Smart home tech that's easy to use, install and monitor is always a big win in my book, so when the Reolink Argus MagiCam arrived, it couldn't have been more up my street.

Unlike most of the best security cameras, the Argus MagiCam has been designed with portability and flexibility in mind rather than permanent installation. It's an excellent option for renters, but it's equally suited to anyone who wants hassle-free home security without getting the drill out.

You'll find my full thoughts below, but if you couldn't tell already, I was seriously impressed by this small-but-mighty camera.

Price and availability

The Argus MagiCam is available in a 1-pack (£49.99), 2-pack (£94.99) or 4-pack (£169.99), all of which can be purchased directly from Reolink's website. The 1-pack and 2-pack are also available on Amazon.

I actually think it's very competitively priced, especially if you're planning to cover multiple areas of your home. Opting for the four-pack brings the cost down to just over £42 per camera, making it excellent value if you're building out a wider security setup.

Unboxing and setup

As with any Reolink camera, getting the Argus MagiCam set up is incredibly easy, with the whole process guided through the app. You simply connect the camera to your Wi-Fi, follow the prompts to pair it with your account and, within a few minutes, you're ready to start using it.

The camera itself comes with multiple mounting options, but as I've been using mine to keep an eye on my puppy, I mainly relied on the magnetic back to attach it to his crate. The magnetic connection is strong, although because it's positioned on the bottom half of the camera, it can sometimes swing around rather than staying perfectly in place. I ended up using a cable tie as a bit of extra security, just in case my puppy decided to knock it off.

If you're installing it somewhere more permanently, I'd recommend using the included magnetic mounting pad. It gives you a little more flexibility over where you position the camera and keeps it securely in place, whilst still allowing you to remove the camera whenever you need to. For me, the built-in magnet has been ideal because I regularly move the camera around.

Design and features

Measuring just 68 x 68 x 28.9mm and weighing only 108g (without batteries), the Argus MagiCam is one of the smallest cameras Reolink has ever produced. It has a neat rounded-square design with softly curved edges, whilst the front houses the 2MP Full HD camera, infrared LED, PIR motion sensor, ambient light sensor and microphone.

As mentioned, the Argus MagiCam also comes with a magnetic mounting pad that lets you attach it to almost any flat surface in minutes. If you've already got a metal surface available, you can snap the camera straight onto it.

Reolink also includes a rotary mounting bracket with 360° horizontal rotation and 180° vertical adjustment, and its IP67 weatherproof rating means it's equally at home indoors or outside.

It records in 1080p Full HD with a 132° diagonal field of view, whilst a 120° PIR sensor detects motion up to 10 metres away. Smart detection can distinguish between people, vehicles and animals to help reduce false alerts, and you also get infrared night vision, two-way audio and time-lapse recording.

Connectivity comes via dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, with footage stored either locally on a microSD card (up to 256GB) or through Reolink Cloud.

Rather than relying on a built-in rechargeable battery, the Argus MagiCam uses replaceable AA lithium batteries, which Reolink claims can last for up to nine months, depending on usage. However, if you'd rather leave it in one place permanently, you can also power it continuously via USB-C.

Performance

The biggest thing I noticed during testing is just how easy the Argus MagiCam is to live with. For a relatively affordable camera, I was also impressed with the overall image quality. The 1080p footage is clear enough for keeping a close eye on what's happening, and features such as colour night vision and AI detection are a particularly welcome bonus at this price point. As I already use other Reolink devices, I also opted for Reolink Cloud storage, as it works best for my existing setup and means I can easily access footage alongside my other cameras.

The one area where I did come up against a slight issue was battery life. Reolink claims the Argus MagiCam can last for up to nine months, but in reality, how long it lasts will depend heavily on how much movement the camera is picking up.

During my first week of testing, I positioned the camera within my puppy's crate, which is a fairly high-traffic spot with plenty of movement. With the motion sensor constantly being triggered and regular notifications coming through, the batteries lasted around six days.

For the second week, I decided to turn off motion detection and notifications, and the battery life almost doubled, lasting around 13 days. Based on my experience, I can't quite see the camera lasting for nine months in a busy area with regular activity, although I can imagine this being much more achievable if it's positioned somewhere with very little movement.

Thankfully, the Argus MagiCam can be powered via USB-C, making the battery life much less of a concern. I wouldn't personally do this with my puppy, as having cables around him isn't exactly ideal, but if I ever change how I use the camera in the future, this is the option I'd choose.

Verdict

Overall, the Argus MagiCam has been a really pleasant little camera to use. It's incredibly simple to set up, easy to move around and offers strong image quality in a tiny package. The battery life could be better for high-traffic areas, but the ability to switch to USB-C power gives you plenty of flexibility. For such a small and affordable camera, that combination of portability, simplicity and useful features is what ultimately pushes it into five-star territory for me.

Alternatives to consider

The TP-Link Tapo C425 is probably the Argus MagiCam's closest rival. It also offers a wire-free magnetic installation, although it steps things up with a 2K QHD resolution. Instead of replaceable batteries, it uses a built-in 10,000mAh rechargeable battery, which TP-Link says can last for up to 300 days on a single charge.

Another alternative is the EufyCam C35, which also features a magnetic mounting system. However, our reviewer found it only really comes into its own when paired with the HomeBase Mini.

Based in Seattle, USA, adventure apparel and gear specialists Outdoor Research (commonly just called OR) have been manufacturing excellent outdoor equipment since 1981, and I’ve always been impressed with their gear.

Most recently, I tested the Helium UL, a super-light waterproof jacket from the brand, which boxes well above its extremely svelte weight, keeping you dry and protecting you from the wind while weighing virtually nothing and taking up very little room in your backpack or running pack.

As you can probably deduce from the name, the Helium UL Bivy is part of the same range, and it’s not much of an exaggeration to say that it’s a long waterproof jacket that you can climb into and go to sleep in by the side of the trail.

Outdoor Research Helium UL Bivy review

Price and availability

The Outdoor Research Helium Bivy is available now from various outdoor shops and websites. It comes in a range of colours, from discreet natural hues (perfect for wild camping) to brighter options, which can be good in remote areas and extreme conditions, just in case everything goes south and the emergency services have to come looking for you.

In Britain, the recommended retail price is £257.95, while in the United States you can expect to pay around $300; across the European Union, it will cost in the region of €275 and in Australia the price tag will be pushing AU$400.

Specifications

• Guide price: £257.95 (UK) / $300 (US)
• Style: Ultra-lightweight shelter
• Pack size (L x H x W): 37 x 12 x 12cm
• Pitched dimensions (L x W x H):
• Weight: 510.9g / 18.02oz
• Seasons: 3
• Capacity: 1 person
• Vestibules: 0 (awning is extra)
• Hydrostatic Head rating: HH 20,000
• Fabric: Pertex with Diamond Fuse technology (100% polyamide)
• Pole: 1 x aluminium pole
• Pegs: 4
• Pitch time: 2 minutes
• Colour: Light pewter / Spice

Design, materials and ease of pitching

This minimalist shelter is essentially a large bag constructed from OR’s ‘Helium’ fabric, made with Pertex Shield with Diamond Fuse technology.

This membrane-based material is extremely thin and lightweight (even more so than Gore-Tex), and it’s also waterproof (with a hydrostatic head rating of 20,000), windproof and breathable (20,000g/m²/24hr). Of course, the effectiveness of all of these ratings is dependent on various factors (see below).

The bivy utalises one aluminium pole, which threads through a sheath at the head end and is secured in place by a couple of Velcro flaps, creating a hoop that’s large enough to keep the outer fabric from falling on your face and upper torso. It features a ‘clamshell’ opening, which you climb through to enter the shelter. There’s also an insect mesh layer, which you can use on dry nights to vastly improve the airflow.

And that’s pretty much it. The shelter is freestanding, but there are four pegs to stop the bivy from blowing away when you’re not in it, and a pole repair sheath, but there’s no secondary pole at the bottom that you could use with a guy line and a peg to create a little bit of volume at the foot end.

An awning is also available as an optional extra (£100/$110; 155g/5.46oz), if you want some more protection and space at the head end, or somewhere to stash your walking shoes, trail runners, or hiking boots, plus your pack – but you do need a trekking pole to make this work.

Performance on the trail

I love a good bivvying escapade. There is something extra adventurous about travelling light and fast across wild terrain, and then setting up a super-minimalist shelter for nights out right next to the trail.

Sleeping out under the stars with nothing at all between you and the star-spangled sky is the stellar option, waking every now and then to see how the earth has turned and the constellations have changed position, but if the elements don’t allow for this, then a tarp or bivy (or bivvy, as some prefer) is next best.

I have been using the OR Helium UL bivy in the Peak District and in Devon, during various overnight escapades, and overall I’ve been impressed. It does what it designed to do and provides high-level protection during overnight outings, but as mentioned, people need to be very aware of its limitations.

Without weighing you down with any appreciable bulk (the UL in the OR Helium Bivy’s name stands for ultralight, and the kit tips the scales at just over 500g, or about the same as a pair of hiking trousers), a good bivy like this shelters you from wind, cold and rain (to a point).

Obviously, Pertex, like any breathable membrane, has its limits, and if you pitch the Helium Bivy in a puddle, or camp out in the full blast of a rainstorm, you’re going to get damp – as I did during one night of torrential rain.

Likewise, the breathability of such membrane-based materials (Gore-Tex included) is dependent on the conditions, and they only work optimally in dry environments (like the Alps or the Rockies), rather than in the humidity and moistness of the UK.

Also, do not take ‘breathable’ to mean you can zip the whole thing fully shut while inside – ventilation isn’t brilliant in this bivy, which is essentially a large plastic bag (albeit a very technical one), and you will quickly feel like you’re suffocating (and, indeed, you might be).

Space is tight in hoop bivies, and while I’m not claustrophobic, I always like to keep a breathing hole and an escape route nice and close to my face when I’m sleeping in one. If it’s not raining, I recommend rolling up the outer layer around the entrance and using the insect mesh, which will also allow you to gaze up at the stars.

The clamshell opening on the Helium bivy is pretty nifty, folding back so you can insert your lightweight camping mat and sleeping bag, and then get your legs in and assume a sitting position before wriggling fully into the shelter. However, I still found it a little tricky to get into the bivy (especially in wet conditions), compared to having a side zip to enable access.

The bucket floor is reasonably good for keeping moisture out, but in the absence of a small pole at the feet end of the shelter (which would, arguably, make it more of a backpacking tent and less of a bivy) you are always going to be in contact with the fabric, and no matter how waterproof and breathable the fabric claims to be, condensation will accumulate and you do get damp.

Verdict

If you’re really into lightweight gear and you regularly embark on fastpacking and bikepacking escapades where keeping carry weight and bulk to an absolute minimum is the biggest priority, then the OR Helium UL Bivy is a good investment. It’s well designed and made with premium fabrics that are reasonably robust and offer category-leading technical protection.

But, as any bivy user already knows, this is an outdoor shelter in its most minimalist form – it’s basically a highly technical survival bag with some small features that make life a tiny bit more comfortable (and less cold and damp) when you’re adventuring on the edge and sleeping in very close proximity to the wilderness.

Also consider

For a more comprehensive shelter that weighs a few grams less than the OR Helium UL bivy and provides full overnight cover for you and your backpack, boots, and so on, check out the Vango F10 Neon UL1 – a superlight one-person tent.

The Lifesystems Solo Peak tent is another minimalist shelter worth considering – this model has good internal space and an awning for storage, although it tips the scales at 1kg, so is twice as heavy as the OR Helium bivy and the Vango F10 Neon UL1.

I've tested plenty of Philips air fryers over the years, from compact stacked basket models to dual-zone designs, but this latest one takes things in a different direction. The Philips Airfryer 5000 Series Megabasket is the brand's largest air fryer yet, combining a huge 10-litre capacity with a flexible design that can be used as one large basket or split into two.

With 3-in-1 cooking functionality and enough space to tackle much bigger meals, I was keen to see whether the Megabasket could offer something different.

Price and availability

The Philips Airfryer 5000 Series Megabasket has an RRP of £259.99 and is available to buy from Amazon.

For comparison, the original 5000 Series Dual Basket launched at the same RRP, although it's now available at a reduced price from a number of retailers, having been on the market for more than a year.

Design and features

As mentioned, the Philips Airfryer 5000 Series Megabasket comes with a generous 10-litre cooking capacity that can be used as one large Megabasket or divided into two separate 3-litre and 6-litre zones. This gives you the flexibility of a dual-basket air fryer when you're cooking different foods, whilst allowing you to combine the two compartments when you need more space for a larger meal.

That said, it measures around 44.4 x 38.3 x 35.5cm and weighs approximately 8.75kg, so you'll probably want to give it a permanent home on your kitchen worktop rather than moving it in and out of a cupboard.

The Megabasket features a 3-in-1 cooking system, combining traditional air frying with steaming and SteamFry. The standard air-frying function uses hot air to cook and crisp food, whilst the steam function introduces moisture during cooking. The more interesting option is SteamFry, which combines hot air and steam to help keep food moist on the inside whilst still achieving a crisp finish on the outside.

The air fryer also uses Philips' RapidAir Plus technology, which we've seen across many of the brand's more recent air fryers. This circulates hot air around the food to promote more even cooking, with the aim of delivering that crispy texture you'd normally associate with deep frying.

You can also adjust the cooking temperature between 40°C and 200°C, giving you plenty of flexibility depending on what you're making.

The Megabasket has a digital touchscreen display on the top front, giving you control over the cooking settings and access to 12 ingredient presets. However, as mentioned, you can still manually adjust the temperature and cooking time when needed.

One of my favourite features is Automatic SteamClean, which uses steam to loosen cooking residue inside the cooking chamber. Whilst you'll still need to give it a wipe down, it makes the entire process so much easier.

Performance

During testing, the 5000 Series Megabasket delivered the kind of cooking results I'd expect from Philips, and they were very similar to what I'd previously experienced with the 5000 Series Dual Basket. Food cooked evenly and the results felt really consistent with each meal I made. After trying the 4000 Series Stacked Basket Air Fryer, which I found a little more unpredictable with its cooking, it was nice to return to something that felt more reliable.

The whole experience also felt very familiar if you've used a Philips air fryer before. The controls are intuitive, and the cooking process doesn't take long to get used to it. I also quickly remembered how much I love the SteamFry function, particularly for roasting vegetables, which come out beautifully cooked without drying out.

One of my favourite things about the Megabasket has to be its size. It's big enough to cook larger joints of meat, which is something I couldn't always say about my previous air fryers. Pork belly roast is a firm favourite in my house, but I've always cooked it in the oven because of its size. Having the Megabasket means I can now cook it in the air fryer instead, which has drastically improved the meal altogether.

The Automatic SteamClean function is also worth a strong mention, and I don't think I'd want an air fryer without it now. It's particularly good at loosening hardened fats and burnt bits, which usually take a lot of scrubbing to remove. Instead of putting all removable parts in the dishwasher, now all I need to do is give everything a quick wipe, rinse it in the sink and leave it to dry. Considering the size of the Megabasket, this is a huge advantage.

Speaking of, one thing to be aware of is just how big the Megabasket really is. It has an unusual handle design that sticks out from the side of the main body, which I'm not sure is necessary, as a more conventional front-facing handle could have kept things more compact. I therefore recommend measuring up before you buy, as this is one air fryer you won't want to underestimate the size of.

Verdict

The Philips Airfryer 5000 Series Megabasket is a brilliant choice if you want an air fryer that's big enough for larger meals without sacrificing flexibility. Its 10-litre capacity and excellent cooking make it a pleasure to use, whilst the Automatic SteamClean is a game-changer for cleaning. It's certainly not the smallest appliance and smaller households may find it excessive, but if you've got the room, this is one of my favourite Philips air fryers yet.

Alternatives to consider

The closest alternative to the Megabasket is probably the Ninja Foodi FlexDrawer. Not only are the two similarly priced, but the Ninja also features a large 10.4-litre removable drawer, alongside a divider and two crisper plates, making the overall concept very similar.

If you'd rather stick with Philips, you also can't go wrong with the original 5000 Series Dual Basket. The cooking results are similarly impressive, and its more traditional dual-basket design makes it a more suitable option for smaller families.

Welcome to T3's review of the Braun Series 9 Pro+, a flagship electric foil-based shaver for all types of facial hair.

Electric shavers save a huge amount of time first thing in the morning while you're rushing to get out of the house. There's no need for the painstakingly slow rigmarole of slapping shaving products all over your face while being tied to the sink, because you can quite literally be shaving while you read your morning emails, sort your clothes out for the day or make a cup of tea.

We've been so impressed by the Braun Series 9 Pro+'s overall performance that it's shot straight to the top of the list in our guide to the best electric shavers. Here's the full lowdown for your perusal.

Braun Series 9 Pro+ review: price and availability

The Braun Series 9 Pro+ sits firmly in the premium end of the electric shaver market, though there is a bewildering number of model variants and bundles to choose from. The entry-level package as reviewed here includes the shaver, charging cable and travel case, while moving up the range adds Braun’s excellent SmartCare cleaning station, PowerCase charging case, replacement cleaning cartridges and even beard trimmer and body grooming bundles.

Expect to pay around £240 for a basic UK model and upwards of £700 for the full monty set. In the UK, the Series 9 Pro+ is widely available from Braun, Currys, Boots, John Lewis & Partners and Amazon.

In the USA, the Series 9 Pro+ is stocked by Braun ($399.99), Amazon ($319) and Walmart ($459), depending on the specification and accessories included.

Braun Series 9 Pro+ review: design and features

It’s no easy task shopping for an electric shaver. For starters, there are about six main brands on the UK market – Braun, Philips, Panasonic, Remington, Manscaped and Wahl – and each one of those brands lists a bewildering range of models in a wide variety of variants. Take the Braun range for instance. I stopped counting when I reached over 50 different models in various combos and price bands.

Now, I can’t speak for Remington, Manscaped, Panasonic or Wahl but I have tested models from Philips and Braun, and while Philips produces a sterling range of three-headed rotary shavers, I always find myself gravitating towards the Braun catalogue.

Visually, the Series 9 Pro+ is instantly recognisable as a Braun flagship model, with a clean, functional, utilitarian design that prioritises practicality over aesthetics. While there are some subtle cosmetic tweaks compared to previous Series 9 models and even the Series 7, the overall shape and ergonomics remain largely unchanged. And who cares, since Braun has spent years refining a design that just works.

Construction quality is expectedly high, with a housing that combines rigid plastics with textured rubber panels on the rear. These rubber strips provide plenty of grip, even when used with wet soapy hands. At just over 200g (204g to be precise), the Series 9 Pro+ feels chunky in the hand without becoming cumbersome during longer grooming sessions. The body, meanwhile, is fully waterproof, allowing for both dry shaving and use with shaving foam or gel.

Cleaning under a running tap is also very straightforward – simply press the sides of the head and it pops off to expose the inner foil and the connectors on the main body. The product comes with a brush to help release any trapped hair dust that inevitably always remains even while the shaver is being rinsed under a tap.

Not one to shy away from using a raft of promotional buzzwords to help sell this shaver’s various features to the masses, Braun has pulled out all the stops for this particular model. Let’s kick off with the 5+1 head, which combines five synchronised cutting elements along with a rear-mounted, flip-up surgical-grade stainless steel Precision ProTrimmer for detailed trimming of sideburns and beards.

According to the blurb, each cutting element performs a specific role. The two OptiFoil cutters capture short stubble close to the skin, the titanium-coated ProLift blade is designed to lift flattened hairs before cutting, the Direct&Cut element deals with hairs growing in different directions and the SkinGuard bar helps reduce skin contact and irritation.

The Series 9 Pro+ also features a ProSensoAdapt system which allegedly measures beard density 300 times a second, automatically adjusting motor output to maintain optimal cutting performance. I can’t say I’ve noticed any change in motor speed during my time with it but then I haven’t got a heavy beard to deal with. But, hey, it’s good to know it’s there.

Crucially, all parts of the Series 9 Pro+’s foil system move independently like a car’s suspension. Couple this with a shaving head that pivots through 40 degrees and you have a shaver that maintains superb contact across the changing contours of the jawline and neck without excessive wrist movement. Nevertheless, if you prefer no movement from the head itself, you can simply lock it off and choose from five different static positions up to a limit of 20 degrees each way.

Heading to the battery department, the Series 9 Pro+’s lithium-ion battery provides around 60 minutes of cordless operation, while a five-minute quick charge delivers enough power for at least one full shave if you've forgotten to recharge it.

A clear LED display indicates battery and foil status plus travel lock activation. However, I personally would have much preferred a USB-C charging method to save having to remember to pack the bespoke charging plinth when going away for a long period.

Despite the Braun’s raft of tantalising features, not every design decision here is quite on the money. For instance, the integrated flip-up trimmer’s cutter extends from the rear of the grip rather than sitting flush within the body. If you naturally grip the shaver high up near the head (something I tend to do), the protruding trimmer’s cutter presses into the inside of the index finger, making the otherwise comfortable handle feel, er, less comfortable.

Likewise, because this model is also available with a cleaning station, there are two small but noticeable steel charging studs that you can also feel if holding the shaver near the head. I hasten to add that if held the way the designers intended with the thumb on the textured front plate, you won’t have any of these tactile issues.

On the plus side, I do love the smooth spring action on the rear trimmer which is activated by touching a tiny button and moving the thumb up and down to engage and disengage the cutter.

Braun Series 9 Pro+ review: performance

The Braun Series 9 Pro+ delivers exactly what you'd expect from a flagship foil shaver – an exceptionally close, remarkably comfortable shave that almost rivals the feel of a traditional wet razor.

I've been using the Pro+ for the past few weeks and have been exceedingly impressed by how well it has handled my middle-aged visage. I don't have the thickest of daily hair growth, specifically around the lower neck, but the Pro+'s two OptiFoil cutters and clever ProLift trimmer have successfully captured neck hairs growing in different directions without requiring endless passes over the same area. Yes, the shaver struggled a bit during a recent heatwave when the humidity index was sky high but then that's the case with all electric shavers in damp and sticky atmospheric conditions.

I've been especially impressed by the flexibility of this model's shaving head which pivots 40 degrees, allowing the suspended cutting elements to follow every contour of my slim, angular bone structure like an Olympic skier at a mogul event.

For me, comfort is where the Series 9 Pro+ really shines. Even when used daily, it has remained exceptionally gentle, with no pulling or snagging and positively no post-shave redness. In fact, I have felt zero skin irritation since the first day of using it.

I've mostly used this model dry for time-saving effectiveness but it also provides a fast, fuss-free and extremely smooth morning shave when paired with shaving foam or gel, thanks in no small part to its fully waterproof design.

The integrated precision trimmer, too, has also performed well when tidying up sideburns and I can imagine it's just as efficient at defining a beard line or trimming around a moustache. However, as I've mentioned above, I do wish the sharp cutter head of the trimmer didn't protrude quite so much when it's not in use since I can feel it against the inside of my forefinger when shaving. It's not a deal breaker because the unit is supposed to be held lower down the grip where it is exceedingly comfy. That said, I still find myself subconsciously holding it nearer the foil head because that's the way I've been holding my older Series 7 model. But, hey, that’s my problem.

Minor anomalies aside, the Braun Series 9 Pro+ is a truly outstanding product, combining speed, comfort and consistency with a level of refinement that makes shaving feel less like a chore. For most users, it's about as close as an electric shave currently gets to the smoothness of a razor blade while being significantly kinder to the skin. Also, the battery lasts for weeks on a single charge.

Braun Series 9 Pro+ review: verdict

The Braun Series 9 Pro+ is a stupendous electric shaver that justifies its flagship status with exceptional shaving performance and impressive comfort. This one delivers consistently close results with minimal irritation, making it one of the finest foil shavers I've ever used.

Its only ergonomic flaw is the protruding rear precision trimmer which can dig into the index finger if you naturally grip the shaver high up the body. But fortunately this minor design oversight is easy to forgive when the shaving results are this darn good. If outright performance is your priority, I think the Series 9 Pro+ is one of the very best electric shavers currently on the market.

Given that I'm fortunate enough to be able to test and appraise the finer things in life from time to time and am a huge fan of the best electric bikes (especially folding ones), I thought I'd try and track down a sub-two grand folding model that aficionados like me could feasibly afford, and eventually alighted on the brand new ADO Air Carbon Pro from burgeoning Chinese brand, A Dece Oasis.

ADO produces a number of mid-to-premium e-bikes, but this one immediately caught my eye, partly because it had the word 'carbon' in the moniker but mostly because it's relatively light (16.2 kilos).

It's also well integrated with a ton of tantalising features like neat cable routing, a battery hidden inside the seat post, a built-in front headlight, GPS tracking, a two-speed auto-shifting Bafang motor with 50Nm of torque, Tektro hydraulic disc brakes, 20-inch wheels for better stability and speed, and the ability to fold it up for storage, commuting and easy car transport.

But enough waffle already, and let me tell you why I think that the ADO Air Carbon Pro is, pound for pound, the best folding e-bike I've ever reviewed.

ADO Air Carbon Pro review

Price and availability

While this model sits in an upper-tier price bracket, there are many much more expensive electric and non-electric bikes out there so I feel its sub-two grand price is fully justified, as is the full five-star accolade I'm giving it.

To put the price of this 16.2-kilo bike’s price into perspective, let’s look at some of the folding e-bike competition. At £1,999, it’s almost half the price of the similarly weighted Brompton P line (from £3,879) which is not nearly as well attired, half the price of the F1-inspired GoCycle (£3,999) and £700 less than the 25-kilo Cube Comfort 500. It’s also less than the price of most high-end ‘analogue’ road bikes and well under half the price of most premium-spec racing models.

Of course, cost is subjective, relative to one’s disposable income and dependent on one’s love of bicycles in general, but take it from me – you might not find a better engineered lightweight electric folder for the money than this cracking beaut. That said, if two grand seems a step too far, perhaps opt for ADO's similarly-styled Air 20s model instead, which retails at a very competitive £1,299.

In the UK you can currently order the ADO Air Carbon Pro direct from the ADO website for £1,999. This bike is also available from ADO's EU store where it retails at €2,499.

The Air Carbon Pro is apparently also available in the USA for an equivalent value of between $2,400 and $2,550. Contact ADO for further details.

Specs at a glance

• Frame & Fork: Carbon fibre
• Motor: BAFANG H700 250W brushless hub
• Gears: Automatic 2-speed
• Ride modes: Eco + Sport (three levels for each)
• Torque: 50 Nm
• Battery: 37V / 10Ah (370 Wh), seatpost integrated and removable
• Range: Up to 100 km
• Sensor: Dual-sided torque sensor
• Drivetrain: Carbon belt drive
• Brakes: Tektro hydraulic disc
• Wheels: 20”
• Tyres: 20” × 1.75”
• Display: NFC colour display
• Waterproofness: IPX6 (Display IPX7)
• Smart features: GPS anti-theft, NFC tap-to-unlock, ADO Smart Connect app
• Folding: Around 20 seconds
• Rear rack: MIK-compatible
• Weight: 16.2 kg (with battery)
• Max load: 120 kg
• Frame warranty: 5 years

Set up

The ADO Air Carbon Pro arrives fully folded and zip-tied absolutely everywhere, so you’ll need a strong pair of scissors or a cable cutter to release them all.

All you have to do is unfold it, fit the comfy saddle using the provided Allen key, adjust the seat post to your desired height – ideally so your legs are almost fully stretched on the down stroke with the balls of your feet on the pedals – and adjust the angle of the MTB-style riser bars to your preferred riding position.

The bike also comes with ADO’s AQS luggage connector so fit that, too, if you’ve added any front-mounted bags and baskets to your order.

My test sample came with a flat battery having been in storage and transit from the warehouse, but it only took about four hours to fully charge, which is pretty good in my book. Next, download the ADOBIKE app, create an account, ensure your phone’s Bluetooth is active and connect to the bike. You’re now ready to head out on your first ride of many.

Design and build quality

ADO – short for A Dece Oasis – has absolutely nailed the design of the Air Carbon Pro. Available in black or white, the beautifully sculpted full carbon fibre frame is the obvious clincher here, but it's the finer details that have really impressed me.

Every cable – bar the neatly-wrapped brake and battery lines – has been routed internally, and every component feels as though it's been selected with longevity in mind. The overall fit and finish of this bike is genuinely exceptional, with a level of engineering precision I'd happily compare with the marine industry.

Perhaps most remarkably, the whole package weighs in at just 16.2kg, making the Air Carbon Pro one of the lightest fully-featured folding electric bikes I've ever tested. Considering it packs a sizeable battery, hydraulic brakes, integrated lighting and a rear luggage rack into the bargain, I consider that an impressive achievement.

Starting at the rear, you're met with a sturdy MIK-compatible rear carrier capable of hauling up to 25kg, replete with a neatly integrated rear LED light that remains visible without spoiling the bike's clean aesthetic. Beneath the rack sits Bafang's excellent H700 250W rear hub motor, which produces an ample 50Nm of torque.

What makes this motor particularly interesting is its automatic two-speed gearbox. Instead of forcing the rider to think about changing gears and having to fiddle with an annoying rear derailleur, the motor itself quietly shifts between two internal ratios depending on your speed.

Hence, when you pull away from traffic lights, it uses the lower gear for stronger acceleration and, as your speed builds, it almost seamlessly changes into the taller ratio for more efficient cruising. Most riders will hardly notice it happening, which is exactly the point.

Likewise, when coming to a standstill, there's no faffing about changing down in advance with a RapidFire shifter because it'll be back to first gear in readiness for starting off again.

The Air Carbon Pro's 20-inch tyres strike an excellent balance between agility, stability and compact foldability while their reflective sidewalls provide welcome visibility after dark.

Braking duties are handled by Tektro hydraulic disc brakes front and rear, and they stop on a sixpence in all weather conditions. The entire bike also carries an IPX6 water resistance rating, so heavy rain shouldn't pose any issues.

One of my favourite design flourishes is the elegantly crafted rear stays that flow beautifully into the frame. Equally welcome is the carbon belt drive, which is whisper-quiet (wahey, no chain slap), requires virtually no maintenance and never leaves oily marks on your trousers.

Replacement belts cost £79.90, which isn't too bad considering their longevity and overall cleanliness. My review bike arrived without a kickstand, although you can buy one direct from ADO for £49.99, along with a wide range of other reasonably-priced accessories for all their bikes.

Since most carbon frames aren't suitable for fitting kickstands, the ADO stand attaches to the outer bolt on the rear hub. I can't vouch for how well it functions.

Moving towards the centre of the bike, the ADO's heavy-duty 37V, 10Ah (370Wh) battery is cleverly integrated into the seat post, which has the diameter of an elephant's trunk and is fitted with a tidy curly cable connector.

According to the specs, the battery delivers a range of up to 62 miles (100km) depending on the amount of inclines and level of pedal assistance. A heavy-duty lockable release lever, meanwhile, allows the battery to be removed in seconds for indoor charging and added security.

Most mid to high-end e-bikes these days are equipped with a torque sensor rather than a cadence sensor. In essence, a torque sensor measures how hard the rider is pedalling before adjusting the amount of motor assistance accordingly, while a cadence sensor simply detects if the pedals are moving before the motor kicks in at a pre-set level.

The Air Carbon Pro's bottom bracket is equipped with a dual-sided torque sensor, which delivers natural assistance that feels remarkably smooth and confidence-inspiring.

This bike's aluminium pedals offer superb grip underfoot, but their aggressively sharp edges are very unforgiving and prone to gouging one's calf when manoeuvring the bike indoors, especially if wearing shorts. I'd strongly recommend swapping them for removable or foldable pedals with bevelled edges, which would also make storage easier.

Elsewhere, the saddle is pleasantly comfortable despite lacking any suspension, while an integrated anti-theft GPS tracking module hidden inside the down tube provides a very useful level of security.

Heading to the fore, the Air Carbon Pro's fixed handlebar stem and riser bar configuration encourage an upright riding position that most leisure riders will definitely appreciate. However, I'm personally more accustomed to a mountain bike setup where the saddle sits higher than the handlebars, allowing for greater leg power while reducing pressure through the spine.

Nevertheless, I have easily adapted to this bike's sit-up-and-beg riding position, thanks in no small part to the extremely generous motor assistance which does most of the hard work.

I have also angled the riser bars to a more forward-facing position, which has definitely improved my riding posture. But I'd still love to see ADO offer an optional telescopic, height-adjustable handlebar stem so different riders can fine-tune their preferred riding positions.

The Air Carbon Pro's control display introduces NFC unlocking via the supplied key card (more available online). This allows the bike to power up in under two seconds without having to enter a personal PIN.

However, I haven't been able to get my iPhone 15 Pro's NFC to work during testing as the Apple setup process appears to be unnecessarily convoluted.

Granted, the display is generally clear, but some of its smaller text is simply too faint to read while riding. But thankfully the important information – speed and assistance mode – remains easy to see. Riders can choose between two power modes – Eco and Sport – and each mode offers three levels of assistance.

I found that Eco mode Level 2 proved more than sufficient for the vast majority of my riding, while Sport Level 3 provided almost insane levels of punch and was especially handy when riding up steep gradients.

The ADOBIKE app extends the Air Carbon Pro's functionality by connecting to the bike via Bluetooth, giving you access to settings, ride statistics and security features including GPS tracking. It also apparently allows firmware updates though I've received no such notifications since receiving my test sample.

While undeniably useful, parts of the app's interface are very confusing – for some reason the app’s odometer reading bears no resemblance to the amount of miles I’ve actually covered – and some other settings proved inconsistent or non functional during my testing. A few app tweaks are in order me thinks.

I will end this section with a high five to the designers for including an integrated front LED headlight that's beautifully incorporated into the frame.

This 170-lumen lamp throws out an impressively bright beam that's angled to illuminate the road ahead without dazzling oncoming traffic and perfectly complements what is one of the most thoughtfully designed folding e-bikes currently available.

Add compatibility with both ADO's own AQS luggage ecosystem and the universal MIK click-on accessory system, and the Air Carbon Pro is every bit as practical as it is elegant.

Folding mechanism

I'm a big fan of folding bikes of all varieties, mostly because they're easy to store at home, can be taken on public transport or in the car when folded, and they hardly ever need to be left on the street where they could easily be stolen.

Thankfully, the Air Carbon Pro's folding mechanism is refreshingly straightforward and largely hassle-free. The carbon fibre frame folds at the centre using a robust locking hinge and a magnet system to hold the front and rear wheels together.

The handlebar stem folds neatly down alongside the frame to create a compact package that's easy to store in a car boot, hallway or train luggage area. While the centre fold system feels quite heavy when folding, the process quickly becomes second nature and can comfortably be completed in under a minute.

That said, this bike isn't as ingenious or compact as a Brompton, which still reigns supreme when it comes to achieving the smallest and neatest folded footprint in the fastest time.

For instance, I found I couldn’t push it along when folded, or the pedals slowly revolved before one of them jammed against the front mudguard – another good reason to consider changing the pedals to quick-release ones.

In the Air Carbon Pro's favour, it is considerably easier to live with than many other folding e-bikes I've reviewed over the years, and I put this largely down to its relatively low 16.2kg weight and thoughtfully engineered design.

Yes, its 20-inch wheels make it a lot more cumbersome than a 16-inch Brompton when folded, but the fact it folds at all is cause for a little celebration because it means you can store it more easily indoors, take it on a train and fit it into most car boots.

Performance and ride quality

Although it has taken me a day or two to get used to the high handlebar setup, I've grown to love this e-bike in every discipline I've thrown at it. Its overall power delivery, smooth automatic two-speed gearbox and silent belt drive make riding it such an unbridled pleasure, whether it's bombing along a flat road or climbing a steep 8-10% gradient.

In fact, I've been blown away by how well this two-speed bike goes up steep hills without causing a build-up of painful lactic acid in the thighs.

I genuinely expected just two gears to really struggle on the types of inclines I've been riding on but, to my surprise, it's sailed up every road with consummate ease. I'm not as fit as I once was and yet I feel I could ride for 20 or so miles over vastly undulating terrain without feeling the need for a little lie down.

I found that Eco mode positions 1 and 2 provided more than enough oomph for most of my riding sessions and I only ever selected Sport mode 3 when midway up a steep hill.

In fact, on day one of my test I had it in Sport mode 3 while going up a gentle gradient, and it popped a wheelie with hardly any effort applied to the pedals.

Hence, I would definitely tap down to Eco mode level 1 or 2 when performing a U-turn, or your pressure on the pedals at low speed could pitch you off if the motor kicks in too energetically. I've had that happen to me in the past – doing a tight U-turn or sudden avoidance of a pedestrian when setting off are arguably the easiest ways to fall off an e-bike.

While this bike doesn't have suspension of any kind, I've found it very comfortable to ride on most roads. Yes, the rigid carbon frame can amplify every blemish in a road, but I'm used to that and actually enjoy the confidence-inspiring feedback a rigid frame provides.

I also much prefer 20-inch wheels to the 16-inch variety since they provide less rolling resistance and much more stability at higher speeds.

So well done ADO, you’ve pulled off a doozy and produced the best folding e-bike I’ve ever had the pleasure of riding. As a result, I am truly smitten, despite the sharp, scratchy pedals and clunky app.

Verdict

The ADO Air Carbon Pro is everything a folding e-bike should be – impeccable build quality throughout, integrated cabling, lighting and battery storage, a stupendous automatic two-speed drivetrain, oodles of power, large 20-inch wheels for stability and improved momentum, and relatively easy foldability for practical storage and simple car portage.

In the pantheon of luxury carbon e-bikes, I consider a smidge under two grand to be very decent value for money, so if you’re in the market for a premium folder that ticks almost every box, this one’s as close to perfection as it gets.

With the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2, Samsung is putting forward a compelling reason for tech companies not to rush a new version of their gadgets every year.

If the brand’s new smartwatch is anything to go by, skipping a year does mean the next iteration of the wearable can be significantly different, so much so that it might even entice people who own the previous version.

So what’s the fuss about? The new Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 received some big updates, including a thinner case, lighter strap, and larger battery, and it also has a much brighter screen than before – in fact, it’s probably the brightest of all smartwatch displays out there. The watch now uses a Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite processor for buttery-smooth performance.

Features have also been upgraded. The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 can do turn-by-turn navigation like Garmin watches, track elevation, and provide hydration guidance based on estimated sweat loss. Plus, it now has dedicated diving support, courtesy of Mares. Best of all, the watch still looks pretty cool and performs even better.

Best smartwatch of 2026? Well, it’s not all sunshine and lollipops, but Samsung is certainly trying to better its hardware and software. Should you upgrade if you have an older Samsung watch, and is it worth jumping ecosystems if you have – let’s say – an Apple Watch Ultra 3? Let’s find out.

Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 review

Price and availability

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 was announced on 22 July 2026, the same day pre-orders for the watch opened. The wearables will go on sale on 7 August for the recommended price of £649. EU, US and AU prices and availability TBC. The watch comes in two colours, Titanium Silver and Titanium Grey.

For comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra retailed for £599/ $649.99/ AU$1,299 at launch, but can now be bought for as little as £400. The Apple Watch Ultra 3’s recommended retail price is $799 / £749 / AU$1,399 / €899, a fair amount higher than the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2.

The 44 mm version of the also brand new Galaxy Watch 9, which comes in either Graphite or Silver colour, sells for £349, while the smaller 40 mm version (colour options: Graphite and Cream) retails for £319.

Design and build quality

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 follows the original Ultra’s blueprint, retaining Samsung’s distinctive “cushion” design, which I like quite a lot. This combines an angular, rounded-square titanium case with a conventional circular display, allowing the screen to look like a traditional watch face while also giving the wearable a unique look.

Case

The 47 mm titanium case is said to be 12% thinner than before, despite the much larger 800mAh battery it houses. For context, the original Galaxy Watch Ultra measured 47.4 x 47.1 x 12.1mm and weighed 60.5g without its strap.

My Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 sample registered 61g on the scales, suggesting Samsung has reduced thickness without making the watch body itself significantly lighter.

I should add that my kitchen scales can’t measure 0.5 grams, so it’s entirely possible that the new watch is exactly the same weight.

(For the record, Samsung didn’t provide a spec sheet or feature list for the review. I will update it once I get hold of them.)

Strap

The new strap makes a more noticeable difference: it weighs 24g on my scales and is claimed to be 25% lighter than its predecessor. The material also feels genuinely softer and more pliable, helping the large watch sit more comfortably against the wrist.

Numerous perforations provide ample adjustment and should improve airflow during exercise, while Samsung’s Dynamic Lug System allows the strap sections to be released using buttons on the underside of the case.

Controls

The three-button layout is back, located at the right edge. It includes the circular Quick Button, distinguished by an orange surround, which provides immediate access to frequently used outdoor and exercise functions. The two flatter buttons above and below handle the usual Home and Back duties.

There is no mechanically rotating bezel, although the fixed bezel gives the display a useful degree of protection and supports Samsung’s touch-bezel navigation.

The numbered markings and orange index add to the watch’s technical, outdoorsy appearance. The bezel itself is touch-sensitive and can be used to navigate menus.

Display

The circular AMOLED display is protected by a sapphire crystal lens, but peak brightness has risen to a whopping 5,000 nits, which exceeds the original Ultra’s and the Apple Watch Ultra 3’s already impressive 3,000-nit maximum.

Other design details

Samsung positioned the original model as its toughest watch, equipping it with 10ATM and IP68 water resistance, MIL-STD-810H certification and an operating range of -20°C to 55°C.

The Ultra 2 is clearly cut from the same rugged cloth, although its final durability ratings will need to be confirmed once Samsung publishes the complete specification sheet.

Health tracking

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 carries over the extensive health toolkit of its predecessor, including continuous heart-rate monitoring, blood oxygen saturation, sleep and stress tracking, ECG readings, blood-pressure monitoring, and BIA-based body-composition analysis.

That is not necessarily a problem. Samsung Health is exceptionally polished, and both the phone app and watch interface present a considerable amount of information without becoming difficult to navigate. I particularly enjoyed the on-watch body-composition measurements, but sleep tracking was arguably the most impressive part of my testing.

Sleep tracking

I wore the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 alongside the Oura Ring 5, my current benchmark for consumer sleep tracking. Neither can be considered as accurate as a clinical sleep study, but comparing their results provides a useful indication of consistency.

The two devices produced remarkably similar results. The sleep window difference was only 7 minutes, and the total sleep time difference was only 10 minutes (over nearly 9 hours).

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 detected 32 minutes of awake time, while Oura reported 33 minutes. Deep sleep differed by only five minutes, with Samsung recording one hour and 17 minutes and Oura measuring one hour and 22 minutes.

REM and light sleep showed larger differences, but since sleep stages are all guesswork across wearables, it certainly isn’t a deal-breaker. Sleep latency was 17 minutes according to Samsung and 10 minutes according to Oura.

Both measured an average sleeping heart rate of 48 bpm, while average blood oxygen saturation differed by a single percentage point: 96% on the Galaxy Watch and 97% on the Oura Ring.

That degree of agreement is excellent for two consumer wearables using different form factors and algorithms. It does not prove that either device correctly identified every sleep stage, but it gives me confidence in the Galaxy Watch’s estimates.

Samsung also provides plenty of depth. Alongside sleep duration and stages, the app shows movement, overnight blood oxygen saturation, skin temperature deviation, average heart rate, and respiratory rate.

