But one bit of Apple kit that’s reportedly being left off the list is Apple’s own smart speaker, the (now seemingly humble) HomePod 2 – and of course the HomePod mini. 

In the latest edition of his Power On newsletter, respected analyst Mark Gurman said that Apple is prepping Apple Intelligence for its Vision Pro, aka the Apple AR headset that just turned one year old – but not until next year. As reported by MacRumors, this is a top-tier Apple device boasting sufficient memory to run on-device Apple Intelligence features – including that next-gen version of Siri I’ve been hoping for (in my HomePod). 

But according to the MacRumors report, Gurman does not expect the ‌HomePod‌ to offer Apple Intelligence, (even, presumably, the potential future HomePod that could act more like a dedicated soundbar) and thinks Tim Cook’s behemoth is focusing instead on “an entirely new robotic device with a display that includes Apple Intelligence at its core.”

Why no Apple-Intelligent HomePods? 

Siri, can you be Apple Intelligent on this? 

HomePod owners may be understandably miffed that Apple’s all-new multimodal, cross-platform approach to today’s AI computing trend could completely forego their Apple smart speaker. 

After all, the February 2022-issue HomePod 2 wasn’t cheap, at $299 / £299 / AU$479 and despite our praise for its sound quality and design, it’s no secret that Apple’s flagship smart speaker is lagging behind when it comes to smartness. (In case you missed it, Siri forgot how to tell the time on HomePod recently). 

So why is this (probably) happening? Well, Apple Intelligence requires a minimum of 8GB of memory, but both ‌HomePod‌ and HomePod mini only include 1GB of memory. According to MacRumors’ source, the current ‌HomePod‌ is “too low-volume a product to waste the engineering time” to bring Apple Intelligence to the device.

While the cheaper HomePod mini features proudly in our roundup of the best smart speakers you can buy, the notion that Apple won’t be upgrading the speakers’ smarts with its latest proprietary Intelligence will be seen by many as confirmation that the iPhone giant is unconcerned about its dedicated audio products. 

It’s not all bad news: Apple recently announced (albeit fairly quietly) that you can curate a shared playlist queue with HomePods across multiple iPhones using Apple’s SharePlay. Oh, and AirPlay now supports Dolby Atmos on your HomePods. But it’s not the super-Siri involvement I was hoping for. 

To clarify, Siri did get its biggest-ever upgrade as part of iOS 18 (announced at WWDC 2024) including new ChatGPT powers thanks to an OpenAI partnership, plus deep integration with supported iPhones, iPads and Macs. But because the new version of Siri is powered by Apple Intelligence, which gives the virtual voice assistant features like ‘on-screen awareness’ to make it work better with your apps and even a visual makeover (with a glowing light around the edges of your iPhone’s screen which you’ll ‘squish’ to operate), it’s something of a walled garden, reserved for Apple’s most elite devices. 

I accept that HomePod customers are small-fry compared to AirPods and iPhone-owners. But loyal Apple Music subscribers (and indeed HomePod lovers) do exist – I am one of them. A lack of Apple Intelligence ecosystem support in Apple’s once pioneering wireless speakers could still present an issue for fans waiting for September to roll around for the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max.

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The era of generative AI is here, ushered in by neural networks capable of generating new data, creating content and making informed decisions based on extensive training datasets.

But exactly what generative AI looks like is increasingly an open question: While ChatGPT ushered in a wave of similar chatbot-style, text-based interfaces, others including Hume AI and even OpenAI competitor Anthropic have taken alternative approaches.

Meanwhile, Google and Microsoft have augmented their search engines with gen AI and new gen AI content creation models such as Stable Diffusion, Midjourney, Runway’s Gen-3 Alphas and Luma AI’s Dream Machine have all offered even more interesting web-based interfaces and apps with dials, buttons, slider bars and other methods of controlling or influencing AI models to generate more specific outputs.

Thus, when it comes to gen AI user interfaces, while there may be some common elements — there is truly no “one size fits” all user interface paradigm. It’s all about fitting the gen AI model to the specific use case and desired output.

One thing is certain: to create impactful and user-friendly gen AI applications, product engineers and designers must consider their intended use case, user base and the questions they will have about how to make a model do what they wish.

