NZCity NewsLinks -

All Links

15 Jul 2025

Search

Tall Ferns bounce back to thump Indonesia at Fiba Asia Cup
Nat Hurst’s New Zealand women’s basketballers got their campaign back on track in China with a dominant performance.

Auckland must boost transport, housing to stay competitive: Report
Auckland relies heavily on cars due to limited transport options.

SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell review: Let the robots run the house
At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Much better video quality than previous generation Quick responsiveness AI voice response mode could be a game-changer—when it’s finished Cons Night vision quality isn’t the best Cloud recordings auto-delete after 48 hours without a (pricey) subscription Unimpressive battery life AI mode still has a long way to go Our Verdict Higher-resolution video, improved overall performance, and an exciting new AI-powered voice response make Swann’s second video doorbell a winner. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell Retailer Price $99.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket Best Prices Today: Check today’s prices Swann, a longtime player in the security camera world, has been spreading its wings to expand into related smart home gear, including video doorbells. Its first SwannBuddy Video Doorbell, a lackluster release, hit in 2022. The all-new SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell expands that device’s resolution and image quality considerably, resolving one of the original product’s biggest shortcomings. Specifications The SwannBuddy 4K offers a familiar design to both the original SwannBuddy and most video doorbells, with a large doorbell button in the center of the device, ringed with light (briefly blue, turning red when recording), a camera lens up top, and a motion sensor at the bottom. The refreshed design features a slight overhang on the top of the camera that works as a sort of shade that may theoretically protect the camera lens from the elements, if ever so slightly. As with the previous device, a separate chime, powered by two AA batteries, is also included. The SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell comes with a wireless, battery-powered chime that sounds off inside the house when someone presses the doorbell button.Christopher Null/Foundry Video is captured at a resolution of 2032 x 3712 pixels at 15 frames per second, with a 165-degree vertical viewing angle (the camera’s diagonal viewing angle is not provided). The camera can record to both cloud storage and an onboard microSD card; a 32GB card is preinstalled, which is a nice touch—most manufacturers don’t give you anything. The camera includes standard infrared night vision and a heat-sensing motion detector, allowing it to begin recording on movement in addition to starting up when a visitor presses the doorbell button. The camera is powered through its internal battery, a 6500mAh cell that Swann says will provide up to three months of sustained service, although my battery level hit 64 percent after 10 days of admittedly heavy use, implying a significantly lower lifespan. Note that the battery can be trickle-charged via a standard doorbell transformer; otherwise, you’ll need to periodically top up the battery via its USB-C connector. And for that, you’ll need to remove it from the included wall mount. Note also that angled mounting brackets are not included in the box, but you can purchase a 30-degree angle mount separately for $20. Installation and setup Unlike Swann’s MaxRanger gear, the SwannBuddy 4K does not need a hub to operate (nor does it include the long-range Wi-Fi HaLow spec), connecting instead directly to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network. Setup is a little tedious, involving a QR code scan with the Swann Security mobile app, then providing network credentials. (What is the point of requiring users to type in their Wi-Fi password twice?) After app onboarding, the chime pairs to the camera by pressing a button on the device and then one on the doorbell. The SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell exhibits a small amount of barrel distortion.Christopher Null/Foundry The SwannBuddy 4K records video both to the cloud and to its internal microSD card; but out of the box, cloud-based recordings are limited to only the most recent 48 hours, with Swann’s app deleting older recordings automatically. In the Playback section of app, you’ll need to tap the microSD card icon to access clips stored locally. Since this interface is identical to the cloud storage interface, it’s easy to forget this step. Cloud-stored playback can also be very slow to launch, often taking up to 40 seconds to begin