Latest news with #RyanWaniata
WIRED
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- WIRED
Brightness Overload? Hisense's Beautiful, Brawny U8QG Pushes QLED to the Limit
Of course, last year's U8N was similarly potent, within the visual margin of error for most folks. It's no small feat to push the brightness even further, but I would've preferred Hisense focus instead on some of the U8's hang-ups, like poor off-axis viewing, a common issue with LED TVs, or its penchant for oversaturating reds. That extra red tint was particularly noticeable in HD shows like Breaking Bad (yes, I'm rewatching for a third time) with the Warm1 color temperature, while Warm2 looked too cool. In one scene from Season 2, Jesse's nuckles look positively painted red as he plays with a beetle. In another, a certain someone is looking for a funeral dress, pulling out a 'blue' one that looks unequivocally violet on the U8QG—but proper blue (with some purple tint) on my LG C1 OLED. The TV's tendency to flatten shadow details is less of an issue, thanks to its mostly solid reflection handling and the ability to pep up dark areas with Peak Brightness or settings like Dark Detail. Scenes like the dark depths of Mandalor from The Mandalorian or the torturous hilltop shot from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows proved easy to zip up even in challenging environments. Photograph: Ryan Waniata The U8 also seems to have stepped up its picture processing this year. Image clarity can be hard to quantify, but the TV does a good job rendering sharp 4K images and upscaling HD video, while mostly minimizing moiré, the sort of glittering effect on fine patterns that can be a problem with budget-forward TVs. You'll find solid motion response, especially with a touch of motion smoothing, and decent screen uniformity, too. My review model revealed only minor blotches in challenging test patterns and moving skylines. Perhaps the U8QG's biggest brag is that there just aren't a lot of TVs that perform this well in its price tier, in multiple sizes (though performance between sizes will vary). TCL's rival QM8, currently in our testing rooms, usually costs more, and prices go up from there for anything close to this level of brightness from premium brands, like Sony's incredible Bravia 9 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). That could make the U8QG the default TV for brightness lovers on a budget, especially once the U8N is gone. As usual, it all depends when you buy. Until recently, a 65-inch U8QG cost $1,500, on par with the QM8K and bougier OLED models from last year like the LG C4 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). The C4 is no nuclear titan, but it provides much better accuracy, clarity, off-axis performance, etc. At $1,000 or less, the U8QG is a lot friendlier, and well worth considering for those after eye-blasting brightness.
WIRED
05-07-2025
- WIRED
Bose's Soundlink Plus Is the Midsize Banger You Didn't Know You Needed
With so many Bluetooth speakers out there, and more arriving almost daily, it can be easy to underestimate one that dwells in the middle ground. Sandwiched between the packable Soundlink Flex and the beefy Soundlink Max (9/10, WIRED Recommends), Bose's new midsize Soundlink Plus (no, these aren't streaming services) carves out its own niche thanks largely to winning sound with equal parts nuance and bravado. Like its siblings, the Plus looks and feels like a premium speaker with an accordingly premium price; it's dressed to the nines, especially fetching in the Citrus Yellow color I reviewed, but bears commensurate dust- and waterproofing for good defense against the elements. Medium build notwithstanding, this is still a hefty package, but if you're after a good compromise between boombox might and breezy portability, the Soundlink Plus abides. Premium Protection Photograph: Ryan Waniata There's style in the Sound Plus's minimalism, with a sleek yet strong powder-coated steel grille, supple touch keys along its rubberized topside, and a hearty checkered nylon handle at the side that makes it easier to haul (or hang). At the back are vents for its four bass radiators and an open USB-C port. A point of note there: the Plus is fine to dunk given its IP67 rating, and it even floats, but you'll need to wait for the port to dry before charging. That's further notable given that, like the Max, the Plus takes a sluggish five hours to charge its 20-hour battery from zero. That said, it didn't take long for the orange-and-white flashing LED to return to solid white following a bath in my laundry sink, signaling a clear and ready port. Measuring 9.1 x 3.94 x 3.4 inches (WxHxD) and weighing over 3 pounds, this is not the most packable speaker, but it's still game for the open road. It took me a while to get used to its heft, but it fared well on its first task after unboxing, a camping trip in the Columbia River Gorge. If it seems risky taking a shiny new lemon-meringue speaker into the dusty woods, you're not wrong, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well the speaker cleans up. You'll inevitably attract some marks, though, and the Dusk Blue and Black should age better. Whatever the color, I dig the Plus' aesthetic, and so did most people I showed it to (though they mostly remarked on the great sound). It feels nice to the touch, and both the look and build quality seem a step above flack-jacketed rivals like the JBL Charge 6 and UE MegaBoom 4. I'd still prefer either of those speakers for a hard fall—not because the Bose wouldn't survive, it's just more likely to get nicks or dents. The Charge 6's IP68 rating theoretically gives it bragging rights for water resistance, but all three are dunkable, like most speakers we test. Solid Extras Photograph: Ryan Waniata Soundlink Plus features seem a little austere at first glance, but there's enough here to keep away feature envy. The unified Bose app's compact interface will be familiar to anyone with Bose headphones, with options like the ability to connect to two devices over Bluetooth multipoint, a three-band EQ and presets, and monitoring for battery and volume.