VentureBeat will host a panel of experts discussing the future of AI at the VB Transform 2024 conference in San Francisco from July 9-11, 2024, featuring design, engineering, and product leads from gen AI companies including OpenAI, Microsoft and Pika, as well as more traditional companies that have embraced the tech, including CapitalOne, Pinterest, Slack, eBay, Zendesk and Wayfair.

Chatbots seek to keep it simple

ChatGPT by OpenAI

The one that started the gen AI era, ChatGPT’s streamlined design focuses on various task-specific tools, suggesting versatility in functionality. It offers features like summarization, planning and productivity aids, making it a comprehensive assistant for different needs.

Google Bard/Gemini

Google Bard, now known as Gemini, integrates AI-driven insights with powerful search capabilities. The interface is sleek and modern, designed to enhance productivity through contextual responses. This clean layout caters to both casual users and professionals, providing detailed information swiftly and efficiently. Its integration with Google’s search engine ensures users get precise and relevant results.

Hugging Chat by Hugging Face

Hugging Chat offers an interface tailored for developers and researchers. It provides extensive tools for interacting with and fine-tuning AI models. The modular design facilitates easy integration with various platforms, emphasizing flexibility and user control. This customization allows users to adapt the interface to specific needs, making it a powerful tool for those working on advanced AI projects.

Claude by Anthropic

Claude’s interface caters to technical users, featuring coding and development tools. Anthropic, the company behind it, recently updated its interface in a novel way with a new feature, “Artifacts” that allows users to see it compile code and even run full programs alongside their chat interface.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft Copilot is embedded directly into the Office suite, providing AI assistance within familiar applications. This seamless integration offers contextual help and content generation without disrupting workflow. Users benefit from suggestions and automation tools designed to enhance productivity, all within a smooth and cohesive user experience.

Pi by Inflection AI

Pi AI is a conversational agent focused on personal assistance and information retrieval. Its clean and straightforward interface prioritizes text-based interactions, delivering quick and relevant responses. This simplicity makes it an effective tool for daily use, from managing schedules to gathering information swiftly.

Hume AI

Hume AI distinguishes itself with its Empathic Voice Interface (EVI), the first conversational AI with emotional intelligence. Unlike traditional chatbots, Hume AI uses voice interactions, analyzing intonation, pitch, pauses and other vocal features to understand and convey human emotions. This capability allows it to respond more naturally and empathetically.

In Hume AI’s public demo, the interface displays detected emotions in real-time, providing a visual representation of the user’s emotional state. This advanced emotional understanding makes Hume AI suitable for applications requiring nuanced interactions, such as customer support, personal companionship and collaborative tasks. The startup, led by CEO Alan Cowen, aims to revolutionize AI interactions by integrating emotional intelligence into its core functionality.

Search Engines and Research Tools

NinjaTech

NinjaTech offers a streamlined interface for conducting academic and professional research. It includes advanced querying and data analysis tools, making it ideal for in-depth studies. The design focuses on efficiency and clarity, supporting extensive data manipulation and visualization. This interface is perfect for users requiring powerful research capabilities.

Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI combines search engine functionality with AI-driven insights. Its clean, minimalist design delivers concise and accurate answers to user queries. The platform also supports multimedia searches, enhancing its utility for comprehensive research tasks. Users benefit from a straightforward interface that simplifies complex search requirements.

Content Creation

Luma AI’s Dream Machine

Dream Machine by Luma AI is designed for visual creativity, offering tools for text-to-video and image-to-video generation. The interface is visually driven, with an emphasis on ease of use. Users can quickly generate and edit videos, making it an excellent tool for creative professionals seeking efficiency and quality.

MidJourney

MidJourney’s image generation interface provides extensive customization options. Users can control stylization, weirdness and variety through intuitive sliders, allowing for precise creative expression. The user-friendly design ensures a smooth experience, catering to artists and designers looking for flexibility and control over their creations.

Suno AI

Suno AI focuses on AI-driven music creation, featuring a straightforward interface for generating songs based on user prompts. It includes options for song description, style selection and instrumental toggles, making it accessible to users with varying levels of musical expertise. The platform emphasizes creativity and user-friendly interactions.

