First announced earlier this year, OPPO’s Find X5 series of flagship phones are now available to pre-order locally ahead of its 19 April release date.
OPPO’s new smartphones with 256GB of onboard storage begin at $799 for the budget model Find X5 Lite, $1,399 for the mid-tier option Find X5, while the range-topping Find X5 Pro will cost $1,799. The Find X5 series supersedes last year’s impressive family of OPPO Find X3 phones.
The Find X5 series is a significant upgrade for 2022, introducing an improved night photography experience. Headlined by the Chinese manufacturer’s MariSilicon X Neural Processing Unit (NPU) technology, the Find X5 phones will be able to process RAW images in real time and shoot high-quality 4K resolution video at night with far less grain and distortion.
High-end features
The high end OPPO Find X5 Pro uses the latest generation multicore Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor with 12GB of RAM, designed to handle high-performance apps and games. Its 5000mAh dual-cell battery reportedly has an 11% capacity increase over the Find X3 Pro, and can be charged from near-empty to 50% in 12 minutes, with a full wireless charge possible in 47 minutes.
The Find X5 Pro’s ceramic case comes in white or black
The Find X5 Pro’s 6.7-inch curved AMOLED screen features a WQHD+ resolution capable of displaying more than 1 billion colours. With the phone’s back made from premium ceramic material – available in either Ceramic White or Glaze Black – the handset is splash, water and dust resistant with an IP68 rating. Among the pre-order bonuses available for the Find X5 Pro is an OPPO AIRVOOC Charger, which is required for fast wireless charging.
OPPO’s Find X5 and Find X5 Lite
Meanwhile, the Find X5 also sports the dual IMX766 rear camera system featured on the Pro model, using Sony’s advanced 50-megapixel sensors and the MariSilicon X imaging NPU. The mid-level Find X5 has 8GB of RAM, a 6.5-inch 120Hz billion-colour display and supports 80W SUPERVOOC charging in addition to 30W AIRVOOC wireless charging. It will ship with a matte version of the Ceramic White and Glaze Black found on the Pro.
The Find X5 in Ceramic White
Slightly smaller still, the more affordable Find X5 Lite has a 6.4-inch 90Hz display. It does not include the MariSilicon X NPU technology or support for wireless charging, although it does contain 8GB of RAM like the Find X5 and has two unique colour options: Starry Black and Startrails Blue.
Looks are subjective, but the navy leather and copper accents of the Focal Celestee High-Fidelity Reference Closed-Back Dynamic Headphones are one of the most handsome meetings of bling and classic that we’ve seen.
Left casually on your desk, passers-by might be led to admire your sophistication and even be tempted to touch the semi-aniline softness the Celestee’s earcups and headband. The desire to try them on would be irresistible, and the sensation would be like slipping into silk sheets….
OK, so we’re slightly crushing on the Focal Celestee, but these headphones remind us that superb build quality and materials can be inspiring. Just like the music they’ve been created for.
Of course, cost is subjective too, and while economical compared to the French audio brand’s flagship $5500 Utopia headphones, the Celestee are still spendy at $1399. So here’s why they might be worth it… and how you might justify them to yourself or your other half.
Reference quality and spec
The Celestee are a ‘reference’ headphone, like those used by professional sound mixers and designers. Unlike most mass market headphones which boost or ‘colour’ frequencies to appeal to listening tastes, the Celestee are designed to have a neutral sound; they should add nothing to the sound and take nothing away. The goal is to reproduce sound that’s authentic to the original source, so that what you hear sounds like it did when was recorded in the studio or at the live performance.
Full range 40mm magnesium/aluminium drivers provide reference-level performance
Fundamental to delivering this are the Focal’s 2x full-range 40mm electrodynamic drivers, designed and manufactured by the company in France. The driver’s magnesium/aluminium alloy cone combines rigidity and damping qualities to reduce distortion, with the company claiming a linear frequency response from 5Hz up to 23 kHz. Focal describes the sound as “clean, precise and with good bass extension”.
