I've been wearing the Apple Watch Series 12 to bed every night for a week now, which means, after seven nights of calibration, I finally got the benefits of the revamped Vitals app and the new Readiness Score. The Watch has to learn your baseline metrics so it can see outliers, which is why it takes a week for the Vitals app to gauge whether your heart rate variability, respiratory rate, blood oxygen and more fall within your 'typical' range.
Readiness is the last metric, as it aggregates your sleep quality based on these parameters, compares it with your activity levels and gives you a score from 1 to 10 on how energetic and prepared-for-the-day you might be feeling.
This is the first time Apple devices have had a Readiness metric, compared to the long-serving nature of the features on the best Garmin watches, Samsung and Google wearables, and many others, so naturally, I wanted to compare it with another wearable device.
These days, I'm most often using my Garmin Cirqa for sleep tracking, so I kept wearing it on my right wrist, and the Apple Watch Series 12 on my left. Below, I've compared my sleep scores from across the week for accuracy, as well as my Readiness at the end of it all.
Sleep scores across the week
(Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)
I fully expected Apple and Garmin to provide disparate scores at first, only to tighten up as the week progressed and Apple learned more about my body. Sure enough, that's exactly what happened, as Apple gave my first night a score of 93 compared to Garmin's dismal 62.
After that, you can see above that the graph follows the same general trends: a rising incline as the week progresses, with a dip in the middle, and a high final night.
The main outlier other than night 1 is night 6, for which I have no explanation. Garmin gave me a score as high as 87, while Apple gave me a mere 68. You can see the difference in the graphs above, but I've listed all my scores in the table below, too.
Date
Garmin
Apple
26/09/2026
62
93
27/09/2026
67
56
28/09/2026
78
82
29/09/2026
95
84
30/09/2026
77
72
01/10/2026
87
68
02/10/2026
87
83
Perhaps there will always be these outliers here and there. Research from health data API creator Terra measured 77,000 nights' sleep across six major wearables companies, and found that while most trackers are accurate enough to converge on duration and general trends, sometimes outliers in their data exist due to the different sensors and algorithms used between manufacturers.
The study stated that "once you break sleep into stages [light, deep, REM phases of sleep], agreement [between wearables] falls apart: REM, deep, and light can diverge by hours in direct comparisons."
However, are these outliers statistically important, as long as the wearables are all charting similar trends coming to the same conclusions?
Readiness
(Image credit: Future / Matt Evans)
At the end of the week, I got my first Readiness score from Apple. It was a 7/10, indicating that I was 'ready' without being 100% prepared for a mammoth workout.
Checking the Garmin Connect app, I was surprised to see a Readiness score of 70/100, indicating that even though there were some outliers along the way, the wearables came to the exact same conclusion after a week of constant wear. Success!
Conclusion: Pay attention to the trends
While some discrepancies were present during the week, Garmin and Apple both came to the same conclusion on Readiness and offered a similar-shaped sleep score graph, indicating that they're internally consistent and generally quite accurate.
I'd be happy to wear either one to track my sleep, Readiness and fitness in general terms. However, the differences in individual data points are a reminder not to get too caught up into the weeds of the data: as clever as they are, these devices are imperfect, and they estimate. You can see differences in my Apple Watch Series 12 vs Garmin Fenix 9 Pro test too.
If you find yourself stressing too much over your scores or your data, or you feel differently than your watch says you ought to feel, prioritize the messages from your body over the ones from your wearable — and don't be afraid to get a night of untracked sleep now and again to free yourself from sleep score anxiety.
Jackery cuts power station's size without reducing the stated battery capacities
The Explorer 2000 Plus v2 loses 33% weight while retaining 2,048Wh capacity
CTB 2.0 lets Jackery integrate battery cells directly into the enclosure structure
Jackery has applied an automotive battery packaging technique to two new portable power stations, reducing its physical footprint without cutting the stated capacities.
The Explorer 1000 Plus v2 and Explorer 2000 Plus v2 use a Cell-to-Body architecture that integrates battery components into their structural enclosures.
The company said this approach cuts the Explorer 2000 Plus v2's size by 60% and its weight by 33%, and reduces the Explorer 1000 Plus v2’s size by 44% while its weight plunges by 26%, compared with their predecessors.
CTB architecture cuts size while retaining large battery capacities
Explorer 2000 Plus v2 stores 2,048Wh, weighs 18.8kg and measures 36.6 × 25.5 × 27.2cm, while the Explorer 1000 Plus v2 stores 1,024Wh, weighs 10.8kg and measures 31.35 × 20.1 × 23.35cm.
"People don't want more power at the cost of bulk — they want power that fits naturally into their lives," said Brady Sun, Head of Europe at Jackery.
"With the Explorer Plus v2 Series, we've drastically reduced size while elevating energy density, intelligence, and safety."
