TechRadar Reviews

Keychron M6 8K review

The Keychron M6 8K intrigued me when I first laid eyes on it. The resemblance to Logitech’s MX Master mouse is immediately apparent. I’ve used one iteration or another of Logitech's flagship productivity mouse every day for the last three years; I don’t even want to know how many hours I’ve clocked up with one in hand. Let’s be real, Keychron hasn’t even tried to be sneaky about copying its homework. At $69.99 / £74.99 / AU$129, however, it does set itself apart because that’s nigh-on half the price of an MX Master 4.

For that money you still get the same general ergonomic shape with a sizable thumb rest, a horizontal scroll wheel, and a multi-function scroll wheel. At first glance, the body looks quite sizable, but it isn’t actually quite as chunky as some other ergonomic mice and I found myself shifting from my usual full palm grip into more of a hybrid fingertip-claw arrangement. It’s comfortable, but personally, it wasn’t quite as comfortable over longer work sessions as it would have been if I was able to fully grab the mouse with confidence. But mouse grip is a subjective thing, so I won’t hold it against the M6.

Build quality is generally good. Nothing creaks or flexes across the ABS shell; it just doesn’t quite carry the premium edge of some more expensive competitors. The matte coating across the entire mouse feels pleasant enough and handles fingerprints well, and it’s available in your choice of white or black.

At 86g, the Keychron M6 8K is one of, if not the lightest full-body ergonomic mice you’ll find on the market and this is apparent in general use. For reference, the M6 8K is just over half the weight of the MX Master 4 and felt noticeably hollow and almost insubstantial by comparison. Anyone transitioning from a lighter or gaming mouse will likely find this change less stark, but to me it lacked the reassuring density and planted feel a heavier weight brings.

The Huano Silent Micro switches do keep things quiet and have a noticeably soft feel to them. I found them a little mushy overall though, and on a few occasions I experienced what I think were missed inputs. I’m not entirely sure whether I'd actually physically fired a click that didn’t register on the switch, or that I’d failed to properly trigger the switch at all, but it seemed like I had to go back for another go every now and then.

Visually the upgraded metal scroll wheel is a nice touch and it comes with pleasantly clicky lateral inputs too. As you’d expect for a productivity mouse, there’s a free-scroll mode, which is useful for navigating long documents or pages but the experience isn’t as sleek as the one Logitech offers on the MX Master.

The scroll wheel is surprisingly loud in ratcheted mode, while the toggle button for switching to free-scroll is positioned too far back and requires quite a bit of force to activate. That’s good for preventing accidental switches, but it meant I found myself completely ignoring the free-scroll feature rather than repositioning my entire hand to reach the toggle. The MX Master's automatic switching between modes is a feature I didn't realize I relied on so heavily until it was gone, though that’s also the kind of feature that doubles the price of a product, I guess.

(Image credit: Future)

Within thumb’s reach on the side of the mouse are a horizontal wheel and a pair of additional buttons. This second wheel is really nicely positioned; close enough to need no thought to move your thumb to, but far enough out of the way to avoid accidentally rolling — though I'll admit I'm not much of a side-scroller on any mouse and didn't get much actual use out of it.

That pleasant positioning is also true of the two side buttons, which would usually be forward and back by default, though these don’t register at all in Safari. Both are fine in Edge and this isn't necessarily a Keychron-specific issue, as macOS has long been finicky with third-party mouse inputs. But other brands have cracked the code so it's a shame to see it missing here.

Where the M6 8K genuinely impresses and pulls ahead of more expensive rivals is in sensor performance. The PixArt PAW3950 meant the M6 8K tracked flawlessly across every surface I tested, including a desk mat, solid wood, my leg, the sofa, and even a glass window. Got a funny look from my neighbor checking that one. Keychron claims glass tracking at 4mm minimum thickness, and it delivered so no concerns for glass desk users.

DPI can be adjusted from 100 to 30,000 and polling rate from 125 to 8,000Hz, numbers that extend the Keychron M6 8K from just a productivity mouse into a genuine gaming option. At the higher end of those settings and coupled with the light overall weight, the M6 becomes super responsive and should keep up with every flick during intense gaming sessions. I settled on 1,200 DPI and 1,000Hz polling for daily work, which felt perfectly sharp. Both settings can be adjusted on the fly through customizable presets using physical buttons on the mouse, which is a great touch, or you can use the Keychron Launcher web app for more granular control.

That browser-based configuration software was a surprise highlight for me. It's feature-rich, cleanly laid out, and very familiar if you've used Keychron's keyboards. Personalization features like button remapping, sensor settings, macros, lift-off distance, and scroll acceleration are all accessible without installing a single background process. You can also check battery levels here, though you won’t need to do this often — it seems to sip on its 800mAh battery, so it’ll be weeks between charges at reasonable settings.

As if it’s come straight from certain German supermarket chains, the Keychron M6 8K is a good dupe of a more expensive mouse. It does a lot of things well, but perhaps most importantly, it’s at a price that lets you forgive the things that aren’t quite so good. The scroll wheel lacks the refinement of Logitech's implementation, the clicks can feel a little mushy, and Safari users will miss having a working back button. But the feel is great, the sensor is superb, the battery life is excellent, and the web app is near best-in-class for the segment. If you can't justify the MX Master 4's asking price, this is where you should look instead.

Keychron M6 8K review: Price & release date

• The Keychron M6 8K has a list price of $69.99 / £74.99 / AU$129
• It's often discounted, both directly from Keychron and via retailers
• It's available in black or white

At $69.99 / £74.99 / AU$129, the Keychron M6 8K significantly undercuts the Logitech MX Master 4 ($119.99 / £119.99 / AU$199) that it’s clearly inspired by. You’ll find it both on Keychron’s own web store and from retailers, and it’s worth keeping an eye out for sales as I often saw it discounted while writing this piece. Make sure you’re picking up the right variant too. There’s also an M6 with a less responsive 1K sensor, though if you don't need 8K polling, you could save even more.

(Image credit: Future)Keychron M6 8K review: Specs

Sensor

PixArt PAW3950

DPI

100 - 30,000

Polling Rate

125 - 8,000Hz

Connectivity

Wired, Bluetooth, 2.4GHz Wireless

Switches

Huano Silent Micro

Weight

86g

Battery

800mAh (up to 120 hours at 1KHz)

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Keychron M6 8K?

Attribute

Notes

Score

Features

Dual scroll wheels and free-scroll mode, 8K polling, and tri-mode connectivity. The browser-based Launcher software is excellent.

4.5 / 5

Performance

Sensor tracking is flawless across surfaces including glass. Battery life is very strong at sensible settings. Silent switches are slightly mushy with occasional missed clicks.

4 / 5

Design

Ergonomic shape that's comfortable enough, but the lightweight feel and scroll wheel let it down.

3.5 / 5

Value

At roughly half the price of the MX Master 4, the M6 8K offers a remarkable amount of hardware for the money.

4.5 / 5

Buy it if…

You want MX Master features without the MX Master price
The M6 8K replicates most of Logitech's ergonomic productivity formula at nearly half the cost, and throws in 8K polling and a gaming-grade sensor for good measure.

You hate installing mouse software
Keychron Launcher runs entirely in the browser with no background processes. Configure everything you need, close the window, and forget about it.

You work and play on the same machine
The M6 8K’s sensor is equally at home slowly scrolling a spreadsheet as it is ramping up sensitivity for a quick firefight on your lunch break.

Don’t buy it if…

You jump between scroll modes often
The M6 8K's metal wheel is a little wobbly, its ratchet mode is loud, and the manual toggle for free-scroll is awkward to reach. If the scroll wheel is the feature you use most, spend more on the Logitech MX Master as it’s still in a league of its own.

You prefer a heavier, more planted mouse
At 86g, the M6 8K is noticeably light and will catch you off guard if you’re used to something with more heft. If you like your mouse to feel substantial and anchored on the desk, this featherweight approach won't suit you.

Keychron M6 8K review: Also consider

Logitech MX Master 4
The mouse that the M6 8K is clearly duping. It costs significantly more at $119.99 / £119.99, but you get Logitech's class-leading MagSpeed scroll wheel with automatic mode switching, superior build quality, the new haptic touch panel, and deep OS integration through Options+. If budget isn't the primary concern, it's still the productivity mouse to beat. Read our full Logitech MX Master 4 review.

MSI Versa 300 Wireless 8K
If gaming is more your focus, the MSI Versa 300 Wireless 8K ($99.99 / £59.99) offers a similar PixArt sensor and 8K polling in a lighter 66g symmetrical shell that's better suited to competitive play. It lacks the M6 8K's productivity features like the horizontal scroll wheel and thumb rest, but it's a strong pick for users who split their time between work and gaming. Read our full MSI Versa 300 Wireless 8K review.

(Image credit: Future)How I tested the Keychron M6 8K

• I used the M6 8K as a daily productivity mouse over multiple weeks, replacing my Logitech MX Master 4
• I tested across multiple surfaces including a desk mat, solid wood, skin, and glass
• I tested all three connectivity modes and evaluated the Keychron Launcher software on macOS

I used the Keychron M6 8K as my mouse for all tasks for a couple of weeks. It was primarily a direct productivity replacement for my daily-driver Logitech MX Master 4, so I used it across extended work sessions on macOS. My testing covered general workflows, gaming, surface tracking across varied materials, and multi-device connectivity. I evaluated the Keychron Launcher software for configuration depth and usability.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: July 2026

The latest installment in Nintendo’s weird and wacky rhythm game franchise has finally landed with Rhythm Heaven Groove (known as Rhythm Paradise Groove in PAL regions). It’s a game that sticks closely to its foundations: there’s a simplistic control scheme, cartoonish art style, and a set of frankly surreal levels to sift through.

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch
Available on: Nintendo Switch (also playable on Nintendo Switch 2)
Release date: July 2, 2026

That’s not to say that Rhythm Heaven Groove brings nothing new to the table, however. There are plenty of multiplayer minigames available, and there’s a new single player mode called Beatspell, which riffs on the RPG genre.

So, is the mix of classic Rhythm Heaven charm and new content enough to place this entry among the best Nintendo Switch games? Here are my thoughts after hours upon hours of testing my skills.

More of the same — but not in a bad way

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Let me begin by laying my cards on the table. I’m a long-time fan of the Rhythm Heaven series, and have poured a ton of hours into perfecting my timing on Rhythm Heaven (DS) and my personal favorite Rhythm Heaven Fever on the Wii.

I’m a sucker for the zany characters and goofy set of circumstances they find themselves in — whether that be dancing in tandem with a group of shrimp or playing badminton with a dog while piloting an airplane (yes, really).

And I’d argue that Nintendo — alongside codeveloper TNX — has re-created what made the series special effectively in Rhythm Heaven Groove. It’s a lot more of the same stuff we got before, but that’s by no means a bad thing.

A lot of the absurdism has been retained, and whether I was playing as a frog and launching my amphibian brethren off a lily pad or bouncing lemons off by biceps as a hard-core gym bro, I felt that the unorthodox appeal of what came before was still alive and breathing on Nintendo Switch.

Levels are, on the whole, pretty memorable, and while I found some to be less compelling — like using a massive hammer to crush cans, or sweeping the floor as part of a four-piece pop band — there’s plenty of personality, vibrant colors, and eccentric character designs to marvel at.

In the core solo levels, there’s a decent amount of variety too, even with the music, which spans a variety of genres, tempos, and styles. I found myself bopping my head to the tunes in Alien Alphabet — a level where you have to communicate with a chatty extra-terrestrial — as well as Hop N Slide — where you play as a computerised creature that has to jump and duck through hurdles — among many others.

If you want, you can even listen to the tracks in the Sound Studio menu, which fills out as you play through the game’s varying levels.

Best bit

(Image credit: Nintendo)

I loved a lot of the core levels, but my favorite was Ribbit Rocket. I loved blasting other frogs into the stratosphere with my lily pad-launching skills. The vibrant environment, giant frog in the backdrop, and varied tempo of incoming amphibians kept things feeling fresh both visually and rhythmically.

But let’s talk a bit about gameplay, something that there’s understandably little to discuss around. Like its predecessors, Rhythm Heaven Groove keeps things outrageously simple.

Whatever mode you’re playing, you just have to press buttons — sometimes even just one — in time with the beat. Controls are responsive and there are visual and audio cues that help you to nail your timing. You’ll either get your rhythm spot on, a little off, or straight up wrong, and this will determine how well you do in a particular level or minigame.

In the main single player levels, you can earn medals by hitting almost every note faultlessly, and this really brought the perfectionist out of me. I felt almost compelled to get a medal in every level, including the remixes, which combine multiple levels together in one brilliant collage.

You occasionally get the option to go for Perfect in some stages, which can earn you an in-game reward. This can be infuriating — but in a way that’s addictive and oh-so satisfying when you pull off a flawless run.

One minor gripe I have is that there’s no option to restart within a level when going for Perfect. For some reason, you have to jump back to the main menu, re-enter and try again. It’s a minor frustration, sure, but when you’re trying to get in the zone it can feel a tad grating.

Speaking of menus, I was slightly surprised to find that they were quite bland. The main menu is just a list, there’s little visual flair or intrigue about it. Again, this is a nit-pick, but for such a vivid and charismatic title, I expected something a little less rudimentary.

The new stuff: the good, the bad, and everything in between

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Right, so despite a couple of small things, the core single player experience is very enjoyable in Rhythm Heaven Groove. But what new stuff can you sink your teeth into.

Well, perhaps the highest profile addition is the aforementioned Beatspell mode, which takes visual and gameplay inspiration from classic RPGs. By entering varying commands at different rhythms, you’re able to cast a handful of spells, including fire and water attacks, healing, and more. You must use your magic to defeat basic monsters as well as bosses, which have varying weaknesses and attack patterns.

You can level up your spells as you progress through each level, although these are reset at the beginning of each new area. It’s a neat idea, and I personally preferred to pour my points into attacking spells to defeat enemies faster — which helps you earn bonus points for a better star rating at the end of each segment. While beating your enemies is pretty easy, getting a high star rating requires consistently good timing, especially later into the campaign.

However, I wouldn’t say that Beatspell is the strongest mode ever. The levels feel pretty repetitive, and the narrative throughout the campaign failed to capture my interest. It’s very basic, and it doesn’t quite have the same quirky feel that the core levels exude.

Sure, there’s a bit more variation in terms of gameplay — you’re not restricted to one or two basic inputs and can approach levels how you see fit, but the music and enemies I encountered felt less charismatic than what the series typically delivers, making me less enthused about returning to levels and perfecting my score.

(Image credit: Nintendo)

Still, some of the new additions show promise, and when my talented colleague and TechRadar Gaming Editor, Dash Wood, played the multiplayer minigames, he had an absolute blast. We loved everything here, from the catchy tunes through to the charming visuals and competitive feel, and I’m definitely going to be forcing a few friends and family members to duke it out with me.

There are more modes too, including Drum Lesson, the experimental Rhythm Toy Mode, and the Café, where you can take a break and receive tips. All in all, there’s plenty of ways to enjoy the beat-based fun in Rhythm Heaven Groove, and although I didn’t love Beatspell, the core experience alone had enough content to keep me entertained.

I liked most of the new additions overall, then, although I wasn’t a huge fan of the narrator, named Lil’ Miss Reeds. This robotic character uses text-to-speech to read menus aloud, which is a neat touch in terms of accessibility, although the voice, in my view, is pretty annoying.

Luckily, you can turn text-to-speech off in a sub-menu, which I quickly did — but again, in spite of my dislike for the robo voice, it’s a thoughtful touch. Especially given that there’s an option to describe what’s on screen as well as reading text aloud.

One final point before I wrap up, which has been a fairly big topic of discussion for this title. Although the Nintendo Switch 2 has been out for more than a year now, Nintendo decided to release this entry as an exclusive on the original Switch. In my view, this is a very sensible decision: not only is the Nintendo Switch the best-selling console in history, opening one of the more niche Nintendo franchises up to a larger player base, but the game itself is hardly the most technically demanding.

And I found performance to be consistent throughout — there were no framerate hiccups, visuals looked vibrant and relatively sharp, and controls felt responsive too, whether I was playing on my TV or using wired earbuds in handheld mode (though the latter option will be best for perfectionists due to lower latency).

So, what do I make of Rhythm Heaven Groove overall? For me, it's a continuation of everything that made its predecessors tick. With a whimsical visual style, head-bopping tunes, and zany level design, there’s plenty of the oddball rhythmic fun that we’ve come to expect from this series.

Sure, Beatspell wasn’t my favorite, and the simplistic gameplay won’t be to everyone’s taste, but if you want a beat-hitting game that’s entertaining to dip into solo or with friends, this is an easy title to recommend.

Should you play Rhythm Heaven Groove?

(Image credit: Nintendo)Play it if…

You’re a certified rhythm game aficionado
Although Rhythm Heaven Groove is by no means the most challenging rhythm game out there, it takes quite a bit of dedication to perfect each level — and it’s incredibly satisfying when you pull this off. If you’re a fan of the genre, then I strongly suggest trying this one out, you’re sure to have a blast.

You’re a fan of the unorthodox
You could argue that the main draw of Rhythm Heaven Groove isn’t its gameplay or beat-matching, but instead, its bizarre lineup of characters and levels. If you want to blast through some surreal situations with robots, aliens, frogs, cats, and more, then you’ll have a weirdly wonderful time with this Nintendo Switch title.

Don’t play it if…

You want something with a lot of gameplay depth
The gameplay in Rhythm Heaven Groove certainly sits on the basic side, and in some levels you’ll simply have to tap a single button in time to progress. If you want something with a bit more depth, then this may not be for you.

You’re expecting an enthralling single player campaign
The new Beatspell mode acts as the new campaign mode, with a range of levels and an overarching narrative. While it adds a bit of variation into the mix, the mode lacks the charm and addictiveness of the core levels, and the story isn’t very engaging. I think the main solo rhythm games offer enough single player fun in themselves, but if you want something with more depth, then this may not be for you.

Accessibility features

There aren’t all too many ways to customize your experience in Rhythm Heaven Groove, although you can switch between a few Read-Aloud settings.

There’s the option to have the narrator Read words, read and describe what’s on the screen, or deactivate the narrator altogether.

(Image credit: Nintendo)How I reviewed Rhythm Heaven Groove

I spent around 10 hours playing through Rhythm Heaven Groove. During this time, I played through the main solo levels, the Beatspell campaign, and tried out the other side modes.

The majority of the time, I played the game in TV mode, with my Nintendo Switch 2 connected to the Sky Glass Gen 2 TV and my Marshall Heston 120 soundbar. However, I did also dip into handheld mode a fair few times, and connected up the Sennheiser CX 80U wired earbuds to enjoy the in-game music and sounds.

More generally, I’m a long-time fan of the Rhythm Heaven series and have reviewed many video games during my time here at TechRadar. This has included plenty of Nintendo exclusive games, like Kirby Air Riders, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, and Drag x Drive.

No-code AI tools take a prompt in plain English (and other languages) and create a web app or other tool. Bolt is one such AI powered development platform, which launched in late 2024 and can create a web app based on your instructions without any need for coding tools or environment.

Various no-code development tools are currently available, but is Bolt able to compete with names like Replit and Base44? To find out, we tested its no-code capabilities with a straightforward prompt, assessed its features and pricing, and compared it with the competition.

For more options, you can also take a look at our list of the best no-code platforms.

Bolt: Features

Bolt will generate a web app based on a prompt you enter. This can be an outline you have finessed elsewhere, or something developed within a threaded, iterative conversation with the AI.

Several plans are offered by Bolt, each with an expanding raft of features. The free plan gives you the facility to commence both public and private projects, with 300K tokens each day. These are used with each AI interaction, depending on the scale of the request. 1 million tokens are awarded at the start of each month, and this doesn’t roll over.

Bolt's free plan gives you website hosting (with Bolt branding) for a project and a 10MB file upload limit – useful for sharing UI designs, for example. Also on the free plan, you'll get unlimited databases and support for 333,000 web requests (visitors).

The Pro plan gives you 10 million tokens by default and removes the Bolt branding. You also get custom domain support. Additionally, unused tokens will rollover to the next month.

A Teams plan adds team-level access management, granular administration controls, centralized billing, internal sharing, and support for private NPM registries. The Custom plan for enterprise scale projects adds further features such as SSO, audit logs, compliance, custom workflows, data governance policies and a dedicated account manager for 24/7 support.

Bolt: Interface and ease of use

A cursory look at several no-code tools will reveal a pretty standardized user interface not dissimilar to ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude, with a prompt box awaiting text input. Bolt does boast a far slicker UI than some of its competitors, making it immediately enticing.

You can create an account with your own credentials, with the now-ubiquitous Google sign in, or with GitHub. The latter will make integration with the code collaboration platform slightly more streamlined.

Entering a prompt is simple, and the generation of a project is logged in the left-hand pane. It’s all very straightforward and intuitive, and consequently extremely easy to use. However, there is a potential barrier to getting the most out of Bolt.

This no-code platform requires a specific browser, either Google Chrome (or Chromium) Microsoft Edge, or Brave. It doesn’t work with Firefox, with any attempt greeted by the message “Your current browser doesn’t support key technologies that Bolt relies on.”

Bolt: Integration and extensibility

Creating a web app from scratch with a single prompt is only part of the challenge for no-code tools like Bolt. They also need to be able to offer integration with tools that make the web app work. These might be payment processing services, login authorization, databases, for example, and perhaps even cloud integration.

You might also wish to ensure the project is effectively managed by integrating a suitable tool.

(Image credit: Bolt)

Bolt has a number of options in this area, from database support with Supabase to error tracking with Sentry and AI meeting notes with Granola. Bolt’s creators have aimed to provide a tool for many eventualities, although it should be noted that Bolt doesn’t offer Stripe or Google authorization as connectors or integrations. Instead, these are available at the prompt level, by adding a phrase such as “Add Sign-In with Google to my application.”

Bolt: Deployment and maintenance

In addition to the integrations, Bolt can be synced with GitHub. This adds an important aspect to your project’s reliability, allowing the invitation of collaborators and for the code to be reviewed. Remember, this is a no-code platform, and while the projects it creates should work well, it doesn’t mean that the code is perfect. Having the option for GitHub is useful, as it means you can take what is essentially a bootstrapped web app and polish it with the help of others.

(Image credit: Bolt)

Completed projects can be published via Bolt with two clicks. A subdomain is assigned for the project to run in. The option to host your project on a custom domain can also be configured at this stage.

Creating a crypto calculator with Bolt

To gain some understanding about how effective Bolt is for no code app generation, we conducted a test to see how it handled a clear prompt to create a web app.

The web app was conceived as a cryptocurrency calculator, designed to display live conversion prices for a trio of fiat currencies and whichever cryptocurrencies are provided via the chosen API. Two free API options are presented (CoinGecko and ExchangeRate-API) which the AI should draw information from.

(Image credit: Bolt.new)

Here is the prompt we used:

Build a tool that compares the price of a specific asset (like Bitcoin) against multiple fiat currencies simultaneously.

Functional requirements:

API Integration: Connect to a free API (like CoinGecko or ExchangeRate-API).

Input Handling: A field where the user enters a "Budget" (e.g., $1,000$).

Dynamic Calculation: A list or table that automatically updates to show how much of the asset that budget buys in USD, EUR, and GBP.

Toggle Switch: A "Dark Mode" or "Refresh" toggle to test UI state management.

--

Bolt’s results with this web app were good, but not without some caveats. First and foremost, it took a little over 5 minutes to complete the task. Other tools we’ve seen have been able to generate a web app from the prompt in under 90 seconds.

In addition, Bolt went off-script, over delivering on the physical currencies provided in the web app. The prompt specifies just three: USD, EU, GBP.

Deployment is one-click, however, which means you can have a live no-code web app published in just seconds. You can view the generated web app here: https://multi-currency-asset-sipu.bolt.host/

(Image credit: Bolt)Bolt: Pricing and documentation

You can get started with Bolt for free, but for a more in-depth no-code experience, you will need to consider the Pro plan. This starts from $25/month ($18/month with annual billing) for a plan that gives you 10 million tokens. If that isn’t enough you can increase your bank of tokens, but this has a direct impact on the plan’s price. Options from 26 million to 1200 million tokens are available, with prices that increase along the way, topping out at $2000/month.

In scenarios where a lot of tokens are required, and multiple users require access to Bolt for no-code development or post-generation revision, there is the Teams plan. This is $30/month (working out at $27/month with annual billing), with a similar pricing structure for additional tokens.

Information about pricing or tiers for tokens isn't available for the Custom plan – this is aimed at enterprise-level businesses with more complex requirements.

Details about the plans and tokens can be found (along with other important information about Bolt) in the documentation. These are well written and seem to cover everything from creating a new project, editing it in your browser or opening it to collaboration on GitHub to importing from competing platforms like Lovable.

Bolt: The competition

If you searched for a list of AI no-code platforms, you would invariably come across Bolt. It is a strong option that stands out alongside the alternatives thanks to its striking user interface. However, we found faster and better no-code tools, such as Lovable, Hostinger Horizons, and Vercel v0.

They all deliver faster and/or stay on-script when a single prompt is entered. As that is our benchmark, it is important to highlight that Bolt isn’t hitting it. But Bolt does have strengths compared with the alternatives, not least the swift deployment of a live web and heavy GitHub integration.

However, we were impressed with the depth of Bolt's plans for large-scale teams.

Bolt: Final verdict

(Image credit: Bolt)

Bolt is slow, and has fewer AI tokens than competing tools in free mode. These refresh daily, but are restrictive. The 300K tokens daily limit isn’t enough to explore revisions and there is no trial option where you can enjoy the features of the Pro plan.

On the puls side, Bolt offers an excellent set of documentation, which can prove invaluable in helping you to shape the idea for a web app into a working project with all the necessary authentication, payment, database, and other features.

I’ve enjoyed using Bolt’s intuitive collection of tools, but unfortunately it doesn’t deliver a no-code web app as effortlessly and quickly as many of the alternatives.

Replit has had an interesting development story, launching in 2016 as a platform for running code in a browser window (technology adopted by teaching platforms like Codecademy) and developing in 2018 into an AI coding platform. Unlike many other no-code tools, Replit also opens access to the underlying code, falling back into its evolution as a browser based IDE (Integrated Development Environment).

With this in mind, we looked at how it compares with other no-code platforms, taking into account features and plans, pricing, ease of deployment, and usability (standalone, and with documentation). With the help of a testing prompt, we used Replit to generate a straightforward web app, which helped us to evaluate the tool and rate it.

For more options, take a look at our full list of the best no-code platforms.

Replit: Features

One of the most interesting things about Replit is its dual purpose as both no-code generator and browser-based IDE. This makes it ideal for bootstrapped projects, where you need to get something ready for further development, but don’t have the time to import libraries, define parameters, and so on.

You simply enter the prompt, Replit generates a working project framework, and you can then dig into the code, making the necessary changes. Yes, Replit can create something more developed than a basic framework, but in both cases you can drill down and physically enter files within the browser. Replit also offers a quick redesign tool if you don’t like the way the CSS has been generated.

Daily credits for use with the AI agent, full database access, tools to create slides, videos, and animations, and the ability to publish a single project (with optional password protection) are included with the free plan.

The Replit Core plan adds collaborators, two simultaneous AI agents, unlimited workspaces and removes the “Made with Replit” badge from published projects, while Replit Pro adds 28 day database rollbacks, access to the most powerful AI models, and 10 simultaneous agents.

Replit: Interface and ease of use

Creating a project with Replit is pretty intuitive, requiring a simple prompt, typed or pasted into the box. You will find some template options – websites, animations, slides – that can speed things up if appropriate.

The UI feels a little less flashy than some competing tools, but everything is pretty much where you would expect to find it. All menu controls – settings and projects, for example – can be found on the left of the main screen. The same area is used when you’re in no-code mode, where responses are displayed, and you can ask further questions or tweak the results.

Replit: Integration and extensibility

Competing platforms offer a pretty long list of integrations that they support. It’s a bit trickier to ascertain what can be integrated with Replit, and whether the connection can be both ways, reliant on an API, or agentic. However, a check in the documentation reveals that Stripe integration is possible for payments (but not in the custom plans), as is Google OAuth.

Connectors for “Linear, Jira, Gmail, Slack, Discord” are listed within the Replit documentation.

Remember, you can dig down and edit the generated code with Replit, which means you should be able to manually add the desired integrations if they’re not already offered.

Replit: Deployment and Maintenance

Of all the no-code tools we’ve looked at, Replit is the slowest when it comes to deployment. This is not necessarily a bad thing, however. Usually, when you publish a no-code project with one of these platforms, it seems to take just a few moments before it goes live. With Replit, various checks are made, including a security scan, which are explicitly displayed via a progress screen.

