I. Introduction: An AI-integrated NAS product

In the field of NAS and private clouds, some veterans may only know Synology. However, according to sales data from Tmall and JD.com, ZSpace has become the number one brand for network storage in 2024. And in terms of supporting mobile apps, Synology lags far behind most mainland manufacturers.

Nowadays, with the advent of the AI era, AI has been integrated into all aspects of our daily work and life. On December 6, 2024, ZSpace launched its AI NAS product - ZSpace Private Cloud Q4, taking the NAS user experience to a new height.

ZSpace Private Cloud Q4 is equipped with an Intel Core 12th Gen N95 processor, featuring 4 cores and 4 threads, an accelerated frequency of 3.5GHz, built-in 16 EU units, and a TDP of 15W.

Compared to the seemingly more premium N100, it has a higher TDP (15W vs 6W), resulting in significantly better performance. The only drawback is the lack of 8 EU units, leading to weaker iGPU performance. However, this has minimal impact on NAS devices that do not prioritize gaming performance.

As a 4-bay NAS product, ZSpace Private Cloud Q4 is also compatible with U.2 interfaces, allowing the connection of 2 U.2 devices. It features an internal SO-DIMM slot supporting up to 16GB of DDR4 memory and 2 NVMe M.2 interfaces.

The specifications of ZSpace Private Cloud Q4 are as follows:

II. Image Appreciation: Perhaps the most compact 4+2 bay NAS

ZSpace Q4 adopts a rectangular design with a simple and minimalist appearance. Its plastic shell with rounded corners blends seamlessly into various home environments.

At the bottom of the front panel, there is a power button and indicators for the 4 HDDs.

Rear I/O interfaces: 1x HDMI 2.0b, 1x 2.5Gbps Ethernet port, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A port, 1x Type-C port, and 1 circular power socket.

Ventilation holes are designed on the top of all four sides.

Press the PUSH button to remove the top cover.

The top features 4 HDD slots installed vertically, supporting both 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch HDDs with a maximum capacity of 24TB per drive.

There are 4 SATA interfaces, with the left two also supporting U.2 interface HDDs.

The floating HDD bracket is equipped with silicone cushions on both sides, effectively eliminating vibrations caused by high-speed HDD operation and extending HDD lifespan.

Bottom view.

Removing the bottom cover reveals 2 M.2 interfaces and a DDR4 SO-DIMM slot.

The M.2 interfaces support PCIe 3.0 x1 with a maximum transfer speed of 1GB/s, which can be used for NAS storage or as read-write cache for HDDs.

A single 8GB DDR4 2933MHz memory module. For a better AI experience, it is recommended to upgrade to a single 16GB module.

We used a Seagate IronWolf 4TB HDD for testing.

III. Comparison of Mobile and PC Client Functions

Most functions of the ZSpace Q4 mobile and PC clients are the same, but there are also some dedicated applications. Let's compare them below.

Main interface and all applications on the mobile client.

Main interface on the PC client.

All applications on the PC client

The mobile client focuses on AI and mobile backup, such as "Image Processing" and "Mobile Backup", which are exclusive to mobile devices.

The PC client offers applications like "Docker", "DDNS", "Oray", "Remote Access", and "Virtual Machine".

IV. Smart Subtitles and Conversational Photo Search

In the Image Processing application, six new features have been added: Video Compression, Image Compression, Smart Subtitle Generation, Old Photo Restoration, Black-and-White Photo Colorization, and Image Clarity Enhancement.

Let's experience three of these features: Smart Subtitle Generation, Old Photo Restoration, and Black-and-White Photo Colorization.

1. Smart Subtitle Generation

Due to the time-consuming nature of subtitle generation, we only tested two movies: "Detective Conan vs. Kid the Phantom Thief" in Japanese and "Up" in English.

First, the Japanese movie "Detective Conan vs. Kid the Phantom Thief".

Above are the original subtitles, and below are the AI subtitles. It can be seen that the AI subtitles clearly convey the basic meaning, making it suitable for watching raw Japanese movies.

Next is the English movie "Up".

The original subtitles combine two sentences, while the AI subtitles separate them, with equally precise meaning.

2. Old Photo Restoration

We restored two photos: a 20-year-old registration photo and a blurry photo booth photo.

It can be seen that the details and clarity of the restored photos have been greatly improved.

Additionally, we also tried colorizing black-and-white photos, and the results were quite good.

3. AI Album

To experience the AI Album, you need to download the AI engine, which will occupy 1.2GB of memory space continuously after activation.

The strength of AI photo albums lies in its ability to search using natural language, rather than simple keyword searches.

For example, if we search for "photos of blue cats sleeping", the AI photo album will accurately find what you want.

With this feature, you can easily search through thousands or tens of thousands of photos for various items you need, such as ID cards, bank cards, invoices, and more, making it much more convenient.

5. ZNAS Movie 2.0 Experience

For users who want a comprehensive movie library, downloading is a highly valued NAS feature. The new ZNAS Q4 now supports Xunlei, BT downloads, cloud storage downloads, and more.

Cloud storage downloads include Baidu Cloud, Ali Cloud, China Mobile Cloud, Tianyi Cloud, and OneDrive. Below, we will download some movie resources from Baidu Cloud.

With a Baidu Cloud membership, the download speed is around 30MB/s, allowing you to download a 10GB movie in about 9 minutes.

After downloading, go to the ZNAS Movie app and add the folder containing the movies to the classification in the "Settings" in the lower left corner to import the movies.

As the iconic feature of ZNAS, ZNAS Movie has now undergone an epic update, fully entering the 2.0 era with a new UI, speed, and experience.

After adding movie resources, ZNAS Movie can quickly and accurately match the corresponding movie poster wall.

Movie synopses, cast lists, ratings, and other content make the entire movie library easy to navigate.

ZNAS Movie boasts powerful decoding capabilities, supporting not only ISO, MKV, BDMV, and other high-definition Blu-ray resources but also HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision, and other next-generation image quality decoding. It also perfectly supports DTS, DTS-HD, and Dolby Atmos decoding for audio.

If the downloaded movie does not have subtitles, it can automatically search for external subtitles.

If subtitles cannot be found, the "Intelligent Subtitle Generation" feature of ZNAS can be used to generate subtitles.

In addition to the computer, ZNAS Movie can also be used normally on mobile phones and TVs.

6. Summary: Superior Configuration and Experience Compared to Competitors at the Same Price Point

With the addition of AI, the ZNAS Q4 brings an unprecedented NAS experience!

Previously, finding a specific photo among thousands or tens of thousands of photos required flipping through them one by one for a long time. The AI image recognition of the Q4 can accurately identify various photos and search for them through colloquial speech. For example, asking for "photos of three cats fighting", the Q4 can find the matching images in just a few seconds.

In addition, various documents, ID cards, bank cards, etc., can all be searched using AI image recognition.

The intelligent subtitle feature is also impressive. No matter where you download a movie without subtitles, it can translate the dialogue into Chinese subtitles with high accuracy. This is definitely good news for users who enjoy collecting raw Japanese anime and raw English movies.

Moreover, the ZNAS Q4 also supports video face recognition, black-and-white photo coloring, old photo restoration, and text extraction from images. Interested users can explore these features on their own.

In terms of price, 4+2-bay NAS products with Intel N95/N100 typically cost around 2500~4000 yuan. However, the official price of the ZNAS Q4 is 1999 yuan, and there are currently government subsidies, making it even more favorable for consumers.

As the first AI NAS product in the mainland, the ZNAS Q4 surpasses competitors at the same price point in both experience and configuration. It is hoped that manufacturers like Synology can add more intelligent features to their NAS products.