Huawei’s Android ban left the smartphone market in Ireland with a big gaping hole in it. I know OPPO probably don’t want me to start their review with a Huawei mention, but it’s an important fact. Even more important is that OPPO is absolutely capable of filling that gap. I find flagship phones a bit boring these days. Less boring is mid-range smartphones that have incredible specs. That’s the OPPO Find X3 Lite in a nutshell. Available from loads of retailers in Ireland, I figured it’s time to weigh in on this excellent smartphone.
Design
The first thing that struck me about the OPPO Find X3 Lite is the weight. When phones are “Lite”, they mean it’s a flagship phone less some of the price-swelling specs. That’s the case here too, but this OPPO is also physically light, weighing in at 175g. The rounded body fits nicely in the hand despite it still being a generously sized 6.43-inch display.
Quad camera setup
The back does feel a bit on the cheaper side, but I’m used to glass appearing on premium smartphones. I remind myself that this phone sits firmly in the mid-range price tier and that some corners have to be cut. Pop a case on the Find X3 Lite and you’ll not notice this of course. It’ll also save you from the fingerprint smudges that completely dominate that back.
The rear camera setup is subtle but raised, so you’ll get a small bit of wobble on a table when laying the phone on its back. Around the front side, the pinhole selfie camera sits top-left. No sign of OPPO going for an under-display camera on a mainstream phone just yet.
A headphone jack!
I have to point out that this phone also features a 3.5mm headphone jack. Not something that’s all that common these days!
Camera
Let’s stick with the camera. I took some shots out and about and was surprised by the bang for buck. To be honest, I had my iPhone 13 Pro in my pocket and did some side by side shots. Naturally, the iPhone won, but it was a lot closer than expected, particularly on the primary camera.
Oppo Left | iPhone Right
It was a bit dark when I was out testing the camera. So that lack of vibrance is actually a realistic representation of a gloomy Dublin morning. The selfie camera was a bit more disappointing. The single 32MP pinhole camera is ok, but that’s as good as I can give it. It does offer selfie portraits too, but again, they’re not great. That said, it’s a more than acceptable front-facing camera for video calling. Important to point that out given how common it has become.
All in all, the Find X3 Lite offers a solid point-and-shoot camera. What I need to keep hammering home here is the price point you’re getting all of this for is very reasonable. And don’t worry. I will get to price.
Display
Brands like OPPO make certain fairly high-end specs somewhat common. That’s what keeps the likes of Apple and Samsung on their toes with flagships. The Find X3 Lite gives you a 6.43-inch display with a 90Hz refresh rate. That makes this a decent smartphone for gaming and not bad at all for gorging on Netflix. Interestingly, Netflix comes pre-installed too which I’m not sure I’ve seen too often.
In a smartphone with an attractive price, I’m glad we didn’t cut too much on display.
Battery
One area the mid-range can’t afford to let you down is battery. Some might be disappointed to learn that the Find X3 Lite doesn’t feature wireless charging, but it’s a big cost-cutter. You do get a whopping 65W charger in the box that gets you from 0% to 100% in 35 minutes. That genuinely negates the need for a massive battery.
Now, OPPO still pops a 4300 mAh into the phone and has plenty of OPPO’s smart power management on board. The result is a day of battery being nailed without much of a sweat. But that charger means in just a few minutes you’ll have a fair chunk of battery to keep you going.
OPPO Find X3 Lite Review: The Verdict And Price
Look. Whether OPPO likes it or not, they coming along after Huawei and Irish consumers are very much trying to fill a Huawei-shaped gap in the smartphone market. OPPO is perfect for the job. My daily rider is nearly always a flagship smartphone yet the OPPO Find X3 Lite is overreaching to the point where I could use it daily if I had to. That’s a genuine compliment to the phone. It also supports 5G so if you’re grabbing a 5G plan, that’s another win.
This phone is near faultless in most areas. Throw the price into the mix, and it’s one of the best mid-range smartphones on the market.
While there’s some distance between this phone and the bigger brother, the OPPO Find X3 Pro, this is a great phone despite the price. But an even better purchase because of the price.
I love my Mac. It’s a 2015 refurbished model. I’ve never had a laptop last this long with so little trouble. However, it’s not all smooth sailing. I bought a Mac with a relatively small hard drive and over time, it’s become a bit clogged up. I’ve come across a solution a few times called “Clean My Mac” but it’s only ever gotten mixed reviews. So I got a Clean My Mac License sorted out and decided to give it a try myself.
What Is Clean My Mac?
