PC Magazine - September 2021
PC Magazine - September 2021
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In this issue
For our 12th annual drive test, we traveled over 10,000 miles, speed-testing AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon 4G and 5G networks in cities, towns, and rural regions all over the US. We found a radically new landscape—and a surprising winner.
Samsung Galaxy Buds2: Good ANC for the Price
Since introducing the Galaxy Buds in 2019, Samsung has iterated on the formula with the Galaxy Buds Live and the Galaxy Buds Pro. The company now has an official successor, the aptly named Galaxy Buds2. The biggest change here is the addition of active noise cancellation (ANC), and it’s quite good for the price ($149.99). The earphones also deliver a powerful, notably bass-forward sound with enough brightness to keep things balanced.
6 mins
Sony ZV-E10: A Camera for Vloggers
A year after introducing its first camera for vloggers—the fixed-lens ZV-1—Sony is bringing the concept to an interchangeable lens platform. The ZV-E10 is built around the same sensor as the stills-focused Sony a6100 but is made just for video.
10+ mins
HP Laptop 14-dq2020nr: A Limited Budget Laptop
You probably know that HP’s Pavilion brand is for consumer PCs priced and positioned below its upscale Envy and Spectre lines. But Pavilion is only the second-lowest rung on HP’s notebook-PC ladder. Its budget laptops have no brand at all, just a generic family name: “HP Laptop.”
7 mins
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9 (2021): A Superlative Aspirational System
We won’t try to keep you in suspense. When we reviewed last year’s model, we called the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon the best laptop in the world—though we later decided it shared that title with the Dell XPS 13 OLED—and it hasn’t done anything in its latest revision to change that state of affairs. The X1 Carbon Gen 9 catches up with the Dell and other elite ultraportables by moving to an 11th Generation Intel “Tiger Lake” Core processor and a slightly taller 16:10 rather than 16:9 screen aspect ratio. Its premium price and lack of an SD card slot still knock half a star off what would otherwise be a perfect five-star rating, but it effortlessly collects yet another Editors’ Choice award as the most desirable executive notebook on Earth.
7 mins
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G: A Superb Value-Focused Option
As a six-core, 12-thread processor with great integrated graphics, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is the CPU that 2021 has been waiting for. A strong successor to older, budget-friendly, gaming-focused CPUs such as the AMD Ryzen 5 3400G, it puts up some of the fastest game frame rates to date from an integrated graphics processor (IGP). Cheaper than the IGP-less Ryzen 5 5600X ($299) and layered in with the highly capable Radeon RX Vega 7 graphics engine, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is a serious threat to Intel’s competing Intel Core i5-11600K on CPU grunt and really puts the hammer down once you factor in its gaming results and Radeon Software compatibility. Whether you’re an esports hopeful aiming to get a gaming PC built for cheap or just want a solid IGP-equipped processor to drive low-lift daily computing, the Ryzen 5 5600G is a stellar 7nm AMD desktop processor. With yet another Editors’ Choice award win, AMD’s going to need a bigger trophy case.
8 mins
Hulu: A Top Streaming Choice
As the competition between video-streaming services intensifies, differentiation is ever-important. Hulu continues to offer both a strong on-demand streaming library and a robust live TV option. The service is an excellent option for watching popular TV shows, and we like its broad platform support, even if Hulu’s original series are hit-or-miss. On the live TV front, Hulu’s channel coverage is top-notch, and its DVR features compare well to the competition’s. Despite a few missteps, Hulu keeps its Editors’ Choice award, because no other service can quite match its combination of streaming content.
10+ mins
Corel PaintShop Pro: A Worthy Photoshop Alternative
Photoshop is a magnificent tool, but many of its users could do everything they need to in Corel’s photo-editing software, PaintShop Pro, without having to pay a monthly tribute to Adobe. PaintShop Pro supports layers and lets you edit both raster and vector image formats—something you’d need two of Adobe’s Creative Cloud apps to do.
10+ mins
FASTEST MOBILE NETWORKS 2021
It’s T-Mobile’s year at last. T-Mobile’s new mid-band 5G network is the only nationwide 5G that’s markedly faster than 4G, earning the carrier its first-ever PCMag award for America’s fastest mobile network.
10+ mins
Master Social Media Without Sacrificing Your Privacy
Some people have no filter. They’ll conduct the most personal phone conversations at maximum volume on the subway. Or they’ll regale perfect strangers with the excruciating details of their latest medical procedures. Most of us, though, have a better idea of how to maintain privacy for ourselves and our friends. But do you take the same attitude on social media? It’s easy to notice that you’re too loud on the phone in public, but it’s less easy to realize that your settings let any schmo read your social media posts. And yet protecting your privacy on social media is important, in more ways than you may realize.
10 mins
Clean Up Apple Messages to Free Up Space
My family and I love to share pictures and videos in an Apple Messages group text. Since COVID-19 struck, we’ve mostly shared pics and videos of dogs, babies, food, snow, hiking, and the 20-plus bananas I accidentally bought in an online grocery order.
5 mins
PC Magazine Description:
Publisher: Ziff Davis, Inc.
Category: Science
Language: English
Frequency: Monthly
PC Magazine provides lab-tested reviews, detailed how-to guides, tips and tricks, and the latest tech trends to help you at work, home, and on the road.
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