All that power must eat away at battery life, right? Surprise: Battery performance has gone way, way up. While WIRED reported a mere 12 hours of running time on the older M2 model, I got a jaw-dropping maximum of 19 hours and 20 minutes of YouTube video playback time during my testing. That is more than enough time to watch movies flying all the way from New York to London and back without having to recharge—and that was on High Power Mode. Note that battery life will vary significantly based on screen brightness; I ran three different power tests and managed just over 15 hours with a fully bright, all-white screen.
The use of High Power Mode did have one major impact, however, and that was on fan speed. While the MacBook Pro isn’t exactly quiet under load while using the automatic power mode, when I flipped on High Power Mode, things got decidedly raucous. I measured the fan volume at 60 decibels when rendering at full tilt—the highest level I’ve seen since I started formally measuring fan volume.
Most other features on the system haven’t been touched, probably because they were already best in class and didn’t need further upgrades. The 16.2-inch Liquid Retina display, at 3456 x 2234 pixels, remains impossibly sharp and appropriately bright—though there are plenty of significantly brighter displays on the market if that’s your jam. Note that it doesn’t include a touchscreen, and it does retain the uglyish “notch” in the top center of the screen, where the 1080p webcam is located.
Photograph: Apple
The impossibly good six-speaker sound system remains top shelf, and is probably three speakers more than most users will really need on a laptop. The trackpad and keyboard are still solid, with the latter retaining the full-height function key row and power button with its embedded fingerprint reader. Connectivity options haven’t changed meaningfully and continue to include three USB-C-Thunderbolt-USB 4 ports, a full-size HDMI output jack, an SD card slot, and Apple’s long-running MagSafe port. The MagSafe cable is color-matched to your device, but the beefy 140-watt power adapter remains boringly white.
The 16-inch version of the MacBook Pro with M3 Max starts at $3,499, which makes it slightly more expensive than the similarly no-holds-barred Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2. You can, of course, crank your MacBook Pro’s price tag up to well over $5,000 by maxing out your memory and storage options. And don’t forget to throw in a $19 polishing cloth to keep everything nice and shiny.
Both ASKET and Mott & Bow produce high-quality T-shirts off the peg, but ASKET’s extensive choice of sizes, including width and length, should ensure everyone can find something that looks and feels great. Uniqlo seems to have created a superb-value, indestructible design that will last for years, while Colorful Standard proves that prewashed, hipster-approved organic tees can look great on all body shapes.
Of the two bespoke brands, Son of a Tailor was far superior to Spoke. The use of quality (albeit not organic) Supima cotton in a choice of weights, combined with a flattering, premium look and the ability to tweak subsequent designs to suit stands them apart, despite the strange discrepancy in sizing. Spoke failed to impress, although the remake of Chris’ original shirt was a significant improvement.
Taub isn’t surprised that the online algorithm approach isn’t, as yet, foolproof. “Getting people that aren’t experienced inputting their measurements is flawed. You could never get a customer to send their measurements accurately. I’m also surprised none of these brands ask for a simple photograph, as it would really add a dimension.”
But he does concede that “if you understand that the first T-shirt [ordered online] isn’t going to be the best, and instead consider it a journey with a brand you’re willing to trust and support—and that will still be in existence in the future—you will learn what looks good on you. Through trial and error, you will be able to get a custom fit from a factory-made garment. But from what I’ve seen so far, none of them really have been better than you just spending two days going to every single shop, and checking them out for yourself.”
The i3 and i8 were prescient precursors. The i4, iX and i7 moved the idea of an all-electric BMW center stage. Now things get real, for the numbers don’t lie. The i5 replaces one of the Bavarian behemoth’s heartland cars, the 5 series, a 10-million-plus bestseller across seven previous generations since 1972.
This is arguably the definitive BMW, a classy but entertaining European sports sedan aspired to by pretty much anyone with a hint of petrol in their veins. Now that fuel is changing—and much else besides.
We’re in the basement parking garage of a building in Lisbon, home to up to 2,000 software engineers employed exclusively by BMW (making it the biggest software employer in Portugal). The erstwhile purveyor of the “ultimate driving machine” now wishes to be seen as a far-sighted tech powerhouse that just happens to build cars. But can a company hard-wired to provide driver interaction truly manage the transition? Frank Weber, BMW’s head of total vehicle development, reckons the company has been on this path for decades.
“Every BMW engineer has a digital side to them,” Weber tells WIRED. “People ask about mechanical components, but there is nothing that is not digital. The software guys here are an integral part of our organization. We learned the hard way with the E65 7 series [in 2002], which was a nightmare and turned the whole organization upside down in the 12 months before its launch. But we established how to match hardware and software integration [on that car], and we now have a mature organization. The process has evolved. But, even so, software cannot compensate for hardware weaknesses.”
The new i5 has in-car gaming, with 20 built-in titles at launch.
Photograph: BMW
The i5 ramps up the new-age BMW offer significantly, not least in the way it’s pitched. As Weber hands over to colleagues, we learn little about the new car’s chassis or powertrain, but a lot about the arrival of AirConsole, which introduces in-car gaming to the 5 series.
Scan a QR code and your smartphone becomes a games controller hooked up to the 14.9-inch Curved Glass display (as premiered on the iX in 2021). BMW offers 20 built-in games at launch, with more to come, thankfully, as these launch titles aren’t exactly stellar (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Go Kart Go, Golazo, and Overcooked are symbolic of the questionable quality on the list. If you’re thinking Fortnite, Call of Duty: Mobile or Among Us, think again). Surprisingly, and somewhat oddly, this wasn’t set up on the review cars, so we can’t tell you how well it works.