Clean My Mac is a piece of software that helps keep your macOS computer running smoothly. Over time, your Mac will start to gather old systems files and other junk. Essentially, your laptop starts to look like your home office. Documents lying around and taking up space, generally ruining your efficiency.
Clean My Mac helps you clean up that junk.
Once installed, you run the program and it runs around your computer. Clean My Mac finds all the system files that are somewhat redundant but very well hidden and measures the size of files in your Junk Folder. Another useful feature is Space Lens. This gives you a user-friendly view of what’s taking up space on your hard drive. For me, it puts the size of a Football Manager install into context, more particularly the face pack I’ve installed.
You can also free up RAM by using Clean My Mac to end processes that are running in the background. My Mac has 16GB of RAM and sometimes that’s maxed out. With Clean My Mac, you’re one click away from reclaiming over 10GB of RAM and speeding your laptop up.
Other Clean My Mac Features
Beyond the removal of hidden files, Clean My Mac has some additional tricks up the sleeve to keep things running smoothly. The app can help you remove programs that run on startup that you don’t use that often. This means your laptop will start faster and use less RAM during general use. The Uninstaller tab of the app lets you easily see big programs, determine what you don’t need and easily uninstall them. My Mac was running out of space and this helped me find and remove a 20GB installation of The Sims I wasn’t using anymore.
The app can also do deep scans for Malware and this is where I find things get interesting. There’s an arrogance around Apple’s computer eco-system, from both Apple and industry commentators. Just check out this thread on Apple’s Discussion Forum. I’m not sure of the science here, but my experience with the app is at odds with the comments in that thread.
Which brings me to the big question. Does it work?
Does Clean My Mac Work?
Yes. Clean My Mac is extremely helpful when it comes to keeping your older laptop running smoothly. It doesn’t do anything that you can’t technically do yourself, but it makes it easier. Stopping processes from running in the background isn’t all that hard, but with Clean My Mac it’s just a simple click of a button.
What Clean My Mac does very well is remain user-friendly. Keeping an older laptop running smoothly isn’t a job any laptop owner really wants to take on. It’s the point when most people will just cave and head out to buy a new laptop. By creating a program that makes maintenance easier, the Clean My Mac team is saving consumers money – and that’s always a good thing.
Does Clean My Mac Slow Down Your Computer?
Given the idea behind Clean My Mac is to speed up your laptop, there are a lot of reports that it does the opposite. Clean My Mac doesn’t slow down your laptop. From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t constantly run in the background either. That makes it unlikely that it slows down performance.
Is Clean My Mac Worth It?
Clean My Mac costs about €40 but you’ll often see special offers appear on the website. This means you can get the app for as little as €27.97 sometimes. That’s a small price to pay for getting your Mac back up to speed. I can only say good things about this solution from MacPaw so it’s at least worth a punt.
It is important ot note that’s a one year license. You can also purchase a lifetime license that’s about triple the price. A good long term investment perhaps, but do consider whether or not you’ll still have your aging machine in a few years time. You won’t need Clean My Mac on a new Mac.
One final thing I want to say. I started reviewing Clean My Mac a couple months ago. MacPaw, the creators, are a Ukrainian company. MacPaw were prepared for the Russian invasion of Ukraine and while their office is located in Kyiv they securely host all their infrastructure and user data on Amazon Web Services; outside of Ukraine.
MacPaw is also donating funds, volunteering on-site and provided media personnel covering the war with a free year of CleanMyMac.
We need to be hypercritical of everything we see on social media today. There’s misinformation and disinformation everywhere linking to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. That’s why many are very interested in a video released by the Kremlin today. Putin visited an Aeroflot training centre. But people are questioning if the video is real at all. The accusation is that Putin was filmed in front of a green screen and superimposed into the video. Here’s what we know.
Support The People Of Ukraine
Thanks for clicking into this article and trying to learn more about the truth online relating to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. While you’re here, please consider donating to the Irish Red Cross. They are raising funds to support Ukrainians fleeing the war. You can donate via the Irish Red Cross website or, if you’re a Revolut customer, in the Donations section of the app. Every penny counts.
In the video released today, Putin is sitting at a table with female flight attendants from various airlines. In this meeting, Putin stepped up his rhetoric against Western Allies. The meeting was likely supposed to tick a few boxes for Putin. Appearing beside the (all female) attendants of Aeroflot-using airlines is to support a symbol of Russia. It also keeps his toxic alpha male macho needs in check.
Eagle-eyed viewers notice that Putin’s hand passes through a microphone that sits on the table in front of him. This has led to the internet asking; “is Putin a hologram” or “did he use a green screen”.
