Editor’s Note:Many readers will be curious about what the minority editors “buy”. Through “New Gadgets from the Editorial Department”, we hope to introduce the novel products that members of the editorial department are using recently, and let them talk about their experience in using these new gadgets.
Content statement:If the “New Gadgets” column contains commercial content, the corresponding entry will be marked “Advertisement”; if it is marked “Sent by Manufacturer for Testing”, that means that although the product was not purchased at one’s own expense, the content does not have brand intervention. The editors’ sharing is for reference only. Everyone is welcome to share your experience using the same product in the comment area. Whether it is positive or negative, we welcome everyone to speak frankly. Please abide by the minority community rules when speaking, express yourself in a civilized manner, and have fun chatting.
@路中南: ZTE F40 5G RedCap Portable WiFi
- Reference price: 179 yuan (card version)
Occasionally there is a need to put a hotspot on the road when traveling by car, and I occasionally put a hotspot on when I go out every day, so I thought about buying a portable Wi-Fi product to try. A friend also recommended a cheap and easy-to-use portable 4G WiFi. But I found that although it is cheap, it only has one USB-A male port. Unfortunately, all the power bank and charging heads I have had in the past two years have been replaced by Type-C. In order to use it, I have to drag a special adapter cable, which is not elegant. I simply took stock and asked about GPT: the price should not be too expensive, it must have a USB-C interface, and it must support plugging in a SIM card by yourself. It is best to be produced by a major manufacturer, and it would be better if it can support 5G.
After some screening, I finally placed an order for the F40, which was released by ZTE at the beginning of the year.
The real thing looks heavier than what it looks like on the details page, and it feels closer to the old-fashioned long long USB flash drive from more than ten years ago. The most satisfying design of the fuselage is the interface: one side has a standard USB-A male port, and the other end has a Type-C female port. This means that whether it is plugged into a car USB, an old power bank, or hung on a MacBook through a double C cable, it can be directly recognized as a driver-free USB network card, solving power supply and data transmission together. I tried using it at home, and it felt almost the same as broadband. I almost wanted to turn off Wi-Fi and use it as a pure network card.
After the casing slides open, there is a Nano-SIM card slot and a reset button; the fuselage itself also has two built-in eSIMs from China Telecom and China Mobile. If you don’t want to insert the card yourself, you can also buy an IoT traffic package by scanning the QR code. However, this type of built-in card cannot be used in some border areas such as Xinjiang, Tibet and Yunnan. I originally thought of “relying on it for emergency when there is no signal in the mountains of Yunnan”, but it seems unrealistic.
In terms of parameters, it focuses on the 5G RedCap standard. Simply put, it is a 5G solution tailored for medium-speed scenarios. The cellular version of Apple Watch S11 also uses this set of standards. It’s not like full 5G on mobile phones, which can easily reach hundreds or thousands of Mbps. The actual downlink speed is basically between 40Mbps and 100Mbps, and the uplink speed is about 10Mbps and 50Mbps. The speed perception is closer to a full-blooded 4G+ with good signal.
But what RedCap gains is extremely low power consumption and heat generation. It takes about eight or nine seconds to turn on the phone after plugging it in. The normal standby power consumption is less than 1W, and the full speed test is about 2.4W. Compared with all 5G devices that frequently get hot and slow down, although the F40 feels warm to the touch, its long-distance stability is quite good. It is worth mentioning that its background management is relatively complete. It can receive and receive text messages, and even frequency band locking and cell base station locking are directly enabled in the developer options. If you encounter base station congestion at a train station or business district, manually lock it to the 700MHz (n28) of Radio and Television/Mobile or the low-frequency band of Telecom. Although the network speed is not amazing, the performance in resisting interruption is remarkable. A slight compromise is that Wi-Fi 6 only has a 1×1 single antenna specification (up to negotiated 286Mbps), and 2.4GHz and 5GHz can only be turned on.
When purchasing, if you compare these similar products from ZTE:
- ZTE F40 (card version is nearly 200 yuan): 5G RedCap lightweight solution, no battery, USB-A and USB-C dual interfaces. It is small in size and consumes only 1~2.4W. It is suitable for plug and play in laptops or cars.