Wired for hi-res sound
With the emphasis on performance, you’d expect a cabled connection from Celestee to an audio source – and you’d be right. While Bluetooth has improved, its high-resolution cred is limited, and wireless transmission still suffers from stutters, drop-outs and interference. That’s no way to enjoy music, especially a library of FLAC, AAC and WAV files. For critical music listening at CD quality and higher, only wired will do.
For connecting to sources, Focal supplies the Celestee with a 3.5mm to stereo RCA cable sheathed in matching navy plastic. To our minds, the 1.2m cable is too short for desk listening, so consider adding an extension cord. A screw-on 3.5 to 6.35mm adaptor is also supplied.
Connect your source
With 35 ohm impedance, the Celestee will be an easy load for low-powered devices such as mobile phones and portable digital players. If your device doesn’t export high-resolution audio, connecting the headphones through a DAC (such as the Astell&Kern AK30) will help make the most of 192 kHz/24-bit streaming from the likes of Tidal and Apple Music.
Oh, and like most reference-grade kit, the Celestee will benefit from a running-in period to stabilise the speaker drivers and get the best performance. This will happen naturally over several hours of play, according to Focal, but you can speed the process by “playing bassy music through them for 24 hours at high volume”.
A 3.5mm-to-RCA cable connects to portable devices, DACs and audio sources (Google Pixel and Naim Mu-So 2 pictured).
Fit and portability
Of course, headphones are all about personal listening and the Celestee’s circum-aural design allows an almost perfect seal around the ears so that there’s no sound leakage and external noise doesn’t intrude.
Unboxing reveals a travel case containing headphones, 1.2m RCA cable and 6.35mm adaptor.
The headband and aluminium yoke have a nice amount of flex, and the fit is firm and comfortable. At 430 grams, they may be a bit hefty for extended wear, so it would be a good idea to test this instore. While the Celestee doesn’t fold, the supplied zip-up travel case has a carry handle or you can pop it into a backpack when you need to be on the move.
And now, what about that name? It’s made-up, but with the Celestee’s night-sky and shimmery colourway, there’s a clear ‘celestial’ connection. Heavenly indeed.
Featuring the largest display of any Amazon smart home assistant to date, the Echo Show 15 is now available for purchase from Australian retailers starting at $399.
Eclipsing the 10.1-inch display size of the Echo Show 10, the Echo Show 15 features a 15.6-inch 1080p Full HD screen and a 5-megapixel camera. Built using Amazon’s next-gen AZ2 Neural Edge processor, the Echo Show 15 is able to take advantage of machine learning technology to provide facial recognition features.
One recent addition made possible by this neural technology is Visual ID. Through the Echo Show 15’s camera, Alexa can recognise individual household members and personalise the display accordingly. This includes custom greetings, showing calendar reminders and recently streamed content specific to each person.
For privacy-conscious users concerned about data collection, Visual ID is entirely opt-in, and the Echo Show 15 includes a physical camera shutter alongside controls to disable the camera and microphone.
Like other Echo Show devices, the latest model’s display doubles as a touchscreen, offering several different input options. Unlike the Echo Show 10 (3rd Gen), this model does not rotate and follow you around the room. That could be seen as a selling point for anyone a bit creeped out by an omniscient all-seeing assistant.
As for entertainment, the Echo Show 15 is capable of streaming TV shows and movies from Amazon Prime Video and Netflix, in addition to playing music, podcasts and audiobooks. It also functions as a digital photo frame, with the option to display images from Amazon Photos and various pre-loaded galleries.
You can set the Alexa Show 15 up on a stand (sold separately) or wall-mount it
Along with its framed exterior, the Echo Show 15 is designed to be either mounted to a wall or placed on a counter, with both portrait and landscape orientations supported. To help prop the device up when not mounted, a bundle including a tilt stand is available direct from Amazon for $448.95.
