UPDATE: The Sonim XP10 has been added to the best rugged smartphones list.

TOUGHEST SMARTPHONES FOR INDUSTRIAL AND CONSTRUCTION WORKERS

TOUGHEST SMARTPHONES FOR PEOPLE THAT PRACTICE OUTDOOR SPORTS

Some screens won’t survive from falls even below 3 feet and there are stories on the web that some phones screens shattered simply by being carried inside the pocket (some previous models from Apple). So, for the people that don’t want to treat their cell phones like jewelry and don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a device that can shatter at any time, I have compiled a list of the best rugged smartphones that, although not indestructible (no phone can ever claim that), are as close as one can get to the perfect drop proof, shockproof and waterproof smartphone.

But, before that, you need to understand that the rugged smartphones are not really a homogeneous group and that, in reality, they are divided in a manner to be suitable for two main audiences: the ones that work in an industrial environment or in constructions and need a fully rugged, durable and no-compromises phone (where the internal specs are not a high priority) and the ones that need a mid-to-high-end smartphone which will survive the occasional fall (even face first) and that can handle splashes or even full submerges underwater (usually, active people who regularly practice different types of outdoor sports).

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2. Sonim XP10 Rugged Smartphone

Sonim seems to have gotten more serious about its rugged smartphones line and it recently made available a successor to the Sonim XP8 (which replaced the widely popular Sonim XP7). And it seems that the rugged exterior remains one of the device’s forte, but has Sonim also improved some of its core elements to make it more suitable for 2023? The rugged smartphone is guilty of putting everything in the tough department, while focusing a lot less on the screen and the inner components.

And it seems that despite what the price tag may suggest, the Sonim XP10 is not on par with the premium flagship smartphone on the market. Then again, the Sonim XP10 is not aiming to charm the general public, but it focuses towards a very specific niche audience which includes construction workers, electricians, the people that work at chemical plants and especially it is aimed at those that are the first responders while working in hazardous and emergency-type conditions.

This is enhanced by the FirstNet certifications, including Rapid Response, MCPTT QoS and Ready for Public Safety. The main idea behind the FirstNest suite of feature is to give the first responders access to a congestion-free broadband LTE network, ensuring that more lives can be saved). Furthermore, Sonim has also kept the Push-To-Talk function (the AT&T proprietary EPTT), which can prove to be a reliable tool in case of emergency or when the user needs a walkie-talkie-type of service (such as while hiking).

I couldn’t really see the Sonim XP7 or even the XP8 as elegant phones, but the point was for them to be designed in a manner to ensure that the device will be waterproof, it will survive falling on all kind of surfaces and that it can be used in dangerous environments. The Sonim XP10 follows the same footsteps, but there are some notable design-wise changes. The top protrusion for the antenna has gotten even smaller, now being a mere bump and the smartphone is also a bit thinner than the XP8, measuring 6.3 x 3.0 x 0.64 inches. And yes, it is a much larger phone overall.

Should a rugged smartphone be that large? Sonim and AGM say yes, while CAT says no. In any case, there are other elements that sets this rugged smartphone further apart from the regular Android handsets.
The ‘analogue’ front-facing buttons of the previous gen are gone, now being replaced by in-screen keys, but there is a SecureAudio connector (for any external speakers) on the side and a PTT button and the Emergency key (when pressed, it automatically sends the GPS location and the user should immediately be contacted by the emergency center).

Some other features that were the norm for a long time and are now turning to be something quite exotic are the removable battery and the microSD card, but Sonim is also guilty of removing the 3.5mm headphone jack (it was missing on the XP8 as well). The last curious addition is the two loud speakers that sit below the display with the fingerprint reader in between them.
Covering most of the front side, there’s the 5.5-inches IPS display with a resolution of 2,160 x 1080 pixels and 439ppi pixel density. The refresh rate remains 60Hz and, to get an idea about what to expect from a rugged smartphone in 2023, know that both the AGM G2 Guardian and the CAT S75 have 120Hz panels.

And don’t get me wrong, the Sonim XP10 is not a cheap smartphone by any means. Obviously, the display will do fine for normal media consumption, but, as expected, the colors don’t pop out as much as on an AMOLED display. Covering the screen and protecting the entire front side (expect for the buttons), there’s the Corning Gorilla Glass Victus which will do a good job protecting against scratches and, considering that the display may be vulnerable if the users drops the phone face-first, Sonim decided to surround the screen with a raised, protective lip.

The two aforementioned 100 dB+ speakers are very loud and surprisingly clear – the mics use Goodix Noise and Echo cancellation for a better call quality. I need to mention that you can still operate the rugged smartphone even if you have wet fingers or gloves.

The Sonim XP8 was able to withstand a lot of abuse and the XP10 didn’t lower the bar. The handset is IP68 and IPX9K rated, which means that it’s as close to being truly waterproof as possible; it can also survive corrosive chemicals and oils, extreme pressure and can withstand a lot of falls before taking actual damage (it’s MIL-STD-810H rated). So, similarly to its predecessors, the phone is not completely indestructible but it is one tough piece of work (probably one of the most durable smartphone available right next to the Panasonic rugged handsets).

Inside the case, the Sonim XP10 is equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon SM4350 Pro SoC (six-core Cortex-A55 clocked at 1.9GHz and dual-core Cortex-A76 clocked at 2.2GHz), 6GB of RAM, an Adreno 619 GPU and 128 GB of storage memory (you can add up to 1TB using the microSD card slot). As you can see, Sonim has made significant progress in the hardware performance department as well (the XP8 had 4GB of RAM, and a Snapdragon 630 chip), so the phone will feel more responsive, it will allow some light gaming and the multitasking will be handled better.

It’s still an entry-level chip which will raise some eyebrows considering the price tag of the rugged smartphone. The Sonim XP10 comes with Android 12 and it seems that the manufacturer has promised to upgrade the phone to Android 13 in the near future. Know that the rugged smartphones usually are stuck with the Android version with which they were released.

Moving on to the cameras, we can see that the Sonim XP10 sports a 50-megapixel main rear camera (can’t wait for the 1K+-megapixel cameras on the future phones) and an 8-megapixel wide-angle lens cameras. On the front, there is another 8-megapixel camera suitable for selfies. Just like almost all other rugged smartphones, the rear camera performs decent at best in good light but under-performs in low-light, but, let’s be honest, you won’t use the Sonim XP10 as your main shooter anyway.

Now let’s have a look at the battery. The XP8 had a quite impressive 4800mAh battery that could deliver up to 48 hours of normal usage and the Sonim XP10 aims to top that with its equally impressive 5000 mAh removable battery which, similarly to its predecessor, it will take about two full days of medium to high use until you’ll need to recharge the battery. One last appealing ‘feature’ is the three year warranty. Just like the XP7 and the XP8, the Sonim XP10 will be replaced if it breaks, without questions asked.

Verdict: The Sonim XP10 does feel like it is indestructible and, even if it made significant improvements in both looks and performance, it still isn’t entirely suitable for the wider audience (and I’m not sure that it tries to). That being said, the Sonim XP10 is definitely one of the most rugged smartphones available in 2023 and its mid-range performance will be enough for most of its users, while it will also be a great addition to not only workers in tough environments, but for people that practice outdoor sports as well.

It’s not that the other wireless chargers can’t output 15W or more, it’s just Apple that has made sure to limit the input at 7.5W if the device detects third-party hardware. We’ve unfortunately become accustomed to expect this type of behavior from Apple, so it’s nice to see that UGreen decided to include 15W wireless charging as an option for iPhones.

And I’ve noticed that UGreen has acquired a (good) habit of adding more variety to its GaN chargers, including a 300W unit that was capable to keep alive multiple laptops even at a higher load. Obviously, the UGreen 100W Mini MagSafe station will handle one laptop and a few other lighter devices (smartwatch, phone) and that’s more than enough for a single-user office. That being said, I did expect the UGreen 100W Mini MagSafe to look a bit different than the regular chargers and indeed it does.

The manufacturer went with a cylindrical case completely made out of plastic covered by a dark gray matte finish, with the the top and bottom being black. The device measures 3.5 x 2.4 x 2.4 inches (9.0 x 6.0 x 6.0cm), so it’s a bit bulkier than your regular 100W GaN charger – as a comparison, the GaN X is almost half its size. But there’s a good reason for it: the MagSafe wireless charger needed to be embedded in a proper way. Indeed, about half the device (the upper side) is occupied by the wireless charging components, but the heavier portion is at the bottom, which means that even if the upper section is put at an angle, the charger remains stable.

And yes, as I mentioned, it is possible to ‘open up’ the upper part in a similar fashion to a lid, allowing you to put the iPhone at an angle or you can just leave it flat. Since it’s a MagSafe charger, it is magnetic and it is powerful enough to keep my regular iPhone 12 attached with no chance for it to fall off. The angle can be adjusted the way you like it, so you don’t really need to put it almost vertically. The bottom of the charger has four silicone feet to keep the device steady even if multiple cables are connected.

And, on the rear side, there is a two-pin connector for the Power cable – the provided one is quite long (6.6 feet). On the lower front section, the manufacturer has added the three USB ports. One is USB-A port which can output up to 22.5W (10V / 2.25A), while the other two ports are USB-C. Both of them are capable of outputting the max 100W (21V / 5A) as long as only one is in use, otherwise, the output will be limited to 65W and 30W per USB-C port, depending on which is the first that is connected to a device.

If you decide to also use the USB-A port to its maximum, the output will be limited to 45W for the first USB-C, 30W for the second USB-C port and 22.5W for the USB-C port. There is, of course the wireless charging aspect that we need to take into account and if you decide to add it into the mix alongside all three USB ports, then the output will be limited to 45W and 25W for the USB-A – the wireless charging will remain 15W. There are some other variations, so I have added a photo with all the possible combinations for the simplicity sake.

I do need to mention that there is no LED and, while it’s far from a deal breaker, it’s nice to know if the device is powered. And this also takes us to the question on whether the UGreen 100W Mini MagSafe charging station uses any power when it’s in idle mode (no device connection). To check it out, I used a multimeter (gave up on the smart one that I used from Gosund and went with an offline tool) and the result was an average of 0.3W. So no, it’s not flat out 0W, but it’s very close to negligible.