Did Putin Use A Green Screen?
It doesn’t appear too likely that Putin has used a green screen here. I’ll admit that the video being shared on social media does appear to show his hand passing through a physical microphone. But there’s actually a potential explanation for that.
Putin’s Compression Artifacts
Videos get recorded, edited and exported to a video file. They then end up on TV or shared on video platforms or social media. With these latter mediums, file sizes matter. Platforms like Twitter and YouTube heavily compress the video so it streams quicker and doesn’t cost so much money to host. This heavy compression can lead to “compression artifacts“.
Compression artifacts lead to areas of digital media being blurred, distorted or lost completely. They absolutely could be the cause of Putin’s hand seemingly vanishing behind a microphone. I’ve watched a higher quality version of that same video and Putin’s hand does not pass through the mic.
I’ve watched a higher quality version of that same video and Putin’s hand does not pass through the mic.
Deliberate Artifacts
I have a theory but must stress that it’s just a theory. It’s entirely possible that Putin’s team have deliberately created this video knowing it would generate online conversation. With media tightening the spread of Russian news given the sheer quantity of non-sense within, this “green screen” talk has made the video land in front of even more people.
For that reason, I’m not linking the full video. Just in case it’s all a ploy to get more reach.
Why Would Putin Fake The Aeroflot Video?
There’s good reason to question this video being real. Putin has appeared on TV several times recently. Every time he’s very far away from everyone else. In fact, he’s becoming a bit of a meme for it.
Image from Reuters/Kremlin
It’s not immediately clear why he sits so far away from everyone else. It might be a ploy to make the people of Russia believe he’s the only one in control. It may be something a lot more practical; Covid-19. Yes, Putin, like his buddy Trump, is a germaphobe.
The long tables keep him away from others and should keep him slightly safer too. Realistically, this is the most likely reason for the long tables. Which does make the Aeroflot video very odd.
Assuming the long tables are about self-preservation, why would Putin be sitting near flight attendants? Flight attendants that were likely flying with hundreds of passengers until very recently.
That would be another massive indication that the video was faked. I’ll also admit that there are several scenes where the video just looks weird. One of the biggest tricks with green screening is getting the lighting perfect. Yet in parts, it does look slightly off – like here for example.
However, it’s also entirely possible we’re just trying to find something that isn’t there. Occam’s Razor suggests the simplest answer is often the most likely. And the simplest answer here is everyone had PCR tests, Putin was really in the room and took the risk to look cool beside a load of female flight attendants.
At the end of the day, he’s up against Volodymyr Zelenskyy who is infinitely cooler and more impressive anyway.
Please remember to donate to the Irish Red Cross if you can.
I’m a MacBook user. I moved over a few years ago and never really looked back. But I also regularly use Windows machines. The lack of a middle ground is massively frustrating. Yet, it does exist. That middle ground is Huawei’s laptop range which only makes up a shocking and paltry 3% of the Irish home computing market. I’ve been testing driving the Huawei MateBook X Pro for a few weeks. It’s as good a machine as you could hope for to run Windows, but it’s pricey.
Huawei in Ireland
For many years now, I’ve been testing Huawei products. The elephant in the room is just how badly their mobile division has suffered in Ireland. This is all down to the forced move to HMS and departure from Google Play. Largely owing to this, non-mobile products from Huawei are a priority for the company in markets like Ireland. And let me tell you that from audio to sunglasses, that other hardware impresses. For laptops, Huawei crucially has full access to Windows. This year’s flagship is the Huawei MateBook X Pro, so let’s take a look.
Huawei MateBook X Pro Specs and Features
One fairly common trend with Huawei product design is their likeness to certain other fruit-based products in the market. The MateBook range does bear a fair resemblance to MacBook.
Build
Huawei’s MateBook X Pro is a 13.9-inch laptop, with a light but durable and high-quality feeling metal body. The material used matters as it dissipates heat better than cheaper plastic body laptops.
Large trackpad looks familiar
The strong material doesn’t take away from the usability of the laptop though. If you’re picking this for work on the go, it’s nice and neat while remaining light at just 1.33kg.
Keyboard and Trackpad
The keyboard is nice to use and has that “clicky” MacBook feel that you either love or hate. The trackpad is a generous size but Huawei has also opted to make this a touchscreen laptop. This is something Apple never really wanted to challenge their iPad base by including this. It could be a unique selling point that swings some shoppers for Huawei over Apple.
