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Shoot like a pro with our ultimate guide to photography Build your fanbase

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ELECTRIFY YOUR COMMUTE Get to your destination in style with these five e-bikes

PLUS! Samsung Z Flip3 reviewed Beats Studio Buds compared Ikea Symfonisk tested & 25 best PlayStation games KELSEYmedia

£4.99 October 2021 www.stuff.tv

Seize all Oppotunities

Capture the night

Welcome I don’t want to go on about it, but after a year and a half of growing stale inside the four walls of our homes, life as we knew it is resuming. Whether you think that’s good, or you were starting to enjoy your introvert’s paradise, it’d be a shame not to capture some of the excitement on camera.

It’s lucky, then, that just about every person reading this will have a smartphone attached to their being, no doubt with decent camera specs. But maybe you want to step up your game, so we’ve selected some of the finest snappers of 2021 for your perusal. Whether it’s mirrorless or mobile, enough with ‘spray and pray’ – let our experts offer up some tekkers to assist you behind the lens.

We’ve also spent the past month whizzing around on the slickest e-bikes, and enjoyed a gaming marathon to bring you the 25 best PlayStation games ever. But we wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t also test the hottest new tech. Strangely, loads of it comes from Samsung this month, from the Z Flip3 to the Watch4. They’re on a rampage; we promise we’re not on a commission!

Then there’s the camouflage talents of the Ikea Symfonisk picture frame that’s simultaneously a piece of art and a speaker, and the latest wire-free buds from Beats and Sennheiser. Enjoy! And thanks again for choosing Stuff. You’re the greatest. No, seriously.

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Advertising Head of Commercial Neil Tillott (01959 543719, x7003) neil.tillott@kelsey.co.uk Account Manager Nick Davis (01959 543611, x7004) nick.davis@kelsey.co.uk Production Ad Operations Manager Martin Williams martin.williams@ kelsey.co.uk Ad Production Manager Andy Welch (01233 220245) stuff@ tandemmedia.co.uk Management Chief Executive Steve Wright Chief Operating Officer Phil Weeden Managing Director Kevin McCormick Publisher Liz Reid Head of Digital Steve Jones Retail Director Steve Brown Subscription Marketing Director Gill Lambert Subscription Marketing Manager Rochelle Gyer-Smith Print Production Manager Georgina Harris • Volume 25 issue 10 • ISSN: 1364-963 • On sale 2 Sept 2021

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CON S 10.21

WIN! p25

HOT STUFF 06 The Hot Five Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 A smartphone that magically transforms into a smartphone Samsung Galaxy Watch4 A wearable that’s found the secret of appiness JBL L75ms Music System A big wooden speaker thing that’s cleverer than it looks Nest Cam & Nest Doorbell A pair of Google gogglers now powered by pure righteousness A500 Mini A teeny Amiga revival, because what else is left to revive?

14 Vital stats Xiaomi CyberDog It doesn’t poo

16 Stream 10 reasons not to go to school 18 Icon Hummingbird Electric 2.0 Lighter than an adult kori bustard

20 Games Featuring an angry nerd 22 Wheels Morgan Plus Four CX-T Let’s off-road! In about 1963!

24 Stuff meets Chris Froome Yes, actual Chris Froome

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TESTS 29 First test Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3 Like the Fold3, but much flippier

52 Versus Affordable true wireless buds Sub-£150 in-ear wizardry

54 Tested Ikea Symfonisk Picture Frame The art of noise

55 Tested PlayStation Pulse 3D Headset Spatial audio, possibly in space

59 3 of the best Instant cameras But they can’t make phone calls

60 Tested Motorola Edge 20 Pro Don’t call it a Moto!

62 Group test E-bikes How Froomey can win Tour no.5

71 Tested Samsung The Premiere LSP9T Another brick next to the wall

72 Long-term test OnePlus Nord 2 Back to bargainhood?

75 Games Death’s Door, Last Stop

FEATURES 34 Upvoted Synths Face it, that euphonium’s never going to cut it in a Human League tribute band

37 Cover feature Photo special Indoors, outdoors, portraits, close-ups of rutting wombats… whatever you want to shoot, follow our comprehensive guide and you’ll shoot it better

51 Mini meme Classic games with a twist Like… cricket but with tomatoes?

56 Beta yourself iOS 15 How to get the most out of your newly updated iPhone

68 Instant upgrades Redmi Note 10 Pro How to get the most out of your not-updated not-iPhone

78 25 best PlayStation games Just to clarify (re: p18), that’s an adult male kori bustard

98 Random access memories IBM PC (1981) The golden age of boringness

MAKING STUFF UP

Acting Editor Natalya Paul Head of News Matt Tate Contributors Tom Wiggins, Craig Grannell, Sam Kieldsen, Amy Davies, Basil Kronfli, Libby Plummer, Esat Dedezade, Andrew Williams, Leon Poultney, Simon Lucas, Verity Burns, Chris Rowlands, Alan Wen, James Day, Andrew Hayward, Kurt Maughan, Richard Purvis, Ross Presly Contact us stuff.ed@kelsey.co.uk UK subscription and back issue orderline: 01959 543747 Overseas subscription orderline: 0044 (0)1959 543747 Toll-free USA subscription orderline: 1-888-777-0275 UK customer service team: 01959 543747 Customer service email address: subs@kelsey.co.uk Customer service and subscription postal address: Stuff Customer Service Team, Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent ME18 6AL

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Chunky gone to heaven Samsung reckons this is the most pocketable Fold yet, but it’s still fairly hefty. At least you can choose from three colours: Phantom Black, Phantom Green and Phantom Silver.

Hey screensters!

The internal AMOLED has a resolution of 2208x1768, while the external one offers an elongated 2268x832 pixel count. Both screens have a super-silky 120Hz refresh rate.

6

ALL THE BIGGEST STORIES FROM PLANET TECH

Feeling your selfie disintegrate The Z Fold3 has Samsung’s first under-screen camera for surreptitious selfies. We applaud the ingenuity, but it’s only a 4MP job so it’s unlikely the results will be dazzling.

HOT FIVE #1 BENDS WITH BENEFITS

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold3 Are folding phones the future? Samsung seems to think so. Its third attempt at a foldable flagship doesn’t attempt to reinvent the bend: you get the same 6.2in display on the door, plus the same 7.6in screen when you flip it open – albeit brighter than before. Also identical is the trio of 12MP lenses at the back.

What’s new is external Gorilla Glass Victus, as well as a protective film over the main display, making it 80% stronger than the second-gen version. That’s supported by a hardier aluminium hinge that makes it good for 200,000 folds – more than enough for the most hardcore origami fan.

Inside is a Snapdragon 888 along with 12GB of RAM, a 4400mAh battery and 256GB of storage (512GB if you fork out an extra £100). Updated software tricks should mean easier multitasking, while S Pen support allows sketchers to make the most of all that screen space.

With the Z Flip3 also unveiled (and tested on p29), it seems Samsung is foldily going where no phone maker has gone before.

As hot as… a neatly folded tortilla wrap from £1599 / samsung.com

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Here, there and every wear With Samsung and Fitbit both committed to moving over to Wear OS 3, software studios should no longer be forced to make different versions of their wearable apps.

HOT FIVE #2 MY FRIEND GOOG Samsung Galaxy Watch4

Ever wondered what would happen if Samsung combined the stainless steel style of its smartwatches with software based on Google’s Wear OS? Well you need wonder no more, because the new Galaxy Watch4 is the company’s first smartwatch to run Wear OS 3.

Playing nice with Google means a bigger app catalogue, while Samsung’s One UI overlay brings a slick icon-based interface that harks back to its own Tizen system.

There are four variants vying for a place on your wrist: the streamlined and sporty Watch4 is available in 40mm (£249) and 44mm (£269) sizes, while the more traditional Watch4 Classic – complete with rotating bezel – measures in at 42mm (£349) or 46mm (£369).

Dropping an additional £40 bags you 4G eSIM connectivity, but you don’t need to spend an extra penny to access the suite of fitness features. Besides familiar activity modes, a new tool analyses body fat, water weight and bone density for a more accurate measure of your lifestyle. Add 40-hour battery life, plus a new Exynos processor and the promise of streamed TV workouts, and the Apple Watch Series 6 has some serious competition.

As hot as… melting body fat from £249 / samsung.com 8

Tally that weight Put two fingers on the side buttons and wait a few seconds to find out your body fat composition, how much water you’re carrying and how heavy your bones are.

Bands on the run The Galaxy Watch Design Studio lets you pick the case colour and strap type, with sporty bands for gym freaks, a Milanese loop for business, and a hybrid leather option.

HANDS-ON ANDREW WILLIAMS CONTRIBUTOR Despite running Wear OS rather than Tizen, the new watch’s interface is very similar to that of the Watch3: when you swipe from the face, or twist the bezel if it’s a Watch4 Classic, the screen runs through pages that act as shortcuts to key screens and features.

After a couple of hours handling all four versions, we’re still not entirely sure which one we’d pick. All have stainless steel bodies and toughened glass screen coverings with very sharp displays, but the Classic’s rotating outer ring feels great to use – even if the vanilla model may seem sleeker in some respects.

Samsung Fit offers a huge array of workout modes, including a running coach and a proper rep counter for wannabe weightlifters, and the body composition tool looks like a much better way to see the results of lifestyle changes than just weighing yourself every week.

First impressions suggest the Galaxy Watch4 could be the first Google-affiliated premium ticker in ages that we might be able to unreservedly recommend.

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Knob seeker JBL gives you plenty of options for controlling the L75ms. There’s an aluminium control panel on top, plus a wireless remote, or you can just use your source device.

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Through with ’buz Each L75ms comes with a free 90-day trial of streaming service Qobuz, so you can hear with your own ears what a difference hi-res audio makes. After that it’s £12.49 a month.

HOT FIVE #3

HOT FIVE #4

OFF THE WALNUT

JBL L75ms Music System

THE NEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE WIRE-FREE

Like a Ford Model T with a Tesla motor or a gramophone with Wi-Fi, JBL’s L75ms might look old-fashioned on the outside, but behind the walnut cabinet and Quadrex foam grille there’s a thoroughly modern all-in-one speaker system.

Wi-Fi (including Chromecast and AirPlay 2), Bluetooth and Ethernet mean you can pipe in your music however you choose, while the 32-bit/192kHz DAC offers support for hi-res audio. Even an old CD player plugged in via the 3.5mm port should sound pretty peachy thanks to the two 5.25in woofers, two 1in titanium-dome tweeters and a central 4in midrange driver. Each of those five drivers also has its own dedicated channel of amplification (350W in total) and DSP tuning, which, combined with the multi-angled baffle, should mean a nice wide soundstage.

There’s also a subwoofer output if you want to bolster the rumbles, and HDMI ARC if you fancy hooking it up to your TV. And if you don’t happen to own a gramophone with Wi-Fi, the JBL’s built-in phono stage means it’ll play nicely with a turntable, which is probably the next best thing.

As hot as… a 200mph Model T £1500 / jblsynthesis.com

All the best things in life are wireless these days – headphones, VR headsets, dogs – and now Google has cut the cord on its smart security gadgets too. The new Google Nest Cam and Doorbell are Nest’s first battery-powered products in their respective categories, so you can install them regardless of whether there’s a power outlet or existing doorbell wiring nearby (although both can also still be plugged in).

Object detection now happens on-device, so you can receive notifications when either camera detects animals, vehicles or people – or in the case of the doorbell, packages – without having to pay for a subscription. Three hours of event video history is included at no extra cost, and if you want more you can sign up to Nest Aware (from £5/m).

Google claims both cameras will capture HDR-quality footage that’s clear in both light and dark conditions, and the Nest Doorbell now has a taller field of view so it can squeeze in more of those people, packages and wireless dogs.

As hot as… Death Valley’s postie £180 each / store.google.com

Google Nest Cam & Nest Doorbell

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HOT FIVE #5 AMIGA TO PLEASE A500 Mini

We’re fast running out of classic gaming systems that haven’t been miniaturised for a TV-friendly console experience, but 16-bit home computers had been off limits… until now. With the A500 Mini, the folks behind the C64 Mini have announced a dinky remake of the Commodore 64’s successor: the Amiga.

The Commodore brand itself is tied up in legal weirdness, hence the coy name, but this is otherwise fully official fare – and as authentic as a tiny take on the 16-bit machine can be. You can’t actually bash away at that diminutive keyboard (although you can plug in a USB one), but you do get a classic Amiga-style mouse, along with a newly engineered eight-button gamepad and 25 built-in games, including Speedball 2, Battle Chess, Pinball Dreams and Worms.

Notably, you’ll also be able to upload your own Amiga games via a USB stick to get your fix of the best the system has to offer, from SWOS to Stunt Car Racer. What’s more, you can save your progress and pick up where you left off – a vital feature for some of the notoriously challenging games of the era. Excellent. Can we have a pocket-sized N64 next please?

As hot as… raging console wars £120 (due 2022) / retrogames.biz 12

Fair tether friends This mini Amiga comes with an HDMI cable in the box, so you won’t have to worry about finding an old CRT telly for compatibility. You’ll have to add your own USB stick, though.

uk.yamaha.com

V I

T A L S T A T S

TYKE A LOOK AT ME NOW Xiaomi CyberDog

¥9999 (approx £1115) / mi.comom It has three USB-C ports plus HDMI, which is more than most real dogs, and can carry up to 3kg.

If you still haven’t hound what you’re looking for, Xiaomi is here to help…

O Spot: the difference Xiaomi makes a lot of stuff you probably don’t know about. As well as its range of wallet-friendly smartphones you can also buy Xiaomi electric scooters, Xiaomi musical instruments, Xiaomi exercise gear, and now your very own pet robo-pooch too. Looking like a similar breed to Boston Dynamics’ rather creepy Spot, Xiaomi’s own quadruped is designed to give robotics fans an open-source opportunity to experiment. The company also

14

plans to set up a community for CyberDog owners to share their progress and results – a bit like an online obedience class for robots.

O Just like starting Rover Rather than bowls full of kibble, Xiaomi’s CyberDog is powered by Nvidia’s Jetson Xavier NX platform and a set of high-performance servo motors, which allow your autonomous hound to perform things like backflips – because new dogs should have no problem performing old tricks. It also has 11 high-precision sensors, including GPS modules, touch and ultrasonic sensors plus various cameras and more, which it uses to guide

its movements, work out where it’s going and avoid bashing its head on your coffee table.

O Everything Fido, Fido it for you If all of this makes it sound like a robot vacuum cleaner without the cleaning, the CyberDog’s array of cameras also allows it to recognise human faces and posture, plus it’s capable of following its owner around. With a top speed of 3.2m/s it’s no whippet, but it’s still quite nippy. You can even set a wake word and get your CyberDog to do your bidding using a voice assistant, or just use its remote and phone app instead – which is not something you get with a regular pooch.

IT CAN RECOGNISE FACES AND IS CAPABLE OF FOLLOWING ITS OWNER AROUND

OTHER WEIRD XIAOMI STUFF O Pawbby Pet Shaver The CyberDog might not have a glossy coat to keep tidy, but if you also own one of those old-fashioned organic pets and fancy saving a bit of cash at Kanine Klippers, this shaver has a four-hour battery life.

Young, single and techsy

HONOR MAGIC3 PRO+ Some parts of breaking up are really tough. You have to decide who takes the good cutlery, who gets to keep the Netflix account, and who wins custody of Big Nev the rubber plant – but other bits are much easier. Honor’s split from Huawei means it’s free to use Google’s apps again, which makes the Magic3 Pro+ a real catch. Underneath the 6.76in OLED display is a speedy Snapdragon 888+ chip, 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, while the quartet of cameras is bolstered by a laser sensor for faster focusing. The 4600mAh battery also comes with wireless reverse charging smarts that let you use the Pro+ to top up other devices. You know, just in case you meet that special someone. €1499 / hihonor.com

O Bounds Steering Wheel Cover Always dreamed of having a steering wheel that looked like a yeti’s frisbee? This will do the job, and keep your hands warm when the weather’s cold. Or you could just turn the heating on…

O Quange Toilet Brush Training your CyberDog to clean the toilet might be a little way off yet, but in the meantime you can use one of these brushes from Xiaomi’s Quange brand. It comes with 10 disposable heads and a wall-mountable holder.

Astonishing panorama of the bend times

SAMSUNG ODYSSEY NEO G9 It might look like we’ve put the picture of this new Samsung gaming monitor in the wrong aspect ratio – but when you want to squeeze 5120x1440 pixels into a curved 49in display, stretching it out to this almost comically wide 32:9 form is the only option. It uses the same Mini LED tech found in Samsung’s QLED TV lineup, which means it has a whopping 2048 dimming zones, 2000 nits of peak brightness and a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1. It also offers a 1ms response time and 240Hz refresh rate, and supports CoreSync, matching the monitor’s rear-facing light output with what’s on screen. Now all you need to do is find a desk wide enough for it. £1849 / samsung.com

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S T R E A M

That shiny jacket and unusual hairstyle can only mean one thing: far-future sci-fi intrigue!

Plus assassins, priests and randy teenagers…

American Horror Stories

Kate

Lucifer

A spin-off from Ryan Murphy’s long-running anthology series, this plural version takes a fresh approach by spinning a different creepy tale, with a separate cast and setting, each episode. With American Horror Story getting decidedly bloated by the end of its 10-season run, we’re right behind the new ‘less is more’ tactic.

S1 / 8 Sept, Disney+

When a highly skilled assassin is poisoned to stop her carrying out a hit, she enters a race against time to find the perpetrators and exact revenge. Is 24 hours long enough to bring down the entire Tokyo underworld? Mary Elizabeth Winstead stars in this neon-lit action-thriller – just don’t call her Jane Wick, OK? Film / 10 Sept, Netflix

What the devil? If you thought the previous season of this beloved DC Comics fantasy crime drama was supposed to be its swansong, you were right… but now you’re wrong, because Netflix’s megabucks have enticed everybody back for another 10-episode run.

Series six really will be the last, though. Almost certainly…

S6 / 10 Sept, Netflix

Sex Education

The Morning Show

Midnight Mass

Using the word ‘raunchy’ to describe a comedy drama makes us feel like 1980s tabloid journalists, but what better term is there to sum up a bunch of teenage sexcapades tied up by a fun plot and relatable characters? We’ll be calling it a ‘romp’ next (which it also is). Anyway, it’s coming back for a third series.

S3 / 17 Sept, Netflix

Apple TV+ finally brings back its star-studded drama for a second series (you can thank Covid for the 10-month delay), with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon returning to duke it out as duelling morning television presenters. First item on the agenda? Dealing with the aftermath of the first season’s bombshell ending…

S2 / 17 Sept, Apple TV+

Get in the Halloween spirit a few weeks early with this spooky miniseries from The Haunting of Hill House creator Mike Flanagan.

A young, unconventional priest arrives in the isolated community of Crockett Island amid an increase in apparent miraculous happenings.

But are these events sent from heaven or… somewhere else?

S1 / 24 Sept, Netflix

In the mood for something truly epic? This lavish screen adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s influential sci-fi series will fit the bill. Set tens of thousands of years in the future, when humanity has built an empire spanning the entire galaxy, Foundation tells the story of a mathematician whose predictive model shows the empire is doomed to fall in apocalyptic fashion, followed by 30,000 years of terror, mayhem and darkness (which is currently the best-case scenario for Brexit). But will the ruling powers listen?

