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1954547
The new Android logo.

Enlarge / The new Android logo. (credit: Google)

Does anybody care about Android 14?

This year's release of the world's most popular operating system feels like one of the smallest ever, bringing just a handful of new features. Even during the Android portion of Google's big I/O keynote, Google spent most of its time showing off a new generative AI feature that creates wallpapers for you, as if there aren't enough wallpapers in the world.

Last year's Android 13 release felt small, but that was because it was the second major Android OS release that year. Android 12L—the big tablet and foldable release—came out earlier. What's Android 14's excuse? We're not really sure. We still have a few things to go over, though, like new lock screen customizations, genuinely exciting changes to the way the back button works, and a pile of under-the-hood changes.

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Review: The Fall of the House of Usher is a gloriously Gothic horror delight https://arstechnica.com/?p=1972422 https://arstechnica.com/culture/2023/10/review-the-fall-of-the-house-of-usher-is-a-gloriously-gothic-horror-delight/#comments Fri, 13 Oct 2023 13:17:22 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1972422
mysterious female figure in red cape and skull mask staring directly into the camera while revelers dance behind her

Enlarge / A wealthy pharmaceutical dynasty faces a horrific reckoning in The Fall of the House of Usher. (credit: Netflix)

Halloween approacheth yet again, and that means it's time for another classic horror miniseries from Mike Flanagan and Netflix, the partnership that brought us The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass. For his final (sob!) project with Netflix, Flanagan has gifted us with The Fall of the House of Usher. To say it's an adaption of the famous short story by Edgar Allan Poe wouldn't be doing the miniseries justice. What Flanagan has done is something quite extraordinary: it's more an inventive remix of the best of Poe's oeuvre, creating something that's entirely Flanagan's own while still channeling the very essence of Poe.

(Some spoilers below, but no major reveals.)

In Poe's original short story, an unnamed narrator visits his old friend Roderick Usher, who has fallen ill along with his twin sister Madeline—the last surviving members of a once prominent family. The nature of their illness is never disclosed, but Roderick appears to be going mad, convinced his fate is tied to the Usher house—and there is an ominous crack starting from the roof running down the front of the house. Roderick accidentally entombs Madeline alive, believing she has died, and one dark stormy night, she re-emerges and attacks him in revenge. As the twins expire and the narrator flees in terror, the entire house splits in two and sinks into a nearby lake. It's pure Gothic horror, a genre that inspired Poe's many short stories and poetry in the early 19th century.

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Fast times and loose steering: The Heybike Tyson e-bike reviewed https://arstechnica.com/?p=1973956 https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/10/the-heybike-tyson-e-bike-is-janky-fun-and-sometimes-dangerous/#comments Fri, 06 Oct 2023 18:28:40 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1973956
picture of Heybike Tyson

Enlarge / If green isn't your thing, the Tyson comes in black and blue. (credit: Eric Bangeman)

This time, I'll lead with the conclusion. The Heybike Tyson is loaded with all of the e-bike features I could ever want, is a blast to ride, and can become unsafe to operate at a moment's notice. The unit I reviewed had more than one build-quality issue that cannot be overlooked, which is a shame, because this is also one of the most fun electric bikes I've ever ridden. If you just wanted to know if the Heybike Tyson is worth buying, you've got your answer and can close this tab. If you want the details, read on.

Priced at $1,699, the Class 3 Tyson is Heybike's folding e-bike. Built with a magnesium frame and painted bright green, the Tyson's scooter-like handlebars, mountain-bike-like suspension, and fat knobby tires result in a ride that looks equal parts goofy, charming, and rugged. Capable of carrying up to 400 lbs (163 kg) of rider and cargo, the Tyson sports a dual hydraulic suspension to smooth out the rough spots on the pavement. It has the same Shimano seven-speed groupset and hydraulic disc brakes you'll see on most e-bikes.

The Tyson looks more like an electric moped than anything else. It has a headlight, taillight, turn signals, and even a horn that does a passable imitation of the Roadrunner right before he's about to clown the coyote. It's powered by a 750 W motor and a 48V 15 Ah battery that can charge fully in four to five hours. Unfortunately, you'll never quite know how much battery life you actually have once you start riding—more on that, later.

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Review: Framework Laptop finally gets an AMD Ryzen config—and it’s pretty good https://arstechnica.com/?p=1970645 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/10/review-framework-laptop-finally-gets-an-amd-ryzen-config-and-its-pretty-good/#comments Tue, 03 Oct 2023 14:48:53 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1970645
Specs at a glance: Framework Laptop 13 (2023)
OS Windows 11 22H2
CPU AMD Ryzen 7 7840U (8-cores)
RAM 32GB DDR5-5600 (upgradeable)
GPU AMD Radeon 780M (integrated)
SSD 1TB Western Digital Black SN770
Battery 61 WHr
Display 13.5-inch 2256x1504 non-touchscreen in glossy or matte
Connectivity 4x recessed USB-C ports (2x USB 4, 2x USB 3.2) with customizable "Expansion Card" dongles, headphone jack
Price as tested $1,679 pre-built, $1,523 DIY edition with no OS included

The Framework Laptop 13 is back again.

