Immaculate (2024)

We follow the story of Cecilia who has had a childhood trauma in which she ‘died’ for 7 minutes. Surviving the incident, she thought it was some god or other who had done it for her and so vowed to be a nun. Off she goes when she’s old enough to Italy to take her vows - she seems to have chosen catholicism and christianity for whatever reason - and start working/living in some ancient convent where the fit and healthy care for the old and knackered nuns.

We spend some time getting to know Cecilia, played by the top-heavy Sydney Sweeney (who spends most of the film in a flimsy gown showing off her major assets), as she struggles with the language and culture of the country and regime. Sweeney is actually rather good in her role and certainly seems to have more about her than simply the camera's focus on her two major points!

Anyway, turns out that one day she is pregnant, even though she’s never been infiltrated by any human male, so the religious people around her claim that it’s a miracle and has come from their god and it must be some sort of second coming of the previous alleged immaculate event!

SPOILERS from hereon in so beware
Turns out that one of the priests is trying to get DNA from one of the nails that allegedly came from Israel from the previous god-child on a cross and invoking said second coming by experimenting, calling on his previous career as a biologist, on various nuns over the years, getting them pregnant and hoping for the best! Later on we see a lab, below quarters, where the evidence is stored of all the failed attempts! So it’s turned at this point into kinda Mad Scientist territory!

There’s lots of gore, torture and abuse, burning crucifixes into various nun’s skin, chopping heads off chickens, cutting out of tongues, attempted drownings, beating people to death with crucifixes, strangling others with rosary beads, mutilated corpses, burying people alive in coffins, cutting open of stomachs to get to what’s inside and burning offending people and lab contents!

In the end, the audience doesn’t get to see what comes out of her as in the final scene the camera focuses on her face as she looks down at the grunting creature, she bites through her own umbilical cord, grabs a boulder and smashes it down, destroying whatever it was!

So yes, as everyone else seems to be saying, a reverse version of Rosemary’s Baby to some degree. It’s actually quite entertaining, if pretty over the top and cliched with lots of creaking doors and daft jumpscares (where the music plays a better part than the visuals). All good fun and suspenseful at times with Sweeney carrying the show almost single-handed and big juggedly! Available on various streaming services.

Moto Buds+

The Moto Buds+ (Plus) are a fine addition to the MotoAddict's treasure trove! They're not the best-sounding earbuds in the world, but they are very good indeed, plug in nicely via Moto's App to any device with a supporting OS, are well-featured and don't cost the earth.

The buds which Moto sent over for review are Forest Grey (a.k.a. Black!) but you can also snag them in a very nice Beach Sand colour too. In the little box you get a USB-C to USB-A cable, small, medium and large ear-tip thingies, no charging plug and the 'water repellent', decently magnetised-closing case with the buds inside. It's a landscape style clamshell plastic case which is not as slippery as some that end up on the floor(!) rather here having a slightly matt, not glossy coat. The case and buds are made of plastic, of course, and typically with Moto, have no official IP-rating of any sort. Just claims of 'splash and spill' resistant.

I was able to use the buds without changing the tips, so I guess my ears and ear-canals must be pretty standard! I have to admit at this stage that I'm really not a fan of in-canal earbuds, having tried years ago, not liked and then always went for the outer-ear style since, like, for example, the Edifier W320 or, more recently the Samsung Galaxy Buds3 (non-Pro version). So this was to be a bit of a challenge for me to see if I could tolerate the other kind - and if I thought there were benefits.

The 520mAh case has wireless charging, slowly of course, taking about 2 hours, but still good to have at this price-point of, at time of writing, £129 in the UK. Plug the cable in and faster speeds are attainable and with the right charger you can get it all back up to charged, buds'n'all, in about an hour. Once charged up, Moto claim a total of 38 hours of playtime (with ANC off), buds getting 8 hours (or 5 with ANC) before needing a return to the mothership for a boost. In my ongoing tests, I can't argue with that - all seems like a reasonable claim. With them being in-canal, I don't really feel the need for ANC, so get the longer playtimes. Also, you can get a 3-hour boost with a quick 10-minute charge. There's a LED on the front of the box which is green when all's good and red when charging is needed.

The buds themselves, which have a 45mAh battery in each, are of the Stem design, made famous and popular by Apple originally (I think), so touch controls are available via the appendage. These can be set via the app, which, because of Android/Google's Fast Pair, fires up on the screen, offering to install, as soon as you open the box - certainly with Moto and Samsung phones here. I understand that there's no support for Apple devices, but I have not verified/tested that myself, not living in that world! There's a pairing button inside the open case, if needed. Gestures in the shape of single tap, double-tap, triple-tap and tap/hold can be assigned independently for each bud in the app, offering a good choice for the user.

Also in the app is access to a range of equalisation controls, piggybacking the Dolby Atmos on a Moto phone, with switches for Spatial Audio (which really does seem to make a difference, like Moto's Sound Virtualiser I've found), Head Tracking (with a Moto phone - more on that later), battery status graphical readout, dual connection (TWS) for hooking up to two devices at the same time for easy-switching and the various ANC/transparency modes.

Transparency allows the user to hear what's going on around them so conversations can take place, Noise Reduction (ANC) seems decent enough, though challenged more-so by sharp/unexpected noises than perhaps more expensive 'pro' buds - and Adaptive (with Gemini logo!) to leave it to work out for itself! Head Tracking is inside the Spatial Audio setting and I can't seem to make it work or do anything, even armed with the latest Motorola Edhe 50 Pro. So maybe I'm doing something wrong. I have experienced this on other systems, so I do know what I'm looking for in this pseudo-3D audio world! As you turn your head away from the source of the music/video it's supposed to 'leave' the sound in the location of the source - so if you turn your head left, it favours more sound from the right bud. But maybe this is a bug that needs fixing in a software update.

Back in the app, there's also a toggle for Wearer Detection which works well - take the buds out and it pauses playback. Put them back in and it starts again (within a reasonable time spell). They are also smart enough to respond to someone wanting only one bud in, with the other back in the case, by switching both stereo channels into mono through the one in use (without having to rely on phone/Accessibility settings). There's a toggle for High Definition audio which can be thrown and used if you want to use more battery and have a LHDC-supporting phone, like a Moto! Otherwise, it's SBC or AAC via Bluetooth 5.3. Incidentally, there's been a deal done with Bose here so that the tagline Sound by Bose can be added. I really don't know if that's tokenistic or meaningful, but you get what you get - there's no toggle to switch that on/off of course (much like AKG and Samsung) so I can't really tell what it might sound like if it hadn't been 'tuned' by them! "Certified by Bose to deliver an unprecedented audio experience". Apparently.