Interwoven Through Different Existing Features and Interfaces

Apple Intelligence in iOS 18

Apple’s AI features in iOS 18 provide advanced writing tools and personalization options directly within the operating system. The interface is simple and accessible, enabling users to generate and edit text, create custom emojis, and personalize messages effortlessly. These tools enhance everyday tasks, integrating AI seamlessly into the user experience.

Meta AI

Meta AI, based on the company’s open-source Llama chatbot, merges social media dynamics with AI interactions. Its platform focuses on community engagement and interactive content creation, allowing users to generate and share AI-driven posts seamlessly. The design is visually appealing and integrates social features, making it popular among younger audiences for its engaging and interactive approach.

In summary, these AI services showcase diverse interfaces tailored to specific user needs, from conversational chatbots and advanced research tools to creative content generation and emotionally intelligent interactions. Each service offers unique features that enhance user experience, productivity, and creativity.

Interface Designs Categorized

By examining these diverse interfaces, it’s clear that the future success of generative AI services hinges on design and user experience.

The upcoming VB Transform 2024 conference will further explore these themes with expert panels discussing the cross-functional future of AI, featuring leaders. We hope to see you there!

This convergence of design, UX, and cross-functional teamwork is shaping the future of AI applications, ensuring they not only function well but also delight users while adhering to ethical standards.

The Motorola Razr 2024 vs. Razr Plus 2023 showdown is essential to see if the newer model has enough improved specs to motivate you to upgrade. Switching from a Plus model to a standard one may not seem appealing, but after a good comparison, you can see if an upgrade is what you’re looking for.

If you would rather keep things simple, the Razr 2024 model may seem more appealing regarding specs. But since the Razr Plus 2023 is the premium model, you might not be too keen on downgrading. Let’s compare these two Motorola phones to see if the switch is worth it.

Motorola Razr 2024 vs. Razr Plus 2023: Design

When you first look at these two models, you might not see much difference in design. But with a closer look, you’ll see that the Motorola Razr 2024 comes in various colors, such as Spritz Orange, Beach Sand, and Koala Grey. It also flaunts vegan leather on the rear, 188g weight, and an IPX8 rating. When the Razr 2024 is open, it measures 73.99 x 171.30 x 7.25; when closed, it measures 73.99 x 88.08 x 15.85. Motorola also adds Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the front for better protection and a hinge that’s 30% smaller than last year with an IPX8 rating. The smaller hinge is that the screen crease is reduced but not eliminated in its 6000 series high-strength aluminum frame.

The Motorola Razr Plus 2023 is available in Infinite Black, Glacier Blue, Viva Magenta, and Peach Fuzz. It also has a vegan leather option for that premium finish. It weighs the same (188g) as the newer standard model and has better dust protection with an IP52 rating. When this foldable is open, it measures 73.95 x 170.83 x 6.99mm; when closed, it measures 73.95 x 88.42 x 151mm. The older premium model also has Corning Gorilla Glass Victus, but one-upping the newer model by having it on both the front and rear parts of the phone. The external display also gives your friends a preview of the pictures you’re taking so you can get their good side. It comes with a USB 2.0 Type-C port.

Motorola Razr 2024 vs. Razr Plus 2023: Display

A display comparison is also necessary for the Motorola Razr 2024 vs. Razr Plus 2023. In this case, both Motorola flip phones share a 413ppi 6.9-inch FHD+ pOLED main display and a 3.6-inch pOLED external display. The Razr Plus 2023 also shares the same screen resolution as the Motorola Razr 2024, which is 2640 x 1080 for the primary display and 1056 x 1066 for the external display.

The difference between these two models is that the Razr Plus 2023 has a higher refresh rate than the newer standard model. It has a 165Hz refresh rate for the primary screen and a 144Hz refresh rate for the external display. The Razr Plus 2023 features a peak brightness of 1,400 nits for the main display and 1,100 nits for the external display.

The Motorola Razr 2024 has a higher peak brightness and Water Touch Technology, which allows you to use your phone properly when wet. The newer model has a peak brightness of 3,000 nits for the main display and 1,700 nits for the external display, making it easier to look at your phone outdoors. Both displays also get a downgrade in terms of refresh rate, with 120Hz on the main panel and 90Hz on the cover screen.

