Feed aggregator

The company hasn't said when, but past releases reveal a pattern.

Yoast, a plug-in for one of the best website builders WordPress, has come up with a way to embed Artificial Intelligence (AI) into content creation with the goal of improving content whilst letting humans focus on the bigger picture. It’s called Yoast AI Optimize, and it’s a search engine optimization (SEO) tool powered by AI.

All users have to do (after creating and submitting the content to the CMS), is click on the “sparkle” icon that was added to Yoast SEO. That will automatically improve the site’s overall SEO performance, thanks to AI-powered suggestions, tailored to enhance the effectiveness of the content.

The announcement from Yoast follows a trend, with some of the best AI website builders already offering similar AI-powered SEO tools to users.

Driving traffic and boosting credibility with AI

"By improving search rankings, SEO drives targeted traffic, boosts credibility and helps businesses market their products and services more effectively in an increasingly competitive digital landscape,” Kimberley Cole, General Manager Europe at Newfold Digital, parent company of Yoast, said in a press release shared with TechRadar Pro recently. “With Yoast AI Optimize, users can save time and energy by tapping into SEO powered by AI and unlocking the full potential of their website, blog, online store and more.”

SEO is a pivotal part of any content creation plan or strategy. It involves tailoring content for search engines, to make sure that it is recognized as valuable and lists higher on results pages. SEO includes different things, from knowing the optimal article length, to titles and subtitles, optimizing images and multimedia, keywords, tags and other metadata, and more.

Yoast is one of the most popular SEO plugins for WordPress out there. According to the company, there are more than 13 million active installations right now. Until today, Yoast’s SEO plugin could analyze the content and give suggestions, but any changes that were required would need to be done manually, losing users precious time and money. Now, the entire process is apparently faster and more streamlined.

Yoast AI Optimize is automatically available to all Yoast SEO Premium customers with the 23.2 version.

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Hisense's middle-rung QLED TV packs a powerful picture at a very nice price.

German audio brand Beyerdynamic has unveiled the MMX 330 Pro, the first open-back headset in its MMX gaming line.

A high-end gaming headset intended for gamers pursuing high sound quality, the MMX 330 Pro uses the same professional studio-grade drivers found in its sibling, the MMX 300 Pro. Its open-back design is intended to create a wider, more detailed soundstage for an immersive gaming experience. Open-back headsets usually provide additional spatial awareness, though allow background noise to enter more freely. The manufacturer states that the overall tuning of the MMX 330 Pro is intended to deliver a more balanced audio profile than the MMX 300 Pro.

The MMX 330 Pro also features a 10mm condenser microphone and a cable designed to eliminate crosstalk and ensure that teammate communications are not heard by them while you play. Its earcups use a combination of breathable memory foam and open foam with a soft velour finish for comfort over extended gaming sessions.

Like other Beyerdynamic models, the MMX 330 Pro has been created with repairability in mind and features multiple easily removable and replaceable parts. The overall design of the headset is rather understated compared to the bright RGB designs of many of the best gaming headsets, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It looks very professional and features a combination of scratch-resistant plastics and metal elements in a plain black finish and a small Beyerdynamic logo on the exterior of each ear cup.

The headset is available today and can be purchased directly from the Beyerdynamic shop or Amazon and launches at a US price of $329.99 (other regions to be confirmed). While Beyerdynamic wired sets will often find great homes as PC gaming headsets, the MMX 330 Pro is multi-platform compatible so could be a great premium option for anyone looking for a top-tier PS5 headset, Xbox Series X headset, or Nintendo Switch headset.

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The Chase Sapphire Reserve® offers many benefits, but this one helped me the most.

As part of IFA 2024 – a huge tech event taking place in Berlin as we’re writing this – Asus has unveiled a trio of AI-enhanced laptops for its popular Zenbook, Vivobook and ExpertBook lines. 

Let’s start with the Zenbook S 14, which starts at $1,399.99 / £1,299.99 (Australian pricing to be confirmed), and boasts some very solid specs that means it’s worth paying attention even if you aren’t convinced AI is the next big thing. 

It has a 14-inch 3K 120Hz OLED display, a solid battery life of 27 hours (based on an offline video test conducted by Asus), and is clad in a Ceralumium casing – a deceptively tricky word to say, which blends ceramic and aluminum to deliver a more durable yet lighter design. We can’t yet speak for those durability promises without testing it ourselves, but the Ceralumium-clad Zenbook certainly looks cool is easy to pick up and carry around, and isn't as prone to fingerprint smudges as some notebooks.

(Image credit: Future)

The star of the show is the new Intel Core Ultra 9 200 Series processor (known as Lunar Lake) which promises significant power and efficiency upgrades over the 100 Series processor. Per Asus’s test stats, a Zenbook S 14 using the new processor running at 35W, compared to a Zenbook S 14 using the old 100 Series CPU running at 45W, boasts a 25% improvement in daily productivity performance (per Geekbench V6 Single-Core CPU Score), a 53% higher gaming performance (in Cyberpunk 2077) and a 173% better AI performance (per UL Procyon).