And the sound is great, I have to agree. I think if we're nit-picking, you can get more volume and bass from more expensive buds, but if you have a Moto phone and are happy to save £200 in the mix, you can't go far wrong with these. I'm no audiophile, but they sound great to me and, I suspect, 98% of the potential target market users - leaving the 2% to nerd-out on minimal advantages of more expensive or so-called 'pro' models. Real adjustments that make a real difference can be made in the app, very pleasingly for different music genres and taste.

Using the buds for call management seems to work well enough. Tested here, I heard the other party perfectly well after tapping the bud to answer/end and they reported hearing me perfectly well, too, even when conducted via a busy high street with hubbub and vehicles passing. There are three microphones built-in which support this, so seem to do a decent job. I've set up a tap/hold on the left bud to access the Google Assistant/Gemini and that seems to work well enough - tested asking generic questions and specific ones about my data in various Google apps. If you're too close to the phone, that seems to take over, splashing the data on the screen but I've also tested out-of-earshot of the phone and all's good.

These are a great pair of buds. I have got used to them easily and yes, even I can see that the sound from the in-ear-canal style of buds, creating a good seal, does nothing but help the audio experience. They are comfortable in my ears and easy to control via the array of gestures. The battery life is excellent and sound (with options) perfectly good for most people. They are well-made and I have confidence in Moto's decision not to increase the cost of the hardware by paying for IP-certification. This has been a long-standing method for them and with phones, through various nano-coating techniques, they have kept the cost down. Yes, it is best to use these with a Moto phone, but there's still enough of offer via the app (or not, even) via standard Bluetooth connectivity with other OEMs' devices. Recommended very much.

JBL Clip 5

The 2024 JBL Clip 5 is an impressive dinky little bluetooth speaker which is beautifully designed, made and featured. I didn't have hands-on with the Clip 4 so can't compare it with that but I do have the Marshall Willen here and have been enjoying that for many months, so hopefully that's a useful comparison as well as my thoughts on the Clip 5 as-is.

The unit is about £60 here in the UK at time of writing and can be snagged in a range of colours - the blue I chose, black, red, pink, purple, white and even camouflage! The blue is very smart, but clearly they're after the youngsters with the colours - but also the snazzy design and look/feel.

It fits beautifully in the palm of the hand with its 'pebble' curves and rounded edges and sweeping 'clip' up-top with a sturdy action/tall space for clipping to a range of handles, bikes, bags - or whatever really. The world is your oyster! This makes it feel like genuine fun as an audio accessory rather than a stuffy, blocky, conservative kind of unit that most bluetooth speakers tend to be. If such a shape can have dimensions, then I guess it's about 5" x 3" x 2". But you really don't notice any of that beyond it being dinky, because of the design and light weight.

There's a nylon-looking 'mesh' which wraps around the whole speaker only broken up by rubbery-looking plastics which house the clip, ports and buttons. And logo! Yes, emblazoned across the front of the unit is the JBL logo which they have clearly tried to make a feature of, stylising the "J" and (at least on this blue one) giving the letters a stylish orange/red trim. Above that are 'cartoony' and big Play, Volume Up and Volume Down 'buttons' which the user presses into the body of the speaker. They don't feel 'mushy' but rather have a nice enough click-reaction 'underneath' the mesh.

The 'clip' is colour-matched to the colour of the unit with the moving part of the clip (the opening) being more of the rubbery-like material and the rest of it more shiny/slippery plastic. There's another logo on the right "Clip 5" and on the left, a recessed 'panel' housing the Power, Bluetooth and Auracast (more of that later) buttons. Inside the 'recess' each of the 'buttons' is further recessed, making it clear when they are being pressed. It all feels very much like environment-proofing and sure enough, the unit is IP6/7-rated, so for water and dust.

I have hung the speaker in the shower and it got drenched a number times with no evidence of it being any the worse for wear. Still worked fine afterwards and dried out quickly with the water disappearing from the materials quickly enough. On the back, there are 'rubber' stripes - 5 of them - which makes it stick solidly to a desk or table - and the same is true of the JBL logo on the front, incidentally, if you want it on a desk upside-down. According to JBL they have in-part used "post-consumer recycled plastic and fabric" for the construction.

I can't seem to find a diagram of where the speaker/s inside are but most of the higher frequencies seem to come from the front when putting the unit to the ear and bass/rumble(!) from the back. Which is handy when on a desk/table as the bass resonates nicely through whatever it's touching. Down the bottom there's a USB-C port (with colour accenting to match the surround of the logo on the front) which you're supposed to let dry out, if wet, before plugging in a charger. There's no charger in the box, incidentally, just a USB cable.

JBL claim that the 1,400mAh battery lasts 12 hours between charges, but they don't say under what conditions/settings, but clearly you'll do better at 50% volume and less bass on equalisation than if you're booming the bass at full volume. Better again at 25% volume. I guess! I have only charged it once since it arrived and have used it on and off for a couple of weeks now and the battery, via the app, is showing 45% remaining. I'm guessing that the 12 hours is probably based on that 50% volume and I have no reason to doubt it. I don't have the conditions to do a 50% volume battery test, until depleted, I'm afraid - I'd get lynched by the neighbours!

What I do know is that it takes the best part of 3 hours to charge with a 5V/1A charging cable/plug, which is what its rated to receive. The 12 hours can be extended if needed by using the unit on what they call Playtime Boost. However, when this is selected from the app, it strips out the body and character of the sound (which I'll come to). It loses most of the bass and favours higher frequencies. I wouldn't say it's in any way 'tinny' but any depth is drained.

Which is a shame because for those 3 hours, for those who need it, you lose what is a fabulous output from the unit. It's incredibly loud for its size, bassy and, as I said earlier, resonates with a rumble through anything it's touching (particularly the back of the unit). Has to be heard to be appreciated, of course, but I have absolutely no complaints as it challenges the output of some of my bigger speakers here. No problem filling a big room or even serving an outdoor BBQ or party. Obviously it's going to be limited in that respect compared to bigger units, but I'm still very impressed.

The JBL Portable app is downloadable via the Google Play Store (and Apple's equivalent, I'm led to believe) and makes for easy-peasy bluetooth connection to phones. I just turned on various phones here and Android is simply smart enough to know what you're up to and offers to lead the user by the hand to get it set up. Hassle and frustration-free, unlike in the old days! 