It offers bedtime guidance, seven-day trends and sleep-consistency analysis, although its presentation is more clinical and less interpretive than Oura’s. The Ring does a better job of connecting sleep to concepts such as efficiency, restfulness, sleep debt, body-clock alignment and readiness.

Snore detection is available, but it relies on the paired phone being positioned near the bed and connected to a charger. That makes it considerably less seamless than the watch’s other overnight measurements.

Body composition tracking

The on-watch body-composition feature uses bioelectrical impedance analysis to estimate skeletal muscle mass, fat mass, body water, body fat percentage, BMI, and basal metabolic rate. To take a reading, you enter your weight and place two fingers against the watch’s buttons while keeping your arms away from your torso.

I compared its results with my Withings Body Comp smart scales. The measurements were taken two days apart, so changes in hydration, food intake and other variables prevent this from being a controlled comparison. Nevertheless, the directly comparable results were impressively close.

The Galaxy Watch estimated my body fat at 17.5%, compared with 18.1% from the Withings scales. Samsung calculated 14.2kg of fat mass (vs 14.6kg on the Withings) with a recorded weight of 80.8kg. A difference of 0.6% is reassuringly small.

Muscle figures cannot be compared directly because Samsung reports skeletal muscle mass, whereas Withings reports it as a percentage. Both devices are also consumer BIA products – not clinical body-composition scanners – so individual readings should be treated as estimates.

Sound exposure tracking

Sound Exposure is one of the genuinely new health additions. It uses the watch’s microphone to estimate cumulative exposure to environmental noise and shows how much of the recommended daily allowance has been consumed.

Samsung Health divides the result into OK, Caution, and Unsafe categories. It also displays the average sound level, periods above 80dB, and exposure trends over the previous seven days.

On one day, the watch recorded an average of 77dB and a cumulative exposure of 101%, which it says was “unsafe”. This was caused by the window of my car being down for approx 4 hours while driving on the motorways – the wind clearly made quite a racket in the car.

Samsung stresses that the figures are estimates affected by device use and fit, and that they are intended for general wellness rather than professional hearing assessment.

Other health features

Elsewhere, the Ultra 2 records heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature deviation, blood oxygen levels, and other overnight signals to establish a personal Vitals baseline.

Samsung Health also provides Heart Health and Vascular Load scores, the latter of which compares overnight cardiovascular strain against the user’s baseline.

ECG, blood pressure, irregular heart rhythm notifications, sleep apnoea detection, stress monitoring, AGEs Index, and menstrual cycle predictions complete one of the most extensive health suites available on a smartwatch.

Health feature gripes

There are some familiar frustrations. As mentioned above, snore detection only works when the paired phone is positioned near the bed and connected to its charger. Certain regulated health functions also require a SIM card so Samsung Health Monitor can establish which country the device is being used in.

Samsung also talks extensively about AI, but its broader health ecosystem still lacks some tools found in other apps. Food logging from a photograph, for example, would make nutrition tracking much less of a hassle.

Also, while the software is polished, there is bloatware everywhere on the phone that’s required for all the watch functions to operate properly, which I could live without.

Fitness tracking

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 supports more than 100 exercise types, ranging from everyday walking and strength sessions to multisport events, open-water swimming and trail running. Outdoor tracking is backed by dual-frequency L1 and L5 GPS, with support for GPS, Galileo, Glonass and BeiDou satellite systems, plus onboard elevation and compass sensors.

Samsung says the new Snapdragon Wear Elite processor improves positioning accuracy and efficiency, particularly in challenging environments such as cities, forests and mountains. The watch also offers personalised heart-rate zones, VO₂ max estimates, cardio-load analysis and automatic exercise recognition.

It is a comprehensive package, although the depth of its training analysis remains closer to a premium general-purpose smartwatch than a dedicated Garmin or Coros sports watch.

Automatic exercise recognition

Automatic exercise recognition also works impressively well. The watch can detect walks and less conventional activities after approximately 10 minutes. (It even recorded half an hour of morning housework as exercise, estimating that I had burned around 200 calories.) Running detection is faster, taking roughly four minutes to recognise that a session has begun.

It’s worth noting that auto-logged outdoor workouts, such as walks, don’t trigger the GPS, so if you want to record your route, you’d best start the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 manually.

Samsung’s algorithms can nevertheless be demanding. Despite completing 16,000 steps on one particularly active day, the watch informed me that my cardio load was insufficient. General movement contributes to daily activity, but the system still expects vigorous exercise before awarding a favourable cardio-load score. Is the watch trying to kill me?

I appreciate that the WHO recommends daily moderate-to-vigorous exercise, but surely the algorithm could just determine that multiple walks and 10k+ steps a day are fine? Oh, well.

Trail running

The new trail-running profile records duration, distance, calories, speed, pace, elevation, gradient and heart rate. It covers the fundamentals, but it is not nearly as detailed as the trail-running tools found on comparable Garmin watches.

Samsung is positioning the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 as a serious adventure watch, yet its data and analysis still align more closely with those of a mainstream smartwatch.

Sweat-loss estimation is interesting, although “estimation” is the operative word. The figure is not generated in real time, either, and you have to run for at least 20 minutes and burn 90 calories before the watch produces a result.

Following a hot 45-minute trail run, it estimated that I had lost almost one litre of fluid and recommended drinking 1.5 litres to replenish it. That is potentially useful guidance, but it feels almost too hardcore for the relatively basic analysis surrounding it.

GPX and turn-by-turn navigation

I have not yet tested GPX imports or turn-by-turn navigation, although completed routes can be exported from Samsung Health as GPX files. It is also worth remembering that GPX route guidance and elevation information were already available on the original Galaxy Watch Ultra.

Diving

I was unable to test the Galaxy Watch Ultra 2’s new diving functionality, but it represents one of the watch’s most significant adventure-focused upgrades. Samsung says the dedicated diving app launches automatically when the watch enters the water and records real-time depth, dive duration and water temperature.

A separate app developed with diving-equipment specialist Mares is due later this year, adding more advanced guidance such as descent speed, recommended time at a given depth and safe-ascent information intended to reduce the risk of decompression sickness.

Battery life and charging

The Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 has an 800mAh battery, representing a substantial 35% capacity increase over the original Ultra’s 590mAh cell. In my testing, however, the larger battery did not produce an equally dramatic increase in real-world endurance.

Starting from 100%, the watch reached 11% after 57 hours and 10 minutes. This period included a 45-minute trail run, a 42-minute GPS-tracked walk, a manually tracked 20-minute circuit workout and almost two hours of automatically detected walking, housework and other activity.

Based on these results, I estimate a total battery life of approximately 64 hours, or just over two and a half days, with the always-on display enabled. That just about exceeds Samsung’s 60-hour claim for the original Galaxy Watch Ultra under the same display setting.

My testing also included more than three and a half hours of recorded activity, including two GPS workouts, making the result particularly encouraging. The improvement is nowhere near the 35% increase in battery capacity, but the Ultra 2 appears capable of lasting longer than its predecessor under demanding mixed use.

Charging

Charging performance is adequate rather than particularly fast. Starting at 12%, the watch reached 62% after 35 minutes and 100% after 70 minutes. It was initially estimated that the process would take 1 hour and 21 minutes, with an average charging input of around 5W.

More testing is required to see how the watch fares without the always-on screen, and without GPS workouts logged during the discharge period. Also, Samsung hasn’t provided me with specifications, so I don’t know how my results compare with the official numbers.

Verdict

The Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 is a superb flagship smartwatch and a meaningful hardware upgrade over its predecessor.

Its dazzling 5,000-nit display, smoother performance, more comfortable strap and larger battery all improve the everyday experience, while sleep and body-composition tracking performed impressively against my Oura Ring 5 and Withings scales.

Samsung Health remains one of the most comprehensive and polished wearable platforms available. New additions such as Sound Exposure, trail running and automatic diving support broaden its appeal, although its training analysis and navigation tools still lack the depth offered by comparable Garmin and Coros watches.

The £649 price is also hard to ignore, especially since the original Galaxy Watch Ultra can now be found for considerably less. If you have one and it’s still functional, you might not need to rush the upgrade unless the brighter display, improved battery life, or diving features are especially appealing.

For anyone with an older Galaxy Watch who wants Samsung’s best wearable, however, the Ultra 2 is the obvious choice. It is not quite the ultimate outdoor watch Samsung wants it to be, but it may be the most complete Android smartwatch of its generation.

Samsung has just revealed a major shake-up to its line of foldable devices in the shape of the Galaxy Z Fold 8 – which I got to try out ahead of the brand's Unpacked reveal showcase.

This is no iterative upgrade over the Galaxy Z Fold 7 – for that, you'll need to look to the also-new Galaxy Z Fold 8 Ultra – but a totally new aspect ratio model, with its aim to deliver the best media consumption experience above all else.

I've tried (almost) every folding phone in recent years, where the format has become generally similar. Samsung has sometimes been criticised for its 'tall and narrow' Z Fold previously – but the new Z Fold 8 flips that on its head and addresses the critics head-on.

Given that 2026 is widely thought to be the year that Apple will reveal its 'iPhone Fold' – or 'iPhone Ultra' as many are now calling it – this landmark move from Samsung is a major step towards folding phones' wider acceptance. But with a price tag that remains an obvious hurdle, is that ever going to be feasible?

Price & Availability

So just what sort of price are we talking about? The Z Fold 8 will retail from £1,699 / $1,899 / AU$2,699 when it goes on sale from 4 August. That's £/$200 less than the £1,899 / $2,099 Z Fold 8 Ultra (it's AU$2,999 in Australia).

Note that's for the base storage model, with 256GB on board. There are 512GB and 1TB upgrade options for yet more cash – and no 'double storage pre-order' offer this year.

What's New?

• Totally new aspect ratio unlike previous Z Fold devices
• 10:16 cover display; 4:3 aspect unfolded
  • 5.5-inch external, 7.6-inch internal
  • Flex Titanium for minimal crease
• Samsung's first silicon-carbon battery
  • 4300mAh, 45W charging
• Dual camera system, not triple
  • 50MP main and wide
• Lightest Fold yet, at 201g

Samsung has been making folding phones since 2019, making 2026 the eighth generation – and it has not missed out one single year in that production cycle and evolution of its Z Fold product.

Some years the step up from one generation to the next would be minor. The Z Fold 8, however, changes absolutely everything – as you can see from my gallery of images above (next to the Ultra model). It's a radically different size and shape to what's come before it – and the lightest Samsung foldable yet, too.

It also marks the first appearance of a silicon-carbon battery type (Si-C) from Samsung, helping to squeeze greater capacity into this new form. I suspect this is the brand's first foray into what will become the norm for its flagship products going forward.

In opting for a new aspect ratio, however, Samsung has cut back on the cameras – it's a dual rear offering, lacking any optical zoom – which also seems a sensible cost-saving move. The Ultra maintains a trio of cameras, not that they've evolved over their equivalent predecessor's spec.

Displays

• 5.5-inch external AMOLED display, 10:16 aspect ratio
  • Wider and shorter than Z Fold 8 Ultra
  • 3000 nits peak brightness
  • 1264 x 1848 resolution
  • 120Hz refresh
• 7.6-inch internal AMOLED display, 4:3 aspect ratio
  • Flex Titanium Technology for anti-crease
  • Anti-reflective coating finish
  • 1828 x 2584 resolution
  • 120Hz refresh

There's more going on here than just a new display size, though, in what's called Flex Titanium technology. The fundamental workings in how Samsung has attempted to further negate the much-maligned 'crease' down the centre of the foldable panel is mighty impressive.

Not that you'll ever get to see much of what's actually going on. I found the device 'snaps' into position when unfolded, so there's no half-mast unfolding into a V-shape here. It's either open or closed, such is the nature of this new hinge – and I think that feels great.

What exactly is Flex Titanium, though? In what sounds seemingly impossible, Samsung has devised a way to seat the panel onto a titanium plate that's laser-etched in such microscopic detail that this elemental metal can literally flex. It's topped with a titanium-alloy film that's a third the thickness of a human hair to ensure smoothness.

So why does all that matter? Titanium is light yet strong, stable and largely resistant to permanent deformation – which is why you'll find it used in golf clubs, for example. That stable layer is how the Z Fold 8's unfolded display remains flatter than you'll have seen before – and this helps negate the crease.

Has the crease been banished completely? I struggled to see it whatsoever when looking front-on, but viewed at 45 degrees and with a light source, you can catch a slight indentation (see my gallery of images, above, for examples). I've never seen any foldable perform this well, though, including Oppo's impressive Find N6 (which never launched in most regions).

My other frustration with folding phones, however, is fingerprints. Samsung hasn't made further headway in negating the natural oils prevalent in human skin, which see coated flexible displays show up marks more than most standard flagship devices. The surface is anti-reflective, though, so it does at least hamper sunlight better than before for an improved viewing experience.

The unfolded device's display is a 4:3 aspect ratio, which is... well, it's an iPad ratio, isn't it? I think it's fair to call that unusual for an Android device, as Samsung doesn't make tablets with such an aspect ratio, whereas Apple does. And it's probably no surprise that Samsung is likely to produce the panel for Apple's incoming foldable, too, so you may well be looking at the exact format of what its other-OS competitor will deliver later this year.

Personally, I think that's a good thing, if it rings true. If it aids the adoption of foldables across a wider section of the market, then there could be broader software adoption and adaptation to such an aspect ratio. This Samsung could be the first foldable to normalise the aspect ratio that's expected – and I'm sure it is better for media consumption too.

Other raw specs are solid, too, with ample resolution, high dynamic range (HDR) support, considerable brightness (3000 nits peak), and fluid refresh rate (120Hz) ensuring it's every bit the flagship.

Hardware & Performance

• Colours: Graphite, Cream, Lavender, Pistachio (Samsung store exclusive)
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 'for Galaxy', 12GB RAM
• 4800mAh Si-C battery type, 45W charging
• 256GB / 512GB / 1TB storage options

What I'm a little light on at present is precisely how this new foldable will perform – having only handled a device for a couple of hours. Its specification is abundant, I can confirm, with Qualcomm's top-tier 'for Galaxy' processor rolled out here for the utmost clock speed of any Android device you'll lay hands on (until the next-generation of hardware anyway).

What Samsung has told me, however, is that the Flex Titanium technology actually frees up space in this design, as does the adoption of the new battery technology, so there's 7% more graphite for a thermal performance uptick compared to what the previous-gen Z Fold 7 could muster. Not that they're like-for-like device formats, but an increase is no bad thing.

How Samsung adapts its One UI software over Google's Android base is something that's yet to be fully realised, I feel. We're currently on version 8.5, but this new aspect ratio surely offers greater potential for exploration. There's long-term software support promised for 7 years, though, so plenty of time for more to feature. But no S Pen stylus compatibility here – that's not possible with this metal-backed screen technology.

The Si-C battery inclusion is a major boost for Samsung, too, as people have been asking for this for yonks. Many competitors have used it for three generations already, with the greater density meaning more capacity from physically smaller cells. The 4,800mAh here is moderate rather than massive, mind, when some competitors are leveraging 50% more than that in their devices.

Cameras

• Dual rear cameras:
  • Main: 50-megapixel
  • Wide: 50MP
• Selfie cameras:
  • Both: 10MP, f/2.2

A phone's cameras tend to be the biggest sign of its flagship nature these days. The Z Fold 8 doesn't go quite as far as the Ultra model here, however, dropping any optical zoom lens and relying on tried-and-tested 50-megapixel cameras in wide and ultra-wide.

If you want this new format, then you can't have the most sophisticated camera setup, therefore, but Samsung's well-established work in its photographic capabilities is already well documented. I'll be exploring the Z Fold 8's camera duo more fully for my full review, when I can really assess its offering.

What I do already know is that the suite of Galaxy AI features here will deliver plenty of tools to manipulate images on device and with ease. And the new FanCam feature is designed for auto-cropping for social media-friendly posts, able to auto-track you in the frame without needing to further intervene.

Early Verdict

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 is a bold vision for the future of foldables – and a format that I think will quickly become a more established norm in the near future.

That said, foldables being as costly as they are, that hurdle is going to remain a considerable obstacle for many would-be buyers at this stage. As has always been the case.

But if you are looking for a folding phone upgrade, then the crease-negating Flex Titanium technology on show here is second to none. It's an ideal platform for media consumption, as unusual as a 4:3 aspect ratio is in today's Android market.

Also Consider

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It's no easy task to break into the world of gaming accessories as a newer brand. While some giants like Sony and Logitech have big fan bases, there are also plenty of smaller gaming-specific brands with long lineages, from Razer to SteelSeries. Glorious is a far newer beast, founded in 2014 and with a heavy focus on PC accessories.

It's branched out into headsets in the last couple of years, though, and finally has a high-end flagship in the form of the GHS Wireless InfinitePlay. I've had my hands on it for over a month, and have run the rule over it in real detail, to see whether it could disrupt the established hierarchy of headset makers. So how does it fare among the best gaming headsets?

Price and Availability

The GHS Wireless InfinitePlay can be ordered directly from Glorious, with stock likely to trickle through to other retailers imminently. As mentioned, this is a high-end headset in Glorious' own terms, although it's lower-cost than some other flagships I've tested.

It comes in at £199.99 here in the UK and $229.99 in the US, which leaves it in a quite interesting window in the market. At that price most of its competition don't offer a base station of its sort – but equally, much of that competition does have active noise-cancelling (ANC).

Design and Features

Glorious has kept things pretty safe when it comes to the GHS Wireless InfinitePlay's design, and I think that's almost certainly the right call. The main headset is a simple enough thing to look at, although it conceals some smart design choices.

Each earcup comes with a good amount of cushioning, and the headband has a semi-hidden strap system that suspends some of its weight, making it nice and comfortable for long sessions in my testing.

One earcup has a volume dial, while the other has a more multipurpose one – letting you turn the headset on and off, but also balancing its chat/audio mix.

Those lovely dials are metal, which makes them different from the rest of the headset, which is mostly plastic. This keeps the weight down, at 360g, but it does mean that it feels a cut below more premium alternatives.

There's also a mute button and a Bluetooth pairing button (swapping between Bluetooth mode and the 2.4Ghz connection).

The right earcup also houses the removable boom microphone. This is the first duff note – it's made of a sort of flexible plastic, but doesn't flex all that well and is frankly fiddly to position correctly. The material means you'll need to do this each time you remove it, too.

The other big inclusion is a swappable battery, also in the right earcup. Fair play to Glorious here – this is the best implementation of such a system I've ever tested.

Rather than requiring you to open a panel and pry out a battery (like in SteelSeries' case), you simply push on the spring-loaded battery and it pops out, before you slot in the replacement. Crucially, that replacement is symmetrical in its power pins, so you don't have to worry about getting it the right way around.

To make this system even more impressive, each battery gives a huge 85 hours of play before needing to be swapped. The cherry on top is that the headset has an internal battery in addition, with around three hours of reserve charge so that you don't lose audio after 10 seconds like most of the competition. This makes the battery-swapping system pressure-free and genuinely so slick to interact with.

It's clear that Glorious' aim with this headset is to provide an approximation of the flagship experience, but at a substantial discount, meaning the box has to come with extras. The first, as is logical, is a base station that houses your spare battery, charging it when docked.

That station also has a slot for the included 2.4GHz USB-C dongle (handy since it lets you separate them if desired). There's a USB-A adaptor, too, so you're covered from all angles. That said, it's worth knowing that, like almost every headset out there, this won't work with Xbox consoles at present – but PlayStation, Switch and PC are all covered.

Finally, Glorious' software solution Core lets you customise quite a few elements of the headset's sound, including microphone gain, custom EQs, sidetone and more – including different settings for game audio and chat audio. It's functional and a welcome layer of customisation for those who want it.

Sound and Performance

Glorious has managed to pack a lot of features into a headset without inflating the price too badly, which means I was really curious about how it would perform in sonic terms.

Luckily, from a sheer audio quality standpoint, I'm impressed – the GHS Wireless InfinitePlay is a great headset that won't let you down when it comes to immersive or competitive play. I got through a lot of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced, but also hours of Battlefield 6 for comparison.

In both cases, the spatiality of the sound was well preserved, leaving me able to hear cues and environmental details with a good amount of precision. There's also plenty of oomph, with really high volumes possible, and good amounts of bass by default.

There's one big omission in the GHS Wireless InfinitePlay's array of features, though – active noise-cancelling (ANC). So long as it's well-implemented, this can help hugely with immersion, so it's a shame not to see it here – although keeping the price down makes it easy to see why it's absent.

There is some noise-cancelling on the microphone, but I didn't find it all too brilliant. As well as being tough to adjust physically, the microphone was extremely sensitive straight out of the box, and picked up my breathing to a distracting degree for teammates. This was adjustable in software, but I suspect many people don't bother with that layer, so there's a small warning.

Still, the real meat of a gaming headset's performance is in its sound, and I'm impressed at what Glorious delivers at this price. That's even more the case when it comes to that battery system, which had me basically forgetting I'd ever need to swap one out. The 85 hours on a single charge is stunning stuff, even before the swappability feature's considered!

Verdict

Glorious has taken on a tough task in breaking down the order of things in the headset world – but its first take on a higher-end option is an impressive warning shot for bigger brands.

The GHS Wireless InfinitePlay headset's design is 'safe' but extremely effective, with great comfort levels and visual flair. Meanwhile, its battery life and swap system are best-in-class and outperform far more expensive rivals.

The sound is extremely solid, too, but there are a couple of letdowns. Including ANC would be a huge win if it didn't spike the price much, while the microphone lets the side down in both sound and design terms.

Overall, given the GHS Wireless InfinitePlay's asking price, this headset feels like a really great option in many areas. If you can forego ANC but want the best battery system then this one's a total winner.

Also Consider

The obvious major competitor is SteelSeries' own swappable-battery headset, the Arctis Nova Pro Omni (our reigning champion in our best gaming headset buyer's guide). Despite shorter battery life, SteelSeries wins out on sound quality and design, for me, but it's way pricier – ANC seals the deal, and if you have a bigger budget, it's the obvious choice.

If you want to stay below £/$200, I'd take a look at the Razer BlackShark V2 Pro, a wireless headset that keeps things much simpler with just a dongle to worry about, and which has a far more industrial design. It feels more premium than Glorious' effort, but has a slimmer array of features as a compromise.

BaByliss Pro has long been a favourite among professional stylists, but tools that were once reserved for salons are now becoming much more accessible for at-home users. The latest to join the lineup is the Nano Titanium 2" Ultra-Thin Straightener, a styling tool designed to make light work of thick, long hair.

Featuring extra-wide titanium plates, near-instant heat-up and temperatures of up to 450°F, it's built to straighten larger sections of hair in fewer passes. However, with a premium price tag and no UK launch just yet, is it worth seeking out? I've been putting it to the test to find out.

Price and availability

The BaByliss Pro Nano Titanium 2" Ultra-Thin Straightener is currently exclusive to the US, where it's priced at $179.99 on BaByliss' website.

Whilst BaByliss Pro products are available in the UK, the Nano Titanium range hasn't made its way across the Atlantic just yet.

Design and features

The straightener has an ultra-lightweight design that's comfortable to hold, whilst the metallic blue finish gives it a distinctive look compared to the sea of black stylers on the market.

The standout feature is its extra-wide 2-inch titanium plates, which are also extended to 5 inches in length. This means you can straighten much larger sections of hair in a single pass, making it particularly well suited to anyone with thick, long or coarse hair. However, those with shorter hair may want to avoid.

The Nano Titanium plates are designed to heat up quickly, distribute heat evenly and glide smoothly through the hair. A ceramic heating system also ensures near-instant heat-up and rapid temperature recovery.

The Nano Titanium plates are designed to heat up quickly, distribute heat evenly and glide smoothly through the hair. A ceramic heating system also ensures near-instant heat-up and rapid temperature recovery.

There are five adjustable heat settings, starting at 300°F (149°C) and reaching up to 450°F (232°C). It also has a handy locking mechanism for storage, and the power cord is generously long. Just bear in mind that, if you're using it in the UK like I was, you'll need a US plug adaptor.

Performance

During use, one of the biggest advantages I found is simply how much hair the straightener can cover in a single pass. I found myself straightening far larger sections than I would with a traditional hair straightener, which made a noticeable difference to how long my routine took. Even after sectioning my hair properly, I was finished in around five to seven minutes, which is a lot quicker than it usually takes me.

The straightener heats up in a matter of seconds, so there's very little waiting around before you can get started, and the temperature remains steady as you style. The body is sturdy without feeling heavy, the long swivel cord gave me plenty of room to move around.

I also appreciated the sheer number of heat settings on offer, and whilst it's always best to use the lowest temperature to minimise heat damage, it's reassuring to know the higher settings are there if you need them.

One feature I found surprisingly useful was the locking mechanism, which kepet the plates closed when I wasn't using the straightener. This was especially useful whenever I needed to put it down whilst sectioning my hair or taking a quick break.

That said, considering the premium price, I do think BaByliss Pro could have included some extras, including a heat-resistant mat, storage pouch or even a styling glove. This would have made the overall kit feel a little more complete and better justified the price tag.

Verdict

The BaByliss Pro Nano Titanium 2" Ultra-Thin Straightener is all about making styling quicker, particularly if you have long or thick hair. Its extra-wide titanium plates cover much more hair with each pass than a standard straightener, whilst the wide range of heat settings makes it suitable for different hair types. The biggest drawback is the premium price, made slightly more disappointing by the lack of extras such as a heat mat or storage pouch. That said, if speed and performance are your priorities, it's a fantastic straightener that delivers exactly what it promises.

Alternatives to consider

Interestingly, the extra-long plates immediately reminded me of the Shark Shark SilkiPro Straight. Whilst Shark's model is more versatile thanks to its ability to dry and straighten hair at the same time, both are excellent choices if you have thick hair and want to speed up your styling routine.

Another comparable option is the Hot Tools Black Gold Dual Plate Salon Straightener. It also uses titanium technology to deliver fast styling and comes in at £129.99/$129.99, making it a more affordable alternative.

Roborock has spent the last few years building a reputation for itself as one of the best robot vacuum brands in the business. Now the company has brought its expertise in navigation, obstacle avoidance and app design to your garden.

Arriving in the form of the RockMow Z1, the brand's new flagship robot mower is certainly not some half-assed attempt at bringing its vacuum tech outside the home. It's clear from the moment you lift it out of the box that this thing means business.

The Z1 range comes in three sizes: the Z115 (for lawns up to 1,500 sqm), Z130 (up to 3,000 sqm) and Z150 (up to 5,000 sqm). The only difference between each model is battery size and coverage area, everything else is identical, boasting the same four-wheel drive, active steering, cameras, app, and everything.

I've been testing the Z150, the biggest and most capable model, across my garden for the past few weeks to see whether Roborock's indoor smarts translate to the great outdoors. Here's how I got on.

Roborock RockMow Z1 review: price and availability

The Roborock RockMow Z1 range is available now in the UK direct from Roborock's official RockMow site. There are three different models each aimed at different garden sizes and with varying price points: the Z115 starts at £1,699, the Z130 sits at £2,299, and the Z150 I tested comes in at £2,999. In the US, you can expect to pay up to $3,500.

First off, let’s address the elephant in the room: that's a lot of dosh for a robot mower, putting the flagship model, the Z150, well above rivals like the Segway Navimow i215 LiDAR (£1,199) and closer to premium territory occupied by the likes of Husqvarna's Automower range. The entry-level Z115 is more competitive, but you're still looking at something that’s more of an investment than a nice-to-have garden gadget.

One thing worth mentioning is that the brand’s PreciEdge module, which allows the mower to cut within 3cm of edges and walls, is sold separately at £150. Given how much the mower costs, this feels like it should be included as standard. Without it, the mower leaves a roughly 10cm strip of uncut grass along boundaries, which means you'll still need a strimmer for the finishing touches. Ugh.

Nevertheless, the Z1 also comes with three years of free 4G data, so it can operate and be controlled remotely even without Wi-Fi in the garden, which is a nice touch.

Roborock RockMow Z1 review: design and build

The first thing you notice about the RockMow Z1 is that it has a much different vibe to anything else in the robot mower market. It definitely looks the part, so much so that if you don’t have a sprawling garden of several acres then it will seem a bit overkill. In what can best be described as a tank, the Z1 has a low, aggressive stance with chunky treaded wheels, front-facing cameras that almost look like eyes, and an overall design that is very “rugged”. Even so, it’s still sleek and premium.

Where the RockMow Z1 really shines, though, is its build quality. At 21.5kg, it's a seriously heavy machine, and every gram of that weight feels worthwhile. Nothing creaks or wobbles, and the IPX6 waterproof rating means it can handle rain, mud and a blast from the garden hose without a grumble. There's also a rain sensor that sends it back to the charging station when the weather turns, ready to resume its day job once things dry out.

The four-wheel drive system is the headline feature here, though. This means that each of the mower’s wheels has its own hub motor, with the front wheels boasting active steering motors that allow for incredibly tight turns without leaving scuff marks on the grass.

The rear wheels sit on independent spring suspension, keeping the body stable and the cutting deck level even over bumps and dips. It almost seems to move like a miniature all-terrain vehicle. Turning it over, you’ll find a floating cutting deck with six blades, a 24cm cutting width, and an adjustable cutting height from 20-70mm that you set via the app. There's also an anti-clog disc designed to prevent grass build-up.

My only real gripe here is the sheer size of the thing. At 661 x 475 x 294mm, the Z1 is a meaty piece of kit that takes up a good chunk of space in the garden. If you've got a compact urban garden, it's going to dominate. In fact, if this is you, I’d recommend against buying one entirely as this beast is designed for bigger uneven gardens that more bog standard robot mowers would struggle with. Plus, at 21.5kg, moving it manually is not something you want to be doing often. On the other hand, if it’s a large unruly garden you have, then this is definitely the machine for you.

Roborock RockMow Z1 review: performance and features

Setting up the RockMow Z1 was surprisingly easy. Roborock includes a generously long cable so it doesn't have to sit right next to the charging station, and once it’s docked and charging, it’s on to the initial pairing via the app, which is super quick. For me, with a relatively modest yard, the whole process from unboxing to first mow took about half an hour, but this might vary depending on your setup and garden size.

The one thing I couldn't find was an auto-mapping option. I had to manually drive the mower around the perimeter of my garden via the app to teach it the boundaries, which - as something that claims to be so high tech and is outrageously expensive - I was surprised at. Still, this worked fine, but for a machine with supposed AI-powered mapping, I was expecting to be able to let it figure things out on its own. (Other reviews have since reported that AI mapping has been rolled out via a software update, so perhaps this is yet to arrive.)

Once mapped, though, the Z1 is seriously impressive. When up and running, you’ll see just how nimble it is. Cutting grass evenly and responding instantly to your commands in the app even when changing settings, such as the cutting length, mid-mow. The active steering means it navigates around obstacles smoothly, making tight turns without chewing up the turf, and the four-wheel drive powers through slopes and uneven ground without needing to stop and think about it.

The Quad Vision obstacle avoidance system uses four cameras (two front, two side) and works well. It spotted and avoided garden furniture, plant pots, and the like without a problem. It's perhaps a touch over-cautious at times, however, leaving quite a wide berth around objects, which means a bit more untouched grass than you might expect.

I found cutting performance to be clean and consistent. The floating cutting deck adapts to the contours of the ground, and after a few sessions the lawn looked noticeably more even and well-maintained.

While it’s a feature that most robot mowers lack, the RockMow Z1 doesn’t collect grass during a cut. Instead, it mulches the clippings and leaves them on the lawn. This is fine for lawn health if the mower runs regularly enough to keep clippings tiny, but if you've let the grass grow a bit between sessions, you'll find yourself raking up afterwards, which somewhat defeats the brand’s "set it and forget it" mantra.

As I mentioned earlier, the Roborock app is a pleasure to use. It's clean, intuitive and gives you control over schedules, cutting height, zones, mowing direction and more. You can track the mower's progress in real time on a map, set no-go zones, create passages between separate lawn areas, and even choose mowing patterns. There's also a nifty anti-theft system with PIN lock, lift alarm and 4G tracking, plus it supports Apple Find My for location tracking.

As for battery life, the Z150 is generous at 200 minutes per charge, with a 60-minute charging time. For my garden, one charge was more than enough per session, and the mower returns to its dock automatically when the battery gets low, resuming where it left off once topped up.

Roborock RockMow Z1 review: verdict

The Roborock RockMow Z1 is one of the most capable and well-built robot mowers I've had the pleasure of testing. The four-wheel drive, active steering and dynamic suspension handle terrain that would leave most competitors spinning on their backs, and the build quality is exceptional. Meanwhile, the app is polished and packed with useful features, the cutting performance is clean and even, and the obstacle avoidance is reliable.

However, it’s imperative to note that this machine only makes sense for the right garden. At £2,999 for the Z150 that I reviewed, it's a serious investment, and the size and weight mean it only really makes sense for larger, uneven and more demanding outdoor spaces. If your garden is small, simple and flat, you'd be far better off with something like the Segway Navimow i208 LiDAR or even Roborock's own smaller RockMow S1.

Still, if you've got the budget as well as a big, hilly, obstacle-ridden garden and you're tired of spending your weekends pushing a mower around it, the RockMow Z1 is built for exactly that job. It's just a shame the PreciEdge module isn't included at this price.

Samsung has built an enviable reputation among the best soundbars, with its increasingly impressive Q-Series models, complete with wireless subwoofers and optional rears. For many, they’ve completely replaced separate amp-and-speakers setups.

The HW-QS90 cuts the clutter even more. It’s an all-in-one design, engineered to deliver a convincing Dolby Atmos from a single enclosure. Typically, the province of entry-level soundbars, here Samsung has packed the QS90H with high-end drivers in a 7.1.2-channel configuration, driven by top-notch processing.

Is it really possible to deliver uncompromising home cinema audio from a single slab? Let’s find out...

Price & Availability

The HW-QS90H is priced at £899 in the UK – a tag that places it firmly in premium territory. That'll drop over time, though, if you're prepared to wait.

Given that you can currently pick up 2025’s HW-Q930F, a more ambitious 9.1.4 package with wireless sub and wireless rears for just £699, this looks a tad toppy.

There again, it’s a positive steal if you compare it to Samsung’s latest HW-Q990H flagship, an 11.2.4 offering, which comes with all the trimmings, including a hefty £1,599 price tag.

The QS90H sells for $999.99 in the United States. It’s also supposedly heading for Australia, although its price is still yet to be confirmed.

This soundbar is also available in Germany, as the differently-named HW‑QS95GH (€949), where it comes with a ‘Made for Germany’ designation.

Features & What's New?

The feature attraction here has to be the space-saving, all-in-one, 7.1.2 Dolby Atmos configuration.

Samsung has managed to cram in three front firing drivers in a left / centre / right orientation, two upfiring drivers for atmospheric height effects, plus two side/wide firing drivers positioned at either end, plus four integrated woofers tasked with lower-frequency duties.

You’re well covered for audio formats too. The bar supports Dolby Atmos, DTS:X and the new Eclipsa 3D audio standard (IAMF decoding), as developed between Samsung and Google (for YouTube).

For Samsung TV owners, there’s also Q-Symphony support, a nifty wheeze that allows the soundbar to work in tandem with compatible TV speakers, effectively creating a wall of sound.

Samsung’s familiar AI suite is present and correct. Active Voice Amplifier Pro enhances dialogue clarity by reacting to ambient noise – useful if you have a noisy living room – while AI Dynamic Bass Control is a DSP (digital signal processing) mode to bolster low-end impact. There’s also Auto Volume control, which goes some way to smoothing out level jumps between sources.

Connectivity comprises two HDMI inputs (obviously one with eARC), as well as an optical digital audio input, plus Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Unfortunately, HDMI video passthrough is limited to 60Hz, not 120Hz, which will be a bit of a negative for gamers who want to preserve high-framerate sources (they’ll have to connect consoles directly to their TV, and bitstream audio out).

Sound Quality

I was expecting the HW-QS90H to be good. But it actually sounds great.

This is a bold, expansive performer with a wide soundstage that pushes well beyond the physical confines of the 'bar itself. There’s real scale here, a sonic illusion created by that combination of forward, side and upfiring drivers – and it’s quickly evident that Samsung’s LA-based audio lab has done a great job with the tuning.

Height effects are particularly convincing. With spatial content, there’s a noticeable lift to the presentation, adding air and dimensionality. Watching Brad Pitt’s F1 on Apple TV, the roar of engines and the mechanical snarl of gear changes create a genuinely exciting sense of motion.

Clarity is another strong point. Dialogue sits cleanly in the mix, aided by the soundbar’s detailed midrange and the clever post-processing. Even in busy scenes, voices remain intelligible without sounding artificially pushed forward.

Bass performance is where the QS90H seals the deal. This is where the wheels could fall off Sonny Haye’s F1 racing car – thankfully, they don’t. The integrated woofers deliver a low-frequency response which I measured down to around 50Hz, but psycho-acoustically they sound like they drop even lower.

Sure, the bass has a slightly processed character. It’s not quite as tactile or visceral as a dedicated subwoofer might provide, but for a single chassis design it’s remarkably convincing. Rich and full, action movies land with authority, while music carries a pleasing beat.

In terms of presentation, I noticed a subtle change when the soundbar receives Dolby Atmos information compared to stereo or 5.1 channel sources. There’s maybe a touch more finesse and detail.

As for Eclipsa spatial audio, there’s not actually a great deal that I could find on YouTube to sample, but the official demo clip, with a variety of outdoor sports sequences, does play with impressive separation. The future-proofing is welcome – but we'll have to see how far Eclipsa adoption is driven yet.

There are limitations, though. Without rear speakers, there’s no genuine front-to-back movement. Audio effects don’t travel behind you in the way a full surround system would allow. The Q990H can deliver this, but you need to spend more and then position additional speakers in your room – which not everyone wants or can even accommodate.

Just after Tom Hardy stomps the two-headed lizard during the opening sequence of Mad Max Fury Road, the pursuing War Boys don't crash the soundstage from rear to the front, as originally designed, rather they parachute in from on high. I suspect for many, that’s probably an easy compromise to live with.

With music, the soundbar is less about fidelity and more about presence. The 'bar plays loud, soundstage spread wide. Stereo tracks like Shaggy’s Boombastic bounce along, while more intricate recordings reveal good spatial detail, if not audiophile subtlety. The presentation is confrontational, in a good way. As for multichannel music, K-Pop Demon Hunters (Netflix, Dolby Atmos), sounds, well, golden.

Design & Usability

Let’s not mince words. This is a big beast. If your TV is smaller than 65-inches, this 'bar is going to look silly in your lounge. Measuring over 1.3 metres and weighing close to 9kg, it’s best partnered with lots of glass and some robust furniture.

The design is sterotypically ‘Samsung soundbar’ – that’s to say, it’s a minimalist black slab wrapped in a perforated metal grille. There’s no fabric to soften the look. Functional rather than decorative, fashionistas might want to swipe left.

However, usability is fine. If you need them, on-body controls include Volume, Microphone and a Multi button, which handles power and source switching.

Most will probably rely on the supplied remote control, or the Samsung SmartThings app, which allows you to manage volume, select sound modes and adjust EQ.

The HW-QS90H can sit either flat, or on edge, depending on how you want to install it. A built-in gyroscope detects whether the bar is wall-mounted or placed on furniture, and adjusts its output accordingly.

Room calibration comes via SpaceFit, which uses onboard microphones to tailor sound to your viewing environment. You can run the system with or without SpaceFit engaged, and frankly I don’t think it makes much difference.

On the 'bar, there’s no text display, instead feedback is provided via LED indicators and voice prompts.

The included zapper is straightforward, but notably not solar-powered like some of Samsung’s similar-looking TV handsets. In the dark, it’s easily confused with a Fire TV remote. Or maybe that’s just me.

Verdict

Soundbars are easy to love, but partnering wireless subwoofers less so, particularly when floor space is at a premium. If this rings true for you, but you don’t want to compromise on spatial performance, the HW-QS90 is a compelling proposition.

It may be a single enclosure, but this soundbar offers an expansive soundstage with satisfying levels of subtlety and slam. It may be on the pricey side, but it’s definitely one to audition – and easily one of the best soundbars for Samsung TVs (65-inch+) if you don't want multiple speakers cluttering your setup.

Also Consider

If the form factor is right, but the price is wrong, take a look at the Sony HT-S2000, which is about a third of the price. It's a single box that offers 3.1 Dolby Atmos audio, powered by proprietary S-Force Pro Front Surround digital processing. Front facing X-Balanced speakers are helped by dual woofers – and you can always upgrade to wireless rears and a subwoofer at a later date.

Alternatively, take a gander at the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), which, at about half of the Samsung's price, is a popular Dolby Atmos 'bar with five internal speakers. It can be paired with other wireless Sonos speakers, which may further appeal. And it's far smaller, so a better match for those 55- and 50-inch TVs.

Nothing is having an interesting year. Having said that, the smartphone world is moving too quickly in terms of inflation, so it's supposedly taking things slower there, yet shows no signs of a similar lull on the audio front. We've already had the good value Headphone (a), so now it's time for some even more affordable earbuds.

The Nothing Ear (3a) look a lot like the brand's Ear (3), unsurprisingly, at least as far as each earbud is concerned. But they're a very different product at a really attractive price point. Do they make that money feel worth it, though? I've used these 'buds for a week straight to find out.

Price and Availability

Nothing has now formally launched the Ear (3a), which means you can order the earbuds direct from its store, or find them on Amazon. They'll set you back £/$99, which makes them a little over half the price of the Nothing Ear (3).

It also means that, compared to much of the competition, they're a very low-cost option – most rival audio brands have completely separate product lines at this price, albeit with similar features to Nothing's offering (with some exceptions that I'll get into).

Design and Features

From a design perspective, the Nothing Ear (3a) is extremely familiar in two different ways.

Firstly, if you check out the case itself, it's the same as the Nothing Ear (a) with some minor differences; the earbuds themselves are very difficult to tell apart from either the cheaper Ear (a) or pricier Ear (3) models.

Returning to the case for a moment. It's rectangular with rounded corners, but the majority of the actual body is a pill-shaped part within this rectangle. This basically gives the case a lip around the outside, and while I normally really appreciate Nothing's design work, I can't give this much praise.

While it does look striking, it also makes the case a good chunk bigger in your pocket than it needs to be – form over function, which is pretty sinful stuff, I'd say. The lip also makes it actively fiddly to open the case, requiring a fingernail to pry it, and it's annoying to do so one-handed. Again, not ideal.

The earbuds themselves are far more impressive, though, retaining the stem design that Nothing has used on its other earbuds thus far. Selecting the right eartip from four options in the box, I found the fit to be really comfortable and reliable, while the earbuds' stems have that cool transparent look for which the brand is well known.

One final design moan is that, for slightly intangible reasons, these earbuds are the first I've tested in ages where putting them back in the case can be a mixed bag. The placement of the magnets on each stem sometimes sees them grabbed at the wrong angle, requiring a brief fiddle to fix. At least the three-part charging indicator LED is really natty and works great with animations to give you more information.

Where the case was the Ear (3)'s big innovation thanks to an on-board microphone, with the (3a) Nothing has gone a different route. The big change is that the earbuds have on-board storage that can let them directly record audio and phone calls rather than relying on an outside app or service.