- ZTE U25S (card version is nearly 300 yuan): The same 5G RedCap, but with a 3050mAh battery and a front color screen, and the connection limit is increased to 32 units. Just turn it on and use it, no need to find another power source.
- ZTE F50/F50 Pro (approximately 399~599 yuan): Full 5G, theoretical downlink peak value up to 1.6Gbps, single Type-C port without battery. The Pro version complements Wi-Fi 6, dual-SIM dual standby and NFC connectivity.
In the end, with the help of AI, I also made a small tool to monitor its connection status in the widget, which is really full of playability. However, when we calm down and look at it, its positioning in daily life is quite embarrassing: we usually have broadband at home, and Wi-Fi is everywhere in restaurants and gyms when we go out to eat. Why not just put the card into your phone when you go out with only one device? After I inserted the high-capacity secondary card into the F40, not only did I lose the ability to make calls, but I also had to carry an additional device and power bank in my bag.
The usage scenarios I can think of: providing hotspots for all cars and tablets when traveling by car, serving as an acceleration node when encountering limited-speed WiFi in hotels—many hotel chains are still stuck at 10Mbps, or plugging into a home router that supports USB to serve as a backup springboard in the event of broadband failure. If you only have one main phone when you go out, believe me, you will most likely be like me. After the novelty wears off, you quietly insert the SIM card back into your phone.
@Microhoo: One plus 16
As long as you pay a little attention to the news in the digital industry this year, you will probably feel that the current price of memory sticks is like gold, which directly leads to various mobile phone manufacturers starting to adjust prices in turn this spring and summer; in October, when the wave of new flagships are launched, new phones generally start at 6,000 yuan. In such a general environment, the first sale price of the 12GB + 256GB version of OnePlus 16 is set at 5699 Yuan, which happens to be within the threshold of the new subsidy for digital purchases. After adding the national subsidy, you can get it for 5,199 Yuan. And it packs Snapdragon’s latest 2nm flagship chip, ultra-high-refresh screen, 9,000 mAh battery, and periscope telephoto lens all into the body. It is no exaggeration to say that it is the most cost-effective comprehensive all-round full-generation flagship.
The one I have is in the “Dark Forest” color scheme. It has a deep, pure black matte silk glass back panel and a lens module of the same color. It is low-key and low-key. It is dry and smooth to the touch and does not stick to fingerprints. With the micro-arc metal middle frame, it is very comfortable to hold the bare phone on a daily basis. Turn to the front and light up the screen. The extremely narrow 1.15mm equilateral display has a strong visual impact, but the biggest highlight of this 6.78-inch 1.5K fourth-generation Oriental screen is the hardware-level global 165Hz it brings.
Although we often say that a certain mobile phone finally supports 120Hz high refresh rate, in fact the entire mobile phone industry has been stuck at the global 120Hz level for nine years (taking the Razer Phone as a pushback). In the past few years, many manufacturers have promoted 144Hz or higher refresh rates, but most of them were “game specials” or “whitelist high refresh rates” – which can only be checked in the settings menu of specific games. Once you return to the desktop, refresh Weibo, or open a third-party application, the refresh rate immediately drops back to 120Hz or even 90Hz. And OnePlus 16 this time cooperates with ColorOS 17, which truly makes 165Hz the norm at the bottom of the system.
So the ultra-high brushing finally no longer only serves those few hours of game time, but extends the coverage to more daily operations. Whether you use your fingers to quickly swipe the desktop, pull down the control center, continuously interrupt multi-tasking switching animations, or swing the page upwards in information flow and long graphics and texts, the edges of the text are easier to identify and the sliding process is more coherent; after stopping, the new LTPO circuit will push the refresh rate back to 1Hz during static display to save power.