That AI performance boost will be thanks to the Intel Core Ultra 9 200 Series’ new NPU (neural processing unit for AI) being able to perform 48 trillion operations per second (TOPS). For context, Qualcomm’s competing Snapdragon X Elite chip only offers 45 TOPS. This extra speed will lend a helping hand completing on-device AI processes when using services like Microsoft CoPilot+, MuseTree (Asus’s image generation tool), and Adaptive Lock, which automatically secures your PC if you walk away with it unlocked.

Couple all of this with the Zenbook’s lightweight and thin design – coming in at 1,5kg, and 1.1cm thick – and Asus’ new laptop is looking pretty great. Though, obviously, before we issue our final Zenbook S 14 verdict we’ll need to run our own tests to verify Asus’s bold promises.

Not all about the Zenbook

(Image credit: Future)

Asus’s other new consumer productivity laptop is the Vivobook S 14. 

It’s a slight downgrade on the Zenbook S 14  but still boasts a 3K OLED, an Ultra 7 Series 200 Intel processor, and it’s a little thicker and heavy at 1.39cm thickness and weighing 1.3kg. It also misses out on Ceralumium, but does have an RGB-lit keyboard.

It also costs a little less, starting at $899.99 / £999.99 (we’re waiting for the Australian price), which makes it a more accessible way to access Asus’s latest AI PC offerings.  

Last but not least were the new P5 ExpertBooks. The P-series machines are aimed at experts who might need a powerful laptop that’s also long lasting – which is why Asus has put the new P5 through its paces several US military grade tests.

If you want to learn more about these business-focused devices you'll soon be able to read our coverage of the Asus P5 announcement over on TechRadar Pro. 

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Unless you live in France, or have a penchant for all things Gallic, it’s highly unlikely you’ve ever even heard of the Renault 17. But the model sold more than 92,000 units during its lifetime and it’s now back, looking more gloriously 1970s than it ever did.

That’s because Renault has sprung a surprise show car on the world – a design study that will be showcased at the Paris Motor Show from 14 to 20 October of this year, flaunting its sharp 1970s lines and retro-futuristic touches.

Working alongside renowned French designer Ora Ïto, the model uses the same monocoque structure of the original car, but shuns the puny 1.6-liter petrol engine and replaces it with a modern electric powertrain that produces 270 bhp and sits at the rear of the vehicle. Sounds fun.

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(Image credit: Renault)Image 2 of 3

(Image credit: Renault)Image 3 of 3

(Image credit: Renault)

Renault is remaining tight-lipped about performance figures, only revealing that it weighs just 1.4 tonnes, which is lighter than a Nissan Leaf.

The body is 17cm wider than the original car, while cutting-edge LED strip lighting has been added to the rear and bespoke lamps fashioned for the front. It is undeniably a Renault 17, but beefier, more purposeful and athletic, yet still achingly cool.

Inside, much of the original trim exists, but there’s now a large central screen, complete with digital clock, as well as four small geometric screens behind the steering wheel, inspired by the dials of the original model.

Beige is everywhere, as well as deep woollen seats that have been sculpted for increased comfort. All the interior needs is a Serge Gainsbourg soundtrack and a packet of Gauloises thrown into the dash bins.

Look but don't touch

(Image credit: Renault)

Renault’s design collaborator Ora Ïto said that his small team worked on a theme that was retro-futuristic and "almost cinematic" in its approach. It shows, as the restomod R17 wouldn’t look out of place in a modern remake of Logan’s Run or any other 70s filmic imagining of a dystopian future.

But unlike the upcoming R5 EV, which is an unashamed nod to one of Renault’s most famous 70s vehicles, this R17 is highly unlikely to ever see the light of day. The French marque stated that  this is a unique model and definitely "not the forerunner for a future production vehicle".

Instead, you have to give up the glorious Galactic Brown paint job (bespoke to this show car) and the suitably beige interior for the firm's boxy Renault 4, which will also be on revealed at the Paris Motor Show and will definitely be going on sale.

But does the world really need another small SUV? We say go all-in on the R17.

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Check out retailers like Best Buy, OfficeMax and Staples if you've got an old printer or two that you want to recycle.

Research has found that North Korean cyber criminals tricked unsuspecting ‘candidates’ into downloading fake Windows video conferencing applications which impersonated FreeConference.com. The campaign was labeled ‘Contagious Interview’ after being discovered by analysts.

Discovered by cyber security company ‘Group-IB’, the campaign was reportedly carried out by known threat actor ‘Lazarus’, who has been observed to have run similar operations in the past.

The attacks started through a job search platform, such as LinkedIn or Upwork. The attackers reached out to the intended target to discuss a job opportunity, and invited them to continue the discussion via Telegram. From there, the victim would be asked to download a video conferencing app FreeConference or Node.js for a trial technical task.