My third review of this laptop is probably the one that I (and many Framework-curious PC buyers) have been the most interested to test, as the company has finally added an AMD Ryzen option to the repair-friendly portable. Updates to the Intel version of the Framework Laptop have boosted CPU performance, but its graphics performance has been at a standstill since the Framework Laptop originally hit the scene in mid-2021.

Even AMD's latest integrated graphics won't make a thin-and-light laptop a replacement for a gaming PC with dedicated graphics, but a bit more GPU power makes the Framework Laptop that much more versatile, making it easier to play games at reasonable resolutions and settings than it is on Intel's aging Iris Xe graphics hardware.

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iPhone 15 and 15 Pro review: The final form https://arstechnica.com/?p=1971764 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/09/iphone-15-and-15-pro-review-the-final-form/#comments Fri, 29 Sep 2023 15:31:55 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1971764
iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max lined up on a table

Enlarge / The iPhone 15 lineup.

It has been six years since the iPhone X hit store shelves, but at a glance, 2023’s iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro aren't all that different. Thanks to a few steps of iteration, though, these smartphones still feel like an upgrade—maybe not compared to last year’s iPhone, but certainly compared to 2017's, or even 2020’s.

Although I don’t have any insight into what’s coming next year, the iPhone 15 seems like the final form of a product that has gone through a multi-year cycle. It sees Apple cementing a likely long-term strategy of treating the cheaper model as a rerun of the previous year’s pro model, it addresses one of the longest-standing complaints about iPhones (even if Apple’s hand was forced by regulation), and it refines a tried-and-true design.

The iPhone 15, its pricier siblings, and its strong competitors on the Android side make the case that, for better or worse (mostly better), we’ve reached peak smartphone.

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macOS 14 Sonoma: The Ars Technica review https://arstechnica.com/?p=1959801 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/09/macos-14-sonoma-the-ars-technica-review/#comments Tue, 26 Sep 2023 17:08:40 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1959801
macOS 14 Sonoma: The Ars Technica review

Enlarge

I was preparing to write an intro calling macOS Sonoma—version 14.0 of Apple's desktop operating system, for those of you who can't keep the ever-lengthening list of California codenames straight—a "low-key" or "small" release. Because it definitely feels that way, and it's tempting to think that Apple is taking it easy on new features for older OSes because it's devoting so much internal time to VisionOS and the Vision Pro.

But looking back, I've said something along those lines for each of the last few macOS releases (and several others before that). Honestly, these days, what macOS update hasn't been "low-key"? Every one since Big Sur (11.0) overhauled the UI and added Apple Silicon support has been content to add a few pieces on top of the foundation, fiddle a bit with under-the-hood enhancements and new security measures, maintain feature parity with iOS for the built-in apps, and call it a day. That's what Sonoma does, too.

So macOS Sonoma is a perfectly typical macOS release, a sort of "Ventura-plus" that probably has one or two additions that any given person will find useful but which otherwise just keeps your Mac secure and avoids weird iCloud compatibility problems with whatever software is running on your phone. You probably don't need to run out and install it, but there's no real reason to avoid it if you're not aware of some specific bug or compatibility problem that affects the software you use. It's business as usual for Mac owners. Let's dive in.

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A partial car substitute? Trek’s new cargo bike, reviewed https://arstechnica.com/?p=1968104 https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/09/haul-it-all-treks-latest-e-bike-offering-is-a-cargo-bike/#comments Mon, 25 Sep 2023 11:30:48 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1968104
Image of a red bicycle with large plastic tubs flanking its rear wheel.

Enlarge (credit: John TImmer)

As I watched a few berries I had just carted home roll gently down my driveway and into the road, it was hard to escape the sense that my plan to use nothing but a cargo bike for two weeks might have been overly ambitious. Several weeks filled with Canadian wildfire smoke and tornado warnings later, it was pretty clear that I had greatly underestimated the complexities involved.

The e-bike I used for my testing, the newly introduced Trek Fetch+ 2, is very good, and it readily hauled whatever I asked of it. But using a cargo bike is very different from any other biking experience I've had—and that's saying something, given the large range of bike styles I've now had the pleasure of sampling.

So this review will be divided into two parts. In the first, I'll talk a bit about the cargo bike experience; if you already know what that's like, you can skip ahead to the second half, where we'll go in-depth on the Fetch+ 2.

