After Independence Day, director Roland Emmerich and producer Dean Devlin could have easily kept feeding the multiplex more flag-waving alien carnage. Instead, with Robert Rodat’s Saving Private Ryan pedigree tempering the “U-S-A!” machinery, The Patriot became something more grounded, darker, and far better researched than anyone had reason to expect. It is still historical fiction with Hollywood fingerprints all over it, but compared to the glorious cheese fountain of ID4, this is a far more serious and satisfying story about American grit, personal loss, and the ugly cost of revolution.

Mel Gibson’s Benjamin Martin is not based on one specific individual but a composite of militia who fought so bravely to win our freedom from Great Britain some two-and-a-half centuries ago. As a veteran of the French and Indian War, specifically “the wilderness campaign,” he’s not only witnessed but perpetrated unspeakable horrors and is reluctant to see his people thrust into another bloody conflict. But when the war comes for him and his family, this expert in guerilla warfare answers the call and helps turn the tide. Beyond the relatively minor indignities such as the Tea Act Monopoly, the Stamp Act and the Writs of Assistance, we’re shown the atrocities visited upon the colonists by the British forces, a brutality born of arrogance, and it’s hard not to be invested in the struggle by the climactic battle.

A quick glance over my left shoulder at the shelf marked M through Z tells me that, damn, I must really like this movie. I’ve owned The Patriot on five different five-inch discs (see photo), and that was before Sony dropped its new and improved SteelBook 4K edition, once again serving up both the R-rated theatrical cut and the longer unrated version. On the 2018 UHD disc release, just the theatrical cut was in Atmos and 4K, but only in HDR10, with the unrated version in 1080p/5.1. This SteelBook set now offers both cuts each on its own BD-100 platter, in 4K, Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, with breathtaking cover artwork by Paul Shipper.

Say what you like about ol’ Mad Max here, but he is one intense thespian, and his closeups convey his grief, his conviction, and the inner demons that fuel Martin’s resolve. Not every shot is razor-sharp, but nonetheless it looks like we’re watching the Revolutionary War, the roll-up and the aftermath through an immaculate window. A light, consistent layer of film grain accentuates the 2.39:1 image, and the high dynamic range delivers consummate detail in the many period-authentic low-light scenes, illuminated by candles, fireplaces or campfires. Even the glisten of a brocaded epaulet is preserved. Whether through the use of filters, magic hour scheduling or post-production wizardry, Caleb Deschanel’s Oscar-nominated cinematography has an enticing golden glow, and the colors are significantly upgraded from the 2018 4K, with only the slightest perceptible drop in picture and sound quality at the inserts within the unrated cut.

Subtle LFE for hoofbeats and fireworks early in the story lull us into false resignation, until the realities of warfare are fully unleashed. Showoff scenes don’t come much better than Gabriel’s rescue–this is the one I routinely use to test speakers, in particular my surrounds and sub–conveniently located at the start of Chapter 5 on the theatrical version, 36:42 into the film. Our vantage point shifts frequently amid the chaos but the hard placement of off-camera voices keeps us in the middle of the action, with frequent booming gunshots all around. (I plan to watch it again after this review publishes, just because.) The whiz and impact of cannonballs are also outstanding. The active overhead channels bring a wonderful sense of spaciousness throughout, and dialogue scenes that proved challenging on past editions are now crystal-clear. The Patriot boasts a John Wiliams score, lesser-known despite its Oscar nomination, and it amplifies the excitement exponentially.

The extras are all ported from past editions, some dating back almost 26 years, spread across the two platters. The theatrical version carries an enjoyable Emmerich/Devlin audio commentary in addition to brisk featurettes about the production and the historical fact. Interestingly, the comprehensive deleted scenes section–13 minutes total with optional commentary–is located on the unrated disc, even though most of that footage has been integrated back into the movie to create the longer cut. Also on this disc are vignettes devoted to the visual effects and concept art.

The timing of the new The Patriot 4K SteelBook is curious, too late for Memorial Day and too early for The Fourth, but take it from me: This one would make a terrific Father’s Day gift. (Father’s Day feature incoming, but this one deserved its own review.) With top scores for the movie, audio and video, this one gets our highest recommendation.

