Among all the emerging technologies in the wearable segment, nothing fills me with more hesitation than wearable eyewear. Infusing technology into eyewear is just natural evolution, but there’s still something missing in the niche market. Plus, security issues with wearables aside, it’s hard to beat the traditional appeal of just fiddling around with your phone.

Now, the Lenovo Legion Glasses is not one of these things. Paring down the functionalities of tech eyewear to just an external display, Lenovo’s new wearable is simply a new way to experience your content. Is it worth the cost, though? Let’s find out.

Chonkers for your eyes

From the get-go, you’ll notice how thick these glasses are. These aren’t a pair you’d want to take to show off your swag. Then again, they don’t need them to be.

Despite their size, the Legion Glasses comfortably balanced its weight all around my head. At least from the initial moment of putting them on, wearing these glasses were comfortable enough for immediate use. That said, prolonged comfort is another story.

I’m sure that continuous use would increase my tolerance for having the wearable on for an extended period of time. However, in the time I’ve had them, I could only go twenty to thirty minutes at a time before I needed a break. As you might expect, the pain points are on the bridge of my nose, my temples, and just general eye strain.

If you’re worried about the fit on your own face, the Legion Glasses come with an extensive set of accessories to tailor the wearables to the contours of your face. You’ll get nose pads of varying heights, anti-slip adapters, and a prescription lens template. It took a lot of experimenting to get the perfect fit for my face. Thankfully, adjusting each part is easy enough. It wasn’t long before I was good to go.

A new way to watch

It’s simple to use the glasses. They don’t need a separate battery to charge. Just plug them into a device with the USB-C cable, and the image shows up on the lenses.

The Legion Glasses projects a huge 86-inch screen in front of your vision. The image quality is impressive. Regardless of whether you’re watching a movie or playing a game, clarity and color reproduction were both spot on. It is, however, dependent on your fit. Since the lens open up in the lower half, I had to use the tallest nose pads to get the clearest picture. Otherwise, the edges of the screen had noticeable aberrations.

Additionally, the image is limited to 1080p resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. While the image is already great on its own, there’s definitely room for improvement. Still, if you’re looking for the best quality possible, you’re better off with a beefy monitor.

Besides the image, the glasses come with speakers right on the temples. The audio quality is fine, and, after a while, I even forgot that I wasn’t wearing headphones. However, since these are just regular speakers, they leak a lot. Anyone sitting beside you can clearly hear what you’re watching.

An incredibly niche product

While the wearable is certainly an impressive device, it’s hard to find enough use cases for it. It’s definitely not something I’m actively looking for whenever I fire up a game. That said, there are specific scenarios where these glasses are especially useful.

For one, if you want to hide what you’re doing from those snooping over your shoulder, these glasses are a useful tool for privacy — minus the audio leaking, of course.

The Legion Glasses are also especially useful if you want to watch a movie or play a game while lying down. There are just some lazy days when I don’t want to get out of bed. These glasses just eliminate the need for fiddling for a remote or holding a phone over my head. Additionally, if you just want a larger screen, these can come in handy.

Compatibility issues

Besides the moments when the wearable actually works, let’s talk about the moments when they don’t. Unfortunately, they don’t work with every device that has a USB-C port. Naturally, they work well with Lenovo devices (like a Legion Go), but I struggled to find other devices to work with them. They didn’t work with my ASUS laptop or my Pixel 6.

If you do get these glasses, you’ll have to research if your devices will work with them.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

At US$ 329.99, it’s hard to justify buying these glasses with a limited set of use cases and compatible devices. That said, despite how limited they are, these are still amazing pieces of technology. Since getting them, I’ve been using the Legion Glasses quite a bit. If you find the unique scenarios applicable to you and you have a device to use these with, it’s still a worthy purchase.

Beware, dear reader. This review features major spoilers for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.

One of my guiltiest pleasures is reading through AITA threads on Reddit. AITA means “am I the asshole,” a question that concludes every post of this type. Internet strangers ask other internet strangers whether their actions deserve scrutiny. Most of the time, these threads end with a “YTA” (you’re the asshole) or an “NTA” (not the asshole) verdict. However, on rare occasions, an AITA thread warrants an “ESH” verdict, meaning “everyone sucks here” or an unwinnable situation where everyone is an asshole.

Now, if you’re wondering what an ESH situation looks like, look no further than the 2010 cult film Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Though the film wowed everyone (this dorky writer included) with gaming-inspired graphics and a love for all things nerdy, the titular character (or anyone in the film) is hardly someone to be emulated. The evil exes are stereotypes of jocks, nerds, and musicians. Ramona Flowers admits to dumping her exes for selfish reasons. Scott himself dates a highschooler and cheats on her with Ramona.

So, when Netflix announced an anime adaptation of the iconic series, the biggest question in my mind was: “even the cringey parts?”

