O vídeo com o meu review do Apple Watch Series 12 já está no ar. Eu vinha do Ultra 2 e fiz o caminho inverso, voltando para a linha normal, o que vai contra a escolha da maioria das pessoas.
Mesmo adorando o Ultra, eu não usava tudo o que ele oferece. A bateria do Series 12 me atende (não durmo com o relógio), a tela de 2.000 nits não me incomodou, e ganhei um relógio mais fino, mais leve e confortável, com a Digital Crown mais “solta”.
Sinto falta do botão de Ação, que eu usava para a lanterna, e do mostrador Modular Ultra, mas nada disso é deal breaker. Entre os destaques estão o chip (S11) ligeiramente mais rápido, os sensores que medem a frequência cardíaca a cada cinco segundos, o Shazam e o Reconhecimento de Sons funcionando muito bem e o Ceramic Shield 2, que sobreviveu intacto a uma queda de tela para baixo no chão do banheiro.
Como pontos negativos, Sinais Vitais e Prontidão exigem dormir com o relógio, então ficaram inúteis para mim, e o Live Rewind e o Siri Recap ainda não chegaram.
Assista ao vídeo completo e conte nos comentários: você também faria esse “downgrade”?
A Black Friday chegou mais cedo na #InsiderStore! Aproveite até 40% OFF em todo o site, mais um desconto extra usando o cupom MACMAGAZINE. E tem também brindes progressivos e cumulativos: ganhe meias em compras a partir de R$399, cueca Comfort ou calcinhas Brief e Safe a partir de R$599, e boné ou sutiã a partir de R$799. Acesse o link para conferir as ofertas e aproveitar a #BFAdiantadaInsider da Insider!
The PLOS One editors have issued an expression of concern for a 2024 case study concerning the digital economy, innovation factor allocation and industrial structure transformation in China’s Yangtze River Delta city cluster. The notice, published on October 21, 2026, states that the article was identified as one of a series of submissions for which the journal has concerns about the integrity or reliability of the peer-review process. Readers are advised to interpret the original study with this issue in mind.
The notice does not report a new scientific finding, identify an error in the paper or evaluate the study’s scientific validity. According to the editors, PLOS did not assess the article’s integrity or scientific validity when following up on the matter. The expression of concern therefore records a concern about the circumstances surrounding peer review rather than announcing that the study’s data, methods or conclusions have been disproved. The editors also state that they have no concerns regarding the authors’ conduct during the peer-review process.
The affected article was published in PLOS One in 2024 under the title “Digital economy, innovation factor allocation and industrial structure transformation—A case study of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster in China.” The supplied notice does not provide the study’s findings, population details, analytical methods, model estimates, uncertainty measures or specific mechanisms linking the subjects named in the title. As a result, the notice does not support conclusions about the relationship between digital-economy development, innovation factors and industrial structure in the region, nor does it establish whether any reported association or causal effect is reliable.
For the wider research record, the immediate effect is that the 2024 article is accompanied by an editorial notice questioning the integrity or reliability of its peer-review process. The notice does not provide details about the submissions or explain the specific basis for the journal’s concerns. It also does not announce a correction, replacement analysis or revised conclusion. The central status of the paper’s scientific validity remains unevaluated in the supplied material, while the issue is sufficiently significant for PLOS One to advise readers to consider it when interpreting the study.
Subject of Research: A PLOS One expression of concern concerning peer-review reliability in a Yangtze River Delta regional-economy case study.
Article Title: Expression of Concern: Digital economy, innovation factor allocation and industrial structure transformation—A case study of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster in China
Article References: The PLOS One Editors (2026). Expression of Concern: Digital economy, innovation factor allocation and industrial structure transformation—A case study of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster in China. PLOS One, 21(10), e0360867. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360867
Keywords: PLOS One, expression of concern, peer review, research integrity, digital economy, innovation factors, industrial structure, Yangtze River Delta, China, Expression, Concern, Digital
iPhone Preview brings everyday PDF tasks into one built-in app, from rearranging pages to preparing a smaller attachment. Introduced with iOS 26, it remains available in iOS 27, whose user guide provides the instructions used here.
Apple’s Preview app can open PDFs directly, reorganize their pages, rotate or crop individual sheets, delete unwanted pages, insert new ones, complete forms, add signatures, protect documents with passwords and export smaller copies for sharing.
It can also scan paper documents directly into a PDF and combine multiple pages into one file.
That makes Preview surprisingly capable for common workflows such as signing a contract, cleaning up a scanned document, reducing an attachment before emailing it or rearranging pages in a report.
Start with the task your document requires. Rearranging pages, adding a signature and preparing an attachment are different from rewriting an existing paragraph or meeting a publisher’s production requirements. Preview’s documented tools cover many routine changes, while more specialized work may require a separate editor.
Image Credit: AppleMagazine
iPhone Preview Lets You Reorder, Delete and Crop PDF Pages
Page management is particularly useful for scanned documents. A report may contain a sideways sheet, an attachment in the wrong position or an empty page that needs removing before the file is shared.
Open a document in Preview and tap the page count to reveal its thumbnail view.
From there, a page can be moved simply by touching and holding its thumbnail and dragging it above or below another page.
That makes fixing a scanned contract or report straightforward when pages were captured in the wrong order.
To reorganize a document:
Preview > open PDF > tap page count > touch and hold a page thumbnail > drag it into position
The same thumbnail menu can delete a page entirely.
Touch and hold the unwanted thumbnail, then choose Delete Page.