DO M N’ TH ISS T IS

Foundation S1 / 24 September, Apple TV+

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I C O N WEIGHING JUST 10.3KG, THIS IS CLAIMED TO BE THE LIGHTEST FOLDING E-BIKE IN THE WORLD

HUMMINGBIRD ELECTRIC GEN 2.0 from £4495 / hummingbirdbike.com Hummingbird? Looks more like a canary.

Oh yeah, then where are the wings?

Whichever tiny bird the Electric Gen 2.0 reminds you of, it’s not just the colour scheme they have in common: weighing just 10.3kg, this is claimed to be the lightest folding e-bike in the world. And a quick weigh-in among its main rivals tells us that the Brompton Electric and Gocycle G4 both weigh 16.6kg, while Xiaomi’s Mi Smart folding

18

bike is 15kg, so the Hummingbird is in a class of its own. Which is good, because there’s little point in owning a folding bike if it’s like lugging around a fridge full of rocks.

That’s still pretty heavy for a bird.

How’s it going to fly?

With its 250W motor, which offers 50% more torque and 20% more range than the first-gen model, and 158Wh battery. OK, you’ll have to really go some to actually get

it off the ground, but it’s got a top assisted speed of 25kph (the legal limit) and a range of over 50km, and it can be folded up in just five seconds – with a bit of practice.

You can also choose to replace the chain with a belt-drive system, which should last longer and save you worrying about oily trousers.

Fine, but show me the tech.

Well, for a start there’s a boost button to give you some extra

help getting up hills and away from traffic lights. Pair the bike with the BitRide app and you’ll be able to see your speed, power and battery status while you ride, plus you can use the app to adjust motor-assist level, top speed and regenerative braking. And in case you really don’t like canaries, it also comes in four other colours: orange, blue, black and carbon… or you can splash out £500 extra for a custom paint job.

Flamingo pink, perhaps?

A nodder day in paradise

KLIPSCH T5 II TRUE WIRELESS ANC While humans seem to make the world a more stupid place with every passing day, artificial intelligence is now popping up everywhere – and Klipsch’s new T5 II True Wireless ANC earphones are the latest to benefit. As well as being the first pair of Klipsch true wireless buds to get active noise-cancelling, they also come with an AI-powered Bragi operating system, which lets you accept incoming phone calls with a nod of your head (with other uses on the way). Total battery life is 28hrs (7hrs in the buds plus an extra 21hrs in the case), although that drops to 20hrs with the dual-mic ANC turned on. Looks like a pretty intelligent choice to us. £299 / klipsch.com

DROP EVERYTHING & DOWNLOAD

Touchgrind Scooter £free / Android, iOS

Think you’re a marvel on two little wheels?

You might think otherwise once you’ve taken on Touchgrind Scooter, which has you blazing along absurdly dangerous courses, performing all manner of stomach-flipping stunts during regular bouts of being flung into the air.

It’s the two-finger controls that make this game – instead of a normal gamepad, you have one finger on the handlebars and another on the deck. Gestures trigger stunts, which when chained together earn you massive points, shortly before you get cocky and crash into a bin.

A game that doesn’t suffer fools, then… but one that’s tactile, immediate and fun, and properly rewards perseverance.

Alexy spurty love

VODAFONE PRO Skilful as she is, Alexa can’t increase your broadband speeds. All she can do is play ocean sounds to soothe your frustration while YouTube buffers – but with Vodafone’s latest package, coastal calming should be superfluous. A Pro subscription not only bags you speedy browsing at up to 900Mbps and 4G backup, but it also includes the option of this Super WiFi Plus booster, which supports Wi-Fi 6 tech and comes with Amazon’s voice assistant built in. That means you can use it to access Alexa’s many abilities – including the Dinnertime skill, which cuts off your speedy new internet access for a short time so you can force your family into talking to each other rather than looking at their phones. from £38/m / vodafone.co.uk

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G A M E S

OUT 12 OCT

FIRST PLAY BACK 4 BLOOD PS5, PS4, XSX, XB1, PC

[ Words Alan Wen ]

More than a decade after the last Left 4 Dead, developer Turtle Rock is back to what it knows best: having a bloody good time surviving the zombie apocalypse with friends. Except in Back 4 Blood you’re not just survivors but Cleaners, veterans battling to take back what’s left of the world against a new breed of infected called Ridden.

Starting from a new hub called Fort Hope, you’re part of a team of four with eight characters to choose from, such as speedy Evangelo or melee-happy Holly.

Besides coming with unique

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abilities for themselves and the team, they’re a chatty bunch, keeping things lively even if you’re playing with bots.

Of course, playing with others is the best way to go, made easier by seamless crossplay while quick matchmaking lets you take over a bot of an existing game. A communication wheel and ping system are welcome for those who prefer to keep voice chat off.

Central to the game is a card system, as you play a deck at the start of a mission to add buffs and can gain more with each

successive mission, while the game’s AI also plays corruption cards that throw an additional spanner in the works, such as covering a level in mist.

The objectives themselves provide plenty of dynamic variety, such as making a break for a church (which isn’t your safe room until you’ve boarded up all the windows) or planting explosives on an infested ship, all the while trying to cover each other’s backs and escape with hopefully no one left behind.

It’s all thrilling stuff, and feels as fresh as it was in 2010.

FIRST LOOK DICE TO SEE YOU, TO SEE YOU DICE

OUT 10 SEPT

LOST IN RANDOM

PS5, PS4, XSX, XB1, Switch, PC While keeping up the flow of blockbusters and annual sport franchises, EA has also been quietly pumping out some charming indies from its Originals label, including the sublime co-op adventure It Takes Two… but its latest

looks like a gothic delight for Tim Burton fans.

With a stop-motion style reminiscent of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Lost In Random is set in a world ruled by a wicked queen where people’s lives are determined by the roll of a dice. When penniless girl Even’s sister Odd is taken from her, she’s determined to brave her way

across Random’s six shadowy realms to get her back.

You’re joined in this actionadventure by an ancient living dice called Dicey who can help you against the odds – not just in solving puzzles but also in combat, which has a strange blend of real-time action mixed with dice-rolls and deck-building. You can equip cards to unleash a whole

suite of attacks and abilities, while the action switches from the eerie environments of Random to a series of giant board-game arenas.

Already turning heads with its twisted but charming aesthetic among the first selection of games in the Tribeca Film Festival, Lost In Random rolls out for release on 10 September.

BEST OF PLAY IT NEXT-GEN, SAM

GRAND THEFT AUTO V

PS5, XSX Already the second-best-selling game of all time, Rockstar’s open-world crime epic naturally gets a next-gen release this November. Details are thin on the ground regarding new features, but one thing confirmed is that certain cars will be given an extra speed boost in GTA Online.

THE WITCHER 3: WILD HUNT COMPLETE EDITION

PC, PS5, XSX One of the best open-world RPGs of the last generation is not only getting enhanced visuals, smoother framerates and faster loading times, but is also free to anyone who already owns the original game.

DEATH STRANDING DIRECTOR’S CUT

PS5 That’s a misleading title, since Hideo Kojima’s post-apocalyptic vision was already intact the first time around. This PS5 exclusive simply adds lots of new content, such as enhanced combat and a neatly integrated circuit racing mode.

INCOMING OCTOBER O GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY O METROID DREAD O BATTLEFIELD 2042 O FIFA 22 NOVEMBER O FORZA HORIZON 5 O POKEMON BRILLIANT DIAMOND & SHINING PEARL O FINAL FANTASY XIV: ENDWALKER

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W H E E L S

Morgan Plus Four CX-T

POSH GROTTY You get chunky off-road tyres, and the protective exoskeleton doubles up as a place to strap surfboards, mountain bikes or a pet camel.

£204,000 / morgan-motor.com

NEWS DASHBOARD

Is Mr Toad going on safari?

This vehicle is in no way endorsed by the Kenneth Grahame estate, but it receives the full backing of Stuff because we think it’s ace.

It’s the Morgan Plus Four CX-T: a sort of adventurous off-roader for those with a deep love of classic British sports cars and equally deep pockets.

THE ONLY WAY IS NSX

CZING WHEN YOU’RE WINNING

DEFT DAB FOR CUTIE

The NSX is dead, long live the NSX Type S. Honda is about to retire its halo performance machine, so it’s giving it a proper send-off with a sportier, faster and sharper Type S model. Sadly it’s not coming to Europe, so let’s hope Honda replaces the NSX with something just as special.

The Czinger 21C hybrid hypercar has smashed the production car lap record at Laguna Seca, chalking up a 1m 25.44s time that’s over two seconds faster than the old mark.

As a reminder, the Czinger uses 3D-printed parts and is assembled by robots. Because future.

The French futurists behind DAB Motors are on a mission to clean up the biking world… and their stylish Concept-E packs a 10kW motor producing the same kind of output as a 125cc petrol engine. With Ohlins suspension and swathes of carbon fibre, it’s going to be pricey… but just look at it!

But… why?

Morgan’s history books are full of plucky moustachioed chaps wading their little brum-brums through fords and attempting to scramble up rocks, simply because that’s what gentlemen did back then. But really this is a look inside design chief Jonathan Wells’ mind, as he claims his team have been dreaming of beefing up a Morgan for years.

Beef, you say? Mmm… Lashings of it. Morgan teamed up with off-road experts Rally Raid

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to get a few engineering pointers, and as a result the rear part of the car has been replaced with a rack that holds spare tyres, waterproof case luggage, tools and fuel cans.

The exhaust pops out of the side and the ride height has been raised so you can crest over rocks.

And beneath all that ruggedness?

It’s essentially the same running gear and chassis as a standard Plus Four, so you get the spanking new CX aluminium architecture and a BMW-derived 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine that develops 255bhp. Morgan has also pinched the BMW xDrive electronic differential, which has been tuned just for this car: you can have it fully open for road use, apply a 45% lock for rough terrain or lock the rear diff entirely, providing equal torque to both back wheels – ideal for scrambling out of any sticky spots in the grounds of Toad Hall.

Podcast no shadow

AUDIO-TECHNICA AT2040 Your ‘all about chilli peppers’ podcast might feature properly hot content, but poor acoustics will soon lose you listeners. For recordings that are sweeter on the ears, try Audio-Technica’s AT2040. Taking inspiration from the BP40 pro broadcast mic, its metal shell and sturdy build belie the £89 price. At its heart, a hypercardioid pattern is designed to isolate your voice while ignoring background sounds – so you’ll capture crisp speech even if there’s hubbub in the studio. Or, you know, your mate’s bathroom. An integrated shockmount reduces vibrations that can affect audio quality, while an internal popshield prevents deafening thumps every time you say ‘peppers’. £89 / audio-technica.com

NEWS FEED GOOGLE ONLY SLIGHTLY UNVEILS A NEW PIXEL

The Pixel 6 might be just around the corner, but that hasn’t stopped Google releasing the Pixel 5a: a faster, stronger phone with a speedier Snapdragon 765G chip, a bigger 6.34in screen and a beefier 4680mAh battery. Shame it’s only going to market in the US and Japan for now.

SPOTIFY ADDS OFFLINE LISTENING ANY-WEAR

Hot on the heels of its Apple Watch app, Spotify has now also added offline listening to its Wear OS equivalent.

That means you can download songs, playlists and podcasts straight to your smartwatch and listen without having your phone nearby. It’s rolling out now, so keep an eye on your wrist.

APPLE KINDLY LETS YOU BUY A NEW KEYBOARD

Fancy one of Apple’s Magic Keyboards with Touch ID but don’t want to fork out for a whole new iMac? If you’ve got a Mac powered by an M1 chip, Apple will now sell you one of its fingerprint-protected QWERTYs (from £149) so you no longer have to laboriously tap in passwords all day long.

Fuels rush in

MOTO G60S Unless you’re a boiled egg, 12 minutes isn’t a very long time – but it is long enough to pump 12 hours of life into the 5000mAh battery inside Motorola’s G60S. That’s handy, because despite its low price this new Moto is crammed with stuff that’ll make you want to use it. There’s a 6.8in FHD+ screen with 120Hz refresh rate, MediaTek Helio G95 chipset, and a quartet of cameras: 64MP for the main one, 8MP for the ultrawide, 5MP for the macro and 2MP for the depth sensor. There’s no 5G, the chassis is plastic, and you’ll want to go for the one with 6GB of RAM rather than 4GB, but that’s still a lot of phone for the price of 150-odd boxes of eggs. from £220 / motorola.co.uk

NOKIA RESURRECTS ANOTHER CUDDLY BRICK

As far as iconic Nokia phones go, the 6310 can’t quite match the 3310 or 8110 – and this new version bears little resemblance to the 2001 original anyway – but we still kind of want one.

It has bigger buttons, a 2.8in curved display and a 1150mAh battery that’ll last weeks on standby. Yours for £50.

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STUFF MEETS

E-bikes group test p62

Chris Froome

THE FOUR-TIME TOUR DE FRANCE WINNER ON TECH, TRAINING AND THE FUTURE OF BIKE RACING The Tour de France was brutal this year.

It was a really tricky first week of racing, with a lot of crashes, and it was unfortunate to see so many of the contenders losing out so early on. But for me, just to be back in the Tour after my big crash two years ago felt amazing. Being able to finish it felt like a win in itself.

[ Interview Matt Tate ]

Before I tried Hammerhead’s Karoo 2, cycling computers used to frustrate me.

For a long time the cycling industry was using basic analogue tech that felt as if it wasn’t really with the times. But the Karoo 2 [which won a five-star review in our May issue] really raises the bar. Its platform is a lot more dynamic and in line with what you’d expect from a modern-day cycling computer. The touchscreen is really high-quality and responsive, and simple things like zooming in on maps are easy to do on the go. You don’t want to be fiddling with something that doesn’t work when you’re also trying to concentrate on the road.

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The Hammerhead team responds really quickly to feedback from the pros.

We’ve been working closely with them on the Climber feature, which basically takes any uphill sections of road that you have and breaks them down into small colour-coded segments, so you can actually see the gradient of the road that’s coming up. In races like the Tour de France that detail is really important: it gives you things to work towards and lets you know when it’s going

to ease off a little. And it’s just as useful to riders who aren’t professional.

Tech has changed the sport so much since I turned pro.

Back then, power meters, which measure how much force you’re putting on the pedals at any given point, just weren’t being used. Now there are so many different tried and tested training programmes that people can access very easily. I think the reason we’re seeing such young riders being able to compete at the very highest level so quickly is that we have access to our training files and know exactly what we’re doing through apps like Strava – so by the time riders turn pro, they’re ready. Look at Tadej Pogačar.

He’s won the Tour de France twice and he’s only 22; that was unheard of back when I became a professional rider.

Not everyone in the sport is receptive to new tech.

Some of the older generation would argue that, when you’re able to control so many variables, it takes the spontaneity out of racing.

I think the opposite. My view is that having access to all these variables will only increase performance and we’ll see more exciting races because of it.

I love my gadgets.

I always wear a smartwatch.

At the moment it’s a Withings, which measures my sleep, waking heart rate etc. I mostly switch off my phone when I’m out on the bike, but I do

often mount it on my stem when training for listening to music. I use AfterShokz bone-conduction headphones, because they sit just outside your ears so you’re still easily able to hear traffic as well as whatever you’re listening to.

It’s important as a bike rider not to feel totally cut off from the world.

I’m a big fan of e-bikes.

I love mountain biking but one of the issues with those bikes, especially when you’re on the dirt and climbing, is that you don’t really go very far! An e-bike is a great way of getting higher and further; I can see myself cruising around on one when I retire. It’ll be interesting to see if e-bike racing takes off in the future. I’m not sure how you’d regulate it, but it could prolong the careers of some professional riders – those who still have the knowledge and expertise but might be on the decline physically. That could be an avenue that opens up to older riders.

“AN E-BIKE IS A GREAT WAY OF GETTING FURTHER; I CAN SEE MYSELF CRUISING AROUND ON ONE WHEN I RETIRE”

WIN A FUJIFILM X-T200 WITH XC15-45MM LENS, WORTH £749!

We’ve long had a soft spot for Fujifilm cameras, for obvious reasons. They not only demand so little from the user to produce incredible results, but also top the charts for charm and style.

The Fujifilm X-T200 is a perfect example, and an excellent entry into the X series. At only 370g, it’s as light as a can of Coke, so you needn’t think twice about slinging it in your bag. Plus it has a revamped autofocus system with face and eye detection, 4K video recording, 8fps stills shooting and improved low-light performance. The twisting, tilting touchscreen and brilliant film-simulation modes take the difficulty out of photography, adding up to a powerful tool for finding the perfect photo or becoming a video star.

A camera to capture the world is priceless, right?

But it’s also winnable in this month’s competition.

See right for how to enter – and point yourself at fujifilm-x.com/global/products/cameras/x-t200/ to find out more.

HOW TO ENTER

Ready to capture all of humanity? For your chance to win this month’s competition, simply go to stuff.tv/win and answer this question:

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS A FAMOUS MOUNTAIN IN JAPAN? A… Mount Fuji B… Mount Mycamel C… Mason Mount

HURRY!

COMPETITION CLOSES 7 OCTOBER 2021

Terms & conditions: 1 Open to UK residents aged 18 or over.

2 Entries close 11.59pm, 7 Oct 2021. 3 Prizes are as stated.

4 Prizes are non-transferable. 5 Only one entry per person.

Full Ts & Cs: kelsey.co.uk/competition-terms-conditions/ Promoter: Kelsey Publishing Ltd, The Granary, Downs Court, Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent ME18 6AL.

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M asters of reativity C Try the range of FUJIFILM X Series cameras and lenses with free 48-hour kit loans to unleash your creativity

“X-S10 makes a lot of sense for a lot of people”

“If you own an APS-C DSLR and want to switch to a smaller, lighter mirrorless system, quite simply this is the camera for you.”

“The X-S10 is an easy camera to recommend for photographers of all kinds”

-Photography Blog

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-DP Review

FUJIFILM-LOAN.COM

FIRST TEST SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP3 5G

Flip to be square Samsung’s latest clamshell phone has come up with a new angle: a price that isn’t terrifying. But is this a classic case of foldy form over function? from £949 / stuff.tv/ZFlip3

oday’s phones are boring. Oh, how we miss the pre-smart days when Nokia, Motorola and Samsung were still experimenting. From circular keypads to slide-out screens, the wild west of phone design was, in today’s terms, a vibe.

Enter the Galaxy Z Flip3. This, despite the moniker, is only the

[ Words Esat Dedezade ]

T

second clamshell handset in Samsung’s lineup. Starting from £949, it’s the most affordable folding phone we’ve seen to date, at an entry point that’s way more accessible than that of the tablety Fold3 on p6.

Resembling a totally normal smartphone when open, it can magically fold horizontally in half, transforming into a square that’s

reminiscent of an old Game Boy Advance SP… or, for non-nerds, a compact mirror. It comes in a range of swanky colour finishes, is miraculously waterproof, and has a 1.9in front display for selfies, notifications and more.

Elsewhere, things have the potential to disappoint. The main camera setup, for a start, is the same as that found in the

original Z Flip, with a paltry 2x optical zoom. The battery, too, will leave you wanting for more, as it’s the same 3300mAh as before. In a world full of Android handsets with batteries around the 4500mAh mark, that seems a little low.

In its defence, though, not many other phones can bend in half without being destroyed…

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2

1

3

1

Fold as love

The main 6.7in folding screen is a beaut: crisp, with vivid colours and rich blacks — everything you’d expect from a Samsung display. It’s a 120Hz affair too, while the narrow 22:9 aspect ratio makes it ideal for movies without annoying black bars.