Once installed, the sound can be adjusted by the equaliser with various pre-sets or a 'custom' with sliders to make it how you want it. I have found that the "JBL Signature" setting is indeed the best option/well-tuned by them and so am happy to leave it there. But yes, on Custom, there's a further marked change in bass and higher frequencies for those who want to boom even more! Whatever you do, it doesn't seem to distort at all, even at top volume, maximum bass.

There's also the ability to use two of these speakers as a stereo pair, again, a simple setting in the app to throw a switch. I don't have two (and I'm not buying another) so won't be testing this, but as I understand it, anyone who does, can expect, yes, split stereo channels, one for each speaker. Bluetooth 5.3 is present on the device, incidentally.

For the even more ambitious, the speaker supports the new Auracast system. Again, I don't seem to have enough other gear to test this properly but as I understand this new tech, it means that a user with an Auracast phone (for example) can 'cast' audio to any compliant other gear, phones, speakers or whatever. I see that the best use for this might be in, for example, a museum or other public place, where one device can feed guide information to anyone who has a device which is compliant. But yes, also in a party situation where one source of sound can be thrown around to as many speakers or headsets as are supported. The user presses that Auracast button on the side to get hooked up to the array. I shall explore this sometime soon when I (probably) understand it better and have more compliant devices to test it with. Worth noting that this is currently limited to JBL's own speakers for now - but presumably can be updated via the app in future.

Incidentally, you don't have to use the app if you don't want to - you can just pair it up manually with a device, but you'd be missing out on getting updates downloaded, those equalisation options and other options mentioned above. There's no microphone on the Clip 5 so no chance of taking/making calls, using Assistant and so forth. This is a speaker. That's it!

As for the Marshall Willen, my tests here show that the two speakers are very closely matched in terms of volume and quality of sound, even though the Willen has 10W output and JBL, 7W. They are both IP6/7 rated but the Marshall App is woeful in comparison with the JBL's. There's also an ongoing problem with some Marshall speakers, the app and Android 14 - short version is that it's a right fiddle to get it connected and using the app at all. However, paired up with an Android 13 devices, all's well. Marshall need to sort this though - it's been months and months of looking at the 'apology' splash-screen when trying. Update Aha! It looks like they might have fixed this as when I connected to an Android 12 device it allowed me to download firmware update v20 to the Willen, then, when back on an Android 14 device it was playing ball. Still a bit of a poor show that a user needs two devices in order to get it working! I happen to have two here, but many users won't have.

The battery life of the two is technically comparable, being around the 12/15-hour mark, 'moderate' volume (whatever that means) and looped playback/connection to source. Unlike the Clip 5, the Willen does have a microphone, so users can get the speaker to route phone calls. There's also more obvious control over playback on the Willen with the multi-control button offering a range of functions, including those related to phone calls. The JBL is controlled in this way by multi-presses (mainly) on the 'Play' button, but of course, not the phone bit!

Then there's the 'clip' on the JBL, which is partially matched on the Willen by the inclusion of a rubbery 'strap' on the back which can be unlatched, wrapped around a suitable upright or bag/coat/bike loop to secure it with similar results for the active. It's not as quick and easy as the Clip 5's clip. Many people will be drawn to the Willen for the classic Marshall styling however, the name and 'amplifier' accents and appearance. And you can't beat that for the right target buyer!

Both of these are great little pocket speakers, packing a punch way above their weight, loud and producing great quality for their size and portability. Throw in a decent battery performance, water/dust-proofing, great build quality in different ways and very similar real-world pricing (at time of writing) and what's left is mainly a choice for style, look and feel. I love them both, for different reasons and would recommend either without hesitation.

Abigail (2024)

A bunch of lowly hoods are brought together in the typical nobody-knows-each-other style, not supposedly sharing anything about themselves, by a dastardly criminal to carry out a job. Think Reservoir Dogs, Ocean's 11 or even The Lavender Hill Mob. The job in question is to kidnap a rich bloke's 12-year-old daughter, who is a keen ballerina, dump her in a broken down big house for 24 hours and watch over her while the ransom is organised.

As I'm sure you know, if you're reading this, the little girl turns out to be a vampire and the gang of six are lined up one-by-one to be feasted on as she turns the tables on them all! It's a comedy, really. A caper. But with blood, guts, gore and thrills aplenty! There are some twists and turns along the way but most of it is fairly predictable in that respect. All very far-fetched but an enjoyable romp nonetheless!

Alisha Weir (Matilda: The Musical, Wicked Little Letters) plays the title role and is clearly having great fun with it in the midst of the chaos. The 'star' of the show however and person with the most screen time is the very pretty Melissa Barrera (In the Heights, Keep Breathing, Scream) doing a great job holding the cast together around her. The rest of them do a pretty decent job as well, if you take it for what it is and not too seriously. I guess this, for most, was a fun outing between their proper jobs! The late Angus Cloud makes a one-scene appearance right at the death(!) and Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul's Gus Fring), a couple of scenes trying to be scary in a different way. (He should stick with the genuinely frightening Fring character!)

Sets are great and photography thoughtful and well imagined. There's not a huge amount of suspense, tension or mystery about it, as it does come across more like a comedy, but they have chucked in some shots at jump-scares here and there. The fun bits and laugh-out-loud moments are when various people explode and scatter their bodies over the rest of the cast in a million pieces! Anyway, that's about it really. All good fun and certainly worth a Friday night gander after the pub. Available on various streaming channels.

Motorola MOTOvator Unboxing!

Motorola UK sent over the MOTOvator Welcome Box this week for me to unbox, get stuck into and share my thoughts. It included a sparking new Motorola Edge 50 Pro, pair of Moto Buds+, shiny lapel-badge, travel mug, cloth shopping bag and one of those folding ring thingies that you stick on the back of the phone (or case) to help hold bigger phones with a finger inserted.

It was certainly a nice little bundle of goodies which I shall enjoy reviewing very much in the weeks to come. The phone, supplied in Black Beauty colour with 512GB Storage and 12GB RAM is from the latest crop of non-folding devices sitting between the Edge 50 Fusion and flagship Edge 50 Ultra. The RRP is £599 here in the UK and sits very much within that mid-range battleground. Spoiler alert before the review - I think it comes out, feature-for-feature, pretty much on top. I have a bunch of Motorola phones here to compare this with including the Edge 30 Neo (and comparison with the Pixel 7), Edge 30 Ultra, Edge 40, Edge 40 Neo and ThinkPhone - so it should indeed make for a decent showdown. I am particularly interested to see, for the first time, Moto's new HelloUI front-end after MyUI before. (Links here to previous reviews and coverage.)

