Rolls-Royce reveals new Ghost Extended

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars announces new Ghost Extended, offering the indulgence of enhanced rear seating space with no compromise to Ghost’s driving dynamics. Ghost Extended is the product of an exhaustive process of consultation with a new generation of Rolls-Royce clients, with intriguing interest in this model seen across the country.

This global, highly dynamic group of entrepreneurs expressed a desire for a chauffeur-driven business tool for the week that can transform into a serenely comfortable and dynamic self-driven saloon at the weekend. Ghost Extended is the response. First customer deliveries will be made in the first quarter of 2021.

“New Ghost is the result of in-depth dialogue with Rolls-Royce’s diverse and global customer base. Many of them asked the marque to create a motor car that provides the indulgence of enhanced rear space with no compromise to driving dynamics. Ghost Extended answers this customer demand by creating a product with duality of purpose that augments both business and lifestyle requirements,” said Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

Design

Ghost Extended offers 170mm more space than Ghost, providing more rear legroom than any four-seat sedan. Customer centricity has informed every step of the development process. A key learning was that Ghost Extended customers wanted no compromise to Ghost’s pure, minimalist design. The marque’s designers worked to cloak the extra length by only extending the rear door and body around the rear door apertures, preserving the lines of the car.

Technology

A suite of enhancements to the rear of the cabin reflects Ghost Extended’s flexibility. For the first time, a reclining Serenity Seat can be specified, offering a new dimension of rear-seat comfort akin to a business jet cabin environment.

The rear cabin also provides the perfect environment to transition from business to leisure. To enhance this, a Champagne fridge is provided between the rear seats and has been developed with exacting attention to the needs of the Rolls-Royce client. To achieve this, the marque’s engineers consulted with a Master Sommelier.

They learned that the optimum serving temperatures of non-vintage Champagne is around six degrees centigrade and vintage Champagnes is around 11 degrees centigrade. To that end, the refrigerator operates two cooling modes, chilling to six degrees and 11 degrees.

Technology without obtrusion

Ghost is the most technologically advanced Rolls-Royce ever created. For Ghost Extended’s entrepreneurial customers, access to WiFi, and cutting-edge infotainment systems is essential for use during the business day. However, technological functions have been deployed with care to reflect customer demand for a serene environment, free from unnecessary distractions.

The commitment to delivering a pure, detoxifying space extends to the air within the cabin. To deliver this, Ghost is equipped with a new Micro-Environment Purification System (MEPS). This technology enhances existing air filtration systems through software and hardware.

Highly sensitive Impurity Detection Sensors detect ambient air quality, automatically activating fresh air intakes into Recirculation Mode. If unacceptable levels of airborne contaminants are detected, the air is passed through a nanofleece filter that is capable of removing nearly all ultra-fine particles within the cabin in less than two minutes.

A suite of technologies enhances the driving experience in urban and country settings. This includes laser headlights with more than 600m of illuminated range and key safety enhancements including vision assist with day and night-time wildlife and pedestrian warning; alertness assistant; a four-camera system with panoramic view, all round-visibility, and helicopter view; active cruise control; collision warning; cross-traffic warning; lane departure and lane change warning.

An industry-leading 7×3 high definition head-up display and self-park ensure absolute effortlessness whatever the driving conditions.

All-aluminium spaceframe and new V12 engine

Ghost Extended is built on the Architecture of Luxury, Rolls-Royce’s proprietary all-aluminum spaceframe that underpins every new Rolls-Royce model. The marque’s hallmark Magic Carpet Ride is delivered by a new Planar Suspension System, the result of more than 10 years’ exhaustive testing and refinement by specialist engineers.

Featuring continuously variable, electronically controlled shock absorbers, self-leveling high-volume air strut assemblies, and a world-first upper wishbone damper; this technology has never been previously applied to a production motor car. Ghost Extended also benefits from all-wheel drive and all-wheel steering for the first time.

Power is provided by a 6.75-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine developed exclusively for Ghost. It produces 571PS and 850Nm of torque. The requirement for silence when traveling is answered through 100kg of acoustic damping materials incorporated into the chassis, bodywork, and tires, it delivers exhilarating performance without disturbing the serenity within.

Simplicity Through Complexity

The pursuit of design simplicity requires highly complex engineering and craft techniques. For example, sophisticated interior and bodywork forms are only achievable through advanced 3D printing technologies. This is the first time this technology has been combined with Rolls-Royce’s traditional craft and engineering capabilities.

For Ghost Extended, beam-melted metal components are welded to the body-in-white, while parts made by multi-jet fusion and selective laser sintering are individually fitted at the Home of Rolls-Royce.

More traditional craft is given contemporary expression through the introduction of two new wood finishes, developed especially for Ghost. Obsidian Ayous is inspired by the rich palette of colors found in igneous rocks, while Dark Amber has veins of fine aluminum particles running through the wood.

Both are available in open-pore finish, allowing the tactility of the material to fully express itself.