2 Somebody fold me

3 Fold it against me

The outer 1.9in screen is almost twice the size of the original Flip’s. It’s now big enough for selfies (using the main rear cameras), notifications, music controls, checking fitness stats and more — all without having to flip the main screen open.

The dual 12MP main cameras are capable but not excellent. Shots are clear in good lighting, but the lack of decent zoom might put off some photo fans – and you can certainly get better for the money. See the panel opposite for more detail on the cameras.

4 This fold heart of mine

5 Foldin’ slumbers

3mins 30

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Good Meh Evil

While the Flip3 should last you a full day of casual use, there’s no escaping its lower battery capacity. And its 25W fast charging, while decent, is a far cry from the 65W+ charging we’ve seen from the likes of Xiaomi, OnePlus and Huawei.

Th is w ill n ev er

The Flip3’s specs will satisfy even the most enthusiastic benchmark fiends. With a blisteringly fast Snapdragon 888, aided by 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of storage, it easily handles everything you care to lob its way.

24 hours with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip3

5

5mins 30mins

1hr

1hr 30mins 2hrs

7hrs

8hrs

9hrs

FIRST TEST SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP3 5G

Tech specs Screens 6.7in 120Hz 2640x1080 Dynamic AMOLED, 1.9in 512x260 Super AMOLED Processor Snapdragon 888 RAM 8GB Storage 128/256GB OS Android 11 Cameras 12+12MP rear, 10MP front Battery 3300mAh (USB-C, Qi) Dimensions 166x72x6.9mm unfolded, 86x72x15.9mm folded, 183g

Flip your rig The dual-camera setup is good, but not mindblowing, especially when compared to the best phone snappers

C ou ont te ro r d llin isp g S lay po is tify an f W ice rom a d atc to th eli hin uc e gh g h. sm t. Ne tfl all ix w ith T ou m her e t e’s tb or m lac ep o kb ea re t ar te ha si dly n s en W d e o i ch h ei u n C gh ar av gin e all po b g. ee of we Th n Du r f is sp ty or fe oi . els led St s b l ow y s ve ill c ry an . up er sa ’t s -f tis to as fy p t ing fol d . in gt his th ing . It ’s

4

18hrs

19hrs 20hrs

22hrs

24hrs

Q Flips like sugar

Q Flip like a vice

Shots in standard lighting using both the normal and ultrawide 12MP cameras are balanced, although a little oversaturated. Some people love cranked-up colours, though, so it’s all good for the ’gram.

Beyond hands-free video calls, resting the Flip3 on its lower half when unfolded 90° is perfect for budding videographers who are out and about without a tripod or extra pair of hands.

Q Flips in the night

Q Flip on my shoulder

While that ‘built-in tripod’ trick and Night mode are handy for low-light shots, there’s a disappointing lack of detail, even under street lamps. And as for even darker conditions?

Fuhgeddaboudit.

One massive advantage of the outer display is that people can see themselves in it when you’re taking their portrait, letting them give you ‘helpful’ pointers on how you’re doing it wrong.

The lack of updates to the cameras and battery might sour things, but we still love the Flip3 for its brazen style. It reminds us of the crazy design days of the past, and stands out from today’s crowd of identical rectangular slabs. What’s more, at under a grand, it’s the cheapest entry point into the still-exclusive folding phone club. @EsatDedezade

STUFF SAYS ++++, Beautifully made and delightfully quirky, this is an accessible folding phone that puts design first 31

FIRST TEST SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP3 5G

The alternatives: 3 more folding phones These double-display devices are all kooky competitors to the Samsung

BEST FOR RETRO STYLE

BEST FOR CAMERA TECH

Motorola Razr 5G

32

Huawei Mate X2

BEST FOR MULTITASKING

Microsoft Surface Duo

£1200 / motorola.co.uk

£tba / huawei.com

from £679 / microsoft.com

What’s the story?

Motorola first made its name with in-car comms. Then it made its name again with natty noughties handsets – including the blade-thin Razr, first sold in 2004. Now it’s trying to grab our attention for a third time with a 5G-ready flexi-screen reboot of its most iconic flipper.

What’s the story?

Huawei’s folding phones used to unwrap like backwards books; not now. The Mate X2 features a fixed display up front, with a giant flexible screen hidden inside. An improved design, boosted specs and a fancy bundled kickstand case suggest a winner – but only if it reaches Europe.

What’s the story?

Toughened glass isn’t an option for most foldables, because it doesn’t bend. Microsoft sidesteps this issue by impersonating the Nintendo DS: rather than a single, flexible display, the Surface Duo features two separate panels held together by sturdy metal hinges.

Is it any good?

A glassy back cements the refreshed Razr’s status as a thing of beauty. That retro shell is clearly the height of cool, while its compact folded form is also usefully pocketable. The design is fit for Instagram… and so is the 48MP main camera, which faces forwards when the phone is folded and rearwards when it’s flipped open. The hinge is more robust than before; and while the Snapdragon 765G CPU isn’t the speediest out there, 5G connectivity means brisk browsing.

Is it any good?

Folded in half, Huawei’s weapon morphs from slender slab to chunky smartphone.

In either guise it feels premium. The front screen is supremely usable, but the 8in main panel truly shines – and it feels durable. Where the Mate X2 puts other foldables to shame is with its camera array, including a pair of telephoto lenses offering 3x and 10x zoom. The catch?

There’s still no Google app support and it’s not yet available outside China, unless you pay a painful import price.

Is it any good?

Microsoft’s flip-open phone is a neat idea, but the hardware is hardly cutting-edge.

Its shell feels slick enough but the two 5.6in displays inside are dull, with dated borders above and below. Performance is also mediocre, thanks to a sluggish CPU and buggy software – and there’s no redemption from the camera tech.

Yet it does have decent multitasking potential, if you can ignore the thick column down the middle when it’s in 8.1in tablet mode.

KEY SPECS Screens 6.2in 2142x876 OLED, 2.7in 800x600 OLED Processor Snapdragon 765G Cameras 48MP rear, 20MP front Battery 2800mAh Weight 192g

KEY SPECS Screens 8in 2480x2200 OLED, 6.45in 2700x1160 OLED Processor Kirin 9000 Cameras 50+16+12+8MP rear, 16MP front Battery 4500mAh Weight 295g

KEY SPECS Screen 8.1in (combined) 2700x1800 OLED Processor Snapdragon 855 Camera 11MP Battery 3577mAh Weight 250g

Stuff says +++,,

Stuff says ++++,

Stuff says +++,,

Nostalgia for a new generation: the Razr 5G reinvents a flippin’ classic

A limited but significant example of foldable hardware

It may test your patience, but the Duo is still a truly intriguing machine

mpb.com

Rated ‘Excellent’ 4.9/5 based on 10,000+ reviews

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TITANIC TWEAKAGE

KEYLESS KOOKERY

MINIATURE MAYHEM

UPVOTED

The wee workstation

The DIY demon

The teeny twiddler

IK Multimedia Uno Making electronic music used to involve surrounding yourself with banks of giant modules like the captain of a very noisy spaceship. Now look at this iPad-sized beast. It’s fully analogue but programmable, comes with 100 presets, and includes an arpeggiator and 16-step sequencer. €200 / ikmultimedia.com

Teenage Engineering Modular 170 One day Teenage Engineering will slip up and produce something that isn’t cool enough to make people grow a beard on the spot. Until then, we’ll have to carry on being seduced by gadgets like this, a self-assembly analogue squelcher with eight little patch cables and a built-in speaker round the back. £399 / teenage.engineering

Modal Skulptsynth SE Modal first caught our eye with the original Craftsynth, a DIY machine that looked like a child’s drawing of the Teenage 170 on the left. Now they’ve smoothed off the corners, literally, with this tidy ‘virtual analogue’ four-voice cutey that has 32 oscillators and a festival of knobs. £169 / modalelectronics.com

SYNTHS The gestural genius Moog Claravox Centennial Look, that robot’s waving at you! Wave back, or it’ll fire a beam of flesh-melting protons at your face. Nah, it won’t really: this is just Moog’s latest tribute to the theremin, invented in 1920 and played by moving your arms around its antennae. So actually, you should give it a wave anyway. £1519 / moogmusic.com

The secret swoosher Boss Eurus GS-1 Sorry, what? It looks like an electric guitar?

Pfff, don’t be ridiculous – the Eurus GS-1 is an electronic guitar. It’s got an onboard polyphonic synth engine, with six slots for saving sounds and Bluetooth for deep editing on your phone. It does normal guitar sounds too, but don’t let that put you off. £1968 / boss.info/uk

The flashy fiddler

The manual mangler

The cheese champion

Arturia MatrixBrute Noir Edition From the little MicroFreak to the giant PolyBrute, everything Arturia does is eminently lustable. And this new all-black version of the analogue MatrixBrute is the sexiest, knobbiest, lighty-uppiest product in the whole range. (The massive grid on the right is the modulation matrix.) £1899 / arturia.com

Korg Modwave The most important thing about the Korg Modwave is that it’s a powerful polyphonic synthesizer with wavetable oscillators and comprehensive pattern sequencing. But the fun part is that it’s got a built-in Kaoss pad, so you can change the sound by drawing male genitals with your finger. £699 / korg.com

Hammond SK Pro Think ‘Hammond organ’ and you’re probably picturing an old man with a pompadour banging out cheesy classics in a bingo hall.

You certainly can do that with the SK Pro (pompadour not included), but this model also does distinctly non-bingo-friendly analogue-modelled monophonic sounds. £2149 / hammond.eu

HOW TO DECIDE 34

Got everything it takes to be a musician, except musicianship? Richard Purvis is here to help you express yourself with nine fruity sound generators…

1 Analogue or digital?

Analogue synths sound gritty and grubby and unpredictable; digital synths don’t, but they have the power to mimic just about anything… including analogue synths.

2 Monophonic or polyphonic?

The very first synthesizers could only handle one note at a time. How primitive… but that’s all you need to play chunky cow-fart basslines, so monophonic synths are still popular.

UPVOTED

The glitchy groper Soma Enner You might think the control surface of this wooden-framed curiosity looks like a giant foetus impaling itself on a pyramid. This was almost certainly not the designers’ intention.

It’s an analogue synth concocted in Russia, and all those light-coloured areas are pressure-sensitive pads that enable you to create an array of out-there noises by completing electrical circuits with your fingers. Well, who wants to be normal? €528 / somasynths.com

3 Modular or all in one?

For ultimate flexibility, forget all of this. Buy a simple MIDI controller keyboard instead, and build up a world-beating collection of synth modules to provide the sounds.

4 Real or imaginary?

You can also use a MIDI controller keyboard to play a synth that doesn’t actually exist.

Google ‘free soft synths’ to explore a wonderland of desktop software emulations.

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DIGITAL EDITION

Available from shop.kelsey.co.uk/stuff plus Readly and Pocketmags

PHOTO SPECIAL

VERY CRISPNESS EVERYBODY “Today everything exists to end in a photograph,” said Susan Sontag – so you may as well make it a decent one, with a little help from Stuff’s guide to the best gear and techniques for every kind of shooting

STREET

NIGHT

NATURE

PORTRAIT

FOOD

VIDEO

Step outside, stop, observe and wait.

Float like a shutterfly and captivating scenes will unfold in front of your very lens. p38

Night fever, we’ll show you how to do it. From buying the right camera to working neon lights, you’ll be the prince of darkness. p40

It’s not easy capturing the greatest artist of all, Mother Nature, but with the right gear you can come close. p42

Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it?

Perhaps Madonna wasn’t aware of the complexities of medium-format, but you will be. p44

Camera eats first, so make sure you follow our advice to ensure lunch looks less Kitchen Nightmares and more MasterChef. p46

Find out how a little camera loaded with smart video modes can set you up as the next Scorsese… or, even better, the next Zoella. p48

Sell your photo and video kit to MPB In the UK, research shows more than half of photographers and videographers have kit they haven’t used in two years. Every single hidden-away camera and forgotten lens has potential. And that’s why MPB is here. Every month, visual storytellers in the UK get quotes to sell more than 44,000 cameras and lenses to MPB. Put kit back in play. Get free doorstep pickup. Get paid within two days. Visit MPB.com/Sell

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PHOTO SPECIAL

ZINGIN’ IN THE RAIN This capture works for several reasons.

Firstly, finding the scene before the subject (see tips opposite) means a perfectly straight composition. The central subject pulls our eye in, framed by the trees, and the reflection gives a nice pop of visual flourish.

38

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Flip glidin’ away The Z50’s awkward tilt-down display (easily blocked by a selfie-stick, GorillaPod or vlogging handle) has been replaced by a proper flip screen.

STREET TIPS Frame it first Finding your frame before you find your subject allows you to create a considered composition.

It’ll be worth the wait.

Get in the zone Focus on an object a set distance away and turn to manual focus. You’ll get sharp shots when anyone enters your zone.

See the light Everyone shoots people.

Instead, consider finding an area of harsh sunlight and capture strange, unique shadows.

STREET

You don’t need to be winched into a live volcano – there’s plenty of interesting stuff to shoot just down the road

NIKON Z FC £899 (body only) / stuff.tv/ZFC hen you’re buzzing around the streets taking snaps of day-to-day life, it’s important to look the part – and Nikon’s Z FC has style in spades.

Taking design inspiration from the company’s classic FE 35mm camera, on the inside the Z FC is every bit the modern-day mirrorless marvel.

It uses the same 20.9MP APS-C sensor, processor, battery and excellent hybrid autofocus system as Nikon’s first mirrorless camera, the Z50, but this isn’t merely a retro reskin. Look past the leatherette coating, fetching round electronic viewfinder and

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manual dials for shutter speed and ISO (don’t worry, you can easily flick it into auto), and you’ll find a hybrid camera with an 11fps burst speed, 4K video and a magnesium alloy chassis that’s light enough for all-day portability.

Image quality is reliably solid rather than stunning, but this will vary depending on the lens attached. We reviewed the Z FC with a lightweight 16-50mm kit zoom that comes with image stabilisation – a cheap all-rounder that works well for vlogging at its widest 16mm setting – but the company’s new 28mm f/2.8 prime looks to be a better choice

for stills photographers. Both these lenses are styled to fit in with the last-century look, and we’re hoping Nikon adds more because modern Nikkor lenses do spoil the old-school vibe.

Nikon is not the first mirrorless camera maker to take the retro road, but it’s heartwarming to see the brand’s history echoed in a model that offers the latest tech.

If you’re looking for a shooter with real character, look no further.

Key specs O 20.9MP APS-C CMOS O ISO 100-51,200 O 4K @ 30fps O 3in 1.04m-dot TFT O 445g

STUFF SAYS Come for the style, stay for the performance – Nikon’s retro revival combines solid shooting skills with showstopping looks ++++,

ALTERNATIVELY… Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max When shooting on the street you never know what you’re going to encounter, so it’s a good idea to have a phone that’s a top all-rounder.

The Max has a trio of lenses and a larger sensor than the standard iPhone 12 Pro. £1099 / apple.com

Nikon D750 MPB pays you up to £655

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MPB’s product specialists will do the rest.

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PHOTO SPECIAL

Hurry up carry If you’ve used a Canon DSLR before you’ll feel right at home here, but the R6’s smaller and lighter body means you can carry it for longer and further.

NIGHT TIPS Paint with light Set a long exposure and shine a torch from behind your camera (experiment with times) to create amazing effects.

Go for the glow Try shooting portraits at night with neon lights.

The colours will pop, and a wide aperture can create stunning bokeh.

Steady on A tripod is essential.

Steadying your camera allows you to use slower shutter speeds, letting in more light and killing blur.

NIGHT

ALTERNATIVELY… Google Pixel 5 Some of the very best nightlife happens above our heads – and while a phone will never capture the cosmos as well as a camera with a massive sensor, this one can still get some impressive shots. You can also use it to shoot timelapse videos of the stars. £599 / store.google.com

Darkness is a camera’s arch nemesis, but some are better at dealing with it than others – like this ace full-framer

CANON EOS R6 £2600 (body only) / stuff.tv/EOSR6 utting all its metaphorical eggs in one basket, the Canon EOS R6 is a stunning camera that can tackle just about every subject you might wish to throw at it. It’s ideal for a plethora of different subjects, tackling each with aplomb… but when it comes to low-light shooting, there’s a whole host of features that really make the R6 a smart choice.

With a relatively modest 20.1MP resolution, there aren’t too many pixels to crowd onto its full-frame sensor, which results in crisp and clear images even in the dimmest conditions. It’s also got superbly

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Canon 5D IV MPB pays you up to £1435

SELL YOUR DSLR CAMERA On average, MPB pays £457 for Canon bodies and £428 for Nikon bodies in ‘Excellent’ condition. You can sell almost any model of DSLR to MPB. Find out how much you could get paid.

sensitive autofocus and excellent in-body stabilisation, so sharpness is virtually a given. The on-sensor Dual-Pixel CMOS AF II focusing, to give it its full name, doesn’t just sound fancy – it also does the business. Eye AF is spectacular, and works not just for humans but also for our furry friends.

If video is your thing, you have 4K at the ready here, while the fully articulating touchscreen can face all the way forward for capturing those all-important vlogs (or the odd selfie). Plus there are two card slots – both SD, and both the faster UHS-II type. Fantastic if you already have

a set of cards and don’t want to splash out on extra memory.

The only potential drawback of the Canon EOS R6 right now is the high price: at over £2500 for the body, you’re going to need some serious readies by the time you’ve also invested in some glass for it.

It sits above mid-range models such as the Nikon Z6 II and Sony A7 III… but with its superlative performance, it’s arguably very much worth the outlay.

Key specs O 20.1MP full-frame CMOS O ISO 100-102,400 O 4K @ 60fps O 3in 1.62m-dot LCD O 680g

STUFF SAYS With its low-light-friendly specs, the EOS R6 all but guarantees sharp shots in all conditions, including when things get gloomy +++++

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH

F-STOP ’TIL YOU GET ENOUGH One of the biggest aids to shooting in dark conditions is having a fast-aperture lens, like the f/1.4 used here. This creates a shallow depth of field, meaning a narrow focal plane, but also lets more light into the sensor, allowing for faster shutter speeds and lower ISO.

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PHOTO SPECIAL

RETURN OF GIRAFFE NECKS Giraffes naturally adhere to the rule of thirds thanks to their long necks, and that shows in this photo.

Framing their faces against the sky removes any distracting elements and allows them to really stand out. And the eye contact gives it a personal touch.

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Long drain running Sony claims you can record over 200 minutes of video on a single charge, or take over 700 photos.

That’s best-in-class stamina, that is.

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

NATURE TIPS Play a long game A zoom lens with a 400600mm focal length will let you get close. Long focal lengths also create nice blurred backgrounds.

Hunt down your prey Having a camera with a high continuous shooting speed means you can maximise your shots to ensure you get ‘the one’.

Find your centre Setting your camera’s AF point in the centre means you’ll always know where to point the lens. One less thing to worry about.

NATURE

Yeah, your cat’s cute – but with 8.7 million species of living things sharing our planet, maybe you can diversify a bit?

SONY A7C £1709 (body only) / stuff.tv/A7C he old cliche says you should never work with children or animals. But if it’s photographs you want and you’re holding a Sony A7C, there’s no reason to be afraid of either.

Full-frame cameras don’t get much smaller than this, especially if you insist on in-body image stabilisation. That makes it an easy carry whether you’re on safari or on the prowl around the bins for some urban wildlife.