Movie Details

• STUDIO: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• FORMAT: Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray (June 9, 2026)
• THEATRICAL RELEASE YEAR: 2000
• ASPECT RATIO: 2.39:1
• HDR FORMATS: Dolby Vision, HDR10
• AUDIO FORMAT: Dolby Atmos with TrueHD 7.1 core
• LENGTH: 165/175 mins.
• MPAA RATING: R/Unrated
• DIRECTOR: Roland Emmerich
• STARRING: Mel Gibson, Heath Ledger, Jason Isaacs, Chris Cooper, Tchéky Karyo, Joely Richardson

Our Ratings

★★★★★★★★★★ Movie

★★★★★★★★★★ Picture

★★★★★★★★★★ Sound

★★★★★★★★★★ Extras

Where to buy:

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• Which? discovers ‘potentially lethal’ phone chargers are being sold by major retailers
• Cheap chargers pose serious risks of fire, electric shock and more
• Consumer group demands stricter government regulation

British consumer watchdog Which? has revealed many of the third-party phone chargers available to consumers could present “potentially lethal” risks – and they’re often hidden in plain sight.

Nine of the 15 chargers tested by Which? posed serious electric shock risks, while eight also presented potential fire or explosion hazards, but more worryingly, many were available from popular and trustworthy high-street and online retailers like Amazon, B&Q and Debenhams.

Rivian engineers took everything they learned from the larger R1 models and applied it to a vehicle sized for more people and more driveways. The result is the R2, a two-row electric SUV that starts well below sixty thousand dollars for loaded early versions and dips into the mid-forties for simpler single-motor models arriving next year. That pricing alone sets it apart from bigger adventure-focused rivals while still delivering real capability.

The body looks just like you’d expect from a car with a specific function, with no unnecessary frills and a nice, boxy form that declares its intent without being too huge for its own good. At 186 inches long, it’s around the size of a Honda CR-V in terms of footprint, but its stretched-out wheelbase makes it feel a little longer. The ground clearance is 9.6 inches, and the approach and departure angles are adequate for off-road adventures.

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Stepping inside, you get the idea that the cabin is a huge open space with useful touches all over. The back seats provide ample leg and headroom and are exceptionally comfortable even on extended trips. The materials used are an excellent mix of nice everyday goods and some very smart eco-friendly choices, such as birch trim created from repurposed birch and a headliner built from ocean-rescued plastic. There are also spacious door pockets for holding water bottles, and the rear liftgate glass lowers to make loading heavier items easier.

The controls are one of the car’s most noticeable elements. There is a large, wide touchscreen that handles all of the normal features like as navigation, media, and vehicle settings, and it responds rapidly. You also get two huge halo dials on the steering wheel that allow you to change the climate, radio, drive modes, mirrors, and other settings with a few twists, pushes, pulls, or tilts. This strategy immediately became popular among reviewers, who considered it more user-friendly than scrolling menus while driving. One thing they needed was smartphone mirroring, but the native apps fulfill the most of your demands, and the interface is constantly updated with new features.

Under the hood, there’s an 88-kilowatt-hour battery and some extremely efficient motors. The top dual-motor Performance model generates 656 horsepower and accelerates to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds flat. Acceleration is powerful and immediate, but never uncomfortable. With 350 horsepower, the single-motor rear-wheel-drive car is a great option for people seeking for something a little more efficient. If you’re curious about how far you’ll get on a charge, the car’s range can reach 345 miles on the most efficient settings, thanks to its extraordinarily light weight (about 5,000 pounds) and sophisticated aerodynamic architecture that decreases the drag coefficient to 0.3.

Charging is quite speedy, with up to 230 kilowatts charging the battery from 10% to 80% in around 29 minutes under optimum conditions. You can also do bidirectional charging of up to 11 kilowatts, which allows you to power tools or even transmit electricity back to your home when the power goes out. Production of these things has already begun at Rivian’s plant in Normal, Illinois, with the intention of delivering the higher trims to clients this summer first.

Even the most well-intentioned edtech can fall short if it does not meet students where they are. After several years studying the usability of edtech for teachers, the research team at ISTE+ASCD turned its attention to students — examining how the technical and pedagogical design of digital tools shapes their learning experiences.

In partnership with In Tandem and Sesame Workshop, researchers spoke with high school students across the United States to understand how they actually use edtech in real learning contexts. The findings identify five areas that matter most to students and offer guidance for educators and product designers seeking tools that are intuitive, meaningful and engaging.

A full framework and guidance for edtech buyers and product providers will be released in 2026.

Diorama111 released a fresh build just days ago that shows what happens when extreme miniaturization meets real remote control hardware. He started with an ordinary KATO 1/150 scale Toyota ProBox, the kind of plastic model that sits on N-gauge train layouts or display shelves. Most builders stop at painting and weathering. He kept going until the little van could roll under its own power, steer on command, and light up properly in both directions.