If you don’t want to waste any energy whatsoever, then simply detach the cord from the outlet as soon as you’re done charging up a device. After that, I had to check the output of each port to see if the advertised values are accurate. Unfortunately, I don’t have a device that can be charged at 100W using a USB-C cable, but I still have the 13-inch MacBook Pro which does get above 50W when pushed to the limit. The MacBook Pro was almost to 0%, so it quickly drew an average of 58W (20.21V, 2.88A) and I connected a smartphone which was at 0% to the USB-A port.

I saw that it drew an average of 15W (7.33V, 2.06A) which is below the 22.5W limit, so it was interesting to see it stay there (perhaps a imitation of the multimeter?). In any case, I connected a secondary smartphone to the other USB-C port and I could see that the multimeter for the first USB-C port turned off and then turned back on.

Yes, the UGreen 100W Mini MagSafe charger has that power redistribution feature implemented and it seems that it isn’t affected by the USB-A port, but it does react as soon as the second USB-C is connected to a device (when disconnecting it as well) and it does react to the wireless charging. Connecting all ports and putting an iPhone at the top, we can see that the multimeter for the USB-C port showed that the output went from 58W to 43.6W. This shows the 45W limit in action.

I also wanted to see if an iPhone would indeed be charged at 15W, so I allowed my phone to get close to 0% (not a difficult task, unfortunately) and I put it on the UGreen 100W Mini MagSafe power station. Afterwards, I used the multimeter to check how much power the charger would draw from the outlet.

At its maximum, it was 21.9W, way above the 15W, but I assume that it’s just to push the phone quickly above the 10% because a few minutes later, the multimeter showed 15W and, about 20 minutes after that, it went lower to 8W. It’s not a consistent 15W, but that’s an observation I made with other MagSafe chargers (Benks InvisiBoost), so it seems to be normal to prevent battery wear.

As for protection, the UGreen 100W Mini MagSafe does have what’s called the Thermal Guard safe charging feature which takes 6000 temperature readings per minute to ensure that the device won’t overheat. Then again, GaN tech already keeps this possibility in check. As for the wireless charger, you do need to be careful not to put any metallic piece in between it and the phone (smartwatch or earbuds) to limit the risk of malfunction.

And I understand that this is the manufacturer’s way of standing out of the crowd, especially considering the price tag of the device, but the question is whether you should consider a budget slow juicer to being with? While I would always opt for the premium brands that have proven their worth over time, not everyone can afford the expensive options, and college students would most likely appreciate the relatively compact design of the Hazel Quinn slow juicer, as well as it’s chic look.

It’s a bit on the retro side, but it will fit in with most types of kitchen furniture. Some focus has also been put on a simple installation of parts, as well as the aforementioned simplified cleaning process, so, as we will soon see, the developers took some interesting decisions when they built the Hazel Quinn slow juicer (and yes, not all are that good). That being said, let’s check out the device and see if it manages to go above its similarly-priced peers and whether it may be better to invest in something more expensive in the long run.

Design and Build Quality

It’s pretty obvious that the Hazel Quinn slow juicer went for a retro look and the mint green color that covers the main body of the device is in tune with the newer kitchen design trends. There are also some faux-chrome elements, but I could feel no metal, it’s all variations of plastic.

In terms of size, the slow juicer is 9.8 inches-tall (25.0cm) and its footprint is 12.2 x 5.5 inches (31.0 x 14.0cm), so, while not that big, it will still take some space from your counter top. Out of the box, the Hazel Quinn slow juicer comes with the food processing unit detached from the main body, but with all its elements already installed. I forgot to mention that the food processing unit and most of its other elements are semi-transparent, so you can see the food crushing process while it’s happening.

The pusher is matte black, as well as the hopper and the outlet. The Hazel Quinn slow juicer comes with two containers, a larger one for the crunched food, the other for the juice and yes, one is slightly larger than the other. There are two things that I liked about the containers, one is that both have measurements and second is that it’s easy to pour liquids out of them. What I didn’t like was that both are made of BPA-free plastic – glass or stainless steel would have been a better choice, although I understand the budget restraints.

Also, the larger container could have been a bit taller to better accommodate the crushed fruits and vegetables. Now let’s have a closer look at the base unit. On its side, we can see the larger circular button which has four states. By default, it’s going to be set to 0 and, depending on the type of fruit or vegetable is being crushed, you can set the slow juicer to Soft or Hard. There is a third setting called Reverse which is useful in case the Hazel Quinn slow juicer gets stuck and need to force some pieces backwards.

On the bottom, there are six silicone feet to keep the device into place (the slow juicer is heavy enough to remain steady into place). Next to the feet there are two main openings, one for the fan and the other for the air inlet. Now let’s talk a bit more in depth about the food processing unit and its components / accessories. If we don’t take into account the hopper and the pusher, the unit comes already fully assembled, but it is possible to take out the outlet by rotating it clockwise (you may need to apply a bit of force to do so). Inside the outlet, we can see that there is a fairly small hole and a pattern that matches the one on the food processing unit.

I suppose the hole should be enough to push out most types of fruit and vegetables, but I am very sure that it will have trouble handling celery and other similar fibrous vegetables. Some other manufacturers have included additional means of crushing the food one last time before pushing it out, but this is not really an option on the Hazel Quinn slow juicer. Moving forward, we get to the juicing screw and the auger cover, and both seem to be made out of some type of plastic with a metallic rod holding crossing within both parts.

The blade of the auger is interestingly-shaped and we will soon see how well it manages to crush food. But there is one thing that I need to mention about the food processing unit. At the bottom, where the juice needs to come out, the manufacturer has added a cover which needs to be opened every time the juicer is used and, although it works, it is a bit of a strange approach.

In any case, what’s interesting is that there doesn’t seem to be a filter (screen) through which the juice needs to go through and that’s where the whole filter-free advertisement comes from. I mean, there is a sort of filter embedded within the plastic unit, but it’s non-removable and it seems to be easier to clean that the slow juicer that do use a separate filter.

Before moving forward, does the Hazel Quinn slow juicer use universal parts that can be easily replaced when the expected wear happens? No, everything needs to come form the manufacturer and it is possible that in the near future some parts will not be available at all (such as the case with most other budget-friendly devices, unfortunately).

Hazel Quinn Slow Juicer in action

Before anything else, I was curious about how noisy the Hazel Quinn slow juicer is, especially on the Soft setting. There are some surprisingly quiet slow juicer out there, such as the Omega VSJ843 or the Sana 727, but it’s necessary to also have a look at the price tag, because these two cost a lot more than the Hazel Quinn slow juicer (the latter is almost ten times more expensive at the moment of writing). After starting up the Hazel Quinn slow juicer, it’s pretty obvious that we are dealing with a loud device.

I measured about 64dB using the Soft setting, so it’s indeed noisy. Now let’s see how the device handles hard and soft vegetables / fruits. Carrots are an easy way to check if a slow juicer is able to properly crush hard vegetables, so I set the Hazel Quinn slow juicer to the Hard mode and then I fed it roughly 2.5 pounds of carrots (a bit over 1kg). And, as you can see from the video, the slow juicer will push the juice to the smaller container, while the crushed remains go on the front, into the larger container. There’s nothing out of the ordinary with the entire process, so let’s have a look at the end result.

While more than 90% of the cup was pulp-free, the last 10 percent of the cup is filled with thicker juice and at the bottom, the pulp gets way more noticeable. Not even the best slow juicers out there are capable to produce perfectly pulp-free juice, and, while the Hazel Quinn slow juicer does perform better than its similarly-priced peers, it isn’t as good as the more expensive models out there. Taking into account the price, I would say that it is a bit above average when crushing hard vegetables and fruit.

Next, I wanted to see how well it could handle apples and things got interesting. I prepared two apples and I set the juicer to work in Soft mode. As you can see, the leftover pulp was decently dry and I could barely squeeze some remaining juice out of it. At the same time, the juice had a lot of foam and, due to the smaller quantity, I could immediately tell that there was a very much noticeable quantity of pulp into the blend. I suppose that the reason why it’s so ‘pulpy’ is due to the embedded screen (filter) which has the openings wide enough for more apple pulp to slip in. So, for soft foods, the Hazel Quinn slow juicer is closer to average than how it was when I crushed hard vegetables.

How easy it is to clean?

The whole idea behind the screen-less design was to make the cleaning process an absolute breeze, so can the Hazel Quinn slow juicer manage to rise up to the expectations? You still have to take apart each piece and thoroughly clean it, but yes, you do get one less part to clean and it’s usually the most tedious one: the screen. So the Hazel Quinn slow juicer is indeed easier to clean than other similar devices. Also, be aware that the main body of the device (which contains all the electronic parts) should only be cleaned by a cloth and should not be submerged under water. Anything else, you can either wash by hand or put them into a dishwasher.

The Conclusion

Considering the price tag of the Hazel Quinn slow juicer, we are dealing with a surprisingly capable device, managing to crush both soft and hard fruits and vegetables. And sure, some pulp will end up in the juice, but it’s way less than what I expected at this price point. The device is not silent at all, regardless of the mode, but the screen-less design does work in its favor considering that it’s indeed easier to clean than other slow juicers. So, overall, I do recommend it if you’re looking for a budget-friendly option.

The original Curtain Rod could move a large variety of shades and that hasn’t changed that much – keep an eye on the weight because the stepper motors can handle a similar load on the newer device as on the second gen. But, the movement is smoother and apparently much quieter as well, and there has been a very heavy emphasis on compatibility.

The SwitchBot Curtain 3tries to be suitable for multiple sizes of rods and, while the device is mostly made of plastic, I noticed that the arms that go around the rod are made of metal (they’re fairly thick pieces). Another highlighted improvement is the installation process which seems to have been significantly simplified on the newer Rod generation. SwitchBot once again includes the small solar panel but the manufacturer has definitely heard the user complaints considering that it’s now designed in a manner in which actually makes sense.

Before, the solar panel would reach the sun rays only in very specific situations, but now, SwitchBot has added an extendable arm which ensures that the sun shines onto the panel, powering up the Curtain 3 pretty much indefinitely. Considering all the improvements that have been made, let’s put the SwitchBot Curtain 3 to the test and see if it’s going to find its place into a smart home.

Design and Build Quality

I have tested the SwitchBot Curtain U-Rail a couple of years ago and after putting it next to the SwitchBot Curtain 3, the newer unit is pretty much double in size. This is also true for the second generation as well.