Animals (and we include children in that) aren’t exactly known for sitting still and doing what they’re told, so you’ll need something that doesn’t hang around if you want to

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get the perfect shot – and the A7C is quite the speed demon.

Its combination of 10fps continuous shooting and fast, accurate AF means capturing elusive subjects is relatively painless. Turn on Silent Shooting and you can minimise any noise made by the mechanism, so you don’t have to worry about spooking that bashful hedgehog.

The AF system also has excellent real-time eye-tracking, which works with animal peepers as well as human ones.

There is an OLED viewfinder, but the A7C’s compact dimensions mean it’s a lot smaller than you’ll find on older A7 cameras, so you’re

probably better off using the 3in vari-angle touchscreen. However you choose to work, the 24.2MP sensor is capable of capturing spectacular photos packed with detail, devoid of noise, and with great low-light performance.

It’s no slouch when it comes to video either. Shooting 4K at 30fps is by no means top of the class, but the footage is sharp and the autofocus works just as well with video. Move over, Attenborough…

Key specs O 24.2MP full-frame CMOS O ISO 100-51,200 O 4K @ 30fps O 3in 921,600-dot LCD O 509g

STUFF SAYS A small camera with big ideas, the A7C’s speed and autofocus skills make it a nature lover’s best friend +++++

ALTERNATIVELY… Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G Zoom is crucial when it comes to wildlife… and there’s no better phone for it than the S21 Ultra.

The 100x Space Zoom is little more than a gimmick, but combined with the 108MP sensor you can still get stunning results at 15x. £1149 / samsung.com

Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS MPB pays you up to £640

SELL YOUR LENSES On average, MPB pays £629 for Canon DSLR lenses, £477 for Sony, £450 for Nikon, £306 for Fujifilm, £279 for Panasonic and £290 for Olympus lenses in ‘Excellent’ condition.

You can sell almost any lens model.

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PHOTO SPECIAL

Reel gone kid Shooting a difficult subject? A full battery offers enough power for around 450 shots.

Even we’d fancy our chances of getting a decent one out of that.

PORTRAIT TIPS Score a fifty A 50mm f/1.8 is the first non-kit lens you should own. It’s budget-friendly and lets you easily blur the background.

Let the light in The easiest portrait light is a window. Sit your subject at 90° and rotate them until the nose starts to cast a shadow.

Pores for thought Skin-smoothing in the edit can be flattering, but it’s important to ensure you retain some texture for a natural look.

PORTRAIT

ALTERNATIVELY… Huawei P40 Pro If you’re mainly taking pictures of your own face, the P40 Pro’s 32MP front-facing dual camera takes the best selfies in the business. They’re packed with detail, and you can always use the sliders to dial up the Beauty mode for a bit of realistic skin-smoothing. £600 / huawei.com

Every face is unique, but lots of pictures of them aren’t… so we’ve picked out one camera to make yours stand out

FUJIFILM GFX100S £5499 (body only) / stuff.tv/GFX100S ver since human beings have been committing images to cave walls, canvases and memory cards, we’ve been obsessed with our own stupid faces. And if you’re looking for something to continue that trend, the medium-format GFX100S is a formidable snapper for portrait work.

In the past, medium-format cameras were too complicated, bulky and expensive for anyone other than those who really knew what they were doing. But this one is relatively compact, plus it comes with the kind of features you’d get on a mirrorless point-and-shoot

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Fujifilm X-T3 MPB pays you up to £615

SELL YOUR MIRRORLESS CAMERA On average, MPB pays £630 for Sony mirrorless bodies, £389 for Fujifilm, £488 for Panasonic, £756 for Nikon, £486 for Canon and £389 for Olympus mirrorless bodies in ‘Excellent’ condition.

(in-body image stabilisation and phase-detection AF) without sacrificing any of the picture quality offered by the giant 102MP sensor inside.

Fujifilm has decided against integrating a battery grip, which is part of the reason the chassis is that bit less hefty, but it’s still chunky enough to get a good firm hold. It has a 3.2in touchscreen that tilts three ways, plus an electronic viewfinder and a top-plate LCD panel for at-a-glance settings even when powered down.

Taking full-length portraits with bokeh isn’t easy to achieve on an APS-C or even full-frame camera,

but it is with the GFX100S. The hybrid AF system is speedy and the stabilisation is great if you’re shooting handheld, the extra sharpness proving a massive help when your images have this much detail. And what stonking snaps they are, with beautiful colours and dynamic range.

It’s still pricey… but if you have been tempted by medium-format in the past, the GFX100S makes it more accessible than ever.

Key specs O 102MP BSI medium-format O ISO 100-12,800 O 4K @ 30fps O 3.2in 2.36m-dot LCD O 900g

STUFF SAYS Overkill for many, but killer for those in the know, the GFX100S puts medium-format photography into the hands of mortals +++++

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH

TASSELS IN THE AIR This portrait shines on several levels. We love the use of fore and background blur, while the sharpness of the eyes really grabs your attention. The lighting is soft, with just enough highlight and shadow, and the tassels and the brim of the hat keep your gaze ‘fenced in’.

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PHOTO SPECIAL

PLATE RIGHT FEELINGS Food photography encompasses a wide variety of styles with a single goal: to make the food the standout hero. A central composition, even lighting and a white plate will keep out any visual distractions and allow the colourful dish to dominate the image.

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Dinner, takes it all The G100 can be bought with a bundled tabletop tripod, which is just the kind of thing you need for taking up a sturdy position next to your chips.

FOOD TIPS Enjoy a light snack If you’re shooting from overhead, try attaching a flashgun and pointing it at the ceiling for a soft, even light.

Bake it or fake it Styling is everything.

Whether using mashed potato as ice cream or motor oil as maple syrup, it’s all fair game.

Give yourself props Accessories can create stunning lifestyle images.

Try a chopping board, some bouquet garni or a dash of icing sugar.

FOOD

ALTERNATIVELY… Oppo Find X3 Pro

Find it impossible to eat anything without taking a picture of it first? Here are some options to whet your appetite…

PANASONIC LUMIX G100 £519 (body only) / stuff.tv/LumixG100 anasonic’s G100 is aimed squarely at some of the worst people in the world: influencers. But while this 20.3MP Lumix might be most at home asking people to like and subscribe, it also has plenty of stills skills to up your foodtography game.

For starters it’s absolutely tiny and weighs just 345g, so taking it out to dinner won’t feel like a chore, yet the micro four-thirds sensor inside is an absolute whopper in comparison to the one inside your smartphone. Of course, the best phones can now use AI to make up some ground, but they’ll never offer the flexibility of a camera

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with interchangeable lenses – and there are loads available that will fit the G100.

You won’t find a phone with a 3.7m-dot LCD viewfinder on it either – and while the G100’s touchscreen might only be a 3in job, it can be flipped out and around, so you can make sure your brunch is arranged perfectly on the plate while also ensuring it’s all framed properly.

The autofocus might not be the most modern but it still gets its eye in quickly – and it’s not like your smashed avocado on sourdough toast is going to suddenly make a break for freedom anyway. There’s

also a five-axis hybrid image stabilisation system, combining electronic and in-lens systems to keep things steady.

Almost every camera thinks it’s a phone these days and the G100 is no different, offering over 20 creative filters that can make your images Insta-ready… but in truth, with a button that makes it easy to send snaps over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, you’re probably best off doing your tinkering afterwards.

Key specs O 20.3MP Live MOS O ISO 200-25,600 O 4K @ 30fps O 3in 1.84m-dot LCD O 345g

STUFF SAYS Designed for vloggers but still a treat for foodtographers, the G100 is a big upgrade on your phone yet still plays nice with it ++++,

Fancy getting a different perspective on your pie?

One of the Find X3 Pro’s four lenses is dedicated to microphotography, so you can get up close and personal with whatever you’re about to put in your mouth. A built-in LED ring flash makes sure it’s properly lit. £1100 / oppo.com

DJI Ronin-S MPB pays you up to £275

SELL YOUR ACCESSORIES You can also sell your bags, cases and straps, memory cards and readers, camera remotes, camera batteries, battery grips, flashguns, tripods, filters and many more photo and video accessories.

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PHOTO SPECIAL

Zoom’s on fire Plug the ZV-E10 into your computer and it will treat the Sony as a webcam, making for some alarmingly high-quality Zoom calls.

VIDEO TIPS Double up Set your shutter speed to double your frame rate for natural motion blur: 1/50s for 25fps, 1/100s for 50fps, and so on.

Shake it off If you want to shoot handheld, opt for a camera with image stabilisation. This will create a smoother look.

Keep your focus Unless you have a new camera with excellent video AF, you’ll be better off with manual focus for consistently sharp shots.

VIDEO

ALTERNATIVELY… Sony Xperia 1 III Sony’s video chops aren’t just restricted to its cameras. This phone has a separate app for shooting video called Cinema Pro, letting you adjust the frame-rate and focus, and choose different ‘looks’ – colour settings that mimic pro post-production tools. £1199 / sony.co.uk

If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine how many you get for a 4K film. Lights, camera, action!

SONY ZV-E10 £679 (body only) / stuff.tv/E10 tills and video cameras used to be very different beasts, but these days it can be hard to tell them apart.

The big giveaway with Sony’s ZV-E10? The fluffy wind-muff that fits over the microphone and cuts down on noise made by the breeze when you’re shooting video outside. The sound quality is half-decent, which is something you seldom see on sub-£1000 mirrorless cameras, but there’s also a mic port (and a headphone one) if you want to upgrade to something external.

Vloggers will also be pleased to see a fully articulating screen, even

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Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera MPB pays you up to £430

GET SUPPORT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY MPB’s customer experience team in Brighton is here for you.

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if we do wish the menus were properly touch-optimised, while Sony has kept things as portable as possible by zapping the flash and viewfinder. That makes the ZV-E10 Sony’s most compact interchangeable-lens camera.

Inside there’s a 24.2MP APS-C sensor that shoots 4K at up to 30fps and 1080p at up to 120fps, while Sony’s Slow And Quick (S&Q) mode captures either timelapse (as low as 1fps) or slow-mo (as high as 120fps) in-camera. Very handy.

Photos and videos shot at full resolution are crammed with detail, bettering Canon’s pricier M6 MkII

for clarity… but frustratingly for run-and-gun videographers, Sony’s vlogging champ suffers from the same rolling shutter as the A6400, with nippy lateral movements resulting in italicised subjects. Not a great look.

Still, AF and eye-tracking are exceptional, thanks to 425-point phase-detection, and there’s also Active SteadyShot, which keeps things solidly shake-free at the expense of noticeable cropping.

Key specs O 24.2MP APS-C CMOS O ISO 100-32,000 O 4K @ 30fps O 3in 922k-dot TFT O 343g

STUFF SAYS It might not be perfect, but with lots of inputs, decent mics and impressive 4K performance, this is a great-value vlogging tool +++++

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IN ASSOCIATION WITH

ELEVATE ME SKATER When shooting video, especially action, your main goal is to keep the audience engaged.

Here the board is giving the eye an instant invitation to the subject. Having the sun camera-right adds textured lighting to emphasise the scene’s natural dynamism.

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APPS

Mini meme

O Chessplode “Chess but explosions” might sound like something from the Alan Partridge book of TV show pitches, but that single twist upends this most classic of board games. Even veterans will have to rethink strategies on watching all pieces in a row and column – including their own – being obliterated when one is taken. Fortunately, daily challenges help rewire your brain for online multiplayer bouts. £free / Android, iOS

MODDIN’ CLASSICS OF GAMING Think you’ve seen everything that long-established games and genres have to offer? These six mobile formula-twisters beg to differ…

O Day Repeat Day This one initially whiffs of Candy Crush as you match-three your way through challenges. But pay attention and you’ll notice something is a bit off, involving a messaging system and some corporate text. Dig deeper and you’ll discover deranged adverts before ending up immersed in a beautifully conceived dystopia with plenty to say about modern commerce and the work/life balance. £4.99 / iOS

O Minit

O Baba Is You

O Drop Wizard

O Flipflop Solitaire

RPGs tend to let you amble, exploring at your own pace, occasionally feeling suitably smart and tough when you see off puzzles and enemies. But Minit gives you just 60 seconds before you die – although you do hang onto items for your next attempt. It’s an odd thing, simultaneously freeing you up from the finality of game death and yet turning each ephemeral life into a breakneck speedrun. £4.19 / Android O £4.99 / iOS

Block-shoving puzzles are as derivative as they come, but this is no archaic Soko-Ban wannabe. Its single-screen setups include word blocks that define the game’s rules; move those around and everything changes – from walls no longer being a barrier to every rock becoming a tiny clone of Baba.

It’s brain-bending, deviously clever stuff, with perfectly realised touchscreen controls. £5.06 / Android O £6.99 / iOS

Single-screen platformers were all the rage in the 1980s, but they fare poorly on mobile due to the lack of physical controls.

So Drop Wizard combines the Bubble Bobble template with an auto-runner. You dart left and right, blasting magic on landing, and can boot dazed foes across the screen. It’s like a miniature retro arcade machine in your mitts – but perfectly reimagined for the touchscreen. £2.99 / Android, iOS

Zach Gage has a thing for subverting traditional games, be that pool, crosswords or chess. Here, he reworks solitaire – specifically the spider incarnation. The twist? You can stack up or down on a single column. In theory, this makes every game possible to complete; but even with endless undos, the path to victory is rarely straightforward – especially in games with five suits. £free / Android, iOS

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VERSUS TRUE WIRELESS BUDS

Don’t fear the cheaper They’re y worryingly y g y affordable, but these two newcomers to the true wireless crowd both come with audio pedigree Sennheiser CX True Wireless

[ Words Simon Lucas, Verity Burns, Natalya Paul ]

What’s the story?

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Beats Studio Buds

OR FOR EVEN LESS…

What’s the story?

The Germans have a reputation for being sensible when it comes to hi-fi. Sennheiser is famed for engineering rigour, longevity and, most of all, performance – the flipside of that being a perceived lack of value for money and visual pizzazz. While the latter still remains the case with the company’s latest wireless in-ears, the price is very reasonable. So how far should we lower our expectations? Actually, not that far…

When the AirPods range was extended last year to include premium noise-cancelling and over-ear models, it left Apple’s own Beats brand with a bit of an identity crisis.

Was there room for two prime headphone brands under one fruity roof? So the focus has shifted towards the younger audience that always loved Beats, with lower pricing and a more inclusive approach to Android.

Throw in active noise-cancellation and the Studio Buds look like quite a proposition.

Are they any good?

Are they any good?

There’s something quite austere about the look of these buds – and that impression isn’t helped by the fact that they’re so chunky. But they’re solid and splash-proof, and excel when it comes to the important stuff: these are sonically gifted earphones, with a real up-and-at-’em quality. While there’s clearly a relish for bass, midrange fidelity is just as impressive.

The touch controls are responsive and virtually impossible to confuse, and the voice commands are foolproof. All this can be customised in the app, where you’ll also find some rather crude EQ controls.

The integrated mics prove well up to the task of making calls coherent – which is all they have to do, because there’s no active noise-cancellation.

The rounded main body helps them nuzzle snugly into your ears, and this tapers to a more angular top that makes them easy to grip. Once locked into your ear they’ll stay put, comfortably and securely, even over long listening sessions.

While there are no EQ adjustment options, these are the most refined Beats yet in terms of audio quality and the low end of the soundstage offers plenty of warmth, weight and rumble.

The ANC will take the oomph out of moderate transport noise and low-level hums, but it doesn’t have the ability to block out all background sounds – and call quality leaves much to be desired. Even slightly noisy or windy environments can really reduce vocal clarity.

Price £120 / stuff.tv/CXTrue Tech Bluetooth 5, USB-C O IPX4 O 9hrs buds + 18hrs case O 2x 6g buds, 37g case

Price £129 / stuff.tv/StudioBuds Tech Bluetooth 5, USB-C, ANC, Spatial Audio O IPX4 O 8hrs buds + 16hrs case O 2x 5g buds, 48g case

Stuff says +++++

Stuff says ++++,

With strong stamina and assertive sound, it’s easy to forgive the bulky design

Beats refines its sonic signature to create an engaging pair of buds at a great price

NOTHING EAR (1) £99 / stuff.tv/Ear1 Meet the in-ears so long-anticipated that we started to wonder if they’d ever launch at all.

The Nothing Ear (1) buds have a unique transparent design and we’re told eight types of clear glue were tested. They weigh only 4.7g each and offer 5.7hrs of listening, or 34hrs with the case. Sound is as good as you could hope for at £99, with decent clarity and separation, while the gesture swiping to adjust volume is a treat.

Stuff says ++++, Smart looks and decent sound, but no miracles

VERSUS TRUE WIRELESS BUDS

1 Maybe driver

2 Shout to the top-up

Hi-res audio is processed by Sennheiser’s TrueResponse transducers, the size and composition of which are a pointlessly guarded secret.

As well as 9hrs of playback time from the earbuds themselves, there’s another couple of full charges stored in the case. That’s 27hrs in total.

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TES WI T NN ER

1

4

3

3 Free your find… and your OS will follow

4 Hiss blight has opened my eyes

Android users now get to enjoy one-touch pairing and even Find My Device, which plays a noise to help locate the buds.

There’s a low-level hiss in transparency mode. It’s only noticeable when the music is quiet or stopped, but it’s there.

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TESTED IKEA SYMFONISK PICTURE FRAME

Groove is in the art Ikea and Sonos have put their heads together again, this time to create a wireless speaker camouflaged as an abstract painting £179 / stuff.tv/SymfoniskFrame Q The Symfonisk collaboration between Ikea and Sonos has already brought us a musical lampshade and a tidy bookshelf speaker. Now there’s this, a Wi-Fi speaker hidden in a work of art. The idea is to enjoy music with one less obvious gadget cluttering up the place.

Change of art The panel pops off for easy replacing, although options are currently pretty limited.

At least you’re not stuck with a garish eyesore.

Q You can mount the Symfonisk frame in either orientation, or rest it against the wall like a trendy art connoisseur who’s decided a casual lean-to look is far better than conforming to gallery norms.

We opted for the lean, simply because the dangling power cable is a bit unsightly. If we could pick one wish for future improvements to this product, it would be the inclusion of a rechargeable battery for fully cable-free listening.

Q Setup is a breeze thanks to the Sonos app, with iOS fans having the advantage of using the Trueplay room-tuning feature.

There’s no Bluetooth, but Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2 and support for major streaming services like Spotify should have pretty much everyone’s bases covered.

Q Sound is surprisingly meaty, with powerful low end that belies the 6cm-thin construction. We opted for turning the bass down a tad to stop it from overpowering things, but you can tweak to your heart’s content with the Sonos app’s EQ. Things might get a little shrill at maximum volume, and there’s a little muddiness at times, but overall this is a solid-sounding speaker that won’t disappoint.

Tech specs Audio 4in woofer, 1in tweeter (output not stated) Connectivity Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2 Dimensions 570x410x60mm, 3.5kg

Q Unchain my art

Q Two arts beat as one

The 3.5m power cable might stick out against a wall, but at least you can tame its generous length: the rear of the speaker has trenches to run the cable through, along with a small hollow that can be stuffed with any excess length.

This speaker can complement an existing Sonos setup. You could, for example, connect two Symfonisk Frames together for a minimalistic surround-sound setup in conjunction with a Sonos soundbar.