The finished model is only a few centimeters long, but at true scale, it is roughly 150th the size of a real Toyota ProBox. The exterior still looks like it just came off the production line, but everything inside had to be modified just to fit. This entailed designing new parts, modifying old ones, or just building them from scratch to allow for movement and electronics to fit within. Power is supplied by a tiny lithium-polymer cell measuring 9 by 9 by 4 millimeters. It sits on top of a custom control board and provides power to the complete arrangement. The duration is purposefully brief, just long enough to test it on a tabletop or in a diorama before it needs to be recharged quickly via the underside connectors.

A DC motor in the back propels the vehicle, and watch gears are used to slow it down significantly, allowing it to move at a suitable rate for its size. A brass-bushed axle is used to reduce friction, resulting in smooth acceleration and excellent control at low speeds. As a result, when observed from above, it looks to be moving steadily rather than bouncing about haphazardly.

Steering was a challenge because the conventional solution would not have worked. So a second DC motor was added to drive a lead screw, and a rod-and-linkage system was adapted to convert linear motion into front wheel spin. Two photoreflector sensors continuously monitor the motor shaft and screw, providing feedback to the controller so that it knows exactly where the wheels are and can give true proportional steering rather than just on/off. This all fits into the compact chassis, leaving room for the battery and receiver.

The radio signal is sent via infrared because a small surface-mount IR receiver module is contained within the body. The matching handheld transmitter contains two analog joysticks that provide you independent control over the throttle and steering. It appears delicate enough to execute figure-eights, smooth turns, and faultless parking on a cutting mat. Lighting only adds to the illusion, with a few tiny surface-mount LEDs concealed beneath the headlight and taillight lenses. A hair-thin magnet wire runs through the roof and body, transferring power without adding mass. The headlights turn on as you go forward. When you change into reverse, the rear lights brighten. Direction sensing guarantees that the lights function in the same way as a full-size car does.

Building this micro car required a great deal of patience because each stage required extreme focus. The interior was removed to provide way for the construction process, and each mechanical part had to be precisely positioned and tested before being altered repeatedly until everything fit together neatly while still leaving room for the batteries and cables. The underside of the chassis contains terminals for charging the battery and reprogramming the controller, making it possible to do so without disassembling anything.
[Source]

NTU researchers spent seven years building a magnetic robot just 4.4 millimeters long. The compact machine performs five surgical functions through external control alone. It travels across soft tissue, cuts when required, dispenses medicine, gathers samples, and creates localized heat. Work on the project took place in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering under Associate Professor Lum Guo Zhan.

Nicholas Yong Wei Foo, a PhD student, led the project’s hands-on development. Alumni and regulars, including Dr. Chelsea Shan Xian Ng and Yu Xuan Yeoh, made substantial contributions during the design and testing phases. The researchers published their findings in Advanced Materials after being funded by NTU funds, A*STAR, and the NHG Health group. NTUitive has received a technology disclosure and is poised to proceed. Almost every other magnetic robot of this size can only perform one or two tricks; this one can perform five, owing to a programmable core module.

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The module’s magnetic state can be changed with a few external coils; just magnetize, demagnetize, or reverse the direction, and each condition corresponds to a specific tool or action. The innovative aspect is that zones in the body are designed to only illuminate active areas while leaving the rest dark. According to tests, a complete flip takes less than a second. Getting around is the first trick, but it is far from the only one. This robot can crawl on soft, uneven ground that replicates surfaces found deep within the body. It can also rotate along its long axis, which is important for achieving perfect alignment when things become tight or the surface starts to slope and fold. There’s also a blade that pops out for cutting, and in lab tests, it effortlessly sliced through chicken liver and gelatin models, or at least models designed to imitate the inside of a human.

When it comes to medicine delivery, the robot’s dispensing arm simulates drug delivery by using preloaded particles. The operator merely needs to maneuver it to the right spot and then press the release. The robot collects samples by utilizing a gripper to grab and secure tissue until it is ready for laboratory analysis. Test results showed that the gripper performed effectively on the models tested.

Then there’s heat generation, which is a different magnetic process that warms up a small region by creating high-frequency alternating fields that force the particles inside to warm up. The idea is that this might be used for targeted therapy, raising the temperature in a specific area without damaging the surrounding tissue.

The robot’s body is a clever combination of two flexible silicones, PDMS and Ecoflex, with magnetic particles that are barely five micrometers across. It has just enough give to bend and twist as needed while yet preserving enough shape to complete the task. Because there are no batteries, wires, or electronics inside the robot, all guidance and tool activation occurs from the outside. Because the robot is designed to be tiny and simple, all commands are given from the doctor’s control station.