The device measures 5.6 x 3.3 x 3.0 inches (14.3 8.4 x 7.6cm）, so it’s about twice as tall and, of course, it’s also heavier not only due to its size, but because it seems that more metal has been used when building the device. Will this have an impact on the unit’s functionality? Not really since as we will soon see, the movement is actually very smooth.

The motors are fairly powerful, but there are a few changes in the design from the first gen, such as the addition of two extra wheels on each arm, while the larger rubber wheel remained mostly the same. It’s worth mentioning that the metallic arms are retractable (accommodating even the thickest curtain rods) and the spring that operates them is powerful, so you do need to put a bit of force to retract the arms. The design of the SwitchBot Curtain 3 remains very similar to the second gen, so the unit is covered by a white matte finish and the two arms do connect to the sides using a couple of side buttons, just like before.

The USB-C charging port has been moved to the bottom and there is an important reason for this. While the solar panel for the previous gen Curtain could be attached to the side of the unit, the solar panel for the SwitchBot Curtain 3 is a bit different and needs to be attached from the bottom (the extendable arm pushes the solar panel lower). What I do like is that the manufacturer could have made the USB-C canal narrower, but they didn’t in order to allow third-party solar panels or any other USB-C cable to charge up the device.

Then again, the inner battery will last for a very long time in normal conditions (it’s advertised at about 8 months on a single charge), so the solar panel is a nice addition, but far from mandatory. The status LED has been moved to the bottom as well and it will start flashing quickly if the unit is in pairing mode, afterwards becoming solid.

When the Curtain 3 is charging, the LED will slowly flash white – the LEDs will behave the same whether we’re dealing with one or two units. The recessed Reset button is next to the LED and USB-C port, so you can’t miss it. To return the SwitchBot Curtain 3 to its factory settings, you need to hold the button for 15 seconds.

The Solar Panel

Just like on the first and second gen SwitchBot Curtain, the solar panel remains an optional device that can be purchased separately. And, while before it was positioned in an odd manner where the sun rays were unable to reach it, the developers thought of a clever trick. Instead of being attached to the side of the SwitchBot Curtain 3, the solar panel hangs from the USB-C cable and, with the help of an extendable arm, it can reach down to about 12 inches and a half.

It should be plenty even if the curtain is installed very near the ceiling. The main part of the solar panel is about as large as the average smartphone and besides the black portion (with the cells), the entire device is covered by a white matte finish. If you look a bit closely, you should be able to see that there is a sort of LED installed within a circular hole and that’s actually the brightness sensor. It doesn’t seem to really serve a purpose for the functionality of the solar panel, so I guess it’s an additional way to expand the functions of the SwitchBot Curtain 3 for better automation.

Now let’s talk a bit about the extendable arm. There are two portions, one moving sideways, while at the end there is a USB-C connector. And yes, there is a locking mechanism that’s strong enough to hold the solar panel into place. The way you can rotate the arm down or to the side is by clicking on the side button which will allow an almost complete rotation.

Again, it’s clearly a much better approach to adding solar power to a smart curtain system than before where the user had to rely on Velcro strips when the unit would not be low enough to reach the sunlight.

The Hardware Installation

This section is going to be brief simply because it’s very easy to install the SwitchBot Curtain 3. Take the main unit from the package and the two arms, put the arms on the rod and then simply extend them to attach the main unit in the middle. That’s about it. I do need to mention that it’s advisable to attach the device before the last ring of the curtain.

If the curtain is grommet-type, then you may need to also add the beads fixer (which is in the package), but in my case, I didn’t really need it, so it’s up to you. There is an extra step which again is optional, but can help make the SwitchBot Curtain 3 more precise – you can add the provided magnet attachments in the middle, exactly where you want the units to stop moving.

The strips need to be glued to the bottom of the rod. If you have a solar panel, simply extend the arm, attach it to the SwitchBot Curtain 3 and then put the panel at a slight angle for the sun rays to reach it better. Ideally, you would use two of the same units, one going to the right, the other to the left to get a better experience, but it’s entirely possible to use a single SwitchBot Curtain 3 if the curtains are not that wide.

The Software Installation

The mobile application accompanying the SwitchBot Curtain 3 is the same SwitchBot app available for both Android and iOS. I also need to mention that SwitchBot has made serious progress in the smart home market and it has released a hub which supports Matter. If you intend to build a smart home where Matter will be at its core, then the SwitchBot hub will be a must. Otherwise, if you’re not afraid to troubleshoot a bit, then the Home Assistant remains the best option for a unified smart home system which is also open-source.

That being said, I opened the SwitchBot app and logged into my existing account to access the GUI. Be aware that using this app will require data collection which can include precise location, data about your smartphone and network, and pretty much anything that’s collected by the SwitchBot device’s sensors. As you can see, even after creating the account, the app still asks for access to precise location (not mandatory, so I suggest against it).

To add the SwitchBot Curtain 3, click on the Plus icon, select Add Device and you can either add the device manually or automatically, via Bluetooth. For the latter to happen, you need to press and hold the button on the Curtain 3 until the LED light starts flashing white. Then, following the guide, you can add the second unit as well (again, press the button until the LED flashes). After that, you can create a Room for the smart curtains and the app will give you access to the Pictorial and the Video Guide for installing the device suitable for Ring Top, Grommet and Tab Top / Back Tab type of curtains.

You can now follow the steps to properly install the device (you can skip it) and then we get to the Calibration section. I noticed that there are two ways to run the calibrating process: automatically (Smart Calibration) or manually (Custom Calibration). I had to try out the first to see how well it functions and it’s what you would expect: the units start from the closed curtains point and then slide until they encounter resistance signaling that they reached the end of the rod.

Afterwards, the SwitchBot Curtain 3 unit/s will just return to the starting position memorizing the path for future use. To get a perfectly accurate closing position, you can use the magnets. And that’s about it, you now gain access to the extra functions on the app.

The App

You will be able to see the smart curtains in the Dashboard under the room you’ve set for them and a quick tap will summon a small window at the bottom. Here, you can Open or Close the curtains, as well as partially opening them (by percentage) without having to go layers-deep into the app, which is a nice touch. Tapping More will show a better animated display of the state of the SwitchBot Curtain 3 units (including the battery life) and tapping the arrow at the bottom will summon a few new settings. The first one is the Sync Control which when disabled, will allow you to control each side separately.

Then, there’s the Delay section which allows you to choose when the QuietDrift feature will be enabled – basically, you can set a schedule for when the SwitchBot Curtain 3 will run very quietly. There is also a dedicated Schedule section and there are two extra options which are only usable if you use a solar panel. I do have a couple of them, so I connected the solar panels to the 3 units. The app detected them pretty much immediately and I do have a hunch that the brightness sensor is used for detection (I guess that third-party panels will not enable these extra functions).

Now we gain access to the Auto-charging section where you can set schedules for when the units will move to find the best place to charge themselves using the solar panels. Lastly, we get the Light Sensor section which will simply show how much power was generated by the solar panels over a set period of time (from 24 hours to 7 days). You thought we were done, but there is more. If you tap on the cogwheel on the right side, it will take you to the Settings section and here, it’s possible to run the calibration again, enable Cloud Services, pair a remote and some other options.

The interesting thing about the Cloud Services is that you won’t be able to use Google Assistant, Alexa, Siri or IFTTT without this feature being enabled. And yes, you do need a hub to use the Internet services properly. The remote also requires the use of a hub, so it’s not an offline option (I have tested the Hub 2 and the Hub Mini if you’re interested in them). There is an Advanced Settings section available and here, there’s only the Touch & Go option which basically tells the device to open or close the curtains if you push it for more than 5cm.

The SwitchBot Curtain 3 in Action

After installing the two SwitchBot Curtain 3 units, let’s see how well they perform. The first thing that I noticed is that the units have a bit of force and could move even some heavier curtains – the advertised maximum weight is 33 lbs (or 15kg) which covers a very wide range of possible curtains. The Touch & Go function worked really well and, by default, the movement is fast, but a bit noisy. It could easily reach close to 50dB which is not loud per se, but could wake up a person that’s sleeping (for example, a newborn and you don’t want that).

The good news is that the SwitchBot Curtain 3 can move very slowly and make a negligible amount of noise, something in the range of 30-35dB, so pretty much close to no perceptible sound. The control from the app is simple and intuitive, plus you get to adjust the position for one or two units down to mere inches. As expected, you do need to have a good WiFi connection, but it doesn’t have to be anything fancy since everything will happen on the 2.4GHz (which is now pretty much left for IoT and smart devices). If you don’t want to deal with the app, then you can use the remote and you can map the keys on the app however you want.
But I do admit an offline means of using the SwitchBot Curtain 3 would have been nice, and I had hoped that the remote would offer this experience. Unfortunately it does not. As for the solar panels, I have ridiculously high ceilings and the curtain is positioned very high, but even in these conditions, the arms extended down enough as to reach the sun rays. There isn’t much else to say as so far everything works as intended and once again, SwitchBot is better than most of its competitors at ‘smartening up’ normal objects (I mean just look at how well they did with the SwitchBot Lock).

The Conclusion

The SwitchBot Curtain 3 is without a doubt the best solution to retrofit your existing curtains to make them smart. Are they an essential part of a smart home? Not really, but it’s nice to have most of the stuff automated – at a certain hour, the curtains open or close, working together with other smart objects. Additionally, the people that have disabilities will appreciate the higher degree of independence that comes from using smart devices. If you need another reason, I suppose it could also be seen as a security measure when you’re not home – to give the impression that someone is always at home. That being said, the SwitchBot Curtain 3 is easy to install, easy to use and versatile enough for most people.

I am familiar with the Night Chroma tech from when it came out and, while the F/1.0 aperture, the active alignment tech and the 100 feet supplemental light remained unchanged, there are a few improvements that are worth mentioning. First, we get a bigger BSI sensor (1/1.8 vs 1/2.7) and the most significant upgrade has been at the algorithm level, so the ANNKE NCPT500 should be better at detecting movement and be faster at sending you alarm notifications.

I have tested other ANNKE cameras and the detection processing is done locally, although we will see if the notifications need to pass through their servers, as it happens with Reolink cameras. Of course, one of the most important features is the ability to remotely pan and tilt the camera, and ANNKE has made sure that it is possible to do so at a very wide angle (340 degrees horizontally). There is also available the two-way communication option and the camera can be powered via PoE or regular adapter, but it cannot communicate using WiFi. So, let’s power up the ANNKE NCPT500 and see how well it performs.