STUFF SAYS A beautifully low-profile speaker that delivers warm, punchy sound ++++, Props to Ikea for thinking outside the art-shaped box Esat Dedezade

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There’s plenty to love about the Symfonisk Picture Frame. Its design does a great job of masking its true purpose, and it offers plenty of audio bang for your buck. While you can snap up similar or slightly better-sounding speakers for the same money (the Sonos One SL comes to mind), nothing else comes close to offering the same form factor at this price. We just wish there was more choice for the artwork.

T E S T E D S O N Y P L AY S TAT I O N P U L S E 3 D W I R E L E S S H E A D S E T

Match it and crank Sony’s instant-pairing headset is designed to get maximum sonic immersion from the PS5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech £90 / stuff.tv/PulseHeadset

Sprinter grade Battery life is about 12hrs, which isn’t the best, but then there’s a bit more going on here than with a normal wireless headset.

Q Unsurprisingly for a sub-£100 headset, the Pulse 3D is all-plastic with pleather earpads. It doesn’t feel cheap, though, and isn’t particularly heavy. We can’t say for sure that it’ll stand the test of time, but with no boom mic there’s nothing that feels easily breakable.

Q The PlayStation 5’s Tempest 3D AudioTech engine is designed to put you in the middle of immersive soundscapes, allowing you to pinpoint where sounds are coming from. While the Pulse 3D is never going to rival a properly assembled home cinema system, it’s still very impressive when paired with a compatible first-party game.

Q Hearing the hum of the traffic directly beneath you as you swing through the Manhattan skies in Miles Morales adds a real feeling of height, while being able to zone in on every sound as you navigate Returnal’s alien-inhabited landscape is a subtly stunning advert for the tech.

Q Games that don’t support Sony’s Tempest tech don’t sound so impactful, but as a standard stereo headset the Pulse 3D is still a solid performer, if a little lacking in the bass department. It’ll work with any source in wired mode, but the instant pairing when you turn on the PS5 is magically good.

Q Demon’s holes

Q Forbidden stressed

The left earcup houses the 3.5mm socket and USB-C charging port, plus the power switch, mic mute, volume rocker, mic-monitoring switch and chat/game audio rocker. They could have put some of it on the right, surely?

The adjustable strap under the plastic headband provides nice support; but while the rounded earpads offer a decent amount of cushioning for your lugs, in a warm room they will start to cook after a while.

Q The Pulse 3D has dual mics, and there’s a mic-monitoring button that enables you to hear yourself talking so you know how you sound to the people on the other side of the connection.

Tech specs Connectivity 2.4GHz wireless (with USB dongle), 3.5mm, USB-C charging Battery life Up to 12hrs Weight 295g

STUFF SAYS This is the best way to experience the PS5’s 3D audio technology +++++ Tempest 3D will work with normal cans, but this is still a good buy Matt Tate

You only have to play Returnal for five minutes to see how much 3D audio can already add to a game when implemented well, and it’s likely to get even better as Sony’s developers experiment with it more. Right now this is still fairly new tech, and the Pulse 3D Wireless Headset is an affordable, easy-to-use option for those wanting to hear it for themselves… even if SteelSeries’ excellent Arctis 7P is more comfortable.

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BETA YOURSELF

iOS 15 It’s that time of year again, and your iPhone will never be the same… Craig Grannell delves into the latest version of iOS to find the best bits – including a trio of revamped Apple apps THE BASICS

Q Embrace the Face If you’ve strayed to other video chat options, iOS 15’s version of FaceTime might tempt you back. Multi-person chat now has a sane layout; you can use portrait mode to blur your background and audio settings to eradicate background noise; and you can send chat links (that even Android/Windows users can join) in end-to-end-encrypted browser sessions.

Q Find your Focus The blunt tool Do Not Disturb now has a more refined sibling, Focus, which blocks out distractions in a way that’s context-specific. For each Focus you can define a schedule, people and apps who can notify you, and home screens you want to hide. You can also manually turn on a Focus from Control Centre.

Q Play with your friends In FaceTime, you’ll soon be able to kick off SharePlay sessions to sync movie/album playback with friends. You can easily find links sent in Messages via Shared With You in News, TV, Music, Safari, Podcasts and Photos. Handily, Photos automatically adds to your library those pics you were there for.

Q Let the Spotlight shine

Q Be safe out there

Spotlight is smarter. Search for or select a contact and you’ll see related documents and links. It can dig into photos, web images and band/actor info. You can also pull down on the lock screen to get at Spotlight quickly. Not keen?

Turn off Spotlight on the lock screen in Settings > Face ID & Passcode > ‘Allow access when locked’.

Apple continues to set itself apart on security and privacy.

Siri now does more on-device, making it zippier. In Settings > Password, set up two-factor codes to streamline logins in apps and online. Find My now works even when your phone’s out of juice – and laggards will be happy that iOS 14 remains an upgrade option, for security fixes only.

MANAGE MEMORIES Q Pick your pics

Clouding over Getting a new iPhone?

Go to Settings > Transfer or Reset iPhone. Apple will give you the iCloud storage needed for a backup for three weeks, free of charge.

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Automated Memories in the Photos app are now more prominent in the For You tab. Use the ‘…’ menu to edit included photos/videos and the title; this is more coherent and accessible than before.

Q Mix up the mood First, tap the button at the bottom-left of the screen when a Memory plays; now swipe horizontally to adjust the background music and filter, transforming the feel of your Memory. You can also use the buttons at the bottom-right to manually adjust each component.

FRESHLY APP-DATED

REMINDERS Last year, Apple finally recognised that people might like to sort their reminder lists by various criteria. This year, the app gains tags and Smart Lists. This latter feature lets you automatically combine items from existing lists based on tags, locations, times or priority flags.

NOTES Unlike on iPad and Mac, Notes for iPhone doesn’t yet enable you to make Quick Notes – although you can find and edit them. However, you do get a bunch of updates that aid productivity, collaboration and access, including hashtags, ‘@’ mentions and an activity view to peruse edits.

RATION THE FLASHIN’ Q Kill the cruft

DRAG AND DROP Q Map your apps In iOS 14, you could drag app icons from the App Library to any home screen. In iOS 15, you can also drag apps from Spotlight. Tap-hold the icon, start dragging it, flick Spotlight up and then drop the app wherever you want it.

Q Copy some copy There’s no Split View on iPhone (yet), but you can drag and drop selected text, images and links between apps. Again, it’s a tap-hold thing. When the copied content is under your digit, switch apps and dump it into its new home.

Notifications that Apple deems ‘time-sensitive’ will by default appear in Notification Centre.

Dubiously, this includes App Store ones. Disable them by tapping the ‘Turn off’ button.

You can revert in Settings > Notifications > [app name].

Q Don’t over-share Don’t want your top-secret notifications popping up when sharing your screen via screen mirroring or SharePlay? In the Notifications section of the Settings app, go to Screen Sharing and ensure notifications are turned off.

Q Feel summary In Settings, go to Notifications > Scheduled Summary. Turn it on, choose apps to include and set summary times. The app list can later be edited and the summary will track a daily average per app.

EDIT LIVE TEXT Q Snap and tap In Camera, hold your phone in front of some text. Tap the Live Text button and the frame will freeze. Select text and copy it or use the pop-up menu’s translate option. You can also tap on numbers and links to trigger calls and emails.

Q Find the words Similarly, to grab words within images in Photos, tap-hold them to bring up a selection box – you can copy text or trigger actions by tapping on relevant elements. Once indexed, your device should also let you find images based on text within them.

WEATHER Apple’s Weather gets a tidy redesign, showing temperature ranges nice and clearly along with graphics to make sense of various data. You can set notifications to avoid getting soaked, and there’s a map for rainfall predictions, air quality and temperature.

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G R O U P T E S T I N S TA N T C A M E R A S

3 OF THE BEST

Instant cameras Self-printing cutey-cams are more popular now than they were the first time around… so which of these three is going to help you decorate your fridge?

BEST FOR SMART SELFIES

BEST FOR SMALL PRINTS

Polaroid Go

BEST FOR EIGHTIES RETRO

Fujifilm Instax Mini 40

Polaroid Now Keith Haring Edition

What’s the story?

What’s the story?

Instant cameras are usually big beasts, so kudos to the design team who spent years trying to fit in all the minuscule components, Tetris-style, to create this titchy style icon. As the world’s smallest analogue instant camera, the Polaroid Go uses the maker’s tiniest film ever, measuring a dainty 67x54mm.

This is pretty much the same camera as Fujifilm’s Instax 11, but with a much cooler design and a price tag to match. With its quasi-vintage look, it makes shooting with Fuji’s credit-card-sized Instax Mini film a more grown-up experience compared to the My First Camera vibes of its stablemate.

What’s the story?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?

Is it any good?

The Go is preposterously cute, rocking Polaroid’s classic white finish and rainbow stripe. The auto flash can be turned off with one tap, while two taps let you snap multiple exposures on the same frame. Wasting no space, a nifty new selfie mirror is overlaid on the viewfinder, while holding down the flash button will set the self-timer. Fiddling with the roll-out shield for the film can be a ballache, but that gets easier with practice.

The Mini 40’s pop-out lens means you’re good to go at the touch of a button. And all you need to do for your vanity shots is pull out the lens a little further to activate selfie mode (there’s a mirror for perfecting your pout but no timer). The lens is top-notch for speedy shots, though we fear it could take a battering if you don’t treat it gently, while auto exposure picks the best shutter speed and flash setting based on the ambient light.

The chunky chassis keeps things old-school while the two-lens autofocus system brings the tech side up to date. This camera cleverly picks which lens to use depending on the conditions, and a timer button means remote selfies are a cinch to set up – though there’s no mirror. If you’re feeling arty, pressing the timer button twice takes a double exposure.

As with the Go, the film protector is annoying, but the extra effort adds retro authenticity.

Price £110 / stuff.tv/PolaroidGo

Price £90 / stuff.tv/Mini40

Price £130 / stuff.tv/PolaroidHaring

Stuff says +++++

Stuff says ++++,

Stuff says ++++,

Brilliant retro tech wrapped up in a perfectly pint-sized package

A reliable point-and-shoot snapper with strong vintage vibes

Picture quality can be patchy, but this is the best-looking instant we’ve ever seen

Polaroid’s latest ‘special edition’ camera features striking designs from pop artist and LGBT+ icon Keith Haring, who was a big fan of the brand’s instant pics. If you’re after a camera that looks like it came out of 1980s New York, this is the one.

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TESTED MOTOROLA EDGE 20 PRO

High ’rola A sub-£700 handset with a 5x zoom camera, this mid-range Android lets you shoot photos other phones can’t handle… but is it an all-round winner?

[ Words Andrew Williams ]

£650 / stuff.tv/Edge20Pro Motorola phone fan? That’s probably down to those Moto budget phones, right? Reliable, affordable, no silly nonsense. You can’t go wrong.

The Motorola Edge 20 Pro is a bit more ambitious. Motorola has squeezed one of the most expensive features in the entire smartphone kingdom into this one, without pushing the price so much you’ll wince.

We’re talking about 5x optical zoom, complete with the folded periscope-lens optics you only normally see in phones at £1000 or more. Told you it was a bit more ambitious. It also has one of the fastest screens in the west, a 144Hz OLED. There has to be a catch somewhere, right?

Of course there is – a few, in fact. But out in the real world you mostly only notice this in two ways: it handles a few Android games slightly worse than ultra-expensive handsets, and the all-round photo quality isn’t a true leader. Still, for £650…

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1

5

4

You chip me up A Snapdragon 870 CPU runs the show (1). The 888 in the OnePlus 9 has around 35% more gaming power than this; and while the Motorola ran every game we tried extremely well, you might find a few high-end features are locked off. Fortnite’s 60fps mode is not an option, for example.

GOOD MEH EVIL

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Powerful 5x zoom camera

Rockin’ in the three world A 108MP main camera, 16MP ultrawide and 8MP 5x zoom sit on the back (2). This combo wouldn’t look out of place on a £1300 phone… but low-light results are bleh. And while you can capture some alluring images, we saw nasty blown highlights.

Auto HDR could be smarter.

Low-light photography isn’t great

Pretty hertz A 144Hz refresh rate makes this 6.7in OLED the fastest display in town (3). Android feels pleasantly greased-up, although the 1080p resolution won’t blow minds and outdoor brightness sets no new standards. For movies, games and everything else, it’s a nicely satisfying screen.

OLED has great speed and contrast

No port for wired headphones

Only one-day battery life

This is a lot of phone for the money

TESTED MOTOROLA EDGE 20 PRO

Side away Motorola has used a side fingerprint scanner instead of an in-screen one, no doubt saving a few quid.

But it’s actually super-fast.

Tech specs Screen 6.7in 144Hz 2400x1080 OLED Processor Snapdragon 870 RAM 12GB Storage 256GB OS Android 11 Cameras 108+16+8MP rear, 32MP front Battery 4500mAh (USB-C) Dimensions 163x76x8mm, 190g

Camelid camera Another month, another sidebar with an alpaca in it. So how good is the Edge 20 Pro’s camera array?

2

Livin’ thin This phone is slim and light enough: 8mm and 190g are not bad stats for a 6.7in phone.

The back is real glass too, not the imposter plastic seen on the Samsung Galaxy S21. Still, there are some cuts. The sides are plastic and you only get one speaker on the bottom (4).

All day’s on my mind The 4500mAh battery (5) is smaller than you’ll find in some of the cheaper Motos. Sounding alarm bells? Despite that 144Hz screen the Edge 20 Pro can handle a fairly heavy day of use without letting you down.

Just don’t expect a two-day workhorse – that’s not the idea.

Q Dust my zoom

Q The murking hour

If you want to capture the nits in an alpaca’s fur, you can’t do much better for this kind of money. The 8MP sensor may not be a killer, but you can’t deny the power of a true 5x optical zoom lens. (This alpaca does not have nits.)

Despite a Night Vision low-light mode, the Edge 20 Pro lags behind rivals like the OnePlus Nord 2 and Google Pixel 4a at night. It just doesn’t have the chops to create clarity and bring out details in the darkness.

Q Shake, the disease

Q Hitchin’ a wide

The 108MP main sensor lets you shoot video in 8K. There’s stacks of detail in the footage, but you’ll want to stick to 4K most of the time… and no stabilisation means a little hand movement results in a juddery mess.

Three rear cameras, three fields of view, no filler hardware that belongs in a Christmas cracker: this is good stuff. The ultrawide’s images are slightly soft, but still a step above those you’ll get from cheaper phones.

This phone offers the power and almost all of the features you might have paid £1000+ for last year.

It’s one of the most affordable ways to try out true 5x zoom in a phone – that lens really does add 50 photography fun points. But you’d best be OK with limited low-light performance, a mono speaker and mediocre battery life. @wwwdotandrew

STUFF SAYS ++++, Yay, a superzoom phone camera for the masses… just make sure you’re down with the slight cuts made elsewhere 61

GROUP TEST E-BIKES

BEST FOR FOLDING AWAY

I’m so tyred Brave enough to lean into the next bend?

The G4’s tyres are MotoGP-inspired and infused with silica for superior grip.

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Gimme some ’tooth The Gocycle app pairs via Bluetooth LE and lets you customise settings for your riding style. There’s USB for phone-charging too.

GROUP TEST E-BIKES

Assisters of mercy Your thighs called – they can’t face that hill on their own any more, so please get a push from one of these e-bikes

Gocycle G4i Forking class hero See that single-sided fork? It’s made from carbon-fibre to keep the weight down and contains the G4drive e-motor.

What’s the story?

Ditching McLaren cars to design e-bikes might have seemed mad at the time… but demand for Richard Thorpe’s pricey foldaway Gocycle is outstripping supply – and that’s with a steed that’s remained virtually identical in appearance since 2009. Strip back the fourth iteration, however, and you’ll find new carbon-fibre forks and a smooth motor delivering more torque.

Stump up an extra £600 for this ‘i’ version and you get a 25% bigger battery, a glitzier LED dash, a front light bar and electronic shifting.

Is it any good?

The improvements in the new G4 range are immediately obvious. Whereas before there was a slightly annoying lag before the motor kicked in, here the 375Wh powertrain provides instantaneous acceleration.

It’s almost silent too, which is unnerving compared to the previous Gocycle’s electrical whirring. Still, that’s great for stealthy hill climbs without alerting fellow riders that you’re a filthy lying cheat. The ride is also incredibly smooth, thanks in part to slicker tyres – though this does put paid to tackling anything tougher than a well-laid gravel track. Gocycle claims a 10-second folding mechanism, and with practice this is entirely achievable.

The dash display is a definite improvement, and especially useful for checking which of the four light-bar modes you’re in so you don’t have to lean over to see how bright it is. Not that you’ll be blinded if you do, because we found it pretty murky when the street lights ran out. Oh, and a rear light costs extra.

There’s no denying this is Gocycle’s best bike yet, and it still looks like nothing else on the road.

We just wish it didn’t have to be so expensive.

Price £3999 / stuff.tv/G4i Key specs O Up to 50 miles O 3.5hr charge O 16.6kg

STUFF SAYS +++++ Silky-smooth, super-fast and splendidly futuristic… for a price

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GROUP TEST E-BIKES

Just one lock

Veer I go again

The removable battery slides on and off, but you’ll need a key to unlock it first.

And fear not, the bike comes with a spare.

The app provides top-notch directions and the handlebars vibrate for left or right, so you can keep your attention on the road.

BEST FOR TECH TRICKS

Angell What’s the story?

A couple of French businessmen joined forces with design maestro Ora Ito to create one of the world’s lightest e-bikes.

The unique design places the removable horseshoe-shaped battery below the saddle, from where it protrudes like two metallic baguettes. With no gears, this is one the most tech-loaded e-bikes we’ve tested: it has a built-in touchscreen, integrated lights, automatic locking, anti-theft alarms and fall detection.

And you can add multiple profiles.

Is it any good?

Under 16kg really is light for an e-bike and the aluminium frame with Michelin Protek tyres makes for a foolproof design, plus a

few admiring glances from passers-by.

The battery includes two integrated rear lights that can be controlled via buttons on the handlebars, and we love the flashing amber indicator function.

We also like the built-in display between the handlebars. It provides you with all manner of useful metrics such as assist level, speed, distance, battery remaining and even air pollution.

The app can be a tad temperamental and we sighed through a few teething problems getting set up; once on the road, though, the Angell is a breeze to ride. There are three different modes: Fly Dry for an effortless 22kph, Fly Eco for better battery conservation, and Fly Fast to thrust you up hills. Switching to the fast mode can bring

about a briefly unpleasant jolt, but it just takes a bit of time to get used to… and when the battery charges in only two hours, we can let that slide.

The integrated lights shine brighter than a Love Island contestant’s teeth, but the anti-theft alarm is frenzied: receiving multiple alerts for stealing our own review sample is one thing; listening to the alarm slowly rise in volume when we’re standing right next to it is another horror entirely.

The easy fix is to switch that feature off in the app.

Price £2690 / stuff.tv/Angell Key specs O Up to 43 miles O 2hr charge O 15.9kg

STUFF SAYS Has the potential to be a real gem – it just needs a little fine tuning ++++, 64

GROUP TEST E-BIKES

Do the clamp

Love me slender

The sneaky kickstand puts the eBullitt into perfect position every time you step off it.

You’ll never have to pick it up off the floor.

Cars gave us more space and slowed down for us. It might look weird and big to them, but it’s no wider than a normal bicycle.

BEST FOR BULKY LOADS

Larry vs Harry eBullitt EP8 What’s the story?

Bit of an odd-looking bike, this, isn’t it?