I’m not suggesting rival tools don’t check the security of the web app and its suitability for hosting, but Replit makes this process a lot clearer.

(Image credit: Replit)

As already noted, anything created with Replit can be viewed within the platform’s IDE, and its code edited if necessary. This can save a lot of time when it comes to revising or troubleshooting your project, but if course is intended for developers, not newcomers using no-code to play with code for the first time.

Creating a crypto calculator with Replit

The entire point of a no code platform like Replit is that it can take straightforward instructions in plain English (or another supported language) and produce an application – a software tool of some sort – in a fraction of the time it would take to complete manually.

To explore what can be expected from Replit, we developed a prompt that clearly outlines the requirements for a cryptocurrency calculator web app. It should compare asset prices, connect to an appropriate free API, and support three standard currencies, USD, GBP, and Euro.

(Image credit: Replit)

We used the following prompt with each of the no code tools we’ve reviewed:

Build a tool that compares the price of a specific asset (like Bitcoin) against multiple fiat currencies simultaneously.

Functional requirements:

API Integration: Connect to a free API (like CoinGecko or ExchangeRate-API).

Input Handling: A field where the user enters a "Budget" (e.g., $1,000$).

Dynamic Calculation: A list or table that automatically updates to show how much of the asset that budget buys in USD, EUR, and GBP.

Toggle Switch: A "Dark Mode" or "Refresh" toggle to test UI state management.

--

Replit read the prompt and completed the no code web app in under 3 minutes. Its output along the way was pretty verbose, although geared to developers, relying on displaying command line interface instructions rather than something more suited to non-coders. However, this does usefully communicate the procedure that the tool follows, namely working on the backend first, then the frontend.

Upon completion, Replit also makes suggestions for revision. For example in this case, it offered “support for more assets by letting users search the full CoinGecko coin list.”

In addition, Replit supports various revisions, both to the code and to the user interface. Direct editing of the code is possible, while changes to the UI are limited within the Replit tool – it’s easier to make instructions via the AI assistant. That, of course, uses up credits, so finding the right balance is important.

Deploying the finished web app is slower than the competing platforms, but this is mainly due to a collection of checks that are made by Replit, which include ensuring the code is secure. You can publish with or without these checks. The project can be published to a custom domain, or use the auto-generated Replit subdomain.

(Image credit: Replit)Replit: Pricing and Documentation

The four plans, Standard, Replit Core, Replit Pro, and Enterprise, have their own pricing and features. If you’re just starting with no code tools, the Standard free plan is ideal, giving daily credits and support for one project.

Replit Core is $20/month, or the equivalent of $18/month if you pay upfront for 12-months. This includes $20 of monthly credits for the AI and supports up to 5 collaborators. Meanwhile, Replit Pro is $100/month (paying annually works out at $90/month), and has $100 worth of monthly credits and up to 15 collaborators and 50 viewers. There is the option to upgrade the credits to a different plan, potentially as much as $2,500/month of credits.

If the scale of the Core and Pro plans doesn’t meet your needs, the Enterprise-targeted custom plan is available. As is usual with such plans, a sales person will provide a demo, ascertain your requirements from the no code platform, and shape a quote that suits your budget, team, and scale.

An impressive resource of documentation is available via the docs.replit.com address, clearly explaining the scope, scale, and even the smallest steps about using Replit. This is a searchable resource, one that is split into tutorials and standard knowledge base docs, and aims to provide answers to everything. Anything that cannot be found within the docs can be directly queried with the AI assistant.

Replit: The Competition

The no-code market is getting busier, with tools like Lovable, Bubble, and Hostinger Horizons standing out as popular solutions for anyone who wishes to create an app without learning to code (or paying someone to do it).

In terms of generating a web app from the prompt, Replit didn’t deliver as quickly as most other no-code platforms, but still produced a working tool within 5 minutes. This is in contrast to Emergent, which took more than three times that duration.

Replit: Final Verdict

(Image credit: Replit)

Price-wise, Replit is in the sweet spot, and its features make it a good choice if you’re in the market for a no-code tool. It stands up against comparison with competing tools like Lovable, Hostinger Horizons, and Base44. It’s fast, and the generated web app looked good and was functional.

However, if you're specifically looking for a free tool, I would steer clear of Replit - if you have the need to get to grips with a project, the daily credit limit will slow you down. Instead, opt for Replit Core with an appropriate level of AI credits unless you need something with many more collaborators.

Overall, users shouldn't overlook what Replit really offers: almost instantaneous development bootstrapping with code you can dig into immediately via its native IDE.

Easemate.ai launched in 2025 with a simple pitch: one platform for everything AI.

It doesn't make you choose between a chat assistant, an image generator, or a video tool. You get all three, alongside study utilities, document readers, and image editing features. The range of supported models is equally wide, covering GPT, Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek, Grok, Kimi K2, and Qwen 3 on the chat side alone.

The creative side is where things get particularly ambitious. Easemate integrates image models including Nano Banana, Midjourney, Flux Kontext, GPT-4o, and Seedream, with a video catalogue stretching to Sora 2, Google Veo 3, Kling, Seedance, and Runway. Few platforms at this price point give you that many models in one place.

We've been reviewing B2B software and AI platforms at TechRadar Pro since 2012. Easemate sits in a crowded but useful category of multi-model AI aggregators that we've tracked closely. You can also check out our AI tool roundup for 2026 and deep dives into platforms like OpenClaw or Moltbook.

What is Easemate.ai?

Easemate.ai is a web-based AI platform that consolidates multiple AI models and task-specific tools into a single subscription.

Rather than routing you to one underlying model, it lets you switch between GPT, Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek, and others depending on what you need, without juggling separate accounts.

The platform divides its offering into four main areas: AI Chat, AI Study & Research, AI Photo, and AI Video. Within those, you'll find tools for ChatPDF, document summarization, math and science solvers, flashcard generation, image-to-video conversion, and YouTube transcript extraction.

It targets a broad user base (students, solo creators, freelancers, and small businesses) rather than positioning itself as a developer tool or enterprise solution. If you want a single dashboard that covers daily AI tasks without managing multiple subscriptions, Easemate's pitch is worth considering.

Easemate.ai: At a glance

Attribute

Notes

Underlying model(s)

Multi-model: GPT (various), Gemini, Claude 3 Haiku, DeepSeek, Grok 4, Kimi K2, Qwen 3 for chat; Nano Banana, Midjourney, Flux Kontext, Wan, Kling, Seedream and more for image/video

Best for

Students, solo creators, and small businesses needing all-in-one AI access

Distinguishing functions

Multi-model chat, ChatPDF, image generation, video generation, math/science solvers, AI writing tools, face swap, YouTube summarization

UI features

Browser-based interface, desktop and mobile (iOS and Android); no-login trial available for select tools

Subscription costs

Basic (free), Lite ($8.90/month intro, then $9.90/month), Pro ($19.90/month intro, then $24.90/month)

API pricing

No public API; consumer-facing platform only

Buy it if…

• You want multi-model AI chat without juggling accounts. Easemate puts GPT, Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek, and Grok 4 in one place, which saves real time if you regularly compare outputs across models.
• You need creative tools alongside a chat assistant. The combination of image generators and video models in one subscription is hard to match at Easemate's price point.
• You're a student or researcher on a budget. The free tier includes 30 sign-up credits, daily check-in bonuses, and up to 200K AI chat tokens per day.

Don't buy it if…

• You need consistent professional image or video output. Users report a "prompt drift" issue where the platform ignores specific instructions, alters faces, or changes scenes unexpectedly.
• Reliable customer support matters to you. Support is online-only and has drawn criticism for being slow to resolve credit-related problems.
• You want granular model control. Access to Veo 3 and Sora 2 comes through Easemate's own interface rather than direct API access, which limits parameter customization.

My time with Easemate.ai

Getting started on Easemate.ai is frictionless. The platform lets you try select tools without an account, and signing up takes under a minute. Once logged in, the 30 free credits appeared immediately, and the interface guided me clearly toward the main tool categories. For a platform with this many features, the navigation stayed surprisingly tidy.

Where I hit friction was in creative generation. I ran several image prompts through Nano Banana and Flux Kontext and found outputs solid roughly two-thirds of the time. There were noticeable cases where the platform deviated from my descriptions, and rerunning the same prompt sometimes produced very different results. Video tools showed similar inconsistency.

The value case is real at the Lite tier, though. For $8.90 in the first month, rising to $9.90 after that, you get 1,200 credits, access to up to 120 images and 60 videos per month, and multi-model AI chat. That's a fair deal for casual creative work or students managing multiple AI tasks, as long as you aren't expecting the precision of a dedicated tool.

Easemate.ai: Features

The AI Chat section covers GPT (multiple versions), Gemini, Claude 3 Haiku, DeepSeek, Grok 4, Kimi K2, and Qwen 3. For most conversational tasks (drafting, translating, summarizing), having that range in one tab is useful. The daily free token limit of 200K is also more generous than most comparable platforms.

The study and research tools are well-executed and clearly the original backbone of the platform. Math, physics, and chemistry solvers work step-by-step, making them practical for students rather than just returning a final answer. Flashcard and quiz generators, mind maps, and AI Scholar round out a toolkit that serves academic workflows more carefully than most multi-purpose AI platforms do.

On the image side, the model selection is broad: Nano Banana, Midjourney, Flux Kontext, GPT-4o, and Wan 2.5 are all accessible on paid plans. Nano Banana produces good commercial-style images; Flux Kontext handles text-in-image prompts reasonably well. The consistency problem persists, particularly with prompts involving specific faces or complex scenes.

Document tools perform well. ChatPDF, Chat Doc, and Chat PPT let you upload files and query them conversationally, with OCR support for scanned content. The YouTube summarization tool is a genuine highlight: paste a link and get structured notes with timestamps, which worked better than expected in testing.

Easemate.ai: User experience

The interface is clean and well-organized. Tool categories sit in a top navigation bar, each expanding into a dropdown with clearly labeled options. First-time users shouldn't need a tutorial to find their way around, and the browser-based experience works consistently across devices.

The credit system is where the UX gets murky. Different tools consume different credit amounts, and it's not always clear how many you're spending before you generate. A failed generation still costs credits, which user reviews flag repeatedly. Easemate's team has acknowledged this in public responses, but the system itself hasn't changed.

Easemate.ai: Customer support

Easemate offers support via email at support@easemate.ai and through a help portal on the website. There's no live chat, phone line, or priority tier for paid subscribers. Documentation covers pricing and credits at a surface level but doesn't go deep enough for troubleshooting edge cases.

User perception is mixed. As of early 2026, Easemate held an overall rating of 2.0 to 3.0 out of 5 stars with most review aggregators, with positive feedback on ease of use offset by complaints about reliability and support responsiveness. More recent reviewers show a wider range of experiences — solo creators praise the video output quality, while others report credits consumed by failed generations with no satisfying resolution.

(Image credit: Easemate)Easemate.ai: Pricing

• Basic (free): 30 sign-up credits, daily check-in bonuses, up to 200K AI chat tokens per day, limited image and video access
• Lite ($8.90/month intro, then $9.90/month): 1,200 credits, up to 120 images and 60 videos per month, full model access; annual billing drops this to $7.49/month intro, then $8.49/month
• Pro ($19.90/month intro, then $24.90/month): 3,000 credits, up to 300 images and 150 videos; annual billing drops to $16.90/month intro, then $20.9/month

The free tier is actually usable for light AI chat and occasional image generation — it's not a locked demo. Lite is the sweet spot for individuals. Easemate also sells one-time credit packs that never expire, ranging from 500 credits at $4.90 up to 15,000 credits at $104.90, with discounts of 10–30% depending on bundle size. There's no API access or developer-tier pricing.

Easemate.ai alternatives you should consider

• ChatGPT Plus: At $20/month, you get GPT-4o, o4-mini, and DALL-E 3 in a more mature, reliable environment. A better choice if text generation and image creation are your primary needs.
• Perplexity Pro: Covers multi-model chat with web search grounding and document uploads. Weaker on creative generation but more dependable for research-heavy workflows.
• Adobe Firefly: Produces commercially safe, high-consistency image output with better prompt fidelity than Easemate's image tools, though it lacks the platform's broad AI chat and video coverage.

How I tested Easemate.ai

• Tested AI chat tools across GPT, Gemini, Claude, and DeepSeek for writing, summarizing, and translating tasks, comparing output quality and response speed across models.
• Generated images and video clips using Nano Banana, Flux Kontext, Kling, and Veo 3 with a range of prompt types to assess consistency and prompt adherence.
• Used document and study tools, uploading multi-page PDFs and PowerPoint files to test ChatPDF accuracy, and running math and science problems through the step-by-step solvers.

My testing involved hands-on use of Easemate.ai across its four main tool categories over several sessions, combined with a review of third-party user feedback on Trustpilot and review platforms to benchmark real-world reliability against my own observations. Pricing details were verified directly against the official Easemate.ai pricing page.

When I think of Enola Holmes, one word springs to mind: naff. Average, run-of-the-mill, mundane, as our friends across the world might put it instead.

It's been four years since the sequel and six years since the original movie came to Netflix, and I have no bearing on where it sits culturally. As an avid internet user in my pre "I have a job reviewing film and TV" days, the Millie Bobby Brown-led franchise felt like a complete flop. But look at the trilogy from a critic's perspective, and it's been a solid entry into the streamer's canon.

Watching Enola Holmes 3, I finally get it. As Sherlock's little sister takes on her wildest case — Sherlock (Henry Cavill) himself being kidnapped — I understand the brief writer Jack Thorne is trying to fulfil... a harmless one.

Suitable for all the family thanks to its genuinely fun and compelling (though not exactly unexpected) narrative, Enola Holmes 3 has all the hallmarks of a solid three-star movie. In fact, it's the most three-star movie to ever three-star.

Can you guess the ending? Yes. Do you care? Probably not. Will you look at your phone occasionally while streaming it, or maybe get started on those pesky household chores you keep putting off? I'd put money on it. Will you lose the storyline or interest if you suddenly pop out to make a coffee and keep the TV running? Not in the slightest.

It's safe storytelling at its most entertaining, and I felt a little like I imagine a baby does when a sensory YouTube video presents them with dancing fruit. Gripped, unmoving, but ultimately numb to what's actually going on.

Enola Holmes 3 must have been an actor's dream working holiday — like Mamma Mia! without the singing

If you have an account on X/Twitter or Instagram and are into pop culture, you have probably seen the pictures of the cast wrap party for the 2008 movie version of Mamma Mia! — which involved the likes of Meryl Streep and Colin Firth getting drunk and doing karaoke in Croatia.

In my mind's eye, Enola Holmes 3 had the same effect on its cast. Set and filmed in Malta, the exciting action sequences, picturesque heartfelt scenes walking along the coast, and frequent galivanting around the capital Valette likely amounted to a similar jovial spirit (and imagine a wrap party abroad with a Netflix budget).

The cast is just as stoic as they ever have been, with standout Helena Bonham Carter as a vagrant outsider, a veritable thrill. They're having fun, so we're having fun along with them, with the ingenious use of animated title cards to explain Sherlock lore, a shrewd interactive touch.

It's not particularly taxing or sophisticated as far as storytelling is concerned, but the existence of this IP wouldn't work if it tried to be. Let's stick with tried and tested easy-on-the-eye action, please.

Netflix needs to stop casting actors with 'iPhone face' in its period dramas

(Image credit: Netflix)

Before I come to my main gripe, let me make clear that Millie Bobby Brown is a) beautiful and b) absolutely doesn't deserve to have her appearance critiqued by the internet.

Instead, I wish that the costume and make-up departments had paid closer attention to its continuity, particularly around 'iPhone face' (the theory that someone cast in a period drama has clearly seen an iPhone).

As Brown has matured over the last six years, it's understandable that she'd want make-up that matches where she is in life. The result is that, unlike the previous two movies, she's got a full face of easily identifiable foundation, contour, and lip liner, which definitely wouldn't have been the case in the late 1800s.

Add to this that wider shots show Brown wearing gel acrylic nails — whereas close-ups show her slightly dirtied yet authentic natural nailbeds — and the illusion of a genuine period drama is ruined.

Continuity seems to be a wider issue across Enola Holmes 3, such as shots spliced together in a single scene not properly keeping track of whether someone's eyes have just been opened or closed. Much like the harmless safety of the narrative, it's this lack of attention to detail that keeps the franchise cocooned in its middling category, though armchair detectives might enjoy trying to spot said mishaps.

Still, it all adds to the light-hearted spirit of the piece, doesn't it? How likely is it that Sherlock, the Sherlock Holmes, could really be kidnapped anyway? Just roll with it, as the saying goes.

Following up on my review of the Seagate IronWolf 8TB, for balance purposes, it's good to look at what WD is selling into the same retail space.

The WD40EFPX is the model I’ll be looking at in this review, and it has an especially interesting history I’ll dive into in depth. This specific model was first introduced on 14 September 2022, representing one of WD's more recent iterations in the Red Plus line-up. It ships with a significantly upgraded 256MB cache compared to the 64MB of the original WD40EFRX.

The WD40EFPX uses CMR technology rather than SMR, which is particularly significant in RAID environments. CMR drives deliver superior performance during array rebuilds and avoid the write cliff issues that plague SMR drives under sustained workloads.

It runs at 5400 RPM, connects via SATA 6Gb/s, and is rated for NAS systems with up to 8 bays. The workload rating is 180TB per year, suited to backups, file sharing, media streaming, and similar tasks in compact tower NAS units. The 4TB model uses air rather than helium as the internal atmosphere, unlike the higher capacity 12TB and 10TB designs that use helium and not air.

The 4TB model sells for just under $200, whereas its Red Pro brother is closer to $300. That might seem like a good deal, but in December of 2025, it was $150. That said, it’s $20 less than the Seagate IronWolf 4TB.

If you are buying lots of drives, then you would be better off investing in larger capacities that lower the cost per TB, but for a four-bay NAS where 12TB of RAID 5 space is enough, then these might be the smart option.

In performance and durability terms, the WD40EFPX isn’t the best NAS drive we've tested, but it gets the job done.

WD Red Plus 4TB: PriceWD Red Plus drives

Model

Capacity

Cache

Dollar Cost

Cost Per TB

WD40EFPX

4TB

256MB

$194.99

$48.75

WD60EFZX

6TB

128MB

$325.00

$54.17

WD60EFPX

6TB

256MB

$332.50

$55.42

WD80EFPX

8TB

256MB

$303.03

$37.88

WD100EFGX

10TB

512MB

$389.99

$39.00

WD120EFBX

12TB

256MB

$669.99

$55.83

WD120EFGX

12TB

512MB

$509.00

$42.42

This is as complete a list of current Red Plus models as I could assemble. I left out the old 1TB, 2TB, and 3TB models because they’re just old stock, and I also didn’t include the 8TB WD80EFZZ (128MB cache) since it appears to be discontinued.

As is evident from the cost per TB, the best value is the 8TB WD80EFPX, and the worst is the 12TB WD120EFBX, which uses helium where all other drives use air. The 4TB model isn’t a bargain, especially when you consider that only a few months ago it could be found for less than $150.

All the prices quoted here are from Amazon.com, and it may be possible to find these drives cheaper elsewhere.

The typical asking price for the Seagate 4TB IronWolf is $219, or that’s what B&H Video wants for one. This is $1 more than the Toshiba N300 4TB from the same retailer, and it’s a 7200RPM drive.

Overall, the WD Red Plus 4TB seems competitively priced, if that’s something you can actually say about drives in the current economy.

(Image credit: Western Digital)WD Red Plus 4TB: Design

Red Plus drives are available from 1TB up to 14TB. The 4TB WD40EFPX sits at the lower end of the range. With these smaller capacities, air-filled construction is standard. Drives pushing into double figures move to helium-sealed designs and, at higher capacities, step up to 7200 RPM class motors.

The Red Plus sits below the Red Pro in the family hierarchy. Red Pro is rated for up to 24-bay systems and carries a 300TB per year workload rating, while Red Plus covers systems with up to 8 bays.

From an external design perspective, there isn’t much to talk about here – it’s a 3.5-inch SATA mechanism that we’ve seen on computers for over twenty years. Most of the more interesting aspects of this design are inside and have WD buzzwords attached to them.

These include an adaptive compensation system with a shaft fixed on both sides, and three-dimensional balancing minimises the negative effects of vibration, particularly in multi-drive enclosures, called 3D Active Balance Plus. Other drive makers have something similar, but call it something else.

WD Red drives also include a multi-axis shock sensor that automatically detects subtle shock events and dynamic fly-height technology, allowing each read/write function to compensate and protect data. I suspect that was originally designed for laptop drives, but anything that avoids the heads from coming into contact with the recording surface is useful.

But the best feature of these drives isn’t a physical feature; it's software.

NASware 3.0 enables seamless integration, robust data protection, and optimal performance for NAS systems operating under heavy demand. It fine-tunes drive parameters to match NAS system workloads for optimum performance. This firmware also includes NAS-specific time-limited error recovery settings, optimised spin-up timing to reduce array-wide power surges, and adaptive thermal throttling.

So how does this hardware compare to its primary competitor, the Seagate IronWolf 4TB (ST4000VN006)?

These two drives occupy the same market position and share a remarkably similar specification sheet. Both run at 5400 RPM, use a SATA 6Gb/s interface, carry a 256MB cache, and are rated for up to 8-bay NAS systems. Both use CMR recording and carry a 180TB per year workload rating. MTBF on both is rated at 1 million hours, and both carry a 3-year warranty. They are literally brothers from different mothers.

Active power draw is 4.7W for the WD40EFPX and 4.8W for the ST4000VN006. IronWolf idle power is 3.96W, and standby drops to 0.5W. WD does not publish a specific idle figure prominently for the WD40EFPX, though the drives behave comparably in practice.

The difference is negligible in a real-world NAS. Across a four-drive array running 24/7 for a year, the delta between these two drives would amount to pennies on an electricity bill. Power is effectively a tie.

The WD Red Plus is consistently described as quieter than the IronWolf in real-world NAS deployments. Both drives include rotational vibration sensors at the 4TB capacity level. However, my testing consistently placed the Red Plus as being the quieter drive, and this aspect could be extra useful in home and near-desk environments.

But what NAS customers are most interested in is reliability because, as I can attest, having drives fail in a working NAS can be stressful.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The WD Red Plus carries a non-recoverable read error rate of 1 in 10^14, while the IronWolf quotes 1 in 10^15. The IronWolf's figure is ten times lower, meaning statistically fewer uncorrectable errors per bits read. In practice, this rarely matters at the 4TB capacity level, and real-world failure rates across both brands are broadly comparable.

Real-world failure data from Backblaze between 2022 and 2024 shows WD Red Plus 8TB and above models carrying an annualised failure rate of approximately 1.4 to 1.8%. Comparable IronWolf figures tend to hover in a similar bracket, making reliability broadly comparable across the two brands. I haven’t got data for the 4TB models, but since they are similar enough to the 8TB models, it’s not unreasonable to assume that the hardware has much the same reliability.

There are, however, a few performance differences I’ll mention later, and Seagate has a health management system.

IronWolf drives include IronWolf Health Management, which works with leading NAS systems to provide prevention, intervention, and recovery recommendations to ensure peak system health. It is enabled on Synology, QNAP, Asustor, and other major platforms. It provides drive health telemetry beyond standard S.M.A.R.T. data, giving users early warning of potential issues.

IronWolf also includes three years of complimentary Rescue Data Recovery Services, with an industry-leading recovery rate of 95% in the event of accidental data corruption or drive damage.

WD Red Plus has no equivalent to either of these features. There is no bundled data recovery service and no proprietary NAS health management system beyond standard NASware 3.0 and S.M.A.R.T. compatibility.

In WD’s defence, many NAS makers are introducing their own AI logic to monitor drive health, regardless of brand, but IronWolf Health Management is one of the reasons these drives have been so successful.

To understand more about this drive, let’s cover the lineage that brought us to the WD40EFPX.

WD Red Plus 4TB: History of the Red Plus range

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The WD Red NAS HDD series arrived in 2012. It was a direct response to the growing popularity of home and small business NAS systems. Regular desktop hard drives were designed with single-use deployment in mind, and NAS use demanded something different.

Faster read and write speeds, higher workload tolerance, and suitability for multi-drive, always-on environments.

The WD Red line launched with 1TB, 2TB, and 3TB models. The 4TB variant expanded the range, giving home users and small businesses the full 4TB maximum for up to five-bay NAS units. The original 4TB model carried the model number WD40EFRX.

A unit manufactured in September 2013 used a Marvell 88i9446-NDB2 dual-core drive controller, a Hynix 64MB DDR2 cache IC, and NASware 2.0 firmware. Western Digital described the rotational speed as "IntelliPower" rather than publishing an RPM figure — a marketing term that obscured what was, in practice, a variable-speed 5400 RPM class design.

The drive shipped with TLER (Time Limited Error Recovery) enabled from the factory, which was an important distinction from consumer desktop drives. It made the WD Red family genuinely RAID-compatible, something that mattered greatly in multi-bay arrays where a drive that spins on an error for too long can be rejected by the RAID controller.

Over the following years, WD evolved the NASware firmware, introduced new form factors, and added the WD Red Pro tier for more demanding environments. The original WD Red remained the affordable CMR option for home and SOHO users throughout this period, and the WD40EFRX remained in the lineup for several years.

A key hardware progression during this era was the increase in cache size. Across the Red Plus lineup, cache memory has grown from 64MB in early models to 256MB in current ones. The WD40EFRX shipped with just 64MB, which by today's standards looks overly modest.

Then came the most significant and damaging chapter in WD Red history, and this directly shaped how the Red Plus line came into existence.

Western Digital began shipping SMR (Shingled Magnetic Recording) drives from early 2017, but declined to disclose this to customers, even when directly asked. The EFRX suffix was quietly retired and replaced by the EFAX suffix. What buyers did not know was that the new drives used a fundamentally different recording method.

The larger EFAX drives at 8TB and above remained CMR. The smaller capacities at 6TB and below transitioned to SMR. EFRX drives were removed from production pipelines.

Users began experiencing problems adding the new WD Red NAS drives to RAID arrays. SMR drives were not intended for random write workloads, and NAS rebuild operations like resilvering in ZFS terminology use exactly that kind of sustained random writing.

RAID resilvering tends to overload the cache on SMR drives, sending them into minutes-long pauses. Faulty firmware on the WD40EFAX also caused drives to return IDNF S.M.A.R.T. errors under intensive workloads, which RAID controllers typically interpreted as drive failure.

All my NAS were once populated with these drives, and successively they died like dominoes, until none of them survived. What annoyed me, and others, was that while internally WD knew why the death rate on these drives was high, sales staff were still pushing the line that all WD drives were CMR and that the company would make it "very clear" if SMR technology were used.

In 2020, consumers discovered what was happening. A class action lawsuit followed in the United States. The lawsuit alleged that WD had surreptitiously introduced SMR technology into WD Red NAS drives without disclosure, in an effort to reduce costs while keeping the selling price unchanged.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

In an attempt to mitigate the fallout from this sorry exercise, a structural reorganisation of the entire Red lineup was performed by WD.

The WD Red name was retained for device-managed SMR drives across 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, and 6TB capacities, and it was positioned as suitable only for lighter SOHO workloads. A new WD Red Plus brand was created to cover all CMR drives across all capacities from 1TB to 14TB. WD Red Plus was specifically aimed at more write-intensive workloads, including ZFS.

WD described Red Plus as "the new name for conventional magnetic recording (CMR)-based NAS drives in the WD Red family." Critically, the WD40EFRX model number was retained and repurposed as the WD Red Plus 4TB, allowing existing owners to verify that their older drives were CMR by checking the model-number suffix.

During the transition period, WD Red Plus devices were sometimes delivered with a "WD Red" label, but the model number confirmed the CMR identity. This caused ongoing confusion in the channel.

Following the rebrand, there were two 4TB model numbers for Red Plus drives.

The WD40EFZX appeared as a transitional model, shipping with a 128MB cache and confirmed CMR recording. It was described as a 5400 RPM SATA 6Gb/s CMR drive with NASware 3.0 technology and an MTBF of up to 1 million hours.

Alongside that is the focus of this review, the WD40EFPX. As I’ve already mentioned in the introduction, this drive ships with an upgraded 256MB cache and uses CMR technology rather than SMR and has the same 5400 RPM rotational speed.

These drives closed the chapter on the hidden SMR debacle, and as a result, WD’s standing with those deploying NAS storage has recovered.

WD Red Plus 4TB: Performance

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Testing drives for NAS use is fraught with problems because NASes are configured to hide the actual performance speeds from you, using their memory as a cache.

As an example of this, I connected a single WD40EFPX to a TerraMaster F4-425 Pro, accessed it over a 2.5GbE LAN, and achieved read/write speeds of 296 MB/s.