Lab studies on actual biological samples showed that the design choices worked successfully. The robot completed all of the tasks on the samples, and subsequent tests comparing the materials to human skin cells found that more than 99% of the cells were still alive and active, which is optimistic for future development. According to Associate Professor Lum, most magnetic robots this size can only do one or two tasks.
[Source]

A big civil rights deadline that impacts schools and vendors will hit this month.

Federal law has required accessibility for people with disabilities for decades, says Glenda Sims, chief information accessibility officer at Deque Systems, a company that specializes in digital accessibility.

But two years ago, the federal government finally gave schools a way to measure whether their websites, mobile apps and digital content were accessible under law when it released a “final rule.”

In essence, the final rule updated 2024 Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal law concerning equal opportunity, setting out standards for public institutions around website and mobile app accessibility. When the deadline was put in place, disability experts told EdSurge that the rules provided clarity for schools and edtech vendors, and also set a ticking clock for when they would have to make changes. The rule set varying deadlines for school districts and state and local governments — in April 2026 or April 2027, based on population size.

On April 24, the first deadline will hit. By then, institutions have to make their web content and mobile apps comply with Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1, a widely recognized accessibility standard that includes accommodations such as a minimum contrast ratio and a requirement for audio descriptions.

But with the well-advertised deadline just days away, schools are well behind schedule.

Some advocates worry that digital accessibility is being swept up in broader political trends. So, what happens when the deadline hits?

Not Ready for Prime Time

Only 14 percent of districts had completed the accessibility updates required by law, according to a survey from the National School Public Relations Association released last December. The survey also found fewer than half of districts prioritized digital accessibility or had procedures for vetting vendor accessibility, which is required by the rule.

It’s not just about course content, but also the apps that a school may use, says Sambhavi Chandrashekar, global accessibility lead at D2L, a company that runs a widely used learning management system. “I doubt if a single K-12 district in the U.S. or anywhere else has an inventory today of all the web apps and forms and content that they have that are not accessible,” Chandrashekar says.

Figuring that out requires performing an audit, which most schools likely haven’t done and which can be expensive, she adds.

At EdSurge’s request, AAAtraq, a company that sells disability-related legal compliance services, surveyed around 20 of the largest schools across a number of states — in California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New York, Texas and Washington state. Many school websites and online PDFs failed along “basic accessibility fundamentals,” based on a benchmark the company uses to assess legal exposure. Alt text was missing, there was not enough color contrast and many websites didn’t have an accessibility statement, the company reports. The company found that 88 percent received an “F,” the lowest possible grade.

The company uses AI in its assessments, which do not cover all of the WCAG technical guidelines, and its assessment was meant only as rough barometer. In some cases, the use of AI in accessibility is controversial.

“Title II should have been a wake up call,” said AAAtraq CEO Lawrence Shaw in an emailed comment, referring to the major disability law behind the “final rule.” Yet many schools, including some of the largest in the country, have left themselves open to legal action.

Digital Exhaustion

Schools’ relationship to technology has also changed since two years ago, from rushing to embrace it to trying to limit it.

These days, beset by digital exhaustion and regret over the reach of tech into children’s lives, schools have sought to restrict screens in schools.

But it’s important for schools and lawmakers to distinguish between meaningful tech and doomscrolling on social media, says Luis Pérez, senior director of disability and accessibility for CAST, a digital access advocacy group. Students are under more pressure to manage their own attention, Pérez says, but those with disabilities and multilingual learners rely on certain digital tools, such as text-to-speech and adjustable text sizing to navigate daily learning. When used correctly, digital tools that expand accessibility can foster a sense of belonging, especially for underrepresented groups.

He worries that screen time laws that lump all screens together could make digital accessibility harder.

K-12 schools may be having the toughest time. Universities are usually more prepared for digital accessibility than state or local governments, which run K-12 public schools, says Sims of Deque. That’s partly because students with disabilities represent a more identifiable group in universities and that allows them to advocate for accommodation, she says.

These schools are heavily reliant on vendors for accessibility, Sims says.

It doesn’t help that there’s uncertainty at the moment.

Old Rules, New Rulers

While the accessibility deadline is still in place, the intentions of the federal government have become murky.

Last year, the Department of Justice signaled that it might issue a new “interim final rule” that would impact the deadline. And recently, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — a federal agency that is usually not involved with accessibility — has been holding meetings on the rule, as “credible rumors” have circulated that the rule is in danger of getting delayed or scrapped.