Not your standard ‘two big wheels and stick everything in a pannier or backpack’, the eBullitt is designed for carrying loads and, er, loads. The front platform can be customised with seats or boxes, or just left flat, perfect for ferrying people, dogs, beers, shopping… you get the idea. The addition of the new EP8 Shimano motor means it handles all of these with ease; it just might take you a little longer to get used to the barge-like handling.

Is it any good?

While the eBullitt sits at the opposite end of the weight scale to the Ribble on p67, coming in at a hefty 27.5kg, thanks to that

motor and three levels of assistance it’s almost as quick to hit top speed.

In Boost mode it almost sprints off the lights; Eco is a little bit stingy with the power; but Trail is where we found the sweet spot of power and effort. Being able to switch between modes on the fly thanks to the thumb-button on the bars was perfect for the steeper hills too. We tried a couple without any assistance and, while manageable unloaded, fully loaded would have been a very different, sweaty, sweary story.

In Trail mode we got a good 40 miles out of the battery with at least a quarter of a charge left. And it is removable, so thankfully you don’t have to cart the entire bike inside to charge it up. It’s as simple as

unlocking it with the key and lifting out the pack – get a second one as a spare and you could quite easily pedal it all day.

Ideal if you’re thinking about starting your own local courier company.

The handling does take a little getting used to as the rod steering makes it slow to turn, especially at low speeds – it was a bit of a wobblefest every time we started out – but after a bit of practice we were soon riding it like a normal bike even when it was fully loaded with pizza, beers and someone to hold them.

Price from €5570 / stuff.tv/EP8 Key specs Up to 62 miles O 5hr charge O 27.5kg

STUFF SAYS It might be big and heavy, but it’s quick, fun and super-practical +++++ 65

GROUP TEST E-BIKES

Range rife

Light this generation

An optional range-extender slots in where the bottle cage would normally go, boosting the range to 90 miles.

The integrated lights are always on when the power is on, or off when it’s off. It would be nice to have the ability to choose…

BEST FOR SHORT HOPS

Specialized Turbo Como SL 5.0 What’s the story?

The biggest tyres in this test and not a mountain in sight: the Como is built for comfort and cruising around town. With a frame-mounted basket out front and space for panniers at the back it can haul a surprising amount of stuff, so should be perfect for nipping down the shops or a bit of weekend pootling. Full-length mudguards, belt drive and internal gears all add up to clean, hassle-free journeys, and it’s even got a handle for carrying it up the steps… but at 21kg it’ll be a bit much if you live on the fourth floor.

Is it any good?

There’s no denying that the 2.3in tyres, swept-back bars and relaxed riding

position add up to a very smooth ride, but the Como is no speed freak. It’s strange to check Strava after a test ride and see that you haven’t accidentally set new personal records on any segments.

But once you’ve embraced the laid-back nature of the assistance on offer here, it’s a joy to throw a lock and jacket in the basket, stretch over the webbing and set off on some errands. Just make sure you put something soft at the bottom – the hard plastic can be quite noisy against metal contents if you end up bouncing over speedbumps.

This e-bike offers the standard three levels of assistance, all selected through a button-press on the downtube, but we found ourselves opting for the top mode

more often than not. The weight of the frame, battery and motor all add up to a slightly sluggish start from a standstill (a little boost button as on the Gocycle would be a great addition here), but flicking down the gears soon becomes second nature.

This thing crushes little wannabe hills with ease – but when the gradient got really steep we did find that we were working a bit harder than we’re used to on an e-bike, even when we’d dropped down all the gears.

Price £4250 / stuff.tv/Como5 Key specs O Up to 62 miles O 2.5hr charge O 21kg

STUFF SAYS Very pricey, but if you’re not in a rush it’s the comfiest way to travel ++++, 66

GROUP TEST E-BIKES

Flippin’ and glidin’

Loose steal

You can customise your Ribble when you order. Wonder how much faster the £500 Purple Blue Flip paint job would make us…

The only slightly heavier aluminium Endurance AL e Enthusiast offers a similar experience for a mere £2799.

BEST FOR ALPINE JAUNTS

Ribble Endurance SL e Pro What’s the story?

Sneaky sneaky Ribble. Last summer we rode and loved their excellent hybrid AL e; now they’ve gone and wrapped the same Mahle motor and battery in a whole load of carbon and high-end parts. The only giveaway is a small control button on the top tube and a slightly enlarged rear hub; the oversized downtube where the battery hides looks like a standard carbon road bike’s… meaning the chaps in the peloton aren’t going to have a clue until you start dropping them on the first climb.

Is it any good?

Pro cyclists are easily the most fanatical weight-watchers we know – and while 11.5kg might make them shudder, it’s

super-light for an e-bike – which you’ll really appreciate if you have to pick it up.

It’s only really achievable by using carbon everywhere: as well as the frame and fork you’ll find it in the integrated Level 5 bars, deep-section Mavic Cosmic Pro wheels and seatpost, and even hiding out in the Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset.

All of this weight-shaving, aero tech and wire-free shifting gives the bike a sleek look – it’ll be right at home on the club run or posing out front at the cafe stop – and the best bit is, most of your fellow riders aren’t even going to know it’s electric.

One slight annoyance: it’s a bit difficult to get a front light and accessories to play nicely with the bars, as they’re an irregular

shape, not to mention the extra drag they cause; thankfully the motor will more than make up for the lost wattage.

The sharp lines, deep wheels and stiff carbon add up to a very quick and nimble bike that smashes through the 25kph limit as easily as the Manx Missile himself.

Once you get past that, the bike doesn’t really slow down – we often looked at our GPS and noticed we were going far quicker than we thought, and the motor had long cut out. You still have to pedal on the hills, but that extra kick is very welcome.

Price from £4999 / stuff.tv/Endurance Key specs O Up to 80 miles O 4hr charge O 11.5kg

STUFF SAYS A great bike on its own – the motor is just the icing on the hilly cake +++++ 67

FI R TH ST ES AD E… D

REDMI NOTE 10 PRO

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ONE DJI OM 4 As impressive as the Redmi Note 10 Pro’s rear camera array is, it misses out on optical image stabilisation, which would have helped keep its main 108MP cam nice and steady. But all is not lost! Avoid blurry photos and wobbly videos with the best mobile gimbal on the block: the collapsible, compact, exceptionally capable DJI OM4. £139 / dji.com

TWO CANON SELPHY SQUARE QX10 If the Note 10 Pro is an Instagram dream with its banging camera, then the Selphy Square is its perfect partner. This portable printer can churn out an old-school 6.8cm-square photo in 43 seconds. It’s small enough to pop in a bag, and Canon claims its prints will last 100 years. We’ll just have to take their word for that… £145 / canon.co.uk

THREE NURATRUE Aussie company Nura is all about sound tuned for individual ears, and we’ve been loving the over-ear Nuraphone since it launched back in 2018. The NuraLoop soon followed, but now Nura has cut the neck-dangling cable with its first true wireless buds, which enjoy active noise-cancellation and the brand’s trademark personalised audio. £200 / nuraphone.com

NO TH W T IS RY …

TH TH EN ES GE E… T

INSTANT UPGRADES

TRIALS OF MANA

1 TASTE THE APPLE

2 RUN THE DUALS

3 GAME AN ADVANTAGE

If your Note 10 Pro’s pull-down notifications menu looks like your old Android phone, then you’re missing out on one of the most blatant iOS lifts we’ve seen of late. Apple fans can easily activate an iOS-a-like control centre by opening the settings and scrolling to ‘Control centre style’. Here you’ll be able to choose ‘New version’… and confuse your brain into thinking it’s looking at an iPhone.

We sometimes give Xiaomi (the brains behind Redmi) stick for its bloated user interface, but one added feature that is rocking our world is Dual Apps. This lets you create two instances of the same app. If you’re an Audible addict, for example, you can have one version logged into a UK account and another in a US one. Just open up the settings, go into Apps and select the Dual option.

Phones are so powerful today that even a low-cost option like this one will tear through most Android games. To help it dedicate even more resources to your favourite wastes of time, turn on Game Turbo – a gaming toolkit you wouldn’t expect on a sub-£300 phone. In settings, select ‘Special features’, tap on Game Turbo and add your games to activate shortcuts, performance mode and more.

Square Enix’s classic JRPG has been reimagined for Android… and this port is a beautifully optimised joy. On the Note 10 Pro it plays like a dream. £22.99

COMICS

[ Words Basil Kronfli ]

If a 120Hz AMOLED display is good for anything, it’s beautifully drawn comics, and this app (formerly Comixology) is the most complete repository we’ve come across. £free (IAP)

4 CAST AWAY

5 LIGHTEN UP

6 CAM CLOSER

Anyone with a Miracast dongle or a TV that supports the tech can cast one app to the big screen while using other apps on their handset. To enable this neat trick, in the pull-down notifications menu (or Control centre), tap the Cast icon. Next, select where to project your display. Now tap the blue icon at top-left – a menu will fire up that lets you minimise the casting window on your phone.

The lack of image stabilisation means this phone’s camera won’t be able to claw back all the detail you might want in low-light shots. There’s a night mode to help with this, but to eke out all the detail in the gloom, switch to Pro mode. Tap on ISO and turn it down to 50 or 100, ramp up the shutter time to a second or two and make sure the phone is on a stable surface.

Now select 108MP, and shoot.

The Note 10 Pro’s 5MP macro camera is an absolute superstar snapper thanks to its autofocus, 5x optical zoom and up to Full HD video. The big ‘but’? It’s hidden away in a menu. Accessing it is simple, though: open the camera app, tap the three lines at top-right (in portrait orientation) and select ‘Super macro’. Now point it at anything nearer than about 10cm and you’ll get a high-impact close-up shot.

ADOBE SCAN Turn your phone into a high-res scanner by firing up Scan, pointing it at your page, taking a photo and fine-tuning with a finger-friendly magnifier tool. The app exports your scans to PDF. £free

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TESTED SAMSUNG THE PREMIERE LSP9T

The wall treat shuffle Samsung’s slickest ever telly projector juggles mass-market ease of use with a distinctly niche-market price tag £6999 / stuff.tv/LSP9T Q This is an ultra-short-throw projector, which means it can produce a huge image on your wall from just a few centimetres away. Where traditional projectors would require a few metres of separation to create a 130in picture, the LSP9T can do it from just 24cm away.

Q This design eliminates a lot of the usual setup issues – there’s no need to worry about viewers’ heads blocking the image, for example – but it took a fair bit of tinkering with the feet before we managed to get it to precisely fit our wall-mounted screen.

Q It has the same Tizen-based interface you’ll find on Samsung’s TVs, and a similar remote control.

In fact, it has two: a comprehensive clicker that’s bristling with buttons, plus a minimalist zapper for those who’d rather keep things simple.

If you can control a television, you can control this projector.

Hello wall Samsung’s Bixby voice assistant is on board, along with Alexa, and you can talk to either of them via a microphone in the remote.

Q The LSP9T throws a stunningly sharp and colourful 4K image. It works best with a proper screen, but is still bright enough to work OK on a white wall. Support for HDR10+ means there’s real punch and impact to its pictures.

Q Filmmaker mode ensures movies are presented as close to the director’s original vision as possible. This setting works well at ridding the image of anything that might cause artefacts or unnaturally smoothed motion.

Q Shy on the wall

Q Chiming up the walls

The minimalist design will fit with most home decor, even if it is quite large and heavy. In plain white, it looks more like a large games console or a squat soundbar than a projector – and that’s a good thing.

The 40W 4.2-channel audio system is much louder and more refined than most built-in telly speakers, and a match for some soundbars. Connectivity is good too, and you can use apps such as Netflix and YouTube.

Tech specs Image Up to 130in 3840x2160 with HDR10+, 2800 ANSI lumens Audio 40W 4.2 Connectivity 3x HDMI 2.0, optical out, Ethernet, USB, aerial in, Wi-Fi Dimensions 550x370x130mm, 11.5kg

STUFF SAYS An astonishing home TV projector at an astronomical price ++++, Great projector, but is it just spaffing money up the wall?

Sam Kieldsen

This is one of the most capable and thoughtfully designed projectors we’ve ever tested… but it’s difficult to see who it’s actually for. The fetching design, integrated speaker and general user-friendliness suggest it’s aimed at people who don’t want the hassle of setting up a traditional projector, but the price is so high that anyone who can afford one could probably pay someone else to do all that stuff for them.

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TWO WEEKS WITH THE ONEPLUS NORD 2 5G

Live by the Nord… …die by dinnertime. But Andrew Williams looks past the modest battery life to answer the big question: has OnePlus produced another high-end phone at a low-end price? from £399 / stuff.tv/Nord2

DAY 02 OnePlus offers the Nord 2 in two specs – both of which promise plenty for their respective price tags. You can pay £399 for the base model with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, or you can shell out an extra £70 for 12GB RAM and 256GB storage. There’s no microSD slot on either version, so the internal storage really does matter. But whichever one you select, you’re looking at a £200+ saving versus a OnePlus 9.

Emulating its pricier sibling was always going to make the Nord 2

standard 60Hz. And it’s plenty bright enough for use outside on a sunny day.

The first big difference is under the hood. The Nord 2 is the first OnePlus phone not to use a Qualcomm chipset – it has a MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI processor – but the good news is it’s awesome. Android feels as slick and responsive on the Nord 2 as it does pretty much anywhere else, handling photos rapidly and generally getting the job done. I’ve even tasked it with a bunch of Fortnite matches and it took every graphic setting in its

The main camera is an all-round joy, with HDR processing so good it’s almost impossible to take a duff photo a winner – and it does this in a few ways. First up, it has Gorilla Glass front and back, with ‘fibreglass-reinforced polymer’ down the sides. It looks a delight, with a higher-end feel than the all-plastic Nord CE. Up front, you’ll find a Full HD 6.43in OLED screen, which is a mid-grade size for Android smartphones in 2021. Colour is great and contrast is perfect, plus it supports HDR video. Although you don’t get the 120Hz refresh rate on offer in some cheaper Androids, 90Hz is still enough to deliver a smoothness bump over

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stride. There were some drops down to 50fps, but you’ll see the same with the Samsung Galaxy S21.

So, where’s the catch? Here, it’s the battery life: the OnePlus Nord 2 does not have great longevity, and side-by-side video and stress tests suggest it drains at up to 1.5x the rate of the OnePlus 9 in certain situations. That means you won’t have much charge left by the end of the day. In fact, you might even need to give it a top-up in the afternoon if you don’t want to get caught short.

You have a choice of two colours: this Blue Haze, or Grey Sierra for those who prefer more muted tones.

LO N G -T E R M T E S T

01

06

Donut of Truth™ 05

02

03

04

DAY 04

Tech specs Screen 6.43in 2400x1080 90Hz AMOLED Processor MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI RAM 8/12GB Storage 128/256GB OS Android 11 Cameras 50+8+2MP rear, 32MP front Battery 4500mAh (USB-C) Dimensions 159x73x8.3mm, 189g

I’ve spent much of these first four days exploring the cameras… and my main conclusion is that the rear cam is an all-round joy. It’s fast, with almost no shutter lag, and the HDR processing is so good it’s almost impossible to take a duff photo.

But while the main 50MP sensor with optical image stabilisation is an absolute stunner, the 8MP wide lens uses budget hardware – which is obvious from the way it handles colour and contrast.

There are other signs that the rear camera array isn’t top-tier.

There’s no optical zoom, and the 5x digital zoom preset makes your shots look like they’re covered in iron filings. Results at 2x aren’t quite as bad, and this mode is the one to use for macro snaps.

A hard day’s snapping means I have to seek out a plug socket before dinner time, but the 65W Warp Charger keeps disruption to a minimum. It’s the phone-power equivalent of a pressure washer, getting you from flat to 50% in just 13 minutes and to 100% in 32.

DAY 07 Phil Collins is helping me out at work today – and I’m not wearing headphones. The Nord 2 features a fairly impressive set of pipes,

01 Looks more expensive than it is 02 Charges really quickly (albeit not wirelessly) 03 The 32MP selfie camera is a star

04 Processor has no trouble playing games 05 Battery life is somewhat less than brilliant 06 Only one of the three rear cameras is any good

courtesy of stereo speakers that offer good maximum volume and at least a hint of punch in the lower frequencies.

DAY 09 It’s about time I gave this thing a spin at low-light photography.

While the OnePlus 9 can just about pip it in daylight, the Nord 2’s camera actually produces clearer results at night – almost every shot feels ready to share.

The ultrawide’s efforts are still pretty rubbish, mind, even if the clever software processing does a lot to lift them.

DAY 14 Overall, OnePlus has struck a great balance with the Nord 2. You can play top-end games with stereo sound; photos turn out great, day or night; and a Gorilla Glass back gets you away from the all-plastic build that Samsung and Google offer in this price range – all of which just makes the poor battery life even more annoying.

If you can shrug off regular visits to the mains as a necessary chore of smartphone ownership, then the OnePlus Nord 2 offers outstanding value; but if two-day battery life is an essential, this isn’t the handset for you.

STUFF SAYS This latest flagship-slayer is here for a good time… but not for a long time ++++,

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TESTED GAMES

PC, XSX, XB1 / stuff.tv/DeathsDoor

Death’s Door This unique indie is a bite-sized top-down adventure influenced by Dark Souls and Zelda… and it has a surprisingly potent funny bone ealing in death is just an honest day’s work for the crows at the Reaping Commission Headquarters, where you’re a new recruit tasked with reaping souls and seeing them off into the afterlife. Unfortunately, like the protagonists of Half-Life and Resident Evil 2, you’re about to have a really, really bad first day on the job – when your assigned soul gets stolen.

It’s a simple setup that takes you on a journey across a handful of lands corrupted by lords who have unnaturally extended their expiration date, and whose souls you’ll need if you’re to open the titular Death’s Door. Any fan of classic Zelda titles will recognise this structure as you brave dungeons, solve puzzles, acquire items, and take on larger-than-life bosses at the end. But while it might feel very familiar, it’s done incredibly well by two-person indie developer Acid Nerve.

There are hints of Dark Souls too, including the option to use quick or heavy attacks, the way defeated enemies drop soul energy

D

This is what can happen with paving slabs if you don’t use a well-compacted sub-base.

It’s a half-crow, half-porcupine creature talking to a pink bubble.

Write your own feckin’ caption.

that can be spent on upgrades, and the macabre atmosphere enhanced by a beautifully melancholic score.

But it’s more generous in that you won’t lose all your souls upon death; and despite the fact that you start out with just four hit points and only limited ability to heal, the difficulty curve is also quite forgiving at the beginning, though you can always explore further to expand your health and magic.

But the real surprise is just how funny this game is. Mostly that’s down to the quirky characters you encounter, while there’s one terrific running gag involving the many signposts dotted around the world.

While you should get through Death’s Door in no time at all, there is more depth on offer by way of a post-game for those who crave more of a challenge or just want to uncover what’s really going on.

It’s a nice touch, proving there’s plenty of life yet in the top-down Zelda genre.

Alan Wen

STUFF SAYS A small but perfectly formed Zelda-lite that scores highly for charm ++++, 75

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TESTED GAMES

PC, PS5, PS4, XSX, XB1, Switch / stuff.tv/LastStop

Last Stop This bingeable supernatural anthology portrays London at its most ordinary… but that doesn’t mean it’s as dull as a rainy afternoon in Penge ames set in London are rare, especially if you’re looking for something authentic that’s not just filled with cockney clichés. Last Stop depicts a more faithful, mundane version of the capital – or more accurately the suburbs, council flats, tube commutes and green parks in its outer zones.