The fingerprint sensor
You do get to enjoy easier access to Windows and your apps or password managers thanks to a built-in fingerprint sensor. Combined with Windows Hello, you can sign into your laptop, apps and retrieved saved passwords all with the touch of your finger on the sensor. It’s a game-changer for laptop privacy.
Ports
The port choices from Huawei have left me scratching my head a little bit. On the right of the machine, you have an “old style” USB Type-A 3.2 port. On the left are two USB-C ports. That means there’s no HDMI, but there is an old-style USB connection. That is a bizarre choice in my eyes given which of these two ports I’d personally be using on a regular basis. If you buy this laptop, you’ll need a dongle for HDMI or a USB-C supporting monitor. The latter here is growing in popularity.
Finally, there is also a headphone port. Not too surprising on a laptop.
One thing I do find weird is having all the USB-C ports on one side. It’s a pain after years of getting used to charging my MacBook on both sides.
Display
Let’s move on to the display. It’s a 3000 x 2000 display, surrounded by very thin bezels and no notches or webcam cutouts. Huawei achieved this by keeping the 1MP webcam hidden away in a pop-up button on the keyboard. Clever for privacy and screen space, but not so clever for camera angles in meetings. Hello there double chin.
The display is crisp a nice to view for extended hours of use – unfortunately, something that many of us are familiar with. The touchscreen is accurate and responsive, but you do leave fingerprints all over your screen. Yes, a natural by-product but something that irks me.
Sound
The Huawei MateBook X Pro is plenty loud and plenty clear. Four speakers and a cutout design in the base of the laptop provide this punch. Be careful with the cutouts. The laptop literally drew blood from me one day as the cutouts nicked my hand.
Power: Brains and Battery
There are many advertised power ratings and battery lifetimes offered by Huawei. I don’t believe in putting too much weight in these because every user is different. What I will say is that the MateBook X Pro will do a lot of work with very little need for charges. If it’s general email checking or Teams calls, you could get most of your workday done on battery power. Nice if you need a trip to the cafe to switch things up a bit.
The flip side of power is processing. The only model in the Irish market is the highly powerful Intel Core i7 model with 16GB RAM. Again, you might read that and think it doesn’t meet your needs. But for the vast majority of people using a laptop, that’s a lot of power.
Huawei MateBook X Pro 2021: The Verdict
The Huawei MateBook X Pro is an excellent laptop running the world’s most popular operating system. But it incorporates some of the best things that make Apple’s MacBook range too. Let’s not ignore the appeal of this sweet spot. This is an excellent laptop. It is however pricey. It’s just shy of €2000 to buy this from Harvey Norman right now. It does deliver plenty of bang for your buck though. So if you are looking to invest in a great laptop with Windows onboard, this is it.
Today, Apple confirmed a new event. Taking place on 8th March (that’s next Tuesday), Apple is expected to launch a few things including a new iPhone SE. Here’s what’s rumoured to feature on that phone if you’re thinking of making a purchase.
A Quick Intro To iPhone SE
Generally speaking, what is the iPhone SE? Simply put, the iPhone SE is Apple’s budget smartphone. They first launched an SE in 2016. It was largely based upon the flagship iPhone 5s with some upgrades. In 2020, Apple revamped iPhone SE and based this new model on the iPhone 8. For Apple, it’s a great way to rejig their line-up when removing older, but still very popular phones. Essentially, the last iPhone SE was an iPhone 8 but used the chipset from an iPhone 12.
Next week, Apple is expected by many to launch a new iPhone SE. This will then take up the mantel of being Apple’s entry-level smartphone. So what can we expect to see?
iPhone SE 2022: The Name
When Apple first launched the iPhone SE, they didn’t explain what SE even stood for. At least, not to my knowledge. Nor has it ever been clarified. It most likely means “Special Edition”, but could also mean “Small Edition”. In 2020, when the second iPhone SE was launched, it was expected Apple would adopt something like “iPhone SE 2”.
However, Apple instead opted to make “iPhone SE” a line of its own. The iPhone SE launched in 2020 was simply referred to as “iPhone SE” while the 2016 model was retired.
I fully expect Apple to retire the current iPhone SE, launched in 2020, and replace it with the new one under the name “iPhone SE”. You’ll likely see some retailers and online news sites refer to it as the “iPhone SE 2022”. Some might even go for the uglier “iPhone SE 3”. But Apple will absolutely call it the “iPhone SE” and nothing else.
iPhone SE Spec Changes
With the name almost nailed on, what can we expect to see in terms of specs and design?
iPhone SE Design
I fully expect the new iPhone SE to retail the same design as the iPhone 8 and the existing iPhone SE launched in 2020. Apple brought this phone to market to keep costs down. TouchID, Apple’s fingerprint sensor and home button, is an important part of the cost-effective approach to making the iPhone SE. So I would be surprised to see FaceID feature.