The buds, I was not aware of and usually don't go for the in-ear-canal type, I shall indeed make the exception here and give them a good workout as I hook up with Google Fit, FitBit and get out working through my Steps! The Moto Buds+ have a RRP of £129 here in the UK. As for the mug, it looks like it's a double-lined unit with a tightly-fitting lid and slider-opening hole for drinking in a nice blue colour. It has a grippy base to avoid accidents and of course, offers the 'Batman' Moto 'M' logo proudly.

Motorola have in no way dictated to me what to say as I review this swag, leaving it up to my honesty and discretion as to my views. So, watch this space as I put the various elements through their paces and try to remain objective, even though it is well documented that I have been an admirer of what Moto do with Android and their hardware for a good number of years.

Steve Litchfield and I will continue to cover the Motorola hard and software in our weekly audio podcast (Phones Show Chat), now in its 16th year and over 800 shows, including the items from this Welcome Box. Steve has also covered plenty of Motorola stuff on his YouTube channel over the years to, so do head there and search for his great content - long-form videos and Shorts.

Flu (2013)

This is a very nicely structured pandemic/disaster movie from South Korea which is similar in theme to the likes of Outbreak (1995), The Andromeda Strain (1971) and Contagion (2011). We follow a handful of people as they negotiate the outbreak of a virus in their city, which arrives in a shipping container full of illegal immigrants from Hong Kong. Also known as The Flu and originally, Gamgi.

Director Kim Sung-su leads the charge as we spend most of the 2 hours runtime in the company of the key players, fighting the virus, death, the mishandled military/political response to the chaos and the general population in panic. It's mostly thrills, suspense and fast-moving action but there's still time to slip in a bit of a love story, family drama and humorous relief.

We start out with a pandemic-unrelated scene-setter in which a rescue worker is attempting to save a girl who is trapped in a car after apparently it fell into a sink-hole in the road. We get to know the pair and it just so happens that she's a doctor able to work later towards trying to save the people from the virus. He's a happy-go-lucky dude, out for fun, but also very much dedicated to his profession, disgruntled because when she was rescued she didn't even say thanks! Therein lies a plotline for later as he pursues her romantically.

She has a daughter who she loves dearly but seems to be irresponsible in terms of the amount of time and effort she spends with her, prioritising her work first over family values. During the course of the film, we see this swing around and it provide one of the messages of course! As the outbreak takes hold, the daughter gets directly involved because she comes into contract with someone who has the virus. Incidentally, there's no husband as he abandoned them in favour of a life in America before we join the story - which opens the door for our rescue worker.

The three of them leap between mini-disasters, helping each other, trying to help the people, getting trapped in awkward situations in makeshift quarantine camps, finding ways through and fighting off any chance of them not making it to the final reel! Meanwhile, we follow the virus as it spreads between people in ordinary situations with the tension building as more and more people get sneezed on, coughed on and touched, to pass it around. We've seen it before in the aforementioned films and it has been done better, but it's handled decently enough here to keep the audience committed.

Then the President turns up and various other authority figures as the fight between themselves, along with the hard-nosed American command team who seem to be present in the country to assist and partner east/west, takes hold. Different values emerge as they see the crisis in various ways and project outcomes based on what they consider to be the best course of action. Think Outbreak, again. So yes, nobody in the mix is really agreeing about how to handle this.

As we approach the second half of the film, things start to get ugly and various special effects are engaged to show harrowing activity as the military and authorities find ways to deal with the masses of dead people whilst still trying to stop the spread. I think you get the idea by now, that's it's pretty well done and certainly keeps the viewer on their toes - more so, the further we get in, away from the lighter and fluffy relationship stuff - which also turns serious.

Kang Ji-goo (Jang Hyuk) and Kim In-hye (Su Ae) play the leads very smartly, as the storyline starts with us disliking the girl, favouring the boy, but leads us to liking them both! The absolute star of the show though is the cute little girl. Played by Park Min-ha, she's on the face of it at the outset a precocious, over-confident little brat who reflects her mum's similar traits, but the girl's acting is just terrific. Like the other two, we warm to her over time and as the heat builds, she becomes much less cocky, more distraught and this is where her amazing ability at that young age shines through. It's almost worth watching the film just for her.

So yes, very well acted, something for everyone, tension, fun, drama, family stuff and at the heart a pandemic disaster movie that is well worth watching if you can track it down. Enjoyed it very much.

PodHubUK Podcasts for the Month of June 2024

  ...a roundup of our month of podcasting. Links to the team, communities and podcast homes on the net at the foot, so scroll down!

Phones Show Chat
Episode 804 - Blast it with a Hairdryer!
Saturday 1st June

It's just Steve and I this week as we natter for an hour about all things phone - and beyond! HMD's back with a Lumia, I've been monkeyin' around with a Moto and we're keyboardin', grippin', skinnin' and casin' to Xtreme! Available in and around the usual places, so grab a BlackBerry juice and join us.

Whatever Works
Episode 207 - The Cutler's Calling!
Monday 3rd June

Aidan and I are here again to make sure that your lives are whole, as we invite you to witness us rattling on about all sorts of tripe for an hour. To amuse and entertain. Not sure if that's us, or you! a.k.a. Isopropyl Varilux done Yorwe! Available now in the usual places!

Phones Show Chat
Episode 805 - Audio Special
Saturday 8th June

This week Steve and I dive into all things audio with phones, other hardware, apps and other stuff in the company of Jeremy Harpham. So if you don't know your Aeropex from your SonicFoam, Xiaomi Pistons from Fosi or 1more from HiDiz, then do join us for an hour or so while we pull it apart.

Tech Addicts Podcast
Peeking at Pentax
Sunday 9th June
Gareth and I are at it again. This week some love for Joplin, TubeSync, Samsung Galaxy S-Pen Pro. There's news, Spotify killing Car Thing, Spacetop G1, Pentax WG-8, HealthyPi, Galaxy Ring, One UI 6 updates a new phone from HTC, Bargains in the Basement and oodles more. So once again, we welcome you to join us and tune in via the usual places.

Projector Room
Episode 164 - The Tires Under Paris
Thursday 13th June

Gareth, Allan and I are back once more to natter about film, cinema and TV in our fortnightly Pod. This time we treat on Timothy Dalton, take a Dry Dive Under Paris, Murder Crows and rats with Fat Ethel, travel back to 1962 with William Shatner and get Freaked out with an Autopsy!