Elaborate schemes

Of course, these installers were fake, and the victim unknowingly downloaded malware named BeaverTail, which delivered a backdoor known as InvisibleFerreft, equipped with keylogging, remote control, and browser stealing capabilities. The FBI recently released a statement warning of efforts from North Korean hackers,

“North Korean social engineering schemes are complex and elaborate, often compromising victims with sophisticated technical acumen. Given the scale and persistence of this malicious activity, even those well versed in cybersecurity practices can be vulnerable to North Korea's determination to compromise networks connected to cryptocurrency assets.”

The Lazarus group is infamous and has reportedly been active since 2010. In that time, it has attacked a range of targets, including governments, healthcare, finance, and defense infrastructure.

As always, we recommend only downloading apps from official sources, and verifying the identity of anyone you're speaking to online. We’ve listed our picks for the best malware removal software to help keep your information safe.

Via The Hacker News

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With Home Theater Week in full swing, it's a good time for Q Acoustics to launch an interesting new amplifier – and this one is designed to be heard, not seen (unless you count the Alexa light ring around it). That's because the new Q Acoustics E300A is made to live in your ceiling, where it can drive speakers in the same – or in multiple – rooms within your home.

The flush-fit amp is just 125mm x 125mm wide and comes with multiple connections: RJ45 Ethernet; a mini TOSLINK supporting audio up to 24-bit/96kHz from your TV; 3.5mm stereo; Wi-Fi; and Bluetooth 5.2. It comes with Spotify Connect, Apple AirPlay 2.0, Amazon Music including its multi-room incarnation and Tidal Connect – and you can stream from a laptop, phone or tablet too via Bluetooth 5.2. 

The E300A comes with an IR remote but it's really intended to be a voice-controlled device with Alexa controlling not just your music but the rest of your smart home too. 

Will it make your home sound good? If the success of the company's Q Acoustics M40 HD wireless speakers are anything to go on, yes, yes it will. 

(Image credit: Q Acoustics) Q Acoustics E300A: specifications and price

As you can see from the photo, it's not a bad-looking thing, and it's very small – although it does need a fairly deep cavity immediately above it to make room for those connectors. The unit weighs 1.2kg and it's rated for 60-minute fire, BS EN 1365-2 and BS EN 1363-1 to comply with the appropriate home regulations. It's designed for a 100-240V AC input.

The E300A has been made with Q Acoustics' own ceiling- and wall-mounted speakers in mind, although it can drive pretty much anything: the Class D amp puts out 2 x 25W (2 x 50W peak) at 6 ohms and was designed with either two or four speakers in mind. Frequency response is 20Hz to 20kHz.

In the box you'll find the E300A itself along with its remote, two 4m lengths of speaker cable, a UK and a UK power cord (both of which are 1.3m), the power supply and a cutout template for the installer. There's also two speaker plugs and an Optical Mini TOSLINK adapter.

The E300A is available to order now from Q Acoustics and costs £599 / €749 in the UK and in Europe (so around $789 or AU$1,170, although these prices are unofficial); the firm also offers some bundles that include Q Acoustics speakers too. A US launch is planned for early 2025.

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Major updates are coming to Volvo's XC90 flagship SUV, bringing the plug-in hybrid's aesthetic and tech shoulder-to-shoulder with the full-electric EX90.

Four versions of the Omega x Swatch mashup are now available on the brand's website—but only if you're in two specific countries.

If you use WhatsApp on macOS, you may find that you have to redownload the app on your device very soon, as while the older WhatsApp app remains available, Meta (WhatsApp’s parent company) has confirmed that this version is due to be discontinued.

The older version of WhatsApp is built on an Electron framework, an open-source software that allows you to adapt a web app into a desktop app. According to 9to5Mac, Meta has rebuilt the Whatsapp app from scratch, which means that if you want to continue using the WhatsApp app on your desktop, you'll have to install the new version. 

9to5Mac quotes WABetaInfo, who continued running the older WhatsApp app on a Mac and was notified that the app wouldn't be available in 54 days (at the time of writing). When this happens, Meta says users will have to download the newly rebuilt desktop app from the official WhatsApp website or from the App Store for Mac.  

(Image credit: Karolina Grabowska / Pexels) The new Catalyst-powered WhatsApp app

The new WhatsApp Mac desktop app is built using Catalyst, Apple's software framework that enables developers to make iOS (its mobile operating system for iPhones) apps work natively on macOS devices. 9to5Mac writes that downloading and installing the new app will preserve all of your existing chats and contacts. 

The new WhatsApp for macOS, built with Catalyst, leverages the iPhone app as a foundation to run natively and reportedly offers better performance than the Electron-based web app. While the web version is convenient, it lacks many features, making the native macOS app a superior option for Mac users.

9to5Mac does point out that the older WhatsApp app for Mac is still being used by some people, possibly due to the newer app seemingly arriving without some important features. However, it does reassure readers that most of the older app's features have been carried over to the newer app. 

You can get WhatsApp for Mac for free from the Mac App Store or the official WhatsApp website, and you'll need to make sure your device is running macOS 11 or later. 

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Earlier this week, Cisco introduced new patches that fix bugs in different products, which allowed threat actors to log in to, or take over, vulnerable devices.