Nothing seems to think that people want this feature, and I can't speak to that demand personally, but I can't say I wanted the feature. Let alone the paid membership to get more accurate and faster transcripts – although you do get free recording and slower transcription as standard.

In more traditional territory, the Ear (3a) does have active noise-cancelling (ANC), and you can expect to get around 6 hours of battery life while it's active before you need to top them up in the case. That's now about par for this sort of earbud.

Sound and Performance

Nothing says that the Ear (3a) comes with a new 12mm dynamic driver. The big difference that you can hear when you wear them compared to older Nothing 'buds is that the bass is definitely boosted – although that might just be a tuning choice, too.

It means that these earbuds do give a pretty good first impression, and before I get into more detail, I'll confirm that for the price, I think their sound quality is pretty much bang on what I'd expect. You get decent clarity and relatively balanced performance across the frequency range.

Take Five is a testing classic for good reason, and its sprightly jazz comes across pretty well, while the more folkish stylings of Animal Fear by Marika Hackman do well too, with the unsettling lower notes coming in decently.

That said, I found I had two different listening experiences in different circumstances. At home in relative quiet, the earbuds were solid. On the move, on public transport and with background noise for the ANC to tune out, it was a far muddier and weaker listen.

The villain here is the ANC, of course, which I won't fly much of a flag for – it's not particularly powerful, and is probably where the budget of the (3a) is most obvious compared to pricier competitors. That's no surprise, but it's still a little disappointing – I thought the Ear (3) performed decently at its higher price tag, for instance.

The on-earbud controls on offer are simple, with each one detecting a squeeze, but lacking any more sophisticated touch controls (like AirPods Pro, for instance). This works well enough, but it does mean you'll need your phone to, for example, adjust the volume of your audio.

Squeezing both at one time activates the "audio snapshot" feature that I mentioned above, recording your audio whether you're on a call or just out and about. The fact that it captures what you're listening to regardless of the source (meaning it could be any video on the web, for example, or a phone call that notifies the other party when it starts) might make it useful for clipping, but I remain unsure why this would be much of a marketing win.

Verdict

Bouncing from high-end earbuds to lower-cost ones is always a bit of a whiplash experience, but the Nothing Ear (3a) softens the blow in some interesting ways.

I really like how the earbuds fit, and they sound extremely solid for this asking price, which immediately makes them a strong pick.

However, subpar active noise-cancelling (ANC) brings the score down, and I don't love all the design choices, with the case particularly warranting a second pass in my view.

For value, the Nothing Ear (3a) are really hard to argue with, but I'd point people towards slightly pricier Ear (3) alternatives to acquire solid upgrades in terms of their sonic experience.

Also Consider

If you're willing to spend just a little more, I'd say the better ANC in the Ear (3) make them a solid upgrade. I much prefer the included case, too, and these 'buds only lack the recording features of the (3a) – which I don't think most people actually want.

If you're committed to staying below the £/$100 mark, then Sennheiser's Accentum True Wireless earbuds are a great counter-option. They're simpler from a design perspective, but I think they sound a little better and have better ANC, too.

Another day, another Eufy robot vacuum review. I've had the pleasure of testing several of the brand's models throughout 2026, and it's safe to say Eufy is currently up there with the very best when it comes to robot vacuum cleaners.

My latest test subject is the Eufy Omni C28, which launched earlier this year as a more affordable option in the brand's lineup. After spending time with flagship models like the E25 and E28, I was keen to see what corners, if any, had been cut to reach the lower price.

Price and availability

The Eufy Omni C28 has an RRP of £649/$799.99, although it's currently discounted by £100 in the UK and $300 in the US via Eufy's online store. Take a look below:

Unboxing and set up

Setting the C28 up couldn't have been easier. Like most modern robot vacuums, it guides you through everything in the app before heading off to map your home.

I was impressed by how quickly it produced a detailed floor plan, although it wasn't perfect on the first run. That said, the more cleaning cycles it completes, the more accurate its maps become as it learns your home's layout. I'd say mine was around 85% accurate initially, but after a few runs it had refined the map considerably.

Design and features

The Eufy Omni C28 closely follows the look of the brand's recent robot vacuums, featuring a slim, circular body measuring just 10cm tall, allowing it to slip underneath low furniture with ease. On top sits a LiDAR navigation turret, helping to spot obstacles whilst cleaning.

The accompanying Omni station automatically charges the robot, empties the onboard dustbin, washes the roller mop with clean water and dries it afterwards to help prevent unpleasant smells and bacteria. It also houses separate clean and dirty water tanks, and interestingly, the dirty water tank is actually larger than the one found on the more expensive E25.

When it comes to cleaning, the C28 offers 15,000Pa of suction, which is slightly lower than some premium rivals but still more than enough for everyday use. Instead of using dual spinning mop pads, it features Eufy's HydroJet Self-Cleaning Roller Mop, which constantly washes itself whilst cleaning and applies 1kg of downward pressure to scrub hard floors. I actually preferred this design, as it left noticeably fewer streaks than some robot vacuums I've tested with traditional mop pads.

The DuoSpiral detangling brushes also deserve a mention, which are designed to prevent hair from wrapping around the roller. This makes the C28 a great option if you have pets or anyone with long hair at home.

Navigation is powered by LDS and Laser Line technology, whilst the Eufy Clean app allows you to create multiple maps, customise room-by-room cleaning, set no-go zones and adjust both suction and mopping intensity.

Performance

In day-to-day use, I found the C28 navigated around furniture and changing room layouts very confidently. As mentioned, every time it completed a clean, it seemed to improve its map and cleaning routes as it went along.

I will say it isn't quite as impressive as some of Eufy's more expensive models. Without an RGB camera, its object recognition isn't as refined, so it occasionally needed a little more space around smaller obstacles. That said, I still thought it performed very well overall.

Cleaning performance was another pleasant surprise, and although the suction isn't as powerful as the E25 or E28, it had no trouble picking up pet hair, crumbs and everyday dirt from both hard floors and carpets. If your home has particularly thick carpets or you want the deepest clean possible, I'd still recommend spending a little more on one of Eufy's flagship models. However, for daily cleaning, especially in small to medium-sized homes, the C28 does an excellent job.

That said, I did have a couple of complaints, and the biggest was the noise from the docking station when it empties the dustbin and cleans the mop. The robot itself is fairly quiet, but the dock is significantly louder than the E25's. The first time it ran, I actually thought something had gone wrong because of how noisy it was.

There's also the usual maintenance to keep on top of, although the app does a great job of reminding you when it's time to clean the sensors or empty the tanks.

My only real disappointment was that Eufy doesn't include any floor cleaning solution (£19.99/$20.99) with the C28. It's included with the E28, so it feels like an odd omission here, especially considering you're still spending several hundred pounds. Eufy also recommends only using its own cleaning solution, so it's another small expense to factor in.

Verdict

The Eufy Omni C28 lacks some of the premium features found on Eufy's flagship models, but its combination of dependable cleaning performance, streak-free roller mopping and intuitive app make it one of the strongest value options in the mid-range market. It's particularly well suited to small and medium-sized homes where everyday maintenance matters more than chasing the highest specifications.

Alternatives to consider

If your budget can stretch a little further, I'd recommend looking at the Eufy E28, which offers stronger suction and a few extra premium features.

If you'd prefer something outside the Eufy lineup, the Dreame X50 Ultra Complete is another excellent alternative. With far stronger suction and one of the most advanced docking stations available, it's a fantastic performer.

When MSI gave me a glimpse of its upcoming laptop slate late last year, my eye was caught in particular by the new Stealth 16 AI+, which redesigned the MSI laptop that I would most want for myself. The new version was sleeker and slimmer, but it took months to get to the market (like so many recent laptop launches).

Now I've had the chance to use the 2026 champion for a couple of weeks, though, and to finally put the Stealth 16 AI+ through its paces. The slimline gaming laptops market is only getting more competitive, so how does this compete with the Razer Blade 16 and Asus ROG Zephyrus? Read on to find out.

Price and Availability

The MSI Stealth 16 AI+ is available now, having launched earlier this summer, and if you were wondering whether it's the machine to buck the trend of ever more expensive laptops, look elsewhere. As the "Stealth" label suggests, this is a high-end option for those who want a sleeker build, and it's priced accordingly.

The Stealth 16 AI+ starts from $2,099 in the US, but in the UK right now, the cheapest version in stock (as linked by MSI's own site) is at Overclockers for a whopping £2,599.99. That's a serious chunk of change, and confirms that the rebrand has made this a really high-end bit of gaming kit.

Design and Spec

Really, the biggest news about the Stealth 16 AI+ in its 2026 guise is its all-new design, and given it had been a few months since the last time I saw it in person, I wondered if it would live up to my memory of its quality. Well, no worries there – this is a really gorgeous gaming laptop, make no mistake.

MSI has taken things right back to the drawing board, so there's very little common ground shared with last year's Stealth 18 HX AI, for instance. Rather than that older, blockier and more sharp-edged design, this new version is way more rounded in the corners, and has far less ornamentation.

It's black all over, in the mould established by Razer's Blade lineup – that being a T3 Awards 2026 winner, by the way – with just some very subtle linework on the back of the display to make it stand out a little when the light hits it right.

Underneath MSI's laptop there's a whole heap of ventilation in the form of bored-out holes, and there's no thermal shelf (AKA rear-end) behind the display, so it's nice and compact for a 16-inch laptop.

That said, there's no point pretending that this is the thinnest laptop on the market, even in the gaming world. It's 16.65mm at its thinnest point, which is still hugely impressive but not the smallest out there, and 1.99kg – so it's not like you'll forget about it in a backpack.

The design is rounded out by plenty of IO action. On the right edge of the laptop, you'll find an Ethernet port, an HDMI port, a USB-A port and a 3.5mm audio jack. The other side houses two Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports, another USB-A port, the main power delivery port, and a slot for a Kensington lock.

Opening the laptop up, you get a tenkeyless keyboard with quite widely-spaced keys, complete with colour-shifting backlighting that you can control. The trackpad, meanwhile, is huge (and mechanical) – not that you'll use it for gaming unless you're crazy. Usefully, the power key in that keyboard doubles as a fingerprint scanner.

The keyboard is flanked by stereo speakers under grilles, and above that is the display – and while I'll get to how it performs in a bit, the specs tell a lot of the story.

It's a 16-inch OLED panel, at 2500x1600 resolution with a refresh rate of 240Hz, and has a glossy finish. It actually underlines how nice and compact the design of the laptop is overall, since it looks massive in the frame that it's set into. Above the display is a 1080p (at 30fps) webcam with a mechanical privacy shutter.

What you get under the hood in that relatively slim body is superb, though. The version I tested packed in an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU, with 32GB of RAM to keep things snappy. 1TB of SSD space is no longer the insurance it used to be, but it's still enough for plenty of games.

Those specs are a mixture of largely top-end options, though, and you can start out with 16GB of RAM and a standard 5070 to keep your costs lower (if you can find the configuration in stock, that is).

That mixture of what's inside the 2026 Stealth 16 AI+ and its all-new looks on the outside is really potent. While I can't quite say it reaches the level of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 from a design standpoint, it's really close, and that makes it MSI's best-looking gaming laptop ever.

Performance

As always with a gaming laptop, a nice design gets you pretty far, but if it meant terrible thermals and throttled performance, it would be no good to anyone. MSI has clearly taken care to avoid that with the Stealth 16's newest version, and I've been hugely enjoying the raw performance it offers up in this top-end configuration.

Benchmarks aren't always the be-all-and-end-all, but it's never a bad thing to compare performance in the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, and the Stealth 16 AI+ (2026) treats one of the most graphically-intensive games ever made like a chew toy.

No matter what configuration you go for, you'll be able to find a super smooth and playable framerate in Cyberpunk. I started by checking out the default configuration, on the "Ray-tracing Low" preset at native resolution (2560x1600), and clocked a lovely 94.89fps average with no frame generation.

Swapping over to the Ultra preset with no ray-tracing, I got 87.43fps on average (also at native resolution), but frame generation unlocks wild potential if you're happy to use it. This is the main advantage of Nvidia's newest generation of cards, after all, and with just the lowest 2X setting, I was able to play the game on its maxed-out "Ray-tracing Overdrive" preset with an average of 77.78fps.

That's frankly remarkable in any portable machine, and underlines just how high the performance ceiling is becoming on laptops now – and I'm a huge fan of how open to tinkering this all leaves you for gaming. It also means that other modern releases will be no problem at all, and it's important to stress that dropping down to a still-nice-and-sharp 1080p will free up way more headroom for you again – that native resolution is arguably sharper than you need.

I say "arguably" because the OLED display here is so lovely that you might just want to max out your settings at all times to make the most of it. OLED is always great in my experience, but this one does stand out as one of the best laptop screens I've ever seen. It's expansive, has real depth of colour and blacks, and that glossy screen coating makes it just look beautiful (albeit while restricting its usefulness in brighter lighting).

It should come as no surprise that when gaming with power connected, on that discrete Nvidia GPU, the fan noise is pretty massive, though. This is something that few gaming laptops can eliminate, and it does mean that you'll want one of the best gaming headsets to go with it for better immersion.

If you opt for some mobile gaming without that power supply plugged in, you'll step down enormously in performance. Since it has that GPU for plugged-in play, MSI hasn't included an Intel chip with the all-important B390 GPU, so the nonetheless excellent Core Ultra 9 386H is way more mediocre when using its built-in Intel Graphics.

Away from gaming, though, I found performance to be really admirable. Light work tasks were no problem at all, and battery life when not gaming wasn't too unreasonable. Of course, it's important to underline that for those who haven't already used one of the best gaming laptops out there, they're really not aimed at unplugged play sessions.

Verdict

I had a feeling that MSI had done sterling work on the Stealth 16 AI+'s 2026 revision, but getting my hands on it has confirmed that in all the most important ways.

This is a superb gaming laptop – one that packs in some brilliant power, but also has a design that's mature and delightfully simple.

It's got a price tag that can't exactly be ignored, of course, and you'll struggle to find the more affordable variants in stock right now, such is the demand.

So if you want a great-looking gaming machine with a stunning display that doesn't have to jump through too many hoops to stay cool, MSI's 2026 is a masterful option.

Also Consider

Razer's Blade 16 is the obvious competition here, and I've mentioned it a few times in this review as a result. Razer's still ahead in terms of design, thanks to the incredible slimness of the Blade, but there's an advantage to be had from MSI – it's more affordable for the same spec, which is a huge deal.

That said, if you want a smaller and even stealthier laptop, I remain in love with the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14, although I haven't yet tested a newer version than the 2025 model. It's a beautiful little laptop that runs games flawlessly, but it's got an older processor and a smaller display.

The summer holidays are coming up, so if you’re looking for a sturdy, expandable suitcase to take with you on your next vacation, the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) is more than up for the task.

I’m new to Samsonite but the brand has actually been around since 1910! It’s a go-to name within the luggage space, and is well known for its carry-on and hold bags, as well as backpacks and other luxury accessories. Whether you need something to take with you on a plane, train or other automobile, Samsonite probably has you covered.

I recently tried the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm), and I was pleasantly surprised by many of its features, and not so pleasantly surprised by others – here’s how I got on.

Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) review: price and availability

The Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) is available to buy for £399 / $399 at Samsonite and select retailers, like John Lewis. Samsonite offers a 10 year global warranty on this suitcase.

The Samsonite Nexis Spinner is available in multiple sizes, including 55cm, 70cm, 76cm and 82cm. It also comes in cotton white, onyx black, deep forest and deep petrol colours – I tried the 55cm size in deep petrol for this review.

Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) review: design and features

Samsonite describes the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) as a cabin size bag which translates into carry-on luggage to avoid any confusion. From the Nexis collection, the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) measures 55cm x 40cm x 20cm and expands up to 23cm if needed. It has a 40 litre capacity (47 when expanded) and weighs 2.5kg when empty.

The Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) is made from ROXKIN polypropylene, making it lightweight and impact resistant. To expand the bag, you undo the zippers on the outside where there are also zips to get into the main compartment. The zips lock into place on the side, and there’s a TSA-approved lock to keep your belongings safe and secure.

The double-tube handle of the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) is made from 100% recycled aluminium. It’s incredibly durable and has a comfortable grip. At the bottom, there are four suspension wheels which are designed for smooth operation across all surfaces while making limited amounts of noise.

Inside the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) is a bottom and top compartment, a divider pad for both sides, a mesh pocket, and one packing tube which is hidden in its own miniature pocket. When you take it out, it matches the size of the suitcase.

The compartments feature zips, mesh and webbing that are all made from recycled PET. The interior also has compression ribbons for extra packing space and efficiency. The interior of the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) matches the exterior in colour, which is an almost emerald colour which looks very stylish alongside its black and silver accents.

Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) review: performance

I took the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) on a weekend away to really test out its functionality. I went away for a couple of days on a staycation, and managed to fit my clothes, shoes and toiletries comfortably into the case, as well as my husband’s which I was very impressed by. Both sides of the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) have a good amount of space, although in one compartment, the handle runs the length of it which can be quite annoying.

The handle inside is very in the way, although I managed to slot my belongings in around it. This was slightly trickier for shoes but once I’d jigged everything around, everything fit in nicely. I liked that both compartments were zippable so nothing was falling out or moving around.

I especially liked the smaller pocket which contained the additional packing tube. I used this to pack our dirty laundry in so it’s very spacious, and I liked how it was the same size as the interior compartments of the suitcase. The pocket the packing tube comes out of is also handy for packing away smaller items that you want to keep hidden away.

Despite the handle taking up a lot of internal space, it extends to quite a generous height. It makes the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) comfortable to hold and wheel around, as are the fixed handles on the top and side of the suitcase. The locking mechanism definitely gives you peace of mind, although I found the external zips that click into the lock to be quite a strange shape.

The wheels of the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) are the best I’ve tried on a suitcase. They glided across floors, including gravel, carpet, hardwood and even cobbles, and they kept the main body of the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) nicely off the floor so there was no scuffing to be had.

The size of the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) is pretty generous, especially considering it's the smallest option you can get of this suitcase. It fits nicely into overhead bins and storage racks in a train, so it can definitely do the same on an airplane.

Aside from the handle issue, the only other concern I had was the external material. Considering the price, I felt that the outside of the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) felt a bit plastic. It flexed a little easier than I expected when I packed it, too.

Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) review: verdict

The Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) is so spacious, that I’d confidently say you could fit up to five days worth of clothes and other belongings inside it. Its size makes it ideal for travel, especially if you only have hand luggage for a flight, and the internal compartments are organised and have a generous capacity.

The handle in the compartment is an issue as it takes up a lot of space. I didn’t love the external feel of the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm), but it has a lot of elements to love about it that you can overlook this small issue. Its zips, lock and wheels are exceptional, too.

Would I spend £400 on the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm)? I’m not sure but it’s extremely durable, reliable and with its 10 year warranty, it’s a great option for many.

Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm) review: alternatives to consider

The Samsonite Cosmolite 55cm Spinner Cabin Case – which features in both our best suitcase and best carry-on guides – is a great alternative to the Samsonite Nexis Spinner (55cm). It’s the same size, making it petite, lightweight and great for frequent flyers.

If internal organisation is important to you, the Db Ramverk Pro Carry-on Luggage does this exceptionally well. It has a sturdy aluminium frame and ultra-silent wheels, although it will cost you at £549 / $649.

For a similar priced case, the Carl Friedrik Carry-On X is incredibly stylish and a good carry-on size. It has lots of space inside, including a laptop section.

It's no secret that you don't have to spend a fortune these days to get a great hair styler. However, when a tool costs noticeably more than the competition, you want to know you're paying for features that actually make a difference.

That's exactly what I set out to find with the T3 SinglePass Curl X 32mm. With a premium price tag and plenty of good reviews to back it up, I couldn't wait to put it to the test. Plus, it shares a name with us here at T3, so it was always going to make its way into my review pile.

Price and availability

The T3 SinglePass Curl X starts at £159.99 for the 25mm model, whilst the 32mm version I'm testing costs £179.99. Both are available from the T3 online store and Amazon.

The 25mm model is available exclusively in white, whilst the 32mm comes in either white or a baby pink finish. I'm a big fan of the colour options, and it's nice to see a styling tool that's a little more interesting than the usual black.

Design and features

The T3 SinglePass Curl X 32mm is clearly designed with long and thick hair in mind. Its standout feature is the extra-long 6.5-inch CeraGloss ceramic barrel, which lets you wrap larger sections of hair at once, helping speed up your styling routine. The 32mm barrel is also perfect if you're after loose curls or beachy waves rather than tighter ringlets.

Compared to the previous model, the Curl X introduces T3's new ProGlide clip, which holds hair securely without catching.

Inside, Digital T3 SinglePass Technology continuously monitors and adjusts the temperature to keep the heat consistent across the barrel. This helps eliminate hot spots, reduces the need to go over the same section twice and leaves hair looking shinier thanks to the ceramic coating.

The 32mm model also offers nine heat settings – compared to just five on the 25mm version – making it easier to tailor the temperature to your hair type.

Other thoughtful features include the SmartTwist temperature dial, a ventilated cool tip for safer styling, automatic one-hour shut-off, worldwide voltage for travel and a generous 360-degree swivel cord.

Performance

The first thing I noticed when using the T3 SinglePass Curl X 32mm was just how much quicker it made the whole process. Thanks to the extra-long barrel, I could wrap much bigger sections of hair than I normally would, meaning I spent less time curling and more time enjoying the results.

The finished curls were also exactly the kind of look I tend to go for, and the 32mm barrel produced soft waves with plenty of movement. They also lasted surprisingly well, holding their shape for most of the day before naturally relaxing into loose waves by the evening.

The only feature that wasn't immediately intuitive was the new ProGlide clip. It's a little different from the traditional curling tongs I'm used to, so I had to get to grips with it during my first session. However, once I'd worked out the best technique, I had no complaints. It gripped each section firmly without leaving creases, and after a couple of uses it felt completely natural.

With nine heat settings, there's far more flexibility than many curling tongs offer, so it's easy to match the heat to your hair type. I'm also a big fan of the SmartTwist dial, which feels much more satisfying to use than repeatedly pressing buttons.

Verdict

The T3 SinglePass Curl X 32mm feels like a styling tool that's taken consumer feedback on board and come out the other side even better. It creates long-lasting curls with very little effort, speeds up styling for longer hair and quickly becomes second nature once you've mastered the clip. I found it to be a premium experience from start to finish.

Alternatives to consider

If you're looking for a more affordable alternative, the Revamp Effortless Curls Extra-Long Ceramic Tong is worth considering. It's particularly good for long hair and creates similarly bouncy curls thanks to its long ceramic barrel, although it has a simpler design and doesn't feature T3's clip.

If you'd rather stay within the T3 range but want something more versatile, the T3 Aire 360 is another excellent option. It comes with multiple styling attachments, including ceramic-coated curling barrels that use heated airflow instead of direct heat.

The Amazon-owned Ring is a brand name that you'll quickly come across when you're researching the best home security cameras on the market, and this second generation Ring Spotlight Cam Pro is immediately one of the most capable models in the Ring range.

Compared to the various iterations of this model that came before it, it ups the video resolution to 4K (3,840 x 2,160 pixels), and the dual LED spotlights have been boosted to 600 lumens. There's also a taller and slimmer design here, compared to older versions.

What you don't get this time around (at least not yet) is a battery version. This camera can be hardwired, connected to Ethernet, or plugged into a standard mains socket – and it's the last of those three options I've been testing. Find out what I thought of it below.

Ring Spotlight Cam Pro (2nd gen) review: price and availability

You can buy the 2nd gen Ring Spotlight Cam Pro right now from Ring or Amazon: the official retail price is £219.99 / $249.99, but if you check the widgets embedded on this page, you'll find the best deals for the camera currently available on the web.

We also have to mention the subscription, as with every Ring camera. That will set you back from £4.99 / $4.99 a month, and is needed for features like video history, smart alerts, and 'home' and 'away' modes – everything besides the basic alerts and live view, really.

Ring Spotlight Cam Pro (2nd gen) review: design and setup

As previously mentioned, the new Ring Spotlight Cam Pro is taller and slimmer than previous versions: it measures 152 mm tall by 76 mm wide by 52 mm deep (5.98 inches x 2.99 inches x 2.05 inches), so in size it's similar to a portable bluetooth speaker that you can hold in one hand.

You get all the brackets and screws needed to mount it, plus the plug and power cable – it has to be mounted on a ceiling or a wall (there are connector sockets available on the back near the top and in the centre), and won't stand on its own because of the curved bottom speaker. You could mark the camera down for a lack of versatility in this regard, but this is very much an outdoor camera (it's officially "weather resistant"), so you don't really want to leave it perched on a ledge anyway.

As usual, the Ring app for Android and iOS takes care of installation, and I was up and running in just a few minutes. The app includes a tutorial for screwing the camera into its mounting brackets and then into a flat surface somewhere, and during the setup process you'll also be asked if you want to configure motion settings and privacy zones as well (you can always do this after if you prefer).

This isn't really the most aesthetically pleasing security camera I've ever seen, and you could argue Ring could've made this a little smaller and more stylish – though I don't mind a slightly bigger size if it means a better camera and brighter lights. Ultimately, it's the video and motion performance that matters most.

Ring Spotlight Cam Pro (2nd gen) review: video and features

Given the price of this camera and Ring's product history, you won't be surprised that all the core features are included here: two-way audio, lights, a siren, customisation options for which parts of the 'frame' motion is detected in, instant voice warnings that can be played automatically and so on. It holds its own against any other camera for features.

When it comes to the 4K video quality, it's hard to fault. Every time I checked in on the camera or reviewed one of the motion alerts, I was met with video that was crisp, clear, and bright – so there are no problems there. The night vision really impresses too, whether illuminated by the built-in lights or using the infrared mode.

There's a decent 140-degree horizontal and 85-degree vertical field of view here, which is ideal for back gardens and front yards. All but the biggest properties will be well covered. The camera also offers a 10x enhanced zoom feature: it's digital (so is essentially cropping the original 4K image), but it's good enough to get a closer look at faces and license plates if you need to.

Another feature I liked was the radar-powered 3D motion detection, which can plot the movement of unexpected visitors across your property and appears to be more accurate than the standard 'in-camera' motion sensing. You do lose some range with the 3D radar option though, so it's best for smaller areas (like my back garden).

Ring Spotlight Cam Pro (2nd gen) review: performance and app

You get 30 days of a Pro subscription when you buy the camera, which meant I was able to try out some of the extra features available for a monthly fee. They include AI-powered descriptions of what the camera is seeing, and in my experience they worked flawlessly – identifying me walking to and fro, carrying a shopping bag, and even using a phone.

Every time I tried doing something different in front of the camera – including simply crossing and uncrossing my arms – the Ring Spotlight Cam Pro spotted it. Perhaps this level of accurate analysis shouldn't be surprising given where AI is up to now, but it's still helpful to have – we're a long way from the basic 'something's happened' alerts of the first security cameras for smart homes.

More broadly, the Ring app is the usual polished and intuitive experience. If you're upgrading from another Ring camera or adding additional cameras from the brand, you'll be well used to it. You can quickly customise notifications and alerts, for example, and set up familiar faces for people you don't want alerts about.

While a battery-powered option would give you more flexibility with positioning, I think I actually prefer not having to worry about battery life or recharges (with 4K video and constant recording events, that battery is likely to deplete pretty quickly). There's something to be said for the reliability that comes with a plugged-in solution.

Ring Spotlight Cam Pro (2nd gen) review: verdict

I've reviewed a lot of smart home security cameras down the years, and there's no doubt that the Ring Spotlight Cam Pro (2nd gen) is one of the best. It offers top-tier video quality and motion sensing, as well as stacks of features that are genuinely useful and not just gimmicks – including the AI-powered descriptions of events.

It's solidly built, it's easy to set up, and the Ring app for smartphones works really well (which applies as a benefit to any Ring camera of course). If you're already invested in the Ring ecosystem with other cameras and doorbells then this is a no-brainer if you're in the market for an extra camera or an upgrade.

However, it's not quite perfect: I understand that Ring is just one of many smart home manufacturers using subscriptions to pay the company bills, but when there are alternatives on the market that do have local video storage capabilities, it seems a shame that Ring never includes the option. I would also have liked to see the option to mount this on a stand as well as a ceiling or wall.

All things considered, the 2nd-gen Ring Spotlight Cam Pro is going to do an excellent job of keeping eyes on your property and letting you know what's happening, day or night, from wherever you are. You just need to be prepared to sign up for yet another monthly subscription to make the most of it.

Ring Spotlight Cam Pro (2nd gen) review: alternatives to consider

As good as this Ring camera is, there's no shortage of worthy competitors. The Arlo Pro 6 is another model I've reviewed recently, and it offers something similar to the 2nd gen Ring Spotlight Cam Pro – specifically a long list of features and excellent video performance, but also a relatively high price and a subscription that you really need to take out to make the most of your purchase.

For more of a contrast, you might consider the Eufy Security eufyCam C35. It's easier on your bank balance than the Ring Spotlight Cam Pro, and it offers local storage options that mean you don't have to take out a subscription or connect to the cloud. You can get two cameras and a hub for less than the Ring model I've reviewed here, though the video quality tops out at 1080p rather than 4K.

It was mere months ago when Nothing unveiled its Phone (4a) product line, so for the Phone (4b) to follow so soon after is somewhat surprising.

But this 'b'-grade phone is designed to pare back some of the fancier elements of the 'a'-grade model, ditching the zoom camera and boosting the battery (even more so for the India variant), while squashing the price.

It might be a shame that the Phone (4b) misses out on that even greater battery capacity for wider markets, but it nonetheless performs relative to its position and, perhaps most importantly of all, just looks and feels great for a phone at this price.

Price & Availability

The Nothing Phone (4b) is up for pre-order now, with a £299 and AU$629 asking price. There's no pre-order for the USA, as this model isn't expected to arrive in the States.

What's New?

With Nothing's focus on making the Phone (4b) more affordable, it's the less premium compared to the Phone (4a). But it hasn't thrown its design and materials ethics to the dogs – both phones still look the part, with distinctive visuals that set them apart.

The key reasons to spend more on a Phone (4a) would be for that zoom camera and sharper display. The Phone (4b) manages to cram in more battery capacity, which, with a lower-grade processor and fewer camera features, should last even longer.

Those are the core differences in summary: spend less and get basic cameras; spend more and get a zoom that no other competitors can realistically offer at this sort of level.

Design & Display

• 164.4 x 78.2 x 8.6mm / 210g
• IP64 dust- and water-resistant
• Colour options: White, Black, Blue
• Under-display optical fingerprint scanner
• 6.77-inch AMOLED, 1080 x 2344 resolution, 120Hz refresh

When pulling the Phone (4b) from its box, aside from the giant SIM tool (which I've written about here), the first thing that struck me about the handset is how nice and smooth it feels. That plastic rear somehow just isn't as 'plastic' as the material would make one assume – it feels more premium than that.

The design jump from Phone (4a) to (4b) model is immediately obvious, too. The newer, cheaper device has one camera fewer, so opts to align its duo of optics to one side rather than a centre island. It looks neater to my eyes, while a full-width transparent island provides some aesthetic appeal.

As with any Nothing handset, the Phone (4b)'s details add a great deal to the overall appeal. Look up close and beneath that transparent slice there's a textured panel, visible screws, and metal detailing that are of themselves the overall design language. That it's white in finish is almost irrelevant, such are the details (much as I'd prefer the blue finish).

The display is a pleasing offering, too, an AMOLED panel with all the resolution and refresh rate you could ask for – just not quite as much brightness as those positioned higher up the ranks (including the (4a)).

My only real 'problem' with the screen is its reflective nature. It's much glossier than other recent Android phones I've been testing, which can be taxing in certain outdoor scenarios in particular. It's not an end-of-times issue, though, more minor bother that you won't notice in isolation.

Pair that with a top brightness that can't deliver sustained or peak output like the best flagships, and it can lack a bit of contrast and pop. But I wouldn't call it 'dim' by any means – and for this price it's perfectly adept. It will automatically dim quite quickly, but it's clever enough to jump the brightness back up to sensible levels when you begin interacting again.

The display is also coated with Dragontail Pro Glass rather than any of the more typical Corning Gorilla Glass variants. In my working week of use I've not damaged the device, but the Japanese-made choice here is, by all accounts, a very capable marque.

Performance & Battery

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 processor
• 8GB RAM / 128/256GB storage variants
• 5200mAh battery (6000mAh in India)
• 33W wired charging, no wireless

The chip inside this handset, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4, paired with just 8GB RAM, can't quite compare with the very top. But much as I might assume the Phone (4b) wouldn't be up to much, it's plenty capable.

There's nothing here that'll restrict you from playing games, for example. I've put in some evening sessions with my go-to, South Park: Phone Destroyer, and the Nothing is unfussed, bar a little warming. It even downloads quicker than many a budget handset.

It's in the some of the tinier details where I've felt the biggest differences, such as the occasional less-than-perfect screen transition or app icon pop-up when loading. I suspect that's down to the RAM portion here, though, as when the display's 120Hz refresh gets into flow everything in smooth sailing.

Battery life is pretty great, too. Not a surprise for a large cell paired with a mid-tier chip by any means. But I put a background streaming test on and the handset, connected to Wi-Fi with the display on, clocked through 16 hours.

Nobody's realistically using a phone with the display on for that long, so for the latter half of my test week – it always takes a couple of days for a phone battery to bed in – I've been getting sterling results. Easily my 16-hour waking day covered with 25% remaining before bedtime.

Charging is so-so, at 33W, and there's no wireless charging. But, hey, what d'ya expect at this price point? That's perfectly fine. There are even battery protection features where slower charging preserves the longevity over time.

Glyph & Software

• Nothing OS 4.1, over Google Android 16
• Glyph Bar illumination strip

Since the off, Nothing's standout feature has been its so-called Glyph setup. With the Phone (1) that was a series of lights that illuminated in patterns. You could even programme them. It was very fun – its usefulness still arguable, though.

Over time, Nothing has progressed its Glyph systems. There's a Glyph Matrix on the Phone (3), for example, which is like a little low-red LCD window. The Phone (4b), meanwhile, continues the more basic Glyph Bar, just like its predecessor, which is a strip light up one side of the rear.

This strip is packed with LEDs, divided into seven squares, with one of those being red. The red will, for example, illuminate when you're recording with the cameras, while the whites are there for notifications – or progress tracking.

It's less of a head-turner than some of the older systems, but then it's perhaps less distracting overall, too, which I prefer. Whether you find huge value in how it interacts with certain apps is going to be 'a you thing', quite honestly. I could take it or leave it – but do enjoy Nothing's unique take.

As for software, it's here where Nothing continues down that design route, its Nothing OS offering a largely stock Google Android experience, but with a full monochrome black-and-white take on icons if you prefer (I don't, as I use Google's five-colour system as an identifier assist).

The software also brings custom widgets and various assists, such as Notification Cooldown, to give you a bit of a break from the barrage of notifications – something other phone-makers, such as Honor, can't seem to provide.

Nothing avoids annoying pre-installed nonsense and the duplicated app store experience of some makers, keeping things feeling clean and easy. It supports three years of full-generation software updates, too, which isn't class-leading, but it means you'll get 3+ years of secure use out of it with the newest features.

When it comes to AI (artificial intelligence), Nothing's move here is with Essential Space. It can be activated using the dedicated key to the left side (when facing the display), keeping it away from your on/off and volume controls successfully (an error with the original Nothing Phone (3a) Pro).

Essential Space is designed to help you store and recall information, or process things such as screenshots, which are then searchable using more paramaters and intelligence. It does a fine enough job – I just don't really ever find myself using it. And with Google Gemini easily accessible, too, that seems to take the cake.

Cameras

• Main: 50-megapixel, f/1.8 aperture, optical stabilisation (OIS)
• Wide: 8MP, f/2.2
• Selfie: 16MP

While you might assume that the Nothing Phone (4b) adopts the same cameras as the (4a), albeit minus the zoom, that's not the case.

The 50-megapixel camera has a smaller sensor, but a slightly 'faster' aperture. The results are fine, but more limited when it comes to lower light – which is no surprise.

The wide-angle, meanwhile, does a pretty good job in delivering results that look as though they're part of the same camera family, so consistency is a success. However, its inevitable soft edges are a downside.

Zoom is taken care of digitally only, which is limited in its sharpness resolve. If you really want a zoom lens then you'll just need to spend more and buy the (4a) Pro, ultimately.

Nothing Phone (4b) review: Verdict

If you're looking for an affordable Android phone without any of the luxury extra features for the sake of saving cash, then Nothing's Phone (4b) delivers a strong case.

It's akin to a Phone (4a) minus the zoom camera, with a slightly larger battery capacity and hardware that's a little less powerful – yet still perfectly capable.

Also Consider

Like the Nothing aesthetic but want a little more? The Phone (4a) isn't actually that much pricier – and adds an all-important 3.5x zoom lens.

The (4a) Pro version is nicer still, thanks to a metal design, but the price does jump up yet again – putting it into quite a different space.

Otherwise, for a flat-back alternative, Google's last-gen Pixel 9a model is a decent price to compare – and takes better pictures overall.

Can’t say the smartwatch market has ever been idle, but there's certainly a lot of buzz around wearables these days, thanks to AI. For better or worse, I might add, because as much as machine learning is making smartwatches more clever than ever before, it’s also making them more expensive, due to soaring RAM prices.

Xiaomi’s latest wearable, Watch S5, arrives in this environment. The company, alongside brands like Honor, has built its reputation on offering more for less, and there is nothing wrong with that.

There is a huge market for watches that offer features that might have been cutting-edge 12 or 245 months ago for a lot less money than the latest Samsung Galaxy or Apple Watch.

From this perspective, the Watch S5 offers nothing radically new, or more like, continues the tradition set out by its predecessors. It pairs a premium-looking stainless steel design with impressive battery life and a feature set that rivals considerably more expensive smartwatches.

On paper, it's one of the most compelling wearables in its price bracket, but specifications only tell part of the story. I tested the watch for a couple of weeks, and even though it won’t push my Garmin watch off my wrist, the Xiaomi Watch S5 offers a lot of value for those who don’t need full ecosystem support or care much about the personality of their wearables.

Xiaomi Watch S5 review

Price and availability

The Xiaomi Watch S5 was launched in May 2026 and is available to buy now directly from Xiaomi UK and Xiaomi EU, with prices from £150 / €179. It’s available in four colours, including Black, Silver, Jungle Green and Ceramic Blue, with the latter two costing £20 / €20 more. Xiaomi doesn’t have an Australian site (or at least I can’t find it), and the watch isn’t listed on the brand’s US site.

Design and build quality

The Xiaomi Watch S5 has a 46 mm stainless steel case that feels reassuringly solid without being overly heavy, tipping the scales at just 46g without the strap. At 10.99 mm thick, it also sits comfortably on the wrist and slides under a shirt cuff more easily than many rugged outdoor watches.

The closest smartwatch in terms of case size and weight would be the Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro, which has a 45.6 mm case (marketed as 46 mm) and weighs about the same. The OnePlus Watch 3 is slightly larger and weighs a few grams more.

The Watch S5's overall design is fairly conservative, but Xiaomi has injected a little individuality into the tested Jungle Green model. It has a forged carbon bezel that is said to catch the light differently from steel and gives each watch a unique pattern, while the green fluororubber strap lends it a slightly more outdoorsy aesthetic.

It's a handsome smartwatch rather than a memorable one. That's not necessarily a criticism; after all, there's only so much manufacturers can do with a round display and two-button layout. However, the Xiaomi Watch S5 isn’t as recognisable as rivals from Garmin, Samsung or even Huawei. It feels premium, yet its design plays it safe.

The 1.48-inch AMOLED display is excellent with a crisp 480 x 480-pixel resolution (323ppi) and a peak brightness of 2,500 nits. It’s not the brightest or prettiest screen, but it does the job perfectly, with little to no lag when responding to touch input. The rotating crown provides a satisfying way to scroll through menus, particularly when your fingers are wet or sweaty.

The watch is rated to 5ATM for swimming, features built-in GPS with support for five satellite systems, and includes an impressive array of sensors, including a barometer and electronic compass. It also has a built-in speaker and microphone.

Features and performance

The Xiaomi Watch S5 strikes a sensible balance between smartwatch convenience and fitness tracking. It doesn't try to reinvent the wheel, but it does cover just about everything most people will need, including continuous heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen tracking, stress monitoring, sleep analysis, dual-band GNSS and more than 150 sports modes.

Sleep tracking proved to be one of the more interesting features during testing. The watch records the usual sleep stages and assigns a nightly sleep score, but Xiaomi also offers a weekly "Sleep Animal" profile that categorises your sleeping habits after seven nights of data.

It's clearly inspired by similar features found on Samsung, Google and Fitbit devices, but it's a fun bit of gamification that encourages you to build healthier routines. That said, I did find some of its coaching a little contradictory.

On one occasion, the watch awarded me an excellent sleep score while simultaneously telling me I'd slept for an "excessive" amount of time. It's not a major issue, but it does make you question how much faith to put in some of its recommendations.

Fitness tracking is similarly dependable rather than groundbreaking. I spent most of my testing running, where the dual-band GPS performed well, producing tracks that closely matched those from the Garmin Forerunner 970 I wore on my other wrist. I wasn't running through dense woodland or city streets packed with tall buildings, so it wasn't the toughest test, but accuracy was more than good enough for everyday training.

Runners also get a handful of more advanced metrics than you might expect at this price, including ground contact time, vertical ratio and cadence. They're useful additions for anyone looking to improve their form, even if Xiaomi doesn't offer the same depth of analysis or training guidance as Garmin or Coros.

Heart rate tracking also proved reliable during steady runs and day-to-day wear. I didn't have the opportunity to compare it against a chest strap during interval sessions or gym workouts, where wrist-based sensors typically struggle the most, so I can't comment on its performance during high-intensity exercise. For general health monitoring and aerobic training, though, it appeared to be consistently in the right ballpark.

One feature I particularly liked is Xiaomi's activity rings. Much like Apple's approach, the app encourages you to close daily goals for calories burned, steps taken and active minutes. It's a simple system, but it works well as a gentle nudge to get up from your desk or squeeze in a short walk before the end of the day.

Battery life and charging

Battery life is undoubtedly one of the Xiaomi Watch S5's biggest strengths. Xiaomi quotes up to 21 days on a single charge, and while you'll need to be fairly conservative with your settings to get anywhere near that figure, the watch comfortably outlasts almost every Wear OS rival.

During my testing, I enabled advanced sleep tracking and sleep breathing monitoring, and I regularly used GPS for outdoor walks and runs. Over the course of eight days, I logged almost four hours of GPS activity, including a nearly three-hour walk, plus a couple of shorter runs and an indoor HIIT workout. Even with that workload, the Watch S5 still had 14% battery remaining at the end of the test.

That's an impressive result. In everyday use, I think most people can realistically expect about 10 to 14 days between charges, depending on how often they exercise and whether they leave the more advanced health-tracking features enabled. It's not quite the headline-grabbing three-week endurance Xiaomi advertises, but it's still leagues ahead of the two or three days you'd typically get from a Wear OS smartwatch.