The iPhone SE 2022 will be more iPhone 8 in design than iPhone 13.
Almost guaranteed not to happen is an under-display fingerprint reader. The SE won’t bring anything that excitingly new for Apple to the table. For this reason, you can more or less rule that out.
TouchID and a physical home button are almost guaranteed.
There’s always speculation around other form factors emerging too. Questions start being asked as to whether or not Apple will release an iPhone SE Plus or not. It’s extremely unlikely and I’d imagine Apple will keep things simple with a single phone launch.
iPhone SE Now With 5G
5G is blisteringly fast mobile internet for your phone. Perhaps the fastest thing about 5G is how quickly it became normal. I’d argue even more so than 4G did. This is down to the fact 4G was a game-changer, while no one really benefits from 5G. Or at least the jump to 5G just wasn’t as big as 4G was.
Ultimately, all this means is that customers are starting to expect 5G. Last year, Eir started to offer 5G for free to all customers. This left Apple in a bit of a bind. While both the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 support 5G, the iPhone SE 2020 only supports 4G.
In my humble opinion, I would guess that support for 5G is the primary reason Apple is launching a new iPhone SE. And this is why I’m convinced that the new iPhone SE will support 5G networks.
2022 iPhone SE To Feature A15 Bionic
Back when Apple launched the second iPhone SE, I was a bit surprised to see it feature the A13 Bionic Chip. At the time, this was the same chip that featured in the iPhone 11 which was just a few months old. Applying the same approach would mean Apple’s new iPhone SE should feature the A15 Bionic. That’s the same chip that features in their ultra flagship iPhone 13 Pro Max. It features in all of the iPhone 13 range, but powers the best of the best too.
It’s a great chip that strikes a balance between power and efficiency. In a phone like the new iPhone SE, it should be incredibly impressive.
You’ll be able to follow the full Apple event next Tuesday at 6PM Irish time.
So maybe we are going to get a new iPhone SE. I'm guessing…
📱 It'll look like the iPhone 8/current iPhone SE ☝️ TouchID will remain 🧠Will have A15 Bionic (same as iPhone 13) 🐰 5G support the main reason for revamp
— Marty | Gadget Reviews (@martinmeany) March 2, 2022
There are few things in this world I’m as protective towards as my Wordle streak. I’ve lost a streak once, purely because I missed a word one day. I survived the New York Times takeover and, today, have a streak of 55 games, 95% won and a current streak of 45. But my partner just changed her phone which left us with a dilemma, asking how do I transfer my Wordle stats to a new phone.
Transferring Wordle To A New Phone
You’re more than likely aware that Wordle isn’t an app, despite some clones appearing. To play the daily Wordle, you simply open the website in your mobile or desktop browser and play. The barrier is minimal, adding to the game’s appeal. But by being simple, there’s nothing to identify you or let you log in. The problem that brings is when you need to transfer to a new phone, browser or, for some other reason, after losing your stats.
Initially, it seemed that there was no solution here. Until I found a developer out there who has built a solution.
The Wordle Stat Transfer Tool developed by Seth Michael Larson
To use the tool, just open this website on your new device or fresh browser you want to use going forward. Enter the stats from your old device in the fields provided. Tick the box and tap “Import statistics into Wordle”.
That’s it. You’re done. It worked absolutely seamlessly for my partner’s phone.
How To Save Your Wordle Streak
This is great as long as you know your Wordle streak. If your phone was lost or stolen, you might have no idea what your stats are. So it’s a really good idea to either take regular screenshots of your Wordle stats or store them somewhere so you can look them up again.
Naturally, you could just enter anything into the fields within the tool. You could give yourself a perfect streak if you really wanted to. Just like, today, you could play Wordle on your laptop, then get your first guess right every day on your phone. Basically, if you have no honour!
Realistically, it doesn’t really matter if you lose your stats. The game is still a brilliant teaser to pass a few minutes with your morning coffee. Countless people around the world are enjoying it. But it’s good to know that if your streak is important to you, changing your phone doesn’t have to mean losing your streak.
The world is standing stunned right now as Russia has invaded Ukraine. Personally, I’ve never felt so European. I’ve never felt like something was happening to someone we have a shared connection with. I hate the idea of war. I hate the idea of dying for your country or that it should ever come to that. So, it sits uneasily with me that it’s now possible to donate directly to the Ukrainian army from abroad.