Phones Show Chat
Episode 806 - Platforms and Phones in Step
Sunday 16th June

Jon Trimmer is back this week as the guest of Steve and I as we find out about the devices he's been using lately, HyperOS and his thoughts on many topics, mobile. I've been getting into bed with Sammy again(!) and Steve's had a first hands-on with the OnePlus Open. Loads more as always, so do tune in via the usual routes.

Phones Show Chat
Episode 807 - Apple and Samsung Set the Pace
Sunday 23rd June

Steve and I are here this week with a bit of a catchup show as we explore all good phone-related stuff from Samsung, Moto, Apple, Google and more, including some hot Logitech accessories and Spatial Audio. Available via the usual places, so do join us for an hour.

Tech Addicts Podcast
Samsung Galaxy Ulster
Sunday 23rd June
Gareth and I are back to round off your week with another of our fortnightly dives into all things tech. Samsung Galaxy leaks, Rollei compact cameras, Microsoft's blundering with Recall, Galaxy S24 Ultra hitting the Olympics in Paris, Logitech keyboards/pens, Lenovo nailing the budget tablet, HTC’s new phone, Adobe being bastards, ACDSee fixing Adobe’s issues, a new Pixel Watch XL and Alice, what the feck is Alice..?! Available in all the usual places.

Whatever Works
Episode 208 - Infuser Enthuser!
Wednesday 26th June

Aidan and I are back again with a roundup of all things ludicrous to make up yet another hour of clap-trap. If you've got nothing better to do, join us as we talk coffee, Legoland, AC units, Teapots, Torches, Tooth brushes and Travel bags! Plus loads more. As always.

Phones Show Chat
Episode 808 - From Orange SPV to S24 Ultra
Sunday 30th June

...with Special Introduction on Show 808 by Juha Alakarhu. Geddit?! Otherwise, it's Steve and I as usual, hanging out this time with Paul O'Brien of MoDaCo fame. We get connected with new devices from Moto, announcements from Google - and don our Ray Bans for some Noctilucent Moondrop Space Travel!

The Podcasts
PodHubUK - Phones Show Chat - The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - Tech Addicts

The MeWe Community Groups (follow the links to join up)
Phones Show Chat & The Phones Show - Whatever Works - Chewing Gum for the Ears - Projector Room - PSC Photos - PSC Videos - PSC Classifieds - Tech Addicts

The Team
Ted Salmon - Steve Litchfield - Aidan Bell - Gareth Myles - Allan Gildea

Dumplings (2004)

Continuing with the horror genre, I eventually tracked down this controversial darkly-themed film directed by Fruit Chan and penned by Pik-Wah Lee. It's not really a horror, as such, more like a horrific idea, but very well executed. In more ways than one! Spoilers from the outset here, so look away if you don't want them as it's hard to appraise what's going on here without.

We have a woman living in Hong Kong who runs a 'dumpling shop' from her apartment. She is known as Aunt Mai and from the film's outset the audience is encouraged to try and guess what the secret ingredient in her dumplings is, which brings many people, including the rich and famous in one case, to her door to test the claims of whatever it is, bringing enhanced beauty, longer life, good looks and rejuvenation to their human bodies.

Aunt Mai used to be a gynaecologist when she lived in China, which might start to give you some hints, as this film is, partially, maybe, having a poke at the one-child-per-family policy in China in the day. This helps to line up the background for the teased truth/reveal of the magic ingredient! The truth doesn't actually take long to creep out as an ex-actress lines Aunt Mai up to help her remain attractive to her older businessman husband, who has lost interest in her and is instead, bangin' "twenty year old chicks" (their words, not mine)!

So yes, the truth is that she's scooping up unborn babies from the local hospital, following abortions usually, with the 'more potent' ingredient coming the later on the pregnancy has been. In one case, in the plotline here, the most potent of all was a 5 month in foetus which was also a result of incestuous activity! You can see that this gets grimmer and grimmer as we go along, but thematically remains very interesting with the 90 minute runtime flying.

The two leads are Bai Ling (Aunt Mai) and Miriam Chin-Wah Yeung (Mrs Li, the wealthy 'client') and they both hold the film together beautifully by their performances and command of the screen and camera. There's humour along the way too, detracting from the bizarre subject matter and grizzly idea - so it's not all dark and horrific!

The photography and sound should be noted as there are many beautifully shot scenes, close-ups and focus work along with great, comic, sound effects as the dumplings are eaten - especially in one scene when there's much crunching on what's inside!

Laying aside the theme, I guess that it's a film about people's vanity and desire not to age at any cost, as-in Dorian Gray, people's values attached to their partners in life, selfishness, marriage and meanderings, what wealth can bring people, maybe(!) and the depiction in society of the importance of female beauty driven and controlled by men. Some dubious attributes maybe, depending on your view.

It's a great watch though, very colourfully shot, very nicely acted by (particularly) the two leads with a dialogue and script that seem to work nicely. It will be remembered for the grizzly topic of course, but then it's a horror film. Or at least a horrific film. Watch open-eyed, enjoy some of the special effects, nasty scenes with blood, guts and gore, but more importantly admire the filmmaking, acting and production. That is, if you can get hold of it. The DVD is available, though not really from mainstream outlets - look in resellers/used. And it is, of course, not in English so it's subtitles for Brits! Really enjoyed it.

The Seasoning House (2012)

Angel is a young deaf/mute girl who is kidnapped in a war-torn Balkans somewhere and forced to work in a house that provides military personnel with sex when not fighting. So yes, a brothel. She has the favour of the ruthless pimp Victor and put in charge of drugging the other girls who provide the service to the soldiers, so they don’t fight back, and cleaning them up afterwards - as the experience was often brutal.

Yes, it’s a horror-filled, nasty film, depicting the wicked behaviour of nasty men towards women in a claustrophobic, violence-ridden house in the middle of nowhere. Almost all of the film is based in the house, inside its walls, roof space and battered bedrooms. The channels that our heroine uses to move silently and swiftly around the house looking out for the abused girls and trying to help them survive their ordeals.

It’s a horror film, basically, with various scenes of violent rape and torture, but eventually it turns into a survival thriller as Angel, played brilliantly by Brit actress Rosie Day (Outlander, All Roads Lead to Rome), flips one day whilst watching one of the nasty soldiers doing what he did (and paying extra to be allowed to be extra violent), leaps out of the wall and kills him. From hereon in, all the aforementioned is left behind as Angel tries to escape the group of soldiers in and out of her maze of walls and tunnels in the house, as they seek revenge and try to kill her.