Motorola Razr 2024 vs. Razr Plus 2023: Hardware

There are notable differences in hardware between the Motorola Razr 2024 and the Razr Plus 2023. For example, the newer Moto features a 4,200mAh battery, 30W Turbo Power, and 15W wireless charging. In terms of processors, you’ll find a MediaTek Dimensity 7300X that offers four Arm Cortex-A78 cores clocking at 2.5GHz.

If you like taking pictures, try the Razr 2024’s 50MP (OIS) primary camera and a 13MP ultrawide camera. For selfies, you can have fun with the 32MP lens, which has features like Gesture and Auto Smile Capture, Face Beauty, and Google Photos Auto Enhance. You get crispt 4K (30fps) FHD videos with the primary camera and 4K UHD (30fps) with the front-facing camera. You can also count on 256GB storage, stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, and a USB-C port.

The Motorola Razr Plus 2023 has a 3,800mAh battery and supports 30W TurboPower wired and slower 5W wireless charging. So, if you want faster charging, it’s best to plug in. Regarding the battery, our reviewer Derrek Lee mentions that the battery life isn’t great, and the phone struggles to get through the day on a single charge. Last year’s Razr Plus 2023 was powered by the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, which offers the same benefits as the 8 Gen 1 but with better thermal management. The processor should be enough for everything you might do with the phone, such as using your favorite apps, using the apps, and having the apps switch between the two displays.

The Razr Plus 2023 also has stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos and three mics that produce pleasant audio, along with 256GB storage with no expandable storage. Other specifications include a USB 2.0 Type-C port and Qualcomm Snapdragon Sound.

Motorola Razr 2024 vs. Razr Plus 2023: Software

The Motorola Razr 2024 comes with Android 14 out of the box, with Moto Hello UX on top. You can count on three years of OS and four years of security updates. You can also access Google Gemini from the external display, and you will receive a three-month free trial of Gemini Advance with 2TB of cloud storage with your purchase.

The Razr 2024’s AI features include Style Sync, which gives you AI-generated wallpapers based on what you’re wearing, or Magic Canvas, which creates images using written prompts of anything you can think of. The latest Motorola model also has adaptive stabilization. You can have fun with the Photo Booth on both displays, creating a collage of the four pictures it takes. AI is used for scene optimization and recognizing and adapting to the scene.

The Motorola Raz Plus 2023 comes with Android 13 out of the box, promising three OS upgrades and four years of bi-monthly security updates. To make app viewing easier, you can use a mode called Flex View, which shifts apps to the top portion of your phone. You can use gestures such as twist and chop motions for quicker camera access and flashlight access.

The software also lets you pin any app for a more seamless experience and eliminate distractions thanks to Moto Unplugged, which limits the apps you can use. You can use three fingers to take screenshots, which gives you more options besides using the button combination.

Motorola Razr 2024 vs. Razr Plus 2023: Which one is right for you?

Since both phones are from Motorola, the experience is similar. The main difference between the two is in the specifications. With the Motorola Razr 2024, you get Android 14 out of the box, while on the Razr Plus 2023, you need to wait for the update to reach your phone. The Motorola Razr Plus 2023 does have a processor generally found on flagships for better performance.

The Motorola Razr 2024 will be available for pre-order at T-Mobile on July 10. Meanwhile, the unlocked version will be available on Motorola’s official site and Amazon on July 24 for $700. If you can’t wait and need a phone now, the Motorola Razr Plus 2023 is still available on sites such as Amazon and Motorola’s official site for $649. If you don’t mind last year’s plus model, you will get a premium experience for less money.

The best Wi-Fi range extenders do what they say on the box – extend your home’s Wi-Fi signal, eliminating dead spots around your home. With so many of us working from home, it’s important that your wireless network is robust, and that means being able to get a Wi-Fi signal in all areas of your home, including your basement or backyard. You don’t necessarily need to invest in a new wireless router or modem either, since Wi-Fi extenders connect to your existing home network and are often quite affordable. We tested out a number of Wi-Fi extenders to find out which are actually worth your money. However, if you think it’s time for an upgrade and want to replace your entire router system, you can check out our best mesh Wi-Fi system guide.

How do Wi-Fi extenders work?

These handy wireless devices do exactly what their name suggests: extend your Wi-Fi network so it covers more areas of your home. Most Wi-Fi extenders plug into an AC outlet and connect to your existing network so they can then rebroadcast it to spots that your router alone may not cover well. As a rule of thumb, you’ll get the best results by placing the extender half way between your router and the dead zone you’re trying to fix.