The company uses CTB 2.0 to integrate cells with the enclosure, reducing unused internal volume that would otherwise require additional structural components.
That approach is similar to battery packaging methods used in electric vehicles, where manufacturers integrate structural elements around battery cells.
According to Jackery, it is the first portable energy storage brand globally to introduce EV-derived CTB construction into this product category.
It also holds US and Japanese invention patents covering its earlier CTB 1.0 implementation, which used welding on both sides.
Both models support expandable storage, allowing the 1,024Wh model to reach 11kWh and the 2,048Wh version to reach 12kWh.
The larger model supplies 2,400W continuously, with temporary output reaching 4,800W, while the smaller unit provides 1,800W continuously.
Large output and fast charging remain part of the package
Both power stations come with AC outlets, two USB-C connections reaching 140W, one USB-A port, and one 12V/10A vehicle socket.
Solar charging reaches 400W on the smaller unit and 800W on its larger counterpart, while AC charging takes 1.25 and 1.5 hours, respectively.
Jackery also specifies emergency charging periods of 50 minutes for the 1000 Plus v2 and 80 minutes for the 2000 Plus v2.
Both models incorporate a 10ms UPS function intended to maintain connected equipment during brief interruptions to household electricity supplies.
Their ceramic-coated LFP cells are rated for 6,000 cycles while retaining 70% capacity, with Jackery claiming service life reaching 30 years.
The systems can operate in temperatures as low as -20°C, while charging remains supported between -10°C and 45°C.
Orders will open across the UK and Europe on October 14 2026 - subscribers can receive 35% discounts on selected accessories, while qualifying station and solar-panel bundles include a 102W GaN charger worth £54.99.
Police may be able to bypass one of iOS’s strongest security features
The revelation is from a leaked video from the GrayKey device’s creator
It has worrying ramifications for your data privacy
A company that works with law enforcement says it has bypassed a key iOS security feature that protects your sensitive information from being extracted from your iPhone without your permission. But it could be a step backward for user privacy and the security of your personal data.
According to a report from 404 Media, Magnet Forensics — the company behind the GrayKey device police use to crack open iPhones — has developed a new workaround that lets anyone with a GrayKey sidestep Apple’s Inactivity Reboot feature, plus a whole lot more. And it’s been using this exploit since at least early 2025, when a video seen by 404 Media was dated.
Inactivity Reboot is an iOS feature that automatically restarts your iPhone if it hasn’t been unlocked in 72 hours. This puts it into a more secure state called Before First Unlock (BFU), which protects certain sensitive data with encryption keys that aren't released until you enter your device passcode. After you’ve logged in, your iPhone enters a less secure state called After First Unlock (AFU).
In a video uncovered by 404 Media, Magnet Forensics claims that it can now freeze the iPhone in AFU mode using a new device called GrayKey Preserve, and that AFU mode is apparently maintained even if your iPhone restarts. That frozen state gives GrayKey easier access to the device’s data because it is not as strongly encrypted as in BFU mode.
In addition, GrayKey Preserve — and an associated mode for the regular GrayKey called Evidence Preservation Mode — can recover materials that iOS automatically purges after a certain period, including location data, iMessages, and deleted images. “We’re gonna be able to preserve that data for an infinite amount of time,” says a Magnet employee in the leaked video.
The video did not reveal Magnet Forensics’ technical solution in detail, but an employee hinted that enabling Airplane Mode and blocking radio transmissions (including Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and cellular) could play a role. And security expert Jiska Classen told 404 Media that the new GrayKey might be manipulating iOS’s built-in clock, “slowing down time” for the cops or even “stopping the clock from ticking” entirely, thereby indefinitely preventing Inactivity Reboot and iOS’s automatic deletion workflows from running.
Apple’s security stance
(Image credit: Shutterstock / nikkimeel)
Apple is well-known for the security of its devices and its strong stance against weakening the protections afforded to its users. While Apple says it complies with legitimate police requests, it has actively worked to thwart tools like GrayKey from accessing iPhone data. It has also pushed back against law enforcement requests to build a backdoor into its operating systems that police can use.
Why would Apple seek to frustrate law enforcement agencies like this? Well, part of the justification Apple has given is that there’s no such thing as a backdoor that only works for the good guys. Any software flaw can be exploited by hackers, stalkers, identity thieves, and all manner of other bad actors. Given the highly private data — including credit card details, medical records, and personal photos — on billions of iPhones worldwide, that’s a serious risk Apple isn’t willing to take.
As well as that, tools like GrayKey are known to be used by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states around the world to suppress free speech and harass critics. Apple has taken its fair share of criticism for making concessions to repressive governments in countries like China and Russia, but building an iOS backdoor for them is apparently a step too far for John Ternus’s company.
In the past, Apple has worked quickly to patch exploits used by Magnet Forensics and its competitors, and there’s no doubt that 404 Media’s report will have rung alarm bells in Cupertino and prompted furious work on a fix. But the fact that this vulnerability has been actively exploited since at least early 2025 will be disturbing news for people both inside and outside Apple.