By this time, yes, there’s a group of soldiers led by their Commander, Goran, played by Sean Pertwee (Event Horizon, Gotham, Cold Feet) in pursuit, and the action eventually spills out into the nearby woods. Angel runs, ducks and dives for her life. So yes, now more of a cat and mouse chase-thriller. There is a twisty turny ending to a degree, so I won’t spoil that for you but yes, for those who don’t want to see all the aforementioned, the second half of the film, though losing context of course, could certainly be viewed in isolation.

It’s not a film for everyone, obviously, but it is very well made, directed and written by ‘seasoned’ horror film creator Paul Hyett (Howl, The Descent) and acted very well by the whole cast. Those who make it to the end (and can stomach it) will spend most of the 90 minutes wide-eyed on the edge of their seat. The audience, of course, roots throughout for poor Angel, hoping that she triumphs over these nasty men - and that they get their comeuppance. But will she be strong enough? A nasty, brutal horror film, available on various streaming platforms.

Motorola Edge 40 - It's All About the Size

Motorola enthusiasts and reviewers in the tech world have now moved their attention along to this year's Edge 50 series of Moto phones from last year's Edge 40 series units. Yes, the Edge 50 Fusion, Pro and Ultra are doing the rounds on YouTube and elsewhere with gusto!

But as is often the case, we at the Phones Show Chat podcast (now with over 800 shows under our belts incidentally as I write in June 2024) quite enjoy taking a back seat, follow the hubbub of course, but take our time, let the dust settle, then take a longer-term view. One of the benefits of this is that quite often various bugs in initial releases have, by then, been ironed out.

Which brings me nicely to last year's Motorola Edge 40 which just arrived for review. That's not the Pro, not the Neo, but the 'middle' one in terms of global releases. It's quite timely too as I was able to buy myself an Edge 40 Neo at a good price quite recently, thus forming a natural comparison here. My Initial Thoughts: Motorola Edge 40 Neo were posted to my blog, but now I shall be able to expand and compare two of the models - which, spoiler alert(!) - look almost identical. But are they?

You could be forgiven for thinking that they're actually the same phone really. Fortunately, my 40 Neo is Peach Fuzz colour and the 40, black. I actually prefer the former, being not so stuffy, formal and conservative. I'd have made a good hippy, ten years older! So anyway, yes, very similar. Dimensions prove this, any differences being less than a millimetre. Even the third party TPU cases fit both (apart from the odd misalignment of a microphone hole). Using the phones without a case at all is even better. They are beautifully petite in the hand and for the brave folk, unlike ham-fisted me who would no doubt drop them, they'll enjoy a beautifully-crafted experience.

They look the same too, in terms of design and curves, edges and covering on the back - both being vegan leather. It's kind of smooth and velvety - doesn't really feel much like leather - but it does afford more grip than shiny plastic or glass. The 40 does seem less low-end, more ‘premium’, perhaps the 40's aluminium frame helps with that look/feel, but they are both beautifully slim in the hand.

The eco-friendly box it comes in is that standard (now) Moto buff colour and inside it you get a hard, plastic, clear case with sides cut out to allow easier grip and access to buttons. I have to admit that I do still prefer a soft TPU case personally, but I can see the appeal for others. Fortunately, my kind of case is often less than a fiver on Amazon! You also get a 68W charger in the box and decent USB-C to USB-C cable with which to use it. Well done Moto. Keep it up. We'll come to charging later, but I do admire these firms that stick with these old-fashioned ways when most around them drop 'em!

The screen on both is the amazingly bright and colourful LG-sourced pOLED panel, 1080p, 20:9 ratio, with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz, almost the same nits of brightness as the Neo, 1200 vs 1300 peak, and the excellently one-handed, pocket-friendly size of 6.55" on the panel. I used to think that the Edge 30 Neo's 6.28" screen was even better but I'm not so sure now. The latter has a flat panel and these have curves around the sides, making it feel not far off the same. Note that in the auto display refresh rate will peak out at 120Hz - you have to go manual to always get 144Hz.

The Edge 40 was released in May 2023, the Neo in September '23. It arrived with Android 13 on it and it would not give me an Android 14 update or update the Google Security patches, for love nor money! However, Moto provide a Windows-based flashing tool so I headed for that to force the issue! It's called the Rescue and Smart Assistant and can be freely downloaded. Using it via the phone's IMEI number it goes off to check what it can offer, let you download the ROM and then with a cable to the PC, update the phone. The only downside is that it wipes the phone - but as I was doing this very early on in the setup process, this was not an issue. (Incidentally, the Edge 40 Neo is still 'stuck' on Android 13 but the tool doesn't offer me Android 14 yet for that.) So when I'd done all that, I was right up to date with current month security and Android 14 on the Edge 40. I think Moto's rationale is that most ordinary users outside of our tech bubble won't be bothered about any of that so they don't need to hurry. Both of these devices, incidentally, were promised at launch to get Android 14 and 15 and 3 years of security.

The release price in the UK for the Edge 40 in May 2023 was £529 and for that, there's an awful lot of phone here. Obviously, where it can be bought now, a year on, it's significantly cheaper - I've seen it for under £300 here and there - and there's also the used market of course, where bargains can be snapped up. And, as we'll discover, it might well be worth doing so. Especially when the less well-specified (in some ways - we'll come to that) Edge 40 Neo is around the same price new, now, being released later in the year. Along with that, you do get a significant amount of so-called Bloatware, though kudos to Moto for allowing every one of them to either not be installed at setup or easily uninstalled later. I guess this is part of the price-point target for this near-flagship-grade phone, doing deals with app-devs. So, Royal Match, Pinterest, Woodoku, Candy Crush Saga, Temu Shop, FaceBook, LinkedIn, Opera and Weather (by Swish Apps, not Moto’s own). I've seen worse!

The Edge 40 comes with a MediaTek Dimensity 8020 chipset which, under demanding tasks, shows that it has a clear advantage over the Neo's 7030. In day-to-day use, they're both fine but when, for example, setting up the phone, installing loads of apps, copying data from the PC or updating software, yes, the Edge 40 shows that it's more powerful. Those in the know study comparisons with various SnapDragon chips and there are all sorts of tables drawn up and YouTube videos produced. As for me, I go by real-world use. And it's very clear that the Edge 30 Ultra I have here runs rings around both the Edge 40 and (certainly) Edge 40 Neo and, as I say, the Edge 40 is ahead of the Neo. But in reality, for almost all users out there, they simply wouldn't notice (once the phone is set up and running and not being used for demanding gaming/file transfers). This is all testbench stuff for nerds.