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Making the most out of the Huawei Soundjoy

Portable Bluetooth speakers have become a staple for most. Even if you’re not the type to use one every day, you probably have one lying around somewhere just in case. And there’s no shame in that. A portable Bluetooth speaker has many places in today’s world. You can use it for work, at the gym, on your adventures — anywhere really.

The Huawei SoundJoy is one of many speakers on the market today but this device boasts a Devialet sound system and a couple of other helpful features to help you in your daily routine.

Quick review

First, a quick review. The Huawei SoundJoy is a cylindrical speaker with a fabric exterior and a rubberized bottom. You have a subtle RGB ring light on one end for a little pizzazz and its big physical buttons are hard to miss.

Now this device basically has all the characteristics you’d want for a portable Bluetooth speaker including IP67 dust and water protection, long-lasting battery life (around 2-3 days in the real world), fast charging, portable design, and a few smart features.

The Huawei Soundjoy produces surprisingly high-quality audio and wide projection for its size. The Devialet speaker system built into the Soundjoy feels fully utilized producing loud and detailed audio.

Bassheads will find joy in the low hums and heavy hits and it’s probably the best bass performance from a speaker in this price range. At almost maximum volume, however, you’ll start to hear a bit of distortion.

The preset tuning of this speaker obviously favors the lows which does occasionally drown out the vocals for some songs. Luckily, this is fixable and we’ll get to that later on in this article.

For smart features, the Huawei Soundjoy covers the basics.

Apart from being a Bluetooth speaker, the Soundjoy also comes equipped with microphones so you can use it for calls or conferences as well. It also supports voice assistants and can pick up voice commands for both your phone and the speaker itself. The speaker is also NFC-capable so you can also connect (and even transfer songs) by tapping your phone to the device.

In a Huawei ecosystem, you’ll get access to more features such as Automatic Discovery which automatically pairs the Soundjoy to other Huawei devices on your network.

For its cons, there isn’t much. Obviously, if you don’t like bass-heavy speakers then this isn’t for you as its heaviness is its best quality. If you’re specific with sound quality and tuning, you should know that options are limited and you won’t get access to an equalizer or more advanced tools like that.

And while I really like the ring light on the bottom, the novelty wears out quickly and I wish you had more options for color or movement.

But overall, as your everyday Bluetooth speaker, the Huawei Soundjoy is set up to satisfy. With hardly any complaints (except maybe the lack of cuter colors and limited IOS support), it’s more about how to make the most of your speaker to really get the best value, and here are a few tips.

Customized tuning

As mentioned, out of the box, the Huawei Soundjoy is a bass-heavy speaker that emphasizes drops and hits over vocals and tinier details. And while that is a preference for some, you can easily change that through the app.

Head over to the AI Life app available through the Huawei AppGallery. If you’ve already connected to the speaker, you should see a card for it.

There are two ways to tune your audio in the app. You can first choose a mode. There are three available — Hi-Fi, Vocal, and Devialet Mode.

Hi-Fi offers more balanced tuning where lows aren’t as heavy and pronounced. It offers a more open soundscape that’s able to feature the tinier details. Vocal, most obviously, prioritizes voice clarity. This is best used when listening to podcasts or when on a call as it does tone down the overall fullness the speaker is capable of.

Finally, we have Devialet mode which is actually the default setting and the most bass-heavy of all the modes. But I personally think it’s the best for showcasing the capabilities of this speaker.

Below the sound modes is a small virtual knob for bass adjustment. Here you can fine-tune how much more or less bass you want. Our Soundjoy is usually set on Devialet mode with +2dB bass and it works across different genres so far.

Daisy chain for bigger sound

The Huawei SoundJoy is a loud little speaker that can get even louder with a little help from friends.

If you have another Soundjoy on hand, you can link them up for bigger stereo sound. And Huawei made it fun to do, too. Simply shaking both devices at the same time will prompt them to link up.

But if you really want BIG sound, you can keep the chain going up to 100 speakers. What that sounds like I’ve yet to experience but I’m pretty sure it would be fun.

Helpful little features

Most portable Bluetooth speakers are pretty simple and the Huawei Soundjoy is no exception. But it does offer a few helpful features.

An underappreciated feature for me is the ability to program the speaker to shut down after a few minutes of inactivity. Done through the app, you can access the schedule off time feature and choose from the preset times.

And did you know that the ring light is actually an indicator?

Different colors and breathing patterns dictate what’s happening with the speaker. For example, when you see a spinning,  blinking white light, a One-Hop transfer is in process. Or when you see the light turn yellow, it means your battery level is less than 10%.

There’s also a low-power consumption mode that works to preserve battery when you’re running low.

To activate this, simply hold down the voice button (it has a microphone icon on it) for five seconds. You can exit anytime by pressing any of the buttons.

Final thoughts

Again, there’s little to complain about with the Huawei Soundjoy. I’ve personally been using it as an external speaker for my PC since it sounds a whole lot better than my monitor speakers. I can keep it plugged in, too, so it’s always charged and ready to go if ever I need to leave the house with it too.

I find it also has a more refined design compared to others in its price range without looking too boring. You’ve got great sound courtesy of Devialet and long-lasting battery life so you won’t be left soundtrack-less on your adventures.

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