A tale of two Scotts

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is an action-romance flick centered around the titular Scott as he fights Ramona’s seven evil exes for the right to exclusively date her. The anime adaptation starts off with the same beats.

Scott, a jobless twenty-something from Toronto, lives platonically with his gay housemate Wallace Wells. As he drifts around without a job, he plays bass for local indie band Sex Bob-omb and dates Knives Chao, a teenage highschooler. Everything changes when he meets the (literal) girl of his dreams, Ramona Flowers. He finally finds a purpose for his precious little life.

It’s not all flowers, though. His blissful ignorance sours when Ramona’s first evil ex, Matthew Patel, crashes a Sex Bob-omb gig. So begins his seven-stage quest to win the girl. As expected for a first boss, the all-powerful hero of the story…

…dies?

Subverting all expectations, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’s first episode ends with the sudden death of its titular hero, pitifully exploding into three measly coins.

A tale of Ramona

What happens when you kill off the main character in the first episode? You shift focus to the other main character, of course. The captivating second third of the series is a whodunit — or in Young Neil’s words, a “whodidit” — featuring Ramona as she crosses off her exes as suspects in Scott’s death… or is it disappearance? After reviewing security footage, she discovers that an unknown entity teleported Scott away, faking his death in the process.

More than a cross-examination, Ramona’s encounters with her exes turn into moments of reconciliation between the two crossed ex-lovers. Whereas the original story showed that love is messy and that everyone has baggage, the anime series shows that even your emotional baggage is human. Your past relationships aren’t just tools for character development. They have their own story arcs and, yes, sometimes they can use you for development.

In taking Scott away for most of the series, Ramona graduates from being a cold-hearted vixen trying to escape her past into a more rounded individual actively engaging with her past life. She apologizes for her selfish behavior and sees how each ex is doing. Some of them takes crazy turns — such as when Todd Ingram falls in love with Wallace Wells and willingly gives up his vegan powers when the latter dumps him — but that’s just how life works sometimes.

Scott Pilgrim and the baby Hitler problem

If you had the ability to travel back in time, would you assassinate a baby Hitler? While Hitler is an extreme example, the story beat is a common one for time travel tales. Are you willing to commit one atrocity to prevent an even greater one from happening in the future?

Though common, it’s not a plot element I expected from Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. When Ramona figures out which of her exes whisked Scott away, Scott himself shows up on her doorstep and explains that someone else is behind the disappearance: his future self.

In a twist that would impress even the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a future version of Scott travels back in time to prevent his present self from fighting (and winning against) the seven evil exes. In this older Scott’s future, he won and got Ramona, just as it happens in the original story. But it’s not a rosy ending. Soon after marrying Ramona, the couple hit a rough patch and decide to separate. In his anguish, Scott travels back in time to save himself the heartbreak.

If you knew a relationship was going to end in misery, would you go back in time to save yourself from ever entering the romantic tryst? Though the third act takes a drastically different direction, it still falls in line with the messiness of love. Those who’ve been in long-term relationships are familiar with the standard what-if questions like “if things were different, would you still date me?” or “would you go back and change anything about our relationship?”

The choice is yours

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off does not end with a “yes” or a “no.” Instead, after a colossal fight with an older Scott (featuring an older Ramona), both present-day Scott and Ramona realize that their choice in the here and now is more important than knowing what happens in the future.

Problems will still arise, but the right way to tackle them is head-on, rather than running away (as with Ramona) or avoiding them altogether (as with Scott). And you don’t have to deal with them alone.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is not a retelling of an old tale or a sequel to the original. It’s a companion piece. If you loved either of the original graphic novels or the film adaptation, Netflix’s take is essential viewing. It fleshes out familiar characters and fills in the gaps of the original story. More importantly, it tackles themes that a grown-up Scott Pilgrim fan has about life and love.

Is Scott Pilgrim an asshole? Yes, but so was everyone. What are you going to do to change that?

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is now streaming on Netflix.

Sound isn’t necessarily the first thing that people think about when watching shows and movies. That’s why in choosing the living room or home theater centerpiece, soundbars are usually an afterthought. The Samsung HW-Q600C Q Soundbar makes a compelling case to be what you splurge on to take your home entertainment to the next level. 

On paper, here are the top features that you’re getting with the HW-Q600C. 

• Dolby Atmos/DTS:X — 3D sound from every direction. 
• True 3.1.2ch Sound — Overhead audio with two up-firing channels.
• Q Symphony 3.0 — TV and Soundbar orchestrated in perfect harmony when paired with select Samsung TVs.
• Adaptive Sound — Sound optimized for each scene.

Set-up is also quick and easy. You have the option to use either the included HDMI cable or if you’re a stickler for a clean look, just connect via Bluetooth. Although, for best results, we recommend using the HDMI cable. Just be creative with your cable management. 