Charging is a little less impressive. Xiaomi bundles a proprietary two-pin magnetic charging puck with a USB-A connector, which already feels a generation behind in a world increasingly dominated by USB-C. (The puck itself is also bulkier than it needs to be.)

Charging speeds are perfectly acceptable, not particularly quick. Using a 5W charger, the battery climbed from 14% to 50% in around 25 minutes and reached 100% after roughly 80 minutes. Given how infrequently you'll need to recharge the Watch S5, it's hardly a deal-breaker, but I would've liked to see Xiaomi modernise the charging setup to match the otherwise premium feel of the hardware.

Verdict

The Xiaomi Watch S5 feels like a smartwatch that knows exactly what it wants to be. Xiaomi has focused on the fundamentals: build quality, battery life, and reliable health tracking, and the result is a wearable that consistently punches above its price point.

That's not to say it's flawless. HyperOS still feels a little utilitarian compared to Wear OS, Apple's watchOS or even Huawei's HarmonyOS, and while the feature set is comprehensive, there's very little here that feels genuinely distinctive. Even the hardware, as well-made as it is, plays it a little too safe from a design perspective.

Yet none of those shortcomings stops the Xiaomi Watch S5 from being easy to recommend. GPS performance is dependable, the health metrics cover everything most people need, and the battery life is genuinely liberating after years of charging smartwatches every other day.

If you're deeply invested in Google's ecosystem, want a thriving app store or rely on advanced training metrics, you'll still be better served by a Samsung Galaxy Watch, Pixel Watch or Garmin. But if your priorities are a premium feel, excellent endurance and plenty of features for not a lot of money, the Xiaomi Watch S5 delivers exactly what it promises.

Honor's phone launch cycle seems almost punishing at times. There's a stack of Magic models, which range from the flagship Honor Magic 8 Pro through to the mid-range Honor Magic 8 Lite, not forgetting Honor Magic V6 folding phone.

Then there's this on review, the Honor 600 Pro. What's interesting about this phone is that it's only a hair's width away from being a flagship device. It achieves that by using slightly older flagship hardware, but coming in at an attractive price.

Something is obviously working, with Omdia reporting strong growth for the brand through 2025, although it's still dwarfed by the likes of Samsung. The Honor 600 Pro is, in effect, Honor's Galaxy S FE equivalent, with the aim of delivering a close-to-flagship experience for less cash.

Price & Availability

The Honor 600 Pro is available now with a retail price of £899.99 (12/512GB), but there's a "coupon" offer through Honor's retail channel that brings the price to £699.99. There's also a Molly edition (no, not that kind) with a custom design for the same price.

Honor is also bundling in gifts including a projector or Honor Pad tablet, as well as earbuds or a 100W charger, making its direct store the best place to buy. Otherwise you can buy for less on Amazon for £599, or there's wide availability from other networks if you want to pay monthly.

You won't find the brand in the US or Australia, though, with the international handset being for UK and European markets.

Honor 600 Pro vs 400 Pro: What's new?

• New iPhone-like design
• Reduced front camera
• Higher capacity battery
• Smaller and lighter

The Honor 600 Pro updates the Honor 400 Pro and you can almost see the evolution in the design to make it look like an iPhone 17 Pro, with an extended camera bump on the rear and triangular arrangement of lenses.

The Honor 600 Pro is actually smaller and lighter than the Honor 400 Pro, with a slightly smaller display – but an increased battery capacity. In the process, the wider front camera hole shrinks back to a single lens. The 600 Pro also has a flattened frame, so the design feels a lot more modern.

There's a move from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 to the Snapdragon 8 Elite, so it's a slightly higher grade of hardware, with more powerful graphics handling. The display also jumps from 5000 nits to 8000 nits peak brightness.

It's a meaningful update in many cases, and while much of the camera is the same, there's an upgraded 3.5x telephoto lens on the newer device.

Design & Display

• 6.57-inch AMOLED display
  • 2728 x 1264 pixel resolution
  • 120Hz maximum refresh rate
• Aluminium frame, glass back
  • IP69K protection
  • 195g; 7.8mm thick

Let's deal with the big issue that the Honor 600 Pro has right up: it looks like a copycat iPhone 17 Pro. I'm not being nasty, but when Apple runs with Cosmic Orange as a hero colour and Honor chooses to produce a phone that looks almost the same – with its own vibrant orange colour – it's no accident.

Sadly I didn't get the Orange version for review. Instead I have Golden White, which is a sort of creamy colour. At a glance, people will probably mistake this for an iPhone because of the camera layout on the rear. Perhaps that's the desired effect: you have a phone in your hand that looks like the latest iPhone, but it's two-thirds of the price (and nobody knows it).

This new design addresses one of the things I didn't like about the Honor 400 Pro: the flattened sides feel great and look more modern than the previous version.

Dropping the sensor on the front to move away from the iPhone-like front camera cut-out is great too – although there's still a Dynamic Island-style use of the space around the camera to show things like media playback.

There's an additional button on the side of the Honor 600 Pro, which is a portal into Honor AI – which I'll discuss later. The button can be reprogrammed, but only to AI functions or to launch the camera – it's a missed opportunity in not supporting any app or function you might want.

The display on the Honor 600 Pro is excellent and while the headline brightness is 8000 nits, the high brightness mode reaches 1800 nits. I found this effective on really sunny days to keep screen content visible.

That high peak brightness figure isn't something that you'll be using: the phone supports HDR10+ and I found this content supported on Netflix, but nothing is mastered to 8000 nits, so don't think that you're getting a display that's going to be brighter than rivals in typical use.

The flat panel (with reduced selfie camera cutout) is great for gamers, while there's plenty of detail, with a 120Hz refresh rate to keep things smooth.

There's another minor detail that Honor is boasting about: this phone has the narrowest bezels of any device on the market. That means that more of the screen space is available to use – and that's certainly a positive thing.

Performance & Battery

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite
• 6400mAh battery; 80W wired charging, 50W wireless

The Snapdragon 8 Elite is the hardware that powered many 2025 flagship phones, so that positions the Honor 600 Pro as exactly that – a powerful phone that offers a premium experience on older hardware.

It comes with 12GB RAM and 512GB storage as standard (and that's the only version being offered in the UK). The result is an experience feels every inch flagship, even if it's a notch down the scale. While 2026 flagship phones are more powerful, in day-to-day use, you're unlikely to find any difference.

Everything I threw at the Honor 600 Pro happened at pace, from hitting Call of Duty Mobile hard, through to performing quick photo edits on the move using AI. If you're looking for a flagship experience, you'll find it here.

That's backed up by a huge 6400mAh battery, which offers great stamina. I found it would last well through the day and into the next. It basically delivers a 2-day experience in light use, without the worry of having to charge.

There's 80W wired charging, which beats most big-brand flagship rivals, although it's a step down from the 100W previously offered. That's probably a reflection of the increased capacity of the phone. There's also 50W wireless charging supported, but you'd need a proprietary charger from Honor to get that to work.

Cameras

• Triple rear camera:
  • Main: 200-megapixel, f/1.9 aperture, autofocus (AF), stabilisation (OIS)
  • Telephoto: 50MP, f/2.8, AF, OIS
  • Ultrawide: 12MP, f/2.2
• Front: 50MP, f/2.0

Honor's camera is centred on the 200-megapixel main sensor, clearly positioned to give Samsung a run for its money on the spec sheet.

Naturally, it doesn't capture 200MP images, instead offering 12.6MP images. It has a wider aperture (at f/1.9) than some rivals, meaning it can let more light in for making light work of processing in low light, plus a shallower depth of field for blurred backgrounds when subjects get close to the lens.

It's a 1/1.4in sensor size, which Honor says is optimised for night photography, with enhanced stabilisation to ensure things remain sharp in longer exposures. I found it to capture plenty of detail with nice colours, although in bright conditions it can overexpose a little.

The main camera loves to lighten an image, especially when lighting is a little lower, so indoor shots can lose contrast as the brightness increases and shadows get progressively less dark. That's also a problem with indoor video, where brightening can really change the hues that the camera produces.

I found good consistency of tone between the different lenses, so moving from ultrawide through to the telephoto looks like it came from the same camera.

The ultrawide is reasonable, but it struggles to capture detail towards the edges of the frame – where things look like they've been 'painted', while only the centre looks sharp. That's not such a problem when using it as a macro camera, because subjects close to the lens retain their detail fairly well.

There's a 50-megapixel telephoto camera that comes with Honor's AI-enhanced zoom as an option. Optically, the zoom offers 3.5x (an 80mm equivalent) with a toggle for the AI zoom for anything over 8x. Where previously we've seen this offered at over 30x digital zoom (where the quality really starts to dip) now you can use it on much closer subjects.

The 3.5x is pretty good and the 7x option that's also offered in the viewfinder still gives fairly clear results. But at 7x some details are blurred and shots begin to lose their potency.

The AI enhancement can be fun and for those near-distance shots that reach beyond the optical zoom they can add texture and colour that looks fairly realistic. But bear in mind that it's using generative AI and it's not showing you what you're looking at, it's what it thinks it looks like compared to reference images. That will see textures added to grass or leaves that are hard to argue with, but it quickly starts to look artificial.

When there's less information, a generative AI texture – like a grid – can be clearly seen. At that point, you have to ask yourself what you're trying to achieve with such a long zoom. It's not restoring detail, it's just filling in the spaces with what it thinks looks about right.

The pictures of the boat below were taken at 120x zoom, first just from the lens and the second with AI. Neither are good photos, but bear in mind that from where I was standing (the third photo) these boats were barely visible.

The selfie camera is let down by being fixed focus, so it's not as versatile as many flagship front cameras. Again, I found it overexposed a little and its Beauty Mode is on by default, so be sure to tap that off if you want to look like, well, you.

While talking about taking portraits, the portrait mode on the main camera is a bit of an oddity: it defaults to the telephoto lens and shoots at a slightly different aspect ratio to regular photos, so you might have to recrop if you want everything to match.

A note on AI skills here too: when previewing a photo you'll find yourself in Honor's Gallery by default, which gives easy access to AI editing tools. I'd say these are now clearer than the options in Google Photos, which after much rearranging (for the worse) are now buried in menus.

Software & AI

• Android 16 with Magic OS 10
• 6 years OS and security updates

Honor's software has long been a point of contention: for all the good hardware and attractive prices, the intervention in the software can't be escaped.

Honor has stepped up beyond some rival brands, however, offering 6 years of OS and security updates for this phone – close to the 7 years that Samsung and Google offer.

The phone runs Android 16 with Honor's own Magic OS 10 software making a lot of changes to the stock Android experience. Along the way, a lot of the cohesion of Android gets lost as you're funnelled into an Honor experience instead.

Try as I might, my normal scheduling of Bedtime mode refuses to work in Magic OS, a byproduct of Honor's tinkering. But tinkering is something others do, Samsung included, so it's not an uncommon issue.

Despite opting not to install any of the suggested apps during installation, I also found about 20 apps preinstalled, all of which I've removed; there are a couple of apps remaining that I'm stuck with, but be prepared to do some husbandry to get this phone into a cleaner state.

The flip side is that Magic OS 10 gives a huge amount of customisation and lots of options to make visual changes, which I rather enjoy.

It's also not too heavy with the AI: while there's the AI button, the services within generally stay within and don't constantly try to get involved with what you're doing.

One of the AI services appears to just be a link into Booking.com so you can plan a holiday. It's far from useful and I suspect it's made its way in there through a sponsorship agreement.

I still find it irksome that there's an AI button that I can't repurpose to launch Gemini, or ChatGPT. Instead, you can have Gemini on the power button, but I much prefer to stick to the power menu instead.

While Magic OS 10 needs some taming, it's not as intrusive as Motorola's latest Hello UI or the advertising in Xiaomi's HyperOS. I've had some adverts served to me, mostly when using native apps, again building an argument to avoid them and stick to more widely established alternatives.

Honor 600 Pro review: Verdict

The Honor 600 Pro is a good alternative to a flagship smartphone especially if you're happy to put in a little work to remove a lot of the software bloat.

There's a great display, plenty of power, and solid battery life with fast charging, all for a fraction of the price of a current flagship phone.

But if you're not rushing to get one because it looks like an iPhone, then that's a little sad and all I can say is don’t be put off – as this phone is better than that.

Also consider

At the full price, the OnePlus 15 is more powerful and comes in higher rated, with a software experience that's a little more refined than the Honor 600 Pro.

Equally, the Samsung Galaxy S25 models with discounts offer similar power and software support for around the same listing price.

But the Honor 600 Pro's real rivals come in the form of other brands, like the Xiaomi 15T Pro or Poco X8 Pro, both offering a lot of phone for the money, with some compromises.

The ultrawide gaming monitor is slowly but surely undergoing something of a shift in reputation right now, even while the wider gaming world is battered by price hikes and component shortages. Even just a couple of years ago, an ultrawide felt like the status symbol of a super-rich gamer – not really something 'normal' folks bought.

Well, times change, and display technology has been moving quickly. While ultrawides still look much like they have for years, they're now getting better and cheaper, a double whammy that you love to see. Dell's newest Alienware launch, in fact, the AW3426DW, comes in at a price that I think is really tempting given its QD-OLED status.

Price and Availability

The AW3426DW went on sale in late June here in the UK, so you can order it now directly through Dell and possibly some other enthusiast storefronts. Its RRP is £709.

US shoppers will have to pay $799.99 – with a later release date penned from 9 July 2026. There's no Australian pricing or pre-order details as yet.

Design and Specs

You might think there's a limited amount to say about the design of an ultrawide monitor. In some ways you'd be right, but the flexibility that manufacturers have on key points can be massive for the experience of using one.

The AW3426DW is a 34-inch ultrawide with an aspect ratio of 21:9, which makes it fairly typical for the market. This means that it's not the tallest monitor, so it's perhaps easier to fit onto a desk than some others I've tested, although the width is clearly the main point of contention.

The AW3426DW is built largely out of a matte-finish dark blue plastic, with a real sturdiness to its frame and stand. There's been some online criticism of that blue finish, but in person I think it's quite nice – although the footprint of the stand is fairly significant on your desk.

The arm that the screen attaches to is sturdy and offers some tilt both in terms of up-and-down and left-or-right motion. That means you can position the monitor relatively easily if you have a peculiar setup in mind. The arm also has a channel to route cables through in quite a rudimentary way.

The back of the screen is unremarkable, but there is one bit of ornamentation – a glowing RGB Alienware logo that looks nice, but really doesn't emit too much light. I could probably do without it, but it hardly impacts usability at all.

The front of the display has a status light at the bottom right that's surprisingly large, until you realise theat is doubles as the on/off button (which some monitors make much more difficult to find).

The screen's actual user interface (UI) and settings menus are accessed using a control nub right under the middle of the display, which I found really easy and responsive to use.

The panel itself is a 3440 x 1440 resolution QD-OLED Penta-Tandem RGB Stripe type, with an improved refresh rate of 280 Hz and a higher peak brightness of 1,300 nits – an increase over its '3425' predecessor.

It has HDR (high dynamic range) certification and works with Dolby Vision – which is fairly rare in this market – and can boast a VESA DisplayHDR True Black level of 500, which is also impressively rare.

Perhaps the biggest single upgrade on the monitor, though, is a new anti-reflective coating. It's hugely impactful in person, as I'll get to later in this review.

If there's a big downside to testing ultrawides, it's where multi-device functionality is concerned. The array of ports here is solid rather than outstanding – two HDMI 2.1 and a DisplayPort 1.4 are what you get, along with a 5Gbps USB Type B, plus Type A and Type C USB charging.

I usually have a 27-inch flat panel on my desk, and swap between my work MacBook Pro, my gaming PC, and my PS5 Pro according to what I'm doing and who I'm gaming with. The key part here is the PS5 Pro, which doesn't really work nicely with this monitor.

The AW3426DW does allow you to crop its picture down to a 24.5-inch version that works for devices that don't support ultrawide screens, but it's limited to 1080p and therefore loses a lot of clarity. This is far from a Dell-only issue, and really is just about what you want from your monitor – so be aware that console gaming isn't really a great fit here.

Performance

So, the AW3426DW isn't great for a PS5 Pro – what else is news, Einstein? This is a PC gaming monitor, so I used it that way for almost all of my testing. And what a lovely time I had, too.

The AW3426DW's QD-OLED panel is a really lovely one for the price. It has those inky dark blacks that you want from the technology, plus really impressive vibrancy to colour – especially with Dolby Vision-compatible content.

I used the monitor to play a dozen or so hours of Assassin's Creed: Black Flag Resynced, and the bright, bold blues of that game's oceans were really well-represented, as were its torches at night and multifaceted underwater hues.

One small miss is the lack of integrated speakers – sure, they're never great, but I sometimes find it more relaxing to game without a headset, which isn't an option with this monitor (unless you have other speakers, of course).

Another welcome factor in my enjoyment of the screen has been that anti-reflective coating; I saw it briefly at Computex in Taipei, but at home it's been revelatory – even bright and pointed lights barely make a ripple when I'm gaming. The boost this gives to immersion is truly great.

While I don't recommend it for consoles, I did also do enough PS5 Pro gaming to confirm that it's entirely acceptable on that front, too, and that swapping back and forth between modes is quick and easy to accomplish. That's worth more than nothing, at this price.

It's also worth highlighting that, unlike some other monitors of this type, the cooling for what is a big panel is all done through ventilation rather than actual fans. Some other monitors can indeed have a distracting whirr, but there's no such bugbear here.

Using the monitor for work has also been a reminder that ultrawides can be really quite practical – you get so much real estate for multitasking and windows. At 3440 x 1440, things are nice and sharp, although I have found that text can suffer from a little fringing at times, so a point of note if you're sensitive to that.

Verdict

I think Dell's Alienware brand has played a great hand here. The AW3426DW doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it crucially also doesn't charge the world – unlike some competitors.

While its QD-OLED panel isn't radically upgraded over its predecessor, instead going for modest but welcome gains, the price feels really fair for what you get.

Sure, you can get more expensive monitors that push things further in terms of resolution, size, and indeed processing power and internal capabilities – but you'll find that these upgrades come with discomfiting price spikes, too.

By avoiding those hikes, you'll be getting a monitor that feels premium in all the most important ways, even if it's secretly not as best-in-class as it looks. The Alienware AW3426DW is a great deal.

Also Consider

If you do want something that's more like the best of the best, then consider going for LG's crazy UltraGear 45GX950. It's simply massive, and therefore not quite in the same category, but it's a stunning piece of gear. It remains the high-water mark for the ultrawides I've tested.

Another alternative comes in the form of a counter-proposal. If you do want to game on both PC and console, maybe an ultrawide isn't right for you. In that case, the Sony Inzone M10S is a beautiful OLED panel – while there's now a new version, that means you might be able to find lower prices on last year's model.

There comes a time when all of us start to gain an unhealthy obsession with a well-manicured lawn. Staring out onto a trim bed of blades formed into neat striped patterns is inherently satisfying.

Recently, I've been testing out the Stihl RMA 448 RV. That's a high-end lawn mower from the brand, which offers a wealth of features in a battery-powered device.

Stihl RMA 448 RV review: Price and Availability

The Stihl RMA 448 RV retails for £829 (approx. €970 / US$1,110 / AU$1,595). It can be purchased via the brand's website.

Stihl RMA 448 RV review: Features

While it's a relatively simple mower overall, the RMA 448 RV does offer a range of feature to help you sculpt the cut you want. Think of it like a bevy of options for the final 5%, more than fundamental changes to the overall experience.

First and foremost, that includes a five-option cutting height adjustment. That allows you to pick how tall you want your lawn to be with decent precision, and is selectable via a push-button lever which can be operated with one hand, but doesn't feel like it'll be changed by accident.

There's also an Eco mode, which allows the user to prioritise battery life over all else. This setting automatically adapts the motor speed to what's needed for the job, rather than full power. It's a neat addition, and will be a lifesaver for those with lawns large enough to almost max out a battery.

You'll have two options with regards to grass collection, with a switch to choose between mulching or collecting. The collection happens within a box at the rear of the machine, and holds a decent amount of material.

Last, but by no means least, is the Vario Self-Drive engine. That allows you to divert some of the power to propelling the mower, significantly reducing the effort required to move it.

Stihl RMA 448 RV review: Performance

I'll start with a gripe because it was the first thing I noticed – this is a heavy unit. At 27kg, it'll take some effort to move it around, particularly if you need to carry it over steps or ledges. In comparison to other similar-sized mowers it's not too bad, but if you want a truly lightweight mower, this isn't for you.

Still, once you've broken a sweat to get it onto the lawn, everything else feels remarkably simple. The rear box constructs with ease, and clips into place with a reassuring click.

Do make sure you double check the setting of the mulch/collection switch before you start. I didn't on the first go, and ended up baffled when my entire lawn only left a smattering of grass blades in the box.

I'd also recommend being more generous than you think you need to be with the cutting height, especially if you've got a lawn which isn't flat. I found that mine scarred a lot of patches, simply because of how much it undulates – the wide 46cm cutting section is too broad to run over them without issue.

One aspect I really have loved about this mower is the Self-Drive function. It offers a range of settings from tortoise to hare – a playful touch which is more endearing than a numbered selection – to divert some of the power into propelling the machine.

I love this – as someone with a sloped lawn, it makes it easy to travel in both directions with pretty much the same level of effort. However, I'd again recommend proceeding with caution – the higher speed settings are pretty nippy, and could quickly run away from you if you're not nimble.

Fortunately the safety mechanism built into the handle means you should be able to avoid most accidents. You'll need to press a button on the side of the handle and pull up the rear bar to start the mower, with a further front bar pulled up to activate the Self-Drive. Letting go is enough to kill the engine, which makes it handy if you're about to accidentally tear through a lovingly curated border of petunias (don't ask me how I know).

My lawn isn't the biggest, and I do think the benefits of this machine would be reaped in a larger space. The turning circle isn't amazing, so you'll often find yourself doing a five-point turn to get into the right spot. It's certainly not the biggest issue in the world, but if you've got a smaller space, it's worth considering one of the brand's smaller machines to save on weight and size.

Stihl RMA 448 RV review: Verdict

All in all, I think this is a killer lawn mower. It's a beast of a unit and enjoys enough features to make sure you can get the perfect cut every time.

If you're on the hunt for a lawn mower which is built like a tank and ready to mow large lawns with ease, look no further. This is a solid pick for those with deep enough pockets.

Stihl RMA 448 RV review: Also Consider

If you're looking for a decent cordless mower on a budget, the Hawksmoor 36V Brushless Cordless Lawnmower is a solid option. It earned an impressive five-star rating when our reviewer got their hands on it, offering exceptional value for money.

Alternatively, the Worx Nitro WG761E 80V mower has been top of our guide for a while, and it's not hard to see why! Good looks and an impressive feature set make it hard to ignore – even if it outstrips this model for price.

Ghd (and AI) fans, rejoice. The brand's latest launch, the ghd Sculpt, is its smartest styler and straighteners yet. Using new AI-powered Heat Adapt technology, it continuously adapts to your hair as you style, promising smoother, longer-lasting results without compromising hair health.

I'm all about making my morning routine as quick and easy as possible, so when I heard the Sculpt promised five-times faster styling, I was immediately intrigued. As someone who's always battled naturally wavy hair and has tried everything from keratin treatments to literally ironing my hair (don't judge me) as a teenager, I'm a sucker for anything that promises sleek and shiny hair while making my styling routine far less time-consuming. Naturally, I had to put it to the test.

Ghd Sculpt review: price and availability

The Ghd Sculpt launched in July 2026 and is available in black or white. It has an RRP of £369 and currently available at Ghd.

Ghd Sculpt review: design and features

In terms of design, the Sculpt looks unlike any other styler I've tested. The white and silver finish feels every bit as premium as you'd expect from ghd, and it’s a different shape and vibe from the other ghds I’ve owned.

The slim Infinity plates glided through my hair without snagging once and the futuristic, yet feminine silhouette meant I was more than happy to keep them on show on my dressing table. For those who travel or like to store their hair styling products out of sight. They're surprisingly slim and lightweight too. They slid easily into my gym bag without adding much weight and tucked neatly into a drawer when needed.

Unlike some other ghd models, the Sculpt is only available with one plate size, measuring 26mm wide. Initially, I wondered whether I'd miss the wider plates, but thanks to ghd's claim of five-times faster straightening and an ultra-fast personalised styling that transforms your hair in one stroke, I really didn't. They proved just as quick and effective on my usually tricky-to-style hair.

They also made creating curls much easier. I've always found twisting straighteners to produce curls a bit of an art, but the slim plates, lightweight curved design and smooth glide made me wonder why I'd ever found it so difficult.

My hair wrapped easily around the plates, heated evenly and glided through without catching, leaving me with soft, ringlet curls in just a few attempts.

Ghd Sculpt review: AI technology

Like other ghd stylers, the Sculpt is designed around the brand's 185°C styling temperature. The difference here is its new Heat Adapt technology, which uses AI to monitor your hair during styling rather than simply maintaining a constant plate temperature. According to ghd, the Sculpt continuously monitors styling conditions and adapts its heat delivery in real time to suit each section of hair, delivering the optimum amount of heat for styling while helping to protect the hair's natural structure.

Did I notice the AI working? Honestly, that's difficult to say. It's not as though you can feel the temperature changing while you style (nor should you touch the plates to find out). What I did notice was the end result. My naturally wavy, colour-treated hair came out consistently smooth, sleek and frizz-free, and straightening it felt quicker and less of a chore than with some of my older stylers.

Curious about how it all works? So was I. Behind the scenes, the Sculpt's AI is powered by a microprocessor that takes around 2,900 measurements every second, detecting when hair is between the plates, how much hair you're styling and how quickly you're moving. It then adjusts the power and heat delivery in real time to suit each section of hair. It's undeniably clever technology and my hair consistently came out smoother and shinier than I'd ever expected.

Ghd Sculpt review: performance

Part of the Sculpt’s charm is its personalisation. Because the AI takes care of the temperature control, all you need to do is press the power button (which makes a rather satisfying beep) and wait for it to heat up. That took just a few seconds, giving me enough time to spritz on some heat protectant.

During use, my hair slid through the plates and came out sleek, shiny and effortlessly straight - right to the tip. I loved that there was nowhere for my hair to get caught or snag between the plates, and the lightweight, slim design never felt clunky in my hands.

GHD claims the Sculpt delivers up to 90% more shine and 2.5x less frizz than naturally dried hair. While I obviously couldn't measure those figures, my hair certainly looked as sleek as it does after a professional blow dry and held its straightness even after a good night’s sleep. If you've ever gone to bed with perfectly straight hair only to wake up with a halo of frizz, you'll know exactly what I mean. My hair simply stayed smoother for longer than it normally does, without feeling dry or over-cooked.

Whether I styled small sections or much larger ones, the results remained impressively consistent. Ghd also says the Sculpt helps preserve colour vibrancy by avoiding unnecessary heat, something that particularly appealed to me given my colour-treated hair and bleached ends, which have a tendency to dry out easily.

Another unexpected bonus was feeling comfortable enough to let my 12-year-old daughter use them. I've always avoided letting her use my older straighteners because her hair is still completely healthy, but the promise of the AI adapting to her hair rather than simply blasting it with a constant heat gave me much more confidence. Her hair is obviously very different to mine, yet the result was the same: smooth, straight hair and the reassurance of knowing that her precious locks weren't being exposed to any more heat than they needed.

The biggest surprise wasn't the technology itself - it was how effortless it made everything feel. The AI quietly adjusted the heat in the background while I simply got on with getting ready. My hair stayed sleek for three to four days, meaning I wasn't reaching for the straighteners every morning. It genuinely reduced my getting-ready time - so much so that I probably ran it through my hair a few extra times, simply because I couldn't believe it could be that straight that easily. It could!

Ghd Sculpt review: Verdict

Like many people my age, my very first styling tool was a pair of ghd straighteners. I saved up for months (and months) to buy them and never regretted spending a single penny. Since then, I've tried plenty of other brands, but I almost always come back to ghd because I find their products consistently reliable. The Sculpt is now my new favourite.

It straightened my hair in under 15 minutes, while the premium design, lightweight feel and smooth-gliding Infinity plates made styling feel almost effortless. Add in the new AI-powered Heat Adapt technology, and you've got a straightener that consistently delivers sleek, long-lasting results while adapting to your hair's individual needs.

The only real downside is that it's a significant investment. But when I think about how much I've spent on weekly blow-dries simply because I couldn't face styling my own hair, I can already see it paying for itself. Better still, my hair stayed smooth for several days, meaning I wasn't constantly reaching for the straighteners before work, before a meeting or a night out. For me, that's worth every penny.

Ghd Sculpt review: alternatives to consider

I have to admit, I haven't come across any AI-powered hair styling gadgets quite like this before. Ghd certainly seems to be one of the first, and I doubt it'll be the last.

That said, there are a few other straighteners that have impressed me over the years including the Dyson Airstrait that uses high-speed airflow to dry and straighten hair simultaneously. Another styler I've been impressed by is the L'Oréal Professionnel SteamPod 4, particularly if you have thick, long or curly hair. Its wider plates and steam technology helped tame my hair with ease.

Finally, if you have fine, delicate or colour-treated hair and prefer to control the heat yourself, the Nicky Clarke Frizz Control Straightener is also worth considering. Its tourmaline-coated plates leave hair smooth and shiny, and with five temperature settings ranging from 150°C to 230°C, you can choose exactly how hot (or not) you want to style your hair. Unlike the Sculpt, which automatically adapts the heat for you, it's a better choice if you prefer to stay in complete control of the styling temperature yourself, and it comes in way cheaper too.

Houses in the UK aren’t built for hot weather, but it’s becoming a more common occurrence this time of year. Every time it happens, fans and air conditioners instantly go out of stock. So surely it’s time to prepare in advance?

Unless you can justify a full installation, a portable air conditioning unit is a simple way to get your house or room cool. Looking much like an oversized dehumidifier, they blast out cold air and suck out the hot air, sending it outside through an exhaust hose at the back.

Not all portable air conditioning units are equal, however, and De’Longhi is one of the biggest names around. Its latest flagship model is the Pinguino GentleJet Inverter. Not only is this the brand’s most powerful portable air conditioning unit, but it also employs a unique inverter technology to provide more efficient cooling.

So how does this king penguin (Pinguino is Italian for penguin) hold up against an English heatwave? I put the unit to the test through the recent hot weather to find out.

Price and availability

The De'Longhi Pinguino GentleJet Inverter is priced at £999.99 in the UK (roughly $1300) and €1049.90 in Europe. Due to high demand right now, units are sold out in most stores, including the De'Longhi website. However, I've been assured more stock is coming soon.

Design and features

The GentleJet Inverter looks almost identical to the standard GentleJet model in that it’s a beautifully designed monolithic unit with a subtle LED display built into the side, so it’s almost invisible when it’s turned off. The top features a curved cover, with a gap underneath from where the air blasts out as standard. However, a vent also lifts from the top to circulate the air more widely around the room.

The unit stands much bigger than I expected, closer to the height of a washing machine than a dehumidifier. For its performance, though, this is pretty small and light. The GentleJet Inverter weighs just under 31kg, so not the lightest to lift, but it has two handles and is mounted on wheels, so you can easily wheel it into position. While I was testing the unit, I moved it to different rooms to cool down, either my office, the living room, or the bedroom.

The inverter technology allows the unit to maintain a constant temperature by adjusting the speed of the compressor. Most air conditioners switch on and off constantly to keep the temperature at a certain level. By reducing the need to constantly do this, the inverter can keep a more level temperature and reduce energy consumption.

The cooling capacity of this unit is 13,000 BTU per hour (British Thermal Units), which is 3.3kW and suitable for rooms up to 130 cubic metres. If you don’t need anything this powerful, a 7,000-9,000 BTU device is more than enough for most bedrooms or office spaces.

With this size of unit, though, there should be no problem cooling almost any room, or having any issues with the 35+ degree heat we were experiencing in Bath.

Installation

As with most air con units, the GentleJet Inverter has an integrated hose attached to the back, which can be extended to reach a window or outlet. It comes with a range of attachments, including a sealable connection if you want to attach it to a permanent vent, and a window kit, which suits a sliding or vertically opening window.

The problem is that most homes in the UK have hinged, outwardly opening windows, and there’s no simple solution in the box for this. You can still place the hose through the open window but the window remains open, reducing the effectiveness of the air con unit.

After a little research, I discovered two options that you can buy. The first is a custom-cut piece of Perspex that covers the full open window, with a hole the exact size for the hose cut into it. The second is a cheaper and more universal option, which creates a sort of tent out of the window opening with a zippable gap, through which you can place the hose. I went for the second option and found it very effective.

In use

Once the air con unit is in place, you simply plug it in and turn on the power. There are controls on the unit for the fan speed and the mode, which switches between cooling, dehumidifying and just a fan. In dehumidifying mode, the unit can remove up to 73 litres per day and will either expel through the exhaust hose or can be connected to a water hose at the bottom of the unit.

Three controls can only be accessed via the included remote control: the raising of the top vent to circulate the air more widely around the room, an eco mode and a silent mode. The silent mode reduces the noise of the device, making it quieter for watching TV, having a meeting, or even sleeping.

There’s also a timer mode, which can be used for all of the modes, to automatically turn the device off again, with settings up to 24 hours. Unusually for a flagship home device, there’s no option to connect this to your home network for remote monitoring or operation, which is a bit of a shame.

The silent mode is far from whisper-silent and still clocks in around 54db, but it’s considerably quieter than with the unit on full power, which is around 64db. I used the unit mostly in the bedroom and had no problem sleeping through the fans in silent mode, though lighter sleepers not used to air con units may struggle.

Unlike some dehumidifiers and fans, there’s no option to turn off the display for a night mode, so it can really light up the room. With this size of unit, it’s more suited to a larger living room area than a bedroom anyway, but it’s worth considering if that’s what you’re planning.

Most importantly, the GentleJet Inverter lived up to its promise and cooled the room in minutes. It did take considerably longer in the larger living room, with the exhaust hose unsealed through an open door. But even then, within the space of an hour, it brought the temperature right down.

When it comes to the amount of power this unit uses, the specs still list a maximum input power of 1035W. Of course, that’s pretty efficient when compared to the air output of 3.3kW, but it’s still similar to other 10-12k BTU portable air conditioners.

Thanks to the inverter technology, however, once the temperature is reached, this device is rarely working at maximum power. And when running at a lower speed or maintaining a temperature, the power usage is much less. De’Longhi claims that this tech makes the GentleJet Inverter up to 45% more efficient. When just the fan is running, the unit only uses around 10W.

Should I buy the De'Longhi Pinguino GentleJet Inverter?

If you need a seriously powerful portable air conditioner unit, the De’Longhi GentleJet Inverter is both efficient and compact for its performance. It’s the ultimate choice if you want the best an air con can offer.

Thanks to the inverter technology, this unit is quieter and more efficient than an equivalent-sized unit. That means it can save you money and cause less of a distraction when in use.

Unless you have a particularly large house, most rooms could probably be served with a smaller air con than this one. However, if you need the extra power or just want the best there is, you can’t go far wrong with the GentleJet Inverter.

I would have loved to have seen a night-time mode (to turn off the screen) and a better UK window kit, but otherwise, this is a winner.

Given the spate of heatwaves hitting Britain of late, investing in one of the best fans feels like a necessity. As the temperature soar, many of us will look for ways of keeping cool.

If you're sick of shoddy designs which only serve to push hot air around, this new Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S simply has to be on your shopping list. I put mine to the test when the UK was experiencing record-breaking heat, to see if it could really deliver a cooling experience.

Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S review: Price and Availability

The Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S retails for £199.99 / €219.99 / US$199.99 (approx. AU$385). You can buy it directly from the brand's site, as well as retailers like Amazon and Boots.

Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S review: Features

The main feature of this unit is the TurboWind cooling system, which can deliver up to 10m/s of breeze. It's a pretty impressive spec, made even more impressive with the 18m max distance for cooling.

That's paired up with an ultrasonic misting element. Unlike other misting fans, which can leave you or your surfaces soggy, this is designed to be so fine that it simply integrates with the other particles in your air, cooling the room as a result.

Elsewhere, you'll find a night mode which drops the decibel level down to just 20dB, which is perfect if you're wanting to keep the peace while you keep cool. There's even a mobile app, which allows you to control every aspect of the unit from your handset. A physical remote is also included, if that's more your style.

Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S review: Performance

As someone who previously only had a cheap – and broken – pedestal fan, switching this on for the first time in near-40° heat was a moment of pure nirvana. At the highest setting – the fan offers speeds from one to 12 – it's capable of offering a decent amount of cooling on its own.

It actually took me a few days to try the misting element, but I sure am glad I did. Once you've used it, you'll really struggle to go back to a normal fan, with that added bit of moisture doing an exceptional job of dropping the temperature in the room.

I was really nervous about spray and moisture, but those concerns were totally unnecessary. In practice, the mist is so fine that you'll never notice it unless you place your hand directly on top of the outlet.

There are four different levels of misting, though I tended to simply opt for the highest setting and the biggest impact. The system will also notify you of the humidity in the room, which is handy if you're looking to keep things consistent.

Control is effortless thanks to a touchscreen top panel, complete with buttons for each of the settings you'd look for. You'll be able to cycle through modes, increase or decrease the fan speed, set the mist level, set the rotation and much more.

There's also a brilliant mobile app, which offers more of the same. It's incredibly intuitive, and makes it effortless to adjust without having to get up.

There is also a physical remote included, which mirrors most of the functions on the top panel. Personally, I found that to be a little redundant, but it will suit some people who don't want to be tethered to a phone.

My only other gripe here is in the rotation of the fan. It is exceptionally wide, spanning almost 180° as it turns. Some may see that as a benefit, but it made it tough to keep the energy centred where I wanted it, and not blowing various bits and bobs off of tables and shelves. I'd like to see an element of control over how wide the rotation is, to combat this.

Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S review: Verdict

Still, those are some fairly minor gripes. Overall, this product has been a godsend during the excessive heat, allowing me to keep cool in spite of the temperatures.

If you're in the market for a cooling solution which simply works, with no messing, this is the one to buy. The TurboCool misting element is no gimmick, plummeting the temperature in any given room when you need it most.

Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 765S review: Also Consider

The market for misting fans is getting broader all the time, so there are definitely options. For those seeking a similar package offered here, but simply smaller and cheaper, I'd recommend checking out the Dreo TurboCool Misting Fan 516S. It distils all of the same energy into a more compact package.

If you're looking for a more well-known brand, try the Shark FlexBreeze HydroGo. That snagged a five-star rating when our reviewer got his hands on it, and should be a capable competitor.

I’ve tested lots of outdoor cooking equipment during my time as Home Editor for T3, and when I’m asked about the best thing I’ve ever reviewed, I always say my pizza oven. Not only do I still use it on an almost weekly basis, but it sits in pride of place in my garden and is a real crowd-pleaser when I have guests over.

Despite my pizza oven being my prized possession, I can’t deny that they are expensive. From big name brands like Gozney and Ooni, you can expect to pay between £300 - £2,000 for a pizza oven which isn’t in everyone’s budgets. But I recently tried the Vonhaus Outdoor Wood Pellet Pizza Oven and was pleasantly surprised by its functionality, especially considering its budget price tag.

At £109.99, the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is one of the cheapest pizza ovens you can buy today. It’s well-built, comes with a nice range of accessories, and can cook up to 12-inch pizzas. So, how does it perform? I spent some time with the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven to find out.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: price and availability

The Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is available to buy for £109.99 at Vonhaus and select retailers, like Amazon and Argos. It comes with the main pizza oven and a square pizza stone, a stainless steel pizza peel and cutter, a bamboo chopping board, and a polyester storage bag.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: unboxing and setup

Setting up the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven was incredibly easy. It arrives with the main pizza oven body already put together, but some assembling is involved, like attaching the chimney and fuel box.

To get started, I unfolded the legs of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven to make it easier to assemble everything. Next, I used the screws to attach the wood pellet charger to the top of the pizza oven – this is where you can add more pellets if needed and let out some of the smoke.

The chimney was easy to insert as it slotted into the hole at the top of the pizza oven. The fuel drawer only needed to be put in its drawer at the back of the oven, and then I added the pizza stone inside. I then attached the handle to the oven door and attached it to the front of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven.

Aside from the pellet charger which fixed on permanently, everything else on the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven was removeable. When I wasn’t using it, I detached the removable parts, folded the legs away and packed the pizza oven inside its storage bag which was also quick and easy to do.

To use the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven, you start by closing the front door of the oven before adding 250g of wood pellets to the fuel drawer. From there, place a firestarter in the drawer and light it before placing the drawer in the oven. Next, you simply wait for the pellets to ignite and for the temperature gauge on the top of the oven to show 350°C before adding your food. Vonhaus claims this takes up to 25 minutes.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: design and features

Made from stainless steel with a black coating, the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is a good-looking model that seems to take style inspiration from Ooni. The main body of the pizza oven is black while steel accents include the door, chimney, fuel drawer and pellet charger.

Measuring 55cm in height, 40.4cm in width and 60cm in diameter, the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is surprisingly compact and takes up minimal space in your garden. Weighing just 9.8kg, it’s not very heavy either, and I found it comfortable to move around when it was assembled, as well as in its storage bag.

The Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven has a spacious internal capacity which can cook up to 12-inch pizzas, as well as other foods, like flatbreads, vegetables and meat. A temperature gauge is located at the top of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven, and it can reach up to 400°C for intense and quick cooking in as little as 90 seconds.

With the wood pellet box located at the back of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven, the flames run across the top of the pizza while the edges get hotter to cover the crust. The pizza stone base is made from cordierite to absorb and distribute heat for a crisp base. The heat is consistent, although you can’t adjust the temperature in any way as there are no controls.

The Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven doesn’t come with wood pellets so I used Weber Grill Academy All-Natural Hardwood Pellets.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: performance

As mentioned above, setting up the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven was incredibly easy, and I enjoyed how quickly it could be assembled and taken apart for storage. Those with smaller gardens will definitely enjoy it as it has a compact size despite its spacious interior, and its foldable legs make it easy to store.

Using the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven was a little tricky in places. The wood pellets took some time to light as expected, but once they were lit, the pizza oven itself took a long time to heat up. The instructions stated that it would take up to 25 minutes to get up to 350°C but it took up to 45 minutes for me and I had to replenish the wood pellets multiple times.

When the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven finally got up to temperature, I found that it lost its heat quite quickly. The body of the pizza oven got extremely hot, especially the steel parts on the pellet charger and chimney so you’ll want to be extremely careful with this.

I found the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven to work best on pre-made pizza but it crisped up my homemade pizza well, too. The interior was a good size and easily fit both pizzas comfortably, and the pizza peel slid the pizza nicely inside and onto the pizza stone.

I was surprised that the interior stayed relatively clean, but the pellet charger and fuel drawer which came into contact with the flames and smoke got extremely dirty. It was relatively easier to clean but it looked pretty filthy. I also enjoyed the accessories, especially the pizza peel and cutter, although after only a few uses, the logo on the bamboo board faded and the material started to fray.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: verdict

The Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven ticks a lot of boxes, particularly if you have a small garden and you’re looking for an affordable, budget-friendly model. If you want another smarter or simply a way to control the flame, you’ll want to pay a bit more money as the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is extremely simple.