Preview can also insert material into an existing document. The thumbnail menu offers options to add a blank page, import a PDF or image from Files, or scan additional paper pages with the iPhone camera.
That means a form missing one attachment can be repaired without recreating the complete PDF.
Rotation is equally direct.
Open the relevant page, tap the More button and choose Rotate Left or Rotate Right.
Cropping works on a page-by-page basis:
Preview > open PDF > select page > Crop > adjust the blue handles > Crop
This is particularly useful for scanned pages with oversized borders, desk surfaces or other material around the document.
Apple also provides Undo through the More menu, making these edits less intimidating when working on an original file. For documents that cannot easily be replaced, creating a duplicate first remains the safer approach.
Image Credit: AppleMagazine
Fill Forms, Add Signatures and Lock the Finished PDF
Preview also consolidates several document tasks that iPhone users may already recognize from Markup.
Fillable PDF forms can be completed directly inside the app. Text fields, checkboxes and other supported form elements can be selected and edited without converting the file into another format.
Signatures use Apple’s familiar Markup system.
Open the document’s signature controls and choose Add Signature. When using Markup, tap the Add (+) button first, then select Add Signature. Choose a saved signature or draw a new one with your finger; rotating the iPhone gives you more room.
A saved signature can then be positioned and resized on the document.
For recurring paperwork, that makes Preview useful for forms that arrive through Mail or Files and need to be returned quickly.
Preview > open PDF > Actions menu beside filename > Lock
Enter the same password in the Password and Verify fields, then confirm the change.
Apple automatically enables the password requirement when the file is locked.
This protection prevents someone without the password from opening the PDF normally and helps protect completed work from unauthorized access.
There is an important practical step before doing this: duplicate the document if you want to preserve an unprotected copy.
Preview > Actions menu > Duplicate
A password-protected PDF is only useful if the password itself can be recovered later. Losing it can make the document inaccessible, so the credential should be stored somewhere secure.
Preview Can Compress a PDF Before You Send It
Large PDFs are another problem Preview addresses without requiring a separate compression website.
Open the document, tap the Actions menu beside its filename and choose Export.
When PDF is selected as the output format, iOS 27 offers several options that can reduce file size.
Optimize Images for Screen lowers image resolution for documents intended primarily for display rather than high-quality printing.
Save Images as JPEG can reduce the size of embedded images further by using JPEG compression.
Two other export options serve different purposes. Create Linearized PDF optimizes a document for faster web loading, while Embed Text applies optical character recognition, or OCR, to make image-based content searchable.
Choose those options for loading behavior or searchability, rather than assuming they will produce the smallest attachment. For file-size reduction, the image optimization settings are the relevant controls.
The practical workflow for a smaller email attachment is:
Preview > open PDF > Actions menu > Export > PDF > Optimize Images for Screen > Save
Adding Save Images as JPEG can shrink image-heavy files further when maximum image fidelity is unnecessary.
These image-reduction options can sacrifice detail. Lowering resolution or using JPEG compression may affect small text, fine lines and photographs, so compare the exported copy with the original before sending it.
A document containing mostly text may shrink only modestly. A scan filled with high-resolution photographs can show a much larger reduction.
Preview also exports files into formats including HEIC, JPEG, PNG and TIFF when a PDF needs to become an image instead.
When exporting a PDF to an image format, resolution can be selected manually, giving users additional control over the balance between detail and file size.
Image Credit: AppleMagazine
Where Preview Still Falls Short of Adobe Acrobat
Reopen the exported file before sending it. Check the page order, orientation, completed fields and signature placement. Zoom in on small text and diagrams, especially if you reduced image resolution. The useful result is a document that remains readable and complete, not simply the smallest file you can create.
Keep the original under a different filename so you can produce another version if needed. A copy prepared for email may not be the best version for printing or archiving. Names such as “Application — Original” and “Application — Email Copy” help distinguish the files when they appear together in Recents.
If the task involves changing existing document text or satisfying a specific submission requirement, confirm that your chosen tool supports it before proceeding. For routine page organization, form completion and sharing, a checked Preview export may be all you need.
I’m obsessed with sleep data, but I don’t love wearing a smartwatch to bed. Can the Hatch Sleep Clock give me the best of both worlds at an affordable price?
Android was designed for phones, but that hasn't stopped Google from trying to adapt the OS and its apps to larger machines over the years. Googlebooks are just the latest attempt after tablets, Chromebooks, and foldables induced little change in how people interact with Android software. These new Android-powered laptops are designed to pick up where the web-focused ChromeOS left off, offering premium hardware and native support for Android apps.
Google sees Googlebooks as an alternative to Windows and macOS, but these platforms are entrenched with decades of software and UI conventions that keep users locked in. Googlebooks have to offer something very special to steal users away from either of the dominant operating systems.
For devoted Android phone users, there are some cool things in Googlebook OS, but the Android roots of these machines are impossible to miss. Sometimes it feels like using a Chromebook, and sometimes it feels like using a giant phone. It almost never feels like using a premium laptop, and that's the problem.
Though allegedly focused on benefiting users (through better safety and compliance), App Store review in its current form mostly frustrates the people it claims to protect.
[…]
Those are all scammy apps that got through. Apple’s review capacity isn’t infinite. Every hour a reviewer spends poring over a bug-fix update to an app that’s been in the store for years is an hour not spent catching the fake LastPass app.
[…]
And the review process is fundamentally flawed anyway: It works best with developers who are trying to do the right thing. Plenty of apps pull their content, features, and behavior from servers their developers control. Feature flags, remote configuration, and web views mean an app can behave differently the day after approval than it did the day of vetting. A determined bad actor can get past App Review. An honest developer just waits in a slow, nebulous line.