Complementing the overall 165Hz is the 9000mAh Glacier battery stuffed into the phone. There are many quantitative tests from professional laboratories on the Internet, so I won’t go into details. What impressed me most was that when I first got the phone, I was about to go on a business trip, so I didn’t have much time to experience the product. I stuffed it into my bag and traveled to several cities. I just took photos during the day and played games at night. When I got home and it said that the battery was less than 10%, I looked at the background and found that it could support 5 days of standby time and nearly 6 hours of League of Legends mobile game, and I still set the highest image quality in the game. To me it’s a very exaggerated performance.
In the heavy-load gaming scenario that OnePlus is good at, OnePlus 16 is equipped with the sixth-generation Snapdragon 8 Super Extreme Edition, LPDDR5X Ultra memory and UFS 4.1 flash memory. It also has the “Fengchi Game Core” written into the bottom layer of the chip and the self-developed three chips of Link Touch T3, E-Sports Network G3, and Super Display P4. After “Operation Delta” turns on the native 185FPS mode, coupled with the P4 chip’s real-time sharpening of dynamic contours and the 800Hz sampling rate gyroscope, when you quickly pull the angle of view to search for points, open the scope and follow the gun, the edges of distant grass and bunkers are clear and crisp, and the crosshair follows the hand as if it is glued to the belly of your finger. What’s even more pleasant is that the VC vapor chamber is specifically designed to avoid heat when held horizontally, directing the core heat source to the center of the back panel. Even if the cable is plugged in and the bypass power supply is turned on for two hours, the sides held by both hands are only warm.
Of course, “Operation Delta” is not the only game that supports 185Hz high refresh rate. There are also more head-to-head games that have or will soon support it.
What particularly surprises me is that for a machine that achieves this level of screen, performance and battery life, the image is not treated as a giveaway. This time the LUMO condensed imaging system provides a 200-megapixel main camera and a 50-megapixel Sony IMX882 periscope telephoto camera. Although it no longer bears the Hasselblad watermark, the tone of the entire algorithm is more restrained and eye-catching. It may not compete with the extreme focal length of those images with exaggerated bulges, but as a workhorse camera that is carried in your pocket every day and does not have to worry about battery power or frame drops, this sense of solidity without shortcomings is probably the most rare thing when replacing a camera this year.
So if you plan to switch to a current-generation flagship phone with reasonable price and excellent overall experience in the near future, OnePlus 16 may be the best choice at the moment.
@Clyde: MUJI stainless steel double-layer mug
Friends who love social media (especially Xiaohongshu) should be familiar with this mug. This summer, I also read about the debate about whether it can keep a glass of ice water from melting for 5 hours. It wasn’t until I happened to pass by MUJI when I went out in early autumn that I thought about buying it. It was not because I wanted to verify this rumor, but because of the reports about “fake 316 stainless steel” in the news earlier this year – and no one doubted the material of this MUJI mug.
I chose the small 410ml charcoal gray model. I mainly use it to drink coffee and boiled water. Currently, there are two most intuitive feelings after using it.
First of all, the inner stainless steel material has better wear resistance than the ceramic mug I have been using before. The latter will leave scratches on the cup wall if I accidentally touch the cup wall when using the electric stirring rod. This MUJI mug has also been scratched several times by the same electric stirring rod. Currently, there are no visible scratches.
Second, double-layer stainless steel is indeed useful in temperature isolation. How long the ice cubes last is essentially related to the ice itself (for example, the homemade ice cubes in the simple ice tray at home can only last for one hour), but the basic experience of not scalding hot tea to the cup and not condensation accumulating on the wall of the cold drink cup is completely guaranteed. The latter is more important for keeping the table clean and tidy. Before, I would just put a paper towel on the bottom of the cup.
In addition to morning coffee and occasional cold drinks, I also entrust it with the task of drinking water during the day. This is another consideration for me to choose the 410ml capacity. You can drink a glass of water for a while, but you still have to get up and walk around every now and then to get a glass of warm water. For this reason, I also spent a lot of money to buy its matching copolyester cup lid (18 yuan). After all, if a glass of water is really left on the table for 5 hours, it must be protected from dust – consumerism is really abominable.