Intended for use in highly-trafficked areas like the kitchen, the Echo Show 15 appears to offer an all-in-one smart assistant option for busy families.
Scammers are targeting previous victims with a spate of ‘money recovery scams’, often posing as law enforcement in order to trick victims into handing over even more money as part of their supposed ongoing investigation.
Recovery scammers pose as trusted organisations such as fraud taskforces, government agencies and law firms. They aim to elicit an up-front payment from victims in return for help with recovering their lost money. Many scammers rely on official-looking websites, providing fake testimonials from other victims they have supposedly helped.
Australians have lost more than $270,000 to money recovery scams so far this year, an increase of 301 per cent, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Scamwatch.
Scammers ask for money and personal information before offering to help the victim but, once they have the money, they disappear and cease all contact, says ACCC deputy chair Delia Rickard.
“Money recovery scams are particularly nasty as they target scam victims again,” Rickard says.
“These scams can lead to significant psychological distress, as many of the people have already lost money or identity information.”
Along with an up-front payment, scammers often ask victims to fill out fake paperwork and provide identity documents – putting them at risk of identity theft.
Another tactic is to contact people who haven’t actually been a victim of a scam, and convince them that they’ve unknowingly been involved in one and are entitled to a settlement refund.
People should never give financial details or copies of identity documents to anyone who they have never met in person, nor should they grant strangers remote access to their devices, Rickard says.
“If you get contacted out of the blue by someone offering to help recover scam losses for a fee, it is a scam,” Rickard says. “Hang up the phone, delete the email and ignore any further contacts.”
“Scammers can be very convincing and one way to spot them is to search online for the name of the organisation who contacted you with words like ‘complaint’, ‘scam’ or ‘review’.”
People who have lost money to a scam should contact their bank or financial institution as soon as possible. Financial institutions may be able to find where the money was sent, block the scam accounts and help others to avoid sending money to scammers.
If people are not happy with the response from their financial institution, they can make a complaint to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority – a free and independent dispute resolution service.
Brimming with speakers and packed with features, the Hisense U5120G Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Sound Bar aims to give your lounge room an audio overhaul.
While it’s great to enjoy movies at home which sound as good as they look, not everyone has the budget or the space for a complete home theatre surround sound system with a room full of speakers. That’s where a soundbar can come to your rescue, significantly beefing up the sound from your television without taking over the room.
The latest generation of soundbars do their best to replicate full surround sound, thanks to support for the latest high-end audio formats and the inclusion of extra built-in speakers. This includes up-firing and side-firing speakers, to create a more immersive soundstage and create a sense of height.
The Hisense U5120G Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Sound Bar combines all of this to help bring movie night to life.
Review: Hisense U5120G Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Sound Bar
You can read other GadgetGuy Hisense news and reviews here
First impressions
At 1200 mm wide, the Hisense U5120G Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Sound Bar is designed to sit on the benchtop in front of your television, or mount on the wall below it. It requires power and a connection back to your television, but the wireless subwoofer helps reduce the number of cables running around your lounge room.
Hisense hasn’t skimped when it comes to connectivity. You’ll find two HDMI inputs for connected devices like disc players and streaming boxes, along with an HDMI output which carries the picture through to your television. It can pass-through 4K HDR video, along with CEC and IR commands.
There’s also support for eARC, so if you’re watching video using a Smart TV app like Netflix, the television can pass the audio back along the HDMI cable to the soundbar. Support for high-end surround sound formats includes Dolby Atmos, Dolby THD, DTS-X and DTS-HD Master.
Apart from HDMI, the soundbar features optical and coax digital inputs. You’ll also find Bluetooth and USB for streaming from external devices, but there are no built-in streaming services or support for smart assistants like Google Assistant or Amazon’s Alexa.
The soundbar comes with wall mounting brackets, plus there is support for optional extra rear speakers to further fill out the sound (which weren’t supplied with the review unit).