However, in terms of value for money, you definitely get what you pay for with the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven. Its accessories are good, the pizza oven itself looks great, and its portability makes it easy to set up and use.

The main downside of the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is it takes a long time to heat up. If you have the time, then you won’t mind waiting for it to come to temperature, but it’s worth keeping in mind.

Vonhaus pellet pizza oven review: alternatives to consider

A good alternative to the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven is the Ninja Woodfire Outdoor Oven. It’s an electric model but it also comes with wood pellets which you can use to enhance the flavour of your food. It’s also compact and reasonably priced at £349.

The Gozney Roccbox is similar in size and portability to the Vonhaus Pellet Pizza Oven. It runs on gas or wood pellets so you can get more control over your cooking, and cook quickly using gas and add extra flavour with pellets.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again – Marshall makes the best physical controls in the mainstream audio world. Even when it comes to the best soundbars, thanks to its Heston 120.

It's proving that once again with the release of its newest home speakers. I've had the Acton IV with me for a couple of weeks to see how it stacks up in daily use, with all of its brassy buttons and knobs.

Tactility isn't enough to make a speaker worth it on its own, though, so the latest Acton has plenty of proving itself to do. This is a speaker that asks you to put up a fair whack of cash, after all, so I've been interested to see if it can make that price feel worthy.

Price and Availability

Having just been launched by Marshall this July, the Acton IV is available to order right now. It's priced at the exact same point as its predecessor here in the UK. That means it comes in at £259.99, while in the US it's $299.99 and Australia asks AU$499.

All of that means that the Acton IV falls into an interesting part of the market – at this price point, many of its competitors also offer Wi-Fi connectivity to enable the likes of Apple AirPlay 2 and Spotify Connect, so it's quite a punchy ask in 2026.

That said, to go four years between speaker versions without a price rise is also fairly rare, and therefore worth mentioning.

Design and Features

The Acton IV is anything but a revolution when it comes to the design language that has made Marshall such a cult choice in the audio world. It brings a look and feel that's really similar to its predecessor in most meaningful ways, but there are tweaks if you look really closely.

This speaker is simple and rectangular in shape, with a clear and obvious front and back, thanks to the brassy Marshall logo on the front side. That front is covered in a durable mesh, which is edged with more brass. The rest of the speaker is covered in a faux-leather textured finish.

On top of the Acton IV there's a cutout within that surface, hiding all of the speaker's physical controls. You get a 3.5mm jack for wired audio, next to a button to swap between sources (with indicator lights to tell you which is selected). Then there are three dials – a master volume, a bass tuner, and a treble adjuster.

On the right of these there are two buttons – a rocker-style one for play/pause and track skipping, and a multi-function Marshall button that can be held down for speaker pairing using Auracast.

Finally, the far right-hand side has the MVP of it all – the most satisfying power switch you'll ever interact with. Seriously, after unboxing the Acton IV I spent about 10 minutes just flicking it back and forth.

The speaker sits on four rubber feet for stability, and underneath it you'll see a woofer but also the ports for the speaker's power cable and a pair of RCA cable ports for wired audio if you need it.

This all adds up to a really gorgeous-looking speaker in my opinion – one that has the rare distinction of fitting in with either an eclectic old-school rock aesthetic, or a cleaner modern one, depending on what you pair it with.

On the features side, the main addition here is Auracast, which signals that we're on a newer version of Bluetooth compared to the last product – though Marshall isn't saying exactly which version. This keeps it really simple from a connectivity point of view, since you can basically choose between Bluetooth or wired audio.

That said, I'm also always a fan of speakers that give you flexibility, so including Wi-Fi would have been a clear win in my opinion. Given that this is a powered speaker designed to stay in your home, it would simply open up more options for connections, and feels like a miss in my use – much as I can understand its absence from a cost implication perspective.

The Marshall app has some customisation options for the Acton IV if you don't want to use the physical knobs, too. It's slick and easy to use, and being able to tweak how the "M" button works is a great little option for those who have something more specific in mind.

Sound and Performance

If you're going to stick to Bluetooth only, then, you'd better make that Bluetooth rock solid. True to expectations, I never had any issues using the Acton IV during my couple of weeks of use. Its connectivity has been decent.

I spent most review time getting to grips with this speaker's sound. Marshall says the biggest benefit of the new version is a wider soundstage – and the Acton IV does indeed punch above its weight class given its size. It's a surprisingly powerful speaker and really can act as a one-stop solution for a small or medium-sized room that you'd like to fill with music.

Listening to acoustic material like Django Django's new song Cameos, I was impressed by the warmth and clarity that the speaker could get across. That remained just as true when diving into some older Ultimate Painting material.

However, Marshall has long prided itself on loudness and the way it can bring more brash material to life, so my old standbys of Queens of the Stone Age and Justice came out to play really impressively, too. In both cases, the rawness and dirtiness of some of their grittier production style was great.

I'm not always the type to play with EQ (equaliser) settings, either, but the way Marshall integrates them into its physical controls makes it really quite fun to sit and dial the treble up or the bass down while listening. The glide of those knobs really is superbly built, and their impact on sound immediately obvious.

There are other small details to appreciate, too. The volume dial has way more gradations than the treble and bass ones, for example. Each of its lights has multiple states of brightness, so that as you crank it up or down you actually have a huge amount of control over exactly where it lands.

This all means that the Acton IV fulfils its brief impressively, for all that it also limits its brief quite carefully. You get Bluetooth that really does sound impressively wide-ranging and powerful. Nonetheless, in part I do wish it were a little more ambitious.

Verdict

The Acton IV is another great speaker release from Marshall, which really is in a great place in terms of consistency right now. The brand has figured out a great formula for its speakers' sound profiles, while the design of its hardware is always a delight.

The only downside to the Acton IV is that it doesn't aim slightly higher – as Wi-Fi connectivity would be a great new direction to start off in, for my money.

Nonetheless, I really like the Acton IV, as it makes a great Bluetooth speaker, but in a world where some others permit you to rove around your home more easily, or offer different ways to connect, it's a blast of simplicity that you'll either respect or resent.

Also Consider

The Sonos Play is more expensive, but not by much. This is my pick for a home speaker that offers more of the flexibility I've discussed above. It has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, a built-in battery, and while its sound isn't as powerful as the bigger Acton, I think it's more adaptable.

If you want something more permanent in terms of its placement, then the Denon Home 400 is an interesting upgrade. Again, it brings Wi-Fi and multi-room potential to the table, but crucially it's a very different flavour aesthetically, which could make it work better for you.

When you consider one of the best electric toothbrushes, there's usually a certain design that springs to mind. Most feature a slim handle with either an oscillating or sonic brush head, alongside familiar features like a built-in two-minute timer and 30-second quadrant reminders. Beyond that, there often isn't much to separate one model from another... until you come across the Feno Smartbrush.

Instead of brushing one section of your mouth at a time, the Feno Smartbrush is designed to clean every tooth simultaneously in just 20 seconds. It's also the first toothbrush to combine daily brushing with detailed scans of your teeth and gums, using AI to provide ongoing insights into your oral health over time.

There's certainly a lot going on here, so I was keen to find out whether it could live up to its brilliant reviews.

Price and availability

I've been testing the Founder's Edition Bundle, which costs £276/$299 and includes the Smartbrush, one custom-made TrueFit Mouthpiece, three tubes of Feno Foam toothpaste, and a complimentary tongue scraper.

There's also the Founder's Edition Plus Bundle (£368/$399), which adds a 12-month Feno Plus subscription for enhanced oral health insights, whilst the top-tier Elite Oral Health Bundle (£479/$519) also includes an at-home Salivary Microbiome Insight Test that analyses the bacteria in your mouth.

All of the bundles are available through Feno's online store as well as Amazon, but it's important to know that every order currently ships from the US.

If you're ordering internationally, you'll likely be waiting between one and three weeks for delivery, whereas US customers benefit from free shipping.

Scan and set up

As the Smartbrush is built around a personalised fit, the setup process actually begins before the toothbrush even arrives. Shortly after placing my order, I received an email asking me to download the companion app, create an account, and scan my mouth using my smartphone. The whole process took less than a minute, and the scans were automatically uploaded so Feno could manufacture a mouthpiece tailored specifically to my teeth.

A few weeks later, my personalised bundle arrived. Inside the box was the Smartbrush handle, two different sized TrueFit Mouthpieces, three tubes of Feno Foam toothpaste, a tongue scraper, and the magnetic Feno Snap Charger.

From there, I charged the Smartbrush using the Snap Charger, which took around two hours to reach full battery. Once charged, I simply clipped the TrueFit Mouthpiece onto the SmartHandle until it clicked securely into place.

I then returned to the app, entered the pairing code displayed on the brush, connected it to Wi-Fi, and followed the remaining setup instructions. Within a few minutes, everything was ready to go.

Design and features

As mentioned, the Feno Smartbrush looks nothing like a conventional electric toothbrush. Instead of cleaning one tooth at a time, it uses a custom-made U-shaped TrueFit Mouthpiece that fits over both your upper and lower teeth simultaneously. Just like a standard brush head, it will last you around three months.

Inside the mouthpiece are around 18,000 soft nylon bristles, which is significantly more than the roughly 2,500 found on a traditional electric toothbrush. Combined with the SmartHandle's motor, this allows every tooth to be brushed at the same time in a single 20-second cleaning cycle.

It's certainly a very different approach, but it completely removes the need for the standard two-minute brushing routine we've all grown up with.

The SmartHandle also houses a built-in high-definition oral scanner which can analyse data to build personalised oral health reports. The app also tracks brushing performance and offers AI-powered recommendations, whilst users who subscribe to Feno Plus gain access to additional coaching and deeper oral health insights.

Battery life is lasts around a week between charges, which isn't revolutionary, but feels reasonable given everything the brush is doing.

Performance

The Feno Smartbrush definitely took a bit of getting used to, but once I got into the swing of things, I have to say I really enjoyed using it. Its biggest advantage is undoubtedly how it reduces the amount of time you're meant to brush for, as well as the worry of whether you've actually reached every part of your mouth. If those are two things that cause you concern often, you'll probably get on really well with it.

Before getting started, I had to choose between the two mouthpiece sizes. I found the smaller one worked much better for me, as it didn't press against the back of my gums as much. I also settled on the 30-second brushing mode, as the 20-second option just felt a little too quick. With only 10 seconds between them, I'd much rather spend the extra time making sure my teeth were properly cleaned.

When I first started using it, I noticed a bit of bleeding, which is always slightly alarming when you take good care of your teeth. However, I quickly read that the Smartbrush reaches areas that your regular toothbrush might not, so a little initial bleeding isn't unusual and should settle down as your gums adjust.

The brushing experience itself is also... quite juddery. The vibrations are strong enough to make your cheeks wobble a little, but it never felt uncomfortable or painful, especially once I'd settled on the correct mouthpiece size. Whilst brushing, you simply move the handle in gentle circular motions to make sure every surface is covered, and the Smartbrush automatically switches off once you've reached the end of your chosen timer.

I also really liked the Feno Foam toothpaste, which works well with the mouthpiece. It's minty but not overpowering, and the foaming texture feels nice compared to a paste. However, Feno makes it clear that you can still use the Smartbrush with your regular toothpaste too, which is great to know.

After around a week of using it, I was pleased with the results, and it never felt like I was compromising on cleanliness by switching away from a traditional electric toothbrush. My teeth felt clean after every brush, and it seemed like most areas of my mouth were being thoroughly reached.

I wouldn't say it completely revolutionised my oral care or left me feeling like I'd just walked out of a hygienist appointment, but the results were consistently good and exactly what I'd expect from a quality electric toothbrush.

Verdict

The Feno Smartbrush won't be for everyone, but if you've ever found yourself rushing your brushing routine or wondering whether you've actually cleaned every part of your mouth, it makes a very convincing case for itself. It's easy to use, surprisingly effective, and provides similar results to a traditional electric toothbrush – just in half the time. Its different design means it takes some getting used to, but once you've settled in, it's hard not to appreciate the convenience.

Alternatives to consider

There really isn't anything quite like the Feno Smartbrush on the market, aside from a handful of similarly designed alternatives you'll find on Amazon or Temu. However, if you'd prefer to stick with a more traditional electric toothbrush, I'd highly recommend the Oral-B iO6.

Alternatively, the Suri 2.0 is another excellent choice, particularly if you travel regularly. It's far more compact, offers a significantly longer battery life than the Feno, and still delivers fantastic everyday brushing performance.

Motorola's flagship flip phone in 2026 is the Razr 70 Ultra (or simply Razr Ultra 2026 if you're in the US), looking to maintain its position as the folding phone of choice for many.

Its main competitor, Samsung, has been focusing on driving down the weight and thickness of its flip phone line, the Z Flip. Motorola's approach with the Razr, however, is all about creating a sense of style.

Looking to let the tech slip into the background, in essence, Motorola leans into its continuing partnership with Pantone for interesting colourways, while its ambassador of choice is Paris Hilton. Sliving.

That might give you more than an inkling of who the Razr is aimed at. It's less about tech geeks and more about those wanting a replacement for an iPhone that they're bored with.

Cue Pantone Cocoa (as seen here in this review) or Pantone Orient Blue (which I shared previously) to give a fresh aesthetic lick.

Spec wise? Things haven't moved on that much from 2025. But even without much of a boost, is this still a case of 'Hello, Moto', or 'Thanks, but no'?

Price & Availability

The Razr 70 Ultra is now available and priced at £1,199.99, which gets you the 16/512GB model direct from Motorola. That includes free Moto Buds Loop, worth £130.

In the USA the Razr Ultra 2026 is offered at $1,499.99, but comes with Moto Buds Loop and Moto Watch free when buying from Motorola.com.

Those following the Motorola story will know that this is £100/$200 more expensive than the previous model (although it's actually cheaper than Samsung's Z Flip 7 in the UK).

Motorola Razr 70 Ultra vs Razr 60 Ultra: What's new?

• Brighter main display
• Higher battery capacity
• New main camera sensor

The short answer is that not a lot is new, which is one of the barriers that the Razr 70 Ultra faces, especially with the higher price.

Another issue is that there are fewer colours (thus far) for the 2026 model. The previous version has four colours on offer, while the newer one only has two.

But there are a couple of key differences: there's a new main camera, for starters, which moves to a 'LOFIC' sensor (that's a "Lateral Overflow Integration Capacitor" type), said to offer wider dynamic range to boost performance. There are a couple of additional features, like Frame Match and zooming in Camcorder Mode, to aid with more practical shooting scenarios too.

The main display is also marginally brighter than the previous version, although the external display remains the very same.

The biggest meaningful change, therefore, is the increased battery capacity. This bumps the battery to 5000mAh – up from 4700mAh previously – and considering that the new phone is the same size and weight as the previous model, that's a big gain.

Design & displays

• Main display: 6.96-inch Extreme AMOLED
  • Ultra Thin Glass
  • 2992 x 1224 pixel resolution
  • 165Hz maximum refresh rate
• Cover display: 4.0-inch Extreme AMOLED
  • Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic
  • 1272 x 1080 resolution
  • 165Hz refresh max
• Aluminium frame, titanium hinge, with Alcantara or wood veneer rear
  • IP48 protection
  • 199g; 7.19mm thick (open), 15.96mm thick (closed)

Motorola divides its Razr flip phones into two types: the Ultra and the Plus have a cover screen that fills the entire exterior, while the regular Razr 70 doesn't – it has a little 'chin' so it's not as large. The Ultra, therefore, has the more premium look.

In this regard, however, nothing has really changed in the design language since the Razr 60 Ultra (and indeed the Razr 50 Ultra) – which look nigh-on identical. It's an established form that Motorola is contently sticking with.

The big change comes through updated Pantone colours and material finishes, with Motorola using a wood veneer called Cocoa, or the Orient Blue Alcantara option. These unique rear panels get matched to the frames for a result that's far from boring. Yes, there's little to tempt you to upgrade year on year, but these definitely look good.

As I've been using the Pantone Cocoa, I've grown fond of the veneer and bronzed frame. It lends a retro charm to a phone at the cutting edge – and I like that juxtaposition.

The Razr 70 Ultra is nice and thin when unfolded, too. Sure, in real terms it's bigger than the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 – and heavier too – so Samsung's alternative definitely wins if you're looking for the most compact device.

Motorola surprises when it comes to the displays on the Razr 70 Ultra – and this is where its real strengths lie.

Let's start with the negative though: the folding screen has a noticeable crease, is prone to fingerprints, and despite its high brightness, still suffers from reflections in bright conditions – partly because of the immovable plastic layer that covers the screen. In the same breath: that's par for the course in folding phones.

The main display offers a high resolution with a 165Hz refresh rate, 5000 nits peak brightness and plenty of colour and vibrancy. It's Pantone certified, too, suggesting that it will accurately reproduce colours – although you're also free to adjust the saturation to suit your preference.

Those other high figures are impressive, although 165Hz only really works with beta apps and games right now – and folding phones aren't the best for playing games because the screen doesn't handle touch controls as well as regular devices. There's a strong chance that you'll never use the 165Hz, so it's one of the few tech 'headline grabs' here.

Motorola is putting out phones with bright displays right now, meaning they have the potential to really shine. But that peak brightness figure is reserved for HDR (high dynamic range) content, only appearing in very small areas, like brilliant stars in the night sky. It supports HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, but neither format currently outputs at 5000 nits, so you're unlikely to ever actually see its maximum potential.

The cover display doesn't scrimp on such spec either. Wrapping itself around the cameras and stretching across the whole of the top of the phone, it's better than Samsung's equivalent offering, both technically and in functionality.

Motorola lets you access apps and tap open notifications, so it offers a fuller experience that's useful on the front, whereas Samsung's widget-based offering is a little lacking for what most people might expect.

So there might be few changes, but Motorola's flippable flagship is still one of the best folding phone experiences you can buy when it comes to displays and design.

Performance & Battery

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor
• 5000mAh battery
  • 68W wired charging
  • 30W wireless charging

Perhaps the biggest point of contention for power users is that the Razr 70 Ultra doesn't have new hardware in 2026.

Instead, it's using hardware that was first announced in 2024. That's not as devastating as it may read – but it is the same hardware under the hood as it was the previous year.

Considering the increase in price for the 2026 model, the lack of corresponding hardware upgrade won't sit well with tech fans. But, then again, as outlined up front – this is a fashion phone.

However, many of the benefits of Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 come thanks to its higher clock speed and boosted graphics handling, which arguably don't matter on a phone of this type. Certainly, I'd rather have the bigger battery that Motorola put in rather a more powerful chip.

Nonetheless, I've found the Razr 70 Ultra to run really smoothly. I tested it with some light gaming and it does get a little warm, but this isn't a phone for hardcore gaming anyway. If you want to play casual games, though, then it will happily do so.

The 5000mAh battery is based on silicon-carbon technology and it matches the size that you'll get in many mainstream flagship phones – it's just physically smaller as a benefit. That means there's no longevity compromise for choosing a folding phone.

While some flagships are now pushing 7000mAh, the Moto Razr 70 Ultra offers all-day battery life from this cell. I've never been concerned about running out of power during my testing – and that fast-charging rate means that even if it is running low, it's quick to top up at the plug.

Whichever way you look at it, Motorola's offering here is better than Samsung's equivalent Z Flip 7. It's a higher capacity, it lasts longer, and it recharges faster. But it does cost more, too.

Cameras

• Double rear camera:
  • Main: 50-megapixels, f/1.8 aperture, 1/1.54in LOFIC sensor, autofocus (AF), stabilisation (OIS)
  • Ultrawide: 50-megapixels, f/2.0 aperture, 1/2.93in sensor
• Front: 50-megapixels, f/2.0

Now that we're into the sixth generation of folding phones from Motorola, we're beyond the stage where the folding screen is enough of a novelty to carry a weak camera.

In the Razr 70 Ultra there's a trio of 50-megapixel cameras, with the main camera moving to that 'LOFIC' sensor – designed to boost the dynamic range of the sensor. That ought to mean better shadow and highlight detail within any one image.

Generally, the Razr 70 Ultra takes good photos in daylight with vibrant colours. There are filters you can apply, too, but I stuck to natural – which has a saturation that's not quite natural, but certainly isn't offensive. There's respectable colour consistency between the main and ultrawide camera, too.

That ultrawide camera shows some blurring towards the edges where the quality also drops out, so you're more likely to find mottled shadow areas as the camera scrabbles to find detail. But this is typical of ultrawide cameras.

There's no telephoto camera on the Razr 70 Ultra, which is the shortcoming of this system. Everything is digital-based for zoom, which is fine – but only fine. There's a 2x option in the viewfinder and up to 30x digital zoom. However, I wouldn't go too much beyond that 2x, because even at 5x signs of AI processing are obvious.

The low-light performance is reasonable, with the main camera offering the best overall performance. The ultrawide is quick to add image noise, so it not the best low-light camera performer by comparison. It's good enough, though.

I struggled with the front camera here, which produced middling results. Firstly, because of the plastic top layer to the screen it's more prone to hanging onto greasy marks. But even when cleaned, I found it struggles to produce decent images.

But there are some nice features, like Frame Match, which allows you to take a preview image and then hand your phone to someone else while you step into the picture.

They then line up the preview with you now in the scene and then snap the image. It isn't combining these images, it just provides guidance for the second photo. I was hoping it could be used to create some retro double exposure images, but alas, it can't. It's just not quite as clever as Pixel's Add Me feature.

I do like the twist-to-zoom option in Camcorder mode though. It's easy to use and just works, as long as you don't twist the phone too far. Like other Motorola phones, there's also the option to lock the horizon, but it does limit the video quality.

Software & AI

• Android 16 with Hello UI
  • 3 years OS updates, 5 years security updates

Motorola has been treading a different path with Hello UI recently, looking for ways to insert AI. That results in a number of places where it recommends apps or services. I find it intrusive, though, which if you've read any of my Motorola phone reviews from the last two years, you'll already know.

My biggest gripes are app recommendations in the apps tray and in the Gametime companion, the addition of Newsfeed into the apps tray, and changing the search into a universal AI interaction. Then there's a number of preinstalled apps, all of which can be removed, but that you can't avoid during the installation process.

These are the worst things about the Razr 70 Ultra experience, because they don't make a good first impression. If you're familiar with Android or Motorola phones, you can quickly customise what you want to turn off, but those less familiar will likely see this as intrusive rather than adding value.

Fortunately, as this is an Android phone, Google's Gemini is present and correct, although you can't reassign the AI button – it's Moto AI or nothing. I chose nothing.

One area where there's been a slight improvement is that now you get 5 years of security updates, which is great. But limiting the OS updates to 3 years is miserly – especially on a flagship-grade phone. Motorola does list it as 3+ years, but Samsung offers 7 years, so Motorola just isn't keeping up in this regard.

Step around all that and I found the software to run perfectly smoothly. Once tamed it makes for a great experience, you just have to step carefully while you get to know the software.

Motorola Razr 70 Ultra review: Verdict

The Motorola Edge 70 Ultra bests the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 in battery life and charging, with larger screens and a much more usable cover display.

The unique design adds appeal for those who want to make a statement, while much of what the camera offers is good enough.

While the screen is good, it still suffers from reflections and never looks as good as a classic flagship phone. But you're trading absolute quality for novelty and convenience – as this folds into your pocket, offering a more compact package.

Ultimately, although this phone hasn’t changed much since the earlier Razr 60 Ultra, it still looks good and folde screen experience is unrivalled. Indeed, it's one of the best folding phones you can buy.

Alternatives

The natural rival to the Razr 70 Ultra is the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7. I've previously compared these two devices and Samsung's phone is thinner and lighter with a cleaner interface in One UI.

Alternatively, there are lower-grade folding phones from Motorola, with the Razr 70 Plus and Razr 70 both offering a similar experience, but coming in at slightly lower price points.

Earlier this year, Husqvarna unveiled a new range of robot mowers designed to make automated lawn care more affordable and accessible. Since then, we've put the Automower 308V and Automower 312V to the test, and now it's time to turn our attention to the Automower Aspire R6V.

As the most affordable model in the lineup, the Aspire R6V promises the same efficient mowing experience and smart app-controlled features as its siblings, but in a more compact package aimed at smaller gardens.

The big question is whether it delivers the premium Husqvarna experience for less, or if the lower price comes with too many compromises. I've been putting it to work in my own garden to find out.

Price and availability

The Aspire R6V is the most affordable model in Husqvarna's new range, priced at £999, sitting below the Automower 308V (£1,249) and Automower 312V (£1,499). It's still not cheap, but it's a great price for a robot mower from Husqvarna.

It's available directly from Husqvarna, as well as specialist retailers including Platts Robotics and Revill Robotic Mowers.

Unboxing and setup

Getting the Aspire R6V up and running was very straightforward. Following the on-screen instructions in the Automower Connect app, I created a map of my garden by driving the mower around the perimeter and dropping virtual pins at each corner.

If your lawn has lots of curves or awkward angles, I'd recommend adding a few extra waypoints during setup. That said, it's no problem if you don't get it perfect first time, as you can easily edit, move or add waypoints later. I found myself tweaking the boundaries over the following days to improve edge coverage, and the app makes this very easy to do.

As the Aspire R6V is designed for smaller gardens, Wi-Fi is also less likely to be an issue. The entire mower range relies on a stable wireless connection across your lawn, but my medium-sized garden had strong coverage throughout, so setup was absolutely fine.

I know patchy Wi-Fi has been a sticking point for some users of the 308V and 312V, although those models can be paired with Husqvarna's RS1 EPOS module, which removes the need for strong Wi-Fi at the far end of your garden.

Design and features

As mentioned, the Aspire R6V is aimed at smaller gardens, covering up to 600m² – or 400m² in more complex layouts. Rather than using physical boundary wires, it creates virtual boundaries through the Automower Connect app using satellite positioning.

One of the Aspire R6V's standout features is its built-in AI Vision camera. Instead of relying solely on satellite positioning, the camera works alongside AI-powered object detection to recognise and avoid obstacles on your lawn. It also helps maintain accurate navigation in areas where satellite coverage isn't quite as strong, resulting in more consistent mowing.

Like every Husqvarna robot mower, the Aspire R6V is controlled entirely through the Automower Connect app. Here you can create virtual boundaries, define multiple mowing zones, set temporary stay-out areas, schedule mowing sessions and even choose different mowing patterns. If your lawn has separate sections, you can also configure secondary work areas.

The Aspire R6V can further detect narrow passages, automatically adjust mowing frequency based on grass growth using Weather Timer, and uses Spiral Cutting to tackle longer patches more efficiently. It also includes GeoFence anti-theft protection, receives over-the-air software updates, and works with both Amazon Alexa and Google Home for voice control and status updates.

When the battery gets low, it quietly returns to its charging station before heading back out to finish the job once it's recharged.

Performance

One of my favourite things about the Aspire R6V is how little attention it needs. Once I'd set up a schedule, I stopped thinking about mowing altogether – no longer having to worry about fitting it into my weekend.

The mapping system deserves particular praise. Creating the initial map was quick, but what really impressed me was how tweakable everything is afterwards. Being able to move a boundary by just a few inches makes a huge difference, and I've continued fine-tuning the edges to maximise coverage.

It also handled uneven terrain much better than I expected. My garden has plenty of bumps and slopes, but the Aspire R6V tackled them confidently without getting stuck or digging into the lawn. Combined with the excellent app controls, it's easy to tailor exactly how and where you want it to mow.

The AI Vision camera also worked well during testing. It consistently spotted low-hanging branches that were inside the mowing zone and steered around them without issue. Whilst I haven't encountered every possible obstacle yet, it looks promising, and is able to detect objects from around 5-10cm away.

Charging from empty took roughly three hours, which delivered around two hours of mowing time. That felt like a fair trade-off to me, particularly as the app lets you monitor charging progress and battery levels during this time.

My biggest criticism is that it can struggle with particularly complex garden layouts. My lawn includes patios, raised beds and several awkward protruding sections that require very sharp turns. In these areas, the mower couldn't always reach every corner, meaning I still needed to tidy up with a strimmer every couple of weeks – which I'd already been doing around the edges anyway.

Curved borders also require a little extra patience during setup. If you don't place enough waypoints, the mower joins them with straight lines, which can leave parts of curved edges untouched. Thankfully, the app makes it easy to add extra points or reposition existing ones until you've got the shape exactly right.

Verdict

The Husqvarna Automower Aspire R6V combines effortless setup and consistently impressive cutting performance into a compact package that's perfect for smaller gardens. It isn't flawless, but the compromises I've listed are easy to forgive considering the price. If you've been curious about wire-free robot mowers but couldn't justify the cost of that comes with premium models, the Aspire R6V hits a sweet spot, delivering everything most homeowners need for significantly less money.

Alternatives to consider

If you're after a robot mower that can tackle almost any terrain, I'd recommend the excellent Mammotion Luba 2 AWD – provided your budget stretches that far.

If you're looking to spend less, the LawnMaster L10 is a brilliant budget alternative for lawns up to 400m². It doesn't have the same level of smart features, but for considerably less money, it delivers impressive results on smaller gardens.

Credit where it’s due – Potensic is arguably the sole remaining consumer camera drone manufacturer with enough clout and expertise to regularly take on the might of DJI.

Yes, there’s also Autel (who now appear to be concentrating on the commercial market) and, of course, HoverAir and its small but perfectly-formed fleet of excellent personal follow-me models.

I’m also fully aware that Amazon is filled with a wide range of cheap-as-chips ‘4K UHD’ camera drones with prices too low to be believable, but we’ve given up looking at them because they’re almost universally awful in every conceivable respect.

Shenzhen-based Potensic, on the other hand, has continued to innovate since its inception in 2014, and you don’t survive that long against a reliable, premium brand like DJI unless you consistently provide products people want at a price that undercuts at least some of the competition. That’s the Atom 3 in a nutshell.

Potensic Atom 3 review

Price and availability

The Potensic Atom 3 is available across the UK and much of Europe, with launch stock appearing through Potensic and selected retailers like Amazon. In the UK, pricing starts at around £329.99 for the Standard Kit, rising to around £579 for the Fly More Combo with the new RC PTD 2 controller we’re reviewing here. European pricing ranges between €359 and €659, depending on bundle configuration.

As with DJI, US buyers may not get the chance to fly this little tyke because it’s unavailable as of writing, though Potensic does list a US price of $679.99.

Specifications

• Dimensions (L×W×H): 236 x 168 x 63mm (unfolded), 91 x 148 x 62mm (folded)
• Weight: 249 grams
• Flight time: 40 mins
• Max transmission range: 16 km‌
• Max flight speed (Sport mode): 35mph / 58km/h
• Max Wind Speed Resistance: 24mph / 38.5km/h (Level 5)
• Built-in GPS: Yes
• Intelligent QuickShot modes: Multiple
• Tracking: Yes – AI Visual Tracking
• Internal storage: No
• Sensor: 1/1.3-inch CMOS image sensor
• FOV: 84˚
• Max aperture: f2.8
• Max photo resolution: 50MP JPG
• Max video resolution: 4K (3840×2160) @ 60fps (horizontal shooting); 2.7K (2704X1520) @ 60fps; FHD: 1920x1080 @ up to 60fps
• Slow motion: 1080p - 4, 5, 6, 7x
• Image stabilisation: 3-axis mechanical gimbal (tilt, roll, pan)
• Connectivity: WiFi / Bluetooth

Design and build quality

The new Atom 3 is a major upgrade over its Potensic Atom 2 predecessor, specifically in the camera department. While the Atom 3 remains just one gram under the CAA’s sub-250g drone category for hassle-free flying without having to meet a surfeit of aeronautical legalities, it’s actually a few centimetres larger in stature than the Atom 2 and equipped with a much better camera. I’m not sure how Potensic’s designers managed that, but a tip of the hat to them.

At 91 x 148 x 62mm when folded and 236 x 168 x 63mm (excluding props) when unfolded, the Atom 3 comes in a more rounded fuselage that looks a little more premium even though you won’t notice this once it’s in flight.

The main thing here is that it is still compact enough to slip into a backpack, shoulder bag (as supplied with the Fly More bundle reviewed here) or even a roomy jacket pocket.

Also, it’s refreshingly quick to deploy and pack away since it comes with a well-designed gimbal and props protector that is much easier to fit than the DJI Mini 4 Pro’s one-direction-only plastic arrangement that somehow never seems to fit without a degree of faffing.

Let’s skip straight to the camera since that is the Atom 3’s most promising new facet. At 1/1.3-inches, its new CMOS sensor is the same size as that fitted to the DJI Mini 4 Pro and capable of capturing 50MP stills and recording 4K video at up to 60fps, which immediately puts it in more serious company than most entry-level rivals.

While its maximum aperture of f2.8 is mysteriously smaller than the Atom 2’s f1.8, its all-new AI Night Mode makes a very good fist of boosting image clarity and brightness while reducing excessive noise in low-light conditions. The camera can be used in both horizontal and vertical formats.

The Atom 3 also supports RAW image capture, HDR and a P-Log profile for those who like grading footage afterwards, while the bitrate tops out at an impressive 120Mbps.

I also rate the digital Medium Tele mode, which functions as a 2x mid-telephoto crop that utilises the drone's 50MP sensor and AI image optimisation to retain very decent clarity. However, while the tele mode adds a touch of cinematic compression to your shots and is equally useful when using the Atom 3’s Dolly Zoom feature, it does have its limits.

Also, I’m surprised Potensic still continues to omit any onboard storage, as I discovered on arrival at my test site. Thankfully I was within walking distance of home to retrieve a MicroSD, but had I been out in the sticks I would have been really miffed. After all, every other decent drone comes with onboard storage as a basic requirement.

Another possibly very important element that this drone lacks is obstacle avoidance. If your flying style involves threading through trees, skimming buildings or generally relying on electronic safety nets, this might not be the drone for you.

Personally, I’ve rarely needed the obstacle avoidance system on my Mini 4 Pro because I prefer to keep visual contact and avoid risky manoeuvres altogether, but different pilots fly in different ways.

On the plus side, the Atom 3 comes with three speed modes. Video mode is ideal for gentle movement and cleaner cinematic footage while Normal mode strikes a good balance between agility and control.

However, switch it into Sport mode, and the Atom 3 becomes way more responsive, accelerating briskly and covering a huge amount of ground surprisingly quickly for its size. In Sport mode, the Atom 3’s top speed is a very respectable 35mph.

Now here’s the really good bit. The Atom 3 Fly More bundle I received ships with Potensic’s new RC PTD 2 screen controller with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 900 nits of brightness and 5.5 inches of screen estate that makes on-screen flight monitoring an unbridled joy.

You get a dedicated Return to Home button, a gimbal adjustment wheel, zoom control and a single shutter/record button that adapts depending on the selected shooting mode. Most importantly, there’s a physical flight mode switch – just like DJI’s controllers – for jumping between Video, Normal and Sport modes. This immediate access to Sport mode can be invaluable when a strengthening headwind suddenly turns the return journey into a battle of wits.

The controller also features Potensic’s PixSync 5.0 transmission system, offering a quoted maximum range of up to 16km – considerably further than most drone regulations would ever permit. Its integrated 5,000mAh battery, meanwhile, delivers up to four hours of operation and supports USB-C charging at up to 18W.

Flight performance

Like any DJI drone, the Potensic Atom 3 immediately puts any nerves at ease the moment it takes to the air. The controls are perfectly dialled for butter-smooth input without any sudden lurching, so I can’t see novices having any issues in this department.

Setup is pretty quick, too. Simply unfold the arms, power up the drone and controller, and you’re generally airborne within a minute or two. Granted, GPS lock isn’t the fastest I’ve seen, but the whole process feels streamlined rather than fiddly, especially when used with the all-in-one PTD 2 controller my press sample came with.

Once in the air, the Atom 3 delivers impressively stable performance for a lightweight sub-250g model (it features Level 5 wind resistance, which is good for wind speeds up to 24mph). The drone’s positional hold, too, is exceptional, even in a stiff breeze.

If the noise of a drone troubles you, you’ll be pleased to learn that this one is among the quietest I’ve ever reviewed. Its gentle hum is far removed from the frenetic swarm-like screech of the DJI Avata 360 and HoverAir Aqua.

I personally haven’t been able to detect any major differences between this drone and any from the DJI stable when flying it. It does exactly what you want it to do with no nasty surprises like transmission dropouts, lag, or any unusual behaviour traits. It just flies as you would expect of any modern drone, and that’s testament to great design, well-crafted flight controllers and reliable software.

Camera performance

For a drone that sits firmly in the affordable, sub-250g category, the Potensic Atom 3’s camera performance is surprisingly accomplished and a significant step forward over the previous Atom 2.

While it’s not attempting to dethrone premium aerial platforms or even the similarly sized DJI Mini 4 Pro and DJI Mini 5 Pro, the Atom 3’s little camera delivers footage with enough sharpness, colour accuracy and dynamic range to satisfy everyone from casual flyers to content creators looking for quick, polished results without the need for much colour grading. However, it’s not without some anomalies.

I noticed that it did tend to overexpose shots much more than most DJI models when taken facing the sun so you’re advised to tap on an appropriate area of the display screen before shooting to properly set exposure, or you may end up with an image with blown highlights which is very difficult to fix in post-production.

This is most noticeable when shooting with a lot of sky in the frame. When the footage was viewed on a MacBook Air, I also noticed more banding in some sky shots than I would consider acceptable. And while it features an AI-generated night mode, I wouldn’t say it’s as dynamic as the DJI Mini 4 Pro, which has a much larger aperture.

On the plus side, I’ve been impressed by the Atom 3’s mechanical 3-axis gimbal, which helps produce footage that stays level and smooth, even during directional changes or in breezy conditions. Likewise, this drone’s AI tracking is a marked improvement over the Atom 2 and locks on to a subject with great accuracy and with very little drifting, even when using the Circle QuickShot feature and the subject is moving.

Autonomous QuickShots

The Potensic Atom 3 comes loaded with a tranche of AI QuickShot modes, several of which can be seen in the accompanying video above. Simply draw a box around yourself or your chosen subject, select an autonomous flight function and let the drone do the rest.

Alongside familiar options like Circle, Pull Away, Spiral, Rocket, Boomerang, Drift and CineRoll (a 360˚ horizon spin), there’s also AI-enhanced subject tracking – including side tracking at head height – and a very effective Dolly Zoom mode that creates that distinctive cinematic Hitchcock-style effect where the subject remains the same size in the frame while the background appears to stretch or compress dramatically behind it.

You can also select four levels of slow motion (4x, 5x, 6x and 7x) and a handy Waypoints function which follows a pre-programmed flight path replete with different elevations and camera angles.

Verdict

The Potensic Atom 3 delivers a surprisingly mature flying and imaging experience for not too much wonga. Its new PTD 2 controller makes it quick to set up and easy to control, while its updated camera and refined 3-axis gimbal produce acceptably sharp and stable footage.

While it can’t match DJI’s more expensive Mini 4 Pro for outright image depth and sharpness, it gets close enough in my opinion, and that makes it a perfect choice for budgeteers looking for a camera drone that doesn’t feel like a compromise.

Crafted from aluminium by the artisans at Bang & Olufsen’s legendary Factory 5 metalworks in Struer, Denmark, the Beosound Premiere is a premium Dolby Atmos sound system that combines serious sonic intent with striking style.

The good news is that beauty isn’t skin deep. A 10-driver array coupled to Wide Stage beam-forming technology hints at a (literally) elevated listening experience in an undeniably luxury package. So does the Premiere have it all, or is there any compromise?

Price & Availability

Positioned somewhere between the more affordable Beosound Stage (a snip at £/$1800 / AU$3850) and the flagship Beosound Theatre (a more reassuring £5590 / $6890 / AU$11,860), the Premiere is available now for £3100 / $5800 / AU$9400.

While it’s tempting to label the Premiere as a soundbar, the term is really a misnomer. What we have here is a (adopts a pretentious tone) high-end home entertainment solution. Okay, so it’s a soundbar... with bells on.

Features & What’s New?

The headline innovation here is Bang & Olufsen’s Wide Stage technology, which employs a combination of beam-forming and careful driver steering to create a soundstage that appears larger than the relatively compact dimensions of the Premiere might suggest.

The enclosure accommodates four 3-inch racetrack drivers, two 2-inch forward facing left/right cones, and a fascinating central assemblage comprising a pair of side-angled 2-inch drivers, one tweeter and a full-range upfirer. A bit of an Easter Egg, the latter has 1925 holes milled into its surface, as homage to B&O’s founding year.

Powered up, there’s no menu display, either on the device or via the screen. Instead the Premiere communicates via lighting effects and a few beeps – but you do have support for Beolink Surround, which enables compatible B&O speakers to integrate into a larger whole home wireless surround system.

Format support covers Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, PCM 7.1 and MPEG audio, but doesn’t extend bitstream DTS:X (although fewer titles seem to be using this these days anyway).

Sound Quality

From the first few moments of Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, it’s clear this is an enclosure engineered with cinematic scale in mind. The Hans Zimmer score starts slowly, the Premiere ratcheting up tension with pinpoint placement as the Joker and his goons set about their bank robbery.

The dynamics of the system are evidenced by the shotgun retort of the bank manager as he takes on the clowns; the transient is sharp and dramatic, but precisely controlled.

Dialogue clarity is exceptional. Even during chaotic action scenes, voices remain clean and focused. And then there’s the bass. When Batman’s Tumbler roars into action, to confront the Scarecrow, the system digs impressively deep.

Similarly, Ghostbusters Frozen Empire opens with a couple of almighty thundercracks. These are delivered with scary intent, with next to no overhang.

But it’s not just the big noises that impress. When the firefighters arrive at the Manhattan Adventurers Club, and break into the frozen room, the crunch of their boots in the frost is crisp and clean.

There’s plenty of power on tap too. Under the hood, 10 power amplifiers are locked and loaded, with four 70 watt amps assigned to the woofers, 50W reserved for the tweeter, and five more 50W power modules for the remaining left/right/up firing/side firing cones.

The Beosound app offers a number of sound modes. These comprise Night, Game, Music, Movies and Speech. Movies and Game modes are cut from much the same cloth, and contribute a full-bodied sound stage, while Music has a lighter touch.

Speech is primarily useful for those who need greater clarity when it comes to following dialogue. The Night mode is compressed and should be avoided when possible.

What the Premiere doesn’t provide, at least on its own, is rear surround immersion. Dolby Atmos height effects are appreciable, but sound never fully wraps around the listening position.

Bang & Olufsen’s solution is straightforward: add compatible rear speakers using Beolink Surround. Pairing the Premiere with Beolab 8 or Beosound Emerge speakers would undoubtedly create a formidable system – but also seriously jack up the price. And I’m not sure I’d pay up.

Musical Clarity

Beethoven or box set? I’m not sure which best shows off this system’s talents. Normally, soundbars need to compromise when it comes to musical playback, but that’s certainly not the case here.

Indeed, music playback – no rear speakers required – could actually be the Premiere’s strongest suit.

Billie Eilish’s Bad Guy arrives with thunderous low-frequency energy. Bass feels deep, dense and almost tactile – and that tune’s big drop sounds phenomenal. The system’s claimed 34Hz low-end extension seems entirely believable.

Electronic music in particular benefits from the Premiere’s brawny presentation. I soon found myself down an EDM rabbit hole, just to see how low the Premiere goes. The more I played, the deeper it dug.