EVGo says dynamic power sharing delivers the right charge to all EVs
Up to 750kW could charge EVs in less than 10 minutes
But China is still racing ahead with megawatt charging capabilities
One of the largest and most “highly utilized” public fast charging providers in the US has revealed details of its next generation equipment that can deliver up to 750kW charging speeds, which will be enough to top up some of the fastest charging EVs on sale in around ten minutes.
While there aren’t any models on the market that can charge at the full 750kW rate, more manufacturers are starting to push the limits of what's possible, with the likes of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Rivian all readying vehicles that can manage anywhere between 400kW to 600kW in the case of the upcoming Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door Coupe.
Once tethered, the high performance outlets could see the fastest-charging electric vehicles currently on sale charge in around ten minutes, with future models potentially topped up even faster.
(Image credit: EVgo)
But aside from touting fueling stops that are more in line with filling up a conventional gas car, EVgo says its upcoming technology will also use dynamic power sharing, which means multiple users at an individual station will theoretically receive a faster and more reliable charging experience.
The company says drivers won’t have to go hunting for specific fast-chargers, safe in the knowledge that its 750kW outlets will happily charge a car capable of 350kW speeds, as well as those that can only manage 50kW.
However, EVgo hasn't said what kind of speeds will be offered when two high-powered EVs are connected to an individual stall once. With the logical assumption being they will split the outlet and receive 350kW each. Still not bad at all.
EVgo had originally planned to roll out the next generation of equipment this year but now says the final charger design is expected to be unveiled in 2027 as it begins to deploy the new architecture.
Analysis: China races ahead (again)
(Image credit: BYD)
EV charging is undeniably becoming faster, with the previously unheard of 350kW fast-chargers now rolling out to ever-more locations worldwide.
That said, China is trumping the competition with its tens of thousands of megawatt-level chargers that are capable of delivering as much as 2.2MW of power in the case of Geely’s recent announcement.
According to reports, Geely has already installed its industry-leading megawatt chargers in five cities in China already, with 15,000 charging sites planned by the end of next year.
What’s more, the likes of BYD has demonstrated that it can fully charge its vehicles in under 10 minutes from its fastest chargers outside of its domestic market, but Geely is pushing this even further, suggesting that it is already working on a 1000V high-voltage architecture that will see a 10-80% charging session take as little as five and a half minutes.
Granted, its 2.2MW system can’t be used to its full potential by any EV on sale yet, but China is busy future-proofing its network, ensuring it can service the vast number of customers that are making a switch to electrification and be ready for those upcoming models that will likely banish range anxiety to the history books.
Meta has used the experimental designation for AI data centers to save billions in tax credits
The designation is not allowed to be used for standard business operations
Meta has labelled its AI data centers as 'pilot models' allowing the company to avoid some taxes on the AI chips that outfit its facilities
Meta has been caught in some hot water with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the classification of some of its AI data centers as ‘experimental’ facilities.
This designation allows companies to claim back some tax credits on the equipment it purchases for an experiment, as it could fail and leave the company out of pocket. These tax credits are an incentive for companies to innovate and there are strict rules around claiming them for standard business operations.
According to the New York Times, Meta’s designation of some of its campuses as experimental - with the potential to ‘fail’ - allowed the company to save $4 billion on its tax bill last year through the tax credits applied to the AI chips the company purchased.
Meta data centers are ‘pilot models’
The report claims Meta has separate designations for its regular data centers that are used for cloud computing and storage services, and those used for AI. Its AI data centers are classified as ‘pilot models’, with the chips distributed to these facilities labelled differently to those sent to regular data centers.
Meta started using this tax credit two years ago, cutting its 2024 tax bill by $2 billion, and $3.9 billion in 2025 - giving the company almost $6 billion in total tax savings. The Times also found that Meta is the biggest claimant of this particular tax credit, and the company’s Auditor, EY, approved the plan and suggested other companies should also adopt this approach.
Traditionally, most companies will set aside a reserve of funds to help pay for tax positions that could be challenged by the IRS. Over the past two years Meta’s reserve has risen from $12.9 billion to $18.74 billion - an increase of 45% - and list its research tax credits as the first uncertainty that could be challenged by the IRS.
“Meta is claiming billions of dollars in tax benefits that its own accountants are telling investors are at risk of being overturned by the I.R.S.,” said Lisa De Simone, a former EY tax adviser.
“Meta is one of the largest investors in research and development in the United States," Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in a statement. "Like other companies that invest at this scale, we use the tax incentives Congress established decades ago to encourage this type of domestic investment."
According to estimates by the Joint Committee on Taxation, the experimental tax credits would cost the US government $32.1 billion in 2025, with Meta’s own claims making up around 10% of that.