Design and Build Quality

Outdoor-suitable cameras are usually much larger than the regular IP cams and they’re also a bit more strangely designed. More so than the regular bullet-type camera. The ANNKE NCPT500 does measure 6.4 x 4.7 x 9.2 inches (23.4 x 16.2 x 12.0cm) so it’s going to be very much noticeable regardless of the place you mount it.

And I have seen that there is a built-in support which allows both wall and ceiling mounting, but looking at its shape, I tend to believe that ANNKE wanted this camera to be installed on a ceiling. The stand is L-shaped and, if you mount it on the wall, a piece of plastic will hang above it (not really the most aesthetic-pleasing approach). Furthermore, the camera is IP66-rated which makes it pretty much completely dust-proof and it will also survive sprays of water directed towards the enclosure.

Rain should not harm the ANNKE NCPT500, but it’s still better to keep it covered as much as possible (why ceiling mounting is better in this case). The NCPT500 will remain operational as long as the temperature ranges between -22° to 122°F (-30° to 50°C), so it’s suitable for most parts of the Earth, for now. The camera is entirely made of plastic, the top part which holds the panoramic movement motor being covered by a white matte finish, while the bottom section (with the lens) is matte black.

We can see the speaker above the ANNKE logo immediately above the lens area and there is also a microphone next to the camera lens, while underneath it, there are two LED supplement lights. The concept is the same as on the ANNKE NC400 and the newer Reolink CX410: if there are enough light sources, then the color night vision will work just fine, otherwise, to cover a very dark area, these two LEDs will shine a soft light to help the camera “see” better.

I have already mentioned that the pan movement is 340 degrees (almost full circle), but the tilting movement is a bit more limited, going between -5° to 105°. Still plenty enough to see up and down, so there are very few unreachable blind spots. If you move the lens section down, you will be able to see that there is a piece of plastic held by a couple of screws and inside it, there’s a lot going on. First, there’s the microSD card slot which supports an addition of up to 256GB of storage memory.

Then, we can see the Reset button and lastly, there’s what I assume to be a Console connector that most likely can be used for programming and maintenance. Lastly, I need to mention the cable that’s attached to the camera through the stand and which gets divided into the Ethernet PoE cable (10/100Mbps, so it’s Fast Ethernet) and the 12V Power adapter connector (which is protected by a silicone cover). Also, know that there is no Power cable in the package.

ANNKE NCPT500 Teardown

The ANNKE NCPT500 is very easy to open since all you need to do is remove the four screws at the top (using the Allen key provided in the package) and, after disconnecting the small cable (for the power), I could identify the H16111CE high PoE+ (700mA) chip on the small board. Moving forward, we can see the Pan motor and the silicone seal which prevents water from entering the enclosure.

I could not go further than that this way since I would have had to detach the speaker and other parts that I just did not feel comfortable to do so. Instead, I removed the four screws from the spherical part (with the lens) and this way, I got access to the two PCBs. I could identify the 16MB of flash storage (GigaDevice 25Q128ESIG) and that’s about as far as I went. Now let’s talk about the thermal management – I have attached a photo to show just how hot the ANNKE NCPT500 can get.

Installation and App

The hardware installation of the ANNKE NCPT500 camera is pretty straight-forward, all you need to do is insert the four screws from within the bracket, but it’s worth mentioning that there is a waterproof gasket which will prevent any short from happening due to water ingress (I would still use a small plastic box to keep this cable connection safe). After that, download and install the ANNKE Vision app, and then, after having to accept the Terms, as well as the Privacy Policy (the data that goes through the app will be collected, as well as some info from the device, so make sure to read the terms before accepting them), you can create an account.

It needed an email and after logging in, I was asked whether I wanted to give it access to the precise location (it does not need it). Next, it asked whether I allowed it to show notifications which are necessary if you want to know when the camera detects movement. After that, I made sure that the camera was connected to the router and the app immediately saw it and asked if I wanted to activate it.

Next, I could enter the password, while the user name remained hardcoded (admin), but what was interesting was that I was asked whether I wanted to Add the Device to Annke Vision Server or if I wanted to Add the Device to View in LAN. Of course, I chose the latter (it’s nice to have multiple options and not be forced to go through the manufacturer’s servers).

Lastly, I gained access to the app and we can see the live view covering the top part of the screen, while below, there’s a suite of options, although about half of them are grayed out. You can change the image quality (Clear, Fluent and Custom), choose the Noise reduction level, start recording or capture a photo, as well as trigger the audible alarm. Tapping on the three dots on the top right will give you access to the Settings and, initially, I thought that these are the available options, but no, tap on the three dots on the bottom right to summon the Remote Configuration / Remote Controller, and choose the first one.

Here, the most important sections are the Recording Schedule to set when the camera will record, and the Normal Event which will let you enable the Motion Detection and the Video Tampering Alarm. It does feel a bit of a maze, but this is how the app was built. The good news is that the web-based interface has a better layout and more options.

The Web-based interface

The ANNKE cameras usually offer more options when using the web-based interface, more so than the app, so, using the local network, I accessed the local GUI. I had to check what the IP address of the ANNKE NCPT500 was (from the router’s interface) and then I just entered the password that was previously set (the user remains admin). You may need to install a plugin (check the upper right corner) and then the Live View window should show the footage.

On the right side, you should see the PTZ arrows which will allow the movements of the camera and next to it, there’s the General settings to adjust the image (brightness, contrast, saturation and sharpness). Additionally, you can change the OSD and the Video/Audio settings. The next main section is the Playback where you can filter by date and by hour, and scroll through the hour to see stored videos. Under Picture, you can download any videos and the there’s the Configuration window where you can adjust pretty much any aspect you may want.

The main area of interest remain the Events (Basic Events) where you can change three suite of settings: Motion Detection, Video Tampering and Exception. It’s possible to draw the area of detection and you should be able to see the detection happening in real-time, which is excellent. Lastly, you should visit the Storage area to configure the way the videos will be stored (based on the trigger) and choose which storage devices will be used.

Using an NVR

The experience of using a third-party NVR was very similar to when I tested the ANNKE FCD600. I also used the Reolink RLN8-410 v2 NVR since I don’t have an ANNKE NVR available and, while the process was simple, the end result has been a bit weird. What you need to do is first go to the ANNKE NCPT500 interface and from the Network > Advanced Settings > Integration Protocol and Enable Open Network Video Interface. I also added a new user for simplicity sake.

Then, I connected the camera to the Reolink NVR and I added a new camera with the correct options: the IP, the port, the user name, password and don’t forget to select ONVIF since it won’t detect it as IP. For whatever reason, it didn’t work, but what did end up working was connecting the camera directly to the router (also possible to use a PoE switch in between). This way, the live footage appeared from the NVR.

But, since it has to go through multiple ‘hops’, there is a very noticeable delay. So, I think that most of you will prefer just relying on Blue Iris and yes, the process is somewhat similar since, after allowing the software to detect the camera, I entered the credentials and I got access to the camera live footage – the delay is not as bad, but it’s still there. At the end of day, there is a clear bias towards ANNKE NVRs, so the third-party experience is not as good.

The Image Quality

The ANNKE NCPT500 uses a 5-megapixel sensor with 1/1.8″ progressive scan CMOS and the resolution is 3K (3072 x 1728 pixels) which should be more than enough for home surveillance. And, to see the image quality during the day, this time I managed to get a cloudy day (no more of that bright streets) and, as you can see form the footage, everything in the camera’s vicinity is visible and clear.

It’s very much possible to see people from hundreds of feet away, but just their silhouettes and, while I have managed to see the plate number with other cameras, I could not get a clear view of the plate number of the parked car you see in the video. The colors seem to be more accurate than on the slightly over-saturated Reolink cameras and the focus is on point when I moved the camera around (it’s fast!). I also noticed that near the left and right side of the video, the image does curve enough to be noticeable, but it doesn’t seem to take away anything in terms of clarity.

Furthermore, viewing angle is approximately 106 degrees horizontally and about 57 vertically. But we can see far more than that moving the camera around. Now let’s talk a bit about how fast the motors are. Since the ANNKE FCD600 relies on a cabled connection, it’s somewhat free from WiFi-related issues and every time I gave a command from either the app or the web-based interface, the camera would immediately start to move.

I say somewhat because you’re still at the mercy of the WiFi network to which your phone or your computer is connected. As you can see from the video, the motors are powerful enough to quickly move the camera and the footage fairly quickly becomes clear after the change in position. Moving on to the night vision footage, you will notice that I have not included a black and white video and that’s because the ANNKE NCPT500 seems to only record colored night-time videos.

Additionally, the warm light is always turned on or at least I did not find a way to turn it off from either app or the web interface. In any case, I saw that some of the light sources are slightly overblown which may have been alleviated by a more powerful light source, so I suggest you position the camera in an area where there is little or no external light since that’s where you will get the best image quality. It’s worth mentioning that the shadows weren’t too dark, so people can’t hide there and pretty much all was visible as during the day, although a bit less detailed.

The Smart Motion Detection

The ANNKE NCPT500 does have smart motion detection and it’s a capable system, but I do have the same complaints that I had when I tested the ANNKE FCD600. And it’s not about the functionality or the performance, it’s about the configuration. ANNKE insists on burying these features deep into the app and they’re not even enabled by default. If you read the previous sections, you know that most of them can be found under the Event (or Basic Event) but you do need to go several layers deep to access these features. That being said, the motion detection works really well and I mean it.

It is surprisingly accurate and it can detect movement from very far away. In my tests, during the day, the camera ‘saw’ a person from about a quarter of a mile away, which is impressive. I could also see the way the algorithms work and I added a video so you can see as well. When I moved the camera, almost everything will trigger the alarm, as expected and it seems to persist for a good few minutes before the ANNKE NCPT500 decided that a certain area is no longer worthy of interest.

I was unable to find a way to switch between human, vehicle or pet detection, but the general detection system seems to work really well. What about the notifications? Reolink decided to pass the notifications through their servers which has added a very much noticeable delay. Depending on the type of control (remotely or LAN), you can get an instant notification or with a very slight delay (better than on Reolink camera), depending on your WiFi connection.