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iOS 17 review: StandBy for more features https://arstechnica.com/?p=1969466 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/09/ios-17-review-standby-for-more-features/#comments Wed, 20 Sep 2023 19:03:10 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1969466
App icons in iOS 17

Enlarge / iOS 17 isn't a radical step forward, but there's still plenty to dig into. (credit: Samuel Axon)

With the impending launch of Vision Pro and visionOS, it might look like iOS and iPadOS aren’t Apple’s main focus right now. Nevertheless, this year’s update promises some notable additions—even if some won’t be available until weeks or months down the line.

There’s one major new feature that’s available right away—StandBy, which turns your phone into a smart display. Core communications apps like Messages, Phone, and FaceTime are cornerstones of this update, too, along with new ways to use AirDrop. And as usual, Apple has introduced some new AI-powered features, including improved autocorrect and typing suggestions.

Meanwhile, the iPad got some key features from last year’s iPhone software update, plus improvements to the controversial Stage Manager multitasking view.

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Review: AMD’s Radeon RX 7700 XT and 7800 XT are almost great https://arstechnica.com/?p=1963686 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/09/amd-rx-7700-xt-and-7800-xt-review-closing-out-the-fine-i-guess-gpu-generation/#comments Wed, 06 Sep 2023 13:00:25 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1963686
AMD's Radeon RX 7800 XT.

Enlarge / AMD's Radeon RX 7800 XT. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Nearly a year ago, Nvidia kicked off this GPU generation with its GeForce RTX 4090. The 4090 offers unparalleled performance but at an unparalleled price of $1,600 (prices have not fallen). It's not for everybody, but it's a nice halo card that shows what the Ada Lovelace architecture is capable of. Fine, I guess.

The RTX 4080 soon followed, along with AMD's Radeon RX 7900 XTX and XT. These cards also generally offered better performance than anything you could get from a previous-generation GPU, but at still-too-high-for-most-people prices that ranged from between $900 and $1,200 (though all of those prices have fallen by a bit). Fine, I guess.

By the time we got the 4070 Ti launch in May, we were getting down to the level of performance that had been available from previous-generation cards. These GPUs offered a decent generational jump over their predecessors (the 4070 Ti performs kind of like a 3090, and the 4070 performs kind of like a 3080). But those cards also got big price bumps that took them closer to the pricing levels of the last-gen cards they performed like. Fine, I guess.

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Nvidia quietly cuts price of poorly reviewed 16GB 4060 Ti ahead of AMD launch https://arstechnica.com/?p=1965157 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/09/nvidia-quietly-cuts-price-of-poorly-reviewed-16gb-4060-ti-ahead-of-amd-launch/#comments Fri, 01 Sep 2023 17:43:30 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1965157
The RTX 4060 Ti Founders Edition.

Enlarge / The RTX 4060 Ti Founders Edition. (credit: Andrew Cunningham)

Last week, AMD announced what are probably the last major GPU launches of this generation of graphics cards: the $449 Radeon RX 7700 XT and $499 Radeon RX 7800 XT. AMD's pricing and performance numbers pit the cards against Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (specifically the $499 16GB version) and the $599 RTX 4070.

AMD's pricing is aggressive enough that Nvidia is quietly cutting the prices of some 16GB RTX 4060 Ti cards to $449, to match the RX 7700 XT. The announcement about the $50 reduction was buried toward the bottom of an email that Nvidia sent to GPU reviewers ahead of AMD's launch next week; it also drew attention to Nvidia-specific features like DLSS upscaling and frame generation, which compete with AMD's GPU-agnostic FSR, plus recent DLSS improvements that improve ray-tracing performance.

"Finally, as a reminder, market prices can vary from the original launch MSRPs," Nvidia's Brian Burke wrote. "Today, GeForce RTX 4070 is widely available at $599, and GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16GB is now available at $449. Both of these GPUs are great upgrade choices for gamers seeking their next GPU for the upcoming 2 to 3 years."

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Hands-on with Cherry MX2A switches: A lot less wobble, a little more confusion https://arstechnica.com/?p=1963225 https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/08/hands-on-with-cherry-mx2a-switches-a-lot-less-wobble-a-little-more-confusion/#comments Fri, 25 Aug 2023 22:28:01 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1963225
Cherry's new MX2A mechanical switches (from left to right): Red, Blue, Brown, Black, Speed Silver, Silent Red.

Enlarge / Cherry's new MX2A mechanical switches (from left to right): Red, Blue, Brown, Black, Speed Silver, Silent Red. (credit: Scharon Harding)

For 20 years, Cherry's patent on mechanical switches made it the only player around. That patent's expiration around 2014, though, released the floodgates and allowed countless copycats and switches with varying levels of modification to the cross-stem design to pour in. Typically, consumer choice is a good thing, and there are companies making switches that offer much different (sometimes better) experiences than the switches Cherry makes.