[…]
At WWDC 2020, the company announced that bug fixes for apps already in the App Store would no longer be held up over guideline violations (except for legal issues); developers could address those problems in a subsequent update instead. That’s a good policy! Based on developer complaints I’ve seen, Apple hasn’t honored that agreement.
2024’s M4 Mac mini was a revelation. It packed Apple silicon power into a shockingly compact space, breathing new life into Apple’s all-time utility Mac and (eventually) making it into a go-to device for home AI and even back-end podcast transcription.
Two years later, the Mac mini gets its first update since it became such a popular purchase. It’s a bit surprising: while the high-end model has updated to the familiar M5 Pro chip found in the MacBook Pro, the lower-end model has skipped right over the M5 and become the first Mac to be released using the next-generation 2-nanometer M6 chip.
It has also, unfortunately, seen a price increase. The Mac mini famously debuted in 2005 at $499 ($855 in today’s dollars), and the M4 model was introduced at $599 in 2024 dollars. Unfortunately, after a midstream price increase and the release of this new version, the starting price has been boosted to $899, a 50% increase over that relatively recent base price.
I get it. Memory and processors are skyrocketing in price due to the AI gold rush, on top of inflation. But the fact remains that at $599, the Mac mini was about as close to an impulse buy as a Mac desktop could get. At $899, it’s crossed an invisible threshold. I can understand it, but I don’t have to like it.
Previously, on Mac mini…
The current Mac mini design is far smaller than either of the model’s two previous designs.
On the outside, this Mac mini is identical to the previous model. It’s still a 5-inch square that’s only two inches high and weighs only 1.5 pounds, a shock of a size if you’re used to the Mac mini’s pre-2024 silhouette. It’s got two USB-C ports on the front and three Thunderbolt ports on the back. (It’s Thunderbolt 4 if you’ve got the M6 model, Thunderbolt 5 for the M5 Pro.)
We’ll get to the chip momentarily, but Apple has made internal upgrades on some other Mac mini parts. Wi-Fi and Ethernet were left untouched in the 2024 Mac mini update, but not this year—the M6/M5 Pro models support Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6. Both models also come standard with 2.5Gb Ethernet, with 10Gb Ethernet as a configure-to-order option.
And now, the star of the show
The Mac mini vaulted right over the base M5 processor entirely, preventing me from making more references to that classic “Star Trek” episode where a computer tries to take Captain Kirk’s job because some A.I. genius has conned people in positions of authority into thinking that’s a good idea. (Thank goodness I have no more need to reference such outdated, irrelevant themes.)
As a result, the release of this Mac mini also marks the debut of the M6, an entirely new generation of Apple silicon that will undoubtedly populate numerous Macs and iPads over the next year. That makes it worth peeking into the details of how the M6 is structured and how it performs, even if you’re not currently in the market for a new tiny Mac.
Since the beginning, Apple’s M-series processors have included two different sets of CPU cores designed with different characteristics. The performance cores were designed to run at high speed and rip through tasks, albeit at the cost of greater power usage. (Apple would tell you that even its performance cores are also optimized to use power intelligently whenever possible, of course.) The company’s efficiency cores, on the other hand, were designed to perform lower priority low-level tasks—and computers have a lot of those!—while excelling at energy savings.
While power efficiency isn’t as important for a Mac plugged into an outlet, it’s vitally important to laptops, which make up the bulk of Apple’s Mac sales. And of course, power efficiency can also reduce thermal issues that require venting, and reduce the amount of electricity you’re paying for.
Last year, though, Apple introduced a new core type, the “super core,” with the M5. What differentiates a super core from a performance core? It comes down to the different ways computer programs do work. Software splits up tasks into individual components, or threads, and passes those to the system to send to the processor. Some software is very good at breaking up work into tiny individual components, which is good, because those tasks can be distributed across many CPU cores, where work can proceed in parallel. But some tasks aren’t broken up so readily—whether it’s because the software hasn’t been optimized, or because the task itself really is just a single big chunk that must be processed at once.
According to Apple, super cores are focused on chewing through those single-threaded tasks at maximum performance. This differentiates them from performance cores, which Apple says are tuned to perform better at complex, multi-threaded jobs. Meanwhile, those efficiency cores are percolating quietly in the background, taking care of lesser tasks that don’t require the muscle that the other two core types deliver.
In the M6, for the first time, Apple has decided to apply all three different core types to a single design: It’s got six efficiency cores, four performance cores, and two super cores. Something for every kind of task, ideally, leading to the most optimal mix of power and efficiency.
In addition, the M6 has 12 GPU cores, which pick up the neural accelerators Apple added in the M5 generation (and therefore never before seen in the Mac mini), to assist in AI jobs that run on the chip’s graphics hardware. There’s also a new dual 16-core Neural Engine, so Apple’s doubling its own home-made neural processors, all in the goal of making the M6 more impressive as a processor for AI jobs.
With these changes, the M6 ran 11% faster than the M5 in single-core CPU performance, according to my tests. That’s slightly below average for an M-series generational update, though of course if you’re specifically upgrading from any previous Mac mini, you’ll see much greater performance boosts.
In multi-core testing, the M6 performed 23% faster than the M5 generation, very slightly above average for an Apple silicon generation change.