The Conclusion

The ANNKE NCPT500 was designed to be suitable for very dark environments, where the soft light LEDs will ensure that everything is visible. Furthermore, the NCPT500 is also the only camera from the series to support pan and tilt movements, both working smoothly and fast. All that at a surprisingly budget-friendly cost. The main weakness remains the software which is still complicated for casual users, but I did enjoy the huge amount of options that are available. That being said, if you need a pan/tilt night vision camera, the ANNKE NCPT500 will not disappoint.

And no, the output of a single port does not reach 300W, the maximum for the first USB-C connection being 140W, so in a sense, it’s similar to the UGREEN Nexode 140W, but the second and third USB-C connection can go up to 100W (one at a time), while the fourth can reach the remaining 45W. So, it’s not about powering up a single powerful device, but multiple still-very-much-demanding gadgets.

Be it three laptops or more. I wouldn’t mind seeing gaming laptops being kept alive by a GaN charger via the USB-C, but at the moment, the manufacturers are still working towards pushing the output towards 240W, while maintaining the device affordable and compact, so it’s going to take a bit more. Which is why the UGREEN Nexode 300W will be more suitable for an office with multiple work-focused machines (since the discrete GPUs are a known power hog). I did mention that there is a focus on compactness, but is the UGREEN Nexode 300W truly compact?

Kind of. The device measures 4.3 x 3.7 x 1.9 inches (11.0 x 9.5 x 5.0cm), so it’s not small by any means, but is it compact when compared to the 250+ W laptops chargers out there? Absolutely yes and much better looking as well. Indeed, the UGREEN Nexode 300W is covered by a soft matte finish and there is a plastic shell that wraps around the device, enhancing the look of the rounded corners. The GaN charger is not going to look out of place on the desk and you don’t have to hide it away as you would with the regular laptop power bricks.

On the rear side, there is a three-pin power connector which is universal, so it’s possible to use third-party cables (kudos to UGREEN for this) and the dedicated cable itself is quite long, comfortably reaching a power outlet from the table. Beneath the charger, we see that there are two large rubber feet that do keep the device into place and it’s also worth mentioning that the UGREEN Nexode 300W is not lightweight, which means that it’s very difficult to make it budge when there are multiple cables attached.

And this takes us to the front of the GaN charger where the manufacturer has added the four USB-C ports and the single USB-A port. There is no LED light that shows when the unit it powered up which I guess can be seen as a minus by some, while those that position the UGREEN Nexode 300W in the bedroom will welcome having less lights shinning in their eyes. The uppermost USB-C port offers an output of 140W (28V/5A), while the USB-C2 and USB-C3 can reach up to 100W each (20V/5A), but if you’re using the first USB-C port, then only one of them will reach the maximum 100W, the other automatically being limited to 60W.

The fourth USB-C port can reach up to 45W (20V/2.25A), but, know that it will get limited to 20W if all ports are connected and charging devices. The last port, the USB-A offers an output of 22.5W (10V/2.25A) and it’s pretty much unfazed by any other connection, but we will see if it will disconnect the moment we attach or detach a device. Before that, I need to mention that inside the package, UGREEN has included a long USB-C to USB-C cable (6.6 feet) and it’s a very peculiar one.

The cable is rated at 240W, so it’s a bit overkill for our needs, but it’s still nice to see it as an accessory to the UGREEN Nexode 300W charger. With that out of the way, I wanted to check the accuracy of the power output claims. The problem is that I still don’t have devices that require 140W – well, I do, but none support USB-C charging. So, I will still be using the 13-inch MacBook Pro that I used before, which can go up very near 60W when pushed to the maximum. I know that the 16-inch MacBook Pro uses a 140W charger, but yeah, I am budget constrained, so the 13-inch model will do.

Also, I think that the reason why nobody is that keen on going above 140W is because there are no devices that require it at the moment. In any case, I connected the MacBook Pro and, since it wasn’t near 0%, the computer wanted about 50W of power, while the voltage was 20.09V and the amperage, 2.5A and it’s a bit curious considering that the specs mention 5A for 20V.

Anyway, I then played with the other USB ports and, as expected, I couldn’t really push either of them to the maximum, but it’s worth mentioning a very important aspect. If you have been using other GaN chargers, you know that most have a very nasty habit of disconnecting the devices that the charger is powering up when you connect or disconnect a new device. This happens when the manufacturer didn’t want to include a finer system of detecting the required output, so it just disconnects all devices to start over.

The good news is that this doesn’t happen with the UGREEN Nexode 300W and it means that you can connect devices that require continuous power. And it’s an advantage that it has over the UGREEN Nexode 140W. I was wondering just how energy efficient the charger is and I know that the GaN technology should ensure that very little heat is wasted, but we are dealing with a higher output than usual, so is it better than the regular large charging bricks (that I used to use to heat up my feet during the winter)?

It is and I have added a photo of the thermal performance to see for yourself. It’s going to heat up a bit near the front, but it never gets hot to the touch. Additionally, the manufacturer uses the ‘Thermal Guard system’ which continuously monitors the inner temperature (6000 readings per minute), so it can quickly stop any issues such as excessive current, overcharging or overheating. But there is a certain cost to these readings, although very close to negligible.

I disconnected all the devices and used a multimeter to check how much power the UGREEN Nexode 300W requires while it’s in idle mode. As you can see, it’s about 0.2W (although it’s a bit lower since it fluctuates between 0 and 0.2W). Again, it’s negligible, but if you don’t use the charger, it’s best to disconnect it from the power outlet since it can add up in time.

The manufacturer says that the projected beam has up to 95% uniformity (at the bottom of the resin tank) and, due to the use of tempered glass, there is less light diffusion as well as less chance of stray light interference. There is also anti-aliasing algorithms for smoother surfaces.

This should translate to more accurate printed models and the resolution of the projector is 2560 x 1440 voxels, so the models should also be detailed. But is this the native resolution, because Texas Instruments (the chip manufacturer) prefers to use a particular type of upscaling. I didn’t find any info about this online, so I just peaked through the glass to check for myself.

From what I could gather, the 3D printer relies on the DLPC1438 controller from Texas Instruments, same as the Anycubic D2, so it does not seem to be native 2K resolution. The software that comes with the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP is called Voxeldance Tango and I am curious to see how easy it is to use, so let’s put the 3D printer to the test and see how it performs.

The Design and Build Quality

Since we’re dealing with a DLP 3D printer, the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP has a fairly small footprint, while also being quite tall. The device measures 17.8 x 9.7 x 9.1 inches (45.3 x 24.6 x 23cm) so it’s not going to occupy that much space from your desk, but we both know that you can’t just leave the printer anywhere to do its thing.

We need a tray to prevent resin from spilling on the desk or floor, so make sure to leave a bit more space for the printer. The Elegoo Mars 4 DLP has a very similar design and look to the other budget-friendly resin 3D printers out there, so there’s a smaller base which is solid and heavy enough to keep the unit into place, and then there’s the upper part where there’s the Z-Axis arm hidden by an Anti-UV cover (it’s red and semi-transparent).

Since the device relies on the DLP technology, the plate is not really that big, so bear in mind that the build volume cannot exceed 5.9 x 5.2 x 2.9 inches (15.0 x 13.3 x 7.5cm). The base is covered by a black matte finish and it is made of plastic (there are also four feet to keep it steady). Covering the top of this base, we should be able to see the red metallic plate that’s fairly heavy (it’s thick) and above it, there’s the resin tank kept into place by a couple of knobs. It’s worth mentioning that unlike the Elegoo Mars 3 where you had to slide the tank out of a couple of brackets, the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP can be raised up after removing the two knobs.

The resin tank does have a Max limit printed on the side, so you don’t overfill it. The build platform is also made of metal (same as the Z-Axis) which is a very nice touch, and yes, you will have to install the platform yourself. Not that it’s a complicated process – just slide it into the designated space and then use the knob to fix it into place.

I have mentioned in the intro that the DLP technology ensures far less energy consumption than the alternatives and it has also allowed the Elegoo Mars 4 to opt for a fanless design. There are a couple of ventilation areas on the rear side of the base, but I have actually opened the device and can confirm that there is no fan. And the 3D printer does not get that hot while operating – I checked it with a thermal camera – and the major advantage is that the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP is significantly quieter than (M)SLA printers.

On the right side of the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP, there is a small area which has a USB port for connecting a flash drive (there is one in the package), an On/Off switch and the 12V power connector. On the front of the 3D printer, there is a somewhat small screen, but the icons are big enough and yes, we’re dealing with a touch-screen display which does work decently well.

The Display

The Elegoo Mars 4 DLP has a 3.5-inch touch screen display and, while it seems the same as on the Mars 3, there are some differences in terms of software, mainly the icons design and layout. After powering up the 3D printer, you’ll be able to choose between Tool, System and to head straight to the Print.

Under Tool, you can adjust the build platform height manually, change the Exposure type, Set Z to 0 and change the Focus (there’s a typo there). The System area is where you can read some Info about the device (only between Chinese and English) and get the necessary info for contacting Elegoo in case of a problem. Under Print, you can choose between the models that are available on the flash drive.

Elegoo Mars 4 DLP Teardown

You didn’t really believe I would stop at only checking the visible components from the top screen, did you? No, I had to see if there are some fans and check some other components, so I detached the front section (with the display) after removing the screws that held it into place. And then, I took out the screws that held the top part, allowing me to detach it along with the Z-Axis section.

This way, I could clearly see the Texas Instruments DLPC1438 DLP 3D print controller (for 0.3-inch 3.6-megapixel DMDs), the ARM STM32F401 microcontroller running at 84MHz, the GigaDevice GD32E230 ARM Cortex-M23 32-bit MCU and the Altera EP4CE15M9C7N FPGA.

Installation and Precautions when Printing with Resin

As with other resin 3D printers, the installation process is ridiculously simple because almost everything comes already put into place. The plate needs to be attached, obviously, and you do need to remove the stickers underneath the resin tank. Power up the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP, add the flash drive and we should be ready to add resin. I got the gray resin from Elegoo and all I had to do is pour it into the tank, making sure not to go above the Max limit icon.

If you have never used a resin printer, know that things are very different than when using a filament 3D printer and that’s mostly because resin is toxic to both the environment and humans, so it does need special handling. Which is why you should use the gloves, the mask and the air purifier from the box. I suggest you use better masks since these are a bit superficial, but always handle resin with gloves – it’s not a bad idea to use glasses as well in case either resin or alcohol splashes towards your face.