Meta is facing further scrutiny from the IRS over $16 billion in taxes and penalties owed on profits that the company has allegedly routed to the Cayman Islands.
Casio is reportedly planning to launch CRW-002, a second version of its popular CRW-001 ring
The first-generation ring, although something of a novelty, instantly sold out
Casio's retro pull is strong, as its step-tracking F-B100W 'smart' watch is also very popular
Casio's CRW-001 gadget, the catchy name for its retro digital watch ring, sells like absolute hotcakes. Since its December 2024 debut, periodic restocks of the niche little watch-ring hybrid continue to sell out. We're not sure whether this can technically be classed as one of the best smart rings, but this weird little gadget certainly has its devotees.
Now, a new version is apparently on the horizon, according to a report by Russian website Casioblog, spotted and translated by Notebookcheck.
Dubbed, sensibly, CRW-002, the new smart ring is based on Casio's iconic metal A168 watch series. It's said to be available in steel and gold, and will sport some of the same text as sported on the original A168 watch, with phrases like 'Chronograh', 'Illuminator' and 'Water Resist'.
The band of the ring is also a replica of the strap, injection-molded, according to the images posted by Notebookcheck. Features reportedly include "dual time, a 60-minute stopwatch, an LED backlight, a calendar, 12- and 24-hour formats, and Time Flash, which blinks the light on the hour and at a time you set", according to Notebookcheck.
The price is said to be $135 (around £100 / AU$195), which lines up with the average prices of the CRW-001 (around $200 / £105 / AU$250), and it's reportedly set to be released in November.
More than a novelty
(Image credit: Future)
Retro-style Casio watches are evergreen and nostalgic, perhaps because they're part of a growing counterculture.
The Casio F-B100W, the Bluetooth-enabled digital watch with a simple step tracker linked to an app and a Find My Phone functionality, has sold like crazy. It was a sell-out hit in Japan, and some outlets in the UK, and very recently landed in the US. I called it "an absolute belter of a watch for the price" and the "most fun" smart wearable I've worn this year when I tried the Casio F-B100W in September 2026.
While the ring-watch has a... unique look, shall we say, obviously enough people like it o make it a hit, and it makes sense Casio would want to repeat its success.
Fall has arrived, and it's International Coffee Day today, which makes it the perfect occasion for a roundup of Pumpkin Spice coffee. Before you bankrupt yourself indulging your Pumpkin Spice habit at Starbucks, it's worth checking to see if you could take care of it in the comfort of your own home.
From Nespresso pods to K-Cups to ground coffee, there are pumpkin spiced options for every at-home coffee station setup. If you're looking for an authentic Starbucks flavor, you can actually purchase the brand's own Pumpkin Spice blend in K-Cup, Nespresso Vertuo pod, and ground coffee form. It's one of three special-edition flavors, and I've also included the other two (Smoked Butterscotch and Fall Blend) below, mainly because they both sounded delicious. They're there in case you fancy mixing things up.
Ground coffee is perfect if you use a French press, AeroPress or filter coffee machine. As for the pods, these vary by machine so be sure to double-check what you're buying is compatible with your setup, to avoid disappointment. Scroll down for a selection of spiced goodness...
Bambu Lab has started its Halloween Sale, with a collection of themed bundles, filament offers, Maker's Supply discounts, and CyberBrick deals. The sale period runs from September 28 to October 16.
No, I don't know why it ends before Halloween either, but if you're pairing those deals with a Bambu Lab machine, I've picked out the top three 3D printers I'd buy based on our workshop tests.
My top cheap 3D printer for beginners
A1 Mini 3D Printer: $219 Despite being the cheapest of my three picks, the Bambu Lab A1 mini is a terrific choice if you're new to 3D printing. Its tiny footprint means it won't take up a lot of space and the full automatic calibration removes much of the manual setup.View Deal
In his five-star review, our 3D printer expert Alastair said: "Boasting exceptional build quality and advanced features, it strikes a perfect balance, catering to a wide range of users from beginners to professionals."
MakerWorld integration lets you find projects and start printing with minimal fuss, while multi-color printing is also available with the Combo version and its AMS Lite system.
My top mid-range 3D printer
P1S 3D Printer: $579 This 3D printer is ideal for anyone seeking plenty of capability without maxing out the credit card. Its fully enclosed design supports a wider range of materials, and the 256 x 256 x 256 mm build volume provides room for larger projects. Bambu Lab says the P1S can go from being unboxed to its first print in around 15 minutes.View Deal
In his five-star review of the P1P, which shares similar core printing hardware with the P1S but lacks its fully enclosed design, Alastair said: "It costs less than most highly regarded consumer machines yet fires into life ploughing through prints with a speed and accuracy that you would usually associate with business class and priced machines."