But there are many mechanical switches these days that don't add anything to the market. Some rip off what Cherry already offers with a cheaper price tag or only help mechanical keyboard makers save money by not paying another company for switches.

Seemingly in response, Cherry announced its MX2A series of mechanical switches this week. The new switches are almost identical to the company's MX Red, Silent Red, Blue, Brown, Speed Silver, and Black counterparts. The differences are inside the switches. In most cases, I noticed improvements to the feel of the new switches, but are they enough to warrant the introduction of even more switches and, likely, confusion?

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Not your average Toyota: The all-wheel drive GR Corolla, reviewed https://arstechnica.com/?p=1963314 https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/08/toyotas-rally-bred-hot-hatch-the-300-hp-awd-gr-corolla-reviewed/#comments Fri, 25 Aug 2023 17:54:45 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1963314
A red Toyota GR Corolla in the early morning fog

Enlarge / Early mornings were made for cars like this, the Toyota GR Corolla. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

Although the vast majority of our car reviews are for hybrids and electric vehicles, we do still appreciate a good enthusiast's car. All the more so when they're tweaked versions of more pedestrian fare. Built in low volume and with something special under the hood? Count us in.

That brings us to today's topic, the Toyota GR Corolla.

Some regular readers might be feeling a touch of deja-vu at this point; Toyota builds the GR Corolla in three different specifications, and in March we drove the most expensive, most focused of them, the GR Morizo Edition. With no back seats, a $49,900 price tag, and only 200 units imported for model-year 2023, the GR Morizo is probably a bit too hardcore for most.

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Review: Oppenheimer is pure visual poetry https://arstechnica.com/?p=1957638 https://arstechnica.com/culture/2023/08/review-oppenheimer-is-pure-visual-poetry/#comments Sat, 05 Aug 2023 20:42:53 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1957638
Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer

Enlarge / Cillian Murphy gives an Oscar-worthy performance as the "father of the atomic bomb" in Oppenheimer. (credit: YouTube/Universal Pictures)

I'll admit I had my doubts when I first heard that director Christopher Nolan was planning to make a film about J. Robert Oppenheimer, the physicist who led the research effort to develop the first atomic bomb as part of the Manhattan Project. This is one of the most well-documented periods of 20th-century American history, after all, and there have already been so many books, films, and TV series about the race for the bomb, of varying quality. (As always, let me give a shout-out to Manhattan, a stellar fictional series that was tragically canceled after just two seasons.) How would Nolan make this very well-trodden material his own?

I needn't have fretted. With Oppenheimer, Nolan has gifted us a truly unique, unflinching, nuanced portrait of the enigmatic, complicated man who spearheaded the Manhattan Project and subsequently ran afoul of the "red-baiting" politics of the McCarthy era. Technically it's a biopic, but it doesn't play like one. It's more like Nolan carefully selected various threads running through Oppenheimer's life and wove them into a richly textured tapestry that somehow transcends those raw materials. The result is pure visual poetry.

(Spoilers below, although this is very well-documented history.)

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Don’t call it an SUV—the 2023 Toyota Crown, reviewed https://arstechnica.com/?p=1957911 https://arstechnica.com/cars/2023/07/the-2023-toyota-crown-cant-decide-if-its-a-sedan-or-a-crossover/#comments Mon, 31 Jul 2023 20:21:27 +0000 https://arstechnica.com/?p=1957911
A bronze and black Toyota Crown, with some greenery in the foreground

Enlarge / An endangered species, the sedan is starting to adapt to the new crossover-based environment. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

The sedan might not be properly extinct like non-avian dinosaurs, but it has certainly fallen out of favor with the car-buying public. That's a topic that Toyota knows plenty about—even as the SUV becomes ascendant, its Camry sedan remains the nation's best-selling vehicle that isn't a pickup, crossover, or SUV. So its designers were evidently reading the tea leaves when it came time to replace the Avalon. That replacement is called the Crown, and while it definitely checks the "four doors and a trunk" criteria, its bold styling makes it the most SUV-like sedan I've encountered in some time.

The Crown shares its TNGA-K platform with other large Toyotas and Lexuses, including the aforementioned Camry, plus SUVs like the Venza, Highlander, and RX, and even a minivan. Those are all largely conventional, ignoring for the moment Lexus' large cheese grater grille.

The Crown is less conventional, starting with a height that's almost four inches taller than the Camry—60.6 inches (1,539 mm) despite near-identical ground clearance. It's the same width as a Camry (72.4 inches or 1,840 mm depending on which flavor you speak) but four inches longer at 196.1 inches (4,980 mm), and with an inch-longer wheelbase (112.2 inches/2,850 mm). And it conforms—sort of—to the three-box shape one expects of a sedan.

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