One important thing to note about Wi-Fi range extenders (also sometimes called “repeaters”) is that most of them actually create a new Wi-Fi network when rebroadcasting your existing one. That network will have a new name (it’ll often be your default network’s name with an EXT appended at the end, unless you change it) and that means you’ll have to connect to different networks when in different parts of your home. While that’s a small tradeoff in return for improved coverage, some will be more inconvenienced than others.

If you’d rather have one, much larger network in your home, you’re better off upgrading to mesh Wi-Fi. Mesh systems come with a main router and access points that, by default, create one large Wi-Fi system that should be accessible throughout your whole home. But that also translates to more expensive, and possibly more complicated, devices. Mesh Wi-Fi systems are, by far, more costly than a simple extender, plus you may have to work with your ISP to get your home’s existing network working on your new router.

What to look for in a Wi-Fi extenderSpeed

Extenders today can support single, dual or tri-band Wi-Fi, and they will tell you the maximum speeds they support on all of their available bands. For example, one dual-band device might support 600Mbps speeds over its 2.4GHz band and up to 1300Mbps over its 5GHz band, for a combined maximum speed of 1900Mbps. For the best performance, you’ll want to go with a Wi-Fi extender that has the highest speeds possible (and those, as you might expect, tend to cost more).

However, it’s important to remember that Wi-Fi extenders are not true “signal boosters” since they are not designed to increase speeds across your home. In fact, you may find that the extender’s network is slower than your router’s. Instead, extenders are designed to increase the Wi-Fi coverage throughout your home, making them ideal for filling in dead zones.

Range, and number of supported devices

With the name of the gaming being coverage area, taking note of a device’s range is important. Depending on the size of your home and property, you may only need up to 1,200 square feet of coverage. But those with larger homes will want to spring for an extender that can support upwards of 2,000+ square feet of coverage.

Similarly, those with lots of gadgets will want an extender that can handle them all at once. If you spend most of your time on your phone or laptop and maybe have your smart TV online for a few hours of Netflix each day, you could get by with a more limited extender. Smart home aficionados and tech lovers should invest in one that won’t buckle under the pressure of a few dozen connected devices. This is especially important if you plan on linking all of the devices in a certain part of your home to your Wi-Fi range extender’s network, rather than directly to your Wi-Fi router.

Design

There isn’t a ton of innovation when it comes to design in the Wi-Fi extender space. Most of the ones you’ll find today are rounded rectangles roughly the size of your hand that plug into a standard wall outlet. They usually have a few indicator lights that will show you when the extender is connected, how strong its signal strength is and when there’s a problem, and some will even have moveable antennas that companies claim provide even better Wi-Fi signal.

Aside from that, there are the scant few standalone Wi-Fi extenders that sit on an end table or a desk, and those look pretty similar to regular ol’ routers. But make no mistake, anything labeled as an extender or a “repeater” will need an anchor router in order for it to work.

Another convenient feature you’ll find on most Wi-Fi extenders is an extra Ethernet port (or a few). This allows you to use the extender as a Wi-Fi access point if you connect it to your wireless router, or an adapter to provide devices like TVs, smart home hubs or game consoles a hardwired connection to the internet. Unsurprisingly, this wired connection usually provides you with the fastest speeds possible, so you may want to use it for your most crucial devices.

Best Wi-Fi extender for 2024

TP-Link

TP-Link’s RE315 Wi-Fi extender is physically very similar to the RE705X, but with lower specs and that’s what makes it a $50 device. You’ll get up to 867 Mbps speeds on the 5GHz band and 300 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, and it only provides coverage for up to 1,500 square feet. That won’t be as much of an issue for most people as max speeds will, but if you have a particularly large property, you’re better off going with a more expensive extender that can cover more space.

There’s also no Wi-Fi 6 support on the RE315, which may be a dealbreaker for those who recently invested in a Wi-Fi 6 router. This model does support OneMesh, though, which is nice if you already have a OneMesh system in your home.