My top 3D printer for professionals
H2D AMS Combo: was $1999 now $1749 This is my top choice for anyone prepared to spend more for additional capabilities. It features a dual-nozzle system designed for multi-material 3D printing and offers a 350 x 320 x 325 mm print volume, a 350°C nozzle, and active chamber heating up to 65°C.View Deal
In his four-and-a-half-star review, Alastair said: "Far from being a jack of all trades, the H2D matches — and in some cases exceeds — the quality of dedication machines, the 3D print quality being a case in point. The fact that it features excellent laser engraving and cutting all add to the appeal. Tool swaps are straightforward, and despite a few quirks, they come together to add great value."
In a nutshell...
For anyone on a budget, the beginner-friendly Bambu Lab A1 Mini for $219 scored 5 stars in our review for exceptional value for money, with print quality professionals will appreciate.
For a mid-range pick, check out the Bambu Lab P1S, which is $579 and offers speed and print quality you'd find on much more expensive units.
These are my top three choices for Bambu Lab 3D printers, covering every budget. If you want more options, check out our roundups of the best 3D printers.
Data center developer offers households $10,000 each in attempt to get huge campus approved
Residents have called the payment a 'bribe', and list numerous concerns over pollution, water use, and property values
Developer's chief marketing officer called the payment a "pretty radical and pretty leading-edge" idea
Households in Hazle, Pennsylvania, were offered $10,000 each as part of a plan to help get a 1,300 acre AI data center built near the town - but it hasn’t gone exactly as planned.
NorthPoint Development believed the scheme - which would cost $45 million - would help convince local residents to get on board with having the campus built, but many residents are calling the payment a “bribe” and have refused.
The developers have also planned a further $120 million over the next 15 years through funding for community projects and the police department if the data center is approved.
Money isn’t everything
"As a direct answer to the question 'What's in it for me?' I think we came up with something pretty radical and pretty leading-edge," said Brent Miles, NorthPoint's chief marketing officer.
Residents were sent a letter in June offering each household a $10,000 “grant” as part of the developers plans to build the campus at the foot of the Pocono Mountains, which is dotted with scenic lakes, rivers, forests, and recreational resorts.
The $10,000 grant would be a significant sum for most Hazle residents, with the median household income sitting at $60,000 - far below the national median of around $87,000.
Outside of being seen as a bribe, some residents see it as a way for the developer to cause issues between those who will be closer to the data center and those living further away.
Ed Parks, who lives adjacent to the planned site, said, “They are trying to drive a wedge between Hazle Township residents who are directly affected by the data center, like myself, and people who might live a couple of miles away” (via TechSpot).
Small town concerns match the bigger picture
Many Hazle residents are concerned about pollution, water usage, energy costs, and excessive noise caused by the site. There are also concerns that property values could drop if the site is approved, worsening economic factors for local residents even further.
Residents close to existing data centers have reported symptoms of nausea and dizziness related to the noise of polluting gas burning turbines that many sites have turned to as an alternative to connecting to local grids.
When this hardware first came to me, it was called the Acemagic KRON mini K5, but somewhere along the line it got rebranded as just the plain old K5.
Built around Intel's Core 5 Processor 320, a chip better known by its original codename, Wildcat Lake. This is the interesting bit. It is Intel's first outing for the 18A process on a mainstream mini PC part, and that matters more than the modest core count suggests.
Six cores split two ways sit at the heart of this silicon. Two performance cores handle the heavy lifting, while four efficient cores take on background tasks and keep power draw sensible. Turbo tops out at 4.6GHz, which is plenty for a machine this size.
The headline figure is AI throughput. ACEMAGIC quotes 40 TOPS across the whole platform, with the NPU alone good for 16 TOPS and the Xe graphics core contributing up to 20 TOPS of its own. That puts local AI tasks such as background blur, transcription and on-device image processing well within reach, without leaning on the cloud.
However, the minimum requirement to run even Copilot locally is 47 TOPS, so it's best suited to simple models.
Memory has moved on too. LPDDR5 running at 6400MT/s replaces the LPDDR4X seen on older ACEMAGIC boxes, and that faster memory feeds both the CPU and the integrated Xe graphics more efficiently. The trade-off is that the memory is soldered down, so what it comes with, 16GB in this instance, is all it will ever have.
The downside is that this NUC costs closer to mid-spec hardware, but it lacks USB4 ports, and its NVMe slots are only Gen4 x2. Cheaper Intel and AMD platforms offer USB4 and NVMe Gen4 x4 slots, but they use older technology.
Once more Wildcat Lake systems enter the market, hopefully prices will come down, but it seems overpriced for the specs it offers.
It's never going to be the best mini PC, but it is an improvement over what technology it replaces.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Acemagic K5: Price and availability
How much does it cost? From $559
When is it out? Shipping from mid-October 2026
Where can you get it? You can get it directly from Acemagic
At the time of writing, the K5 is available for pre-order directly from Acemagic.com, but it seems likely that after its mid-October launch, it will also be purchasable from online retailers.