Still, it’s another way of passing the time while you wait for your i5 to charge, as BMW admits. Then there’s the car’s streaming capability, including YouTube or TiVo, depending on which country you’re in. A Bundesliga in-car App is available from launch.
First Electric 5 Series
The i5 can handle a maximum DC charge of 205 kW, going from 10 to 80 per cent in 30 minutes.
Photograph: BMW
There is still a car in here somewhere, though. The i5 is the first fully electric 5 series, fitted with BMW’s fifth generation e-Drive technology and laden with all the radar, sensors, cameras, and driver assistance systems that are essential equipment these days.
My F5 Pro was finished in a dull white, but it also comes in black. The F5 has a marbled effect in white, and adds blue as an option. My black model has an almost carbon-fiber effect with diagonal lines, but these are all conservative-looking phones. Finally, Gorilla Glass 5 is getting old. You should probably use the included translucent case, especially since the phones are only IP53 rated. Rain is fine, but immersion will probably kill them.
Photograph: Simon Hill
Poco F5 Pro, main camera. The camera captures plenty of detail and makes the most of the light on an overcast day.
Take My Picture
The triple lens cameras in the F5 and F5 Pro are identical, consisting of a 64-megapixel main lens, an 8-megapixel ultrawide, and a 2-megapixel macro lens. You also get a 16-megapixel selfie camera in each phone, and while you can dig into settings to snap a full 64-megapixel shot, I don’t advise it. Likewise, for extreme close-ups, you might dig into the menu to find the macro option, but you can expect woefully inferior shots.
The camera has no trouble turning out shareable photos in good lighting, and the selfie camera is fine. The portrait mode on the main and selfie lens struggles with edges and stray hairs, but it produces a decent bokeh effect. The main camera has a night mode that does a passable job, but inevitably noise creeps in the darker it gets. It cannot match something like Google’s Pixel.
The only difference on the spec sheet is that the Pro can record video in 8K, while the F5 is limited to 4K. The 8K video I recorded to test, however, was very jerky. Recording 4K at 30 fps, on the other hand, was impressively smooth, and both phones have optical image stabilization (OIS), so no need to worry about shaky hands.
Courtesy of Simon Hill
Superfluous Software
Xiaomi packs in its version of standard apps, including a browser, gallery, video, security app, and a few more. It also bundles a weird assortment of third-party apps and games onto Poco phones. I am not a fan. Who wants Facebook or Block Puzzle Guardian preinstalled? The privacy policy you must accept to use Xiaomi’s apps is off-putting, but apart from data collection concerns, the apps are inferior to Google’s versions. The good news is that you can uninstall or ignore most of the bloatware.
Sadly, it’s not as easy to get rid of MIUI. Upgrading from an older phone or another Xiaomi model might not be a big deal, but coming from a Pixel, Xiaomi’s user interface feels terribly busy. There are some strange differences that make navigation errors all too frequent. Having to swipe down on the left for notifications and on the right for quick settings is annoying. These quirks add friction, and because your phone is likely the device you use most, the frustration accumulates.
Style, build quality, and sound. These are the core essentials in the new MH40, Master and Dynamic’s latest update of a classic that goes back to the New York City-based audio brand’s early days as a market disrupter in 2014.
It’s not a lavish formula for a pair of $400 wireless headphones in 2023, especially compared to models loaded with modern features like Sony’s WH-1000XM5 (9/10, WIRED Recommends). But these aren’t your average pair. With a dead-gorgeous design built from elements like anodized aluminum, lambskin, and titanium, the MH40 look and feel different than the monolithic plastic shells of most rivals. Their obstinate minimalism in the face of the current trend is almost freeing, especially since the trade-off for loads of features is brilliant sound and construction designed to last.
The MH40 skip a lot of extras, but their biggest transgression is a lack of noise canceling or transparency mode, which are all but prerequisites at this price. You can get both features in M&D’s step-up pair, the MW75 (8/10, WIRED Recommends), for $200 more. The price and lack of ANC means that the MH40 wouldn’t be my first choice for most folks, but the headphones’ sterling sound and head-turning style could be hard to pass up for those with style who don’t want noise canceling, or who simply are willing to pay for premium headphones that stand out from the crowd.
Really, Ridiculously Good Looking
Photograph: Master & Dynamic
Pulling the MH40 from the box, you can’t help but smile. They’re just beautiful cans, especially in our review unit’s burnt-brown leather (they’re also available in four other colors, including solid black). The latticed exterior screens reflect the light like ripples on a sunlit lake. The metal chassis feels at once elegant and robust, thanks to solid base materials matched by a speckled aluminum finish.
Polished industrial posts at the sides provide smooth action and numbered settings for the ear cups as you slide them in place. Even the lambskin-cloaked pads feel classy, set on magnets for easy removal and replacement. The pads also offer one of the MH40’s best attributes: good noise isolation that kills a lot of sound around you when you add a bit of music. I can’t hear my keystrokes as I type this review, for instance. That’s a great thing for a pair that lack noise canceling.
The headphones are fairly comfortable, thanks to plenty of memory foam along the ear cups, and with their quality leather skins, they should become softer and more tailored to your head as they wear in. They aren’t as comfy as Sony’s older WH-1000XM4 or new XM5, at least not yet, but few headphones are. My biggest complaint is the dearth of padding on top, which can wear on your head after a few hours. But the MH40’s light weight (around 280 grams) keeps this mostly in check.