WIRED
16-06-2025
- WIRED
Stylish Design and Satisfying Sound Make These Open Earbuds a Bargain
In the swelling tide of open earbuds, it can be easy to overlook an underdog. When Acefast's Acefit Air first came to my attention, they seemed like any other pair of budget ear hooks, the baseline design for buds that let you listen to tunes while keeping your ears open to the world. I was delightfully surprised once I got them out of the box, starting with their spyware-thin charging case harboring stylishly slim buds with a touch of metallic flair. The Acefit Air's daily performance is similarly satisfying, marked by responsive controls and crisp yet warm sound for solid musicality across genres. These aren't the most feature-packed open earbuds, and the fit can be finicky, especially when you first stretch the pliable hooks across the back of your ears. At $80, those drawbacks are easy to overlook, and I had a blast using these buds across my outdoor activities for multiple weeks. Slim and Stylin' Photograph: Ryan Waniata There's something utterly satisfying about the Acefit Air's case. When peeking through the bulky box's plastic bubble, it looks like any number of oversized clamshells. That made it all the more impressive to find it's perhaps the thinnest case of any buds I've tested, slipping easily into jeans or shorts pockets. The flat-matte finish adds to the vibe, though it tends to collect oil from your skin inside and out over time. The buds are similarly sleek. Though they weigh around 7.5 grams (the AirPods Pro 2 are just over 5), they're lighter and less obtrusive than most earhook buds I've tested. Acefast says that's due in part to an 'ultra-fine titanium wire' within the hooks tested for 10,000 bends. The fit is so loose and comfy you'd think they'd fall off, but they're well balanced and I have yet to lose one while walking, hiking, biking, or otherwise tramping around. It can be tough to get the speakers and accompanying vents properly aligned with my ears, particularly the right one, due to the way the buds are designed to dangle outside your canals. I've gotten used to it, but I usually need to make some adjustments to the right bud, finding that pulling it forward usually locks in the stereo image. While putting the buds in, I often hear the telltale beep of their metallic touch sensors, yet Acefast has seemingly made them unresponsive for the first few seconds, so I rarely make mistakes. Most importantly, unlike a lot of open earbuds I test, the touch pads are responsive, letting me easily single-tap for volume, double-tap for play/pause, and triple-tap for song skip even in compromising situations like an ebike ride. Simply working reliably puts these buds ahead of the game. Speaking of ebikes, the buds aren't the best at overcoming wind resistance, but they do a decent job, letting me listen to tunes or podcasts at moderate speeds without the need to blast my ears. That's a huge benefit of open earbuds over traditional buds that rely on microphones that easily get overwhelmed by wind shear and resistance. Triple Punch Photograph: Ryan Waniata Within each bud's rubbery frame is a 'three-magnet ultra linear speaker' that accounts for the Acefit Air's impressive sound quality. Acefast says the speakers reduce distortion, and they're plenty loud to the point that I rarely pushed them above a third of max volume. That's a good thing, since turning on the EQ in Acefast's app oddly lowers said volume, but I didn't find the need to use EQ anyway.
WIRED
12-06-2025
- WIRED
Sony's Bravia 8 II OLED Is a Stunner, But Can It Beat the LG G5?