The top storage available on either of these phones is 256GB, though in some regions there was/is a 128GB version. Careful with that, as there's no expansion via microSD. One difference between the two Edge 40 units here is the amount of RAM. Just 4 months between the release of the Edge 40 and later, Edge 40 Neo and Moto had decided to stuff 12GB into the Neo's top-end spec'd variation of the Neo and (as far as I can tell for global releases) 8GB across the board with the Edge 40. So yes, the more capable and generally higher spec'd device here without an option for 12GB RAM. Again, not that it really matters. Going forward, processing heavy AI-based stuff on-device? Well, I don't think we're there yet and these phones certainly didn't have that agenda up-their-sleeves last year on release. Moreso, maybe things like running lots of tasks with heavy gaming and the likes of Ready For, Moto's 'desktop mode'.

Ready For has now formally morphed into Smart Connect and is a great addition to the Motorola devices. It's great to see here that they are including it in even the Neo line of devices, making it more accessible to more people, for less money, down the range. My Edge 30 Ultra and ThinkPhone have HDMI-Out support as well, but these two Edge 40 variants don't - only wireless. I do wonder if, going forward, that might be a thing as Samsung DeX is now not always cable-available with some hardware and even NexDock (the LapDock makers) are favouring wireless hardware over wired. The world is going wireless and we have to keep up! My concern always with this was latency when watching video or gaming. When hooked up to my TV by cable with the Edge 30 Ultra or ThinkPhone, there was none of that. As you'd expect. But with wireless-only arrangements, you did, under Ready For, have to be a little careful about compensating for that, depending on apps. Some apps, for example, allowed control of 'delay' to audio/video so that it can be matched, some do that automatically. Some better than others. Streaming, of course, shouldn't be an issue where the feeds are not being sourced from local media, but I guess I'm old-fashioned and want the best of both worlds! But with the change to Smart Connect this seems to have been almost eradicated - at least, working with my home network and router - but also with local files. Lip Sync issues are almost undetectable. So perhaps Moto's clever engineers have caught up with the demands of not only our fast-moving online/streaming world but also locally held file streaming/transfer in the mix.

Laying aside that issue, the Ready For, er, Smart Connect experience is great - and in some ways, better than Samsung's DeX. Certainly in terms of rendering screen resolutions on different monitors it feels like Moto just get that right and DeX sometimes doesn't - which may be a problem if you have a low-re or high-res monitor and expecting the PC-based software to just work it out for itself. Furthermore, Samsung seem to have just lost a bit of interest in developing for DeX whereas Moto are in full-swing with it, initially, clearly, trying to catch up with Samsung, but now taken the lead. In some respects. Another one being the vertical app-scrolling on-screen against Samsung's horizontal (though Samsung fans will be used to that), the user-friendly front-end on Ready For with big buttons, easy to use for non-geeks, non-business-people, the UX and UI is just, well, more friendly.

One fail for Ready For, er, Smart Connect compared to DeX is using it with my NexDock, incidentally. The trackpad, keyboard and touchscreen simply don't work with the cabled-up Moto devices I've tried, like my Edge 30 Ultra. Motorola wants the user to clearly attach a bluetooth keyboard, mouse and use the trackpad on the phone to move the mouse around. Whereas, with Dex, all that just works on the device itself. I asked NexDock about this and they replied saying that they have not tested their NexDock Touch (which, to be fair, is getting a bit older now) with Moto phones, only Samsung. But in any case, my NexDock Touch doesn't have wireless functionality, so the two Edge 40 phones can't be used with it anyway! I'm sure it would work with a wireless model, but suspect strongly, with the same limitations. I have asked NexDock to send me one to review but they didn't reply, even!

Battery is 4400mAh (so less than the Neo’s 5000 but) good for over 2 hours on my 10% Reading Test and all-day with general, average use is no problem at all. Yesterday I used 3 hours of SoT and 14 hours later it was still on 80% in the tank. As usual with Moto phones, particularly with no AoD as-such, they do really well on ‘stand-by’. As always, YMMV depending on how it’s caned. A big difference between the two (at least, for me) is that the 40 has Qi Charging and the Neo doesn’t. Only 15W but it’s fine for overnight routine charging. It’s a shame that Moto dropped Qi Charging between the Edge 30 Neo and Edge 40 Neo. Maybe Moto concluded that their target audience for that model are not bothered about it, especially with fast charging. There's the usual bunch of battery-saving options available for the user to engage or not - I haven't felt the need.

In terms of device access security, we have an under display, optical fingerprint scanner and face unlock. The fingerprint scanner is thorough in setup and works pretty well, though I think not quite as well as the ultrasonic of some Samsung models and certainly not physical, capacitive ones. But the technology/software does seem to be getting better. The Face Unlock is even more thorough. The combination of both of these is excellent.

Moving to the software experience, the usual set of Moto features and gestures are onboard here with chop-chop for torch, twist-twist for camera, 3-finger screenshot, Lift to Wake, tap to wake, Attentive Display (stays on when looking at it), flip for DND and more. The excellent Peek Display has gone now on all new, updated to Android 14 models (and some that haven't). They've gone instead with the 'standard' lock screen arrangement, so when notifications come in you can set it to wake up and offer either a summary of the messages, buttons to tap or bubbles, which take you through to the lock screen and/or dive in for the full item in question. At first I wasn't convinced, but it's grown on me now and, well, maybe they were right!

You get the personalisation options of layout, font, colours (like Material You), choose Icon shape, system theme and more. This is well thought out and in keeping with what Google are doing on Pixels. Edge Lighting is another great Samsung feature which is present here. This gives the user a choice of 5 colours to 'glow' the edges on notifications from a list of options. Another way Moto is getting more Samsung-like, I noticed, is with App Drawer 'folders'. Yes, you can now arrange your App Drawer in the same way you can as if it's on the home screen, thus becoming another home screen, I suppose! The Backup/Restore works pretty well phone-to-phone using Google's tools - either wirelessly or by cable.

Gamers have some special settings to enhance their enjoyment with a dedicated Games front-end (app) where installed games are automatically included. Launching from inside that wrapper then sets things going and Moto presents an icon on the left which brings forth a little gaming control panel, with controls for volume and brightness, blocking buttons for calls and notifications, a dedicated screenshot button, share, touch sensitivity and even one to launch live Twitch streaming, for those who want to do that! The software experience is otherwise very close to Google, to Pixel, to AndroidOne in many ways and not veering off into a multi-layered virtual OS of its own, like Samsung. Some will see this as positive, while others will appreciate the bells and whistles of the latter. For me, it feels like a good balance between the two and I end up liking, very much, the Moto approach.