The good news is that cleaning both the cup and the cup lid is relatively simple. Except for the rubber ring used in the cup lid, which needs daily cleaning, other parts can be easily accessed and there is no need to worry about the odor caused by long-term use.
Finally, I’m not sure when MUJI launched the color matching version, but compared to the previous factory-style solid-color stainless steel version, the charcoal gray and white should be placed on the table, which should visually match the desktops of most friends. In fact, after using it these days, the “dirty feeling” of the stainless steel original-color version after being stained with fingerprints is rarely seen. Except that the price is slightly expensive, the lid needs to be purchased separately, and the rubber on the lid cannot effectively prevent the problem of pouring and spilling liquid, overall I am quite satisfied. Interested friends may wish to get a discount before starting.
@Lotta: Chiikawa mobile toys
- Reference price: 13,750 yen (approximately RMB 582)
Although this so-called “mobile phone” is positioned as a children’s toy and looks a bit childish in appearance, if you are familiar with Tamagotchi, I believe you can understand the psychology of adults wanting to own it. Because Chiikawa mobile phones are essentially similar to pet machines such as Tamagotchi. They are toys with interaction and companionship as the core. However, with the addition of Chiikawa’s IP, the companions in the toy are no longer squirming pixel blocks, but the three familiar little ones from cartoons.
It comes with three pairs of ear accessories, corresponding to different characters. Just put the ears on top of the phone to switch the lock screen interface to different characters. You can interact with characters by tapping the screen with your finger or stylus, and even shaking the phone can trigger different reactions.
Thanks to the form of a “mobile phone”, Chiikawa mobile phones have a wealth of built-in applications that can be played. There are simulation applications such as phone calls and SNS, as well as various mini-games to earn coins, buy food and dress up the characters. Although the Chiikawa mobile phone cannot actually make calls or surf the Internet, you can use the “Phone” application to call the characters in the animation and listen to what they will say to you after picking up the phone. You can also check what they have recently posted in the SNS application. Although it sounds a bit like playing house, when you really refresh a favorite character’s new status from SNS, there will still be a moment when you feel that they are really living on the other side of the screen, sharing their daily life with you.
The Chiikawa phone also has a front-facing camera that can be used to take pictures. Although the picture quality is terrible, it is still very interesting to play with the various games on the device. For example, you can add stickers or hand-drawn patterns to photos in photo decoration, and use different templates in special effects videos to shoot videos with Chiikawa elements. You can even point the front camera at the surrounding environment in the “Gushing Spring” to find food for the Chiikawa.
Although the phone claims to have 57 built-in applications, in fact many applications only separate functions separately. For example, the camera application alone is split into 6 models, each corresponding to different functions (even the photo album and video album are separate). But overall the playability is still very high. There are 10 game apps, and there are 6 entertainment apps such as psychological tests. In addition to the simulated mobile phone apps, the playability is not low for adults.
However, after all, it is positioned as a children’s toy. From an adult’s perspective, the Chiikawa mobile phone still has many shortcomings. For example, the screen is fine indoors, but cannot be seen clearly under strong light; it needs to be powered by 4 AA batteries, but if you play for a long time, the battery will still be consumed very quickly. But what affects the experience the most is actually to prevent children from putting mobile phones to their ears to play audio and affecting their hearing. The volume of these toys is deliberately limited to a low level. In addition, the sound quality is not very good, and sometimes it is easy to hear some content clearly.
In addition, Chiikawa mobile phones only support Japanese, and in order to take care of young children, they even use pseudonyms. There is still a certain threshold for people who do not understand Japanese to get started. If you can accept these shortcomings and like Chiikawa very much, I highly recommend giving it a try. It’s really fun.
In fact, this Chiikawa mobile phone was released in 2024, and the market price is relatively stable now. As an IP peripheral toy, it is quite interesting. A new Chiikawa smartphone (Chiikawa Phone Smart) will also be launched at the end of this month, with the number of applications increased to 70, support for USB-C charging and moving the camera to the back. Although the overall look is more like a mobile phone, without the interesting design such as changing ears, it is not as attractive as this old product to me.
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