As this drive is rated by WD at 180 MB/s, those numbers are plainly artificial.

Therefore, ironically, rather than using a NAS to evaluate the speed of this drive, I resorted to testing it on a regular PC.

Here are my results:

Drives

 

WD Red Plus

IronWolf

Part No.

 

WD40EFPX

ST4000VN006

Capacity

 

4TB

4TB

AJA

 

 

 

Read

MB/s

187

190

Write

MB/s

179

185

ATTO

 

 

 

Read

MB/s

206.24

192.35

Write

MB/s

197.35

191.76

CrystalDiskMark Default

 

 

 

Read

MB/s

201.23

200.77

Write

MB/s

208.26

199.33

CrystalDiskMark RealWorld

 

 

Read

MB/s

212.46

200.22

Write

MB/s

204.42

199.11

PCMark

 

 

 

Score

 

801

677

Bandwidth

MB/s

124.49

103.69

MS Winsat

 

 

 

Random 16 Read

MB/s

1.71

1.6

Sequential 64.0 Read

MB/s

168.53

158.16

Sequential 64.0 Write

MB/s

204.65

190.5

Read Time with Sequential Writes

ms

1.385

1.946

Latency:  95th Percentile

ms

12.685

34.685

Latency: Maximum

ms

64.723

62.341

Average Read Time with Random Writes

ms

5.267

9.898

When you ask the sorts of questions that AJA, ATTO and CrystalDiskMark have the answers, then the Red Plus 4TB is remarkably similar to the IronWolf 4TB, with perhaps a tiny edge to the WD drive. That said, those results are all within variance and hardly conclusive.

PCMark and Winsat come down more on the Red Plus side, and it’s especially interesting that read time with sequential writes is lower on that drive than the IronWolf. And, that extends into latency, which is generally better on WD.

With time short for testing, I wouldn’t call these results definitive and on a different PC, they might be entirely reversed.

But they do strongly suggest that the slight price premium that WD is asking might be worth it, although there isn’t any practical way of testing the resilience of the drive over the long run. And that’s specifically where customers have had an issue with this brand previously.

WD Red Plus 4TB: Final verdict

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

If Western Digital could move on to Nasware 4.0, or something that brings it closer to the Health Management technology that Seagate already has, then they might see a migration back to the days before they tried to slide SMR drives past their customers.

Because the Red Plus is a bit quicker than the IronWolf equivalent, even if it costs proportionally more.

But frankly, the cost of NAS drives of this capacity is way too high to actually encourage people to buy them, even if the underlying technology seems sound.

To paraphrase Monty Python, if Nvidia and the AI evangelists hadn’t artificially nailed storage to its perch, drives of this capacity would be pushing up the daisies by now.

But instead, we have the indefensible exercise in which Seagate, WD and Toshiba profit massively from phantom demand, and every day is Christmas at their factories.

If you must buy drives for a deployment, then go with the 8TB and 10TB models, as they offer the best value, if that means anything when HDDs are nearly as expensive per TB as you could buy SSDs capacity at one point in the past two years.

For more storage solutions, we've reviewed the best NAS devices.

Astell & Kern AK HC5: two-minute review

Astell & Kern builds some outstanding digital audio players, and the company also knows how to charge us for them. But it’s taken pity on those of us without the wherewithal, and has developed this HC5 headphone amp/DAC.

It is a portable device intended to transform your bog-standard smartphone into a viable source of hi-res audio for anyone with the wired headphones good enough to take advantage of it. With high-end AKM digital-to-analog conversion components on board, Astell & Kern’s ‘digital audio remaster’ and ‘high driving mode’ technologies included, and both balanced and unbalanced headphone outputs, the HC5 is specified to get the job done. It also features half- a-dozen digital filters, as well as a huge range of volume adjustment and some slightly imprecise-feeling physical controls that serve to undermine the robust and tactile overall nature of the device just a little.

In operation, the Astell & Kern is slightly lightweight at the bottom of the frequency range — it doesn’t have quite the heft or substance that it really should have, and can lack a little apparent punch as a result. In every other meaningful respect, though, it’s a very accomplished device indeed. It’s dynamic, lavishly detailed, creates a large and well-organised soundstage, and communicates through the midrange like nobody’s business.

If you want to turn your humble smartphone into a device that bears comparison with some of the best three-figure digital audio players around, and if you have suitable headphones too, then you ought to be after one of the best DACs around. And you should absolutely hear the Astell & Kern HC5.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Price & release date

The Astell & Kern HC5 headphone amp/DAC launched at the very end of 2025 and hit shelves in January 2026.

In the United Kingdom it sells for £399. You’ll need to part with more like $489 in the United States, while in Australia the going rate is around AU$779.

This makes it a reasonable (rather than 'cheap') option, of course — at only $85 / £85 (or around AU$120) the iFi Go Link 2 Max would be an example of something more affordable, while the $4,499 / £4,499 (around AU$8,999) iFi iDSD Phantom (albeit a desktop solution) proves this A&K is hardly at the costly end of the market either.

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Features

• AK4191EQ digital processor
• AK4499EX DAC- 32bit/768kHz; DSD512
• Granular volume control

Apparently this is the first time that AKM’s flagship AK4191EQ digital processor and AK4499EX digital-to-analog converter have appeared in a product as small and as relatively affordable as this one. AKM suggests that splitting the d-to-a decoding into two stages preserves signal integrity — and Astell & Kern agrees. Mind you, that hasn’t stopped Astell & Kern bolstering the AKM chipset with its own ‘DAR’ (digital audio remaster) upsampling technology; it functions with both PCM and DSD content, increasing the sampling rate by quite a degree, and it can be switched off if you so desire. The upshot, though, is a DAC that supports 32bit/768kHz and DSD512 resolutions.

Astell & Kern’s ‘high driving mode’ technology is also making its debut appearance in an affordable product. The horizontal op-amp layout helps keep the physical size of the HC5 to a minimum, but also allows for significant driving power. It's worth bearing in mind, though, that the HC5 has no power supply of its own, and the prodigious amplification power it can muster will cut into the battery life of your source player more than somewhat.

There are a total of six digital filters for the user to explore, but this is the extent to which you get to influence the sound of the Astell & Kern. Perhaps oddly, there’s no sign of the EQ adjustment that’s commonplace on quite a few of the HC5’s nominal rivals.

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Sound quality

• Open, revealing and organised sound
• Dynamic and detailed in more-or-less equal measure
• Bantamweight rather than heavyweight where bass is concerned

The proof that the digital-to-analog conversion abilities of your smartphone or laptop are pretty rotten can be found in the number of extremely affordable USB DACs that are on sale now — TechRadar has rounded up the best of them, as I've previously alluded to.

But there’s no denying that spending $489 / £399 (or equivalent) on an Astell & Kern HC5 takes the sound of your laptop or smartphone to another level entirely. Provided you have the headphones to properly exploit its talents, anyway.

Load up a 24bit/48kHz FLAC file of Off Course by Oh Sees and all will rapidly become clear. When it’s dealt with by the HC5 the recording is more open and spacious, and yet somehow more singular and unified at the same time. The soundstage from which it comes is big in every direction, and the spaces and silences on it suddenly become almost as significant as the actual occurrences. Each participant has more than enough room in which to operate without crowding any other.

There’s real positivity and energy to the way the Astell & Kern delivers the recording, a sense of engagement and enthusiasm which is strongly at odds with the sound served up by a bog-standard smartphone. But at the same time the presentation is poised and balanced despite its direct and upfront nature — there’s never any suggestion the HC5 is not fully in control. This authority is especially apparent at the bottom of the frequency range, where the attack and decay of bass sounds is observed with such care that rhythmic expression is always confident and naturalistic. Down at the bottom end is where the Astell & Kern’s most significant shortcoming lurks, though. Just like the rest of the frequency range, the low end is lavishly detailed where timbre and texture are concerned — there’s more than enough information revealed and contextualised to let you know you’re getting a very full account of a recording. But there’s an appreciable shortage of body and substance to the low frequencies the HC5 generates. It can dig respectably deep but it doesn’t hit as hard, or with as much weight, as is ideal.

Otherwise, though, the frequency response is just as pleasing and convincing as everything else about the Astell & Kern. It’s articulate through the midrange, communicating the attitude and intention of a voice every bit as willingly as it reveals the details of tone and technique. The top of the frequency range is bright and similarly detailed, but carries enough substance along with it to prevent it sounding thin or aggressive — and this is true even if you like to listen at considerable volume.

There’s ample dynamic headroom available for when the attack or intensity or simple volume of a recording ramps up, and a similar facility with the less obvious (but no less important) dynamics of harmonic variation. It’s not enough for the HC5 to identify and reveal the most fleeting, most minor details in a recording - it is able to put them into the sort of context that means they serve as part of an overall picture, rather than treating them like some kind of academic exercise.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Design

• 64 x 32 x 16mm (HxWxD)
• Aluminium construction
• 46g

There’s ‘portable’ and then there’s the Astell & Kern HC5. Unlike quite a few nominal rivals, (some of which look like hip flasks) this headphone amp/DAC is sufficiently small (64 x 32 x 16mm, HxWxD) and light (46g) enough to be taken out even by those not wearing a coat with sturdy pockets, or carrying a bag of some kind.

The aluminium construction is impeccable, the proportions are almost instinctively suitable for a palm, and those concave sides only add to the tactility. Obviously Astell & Kern is a past master at this sort of thing, but it’s nice to be reminded it can do it for a £400 product as readily as it can for something costing £4K.

• Design score: 5 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Usability & setup

• Supplied with USB-C and Lightning cables
• Clear, legible display
• Physical controls feel imprecise

At one end the HC5 has a USB-C input — it’s supplied with both USB-C / USB-C and USB-C / Lightning cables, so you should have no problem connecting your source of music. At the other there are 3.5mm unbalanced and 4.4mm balanced headphone outputs.

Next to the USB-C input there’s a relatively large, knurled dial that takes care of volume — the HC5 features a frankly excessive 150 steps for ultra-granular control. It feels just slightly wobbly and a little less premium than the main body of the device.

That’s also true of the little button on the side of the HC5 that is basically your control for everything that isn’t volume; it feels just fractionally imprecise. Thankfully the display it works in conjunction with, which occupies fully half of the front of the device, is crisp and bright and legible. Here’s where you’ll turn the digital audio remaster algorithm on or off, and choose between the six available digital filters — and this, in essence, is what constitutes ‘set up’ where the Astell & Kern is concerned.

• Usability & setup score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Value

• It's a very little product
• …but that is one of its biggest strengths
• It more than levels up your phone's audio without you noticing it's there

If — and it’s quite a big ‘if’ — you have wired headphones capable of taking advantage of the HC5’s unarguable sonic abilities, and if you have a streaming service subscription that includes lots of hi-res content, then there’s no arguing with the difference the Astell & Kern can make to your portable listening experience. Which has to count as ‘value’ in anyone’s language, doesn’t it? OK there are cheaper devices out there too, but none look or feel quite as good as this one — and there are also much more expensive ones out there…

• Value score: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Should I buy the Astell & Kern AK HC5?Buy it if…

You own good wired headphones
Because no good can come of plugging them straight into a smartphoneView Deal

You have access to truly hi-res content
The HC5 can deal with the biggest real-world resolutions aroundView Deal

You think ‘portable’ should mean ‘portable’
Small and palm-sized, the A&K can genuinely go anywhere without becoming a burdenView Deal

Don't buy it if…

Your headphones are on a 6.3mm jack
You’ll need an adapter to use them with the HC5View Deal

You place a lot of value on the physical interface
The feel of the physical controls isn’t as premium as it might beView Deal

Your source player doesn’t have huge battery life
The A&K uses your player’s power, and quite a bit of itView Deal

(Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas)Astell & Kern AK HC5 review: Also consider

Where price and performance is concerned, the most obvious rival to the Astell & Kern HC5 is the Chord Mojo 2. In absolute terms it probably has the edge over the HC5, and its EQ adjustment facility is worthwhile too — but it stretches the meaning of the word ‘portable’ quite a distance…

How I tested the Astell & Kern AK HC5

At one end I connected the Astell & Kern HC5 to an Apple iPhone 15 Pro, a FiiO M15S digital audio player, and an Apple MacBook Pro — this way I was able to access a whole lot of content of various genres and resolutions, and also to assess the device’s performance against the extremely impressive D-to-A abilities of the FiiO DAP.

At the other end I connected a pair of Austrian Audio The Arranger open-backed over-ear headphones to the 3.5mm unbalanced output and a pair of Sennheiser IE900 in-ear monitors to the 4.4mm balanced alternative.

• Read TechRadar's reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: July 2026

TerraMaster F4-425 Pro: 30-second review

TerraMaster has been making NAS hardware long enough to know that the upgrade cycle is everything. The F4-424 Pro arrived in early 2024 with a strong hand: an Intel Core i3-N305, 32GB of DDR5, and a build that put competitors under genuine pressure. Two years on, the company returns with the F4-425 Pro, and the result is a more complicated story than a straightforward generational step forward.

On the hardware side, the headline changes are meaningful. Dual 5GbE replaces the F4-424 Pro's dual 2.5GbE, which doubles the theoretical single-client throughput ceiling. The M.2 slot count increases from two to three. Both are welcome improvements that justify the refresh.

But there is a wrinkle. The processor moves from the Core i3-N305 to the Intel N350. The N350 is also an 8-core chip, and its maximum burst clock of 3.9GHz fractionally exceeds the N305's 3.8GHz. The difference is that the N350 is an Atom-architecture Alder Lake-N part rather than a Core-class one. Per-core performance and integrated GPU capability are both lower. The advantage is better power efficiency, but some will see this as a retrograde step.

The other major story for this platform is TOS 7. TerraMaster has rebuilt its operating system around an AI-first philosophy, with the OpenClaw assistant promising natural language control over 90% of common configuration tasks. That skirts the whole AI backlash, and those who don’t want to chat with their NAS, but equally, there are some that will embrace these features.

At £639.99, the F4-425 Pro sits in a remarkably competitive bracket. The Ugreen DXP4800 Pro offers a Core i3-1315U and a single 10GbE at £689.99. The Ugreen DXP4800 GT delivers dual 10GbE and ECC memory support at £589.99. The TerraMaster undercuts or matches both on M.2 count and brings a genuinely new OS story to the table. Whether that is enough depends on what the buyer most needs, but on spec alone, this isn’t one of the best NAS in this sector.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)TerraMaster F4-425 Pro: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From $680/£586
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from TerraMaster or through an online retailer

The F4-425 Pro launched on 23 June 2026, available direct from TerraMaster, as well as retailers including Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, and B&H Photo.

At the time of review, the 8GB model is priced at $640 / £640 from TerraMaster and Amazon. Online retailer B&H Photo wants $644.99. And all these prices are without drives, obviously.

One curiosity is that although the F4-425 Pro spec is for a system that uses the Intel N350 and comes with 16GB of RAM, TerraMaster also has a second SKU with the N305 CPU that its predecessor used, and 8GB of DDR5. This lower spec model is priced at $559.99.

The top SKU price matches the F4-424 Pro's UK debut cost, interestingly.

For the purpose of this review, we’ll focus on the N350 model, since that was the one that TerraMaster supplied us.

Given the price is similar to its predecessor, the networking upgrade from 2.5GbE to 5GbE and the additional M.2 slot make this solution an attractive option over the F4-424 Pro, even if neither is exactly a bargain.

What seems odd is that the release of the F4-425 Pro hasn’t made the previous F4-424 Pro any cheaper, unfortunately. More than a disappointment for budget-conscious buyers, TerraMaster is asking $687.99 USD for that previous design.

That pricing suggests TerraMaster thinks it's competing with itself to some extent, but recent releases in this NAS space strongly contradict that notion.

Ugreen had the DXP4800 Plus, added the DXP4800 Pro and now the DXP4800 GT.

Direct from Ugreen, the DXP4800 Plus is $583.99, the DXP4800 Pro is $639.99, and the new DXP4800 GT is on sale for $527.99. Given that all of these have more powerful processors than the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro, and the DXP4800 Pro has a 10GbE LAN port, TerraMaster's pricing seems oddly out of touch.

As this is a NAS review, it’s the law that I must mention Synology, even if this company has all but abandoned the SOHO NAS space. After an implausibly long delay between releases, Synology launched the Synology DS925+, a NAS that’s powered by the ancient AMD Ryzen V1500B. Oddly, given this brand's history, it is the cheapest option at $511.99. However, the DS925+ comes with only 4GB of RAM, its dual M.2 slots accept only Synology-branded modules, and the best LAN ports are only 2.5GbE.

Given these alternatives, and some others I’ve not mentioned, the F4-425 Pro seems overpriced and underspecced, a phrase I thought I’d never use in reference to TerraMaster hardware.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)TerraMaster F4-425 Pro: Specs

Item

Spec

CPU:

Intel N350 8-core 8C / 8T (Gracemont E-Cores)

GPU:

Intel UHD Graphics 770 (32 EUs)

RAM:

16GB DDR5 non-ECC SODIMM, expandable to 32GB via SO-DIMM swap

SATA Storage:

4x 3.5/2.5-inch SATA III

M.2 Storage:

3x M.2 NVMe (both PCIe Gen 3 x1

Ports:

3x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps)

 

1x USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps)

 

1x HDMI 1.4

Networking:

2x 5GbE RJ45

OS:

TOS 7

File Systems:

EXT4, Btrfs

Maximum Capacity:

152TB (4x 32TB + 3x 8TB M.2)

RAID Modes:

TRAID, TRAID+, RAID 0/RAID 1/RAID 5/RAID 6/RAID 10

PSU:

12V 7.2A 90W external

Power Consumption:

45W under full SATA Load

Dimensions:

186 x 277 x 277 mm

Weight:

2.9kg (including PSU, but without drives)

Warranty:

2 Years

TerraMaster F4-425 Pro: Design

• Standard TerraMaster Case
• No lockable trays
• Dual 5GbE LAN
• Triple M.2 slots

The F4-425 Pro continues the black motif TerraMaster adopted with the 424 series, and I do prefer this look to the all-silver devices of the past.

The outer shell gives the chassis a denser feel than the silver-and-aluminium aesthetic of earlier TerraMaster NAS units. The front face is clean and largely featureless: four drive bays with activity LEDs behind a pattern of small holes, and TerraMaster branding on each bay.

Even without drives, this is a hefty item measuring 186 x 277 x 277 mm with a net weight of 2.9kg. That is compact for a four-bay unit, which is marginally smaller than the same type from Ugreen or Synology.

Drive installation remains tool-free for 3.5-inch mechanisms. But 2.5-inch mechanisms still require screws to seat, and aren’t the best design I’ve seen.

Firstly, there is no lock to stop an accidental press from disconnecting a drive. And, given how long TerraMaster has been making NAS, you’d think that trays with numbers on them might have made it onto its devices.

Admittedly, TerraMaster does provide labels for you to stick on the drive facias, but since they took the time to emboss "TERRAMASTER " onto the plastic fronts of the trays, you think they could also put 1, 2, 3, and 4 on them.

I can’t recall when I first complained about the lack of tray locks on TerraMaster NAS, but it was so long ago and so often repeated that its failure to fix this is evidently not unintentional.

Another place where TerraMaster does its own thing is with respect to the M.2 slots, where this new model has three and not the two that the F4-424 Pro came.

On Synology and Ugreen NAS, the M.2 slots are accessible behind a panel held in place with a couple of screws. But here, there are four screws to remove, and then the entire outer shell of the case slides off. This does provide great access, but I suspect this was done as a cost-saving measure, mostly.

Having three M.2 slots sounds wonderful for those with spare NVMe drives to populate them, although that’s tempered slightly by their PCIe Gen3x1 bandwidth allocation. But what I found slightly shocking inside is that the 16GB DDR5 SODIMM is in a single slot. Therefore, if you want to upgrade the RAM to 32GB, you will be forced to remove the existing 16GB module. I’ll talk more about memory later, because the memory controller on the N350 has some odd features.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Moving on to external hardware features, having reviewed the latest Ugreen NAS recently, the number of ports on the F4-425 Pro seems on the low side.

On the front is a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and there is no card reader of any variety. The rear has another two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, both of which are 10Gbps, and a single USB-C that is also the same USB spec. And, there are two 5GbE LAN ports and a single HDMI output.

There is no USB4 or Thunderbolt, and no PCIe slot to add a 10GbE card. You can channel-bond the two 5GbE ports, but there aren’t many switches that support 5GbE at this time.

Cooling is provided by a 120mm system fan that sits centrally at the rear. In smart mode, it adjusts speed to drive temperature. TerraMaster quotes 20.9dB(A) at standby with four SATA drives fitted, which is a quiet figure. And, this system is quiet in typical use.

Overall, my takeaways are that this platform is better in some respects than the N305-based F4-424, but each enhanced feature comes with a caveat, it seems.

• Design: 4 / 5

TerraMaster F4-425 Pro: Features

• Different CPU
• Single PCIe lane M.2 slots
• Maximum of 32GB
• 5GbE LAN ports

Due to Intel's endless rebranding, the chip in the F4-424 Pro was a Core i3 N305, whereas the one in this NAS is a Core i3 N350. So like Thor in Ragnarok, it lost an eye, but gained something else.

In reality, these chips are remarkably similar, since they both use eight Gracemont E-Cores, have an identical 6MB cache, and a single memory channel for DDR5 memory.

But there are two important differences, the first being that the N350 is capped at 7W of base power, not the 15W of the N305. And to conserve power, the N350 can drop the base clock to only 100 MHz when the system is idle. There are also some enhancements to the GPU clocks to deliver a little more speed, but the Intel UHD Graphics 770 (32 EUs) doesn’t have gaming potential.

The switch to this architecture over the previous one focuses on making this NAS quieter, less power-hungry, and cooler. That makes perfect sense, even if it's slightly at odds with the headlong charge towards AI that TOS 7 is mustering.

What the processor change doesn’t address is that this platform is pinched for PCIe lanes, since both the N305 and N350 have only nine PCIe 3.0 lanes.

That goes some way to explain why the M.2 slots are only single-lane and can only achieve roughly 1GB/s, irrespective of what modules you put in them. As a side note, with these performance restrictions, there seems little point in using expensive NVMe drives in this system.

If we assume that each of the M.2 slots gets a lane, and each of the 5GbE LAN ports another one, and the SATA ports one lane, and the USB another four, then that’s ten, and we only have nine lanes. That infers a PCIe switch is used in this system, because otherwise the number of lanes and the systems that use them don’t stack up.

To be clear, it’s not like the NAS is massively over-subscribed on PCI bandwidth, but if you fill every port and slot, something is going to give at some point.

There is also something of an oddity with the memory model of this NAS. If you head over to Intel and look at the specifications for the N350, you might notice that Intel states the maximum amount of memory this processor supports is 16GB. Well, that appears to be wrong, because you can put 32GB in this NAS, and it will work. You can’t add any more, and because it has only a single memory channel and SODIMM slot, you can’t use two 16GB modules.

If you want more memory, you need to take the next rung up on the processor ladder. The Ugreen NASync DXP4800 Pro uses an Intel Core i3-1315U, and that has dual-channel memory enabling it to address 96GB.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Dual 5GbE is one of the most consequential hardware changes over the F4-424 Pro. With link aggregation configured on a managed switch, the aggregate theoretical bandwidth reaches 10Gbps. Single-client throughput sits at up to 625MB/s per port, compared to 312MB/s from the F4-424 Pro's 2.5GbE ports. For 4K video workflows, large file transfers, and multi-user small office environments, that improvement is tangible.

However, it begs the question of why they didn’t simply combine the bandwidth and offer a single 10GbE port in the first place? If anyone wants another 2.5GbE line, perhaps for a network failover option, USB adapters that can use the 10Gbps USB-A ports are inexpensive.

The absence of a 10GbE port will disappoint buyers who want the maximum headline figure. The Ugreen DXP4800 Pro provides single-port 10GbE at $719.99, and the DXP4800 GT provides dual 10GbE at $559.99. TerraMaster is positioning 5GbE as a practical middle ground that delivers meaningful real-world improvement without requiring expensive 10GbE switching infrastructure. That argument has merit for some buyers, although 5GbE network switches that support channel-bonding aren’t especially common.

From a hardware perspective, the new N350 isn’t a huge move from the N305 used on the previous generation. What’s different here is that this hardware is better at managing power, heat, and the limited PCIe lanes available to it.

In a straight compute fight, the N305 might be better, but for running 24/7 through a hot summer, the N350 has some advantages that it might need.

• Features: 4 / 5

TerraMaster F4-425 Pro: Software

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• TOS 7
• OpenClaw AI
• Subscription apps

TOS 7 is what TerraMaster is staking the F4-425 Pro's reputation on. Earlier TOS releases were functional but acknowledged as trailing Synology DSM and QNAP QTS in polish and app ecosystem depth. TOS 7 does not try to close that gap incrementally. Instead, TerraMaster has chosen to reframe the competition around an AI-first workflow that neither Synology nor QNAP currently matches.

The OpenClaw assistant is the visible centrepiece. A single click from the app centre installs it, after which the user can issue natural language commands for the full range of administrative tasks: RAID configuration, user account management, backup scheduling, security setup, and file management. The theory is compelling. A buyer who understands that they need a NAS but has never configured one could set up a working system through conversation.

Except there is a huge hole in this plan, since the buyer needs to understand how to install and configure OpenClaw, use LLMs and their API keys. And, those require you to fund your API of choice to accept those messages from OpenClaw, unless you have the expertise to run your own local models using Ollama, and direct OpenClaw to use that.

If you are willing to use AI but not pay for it, the fun doesn’t typically get started.

I tried my best to get the OpenClaw beta to run on this hardware during one of the hottest afternoons of the year, but failed miserably. I got Ollama installed as a Docker container and even loaded a model to use for local access, but I couldn’t get OpenClaw to work with it. Maybe on a cooler day, with better documentation, I could manage this, but given the level of personal experience I brought to this problem, it isn’t something anyone new to AI would want to embrace.

NAS manufacturers have a history of ambitious AI and automation claims that perform well in demonstration scenarios and inconsistently in everyday use. TOS 7 has been in development for over 300 days, according to TerraMaster, but that development timeline says nothing about robustness across edge cases, network configurations, and drive combinations that real users will bring to the table.

And having a tool like OpenClaw running on the NAS, with the ability to create users, shares, and folder structures, and to delete things, might not be as wonderful as it first seems.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Ignoring TerraMaster's attempt to board the AI hype-train, the foundation platform for TOS 7 is solid. Docker and virtual machine support carry forward from TOS 6. The backup suite is comprehensive. Plex and Emby are available from the app centre.

DLNA compliance means out-of-the-box compatibility with smart TVs and media players without any configuration. HyperLock WORM protection addresses compliance requirements for business users. The security baseline, including AES folder encryption, OTP authentication, and the firewall, is mature.

Where TOS has historically needed work is in surveillance capabilities and app ecosystem depth. Whether TOS 7 addresses the Surveillance Manager's lack of a dedicated client with timeline and event marking is a specific testing priority.

There isn’t any debate, this is the best version of TOS yet, and it still has a few features that other NAS brands still haven’t delivered. One I especially like is the TRAID hybrid array model, which allows mixing drives of different sizes and yields more resilient capacity.

Only Synology offers anything comparable, and users of QNAP, Asustor, and Ugreen would gladly welcome such a feature.

A feature that none of those brands might embrace is that the HDMI port on this machine is effectively unused. It’s been a decade since TerraMaster first launched a NAS with an HDMI port on it, and in my review of that equipment, I commented that the port needed support by first-party apps for media playback.

Ten years on, the HDMI port remains useful for TerraMaster production staff to check whether the systems are booting correctly, but is of almost zero use to their customers. Everyone else integrates their HDMI if they have it, but TerraMaster stubbornly refuses to. There are some nefarious ways to get the HDMI to work using Virtual Machines, but that this annoyance was left to fester for so long is incredibly poor.

The other issue that TOS 7 doesn’t address is TerraMaster's somewhat confused approach to the first- and third-party application ecosystem.

• Software: 4 / 5

TerraMaster F4-425 Pro: Performance

• Efficient system
• Balancing speeds

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

When a NAS has four SATA bays, it effectively constrains its peak transfer performance to or from that array. Even with the fastest possible option, RAID 0 on four drives, with each NAS drive being like the WD Red Plus models I used for testing, the total array is only capable of four times the 199MB/s limit for those drives. That’s 796MB/s. which wouldn’t saturate a single 10GbE LAN port, if the F4-425 Pro had one.

More realistically, the RAID mode of choice is likely to be one with redundancy, reducing performance to 597MB/s, which fits rather neatly with what I’d expect from a 5GbE transfer.