The US asking price is $559 for the only SKU, which has the Intel Core 5 320 CPU, 16GB of LPDDR5 memory and a 512GB SSD.
In the EU, two SKUs are coming on the 12th of October: one matching the US spec and another with the Intel Core 3 304 CPU, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. These are €549 and €349, respectively.
Right now, the K5 isn’t listed on the UK pages, but that’s likely to change in the coming weeks.
As I’ve already mentioned, the Wild Lake silicon is new, and other system makers are still readying their Wild Lake systems.
However, I found that Beelink has the EQ mini, which uses the Wildcat Lake Core 3 304 and comes with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage for $429. The 304 CPU has only five cores, less GPU and AI power, and a lower clock speed than the 320.
The only other brand shipping a machine based on the Core 5 320 is ASRock, with its Industrial NUC BOX-320. But that’s a quote-only solution that can come with 64GB of RAM and dual 2.5GbE LAN ports, so it’s unlikely to be cheap.
Overall, it's hard to tell whether the K5 will align with what system makers will ask for on this platform, but I’d hope it's less than this. The machines it replaces used the Core 3 N305, and those were, until memory became stupidly expensive, mostly below $300.
Value: 3 / 5
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Acemagic K5: Specs
Acemagic K5 Specifications
CPU
Intel Core 5 Processor 320 (Wildcat Lake), 2 performance cores plus 4 efficient cores, 6 threads, Intel 18A process
Clock speed
1.4GHz base, up to 4.6GHz turbo
Cache
6MB Intel Smart Cache
NPU
Up to 16 TOPS (Int8)
Platform AI total
Up to 40 TOPS across CPU, GPU and NPU
GPU
Intel Xe graphics, 2 Xe cores, up to 2.5GHz, up to 20 TOPS AI compute
Memory
16GB LPDDR5 6400MT/s, onboard and non-upgradable
Primary storage
512GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (PCIe Gen3 x4)
Expansion storage
1x M.2 2280 NVMe, each on a PCIe 4.0 x2 link
Wireless
WiFi 6
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.2 (M.2 2230 module)
Wired networking
1x 2.5GbE LAN, auto-negotiating down to 10Mbps
HDMI
1x HDMI 2.0, up to 4K at 60Hz
DisplayPort
1x DP 1.4, up to 4K at 60Hz
USB-C video
DP 1.4 Alt Mode, up to 4K at 60Hz, alongside USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 data at up to 20Gbps and USB PD 100W input
Audio
1x 3.5mm jack
USB-A front
2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 10Gbps
USB-A rear
4x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 5Gbps
USB-C
1x, shared video, data and 100W power input duties as above
Other
1x DC power input, 1x power button
Dimensions
128 x 128 x 41.3mm
Power input
DC 19V, 3.42A, up to 25W TDP design
Cooling
80mm x 10mm fan, aluminium heatsink, dual air outlets, rated at 2000rpm and above
Operating system
Windows 11 Pro
Warranty
Two years
Acemagic K5: Design
Plastic enclosure
Easy access
No USB 4
Acemagic has made systems with metal enclosures, but the K5 isn’t one of them. This is mostly plastic, and no amount of metallic paint is going to make people think otherwise.
The advantage of that material is that the K5 is remarkably light, and with a provided VESA bracket, it's remarkably easy to mount this hardware to the back of a monitor.
The chassis itself is tiny, at 128 by 128 by 41.3mm, yet ACEMAGIC has kept the TDP down to 25W. That should mean quiet running and low running costs, useful for anyone who wants a machine parked on a desk all day rather than tucked away and forgotten.
Access to the internals looks easy, since Acemagic has a small switch on the rear that slides to unlock the top of the case. But those expecting tool-less entry are soon disappointed: under the lid is a panel that needs four screws removed before you can reach the top of the motherboard.
That plate helps distribute heat from the SSDs and has a thermal pad, so you still need to pry it off even after removing the screws.
Once you get past those hurdles, you can reach the M.2 slots, and there are three. Two are the conventional 2280 variety; one is occupied by Windows 11 Pro, and the third is 2242 and occupied by the WiFi module.
Two 2280 M.2 slots sound great on paper, but there is a caveat we’ll get to later.
There is no memory access because the LPDDR5 used in this machine is soldered to the mainboard.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Moving back to the outside, ports are limited to the front and back, with the sides reserved for ventilation slots.
The front has a power button that self-illuminates with “POWER” when you press it to start the system, a small touch I liked. Also front-facing are two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2x2 port and a 3.5mm audio jack.
On the rear are four more USB-A ports, all USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gbps), one each of HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort and a single 2.5GbE LAN port. It also has a security slot on the rear, which, given how pocketable this machine is, might be worth using.