I’m focusing on specification differences because my experience with the RE315 wasn’t that far off from the RE705X. Setup was just as plain and simple since the RE315 also uses the Tether mobile app, and while speeds were slightly lower in my testing, I didn’t notice too much of a difference in real world use. For $50 normally, and often closer to $30 when on sale, the RE315 is an easy pick for anyone who wants a budget-friendly way to fill Wi-Fi dead zones in their home.

ProsAffordableEasy setup processGood performance for the priceEasy to use companion app

ConsOnly provides 1,500 square feet of coverageDoes not support Wi-Fi 6

$23 at Amazon

NETGEAR

Having more than one Wi-Fi network in your house is par for the course when it comes to adding an extender into the mix. But that’s not so with the Netgear EAX80 mesh network range extender – it has “seamless smart roaming,” which allows you to set it up under your existing SSID name. So instead of disconnecting from your main wireless network and reconnecting to the extender’s network when you move from your living room to your basement, all you have to do is… move from one room to another and let Netgear’s device do the heavy lifting.

That’s one of the premium features included on the EAX80, but its $250 price tag can be attributed more so to some other perks. It’s a dual-band, Wi-Fi 6 mesh range extender that will work with pretty much any wireless router you may have. It supports speeds up to 6 Gbps and can have more than 30 devices connected to it at once. As far as square footage goes, it’ll widen your Wi-Fi’s coverage by up to 2,500 square feet, which should be plenty for small and medium-sized homes. It performed well in our speed tests, coming very close to the upload/download speeds I got when being connected to my main network before installing the extender.

There’s nothing out of the ordinary about the Nighthawk mobile app, which is what you’ll use to initially set up the EAX80 extender. After that, you can use the app to troubleshoot, check Wi-Fi speeds and see which devices are on your network. It’ll likely be a big list since you’ll see everything that’s paired to your router’s network as well. My only gripe is that you can’t edit device names. For example, my den’s TV shows up as “LGwebOSTV” and our soundbar in our basement shows up as “sonyaudio” — but there are a number of connected devices with no name at all, and we’re just stuck with that.

Aside from its fast speeds and reliable connection, two things set this Netgear extender apart from the other devices I tested. First is that seamless smart roaming feature – not having to switch between Wi-Fi networks when going around my home was super convenient. I never had to worry about my laptop losing connection to a dedicated extender network when I moved from my basement to my second floor, which is something I frequently had to deal with when testing other devices.

The second differentiating factor is the EAX80’s design. Unlike other range extenders that are chunky blocks that plug directly into an AC outlet, Netgear’s model looks more like a standalone router. While that does mean it has a larger footprint than other devices I tested, it was actually easier to find good spots for it in my home because it didn’t have to be chained to the wall right above an outlet. Most people, especially those tight on space, will probably prefer the standard extender design, but the EAX80 gave me a bit more flexibility. I also appreciated that the EAX80 has four built-in ports for using an Ethernet cable to physically connect things like TVs, consoles and more, plus one USB-A port for hardwiring a printer.

Netgear’s EAX80 range extender is a solid option if you don’t mind dropping a bit of money to get a bunch of convenient features on top of stellar speeds and Wi-Fi 6 support. But it’s worth noting that Netgear has a few options that are similar to the EAX80, but with various differences in speed, coverage and feature set. The most similar is the $130 EAX20 extender, which includes 1,500 square feet of coverage, support for Wi-Fi 6 and up to 1.8Gbps speeds, plus seamless smart roaming capabilities. The wall-plug version of that, the EAX15, is actually a tad more expensive at $140.

Pros“Seamless smart roaming” lets you use your existing SSID nameDual-band Wi-Fi 6 supportWidens coverage by 2,500 square feetExcellent performance

$250 at Amazon

Wi-Fi extender FAQsWhat’s the difference between a wifi booster and extender?

Nowadays, there’s really no difference between a Wi-Fi booster and Wi-Fi extender – they’re just different names for the same thing. Previously, however, Wi-Fi boosters were devices that received signals from wireless routers, broadcasting them to another network. This essentially extends the range of the signal. Wi-Fi extenders expand the coverage within your home’s Wi-Fi network, but often you will see extenders described as boosters.

Is a Wi-Fi extender better than a mesh router?