And when it comes to GPU scores, they’re up 24% from the M5 generation—again, a very slightly above average per-generation improvement. Of course, this improvement is largely built on the back of Apple’s choice to include 12 GPU cores in the M6, up from 10 in the M5. If you divide the scores per GPU core, it suggests that Apple (quite understandably) took this generation off from massively improving its GPU core design, given the major steps forward it took in the previous two generations.
This is now part of the Apple silicon playbook. If you see Apple add GPU cores in a processor generation, it’s most likely doing so because the actual GPU cores aren’t particularly improved, so to make the chip faster, it piles in more. Increasing the GPU count by 20 percent will generally improve your GPU performance by… 20 percent. The strategy allows Apple to crow about improved GPU performance even in a year where its attention is turned elsewhere.
What’s harder to tease out in any sort of benchmark test is how the chip will perform day to day, with a varied workload. Maxing out one CPU core or all the CPU cores provides a clean answer; Apple’s three-core-type design likely works more subtly in practice. My guess is that the mix of CPU core types will result in a better balance of power and efficiency, which is essentially Apple’s holy grail when it comes to processor design. Apple wants its chips to be able to rip through a task when you need it to, but run effortlessly (and in a low-power state) the rest of the time. That’s much more difficult to measure, however.
The Apple silicon Mac era has now lasted so long that we can begin to see patterns and judge how individual generations fit into the story. The M6 processor appears to be an average improvement, so close to dead-on average that it feels like it was made specifically to meet an internal metric for improved CPU and GPU performance.
These results are colored, at least a bit, by Bloomberg’s report that Apple has decided not to ship high-end M6 processors at all, and jump directly to a new M7 generation that is better suited to “meet growing demand for on-device AI capabilities and more graphics-intensive software.” There’s nothing wrong with the M6 at all, but if Apple’s next generation chip design includes some major AI and graphics performance leaps, I can see why the company might want to prioritize that release rather than rolling out an entire chip line-up based on an adequate but uninspiring creep forward in performance.
Small is beautiful
Different footprints over the years.
Back to the Mac mini. Since Dan Moren reviewed the last two releases of this product, I haven’t gotten a chance to spend much time with it, or to write about it in detail.
Let me be clear: I love it.
I’ve been using Mac minis since the very beginning. I’ve had a Mac mini in my home as a server for most of its existence as a product.
But thanks to Apple silicon, it has gotten a new lease on life—and a new design. The fact that the Mac mini became a hot product in the last year just warms my heart. It’s always been Apple’s most versatile Mac, capable of performing whatever Mac jobs you want to throw at it. The smaller size just makes it that much more delightful. It’s a shame about the price, but you could say that about most tech prices these days.
Still, what a computer! Even the performance of the base M6 model is more than enough for most computing tasks that regular people will ever need. If you invested in an external display a few years ago, most likely that display is still going strong—and attaching a new Mac mini to it will just refresh everything. If you want a Mac to live in a closet and serve files and web pages and run AI agents or whatever, it’ll be great for that too.
The Mac mini has come into its own at last, and I’m glad for that. Perhaps in the next few years, prices will settle down and Apple will allow it to cross back over into territory where it’s more of an impulse buy, a “why wouldn’t you upgrade?” sort of proposition. Right now, make no mistake, it’s still a great option if there’s a tiny space for it in your life—but you’ll need to actually do the work to calculate the value it will provide you before making that decision.
Se você rolou pelos feeds das principais redes sociais na manhã de hoje, percebeu que já começaram a pintar os primeiros reviews do iPhone Duo, cujo lançamento ocorrerá nesta sexta-feira (23/10).
Horas antes de o embargo cair, contudo, uma série de vídeos de unboxing e hands-on começaram a pipocar internet afora, nos dando uma chance de conferir o mais novo smartphone da Apple um pouco mais de perto.
Um dos veículos a divulgar vídeos do iPhone Duo foi o canal do YouTube Kingmi Mobile, que publicou não só um, mas dois vídeos de unboxing — um para o modelo na cor branco-estrela (star white) e outro para a versão na cor céu noturno (night sky):
Em um terceiro vídeo, o canal mostra elementos como o vinco e a câmera interna sob a tela do iPhone Duo com mais detalhes:
O dobrável também aparece em outros vídeos publicados em redes sociais como o X:
Como dito, o embargo estabelecido pela Apple para a publicação de vídeos a respeito do iPhone Duo caiu às 9h da manhã, e as primeiras impressões acerca do dobrável já estão pipocando na internet.
Entre os criadores de conteúdo que puderam colocar as mãos no dobrável antecipadamente, estão os YouTubers Marques “MKBHD” Brownlee e Matti Haapoja, bem como a jornalista Joanna Stern (ex-Wall Street Journal) e o site The Verge:
Como era de se esperar em se tratando de um smartphone de primeira geração, as opiniões sobre o aparelho até agora têm sido um tanto mistas, embora elas tendam a pender para um lado mais favorável — o que indica que a Apple acertou na execução, ainda que haja espaço para melhorias.
Um dos aspectos mais elogiados do iPhone Duo até agora é, sem dúvida, a sua tela interna com o acabamento nano-texture, que torna a utilização do aparelho em ambientes externos muito mais confortável se comparado a outros dobráveis no mercado, os quais costumam vir com displays mais reflexivos. Essa vantagem, porém, tem como custo um pouco menos de definição na imagem, mas nada que atrapalhe a experiência.
Esse acabamento também ajuda a esconder o vinco, que ainda é perceptível a olho nu, mas raramente atrapalha o usuário ao realizar uma tarefa — inclusive ao digitar, já que o iOS divide o teclado em dois para afastar as teclas do vinco caso o usuário resolva escrever algo com o dobrável entreaberto.