First, it addressed an OS command injection vulnerability, caused by insufficient validation of user-supplied input, found in Cisco’s Identity Service Engine (ISE). This one is tracked as CVE-2024-20469, and carries a severity score of 6.0. Cisco's ISE is a network access control and policy management platform that enables organizations to enforce security policies across their network.

In theory, a local attacker could submit a malicious CLI command and escalate privileges on vulnerable systems to root, but they need to have admin rights on the unpatched system to begin with.

Bugs in SLU

"A vulnerability in specific CLI commands in Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) could allow an authenticated, local attacker to perform command injection attacks on the underlying operating system and elevate privileges to root," Cisco said in an advisory, adding that it is aware of proof-of-concept code circulating online. So far, there is no evidence of successful abuse, though.

Versions 3.2 and 3.3 are affected, and to secure their premises, admins should upgrade to 3.2P7 and 3.3P4, respectively.

The second flaw that was recently addressed is a backdoor account that was found in Cisco’s Smart Licensing Utility Windows (SLU) software. SLU is a tool that helps manage and activate software licenses for Cisco products using the Smart Licensing system. The bug, described as an “undocumented static user credential for an administrative account,” is tracked as CVE-2024-20439, and carries a severity score of 9.8.

The third flaw, tracked as CVE-2024-20440, is due to excessive verbosity in a debug log file. As a result, crooks could access sensitive information, remotely. This one, too, has a 9.8 severity score.

SLU versions 2.0.0, 2.1.0, and 2.2.0, were said to be vulnerable. The first fixed version is 2.3.0.

Via BleepingComputer

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One-minute review

How can you unlock a door? Let me count the ways. That's the ethos of the current generation of best smart locks, including the new Lockly Visage Zeno Series smart deadbolt. It will happily let you gain access with an old-fashioned key, fingerprint, pin code, your face, your smartphone, and even your smartwatch.

This is the second Lockly smart lock I’ve brought into my home and, if I'm being honest, I didn't have high hopes. My last Lockly worked well enough, but it also ate through AA batteries as if they were candy (eight at a time!), needed a dedicated and finicky Wi-Fi hub, and seemed incapable of remembering fingerprints for more than a week. It was also large, loud, and – as my wife often told me – ugly.

The Lockly Visage, though, is a welcome change of pace. Not only is it 35% smaller and more attractive-looking on both sides of the door, it finally uses a rechargeable battery pack, and it even ships with two batteries so that when one drains, you have another fully-charged one ready to go.

It's got built-in Wi-Fi (and Bluetooth), which means you no longer need to have a separate hub and, perhaps best of all, it's Apple Home Key-compatible, which means you can unlock your door with one of the best iPhones.

Unlike my last Lockly, the Visage does not include a video doorbell, but that's fine, since that only worked half the time with my old lock. Instead, there's a camera on the front that lets you use your face (once you've registered it) to unlock the door. While I got so tired of the various quirks of my previous Lockly that I didn’t bother to change out the batteries, so we were basically using it as a dumb deadbolt, the new Lockly Visage feels like its first truly smart lock.

In particular, the integration with Apple Home Key allows us to do proximity unlocking. When we pull into our driveway, the home network sees that we’re there and asks if we want to run the unlock routine before we even set foot on the front porch. I could get used to this.

Lockly Visage Zeno Series review: price and availability Image 1 of 4

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(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

• List price: $349
• Available at Home Dept starting September 5
• Not currently for sale on Amazon
• US only

At $349, the Lockly Visage Zeno Series smart deadbolt ranks as one of the more expensive smart locks. The August Smart Lock Pro, which lacks features like facial recognition, and fingerprint unlocking (like the Lockly, it does support Apple HomeKit, Alexa, and Google) might run you a hundred less. Such is the price of versatility.

Along with the two control units (for the front and back of the door), the Lockly Visage ships with a pair of rechargeable batteries, the deadbolt, door-open sensors, and two keys.

The smart deadbolt is only available in the US for now. Lockly says: "The Zeno Series of locks will launch in the US first. The company will continue to bring new products to the global audience, including the Zeno Series, at a later date."

• Value: 4/5

Lockly Visage Zeno Series review: specifications Lockly Visage Zeno Series review: design and installation

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

• Helpful video guide
• Drops the ball on wiring storage
• Solid construction

Even under the best circumstances, deadbolt installation can be difficult. While much of the hardware is standardized, I’ve found that you often must make small adjustments to compensate for differences in hardware. Sometimes, this involves chipping away a bit of wood to make space for slightly different-shaped deadbolt plates, while other times you might need to carve out space for a sensor.

I was lucky, though. My previous Lockly smart deadbolt installation meant that most of the pieces of the Lockly Visage just fit. I didn’t even have to cut a new space for the magnet side of the deadbolt sensor; I just left the old one in place in my door frame and lined up the new sensor with it on the door side.