Hisense U5120G Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Sound Bar Specs
Dimensions
Soundbar 1200 × 73 × 113 mm
Subwoofer 250 × 355 × 338 mm
Speakers
Woofers 50 mm
Tweeters 20 mm
Subwoofer 45 mm
Peak power
Soundbar 30W × 11, Total 330W
Subwoofer 180W
Total 510W
Sound modes
Movie, Music, News, Night, Sport, Game, AI EQ
Connectivity
HDMI In x2, HDMI Out x1, Bluetooth 4.2 (A2DP, AVRCP), USB 2.0
An exploded view reveals where the Hisense U5120G hides all those speakers.
Features
As a “5.1.2” soundbar, the U5120G aims to replicate the sound of a traditional home theatre system, with left/right/centre front speakers and left/right rear speakers. The subwoofer accounts for the .1, while the .2 refers to two up-firing speakers to take advantage of the height element incorporated into some formats like Dolby Atmos.
The 5 and the .2 and all squeezes in the soundbar, relying on a combination of 11 tweeters and woofers pointing in different directions. Naturally, it doesn’t sound as good as having seven separate speakers spread around the room.
The width of the soundbar offers a good separation between three front speakers to create a wide soundstage, Yet even with the extra speakers bouncing sound off the walls and ceiling, you don’t get the same effect as having physical speakers above and behind you. That’s the compromise that soundbars make.
While the Hisense U5120G Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Sound Bar offers a range of sound modes, it also optimises the sound thanks to Eilex PRISM. This equalises acoustic power volume density frequency (APVD) response and corrects time and phase alignment errors of a speaker system, in an effort to provide true-to-original sound with the highest musicality and clarity.
You can also adjust the audio delay to ensure it is in sync with the picture.
It’s worth noting that the remote control is a bit of a design fail. The glare from its glossy coating makes it very difficult to read the tint, faint writing under the buttons.
Quality
Put to the test, initially the bass was extremely low when listening to the music in movie soundtracks, such as the moving car fight scene in Deadpool and the foyer fight scene in The Matrix. Thankfully, a firmware update provided by Hisense addressed this.
Now, the subwoofer packs a punch. As a result, the soundbar really brings Dolby Atmos soundtracks to life, offering a rich sound with plenty of depth and detail in the action scenes. When the pace slows down, dialogue is sharp and clear.
When it comes to Atmos’ sense of height, I turned to the B-24 bombing raid in Unbroken. Those upwards-firing speakers do the job, although the sense of height isn’t as distinct as other 5.1.2 soundbars I’ve tested – like the admittedly more expensive LG SJ9, LG SL10YG, Samsung HW-Q90R and Sonos Arc which were all north of $1000 in their day.
It’s worth noting they’re all heavyweight 500W+ systems like the Hisense, but the others still manage to deliver more than the 30W per speaker coming from this Hisense soundbar.
Standard Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks don’t fare quite as well, sounding a tad flat. Naturally they don’t sound as good as Atmos, but I’ve heard other soundbars do a better job of enhancing Dolby Digital to bring it to life.
GadgetGuy’s take
The Hisense U5120G Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Sound Bar ticks a lot of boxes in terms of features for a sub-$1000 soundbar. In return, it delivers decent sound for a mid-range 5.1.2 system and would make a solid addition to your average lounge room. That said, if you have an ear for detail, you might look to spend a bit more for a high-end soundbar which can better-deliver on Atmos’ immersive sense of height.
Would I buy it?
No, not if my budget would stretch a bit further.
HISENSE U5120G DOLBY ATMOS 5.1.2 SOUND BAR
Ticking a lot of boxes in terms of features in the sub-$1000 category, the Hisense U5120G Dolby Atmos 5.1.2 Sound Bar could make for a sound investment.
Features
8
Value for money
8
Performance
8
Ease of use
7
Design
8
Positives
5.1.2 sound
Dolby Atmos and DTS X
Dual HDMI pass-through
Negatives
Falls short upscaling
Dolby Digital 5.1 Dolby Atmos sense of height is mediocre