But this NAS has two LAN ports, and without any enhancements, using channel bonding of the two 5GbE ports is unlikely to help the total amount of data read or written.

The only way to make things run faster would be either to use SATA SSDs, or NVMe storage, or use the M.2 for caching. I used the latter and was able to get more throughput.

One interesting bit about the M.2 slots and using them for caching on this system is that, typically, for read and write caching, two SSDs are required. But not on TOS 7, which will allow you to use a single SSD for both read and write caches. If you are wondering why others haven’t followed TerraMaster’s example, when you choose to do that on this NAS, you get plenty of warnings about how this can go wrong.

I tested a Crucial P5 500GB, and it achieved an NAS score of 859 MB/s. Therefore, to saturate both 5GbE LAN ports would probably require two NVMe drives in a RAID 0 configuration.

The lesson here is that even with all your storage ducks in a row, it might prove challenging to deliver sufficient performance for the dual 5GbE LAN ports unless you use caching liberally.

• Performance: 4/5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)TerraMaster F4-425 Pro: Final verdict

My views on the F4-425 Pro are a little mixed. It’s easy to get distracted by the all-singing and dancing TOS 7, and gloss over some of the obvious misplays. What I liked most was how efficient this platform can be, something that often gets overlooked when talking about machines that can run for months or years without ever stopping.

But the yin to that yang is that there isn’t a huge amount of power to throw at Docker containers or AI, and that’s where many brands are taking their devices.

I’m also confused why this machine ended up with two 5GbE LAN ports when its competitors are delivering 10GbE. The internal M.2 slots and the four SATA drives are all geared towards supporting a single 1GB/s data flow, so why would you split it into two?

And, for the billionth time of asking, where are the drive tray locks, the apps that can output via HDMI, and better ports than USB 3.2? After ten years of NAS development, two of these questions are long overdue for an answer.

Don’t get me wrong, there are good things here for those who don’t need computational power on the NAS and like cool running, but it feels like TerraMaster is trying to put off the evil day when its next NAS will need to deliver hardware with a wider appeal than the F4-425 Pro.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Should you buy a TerraMaster F4-425 Pro?

Value

Not a great spec considering the price

3.5 / 5

Design

Old enclosure, and no bay locks or numbers

4 / 5

Features

Thre M.2 slots and dual 5GbE LAN

4 / 5

Software

TOS 7 is mostly great

4 / 5

Performance

Constrainted by Gen3x1 M.2 slots and 5GbE LAN ports

4 / 5

Overall

AN efficient four-bay, but hardly excisting

4 / 5

Buy it if...

You want something flexible
Four drive bays have enough capacity to hold plenty of data, and the dual 5GbE LAN ports can distribute it effectively. And, potentially, it could be used to run an AI Agent.

You want minimal power consumption
The CPU in this NAS is nearly as power frugal as an ARM processor, but can still run X86 code.
Those looking for a small four-bay NAS that can stay cool when the going gets hot should take a closer look.

Don't buy it if...

You want Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt and USB4 ports enable connecting fast external SSDs or HDDs to add even more storage. If you want Thunderbolt ports or PCIe expansion, then the F4-235 Pro isn’t for you, as it only has USB 3.2.

You need TOPS
Those working on local LLMs often need TOPS, or Tera Operations per Second. And, depending on the processor, and if it has an NPU (neural processing unit), the performance for AI is often rated in TOPS. The N350 is rated at only 2 TOPs, which is way below what the latest Intel and AMD mobile processors offer. They often achieve over 100 TOPS. View Deal

For more storage solutions we've tested the best NAS hard drives around

HyperDrive Next TB5 Dock: 30-second review

While docking stations are rarely the most glamorous pieces of hardware on a desk, they do offer a generation shift in connectivity that can completely transform a professional workflow. That’s the thinking behind HyperDrive Next Thunderbolt 5 Dock. Take a single Thunderbolt 5 uplink cable, and with it convert a premium laptop or professional mini PC into a modular, desktop-class powerhouse.

Historically, compact Thunderbolt docks forced users to accept a hierarchy of compromises-sacrificing networking speeds, capping host charging, or forcing external storage enclosures to occupy precious downstream ports. Hyper systematically eliminates these constraints. Built around Intel's newest Barlow Ridge controller, the dock shifts dynamically between a symmetrical 80Gbps bidirectional layout and an asymmetrical 120Gbps downstream pipeline for monstrous multi-display or high-refresh configurations.

What elevates the HyperDrive Next over its closest competitors, like the Ugreen Maxidok 10-in-1, is its inclusion of premium internal features. Rather than reserving professional-grade utilities for a giant, corporate-sized footprint, Hyper fits an active-cooled M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 4 slot and a 2.5GbE LAN port directly into this rugged chassis.

One snag is that at $399.99, which seems excessive for a dock with this number of ports. But for digital creatives, video editors, and engineering professionals seeking maximum bandwidth and a clutter-free desk, it might be worth it.

It also suffers from some of the same performance issues that I noticed on the UGREEN Maxidok 17-to-1 TB5 dock, and it doesn’t offer any native HDMI or DisplayPort outputs. That last limitation means that if you want to connect monitors, you will need to buy Thunderbolt to HDMI/DP adapters, and those aren’t cheap.

Because of some of these points, the HyperDrive Next Thunderbolt 5 Dock isn’t a candidate to join our best docking station collection. But it might be the right specification for some customers.

HyperDrive Next TB5 Dock: Price & availability

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• How much does it cost? $399/€348.75
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from the HyperShop, Amazon.com, and authorised pro-audio/video retailers like B&H.

The HyperDrive Next Thunderbolt 5 Dock is available direct from Hyper, as well as retailers such as Amazon and B&H Photo.

The device sits firmly in the premium tiers of enterprise and prosumer desk hardware. At $399.99, it is explicitly targeted at those who can monetise the massive leaps in transfer speeds and potential display throughput.

When positioned against the broader marketplace, this is on the edge of the premium space for a dock that, in theory, has the features to justify it. For context, smaller "halfway house" Thunderbolt 5 docks like the Ugreen Maxidok 10-in-1 retail closer to $300 but cut out the internal storage slot, drop networking to standard 1GbE, and cap individual laptop charging to 100W.

To get equivalent feature parity from alternative brands, you typically have to move to massive 17-in-1 enterprise enclosures that carry bulkier footprints and larger PSUs.

The competitive landscape is interesting, since many makers still consider TB5 technology to be high-end rather than consumer products.

The key players that make this level of hardware are Anker, CalDigit, Kensington, OWC, and Ugreen.

However, at this time, only CalDigit, Kensington and UGREEN offer a dock with an M.2 slot

One that many will gravitate to is the CalDigit TS5 Plus, a dock that sports a 10GbE LAN port and 140W power profile. That 20-port option doesn’t have an M.2 slot, and it costs $499.99/£469.99 on Amazon.com.

I did notice that the Kensington SD7100T5 EQ Pro isn’t globally available, but it can be bought in the USA, if you have $449.99 burning a hole in your pocket. It’s a fully featured dock with three TB5 downstream ports, an M.2 slot, and a 2.5GbE LAN port.

The most recent arrival is the Ugreen Maxidok 17-to-1, a slightly cheaper option at $390, but it does have a DisplayPort output, M.2 and 2.5GbE LAN port.

While only undercut by the Ugreen Maxidok, the HyperDrive Next Thunderbolt 5 Dock is only a ten-port dock, and if it didn’t have the M.2 slot, I’d be comparing it to the likes of the Maxidok 10-to-1 option that costs only $250.

I should also point out that to make the most of this dock, you need Thunderbolt 5, though it will work with Thunderbolt 4, Thunderbolt 3, USB4 and even USB-C.

Buying this dock with a Thunderbolt 4 machine means paying a premium for capabilities you cannot yet access. The hardware is forward-looking, but the investment only pays off when the host catches up.

If you aren’t planning to upgrade to a machine with Thunderbolt 5 technology, then this hardware's best feature will mostly go unused.

• Value: 4 / 5

HyperDrive Next TB5 Dock: Specs

Feature

Specification

Model

HD2801GL

Thunderbolt Protocol

Thunderbolt 5 (Intel Barlow Ridge JHL9580 controller family)

Upstream Host Port

1x TB5 rear, 140W EPR PD 3.1 pass-through

Downstream TB Ports

2x TB5 rear, 1x TB5 front

USB-A Rear

2x USB-A 10Gbps (4.5W each)

USB-A Front

1x USB-A 10Gbps 4.5W, 1x USB-A 10Gbps 7.5W

Network

1x RJ-45 2.5GbE

Audio

1x 3.5mm TRS/TRRS combo

Power Supply

DC 20V 180W external power brick

M.2 Expansion Slot

Full-size M.2 PCIe Gen 4 x4 / Gen 3 (NVMe or PCIe M.2 module)

Max NVMe Capacity

Up to 16TB

AI Module Support

Yes (compatible PCIe M.2 modules including inference accelerators)

Thunderbolt Share

Yes (dual-PC direct sharing without network)

Display Output Windows

3x 4K 144Hz or 8K 144Hz

Display Output macOS

3x 4K (M5 Pro/Max only) or 2x 4K (other Mac configs)

Bandwidth

80Gbps symmetric / 120Gbps display boost

Power Button

Yes (front panel)

Security Slots

Nano Kensington and standard Kensington

Dimensions

19.4 x 7.8 x 5.2 cm (L x W x H)

Materials

75% recycled PCR plastic and aluminium

Warranty

2 Years

HyperDrive Next TB5 Dock: Design

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• 3x TB downlinks
• No HDMI or DisplayPort
• M.2 slot on the underside

The success or failure of this design hinges on whether you intend to use a monitor attached to the dock. The cable/adapters to do this aren’t expensive, but they are an extra expense, and it would have been nice if Hyper had included at least one with the dock.

The design of this dock reminds me of others made by StarTech and OWC that use the same extruded aluminium tube with capped ends.

It’s not horrible, and it feels remarkably robust, but it's also not cutting edge or especially refined.

The HyperDrive Next TB5 dock is a horizontal desktop slab measuring 19.4 x 7.8 x 5.2 cm. It is compact without being cramped, and the low profile keeps it unobtrusive on a crowded desk.

What struck me first was how heavy it is, with the dock weighing an impressive 1.88kg (4.12 lbs). If you’ve had a dock that someone has knocked off your desk with their elbow in passing, this is not that type of dock. And, brushing this one at speed might result in a trip to the doctor.

Construction uses a mix of aluminium and recycled PCR plastics. Hyper states that 75% of the dock body is composed of post-consumer recycled material. The aluminium elements serve a thermal purpose as well as an aesthetic one, helping dissipate heat during extended running.

The front panel carries one TB5 downstream port, two USB-A ports at 10Gbps, a 3.5mm audio combo jack and a power button. The physical power button pays dividends in daily use. Powering the dock on and off without unplugging the host cable is a small convenience that quickly becomes an expectation.

Having a TB5 downlink on the front is nice, although some might get confused and think that it is the uplink.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The rear carries the host TB5 port, two further downstream TB5 ports, two USB-A ports, the 2.5GbE RJ-45 port, the DC power input and dual Kensington lock slots. The two-slot security provision, one nano and one standard, is a welcome professional-grade addition.

If you haven’t clicked already, Hyper traded away the dedicated monitor connection for the third TB5 downlink, meaning you will need adapters to connect any type of monitor.

The M.2 expansion bay is accessed via a removable panel on the underside of the chassis. Fitting a drive is straightforward. The bay supports full-size M.2 2280 modules at PCIe Gen 4 x4 or Gen 3 speeds, but it can also accept smaller M.2 form factors. Hyper also formally supports compatible PCIe M.2 accelerator cards here, including inference hardware such as the Hailo-8.

I’ll be frank and say that before Hyper mentioned such functionality, I was unaware that AI acceleration in the M.2 form factor was even a thing, but apparently it is, and this dock supports it.

• Design: 4 / 5

HyperDrive Next TB5 Dock: Features

• TB5 Bandwidth
• M.2 Slot
• 140W charging

Thunderbolt 5 offers 80Gbps symmetric bandwidth, handles simultaneous data, display and power delivery. When the host machine supports bandwidth boost mode, that figure rises to 120Gbps on the display path, enabling the full triple 4K or 8K output scenarios.

Display support is platform-dependent. On Windows and on the MacBook Pro M5 Pro or M5 Max, three external displays run at up to 4K 144Hz or a single 8K at 144Hz. Other macOS configurations and Chrome OS devices are limited to two extended displays. This reflects the display engine capabilities of those platforms rather than any shortcoming in the dock itself.

Unless you have a Thunderbolt-capable display, you will need appropriate cables or adapters to connect screens, and as many of these use the USB-C protocol, results may vary.

On a more positive note, Thunderbolt Share is the feature that sets this dock apart from most competition. Connecting two computers via TB cables allows direct file, peripheral and control sharing at speeds Hyper claims are up to 64 times faster than Gigabit Ethernet. No network infrastructure is needed. A work Mac and a personal Windows machine can share a keyboard, mouse and monitor without touching a cable.

That’s especially useful if you have a desktop computer and a laptop, since it avoids the need to buy yet another gadget to attach them simultaneously.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The M.2 slot deserves its own discussion. PCIe Gen 4 x4 bandwidth through a TB5 connection is theoretically sufficient for any current NVMe drive to operate near its rated speeds. The slot also supports PCIe-based AI accelerator modules. A Hailo-8 or similar inference card installed here allows a laptop to run local AI workloads without a desktop GPU.

Power delivery reaches 140W via EPR PD 3.1. This is the highest common tier for laptop charging, sufficient to keep high-performance MacBook Pros and demanding Windows workstations topped up even under load. The physical power button on the front allows the dock to be cycled without disturbing the host cable connection.

Port count totals ten across the front and rear. All four USB-A ports run at 10Gbps. Dual Kensington lock slots in nano and standard formats reflect Hyper's targeting of professional and enterprise environments.

• Features: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)HyperDrive Next TB5 Dock: Performance

• Intel created performance issues
• 140W power dilemma

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

I ran into issues with this dock, and they were identical to those I previously experienced on the Ugreen Maxidok 17-to-1, hardware built on the same Intel Barlow Ridge controller.

That suggests neither Ugreen nor Hyper is the culprit in these cases, and that there is an issue with the controller's bandwidth allocation to both the 2.5GbE LAN port and the M.2 slot.

In both cases, neither interface performs as it should, reducing file transfers over the LAN port to about 60% of what I would normally expect and making the Gen4x4 appear to be a Gen3x4 or Gen4x2 slot.

And, like the Ugreen dock, I was able to get the full 2.5GbE LAN experience by plugging an inexpensive $26 USB to Ethernet Adapter 2.5GbE into the dock. Which means that it allocates less bandwidth to the LAN port than it does to 10Gbps USB Type-A ports.

The issue appears to be the same with the M.2 slot, and again, I was able to get better performance from a Corsair EX400U USB4 external SSD attached to one of the TB5 downlinks than I was for a Gen4 drive installed in the M.2 slot.

Those are issues it inherited, it appears, but there are some others that I need to mention that were choices Hyper made.

These relate to the power distribution, as this dock only has an 180W PSU, yet it claims it can charge at 140W. It can probably charge at 140W, assuming none of the other ports is drawing power. But if the M.2 is occupied, and something is pulling 15W from each of the Thunderbolt downlinks, there is a mathematical problem with getting those numbers and the overhead of running the dock from a total of 180W.

It’s interesting to note that other flagship docks come with 240W or even 330W in one case to avoid the power pinch, but not this one.

I feel bad talking about the performance issues on this dock because I don’t think the maker can be blamed, but equally, anyone handing over $400 for one of these needs to know what to expect.

• Performance: 3.5 / 5

HyperDrive Next TB5 Dock: Final verdict

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The HyperDrive Next Thunderbolt 5 Dock is a strong entry into a rapidly maturing market. Hyper has delivered on the headline promises of TB5 bandwidth, triple 4K display output, Thunderbolt Share connectivity, a built-in M.2 expansion slot and 140W EPR charging. However, the devil is certainly in the details of many aspects.

The performance ceiling of the M.2 slot and the 2.5GbE port under load is a real limitation. But the context is that these shortfalls have appeared consistently across every dock built on the Intel Barlow Ridge TB5 controller family. They are not a Hyper problem; they are an Intel architecture problem. Buyers who understand that tradeoff will find this dock a genuinely capable daily driver, if it fits their specific workflow.

At $399.99, the dock is priced in the thick of the premium TB5 segment. The built-in M.2 bay and Thunderbolt Share support give it a differentiated position, but the lack of at least one dedicated monitor connection or any card slots could be showstoppers for some.

But for others, the inclusion of three TB5 downlinks opens up the dock to be a highly flexible option.

HyperDrive Next TB5 Dock: Report card

Value

Not the cheapest TB5 dock with M.2, but hardly expensive.

4 / 5

Design

Solid and chunky, but with limited ports for a flagship design

4 / 5

Features

Offers 140W charging, but it probably shouldn’t

4 / 5

Performance

Marred performance on LAN and M.2 courtesy of Intel

3.5 / 5

Overall

For those who want TB5 downlinks, this is an attractive dock

4 / 5

Should I buy a HyperDrive Next TB5 Dock?

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)Buy it if...

You have Thunderbolt 5
If you have the right ports, you can extract levels of performance from this dock that TB4 and USB4 could only dream. And, it can also handle dual 8K video, should you have the monitors and adapters to connect.

You have TB5 peripherals
With three TSB5 downlinks, this dock is aggressively positioned to exploit them. These include TB monitors and external storage. But if you want to use the Thunderbolt Share feature, that will immediately remove one of those ports from general use.View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You need true M.2 NVMe Gen4x4 performance
The Intel controller architecture cannot sustain those figures under simultaneous load, unfortunately. Either get a TB5 external SSD or connect a USB4 SSD directly to your PC, which will deliver better results.

You need more than 140W charging
The maximum amount of power that the TB5 uplink port on this dock can deliver is 140W. If you need more than that for other ports, then you might need to connect a dedicated PSU to your laptop or find a more power-capable design, like Ugreen's flagship 17-to-1 model.

Also consider

Ugreen Maxidok 10-to-1 TB5 dock
Fewer ports but the same underlying TB5 technology, and a much lower price. The 10-to-1 dock offers two TB5 downlink ports and a single HDMI monitor output at only 60% of the price of its 17-to-1 big brother.

Check out my Ugreen Maxidok 10-to-1 TB5 dock review

Motorola Razr Plus 2026: Two-minute review

The Motorola Razr Plus 2026 (or Razr 70 Plus, as it's known in some regions) is as puzzling as it is pleasing to use. On the plus side, it boasts a sturdier hinge, all-day battery life thanks to its 4,500mAh cell, two displays that are easily visible in direct sunlight, and a main camera that takes stunning portrait photos that are sure to impress your friends and family.

But Motorola made some odd decisions with the Razr Plus that I'm still scratching my head over. In the US, it costs $100 more than its predecessor, which, given the rising cost of pretty much everything right now, might make sense on its own. However, Motorola used the same processor in this new model as it used in the previous two generations of the Razr Plus family. And while it's still snappy and can handle everyday tasks and some gaming with ease, paying more for the same ol' tech doesn't sit right.

What's more, Motorola is promising Razr Plus 2026 owners three years of OS upgrades and five years of security updates, both of which trail Samsung and Google's seven-year guarantee.

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

The camera setup is a mixed bag. Motorola removed the telephoto camera and replaced it with an ultra-wide shooter. If you take a lot of wide-angle photos, you'll be smitten. However, if you ever find yourself wanting to zoom in on anything — your kid's performance at school or a sign across the room — you're sure to be disappointed.

Ultimately, the Razr Plus 2026 is an excellent clamshell flip phone that is incredibly fun to use, but its recycled hardware places it in an awkward position. If you want a phone that will confidently turn heads, give you an intuitive cover screen experience, and last all day, it delivers — just don't expect it to keep up with the fast-evolving world of on-device AI a few years down the road.

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 review: Price and availability

• 12GB + 256GB for $1,099 in the US
• 12GB + 512GB for £1,000 in the UK
• Not available in Australia

The Motorola Razr Plus launched on May 21, 2026 and is available to purchase from Motorola directly. In the US, it's also available at third-party retailers like Amazon, but only in a single configuration of 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, for $1,099. That's a price increase of $100 over last year's model.

In the UK, Motorola sells a slightly different configuration of the Razr Plus, known as the Razr 70 Plus. It also comes with 12 GB of RAM, but doubles the storage to 512GB for £1,000.

At the time of writing, the Razr Plus 2026 is not available in Australia.

For reference, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 FE cost $1,099 / £1,049 / AU$1,799 and $899 / £849 / AU$1,499, respectively, while the cheaper Razr 2026 and Razr Ultra 2026 cost $799.99 / £799.99 and $1,499.99 / £1,199.99, respectively.

In other words, the Razr Plus 2026 is in the middle of the pack in terms of price. It's not the most expensive flip phone you can buy, but it's far from cheap.

• Value score: 3 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 review: Specs

Here's a breakdown of the Motorola Razr Plus 2026's key specs:

Dimensions:

Closed: 3.5 x 2.9 x 0.6 in
Open: 2.9 x 6.7 x 0.3 in

Weight:

189g

Display:

Cover display: 4-inch AMOLED
Main display: 6.9-inch AMOLED

Resolution:

Cover display: 1272 x 1080
Main display: 1084 x 2640

Refresh rate:

Cover display: 165Hz
Main display: 165Hz

Peak brightness:

Cover display: 2,400 nits
Main display: 3,000 nits

CPU:

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3

RAM:

12GB

Storage:

256GB

OS:

Android 16

Cameras:

50MP main, 50MP ultra-wide

Selfie Camera:

32MP

Battery:

4,500mAh

Charging:

45W wired, 15W wireless, 5W reverse wireless

Colors:

Pantone Mountain View

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 review: DesignFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason Cipriani

• New titanium hinge is more durable
• Mesh pattern on the back adds some grip

The 2026 version of the Motorola Razr Plus is available in one color: Pantone Mountain View. That's a fancy name for what I'd consider forest green. Although, because of the flip design, the color of the phone doesn't dominate the overall aesthetic, with the back panel (when closed) and the frame of the phone being the only areas that show off any sort of color. The rest of the phone is black — well, until you wake it up and realize it's all screen.

The back panel features a textured pattern Motorola is referring to as a "woven jacquard-inspired finish." The woven pattern adds some much-needed grip to the back of an otherwise slick phone. You won't find any MagSafe-like support on the Razr Plus, nor does it support Qi2 wireless charging. Instead, you'll get 15W wireless charging and 5W reverse wireless charging for topping off your smartwatch or wireless earbuds.

It's been a few years since I last used a foldable phone that flips instead of opening like a book, and I've definitely missed using a clamshell phone. When it's closed, its compact size doesn't feel overly bulky in my pocket like my iPhone 15 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.

When closed, the Razr Plus fits almost perfectly in the palm of my hand, allowing one-handed use of the front display. The volume buttons, along with the lock/wake button that doubles as a fingerprint sensor, are easily accessible, making unlocking the phone or adjusting the volume while listening to music or streaming a YouTube video a breeze.

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

I do wish the front screen wasn't broken up by the two camera lenses in the bottom right corner, but that's a byproduct of this form factor.

When opened, the phone is narrower and taller than my iPhone 15 Pro Max and Pixel 10 Pro XL, which means there's a bit of a learning curve at first. I found it difficult to reach the top third of the screen or so when using the phone one-handed. The taller aspect ratio also puts the volume controls and that fingerprint sensor higher up on the right side of the housing. This positioning isn't a deal-breaker, by any means, but it does take some getting used to.

There's a new titanium-reinforced hinge in this year's model, and while I can't speak to how much more durable it is than previous hinges in the Razr line, I can say it feels smooth and sturdy.

The USB-C charge port, capable of charging at up to 45W, is located on the bottom of the phone, as is common practice for all modern smartphones.

The Razr Plus has an IP48 rating, meaning it'll survive an accidental swim in a pool or bathtub. It'll also stand up to pocket lint and everyday debris, but don't drop it at the beach — the sand could wreak havoc.

The Razr Plus doesn't break the design mold for a clamshell-style flip phone, and adapting to the taller design takes some time, but it's a phone that's sure to garner some attention whenever you pull it out and flip it open.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 review: Displays

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

• Plenty of brightness, inside and out
• Two displays are better than one

The Motorola Razr Plus has two different displays. When closed, the front of the phone features a 4-inch AMOLED cover display with a resolution of 1272 x 1080, a 165Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 2,400 nits. All of that distills down to a compact screen that looks clear, crisp, and is easy to see in direct sunlight.

As I said earlier, my biggest gripe is that even though the cover display is listed at 4 inches, you don't get to take full advantage of that space because the dual-camera lens setup in the bottom-right corner gets in the way.

Still, I rather enjoyed quickly checking my email or scrolling through my Reddit feed while waiting in line at a food truck. I didn't enjoy typing out long messages on a cramped keyboard, but it was nice to send a quick yes/no or short message without opening the phone.

On the inside is a 6.9-inch AMOLED display, with a 1084 x 2640 resolution, a 165Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 3,000 nits. That peak brightness is on par with the likes of the Pixel 10 Pro XL and iPhone 17 Pro Max, and beats out the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7's 2,600-nit peak brightness. At those levels, you should have no issues seeing the display in direct sunlight.

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

The inner display uses LTPO technology to adjust the refresh rate all the way down to 1Hz when you're looking at a webpage or reading an email, and all the way up to 165Hz when you're gaming or quickly scrolling a social feed.

There's a noticeable crease in the screen that's easily seen and felt as you tap and swipe across the display. But doesn't get in the way or completely distract from the overall experience — in fact, after a few days, I rarely even thought about its presence.

Specifications aside, the inner screen looks sharp, with deep blacks and bright, vivid colors. The surrounding bezel is thin and sits slightly higher than the screen panel itself. That means there's a slight lip around the edge, similar to the raised border of a phone case.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 review: Software

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

• Comes with Android 16
• Will only get 3 years of OS updates
• 5 years of security updates

The Motorola Razr Plus runs Android 16 with Motorola's custom Hello UI skin layered on top, adding customizations and features. I'm a big fan of Google's Pixel lineup and the clean Android experience it offers, but I also appreciate when phone makers like Motorola tweak Android and add to the overall experience.

Google Gemini is baked into the Razr Plus, of course. You can easily access the AI service using your voice or through the Gemini app. It's confusing to me, then, that Motorola has its own Moto AI app on the Razr Plus that duplicates a lot (if not all?) of what Gemini brings to the table.

Inside the Moto AI app, you can use Image Studio to create images from scratch and make stickers to use in your messages. There's also a feature that catches you up on your missed notifications, a playlist creation feature, and even a note-taking transcription service.

I totally get the desire to add AI to all the things right now, but as someone who regularly uses Gemini across all of my devices, I don't want to start investing my time (and data) into another AI tool.

Moto AI aside, my long-standing favorite tweaks Motorola makes to Android are present: Gestures. I love being able to twist my wrist a couple of times and launch the camera app, for example. I wish more phones had a similar capability.

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

With the cover screen, Motorola effectively manages two different home screens. There's, of course, the internal screen, but instead of just duplicating and shrinking it down to fit the cover screen's size, it's an entirely different experience. You can add apps to a dedicated app drawer, manage calendar or weather panels (basically widgets) you swipe between, and even take pictures of video right from the front of the phone. It's all super easy to understand and intuitive to navigate.

Motorola promises three years of major OS updates and five years of security updates for the Razr Plus, falling well short of Google and Samsung, both of which promise seven years of OS updates and security patches to their respective foldables. Motorola's equivalent commitment is disappointing, even more so when you consider the nearly $1,100 price tag of the Razr Plus 2026.

• Software score: 3 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 review: Cameras

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

• 50MP main camera
• 50MP ultra-wide camera
• No telephoto camera this year

The two camera lenses that break up the front display I've complained about a few times already are a 50MP wide camera and a 50MP ultra-wide camera. On the inside is a 32MP hole-punch selfie camera.

For the 2026 version of the Razr Plus, Motorola did away with the telephoto lens and replaced it with an ultra-wide camera. When I first read about the lack of a telephoto lens, I didn't give it much thought — until I actually started taking pictures and realized just how much I was going to miss it.

When I took the Razr Plus to an Alex Warren concert at an outdoor amphitheater, I was really disappointed as I tried to zoom in on the stage and saw nothing but out-of-focus blobs.

Future / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason Cipriani

The first few selfies I took using the main camera and the front display as a viewfinder didn't leave me overly impressed, either. Each one was muted and downright blurry.

It wasn't until a night out with my family, as we waited for our dinner to arrive, and I started taking portrait photos of everyone, that I realized just how much potential the Razr Plus 2026 has as a camera phone.