This is not to say there were no installation issues. Smartlocks use DC electricity and a bundle of wiring to make their magic and I found that while most of Lockly's installation instructions were clear, when I had to fit a cluster of cables behind the interior side lock and battery pack, they didn’t fit. It took me a bit of trial and error to realize that some of that wiring had to be shoved back inside the lock housing to properly seat the interior lock on my door.

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(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

Lockly also shipped me an optional smart deadbolt insert that I could've used to get rid of the external door-closed sensors. Unfortunately, the installation would have entailed dismantling a sealed part of the Lockly Visage's interior housing, and I didn‘t feel comfortable doing that (at least not yet).

Once I had everything seated properly, both sides of the lock fit snugly against my door. The exterior plate is smaller and less cluttered than my old Lockly. I like that it no longer has what I saw as an unnecessary metal cover over the keyhole. 

The interior cover now slips off easily to access a battery compartment that takes one palm-sized battery pack. As soon as I put it in and pressed the program key for four seconds, the Lockly Visage began a self-check. I noticed that the battery was only 60% charged. I plugged the other one into a USB-C charger just to make sure it would be ready for when this one died. One of the benefits of using Apple HomeKit is that I can run the Lockly without Wi-Fi access and save a significant amount of battery life. I've left it on to see how quickly the battery drains and, after almost a week of use, its down to 58%, just 2% lower than where it started.

• Design and installation: 4.5/5

Lockly Visage Zeno Series review: control

• Decent app with a lot of options (sometimes hidden)
• The best use of Apple HomeKit
• Unlock the way you want

The app setup was easy, and integration with Apple HomeKit was a matter of scanning the code on the lock and then adding it to my Home.

Apple HomeKit and the Home app controller turned out to be a highlight of the Lockly Visage experience. The Home app asked me if I wanted to automate unlocking using my iPhone and I said yes. All four of my family members are registered as part of my Apple iCloud Family account, which means that now all of them can unlock the door with their phones.

To unlock, you need to hold your phone near the lock and using FaceID to confirm your identity.

Lockly Visage Zeno Series on Apple Home (Image credit: Future)

My wife, ever the skeptic about all things smart-home, was impressed that the system just worked. And when she found that she could set up the system to unlock when she arrived home she admitted, "That might be useful." And when it actually worked she called it "amazing." That's high praise indeed from someone who expressed outright hatred for our previous Lockly smart lock.

While I was happy to continue using my phone and watch to unlock the door, I did set up fingerprint recognition, which let me register multiple fingers in succession. I like that the fingerprint scanner is now on the front of the external lock instead of the side.

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(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

For FaceID unlocking, I registered my face by looking at the lock from different angles as the app on the phone guided me through the process. Such operations require Bluetooth, which means I need to keep my phone close to the lock for face unlock to work.

I am a bit disappointed that Lockly went with Bluetooth 4.2 instead of the longer-range BLE 5.0. Similarly, it's unfortunate that the Lockly Visage only supports 2.4Ghz Wi-Fi and not 5GHz Wi-Fi.

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The smart lock with the deadbolt extended (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)Image 2 of 2

The magnetic door open/closed sensor (Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

To unlock with my face, I need to tap a small circle on the Lockly Visage outside unit’s screen. It worked pretty much instantly. Both Lockly and Apple's Home App will notify me when the door is locked, unlocked, or jammed. I turned off the notifications from Apple's Home app because it was becoming too much.

Another nice but not immediately obvious upgrade is that this smart deadbolt is a lot quieter than my last Lockly. I can still hear the motor locking and unlocking but, it's noticeably quieter.

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(Image credit: Future)

Performance: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Lockly Visage Zeno Series ? Buy it if... Don't buy it if... Lockly Visage Zeno Series review: Also consider

Lockly Visage Zeno Series not for you? Try out one of these alternatives...

How I tested the Lockly Visage Zeno Series smart deadbolt

• I installed it in my home's front door
• We use it every day

I installed the Lockely Visage Zeno Series smart deadbolt in my home’s front door, which is our primary point of access.

We tested and continue to use all the features of the lock, especially the HomeKit-enabled automation features.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed September 2024

If you’ve heard of the HoverAir X1, you’ll already have some idea of what the DJI’s latest drone, DJI Neo is capable of. But in true DJI fashion, the Neo isn’t simply capable of incredibly easy-to-operate autonomous flight to capture photos and videos, it can also be flown like a camera drone and even used as an FPV drone when paired with DJI’s FPV controllers and goggles.

It’s often said that one size rarely fits all, but the Neo does an impressive job of catering to a wide range of drone pilots from absolute beginners looking for pure simplicity to advanced FPV pilots and everyone in between. It’s an interesting and exciting concept that moves the Neo away from simply being a clone of the HoverAir X1.

(Image credit: James Abbott)

It’s still an extremely simple drone, electronics and algorithms aside, with only downward visual positioning and a single-axis gimbal. Stabilization is provided in-camera unless switched off with Rocksteady or HorizonBalancing modes available. Stabilization is achieved thanks to the 1/2-inch sensor providing plenty of pixels to cover up to 45 degrees of horizontal tilt when capturing video.