And it is entirely possible since I have had trouble getting some models from the plate with ease – it always ends up with splashes everywhere. The way you can clean the resin tank, the plate and the models are with isopropyl alcohol (99%). Ideally, you would have two containers, one for the initial submersion where the alcohol gets dirty quicker due to all the resin. Then, use a second plastic container with isopropyl alcohol for the last cleaning (it should be cleaner).

The models will most likely have supports that need to be removed after the isopropyl alcohol bath – you can use a cable snip if there are some stubborn ones, but if done right after taking the model from the 3D printer, the supports should be easy to remove even by hand alone. Then, the models need to be given time to cure – you can leave them outside if it’s sunny or just use a curing station (it does cost a bit though).

Another precaution that I take is to put an aluminum tray underneath the printer itself, so, if some resin drops from the plate when I detach it from the Z-Axis, it does not damage the table. I have mentioned that I had some trouble detaching certain models from the plate and I think that’s because the scrapper is not really that sharp, so I always end up scratching the plate which in turn leads to more difficult-to-remove models as time goes on. Also, make sure that the UV-protective cover is always in place to avoid any accidental curing from the sun.

Is the air purifier useful?

If you have to print models in a small space where there is limited airflow, the small air purifier will help, but I do suggest going for a proper, large purifier to remove the toxic fumes. I know that Elegoo has made available some mini purifiers which had an inner battery and the user would just leave them inside the enclosure (underneath the UV-protective cover), but the air purifier that I got in the package is a bit different.

It has a USB-A connector, so you can attach it to the side of the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP, but there are a couple of problems. One is that it may not be powerful enough to handle an entire room (which is why within the enclosure is better) and secondly, the device does not stay connected to the side of the 3D printer since it’s too long. Which is why you need to make a support for it – you can print a piece.

What about the carbon filter? Can it be easily replaced? You can get a filter from Elegoo or you can just get an universal one that can be cut to fit the air purifier.

The Software

The Elegoo Mars 4 DLP comes with a dedicated software called the Voxeldance Tango, an alternative to Chitubox and yes, while the latter is open-source (and free), the former does require the purchase of a serial number. The good news is that we do have the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP unit and it’s possible to use the serial number from the Info section (from under Settings) to activate the software (just follow the steps from the user manual).

Afterwards, it’s advisable to set the correct parameters for the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP and to so, just click on Platform Definitions > Printer > ELEGOO MARS 4 DLP. You can also choose the parameters suitable for the Resin you’re using. At this point, you can go right ahead and add models – you can move them around, rotate them, duplicate, scale, just do anything as long as the model/s remain within the printable area. It’s also incredibly important to add more than one model at a time, just fill the platform completely (don’t overlap though).

And that’s because height is the most time-consuming part, while the horizontal size does not matter. So, to cut the time of printing, just fill the platform as much as you can to print them at the same time. Be aware that the software will usually ask to correct a newly added model and it’s wise to let it do its thing. But understand that it will eat up all the RAM if the model is complex – for example, I added the head of the Medusa model and the Voxeldance Tango took 28GB of RAM (out of 32GB) to finish fixing it in about an hour.

The software also does allow the option to hollow a model and perforate it, to ensure that the extra resin will go out. And there is also the option to add supports. I admit that I am lazy and prefer to print models that have the supports already added, but know that the option to add them is there if you need it. Lastly, after the models are ready, just click on Slice to let it do its thing. Save the model and put it on the flash drive to be printed.

The Printing Performance

After pouring resin in the tray, I decided to print the model that was already on the flash drive. It’s called the Test Rook and it does have some very interesting patterns, such as the inner stairway and the two seemingly frail strings that go around each other.

I honestly have found no fault in this model – the stairs look perfect, so does the spiraling lines and the top-side ‘bricks’ are rectangular and don’t differ in size. I did have some trouble detaching the model from the plate, so I guess some sort of base that can be easily detached would be welcomed. This model felt a bit too easy to print, so I reused the AnyCubic stress cube which is far more complicated and things got a bit more interesting.

That’s because while it seemingly is perfect, there were some imperfections if I looked closer. There is a corner that’s very slightly more protruded and we don’t always get a perfect straight line, there are some minor deviations. This doesn’t mean that it’s a bad print because it’s not. When I tested the Anycubic Photon Mono 4K, I thought that the test cube was great, but putting it next to the one printed by the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP, I could see that it had some trouble keeping the cube straight. Now let’s move to more interesting models. I usually use the models from DMStash.com and I got one from them once again.

I got a different version of the Seer and I did not make the same mistake as when I tested the Anycubic Photon Mono 4K – I did not add any unnecessary supports. And it turned out really good. The supports come off easily as long as you take them out right away, and, as you can see, there is a very good amount of detail. I chose this specific model because there are lots of small and intricate patterns, and from what I saw, the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP handled them without breaking a sweat. I have printed another version of the Seer with the Photon 4K, so is this print better? Honestly, I don’t see a difference in terms of clarity and detail, but the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP seems softer (the better anti-aliasing in action).

Another interesting aspect is that the printing time was always shorter at the printer level than what the software would predict. But, if I was to compare with the AnyCubic Photon Mono 4K, the time was pretty much the same – perhaps the Mars 4 was a tad bit faster, like 10% but not more. While we got a good idea about what to expect from the 3D printer, I felt that it just wasn’t enough, so I decided to print another model which I think is really awesome. It’s called “The hunt for Medusa” and due to my lazyness (again), I didn’t want to cut the tree part, so I just shrunk everything to 60%.

I suppose this remains one of the weaknesses of a DLP printer, the size, but if you have the time, you can just cut the model in more pieces and glue them together. Then again, this does add more risk for unwanted gaps. So, let’s see how the model ended up being. I think it turned out really good. The resin was strong enough as to not break the main model when removing the supports (You see the head and all those snakes? It took me about an hour to take out all the supports..) and, just like with the previous model, the anti-aliasing does a great job, while not taking away anything from the sharpness of the object.

I do need to mention that I had to pause mid-print to add more resin and this didn’t have any impact on how the model got printed. But you can see the gaps, so what happened? It’s not abnormal to get these gaps when printing multiple pieces (which is why I prefer a large portion of the piece in one go), but it happens often with resin printers. The good news is that these can be covered either with the same resin or using a gap filler like GreenStuff. I also noticed some errors at some contact points which I had to fix with a cable clipper, but after checking out the digital model itself, I realized that it was printed properly.

The issue was with the sliced model. As you will see on the tree branch, there is a weird crack and not because I connected to parts together (badly), no, this happened for a different reason. It’s because the model was empty and there were no drainage holes. Yeah, my lazyness finally bit me in the arse. So, before printing a model, even if it has supports and it’s already divided into parts, check it out to see if it has any of these issues. That’s why I usually get models from reputable websites (such as DMStash), while the ‘The Hunt for Medusa’ was from a different site.

The Conclusion

The question on everyone’s mind is whether DLP is worth it and if the other MSLA Mars 4 printers won’t offer a better value for money. And the answer is that it depends on what you’re going to use the Elegoo Mars 4 DLP for. The combination between the smoothness of the models and the ability to retain the details and the sharpness cannot be matched by non-DLP printers in the same price range. So, people that need very precise, yet fairly small models will be happy with this printer (either hobby models or even in the dentistry or other medical fields).

There is also the very important added benefit in terms of power consumption (18W is ridiculously low) and that the main components will last for way longer than those on MSLA 3D printers. So, overall, it’s a high quality entry-level printer that will get the job done. If you need something else from a resin 3D printer, then the Mars 4 series has a multitude of alternatives.

And yes, the tablet market has seen better days, but Google has finally focused a bit more towards this segment, making the software experience on the tablets a bit better for large-screen formats. Then again, the rugged tablets have been a thing for a while and a very niche audience needed them for outdoor work, so is the AGM Pad P1 suitable for this type of task. AGM says that the PAD P1 is waterproof, but didn’t make any mentions of any MIL-STD tests.

The good news is that I managed to actually test this tablet and yes, it’s very much built as a regular, thin tablet, it doesn’t have those bulky, rubber edges. But the manufacturer thought out a neat trick and added a transparent protective case already on the device. That’s how you get it from the package and it is removable. This case adds a bit more inches, but only at the edges, so it ensures that the PAD P1 does survive some falls at an odd angle.

Additionally, there is a cover that goes over the screen as well which will help protect the 10-inch display, the most vulnerable part of the device. The resolution that AGM went for is 1,200 x 2,000 pixels which is more than enough for this size of display, but it is worth noting that the brightness is a bit average, so you may need to use it in some shade. I did run some benchmarks and actual games on the tablet which revealed that we’re dealing with a decent entry-to-midrange device. And that’s actually good considering the price tag of the tablet. These are some of the main specs:

• Helio G99 Chipset
• 256GB ROM (up to 2TB) + 8 GB RAM
• 7000 mAh Battery
• 10.36″ 2K Display
• Dual Box Stereo Speakers
• Dual SIM
• Android 13

As you can see, the AGM PAD P1 uses Android 13 and I do like that neither their smartphones, nor this tablet has any annoying bloatware. There are some unwanted apps, but all those comes from Google – the experience is pretty much stock-like. The speakers have proven to be strong and clear, but again, the main strengths are around how the tablet is capable to survive dust and water ingress.

So, if you need to use a fairly rugged tablet outdoors, but not really in a very industrial set (with corrosive substances and such), then do give the AGM PAD P1 a chance. I have added some links if you want to check out the tablet here:

Instead of having the earbuds pushed into the ear canal, there is now a fairly large driver (16.2mm driver, same as on the OpenRock Pro) which points towards the inner ear and directs the sound towards it. So they’re much better for situational awareness when you’re in traffic (while riding a bike, for example) and no more inner ear canal irritation.

But, there are a few drawbacks that you need to be aware of. First, there most likely will be some sound bleed, especially at a higher volume and secondly, the bass may not be that great. I know that other brands using the same tech have been struggling to offer a good bass reproduction, but it wasn’t on the same level as when using regular TWS earbuds. Far from it actually.