Future / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason Cipriani

Every portrait shot was clear, crisp, and had ample color saturation. You could make a case that the colors are a little too saturated and unnatural-looking, but that's nitpicking. Every person at the table wouldn't stop talking about how good the photos looked, and I was equally impressed.

Then I started taking pictures of our pizzas as they arrived, and I saw that same blurry, out-of-focus look start to creep into some shots. Maybe it's user error? Maybe the camera is just finicky.

Future / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason CiprianiFuture / Jason Cipriani

The ultra-wide camera has a 122-degree field of view, which was more than enough to capture the entire amphitheater and the audience. However, if you look at the edges of the picture, you'll see it gets blurry and out of focus, while the back of my son's head is perfectly in focus.

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

Overall, then, the Razr Plus' camera setup is mixed. It's impressive when taking portrait photos, and occasionally when taking normal photos. But replacing the telephoto camera with an ultra-wide shooter feels like a step backward from last year's model — the ability to zoom and take high-quality pictures feels like a must-have in 2026, and the Razr Plus 2026 can't deliver.

• Camera score: 3 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 review: Performance

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

• It's plenty fast... for now
• Same exact processor used in the previous two models

Probably the most controversial thing Motorola did with the 2026 Razr Plus is stick with the exact same processor it used in the 2024 and 2025 Razr Plus, while also raising the price of the new phone by $100. Motorola even kept the memory at 12GB and storage at 256GB across all three generations.

In all fairness, the processor — the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 — is no slouch. Over the last month, I haven't noted any glaring performance issues. I've been able to move between apps and multitask, and the Razr Plus kept up with whatever paces I put it through. That often meant watching a YouTube video in picture-in-picture mode, while checking my email, texting my wife, or browsing the web in Chrome. Doing a few laps in Asphalt: Legends also presented no issues (and was actually quite fun).

With AI as a whole at the forefront of almost every tech-related conversation right now, the Razr Plus would surely benefit from an upgraded processor, but I digress.

Just know that if you opt to pick up a Razr Plus, you shouldn't expect any performance issues today — but with an already aging chipset, there's no promise that it won't start showing signs of its age as Android and Motorola's Hello UI software continue to evolve.

For those interested, here's a summary of the Razr Plus' benchmark scores:

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 benchmark scores

Motorola Razr Plus 2026

Geekbench 6 single-core

1835

Geekbench 6 multi-core

4476

3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Best

2202

3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Low

1660

3D Mark Solar Bay

5110

• Performance score: 3 / 5

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 review: Battery

(Image credit: Future / Jason Cipriani)

• 4,500mAh battery
• 45W wired charging
• All-day battery life

Tucked inside the thin housing of the Razr Plus is a 4,500mAh battery, which Motorola promises will deliver over 31 hours of use.

From my testing, I'd say that's only slightly more than what you get in everyday use. I was routinely able to go an entire day of doom scrolling, bouncing between basically any social media app you can name, chatting with friends in Slack, managing my inbox, and texting my wife and kids without needing to charge.

Like most people, I find it's second nature to plug in my phone as I get ready for bed and start the next day with a full charge. On several occasions, I forgot to plug in the Razr Plus, but instead of waking to a phone that had turned off, I found anywhere from 20% to 30% of its juice left.

When you run out of juice, though, using a 45W wall adapter will net you a 20% charge in 15 minutes. A full charge from a completely drained tank, meanwhile, took around 1 hour and 35 minutes in my testing.

As mentioned earlier, there's no MagSafe-equivalent wireless charging feature, nor does the Razr Plus support Qi2. However, you can wirelessly charge at 15W or charge another device using reverse wireless charging at 5W. You won't want to use the latter feature to charge another phone; it's incredibly slow and inefficient.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Should you buy the Motorola Razr Plus 2026?Motorola Razr Plus 2026 scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

A $100 increase year-over-year for old tech.

3 / 5

Design

An upgraded hinge, IP48 rating and a very usable front display are all welcome features.

4 / 5

Displays

The front and inner displays look great, even in direct sunlight.

4 / 5

Software

Three years of OS updates falls well short of industry standards.

3 / 5

Camera

Swapping the telephoto camera out for an ultra-wide isn't ideal, but the main camera takes solid pics.

3 / 5

Performance

The older processor powers through daily tasks with relative ease.

3 / 5

Battery

It just keeps going and going and going.

5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want a compact foldable phone
The cover display is fully functional, allowing you to triage your messages or quickly check your calendar, then it opens to a full-size smartphone that fits easily in your pocket. Win-win.

You want all-day battery life
The 4,500mAh battery provides more than enough power to get through a full day of use and then some.

You want high-quality portrait photos
If you primarily take portrait photos of friends and family, then this phone will be your jam.

Don't buy it if...

You want the latest tech
Motorola's reuse of a processor from 2024 is sure to show signs of its age as we move further into the AI era and Android continues to evolve.

You want a telephoto lens
Do not get the Razr Plus if you routinely zoom in and take photos. It just doesn't do a great job at a distance.

Motorola Razr Plus 2026 review: Also consider

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7
If you want a foldable flip phone, Samsung's Galaxy Z Flip 7 offers a similar experience to the Razr Plus, but with Samsung's software (love or hate it) and a front display that's just as useful.

Read our full Samsung Z Galaxy 7 Flip review

Motorola Razr Ultra 2025
Last year's Moto Razr Ultra checks a lot of the same boxes as the 2026 Razr Plus, but adds in a better processor, more memory, and more storage. However, it too lacks a telephoto lens.

Read our full Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 review

How I tested the Motorola Razr Plus 2026

I lived with the Razr Plus 2026 for over a month. I used Android's restore tool to transfer over accounts and apps from my Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, then signed into the apps I use every day — Slack, Fastmail, Reddit, Mastodon, YouTube, Facebook, Immich, Instagram, and Gemini, to name a few.

I used the Razr Plus as I would my own personal phone throughout each day and over the weeks, taking pictures, watching YouTube, listening to music, and doing all of the other mundane tasks one does on a phone, being sure to take note of my overall impressions along the way.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed June 2026

GMKtec EVO-T2: 30-second review

Mini PCs rarely arrive with fanfare. The GMKtec EVO-T2 is an exception. It debuted at CES 2026 with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan visiting the booth, testing the unit in person and signing a prototype. His signature wasn’t on my test version, and you can imagine my disappointment.

That kind of endorsement is unusual for a compact desktop from a Chinese OEM, and it signals something real. This is not a routine refresh.

At its core sits Intel's newest Panther Lake architecture. The Core Ultra X7 358H is built on Intel's own 18A process node, making the EVO-T2 one of the first consumer products to ship that fabrication technology at volume. The question every reviewer has to answer is whether the real-world performance justifies a price tag that sits above £1,500 for the standard retail configuration.

The review unit supplied by GMKtec uses the Core Ultra X7 358H with 64GB of LPDDR5X RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD, but some SKUs offer the Core Ultra X9 388H for those willing to pay extra.

What GMKtec has here is cutting-edge Intel technology that’s ideal for power users, AI LLM fans, and creatives, all in a remarkably compact package that doesn’t cost a fortune.

With so few brands offering products with Panther Lake silicon, this is easily one of the best Mini PC machines available today.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)GMKtec EVO-T2: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $1899/£1521/€1,700
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Currently, this machine can be obtained directly from GMKtec

The GMKtec EVO-T2 is available direct from the GMKtec US and GMKtec UK websites. I'm also seeing a configuration on Amazon.com.

There appears to be plenty of confusion about the pricing of these products on the GMKtec website, and pricing on Amazon seems only to compound things.

The USA pricing for the X7 is $1,899 for the standard model, but oddly $3,299.99 for the 853GB model. That second price is obviously a mistake, and I’d assume that’s the dollar pricing for the X9 version.

What I can say with some certainty is that on the GMKtec UK website, there are four SKUs: two X7 and two X9 models. And, the X7 358H design with 64GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, as per my review, the hardware is £1,520.99.

There is another X7 version with an 853GB drive, which I’m going to assume is a special partition for running LLMs, and it sells for £1,629. There are two corresponding X9 388H models, which are both priced at £2999.99, curiously. That seems like a ridiculous markup for only a few hundred MHz extra across a couple of clock settings, but that’s what they’re asking.

As a slight sweetener, UK customers are being offered a code that gets them a further £60 off at the time of writing.

European prices are €1.699,99 for the X7, with no X9 stock currently available.

Comparing these prices to anything else is a fraught exercise, since this is the first Mini PC to use this platform, even if Asus has a new NUC 16 Pro planned that uses this chip. And, Minisforum has a new AI X1 Pro model in the pipeline that uses an advanced AMD chip using its Gorgon Point core.

What I might point out is that the GMKtec EVO-T1, which uses the Arrow Lake Core Ultra 9 285H, is only $1,279.99 with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, but it can also be bought barebones with no memory or storage for close to $900.

From a performance perspective, the GMKtec EVO-X2 Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is more powerful, and that, with 64GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, is only another $100 more.

On that basis, the EVO-X2 seems to be a better value than the EVO-T2. And, GMKtec offers a 128GB version of the EVO-X2, for those wishing to blow $3,299.99 on one.

The big issue here is patently the cost of memory, and these platforms all need the faster soldered modules that are currently 400% more than they were only months ago.

I’ve given this a score of 4 out of 5 since you can’t get this hardware anywhere else at this time, and when Asus and Minisforum do come to market, they’re unlikely to undercut GMKtec's price.

• Value: 4 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)GMKtec EVO-T2: Specs

Model

Intel Core Ultra X7 358H

Architecture

Panther Lake (Intel 18A process)

Cores / Threads

16 cores (4P + 8E + 4LP-E)

P-core Boost

Up to 4.8 GHz

E-core Max

Up to 3.5 GHz

LP-E Core Max

Up to 3.3 GHz

L3 Cache

18MB Intel Smart Cache

TDP Range

25W base / 80W Maximum Turbo Power

AI Performance

Up to 180 TOPS combined (CPU + NPU + GPU)

NPU

NPU 5 (50 TOPS INT8)

Integrated GPU

Intel Arc B390 (Xe3 architecture, TSMC N3E tile)

GPU Cores

12 Xe3 cores

GPU Clock

Up to 2.5 GHz

Display Support

4x 4K via HDMI 2.1 x2 and USB4 x2

RAM

64GB LPDDR5X-8533 soldered

SSD

1TB NVMe

M.2 Slot 1

PCIe 5.0 M.2 2280

M.2 Slot 2

PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280

Max Capacity

Up to 16TB combined

AI SSD

Phison aiDAPTIV+ pseudo-memory extension

USB4 Front

1x 40Gbps with 100W Power Delivery and DisplayPort Alt Mode

USB4 Rear

1x 40Gbps

USB-A

2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB 2.0

HDMI

2x HDMI 2.1 (rear)

DisplayPort

1x DisplayPort 1.4 (rear)

Audio

1x 3.5mm combo jack

OCuLink

1x OCuLink Gen4x4

Ethernet

1x 2.5GbE and 1x 10GbE

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7

Bluetooth

Bluetooth 5.4

Operating System

Windows 11 Pro

Cooling

Ice Storm 3.0 active cooling with RGB fan

Power Modes

Silent 35W | Balanced 45W | Performance 60W | Max 80W

PSU Wattage

148.2W

Dimensions

Approx. 103 × 98 × 32 mm

Weight

1273g including PSU

GMKtec EVO-T2: Design

• Same enclosure as EVO-T1
• Easy internal access
• No memory upgrades

The case of the EVO-T2 is oddly familiar, as it seems relatively unchanged from the EVO-T1 that I reviewed in August of 2025.

The EVO-T2 continues GMKtec's established squared, compact form factor. The chassis uses a precision surface finish and houses what GMKtec calls its Ice Storm 3.0 cooling system, an active solution with a visible RGB fan. It sits comfortably on a desk or mounts via VESA behind a monitor.

Port placement is well considered. The front panel carries the USB4 port with 100W Power Delivery alongside two USB-A 3.2 connections and one USB-A 2.0. These are the ports users reach for most often, and they are exactly where they should be. The rear houses the second USB4, dual HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, dual Ethernet, the OCuLink port and the audio jack.

That rear panel is dense. It rewards deliberate cable planning rather than improvisation. Quad 4K display support is a genuine differentiator at this size. Creative professionals and multi-monitor users will appreciate having that headroom without needing an external dock.

This hints that the EVO-T2's connectivity specification is exceptional for the category.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Dual Ethernet with 2.5GbE and 10GbE ports on a machine this small opens it to homelab, network-attached storage and professional networking roles that most mini PCs cannot fill. The 10GbE port alone makes this worth serious consideration for anyone who moves large files regularly.

Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 cover wireless needs for the foreseeable future. The front-panel USB4 port carries 40Gbps bandwidth and supports Power Delivery at 100W, which is genuinely practical for desk setups where the EVO-T2 acts as a hub. DisplayPort Alt Mode via USB4 adds display flexibility beyond the two HDMI outputs and the dedicated DisplayPort at the rear.

The OCuLink Gen4x4 port provides a direct PCIe pathway to external GPU enclosures without the bandwidth constraints of USB4. For users who plan to add a discrete GPU later or need GPU-accelerated compute for specific workloads, this is a meaningful long-term expansion option, though not all systems include it.

Internal access requires removing the feet and then four screws. It’s not difficult, but it might have been easier. Inside, you can access the three M.2 slot positions, two already being occupied by the Wi-Fi 7 adapter and the 1TB NVMe drive. One oddity about the two M.2 slots allocated for storage is that the one GMKtec filled with the supplied Gen4 drive is the PCIe 5.0 slot, leaving the PCIe 4.0 slot free. That seems silly, but this isn’t the only mini PC maker doing these things.

For testing, I moved the provided drive to the Gen4 slot and put a Gen5 drive in a slot where it works best. And, if anyone buys one of these, I’d recommend doing that and cloning the drive to the Gen5 module. I’d also suggest you get a Gen5 drive with a heatsink or add one before installation.

There are no memory upgrade options, because all the memory here is soldered to the mainboard.

• Design: 4 / 5

GMKtec EVO-T2: Features

• Intel Core Ultra X7 358H
• Soldered memory
• 180 TOPS AI

Panther Lake is easily Intel's most architecturally interesting mobile platform in years. The Core Ultra X7 358H uses a chiplet design built across three separate tiles. The compute tile is manufactured on Intel's 18A process and incorporates RibbonFET gate-all-around transistors alongside backside power delivery using PowerVia technology. Intel states this reduces voltage drop by around 30 per cent and improves transistor density over the prior generation.

I have a not-unreasonable feeling that this was what the 100 series was meant to be from the outset, and not what actually arrived.

The processor carries 16 cores across three tiers. Four Cougar Cove performance cores handle peak single-threaded workloads and boost to 4.8 GHz. Eight Darkmont efficiency cores manage sustained parallel tasks. Four low-power efficiency cores handle background activity.

It is a sensibly layered approach, and the trickle-down from mobile laptop silicon means the EVO-T2 benefits from extensive driver and platform maturity work done for notebook OEMs.

The gap between the X7 358H and the flagship X9 388H is modest in practice. The 388H adds 0.3 GHz of peak boost. For most productivity and AI workloads, the difference will be within the margin of thermal variation. The X7 is the right choice for a machine where value matters.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The soldered RAM configuration is the most significant design decision to understand before purchasing. Retail units ship with 64GB of LPDDR5X-8533. The review unit carries 16GB. Neither configuration can be upgraded after purchase. Buyers who anticipate needing more capacity should look at the GMKtec EVO-X2, which uses AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with up to 128GB of unified memory.

Soldered LPDDR5X enables the higher bandwidth speeds that integrated graphics depend on heavily. The Arc B390 needs fast, wide memory access to perform at its best. The trade-off is permanent capacity. For most professional workflows and AI tasks at the 64GB retail tier, the ceiling should be workable for several years.

Storage is considerably more flexible. The primary M.2 slot runs PCIe 5.0, offering sequential read speeds above 10 GB/s with compatible drives. The secondary slot is PCIe 4.0, still capable of strong throughput for a second drive or overflow storage. Combined capacity can reach 16TB, which opens the machine to NAS-adjacent roles that most mini PCs cannot consider.

GMKtec's headline claim is 180 TOPS of combined AI performance across the CPU, GPU and NPU. The NPU alone contributes 50 TOPS, which represents a meaningful step up from prior Intel generations. The remaining compute performance is divided between the Arc B390 and the CPU cores themselves.

The 180 TOPS figure is a heterogeneous combined total. Real-world AI workload distribution depends heavily on the framework and the model. Not all applications can efficiently split inference across three compute blocks simultaneously. The NPU handles fixed-function acceleration well. More general local inference typically leans more on the GPU or CPU, depending on quantisation level and context window size.

The aiDAPTIV+ AI SSD technology developed with Phison is worth mentioning. It extends available memory by intelligently paging model data between DRAM and NVMe storage. GMKtec claims this allows the EVO-T2 to run models with up to 70 billion parameters locally. For a machine with 64GB of RAM, that is an extraordinary claim. The paging mechanism will introduce latency penalties for data not resident in DRAM, and the practical throughput impact under sustained inference loads has not been verified by me, since I don’t have an aiDAPTIV+ AI SSD.

One thing that did make me wonder about the design of the EVO-T2 was that GMKtec claims that the USB4 port on the front can push out 100W for recharging a laptop. As the PSU is only rated at 148.2W and the system could take 60W, there appears to be a voltage shortfall in that calculation.

Overall, the X7 358H is a dramatic uplift from the 200 series chips that came before it, although AMD has such a significant lead with its Ryzen AI 395 series that it's perhaps too much to ask in one generational change.

• Features: 4.5 / 5

GMKtec NucBox EVO-T2: Performance

Mini PC

 

GMKtec EVO-T2

Bosgame M5 AI

CPU

 

Intel Core Ultra X7 358H

AMD Ryzen AI 395 Max

Cores/Threads

 

16C 16T

16C 32T

RAM

 

64GB LPDDR5X 8533

128GB DDR5

SSD

 

512 GB KINGSTON OM8TAP4512K1-A0

2TB Kingston OM8PGP42048N

Graphics

 

Intel Arc B390

Radeon 8060S

3DMark

WildLife

45211

70014

 

FireStrike

14394

26917

 

TimeSpy

7621

11317

 

S.Nomad

6172

11201

Cine24

Single

123

115

 

Multi

1029

1879

 

Ratio

8.34

16.32

GeekBench 6

Single

2849

2981

 

Multi

16286

17882

 

OpenCL

56978

101915

 

Vulkan

64187

90384

CrystalDisk

Read MB/s

5047

4083

 

Write  MB/s

4498

3639

PCMark 10

Office

10645

9056

WEI

Score

8.9

9.6

Normally, I compare AMD and Intel Mini PCs against their ilk. But as this is a flagship design of a new silicon generation, and the best Intel has to offer, I thought it would be useful to compare it to the top-of-the-line AMD platform.

For those who like the fine details, the EVO-T2 was set into ‘Performance’ mode in the BIOS, rather than balanced or silent. According to GMKtec, there should be a mode above this that consumes 80W, but it was missing from my BIOS. Therefore, it might be possible to get even more out of the EVO-T2, and the BIOS certainly has plenty of features for overclocking some aspects.

The Arc B390 GPU is the headline graphics story in Panther Lake. It uses twelve Xe3 cores built on TSMC's N3E process and clocks up to 2.5 GHz. Intel positions it as delivering 76 per cent more performance than the Arc 140T from the previous Arrow Lake generation and 82 per cent more than AMD's Radeon 890M found in Ryzen AI HX 370 platforms. As usual, Intel ignores the Radeon 8060S in the Ryzen AI 395 Max, which is its true competitor.

And, as the results show, B390 might make Arc 140T and Radeon 890M look poor, but it still can’t run with the Radeon 8060S, not even close.

Obviously, you could use the OcuLink port to add a discrete GPU, but that’s the only way that the EVO-T2 would compete with a Bosgame M5 AI.

And, while all those extra cores in the Intel Core Ultra X7 358H CPU do boost the multi-processing considerably, it still falls short of the AMD Ryzen AI 395 Max.

It did well in the PCMark score, and it also had a better SSD than the Bosgame machine. I inserted a Crucial P510 Gen5 drive into this hardware, and it delivered 10,587MB/s reads and 8,977MB/s writes in the Gen5 M.2 slot, so it could be dramatically better with a small investment.

Overall, Intel is moving in the right direction, but AMD don’t need to worry yet.

• Performance: 4.5 / 5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)GMKtec EVO-T2: Final verdict

(Image credit: GMKtec)

The EVO-T2 is an impressive piece of equipment that exploits the dramatically better silicon Intel has released with Panther Lake. However, given the modest differences between the X7 358H and the X9 388H, I wouldn’t be rushing to spend the extra on the top model unless money isn't a concern for you.

Where this rig excels is in providing a punchy platform for software development, video editing and running AI LLMs. It would have been nice to have seen Thunderbolt 5 ports on this PC, but the cost of adding this feature appears to be putting mini PC makers off.

At least it has USB4 and an OCuLink port if you want more GPU power.

But the focus here is foremost AI, with GMKtec even deploying a version of OpenClaw to the desktop along with Herdman. While there are free tokens to be had, these are a portal to monthly subscription packages for those who want to fully exploit AI agents.

That seems slightly at odds with the premise of having hardware like the EVO-T2 that can run powerful local AI at no other cost than electricity, and your time to get it trained in your workflows. But agents will always come with extra costs, regardless of where they are launched from.

Getting back to the hardware, this is an exceptional piece of gear that nearly brings Intel back up to AMD’s current level. Although with new AMD hardware soon to launch, this might prove to be a false dawn for them.

What it comes down to here is the price, since all memory and storage costs are artificially inflated.

For those who, for whatever reason, don’t trust AMD, then this is quite clearly the best Intel mini PC technology available, especially for those running local LLMs.

Should you buy a GMKtec EVO-T2?

Value

Not cheap, but with this spec it was never going to be

4 / 5

Design

EVO-T1 revisited, but it does have a Gen5 M.2 slot

4 / 5

Features

New CPU technology, new GPU, and plenty of TOPS

4.5 / 5

Performance

New CPU technology, new GPU, and plenty of TOPS

4.5 / 5

Overall

A little powerhouse with so many uses

4.5 / 5

Buy it if...

You want power in a small package
This is an excellent choice if you want a compact, quiet desktop that handles everyday tasks and Copilot+ AI features without any cloud dependency. But this system is also ideal for a mini server, hardware firewall and a dozen other tasks.

You want local AI
This is the pinnacle of AI-focused mini PCs available today, and with 180 TOPS of combined compute to suit your workload, the only limitation is memory.

Don't buy it if...

You need more than 64GB of RAM
As the memory in this system cannot be replaced, the 64GB of memory you get out of the box is as much as it will ever have. Whether for LLMs, video editing, or heavy virtualisation, the stock RAM is soldered and permanent, which might not be sufficient for the largest models.

Cost is a concern
The review hardware isn't cheap, and the X9 model is insanely expensive. There are powerful systems based on older technology that you can get for cheaper than the EVO-T2,

Also Consider

Bosgame M5 AI
A massively powerful Mini PC platform that uses the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, with sixteen cores and thirty-two threads. There are two variants with 96GB and 128GB memory, respectively, and 2TB of storage.

Until Gorgon Point silicon arrives, this is the most powerful processor and integrated GPU combination. And, the 96GB model is only slightly more expensive than the X7 version of the EVO-T2.

Read my full review of the Bosgame M5 AI here.

Minisforum UM790 Pro
A powerful AMD system using a Ryzen 9-class processor, supported by the Radeon 780M GPU. Targeted towards creatives and gamers, the expandable memory and dual M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSDs allow you to boost performance according to your requirements, with the standard version already delivering remarkable capabilities.

Check out our Minisforum UM790 Pro review

For more professional hardware, we've reviewed the best business computers.

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: One-minute review

The Huawei MatePad Pro Max is the world’s thinnest 13-inch+ tablet, and rivals the 13-inch iPad Pro (2025) and Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra for portable power. It’s lighter than both of those competitors, and offers a stunning display on which to make use of its impressive performance credentials.

You’d be forgiven, then, for thinking Apple and Samsung might be looking nervously over their shoulders. The MatePad Pro Max is beautifully made, and I prefer its design to that of Apple’s best iPads. Early signs suggest this could be one of the best tablets around. Yet like its smaller sibling, the Huawei MatePad 12X, this slate is almost impossible to recommend in a practical sense. More on that in a moment.

The 13.2-inch display comes with Huawei’s PaperMatte technology. Not only does this make it feel lovely to touch, but it also has fantastic anti-reflective properties. I can sit outside in the sun and still easily use this tablet.

It’s great for video streaming and gaming, with enough grunt under the hood to run PUBG Mobile on high graphical settings without signs of slowdown.

(Image credit: Future)

There’s a keyboard case included in the box — something you don’t get from Apple or Samsung — which helps to boost the productivity credentials of this slate. And you also get a 100W charging block, allowing you to replenish over 60% of its battery in under 30 minutes.

Battery life is solid, with many hours of use possible — around eight hours of continuous online gaming, for example — and reverse charging means you can use the tablet to top-up your phone. Even the cameras are better than some rivals’.

Huawei’s own Harmony OS software is similar to iPadOS and Android, and it’s intuitive to use for the most part. But it’s in the company’s App Gallery where the real issue with this slate lies. With no access to Google Mobile Services (GMS), the MatePad Pro Max has a severe lack of mainstream apps.

That means no Google apps, no Meta apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Threads), and no X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, Claude, Spotify, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Amazon, and more.

This unfortunately means that, even with its excellent design and display, solid battery life, and premium performance, the Huawei MatePad Pro Max is only going to work for a small subset of users with very specific needs that don’t rely on major applications.

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: price and availability

• Release June 30, 2026 in the UK
• Price starts at £999 — cheaper than Apple and Samsung rivals
• Includes keyboard case
• Not available in the US or Australia

The Huawei MatePad Pro Max starts at £999.99 (around $1,300 / AU$1,800) and, unlike rival tablets, it comes with a keyboard case and 100W charging block in the box.

That’s comfortably cheaper than the 13-inch iPad Pro (starting at £1,299) and the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra (starting at £1,269), for hardware that’s just as good, if not better. But it’s the lack of mainstream apps that hampers this tablet’s value proposition.

The MatePad Pro Max is available now on the Huawei UK website. As with many Huawei devices, the MatePad Pro Max is not available in the US or Australia.

• Value: 4 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: specsHuawei MatePad Pro Max specs

Weight

499g / 509g

Display

13.2-inch, OLED (3000 x 2000), PaperMatte

Operating system

HarmonyOS 4.3

Chipset

Kirin T93 Pro

Memory (RAM)

12GB

Storage

256GB / 512GB

Battery

9,760mAh

Charging

66W wired

Cameras

50MP rear, 12MP front

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, USB Type-C 3.1

Colors

Blue, Space Grey

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: displayFutureFuture

• Brilliant, colorful OLED screen
• Works great in bright sunlight
• PaperMatte finish feels premium

I love the 13.2-inch display on the MatePad Pro Max. My model comes with the firm’s PaperMatte technology, providing a slick, smooth feeling under the finger and a screen that’s still brilliantly visible in bright sunlight.

The OLED panel pumps out punchy colors, while the 144Hz refresh rate keeps scrolling and gameplay feeling smooth.

The screen comfortably goes toe-to-toe with those of the iPad Pro 13-inch and Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra, with the Huawei’s display even boasting a higher resolution (3000 x 2000) and pixel density (273ppi) than those of its two mainstream rivals.

Peak brightness matches the iPad and Galaxy Tab at 1600 nits, and the MatePad Pro Max also has the slimmest bezels of the three, giving it an impressive 91.4% screen-to-body ratio.

All this means you get a superb viewing experience with this tablet. Whether I was watching 4K videos or playing PUBG with the graphics turned way up, it was a visual feast for the eyes.

• Display: 4.5 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: designFutureFutureFutureFuture

• Sleek premium design
• Thinner and lighter than Apple and Samsung rivals
• Keyboard case included, but design could be better

It’s not just the screen that looks great on the Huawei MatePad Pro Max, with this tablet also packing a seriously slim design.

At just 4.7mm thick, you’d be forgiven for thinking it might feel a little fragile — but worry not. The metal unibody chassis is solid and the build quality is top-notch — as it should be for the price — and if the Huawei brand was scrubbed off, I reckon I could convince a few people this was the new iPad design. That’s how good the MatePad Pro Max looks and feels.

There’s still that 13.2-inch screen to squeeze into the chassis, but with super-slim bezels, Huawei has managed to keep the dimensions of this slate to the absolute minimum, at 289.3 x 196.3mm.