Yet, the federal government has not publicly released information about its intentions, according to Jarret Cummings, senior adviser for policy and public relations at Educause.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs did not immediately respond to a question from EdSurge about whether a delay is expected.

However, some documents related to the meetings are publicly accessible, giving a glimpse into what they are hearing.

A group representing more than 800 Minnesota cities argued in written testimony that none of the Minnesota cities that would be impacted by the rule are fully compliant with the law. The letter states that the cost of compliance would squeeze small government budgets. In a similar argument, testimony from the National Association of Counties estimated that it would cost small counties about $32,000 to fix problems with accessibility on their sites, and large counties as much as $700,000.

Cummings’ organization, Educause, has also argued that two years was not enough time for most higher-ed institutions to make changes. It suggested that the government alter the timeline.

In contrast, Mark Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind, testified that the rulemaking process has been ongoing for decades, with ample time for comment. The bill represents a compromise that clarifies rules, while reducing the burden of those under the law by providing exceptions and generous timelines, Riccobono argued.

Politically, the national mood has changed since the rule was issued a couple of years ago.

The affiliation of accessibility with diversity, equity and inclusion has politically backfired under the Trump administration. The administration has shredded grants it has identified with “radical” DEI ideology, and mass firings have gutted agencies like the Education Department, which the administration is actively trying to dismantle.

For students with disabilities, it means that there’s no guarantee of federal support, even when a federal complaint is filed.

“I would say that so many of the places that were reasonably staffed… have been reduced to almost bare bones, nothing. And so even if there are complaints coming in, there’s no way to truly handle them,” says Sims, of Deque.

Indeed, mass firings have led to 90 percent of all student civil rights complaints, including from students with disabilities, being dismissed by the federal government in the second half of last year, according to a nonpartisan government watchdog report published in January.

In the absence of federal help, people with disabilities have turned to the courts. There were more than 3,000 accessibility lawsuits filed in federal court last year, according to legal analysis of court data.

Long-term Goals

Pérez of CAST maintains that advocates should keep on track, focusing on long-term strategy, no matter what happens at the federal level. Accessibility benefits everyone, regardless of their background or disability status, he says.

Sims, of Deque, has also made a “business case” for considering accessibility during the design of products, suggesting that as schools embrace accessibility, the vendors that can show they build accessibility into their products will be rewarded.

Some hope that artificial intelligence tools will help students with disabilities access information on their own, and point toward tools like Aira, an AI tool that aids in remote video interpretation for people with visual impairment.

But even there, disability law experts insist that the federal rule hasn’t actually changed. “The rule is the rule until it isn’t,” wrote Lainey Feingold in early March.

Tuesday’s patch bundle also fixed MiniPlasma, a separate vulnerability disclosed by Nightmare Eclipse. Microsoft said in an email that the vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2020-17103, a vulnerability Microsoft first fixed six years ago. That means MiniPlasma was the result of a regression or an incomplete patch in its initial form. The company is in the process of updating Tuesday’s bulletin to note the republication.

Microsoft has yet to release patches for other vulnerabilities disclosed by Nightmare Eclipse. The company did provide manual instructions for mitigating YellowKey, a vulnerability that allows attackers to defeat Bitlocker full-disk encryption. That could be a boon when attackers have physical access to a device (the precise scenario Bitlocker is designed to protect against). The company has yet to fix the underlying cause of the vulnerability.

The status of other vulnerabilities disclosed by Nightmare Eclipse are also unclear at the moment. The researcher named one vulnerability, present in Windows Defender RedSun. Another, named BlueHammer, is also a local privilege escalation flaw that provides SYSTEM rights.

Over the past few months, Nightmare Eclipse has taken multiple potshots at Microsoft. The specific criticisms remain unclear, but many make references to complaints about the company’s vulnerability disclosure program. Microsoft, in turn, has publicly railed against the researcher for “not responsibly” disclosing the vulnerabilities and made a vailed reference to the possibility of pursuing legal action. After a public backlash, Microsoft later relented and vowed no such legal action would occur.

On Tuesday, Nightmare Eclipse published exploit code for a new Windows vulnerability. It’s a race condition that targets Defender.

Tuesday’s patch batch included fixes for roughly 200 vulnerabilities. Notwithstanding the appearance that MiniPlasma was fixed, two of them were also confirmed as zero-days.

Post updated to include information Microsoft provided after initial publication of this post.