The Subwoofer also isn’t too big that it’ll distract from the look of your TV set-up. It can sit unassumingly right next to your TV stand. 

It also comes with a remote control. With it you can change the sound profile. You have four to choose from: Standard, Surround, Gamer Pro, and Adaptive. Although, I’ve mostly just used Surround. You can also control the volume of the subwoofer. If you’re using a compatible Samsung TV, you don’t really need to use it. Otherwise, it’s handy to keep around. 

So, what’s it like actually using the thing? It’s absolutely an elevated experience. 

Feel your entertainment

Feelings are never easy to describe. That’s why I say the HW-Q600C makes you feel your entertainment. Clean, clear, crisp sound has a way of immersing you in whatever you’re watching. And on certain content, the booming bass engulfs you completely. 

It’s really hard to put into words. If I were to visualize the feeling, it would look something like this: 

The booming bass, in particular, is what really sucks you in. The feeling is about as close as you’ll get to being in the VIP area of a concert or event. If you’re listening to music, you can almost feel your heartbeat synchronize with the sound. 

This is why I mostly stuck with the Surround sound profile. The two up-firing speakers go a long way in making you think like you’re actually surrounded by the sound. Then the subwoofer comes in to deliver a thumping bass. 

A new home cinema experience

I was feeling under the weather during one of the weekends that I had the HW-Q600C. I decided to have my annual rewatch of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame to help make myself feel better. It felt like a new experience again watching with the soundbar connected. 

The clearer dialogue was more heartfelt and the high-octane action more bombastic. It almost took me back to the time when I saw the films in cinema for the first time sans the loud cheers from the rest of the movie-goers. 

This feeling remains true even when you’re not watching blockbuster titles. With this set-up, I also watched a couple of weekly animé that I keep up with. In episode 42 of Jujutsu Kaisen, there was an emotional exchange between two characters. You’ll appreciate the voice acting more when experienced with the HW-Q600C. 

The same thing can be said even for short form content. I have a terrible habit of doom scrolling YouTube Shorts and TikTok before sleeping. But it’s almost an entirely different feeling too using your TV with the soundbar. It makes the already addicting content even more attention-grabbing. 

3D sound when you game 

NBA 2K23

I played three games while testing the HW-Q600C. Each one with a different feel. Each one also drastically improved with better audio. This is particularly true with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The game is a technical marvel visually. But playing with just the TV audio might leave you wanting. In fact, when I was reviewing the game, I had to resort to using headphones. This isn’t the case anymore with the HW-Q600C hooked up. It’s cliché to say, but now that I’m slowly going through my second playthrough, it is a hundred times more immersive. 

The other game I played is Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn. This one’s an actual review. It’s with this title that I had to tone down the subwoofer a little especially during combat. It gets pretty loud and thumps a lot when the characters shout their special moves. 

Lastly, there’s NBA 2K24 — my personal destresser. With the HW-Q600C, I started hearing things I couldn’t during my other playthroughs. Things like the ball bouncing and the on-court chatter sound clearer. Something about the soundbar helped isolate those sounds from the game commentary and music.  

White noise, music background

That SaChaeng verse in ‘Cry For Me’ by TWICE is intoxicating

Even when I’m not completely immersed in whatever’s on the TV, the soundbar still helped in elevating the experience. During work days, I like to have music playing, especially when I’m handling more mechanical tasks. I fire up YouTube and jump right into the TWICE, LE SSERAFIM mix on YouTube when I need a picker-upper. Other times when I’m not exactly thrilled with the kind of volume of emails I get, I turn to the angsty rock music I used to listen to in my teenage years. 

Sometimes I just have basketball or gaming podcasts playing while I sift through more work or while preparing meals. 

I probably sound like a broken record already at this point, but all these activities feel a little different when the sound is coming from such a quality machine that is the Samsung HW-Q600C Q Soundbar. It’s as if I go through my days with background music like I’m the main character of a show or movie. 

Is the Samsung HW-Q600C Q Soundbar your GadgetMatch?

It’s an easy yes if you’re looking to elevate how you experience your favorite piece of media. The Samsung HW-Q600C Q Soundbar makes you feel your entertainment in both tangible and intangible ways. It adds something extra to your favorite movies, shows, music, and everything in between.

We have to reiterate that this is an add-on. For most people, watching with just the TV audio can be perfectly fine. The soundbar is for anyone looking for more. 

It retails for PhP 23,999 or US$ 599.99. But as of writing, the soundbar is discounted at every major retailer. A quick web search showed prices as low as PhP 15,749 and US$ 329.99. That means now is the best time to grab one. 

It’s great if you’re pairing it with a Samsung TV like when I had the Samsung OLED S95C. But it works just as well with my non-Samsung TV.