playing. Swann’s subscription plan extends cloud storage to 60 days, activates rich notifications, and turns on people, pet, car, and package alerts (instead of just person detection). The plan costs $4.99/month or $49.99/year for one camera, or $12.99/month or $129.99/year for unlimited devices. (Those are both significant hikes over the prices in 2022.) Performance The SwannBuddy 4K records quality video—much better than the previous 1080p edition of the product—thanks to its greatly improved lens and image sensor. Note that video is captured in portrait mode and is moderately distorted with a slight fish-eye appearance. Swann promises a range of 16 feet in night vision mode, which was roughly accurate in my testing, although recordings were extremely dim and difficult to make out beyond a range of about 5 feet. Curiously, you cannot set the length of the video clips that are recorded; no clip recorded in my testing was longer than 60 seconds, regardless of the duration of motion. Most clips topped out at between 10 and 20 seconds. The chime is plenty loud and responsive when the bell is rung. Six choices of chimes are available, which you can cycle through via a physical button on the device, and volume can be adjusted in the app. I rarely waited more than a couple of seconds for the chime to ring and for a push alert to be sent to my phone when the bell was rung. Motion detection push notifications also arrived quickly, within a few seconds, although occasionally I would not receive notifications at all. A detection zone can also be set to block motion detection in certain parts of the image, and a sleep period between detection events can also be configured, up to 5 minutes, if you find yourself getting too many alerts or want to conserve battery life. The SwannBuddy 4K Video Doorbell comes with a battery-powered indoor chime, an accesssory that most manufacturers charge extra for. Swann Communications New to the Swann Security App is a beta feature called SwannShield, an “AI-driven voice assistant,” that can autonomously communicate with visitors on your behalf. It’s less scary than it might sound, although it is literally a human-sounding voice that can greet visitors when the doorbell is rung and communicate with them without your involvement. By that I mean it can literally have a conversation that makes excuses about why you can’t come to the door—all without any personal intervention. I’ve included a sample chat in a screenshot to give you a flavor of it, but conversations change based on time of day and the responses the visitor makes. Remember, this all plays out via voice in real time—sort of, as there’s a significant and unnatural pause between each response. For the most part, however, the quality of those responses, when they do arrive, is uncannily realistic. The user can set the voice used (from eight options) and the demeanor (from polite, assertive, or disinterested). You can also provide instructions for what to do if a visitor says they have a package, which you just type out in natural language rather than select from a menu. It’s a very cool feature, but obviously very much in beta, in part because it didn’t launch at all with many of my test rings, and in part because conversations start to break down into semi-gibberish the longer you try to drag them out. But when it did work, I was immensely impressed. Swann’s AI-powered SwannShield tech is impressive, despite its still being in beta-test mode.Christopher Null/Foundry Note that you can also send a selection of canned verbal responses on demand if you’re watching a live video stream from the camera. This is a standard feature and not part of SwannShield. Additional features are about as expected, including motion sensitivity adjustments and the ability to turn a siren on or off, push notifications, and person detection. Three modes—Home, Night, and Away—can be used to create three different presets of all of the above, including SwannShield usage. For example: High sensitivity, siren on when away; low sensitivity, no push notifications when home. These modes can all be set to activate on a recurring schedule, too. This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best video doorbells. Should you buy the Swann SwannBuddy 4K? The SwannBuddy 4K is certainly a step up over the very basic original release, and the roughly $50 price increase seems warranted given the better video quality, overall improved performance, and emerging AI features. I’m not thrilled about the subscription situation, but many users might find that the onboard storage is good enough without the extra expense, and that the added features like pet and package detection just aren’t important enough to shell out extra cash.