HiFiMAN Arya WiFi arrives as the more affordable sibling to the HE1000 WiFi, bringing open-back planar magnetic drivers, WiFi streaming, Bluetooth connectivity, and a very different approach to wireless listening in the high-end headphone category.

At $1,449, the Arya WiFi is less expensive than the HE1000 WiFi ($2,699), but nobody should mistake it for an inexpensive experiment. This is still a premium audiophile headphone with a very specific promise: better wireless sound quality by moving beyond the usual Bluetooth-first approach and letting listeners stream over WiFi at home or in the office.

That raises the question many people will ask right away: if the HE1000 WiFi delivered an exceptional listening experience but also revealed an operational issue that gave us pause, has HiFiMAN solved enough of the user-experience problem with the Arya WiFi to make the concept feel ready for prime time?

Because at this price, clever engineering is not enough. The Arya WiFi has to sound excellent, feel comfortable, connect reliably, and prove that WiFi headphones are not just another audiophile science project with ear pads.

Arya WiFi Specs & Technology

Inside the left earcup of the HiFiMAN Arya WiFi is the circuitry that allows the headphone to operate without a traditional source component, DAC, headphone amplifier, or cable hanging off your desk like audiophile spaghetti.

The core of the system is HiFiMAN’s 8mm HYMALAYA Mini DAC, which is specified at 0.0055% THD+N and 105dB channel separation. HiFiMAN also integrates the wireless streaming hardware and headphone amplification inside the earcup, which is rather impressive considering the Arya WiFi remains an open-back planar magnetic headphone weighing 452 grams.

The broader technology package is very similar to the HE1000 WiFi. Both models support WiFi, Bluetooth, and USB Audio operation, along with PCM playback from 44.1kHz to 768kHz, native DSD64 to DSD512, and Bluetooth codec support for SBC, AAC, aptX, aptX HD, and LDAC.

The key difference is the driver. The Arya WiFi uses HiFiMAN’s NEO Supernano Diaphragm Gen.2, while the HE1000 WiFi uses HiFiMAN’s nanometer-thickness diaphragm. HiFiMAN positions the HE1000 WiFi as the higher-resolution model, but the Arya WiFi shares much of the same wireless architecture at a significantly lower price. That makes the comparison more interesting than the price gap might suggest.

The Arya WiFi uses HiFiMAN’s planar magnetic driver platform with Stealth Magnets, a design intended to reduce wave diffraction as sound passes through the magnet structure. HiFiMAN says the result is lower distortion and improved clarity, but as always, the listening section is where the marketing language either earns its keep or quietly exits through the side door.

WiFi is the real point of difference here. Bluetooth remains convenient, but even the better codecs are still limited by available bandwidth and device support. By adding WiFi streaming, the Arya WiFi can support lossless and high-resolution playback in a way that conventional Bluetooth headphones cannot.

For listeners using TIDAL, Qobuz, Roon, or local high-resolution files, that matters. For Spotify users, the benefit is less about lossless playback and more about connection flexibility, convenience, and avoiding some of Bluetooth’s usual compromises.

You can also use the Arya WiFi in wired mode via USB-C, or connect it to your playback device via Bluetooth thanks to the embedded Qualcomm QCC5181 chip, which is LDAC-compatible for up to 96kHz playback.

Design & Comfort

The HiFiMAN Arya WiFi follows the same general design language as the HE1000 WiFi, but with a different finish. The Arya WiFi wears a blacked-out look, while the HE1000 WiFi uses the more upscale brown and metallic color scheme. Black is the safer choice and probably the easier one to live with, unless your listening room already looks like a cigar lounge with a DAC budget.

The Gen.2 headband is comfortable and offers useful adjustment, although it does not provide the same full cup rotation found on some passive Arya and HE1000 models. That limits portability and flat storage, but this is still a better design than HiFiMAN’s older Sundara-style headband or the more basic strap-free assemblies used on models such as the HE400se and HE6se V2.

Build quality is good, but the Arya WiFi does not suddenly become a jewelry-grade headphone because WiFi has joined the party. There is still visible plastic, and the materials do not feel as premium as the price might suggest. That said, at $1,449 and positioned well below the HE1000 WiFi, those compromises are easier to accept.

Comfort remains one of the Arya WiFi’s strengths. The large open-back earcups, suspended headband, and familiar HiFiMAN pad shape make it easy to wear for longer sessions, provided you are comfortable with a firmer-than-average clamp. It is not featherlight, but the weight is distributed well enough that the Arya WiFi never feels like punishment for choosing wireless planar magnetic headphones.