Yet I do feel like I want to support in some way. Supporting the Irish Red Cross is one way you can help. You can donate directly to the Irish Red Cross on their website. Revolut has also launched direct ways for you to support through their app’s Donations section.
How Does The Irish Red Cross Help Ukraine?
A tragic by-product of war is the displacement of civilians. Already, hundreds of thousands have fled Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine, seeking safety. The Red Cross is on the ground in Ukraine helping families with the basics they need. By donating to the Irish Red Cross Ukraine Appeal, you’re helping to repair Ukrainian infrastructure and supply health facilities, food and hygiene supplies to families that desperately need them.
How To Donate To The Irish Red Cross Ukraine Appeal
Humans are so weird, right? There’s a guy standing outside Heathrow Airport right now, filming planes trying to land during Storm Eunice. Ah, who am I kidding, that’s awesome viewing. And at the time of writing, over 165,000 other people in the world are watching too. They’re all tuning into Big Jet TV on YouTube Live, a channel for aviation enthusiasts.
Jerry Dyer is the man on the mic. “That is insane man” and “Get it down mate” are just some of the excellent quotes from him today. He’s calling out the plane models and the airlines and can spot the bigger ones going to have a tough time. He’s even keeping track of the planes that’ve gone around a few times.
Who knows what motivates us as humans to watch this, but it’s gripping viewing. The skill of the pilots on view is just amazing. Many have gone around and had to attempt landing several times. Three failed attempts and they have to divert. It’s the definition of pressure.
You can watch the Big Jet TV Livestream below. I’ve just watched a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 drift down the runway. In the words of Jerry, “that was insane man”. An eagle-eyed Twitter user grabbed a gif from that very landing!
It’s no secret that Halo Infinite, the latest installation in the now 20-year-old series has had a launch window full of ups and downs. From some classic game modes not being present or not working at all to a host of awful monetization practices there was every indication that this could be one of the worst positioned Halo games ever. However, in the two months since its launch, developers 343i have done an almost complete overhaul on every non-gameplay system the game has. So how is it now? Is it worth picking up if you haven’t got Gamepass? How does it fare when compared to the more venerated titles in the series like Halo 3 or Reach?
The Storm Before the Even Bigger Storm
Ever since Infinite was first revealed the community suspected there was going to be trouble. Initially poised to be a launch title for the Xbox Series consoles (I mean, Halo is Microsoft’s flagship franchise, how could it not be?) it was delayed indefinitely after a reveal event showed off less than next-gen graphics. Textures were off, lighting was all wrong, even the characters just didn’t look…right (just look at poor Craig here). After massive fan backlash 343i made the decision to hold off on launching the game in the state it was in. Bear in mind this was July of 2020 when the new Xbox console was due out in November. Units were in production, branding and packaging had been signed off on. This led to the awkward situation of Master Chief being on the box of Xbox consoles, but without a game to show for it. Yikes.
This is why you always have a Plan B. Always!
To give credit where credit’s due delaying the game was absolutely the right call, all unfortunate marketing aside. The game we got one year later looks absolutely stunning by any measure. There’s also something to be said for the fact that while they didn’t hit the Xbox launch window 343i was able to soft launch the game on the 20th anniversary of the franchise. I say soft launch because on the fifteenth of November we got the free-to-play multiplayer component, with the campaign set to launch in December.
What was our First Impression?
Initially, the game we got was lacking. While 343i tried to describe it as a large-scale beta test we were given a paltry six game modes to choose from and 10 maps to play those games on. This might be a good amount of content for some franchises but for something like Halo with 20 years of history it simply wasn’t enough. Especially when you consider the fact that Infinite was constantly billed as being the culmination of everything the series had done previously. The Halo series has seen 110 maps and over 20 different game modes in its time and for a game like Halo Infinite to include practically none of them is a bit of a tough pill to swallow for long-time fans. How much would you love to see Blood Gulch or Valhalla be included in the current offering?
How fun would it be to be launched out of those glorious man-cannons one more time?
Again, to be fair, the 343i PR team went into overdrive pretty quickly and promised that more playlists and game modes would be added soon (and they were) and that our patience would pay off. I personally take issue with this for one simple reason. This is a promise to fix a problem that with almost a year’s extra development time, seems to have been created intentionally. That statement is something that I see as being the unofficial motto of Halo Infinite.
The launch of the campaign rolled around, and the second bombshell was about to drop. While you could buy a physical edition of the game, there was no game data written to the disc. Essentially what this means is that when you inserted the disc into your console, you’d be prompted to download the game instead of transferring it from the disc to your Xbox hard drive. This means that if players have a poor internet connection or no connection, they can’t play Halo Infinite at all. I realise that these types of scenarios are few and far between, but they do exist, and I cannot think of why an alternative wasn’t considered.