'Jofra's back?' - analysing Archer's Test return
Jofra Archer says it was a "long" road back to Test cricket, but his performance is hugely encouraging for his and England's future, writes Matthew Henry.

How I convinced a Windows PC diehard to buy a Chromebook
I’ve been a Chromebook fan and advocate for many years now. I bought my first one back in 2013, just a couple years after they debuted, and I’ve since purchased several more. If you ask me why, it’s because I love their affordability, versatility, and simplicity. This trio of pros led me to switch from Windows laptops to Chromebooks and I haven’t looked back. But not everyone is as gung-ho about Google’s laptops as me, and that includes my older brother—we’ll call him “Jack”—who, for every bit of praise I lavish on Chromebooks, always has an objection. Jack was recently in the market for a new laptop, so I made it my mission to convince him to buy a Chromebook. Dave Parrack / Foundry Now, even though I write about tech for a living, I’m not a fan of telling people what to buy—it’s risky and I don’t like being blamed for giving “bad” advice. Plus, with Jack, not only was he comfortable with Windows, but he didn’t really have any issues or complaints with the operating system. But I felt like a Chromebook was a good choice for him, so on this particular occasion, I took the risk and tried to sway him. Long story short: it worked! I got through to him. He raised some good points, mind you, but a lot of them were misconceptions rooted in outdated Chromebook myths. Here’s how our conversation went and what I said to him to change his mind. Aren’t Chromebooks for students? Thomas Park / Unsplash Jack’s first objection to buying a Chromebook was that he didn’t feel they were grown-up devices meant for adults. And sure, I don’t blame him, what with the popularity of Chromebooks for use in schools and the education sector, plus Google’s marketing of Chromebooks as low-cost devices that are perfect for schools and colleges. But those Chromebooks are not the same thing as other Chromebooks, and there are plenty of better Chromebooks that pack more power and are better suited for real-world use. I argue that Chromebooks are suitable for everyone, regardless of age, and they’re especially good for older folk thanks to the built-in security features of ChromeOS. What about all my Windows apps? Dave Parrack / Foundry Jack’s second objection was the potential (or perceived) loss of access to the Windows apps he used daily. Now, to be fair, that was a real concern about 10 years ago… Chromebook users had to make do with alternative web apps for lots of PC programs, and many of those alternative web apps couldn’t hold a candle to those “real” PC programs. But with ChromeOS now capable of running Android apps, and with most apps now offering Android versions, and with ChromeOS also being able to run Linux apps, this is much less of a problem now. Outside of business and enterprise, there’s a good chance the apps you use on Windows are also available on ChromeOS in some form or another. Aren’t Chromebooks cheap and slow? Mattias Inghe Having exhausted his core objections, Jack’s last throw of the dice was to comment that Chromebooks tend to be cheap, slow, and ugly. Which, while a little harsh, is an understandable sentiment given the reputation of Chromebooks in certain circles. However, that reputation is only partly earned. Yes, some Chromebooks are very cheap, and those cheap Chromebooks won’t have the best materials or build quality. But who says you have to buy a budget-tier Chromebook? Spend a little more and you can easily get a well-built Chromebook with decent specs that’ll last a few years. Seriously, check out our tips on how to buy a killer Chromebook. You can spend what you’d normally spend on a budget-friendly laptop—somewhere in the $500 range or less—and walk away with a darn good Chromebook that you’ll actually enjoy using. Buy the best Chromebook you can afford Michael Crider / Foundry In the end, I successfully persuaded my brother to get a Chromebook, and he didn’t drop a huge sum of money on it. (Want to switch from Windows to macOS? Oh, you’ll be paying dearly for it.) The key is that he spent as much as he was willing to spend to ensure that he got a respectable machine with decent performance. Chromebooks, like all laptops, aren’t all equal. If you cheap out on it, you’ll end up with a crappy one that you’ll hate. Or, in other words, you get what you pay for. Bump up your budget, then make sure you’re balancing the specs against your budget constraints. Other common Chromebook objections Dave Parrack / Foundry In my conversation with Jack, there were plenty of other common Chromebook objections that never came up. For completeness’ sake, let me tackle a few of them here: No, Chromebooks don’t always need to be connected to the internet. You can use many apps offline, watch downloaded content, manage local files, and work on local documents. No, Chromebooks aren’t just a glorified Chrome browser. As mentioned above, you can run Android and Linux apps natively on the machine, and there’s more to ChromeOS than apps. Yes, Chromebooks can do some gaming. Sure, not at the same level as Windows laptops, but you have options: Android games, web games, a beta version of Steam, and cloud gaming. Dive deeper with our article on whether Chromebooks are good for gaming. Ultimately, everyone (including Jack) can raise objections about Chromebooks. But ChromeOS has evolved a lot and Chromebook manufacturers have really stepped up. Google’s operating system is solid, secure, and dependable, and the hardware is satisfying to use. As for Jack, he’s been using his Chromebook for several months now and doesn’t regret his decision. It’s too early to tell whether he’s a complete convert yet, but for now, I can say that I’ve convinced a Windows fan to buy a Chromebook with zero regrets. Further reading: The best Chromebooks, from budget to premium