The button layout is the same as the HE1000 WiFi. From top to bottom, there is a volume rocker, a function button for switching between WiFi, USB, and Bluetooth modes, and a power button. The buttons use different colors to indicate operating mode, charging status, and battery state. It is straightforward once you learn the color system, although there is still a short adjustment period.

The layout itself is simple and intuitive, and the buttons are easy enough to find by touch. My main issue was with the voice prompt, which was extremely quiet on my review sample. I cannot say whether that is specific to this unit or representative of the product more broadly, but it made mode confirmation less useful than it should be. Volume adjustment also felt too coarse for my liking, with each step creating a larger change than I would prefer.

HiFiMAN keeps the included accessories minimal. The Arya WiFi includes a USB-C to USB-A cable roughly six feet long, and that is essentially it. There is no display case like the one included with the HE1000 WiFi. At $1,449, that does not change the performance case for the headphone, but it is worth noting for buyers expecting a more premium unboxing experience.

Setup & Usability

The first thing I tried to do after unboxing the Arya WiFi was connect it to my home WiFi network. That process proved more frustrating than expected.

Setup requires a specific sequence of button presses on the earcup, entering URLs on a smartphone, navigating web pages that feel unfinished, and entering more than one password before the headphones can join the network. If everything works the first time, the process may only take a few minutes. In my case, it repeatedly failed at the final stage when entering my router password, for reasons that were never clear. After roughly 20 minutes, I was eventually able to complete the connection.

That matters because WiFi is the feature that separates the Arya WiFi from a conventional wireless headphone. If users struggle with the setup process, some will likely default to Bluetooth or USB-C operation instead. Those modes are useful, but they also reduce the value of buying the WiFi version in the first place.

HiFiMAN already has the GAIA app, and this seems like the obvious place to guide users through WiFi setup in a clearer and more polished way. A step-by-step setup flow inside the app would be preferable to asking users to rely on a web-based process or a support video. For a company selling a $1,449 wireless planar headphone built around WiFi streaming, the setup experience needs to feel more mature.

Battery life was also a concern. HiFiMAN rates the Arya WiFi at 6.5 to 7.5 hours in WiFi mode and up to 23 hours over Bluetooth. In my testing, WiFi playback landed closer to 5 to 6 hours, which is below the rated figure but not dramatically far off. Bluetooth battery life was more disappointing, coming in around 12 hours, well short of the claimed 23 hours. Battery life will vary with volume level, codec, connection stability, and usage conditions, but that gap is large enough to be noted.

Listening

The Arya WiFi and HE1000 WiFi look closely related, feel very similar on the head, and share much of the same internal wireless architecture. The obvious question, then, is whether they sound the same.

The answer is almost, but not quite. The two models are clearly cut from the same cloth, and the Arya WiFi gets closer to the HE1000 WiFi than the price difference might suggest. That makes the less expensive model a more interesting proposition than expected.

Among the wireless headphones I have heard, HiFiMAN’s WiFi models are among the most technically capable, even when used over Bluetooth. For this review, however, most of my listening was done in WiFi mode, using a mix of Spotify streams and high-resolution FLAC files. That matters because WiFi playback is the main reason these headphones exist, and it is the mode that gives the Arya WiFi its best chance to separate itself from conventional Bluetooth designs.

Bass

The Arya WiFi has a slightly elevated bass response, but it is not tuned like a consumer noise-cancelling headphone trying to win a fistfight in the low end. The bass sits just above the rest of the spectrum, giving music some added weight, warmth, and physical presence without overwhelming the midrange.

It is not the fastest or most controlled bass I have heard from a planar magnetic headphone, but that comparison mostly involves high-end wired models with dedicated amplification. Against other wireless headphones, the Arya WiFi is much stronger. Bass notes start and stop cleanly, texture is easy to follow, and there is very little sense of bloat or overhang.

Sub-bass extension is also impressive for an open-back wireless headphone. The Arya WiFi can reproduce very low information with useful audibility, including material around the 20Hz region, although there is some slight roll-off as it approaches the lowest octave. On Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard’s “Why So Serious?,” the deep rumble around the 3:30 mark was clearly present, which is not something every open-back headphone manages convincingly.

Midrange

Moving up from the bass, the transition into the lower midrange is smooth and well controlled. Male vocals do not sound thickened or pushed back by excess upper-bass energy, which helps the Arya WiFi maintain good clarity through the lower registers.

The midrange itself is slightly relaxed compared to the bass and treble, but I would not call the Arya WiFi a strongly V-shaped headphone. It has some extra energy at the frequency extremes, while the center of the presentation remains smooth, open, and even-handed.