Yet the bar is equally adept with delicate instrumentation. ODESZA’s A Moment Apart sounds expansive and filmic, while the finger-picked textures within Taalbi Brothers’ Freestyle dance with remarkable clarity.

Perhaps the most impressive takeaway is the system’s transparency. The piano notes that open Kanye West’s Runaway ring out with striking realism and decay, while Singing Bones by The Handsome Family demonstrates astonishing spatial depth.

Design & Usability

As an example of industrial design, the Beosound Premiere is remarkable. Available in Natural Aluminium, Gold Tone and Anthracite Black finishes, the system oozes luxury.

My review sample came in Natural Aluminium, and looked spectacular. Not only is the profile unlike anything else in its class, the small touches, like the subtle illumination emanating around the stand and through the B&O logo, are a constant delight.

Adjust volume, and there’s a sliding light of confirmation. It's very clever.

Optional slatted covers in Oak, Grey Melange or Dark Oak can further tailor the appearance, but with one of these the system price rises yet again.

At 932mm wide and weighing 8.5kg, the Premiere will match TVs 55-inches or larger. It can be wall-mounted or positioned on its supplied pedestal stand.

Usability is fairly straightforward. Setup involves a brief automatic room calibration sweep, while subsequent functionality is controlled through Bang & Olufsen’s companion app, which offers access sound modes, source selection and multiroom features.

There’s no supplied remote control, although television remotes handle basic volume duties via HDMI eARC. The system is also compatible with the brand’s optional Beoremote One BT.

Connectivity reflects the system’s custom installation aspirations. Behind a removable rear cover sit three Ethernet ports, a single HDMI eARC connection and USB. There’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.4, alongside Apple AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Deezer and QPlay 2.0 compatibility.

The solitary HDMI input is a little disappointing, not least because it removes a good deal of system expandability. All HDMI source devices have to connect directly to your TV, so that audio can then be routed back over eARC. The provision of three Ethernet ports would seem to be indicative of the Premiere’s aspirations as part of a broader AV ecosystem, rather than an all-in-one switching hub.

Beosound Premiere review: Verdict

The Bang & Olufsen Beosound Premiere is one of the most visually distinctive TV sound systems currently available - and more importantly, has the sonic chops to justify its outré appearance.

With movies, it delivers scale, precision and drama in abundance. Dolby Atmos movie content is wide and engaging, while dialogue clarityshines. Music fans may love it even more. There’s nothing in this class able to combine muscular low-end authority, with this degree of finesse and transparency.

Any limitations are largely practical. The single HDMI connection restricts system building, and buyers seeking truly enveloping surround sound will eventually want additional speakers - and the price is already pretty rich.

Yet the Premiere is a triumph regardless. It’s technically ambitious, beautiful to look at, and an absolute thrill to listen to.

Also Consider

If the Beosound Premiere isn’t quite your style, consider the Samsung Q990H soundbar, a more conventional design with 300W wireless subwoofer and multi-directional rear speakers. This 11.1.4 sound system, compatible with Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, features 23 drivers for a fully immersive listening experience.

Alternatively, Sony may tempt with the Bravia Theatre Trio. This three-part system comprises a centre enclosure plus a left/right array. Proprietary 360 Spatial Sound Mapping technology then generates up to 24 phantom speakers, to create a cinematic soundfield.

In the age of the best robot lawn mowers, it's easy to forget that cordless and petrol models still have plenty to offer. Robot mowers are of course hard to beat when it comes to convenience, but there's something very satisfying about mowing the lawn yourself. They also cost a fraction of the price of most robot mowers, especially if you can find one that delivers without costing the earth.

The latest model to impress me is the Hawksmoor 36V Brushless Cordless Lawnmower, and after spending some time with it, I believe it could be one of the best value cordless mowers around.

Price and availability

Priced at £249.99 and available exclusively from Toolstation, the Hawksmoor 36V Brushless Cordless Lawnmower sits firmly in the affordable end of the best cordless mower market.

Unboxing and set up

The mower arrived in a fairly substantial box, but most of it came pre-built, so all I had to do was attach and secure the handle using the locking knobs and washers. I then clipped on the grass collection box and charged the two included 18V batteries before inserting them. They already had some charge straight out of the box, so they only needed a quick top-up before I was ready to start.

Before setting off, you'll also want to choose your cutting height. There are six positions ranging from 25mm to 75mm, all adjusted using a single central lever. I started in the middle at setting three, as I could easily tweak it depending on how my lawn looked after the first pass.

Design and features

The Hawksmoor has a durable polypropylene deck that makes it lightweight enough to push around the garden whilst still feeling stable. Two large rear wheels make it much easier to take on uneven ground, and the foldable handle is useful for storing. Like most quality mowers, the handle can also be adjusted to suit your height.

Power comes from a 36V battery system, made up of two 18V batteries, paired with an efficient brushless motor. Being cordless also means you're free to move around the garden without dragging an extension lead behind you. The batteries also have LED lights that are red whilst charging and switch to green when they're fully charged, so you know when they're ready.

Grass clippings are collected in a generous 40-litre collection box, and there's also a built-in rear roller that leaves attractive lawn stripes. The only notable omission is a dedicated mulching mode, but that's unlikely to be a dealbreaker for most people.

At 12.3kg, the Hawksmoor isn't the lightest cordless mower on the market, but it's by no means the heaviest either. For a mower with this level of power and a 40-litre grass box, the weight feels perfectly reasonable and never became an issue whilst mowing.

Performance

After several weeks of use, I came away very impressed with the Hawksmoor 36V Brushless Cordless Lawnmower. It's not the most compact model available, but the adjustable handle made it comfortable to manoeuvre and the controls were simple to use. Starting and stopping the mower was very easy, and once I got going, it was immediately obvious that the brushless motor had plenty of power in reserve.

Battery life was another pleasant surprise. After the initial charge, I managed around four to five mows of my medium-sized garden before needing to recharge the batteries. Once depleted, they took roughly two hours to charge back to full, which is a respectable turnaround.

Performance also remained consistent, and the motor never felt like it was struggling, even when tackling thicker patches of grass. The large collection box also meant I only needed to empty it once at the end of each mow rather than stopping halfway through, which has often been the case with smaller mowers I've tested.

Verdict

The Hawksmoor 36V Brushless Cordless Lawnmower proves you don't have to spend a fortune to get a capable cordless mower. It delivers strong cutting performance, impressive battery life and useful features, including a rear roller and a generous 40-litre grass collector. Whilst it's not the most compact model on the market and lacks a mulching mode, those are easy compromises to make considering the price.

Alternatives to consider

If you're considering alternatives, the Gtech CLM50 is another excellent cordless mower that offers similar performance, dimensions and pricing.

If you have a larger garden, I'd recommend taking a look at the Husqvarna LC 251iS. Its spacious 65-litre grass collector makes it better suited to larger lawns, and because it runs on Husqvarna's 36V battery platform, it's an especially good option if you already own other Husqvarna cordless garden tools.

Helly Hansen has made a name for itself in rugged, reliable protection against the elements over the past 150 years, from outfitting Norwegian fishermen in the 1870s to outfitting tens of thousands of ski patrollers and mountain rescue teams across the globe today.

I’ve tested close to a dozen jackets by the brand, including waterproof hiking shells, ski jackets and down jackets, and they’ve nearly always been robust pieces that prioritise warmth and safety over weight and packability.

The Odin Infinity Minimalist Jacket is the first I’ve tested from the brand that’s truly ultra light, and it’s a testament to the time and effort Helly Hansen has put into testing and engineering in-house technologies, with input from mountain professionals.

I’ve been testing this jacket in mixed conditions in the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District, where we’ve been experiencing an even more unpredictable spring than usual, and I currently have it packed and ready to come with me to the Swiss Alps. I’m so impressed that I plan to continue wearing it through the summer and into the autumn.

Helly Hansen Odin Infinity Minimalist Jacket review

Price and availability

The Helly Hansen Odin Infinity Minimalist Jacket is available in men’s and women’s sizing from Helly Hansen for £380 / $400. The women’s design features a drop tail and comes in Ebony and bright Cranberry, which is the colour I tested and is great for making yourself visible on the mountain. The men’s design lacks the drop tail and comes in Ebony, Windy Blue and Ignite Orange.

Compared to the brand’s much more substantial Odin 1 World Waterproof Shell, this price is actually on the reasonable side, but it’s clearly a pricey jacket compared to other lightweight styles from different brands, coming in well above jackets like my Montane Phase Lite and Rab Firewall Alpine.

Design and materials

There are two standout details when it comes to the design of this jacket: its 3.5-layer construction and its ridiculously low weight.

I’ve tested plenty of 2-, 2.5-, and 3-layer rain jackets, but this is the first to go beyond three, and a representative from the brand explained to me that the approach helps increase resistance to water pressure while moving away from traditional, not-so-planet-friendly chemistries.

The 3.5 layers are built in a sandwich method around the brand’s in-house flexible Lifa Infinity waterproof membrane, which features both a non-porous PU layer and a breathable microporous layer underneath – not quite two layers, apparently, but more than one. The face fabric is Helly Tech Professional, and there’s a printed backing on the interior for reinforcement.

With all that, you might expect a thicker, stiffer jacket, but it feels as thin as any 2-layer jacket. I tested the XS, which is as small as it comes, and mine weighs only 180g. That’s lighter than my phone and pretty much every waterproof jacket I’ve ever tested (and I’ve tested many dozens), except for my Rab Phantom running jacket, which is only 2.5 layers in comparison.

The material has four-way stretch, but I don’t notice much, and the cut is quite slim, especially compared to what I’m used to with Helly. Despite that, I find the XS fits me really well and doesn’t feel restrictive anywhere, while I’m still able to wear it over a fleece or light puffer, making it usable for three seasons anyway.

The hood is helmet-compatible, which makes this a contender for blustery days on belay, though I think if I were heading out on a rugged alpine expedition, I’d still want to bring along my Arc’teryx Beta AR jacket.

They’ve also somehow managed to fit a RECCO reflector in the hood without adding much weight, again making this an option for more remote adventures if not ones where you’d be likely to encounter serious weather.

The hem is adjustable, the cuffs are partially elasticated, and there’s a zipped chest pocket big enough for my phone, plus an inner mesh pocket that becomes a handy pouch for packing the jacket away. It even has a loop so it can be clipped to my backpack.

Performance and comfort

This jacket looks and feels very much like a light layer you’d bring along as a “just in case” option, but I’ve worn it through several more sustained and heavy downpours, and one heavy hailstorm, and it largely behaves more like a top-of-the-mountain shell.

In heavy rain, it hasn’t wetted out on me yet, and the only real issue I’ve had with water ingress is that the cuffs do let some water in. I think this is partly down to them not being adjustable, and I think the low-wicking barriers on the cuffs could be wider. It’s also surprisingly windproof for such a thin, light jacket and on early, cold starts, I get instant warmth just by zipping it up.

For such good protection, I’ve been really impressed with the breathability, which is a bit of a unicorn characteristic in true waterproof garments and comes despite a lack of pit zips. I’ve worn it for plenty of milder, dry and sunny hikes, and I’m able to climb with it over a T-shirt and stay quite comfortable, without any clammy buildup on the inside.

The hood is truly excellent, with a collar that protects half my face and keeps it from blowing down. It’s peaked to provide extra face protection without blocking my vision, and it’s easy to cinch snugly around my head.

There are only two pockets on this jacket, but it’s got the one I think is most important: a zipped chest pocket so I can reach my phone even when I’m wearing my backpack (and it’s kept my phone dry in a storm). Considering some ultralight jackets ditch pockets altogether, I’m satisfied with this and personally don’t miss the hand-warming pockets I can’t reach with a backpack on anyway.

Verdict

The Helly Hansen Odin Infinity Minimalist Jacket is a bit of a marvel. It’s rare to find this level of protection at this weight, and I’m planning on getting a lot of use out of it, especially since it’s a layer I’m happy to wear around town as well as on the trail.

Not only does it protect me well against the elements, but it lacks the stiffness I’d usually expect for such a design, and it’s breathable enough to climb in during alpine starts and cooler days.

It’s not perfect, and I think subsequent versions could improve the cuff design, but for a truly packable and light jacket, it’s one of the better options out there (and at this price, it should be).

When it comes to the best folding phones, Honor has been at it for almost as long as Samsung. Indeed, the pair are at loggerheads with their respective Magic V and Galaxy Z Fold series.

Honor's latest – which arrives to worldwide markets mere weeks ahead of Samsung's anticipated next-gen product – also features a bolstered battery, aiming to set the benchmark of what such devices can achieve without compromise.

The Magic V6 also arrives with a tasty price cut for its on-sale date, notably at £1,499.99 in the UK (a £500 discount on its typical £1,999.99 RRP). That's a big attention grab in a competitive market that will certainly make people pay attention. As will the design.

My review model, dressed in red with gold embellishments, will no doubt divide the crowd. But there are other more mono options to suit the masses. So can Honor do just that – deliver a folding phone that's actually viable for a greater number of prospective buyers?

Price & Availability

As stated above, the Honor Magic V6 ought to cost you a penny shy of two grand. Its on-sale promo, at £1,499.99, brings it under even Samsung's Z Fold 7 (£1,799 at launch – albeit that was in 2025, as at the time of writing it's now much cheaper).

That's in the UK, where the phone is available from Honor.com. You won't be able to buy one in the USA or Australia – unless you unofficially import a model anyway. If you do, ensure it's the international version, as the Chinese model – which has an even larger battery capacity – has been available since March this year.

What's New?

• Front display marginally larger, at 6.52-inch (up from 6.42-inch)
• Larger battery – 6660mAh silicon-carbon (up from 5820mAh)
• Charging at 80W (up from 66W), wireless at 66W (was 50W)
• New-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor
• Greater ingress protection – IP68 + IP69
• New colour options

So just what is new for this generation? I've included a general summary of points above as, generally speaking, the Magic V6 isn't a gigantic overhaul beyond the previous Magic V5 model.

That's no bad place to start, mind, with the latest model really refining details such as the degree of bezel around the display and, of course, the battery scale. That's the real enhancement for this generation – you're going to get a foldable that outlasts its competition.

However, Honor's improvement to the IP rating isn't to be sniffed at. It's hugely complex to make a product of this type survive water jets and submersion – but that's exactly what the Magic V6 brings to the table. So kudos to the team for that update.

Design

• Colour options: Gold, Red, White, Black
• 8.75mm thin when folded

How you feel about the Honor's style, however, is going to be a personal matter. I don't prefer it to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, just as we said of the previous V5 model, given the large camera bump in an octagonal-shaped housing.

As you can see from these review photos, too, the Red finish isn't for those who the quieter side of life. This phone has been the spark of many a conversation since I've been using it full time – and not only because it's a foldable.

There's an included case in the box, which in this case is also a matching red colour, complete with shimmering texture throughout. Some will love it. Some will call it overkill. I certainly lean to the latter. But, in the same breath, it is lovely to receive something different – especially when you've tested hundreds of phones in your work life.

Key to the Magic V6's design is also its thickness – or thinness, more to the point. Unfolded and one side of the unit is a mere 4mm, which is about half what you'd expect from a normal flagship phone. The other side, with that camera protrusion, does add to the thickness – not that it feels unbalanced to use.

Layout and controls are otherwise pretty familiar: the on/off button and separate volume up/down key sit to the right side when facing the front display. The charge port and SIM try are down the bottom. Speaker/mic openings flank top and bottom. And the manual unfolding mechanism feels very natural.

Displays

• Front: 6.52-inch OLED
  • 1080 x 2420 resolution
  • 6000 nits brightness
  • 120Hz refresh rate
  • No curved glass
• Internal: 7.59-inch AMOLED
  • 2172 x 2352 resolution
  • 5000 nits
  • 120Hz
• NanoCrystal Shield scratch-resistant coating

Display is inevitably a huge part of a folding phone's appeal. So for this generation, Honor has made all-important tweaks to ensure the Magic V6 has more to offer.

The front display, for example, is marginally bigger and brighter than before. But that's achieved in a footprint hardly different to its predecessor, by reducing the bezel scale.

There's also no curved glass to the front, which makes using this phone feel effortless – just like an everyday flagship, really.

Unfold to the main screen and you're presented with the same scale 7.95-inch interior panel. Again, the bezel is slighly reduced. But, importantly, Honor has further improved the presence of the 'crease' to the centre – reducing it by a significant percentage.

Can you still see the crease as a result of the fold? From the right angle, of course, just as you can in any folding phone. Even Oppo's Find N6 couldn't 100% eradicate this feature. Viewed head-on, however, I've rarely been affected by it negatively.

Just as we said of the previous Magic V5's displays, the Magic V6's solution takes that success and makes it better still. These increments are harder to achieve generation on generation, so for the V6 to progress is testament to its quality.

Performance & Software

• Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (Gen 5) processor
  • 12GB/16GB RAM variants
• UFS 4.1 storage (256GB / 512GB / 1TB variants)
• Google Android 16 with Honor MagicOS 10
• Upgraded vapour chamber for cooling

Living with a foldable has the potential to bring its share of downsides. After all, there's a lot of processor power stuffed into a slender body that's surrounded almost entirely by heat-producing displays.

Fortunately, the Magic V6 has invested in an upgraded vapour chamber system for cooling, marking it out as better than its V5 predecessor. I've not found this model to overheat in particular – and I've been gaming on it daily, just as I would with any phone.

Indeed, the V6's hardware armoury is choc-full of high-end choices. There's the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon flagship processor. Buy a larger storage variant and you'll get 16GB RAM, too.

That can be bolstered by Honor's RAM Turbo feature, utilising a further 16GB of storage. It's not active by default, but toggling it on and, following a phone restart, it's easy to activate – and I certainly recommend that every owner does this.

But while the Magic V6 has all the right physical hardware in place, it's not always the greatest joy to use in every way. That's down to the brand's MagicOS software, which continues to deliver some oddities.

Those used to stock Google Android and similar systems, like Samsung's One UI, may find the dual left/right downward swipe and lack of swipe up for search mechanisms to be peculiar. I've got used to them, but often find various admin tasks seem elongated due to the process of engaging with this system.

Furthermore, not every app runs perfectly. I've had issues with credit card apps timing out on repeat, for example, while various frugal battery-preserving settings can see others not function exactly as you'd expect. Plus there are a bunch of pre-installs that, for me, aren't of interest (and now deleted).

Battery Life

• Silicon-carbon battery type
• 6660mAh (non-China version)
• 80W wired charging, 66W wireless

Since using the Honor Magic V6 – as I have been for over a fortnight now – I've never once had battery anxiety. From a folding phone that's a rare thing indeed.

It's down to Honor's investment in silicon-carbon, which can deliver higher density in a smaller surface area. It's a newer technology that many of the big names are still trialling rather than putting into their devices.

Even over longer working days I've not made it to the red, with near to 25% remaining after a 16 hour day. That includes all of the usual – browsing and messaging, videos and gaming – across a split of work and personal use.

I've found no need to cap my usage. Even GPS tracking in Strava for at least an hour per day adds no dramas, aside from the sometime software bothers with some apps as mentioned above.

In short: the Honor Magic V6's battery life might be the single most positive reason to buy this phone. It blows Samsung's effort clean out of the water in this regard.

Cameras

• Main (triple):
  • 50-megapixel, f/1.6 aperture, optical stabilisation (OIS)
  • 64MP 3x optical zoom (70mm equivalent), f/2.5, OIS
  • 50MP ultrawide, f/2.2
• Front:
  • Both: 20MP, f/2.2

I shan't dwell on the camera aspect of this phone, as it's 99% the same as its predecessor. What is clear, however, is that Honor commits to its camera setup for its flagship foldable – as the large protrusion to the rear makes clear.

In that octagon you'll find a set of high-resolution sensors, from a 50MP main and 50MP ultra-wide, to the (rare in this market) 3x zoom lens at 64MP resolution. That's a lot of capability for a foldable device.

These cameras are competent in daylight conditions, offering great colours and accurate results. Having both an ultra-wide and zoom on hand I've found to be particularly useful – just don't push things too hard, as that zoom has its limitations.

Even low-light results are pretty solid (bar the ultrawide), there's a suite of modes for enhancements, and the overall collection is a great offering. It's also a great big lump on the rear of a phone that's otherwise so thin. Perhaps the gold trim of this review model only highlights its presence yet further.

Honor Magic V6 review: Verdict

Whether or not you like the aesthetic of my red and gold review model, there's no denying that the Honor Magic V6 is a very impressive folding phone.

It's slim and lightweight without compromise to performance – and the battery life on offer here is second to none. That alone is reason enough to buy this foldable over any other.

However, the software throws up its share of oddities, the camera unit to the rear is pretty huge, and there's no doubting the design will be too outlandish for some. That's where Samsung's alternative will edge its way in.

All in all, however, Honor has refined the folding phone experience yet further – and with an introductory price that's hard to ignore, too. That only enhances the magic appeal of the Magic V6.

Also Consider

While the price is appealing, there's no shortage of folding phones to select from right now. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7 will cost you a little less, doesn't have the mega camera bump, and while the battery isn't as impressive overall, the software experience is just more streamlined.

Founded in 2015, Dreame has really hit its stride in recent years. It’s become a go-to brand name for vacuums, air fryers, and other kitchen appliances – and it’s even reportedly working on a rocket-powered EV car! It’s safe to say that Dreame has quite extensive expertise, but its coffee machines are what you should be most excited about.

For example, if you’ve been putting off buying a bean to cup coffee machine because you have minimal room in your kitchen, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim Fully Automatic Espresso Machine could be the solution. With a width of just 18cm, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim is incredibly compact and with its cream colourway and touchscreen display, it looks the part, too.

But looks aside, how does the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim perform? I spent a few weeks using it to find out.

Dreame Ecceluxe Slim review: price and availability

The Dreame Ecceluxe Slim Fully Automatic Espresso Machine is available to buy for £499 / $799 at Dreame. It comes with a 2-year warranty, and in a cream colourway. Compared to other bean to cup coffee machines, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim is on the lower end of the price spectrum.

Dreame Ecceluxe Slim review: unboxing and setup

The Dreame Ecceluxe Slim arrived in a cardboard box with the main espresso machine unit, water tank, milk reservoir and base, milk tube, a power cord and cleaning tools. Most of it was wrapped in plastic but some items like the milk reservoir base were hidden inside the machine, so make sure to check that before you start using it.

Setting up the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim took no time at all. Once I’d taken it out of its box, all I had to do was remove the plastic wrapping and tape. From there, I added coffee beans to the bean hopper, filled the water tank and plugged the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim into an outlet.

The Dreame Ecceluxe Slim self-cleans automatically when you turn it on and shut it down. It also comes with descaling and deep clean modes.

Dreame Ecceluxe Slim review: design and features

Starting with the design, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim lives up to its ‘slim’ name as it measures 18cm in width, 40.25cm in length and 31.5cm in height. It only weighs 8kg and coupled with its dimensions, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim is easy to move around and slot into small spaces in your kitchen.

The Dreame Ecceluxe Slim has a 1.5-litre water tank which is located at the back of the machine. It’s easy to remove and refill via its handle that folds away within the lid. At the top of the machine is a 150g bean hopper and grinder which has nine grind levels to choose from to suit multiple bean types.

At the front of the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim is its touchscreen control panel. The display is relatively simple as it shows your five drink options. It’s worth noting that because the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim is fully automatic, you can’t change or customise your drink other than adjusting the bean grind within the hopper. The drinks available – which are shown via colour icons – are espresso, lungo, flat white, cappuccino and latte macchiato.

Also at the front of the machine is the dispenser where the coffee and milk comes out. This can be adjusted to suit different mug heights. A drip tray sits at the bottom, and you can open the lower half of the machine to find a container which catches your used coffee grounds.

For milk-based drinks, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim attaches to a 240ml milk reservoir via a milk tube. Promising ‘golden silky smooth extraction’, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim has 19 bar pressure which when combined with precise water temperatures and micro-pressure technology, makes delicious coffees with a smooth texture.

Dreame Ecceluxe Slim review: performance

I loved the look of the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim, and felt it made my kitchen look more stylish and professional. Its cream colour might be basic for some, but the sleek lines on the main body and colour touchscreen controls look great in any kitchen aesthetic.

Dreame boasts about its 18cm width, and rightfully so. The Dreame Ecceluxe Slim took up hardly any room on my countertop, and while it’s mainly made of plastic, it felt high quality, especially the control panel, water tank, bean hopper and grinder. What felt a bit lacking was the milk reservoir, as it felt like more of an afterthought. It’s not built-in but instead connects on the side which I wasn’t a huge fan of.

As a fully automatic coffee machine, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim was very easy to use. I found it made rich espresso but was surprised to find it made quite small amounts of coffee. It made single and double shots well, but it felt more like a trickle of coffee than full shots, compared to other coffee machines I've tested. I tended to have half a mug of coffee when making a latte or cappuccino rather than a full one.

The Dreame Ecceluxe Slim frothed and heated milk first before dispensing coffee which was something I wasn’t used to. I’ve tested many coffee machines, and the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim is the first machine I’ve tried that makes coffee this way round.

Due to this, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim didn’t make a huge amount of foam for my cappuccino or latte macchiato drinks, so if you like your latte art, you won’t get it with this machine. However, the coffee tasted amazing, and I found the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim to heat both dairy and plant-based milk exceptionally well.

Everything was well packed away and designed with the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim. The drip tray and coffee puck container is built-in to keep everything tidy, and I enjoyed how you could raise the coffee dispenser up and down to suit different mug sizes. I was also surprised by how quiet the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim was, even when grinding beans.

Dreame Ecceluxe Slim review: verdict

For those with smaller kitchens who don’t want to faff around customising their own coffees, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim is a brilliant choice. It’s compact, stylish and fits in any space, plus everything is packed away tidily to save even more space and minimise kitchen clutter.

In terms of performance, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim made delicious tasting coffee, but at very small amounts. I’d say it works best for espresso, and despite its cheap-feeling milk reservoir, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim can also heat both dairy and plant-based milks to perfection – you just won’t get a huge coffee, nor very foamy milk.

At £499, the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim is in the mid-range of bean to cup coffee machines. I’d recommend it to espresso lovers and small kitchen owners, as well as those who want something easy to use and quick coffees from a single touch.

Dreame Ecceluxe Slim review: alternatives to consider

One of our favourite automatic coffee machines is the KitchenAid KF8. It’s exceedingly more expensive than the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim at £1,899, but it has an easy touchscreen interface, and a wide variety of espresso options. It’s also the most hygienic coffee machine we’ve ever used as it’s always constantly self-cleaning!

For something more versatile, the Ninja Luxe Cafe makes espresso, filter coffee and cold brew. It has an attractive black and stainless steel design, and simple touch, button and dial controls. It’s not as simple to set up as the Dreame Ecceluxe Slim, but it’s great value for money once you get started.

I’m way overdue with this Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review. I tested the MicroLED version of Garmin’s flagship wearable when it came out and have worn the AMOLED version a lot since then, but somehow I never found the time to put my thoughts into words. Turns out, you can’t forever put off doing things!

Not like writing what’s admittedly the best Garmin watch (well, the most feature-rich, anyway) is a huge burden. I’ve always loved using Garmin products, and the Fenix line has always held a special place in my heart, thanks to its rugged build and excellent mapping functionality.

That said, it almost feels like the Fenix 8 Pro came a bit too soon after the Garmin Fenix 8. Don’t get me wrong, it was an important launch – the world’s first microLED smartwatch! – but from a features perspective, it offers little that is tangibly different from its predecessor.

Sure, inReach Messenger is nice, and so is the MicroLED panel, but otherwise, you’re getting the same sensors and, most importantly, almost the carbon copy of the Fenix 8 user experience, especially if you opt for the AMOLED model.

I certainly wouldn’t throw away my Fenix 8 to get a Fenix 8 Pro, but even with that, it’s hard to deny that the Fenix 8 Pro is the best outdoor watch right now, all things considered. If you have an older Fenix and are keen on staying in the Garmin ecosystem, you’ll love the Fenix 8 Pro. Should you get one? Let’s find out.

Garmin Fenix 8 Pro review

Price and availability

The Fenix 8 Pro was launched in September 2025 and is available to buy now at Garmin UK, Garmin US, Garmin AU and Garmin EU.

The AMOLED version is available in 47mm and 51mm sizes, and starts at £1,030 / $1,200 / AU$2,100 / €1,300. The MicroLED option comes in one case size only (51mm) and costs a whopping £1,500 / $1,700 / AU$3,400 / €1,800.

The MicroLED retailed for more at launch, but Garmin has since permanently dropped the price to entice more people to get the watch. It’s still a huge investment, but there are often deals on the AMOLED version. Recently, Amazon knocked the price down to £726 in the UK.

Design

The Garmin Fenix 8 Pro is available in 47mm and 51mm case sizes, pairing them with a fibre-reinforced polymer case with a titanium rear cover, while the sapphire edition adds a lightweight titanium bezel and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens.

You can opt for Garmin's familiar AMOLED screen or the brand's first-ever MicroLED display. Both offer the same resolution and user interface, but the MicroLED panel delivers significantly higher brightness – up to 4,500 nits – making it exceptionally easy to read in harsh sunlight.

In direct sunlight, the MicroLED looks almost as if the graphics have been printed onto the glass, with outstanding visibility from virtually any angle.

The AMOLED model, meanwhile, peaks at around 2,000 nits, which is commendable but not necessarily on par with some rivals, including the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the much more affordable Amazfit T-Rex Ultra 2. That said, the Fenix 8 Pro is still among the brightest displays you'll find on a sports watch.

The Fenix 8 Pro is rated to 10 ATM, making it suitable for swimming, freediving and recreational scuba diving, while redesigned leak-proof buttons improve reliability during underwater activities. Unlike other brands (e.g., Huawei Watch Ultimate 2), Garmin doesn’t advertise the Fenix line as a dive-first smartwatch, likely because it has its own dive watch line (the Descent line).

An integrated LED flashlight, complete with white and red light modes, returns for everything from pre-dawn runs to campsite chores. The watch itself can also shift to red mode (the screen), which is handy for after-hours watch staring. You can also set the watch to automatically switch to red shift mode after sunset.

Like the standard Fenix 8, the Pro includes a built-in microphone and speaker for Bluetooth phone calls, voice assistant support and offline voice commands, while Garmin's QuickFit strap system makes it easy to swap bands without tools. It all adds up to one of the most capable and best-built adventure watches currently available.

Features

If you've used a recent Fenix 8 or Enduro 3, very little about the Fenix 8 Pro will surprise you. That's not a criticism; Garmin has spent years building arguably the most comprehensive fitness and outdoor ecosystem on the market, and this generation is more about refinement than reinvention.

The only genuinely headline-grabbing addition is support for Garmin inReach messaging over LTE, allowing users to send and receive messages via the satellite communicator without carrying a phone, provided they have a compatible inReach subscription.

Prices start at £7.99 / $7.99 / AU$11.99 / €9.99, which is way more than the Oura subscription, for example, and it ‘only’ lets you message people when there is no reception. As such, this feature is only really useful for people who spend a lot of time off grid and require the ability to communicate with others who aren’t (unless the whole team have Fenix 8 Pro watches).

Health tracking is handled by Garmin's latest Elevate Gen 5 optical heart rate sensor, which debuted in May 2023 on the Garmin Fenix 7 Pro and the now discontinued (and very cheap) Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2). It supports 24/7 heart rate monitoring alongside Pulse Ox, skin temperature tracking, ECG, respiration, stress tracking, Body Battery, HRV Status and advanced sleep analysis with Sleep Coach and nap detection.

Training features are equally extensive, with Training Readiness, Training Status, Daily Suggested Workouts, Endurance Score, Hill Score, Race Predictor and Garmin Coach all returning. The Fenix is the brand’s top outdoor watch, and as such, the UI prioritises mapping and navigation, but you can find all other training, health and smart features in the menus.

Strength training has also continued to improve, with automatic rep counting, muscle maps and guided workouts making it genuinely useful in the gym, while support for dozens of activity profiles means everything from trail running and ski touring to paddleboarding and open-water swimming is catered for.

The built-in microphone and speaker enable Bluetooth phone calls when paired with a smartphone, while voice assistant support lets you interact with Siri or Google Assistant if that’s what your heart desires.

I’ve never been too keen on chatting with my watch (or phone or smart speaker, the latter of which I don’t have), but given the price and the flagship nature of the Fenix 8 Pro, this is a feature Garmin must include.

The company also includes offline voice commands, allowing you to start activities, set timers or control certain watch functions even when you're away from mobile reception. Music storage, contactless payments via Garmin Pay, smartphone notifications and access to the Connect IQ store round out the experience.

Mapping, navigation and accuracy

Navigation has long been one of the Fenix series' biggest strengths, and the Fenix 8 Pro continues to set the benchmark. It comes preloaded with TopoActive maps, detailed road and trail mapping, ski resort maps and golf course data, while downloadable regional maps ensure you can plan routes and navigate without needing a phone signal.

There aren’t many watches I would trust for offline maps and route planning in uncharted areas, but Garmin watches have never let me down. Maps can be downloaded via the Connect app, and the map options are clearly labelled (e.g., United Kingdom and Northern Ireland). It’s a system that works and has been working for a long time.

Features such as ClimbPro break down upcoming ascents, NextFork shows the distance to the next trail junction, and Up Ahead lets you see upcoming aid stations, summits or points of interest. None of these is new, but they are part of the ever-so-extensive Garmin training ecosystem.

Dynamic round-trip routing remains one of my favourite features, generating surprisingly sensible running and cycling routes directly on the watch, while turn-by-turn navigation makes it easy to stay on course without constantly referring to your wrist.

The Fenix 8 Pro supports multi-band GNSS across GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS and BeiDou. It features SatIQ (now called Auto Select), which automatically switches to the most sensible GNSS method to conserve battery life. For example, it might switch to single-band in open areas and to maximum-accuracy mode in the forest. The brand doesn’t disclose how this feature works, despite my efforts to find out over the years.

Across months of testing, I found GPS tracks to be consistently clean, with little evidence of corner-cutting or wandering, even on heavily tree-lined trails and urban routes between tall buildings.

As for the Elevate Gen 5, Garmin’s wrist-based heart rate monitoring has improved significantly over the past few years, and during steady-state runs, long hikes and strength workouts, the Fenix 8 Pro tracked closely with a chest strap.

As with almost every optical sensor, short, high-intensity intervals can still produce the occasional lag, but for the vast majority of users, the onboard sensor is accurate enough that a chest strap becomes optional rather than essential.

Battery life and charging

Battery life has always been one of the Fenix range's defining strengths, and while the Fenix 8 Pro continues that tradition, there's now a much clearer distinction between the AMOLED and MicroLED models. If endurance is your top priority, the AMOLED version remains the one to buy.

Garmin rates the 47mm AMOLED model for up to 15 days in smartwatch mode (or eight days with the always-on display enabled), while the larger 51mm AMOLED stretches that to 27 days (or 15 days always-on).

Even in the most demanding multi-band GNSS mode, you're looking at up to 30 hours on the 47mm and 53 hours on the 51mm, giving you more than enough endurance for everything from marathon training to multi-day hiking trips.

Despite using what many expected to be a more efficient display technology, the first-generation MicroLED panel is considerably more power-hungry than Garmin's AMOLED screen.

Officially, the 51mm MicroLED model lasts up to 10 days in smartwatch mode (or just four days with the display always on), dropping to 34 hours in multi-band GNSS mode. That's still respectable by smartwatch standards, but it's a noticeable step backwards for a Fenix, especially one carrying such a significant price premium.

In practice, I found Garmin's estimates to be realistic. As with every Fenix before it, battery life varies widely depending on how you use the watch. Daily GPS workouts, frequent GNSS / map use, pulse oximetry (which I always turn off first thing), music playback (very bad for battery life) and LTE LiveTrack all have a measurable impact.

On the other hand, you have SatIQ, which does an excellent job of balancing accuracy and efficiency by engaging multi-band GPS only when conditions require it. Unless you're intentionally trying to drain it, the AMOLED model is still a watch you'll measure in weeks rather than days, which remains a rarity among flagship smartwatches.

Charging is unchanged (pun intended). The Fenix 8 Pro uses Garmin's familiar proprietary four-pin charging cable rather than adopting USB-C or wireless charging. While I'd still like to see Garmin modernise its charging solution, the cable is secure and reliable, and thanks to the watch's excellent endurance you'll rarely need to reach for it.

Verdict

The Garmin Fenix 8 Pro is, without question, the best outdoor smartwatch money can buy.

It combines class-leading navigation, outstanding training tools, reliable health tracking and exceptional build quality into a package that's as comfortable pacing a marathon as it is guiding you across a mountain range. The new MicroLED display is genuinely impressive, too, delivering brightness that no other sports watch can currently match.

The problem is that most of those strengths were already present on the Fenix 8. Unless you specifically want the dazzling MicroLED display or the ability to use inReach Messenger directly from your wrist, the day-to-day experience is remarkably similar. In short, the AMOLED Fenix 8 Pro is a refined version of an already excellent watch.

That's made more complicated by timing. With the Fenix 9 likely on the horizon, potentially bringing a new optical heart rate sensor and perhaps even combining AMOLED with Power Glass charging, the Fenix 8 Pro doesn't feel like the obvious long-term investment it might have six months ago.

Fortunately, it's now available well below its original launch price, making it considerably easier to recommend than it was at launch.

Even so, I'd still point most people towards the cheaper Fenix 8, which delivers almost the same experience for less money. But if you simply want Garmin's most capable adventure watch and don't mind paying for the privilege, the Fenix 8 Pro wears the crown. At least until its successor arrives.

I must confess, the Oura Ring 5 launch caught me by surprise. I’m used to the company tweaking its software and features for a while before moving on to launch new hardware. After all, there was a nearly three-year gap between the release of the Oura Ring Gen 3 and Oura Ring 4.

The new smart ring arrived less than two years after its predecessor (a year and eight months, to be precise), marking a much faster release cycle than we're used to from Oura. As a result, this is more of an evolutionary update than a revolutionary one, with a handful of notable hardware refinements rather than a wholesale redesign.

All of this makes reviewing the Oura Ring 5 something of a balancing act. With relatively few new features, I didn't need months to get familiar with the hardware or software. The harder part was deciding whether those refinements are enough to justify a new generation, especially in a smart ring market that's become far more competitive since the Ring 4 launched.

The good news is that the Oura Ring 5 is still the best smart ring on the market, but if you have the Oura Ring 4 (or the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic) and don’t mind its ‘heft’, there is no need to rush and order the new ring. What are the new features and how do they affect the user experience? Let’s find out.

Oura Ring 5 review

Price and availability

The Oura Ring 5 was announced in May 2026 and is now available to buy at Oura, starting at £399 / $399 / €429 / AU$649 for Silver and Black finishes, and rising to £499 / $499 / €529 / AU$799 for premium colours, including Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver, and Deep Rose.

This makes the new wearable more expensive than its predecessor, which retailed for £349 / $349 / €399 / AU$569 at launch. These days, you can find plenty of deals on both the Oura Ring 4 and the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic, making them a lot more affordable.

Even though Oura’s products can be used without a subscription, you’ll need Oura Membership to enjoy the full benefits of the system. It costs £5.99 / $5.99 / €5.99 / AU$9.99 a month or £69.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 / AU$109.99 annually. Oura remains the only major smart ring brand to require a membership from its users.

Design and build quality

In the intro, I mentioned a “handful of notable hardware refinements,” which might have undersold the Oura Ring 5. The new ring is 40% smaller than the Oura Ring 4 and looks and feels very much like a standard jewellery ring when worn.

The Oura Ring 5 is 6.09mm wide and 2.28mm thick across its full size range, which makes especially larger models, including my size 12, look rather dainty. The ring comes in six colours, including two basic colours (Silver and Black), and four premium finishes (Brushed Silver, Stealth, Gold and Deep Rose).

The last two are either new (Deep Rose) or redesigned (Gold). I opted for the Deep Rose model to see how it looks in real life, and, more specifically, how it compares to the Rose Gold colourway it replaces. I’d say it looks more like a deep gold, slightly darker than your average gold jewellery but without the pink undertone of the Rose Gold version.

The Oura Ring 5 is not only slimmer but also a lot lighter than the Oura Ring 4. The weight range is 2.0–2.7g – compare it with the Oura Ring 4’s 3.3–5.2g. It’s worth noting that the new model comes in fewer sizes (6–13 vs 4–15). I’m sure a few Oura Ring users with larger / petite hands will be disappointed to hear this. The majority of Oura users will probably be fine, though.

The company redesigned the sensor paths, reducing the number from 18 to 12. Despite the fewer optical paths, the new ring is said to provide more accurate readings, thanks to the brighter LEDs and – I assume – a refined algorithm that analyses the data.

One thing I forgot to mention (and glad to see and feel the return of) are the notches inside the ring. The Oura Ring 4 was slimmer than the Oura Ring 3 and reduced the bumps to almost nothing.

Now that the Oura Ring 5 is even slimmer, the notches are back, making it much easier to rotate the ring into the correct position without looking. The bumps are nowhere near as pronounced as on the Oura Ring 3, but detectable enough to help you find how the ring should sit on your finger.

The brand says the Oura Ring 5's revised PVD coating is more durable than before, and my experience backs that up. Despite wearing it during kettlebell workouts, the ring emerged without any visible scuffs or scratches.

Features

Oura announced a few new features with the launch of the Oura Ring 5, but most aren’t available in all markets yet due to regulatory hurdles in certain countries. Chiefly among these is Health Radar, which continuously analyses multiple biometric signals to spot changes in your physiology before you notice symptoms yourself.

Health Radar builds on the older Symptom Radar feature but is much broader in scope. At launch, it offers Blood Pressure Signals, which examine long-term patterns that may indicate elevated cardiovascular strain, and Nighttime Breathing, which provides a rolling 30-day view of breathing disturbances during sleep.

It’s somewhat risky for Oura to offer blood pressure-related health features, given that Whoop got in trouble with the FDA for rolling out a similar feature in the US, but brand representatives were confident that Oura's approach is different. Living in the UK, I haven’t been able to test Health Radar yet.

Oura Advisor, the company’s AI chatbot, is now said to be more helpful. Admittedly, the brand focuses on women’s health improvements, but the bot can also give you more usable answers about other health metrics. I asked it why the app said I fell asleep too quickly (3-minute latency), given that I have a steady sleep schedule and excellent sleep scores, and it said there is nothing wrong with me. Thanks!

One area where Oura’s ecosystem has some serious catching up to do is activity tracking. Passive tracking is excellent, and the algorithm will recognise a bunch of popular sports, but historically, Oura Ring hasn’t been anyone’s first choice to track runs with. Now, the app can provide real-time heart rate and pacing feedback on runs via a smartphone widget.

This is commendable, but more of a first step rather than a replacement for Garmin watches. Of course, Oura never claimed it was coming after running watches, but the fact that the company now offers live tracking shows it’s aware of its system's shortcomings.

I imagine most Oura users run with their phones, so having access to live workout data is handy. However, the ring + smartphone setup won’t replace a watch for ‘proper’ training, not to mention the lack of training data, something the Oura ecosystem can’t provide.