A área maior da tela interna também abre espaço para outro recurso muito elogiado do iPhone Duo: o modo de tela dividida (Split View), que expande consideravelmente as possibilidades em matéria de multitarefa. A impossibilidade de abrir um terceiro app lado a lado, no entanto, tem sido citada como um ponto negativo do software.
O formato de passaporte do aparelho também contribui para essa experiência, além de facilitar o consumo de mídias como vídeos e filmes. Ele, no entanto, pode tornar difícil alcançar certos elementos da interface na tela externa com apenas uma mão, além de favorecer o uso com a mão direita no modo fechado.
Em termos de câmera, as opiniões têm sido bastante mornas — algo que era esperado, considerando o espaço limitado para as lentes. Sem controles profissionais, a câmera principal do iPhone Duo lembra bastante a única lente do iPhone 17e, que, apesar de não ser um smartphone topo-de-linha, já é capaz de capturar imagens muito competentes.
Talvez a área mais controversa do iPhone Duo seja o seu software, mas não por culpa da Apple, que parece ter feito um ótimo trabalho para tornar tudo suave e extremamente intuitivo, sendo a já clássica animação de abertura/fechamento do aparelho um símbolo disso. Apps de terceiros, no entanto, ainda sofrem com os vários formatos de tela do aparelho, o que tem resultado, na maioria dos casos, em bordas pretas e imagens esticadas — problemas que provavelmente serão consertados com o tempo, via atualizações de software.
Outro aspecto do iPhone Duo que virou alvo de muita especulação nos últimos meses foi a sua dobradiça, que parece já ter assumido o seu posto como uma das mais robustas do mercado. Stern, por exemplo, colocou o aparelho para abrir e fechar mais de 32.000 vezes com a ajuda de um robô; mesmo assim, ela não conseguiu notar uma diferença significativa na resistência da dobradiça.
Em pré-venda desde a última sexta-feira (16/10), o iPhone Duo já aparece com prazos de entrega extremamente elásticos em vários países, incluindo o Brasil, como comentamos aqui.
Vendido por US$2.000 nos Estados Unidos, o dobrável sai pela bagatela de R$22.000 no mercado nacional — isso em sua versão de entrada, com 256GB de capacidade.
iPhone Duo
Cores: branco-estrela ou céu noturno Armazenamento: 256GB, 512GB, 1TB ou 2TB
NOTA DE TRANSPARÊNCIA: O MacMagazine recebe uma pequena comissão sobre vendas concluídas por meio de links deste post, mas você, como consumidor, não paga nada a mais pelos produtos/serviços ao usar os nossos links de afiliado.
Apple has released Safari Technology Preview 254, its experimental browser for web developers, with live pinch-to-zoom on macOS, new CSS sizing tools and HEVC video encoding for web apps. The WebKit team published the release notes on October 8, 2026, and the build is available for macOS Golden Gate and macOS Tahoe. If you already […]
Christopher Nolan's engrossing take on The Odyssey dominated at the box office and spurred a newfound interest in classic literature among filmgoers. But a new retelling of the story made entirely with AI is so bad that it might just make viewers hate the original tale altogether.
The new film, called Odysseus: The Fall, comes via AI firm Fountain 0 and is written and directed by company cofounder Ash Koosha, who also lent his likeness to the title character and created all of the music. (The film's credits are very short.) The studio's only previous work is an AI film called Dreams of Violets that made it into Tribeca earlier this year. Th …
When Paul W.S. Anderson's Resident Evil hit theaters in 2002, video game movies were largely seen as a niche. Films like Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider had proven that big-screen game adaptations could be successful, but the commercial and critical failure of projects like the 1993 Super Mario Bros. still cast a long shadow. And while Anderson's vision of Raccoon City might have captivated audiences on the whole, many hardcore fans of Capcom's games were left disappointed by the way the original movies wildly deviated from the source material.
Weaponsdirector Zach Cregger's new take on Resident Evil is a return to the franchise's fundamenta …
Nintendo has gotten quite good at making open-ended games. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild upended the idea of what a Zelda game could be by giving the player free rein to tackle any part of the map, a philosophy iterated upon with Tears of the Kingdom. On the Switch 2 this idea expanded to Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza. Now, Nintendo has brought this philosophy to Fire Emblem with Fortune's Weave. It works really well; with its many ways to progress through the game and tailor teams to your liking, Fortune's Weave has become my favorite game on the Switch 2 so far.
Fortune's Weave's structure is a big reason why it feels …
AYN Thor is not trying to win attention simply by putting a faster processor inside a conventional handheld. Its defining feature is the clamshell design: a large 6-inch AMOLED screen sits above a second display, giving the device a layout that is much closer to a portable dual-screen gaming system than a traditional Android game console.
The Banggood configuration covered here pairs the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, while the wider Thor lineup also includes higher-memory versions. AYN’s own current product information lists the standard Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 configurations alongside a 6-inch AMOLED main display, a 3.92-inch secondary AMOLED screen, Android 13 and a 6000mAh battery.
That makes the Thor interesting for a very specific reason: the second screen can change how certain games and emulators are played, rather than merely adding another display to the specification sheet.
The Second Screen Is the Real Story
Most Android gaming handhelds use a single display and place all controls around it. The Thor takes a different route.
Its upper panel is a 6-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, while the lower section provides a smaller 3.92-inch AMOLED touchscreen. The primary display runs at 1920 × 1080, while the secondary panel uses a 1080 × 1240 resolution and a 60Hz refresh rate.
