Cool stuff

Although the summer is starting to feel like it’s on the horizon, it can be easy to dwell on a lot of the more negative things going on at the moment. But without wanting to trivialise current world affairs, let’s take a brief hiatus to check out some of the latest – and very cool – products to have hit the market recently.

DJI Mini 3 Pro £639

THE world of drones has really come on in leaps and bounds in recent years, with the unmanned aerial vehicles themselves getting smaller and easier to fly with each passing model. DJI is among the biggest names and has now released one of its highest-tech versions yet.

Called the Mini 3 Pro, it gets the same type of image quality you’d expect from a much larger drone but in a smaller, more transportable body. It can even shoot in portrait, making uploads to social media that bit easier.

Oakley Re:SubZero sunglasses £201

THERE’S a real ’90s resurgence on the go currently, so it’s not all that surprising to see Oakley reviving a pair of sunglasses that were all the rage some 30 years ago. It has developed the Re:SubZero glasses, which are a lightweight way of shielding your eyes from the sun when running or training – or doing anything else active, for that matter.

They weigh just 24 grams and get Oakley’s special Prizm lens technology, which boosts contrasts and enhances colours.

Urbanears Boo £69.99

IT CAN be tough to get a decent pair of headphones without creeping into big-money territory, but Urbanears has been a firm to combat that mentality. Based in Stockholm, it has produced a range of over- and in-ear headphones that punch well above their weight.

Now there’s the Boo, which at £69.99 does undercut many of its rivals, despite offering IPX water resistance so they can be used without worry when running or in the rain. Plus, they’re made using recycled materials.

Sony Xperia 1 IV £1,299

LOVE taking pictures but don’t want to lug a handheld camera around with you? Smartphone companies have long attempted to integrate top-tier cameras into their products, but it seems that Sony has really broken new ground with its Xperia 1 IV.

It’s the first smartphone to feature a proper optical zoom, just like a full-sized camera. As well as being able to offer that telephoto lens, it also has 16mm and 24mm lenses mounted at the back, giving users a whole host of shooting options.