As for passive health tracking such as sleep, the Oura Ring 5 is still my top choice. Stress tracking could be better (I ranted about this before), but even that issue won’t push the ring off my finger. There is also the community element; my wife always wants to know how our sleep compares and how many calories we burned during the same walk, for example, which makes me want to wear the ring.

As for accuracy, which Oura claims has improved with the fifth-generation ring, I found it difficult to notice any meaningful difference, purely because the Oura Ring 4 is pretty accurate for sleep tracking as is. Workout tracking is accurate enough, but as I mentioned above, only basic fitness data is being collected, which isn’t much to go on. The ring feels accurate for what it’s worth.

Battery life and charging

The company claims the Oura Ring 5 can last up to nine days on a single charge, depending on ring size and usage, and my experience suggests that's a realistic estimate.

Starting from a full battery, the ring still had 15% charge remaining after almost nine days of continuous wear, including 24/7 health tracking, sleep monitoring and workout logging.

While I didn't let it run completely flat (the app would prompt you to charge when the battery hits 15%), the results indicate the Ring 5 is more than capable of matching Oura's official figures under typical day-to-day use.

Better still, charging is remarkably quick. During testing, the battery climbed from 15% to around 50% in just 25 minutes, making it easy to top up while showering or getting ready in the morning rather than leaving it on the charger overnight.

Verdict

The Oura Ring 5 is an easy product to recommend, but perhaps not for the reasons Oura would like. It isn't a dramatic leap over the Ring 4, nor does it fundamentally change what the Oura ecosystem offers.

Instead, it refines an already excellent formula with a noticeably smaller and lighter design, a more durable finish and slightly longer battery life, all while retaining the outstanding sleep and recovery tracking that has made Oura the benchmark for smart rings.

Most of the headline software features are also rolling out to older rings, meaning existing Ring 4 owners aren't missing out on much. If you're happy with your current ring, there's little reason to upgrade, especially given the higher asking price and ongoing membership fee.

However, if you're buying your first smart ring, or upgrading from an older generation, the Oura Ring 5 is the one to get. No rival combines comfort, polished hardware, insightful health tracking and a mature app ecosystem quite as well.

Activity tracking still lags behind dedicated sports wearables, and the subscription remains a sticking point, but neither detracts from the fact that this is currently the most complete smart ring on the market.

Writing something like this Oura Ring Gen 3 review is always a huge undertaking. Not only do you have to use the actual wearable for a month to get a good picture of what it’s capable of, but you also have to test it against other products in the category to ensure you cover all bases and properly check accuracy.

It’s a painstaking process, although I must admit that testing what I think currently is the best smart ring, the Oura Ring Gen 3, wasn’t as cumbersome as some other bulky wearables. Smart rings are the least intrusive wearables to date, offering an almost pleasant, non-distractive way to track your health and well-being.

Of all the smart rings available now, Oura is probably the best-known and offers the most well-rounded functionality. The Finnish brand was one of the first companies to champion smart rings for sleep tracking and became a household name in the nine years since the first Oura ring was launched.

The Oura Ring Gen 3 is also one of the most expensive smart rings in the sense that you’ll have to pay a monthly membership fee to access most of your health data. Is it worth it? How does the Oura Ring Gen 3 compare to other smart rings? How does it compare to the best smartwatches, like the Apple Watch Series 9? Let’s find out.

Oura Ring Gen 3 review

Price and availability

The Oura Ring Gen 3 was launched in October 2021 and is available to buy now directly from Oura. It’s available in two models, Heritage and Horizon. Heritage (RRP $299) features the classic ‘plateau’ design, while the Horizon (RRP $349) is more ring-like with a smooth outer shell.

The Heritage model is available in four colours: Silver, Black, Stealth, and Gold. The Horizon model is available in two additional colours: Rose Gold and Brushed Titanium. For this review, I used the Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon in the Brushed Titanium colourway. 

Specifications

• Materials: titanium with PVD coating
• Water resistance: up to 100m/328 ft.
• Width: 7.9mm
• Thickness: 2.55mm
• Weight: 4 to 6 grams
• Available sizes: 6-13
• Battery life: up to 7 days battery life
• Charging (0-100%): 80 minutes
• Connectivity: Bluetooth Low-Energy
• Sensors: optical heart rate sensor, blood oxygen sensor, Infrared PPG sensors, skin temperature sensors and 3D Accelerometer
• Compatibility: works with Android and iOS smartphones

Design and build quality

Considering the Oura Ring Gen 3 was launched three years ago, it’s not heavier or bulkier than other smart rings available now. It has a durable titanium shell with a Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD) coating.

There is a small groove ('dimple') on the outer shell that helps you position the ring correctly, with the sensors looking at the underside of your finger (the groove should be on the side where your palm is).

PVD is a hard film layer that provides additional rigidity to metals such as titanium. The Oura Ring Gen 3 feels rugged, and although there are small scratches on the side of the ring that faces the palm (around the groove), the ring survived the month-long testing period without looking too beaten.

The tricky thing with smart rings is that, unlike smartwatches, they see a lot of action. You can use and wash your hands without interacting with a smartwatch, but you can’t do the same with a smart ring. As you grab things, the ring will inevitably be in the way, so it needs to be more durable than most wrist wearables.

The Oura Ring Gen 3 hasn’t got an ingress protection rating (I couldn’t find one, anyway), but it’s water resistant up to 100 metres, meaning you could wear it for showering and maybe even swimming. I’m not sure if it’s safe to use for pool swimming due to the chemicals in the water, but you shouldn’t be afraid of getting it wet, that’s for sure.

I’ve got big monkey hands, so I wore a size 12 ring. It weighs over 5 grams, but what is 5 grams between friends? It’s super lightweight; I had no problem wearing it continuously for days on end.

The Oura Ring Gen 3 most closely resembles the RingConn Smart Ring, albeit RingConn’s wearable has a more square design. Where they are similar is the small protruding area in the inner surface of the ring. The Oura Ring Gen 3 has three of these domes, under which you find the LEDs.

The inner surface isn’t as smooth as the Ultrahuman Ring Air, but that was launched years after Oura Ring Gen 3. The upcoming (?) Oura Ring Gen 4 might have a smoother inner surface.

Sleep tracking

The original purpose of the Oura Ring was to track sleep, and it’s still one of the best sleep trackers on the market. Although the company stresses that the Oura Gen 3 is not a medical device, numerous studies used the smart ring, as it’s considered one of the most accurate wearable devices.

According to the brand, the Oura Ring Gen 3 achieves 79% agreement with polysomnography (PSG) for 4-stage sleep classification (wake, light, deep, and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep).

What this means is that the Oura Ring Gen 3 recognises different sleep cycles with high accuracy. And it doesn’t just recognise your slumber but also rates it! You’re given a Sleep Score each morning and a short summary of the night before. Sleep Score has seven components: latency (how long it takes to fall asleep), timing, restfulness and more.

The Oura algorithm also assesses your blood oxygen levels during the night, as well as respiration rate, resting heart rate and heart rate fluctuations. Plus, it measures heart rate variability, one of the key factors determining your Readiness Score.

Readiness Score takes even more metrics into account and is another way to gamify health. A number of other wearables provide a similar score, including Whoop and Fitbits – it’s a good way to know and understand how prepared your body is for exercise or just in general.

I found sleep tracking on the Oura Ring Gen 3 very accurate. I tested it against the Ultrahuman Ring Air, the Garmin Forerunner 965 and the Apple Watch Series 9, and the numbers looked consistent. Most importantly, of all the wearables, the Oura Ring provided the most data and the most comprehensible suggestions to improve my sleep.

Thanks to the layout of the Oura app, it’s also easier to see trends in your sleep. The scrollable graph at the top of the Sleep page allows you to check sleep scores for each day quickly and efficiently. It’s a simple thing that enhances user experience significantly.

The only thing I missed was something like a smart alarm. Wearables such as Whoop use a vibration motor to gently nudge you awake, something I’d love to see in the next iteration of the Oura Ring.

Illness detection

I ended up getting ill during the testing period due to the combination of overtraining for an upcoming marathon, work stress and international travel. I must have picked up a bug at the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, and since my body was slightly run down, it knocked me off my feet completely.

The Oura Ring recognised my illness automatically – I had a fever, which was picked up by the temperature sensor – and suggested I turn on Rest Mode. In Rest Mode, the app doesn’t give you an Activity goal and the stress tracking is also turned off because your body is under stress to get rid of the illness.

I found this immensely helpful. Most wearables, including Garmin watches, almost disregard certain symptoms and tell you to keep exercising. Usually, they recommend you take it easy, but in a sense that you should still exercise, but less.

During my 48-hour rapid illness, I had no appetite and could hardly make myself crawl out of bed. I definitely couldn’t exercise, even if I wanted to, so the Oura Ring acknowledging this was a relief.

Better still, once I started to recover from the illness and the app suggested I disable Rest Mode, it didn’t just throw me back into the deep end. Instead, there was a transition period when the app gradually increased activity suggestions to help me ease back into exercise.

I was thoroughly impressed with this feature!

Activity tracking

Over the years, Oura expanded its features portfolio, and as a result, the Oura Gen 3 can track exercise almost as well as sleep. You are given a daily calorie goal, and the app also provides an Activity Score.

My favourite part of exercise tracking was Automatic Activity Detection (AAD). Similar to the Apple Watch (although not the same), the Outa Ring Gen 3 can recognise and record over 30 activities, including running, cycling, gardening and more.

Best of all, you don’t have to initiate the workout in the app or do anything with the ring–the system automatically does it. Once the activity is done, you’ll see a box at the top of the home page in the app asking you to confirm the activity.

AAD doesn’t always know exactly what exercise you did. When it can’t decide, the aforementioned box will say ‘Maybe: Running’. When you tap on it, you’ll be given a list of potential workout types, letting you adjust the suggestion. Again, a simple interaction that enhances user experience a lot.

Of course, you can also start a workout in the app, and this is recommended if you want to collect GPS data on your runs. The ring hasn’t got built-in GPS, but it can piggyback on the back of your smartphone’s GPS and record your movements into the Oura app.

Even if you don’t record any workouts, the Oura Ring Gen 3 will monitor your calorie expenditure, which is nice. Not all activities that elevate heart rate are workouts, and by logging active calories, the Oura app helps people hit their goals easier.

Resilience score

One of the newest features, your Resilience Score, tells you how well you can withstand and recover from physiological stress over time. This feature was rolled out halfway through the testing period, and it showcased well why you need to wear smart rings and smartwatches for at least a few weeks for them to get the hang of, well, you.

My score went from ‘Solid’ to ‘Exceptional’ in two weeks without changing my sleep or exercise habits. Again, it takes a while for algorithms to get used to you, which is why it might take weeks for features like the Resilience Score to display the ‘correct’ numbers.

Once it does, though, it will stay relatively flat unless you lead a hectic life. I’m lucky enough to have a steady sleep and exercise routine, so I don’t expect my Resilience Score to change drastically over time.

It does provide an extra layer of understanding of your overall health, though, and the Resilience Score is included in the Oura Ring Membership, so I’m not complaining.

Is the Oura Ring Membership worth it?

Oura’s offering is unique, as it charges you to access almost all but the basic health data in its app. The company didn’t always charge users for features but rolled out this model when the Oura Ring Gen 3 was introduced.

Whoop has a similar model, but they don’t charge for the hardware, unlike Oura. One might argue that paying top dollar for the smart ring and then paying a monthly fee to access your data is a bit much.

However, everyone should get used to membership fees, as this is the future of all services. Look everywhere, and companies who can use subscription fees do to provide a better user experience over the long run.

Continuous updates and bug fixes require a lot of resources, not to mention R&D. If the company only makes money when it sells hardware, it’s forced to sell more hardware to keep the business afloat. That’s not good for the environment or the existing customer base.

Subscription fees enable companies to provide a better customer experience. Simple as that. And Oura’s app and features really are best in class, so I’d say the Membership is worth it. Or, more like, I wouldn’t recommend the Oura Ring without the subscription.

Verdict

The Oura Ring Gen 3 boasts one of the most comprehensive feature sets I’ve seen in wearables in recent years. Not just that, but the features on offer, including Sleep, Activity, and Resilience Scores, all work together, enabling you to better understand your health. Highly recommended for those who need a reliable health companion and can’t wear a smartwatch all day.

Three things to consider before buying the Oura Ring Gen 3 are the imminent release of the next generation ring, the membership fee, and the size of the wearable.

The third-generation ring came out three years ago, and Oura is likely working on its successor. The new ring will probably feature updated sensors and maybe even a sleeker look – not to mention, a new Oura Ring would help push the price of the Oura Ring Gen 3 down in the transition period.

Membership cost is also something to keep in mind. It’s not a lot of money, and I firmly believe there is no point in having an Oura Ring without a membership, but it’s certainly an ongoing cost.

Finally, although the ring isn’t massive, most of my female friends said it looked pretty big. It looks fine on my huge hands, but someone with smaller fingers might find the ring too thick. This is true for every smart ring, though, and not an Oura-exclusive issue.

Otherwise, you should go and buy your Oura Ring right now.

Despite making a huge amount of sense, there are only a handful of brands out there that make a video doorbell with two lenses. Not only do they allow you to see much more of your doorstep, but they also instantly boost your home's security, which is never a bad thing.

That's why I couldn't wait to try EZVIZ's new EP8 Ultra. As well as featuring a built-in interactive AI screen that greets your guests with smart animal characters, it also comes with an impressive dual-lens design.

You'll find my full thoughts below, including whether it deserves a place among the best video doorbells on the market today.

Price and availability

The EZVIZ EP8 Ultra is priced at £139.99 (around $175), but at the time of writing it's currently discounted to £109.99 on Amazon.

That's around average for one of EZVIZ's premium video doorbells, and pretty much what you'd expect to pay for a high-performing model.

Unboxing and set up

The EP8 Ultra offers two installation options. It can either be hardwired into an existing doorbell system for continuous power or run on a large 9,600mAh rechargeable battery. Interestingly, EZVIZ includes two batteries in the box, meaning you can always keep one charged while using the other. It also comes with the indoor chime included, which, if you've read some of my previous reviews, you'll know isn't always the case.

The package includes all of the mounting hardware needed for installation, and setup is completed through the EZVIZ app by scanning a QR code and connecting the doorbell to your Wi-Fi network. The QR code actually took a few attempts to work during my setup, so if you experience the same thing, don't panic – just keep trying and it should eventually connect.

The doorbell took around five to six hours to fully charge using the supplied USB-C cable. That's on the longer side, but as mentioned, having two batteries makes this much less of an issue, as you can charge one whilst using the other.

Design and features

The EZVIZ EP8 Ultra offers more comprehensive coverage than a traditional video doorbell thanks to its dual-camera setup. The main forward-facing 6MP camera monitors visitors approaching your front door, whilst the second downward-facing 2MP camera keeps an eye on parcels left directly below the doorbell. Powered by advanced WDR and LDC technology, the EP8 Ultra captures crisp images without dark shadows or distorted edges.

To make those cameras even more useful, the EP8 Ultra uses AI-assisted detection. Rather than simply reacting to every bit of movement, it can distinguish between people, vehicles and package activity, helping to reduce unnecessary notifications. It can also recognise when a parcel has been delivered or removed, sending alerts directly to your smartphone through the EZVIZ app.

Two-way audio is built in, allowing you to speak to visitors from wherever you are, whilst colour night vision keeps footage clear after dark without relying solely on infrared imaging.

Despite housing two cameras, the EP8 Ultra also has a clean, modern design with a slim rectangular body finished in matte black.

Like many of EZVIZ's latest products, the EP8 Ultra supports local storage via a compatible microSD card, giving users the option to avoid ongoing subscription costs. It also works with the brand's cloud storage service if you'd rather keep recordings backed up online.

The EZVIZ app acts as the main control hub, allowing you to view live footage, review recordings, adjust motion detection zones, customise notification settings and integrate the doorbell with other EZVIZ smart home devices. The EP8 Ultra also supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, allowing you to display the live feed on compatible smart displays using simple voice commands.

Another fun feature is its built-in LED light, which automatically illuminates your entryway so you can clearly see who's at your door. It also helps the cameras capture brighter footage, making it easier to recognise faces and spot packages.

At this point, I also have to mention the doorbell's built-in AI screen, which greets your guests with animated animal characters. Depending on who arrives at your door, visitors are welcomed by one of three characters – Pandie Panda, Ray Raccoon or Harry Husky. Similar to a pre-recorded greeting, the characters pop up on the screen and speak to your guests, adding a bit of personality to your front door.

I'll admit this isn't a feature I've really used, and it certainly wasn't what drew me to the doorbell in the first place. However, it's a fun addition, especially if you have children or simply like the idea of making your smart home feel a little more playful.

Performance

In day-to-day use, the EZVIZ EP8 Ultra proved to be a really reliable video doorbell. The app is clean and easy to navigate, making it simple to view live footage, review recordings and tweak settings whenever I needed to. The live feed loaded quickly with no noticeable delay, and the two-way audio was clear enough to have natural conversations with delivery drivers and visitors.

The dual-camera setup is undoubtedly the standout feature, and after spending so much time testing standard single-lens video doorbells, I really appreciated the extra coverage it provides. I also really liked the built-in LED light, which does a great job of illuminating the entrance after dark and noticeably improves the quality of the colour night vision.

Battery life was impressive too, lasting around a month during testing. I did have to spend a little time adjusting the motion detection zones to reduce unnecessary notifications, but once I'd selected the right coverage areas, alerts became much more accurate and battery life benefited as a result.

Verdict

The EZVIZ EP8 Ultra is one of the most complete battery-powered video doorbells I've tested. Its dual-camera setup makes a strong difference, offering far better coverage than a standard single-lens model, whilst the intuitive app, reliable performance and subscription-free local storage make it an easy recommendation. If you want a high-performing video doorbell that keeps an eye on both your visitors and your parcels, the EP8 Ultra is an excellent choice.

Alternatives to consider

The most similar video doorbell to the EZVIZ EP8 Ultra has to be the Eufy E340. It also features a dual-lens design, offers subscription-free local storage and sits at a very similar price point. It also earned an impressive five-star rating in our full review when it first launched.

If you're after something a little more affordable, you can't really go wrong with one of the Ring Video Doorbells. They offer plenty of features, reliable performance and excellent video quality for the money, and because they're part of the Amazon ecosystem, they integrate brilliantly with pretty much anything with Alexa built in.

I don’t think I’ve ever come across a Peak Design bag I didn’t like. From the brand’s backpacks to its camera slings, I often end up using Peak Design products well after the testing period has concluded.

I recently tested the latest slate of bags from the company, including the Peak Design Travel Weekender 25L and the Travel Crossbody 3L. Among the bags sent to me for testing was the small Travel Backpack 20L, with a convenient strap on its back panel that makes it easy to carry on the handle of a rolling suitcase.

My first thought was that it’s a bit strange that Peak Design puts out a travel backpack with this feature without an accompanying carry-on suitcase. Two seconds later, I remembered reading about the Roller Pro, and all of a sudden, it all made perfect sense. Needless to say, I requested the rolling case immediately after.

This was a couple of months ago, and since then, I’ve been using the Peak Design Roller Pro on all my trips by plane. It’s an awesome suitcase that really lives up to its name by rolling incredibly smoothly and exuding an aura of premium quality that not many other bags can match.

It’s probably a bit too expensive for most people who just need a roller for their annual holiday in Benidorm, but if you have expensive (camera) gear to haul around (and maybe some Peak Design cubes/accessories) and appreciate craftsmanship and premium bags, the Roller Pro is one of my top recommendations for you.

Peak Design Roller Pro review

Price and availability

The Roller Pro launched in March 2025 and is available to buy now at Peak Design UK, Peak Design US, Peak Design EU and Peak Design AU for £500 / $600 / €600 / AU$1,150. It comes in three colours: Black, Eclipse and Sage. There are sometimes deals available. At the time of writing, the bag was on offer for £400 / €480 / AU$920 (no current offers in the US).

The brand sells the Roller Pro on its own and in bundles (Creator and Travel), the latter of which saves you 15% compared to buying the bundle’s parts separately. The Creator Bundle adds the XL camera cube, while the Traveler bundle adds two small and two medium packing cubes.

The carry-on closest to the Roller Pro in both price and functionality is another one of my all-time favourites, Db's Ramverk Pro Carry On. It retails for around £550 and weighs a little more than the Peak Design model. I'd say both occupy the premium end of the mainstream luggage market, stopping short of true luxury brands such as Rimowa and Tumi.

Design and build quality

Peak Design said the Roller Pro had been in development for four years, with the biggest engineering challenge being its carbon-fibre "SlimDrive" handle system, which frees up significantly more packing space than traditional telescopic handles.

The handle might have been the biggest challenge for the design team, but the bespoke wheels are the Roller Pro's standout feature. They're exceptionally smooth and quiet, making the case feel almost weightless on airport floors.

They also move well on the streets and cobblestone, but understandably, it’ll be a bit trickier to navigate the case on rough surfaces with the fully extended handle, purely because of the weight distribution.

The four-wheel setup not only allows you to push the suitcase rather than drag it behind you, but it is also incredibly smooth to move. So much so that the bag sometimes rolls away on its own adventures unless you keep an eye on it.

Weighing 3.9kg (8.6 lb), the Roller Pro has a maximum volume of 39 litres when expanded (34 litres otherwise). The extender zipper goes all the way around to keep the case well-balanced, even when you add more stuff to it. It’s not the lightest case, and the Roller Pro is certainly heftier than your average IT carry-on, but it also feels a lot more premium and sturdy.

As you’d expect, Peak Design didn’t skimp on materials when designing the Roller Pro. The bag has a 70% recycled polycarbonate shell and a 100% recycled weather-resistant Versa Shell 500D nylon exterior, the latter of which is also Bluesign-approved. It has a PFAS-free coating that offers water repellency and a chemical-free alternative to DWR.

The #8 UltraZips use abrasion-resistant UHMWPE threads, and so do the cords that are made from ultra-high-strength UHMWPE for extended durability.

I appreciate the small design choices, such as the rubber/plastic bars on the back of the case that prevent it from sitting on dirt when you tip the case over in a public space and the four pull handles located around the edge of the Roller Pro that make it easier to place the case into the overhead locker regardless of its orientation.

Internal organisation and ergonomics

The Roller Pro has a large clamshell opening and offers a decent amount of space inside, thanks to the special handle design. Better still, the lid is designed to stay upright when the Roller Pro is laid on its back, giving you easier access to the mesh organisation pockets on the divider.

The bottom of the bag is by no means flat, but there aren’t massive grooves that take up unnecessary space. The elastic cords that help keep your stuff in place are located around the halfway point, just below the extension. These can be loosened, should your packed items reach the lip of the case.

In addition to using the extender, you can peel back the mesh dividers to create even more space inside the Roller Pro. I find this approach a bit clunky, as it doesn’t necessarily create much extra space, especially if you have smaller gadgets/passports/tissues/etc. in the pocket accessible from the top of the bag.

Speaking of which, this is where you’ll find the dedicated laptop sleeve with a magnetic flap to help keep your large electronic device in place. The small pocket in the same compartment can store essential items you need to access quickly, such as passports. I also tend to shove my paperback in this pocket.

One thing I miss from the Roller Pro – and it’s a strange omission – is the lockable zips. Well, the pull tabs have holes in them, which means you can tie the zips together using a small lock or wire, but on the aforementioned Travel Backpack 20L, the pull tab on one of the zips can be undone and hooked around the other, an approach that would make the Roller Pro safe from accidental (or not so accidental) openings.

It’s true that the exterior fabric can scuff more easily than an all-polycarbonate shell, but I found marks easy to clean with just a cloth. The shell is also somewhat water-resistant, although I haven’t used it in pouring rain.

Verdict

The Peak Design Roller Pro is one of the most thoughtfully engineered carry-ons I've ever tested. Every element, from the ingenious SlimDrive handle that frees up valuable packing space to the exceptionally smooth wheels and premium recycled materials, feels purpose-built rather than added for the sake of marketing.

It's the sort of suitcase that makes travelling feel just a little easier, whether you're lifting it into an overhead locker, navigating a busy airport or living out of it for a few days.

It's not without flaws. At 3.9kg, the Roller Pro is heavier than many soft-sided carry-ons, and the lack of an integrated locking mechanism is a surprising omission at this price. While you can attach a small padlock through the zip pulls, I'd have preferred a cleaner, built-in solution.

Those shortcomings aren't enough to overshadow what Peak Design has achieved here. If you only travel once or twice a year, the Roller Pro will probably feel like an unnecessary indulgence.

However, frequent flyers, photographers and anyone who appreciates beautifully made travel gear will find plenty to justify the asking price. It's an expensive carry-on, but one that genuinely earns its premium positioning through clever design, exceptional build quality and a level of refinement that few rivals can match.

If you're looking to zhuzh up your decor with one of the best smart lights, stick around – I think you may find what you're looking for in this Govee Lantern Floor Lamp review.

While it's far from the first smart RGB lamp I've tested, I was eagerly awaiting its arrival for quite a while – and it's all thanks to its rather unusual, squishy silicone shade.

After spending the last few weeks with it at home, I'm happy to report that it not only nails the essentials, but also makes everything simply more... fun... in the process. I can't speak for everyone, of course, but I'm pretty sure most of us could do with a little more of that in our lives. If only to pause from the scrolling for a while.

Having said that, there's certainly no shortage of competition, and they're not shy about battling it our in the price wars either. So, with all that said, is a fun, squishy lampshade enough to warrant the cost?

Spoiler alert: it is.

Price and availability

The Govee Lantern Floor Lamp is available now for £139.99, although discounts are sometimes available through selected retailers.

For the money, you're getting far more than a traditional floor lamp. In addition to adjustable white lighting, the Lantern Floor Lamp supports RGBICWW lighting effects, voice control, Matter compatibility, music synchronisation, and more than 100 preset scenes through the Govee app. Phew.

Unboxing and set up

Inside the box you'll find a reassuringly weighty circular base, four metal poles that form the stem of the lamp, and the light itself. Assembly couldn't be much simpler – the poles screw together, one end attaches to the base, the other connects to the lamp head, and you're done.

In fact, from opening the box to having the lamp standing in my lounge, the whole process took less than five minutes. Thanks to that sturdy base, there's never any sense that it might wobble or tip over, either.

Getting everything connected through the Govee app proved equally straightforward. From there I added it to my existing Alexa setup, and assigned it to my lounge lighting group. Once configured, I could control brightness, colours, and power using voice commands along with the rest of my downstairs lighting.

Design and features

This is where Govee’s offering really stands out. Most smart floor lamps prioritise tech over aesthetics (you know the type – slim light bars designed to disappear into a corner and bathe the wall behind them in coloured light). They do the job well enough, but many look more at home in a gaming den than a living room.

The Lantern Floor Lamp takes a different approach, and it’s mostly thanks to that wonderful silicone lamp head – resembling a gargantuan marshmallow, it's soft, delightfully squishy, and wonderfully tactile, bringing a smile to anyone’s face when they squish it.

In fact, even when switched off, the lamp strikes a balance that's surprisingly difficult to achieve. It feels playful and modern, and would slot in perfectly in a child's bedroom. At the same time, though, it feels just as at home in a grown-up living room. Many RGB lamps lean too heavily towards novelty, while this one feels like a proper piece of furniture.

As for the controls, they’re located on the top of the lamp, but most owners will likely spend their time in the Govee app. Here you'll find access to far more colour controls, scheduling, automation features, music sync modes, scene presets, brightness adjustments, and smart-home integrations. It’s quick to set up, easy to use, and is crammed with features.

Support for the Matter smart home standard also means that it can slot into a wider smart-home setup without too much hassle, while compatibility with Alexa, Google Home, and other major ecosystems makes integration relatively painless.

One thing worth noting is that the silicone diffuser's soft-touch finish does attract dust fairly easily. It's not a major issue, but you'll occasionally find yourself giving it a quick wipe to keep it looking its best.

Performance

While the design initially grabs attention, the performance is what ultimately justifies the Lantern Floor Lamp's place in your home – the transformation when the lamp switches on is remarkable.

When off, soft-touch silicone material looks sleek, clean, and modern. Turn it on, and the transformation is striking. The entire shade suddenly takes on an almost glass-like appearance, and once lit up, it looks far more premium than its materials would suggest.

Some of my favourite results come from simple colour combinations rather than the more distracting extravagant effects. Soft pinks blending into oranges create a warm glow that looks superb in the evenings, while cooler shades give the room a completely different character. The excellent diffusion also helps colours blend together beautifully, avoiding the harsh hotspots that can sometimes affect lesser RGB lighting products.

White-light performance is equally impressive. With adjustable colour temperatures ranging from warm, cosy evening lighting through to cooler settings better suited for reading, the Lantern Floor Lamp proved far more versatile than many decorative smart lights.

Brightness is strong enough to make an impact on a room as well, but the diffused output ensures it never feels too aggressive. It also produces up to 1400 lumens of brightness and offers an adjustable colour temperature range spanning 1000K through to 10,000K.

The Govee app also offers a huge amount of customisation, from scene presets and schedules through to music-reactive modes and colour creation tools. If you enjoy tweaking and experimenting with lighting, there's enough here to keep you busy for quite some time. Throughout testing, Alexa integration also worked reliably, letting me control the lamp along with the rest of my smart lighting setup using simple voice commands.

Verdict

Most smart floor lamps I've tested are functional enough, but they always feel like tech products first, and decorative pieces second. The Govee Lantern Floor Lamp, however, is one of the first ones that I'd happily keep out on full display in my lounge, rather than banished to the corner of my PC office setup.

The smart features are excellent, too. Alexa integration works flawlessly, Matter support helps future-proof things, and the huge range of colours and scenes makes it easy to tailor the atmosphere to suit any taste.

In short, if you've been put off by the gamer aesthetic of many RGB floor lamps, the Govee Lantern Floor Lamp offers something different – a smart lamp that feels properly at home in a grown-up living space.

Alternative to consider

If you prefer a more traditional minimalist and modern aesthetic, the Philips Hue Signe Floor Lamp remains one of the strongest premium alternatives. It offers excellent smart home integration and impressive lighting effects, although its upright light-bar design lacks the decorative charm and furniture-like presence of the Lantern Floor Lamp.

The Govee Floor Lamp Pro is a close competitor to the Hue Signe, offering similar smart lighting features alongside a built-in Bluetooth speaker. However, it also doesn't feel quite as warm or visually distinctive as the Lantern Floor Lamp.

Ninja is no stranger to the world of coffee machines, having launched several models over the past few years. However, what's been particularly interesting is how the brand has approached coffee from multiple angles. We've seen traditional coffee makers, bean-to-cup machines and hybrid systems that attempt to do a bit of everything. Now, Ninja is taking another step forward with the new AutoBarista Pro, a machine that puts a much bigger emphasis on automation than ever before.

Like some of its predecessors, the Ninja AutoBarista Pro combines multiple brewing methods into a single appliance. This time, however, it's bringing together bean-to-cup espresso, filter coffee and rapid cold brew functionality, creating what is arguably Ninja's most ambitious coffee machine to date.

I'm a big fan of both Ninja as a brand and the coffee machines it's released so far, so I couldn't wait to put the AutoBarista Pro to the test.

Price and availability

The Ninja AutoBarista Pro is priced at £899.99 in the UK, making it the brand's most premium coffee machine yet. It's available directly from SharkNinja, as well as retailers including Currys, John Lewis and Argos. In the US, it retails for $949.99.

At launch, the machine is available in a stainless steel finish, although Ninja's website also lists several alternative colours currently marked as sold out, including Midnight Blue, Oat Milk, Mocha and Vista Green. That suggests a wider range of finishes could become available in the near future.

Unboxing and set up

As with most Ninja machines, but somewhat surprisingly compared to other bean-to-cup coffee machines, the AutoBarista Pro is incredibly easy to set up. The whole process mainly involves removing the seemingly endless amount of packaging stickers (something Ninja is very thorough with), attaching the cup rack, and filling both the bean hopper and water tank.

You're also prompted to install the included water filter, which I'd highly recommend if you live in a hard water area like I do. The process is straightforward, and requires soaking the filter for a few minutes, inserting it into the holder, and setting the reminder dial to the month you installed it. Once that's done, it clips into the bottom of the water tank and stays securely in place. After everything is filled and ready to go, you can switch the machine on and start getting familiar with the controls.

At this stage, I did find it slightly disappointing that the water tank isn't accessible from the front, requiring you to pull the machine forward to remove and refill it. Plenty of manufacturers have started addressing this issue on newer models, so it feels like a missed opportunity here.

GrindIQ

Now, the main step to focus on between physically setting the machine up and pouring your first shot is the GrindIQ process. You'll want to run this before you start brewing and again whenever you switch to a different bag of beans. During the sequence, the machine pulls 2-3 shots whilst automatically calibrating the grinder.

GrindIQ works by pulling a shot and monitoring the flow rate and pressure. If either is off, it'll tweak the grind for the next shot, repeating the process until it's happy. That said, if you prefer your espresso a little finer (or coarser), you can still manually offset the grinder by up to two steps either way.

When I ran the calibration, it used around 200g of beans, which felt like quite a lot for the process. It's definitely worth doing to get the best results, but it's something to bear in mind. Personally, it'd make me think twice about using an expensive specialty coffee for calibration, and I'd probably reach for a more affordable bean that I still enjoy instead.

Design and features

Despite featuring 3-in-1 functionality, the AutoBarista Pro is an incredible looking machine. The integrated grinder, central control panel and automatic milk frothing system are all neatly incorporated into the unit, and it all feels very premium indeed. However, there's no getting around the fact that it's a fairly substantial appliance that will demand a decent amount of countertop space.

At the front, you'll find an intuitive control interface that provides access to 13 one-touch drinks, including Espresso, Americano, Cappuccino, Latte, Flat White, Cold Brew and filter coffee. The machine features the brand's new AutoBarista Technology, which removes much of the trial and error traditionally associated with home espresso machines.

It automatically adjusts key brewing variables depending on the drink selected, including Grind iQ Technology, which calibrates the grind size to suit the beans being used, helping to maximise flavour extraction without requiring manual adjustment. Alongside this sits Calibrated Brewing Technology, which optimises water temperature and pressure to ensure each drink is brewed consistently.

The AutoBarista Pro also allows users to create and save up to two custom profiles, storing preferences such as drink strength, size, temperature and froth style. For households with multiple coffee drinkers, this means favourite drinks can be recreated with a single tap rather than having to manually adjust settings each time.

Milk-based drinks are handled by Ninja's FrothPerfect Technology, and it's a significant step up from the simpler frothing system found on the Ninja Prestige DualBrew System. The automatic wand works with both dairy and plant-based milk and offers five froth settings – steamed milk, thin froth, thick froth, extra-thick froth and cold foam.

Ninja has also included two interchangeable 340g bean hoppers, making it easy to switch between different coffee beans without emptying the grinder. This is particularly useful if you like to alternate between regular and decaf coffee or experiment with different roasts.

A dual-shot brewing function is also included, allowing two espresso shots to be prepared simultaneously for faster drink preparation.

Performance

Once I'd finished admiring the AutoBarista Pro, it was time to see how it actually performed. If you've read my reviews before, you'll know that a cappuccino is always my starting point, so that's exactly where I began.

The first thing that caught me off guard was that this isn't the quickest automatic bean-to-cup machine I've tested. After selecting my drink, there was around two to three minutes of grinding, whirring and preparation before anything actually started pouring. That's not necessarily a problem if you're not in a rush, but compared to many rivals, it does feel a little slow.

You're also prompted to pour milk into the jug before the drink starts. Like the Ninja Luxe Café, the jug features clear measuring markers so you know exactly how much milk to add. I particularly liked its larger size, which seemed to help heat the milk more evenly during the frothing process.

Once the brewing process began, the milk was frothed first. Initially, I was concerned that it might cool down before the espresso was ready, but that wasn't an issue and the temperature remained excellent throughout.

I also loved the small lights positioned above both the milk and coffee dispensing areas. It's such a minor detail, but it's something I haven't seen on many machines before. When the milk starts frothing, one light illuminates, and when the espresso begins pouring, another switches on above the coffee outlet. It makes the machine feel more premium and I can imagine it being particularly useful on dark winter mornings.

That said, my first cappuccino was a little disappointing. Despite running the GrindIQ sequence in advance, the espresso shot felt quite watery and lacked the rich crema I'd been expecting. Given it was the machine's first brew, I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. On the plus side, the milk texture was excellent and produced a silky finish.

The next day, I decided to try some different beans to see if the results changed. I therefore ran the GrindIQ sequence and brewed a straight espresso, which definitely helped. There was more crema this time and the shot seemed thicker, so I'd strongly recommend changing coffee beans and running the sequence again if your experience is similar to mine.

Performance then seemed to improve slightly after several drinks, and the machine became quicker once it had settled in. That said, it's still not the fastest bean-to-cup machine I've tested. I'll pop a TikTok below, but please be aware I've cut it down for timing purposes and it features the first cappuccino I made before switching beans.

Where the AutoBarista Pro really shines is customisation. The large display is excellent, making it easy to adjust drink strength, add an extra shot, alter milk texture and tweak brewing temperatures. Everything is clearly laid out and straightforward to navigate.

One feature I particularly appreciated was the dual bean hopper system, which is something you typically see more often on manual bean-to-cup machines than fully automatic models. Whilst I probably won't switch between hoppers every day, I love the fact that they're removable for cleaning.

I've lost count of the number of times I've had to tip a machine upside down to remove leftover coffee beans before returning it to a brand, so being able to lift the hopper off entirely will make maintenance far easier.

Verdict

The Ninja AutoBarista Pro is an incredibly user-friendly automatic bean-to-cup coffee machine. Setup is simple, the interface is intuitive, and the sheer amount of drink customisation on offer makes it easy to tailor drinks to your exact preferences. Features such as the dual bean hoppers, automatic milk frothing system and user profiles also help justify its premium positioning.

That said, it isn't perfect. Brewing can feel slower than some rivals, and a high espresso quality can involve multiple GrindIQ sequences, which uses up a lot of beans. However, if convenience, versatility and ease of use are your priorities, the AutoBarista Pro is a highly capable all-in-one coffee machine that you will immensely enjoy.

Alternatives to consider

If you'd prefer to stay with Ninja but don't necessarily need the AutoBarista Pro's fully automatic approach, the Ninja Luxe Café remains an excellent alternative. It's a little more hands-on and requires more user input, but it rewards that effort with fantastic coffee and remains one of the brand's strongest machines.

Another impressive alternative is the De'Longhi Eletta Ultra. It's one of the newest premium bean-to-cup machines on the market and offers an enormous drinks menu alongside excellent personalisation features. It is more expensive than the AutoBarista Pro, however, so you'll need to decide whether those extra features justify the additional outlay.

Not sure how I ended up reviewing fans for T3, but I’m not complaining, especially in this weather.

After my AirCraft Lume review, which helped me survive the last heatwave in the UK, Meaco got in touch asking if I were up to review one of the brand’s new models, the WiFi-enabled MeacoFan Sefte Pro 10” Air Circulator.

At the time, the temperature wasn’t nearly as high as it is now, so I agreed to the review but told the brand I won’t be able to test the fan until the weather gets hotter. Fast forward two weeks, and I’m writing these words with the Sefte Pro facing me on almost full blast – otherwise, the heat is pretty unbearable.

I’ve been using the MeacoFan Sefte Pro all week during the 30+ heatwave, and I’m pretty impressed with its build quality and performance. It’s quiet, robust, and thanks to its WiFi capability, it can also be integrated into your smart home setup (Alexa and Google Assistant).

It’s an air circulator, so don’t expect it to be cooling your home (unless you place a bowl of icy water in front of the fan), and the WiFi connectivity doesn’t make a lot of sense if you don’t have smart ambitions, as you can just use the controller to operate the Sefte Pro from afar.

However, if you’re looking for a sturdy fan with strong air-circulation performance, the Sefte Pro is an excellent option. Plus, thanks to its battery, it’s truly portable and can be moved around the house without having to hunt for sockets everywhere. Just wish I could adjust its height gradually, like my trusty MeacoFan 1056.

MeacoFan Sefte Pro 10” Pedestal Air Circulator review

Price and availability

The Sefte Pro 10” Pedestal Air Circulator retails for £200 (~$264 / €232 / AU$382) at Meaco and third-party retailers such as John Lewis, Amazon and B&Q in the UK. Needless to say, the fan is out of stock or on backorder at the moment, but most retailers will ship units by the end of the week.

Meaco doesn’t seem to sell its fans in the US or Australia, and availability in the European market varies by country, so I can’t tell how much they cost there. If you need more of a tabletop fan, MeacoFan also sells the Sefte Pro 10” Table Air Circulator for £120 (~$158 / €139 / AU$229).

Specifications

• Fan type: Air circulator
• Format: Pedestal
• Number of speeds: 12
• Oscillation: Yes
• Timer: Yes
• Maximum fan flow: 19.18 m³/min
• Standby power consumption: 0.5 W
• Weight: 5.8 kg (~12.78 lbs)

Design and build quality

The Sefte Pro comes in four parts, and it’s easy to assemble. Just screw the two pedestal columns together wth the fan and base units using the collars, and voila! The Sefte Pro is ready to go. You can also attach the fan unit directly to the base unit, forming a sort of tabletop fan (albeit quite oversized), or use just the one column for a slightly shorter setup.

The 9,200 mAh battery that enables the Sefte Pro to operate without a cord is located at the bottom of the base unit. To me, this is the most appealing feature of the fan – I can just lift it up and take it to a different room without hunting for sockets. Better still, the battery is powerful enough to power the Sefte Pro for 5.5 hours at full blast (and 11 hours on the lowest setting).

The circular remote is reminiscent of the MeacoFan 1056 and lets you control all aspects of the fan, including vertical and horizontal oscillation, fan speed, and more. You can also use the buttons on the fan to turn it on and off and cycle through speed settings, but nothing else. Weirdly, Meaco didn’t think about adding a carry handle to the Sefte Pro.

The unit weighs 5.8 kg (~12.78 lbs), light enough to be carried in one hand. The connecting poles are thick-ish, lending the Sefte Pro a sturdy feel without making it look or feel bulky. The cable attaches to the base unit, which is a lot tidier than the AirCraft Lume’s mid-stem approach.

Performance and features

The Sefte Pro can move quite a lot of air, thanks to its large blades and robust fan unit. It has 12 speed settings, with the lower settings producing almost no audible noise. You will start hearing the fan when you reach level 7, but even on the maximum setting, you will be able to converse with people near the Sefte Pro without having to shout.

Power consumption on the second speed setting (with no oscillation) is around 5W, which is low enough not to rack up a huge electricity bill. Crank up the intensity to 11 and turn on the spin, and the needle goes up to 22-23W, which still isn’t huge. Meaco claims standby power consumption is around 0.5W.

As mentioned above, the Sefte Pro can connect to your smartphone via WiFi. This allows the fan to be controlled via the app, which is somewhat redundant given that a remote is included in the box.

However, things get more interesting when you connect the app to third-party smart assistants, such as Alexa or Google Assistant. Meaco says you can control power, fan speed, modes and timers via both the app and voice assistants (and a smart speaker). Not just that, but you can also weave together all your Meaco products around the house and instruct the smart assistant accordingly (e.g. turn on the bedroom fan on speed 4).