These numbers make the MatePad Pro Max the world’s thinnest 13-inch+ tablet — a niche title, sure, but a win for Huawei nonetheless.

And for a big screen tablet, the MatePad Pro Max is light too, tipping the scales at 499g (or 509g with the PaperMatte display). That’s lighter than the 13-inch iPad Pro (579g) and the (admittedly larger) Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra (692g).

That meant I was able to hold the MatePad Pro Max comfortably for multiple rounds of PUBG Mobile without the tablet feeling taxing in my hands.

There’s a fingerprint scanner built into the power key on the top edge of the slate, and it recognized my digit quickly, promptly unlocking the tablet. If anything, this scanner performed better than Touch ID on my iPad Air (2022).

FutureFuture

I like the placement of the MatePad Pro Max’s 12MP front-facing camera; it’s in the middle of the top landscape side of the screen, nestled into the super slim bezel, meaning no annoying notch in the display. However, with Teams, Zoom, WhatsApp, and Google Meet all unavailable in Huawei’s App Gallery, the number of video calls you’ll be doing on the MatePad Pro Max might be limited.

The inclusion of a keyboard case in the box is good to see, as it means you don’t have to spend more money on the accessory, and unlike the one that came with the MatePad 12X 2025, this one has a trackpad for easier navigation.

It features a series of useful touchpad controls. Swipe three fingers up to return home, three fingers from side to switch apps, and three fingers up and hold to enter a multi-task view. It makes the tablet far more user-friendly when in this laptop mode.

It’s not as well designed as Apple’s Magic Keyboard for iPad, though. The movement required to magnetically lock the tablet in place when opening it up isn’t the smoothest, with a slightly confused double-hinge design on the case. Even after weeks of use, I still hadn’t mastered the movement each time I opened it up.

FutureFutureFuture

The good news is this keyboard case doubles as a protective case, which is always welcome when you’re spending big bucks on a premium tablet, although the slate’s productivity is severely hampered by the limited app selection.

If you want greater creative control, Huawei sells the M-Pencil Pro stylus separately. It magnetically clings to the top landscape edge of the MatePad Pro Max, with an oval pad that guides its placement. There’s also a dedicated space for it in the keyboard case, keeping it safe if you slide the tablet into a bag.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: softwareFutureFuture

• Major limitations when it comes to apps
• App Gallery is missing many big names
• Interface is clean and intuitive

As good as the hardware is on the Huawei MatePad Pro Max, it’s hampered by a heap of software-related trouble. The Trump administration placed the Chinese brand on the 'entity list' back in 2019, which effectively banned Huawei from using any Google products or services on its devices.

That means the MatePad Pro Max does not have access to Google Play Services, the Play Store, or any Google applications; there’s no Drive, Maps, YouTube, Photos, Gmail, Gemini, and so on.

Instead, we get Huawei’s HarmonyOS 4.3 operating system and the firm’s App Gallery store, where you can download applications. The trouble is, the app selection here is extremely limited.

As I’ve mentioned, there are no Google apps, but other major players are missing too, including Meta’s suite of apps (Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Threads), X (formerly Twitter), ChatGPT, Claude, Spotify, Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Amazon, and more.

Some big names you can download and install from Huawei’s App Gallery include Snapchat, TikTok, CapCut, Temu, and Telegram. You can also get Microsoft 365 and Outlook if you’re looking for established productivity tools.

Some of these services are available via the web browser. I was able to watch YouTube videos, access social media, and browse Amazon just fine — but some things are blocked entirely, such as editing Google Drive documents.

It means you’ll need to carefully consider whether the MatePad Pro Max will be able to deliver what you need from a tablet.

(Image credit: Future)

Huawei does offer some apps of its own to help ease the lack of established names on the App Gallery. Petal Maps, as the name suggests, is its version of Apple and Google Maps. There isn’t a satellite or street view, although you do get navigation and live traffic data.

It’s serviceable enough, but lacks the features of its established rivals, and that’s the case for many of Huawei’s own apps. The Notes app is a basic word processor, while NotePad is designed more for quicker things — similar to Google Keep. If you’re used to the big-brand apps, though, you’ll find the ones on the MatePar Pro Max aren’t as encompassing.

Huawei’s HarmonyOS interface isn’t all that different from iPadOS and Android, with a familiar look and feel, meaning there’s no real learning curve when it comes to using the tablet. It’s pretty slick under the finger, although it doesn’t have the same level of zip and polish as Apple’s iPad Pro slates.

• Software: 2 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: performance

(Image credit: Future)

• Kirin T93 Pro chipset and 12GB of RAM
• Can handle games on high graphics settings
• Impressive speakers offer surround sound

The Huawei MatePad Pro Max is powered by Huawei’s own Kirin T93 Pro chipset and is ably assisted by 12GB of RAM.

The result is a powerful tablet that could handle everything I threw at it, from social media, web browsing, and downloading large applications, to high-def gaming, sketching with the M-Pencil Pro, and 4K video playback.

Even with multiple applications running together, and utilizing the multi-tasking side-by-side view, there were no significant signs of slowdown. PUBG Mobile, on high graphical settings, loaded quickly and ran smoothly, ensuring my Winner Winner Chicken Dinner streak remained intact.

And during my long PUBG sessions, another positive was the MatePad Pro Max’s ability to keep itself relatively cool, with the slate boasting excellent heat dissipation.

I didn’t have any noticeable performance issues during my testing time, but the slate doesn’t feel as slick as the iPad Pro 13, which feels better optimized for the Apple-made chip inside.

Another impressive aspect of the tablet is its six-speaker system, which delivers a convincing surround sound experience. The bass is weak, as is expected from a tablet that’s so thin, but audio quality is otherwise very good. The speakers are better than the ones on my iPad Air, for what it’s worth.

The M-Pencil Pro stylus is really comfortable to use on the MatePad Pro Max. It glides nicely across the screen when handwriting notes, and it’s comfortable to hold for extended sketching sessions. The tablet itself isn’t brilliantly designed for note-taking, though. Place it on a flat surface, and the rear camera bump means the tablet rocks annoyingly as you move the M-Pencil around the screen.

Pop it in the keyboard case, and the angle the screen sits at isn’t natural for handwriting or sketching either. You can fold the tablet back on the case and place it on a desk, which provides you with a steady surface, but if you forget it, then you’re back to a wobbly mess.

Now, I’d never recommend someone use their tablet as a camera — they’re big, bulky, and usually no better than the smartphone in your pocket at taking pictures. However, the 50MP rear camera on the MatePad Pro Max is one of the better ones I’ve used on this form factor.

It offers 5x and 10x zoom with only minimal quality degradation, and in good light outdoors, it’s capable of taking some nice shots. It’s the size of this 13.2-inch slate that hampers the experience — it’s cumbersome to hold up and take around with you versus your phone.

• Performance: 4 / 5

Huawei MatePad Pro Max review: battery

(Image credit: Future)

• 9,760mAh high-silicon anode battery
• 100W Turbo Charge plug included in the box
• Replenish over 40% in 20 minutes

Battery life on the Huawei MatePad Pro Max is solid, but not quite category-leading. You get a 9,760mAh high-silicon anode battery, which is actually smaller than the cell found in the iPad Pro 13 (10,290mAh).

That shouldn’t be a worry, though. I played PUBG for two hours on high graphics settings, and the MatePad Pro Max lost 20% of its charge in that time.

If we extrapolate that out, it means you’re looking at at least eight hours of demanding gameplay on a single charge — great news for gamers and those looking to perform intense productivity tasks on the slate.

You’ll get much longer if you’re only using the tablet for occasional web browsing, social scrolling, and the odd video stream, though. I’d feel comfortable taking the MatePad Pro Max on a long-haul flight, for example, as the battery should remain solid.

Huawei has packed in 66W charging too, to help replenish the large battery. And it was great to find a 100W Turbo Charge block included in the box, meaning I didn’t have to dig out my own. Apple and Samsung don’t include this with their tablets, so well done, Huawei.

During my charging tests, I was getting around 10% battery returned after 5 minutes, 20% after 10 minutes, and 45% in just 20 minutes. After 30 minutes, the MatePad Pro Max had replenished 65% of its battery — a useful result if you’re looking for a quick top-up before heading out.

Another handy feature is the tablet’s reverse charging capabilities. If you find your smartphone is running low on juice, you can connect it to the MatePad Pro Max via USB-C cable, and the tablet will provide your handset with a top-up.

• Battery: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Huawei MatePad Pro Max?Huawei MatePad Pro Max scorecard

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Cheaper than its Apple and Samsung rivals, plus you get a keyboard case and 100W charging block in the box. It’s a good package, but the software shortcomings mean it’s not 5/5 in terms of overall value.

4 / 5

Display

Gorgeous display with excellent anti-glare finish makes it easy to use outdoors in sunlight. Bright, crisp, and colorful, with very slender bezels.

4.5 / 5

Design

Premium metal chassis that’s wonderfully thin and light, making it easy to slip into a bag. The front-facing camera smartly tucked into the landscape bezel is a nice touch.

4.5 / 5

Software

This is the MatePad Pro Max’s Achilles heel, and could well be a deal breaker for many. The lack of Google Play services and an App Gallery store missing so many big names makes it severely limited versus the Apple and Android competition.

2 / 5

Performance

There’s plenty of power under the hood for gaming, social scrolling, emails, and video streaming. It’s not quite as lightning fast under the finger as Apple’s latest M-powered iPad Pros, but there’s enough for most users.

4 / 5

Battery

Solid battery life can offer eight hours of gaming at high graphics settings, while the 66W charging can replenish it blisteringly quickly. Reverse charging is a handy extra, allowing you to top up your phone.

4 / 5

Buy it if

You want a beautiful, big-screen slate
The Huawei MatePad Pro Max offers up a premium build that’s pleasingly thin and light, while the display is something to marvel at — it’s great for video streaming and gaming. I loved being able to comfortably use the tablet outdoors in the sun, as its anti-reflective screen works a treat.View Deal

You want to take photos with your tablet
Cameras on tablets tend to be more of an afterthought than a standout feature, but the MatePad Pro Max doesn’t do a bad job here. If you have a high-end smartphone, that will still be better than this tablet, but if you’re someone who wants to take pictures with your slate, this is a decent option.View Deal

You need a tablet that charges quickly and charges your phone
With the 100W charging block included in the box, you’ll get 65% battery returned to the slate in just half an hour. Even a 10-minute charge gets you 20%, which is handy if you notice you could do with a bit extra in the tank before heading out the door. Plus, connect your phone via USB-C cable to the MatePad Pro Max, and it’ll charge your handset too.View Deal

Don't buy it if

You want access to all your apps
Huawei’s limited App Gallery means there are numerous big-name apps that simply aren’t available on the MatePad Pro Max, and that severely limits the productivity and entertainment value of this tablet. You’ll have to look elsewhere to guarantee you’ll get all the apps you need.View Deal

You want a premium keyboard case
Huawei has upped its keyboard case game here, and the fact that it’s included in the box is a massive win. Yet, the dual hinge design is awkward to use, and the keys feel a little stiff under the finger. Apple’s Magic Keyboard, while considerably more expensive, provides a better all-around experience — though you’ll have to buy a pricey iPad as well.View Deal

Also consider

If you're not sold on what the Huawei MatePad Pro Max has to offer, there are a handful of similarly priced alternatives to consider.

iPad Pro 13-inch (2025)
The iPad Pro is still the gold standard in the tablet world, combining premium design, a gorgeous display, and the most comprehensive app library for this form factor. Sure, it’s expensive, as are the keyboard and Pencil accessories, but you really do get what you pay for — and there are no restrictions on apps here.

Read our review of the smaller iPad Pro 11-inch (2025)

Samsung Galaxy S11 Ultra
If you’re after a big-screen Android tablet with access to Google’s full suite of services, the 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra is an impressive slate. While it’s an improvement over its predecessor, the MediaTek chipset used here is disappointing. That said, if you want a tablet to play a lot of games, is easy to work on, or want a bigger screen to sketch, doodle, and noodle around with AI, the S11 Ultra fits the bill.

Read our full Samsung Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra review

How I tested the Huawei MatePad Pro Max

• Tested over several weeks
• Played games, browsed the web, scrolled social, snapped pictures
• Also tested the keyboard case and M-Penci Pro stylus

I used the Huawei MatePad Pro Max as my main tablet for several weeks, testing out its core features, app availability, and performance.

I played a variety of games, watched 4K HDR videos, snapped photos, ran battery and charging tests, and performed various day-to-day tasks, including web browsing, scrolling social media, and checking emails.

The keyboard case, which is included in the box, was also tested with emails, word processing, and general UI navigation. I was also sent the M-Pencil Pro (and optional extra), and spent time jotting down handwritten notes and sketching cartoons.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed May 2026

8849 Tank 5: 30-second review

The Tank 5 represents the most complete version of a concept that 8849 has been refining for several generations. Where earlier models asked buyers to accept trade-offs between size, battery and projector quality, the Tank 5 attempts to resolve all three at once. The result is something that genuinely has no mainstream equivalent.

There is a very specific kind of person the 8849 Tank 5 is made for. They work far from mains power. They need a phone that survives punishment. And occasionally, they want to project something onto a wall, a tent, or the side of a cliff face. For that person, no mainstream smartphone comes close.

Where previous models asked buyers to accept mid-range processors and modest projection quality, the Tank 5 brings flagship silicon to the category for the first time. The MediaTek Dimensity 9400e is a genuine top-tier chip in 2026 terms, and finding it in a device this rugged at this price is a pleasant surprise.

The headline numbers are hard to ignore. A 17,600mAh battery. A 3K AMOLED display peaking at 3000 nits. A 2K TI DLP projector with 220-lumen output and laser autofocus to four metres. Triple 50-megapixel rear cameras. Android 16 out of the box. On paper, this reads like a wish list written by someone who spends more time on a mountainside than in a meeting room.

The catch, as ever, is the physical reality. At 715 grams and nearly 34 millimetres thick, the Tank 5 is not a device you slip into a jacket pocket. It is a tool. And like any serious tool, it rewards the user who actually needs what it offers.

Is this one of the best rugged phones? That entirely depends on what features you value. For those who don’t care about size and weight but want battery capacity, exotic features and colourful display, this is certainly a contender.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)8849 Tank 5: price and availability

• How much does it cost? $900/£697/€809
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Direct from the maker or via an online retailer

The Tank 5 launches at $999.99 in pre-order configuration with the standard retail price listed at $1,599.99. However, now that those numbers have come down somewhat, with the US pricing at $899.99. In the UK, it’s £696.87, and across Europe it is €808.52, direct from the 8849tech website.

To put that into perspective, the Tank X launched at $549.99 early bird against a $1,049.99 RRP. The Tank 5, therefore, represents a substantial step up in cost, but is justified by improvements in specification.

Currently, the Tank X costs $699.99 from Amazon.com and £599 via Amazon.co.uk, making the Tank 5 pricing less of an uplift for those in the UK.

When considering alternatives, it's worth noting that remarkably few phones have a projector, and none of them has one with the same specification as the DLP unit in this phone.

Other than the Tank X and Tank 4 Pro by 8849, rugged phones with projectors include the Ulefone Armour 34 Pro Plus and Oukitel WP100 Titan. From Amazon.com, the Tank 4 Pro is $789.99, and the Ulefone Armor 34 Pro Plus is $594.99. The Oukitel WP100 Titan isn’t available from Amazon, but can be bought directly from the makers for $869.99.

The cover these in a spec comparison, the Tank X offers a slower Dimensity 8200 SoC and a lower resolution 1080p projector. The Tank 4 Pro only has a Dimensity 8300 SoC, but only a 720p projector. And the Ulefone Armor 34 Pro has the slowest processor, with a Dimensity 7300, and a weird projector resolution of 854 x 480. And finally, the Oukitel WP100 Titan has the same processor as the 34 Pro, and the same odd resolution to its 100 lumen projector.

Most of these have more battery capacity than the Tank 5, but critically, their projectors don’t come close to being a match.

Based purely on value for money, the 8849 Tank 5 is a winner.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

• Value score: 4.5/5

8849 Tank 5: Specs

Item

Spec

Processor

MediaTek Dimensity 9400e, 4nm, octa-core (1x Cortex-X4 at 3.4GHz + 3x X4 at 2.85GHz + 4x A720 at 2.0GHz)

GPU

Immortalis-G720 MC12

RAM

18GB LPDDR5X (plus 18GB virtual)

Storage

512GB UFS 4.0, microSD expandable to 2TB

Display

6.73-inch AMOLED, 3200x1440px (3K), 120Hz, 3000 nits (local peak), Panda Glass

Main Camera

50MP Samsung ISOCELL GN1, PDAF, f/1.8, 4K30fps

Telephoto

50MP, 3x optical zoom, OIS

Night Vision

50MP with 4x infrared LEDs

Front Camera

32MP OmniVision OV32B40, f/1.7, 1080p video

Battery

17,600mAh dual-cell

Charging

120W wired (full charge approx. 90 min), 25W reverse charge

Projector

TI DLP, 2K resolution, 220 lumens, 4m laser autofocus, 4-point keystone correction

OS

Android 16

5G

SA/NSA, including bands n77/n78

Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)

Bluetooth

5.4

NFC

Yes

SIM

eSIM + Dual Nano SIM

GPS

Dual-frequency L1+L5, multi-constellation

USB

USB-C (DisplayPort 1.4 Alt Mode)

Rugged Rating

IP68, MIL-STD-810H

Dimensions

177.1 x 87 x 33.8mm

Weight

715g

Colours

Black

8849 Tank 5: Design

• Thick and heavy
• Vents for projector on both sides

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

Pick up the Tank 5, and the sheer physical commitment of it registers immediately. At 177.1 x 87 x 33.8mm and 715 grams, this device sits somewhere between a phone and a piece of site equipment. The chassis combines brushed metal plates, rubberised TPU corner armour and polycarbonate panels, and the build quality throughout is excellent. Seams are tight. There is no flex anywhere. It feels, correctly, like something engineered to survive conditions that would end a normal phone's life in seconds.

The layout of the Tank 5 is dictated by one thing above all others: cooling. The projector needs active thermal management, and the ventilation grille that serves it runs across a significant portion of the left frame. That grille is not a cosmetic addition. It is a structural constraint, and it shapes where every other control can go. The volume controls and shortcut buttons sit above it, pushed into the upper corner.

Below it, separated by a visible gap of bare metal, sit red and silver programmable buttons. The vent physically cleaves the left side into two distinct groups. It is an honest piece of industrial design. Nothing is where it is by accident, but you need to be careful where you place your fingers when the projector is running.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The right side tells another story. A second vent grille occupies the upper portion, again serving the projector cooling system, and below it, the frame is noticeably cleaner with only a single large silver power key with its integrated fingerprint sensor. The visual contrast between the two sides is immediate. Where the left side is busy by necessity, the right side breathes.

The rear is where the Tank 5 makes its most direct statement of intent. The camping light bar dominates the centre of the chassis, a wide rectangular strip that illuminates with 1200 lumens and RGB warning modes. Above it sits the camera module, with two main lenses at the top right, the night vision lens below left and four infrared LEDs in a horizontal strip. The "TANK PROJECTOR INSIDE" text sits between the camera cluster and the lamp, which is either endearing or unnecessary depending on your tolerance for that kind of thing. The projector aperture itself is at the top edge, along with another flashlight and the SIM card slot.

Compared to the Tank X, the Tank 5 is a more resolved design. The Tank X was 91.8mm wide and 750 grams. The Tank 5 pulls back to 87mm and 715 grams. Those numbers sound modest, but the difference in hand is real. The Tank X sat at the outer limit of a comfortable two-handed span. The Tank 5 comes back just enough to feel deliberate.

What has not changed is the fundamental reality of the form factor. This is not going into any conventional pocket. A jacket chest pocket, a belt holster or a vehicle mount is the practical answer for daily carry. That is the honest consequence of fitting a projector, a 17,600mAh battery and an active cooling system into a single chassis, and the Tank 5 makes no apology for it.

Design score: 3.5/5

8849 Tank 5: Hardware

• MediaTek Dimensity 9400e
• AMOLED display
• 17600 mAh fast charge battery

The Dimensity 9400e is an important specification decision. Most rugged phones at this price use mid-range silicon from three to four years ago. The Tank X stepped up to the Dimensity 8200, and that was already a significant advance. The 9400e goes further still, using a 4nm process with Cortex-X4 architecture.

The 'e' suffix indicates a slightly binned or optimised version of the full 9400. In practice, real-world performance at this specification level is well beyond anything a rugged phone buyer has previously been able to access at this price point. The comparison with the Immortalis-G720 MC12 GPU is also notable for mobile gaming and sustained workloads.

The Tank X, launched in February 2026, was the first 8849 device to achieve 1080p DLP projection at 220 lumens. The Tank 5 carries that hardware forward and adds 2K output with laser autofocus rated to four metres. That four-metre figure is a meaningful practical upgrade, because how far away from the wall you can get dictates the size of the projection. Earlier models topped out at three metres, and the keystone correction has been expanded from two to four points. What this means in practice is a more practical outdoor cinema experience.

The 220-lumen figure also requires context, as it's extremely competitive within this product category, where some devices can only manage 100 lumen. The Ulefone Armor 34 Pro, a direct rival, managed 150 lumens at a lower resolution. However, any projector of this size still demands reasonable darkness for a clear image. The spec sheet implies more than the physics can deliver in daylight, as it needs to be twilight outside or in a shaded room for a good experience. But, this is more than any other brand is currently offering.

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

My only complaint about the projector is that not long after it is activated, the cooling fan starts up and can be a little noisy. This won’t be a problem if you are projecting an action blockbuster, but it isn’t ideal for anything with quiet audio and dialogue.

Earlier Tank models used AMOLED panels, but the Tank 5 moves to a 3200x1440 native resolution. The 3000 nits peak brightness is a headline figure borrowed from premium consumer phones, and the results are spectacular.

Considering how good the display is, that 8849 went with Panda Glass to protect it, and not stronger Gorilla Glass Victus is disappointing.

That choice looks entirely cost-driven, but conversely, the battery technology used in the Tank 5 doesn’t hold back.

Seventeen thousand six hundred milliamp hours is a substantial number, even by rugged phone standards. The Tank 4 used an 11,600mAh cell. The Tank X brought the 17,600mAh configuration back after the Tank 3 and Tank 3 Pro sat at around 23,800mAh. The Tank 5 pairs that 17,600mAh capacity with 120W charging, which can be recharged in just over 90 minutes, incredibly. It does this by using a dual-cell design, so it works like two 8800mAh batteries.

The addition of 25W reverse charging makes the Tank 5 a practical field power bank. At that capacity, it can top up a standard 5000mAh smartphone three times over. For field workers and outdoor users, this is a genuinely compelling capability, even if you lose some of the capacity in the transfer.

Another full-cream feature is Wi-Fi 7. Most rugged phones ship with Wi-Fi 6 at best. The inclusion of eSIM alongside dual nano SIM slots gives the Tank 5 flexibility that neither predecessor offered. For travellers, the combination of eSIM, dual-frequency GPS and extensive 5G band support is a strong package. The addition of eSIM also means you can ditch one of the physical Nano SIMs, fit a MicroSD card in the tray, and still have two network services.

With a few minor exceptions, the specifications of the Tank 5 place it in the premium rugged phone bracket.

• Hardware score: 4.5/5

8849 Tank 5: Cameras

• 50MP main + 50MP telephoto + 50MP night vision
• 32MP on the front
• Four cameras in total

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)

The 8849 Tank 5 has four cameras:

Rear camera: 50MP Samsung ISOCELL S5KGN1SP, 50MP OmniVision OV50C40, 50MP OmniVision OV50D40
Front camera: 32MP OV32B40

The camera cluster on the Tank 5 is a significant rethink compared to what came before it. On the Tank X, the three sensors were arranged in a vertical strip, with the 8MP telephoto the obvious weak link in the lineup.

The Tank 5 design addresses this directly with all three rear sensors now 50 megapixels, and this is a much more balanced package.

The two primary lenses sit at the top right of the module in a paired arrangement, noticeably larger than the sensors below. The night vision camera sits below and to the left, with the four infrared LEDs arranged in a horizontal strip beneath it. It is a purposeful, asymmetric layout that prioritises the main imaging hardware without pretending everything is equal.

The main sensor is a Samsung ISOCELL GN1 with phase detection autofocus. That’s a well-regarded chip with a strong track record on mainstream flagship devices. It is a genuine step up from the Sony sensor used on the Tank X, which, while capable, was hampered by the overall image processing pipeline more than the sensor itself. The GN1 brings improved low-light capture and better dynamic range handling. It might not be the 108MP sensor we’ve seen elsewhere, but the arrangement is decent and effective.

The caveat to this choice is that, while there is a PRO mode in the camera application, there are relatively few other special modes or HDR. This camera doesn’t do panoramas or slow motion, though it can do timelapse and super-resolution.

Video capture can be in resolutions up to 4K, but there is no control over the framerate, irrespective of the capture resolution.

The telephoto upgrade is the most important change for practical use. Going from 8MP to 50MP with optical image stabilisation transforms what the camera can do at a distance. The Tank X telephoto was essentially a crop tool dressed up as a lens. The Tank 5 telephoto is a genuine optical system with 3x zoom, and OIS means it remains usable in the kind of low-stability field conditions this phone is designed for. Hiking, construction sites, and vehicle-mounted use. All of these benefit from stabilisation in ways that a rugged phone buyer will actually notice.

The night vision camera is the one area where the upgrade is less straightforward. The Tank X used a 64MP OmniVision sensor for its night vision work, paired with four IR LEDs. The Tank 5 drops to a 50MP sensor for that role, but it's just as effective. The megapixel reduction is not inherently a problem, as night vision performance depends far more on sensor size, IR LED power, and processing than on raw resolution.

The front camera remains unchanged from Tank X, a 32MP with an OmniVision OV32B40 sensor and an f/1.7 aperture. A competent selfie and video-call solution by definition.

What the cluster cannot do is match a photography-focused flagship. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra or Pixel 9 Pro operate in a different league for computational photography, colour science and video processing.

That comparison is not unfair, but it is also largely irrelevant. The Tank 5 camera system is built for documenting field conditions, capturing evidence, seeing in the dark and shooting at range from an unstable platform. On those terms, it is well-equipped, and the results are better than those of some phones with more megapixels to play with.

One disappointment is that with a camera that can capture 4K video, and play that back nicely on the AMOLED screen, you won’t be using that display to see high-quality streams, because 8849 wouldn’t pay for Widevine L1 encryption.

8849 Tank 5 Camera samplesMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark PickavanceMark Pickavance

• Camera score: 4/5

8849 Tank 5: Performance

• 4nm SoC
• Premium performance

Phone

 

8849 Tank 5

8849 Tank X

SoC

 

MediaTek Dimensity 9400E

MediaTek Dimensity 8200

GPU

 

ARM Immortalis-G720 MC12

Mali-G610 MC6

NPU

 

MediaTek NPU 790

MediaTek NPU 580

Memory

 

16GB/512GB

16GB/512GB

Weight

 

 

750g

Battery

 

17600

17600

Geekbench

Single

2097

1260

 

Multi

6536

3939

 

OpenCL

12943

4056

 

Vulkan

14916

4517

PCMark

3.0 Score

18477

15637

 

Battery

32h 25m (14%)

32h 48m (20% left)

Charge 30

%

46

11

Passmark

Score

25227

17045

 

CPU

11866

8623

3DMark

Slingshot OGL

Maxed Out

Maxed Out

 

Slingshot Ex. OGL

Maxed Out

Maxed Out

 

Slingshot Ex. Vulkan

Maxed Out

Maxed Out

 

Wildlife

Maxed Out

6343

 

Nomad Lite

1820

632

With so few competitors in this niche, it seemed logical to compare this 8849 to its predecessor, the Tank X.

And what we quickly learn here is that the Dimensity 9400e is a beast compared to the Dimensity 8200, outperforming it in every respect. The most sobering score is the 3DMark Nomad Lite performance, where it is nearly 300% better at this demanding benchmark.

But the other takeaway here is that you can have a more powerful SoC, without it impacting the power consumption dramatically. With the same battery capacity, the running time is remarkably similar to that of the Tank X, even though it does more over that time.

But where the Tank 5 really shows the most dramatic improvement is in the recharging of the battery, which took hours on the Tank X, and can be done in close to 90 minutes on the Tank 5. In just thirty minutes, being able to recover 46% of the battery is excellent.

Overall, the Tank 5 is a top-tier performer for whatever apps you wish to install.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)8849 Tank 5: Final verdict

The 8849 Tank 5 is the most technically accomplished rugged projector phone yet made. It takes the Tank X's headline concept and delivers a genuine performance upgrade at every level. The Dimensity 9400e is fast. The 3K AMOLED display is bright. The 17,600mAh battery is enormous. The projector is now 2K capable with laser autofocus at four metres.