It’s got the touch of an old Edgar Wright flick, or perhaps even his Spaced days, where the ordinary and surreal collide. In this case you follow three stories from three very different perspectives.

There’s a coming-of-age tale as bored high-schooler Donna gets up to detective antics with her mates and ends up kidnapping a handsome stranger with otherworldly powers; a noirish thriller as ambitious professional Meena competes with a young upstart for a promotion while having a steamy affair; and a body-swap comedy where single dad John wakes up as his younger and fitter neighbour, Jack.

Although these characters come from different backgrounds

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If EastEnders looks like this, you need to change your Ambilight settings.

Ah, the night bus, where half the people are depressed and the other half are being sick.

and generations, the script is consistently great – effortlessly British, with some great casual drops of slang that feel just right.

A terrific voice cast also helps: the teenagers actually sound like teenagers, and a special shout-out is due to newcomer Lulu Simpson, who plays John’s precocious eight-year-old daughter Molly.

This being a low-budget indie title, the graphics aren’t up there with the latest blockbusters, with a lot of dead-eyed expressions and janky animations; but the writing and performances really do rise above this.

Fair warning, Last Stop really is more akin to putting on Netflix than diving into an intense gaming session, as there’s not much actual gameplay involved: scenes are cut together as in films and TV shows, and the moments where you are handed control feel gimmicky. But in the way it uses this medium to tell three unique stories in a way that goes proper doolally at the end, it’s still cracking stuff.

Alan Wen

STUFF SAYS What it lacks in graphics and gameplay, it makes up for in sharp wit ++++, 77

BEST PS GAMES

25 BEST PLAYSTATION GAMES EVER MADE Sony’s gaming brand has brought us five great home consoles, two handhelds… and all these classics

23 SILENT HILL

22 SSX

21 GOD OF WAR

Resident Evil may have been first, but to many, Silent Hill was the ultimate survival horror game.

You found yourself lost in an eerie town as you searched for your daughter but instead discovered all manner of horrific… things. While Resi wasn’t exactly a killathon, Silent Hill took the survival bit to another level: often you were reliant on just your legs and wits, plus a trusty iron bar. And if you did find a gun, you weren’t very good with it.

You didn’t have to be a snowboarding fan to love the original SSX. Combining the addictive trickery of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater with the speed of Wipeout, it was the surprise hit of the PS2’s launch offering. The courses seemed to go on forever, while razor-sharp controls kept you coming back for one more stalefish. And is there a more memorable bunch of fictional daredevils than the likes of Elise, Moby, Psymon and Eddie?

Who knew that a gruff white-and-red guy could become such an engaging lead? Sony did, and Kratos has driven the God of War series into the pantheon of all-time great action games. It started with this fantastic PS2 debut, which delivered epic boss showdowns and incredible combat, pushing the hardware to new heights. As we’ll see later, GoW has now evolved into something bigger, but the original is timeless.

1999 / PS1

2000 / PS2

2005 / PS2

24 JOURNEY

25 ASTRO’S PLAYROOM For all the big-budget epics in the PS5’s burgeoning library, the best title for showcasing the console’s new tech is pre-loaded on the system. The game itself is a charming if fairly basic 3D platformer, but it fully utilises the DualSense pad’s nifty haptics and adaptive triggers, allowing you to feel everything the titular robot does in your hands. It’s also packed with creative tributes to PlayStation’s history.

2020 / PS5

Plenty of the games on this list are big and action-packed, but Journey is very much the opposite – and all the better for it. It’s small and meditative, tasking you with guiding a hooded creature through the desert. Then you might find a companion – a real, online person – and while you’ll never know their name or communicate with real words, you’ll still work together to navigate this dazzling world on your joint pilgrimage.

2012 / PS3

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19 HORIZON ZERO DAWN

20 LITTLEBIGPLANET It’s rare that a game is labelled an instant classic, but Media Molecule’s landmark platformer was exactly that – and in Sackboy, PlayStation could add another great mascot to its ranks. Not only did LBP deliver its own unique platform-action experience, but it also provided the tools to create your own and share them online. In other words, it was already wonderful but you could make it even better.

2008 / PS3

Guerrilla’s bold new franchise – whose in-development second entry is easily the most anticipated PS5 game – stars heroine Aloy as a hunter in a time of robotic dinosaurs, which you’ll take down with precise arrow shots or a bit of melee combat.

But Horizon’s biggest wow moments come from the stunning world and the story.

It’s huge, and you’ve still got plenty of time to play it before Forbidden West.

2017 / PS4

BEST PS GAMES

18 BLOODBORNE Dark Souls is typically the game of choice for insanely tough action, and rightfully so, but we actually prefer its PS4-exclusive sister game.

It’s just as intensely difficult and will bat away any hand you might want held; but it’s also massively atmospheric, with awe-inspiring gothic scenery and huge bosses to take down.

Its tone is too dark for some, but there’s deep satisfaction to be found if you work for it.

2015 / PS4

17 CRASH BANDICOOT

16 FINAL FANTASY VII

Where Nintendo had Mario and Sega had Sonic, PlayStation had Crash: a cheeky marsupial with a fondness for fruit, a love of jumping on boxes and a hatred of his creator, Dr Neo Cortex. It may not have brought much originality to the platform genre, but the first game in the series set a new bar for colourful graphics and the gameplay was perfectly poised between addictiveness and frustration.

FFVII heralded the arrival of the modern Japanese role-playing epic, thanks to an amazing CD-powered cinematic edge that enabled gripping cut-scenes and brought its characters to life. OK, time hasn’t done this one many favours, but few games from this era elicit such emotional memories. The recent remake, which turns a small chunk of the original game into a full adventure, is arguably a better place to start today.

1996 / PS1

1997 / PS1

14 METAL GEAR SOLID This was one of the first games that truly felt like an interactive movie. With copious voice acting and long, often meandering cut-scenes, it was a game as concerned with telling a tale and creating iconic characters as it was with its pioneering stealth mechanics and combat. From the moment Snake first sneaks around beneath a cardboard box, you’re aware you’re playing something a bit special here.

1998 / PS1

13 GOD OF WAR After several entries in the same vein as the original game, Sony wisely gave Kratos a few years off and went back to the drawing board.

The new God of War on PS4 is the end result, and it’s a superb, surprisingly stirring adventure about an older warrior on a journey with his son.

With a new over-the-shoulder perspective, a battle axe and a fresh setting, it delivers intense moments on the regular. A modern masterpiece.

2018 / PS4

15 GUITAR HERO While SingStar had given hairbrush crooners a competitive outlet for their warbling in 2004, air guitarists were neglected until Guitar Hero came along. With its colourful buttons, the little plastic axe used to play along to its catalogue of classics (and some Red Hot Chili Peppers) might have looked a bit Fisher-Price, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone who wasn’t riffing along with a huge grin within minutes of picking it up.

2005 / PS2

12 ICO

11 TOMB RAIDER

10 WIPEOUT 2097

Ico was as much art as game. It had emotion, mystery and peril, but it was told without dialogue or violence. You played a young boy with a wooden sword who finds a ghostly girl trapped in an old fort full of nasty spirits. It was your job to get her out, rather charmingly by holding her hand and escorting her through puzzles, letting go occasionally to batter back the ghosts. An essential part of any gaming education, even today.

While it wasn’t a PlayStation exclusive, it was the PS1 release of the very first Tomb Raider that really got the ball (or boulder) rolling for one of gaming’s most iconic franchises – and catapulted Lara Croft into the mainstream.

As the acrobatic archaeologist who was as handy with a gun as she was with a compass, you flew to stunningly realised 3D environments exploring tombs, solving puzzles and fighting a whole lot of unfriendly bears.

The original Wipeout may have introduced the series’ iconic antigravity racing premise and helped cement PlayStation as the coolest gaming brand, but its sequel gave the game a heart and soul – and bite. The result is flashy and fun, not to mention challenging, with ace visual design and one of the greatest soundtracks ever.

It’s still the high watermark for this franchise, although we’d welcome a new PS5 entry to challenge that…

2001 / PS2

1996 / PS1

1996 / PS1

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BEST PS GAMES

9 TEKKEN 3

8 UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END

7 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 3

5 TONY HAWK’S PRO SKATER

Widely regarded as one of the best fighters of all time, Tekken 3 landed in PS gamers’ homes a year after it first entered the world in arcade cabinet form. Its side-scrolling action threw in an element of 3D depth, allowing players to dodge attacks by jumping towards the background, and its roster of characters was wonderfully diverse. We were always fond of Paul Phoenix’s hair and Yoshimitsu’s swordbouncing madness.

Nathan Drake has led a rather exciting life in gaming, and we’ve enjoyed every minute. But A Thief’s End sees the hero hang up his holster for seemingly the last time – and it’s an absolutely brilliant send-off. Not only does this game wrap up Drake’s story with an array of thrilling missions, but it also adds new strategic tweaks, offers amazing graphics, and has fabulous character interactions.

Some would say dear old Sensible Soccer was the best football game ever. Some would argue FIFA 15 on PS4 takes the title.

But for many, many people it’s PES from about 2001-04. This version is the one with Pierluigi Collina on the front, which is a fine start; but it also nailed the balance between excitement and tactics, expanded the superb Master League and improved the graphics so some players were actually vaguely recognisable.

One of the most endlessly replayable games in PlayStation history, the first Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater not only defined the modern skating game experience, but also helped catapult skateboarding back into the mainstream consciousness.

Grinding through a shopping mall and pulling off constant 900s might not have been realistic but it sure was a blast, and the next couple of games took the fun even further.

1998 / PS1

2016 / PS4

2003 / PS2

3 RESIDENT EVIL

4 UNCHARTED 2: AMONG THIEVES The first Uncharted impressed by modernising the action-adventure-exploration formula pioneered by earlier classics such as Tomb Raider – but its sequel turned everything up to 11. With huge environments, phenomenal voice acting and motion capture, and some of the most audacious set-pieces ever seen in gaming, it established Naughty Dog as Sony’s premier subsidiary developer.

2009 / PS3

You can’t overstate the impact of this one. There had been scary games before, sure, but Resi gave us a new, cinematic kind of scary. Walking down a ‘safe’ corridor only to be pounced on by a bloodthirsty dog that’s jumped in through the window still gives us chills 25 years later. It’s dated a lot, of course: the graphics are shonky, the voice acting is hammy and the clunky tank controls are hard to tolerate now. But back then, it was revolutionary.

6 GRAN TURISMO 2 The first Gran Turismo properly shook up the racing game genre with its utterly unbelievable (at least at the time) graphics and simulation physics, but it’s the second one that casts the longest shadow. That’s because it combined that revolutionary realism and presentation with a huge package that included 27 circuits and over 600 cars, adding an off-road rally mode too. It was big, bewildering and brilliant.

1999 / PS1

1999 / PS1

2 GRAND THEFT AUTO III Looking at the highly polished masterpiece that is GTA V, it’s easy to forget about the game that brought 3D shenanigans to Rockstar’s manic bullet-spraying universe. Jumping into Liberty City in 2001 was like seeing colours for the first time. Up until that point, we’d only experienced GTA’s magic top-down; but walking through the grimy streets and ploughing through traffic in 3D was a whole new world.

2001 / PS2

1996 / PS1

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BEST PS GAMES

1 THE LAST OF US For our money, there’s no finer PlayStation game than Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic action adventure. As a pure gaming experience, it’s an exhilarating blend of stealth, exploration, puzzle-solving, item-crafting and brutal combat that feels like a darker, slower-paced take on the same developer’s Uncharted series. But it’s when you pair that brilliant gameplay with one of the most maturely written, best-acted stories and wholly realised worlds in gaming history that The Last Of Us becomes truly special.

Impeccably presented and unafraid of taking its players to incredibly bleak places, it’s a game that felt – and still feels – truly magical. Thankfully, last year’s somehow even darker sequel didn’t diminish the original gem; and while Part II is a much bigger and more ambitious game, we still can’t look past The Last of Us when we think about the very best that PlayStation gaming has to offer.

2013/14 / PS3/PS4

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TOP TEN

Straight outta testing and into our rankings.

NEW

OF EVERYTHING

HOT BUY

Time changes everything, including Stuff Top Ten entries.

BARGAIN BUY UPDATE A product of techy genius that’s set our hearts aflame.

A proper steal.

Worth owning, regardless of cashflow.

Smartphones Headphones Smartwatches, fitness tech Laptops Speakers TVs Soundbars, streamers

83 84 85 86 87 88 89

Tablets, consoles Games E-bikes etc, electric cars Smart home VR headsets & games Drones & action cams, tech toys Cameras Budget buys

90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97

HOW TO USE THEM

83

SMARTPHONES TOP TENS

1

HOT BUY

Apple iPhone 12 The demise of Samsung’s glorious Galaxy S20 5G left a space on the Stuff smartphone throne (and its replacement didn’t even make the Top Ten)… but don’t go thinking the iPhone 12 is only our No1 phone by default. We loved the iPhone 11, and its successor carries a whole host of improvements. If you can live without the telephoto camera of the flagship 12 Pro (and most can), you should save yourself some cash and get the 12 instead. In many ways it’s the same phone.

TIPS & TRICKS Enable ‘Start PiP Automatically’ so you can keep watching videos while flipping between apps.

Stuff says +++++ A top display and all the power you’ll ever need in an iPhone

Under ‘Face ID & Passcode’, disable ‘Require Attention for Face ID’. Now you can keep your shades on.

O NOW ADD THIS Sandisk iXpand Flash Drive Go Bump your iPhone’s storage capacity by 64, 128 or 256GB with this tiny Lightning flash drive. from £36 / shop.westerndigital.com

Got AirPods Pro or Max? Under their Bluetooth settings, tap ‘Spatial Audio’ for fancy 3D immersion.

2

5

Realme X50 Pro 5G

6

Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max

7

Apple iPhone 12 Mini

8

Sony Xperia 1 III

9

Asus ROG Phone 5

3

Oppo Find X3 Pro

Apple iPhone 12 Pro

In almost every respect, the X3 Pro is a killer flagship phone. Oppo’s software has taken a major leap forward and the hardware is easily on a par with Apple and Samsung.

If you want the best you pay the premium… and the Find X3 Pro is very much one of the best.

The achievements of the iPhone 12 Pro are evident everywhere… but who actually needs them?

For some, the camera setup is the selling point, but an extra £100 bags you an even better one on the 12 Pro Max; and for the rest of us, the iPhone 12 will do fine.

Stuff says +++++ It’s serious money, but it’s brilliantly capable in just about every way

Stuff says +++++ Advanced photo skills make this an iPhone for the few and not the many

£1100 / stuff.tv/X3Pro

4

OnePlus 9 Pro

from £999 / stuff.tv/12Pro

NEW

10

+++++ from £829 / stuff.tv/OnePlus9Pro With OnePlus’s best camera yet and a top display, this is high-end hardware at a non-premium price.

+++++ £499 / stuff.tv/X50Pro Realme’s high-spec, mid-price marvel makes for a compelling alternative to a OnePlus.

+++++ from £1099 / stuff.tv/12ProMax The only choice if you want to fully Max your iPhone experience… but not a big upgrade over the 12 Pro.

+++++ from £699 / stuff.tv/12Mini A 5.4in-screened cutie packing Apple’s lauded A14 Bionic chip and the same cameras as the iPhone 12.

+++++ £1199 / stuff.tv/Xperia1iii Photo novices might find it tough to master, but no rival has such comprehensive camera skills.

++++, £800 / stuff.tv/ROG5 Serious about mobile gaming? Top specs and clever tools make this our favourite phone for gamers.

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G

++++, from £1149 / stuff.tv/S21Ultra Earns its ‘Ultra’ name owing to an incredible camera array capturing moments other phones will miss.

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW PHONES, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SMARTPHONES

O Prices quoted are for handset only unless otherwise stated

from £799 / stuff.tv/iPhone12

TOP TENS IN-EARS

1

84 HOT BUY

Sony WF-1000XM4 £250 / stuff.tv/WFXM4

A worthy successor to the XM3 buds that sat atop this list for what seemed like decades, Sony’s latest true wireless noise-cancelling in-ears are smaller, smarter and better.

With the arguable exceptions of call quality and app slickness, the WF-1000XM4s aren’t quite the best at anything; but they’re so close to being the best at everything that their all-round game is untouchable. No other wireless earbuds are so consistently accomplished across the board.

Stuff says +++++ The finest true wireless noise-cancelling earbuds around – this is the complete package

TO READ THE FULL REVIEWS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/IN-EAR-HEADPHONES & STUFF.TV/TOP-10/HEADPHONES

TOP TENS SMARTWATCHES

1

85

HOT BUY

Samsung Galaxy Watch3

Mi Smart Band 5

Sneaking into the top berth courtesy of a slightly underwhelming Apple Watch update, Samsung’s gorgeous Watch3 is an easy wearable to love. It’s superbly made and very attractive, and the spinning bezel makes it a joy to use. Samsung’s Tizen OS is slick too, with lots of customisation and shortcut options to keep things feeling fresh – made all the better by a class-leading screen. It also has all the fitness skills you’re ever likely to need, with handy auto-tracking features.

With no installable apps, Xiaomi’s dinky wearable can’t stack up to smartwatches or reply to notifications, but it can relay alerts and track everything from sleep to workouts. It’s better than the Mi Smart Band 4, thanks to a bigger and brighter screen, smarter software and a charger that’s much less annoying. The slightly reduced battery life really isn’t an issue – and with the addition of activity, stress and menstrual cycle tracking, this is a sub-£30 gift that keeps giving.

Stuff says +++++ A beautiful and powerful piece of kit that you’ll be proud to have on your wrist

Stuff says +++++ Fantastic value and decent features make this an easy fitness tracker to recommend

from £299 / stuff.tv/GW3

3 4 5

Apple Watch Series 6

from £379 / stuff.tv/WatchS6 The Series 6 is a superb smartwatch with ambitions to be a total wellness deity; but while the new sensors are useful, they’re not vital for most. This is a fine statement gadget, but there are better deals to be had.

Stuff says ++++, A great all-rounder, especially for iPhone users

Apple Watch SE

++++, from £269 / stuff.tv/WatchSE The most obvious alternative to the Watch Series 6 – and it looks identical.

Oppo Watch

++++, from £180 / stuff.tv/OW This Apple Watch lookalike streamlines Wear OS to go ahead of many rivals.

£25 / stuff.tv/MiBand5

3

Hammerhead Karoo 2

4

Peloton Bike+

5

Wattbike Atom (Next Generation)

£359 / stuff.tv/Karoo2 For ages cycling computers have been held back by outdated tech… but Hammerhead’s sharp screen really is a gamechanger, and effectively running a tiny Android phone inside a custom case feels like a no-brainer.

Stuff says +++++ At last, a bike computer for the 21st century

+++++ £2295 + £39/m / stuff.tv/PelPlus The connected bike phenomenon: Peloton owners look smug for a reason.

+++++ £1999 / stuff.tv/WBAtom With improved sensors, this is the benchmark for serious indoor cyclists.

FOR THE FULL REVIEWS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SMARTWATCHES & STUFF.TV/TOP-10/FITNESS-TRACKERS

TOP TENS LAPTOPS TIPS & TRICKS

The Sidecar feature on macOS Big Sur lets you use an iPad as a second display for your MacBook.

86

Apple charges a hefty premium for extra storage, so consider a cheaper external SSD.