That single USB-C does a lot of work here. It carries video through DP Alt Mode, shifts data at up to 20Gbps over USB 3.2 Gen 2x2, and accepts up to 100W of power delivery. But that last specification makes zero sense, as you can’t power this PC with USB-C.
Placing it on the front, I assume you are meant to use it to charge phones and laptops, but that would be 100W output, not input. But this port doesn’t charge, which is confusing.
A bigger issue is that there is no USB4, and that is becoming something people expect, even if it’s only one port.
This problem, and a few others, come down to one part of the Wildcat Lake architecture that Intel didn’t improve enough.
Design: 4 / 5
Acemagic K5: Features
Wild Lake Core 5 320
LPDDR5 Memory
Short on PCIe lanes
The heart of this PC is a new processor series from Intel, which had the codename Wildcat Lake. This is a logical evolution of the products that were once in the Atom product lineup, and then went through a major revamp to become the N100, N150 and N305.
These were initially either two or four-core processors made for light-duty and embedded applications. Because they were cheap, they also ended up in some NUC enclosures, for those who didn’t need a powerful platform.
Somewhere along this path, Intel released the N300 with 8 cores, and the scope of what these systems could do expanded significantly.
But Intel has now abandoned that direction, the one where the chips all used E-cores (E for efficiency), operated with 7W or 15W of power and used the old UHD graphics.
The Core 5 320 has six cores. Two of these are now P-cores, designed for performance, alongside four E-cores.
Its power envelope starts at 15W and can be up to 54W, and where the N300 topped out at 3.8GHz, this new 18A silicon can run at 4.6GHz in boost mode.
With these attributes, it has significantly higher single-core and multi-core performance (roughly doubling the aggregate capability of entry-level N-series chips) thanks to its higher clock speeds and dedicated performance cores.
Which begs the obvious question: if it's that much better, where does that put the lower-specification Core Ultra chips? Well, Intel made sure it wouldn’t bother them, in a somewhat insidious way.
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
The PCIe lane budget is the catch, and it undermines many of the positive aspects of this series. On paper, the Core 5 320 has PCIe 4.0 instead of the PCIe 3.0 its predecessors got, so each lane has twice the bandwidth. But Intel gave it only six lanes, compared to the nine lanes in the Alder Lake-N series it replaces. Yes, another 33% more bandwidth, but the N300 was PCIe lane-starved to begin with.
To put that into perspective, a typical AMD Ryzen 5 mobile CPU has 20 lanes out of 24, and even on older models with PCIe 3.0, that’s more actual lanes and bandwidth than the Core 5 320. To be accurate, it’s 66% more.
This shortfall is not an Acemagic oversight but a Wildcat Lake platform limitation. Compact, low-power chips like this one get a smaller pool of PCIe lanes to share across storage, networking, and USB, and something has to give. Here, storage draws the short straw.
For everyday use, browsing, office work and light content creation, this will go largely unnoticed. For anyone hoping to drop in a fast PCIe 4.0 x4 drive and get full speed for large file transfers or video editing scratc
Features: 3 / 5
Acemagic K5: Performance
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
Mini PC
Acemagic K5
Beelink ME mini
CPU
Intel Core 5 320
Intel N150
Cores/Threads
6C 6T
4C 4T
RAM
16GB LPDDR5 6400
12GB LPDRR5 (1x 12GB)
SSD
512GB G932E5
64GB eMMC + 2TB Crucial P3 Plus SSD
Graphics
Intel Xe3 Graphics (Wildcat Lake)
Intel Graphics 730 (EU24)
3DMark
WildLife
11018
2298
FireStrike
3508
732
TimeSpy
1693
293
S.Nomad
1254
188
Cine24
Single
110
56
Multi
402
135
Ratio
3.64
2.4
GeekBench 6
Single
2559
1103
Multi
7852
2334
OpenCL
12764
3908
Vulkan
14273
4354
CrystalDisk
Read MB/s
1786
1731
Write MB/s
1748
1686
PCMark 10
Office
6280
2781
WEI
Score
8.1
5.6
It was hard to decide which machine spec to compare the K5 with, since it’s an entirely new platform.
But since this is designed to replace the old N100 and N300 tier in the Intel stable, I found an N150-powered mini PC, the Beelink ME mini, that seemed appropriate.
Except in most respects, the Wildcat Lake machine eats the Twin Lake (Alder Lake-N refresh) architecture for breakfast.
In fact, if we take the single-core benchmarks in isolation, the Core 5 320 is faster than the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H, and for graphics it's faster than the Intel Core i7 12650H.
The dramatic difference we see against Twin Lake is because that platform used only Gracemont efficiency cores, had fewer cores, offered only single-channel memory support, used an Intel UHD graphics GPU, and had no NPU support.
This new Wildcat Lake generation has two performance cores and four efficiency cores, dual-channel DDR5 memory, Intel Xe3 graphics (two Xe cores), and an integrated NPU.