343i have explained that this was necessary due to the split-launch of the Campaign and the Multiplayer aspect, but I fail to see how something like a “Campaign Only” disc or some other solution couldn’t be arranged. Again, this is a problem that seems to have been intentionally created to satisfy a launch window commitment (can you tell I’m building to something here?).
Pay Up to Level Up
I have never been shy about the fact that I think microtransactions are one of the worst things to happen to gaming. In my opinion, they are a greedy, predatory practice that exist only to pad the wallets of publishers at the expense of the players. This is why I believe the Halo Infinite store is currently its biggest problem.
At launch, players could expect to pay €10 for a single weapon skin or a pair of cat ears for their helmets with full armour sets coming in at even higher prices. They were charging players for colour swaps for their armour. Absolutely outrageous stuff.
Yes, that’s €20 for a single armour set.
Now there were freebies that could be unlocked by playing the game and progressing through the game’s Battle-Pass. Fair enough. Except, most of the time what you unlock for leveling up is an XP boost, or the ability to swap one of your weekly XP challenges. Or nothing. Seriously, if you reach level 39 you get nothing for doing so. Unless you pay! That’s right, Halo Infinite is the latest in a long line of games to feature a Premium Battle Pass for the low, low price of €10. Then you get far more content as well as a new template for your armour. Yes, 343i have locked the armour from Halo Reach (the second-best-selling Halo game to date) behind a paywall.
Now, in fairness, 343i have reduced their store prices by at least 50% across the board and have promised that we will be able to earn their in-game currency through gameplay when the next season rolls around in May. They have even suggested that players will be able to earn enough credits to buy the premium Battle Pass which would, honestly, be a happy medium for me. I realise that since the game is technically free to play, they can’t offer everything totally free for everyone but giving players the option to “buy or earn” is appreciated. However (sing it with me) this is a solution to a problem that seems to have been created by the publishers in order to wring more money out of the player base.
So as things stand, if I can only earn a limited number of cosmetics, and 343 have made it very clear that I should pay up or shut up then why do I bother to play this game at all?
Yeah, Why Bother Playing?
Because it’s fun. Seriously, like, outrageously fun. This is, hands down, the best Halo gameplay I have ever experienced. And I’ve been around since the beginning! The movement speed is spot on, the gunplay is as tight and precise as ever, the Warthog and Mongoose still bounce around as if they have tyres made of bedsprings. The in-match experience has been refined to near perfection and it truly does feel like the culmination of those two decades of work. Halo 2 helped put online gaming on the map and Infinite has shown up to make sure the floundering Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises that they’re just there to keep the throne warm.
I’ve spent many a night with my friends roaring into my microphone to gloat about sniping someone with the Skewer. I’ve sweated buckets in a close match of SWAT. I’ve raged at being the last man to die in a match of Team Slayer. I haven’t felt this way about a Halo game in over a decade and for Infinite to elicit those feelings makes it truly special to me.
How it all Comes Together
Note I said the gameplay has been tuned to “near perfection”. There are one or two things that bug me. There’s no collision detection between Spartans, for one so, you can pretty much phase through an ally or enemy player as opposed to bumping into them. That one’s just weird and annoying. Another issue I’ve seen is that the plasma pistol, a mainstay of the series, no longer paralyzes a vehicle with a fully charged shot. This has always been the way so why change it now? Well, it’s because there’s a new sidearm called the Disruptor which is a fully automatic pistol that can disable vehicles. This right here is everything wrong with this game. 343i seems to have created a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist, necessitating them to create a problem in the first place so the solution can stand on its own.
Behold! The symbol of 343i’s greed!
Why not get rid of the disruptor and let the plasma pistol keep doing its thing? Why not have launched the store with low prices in the first place? Why not launch the game with a handful of game modes or maps from other games in the series? Why not aim to make the game as good as it possibly can be for the players? The game isn’t on-disc because the multiplayer component is free to play. The multiplayer is free to play so items can be expensive. The battle-pass is threadbare to encourage players to cough up their money. This is all a cycle we’ve seen before and we’ll no doubt see it again. Charge players for content that used to be free and drip feed that content to create an artificial sense of longevity for your product (I’m not saying for a second that Infinite wouldn’t have longevity if everything dropped on day one, to be clear) all the while slowly siphoning more and more money away from the players.