Is the TOZO OpenReal more capable in this regard? Well, they do make a parallel to the bone-conduction technology which also struggles with bass reproduction, but they also do say that we should get clear sound with powerful bass, so I look forward to see them in action. Additionally, there’s an app which will hopefully allow some degree of sound customization, so without further ado, let’s put the TOZO OpenReal air conduction headphones to the test and see how they perform.

Build Quality and Design

The TOZO OpenReal headphones adopt what the manufacturer calls ‘airy wearing’ design and, if you’re familiar with the bone conduction headphones (like the Haylou PurFree BC01), it’s pretty much the same concept. The two ‘earbuds’ are inter-connected by a flexible band which goes around the head of the user, resting above the ears.

This way, the two speakers are perfectly aligned to the inner ear canal opening. The entire device is covered by a soft dark matte finish and it does have a rubbery texture with only very few places where there’s hard plastic. This soft rubber will ensure that there is no pressure on the head and the device is lightweight enough to not cause discomfort above the ear. But how long can you wear them before you will need a break?

I won’t deny that you will feel the TOZO OpenReal and depending on the type of activity you’re doing, you may need to take them off after about a couple of hours (most likely due to sweat if you’re working out). But, if you’re not wearing them while doing sports, then you should be able to handle them for way longer than that – the feeling is similar to wearing some thicker sunglasses. I have mentioned that there are a few parts made of solid plastic and there are a couple of them right before the headphones form the circular shape and the two speakers.

The left side section does not have any controls and I assume it’s there were the batteries are positioned, while on the right side, you will be able to find the physical buttons. There’s the volume up and down switch and the former also doubles as the Power button, as long as you long press it for four seconds. To move to the next track or to the previous one, you do need to long press the Plus/Minus button for two seconds. Next to these buttons, I noticed a couple of metallic pins.

Are these for charging? While the TWS earbuds are too small to have USB-C added to them, I saw that headphones which had a similar design to the TOZO OpenReal did indeed add a USB-C port for charging up the inner battery. But it seems that TOZO did not like the universal connector and preferred to go with a proprietary one. And this is really not the time when when we should consider adding even more e-waste in the environment, so this has been a massively uninspired decision.

The two speakers are covered by a plastic grille and next to them, I could also see two fairly large microphones which have the role of limiting the impact of the environmental noise, putting the focus on the user’s voice. There is more because on the outer right section (the other side from where you see the speaker), there is a touch-sensitive spot where you can play and pause the track with a single tap.

This area can also be used for controlling a call – single tap for answering the call, triple tap to hang up and hold it to reject the call. There is also support for Siri – just tap on the touch-sensitive area for a couple of seconds to enable the voice assistant.

How rugged is the TOZO OpenReal?

The TOZO OpenReal headphones seem to be able to survive mechanical shocks due to that rubbery exterior and you can stretch the arms as far away as you want without damaging the device. Additionally, the TOZO OpenReal are IPX8-rated which means that they’re very close to be truly waterproof. Sweat won’t harm them, neither will rain or showers. So, while they may not look like it, the TOZO OpenReal are fairly rugged and will survive outdoor conditions.

Internal Hardware and Connectivity

The manufacturer has disclosed that we’re dealing with 16.2mm drivers and that they also make use of the TOZO OrigX to amplify the bass, something that’s very much needed for this type of headphones. I have seen that even OneOdio developed a similar technology called TubeBass and it serves the same bass-amplifying purpose. The developers did not mention the exact chipset that they equipped the TOZO OpenReal with, but it’s most likely the same Qualcomm QCC3040 used by the OpenRock Pro.

As for the Bluetooth version, the headphones rely on the version 5.3 and I noticed that while the range doesn’t really differ between version Bluetooth 4 and 5 (with all the newer iterations) – it’s still about 30 feet – the battery life does seem to be improved on the newer versions. So I do expect the TOZO OpenReal to have an excellent battery life. Lastly, I do need to mention that the headphones support AAC/SBC which are decent codecs, but not really built for higher-quality type of audio.

Also, there doesn’t seem to be support for Bluetooth Multipoint and I guess it makes sense at this price point (rarely do we see an unicorn such as the Haylou S35).

The Sound Quality

Before listening to some songs, let’s first understand what air conduction headphones actually do. While the bone conduction headphones vibrates through your bones, reaching the inner ear, therefore being perfect for people that are hard of hearing, the air conduction relies on actual speakers to blast the sound to a certain direction. And the TOZO OpenReal is essentially built around this directional ability to focus the sound at a specific point with as little sound bleed as possible.

I have listened to some songs and any passerby will hear that something is being played in my ears, and it will become fairly clear if I increase the volume. But it’s not really a big difference between a pair of open-ear headphones, such as the OneOdio Monitor 80. Let’s say about 10 percent more with the TOZO OpenReal.

Also, be aware that you will be able to hear everything around you since your ears are not sealed at all and this will have an impact on the sound quality, which is why technologies such as the OrigX need to work properly, otherwise the bass will be pretty much nonexistent. Now, the first set of tests checks some technical aspects of the headphones, such as driver quality and matching. The first test showed that the sweeping sound was clear and I could hear no buzzing, which is excellent. As for the matching test, it seems that the tone was played exactly in the middle of my head (no deviation).

Next, I played a binaural recording to get a better idea about what to expect from the TOZO OpenReal. The volume had to be set to 90% since it was a bit too low, but the imaging seems to be well done. I could tell with precision where each singer was and which instrument was played, so there was good differentiation between them. The sound stage is not that wide though and a few details which I could hear with monitor headphones were lost. But, the song was colorful and not at all fatiguing, so the TOZO OpenReal seem fun to listen to music. And that takes us to the set of tracks that I usually play when testing headphones – it’s worth mentioning that I am using Amazon Music which is the highest streaming quality that’s available right now (as far as I know).

That being said, the first song was the low-bass-focused ‘Zhu – Faded’ and, while the volume was set to 80% volume, I could hear that the voice was crystal clear, the bass is there and to be honest, it’s more present that I expected it to be considering there is no sealing around the ear. Even so, it is still not very potent and to get an idea about how full it can get, just cover the ear with your hand (the bass will come alive). Next, I played ‘Donald Fagen – Morph the cat’ which is focused more towards the mid-bass. The instrument differentiation is very well done (each has its place and doesn’t bleed into the other) and the voice is very clear.

You can hear the mid-bass, but again, it lacks that potency – I suppose it’s somewhat close to monitor headphones performance in this regard. The next bass-focused song was ‘System of a Down – Mr Jack’ and this is difficult track to reproduce since it’s very easy to get a muddy sound due to so many instruments overlapping and the voices don’t help either. The voices are again very clear and perhaps a slightly bit forwarded, but some sound clarity is lost when all instruments play at the same time (some muddiness is definitely present). Afterwards, I listened to ‘Vance – She Burns’ and the voice is clear and well reproduced

It does seem that the mids are these headphone’s strength, the sound is clear and even if the bass doesn’t have that much of a presence, the song sounds colorful and vibrant – also not all details are present (I know this song very well). Afterwards, I listened to ‘Ariana Grande – Breathin’ and it sounds like the female voice is a bit more forwarded than the male voice, so the instruments seem to take a second place. Lastly, I listened to the treble-focused ‘Guns n Roses – Sweet Child o Mine’ and yes, it’s a tiny bit bright, which means that it may induce fatigue at some point, but it’s not immediately overwhelming.

The Mobile App

I am not a stranger to the TOZO app since I have used it when I tested the TOZO Golden X1 TWS earbuds and the pairing process is pretty much the same: make sure that Bluetooth is enabled and the app should see the headphones immediately. That’s it, you should now be able to roam the dedicated settings. Well, there isn’t a lot that can be customized, but it is possible to use what’s the most important, the EQ. Indeed, there are a few presets to choose from, but it is entirely possible to adjust the way the headphones will sound as well. And yes, you can save the new profiles. Additionally, it is possible to update the firmware and see the exact remaining battery life – something that’s not possible on the TOZO OpenReal themselves. And that’s about it.

The Call Quality

Although it’s not always wise to judge a microphone performance by its size, the two ENC mic on the TOZO OpenReal did remind me of the Sony WH-1000XM3, so I expected a good performance. And it’s really not bad, even if not really on par with the Sony’s (price-wise, it makes sense).

I could hear the other person clearly even if I was in a more noisy environment (I did have to raise the volume all the way up). But what’s interesting is that even if I was in this loud coffee shop, the caller could still hear my voice decently well, so the ambient noise canceling algorithm work fine. But, even if it was quiet, there was still a faint echo-y effect when I spoke – it’s still better than most other headphones in the same price range.

The Battery Life

As you saw in the previous sections, I listened to music at a higher volume, about 80% and I know that the manufacturer has advertised that the TOZO OpenReal could reach up to 16 hours with the volume set to 50%. But in my case, I lost about 6% every half an hour, so in total, I got about eight hours and a half before I had to recharge the headphones. And it’s not a bad performance considering that the air conduction tech pretty much requires a higher volume to listen to music while you’re cycling or jogging near a busy street.

The Conclusion

The directional speakers on the TOZO OpenReal work really well and they’re definitely a good alternative to the TWS earbuds in case your ear canals get easily irritated by prolonged use. Surely, there is some sound bleed, but that’s to be expected when there is no ear sealing. The bass is a lacking and I know that the OrigX does work hard at simulating booming bass, but it still remains probably the main weakness of the TOZO OpenReal (and other air conduction headphones in general). So, if you need a pair of headphones that will stick to your ears when working out outdoors and find the TWS earbuds annoying, then definitely check out the TOZO OpenReal headphones.

And, while the Infinity 1300 and the 1500 series easily found their way into the market due to the higher output, the 600W Growatt VITA 550 may need a bit more persuading, right? Well, it may actually be the other way around. Surely, those that drive campervans will welcome the high-output stations, but most people that go camping (from morning to noon) just use their regular cars and have less requirements in terms of devices that need power.

A few smartphones, a laptop and why not, even a portable projector can be handled by the Growatt VITA 550. And the good news is that you can use solar panels to keep the power station charged over the day as well. One interesting aspect behind the Growatt VITA 550 is that it uses LiFePo4 batteries which means that the entire unit will be more lightweight, it will provide more charging cycles and it should also recharge faster.

Growatt mentions 1.6 hours with AC and 2.5 hours using solar panels, but we’ll check these claims for ourselves. There are also lots of outlets and ports, as well as support for WiFi connection (yes, there’s an app), so let’s put the Growatt VITA 550 to the test and see how well it performs.