Photo and video capture is pretty basic with 4K 30fps being the only UHD option, while FHD can be shot at 30, 50 and 60fps. 12MP photos can only be captured in JPEG format and can be set to 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios. This comes as little surprise given the competitive price of the Neo, but with multiple controller and flight options available, a little more functionality in the photo and video department is always welcome.

DJI Neo: release date and price

• Released September 5 2024
• The base kit costs just $199 / £169 / AU$299
• Fly More Bundle costs £299 / AU$539 but not available in the US

The DJI Neo was announced and is available for sale in the DJI Store and other retailers on September 5 2024. Despite the multiple ways the Neo can be controlled, there are two main kits available with the base kit including the drone, battery and accessories costing $199 / £169 / AU$299. 

This kit allows for controller-free and app-controlled flight, while the Fly More Bundle includes the drone, a DJI RC-N3 Controller, three Smart Batteries and a Battery Charging Hub. This kit costs £299 / AU$539 but isn't available in the US, where the DJI Neo Combo is on sale instead for $289 (which doesn't include the controller).

The Fly More Bundle allows for controller-free, app control and to fly the Neo like a camera drone using the RC-N3 Controller. The Neo can also be paired with the DJI FPV Remote Controller 3 and DJI Goggles 3 for manual FPV flight, or the goggles and the DJI RC Motion 3 for intuitive FPV control. 

If you don’t already own these devices, they will drive up the cost of the Neo substantially to the point where the DJI Avata 2 could be the better option if FPV is your thing.

(Image credit: James Abbott) DJI Neo: design and handling

• Micro whoop design
• Enclosed propellers
• Single axis gimbal

To cut a corner or two, the easiest way to describe the Neo is to say it’s a little like a mini DJI Avata 2; it has propeller guards, but with top and bottom guards to protect people during autonomous flight, and the camera sits at the front and moves and stabilizes mechanically on a single axis. Horizontal stabilization is applied electronically in-camera.

DJI Neo key specs

Camera: 12MP 1/2-inch sensor
Video resolution: Up to 4K
Frame rates: 4K 30fps / FHD up to 60fps
Video transmission range: 6.2 miles (FCC), 3.7 miles (CE/SRRC/MIC)
Flight modes: Sport, Normal, Cine (Manual with the FPV Controller 3)
Battery: 1435mAh / up to 18 minutes flight time
Charger type: USB-C / Battery Charging Hub
Weight: 4.76oz / 135g
Dimensions: 5.12x6.18x1.90in / 130×157×48.5mm

In DJI’s signature light grey that’s used for the Mini series of drones, the Neo is incredibly small and lightweight. It’s essentially slightly larger than the palm of your hand, which is ideal for palm take-off and landing, and weighs in at a mere 4.76oz / 135g. This makes it regulator-friendly in most regions since it’s below the all-important 250g threshold, but remember to check local rules if it’s your first drone.

Despite the low weight, the Neo is built to a high quality and feels robust in the hand. The top-mounted propeller guards are removable to allow the propellers to be changed when necessary, but the main propeller guards are part of the airframe. This suggests that home repairs won’t be possible if damage occurs in a crash so if you plan on using the Neo for FPV, taking out DJI Care Refresh would be a good choice.

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I’ve already listed all of the controller options so I won’t go into detail again, but will instead focus on the DJI Fly app and the RC-N3 Controller, which are part of the standard kits and are likely to be the most commonly used control methods. 

The Neo can be flown without an app, using just the mode button on the top to initiate autonomous flight, using the DJI Fly app as a ground station for autonomous flight or using the on-screen controls.

The Fly More bundle include the DJI RC-N3 Controller, which extends the transmission distance from 50m when using the app with the Neo’s WiFi to standard camera drone distances. 

These are, of course, governed by the aviation authority where you live. The RC-N3 Controller also makes the Neo behave like a camera drone, with standard controls and features such as Return to Home.

DJI Neo: features and performance

• Unremarkable flight speeds
• Intelligent flight modes
• AI subject tracking

The Neo is pretty pedestrian in terms of flight speed at just 1.11mph in Cine mode, 13.42mph in Normal mode and 17.89mph in Sport mode when flying autonomously or using the RC-N3 Controller. It feels slow but is certainly fast enough to track most subjects, including cyclists, with that top speed.

Flight speed is doubled to 35.79mph when using the DJI FPV Remote Controller 3 in Manual mode, so it does have some grunt tucked up its sleeve if you have the right controller and DJI Goggles 3. Not to mention, the skills and ability to fly in this mode alongside the cash available to purchase the controller and goggles if you don’t already own a set.

For beginners though, these speeds won’t cause any issues and the ability to fly the Neo with or without any other device, through voice control or manually like a camera drone using the DJI Fly app controls or the RC-N3 Controller is ideal. For drone-only use of the Neo, it can take off and land in the palm of your hand once the selected intelligent flight mode has completed, except for Follow mode.