The difference in refresh rate is actually useful to understand. The top screen is optimized for the main gaming experience, while the lower screen is better thought of as a companion interface.
That opens up several possibilities. In dual-screen emulation, one display can show the main game while the second handles maps, menus, touch controls or other information. For games designed around two screens, the physical arrangement can also feel considerably more natural than trying to reproduce the same layout on a single panel.
This is where the Thor has a clearer identity than another Android handheld with similar processing hardware.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Gives the Thor Plenty of Headroom
The 8GB/128GB configuration uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the same platform used by several other high-performance Android handhelds. AYN’s specifications identify the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 versions as the Base, Pro and Max models, with RAM and storage increasing depending on configuration.
For the Thor, the processor is less interesting as a headline number than what it enables.
Android gaming, retro emulation and game streaming can all benefit from additional processing headroom, but the dual-screen design is where the hardware becomes more purposeful. The system has to manage two displays and the associated touch input while still maintaining a responsive gaming interface.
The 8GB configuration therefore makes sense as the entry point for users who want the Thor’s unusual hardware without necessarily moving to one of the larger storage variants.
Android 13 Keeps the Platform Flexible
The Thor runs Android 13, which gives it access to the broader Android gaming and emulation ecosystem rather than locking it into a proprietary game library. AYN’s product information also confirms that games are not preinstalled, meaning buyers should think of the device as an Android gaming platform rather than a ready-made retro library.
That distinction matters.
The real value of an Android handheld is often determined by how well its software environment fits the user’s preferred games and emulators. With the Thor, there is an additional consideration: configuring software to take advantage of two physical screens.
For example, a dual-screen setup can be particularly useful for systems and games that were originally designed around separate gameplay and information displays. Retro Game Corps’ setup guide specifically covers the additional considerations involved in configuring dual-screen Android handhelds such as the Thor.
Hall-Effect Sticks Are a Practical Hardware Choice
The Thor also uses Hall-effect joysticks, which detect stick movement magnetically rather than relying on traditional mechanical contact for position sensing. AYN lists Hall sticks among the device’s hardware features.
For an Android gaming handheld, this is more relevant than it might initially appear.
The controls are likely to see much more use than many of the device’s headline specifications. Precise analog input matters for action games, racing titles and 3D emulation, while the absence of conventional contact-based sensing can help reduce one common source of stick-position problems over long-term use.
It also reinforces the idea that the Thor is designed as a serious gaming device rather than simply an Android tablet folded into a portable shell.
A 6,000mAh Battery Balances the Dual-Screen Hardware
A 6,000mAh battery sits inside the Thor, according to AYN’s current specifications. The device also supports 27W charging.
Battery capacity alone does not tell the whole story, especially on a dual-screen handheld.
The actual runtime will depend heavily on brightness, refresh rate, emulator workload, wireless connectivity and how frequently the secondary display is active. More demanding games will naturally place a greater load on the Snapdragon platform than lightweight retro titles.
For this reason, the Thor’s battery should be viewed as part of a larger power-management equation rather than judged only by the 6000mAh figure.
The Flip Design Solves a Portability Problem
There is another advantage to the clamshell construction that has little to do with gaming performance: screen protection.
When the Thor is closed, the two displays face inward. That gives the handheld a natural protective position when it is placed inside a bag or carried between locations.
The closed form also makes the Thor visually distinct from the large number of slab-style Android gaming handhelds now available.
However, the hinge introduces its own design considerations. Users who want the device primarily for traditional single-screen Android gaming may not need a second display or a clamshell mechanism. The dual-screen architecture becomes much more valuable when the software can actually make use of it.
8GB + 128GB Is the More Straightforward Configuration
The Banggood listing specifically covers the 8GB RAM and 128GB storage version.
That capacity should be enough for a focused Android gaming setup, but storage requirements can grow quickly once users begin adding large game files, emulator libraries and multiple applications.
AYN’s wider lineup includes a 12GB/256GB model and higher-end 16GB configurations with substantially more storage.
This makes the 8GB/128GB model easier to understand as an entry configuration rather than the only version of the Thor. Buyers who plan to maintain a large local game library should pay particular attention to storage before choosing between variants.
Who Actually Benefits From Two Screens?
The Thor makes the most sense for users whose gaming habits can take advantage of its unusual layout.
Dual-screen emulation is an obvious example. Systems that originally used two displays can be represented more naturally when the handheld itself physically provides two panels.
The secondary display can also be useful for touch-based controls, menus or supplementary information while the main display remains dedicated to gameplay.
For ordinary Android games that only need one screen, however, the second panel becomes less important. In that situation, the Thor’s main advantage is its unusual form factor rather than a fundamental change in gameplay.
That distinction is worth keeping in mind when comparing it with conventional single-screen Android handhelds.
A Different Kind of Android Gaming Handheld
The AYN Thor gaming handheld ‘s most interesting feature is not the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 by itself, nor is it simply the 120Hz AMOLED display.
It is the combination of a 6-inch 120Hz AMOLED main screen, a secondary AMOLED touchscreen, Hall-effect controls, Android 13 and a 6000mAh battery inside a foldable chassis.
That combination gives the Thor a specific purpose.
For users who mainly want a standard Android gaming handheld, its dual-screen construction may be more hardware than they need. But for players interested in DS/3DS-style emulation, dual-screen interfaces or experimenting with different Android gaming layouts, the second display provides a capability that conventional handhelds simply cannot reproduce in the same physical way.