Design and Build Quality

I have recently tested a 400W power station from Allpowers (the R600) and it was interesting to see that the Growatt VITA 550 is not that much bigger despite the 600W output, while having a similar amount of ports and charging options. Indeed, the VITA 550 measures 12.2 x 8.4 x 7.8in (31.0 x 21.3 x 19.8cm), so while not seemingly that compact (it actually is when compared to other similar devices), it does have some elements to allow the user to easily move it around. Well, it’s just an element, the handle at the top.

But how heavy is the Growatt VITA 550? It weighs 17.99lbs (8.16kg). The case of the portable power station is made of plastic and it’s covered by a darker gray matte finish (and a lighter band near the top). I do have the same complaint here that I had with the Allpowers R600 and the S700: it’s not possible to replace the batteries. I don’t deny that they last for a long time, but adding the ability to add new batteries should still limit the amount of e-waste that’s thrown on landfills to a certain extent.

I understand that it may not be as easy as on UPSes, but I am sure the engineers can come up with clever designs to allow it. While the weight of the device is enough to keep it steady into place, the manufacturer has also attached four large silicone feet at the bottom, so no, the power station will not budge an inch regardless of the amount of cables that are connected. I have looked around the case to search for any ventilation holes and it seems that there are only two, one on the left and one on the right side of the case. If you look closely, you should see a fan which pushes the air out, while on the other side, there’s the air inlet section.

This small fan immediately started after I connected the Growatt VITA 550 to a power source and it will remain operational for the entire time the batteries are recharging. And yes, it’s fairly loud for the entire duration. The top of the unit is home to the wireless charger, a feature that seems to now be common on portable power station (I’ve seen it on the R600 as well). Of course, the wireless charger is turned off by default, but it will be enabled after pressing the DC Power button.

The maximum that this charger can reach is 15W, but, since Apple is being Apple, if you want to recharge an iPhone, the output will be limited to 8W. On the right side of the Growatt VITA 550, you will notice that there is a cover which, when removed, it will expose the AC in port, a Fast Charging Power indicator and a solar charging port. I really liked that the manufacturer has included a MC4 to XT60 solar panel charging cable into the box, so you only need the panels and you’re good to go.

The aforementioned indicator is also a button which you need to press in order to enable the AC fast charging feature, otherwise, it’s going to recharge slower. The front panel is the main area of interest and I like that the layout is well thought-out, each section having a particular type of ports. There’s an LED display in the middle of the top half of the front panel, and there’s an ON/Off button underneath it. To the right, there’s a car outlet, as well as two DC 5521 outlets, while immediately underneath, there’s the DC button.

This button will also enable the wireless charger, but don’t forget that the USB ports are also DC, so enabling them will turn on the wireless charger as well. It’s also worth mentioning that there is a fairly long (5-foot) car cable in the box. On the left side of the display, there is a flashlight (it does have a flashing light pattern besides the static white light). Underneath the flashlight, there’s the USB ports area: two regular USB-A ports (12W max), one fast charge USB-A port (19W max) and a USB-C port that can go up to 100W.

To the right, there’s the WiFi button (to enable it) and the AC receptacles. Depending on the area you purchase the Growatt VITA 550, you may get three receptacles (US) or two of them (EU). Unlike the car outlet, there is no cover over the AC outlets.

The Display

The display is not really incredibly big (about the same size as on the R600), but it does show all the necessary info with large icons that are easy to understand. The display is colored and it does have a backlight, but, to preserve battery life, it does turn off after a few seconds. You can re-enable it by short pressing the Power button. After a few minutes have passed and no device is connected to the Growatt VITA 550 (or doesn’t draw power from it), then the portable power station will enter in hibernation mode.

To return it to normal mode, long press the Power button. By default, the display will show the amount of battery life that’s available (0 to 100%), while the Input power is displayed on the left (in Watts) and the Output power will be shown on the right side (also in W).

On the lower right corner, you can see how many hours of power are left. If you enable the AC Power block, then the display will show the Voltage and the Hz. Also, when charging up, you will see the remaining time on the bottom left corner (until it reaches 100%). After pressing the WiFi button, I saw that the Growatt VITA 550 also supports Bluetooth (the WiFi and Bluetooth icons will appear on the screen) and, depending on the type of device that’s being charged (or charging the power station), various icons will appear at the top left and right corner of the display.

Unlike some Allpowers power stations, it does seem we get pretty much the full experience without needing to rely on the app, but even so, let’s see what it has to offer.

The Mobile Application

The app that needs to be downloaded is called myGro (available for both iOS and Android) and, after installing it, the app requested that the user agrees with the Agreement and the Privacy Policy. The latter shows what data is being collected and from what I could gather, it seems to be the smartphone log, the WiFi collector config log, various info about the identity of your device (smartphone) and some more. This data can be shared with Growatt associates, as stated in the policy.

Next, I could create an account (possible with an email or phone number). Well, could is a big word because things got very weird from this point forward. I first entered a complicated password with symbols and numbers and it seemed to have been accepted by the servers. But, after trying to log in, the password was wrong – impossible since I use Bitwarden.. Anyway, I decided to change the password and I got ‘Network error, please check network and try again’. What does that even mean?! We haven’t yet entered any network credentials.

I also tried third-party login and after getting all the data, it said Logging in, only to show the Registration page again. What is going on? And that’s when it occurred to me that I was using an iPhone, so let’s see if Android yields better results. What do you know, it worked.. So, despite the supposed support for iOS, you cannot create an account or change the password on iOS. With that out of the way, I finally got to the pairing process – and I could either use WiFi or Bluetooth.

I chose the former and then I could select the VITA 550 from the list; afterwards, it asked for the WiFi credentials (supports only 2.4GHz) and I finally gained access to the user interface. There are two main sections, Input and Output. The Input section does show a bit more info than what we get on the display, such as the temperature and the Solar/Car Charge, while the Output section allows the adjustment of the flashlight (the brightness), it can enable the AC and/or the DC blocks.

And you do get to see a live graph of the performance of the Growatt VITA 550. There are a few extra Settings which you can access by tapping on the cogwheel icon and here you can set a Discharge limit (to increase the longevity of the battery), set the Temperature Unit and it’s here where you can set the Charge Mode (Super or Slow). It’s possible to set a time limit for when the AC will enter in timeout mode, same as the Screen.

What’s inside the Growatt VITA 550?

The Growatt VITA 550 has a FCC ID page, so I didn’t really have to open the device myself and, from the photos that were uploaded, we can see the three-coil wireless charger, so you get more flexibility in terms of the area where the smartphone needs to be placed. Underneath it, there’s the main PCB with all its main components. I could identify the ESPRESSIF ESP32-C3 Bluetooth WiFi antenna. Beneath this board, there’s the PCB with the inverter circuitry.

Further down, we finally can reach the section with the batteries and we are dealing with multiple cells – there seem to be 28 in total. I kind of get why you can’t replace them easily, but I guess the manufacturers could make a removable block of cells, allowing the user to continue using the Growatt VITA 550 even after the cycle of the initial batch has ended.

The Growatt VITA 550 in action

The first thing that I did after taking the Growatt VITA 550 from the package was to charge it up to 100%. It took about an hour and a half to go from 35% to 100%, which makes sense considering that I did not enable the Fast Charging option (no reason to put any strain on the batteries yet). Then, I decided to check out if the device can handle a couple of my tools.

The first one is a 400W Black and Decker drill and it did work most of the time, but I did experience an error at some point, the screen showing F01. The manual says that this means there was an output short circuit. The good news is that it cleared after I reconnected the drill which, by the way, required about 242W when not pushed to the max. In this state, the Growatt VITA 550 would have handled it for almost two hours which is not bad at all.

Moving forward, I connected a 900W Dewalt angle grinder and the portable power station handled it without problems. The displayed showed that the average power that it drew was 390W (it can go higher) and, if kept in this state, the Growatt VITA 550 would keep the angle grinder functional for a bit over an hour. Afterwards, I connected a Desktop PC which requires only about 60W to run Linux and we see that the power station could keep this device alive for close to 5 hours which is impressive. The interesting thing is that the fan started up, but only on its lowest setting (barely audible).

I wanted to see if the DC and AC outlets manage to offer the output that’s promised by the manufacturer, so I used the Kaiweets KM601 multimeter to first check the two AC receptacles. Since the unit that I have is built for EU standards, there are only two outlets available and, while the screen said that the output is 230V, 50Hz, the multimeter showed 231.5V and 50Hz.

Next, I enabled the Car outlet DC power block and, as you can see, the multimeter showed an output of 13.15V for the car outlet and the two DC5521 outlets. The target is 12V, so there is a mild deviation, although not enough to mess with any connected electronics.

Now let’s move to the USB ports. To check their output, I used two separate types of multimeters. The USB-C port can reach up to 100W, but I do not have a device that will require such a high input. I can only connect the 13-inch MacBook Pro that I used when testing GaN chargers. I used a Thunderbolt 3 cable and it seems that it’s not supported (in hindsight, it does make sense), so I had to use a regular USB-C cable to power up the MacBook Pro.

As you can see, both the multimeter and the display show an average of 57W and the voltage is 19.91V which is very close to ideal. The two USB-A ports are said to be able to reach up to 12W and it’s true as you can see from the photos that it did reach 11.8W (5.14V). But I couldn’t properly check the Fast Charge USB-A port because the multimeter was limited at 5V (the port can go up to 9V and even 12V).

Now let’s talk a bit about the protection features that the Growatt VITA 550 has put into place. There’s over charging and over discharging protection, there’s over and under temperature protection, as well as protection against under and over voltage. Additionally, we already saw the short circuit protection in action and there is also overload protection. Lastly, it’s worth mentioning that the Growatt VITA 550 can be used as an UPS.

The Conclusion

The Growatt VITA 550 seems to have everything that’s necessary to be an appealing option for the people that want to have a short trip in nature, but still need some way to keep their devices powered up. The output for the USB ports and the outlets is within norm and there is a fairly wide variety of ports to choose from. The device is not really lightweight, but it does have a handle for moving around. And it’s possible to charge up the station quickly enough either from a wall outlet or using solar panels (all the needed cables are in the package). So, if you’re in the market for an entry-level power station, look no farther than the Growatt VITA 550.