(Image credit: James Abbott)

Intelligent flight modes include Follow, Dronie, Circle, Rocket, Spotlight and Custom (Omni, Helix, and Boomerang). AI subject tracking also aims to keep the subject in the centre of the frame during photo and video capture, so if you’re taking a group photo with the Neo, for example, you’d have to make sure you’re standing centre front.

The overall design of the Neo has safety in mind, and when used with the RC-N3 Controller you can enjoy GPS, an on-screen map and Return to Home. There’s no collision avoidance, but there are downward vision positioning sensors with a precision range of 0.5-10m. Plus, the Neo offers up to level 4 wind resistance, which is 18mph.

When used with the DJI RC Motion 3 Controller, as well as enjoying intuitive motion controls for FPV flight, you can also take advantage of Easy ACRO where you can Flip, Roll and 180° Drift the Neo. It’s an easy way to enjoy acro flight without advanced manual flight skills and is inherited from the Avata 2 when paired with the Motion 3. This is by far the easiest way to fly FPV flight.

DJI Neo: image and video quality

• 1/2-inch sensor
• Up to 4K 30fps video
• 12MP JPEG photos

The Neo features a 12MP 1/2-inch sensor which allows for 45 degrees of horizontal tilt when using Image Stabilization with either Rocksteady or HorizonBalancing modes. The camera provides a 117.6-degree field of view, with a full-frame equivalent focal length of 13mm, so nice and wide for close-to-subject tracking.

Keeping things simple, the aperture is fixed at f/2.8 with fixed focus providing focus from 60cm to infinity. The ISO range extends from ISO 100 to 6400 in both Manual and Auto shooting modes, with the shutter speed ranging from 1/8000 to 1/10 sec for photos and 1/8000 to 1/30 sec for video.

(Image credit: James Abbott)

Photo and video functionality is pretty basic, but you get everything you need at a consumer level with 4K video locked at 30fps with a bitrate of 75Mbps, so it’s reasonably compressed but not too much. 

The color profile is Standard for straight-out-of-camera footage, with no flat profile available for color grading within a professional workflow. Looking at the design of the Neo and the camera, it doesn’t look like it would support ND filters to control shutter speed, but I could be wrong.

Photos can only be captured in JPEG format, which is a shame but no big deal since DJI’s JPEG processing is respectable. Photos can be captured in 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios, with Single and Timed Shot available, so once again basic but adequate for a beginner drone.

There’s no microSD card slot on the Neo, but you do get 22GB of on-board storage which DJI says equates to 40 minutes of 4K 30fps video or 55 minutes of 1080p 60fps video. This can be transferred to the the DJI Fly App when connected to the Neo’s WiFi using Quick Transfer, or downloaded to your computer when the Neo is connected via the included USB-C PD cable.

How I tested the DJI Neo

• Limited access to features due to pre-release issues
• Flown with the DJI RC-N3 Controller
• DJI Fly app options checked

I was flying a pre-release version of the DJI Neo and faced several issues between my phone and the pre-release version of the DJI Fly app, which meant that the camera feed wasn’t showing in the app. 

This made simple autonomous flight impossible because the drone needs to see a face before it will take off. It was, however, possible to fly the Neo with my phone connected to the DJI RC-N3 Controller.

There was still no camera feed and capturing photos and video was impossible, but with GPS available and standard flight controls, I was able to test the flight performance. Plus, with the propeller guards.

I was able to confidently fly close to and through tight gaps; it wasn’t FPV, but it was still a clear advantage of the Neo’s design that provided enjoyable flights.

Once I have figured out the technical issues of the review sample provided by DJI for full control and photo / video capabilities, I will update this first impressions review with an in-depth review. 

First reviewed September 2024

DJI has enjoyed near-total dominance of the global consumer drone market for years, but more recently a couple of challengers have identified a gap in DJI's lineup – tiny selfie / FPV drones – and exploited this space to offer this new line of drones for beginners.

HoverAir's X1, successors for which have just been announced in the form of the Apple-esque monikered X1 Pro and X1 Pro Max, and BetaFPV's Cetus X were both well reviewed last year. Now, DJI is looking to take on those rivals with its latest model, the aggressively priced Neo, which is its smallest and lightest 4K drone ever.

• DJI Neo hands-on review

Weighing just 4.76oz / 135g, the Neo can take off from the palm of your hand, and capture stabilized 4K videos with AI subject tracking and DJI's Quickshots feature. It can track you and stick close, keeping you center of the frame for selfies with a difference, plus it can perform six automated flight moves: Boomerang, Helix, Circle, Rocket, Dronie, and Spotlight, before returning to your palm. 

It can be controlled without a remote, or paired with DJI's Fly app, remote controllers and FPV goggles, as well as being voice operated, while its tiny size and propellor guards allow you to safely maneuver into and around tight spaces. 

The DJI Neo also has a tempting standalone price tag of just $199 / £169 / AU$299 – in fact, I'd call that pretty aggressive pricing. The Neo Fly More Combo kit (including three batteries and an RC controller) costs £299 / AU$539 but isn't available in the US, where there's a Combo kit instead (three batteries, no controller) for $289. 