Mesh routers, or mesh Wi-Fi systems, use multiple devices (or nodes) across your home to create a larger home network. Essentially, you have multiple routers around your home with these systems, and that will hopefully provide the best coverage possible. Wi-Fi extenders, on the other hand, are usually just one device that extends your existing Wi-Fi signal, and they often require you to switch networks when connecting. Wi-Fi extenders are more affordable, though, and are great if you’re traveling or need a Wi-Fi signal in harder-to-reach areas. However, a mesh router can offer a better long-term solution to upgrade your entire home’s Wi-Fi.

Should I use multiple Wi-Fi extenders?

Some people may need to use multiple Wi-Fi extenders, for instance, if your home is large or has dead zones in different areas. But if you do use multiple Wi-Fi extenders, there’s a chance of interference. You may also need to manually connect to the extenders separately, which isn’t always convenient.

TerraMaster is a major NAS manufacturer that predominantly focuses on the budget segment, but in recent years the brand has started making mid-range and high-end servers. The F4-423 is an interesting 4-bay NAS that is powered by the proven Intel Celeron platform, and it continues to be a solid choice two years after its debut.

What’s interesting is that the F4-423 has dual 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports; more and more brands are now offering multi-Gigabit connectivity as standard, so this gives you much better headroom when it comes to data transfers. The rest of the hardware is decent too — you get 4GB of RAM, dual M.2 slots, and the NAS can hold a total of 80TB of data.

The biggest limitation of previous TerraMaster NAS servers was the software, but the manufacturer rolled out a new version at the start of the year, dubbed TOS 6, with a cleaner UI and polished features. The F4-423 debuted at $459, but it has been around for a while, and you can get it at $389 on Amazon, making it a great value if you need a powerful 4-bay server.

TerraMaster doesn’t change the design of its NAS servers, and the F4-423 looks identical to the F2-221 and the 10GbE F5-422 that I reviewed previously. The NAS has a metallic enclosure and is decked out in white, and the color scheme tends to stand out a bit from the black-clad models sold by most other vendors. That said, the design is elegant, and there are absolutely no issues with the build quality.

The front has the drive bays, and you can install 3.5-inch HDDs without the use of any tools. There’s also a provision to use 2.5-inch HDDs or SSDs, and you get two M.2 2280 slots as well. The F4-423 contains a single 4GB DRAM module, but there are two SO-DIMM slots, and you can easily add an additional memory module should you need it — the NAS accommodates up to 32GB across both slots (16GB in each). Installing a new memory module or M.2 slot requires dismantling the NAS, and TerraMaster should really start offering an easier way to do this.

There are individual status LEDs for each HDD, and you get one for LAN connectivity and power. Both of the USB 3.1 ports are located at the back, and like most other TerraMaster servers, you get an HDMI port, making it highly convenient to connect the F4-423 to a TV.

The biggest talking point in this area is the dual 2.5GbE Ethernet ports; even if you don’t have a multi-Gigabit network set up right now, you can take advantage of the connectivity should you make the switch down the line. In a similar vein, the Intel Celeron N5095 continues to be a standout choice in this category, and it has hardware transcoding, so if you’re looking at a Plex media server that can handle transcodes, the F4-423 is a great choice.

The F4-423 doesn’t get loud in daily use, and even under load, the noise from the dual 80mm fans at the back isn’t noticeably high. I slotted in 6TB IronWolf drives in the NAS, and in over a year of use, I didn’t see any issues whatsoever when it comes to day-to-day performance; the F4-423 has been very reliable in this regard.

While the hardware is among the best in this segment, the only shortcoming with the NAS is the software. TerraMaster is making progress in this area with TOS, and to the brand’s credit, TOS 5 amends a lot of the issues from previous years. TOS 6 is turning out to be a huge upgrade, and it overhauls a lot of the privacy and security features and introduces a cleaner and modern UI.

It’s still in public beta as of writing, and I wouldn’t recommend installing it on your NAS, but what I’ve seen of it so far is exciting. And if you don’t like the look of TOS, you can always install your own, like TrueNAS Scale. It’s relatively easy to do, and the extensibility makes the F4-423 a decent option if you want to tinker with the software.

Two years after its launch, the F4-423 is still a terrific overall NAS, and while the the F4-424 Pro is now available and has better hardware, it also costs $699. If you need a 4-bay home NAS server with the best hardware in this segment and are looking to maximize value, the F4-423 has plenty to offer.