If you're looking for a premium 2025 TV, the latest round of the best OLEDs has you spoiled for choice. With LG and Panasonic using LG's new breakthrough four-stack panel, and Samsung and Sony sharing Samsung's most advanced QD-OLED panel yet, there are four tantalizing top-tier OLED TVs hitting stores this year, each one offering a notable brightness boost to go along with OLED's many other talents. What Sony has done with Samsung's new display is, in a word, beautiful. The awkwardly named Bravia 8 II, which replaces 2023's gorgeous A95L (9/10, WIRED Recommends), is brilliantly balanced with punchy brightness, expressive and natural colors, and Sony's sweet image processing for a picture so clear that some images seem almost three-dimensional. For all its talents, the Bravia 8 II has some downsides compared to the phenomenal LG G5 (9/10, WIRED Recommends) it replaced on my console, including lower peak brightness and a backdrop that's more deep charcoal than pitch black, leading to less impactful contrast and perceived image depth. For gaming, Sony continues to skimp on connectivity with just two HDMI 2.1 ports. Persnickety as these complaints sound, they're elevated by pricing: the 65-inch Bravia 8 II model I reviewed lists as high as $700 more than the G5 stateside at launch (though discounts already exist). Make no mistake: This is still a fabulous TV for the right buyer, offering sights (and sounds) worthy of a front-row spot on 2025's stunning mantle of premium screens. As usual, if you want the best processing that money can buy, this Sony is a clear winner. On the Wall Photograph: Ryan Waniata Unlike most TVs in its class, Sony's top OLED again opts for legs at the panel's far sides instead of a pedestal stand. This can be helpful for soundbar placement where big pedestals cause trouble, but unless your console is 60 inches wide, you'll need to wall-mount the TV as I did. The 8 II's mount screws are placed rather low, meaning the TV sat higher than I wanted, which is something to note if your mount is already in place. The TV is subtly stylish, with familiar plastic checkers at the back panel, and paper-thin bezels out front. There's some recency bias here, but I couldn't help noticing how much milkier the panel looks compared to the LG G5's black void, which I kept noticing throughout my evaluation. On the bright (or rather dark) side, the TV's reflection handling is among the best I've seen, diffusing nearly everything but direct lighting, without the full matte look of Samsung's latest models. Software setup is a relative cinch with Google TV's plug-and-go layout, letting you adjust most parameters with your phone and G Suite credentials. I'm a fan of Google TV's overall ride, especially the ability to use Google Photos as screen savers, about the only time I take to reminisce on past adventures. Sony's implementation has improved with each iteration, and apart from Google's overly zealous ads, I had virtually no complaints over weeks of smooth streaming and navigation. That includes zoomy channel surfing through 50-odd channels via my HD antenna with the Bravia 8 II's compact remote. The remote is simple but intuitive, especially compared to the oddly oriented G5 remote, though it would be nice if it were backlit, considering that the 8 II—like all OLEDs—does its best work in lower lighting.
WIRED
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- WIRED
Sony Bravia Theater System 6 Review: Great Performance, Odd Design
Of all Sony's Bravia home theater gear for 2025, the new Theater System 6 (not to be confused with the new Theater Bar 6) is the strangest. Part soundbar, part home theater in a box (HTB), the System 6 eschews the status quo of single-bar solutions with fancy Dolby Atmos speakers and networking features for a callback to budget home theaters of yesteryear. Photograph: Ryan Waniata The system's collection of 5.1 surround components includes a beefy subwoofer, two tall and musical surround speakers, and a small center soundbar that performs much better than you'd expect based on its thin frame and mundane design. The whole setup runs through the tubby sub, including all inputs and an amplifier box that acts as a bridge for the wired surround speakers. The mostly wired configuration feels more Vizio than Sony, while its layout evokes '90s A/V vibes. Without Wi-Fi, the System 6 is a pain to update and misses out on modern extras like smart assistants and Apple AirPlay, but features like Sony's virtual 3D surround engine and controller app give you more to work with than vintage plug-and-play solutions. Most importantly, the System 6's cinematic oomph is a blast for movies, gaming, and everything in between. Home Theater in a (Big) Box The System 6 may be all-in-one, but it's still something of a bear to set up, starting with lugging the massive L-shaped box into your TV room. Flipping open the side reveals a sprawling collection of components, including five main pieces, dual power cables, and flat-wire cables for connecting the surrounds and main bar. It's all pretty intuitive, but you'll want to block out some solid setup time. Props to Sony for including the same attachable soundbar feet found in its flagship Bravia Theater 9 to help it sit above TV stands