The result is a device that stands apart not because it has the longest specification sheet, but because its hardware is built around a different idea of what a portable gaming console can be.
Small RC cars often have to make a compromise between portability and driving performance. The ZLL SG616 PRO/MAX takes a different approach, packing four-wheel drive, proportional controls and a relatively aggressive power system into a 1:24-scale chassis.
1:24 scale also changes where the car makes the most sense. Rather than requiring a large dedicated driving area, its compact dimensions make it easier to use on driveways, compact outdoor spaces and other locations where a larger 4WD RC car would be inconvenient.
What makes this model particularly interesting is that buyers can choose between a brushed version and a brushless version. The brushed model is rated for up to 30 km/h, while the brushless configuration raises the claimed top speed to 38 km/h.
A Compact RC Car With Serious Speed
At 208 × 113 × 80 mm, the SG616 is small enough to transport easily, but its specifications are closer to what enthusiasts expect from a performance-oriented RC vehicle than a basic toy-grade car.
The 1:24 scale also changes where the car makes the most sense. Rather than requiring a large dedicated driving area, its compact dimensions make it easier to use on driveways, compact outdoor spaces and other locations where a larger RC truck would be inconvenient.
The 12 mm ground clearance is modest, so the SG616 is not designed to behave like a full-size crawler. Its appeal is instead centered on quick acceleration, directional control and short off-road runs.
Brushed or Brushless: The Important Buying Decision
The biggest difference between the SG616 PRO and MAX configurations is the power system.
The brushed version uses an RC180 motor and has a claimed maximum speed of 30 km/h. The brushless version moves to a 2030 4500KV motor and is rated for up to 38 km/h. Both configurations use an integrated 35A ESC.
That distinction matters because the brushless model is not simply a cosmetic upgrade. Its higher claimed speed makes it more suitable for users who want a faster RC driving experience, while the brushed version may make more sense for someone who values a simpler setup.
The brushless configuration also gets an all-metal driveshaft, giving it a mechanical upgrade beyond the motor itself.
Four-Wheel Drive and Independent Suspension
The SG616 uses a 4WD drivetrain with planetary differential gearing and independent suspension. Combined with a 45-degree steering angle, these features are intended to give the small chassis more flexibility when changing direction or dealing with uneven surfaces.
The car also uses ball bearings throughout, while an aluminum motor heatsink helps manage heat around the power system.
This combination is more important than the headline speed. A fast RC car is only enjoyable when the chassis can translate that power into controllable movement. The SG616’s proportional throttle and four-wheel-drive layout are therefore two of its more meaningful features.
Full-Proportional Control Makes a Difference
The included 2.4GHz transmitter provides four control channels and a claimed control distance of around 80 to 100 meters, depending on the configuration or listing specification.
More importantly, the car supports full-proportional control. Instead of limiting the vehicle to simple forward, reverse and steering commands, proportional control allows the driver to vary throttle input more precisely.
That is useful when moving through tighter spaces. It also gives the SG616 a more controllable feel when approaching corners or transitioning between slower technical driving and high-speed runs.
Battery Life Is Designed Around Short Sessions
The SG616 uses a 7.4V Li-ion battery, with the brushed and brushless versions using 500mAh and 800mAh capacities respectively according to the current listing. Charging takes approximately 1.5 hours, while the advertised running time is around 30 to 40 minutes.
These numbers suggest that the car is better suited to several relatively short driving sessions than continuous long-distance running.
The included USB charging cable also keeps the package straightforward. Buyers receive the car, battery, transmitter, charging cable, manual, spare R-clips and screwdriver, so there is no need to assemble a separate basic control system before getting started.
Designed for Outdoor Driving
The SG616 has several details aimed at reducing the limitations of a compact RC chassis.
Its circuit board and steering servo are listed as waterproof, while the front bumper integrates LED lights for a more distinctive appearance during low-light driving. The 47 mm tires and independent suspension also help the car deal with surfaces that are less predictable than a smooth indoor floor.
However, waterproof electronics should not automatically be interpreted as a license for deep-water driving. The practical advantage is better resistance to splashes and wet conditions rather than treating the car as a fully submersible vehicle.
What Kind of RC Driver Is It For?
The ZLL SG616 PRO/MAX occupies an interesting middle ground.
It is substantially more performance-focused than a basic toy RC car, yet its 1:24 scale keeps it much easier to carry and deploy than a larger hobby-grade truck. The brushless version is particularly notable for its claimed 38 km/h maximum speed, while the proportional controls and 4WD system give the driver more control than a simple entry-level model.
For buyers deciding between the two versions, the choice largely comes down to driving priorities. The brushed model provides a lower-speed configuration, while the brushless model targets users who specifically want more speed and the additional mechanical hardware that comes with that configuration.
Final Takeaway
ZLL SG616 PRO/MAX is interesting because it does not rely on one headline specification. Its appeal comes from how several features work together: a compact 1:24 chassis, 4WD, independent suspension, proportional throttle, 2.4GHz control and two different motor configurations.
The brushless version’s 38 km/h claim is certainly the attention-grabbing number, but the proportional controls, drivetrain design and compact dimensions may ultimately have a greater impact on everyday usability.
For shoppers comparing small off-road RC cars, the SG616 is therefore worth looking at as a performance-focused compact model rather than simply another inexpensive remote-control toy.
AULA F75 MAX keyboard is designed for users who want more than a basic compact mechanical gaming keyboard. Instead of focusing on a single headline feature, it combines a space-saving 75% layout with a dedicated TFT screen, rotary knob, hot-swappable switches, gasket mounting and three connection modes.