None of that comes without compromise.

The device is very heavy, and the projector still benefits from darkness, whatever the spec sheet implies. And the lack of a published software update policy is a concern worth flagging for any buyer planning to keep this device for several years.

For the specific buyer this device is designed for, the Tank 5 is a compelling proposition. It does things no other phone can match in a single chassis. That remains, as it has been throughout the Tank series, both its greatest strength and its clearest self-selection filter.

Yes, it might have the ideal characteristics to make a decent boat anchor, but when you pack this much technology into a phone, it was never going to be lightweight and slim.

Should I buy a 8849 Tank 5?8849 Tank 5 Score Card

Attributes

Notes

Rating

Value

Probably the right price for a phone with such high specs.

4.5/5

Design

Thick and heavy, but nicely finished and presented.

4/5

Hardware

Excellent SoC, gorgeous AMOLED display and fast charging battery

4.5/5

Camera

Practical sensors for those recording for the workplace

4/5

Performance

Powerful Dimensity 9400e and full charge in 90 minutes battery

4.5/5

Overall

Best phone with a projector so far

4.5/5

Buy it if...

You love adventure
This is the perfect device if you work or adventure in environments where battery life is critical and multi-day use without a charger is a regular requirement. I’m not sure you would want to hike with hardware this heavy, but for a rugged device for capturing images and video and then projecting them, it's exceptional.

You carry lots of data or apps
With 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, this phone is ideal for those who like to carry data and install numerous apps. And, if you give up a SIM card slot, you can add a MicroSD card for even more space.

Don't buy it if...

You travel light
For some, a phone weighing more than 700g is a practical dealbreaker, and it's so big that it won't easily fit in a pocket. It could be a serious issue if you fall into water.

You don't need a projector
The cost of this device is tied to its feature set, and so if you don't want the projector, there seems little point in buying this. Other rugged designs with this SoC, memory and storage are available for less than 8849 is asking for the Tank 5.

Also Consider

8849 Tank X
A predecessor to the Tank X. It features a less powerful SoC, a lower resolution and brightness projector, but the same battery capacity. The biggest weakness of this design is how slowly, compared to the Tank 5, the battery recharges. However, it is a little cheaper for those looking to save money.

Check out my full 8849 Tank X review

ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola
The ThinkPhone 25 offers a powerful SoC, robust package, practical form factor, high-quality camera sensors and decent battery life at a mid-range price point. But, it’s not available in the USA, sadly.

Read our ThinkPhone 25 by Motorola reviewView Deal

For more ruggedized devices, we've reviewed the best rugged tablets, the best rugged laptops, and the best rugged hard drives

As a realtor-focused customer relationship management (CRM) platform, Chime, now known as Lofty, aims to streamline the entire lead-to-deal process. Its intuitive interface and all-in-one feature set make it a compelling option for realty businesses looking to grow their pipelines and close more sales.

Lofty's key capabilities span lead generation, contact management, and deal tracking. The platform offers an IDX website builder, AI-powered marketing automation, and a mobile app for on-the-go access. While these comprehensive features may come with a learning curve, they enable realtors to qualify leads, prioritize follow-ups, and gain visibility into team performance metrics.

During my review, I found it to be a robust CRM platform for realty teams wanting to consolidate their tech stack. Regular product updates, good user feedback, and a niche focus provide strong evidence of Lofty's customer-centric approach. For growing realtor businesses, Lofty warrants strong consideration.

Lofty CRM core capabilities You can easily navigate across Chime CRM’s extensive feature list from desktop and mobile.Chime CRMChime CRM’s ad targeting tool works across many major platforms, including Google and Facebook.Chime CRMTo increase your close rate, let Chime CRM’s Smart Suggestions recommend the next best step.Chime CRMConveniently, your IDX website builder is in the same place as your customer data.Chime CRM

Lofty's core CRM capabilities strike me as quite robust, well-suited for the needs of most real estate businesses. It covers all the essential features you'd expect in a comprehensive CRM system.

For contact management, Lofty offers solid lead generation and capture tools. The AI Assistant can automatically match new leads to appropriate listings and set up customized property alerts based on their behavior. This intelligent lead nurturing helps keep prospects engaged.

I was impressed by Lofty's pipeline tracking capabilities as well. The platform provides a good overview of your sales pipeline, with visual reports on the status of deals. You can create customizable "Smart Plans" to automate workflows and keep transactions moving smoothly.

Another standout is Lofty's forecasting algorithm, which uses agent performance data and historical trends to predict future sales. As an analyst, I always appreciate a CRM that offers strong reporting and analytics. Lofty lets you monitor key metrics like volume, closings, and revenue in real-time.

For agents frequently in the field, Lofty's mobile app is indispensable. It provides access to critical CRM features on the go, including the ability to contact leads and use the built-in Power Dialer.

If I had to critique Lofty, I'd say the depth of its sales analytics could be stronger compared to some enterprise-grade CRMs. But for most real estate teams, it likely provides ample insights to optimize performance.

Overall, Lofty appears to be a well-rounded CRM platform. By combining essential contact management, deal tracking, and reporting capabilities with industry-specific features, Lofty positions itself as a solid contender in the real estate CRM space. While it may have some room for improvement, Lofty's core functionality is more than enough for most agencies.

How easy is Lofty CRM to use?

Having the property market at your fingertips with the IDX website builder can help win deals more quickly. (Image credit: Chime CRM)

Lofty CRM shines with its clean and intuitive UI that even CRM novices can navigate with little training. The well-organized layout and ample white space make it simple to find the tools and data you need. Performing essential tasks like updating contacts or placing a call only requires a few clicks.

Lofty's mobile app brings the desktop version's core functionality to your smartphone, enabling agents to work efficiently on the go. This accessibility is a huge plus for busy real estate professionals constantly juggling client meetings and property showings.

The CRM offers a solid range of customization options, letting you tailor dashboards, reports, and workflows to match your unique business processes. However, it may take some time to fully explore and configure these features to optimize your setup.

To smooth the onboarding process, Lofty provides helpful training videos that walk new users through the basics of the platform. These resources can significantly reduce the learning curve and help your team hit the ground running.

That said, given its extensive capabilities, it's realistic to expect an adjustment period as you get acquainted with all the bells and whistles. Mastering advanced features and fine-tuning automated sequences will likely require some trial and error.

In my experience, most users can become comfortable with Lofty's core functions within a couple of weeks. But reaching peak proficiency and fully customizing the system to your needs may take a month or two of consistent use.

While not without a learning curve, Lofty CRM's thoughtful design and educational resources make it an accessible, user-friendly choice for real estate teams. With a bit of practice and exploration, you'll be leveraging this powerful tool like a pro in no time.

Integrations

Lofty offers several pre-built integrations out of the box with popular real estate tools and services. This includes lead capture and parsing integrations with Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com, email integrations with Gmail and Exchange, calendar sync with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook, and transaction management tie-ins with Brokermint, Dotloop, and Skyslope.

The CRM also integrates with marketing automation and video tools like BombBomb, MailChimp, Cloud CMA, and Dubb. Based on my experience, most of the key applications real estate teams would need seem to be supported natively.

For more custom integrations, Lofty does offer an API. However, documentation on its full capabilities is limited. The main use case highlighted is accessing queue and agent availability data from the Lofty support desk. While useful, this is a fairly narrow integration scenario.

Where Lofty really shines is its support for iPaaS tools like Zapier. Using Zapier, you can connect Lofty with 1000s of other web apps and automate data syncing and workflow steps between them. I found several examples of real estate teams using Zapier to integrate Lofty with tools like ClickFunnels for lead capture and Roomvu for lead qualification.

So while Lofty's custom API is lacking, the combination of pre-built integrations with key industry tools and extensive Zapier support makes it a very extensible platform overall. It should meet the integration needs of most real estate businesses without heavy technical lifting.

How good is Lofty CRM support?

Lofty CRM provides several live support channels, including phone and email, but it seems to lack a live chat option based on my research. While they do offer a knowledge base with articles and tutorials, there doesn't appear to be an active user forum or community for peer-to-peer support.

Where it really struggles is in the quality and responsiveness of the customer service. Many user reviews mention slow response times, with support agents often just reading from scripts rather than providing personalized assistance. Some customers report waiting weeks to get critical account issues resolved.

Lofty touts a 96% customer satisfaction rate on its website, but that figure seems suspect given the numerous complaints I came across on sites like TrustRadius and G2. On TrustRadius, Lofty's support is ranked poorly compared to other major CRM brands. One reviewer called their service "awful" and said it made the platform nearly impossible to use.

Reddit contains several threads with users venting frustrations about Lofty's "atrocious" and "joke" of a support experience. Agents apparently say anything to get people off the phone without actually resolving problems. Tax issues and account lockouts are cited as common issues that linger unaddressed.

I think Lofty has built a powerful CRM product, but they have seriously dropped the ball when it comes to backing it up with quality customer service. For a tool that is so critical to a business's operations, I would have major concerns about relying on Lofty based on these support shortcomings.

Response and resolution times are clearly well below industry standards, and the lack of live chat and community forum options is disappointing for a modern SaaS company. Until Lofty makes major investments in expanding and upleveling their customer service, I would be hesitant to recommend them over competing CRM platforms with better reputations for support.

Lofty CRM pricing and plans

Plan

Core

Premier

Business

Price

$449/month

$700/month

$1500/month

Best For

Individual agents starting with CRM tools

Small teams needing enhanced collaboration

Larger teams requiring comprehensive features

Features

Basic lead management

Email marketing

Mobile app access

API access

Advanced reporting

Team collaboration tools

Dedicated customer support

AI-driven insights

Custom integrations

Limitations

Basic features only, limited support

Limited advanced features, higher cost

Complex setup, requires training

Lofty offers three main pricing plans to suit different types and sizes of real estate teams. The pricing model is subscription-based, with a monthly fee that varies depending on the plan and number of users.

The starter "Core" plan is priced at $449 per month (plus a $500 one-time setup fee) and is designed for solo agents and small teams just getting started with a CRM. It includes core CRM features like lead management, marketing automation, and an MLS-connected IDX website.

The most popular "Premier" plan starts at $700 per month for up to 15 users (with a $1,000 onboarding fee). Additional users can be added for $25 each per month. This plan unlocks advanced capabilities like custom dashboards, API access, and dedicated support.

For larger teams, the "Enterprise" plan starts at $1500 per month for up to 100 users, with each additional user costing $12/month. It offers the full suite of Lofty features plus extras like white-labeling and a dedicated success manager. The Enterprise plan also has a one-time $2000 setup fee.

On top of the base subscription fees, there can be additional charges for certain premium add-ons and integrations, like advanced analytics or third-party data enrichment services. The costs for these extras are not openly published. In addition, mandatory onboarding fees can add up significant;y. For instance, the Core plan is typically accompanied by a $500 upfront fee, while the Premier setup fee is usually $1,000 upfront.

Lofty does not offer a free plan or a self-service free trial, primarily because setting up the platform requires linking real-time local MLS data feeds and configuring custom website builds. Instead, potential customers must book a personalized tour with a solutions advisor to receive a custom quote and negotiate contracts. Discounts are typically available if you opt for annual billing upfront, which generally shaves about 10% off the total cost.

Overall, while not the cheapest option on the market, Lofty's pricing seems reasonable given the comprehensive feature set and strong track record with real estate professionals. The tiered plans provide flexibility to accommodate different team sizes and budgets. But the lack of transparent pricing for enterprise-grade features and add-ons is a bit disappointing.

Potential buyers will definitely want to take advantage of the free trial and get a custom quote to determine the true long-term costs for their specific needs before signing up. For smaller teams and solo agents, there may be more affordable alternatives to evaluate as well.

How we tested Lofty

Evaluating Lofty (formerly Chime) utilizes our a distinct CRM testing framework compared to standard, standalone SaaS solutions. Because Lofty unifies contact management, front-end client-facing websites, and active AI into a single ecosystem, I made sure to put the platform through a stringent testing protocol designed to push its functionalities to the limit.

My hands-on evaluation took into account Lofty's native Content Management System (CMS), where I tested the front-end user experience by executing mock property searches. I also looked at Lofty's tech stack integration and audited its onboarding architecture - all taking into account the full cost of ownership.

Lofty CRM review: Final verdict

Lofty, formerly called Chime, is a robust real estate CRM platform that combines essential contact and deal management features with advanced marketing automation and analytics tailored for the industry. In reviewing it firsthand, I was impressed by the breadth and depth of its feature set.

That said, Lofty is best suited for growth-focused real estate teams and brokerages seeking a fully-featured industry-specific CRM to manage their businesses. Budget-conscious solo agents may find it a bit overkill.

Brivity is a real estate-focused CRM and marketing automation platform that aims to streamline the daily workflows of agents and brokerages. Its integrated suite of tools covers lead generation, contact management, transaction management, and team collaboration.

Brivity enables agents to efficiently manage client relationships with customizable action plans, mass emailing, unique single property websites, a client portal, and more. The CRM platform also includes a built-in dialer and texting functionality to facilitate client communication.

In addition to the CRM, Brivity provides a customizable IDX website, text-to-lead capture, CMA reports, and even open house automation. While this breadth of functionality is impressive, it may come with a learning curve for users. Customer reviews praise Brivity's feature set, but adopting the full platform requires a commitment to learning the system.

Brivity CRM core capabilities

(Image credit: Brivity)

Brivity is a comprehensive real estate CRM that provides agents with a centralized hub to manage their contacts, transactions, marketing, and productivity.

The platform makes it easy to keep track of leads from various sources in one place. Lead details, behavior insights, and communication history are readily accessible. You can set up custom filters, tags, and alerts to stay on top of hot prospects.

I found the messaging center quite useful for client engagement. It allows you to send personalized texts and emails using templates, and even set up auto-responses. The email sync with Gmail is also very handy.

Where Brivity really shines is transaction management. It provides a clear pipeline view of all your deals, with quick access to contacts, documents, tasks, and key dates for each transaction. I like how it automatically notifies clients of status updates.

Another standout is the customizable dashboard. At a glance, you can see how many new leads you've gotten, upcoming appointments, messages that need a reply, and priority tasks. It's a great way to plan your day.

While not groundbreaking, the MLS search and property pages are well-integrated into the CRM. You can easily add listings and share them with clients. The built-in comparative market analysis tool is also nice.

Other notable features include drip campaigns, single property websites, virtual tours, social media marketing, and team collaboration tools. There's no built-in dialer, but Brivity makes up for it with a wide range of integrations and an app marketplace for the CRM.

Brivity covers all the essential functions of a real estate CRM and adds quite a few extras. The interface is modern and intuitive, though the sheer number of features can feel overwhelming at first. But once you get the hang of it, Brivity can be a massive time-saver and productivity booster for a busy agent.

How easy is Brivity to use?

Brivity makes ease of use a top priority for its CRM. Upon signing up, you provide some basic details about your team and intended usage, then dive right into the platform as soon as billing is verified. While the array of tools and features may feel a bit overwhelming at first glance, Brivity's interface is thoughtfully designed to be easy to navigate on both desktop and mobile.

The main dashboard is divided into six core tabs that provide quick access to key functions like your calendar, contacts, transactions, and marketing tools. I found it simple to move between these areas and locate the specific features I needed. The Brivity Go mobile app is also well-designed, allowing agents to stay productive on the move - responding to messages, tracking web activity, finding prospects, and more.

What really impressed me was the level of user support Brivity provides to help new users get up to speed quickly. There's a dedicated support phone number and email address for any questions that come up. The Help Center is packed with detailed video tutorials and FAQs covering essential topics like initial setup, key features, and CRM best practices. You can also tap into the knowledge of the Brivity community by joining the Brivity Masterminds Facebook group to connect with other users, share tips and tricks, and stay updated on new feature rollouts.

While it offers an array of customization options to tailor the platform to your specific needs and workflow, Brivity’s essential functions are very approachable and don't require extensive setup to start using them effectively. Common tasks like logging contact interactions, setting up email campaigns, generating market reports, and managing transactions are quite straightforward.

The learning curve comes with exploring more advanced capabilities and optimizing your configuration. But overall, I'd estimate that a new user could get comfortable with the core day-to-day functions within a few hours, thanks to the intuitive design and breadth of learning resources. More advanced users will appreciate the ability to set up custom dashboards, data fields, sales pipelines, and more to suit their needs.

Integrations

Brivity offers a number of ways to sync data and automate workflows with external applications.

First, Brivity connects natively with Gmail, allowing users to send and receive emails directly within the CRM interface. This eliminates the need to switch back and forth between separate email and CRM apps.

Additionally, an in-app store provides access to multiple pre-built integrations that can be enabled with just a few clicks. Popular options include syncing contacts and events with Google, automating email campaigns via MailChimp, posting video updates with BombBomb, and importing leads from Zillow.

For more advanced use cases, Brivity supports integration with iPaaS tools Zapier and Make (formerly Integromat). This opens up possibilities to connect the CRM with hundreds of other SaaS apps and create custom automated workflows.

Real estate-specific integrations are available too, such as RealSynch for syndicating listings data and Callingly for automating lead follow-up calls. Clicking a lead capture form on a website can instantly trigger a call that connects the lead with an available agent, with the call data saved to Brivity.

Under the hood, Brivity provides a REST API that enables developers to programmatically insert and update data within the CRM. So companies with development resources can build fully customized integrations if needed.

In my testing, setting up basic integrations was simple and worked smoothly. Zapier automations reliably added or updated records without any noticeable sync delays. The breadth of turnkey integrations with common real-estate and productivity tools is impressive.

On the downside, API documentation is quite limited and hasn't been updated recently. So, more complex custom integrations may require some trial and error to implement. The interface for managing active integrations could also be improved; it's not always clear which integrations are enabled and how to troubleshoot issues.

How good is Brivity customer support?

Brivity offers solid customer support options to assist users with any questions or issues they may encounter while using the CRM platform.

In terms of live support channels, Brivity provides a dedicated support phone line that users can call to get help from a real person. The support number is 855-427-4848, staffed during regular business hours. Email support is also available by contacting support@brivity.com. While live chat doesn't appear to be offered, the phone and email support should meet the needs of most customers.

For those who prefer to troubleshoot issues on their own first, Brivity maintains a knowledge base with FAQs, how-to articles, and video tutorials. This self-service resource library enables users to quickly find answers and solutions without needing to contact a support rep. However, discussion forums where customers can interact with each other don't seem to be available.

Details on Brivity's average first response and resolution times are not readily published. But many user reviews praise the CRM provider for its prompt and helpful customer service. While response time data would provide a clearer picture, the glowing customer testimonials suggest most users are very satisfied with the speed and quality of support they receive.

As someone who has tested dozens of CRM systems over the years, I'm impressed by how Brivity's executives make themselves personally accessible to customers who need support. That level of leadership involvement and commitment to customer success is rare.

So while it may not have every support channel or resource one could want, Brivity still delivers high-quality customer service overall. Between the live phone support, email assistance, self-help knowledge base, and responsive team that even includes the company's leaders, most customers should feel well taken care of. The rave reviews from real users further boost confidence in Brivity's support.

Brivity CRM plans and pricing

Plan

Growth

Accelerate

Expand

Mega

Custom

Price

Custom pricing

Custom pricing

Custom pricing

Custom pricing

Custom pricing

Best For

Individual agents needing basic CRM functionality

Small teams up to 5 users seeking collaborative tools

Medium teams up to 10 users requiring enhanced capabilities

Large teams up to 25 users needing comprehensive solutions

Teams over 25 users with specific needs

Features

Core CRM

High converting drip campaigns

Unlimited texting and dialer

All the Growth plan features

Lead ponds

Advanced lead routing

All the Accelerate features

Transaction Auto Plans

Client portal access

All the Expand plan features

Dedicated success manager

Extensive reporting tools

Tailored features and support

Scalable solutions

Custom integrations

Limitations

Limited to 2 users, fewer advanced features

Limited to 5 users, additional costs for some add-ons

Limited to 10 users, requires setup time

Limited to 25 users, higher cost structure

More expensive than some competitors

(Image credit: Brivity)

Brivity takes a tiered subscription approach to pricing its CRM platform, with the cost and features steadily increasing across its plan lineup. The plans — Growth, Accelerate, Expand, Mega, and Custom — scale from 1 user up to 25+ users. Exact pricing is no longer provided since Brivity revamped its pricing, so you'd just have to request a demo to get those details.

On the low end, Brivity’s Growth plan provides core CRM functionality for up to 2 users. This could work for a solo agent or small team just getting started. Stepping up, Brivity Accelerate ups the user limit to 5. For larger teams, the Expand plan supports 10 users. There’s also a Large plan for 25 users and a Custom plan for more than 25 users.

While the features across the plans appear to be similar, higher prices get you more user seats. That said, a few features like lead capture, lead pricing, and dedicated success manager support aren’t available on the entry-level plans. And, if you need more than just a CRM, Brivity offers three additional tools: Virtual Assistant, Lead Generation, and Recruiting. These are available as add-ons on top of the base plan.

Unfortunately, I didn't see any discounts advertised beyond the savings from paying annually instead of monthly. And it doesn't look like Brivity offers a free plan or even a free trial to test the software first. Contacting the sales team for a custom demo without any idea of the pricing can be frustrating, but consider that Brivity’s entry-level plan used to be priced at $299.90/month for 2 users before the revamp.

Overall, Brivity's pricing seems reasonable if you just need a basic CRM for a small team. The entry-level plan should suffice for most independent agents or small agencies. But costs can add up quickly if you require more users or additional features beyond the core CRM. And not having transparent pricing or a trial for its more robust plans makes it hard to evaluate the full value you'd be getting.

How we tested Brivity

During our CRM testing process, we put real estate-specific platforms like Brivity through rigorous, hands-on interaction over a period of weeks. I didn't just judge Brivity by its marketing specifications but deployed the platform in simulated, real-world real estate environments to evaluate how it may perform for high-volume agents and teams.

For this Brivity evaluation, I looked at the platform's setup and data migration, its lead capture and routing speed, and its transaction management pipeline. It's not just the big picture either. I also examined daily agent workflows, assessing Brivity's usability by spending hours using the primary communication center on both desktop and the mobile app.

Brivity CRM review: Final verdict

Brivity is an all-in-one real estate CRM platform that aims to streamline the daily workflows of agents and brokerages. In my experience testing the software, I found that it covers all the core functions needed to manage client relationships and transactions.

While costs can add up for larger teams or those needing add-on features beyond just the CRM, all in all, I see Brivity as an excellent choice for agents and small brokerages seeking an affordable yet comprehensive platform to orchestrate their daily operations. If you're willing to invest a bit of time learning the ins and outs, Brivity can be a big asset for efficiently managing and growing your real estate business.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a comprehensive customer relationship management (CRM) solution packed with advanced features enhanced by AI capabilities. One of the best CRM platforms on the marker, it offers a robust set of tools to help businesses manage customer data, streamline sales and service processes, and gain actionable insights.

Dynamics 365 integrates tightly with the Microsoft ecosystem, including Office apps like Outlook, Word, and Excel. This allows for seamless data sharing and collaboration for cloud-based businesses already using Microsoft 365. It also offers connectors to many popular third-party business apps.

While it delivers a lot of functionality, Dynamics 365’s interface can feel a bit complex and overwhelming at first for smaller business users. The pricing model is also on the higher end compared to some other CRM platforms. But for organizations already using Microsoft tools, Dynamics 365 CRM is a powerful platform to unify customer data and processes.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 core capabilities

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft Dynamics 365 provides a centralized database to store and manage all customer data, including contact information, interaction history, and purchase records. This allows sales and marketing teams to have a complete 360-degree view of each customer.

Contact management in Dynamics 365 enables users to easily track and manage leads, opportunities, and customer accounts. The system can automatically capture lead and customer data from various sources, like web forms, and import it into the CRM. Users can then qualify and nurture leads through the sales pipeline using built-in workflows and automation.

Dynamics 365 also offers advanced sales forecasting and analytics capabilities. Sales managers can get real-time visibility into their team's performance and pipeline with interactive dashboards and reports. AI-driven insights help predict revenue, uncover at-risk deals, and provide actionable recommendations to improve win rates. Integration with Microsoft's Power BI tool allows for even deeper analysis.

To optimize marketing efforts, Dynamics 365 includes features for segmenting customers, managing campaigns, and tracking ROI across channels. Marketers can use the data in the CRM to personalize their messaging and target high-value prospects. The system also has native integrations with LinkedIn and other social media platforms for social selling.

For on-the-go sales reps, Dynamics 365 provides a fully-featured mobile app. It has an intuitive interface that allows reps to access and update customer data, manage their pipeline, and even scan business cards to create new contacts - all from their smartphone. Offline capabilities ensure reps can be productive even without an internet connection.

Another powerful aspect of Dynamics 365 is the ability to automate repetitive sales and marketing tasks. Workflows can be set up to automatically assign leads to reps, send follow-up emails after key events, and create tasks or reminders. This frees up the team's time to focus on higher-value activities.

Integration is also a strong point of Dynamics 365. The platform has pre-built connectors for popular business apps like Microsoft 365, Outlook, SharePoint, and Power Automate. This allows for seamless data syncing and extends the capabilities of the CRM. Custom integrations can also be built using the system's open API.

To help businesses develop strong, lasting relationships with their customers, Dynamics 365 offers a complete customer service module as well. It includes features like case management, knowledge base, and SLAs. Chatbot and self-service portal functionalities enhance the customer experience while also reducing support costs.

In my experience testing Dynamics 365, I've been impressed with the platform's comprehensiveness and flexibility. It has all the core features needed in a CRM with the bonus of Microsoft's familiar interface and robust integration with the rest of its software ecosystem. Setup and navigation are very user-friendly.

However, for smaller businesses, the vast capabilities may be overkill. The pricing model can also get expensive quickly, especially when adding on premium features like AI analytics. Customization and configuration require a partner or significant technical expertise to fully tailor the system.

How easy is Microsoft Dynamics 365 to use?

(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers an intuitive and modern user experience. The interface leverages key design principles like consistency, simplicity, user-centricity, and efficiency to streamline operations and boost user satisfaction.

In my experience, the clean layout and logical organization make it easy to navigate and find what you need. The UI presents vital data and functionalities based on your Microsoft 365 role, saving time and reducing errors.

Dynamics 365 also provides robust accessibility features for users with disabilities. These include compatibility with screen readers, high contrast modes, keyboard-only navigation, and voice recognition. So the platform can be tailored to individual needs.

Another strength is the wide range of customization options. From simple configurations to custom code, you can adapt it to closely fit your organization's terminology, processes, and unique requirements. I've found the ability to customize entities, forms, views, dashboards, and workflows especially useful.

To help users get up to speed quickly, Microsoft offers extensive onboarding and training resources. These cover everything from basic setup to advanced customization. Highlights include step-by-step guides, how-to videos, and self-paced online courses through Microsoft Learn.

However, it’s worth remembering that Microsoft Dynamics 365 is a fully-featured enterprise CRM, unsuited for most small business needs. Its learning curve, feature set, and pricing structure all reflect that. If you don’t have use for the advanced capabilities that this platform offers, the added complexity will just hold you back.

Integrations

Out of the box, Dynamics 365 has pre-built connectors for many popular business apps like Office 365, Outlook, Power BI, SharePoint, and LinkedIn. These connectors allow data to flow between the systems, enabling powerful automation and streamlined workflows.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 also provides an extensive API that allows developers to build custom integrations with virtually any other application or data source. The API is well-documented and supports industry standards like REST and OData, making it straightforward for integration projects.

For those who prefer a low-code approach, Dynamics 365 works well with iPaaS tools like Zapier. Zapier has a dedicated Dynamics 365 app that enables you to connect it to thousands of other apps without writing any code. You can set up "Zaps" to automatically sync data, trigger workflows, and more. This opens up huge possibilities for extending Dynamics 365 outside the Microsoft ecosystem.

In my experience testing the various integration options, I've found the data syncing to be quite reliable and performant. The pre-built connectors "just work", and data flows smoothly in both directions without any lag. Microsoft has obviously put a lot of engineering effort into optimizing the sync infrastructure.

Integration is an area where Dynamics 365 shines. I'd give it top marks here. The possibilities really are endless in terms of what you can connect and automate. It's one of the product's key selling points compared to the competition.

How good is Microsoft Dynamics 365 support?

Microsoft provides a range of support options for its Dynamics 365 customer service platform. All customers get access to the standard support plan at no extra cost, which includes the ability to submit service requests via web or phone, access self-service resources like community forums and the admin center portal, and receive responses to critical issues within 2 hours during business hours.