Old Man Yells at Cloud
At this point I know that I sound like a grumpy old man, complaining about how things have changed and how I don’t like it. The reality is, though, I am a grumpy old man. At least in gaming terms. There are 16-year-olds who are playing Infinite who have only known a landscape like this. To whom the notion of playing a game to earn content or just getting it for free at launch is completely foreign. There are returning veterans who are just too tired to care about it and don’t think twice about buying stuff like that. Remember when $5 Horse Armour in Oblivion was literally the biggest controversy in gaming? That’s literally been going on for over a decade now and it’s become normal, if not regarded as a pretty good deal. This is just how things are now, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it!
Pictured: Me
So, do I dislike or even hate Halo Infinite? No. Not one bit. I fucking love this game, and that’s why I’m so harsh on it. I don’t care that CoD is doing the exact same thing from a monetisation and content standpoint. I don’t care that Battlefield is totally broken. I don’t even care that GTAV is still making money hand over fist from Shark Cards 9 years after launch. I don’t care about those games at all. But to see something you love come so tantalisingly close to perfection only to get distracted by the promise of riches does hurt a little.
I got into a wee discussion with someone on Twitter this week. Despite being an iPhone user, they were looking for wireless earbuds that weren’t AirPods. Yep, there are tech users out there like that. I’m one of them. Sure, I’ve used Mac for years, grabbed an iPad and even moved to iPhone, but I’ve never found the Apple Watch and AirPods appealing. If you’re looking for the best alternative to AirPods, Huawei and OPPO offer some of the best audio accessories. I’ve been testing out the incredible OPPO Enco X and here’s why they should be on your shortlist if looking around the shops of Ireland.
Excellent Audio
I’ve got a few things to cover here, but I better start with the audio. From making calls, both on the phone and laptop, to listening to music on a flight or in the gym, the OPPO Enco X are excellent. Tech companies know that alignment with big brands works, so OPPO has been smart here. They’ve teamed up with Danish company Dynaudio to show they’re taking sound seriously. Think Huawei teaming up with Leica for their lenses; this is a similar level of wow partnerships.
There I am now, wearing the OPPO Enco X
No matter what I threw at the buds, came out clean and powerful. Clarity is maintained because you don’t have to crank up the volume. This is all down to some great noise cancelling.
Indeed, noise cancelling in buds has come a long way in a relatively short period of time. While over-ear cans still dominate in terms of being the absolute best, buds like the Enco X offer a great, lightweight alternative.
Actually, I’m going to take this opportunity to move on to design. Just be sure the sound quality is nothing to worry about.
Near Perfect Design
I think the goal for tech is to get to a point where you don’t even know you’re using it. For example, with a pair of buds, it should feel, in the words of Ned Flanders, like wearing nothing at all. The OPPO Enco X nail this. I remember the first time popping them into my ears and just having this amazing feeling of nothing. That might be hard to understand without feeling it, but OPPO clearly went through pains to ensure these buds were incredibly well designed.
Everything about these earbuds is neat and tidy
One of the key reasons they feel great in the ears is the simple fact that the Enco X buds weigh just 4.8g each. What really surprised me is that they’re heavier than the Huawei Freebuds 4, but somehow feel lighter. I’m putting this down to just how secure the buds feel in your ear. You can really just forget the buds are there and get on with your life.
The buds come in a neat little charging case too, which is wireless charging compatible as standard; a nice inclusion. Battery life is respectable too. While it falls short of OPPO’s advertised specs, I was easily getting 4 hours of ANC use from my buds, but I was pairing them with iPhone which can use the battery quicker.
They’re also IP54-rated which means they’ll survive getting caught in the rain or a bit of sweat getting on them.
A Great AirPod Alternative?
The basics work well. Bluetooth 5.2 means, at the very least, you get a solid connection. I do think the iPhone to Enco X connection drained the battery a little faster than you would experience with Android. It’s also a pity that there’s no dual connection option here. In a world where I’m listening to music on my laptop when my phone could ring at any second, it’s nice to not worry about my buds. I couldn’t get any such thing to work on the OPPO Enco X and to the best of my knowledge, it’s not possible.
But at the end of the day, why are you buying earbuds? Verdict time.
OPPO Enco X: Verdict
These are the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever worn. They work really well with every gadget I have, from iPhone and Android to iPad and laptop, or even my new Oculus Quest 2. I can’t fault them on the basics of great sound, decent battery, solid connectivity and great comfort.
They’re also available on the high street in Ireland. They are available in Eir stores, nationwide, for €169. While it’s a bit on the pricey side, considering we’re in the “best alternatives to AirPods” price range, these are a good price.