Back to the fan operation, you can adjust both vertical and horizontal oscillation angles to narrow, medium, or wide. The Sefte Pro offers limited downward tilt, meaning its maximum 65º tilt is primarily useful for directing airflow towards the ceiling. It will go up to 120º horizontally, though.

It has three modes: Normal, Night and ECO. Normal is, well, Normal, while Night mode will gradually reduce speed to 1 and turn off the display. In ECO mode, the Sefte Pro will automatically adjust fan speed based on the room temperature, which is displayed in the middle of the screen at all times (unless you turn off the display).

Verdict

The MeacoFan Sefte Pro 10" is an excellent air circulator that combines strong airflow, whisper-quiet operation and genuinely useful portability thanks to its built-in battery. The sturdy build, flexible oscillation, multiple height options and excellent remote make it a pleasure to use, while ECO mode helps keep running costs low.

The Wi-Fi connectivity is the one feature that feels harder to justify. Unless you already have a smart home setup with Alexa or Google Assistant, the app doesn't add much over the included remote control, making the Sefte Pro pricier than it arguably needs to be. If voice control and automation aren't priorities, you'll likely get better value from one of Meaco's non-Wi-Fi models.

That said, if you want a premium fan that's quiet, efficient, genuinely portable and ready to slot into a connected home, the Sefte Pro is one of the best pedestal air circulators I've tested.

Also consider

If you don't need Wi-Fi or voice control, the MeacoFan 1056 remains the sweet spot in the brand’s range. It offers similarly excellent airflow, whisper-quiet operation, ECO mode and the superb magnetic remote, while its sliding height adjustment is actually more convenient than the Sefte Pro's fixed positions. You lose the built-in battery and smart features, but save around £40-£60 depending on current prices.

If you're spending premium-fan money anyway, the Dyson Pure Cool TP04 is worth considering. It combines powerful air circulation with HEPA air purification, smart home integration, and a companion app, making it a better fit for allergy sufferers or anyone who wants cleaner air and a cooling breeze. It isn't as portable as the Sefte Pro and lacks a built-in battery, but it offers a much broader feature set.

Pellet grills – or smokers as we sometimes call them – have been around since the 1980s but until relatively recently they occupied a niche corner of outdoor cooking – ie, too technical for casual grillers and viewed with suspicion by conventional barbecue purists who considered thermostats, sensors, computer processors and augers borderline cheating.

Fast forward to today and pellet cooking has exploded in popularity because it delivers something increasingly rare – consistently brilliant wood-fired food without requiring the user to spend hours hovering over a fire with a look of mild panic.

The appeal of pellet grilling is obvious. Simply fill the hopper with compressed hardwood pellets, set a temperature, press a button and let the grill’s electronic controller, auger and fan manage the rest, whether it’s cooking standard BBQ fare, a low-and-slow rack of ribs, baked salmon, a roast chicken or a seared steak. With this type of grill you get genuine wood-fired flavour and all the theatre of alfresco cooking, but with indoor oven-like temperature precision.

With this in mind, I recently took delivery of the Pit Boss Competition Titan, a pellet smoker so unapologetically huge and feature-packed that it feels less like a barbecue and more like a permanent outdoor cooking installation. The question is, does all this size and technology actually make for a better alfresco feast? Let’s fire it up and see.

Pit Boss Competition Titan review: price and availability

The Pit Boss Competition Titan occupies premium pellet-grill territory so, as you might reasonably expect, its pricing reflects both its sheer scale and impressive set of features.

In the UK, expect to pay around £1,999, although discounts are already appearing. At the time of writing, stock is available at my personal go-to store Pro Smoke BBQ plus BBQ Land and Appliances Direct, where it’s currently shifting for £1,799.

In the US, the Titan’s official retail price is a much cheaper $1,299, mostly because shipping is far less expensive. US buyers should check out Academy since it appears to be Pit Boss’s main US dealer, at least for this specific grill.

Pit Boss Competition Titan review: design and features

The Pit Boss Competition Titan is a pellet grill designed with the sort of visual presence normally reserved for American pit master competitions, pickup trucks and outdoor Texas kitchens. It looks enormous and imposing in any situation – let alone on a small UK patio – and once you take a peek inside and see its gigantic cooking area, the scale of this monster grill becomes properly apparent.

Like all pellet grills, the Titan thankfully arrived with the cooking section, lid and pellet hopper pre-assembled. However, since this beast is so big and heavy (about 120 kilos), it will require at least two people to haul its main carcass to where you want to assemble it. I’d say it took me a leisurely four hours to build with the odd break and most of the assembly went very smoothly with only one occasion where I had to force a panel into alignment.

The Titan’s construction is reassuringly over engineered with heavy-gauge steel, a substantial two-door cupboard finished with chunky steel handles, four lockable castor wheels and generous prep areas courtesy of fixed and folding side tables plus a sturdy collapsible front table.

The heavy-duty roll-top lid deserves special mention, too. It’s seriously heavy but thankfully it opens with surprisingly little effort, gliding backwards rather than lifting skyward. Its oven-style rope sealing, meanwhile, keeps heat in while providing a soft close.

The headline figure with this smoker is its vast cooking area – a humongous 10,474cm² (162in² in old money) – spread across three deep stainless-steel grill inserts. For the record, the two bottom grills measure 80cm x 42cm (31”x16.5”) and the shallower top one at 80cm x 32cm (31”x12.5”).

But get this, rather than having the grill trays fixed in position like almost all barbecues, Pit Boss has fitted removable sliding mechanisms to each grill shelf so each section can be pulled outward independently like an oven rack, which makes access dramatically easier when you’re juggling briskets, ribs, Moroccan lamb and enough burgers to feed half the street. Better still, unused inserts have dedicated storage at the rear of the grill.

The Titan’s fuel comes from an equally oversized 18kg (40lb) pellet hopper mounted to the left. It includes a transparent viewing window so you can check pellet levels at a glance and, unusually, an internal divider that allows different wood blends to be mixed or separated for customised smoke flavours.

Central to any pellet grill is the electronic control display that regulates the grill's temperature much like a kitchen oven. In a pellet grill, this is performed using an auger (a long corkscrew mechanism) that feeds the compressed wood pellets in the hopper to a raging fire pot directly under the obligatory heat shield that sits just below the grill grates. The higher you set the cooking temperature, the faster the pellets are delivered and vice versa.

In the past, some pellet grills have caught fire – very rare it must be said – usually because of a poorly-designed auger channel and too much fat build-up as a result of inadequate maintenance. Thankfully, the Titan’s up-hill auger is designed to improve pellet flow efficiency while eradicating the chance of burn-back and auger jams.

If you need to change your pellets from, say, apple to mesquite wood, there’s a large lever on the left of the hopper which you pull to release the contents into a bucket. However, ‘big red button’ syndrome makes this intriguing lever too inviting for inquisitive visitors who may feel the urge to pull it, releasing the contents of the hopper all over the floor. I’m telling you this because a friend of mine did just that, but thankfully managed to close it immediately without too many pellets spilling everywhere. But if there are children about, I would warn them in advance or you’ll be sweeping up pellets for the next hour or so.

The Pit Boss Competition Titan’s control interface strikes a smart balance between simplicity and depth, making it approachable for beginners while offering enough flexibility for experienced pit masters. Dominating the front panel is a bright 10.9cm touchscreen display controller that shows current and target temperatures, pellet delivering status and probe readings at a glance.

The display controller’s main role is precise temperature management from 65˚C to 260˚C (150° to 500°F) in five degree increments. Set the temperature low (around 110˚C) for traditional smoking sessions where ultra long exposure to wood flavour is key. Mid-range settings of around 180˚C work brilliantly well for roasting chicken and vegetables, while higher temperatures transform the Titan into a traditional barbecue grill, and one that can genuinely sear steaks. This is made possible by dint of Pit Boss’s unique Flame Broiler system which is activated by pulling on a handle on the left hand side which opens a series of slats in the heat shield just above the burn pot. If you look through the slats you’ll see a raging inferno beneath, and once fat starts dripping it creates a scenario ripe for naked flame grilling, which is perfect for caramelising steaks.

Furthermore, this model comes with Pit Boss’ proprietary VST (Variable Smoke Technology). VST lets you fine-tune smoke output by adjusting how often pellets are fed and how much airflow is used in the burn chamber. This gives greater control over flavour intensity, allowing heavier smoke for brisket or ribs, or a lighter profile for poultry and roasting, while still maintaining stable cooking temperatures throughout. The Titan’s integrated meat probe inputs, meanwhile, remove much of the guesswork of barbecuing, allowing users to monitor internal food temperatures without repeatedly lifting the lid and losing heat.

The whole process of cooking with this grill is mostly hands off because it allows plenty of time for you to chat to your guests instead of being chained to the grill. You can even monitor and control the Titan’s internal temperature using the Pit Boss app.

Pit Boss Competition Titan: performance

Before I get to this model’s performance, I should add that any cooking system requiring electricity, computer processors and sensors to function should ideally be checked well before guests arrive because things can go wrong where tech is involved.

Thankfully I’ve had no such pre-party shenanigans happen to me and I’ve reviewed many pellet smokers and smart barbecues over the years, but I’m still mindful that they are not like standard charcoal barbecues which will work 100% of the time, mostly because there's nothing but charcoal involved.

To assess the Pit Boss Competition Titan’s low-and-slow credentials, I loaded it with a rack of pork spare ribs and followed the classic 3-2-1 method: three hours exposed to smoke at 110˚C with occasional apple juice spritzes, two hours wrapped in foil with a splash more juice, and a final hour back on the grate while I coated the ribs with glaze. For the finishing flourish, I raised the temperature to 175˚C for the last 15 minutes to set the glaze while keeping a close eye out for scorching.

The Titan’s performance during the cook was extremely impressive. For the entire opening stage it sat resolutely at 110˚C, deviating by no more than around two degrees either side of target. That level of temperature stability is exactly what you want from a premium pellet grill because consistency, more than outright heat output, is what separates a decent barbecue from an exceptional one.

There was one interesting wrinkle, however. Since I had no option but to cook in direct sunlight, the steel lid eventually absorbed enough heat to trigger a temperature spike in the companion app, which briefly reported 143˚C. This isn’t unique to the Titan, mind, because most pellet grills can produce exaggerated readings when the body is exposed to strong sun. Positioning the grill in shade, under a large parasol quickly calmed things down and restored normal readings.

As for the ribs? They emerged exactly as hoped, with a deep smoky flavour, a shiny lacquered exterior and indulgent, fall-off-the-bone tenderness.

I also tried a whole chicken at 180˚C and it turned out noticeably better than if cooked in my kitchen oven. Pellet grills always seem to hit a sweet spot between convection roasting and gentle smoke, and the Titan absolutely nailed it. The meat remained astonishingly juicy while the skin crisped up beautifully – something domestic ovens often struggle to achieve without drying the breast. Better still, because the chicken sat directly on the grill grate rather than stewing in a roasting tin, the underside browned properly, too, instead of emerging pale and soggy.

Although the Titan comes with two wired probes, I elected to use the superbly reliable wire-free Meater Pro (£129) for all my cooks. This probe syncs with its dedicated phone app to keep tabs on the food’s internal temperatures. I simply inserted it into the ribs and the whole chicken, set my preferred done-ness target and it sent me warnings just before the food was ready and when it had reached the time to take the food off.

It goes without saying that this smoker-cum-grill has become my new go-to outdoor cooker, whether it’s just a quick whip up for my partner and I or a veritable feast for half the village.

I personally find this style of automated outdoor cooking so amazingly effortless and versatile that it's hard going back to standard charcoal and gas. But then I’m no purist and will always take the easy option when hunger strikes.

Pit Boss Competition Titan review: verdict

The Pit Boss Competition Titan is a huge American-sized set-and-forget pellet grill that dominates any outdoor space and delivers impressively consistent, flavourful cooking across a wide temperature range, including searing.

No question, the Titan’s performance is exceptional, but its sheer scale and premium price put it firmly in enthusiast territory rather than something for casual patio or backyard use.

Seeing as both the Ninja Woodfire Electric Outdoor Oven and Electric Smoker went down extremely well at T3 Towers, we have been chomping at the bit (or should that be burned sausage?) to have a go with Ninja’s take on a propane grill.

But like the two aforementioned five-star items, Ninja cleverly pairs its expertise in electricity with the support of propane gas to create what it claims to be a true 5-in-1 outdoor cooking solution that’s just as happy banging out burgers and searing steaks as it is slow-roasting an entire bird.

The premise is relatively simple: it fuses a standard three-burner system with a cyclonic fan that gets the unit up to temperature in record time, as well as circulating heat and smoke evenly around the food inside. Flavoured smoke comes courtesy of a small pellet burner that sits next to the unit, which pumps out smoke for the fan to draw in and swirl around the culinary masterpiece for genuine barbecue flavours.

Ninja’s claim of 5-in-1 versatility also comes from the fact that it will sell you a pizza stone and flat-plate or plancha griddle separately, which adds a further three cooking methods to the existing grill, smoke and roast functions.

It’s a handsome unit, available in four colours (the blue and green look the smartest), but it’s not exactly cheap and, as you'll see in this review, it takes a fair amount of assembly to get it set up. But before I give anything away, here's my full Ninja FlexFlame review.

Ninja FlexFlame review: price and availability

In the UK, the Ninja FlexFlame currently costs £999.99 / $999.99, but this is for just the barbecue itself. Ninja throws in a small bag of wood pellets for free, which is enough for one cook.

There’s also a 5-in-1 bundle, which is very much worth the extra money, as it includes a plancha grill surface, pizza stone, pizza peel and a waterproof cover — important if you want the FlexFlame to stay looking fresh after a few winters.

This bundle is currently priced at £949.99, down from its original RRP of £1,249.99, although the items can all be purchased separately.

It is worth noting that you’ll need patio gas to run it, as well as access to mains power, although it will work if you happen to have portable power stations, such as those from EcoFlow and Jackery, which are capable of delivering DC output.

Ninja FlexFlame review: design and build

The Ninja FlexFlame arrives in an enormous box, which will require at least two people to lift into position. While the stand and panels aren’t particularly heavy, the main cooking grill weighs a ton, so you’ll need to rope those friends back in when it comes time to build.

For me, this was the most annoying part, as constructing the FlexFlame is akin to embarking on a complicated Ikea flat-pack project — the instructions are clear and simple, but set aside around two hours to get it done. There’s also a lot of packaging to store or get rid of afterwards.

Once built, it’s a handsome-looking thing and most of the surfaces feel robust and well made. The brass-coloured handle for the grill lid is a nice touch and the digital display for the precision burner control is easy to read in the sunshine.

If I was to get picky, the metal used for the side-mounted prep tables and front doors feels thin and flimsy, while the plastic dials would look and feel much better if they were made from something more robust.

As previously mentioned, it is well worth heading out to purchase a cover, as I am not convinced it wouldn’t start rusting after a few torrential downpours. Similarly, the half- or full-griddle optional extras feel like essentials, as the gaps in the metal grill surface are large enough for kebabs and other smaller food items to easily fall between.

Alternatively, you can save a bit of money and pick up some inexpensive non-stick grill mats, which do a very similar job to a plancha for a fraction of the price.

Ninja FlexFlame review: performance and features

The first thing to hit any new owner is just how fast the FlexFlame gets up to temperature, with Ninja suggesting a 10-minute pre-heat, but it can be far less if you’re happy not cooking on a molten 315°C searing surface.

Once plugged into the mains (or portable power, like I had to while my patio was being ripped up), it’s simply a case of selecting from the pre-set cooking modes via the precision burner dial. These include roasting or baking, low-and-slow cooking, and grilling or searing.

There’s further control over the temperature via a dedicated temperature dial, while the digital read-out indicates which gas burners are active. This is another clever and well-thought-out feature, as it allows for precise, slow roasts with the middle burner deactivated in bake or roast mode to ensure outer layers or skins of meat aren’t burnt to a crisp.

It’s also possible to cook with just the front two burners running, allowing vegetables and other more delicate foodstuffs to cook slowly at the rear.

During one cook-out, I placed some fresh corn on the top rack, well away from the grill surface itself, and, over the course of a full BBQ session (chicken, pork belly and some burgers, yum), it was beautifully soft with a tasty exterior crunch (yummier).

The woodfire smoker box also allows budding chefs to inject more flavour, with plenty of control over how much smoke is entering the cooking chamber. Simply fill the small hopper with Ninja-approved pellets, hit the big button and wait around 10 minutes for it to ignite.

It generally kicks out a lot of smoke and you’ll need to leave the lid down to get the most out of these aromatic flavours (the cyclonic fan automatically shuts off when the lid is opened anyway), but it’s potent enough to give a light woodfire hint to burgers, steaks and chicken when grilling.

Set the FlexFlame to low-and-slow or roast mode and the charring really penetrates the meat or vegetables that you have in there. I roasted a whole chicken one Sunday with Ninja’s All-Purpose Blend pellets and the meat was delicious — a rich, smoky flavour to the crispy skin, but with fantastically moist meat underneath.

The possibilities are near endless when it comes to cooking an array of food in a variety of styles and, while it is difficult to beat a real charcoal barbecue, the addition of these woodfire pellets aims to make up for some of the shortcomings.

Ninja FlexFlame review: verdict

The Ninja FlexFlame is incredibly easy to use and works brilliantly as a standard outdoor gas grill, but it also makes up for its lofty price tag with the ability to cook in multiple ways.

More adventurous chefs can spend hours slowly smoking an entire pork shoulder, while family pizza night is dead simple if you throw a pizza stone onto the surface.

Simply because it ignites and heats up so quickly, I found myself using it whenever the weather was good enough to cook outdoors. It’s very easy to clean, requiring only a quick scrub of the enamel-coated cast-iron grates and the occasional emptying of the included fat tray, which can also be tossed in the dishwasher.

In essence, it takes everything that’s brilliant about Ninja’s electric barbecue grill and smoker technology and beefs it up with a 425-square-inch cooking surface and the ability to open the lid and cook just like you can on a good old-fashioned gas grill.

The Apple Studio Display XDR is the second generation of Studio Display, providing a relatively affordable home monitor to pair with the Mac Studio or MacBook Pro.

It replaces the former 32-inch Pro XDR model, which sat alongside the original Studio Display, which was close to five grand. At double the price of the original Studio Display, it’s by no means cheap though.

This new 27-inch model is a step up from the Studio Display in almost all areas. It uses a mini LED rather than an LED display, which is much brighter, and finally offers a faster refresh rate of up to 120Hz – something previously lacking from Apple’s lineup.

Those using a Mac mini or MacBook Air are probably better served by the standard Studio Display or one of the many third-party options. However, for those wanting ultimate performance, the Studio Display XDR is likely to fit the bill.

Having used the Studio Display as my main display for the last year, I was keen to see how much better this new model is. I’ve been running both the Studio Display and Studio Display XDR from a Mac Studio for the past few weeks, to compare. While the Studio Display still holds up as an excellent monitor, the XDR model is that much better.

How much is the Apple Studio Display XDR?

Released in March 2026, the Apple Studio Display XDR starts from £2999 in the UK, $3299 in the US or A$5499 in Australia. Unlike the Studio Display, the height-adjustable stand comes as standard, though you can purchase it with a VESA mount adapter for wall mounting or attaching to monitor poles.

The only configurable feature is the option to have the nano-texture glass display. This provides a matte surface to the display, much like on the iPad Pro and the MacBook Pro. This isn’t a coating, this is part of the display, and the difference is stark. It does add £300 to the price, but if you are placing it in a bright room where reflections are likely, it’s well worth it.

Design and features

Design-wise, it’s difficult to tell the XDR version apart from the standard Studio Display. From the front, the black bezels are identical, with a 12MP CentreStage camera built in at the middle of the top bezel. Meanwhile, the back view has the same two USB-C and two powered Thunderbolt 5 ports.

The one potential giveaway is if it has just a tilting stand, though it’s possible to get both with the height and tilt adjustments. To really tell the difference, you need to plug the display in and take a look at the picture, as that’s where the difference really lies.

While the Studio Display XDR still offers a 5K resolution, it now has a 120Hz refresh rate with adaptive sync to adjust the frame rate to suit different media. This makes the display ideal for gaming, which is an area the Studio Display range has previously fallen down on.

The display itself now also uses mini-LED backlight technology, as opposed to standard LEDs, with 2304 dimming zones to provide more precise lighting and, therefore, deeper blacks and whiter whites. This is high compared to most mini-LED TVs, especially considering the size of the screen.

It’s brighter, too with up to 1,000 nits in standard definition and a peak of 2,000 nits for HDR content

Using the Apple Studio Display XDR

The Studio Display XDR is a great-looking monitor. With the brushed aluminium stand and back, along with the clean black bezels on the front, it looks every bit the Apple product and therefore sits perfectly alongside any Mac.

Due to the cost of this monitor, it’s likely to be paired with higher-end machines, but it will work perfectly well with any MacBook, Mac mini or Mac Studio. A 27-inch display is the perfect size for most desks, and more than enough real estate for most users. If you are connecting it to a MacBook, you can still use the laptop’s screen as a second display, but in practice, it’s not necessary.

The main requirement is that your machine is running on Apple silicon (so M1 and above) and is using macOS 26.3.1 or later. It is also compatible with newer iPad models, including all iPad Pro models and the iPad Air 5th generation or newer. The latest iPad Pro M5 will even support 120Hz when connected to the Studio Display XDR, while all other iPads are limited to 60Hz.

I love how clean and simple the Studio XDR display looks, thanks to the ports being kept on the back. I also love the height adjustment on this model, as it means you can position the screen in the right place for your line of vision – there’s nothing worse than spending out on a fancy monitor and then having to prop it up on books, or an additional stand.

As with the standard studio monitor, the built-in webcam is excellent, giving you 12MP images or high-quality video calls. It also has built-in microphones and speakers – the speakers especially sound nice and big, giving you full spatial audio from the six-speaker system.

The best thing about the display, though, has to be the picture. As I said in my review of the original Apple Studio Display, its picture is absolutely stunning, and for general use the Studio Display XDR looks very similar.

Where it differs most is in the brightness, though there are subtleties between the images from the XDR and the standard model, with a little more contrast and gentler gradation on tones. It’s a tough call to the naked eye, though, and you wouldn’t be unhappy with either.

Refresh rate is the big ticket feature here, and having 120Hz on the XDR. You can test this quite easily for yourself using different online tools, like Test UFO, but you can really see it if you play fast-frame-rate games, such as DOOM Eternal. I noticed the difference playing Cyberpunk 2077 and even in the sequences of Civilization VII.

Should I buy the Apple Studio Display XDR?

For most Apple users, the regular Studio Display is still more than enough monitor, and if you want 120Hz, there are other options that cost significantly less. However, if you want the very best experience for your Mac, the Studio Display XDR is the one to go for.

Using this monitor is a dream, whether you’re working or gaming. The quality of both still and moving images is hard to beat, and the built-in speakers, microphone and cameras save you needing any add-ons apart from the computer itself.

While possibly overkill for most home users, it does offer pro-quality, so whether you’re editing video, images or 3D modelling, you will get a precise image and accurate colour. It’s the perfect pairing for the Mac Studio devices, but equally at home with a MacBook Pro.

Some users may miss the 32-inch size of the former model, but there’s always the option to pair two of these screens together for a giant workspace. Personally, I wouldn’t want anything bigger than 27 inches on my desk. I would love to see an iMac Pro offering, though, at this size.

I have been a big fan of Omorpho since I tried the brand’s weighted vest a couple of years ago. If you know anything about weighted vests, you might be familiar with the absolute lack of innovation in the category, which is why it’s nice that at least one company takes these products seriously.

The Omorpho G-Vest, which I tried back in 2024 and still use to this day, features a set of ball bearings (the so-called MicroLoad spheres) that distribute weight evenly across the vest. The updated G Vest Icon follows the same approach while also introducing the G-Pack system.

It’s three flat weight panels that snap inside the vest, allowing progressive overload while keeping the same slim profile. Men's versions can go from 10 lb to 20 lb, and the women's from 6 lb to 12 lb.

The G Vest Icon also has a more refined silhouette, making it even better suited for running and walking than its predecessor. It’s the best weighted vest you can buy right now, unless you prefer bulky models that flop around every time you move during your workout.

Omorpho G Vest Icon review

Price and availability

The G Vest Icon was launched in October 2025 and is available to buy now at Omorpho US, Omorpho UK and Omorpho EU, with prices starting at $319 / £259 / €299. It comes in three colours in the UK and EU (the new Deep Sea, Ocean (blue) and Black), with the good folks in the US also having a fourth option, Black Earth.

The weighted vest comes in three size options: Small-Medium, Large-Extra Large and Extra-Extra Large. The G Pack costs $99 / £79 / €99 when purchased with the G Vest Icon and $129 / £109 / €129 if you buy it on its own. The G Pack comes in only one colour (black).

Design and materials

The G Vest Icon uses the same 100% laminated polyester-to-synthetic-rubber construction as its predecessor, with stainless steel ball bearings encased inside. I haven’t counted the balls, but there are quite a few both on the front and back. The front has angled lines with no balls, presumably to let you bend forward more easily.

The three size options weigh differently, between 4.4 and 4.9 kg. My L-XL model weighs 4.8 kg. The G Vest Icon is fully adjustable via the side cords and the shoulder straps. One of the main benefits of Omorpho’s system is that it lets you find the closest fit to your body, which is handy during fast-paced workouts, especially walking and running.

The front features a full-length zip, and thanks to its slender design, the vest is easy to put on and take off. The curved hem helps, too. Running down the middle of the back is a ventilation channel. Omorpho recommends spot-cleaning or hand-washing the G Vest Icon in cold water, then hanging it to dry in the shade.

Performance and comfort

One of the best things about the G Vest Icon – especially in the heat we’re experiencing at the moment – is that you can wear it directly on your skin. I found the straps even more comfortable than those on the original G Vest, distributing weight evenly across both shoulders.

The side cords can be adjusted with just one pull, with the little gadget locking into position automatically. Once you've adjusted the vest, you won’t have to adjust it again for a while, unless you share it with someone else. Just make sure you wipe it off after every use.

The MicroLoad system works just as well as before. I used the G Vest Icon mostly for home workouts and had zero complaints about it. Of course, it’s still not ideal for exercises when you have to lie down on the floor, but that’s a tall ask from any weighted vest.

The vest works wonderfully for walking and can be used for running, too. A running-specific model (G-Vest Run) is coming soon; if you want to use the vest for that, I might wait. That said, the G Vest Icon is versatile enough for running, so if you need a model that does it all, I’d go with the current one.

If I have to offer any criticism, it’s that even with the G Pack, which costs extra, by the way, the vest is still pretty light compared to the competition. Of course, it’s also a lot more comfortable, so there is that.

Verdict

The Omorpho G Vest Icon takes everything that made the original G Vest one of my favourite fitness accessories and improves on it. The addition of the G-Pack system provides much-needed flexibility, while the refined fit makes the vest even more comfortable for walking, running, and general workouts.

It's still lighter than many traditional weighted vests, particularly once you start doing more strength-focused training, and having to pay extra for the additional weight panels feels a little cheeky at this price.

That said, no other weighted vest I've tested comes close to matching the G Vest Icon's comfort, fit and versatility. If your idea of weighted training involves moving rather than simply loading up as much weight as possible, the Omorpho G Vest Icon is the best weighted vest money can buy.

I jumped at the chance to review the Roborock Qrevo S Pro. Why? Because it is a robot vacuum and mop and the thought of something else cleaning the floors was a huge relief.

The reality was no different. I’ve been releasing the Roborock Qrevo S Pro on a daily roam around the ground floor of my home, to vacuum the carpets and rugs and mop the hard wooden floors. It has been two weeks and so far, so good.

I’ve challenged it with deliberately dropped dried cereals and the daily debris bought in by a young family. It certainly had its work cut out for it. Keep reading to see if it’s the best robot vacuum cleaner for your household, or if you’re going to stick with the best cordless vacuum after all.

Price and availability

The Roborock Qrevo S Pro is available to buy for a cool £549.49, either direct from the brand or a go-to favorite reseller, Amazon.

While it was only just launched at the end of April 2026, this robot vacuum and mop combo regularly takes a discount. For example, right now it’s discounted by 15% which takes the price you pay down to £479.99.

Regardless of where you buy it from, Roborock or Amazon, you’ll get free delivery and free returns. This alone will save a small fortune because I would consider it a “bulky” item to ship.

Unboxing and set up

The Roborock Qrevo S Pro is one of the easiest smart devices I have ever tested. It’s a bold claim, I know, but in fewer than five minutes I had all the hardware to this robot and mop combo set up and connected to the Roborock app on my phone.

This was helped by the Quick Start Guide which is included in the package contents. On this sheet of A3 laminated card were printed five steps to installation and four steps to connect to the app. Also included were mop cloth mounts, a user manual, the robot itself, a power cord and the dock.

I located my Qrevo S Pro, aka “Richard”, in our hallway backed against the wall. This is a hard, wood floor situated between the lounge at the front of the house and the kitchen/diner to the rear. It’s recommended that the dock is positioned on a hard, flat floor and flat against the wall, with a minimum radius of 0.4m wide and 1.2m depth of non-obstructive space around it.

With the dock base attached to the main dock (it's removable for easier cleaning), power cord connected to the back of the dock, water tank filled up and the mop cloth mounted, all that’s left to do is download the app and follow the on-screen instructions.

The maiden voyage of the Qrevo S Pro will be to map the floor space that you want cleaned. If there are any rooms that you don’t want cleaned for whatever reason then just shut the door; our “Richard” soon got the hint.

Design and features

On paper, the Roborock Qrevo S Pro is packed full of features; precise mapping and obstacle avoidance, 18,500Pa suction and anti-tangle system, dual liftable spinning mops, 65-days without dustbag emptying, 45°C high temperature cleaning and 75°C warm air self drying.

The reality is no different.

It maps the space/s you want cleaned on the maiden voyage. It took our “Richard” a couple of attempts because a door to a room was shut during the mapping process and a few too many dining chairs (each with four legs) caused a bit too much of an obstacle course to navigate.

While the map doesn’t appear to update after each clean, certainly each cleaning course is different when “Richard” is working its way across the floors. With two young children in the house, there are always toys around – and the toy storage moves with it. This means that no two cleaning routes are the same, but “Richard” takes this in its stride and just cleans what it can get to by dodging any obstacles.

I have to admit that I don’t have a way to measure the suction being promised. However, I can hear that the suction is adjusted as “Richard” transitions between the carpets, rugs and hard flooring. I also can not see any hairs in a tangle on the roller bar or side brush.

It does also feature two mops that rotate when cleaning, and lift while vacuuming. It does look as though these mops are dragged across the carpet and rugs, but I haven’t noticed any dampness on its route to report.

After two weeks of testing “Richard” at least once-a-day I can see that both mop pads look (and smell) clean. I can not see any obvious staining and I’m satisfied that they will continue to clean the floor, rather than make it dirty again.

These two mop pads are positioned on the underside of the Roborock Qrevo S Pro, alongside the all-rubber main brush which, as we’ve explored, doesn’t get into a tangle with hair.

This main brush is nestled between two wheels with an enhanced omni-wheel featuring a built-in brush that aims to reduce maintenance. Furthermore, a side brush on the top left of the robot & mop combo will sweep crumbs and debris into the path of the main brush for banishing to the dustbag.

Flip over to the otherside and there are two buttons – “Home” and “Stop”. Both are self explanatory but "Stop” will ultimately pause the Qrevo S Pro mid-task and “Home” will send it back to base. Above these two buttons is a crumb catcher that can be accessed by lifting up the top cover. There's also the all-important Precisense LiDAR-based navigation system in a dome-like cap which will scan the space when creating a map.

Then, at either end of the vacuum & mop combo are structured light sensors that detect and steer away toys, socks and furniture – steer through, as I’ve found. Though I wouldn’t recommend it for fear of losing anything, it can be said that you may be able to get away from tidying before setting off the Qrevo S Pro.

Measuring h3.8 x w13.8in, the robot vacuum and mop will easily slip under most furniture and cupboards to clean those floors that don’t often see the light of day. It weighs just 0.7lbs also so it’s easy to lift should you need to move it or look underneath it for anything that may become lodged (like a sock).

The dock on the other hand measures h20.4 x w19.2 x d13.4in. This is where the Qrevo S Pro will empty, clean and recharge itself. It has a 4-litre clean water tank which can be easily lifted and removed for refilling. Similarly, the dirty water tank has the same capacity and ease of removal.

A dustbag is located at the front of the dock behind a cover. I’ve been testing our Qrevo S Pro, “Richard” for at least two weeks, and I’ve yet to replace the disposable dust bag (it’s estimated that it’ll need replacing every 65 days). This dust bag is pre-installed upon arrival.

App

To control the Roborock Qrevo S Pro I could either use the two buttons on top of the vacuum, or the app. The Roborock app has a greater amount of customisation and control so I used it to activate most cleans, unless it was a scheduled clean – something else that you can do in the app.

Once the map had been established, and I was satisfied that it had accurately sussed out the space, I could select a preferred cleaning mode for each room depending on the floor type. I could also select the room I wanted to clean if I didn’t want “Richard” to clean our entire ground floor, and set routines for more personalised cleaning sequences.

The map also updates after every clean, like it was learning the space. After a week of test, it also identified a threshold without any prompt from me and added this to the map.

At any point during a clean I could also “Pause” the clean or “Return to Base” through the app. If I wanted to hand over the control over to another human in the house then I could also share the device with them although, of course, anyone can just press a button on vacuum to start a clean.

I also found it helpful to receive notifications when the water tank needed to be refilled, or when a sock had become lodged. You can, of course, disable these notifications if you want to tone down your phone's activity. Alternatively, the Qrevo S Pro can connect with Matter, Alexa, Google Home and Apple Siri for hands-free control.

Performance

I’ve been using the Roborock Qrevo S Pro at least once per day for two weeks to vacuum the carpets and mop the hard floors, and I wouldn’t be without it.

It effortlessly removes the majority of debris from the floors which has ultimately saved me the time it takes to clean and saved on the effort of reaching for the vacuum cleaner and mop. Our “Richard” sensed the difference in flooring as it moved between carpets and hard flooring, adjusting the suction accordingly and lifting / dropping the spinning mops.

As it worked its way around the mapped floor space and there was a person or item in its path, "Richard" navigated around the obstruction and continued to clean the remainder of the space. It then returned to where the obstruction was to finish the clean before returning to base.

However, it was totally hopeless at banishing larger dried cereal to the dustbin; multigrain hoops were swept around in circles or swept away from the path of the roller. Similarly, it doesn’t scrub the floor, only lightly wets it, so wet wheat biscuits remain cemented on the floor (until I can scrub it off).

There were also a couple of instances that the robot dragged a small toy along the floor, so make sure to lift anything off the floor that you don’t want dragged, or banished into the dustbin. I also found that socks can become lodged in the roller so try to ensure that these are picked up before a clean too.

It's one of the more bulkier robot vacuum and mops that I have tested also, so it's a bit cumbersome when manouvering around furniture and seems to miss some of the floor area in the process. It's size also means that it can't always get down the sides of the sofa or, in my case, behind the hair chair in the kitchen which is next to the table unless I move it to be somewhere else in the way.

While it does remove the majority of debris from the floors, which is great, it does miss some. This seems to either be because the debris is on a textured rug so the 18,500Pa suction isn’t great enough, or the zig-zag cleaning pattern simply misses it.

The noise is also worth mentioning. I used a decibel meter reader app on my phone which measured; 70dB while emptying, 64dB while vacuuming, 52dB while mopping and 48dB while returning to base. It was quiet enough not to disturb us while vacuuming or mopping, but emptying was so loud that it temporarily drowned out the TV.

Maintenance

The Roborock Qrevo S Pro self-cleans so there is very little maintenance, although it will need a few things from you to keep in a working order.

For example, the water tank will need refilling every few days so it can keep mopping, and the dirty tank will require emptying every few days. You’ll know when to do this by the red light shown on the docking station, or a notification to your phone.

The dust bag will also need replacing every 65 days. These can be bought either direct from Roborock or Amazon for £31.99 (pack of 6). Speaking of dust, the dock and vacuum would also benefit from dust-down – especially, if like “Richard”, yours is in black.

Verdict

If you don’t have a robotic robot and mop, and you have a variety of floor types, then the Roborock Qrevo S Pro should be at the top of your wishlist. It is a mid-range price tag but a high-end device that’ll sweep away most daily debris, so it’s a bit of a steal in my eyes.

I’ve tested several robotic vacuums in the past which have carried a much higher price tag. This may be because technology is much more advanced or production costs have reduced but, even so, for £599 (when not on sale) it’ll save you the time and hassle of cleaning the floors at the end of each day – especially if you have children.

If you only have a robot vacuum cleaner or a robot mop, this would also be a good upgrade because it is suitable for all floor types; carpets, rugs, tiled, sealed wood and stone.

Alternatives to consider

If you have your heart set on a robot vacuum and mop but are after a greater suction power, like double that of the Roborock, then the Dreame Matrix10 Ultra is our top choice. Our Senior Homes Writer, Lizzie Wilmot, shares that the combination of cutting-edge technologies create a level of automation that's just effortless, all pulled together with the impressive Dreamehome app.

If £1,399/€1,399/$1,799 for the Dreame is way off your budget, then let it be known that the SwitchBot Mini Robot Vacuum K10+ Pro is T3’s best affordable robot vacuum cleaner. It costs the same as the Roborock Qrevo S Pro but it’s smaller, measuring 24.8cm x 24.8cm x 9.2cm.

The fact that the DX3000CL are the most affordable model – as well as the first closed-back model – in Final Audio’s ‘DX’ range is not the same as saying they represent any sort of bargain.

Final Audio's DX6000 flagship costs approaching four times the price – at nearly £1900 / $2000, after all – so everything is relative. However, the DX3000CL could conceivably represent great value for money if you're looking for a wired closed-back over-ears.

Price & Availability

The Final Audio DX3000CL have been on sale since late 2025. In the United Kingdom they sell for £549. You’re looking at $599 in the United States. And it's around the AU$1099 mark in Australia.

This is affordable by the standards of Final Audio’s ‘DX’ range, sure – but this is still a fairly pricey pair of headphones, one that faces plenty of competition from plenty of equally credible brands among the best wired headphones.

Features & What's New?

Some cable and some drivers – that’s generally it for ‘features’ where passive hard-wired headphones are concerned. And Final Audio is not the sort of company that will pile on the fripperies just for the sake of it. What you get here are the essentials.

Which means a 2m length of oxygen-free copper cable in a flexible polymer sheath, with a 4.4mm balanced termination at the business end and a chunky unbalanced 6.3mm adapter too. The other end of the cable divides into two 3.5mm terminations, as each earcup needs to be wired.

The cable sends analogue information to a pair of 40mm free-edge dynamic drivers, designed and engineered in house by Final Audio in Japan, and which feature a paper/carbon composite diaphragm.

The company is claiming a frequency response of 10Hz - 40kHz, and given that sensitivity is quoted at 96dB and impedance at 37Ω, the DX3000CL shouldn’t be any kind of hardship to drive.

Sound Performance

Being a specialist is not automatically a bad thing – it means that people know where to come when they need something specific done to a very high standard.

But when you’re spending this sort of money on a pair of headphones, you’re entitled to expect a level of across-the-board competence that the Final Audio DX3000CL don’t seem capable of mustering.

To be fair, the things the DX3000CL are good at outweigh the things they’re not quite so good at to quite a degree – and at their best, the Final Audio are among the very best around. Certainly when you consider ‘detail retrieval’ and ‘insight’ as disciplines, off the top of my head I can’t think of a more effective way at this price point.

In the simplest terms, the Final Audio know everything about the recording you’re listening to. There isn’t an aspect of it that’s too minor, too deep in the mix or too transient to escape their notice – and once they’ve identified a particular detail, they have absolutely no problem in putting it into context with just the right amount of weighting.

They’re analytical in the least pejorative sense, because they don’t make teasing out the most fleeting details in your favourite recordings the whole point. They simply want to give you as complete a picture as possible.

The fact these headphones are capable of mustering a large, well-defined and very spacious soundstage helps no end when it comes to revealing all these fine details, too.

The DX3000CL give the participants in even the most complex recordings all the space they need to express themselves – but they also ensure a performance is knitted together convincingly at the same time.

There’s a togetherness and a singularity about the way these headphones present music that might seem at odds with the sheer scale of their staging – but only until you hear them in action.

They are very well judged where tonality is concerned, too, with just the tiniest hint of heat at the bottom of the frequency range making them less than utterly neutral.

Frequency response is similarly judicious: low frequencies hit with determination, and are controlled to the point that rhythm expression is very assured, but they’re never overstated.

The same is true of the midrange, and the brightly substantial top-end of the frequency range too. The amount of weight each area receives is entirely appropriate in every circumstance.

What’s lacking in the way the Final Audio present music is a convincing sense of drive or dynamic impetus. Some recordings simmer along at a consistent level of volume and intensity, and in these circumstances the DX3000CL are perfectly happy.

But those recordings that indulge in big shifts where volume or intensity are concerned – or, even more problematically, both – will expose a lack of willingness on the part of the Final Audio to properly dig in and attack these fluctuations with anything approaching conviction. It makes for an overly 'polite' listen – and that’s not always what’s required.

Design & Usability

Unusually, the DX3000CL earcups move up and down on a slender length of shaped steel in order to adjust the fit of the headphones – it’s more common in over-ear headphones to find the earcups are fixed and the headband has some adjustment.

But that’s it as far as esoteric design choices go – in every other respect, the Final Audio adhere closely to the long-established ‘over-ear headphones’ template.

The earcups are made from a resin that’s reinforced with glass-fibre, and a couple of pronounced circular grooves in the material constitute a design flourish.

The earpads are of synthetic leather, and they’re padded with quite a lot of medium-density memory foam – so be prepared for these headphones to make your head quite a lot wider than many alternative designs insist on.

There’s more synthetic leather on the outside of memory foam for the inside of the headband, too – although thankfully a slightly more manageable amount.

The total weight (with cable) is 410g – which looks like more than it feels like, thanks to a judicious hanger arrangement and some carefully judged clamping force.

It’s worth mentioning that Final Audio uses no adhesives in the DX3000CL's construction – instead, a combination of precision screws and ‘O’-rings are used, and the result is exemplary build quality. Plus, of course, the headphones are much easier to disassemble and repair or renew, and are more sustainable as a result.

Final Audio DX3000CL review: Verdict

If the DX3000CL could attack a recording with as much conviction as they extract all of the information from it, they’d be a shoo-in for that fifth star and be real wired contenders. As it is, they have a remarkably specific skillset that is bound to delight as many listeners as it frustrates.

Also Consider

The best wired over-ear headphones we’ve heard at this sort of money aren’t, strictly speaking, alternatives for the Final Audio DX3000CL at all.

The FiiO FT5 are a tremendous pair of headphones, and at the money are about the most affordable taste of planar magnetic driver technology around – but they’re open-backed, and so nothing like as realistic a proposition for listening to when in company.

The same is true of the Sennheiser HD 660 S2 – outstanding sound quality from a company that is as credible as they come, but from an open-backed design that leaks sound quite readily.

So unless you’re prepared to spend quite a lot more than DX3000CL money, or to spend less and compromise on sound quality, the Final Audio have a little part of the market all to themselves.