But those advantages come at a power cost: while the Beelink ME mini operated within a 9-15W budget, the Acemagic K5 runs 9-25W, and some systems running this chip will likely turbo to 35W.
But it’s easy to get carried away by all the performance benefits this generation brings and miss a rather obvious hole Intel left unpatched in the good ship Wildcat Lake.
Both machines share one horrible aspect: abysmal SSD performance. And it's for precisely the same reason.
While Intel was handing out all the new technology in the memory management, cores, GPU and NPU departments, they failed to properly address one critical area, PCIe lanes.
The Twin Lake architecture supported 9 PCIe 3.0 lanes, and the new Wildcat Lake supports 6 PCIe 4.0 lanes. Because PCIe 4.0 has double the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0, that’s the modern equivalent of 12 PCIe 3.0 lanes.
But with a 2.5GbE LAN port and seven USB ports, that eats up bandwidth to the point where there aren’t enough PCIe lanes to properly support the M.2 NVMe slots.
These slots are both PCIe 4.0 x2, and that’s a problem.
As the benchmarks reveal, the speed of the system drive is less than 1800MB/s in both read and write. But the drive's specification is double that speed.
The drive is a Gen3 drive, but the M.2 slot is Gen4, and the result is that it gets two lanes of PCIe, and two lanes of Gen3 is about 1800MB/s. That mistake is on Acemagic, because a Gen4 drive would be twice as fast. Not Gen4 x4 fast, since it only has two lanes, but twice as fast as the Gen3 drive Acemagic installed.
This is all somewhat frustrating. Intel built a punchy six-core system with excellent single-core performance and reasonable GPU output, and then kneecapped it effectively with limited PCIe lanes. And Acemagic put the wrong type of NVMe drive in one, regrettably.
Performance: 3.5 / 5
Acemagic K5: Final verdict
(Image credit: Mark Pickavance)
As you may have gathered, the K5 is a mixed bag. But aside from one issue I can put down to Acemagic, most of the problems are Intel’s.
The more I looked at this system, the more I came to the conclusion that Intel realised these low-end chips were going to be too good, so they made sure they couldn’t be used more broadly by limiting the number of PCIe lanes.
Evidently, USB4 or Gen x4 M.2 slots on the Core 5 320 would have threatened Core Ultra models, so they made sure it was unlikely to have them.
Acemagic, for their part, did the best they could with this platform, with the exception of the Gen3 NVMe drive, which was a cost saving too far.
If this system were ever to be around $400, I’d recommend it for general office use, but its launch price makes it compete with the likes of the GMKtec M6 Ultra Mini PC. That’s a $459.99 system powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS (6 cores, 12 threads) with dual Gen4 x4 M.2 slots, USB4, dual 2.5GbE LAN ports and slotted SODIMM DDR5 memory that can be upgraded to 128GB.
When you compare the two options, the Acemagic K5 looks like it's been priced above what its specifications can justify.
Should you buy a Acemagic K5?
Value
Seems expensive for the specifications
3 / 5
Design
Mostly plastic construction with easy-ish internal access
4 / 5
Features
Great new Wildcat Lake CPU undermined by lack of PCIe lanes
3 / 5
Performance
An excellent single-core performer, but the Gen3 NVMe drive is slowed down in a Gen4 slot
3.5 / 5
Overall
What could be a useful general-purpose system, if it can get much cheaper than the launch price.
3.5 / 5
Buy it if...
You must have the latest tech The Wildcat Lake CPU in this system is impressive and shows that Intel can deliver performance and efficiency if they want. It’s a dramatic improvement over the old N-series silicon.
You need lots of USB With two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports on this design and another four Gen1, this machine has plenty of ports for external devices without the need to attach a dock.
Don't buy it if...
You need USB4 or Thunderbolt While the K5 has plenty of USB, it doesn’t support Thunderbolt or USB 4.0. For those using those technologies, that could be a deal-breaker.
You need high-performance NVMe This machine comes with a Gen3 NVMe that lives in a Gen4 slot, halving its performance. But even with a Gen4 drive, the dual-lane configuration only allows for a maximum of about 3800MB/s transfer. It doesn’t matter what drive you put inside this machine; it won’t go any faster.
Also Consider
GMKtec K6 Ultra A mid-level AMD system that sports an AMD Ryzen 5 7640HS processor, up to 32GB of RAM and dual Gen4 x4 M.2 slots. This hardware shows what’s possible when you have 20 PCIe lanes. Also available in a barebones configuration if you have RAM and SSDs spare.
Acemagic K1 Those wanting a decent PC that can run any office tasks and surf the internet should consider the previous Acemagic design, the K1. It comes in two variants: one that uses the Intel Core i5-12600H, and another much more affordable model that’s built around the AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 platforms.
The top-spec model uses the Ryzen 7 773OU CPU, comes with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, and costs a little over $400. A good price for a machine with an 8-core, 16-thread CPU.