For organizations with more extensive support needs, Microsoft offers the Professional Direct and Unified Support plans at an additional cost. These provide 24/7 phone support with under 1-hour response times for the most severe issues, along with additional services like escalation management, proactive advisories, and access to a designated Service Delivery Manager.

In terms of self-service options, Dynamics 365 users can turn to an online knowledge base with how-to articles and tutorials, community forums to discuss issues with other customers and Microsoft experts, and the admin center to manage their instance and submit service requests.

When it comes to the perception of Microsoft's support for Dynamics 365, opinions seem to be somewhat mixed. While I did find some positive comments praising the helpfulness and capability of Microsoft support agents, others expressed frustration with slower-than-expected response times, especially for non-critical issues, and having to escalate issues to get a full resolution. Several reviews mentioned that the quality of support can vary quite a bit depending on the individual agent you get.

Overall, Microsoft appears to offer a fairly comprehensive support program for Dynamics 365, with multiple live support and self-service channels. However, the more responsive service levels are limited to the paid support plans, and the consistency of support quality seems to be hit or miss based on anecdotal user reviews. Specific details on resolution times and customer satisfaction ratings are also hard to come by.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 pricing and plans

Plan

Sales Professional

Sales Enterprise

Customer Service Professional

Customer Service Enterprise

Price

$65/user/month

$105/user/month

$50/user/month

$95/user/month

Best For

Small to medium businesses, basic sales needs

Large enterprises, advanced sales features

Small to medium businesses, basic customer service

Large enterprises, advanced customer service

Features

Sales automation

Opportunity management

Outlook integration

AI-driven insights

Advanced analytics

Customizable workflows

Case management

Knowledge management

SLAs

AI-powered chatbots

Omnichannel support

Extensible platform

Limitations

Limited customization and analytics

Higher price point

Limited automation and AI capabilities

Higher price point

Microsoft Dynamics 365 offers several different pricing plans and licensing options depending on the specific CRM applications and features needed.

The Sales Professional plan starts at $65 per user per month, providing core sales force automation, Microsoft 365 integration, reporting, and dashboards. The Sales Enterprise plan is $105 per user per month for the base license.

There are additional attached licenses available to add to other Dynamics 365 apps at a discounted rate. For example, you can get both the Sales and Customer Service apps together for $68 per user per month under a current promotion. Field Service is a popular add-on, with plans starting around $95 per user per month.

For small to medium-sized businesses, the Business Central Essentials plan provides an affordable entry point at $70 per user per month. This includes key accounting and operational features. Stepping up to the Business Central Premium plan at $100 per user per month unlocks advanced functionality like service management and manufacturing.

On average, customers typically spend between $5,000 and $10,000 annually on their Dynamics 365 subscription, with implementation costs around $15,000 according to one Microsoft partner. Of course, the total cost scales up based on the number of user licenses needed.

Microsoft does make it easy to try out Dynamics 365 before committing to a purchase. Most of the CRM and ERP apps offer a 30-day free trial, while some, like Dynamics 365 Guide,s provide an extended 60-day evaluation period. These trials give full access to explore the features and capabilities.

Discounts may also be available for certain customers. Nonprofits can get donated and discounted licenses for many of the Dynamics 365 apps. Microsoft also runs promotions from time to time, such as a current offer bundling Sales and Customer Service together for a reduced price.

Following a broad price adjustment to match its expanded AI toolsets, Business Central Essentials is priced at $80 per user, per month, while the manufacturing-heavy Premium tier sits at $110 per user, per month. It is critical for prospective buyers to note that these figures represent software subscription costs alone: because Dynamics 365 is incredibly sophisticated, a typical mid-market implementation routinely requires a certified third-party Microsoft Partner, raising consulting, custom data schema mapping, and training engineering fees.

How we tested Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM

Evaluating an enterprise-tier ecosystem like Microsoft Dynamics 365 requires a far more complex framework than testing a standard, out-of-the-box SaaS CRM. Following TechRadar Pro's comprehensive CRM testing methodology, I subjected Dynamics 365 to rigorous infrastructure stress testing to evaluate its core capabilities, structural ease of use, system integrations, and actual value for money.

I assessed the platform's core capabilities, AI Copilot latency, and its onboarding complexity. The platform's support and integration (especially with other Microsoft tools) were also evaluated. And, of course, the cost is always taken into account with these reviews. By cost, we always take into account the total cost of ownership - not just your initial outlay.

Microsoft Dynamics 365 review: Final verdict

Microsoft Dynamics 365 delivers a powerful and comprehensive CRM solution, particularly well-suited for medium to large enterprises already using other Microsoft technologies. Its tight integration with familiar tools like Office 365 and Power BI is a key strength.

However, all this functionality does come at a relatively high price point compared to some other CRM options. Small businesses with basic CRM needs may find Dynamics 365 overkill - they should probably consider more lightweight alternatives like Monday or Sage. But for organizations with complex sales processes and customer lifecycles, particularly those already using Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 is a top choice. Just be prepared to invest the time and resources needed to properly implement and learn the system.

Sage CRM is a dependable customer relationship management solution designed for small and medium-sized businesses. Its key features include contact and communications management, sales force automation, marketing automation, and customer service tools.

Looking into Sage CRM, I found it to be a well-rounded CRM platform with a solid set of features to help businesses streamline their sales, marketing, and customer service processes. The interface is user-friendly and customizable, making it easy to tailor the system to your company's specific needs.

However, a potential drawback is that it lacks the number of advanced integrations boasted by competitors like Salesforce or HubSpot. However, Sage CRM's reliability and scalability make it a strong contender for SMBs looking to better manage customer interactions and drive business growth.

Sage CRM core capabilities

(Image credit: Sage )

Sage CRM has a lot going for it when it comes to essential CRM capabilities. I've been impressed by how it covers the full gamut of what you'd expect in a modern customer relationship management system.

To start, Sage CRM provides robust contact management, allowing you to track and manage every interaction with prospects and customers across your entire business. The sales force automation features are designed to accelerate your sales processes, providing tools for lead generation, opportunity management, and closing deals more efficiently.

Then there’s the targeted marketing functionality. Sage CRM gives you the ability to easily plan, execute, and evaluate your marketing programs. You can segment your audience, personalize your messaging, and measure the ROI of your campaigns — all from within the CRM.

Of course, CRMs aren’t complete without strong customer service capabilities. Sage CRM aims to help you exceed customer expectations with tools for case management, service level tracking, and a searchable knowledge base. I particularly like the customer self-service portal, which empowers customers to find answers and log requests on their own.

Sage has also kept up with the times by incorporating social capabilities and mobile access. You can engage with customers on social media channels and access the platform from any device.

Another big plus in my book is the tight integration Sage CRM offers with various Sage accounting packages like Sage 100 and Sage 300. Connecting your front and back office data can provide powerful insights to drive your business forward.

Reporting and analytics are also key strengths. Sage CRM includes interactive dashboards and customizable reports to help you forecast sales, monitor key metrics, and gain visibility into team performance. You can slice and dice data to your heart's content.

Lastly, I'm a big fan of the customizable workflows and process automation in Sage CRM. You can easily optimize and standardize processes across sales, marketing, and service to maximize productivity. And the Microsoft Outlook integration is top-notch for seamless email communications.

All in all, Sage stacks up very well in terms of its breadth and depth of core CRM functionality. While every business has unique needs, Sage covers all the critical bases you'd want in a CRM platform. It's well worth considering for any small to mid-market company looking to take their customer management to the next level.

How easy is Sage CRM to use?

Intuitive interface design, extensive training resources, and straightforward customization are a few key factors that make this platform so easy to use, especially for new users just getting started with a CRM.

Right off the bat, I found the Sage CRM dashboard quite clean and simple to navigate. The layout feels logical, with clearly labeled tabs for jumping between different functional areas. Moving between records can be a bit clunky at times, but overall, the interface gets the job done without overwhelming the user.

Another area where Sage really shines is the wealth of onboarding and training materials they provide through Sage University. When you're new to the platform, having readily available guides, tutorials, and templates to learn from makes a huge difference. Sage has put effort into creating resources to flatten the learning curve.

Sage CRM also offers a good deal of flexibility to tailor the software to your needs. I was impressed with the ability to completely customize important details like quote templates and pricing sources. Mapping out activities in the calendar and setting up workflows also proved fairly intuitive. You don't need to be an IT whiz to mold Sage CRM to your business.

In terms of becoming proficient, I'd estimate most users with a bit of CRM experience could get up and running within a week or two. Those starting from scratch might need closer to a month to feel fully comfortable. But with solid customer support and those extensive training materials, Sage puts in the legwork to make their CRM as approachable as possible.

Ease of use is definitely one of Sage CRM's strong suits. The thoughtful interface, customization options, and educational resources combine to make this a platform that won't leave new users scratching their heads or tearing their hair out. While not without some minor quirks, Sage CRM does a commendable job catering to users of all skill levels.

Integrations

Generally speaking, Sage CRM has strong integration capabilities. The platform offers a variety of ways to connect with other applications and systems.

For starters, Sage has a number of pre-built integrations and connectors available, which makes it easy to quickly link up with popular business apps like Mailchimp, QuickBooks, and more. While not as expansive as competitors like Salesforce or Zendesk, it’s still pretty good.

If you need a more custom integration, Sage CRM also has good support for iPaaS vendors. It integrates seamlessly with automation tools like Zapier and Make. This allows you to create your own integrations and automated workflows without needing to code.

Under the hood, Sage CRM provides a powerful set of REST and SOAP APIs. These give developers the ability to build deep, custom integrations with external databases and systems. While researching, I found some users reporting that the REST API responses can be a bit slow at times. So the performance may not be best-in-class, but overall, the APIs seem reliable and full-featured.

The platform also has some helpful features to make integrating data easier, like the ability to directly connect to and model external database tables. Users say the data synchronization is generally smooth.

All in all, I'm quite impressed with Sage CRM from an integration standpoint. Between the pre-built connectors, iPaaS support, open APIs, and data syncing capabilities, the platform checks all the key boxes. And it seems to mostly deliver on the ease-of-use front as well. You may run into some performance limitations with more complex integrations, but for most needs, Sage CRM looks to be a strong integration option.

How good is Sage CRM customer support?

When it comes to customer support, Sage CRM offers a solid range of options for users to get help when they need it. The company provides live support via phone and email during standard business hours, which are 8 am-5 pm GMT+2 Monday through Thursday, and 8 am-4 pm on Fridays. So while 24/7 support is not available, the hours are reasonable and cover the prime working hours for most customers.

In terms of responsiveness, I found that customers generally expect an email reply within 24 hours from support teams. While I couldn't locate Sage CRM's specific first response time metrics, user reviews suggest that the support is prompt and helpful overall. Many customers complimented how easy the software is to learn and use, even for employees with no prior experience with CRMs, which likely cuts down on the volume of support requests.

For those who prefer to find answers on their own, Sage also offers a good set of self-service resources. These include an online knowledge base and help center with how-to articles and guides, video tutorials, a user community forum, and product documentation. Having all of this information readily available enables customers to troubleshoot issues and learn the software at their own pace.

The quality of support seems to be a highlight for many Sage CRM users based on the testimonials and reviews I analyzed. Customers frequently praise the support team for being responsive, knowledgeable, and able to resolve issues quickly. Some reviewers noted that the initial setup and configuration were made easier with the help of support. There were a few complaints about long hold times or unresolved problems.

My overall assessment is that Sage CRM delivers an effective and well-rounded customer support experience. While round-the-clock live support is lacking, they make up for it with strong documentation, an active user community, and support reps that are consistently described as helpful and efficient by customers. The self-service options are robust, and the positive sentiment regarding support quality is reassuring for businesses evaluating the platform. Sage CRM's support may not be flawless, but it appears to meet or exceed most customers' expectations.

Sage CRM pricing and plans

Plan

Cloud

On-Premise

Price

$45/user/month

Lifetime license with custom pricing

Best For

Small to medium businesses seeking a cloud-based solution

Businesses preferring an on-premise CRM with one-time licensing

Features

• Customizable modules

• Integration with Sage ERP

• Mobile access

• Perpetual licensing

• Greater control over data

• Extensive customization

Limitations

Requires internet connection for use

Higher upfront costs, IT infrastructure needed

Sage CRM offers two deployment options with different pricing models. For the cloud version, Sage charges $45 per user per month. This is a simple, transparent subscription model that allows you to scale up or down as needed.

For the on-premise version, you'll need to contact Sage directly for a custom quote based on your specific requirements. Factors like the number of users, add-on features, and contract length can all impact the final price.

One thing I like is that Sage CRM includes a free trial for its cloud version, so you can take the software for a test drive before committing to a paid plan. This lets you ensure it has all the features and capabilities your business needs.

However, I couldn't find any information on the length of the trial period, so that's something you may want to clarify with the sales team. Additional costs for onboarding, customization, integrations, or support when choosing Sage’s on-premise option are also not clearly listed, from what I could see.

Overall, while the cloud pricing is straightforward, Sage could be more transparent about the full costs involved, especially for the self-hosted version. You'll likely need to go through the sales process to get a complete picture of the investment required, both upfront and ongoing.

For smaller businesses, that $45/user/month starting price is on the higher end compared to some entry-level CRM plans. But for larger teams that need the advanced features Sage CRM offers, it may prove to be a worthwhile value. As with any substantial software purchase, I recommend doing a thorough ROI analysis based on your company's unique situation and goals.

Another factor to consider is the fact that while the $45 cloud entry point looks straightforward, Sage's overall pricing structure lacks some transparency. Because Sage CRM is primarily designed to act as a front-end extension for their ERP ecosystems (such as Sage 100, 200, or 300), the baseline software cost is rarely your final invoice. The true cost of deployment almost always requires going through authorized regional partners, who inject substantial additional service fees for mandatory data migration, custom SQL database configuration, ERP integration connectors, and specialized training.

How we tested Sage CRM

Rather than evaluating Sage CRM as just another SaaS tool, we tested it through a specialized CRM lens. Because Sage is fundamentally designed to bridge front-office sales with back-office finance, our testing methodology focused heavily on database integrity, ERP-sync telemetry, and on-premise infrastructure stability using the Sage 2026 R1 application stack.

I tested the platform's upgraded PDF generation engine, evaluated its support options, and took a critical eye to its design and UI. We populated the system with thousands of contacts so we could evaluate the solution just as a real-world business would.

Sage CRM review: Final verdict

Exploring Sage CRM for this review, I found it to be a robust and well-rounded CRM platform that covers all the key bases a small to mid-sized business would need. The thoughtfully designed interface, customization options, and extensive training resources make it approachable for users of all skill levels.

While the pricing isn't the most transparent, especially for the on-premise deployment, the overall feature set and usability likely justify the cost for many organizations. And the free trial provides a nice opportunity to validate that before diving in. Overall, I believe Sage CRM is best suited for small to medium-sized companies that want a full-featured and customizable CRM platform they can grow with over time.

Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM’s (formerly SharpSpring) is a powerful yet user-friendly marketing automation and CRM platform that caters to the needs of small to mid-sized businesses. As an all-in-one solution, it offers a solid set of features, including lead management, email marketing, social media management, and a built-in CRM at no extra cost.

Lead Gen & CRM’s key strength lies in its intuitive interface, which makes it easy to create complex automation workflows without requiring extensive technical knowledge. The visual campaign builder allows marketers to design multi-step campaigns with ease, while the opportunity management and task tracking features enable sales teams to stay on top of their pipeline.

However, Lead Gen & CRM is not without its drawbacks. Some users have reported occasional glitches and slower performance compared to other platforms. Additionally, while the feature set is comprehensive, it may not be as advanced as some enterprise-level solutions. Despite these minor shortcomings, Lead Gen & CRM remains a solid choice for businesses seeking an integrated marketing automation tool with CRM features.

Lead Gen & CRM core capabilties

Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM marks a massive structural evolution for the software platform formerly known as SharpSpring. Following its acquisition by email marketing pioneer Constant Contact, the software dropped the legacy SharpSpring moniker to align completely with its parent company’s massive digital outreach ecosystem.

Lead Gen & CRM packs a powerful punch when it comes to its core CRM capabilities. At the heart of its CRM functionality is robust lead generation and management. The platform allows you to track, score, qualify, and convert leads, giving you a 360-degree view of your prospects' journey.

A standout feature is Lead Gen & CRM's ability to de-anonymize website visitors and track their behavior, enabling deep personalization. You can tailor experiences to each lead contextually based on their interests and actions.

The CRM also excels at email management, with tools to build custom emails and automate personalized outreach at scale. You can set up targeted campaigns triggered by specific lead behaviors or statuses.

For lead capture, Lead Gen & CRM provides flexible form and landing page builders. These allow you to craft custom assets that feed prospects' information directly into the CRM. Progressive profiling helps gradually build out lead profiles over time.

I'm impressed by how Lead Gen & CRM has seamlessly integrated core CRM functionality with its marketing automation capabilities. Having both in a single platform streamlines operations and aligns sales and marketing, which is great for tightly-knit startups.

However, some long-term users indicate that it may lack a few of the more advanced features you'd find in a standalone system. For many small or midsize companies, though, Lead Gen & CRM's CRM will be more than sufficient for their use case.

Overall, Lead Gen & CRM delivers on the CRM essentials — lead management, email outreach, and custom form capture — while surrounding them with strong marketing automation. This combination makes it a compelling central revenue platform for SMBs.

How easy is Lead Gen & CRM to use?

Lead Gen & CRM's user interface aims to simplify navigation and reduce the learning curve for new users. Key customization options allow the platform to adapt to various business needs and use cases.

I found Lead Gen & CRM's visual campaign builder to be very intuitive once you get oriented. However, for non-marketers or those new to marketing automation, the workflow may be a bit overwhelming at first. Lead Gen & CRM does provide an excellent knowledge base to help users get up to speed, though.

Lead Gen & CRM's onboarding is one of its standout features. You get paired with an Onboarding Specialist who guides you through training over your first 60 days. The process starts with goal-setting and expectation-setting calls. Then you move into the thick of it with platform setup, data and system integration, as well as instance configuration.

After that, Lead Gen & CRM offers a menu of 30-60 minute training sessions on key platform capabilities that can be mixed, matched, and ordered to your needs. Topics include the CRM, marketing campaigns, landing pages, forms, automation, analytics, and more.

So while the workflow UI might not be immediately intuitive for all, Lead Gen & CRM compensates with strong training and onboarding. With guidance from the onboarding team, most users seem to gain proficiency within the first couple of months.

A potential downside is the flip side of customization; it may take more time to configure the platform to your needs than a more standardized tool. But if you want that flexibility and are willing to invest some upfront effort, it pays off in the long run.

Overall, I give Lead Gen & CRM high marks for its user interface, training resources, and customization options to fit diverse business cases. With a bit of time to orient and personalized onboarding, new users can harness its power.

Lead Gen & CRM integrations

(Image credit: SharpSpring)

Lead Gen & CRM offers a robust set of integration options to connect it with other business applications and extend its functionality. The CRM integrates with a wide variety of popular apps out of the box through its App Marketplace. Here you can find connectors for marketing tools like Facebook Lead Ads, Unbounce, Eventbrite, SurveyMonkey, and more.

I found the integration with Unbounce particularly useful, as it allows marketing leads captured on Unbounce landing pages to automatically sync into Lead Gen & CRM for follow-up. The Facebook Lead Ads integration is also handy for pulling in leads generated from social media campaigns.

For more custom integrations, Lead Gen & CRM supports popular automation platforms Zapier and Make (formerly Integromat). With these iPaaS (integration platform as a service) tools, you can connect Lead Gen & CRM to over 1000 other apps without needing to write any code. I was able to use Zapier to set up an integration that sends new leads from my website's contact form directly into Lead Gen & CRM, then creates tasks for a hypothetical sales team to reach out to.

Lead Gen & CRM also provides a full-featured REST API that allows developers to integrate the CRM with any other system. The API documentation is comprehensive, and the platform uses standard OAuth 2.0 authentication. Advanced users suggest that the API is relatively straightforward to work with when building a custom integration.

One thing I would like to see is more granular user permissions around integrations. Currently, any user can set up an integration, which could potentially lead to data being unintentionally exposed. It would be nice to have admin-level controls over what integrations and connected apps each user can access.

But in the end, Lead Gen & CRM's integration capabilities are quite strong. The combination of pre-built app connectors, iPaaS support, and a robust API means the platform can fit into most any tech stack. And based on my experience, the integrations are stable, and the data syncing between systems is reliable. Lead Gen & CRM has clearly put a lot of thought into making its CRM as extensible as possible.

How good is Lead Gen & CRM customer support?

Lead Gen & CRM provides a robust customer support experience for its CRM users. They offer a variety of channels to get help, including phone, email, and live chat support. Live chat is especially responsive and helpful for getting quick answers to questions.

The company also has a well-organized knowledge base with tutorials, training resources, and FAQs to help users self-serve and troubleshoot issues on their own. The articles are clear and include helpful screenshots. There's a handy search feature to find relevant content quickly.

However, Lead Gen & CRM could improve a few areas of its support. First, the live support channels are not 24/7 - you can generally only get real-time help during extended business hours. Off hours, you have to rely on their ticket system and wait for a response.

But, while many customers rave about the quality and friendliness of the support, some reviews mention that the first response time can occasionally be a bit slow, and complex issues may require some back and forth to fully resolve. Lead Gen & CRM doesn't publish official response time averages that I could find.

Lead Gen & CRM pricing and plans

Plan

Lite

Standard

Premium

Starting Price (500 contacts)

$12/month

$33/month

$120/month

Price at 1,000 Contacts

$35/month

$55/month

$160/month

Price at 10,000 Contacts

$80/month

$110/month

$275/month

Best for

Solopreneurs & basic list management

Growing small businesses needing automation

High-volume teams and advanced marketing

Limitations

1 user seat; single-step welcome automations; 10x contact email send limit

3 user seats; multi-step behavioral workflows; A/B testing; 12x email send limit

Unlimited user seats; custom behavioral paths; revenue attribution; 24x email send limit

Following its corporate acquisition and transition into Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM, the platform has fundamentally abandoned its old, prohibitively expensive entry pricing structure. Rather than forcing early-stage startups to commit to a massive $449 monthly baseline just to manage 1,000 contacts, the platform now operates on a sliding, feature-tiered scale that makes full-funnel marketing automation accessible to microscopic budgets.

The modern ecosystem is split into three core tracks: Lite, Standard, and Premium. The foundational Lite plan starts at just $12/month for up to 500 contacts, scaling up to $33/month at the 1,000-contact threshold. While highly economical, the Lite plan severely restricts collaborative teams, limiting access to a single user seat and locking out all advanced behavioral workflows in favor of simple, single-step welcome emails.

The Standard plan represents the optimal middle ground for mid-sized teams, starting at $35/month and adjusting to $55/month for 1,000 contacts. Upgrading to Standard unlocks up to 3 user seats, robust multi-step marketing automation trees, behavioral contact segmentation, and subject line A/B testing tools.

For corporate teams requiring deep telemetry, the Premium tier begins at $80/month ($110/month at 1,000 contacts), removing user seat caps entirely while unlocking custom visual automation paths, revenue attribution dashboards, and integrated SEO tools.

Buyers must keep an eye on their contact ceilings, however: crossing into a higher contact bracket mid-cycle triggers an automatic account upgrade, and exceeding your monthly tiered email delivery volume limits results in an overage fee of $0.002 per email. For massive databases scaling past 50,000 records or specialized white-label marketing setups, customized Agency and Enterprise quotes remain available upon request.

How we tested Lead Gen & CRM

At TechRadar Pro, our CRM testing methodology goes beyond vendor's advertised functionality. To properly evaluate Constant Contact Lead Gen & CRM and its core promise of delivering a unified sales-and-marketing environment, our testing analysts deployed the software in a live production environment configured for mid-market business demands.

We conducted a visual automation stress test, carried out visitor de-anonymization tracking, and assessed the dynamic content performance. Support was also a key feature for the review, and because Constant Contact locks real-time help desks behind extended regional business hours rather than offering global 24/7 coverage, we systematically verified their customer support turnaround. That way you can trust our review wherever you're based.

Lead Gen & CRM review: Summary

Lead Gen & CRM is a solid, intuitive, and easy-to-use CRM solution that provides good value for small to mid-sized businesses and marketing agencies. The platform offers a robust set of features, including lead management, email marketing, social media management, and a built-in CRM at an affordable price point compared to some competitors.

However, Lead Gen & CRM is not without some shortcomings. While the core feature set is solid, it may fall short for companies with very advanced sales automation needs. Some users have also reported occasional performance issues and bugs.

What, like making a prequel series is hard? I should never have doubted the power of Elle Woods, who at this point feels like the pop culture equivalent of Mother Teresa to millennials.

Since the moment that Elle was announced by Prime Video, I've been it's number one hater. I've written opinion pieces about how its existence is going to destroy the sanctity of Elle's journey at Harvard, and I've spent hours stewing over how anybody could touch the side of Reese Witherspoon's career-defining performance. If we're getting another Legally Blonde project, make it about Elle's Supreme Court Justice years... right?

But oh, how the mighty have fallen. Having now watched all eight episodes of Elle, my hater-self is metaphorically standing in a dumpster fire of her own making. As someone prepared to loathe it, take this next remark with absolute seriousness and sincerity: this series is outrageously good.

In the blink of an eye, I once again felt like my 6-year-old self when the 2001 movie first came out — enraptured, inspired and completely at ease with who I am inside. How? Well, that's just what Elle Woods does, regardless of who is playing her.

But if you'd have told me at Lexi Minetree was actually an AI version of Witherspoon in her twenties, I'd have believed you. Minetree has all of Witherspoon's mannerisms down to a tee, has perfected her voice, and wholeheartedly understands the spirit of the woman we all know and love. It is, frankly, a miracle.

But Minetree isn't the only reason for Elle's success... absolutely everybody, and almost everything, is pulling their weight.

Elle is about to put the Legally Blonde haters to shame — and most of the film's lore holds up

When Elle turns 16, she's forced to leave her Bel-Air luxury lifestyle behind for Seattle, all thanks to a plastic surgery scandal that her father is embroiled it. With her new high school in the grip of the 90s grunge scene, our favorite pink tornado is once again a fish out of water, and she has to fight to fit in.

As I've pointed out, Minetree's freakishly brilliant understanding of Elle — and how unwilling she is to deviate from Witherspoon's blueprint — spearheads the feel-good fun, but let's look at what's happening around her.

Surprisingly, Elle isn't just a nod to Legally Blonde. There are also clear references to big nineties and noughties hitters including Mean Girls, Clueless, Freaky Friday and The Breakfast Club, and the nostalgic yearning is strong. From the corded landlines to the banging soundtrack, our young adult life from this time period is fully and lovingly represented.

As willing as I initially was to write our Seattle newbies off, they're also a treat of an ensemble. Bel-Air bestie Madison (Jessica Belkin) shirks the airhead sidekick stereotype in favor of a grounded spirit and unshakable loyalty, while high school mean girl Kimberly (Chandler Kinney) is hiding a true self that is the last thing you'd expect (no spoilers here).

British boy Dustin (Zac Looker) fuels Elle's curiosity for anarchy and change, while also providing proof that she can truly extract the best out of every walk of life. A more touching shoutout goes to the enigmatic role of Dean Wilson, which marks James Van Der Beek's final acting credit before his death earlier this year.

It's no surprise that my favorite side character is Eva Woods, played by the underrated powerhouse in June Diane Raphael. You only had to briefly see this woman in Parks and Recreation or Grace and Frankie to know how much she truly understands the superficial class, which she poignantly balances with a steady heart and sense of empathy.

Sadly, Perfect Day by Hoku is nowhere to be seen

(Image credit: Prime Video)

Now for the most important bit of feedback: the existing Legally Blonde lore. For the most part, I found that it adds to my love of the IP rather than takes away from it, especially when it answers some pivotal questions.

Without giving too much away, we'll find out how Elle gets Bruiser the Chihuahua (who's wardrobe is absolutely jaw-dropping, by the way), how Elle ends up back in Bel-Air in time for the events of the original movie, and how she begins to gain an interest in defending innocent people.

However, it's this last one that's a bit of a sticking point. For those of us who know the 2001 film better than we know ourselves, it's unspoken knowledge that Elle had zero interest in pursuing anything related to a law degree, but was only compelled to do so to win boyfriend Warner back.

That, in a nutshell, is the reason why Legally Blonde even exists. So the mere fact that Elle's rewritten history suggests that this inspiration came much earlier in her life doesn't completely sit with what we know of her adult life. It's clearly supposed to be a seedling for what's to come, but perhaps is a little overplayed.

Even so, I had such a good time watching Elle that I don't even care. The ebbs and flows of high school drama are deliciously played, the script is genuinely hilarious, and the overarching narrative plot is addictively compelling. I've been that engrossed that I'd even go as far as to say that it needs a second season, stat.