That character works in its favor with vocals and acoustic instruments. The Arya WiFi does not push singers forward in the way some midrange-focused headphones do, and listeners who prefer a more relaxed presentation may find it easier to live with over longer sessions. Compared with something like the Sennheiser HD600, the Arya WiFi is less intimate and less midrange-forward, but it still presents vocals and instruments with convincing timbre and very good tonal balance.

On Dominique Fils-Aimé’s “Birds,” breath detail, vocal texture, and the space around her voice were easy to hear without sounding exaggerated. The Arya WiFi does not put the singer right in your lap, which is probably healthier for everyone involved, but it does a strong job of preserving the natural shape and presence of the performance.

Treble

The Arya WiFi follows the HE1000 WiFi with a treble balance that is more forgiving than some of HiFiMAN’s older or brighter-leaning models, including the Arya Organic and HE6se V2. It still sounds open and detailed, but it avoids the sharper edge that can make long listening sessions feel like a test of character.

There is enough presence in the upper registers to show what the planar magnetic drivers can do, particularly with cymbal decay, small percussion details, and the air around instruments. Fine detail is easy to follow, but the Arya WiFi does not push treble information forward just to create the impression of resolution.

“La lune” by L’Impératrice is one of my regular treble test tracks because of the faint triangle hit that runs through much of the song. The Arya WiFi keeps that detail audible within the mix without turning it into a distraction. It has the clarity to reveal the upper-frequency information, but enough restraint to keep the presentation smooth and listenable.

Soundstaging & Imaging

HiFiMAN’s egg-shaped open-back headphones are known for producing a wide, spacious soundstage, and the Arya WiFi continues that pattern. The presentation is larger than average for a wireless headphone, with good width and a convincing sense of height, although it does not sound quite as expansive as some of the wired Arya variants, including the Arya Organic and Arya Unveiled.

Imaging is the stronger part of the presentation. The Arya WiFi places sounds with very good precision, and that matters more to me than absolute stage size. On TOOL’s “Chocolate Chip Trip,” the headphone made it easy to follow the individual layers, percussion hits, and spatial effects without turning the mix into a blur. That track can become a mess on less capable headphones. The Arya WiFi kept it organized.

Detail retrieval is also strong. The Arya WiFi does not leave much feeling hidden, especially in WiFi mode with high-quality source material. The HE1000 WiFi still has a slight edge in resolution and low-level information, but the gap is not large. You are most likely to notice it during direct comparisons, not during normal listening. That is probably the healthier way to experience music anyway.

The Bottom Line

The HiFiMAN Arya WiFi makes a strong case for itself because it delivers much of the HE1000 WiFi experience at a significantly lower price. It does not quite match the more expensive model for resolution or refinement, but the gap is small enough that many listeners will find the Arya WiFi the more sensible buy.

Sound quality is the main reason to consider it. The Arya WiFi offers a spacious presentation, strong imaging, extended bass, smooth mids, and a treble balance that is detailed without becoming aggressive. In WiFi mode, it feels like a meaningful step beyond most Bluetooth headphones, especially with lossless or high-resolution material.

The problems are not sonic. The WiFi setup process needs to be more polished, and battery life is only fair in WiFi mode and disappointing over Bluetooth based on my testing. Those issues matter because they affect daily use, and they make the Arya WiFi feel less finished than it should at $1,449.

Still, if you can live with the setup process and the need for frequent charging, the Arya WiFi is the better value in HiFiMAN’s WiFi headphone lineup. The HE1000 WiFi remains the more capable headphone, but the Arya WiFi gets close enough where the extra money becomes harder to justify.

Pros:

• Built-in WiFi streaming supports higher-quality wireless playback than conventional Bluetooth headphones
• Can also be used over USB-C or Bluetooth
• Comfortable fit with good weight distribution for longer listening sessions
• Spacious soundstage, strong imaging, and excellent detail retrieval for a wireless headphone
• More affordable than the HE1000 WiFi while retaining much of the same wireless architecture

Cons:

• Build quality is good, but the visible plastic and limited accessories do not fully match the price
• First-time WiFi setup is more complicated and less polished than it should be
• Battery life fell short of HiFiMAN’s stated figures in testing
• Bluetooth mode is useful, but does not deliver the main benefit of buying the WiFi version

Our Ratings

★★★★★★★★★★ Sound Quality

★★★★★★★★★★ Comfort

★★★★★★★★★★ Usability

★★★★★★★★★★ Build Quality

★★★★★★★★★★ Value

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