That combination makes the F75 MAX interesting for both gaming and everyday desktop use. Its design also reflects a broader trend in mechanical keyboards: smaller layouts are becoming more feature-rich without completely sacrificing the controls that PC users rely on.
Why the 75% Layout Makes Sense
The F75 MAX uses an 80-key 75% layout, keeping the function row and arrow-key cluster while removing the large gaps and dedicated number pad found on full-size keyboards.
For a gaming setup, this layout can free up more desk space for mouse movement. At the same time, it remains practical for productivity because users do not have to give up the dedicated arrow keys and function row.
The trade-off is the missing number pad. Anyone who regularly enters large amounts of numerical data may still prefer a full-size keyboard, but for gaming, general typing and compact workstations, the 75% format is a useful middle ground.
The TFT Screen Is More Than Decoration
One of the F75 MAX’s most noticeable design elements is its built-in TFT screen. Instead of relying entirely on RGB lighting for visual customization, the keyboard adds a small display that gives the top section a more personalized appearance. Banggood specifically lists a GIF-capable TFT screen interface.
This feature does not fundamentally change typing performance, but it gives the keyboard a distinct identity. For users who enjoy customizing their desktop setup, the screen can make the F75 MAX feel more like a configurable gadget than a conventional mechanical keyboard.
The separate metal knob also adds a practical control point, giving users a physical way to interact with supported functions instead of relying entirely on keyboard shortcuts.
Gasket Mounting Targets a Softer Typing Feel
The keyboard uses a gasket-mounted structure with multiple layers of sound-dampening material. AULA lists five layers of dampening, while the product listing describes a six-layer sound-absorbing structure, so the exact terminology varies between listings.
The important part is what this construction is intended to achieve. A gasket-mounted keyboard isolates the plate from parts of the case, allowing slightly more flex while reducing some of the direct vibration transferred through the chassis.
Combined with the F75 MAX’s foam and silicone layers, the design is aimed at producing a deeper and less harsh typing sound than a basic rigid keyboard.
That makes the keyboard potentially more appealing to people who care about typing acoustics as well as gaming performance.
Hot-Swappable Switches Make Future Upgrades Easier
Another useful feature is the hot-swappable PCB, which supports 3-pin and 5-pin mechanical switches according to AULA’s specifications.
This means owners are not necessarily locked into the factory switch configuration. Users who prefer a lighter linear feel, a different actuation characteristic or another sound profile can experiment with compatible switches without replacing the entire keyboard.
The F75 MAX comes with LEOBOG Reaper linear switches. AULA lists them as factory-lubed, while EPOMAKER’s specifications give the switch a 45±3gf trigger force and 3.6±0.3mm total travel.
For someone buying a mechanical keyboard as a long-term platform, this upgradeability may be more meaningful than RGB effects alone.
Tri-Mode Connectivity Covers Different Setups
The F75 MAX supports USB-C wired, 2.4GHz wireless and Bluetooth 5.0 connections.
That gives the keyboard three distinct use cases. Wired mode is suitable for a desktop gaming setup, 2.4GHz wireless keeps the desk cleaner while maintaining a low-latency connection, and Bluetooth is convenient when switching between compatible computers or mobile devices.
AULA rates the keyboard at up to 1000Hz polling through USB and 2.4GHz, while Bluetooth is listed at 125Hz. The manufacturer also lists latency of around 3ms over USB, 7ms via 2.4GHz and 18ms through Bluetooth.
For competitive gaming, the wired and 2.4GHz modes are therefore the more relevant choices.
4000mAh Battery Gives Wireless Mode Some Flexibility
The built-in 4000mAh battery is another reason the F75 MAX works well as a wireless desktop keyboard. AULA rates battery life at approximately 30.5 hours with the RGB backlight enabled and up to 80 hours with the lighting switched off.
Actual endurance will depend on lighting brightness, connection mode and usage patterns, so these figures should be treated as manufacturer ratings rather than guaranteed real-world results.
Still, the option to turn off RGB lighting when maximum battery life matters gives users more control over how they use the keyboard.
PBT Keycaps and South-Facing RGB
The F75 MAX uses double-shot PBT keycaps and south-facing per-key RGB lighting.
PBT is commonly chosen for mechanical keyboards because it generally resists the glossy wear that can develop on frequently used ABS keycaps. The south-facing RGB arrangement also works well with the keyboard’s overall enthusiast-oriented design.
AULA lists support for more than 16 million RGB colors and multiple lighting effects, although the visual customization is ultimately secondary to the keyboard’s typing and connectivity features.
A Compact Keyboard With Room to Experiment
AULA F75 MAX is best understood as a feature-rich 75% mechanical keyboard rather than simply another RGB gaming board.
Its strongest combination is the compact layout, gasket construction, hot-swappable PCB and tri-mode connectivity. The TFT display and rotary knob then add a layer of customization that separates it from more conventional 75% keyboards.
For gamers, the 2.4GHz connection and 1000Hz polling rate give the keyboard a performance-oriented side. For enthusiasts, the hot-swap PCB and gasket structure leave room for future customization. And for everyday users, the 75% layout provides a useful balance between desk space and functionality.
The main compromise is straightforward: users who need a dedicated number pad will need a larger keyboard. But for anyone comfortable with the 75% format, the AULA F75 MAX offers a combination of customization, wireless flexibility and enthusiast-style construction that makes it worth considering.
For the latest specifications and software information, buyers should also check the official AULA product page before ordering, since configurations and regional listings can vary.
Login