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(Image credit: DJI) Neo knows kung-fu

Positioned somewhere between the Ryze Tello beginner drone and DJI's FPV drone, the DJI Avata 2, the Neo is designed to be as simple a drone as they come, equipped with impressive flight and camera features to quickly elevate your flights skills and aerial content.

The simplest option for getting airborne is to select your desired shooting mode on the drone's mode button, after which the Neo takes flight from your palm, capturing 4K 30fps / 1080p 60fps video or 12MP stills, before returning to your hand, all without the use of a remote.

Alternatively, you can control Neo using the Fly app on your phone using virtual joysticks, or explore FPV piloting using DJI's Goggles (which are an extra cost). 

Whether you want to be intelligently tracked as you're moving, or after some cool flight moves from above, such as Boomerang, which sees the Neo fly in an oval pattern around you, the idea is that you won't need any prior drone experience to get the aerial shots you like.

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With single-axis stablization, DJI says the Neo can hover steadily in up to level 4 wind conditions. It packs 22GB of internal storage, which equates to around 40 minutes of 4K video or 55 minutes of 1080p video.

There's a built-in mic if you want audio too, with the app automatically eliminating propellor noise, while if you're serious about audio quality you can connect a Bluetooth mic such as the DJI Mic 2.

We're in the early days of conducting our full review of the DJI Neo. If it delivers on its impressive specs, it could be the gateway to aerial piloting and photography for a whole new wave of beginners.

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Apple’s Find My might have started on the tech giant’s own devices, but since then – even with the arrival of the AirTag – it’s made its way into countless other devices, all with the point of helping you track down an item. We’ve seen some unusual applications like Find My being used to track drink tumblers and now it's breached another uncharted gadget category.

Twelve South, known for higher-end and premium Apple accessories, just unveiled the PlugBug with Find My. A fast-charging wall plug with either 2 or 4 USB-C ports and Find My built-in to see where it is on the map and even get an alert if you leave it behind. Kind of genius, and in fact it’s the world’s first wall charger with Apple’s Find My built-in. 

PlugBug with Find My – which, yes, is an adorable product name – comes in two flavors. It is a US wall plug-compatible two-port 50W charger or a four-port 100W charger, priced at $69.99 / £69.99 / EUR $79.99 or $119.99 / £119.99 / EUR $139.99.

However, for folks traveling internationally or who live internationally, Apple will exclusively sell the PlugBug Travel at $79.99 for the 50W with two ports or $129.99 for the 120W with four ports, both paired with six international adapters (US, UK, EU, AU, KR, and CN). It's not too bad for just $10 USD more, and a carrying case is included, but this is exclusive to the United States.

Both PlugBug and PlugBug Travel are available for order now and will launch on September 16, 2024. While it won't initially be for sale in Australia, it is coming to that territory in the future.

Potentially, a very handy world’s first

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The advantage of any Find My-enabled tech is that you can easily see where it is on a map and ping it through your iPhone to have it emit a sound, which should help you find it. It works like a charm for the AirTag on my keys and even helped me track down a lost bag. 

In a wall plug, it is potentially beneficial, especially if, say, you’re using it at a hotel and are leaving, but in the hallway, you get a Find My alert that your PlugBug 50W was left behind. Rather than never seeing your wall charger again, you can go back and grab it. The same goes for working at a coffee shop, departing an office, leaving a friend's house, or even charging on an airplane or train. 

Like an Apple AirTag, you can set up and add the PlugBug via your iPhone within the Find My app, name it, and link it with your Apple ID (soon to be renamed Apple Account). Via the Find My app on your iPhone, iPad, or even Mac, you can see where it is on a map – alongside other Find My devices – and ping it to play a sound.

(Image credit: Twelve South)

It also doesn’t hurt that Twelve South gave the PlugBug a two-tone white and red design that will make it decently easy to spot. With either a two-port 50W or four-port 120W, you’ll find the wall plug on the back that flips back in when not in use for easy storage and the USB-C ports on the bottom. The PlugBug is fairly slim and compact, though not the slimmest we’ve ever seen. Inside, though, and powering the USB-C ports, is Gallium Nitride or GaN for a fast, safe charge.

That same tech will also help to split the power efficiently based on the plugged devices. With either the 50W or 120W, you can swiftly charge an iPhone, iPad, MacBook, AirPods, Apple Watch, and countless other devices.

I’m keen to try the Twelve South PlugBug with Find My, especially on a trip, to see how well it performs. At $69.99 or $119.99 sans any travel adapters or $79.99 and $129.99 with, it's a pretty good deal compared with other GaN chargers. You're also getting extra functionality that could prove very, very useful – especially if it saves you from leaving a wall plug behind.

If you’re sold on the PlugBug, you can order it directly from Twelve South. It will soon be available with the travel adapters from Apple, ahead of shipping and an official launch on September 16, 2024.

And if you need a wall charger sooner or don’t need one with this Find My integration, check out TechRadar’s recommendations here.

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