The output from the stereo speakers is very similar to that from the 40 Neo, but I do think that the Neo devices for some reason have just been given a slightly better-sounding pair. There's not much in it, but side-by-side testing reveals that both the 30 Neo and 40 Neo take the crown in the whole of the Edge lineups from 30 and 40 series. I have yet to have hands-on with a 50-series Edge, so will be keen to see how that compares. (I shall also be keen to see if a Neo version of the 50-series will be added at some point to the Fusion, Pro and Ultra - but that's a topic for another day). I've been comparing the output with the Sony Xperia 1 Mk.IV too and yes, the Sony nails it over the Moto, but that's probably not surprising given its audio-centric nature. Still, both Edge 40 devices here have good volume and decent quality with options to play about with the Dolby. 

The Dolby Atmos settings are the extended set, so lots of control over speakers as well as headphones - including full manual sliders - and yes, they really do make a difference with the right combination. They also continue to make available the Surround Virtualiser which, again, makes a significant difference to the stereo impact with both music soundstage/width and video/film with decent soundtracks. Placed 18" in front of the head and the listener can appreciate some clever software-driven speaker output enhancement going on, which is most impressive and enjoyable. This unit is equipped with Bluetooth 5.2, but the 40 Neo, again, released just 4 months later, seems to have v5.4 which is quite a leap. Having said that, to the casual user, I'm not really sure what difference that makes with A2DP and LE in the mix. I don't notice any difference with latency, as mentioned earlier, nor extended range/reliability. I do think that these incremental upgrades are probably just that. Particularly on this level of hardware. But I guess that depends on what you attach it to.

I have tested the phone with the Pixel Watch, FitBit and other Google-based supporting software installed as well as simply using Google Fit instead and it all works beautifully well, as if it's a Pixel phone really. I also have a Samsung Galaxy Watch here and once all Samsung's supported health and fitness software (that isn't exclusive to Galaxy phones) is installed. It's similarly perfectly functional (just without some of the higher-end functions that only Galaxy bring like Blood Pressure Monitoring and some of the fitness stuff talking to their Cloud services and so forth). But yes, you pays your money and takes your choice. There are, of course, other wearables out there - loads actually - but these are the two that I have some experience of using, so focus on commenting on them.

Connectivity is good. The Bluetooth range seems to be solid, depending on quality of connected equipment of course, NFC for connecting to other gear seems to work as it should along with Google Pay - and cellular connectivity seems very good indeed. I have had various phone calls and it didn't flinch, the whole time. When it comes to WiFi, Moto have equipped both these phones with 6e (for those who can make use of it). I have not noticed anything wrong with my connection, good and fast with no hitches or blips. There's 5G connectivity on the phone of course and it's blazingly fast where I live and GPS locks on and holds on to tracking-related stuff very nicely.

ThinkShield is Moto's version of Samsung's Knox, I guess. Lenovorola claim business grade security for the users' data. It features secure boot and tamper-resistant hardware to protect your device from physical attacks, a clean version of Android which helps to reduce the risk of vulnerabilities, a variety of security features such as malware protection, phishing protection, and remote device management - so yes, a security solution that can help to keep your Motorola smartphone safe. Or so goes the blurb! In practice there are some security clean-up tools which the user can invoke and trust, I guess, that somebody's looking out for you in the background!

I've always quite liked what Moto do with their Camera software and this is no exception. There's a 50MP f1.4 main camera on the Edge 40, which drops to f1.8 on the Neo, both have OIS and the 13MP f2.2 wide-angle unit with autofocus looks to be identical on the two models. The latter is good for close-focus and as with most modern Moto phones, because of this, the so-called 'macro' feature is really quite impressive. There's a 'Macro' badge present in most modes on the main view next to '0.5' and '1' and it seems to switch to the wide-angle lens when you get close enough. There are plenty of manual controls to override this and use it how it suits. The difference with the wider aperture on the Edge 40 makes for better/more light-gathering of course and a shallower depth of field with, for example, portraiture. I was dubious about this with these tiny optics and sensors so did some testing for myself and discovered that there is certainly a difference under the right conditions.

In my tests I think that all the cameras shoot fine pictures, certainly in good light, and the wide-angle at 0.5x too. The Night Vision seems to work very impressively - you are led through that 'hold still' procedure, then watch as a photo appears - with subjects in the frame that even the human eye can't see! The shots are just great (so long as you don't zoom in and pixel-peep)! The portrait mode seems to do a decent enough job with controlled depth of field - and you get that fun Spot Colour toy to play with along with a bunch of other modes too. You can edit which modes you want to see on the main view and dive into settings for a bunch of other tweaks and adjustments. There's 4K (30fps) video shooting available in the main camera and the same via the Selfie.

One visible difference is with that camera island as the 40 has two LED lights and the Neo, one. (A dual LED flash consumes more power but emits twice the light a single LED flash does. So faraway objects can be easily captured. The two LEDs are of different colours. By adjusting their ratio, the camera can adjust the colour of the flash for suitable white balance according to the surroundings. Apparently!) The two lenses on the Neo’s island look like they are exactly the same size, but on the 40, the lower one is smaller than the bigger. I guess that this is because unlike the Neo, the 40 has an f1.4 aperture on the main shooter.

There's no optical zoom here on either phone but there is a half-decent 32MP f2.4 selfie shooter at the top of the screen. For a deeper dive on the camera setup with samples and more informed opinion, I'll point you those good folk at GSMArena and the camera coverage starts here. Do please support them by visiting their site for the latest mobile news and to tune into their excellent phone reviews.

The Edge 40 is a fine phone are in keeping with original pricing, more capable in most ways than the 40 Neo. The modest chipset in both phones gets the job done for 98% of users, no doubt, but won't please gamers particularly. Most people will be very pleased with the sound output, slightly more so with the Neo in fact, the access to Ready For functionality albeit wireless only, good storage (at least in this region) at 256GB, the lovely bright and colourful p-OLED panel, the 68W charging with brick in the box and quality, premium build/look/feel - and more importantly, a year on, the price with still a promise of Android 15 and security updates to May 2026.

Both of these phones are cracking devices. The Neo punches way above its weight, but for that bit more power and quality, with many boxes ticked, it's the Edge 40 for me. As I said at the outset, it's all about the size! In a world that's gone 6.7" mad, it's so nice to have a smaller phone that is still capable, nay, near-flagship quality/featured. The 6.55" screen with those curved edges, slim too, feels smaller than it is, so suits me fine over the giants around it. Both of them highly recommended.