1

HOT BUY

Apple MacBook Air from £999 / stuff.tv/Air

The early-2020 version was already the best MacBook Air ever – and this one brings a real step up in power. Apple’s amazing new M1 processor means that, for once, we aren’t hankering after a Pro for video editing and graphics-heavy gaming. It’s a pity about the rubbish webcam – a real annoyance in the age of video calling – but this is a stunning machine in every other respect, and the best all-round work laptop you can get for under a grand.

Stuff says +++++ Our go-to MacBook just keeps getting even go-to-er O NOW ADD THIS Anker PowerExpand 7-in-2 Hub Turn the Air’s twin USB-C ports into a media hub with a mix of HDMI, USB, microSD and SD card connections. £40 / uk.anker.com

2

3

4 5 6 7

Apple MacBook Pro 13in

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3

The new M1 chip has given this business-class performer an injection of jet fuel. The 13in Pro remains a sturdy notebook, but its processing power is incredible.

Our review unit, with just 8GB of RAM, left a higher-specced 2020 Intel MacBook Pro in the dust.

The Surface Laptop 3 seems plain on paper – no second screen, no hybrid hinge, no fingerprint scanner – but Microsoft has put supreme attention to detail into every bit that matters. And if you can spare another £200-ish, see also the new Surface Laptop 4.

Stuff says +++++ Believe the hype: the Pro with an M1 chip inside kicks big, big bottom

Stuff says +++++ Forget frills and gimmicks: this is everything a laptop should be

from £1299 / stuff.tv/Pro13

from £795 / stuff.tv/SurfaceLap3

8 9

Apple MacBook Pro 16in

+++++ from £2399 / stuff.tv/MacBookPro16 Not just a bump up in screen size, but a serious upgrade to the already top-class 15in Pro.

LG Gram 16

+++++ from £1149 / stuff.tv/Gram16 LG’s latest lightweight machine is slick, light and well made – an impressive, versatile option.

Dell XPS 13

+++++ from £1599 / stuff.tv/XPS13 Style, portability, performance… there’s little else out there that’s quite so well rounded.

Razer Blade Pro 17

+++++ from £2200 / stuff.tv/BladePro17 Incredible power and quality make for a working and gaming beast.

Huawei MateBook X Pro

+++++ from £630 / stuff.tv/MateBookXPro Not massively better than the 2018 model, but this is a real powerhouse of a Windows laptop.

Asus ZenBook Duo 14

++++, £1550 / stuff.tv/Duo14 The full-width second screen is innovative and useful, but ergonomics are compromised.

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW LAPTOPS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/LAPTOPS

TIPS & TRICKS

You can control your Move with the touch controls on top, the Sonos app, Google Assistant or Alexa.

Auto Trueplay adapts the Move’s sound to different rooms, while the app offers additional EQ tweaks.

1

87

SPEAKERS TOP TENS HOT BUY

Sonos Move £399 / stuff.tv/SonosMove

The Sonos range of wireless speakers had been crying out for a battery-powered portable model for ages – and finally our favourite multiroom audio specialist caved in. Luckily, the Move was worth the wait. Its adaptability and sound quality mean it’s fine value for money, and a no-brainer for anyone who’s already a fan of the brand.

This is the speaker Sonos should have launched years ago – and for even better portability, see the Roam model at No3 on this list.

Stuff says +++++ Sonos finally gets up to speed with the portable speaker craze, and in style O NOW ADD THIS Primephonic Bringing sexy Bach, this is streaming for classical music. Niche, yes, but its not-on-Spotify film and game scores offer a great way into the genre. from £9.99/month / primephonic.com

2

3

4 5 6 7

Sonos One

Sonos Roam

The Sonos One is now a more well-rounded device than it was at launch, supporting Spotify with voice control as well as Amazon Music and TuneIn Radio, while the early Alexa hiccups seem to have been fixed. It’s a class apart from the competition.

The Roam’s portability alone should be enough to see it shift plenty of units, but it’s the bonus features like automatic Trueplay and Sound Swap that set it apart.

Yes, there are better-sounding sub-£200 speakers, but none with the Roam’s skills.

Stuff says +++++ A great balance of sound and smarts for forward-thinking audio nerds

Stuff says +++++ An attractive truly portable speaker with solid sound quality

£199 / stuff.tv/SonosOne

£159 / stuff.tv/SonosRoam

8 9 10

Naim Mu-so 2nd Generation

+++++ £1299 / stuff.tv/Mu-so2 More than capable of maintaining Naim’s position at the front of the hi-fi pack.

Devialet Phantom 1 108dB

+++++ £2790 each / stuff.tv/Phantom1 An insanely powerful lump of hi-fi magic, best enjoyed in a neighbour-terrifying stereo pair.

Audio Pro Drumfire

+++++ £585 / stuff.tv/Drumfire Large, loud and lots of fun, this is one of the most absurd and grin-inducing wireless speakers ever.

B&W Formation Wedge

+++++ £799 / stuff.tv/BWWedge Pricey, weird-looking… and a brilliant illustration of what a wireless speaker is capable of.

Marshall Emberton

+++++ £130 / stuff.tv/Emberton A tiny speaker that packs an unexpected punch without scrimping on refinement.

JBL Flip 5 Eco

+++++ £120 / stuff.tv/Flip5Eco A portable party speaker that does its bit for the green cause while sounding fantastic.

Bose SoundLink Revolve II

+++++ £180 / stuff.tv/Revolve2 An authoritative 360° performer that drives tracks forward with punch and excitement.

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW HI-FI, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/HI-FI-STREAMING

TOP TENS TVs TIPS & TRICKS

You can configure this TV to work with the voice assistant of your choice, not just Samsung’s Bixby.

88

Samsung’s remote is solar-powered, so don’t lose it down the back of the sofa – it’s dark down there.

AirPlay 2 integration lets you stream content from Apple devices to the big screen.

1

HOT BUY

Samsung QE65QN95A £2499 / stuff.tv/QN95A

This is Samsung’s single most expensive 4K TV for 2021 (unless you buy a bigger version), but the pictures justify the outlay. The Korean giant’s implementation of the new Mini LED tech is, on this evidence, something to be reckoned with. It’s difficult to imagine how any of the other sets that are incoming this year could be better.

Stuff says +++++ This Mini LED television is a fearsomely accomplished set – and the one to beat O NOW ADD THIS Samsung Q-Series soundbars Pairing your QLED with one of these is a stress-free way to get 3D object-based sound. from £549 / samsung.com

2

3

LG OLED65G1

Philips 48OLED+935

£3k is a lot of money to pay for a television, even one as slim and well-specified as this, especially when you take the humdrum audio into account – not to mention the absence of a stand.

But the OLED specialists have made good on the ‘Evo’ promise by serving up pictures that exceed expectations… so maybe LG is entitled to charge what it thinks it can get away with. Between this and the Samsung at No1, there’s really nothing in it.

A grand and a half for a 48in TV is no one’s idea of a bargain.

But when you consider the level of audio-visual fidelity this money buys, not to mention the convenience of the integrated soundbar, it’s hard to argue the 48OLED+935 isn’t worth every penny. Next-gen gamers may lament the lack of HDMI 2.1, but for anyone other than the most ardent button-bashers the lovely picture (with Ambilight) is quite immersive enough.

Stuff says +++++ Probably LG’s best ever OLED… which is saying something

Stuff says +++++ Expensive for its size, but the picture and sound justify the price

£2999 / stuff.tv/65G1

£1499 / stuff.tv/OLED935

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW TELEVISIONS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/TVs

STREAMERS TOP TENS

89

1

HOT BUY

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar

Sky TV

Utterly convincing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D sound, ample power and lots of inputs mean no other soundbar currently available can perform feats with the solidity and confidence of this Sennheiser. The sheer room-filling scale of this device’s sound is remarkable, and it’s hard to think of any content that wouldn’t benefit from being Ambeo’d. That’s why, as well as being the biggest and the most expensive, it’s the best you can buy.

Already home to the biggest selection of 4K content, from blockbuster films and original dramas to top-flight sport, Sky has adopted a can’t-beat-’em-join-’em approach to streaming by incorporating the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and BT Sport in its user-friendly interface. It’s also restructured its packages to make them more affordable, while multiroom and mobile options round off the most comprehensive content system money can buy.

Stuff says +++++ The Ambeo Soundbar is a big unit but the sound it makes is bigger still

Stuff says +++++ Sky has come out fighting to move with the times and its selection of shows is unrivalled

£2199 / stuff.tv/AmbeoSoundbar

2 BARGAIN BUY

3 4

5

Sonos Arc

£799 / stuff.tv/SonosArc Don’t expect this soundbar to do everything a multi-speaker Dolby Atmos setup can do, but its up-firing and side-firing drivers give a real sense of scale for an immersively cinematic TV-watching experience.

Stuff says +++++ Big-screen sound for your big-screen binges

Roku Streambar

£130 / stuff.tv/Streambar It’s a compact soundbar and a versatile streaming stick in the same box – and both parts of the deal work brilliantly well. This is the simplest and cheapest way to upgrade your TV’s sound and smarts in one go.

Stuff says +++++ A punchy little bar with built-in streaming skills

Sonos Beam

+++++ £399 / stuff.tv/SonosBeam Sonos’s great-value Alexa soundbar is affordable and packed with smarts.

Yamaha SR-C20A

+++++ £229 / stuff.tv/SRC20A At 60cm wide, this is a little bit of a soundbar that can do a little bit of everything.

from £25/month + setup / stuff.tv/SkyTV

2

Amazon Fire TV Cube

3

Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K

4

Chromecast with Google TV

5

Amazon Fire TV Stick

£110 / stuff.tv/FireTVCube The Fire TV interface is easy to use and all the big catch-up services are available via this tidy box – and best of all, Alexa voice control works brilliantly. You’ll never have to worry about losing the remote again!

Stuff says +++++ A marvel of voice control for your telly

£50 / stuff.tv/FireStick4K This streaming stick offers 4K plus a faster processor than the original Fire TV Stick, and comes with an Alexa Voice Remote… but look out also for the cheaper non-4K version below, and the bargain Lite model.

Stuff says +++++ Simply a great 4K streaming stick

+++++ £60 / stuff.tv/ChromecastTV A solid buy if you like Google’s casting tricks but also want all your TV apps in one place.

+++++ £40 / stuff.tv/FireStick A solid little HD streamer for all the best bits of Amazon and more.

FOR FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE PRODUCTS IN OUR TOP TEN LISTINGS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10

TOP TENS TABLETS

1

CONSOLES TOP TENS

90

1

HOT BUY

HOT BUY

Apple iPad Air

Sony PlayStation 5

The 4th-generation iPad Air ushers in big changes. It looks the spit of an 11in iPad Pro (at least from the front), and supports Apple’s snazzy Magic Keyboard and second-gen Pencil… and the A14 chip makes it blazingly fast, leaving its predecessor in the dust. Sure, there are compromises, but none are critical. So if you were considering an iPad Pro but don’t really need the extra power of that phenomenal M1 processor, it might be wise to save yourself a few quid and buy the Air instead.

The PS5 is not a modest upgrade. Its hulking design means it’ll make a bad first impression on some, but spend time playing it and it’ll soon win you over – and then some. This is essentially a high-spec gaming PC for the living room: stupendously powerful, with greatly reduced loading times compared to the PS4. Most last-gen titles will run fine, many with a boost, and the line-up of new games is strong; we just hope developers make use of that fascinating DualSense pad and its haptic feedback trickery.

Stuff says +++++ Pointing to the iPad’s future rather than its past, this is a meaningful, impressive, powerful Air update

Stuff says +++++ Huge power, clever hardware and a guarantee of great games to come make the PS5 hard to resist

from £579 / stuff.tv/iPadAir

2

Apple iPad Pro (M1)

3

Microsoft Surface Go 2

4

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7+

5

Apple iPad (2020)

from £749 / stuff.tv/iPadPro The 2021 iPad Pro’s display is wonderful and the M1 chip super-powerful, with only Apple itself holding things back with the flawed iPadOS. Don’t rush to upgrade if you have the 2020 model… but this is the king of tablets.

Stuff says +++++ Absolutely the best tablet around… at a price

from £359 / stuff.tv/SurfaceGo2 The Surface Go 2 feels less user-friendly and slick than an iPad, but pair it with the optional Type Cover and it turns into a neat mini-laptop. It’s also a surprisingly good way to play games.

Stuff says +++++ Just enough power to be a genuine iPad rival

++++, from £799 / stuff.tv/TabS7Plus A true iPad Pro alternative that brilliantly balances productivity and entertainment.

++++, from £329 / stuff.tv/iPad2020 The A12 Bionic chip turns Apple’s cheapest tab into an absolute powerhouse.

£450 / stuff.tv/PS5

2

Nintendo Switch

£279 / stuff.tv/NintendoSwitch Now four years old, the Switch is the second-best-selling console in Nintendo’s history thanks to great games and a unique twist on portable play. But maybe you’d rather hold out for the new OLED version?

Stuff says +++++ This 2-in-1 console is the real deal

3

Microsoft Xbox Series X

4

Microsoft Xbox Series S

5

£450 / stuff.tv/XSX A fully future-proofed machine that doesn’t scrimp on specs or speed, the Series X just wants more exclusive titles to make it sing.

Xbox Game Pass remains pretty much the best streamed offering in gaming.

Stuff says ++++, A beast of a console that needs more games

++++, £250 / stuff.tv/XSS Delivers affordability without sacrificing key features, but still falls short on new titles.

Evercade Handheld

++++, £60 / stuff.tv/Evercade Scratches the retro itch in all sorts of ways.

See also the TV-bound VS model.

FOR FULL REVIEWS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/HOME-CINEMA & STUFF.TV/TOP-10/GAMES-MACHINES

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91

GAMES TOP TENS

HOT BARGAIN BUY BUY

The Last of Us Part II £27 / PS4

Just as The Last of Us proved to be the perfect swansong for the PS3 era, The Last of Us Part II is a masterful triumph to see off the PS4 in style: a rare superior sequel that can be mentioned in the same breath as The Godfather Part II. An unparalleled masterclass in everything it does, with an extensive suite of accessibility options that every game should adopt as the standard, it’s a game with a story that challenges us – and one we’ll be discussing long into the new console generation.

TIPS & TRICKS Take your time exploring – you’ll find key resources, notes, even some fun Easter eggs.

Stuff says +++++ Naughty Dog has done it again with this brutal, bleak and beautiful game

Not keen on all the violence? A lot of confrontations can be avoided. Just look out for sniffer dogs!

O OR PLAY THIS Uncharted: The Lost Legacy A leaner and somewhat less grim action adventure from Naughty Dog, starring a pair of kick-ass women. £10 / PS4

3

2

4

It Takes Two

5

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

6

+++++ £59 / PS5 Consistently fun and incredible to look at, this is a PS5 must-have.

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2

+++++ from £40 / PS4, XB1, PC A superb remake of two of the best sports games ever committed to disc.

7

Final Fantasy VII Remake

Monster Hunter Rise

BARGAIN BUY

Hades

Demon’s Souls £56 / PS5

8

Just when you think you’ve seen all this hellish roguelite has to offer, a new tweak yanks you out of your comfort zone. It quickly becomes very addictive… and even if you’ll have to face numerous setbacks, few games make you feel so godly.

This is a lovingly attentive remake that transforms an old game into a next-gen must-play. It’s going to make you work for it, as beneath that shiny new coat it remains a uniquely foreboding challenge, but overcoming Demon’s Souls is its own reward.

9

Stuff says +++++ Great even if you don’t like roguelites …and if you do, it’s the best there is

Stuff says +++++ A gorgeous and faithful remake of a hugely influential cult classic

from £20 / PC, Switch

+++++ from £23 / PS4, PS5, XBX, XSX, PC A masterful co-op experience that will live long in the memory.

10

+++++ £25 / PS4 The greatest remake of one of the all-time greatest video games.

+++++ £35 / Switch So many monsters and mechanics to feast on – this is unmissable.

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury

+++++ £39 / Switch A sleeper Mario classic + an experimental 3D offshoot = one hell of a package.

Returnal

+++++ £65 / PS5 A must-play for the PS5 – just be prepared to die again and again.

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW GAMES, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/GAMES

1

HOT BUY

92

ELECTRIC CARS TOP TENS

1

HOT BUY

VanMoof S3

Porsche Taycan

VanMoof’s second-gen S3 (or X3 if you’re under 5ft 8in) looks like a normal bike, rides like a normal bike and, crucially, doesn’t cost a ridiculous amount of cash. The chunky 50mm tyres, slightly swooped bars and upright riding position all combine to make it super-comfy, and 30 miles with the power assistance set to level three (out of four) left us completely sweat-free with 20% still in the tank. Plus, for such a looker, the S3 has a lot of tech hidden away to make it a less than ideal target for thieves.

It was about time someone took the fight to Tesla, and boy has Porsche delivered with the Taycan. This electric four-door saloon is the EV that petrolheads have been waiting for. In full-fat Turbo S flavour, the Taycan hits 62mph in 2.8 seconds – and adding more drama to proceedings is how it shifts up through its two-speed gearbox. The Taycan has a dynamism that can’t be matched by other electric cars, with a surefootedness that encourages you to press on.

Stuff says +++++ This smart-looking e-bike offers a great ride, great features and some genuinely useful security smarts

Stuff says +++++ Big power, sports-car handling and lots of clever tech make the Taycan the most exciting EV yet

£1998 / stuff.tv/VanMoofS3

2

Cowboy 3

3

Specialized Turbo Vado SL 5.0 EQ

4

Gocycle GX

5

Ribble Hybrid AL e

from £72,850 / stuff.tv/Taycan

£1690 / stuff.tv/Cowboy3 The 43-mile range, app-controlled lights, smart tracking and anti-theft tech make this bike a true commuter contender. It’s a handsome steed… but watch out also for the incoming Cowboy 4.

Stuff says +++++ A light e-bike that’s ideal for commuting

£4000 / stuff.tv/VadoSL With the electrics hidden away in the frame, this hybrid bike looks pretty discreet – but it has a mass of added extras, including an extra boost of assistance for daunting hills and a kickstand for statement propping.

Stuff says +++++ Pricey, but well built and a real easy rider

+++++ £2899 / stuff.tv/GocycleGX This foldaway e-bike is getting hard to find… but have you seen the new G4i on p62?

+++++ £2199 / stuff.tv/RibbleHybrid A secret e-bike that proves you don’t need fancy extras for an excellent ride.

FOR UP-TO-DATE LISTINGS AND FULL REVIEWS OF ALL KINDS OF GADGETS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10

O Electric car prices include government plug-in car grant (PiCG)

TOP TENS E-BIKES ETC

93

1

SMART HOME TOP TENS HOT BUY

Amazon Echo (4th Gen) £90 / stuff.tv/Echo

Having morphed from a cylinder to a sphere, the latest Echo is an excellent newsreader, weather forecaster, personal assistant and intercom straight out of the box; but it’s now also a capable speaker and a very accessible smart home hub. It doesn’t sound as good as the Sonos One or Apple HomePod for listening to music, but it’s significantly smarter than both and considerably cheaper too.

TIPS & TRICKS The Echo’s built-in Zigbee hub can hook up hundreds of smart home devices without a bridge.

Stuff says +++++ An all-round upgrade that makes the Echo a smarter speaker than ever

Pair a compatible thermostat and the Echo’s temperature sensor can activate the heating.

O NOW ADD THIS Honeywell T6R This Zigbee-enabled thermostat is wireless so you can place it where it’s most convenient. £159 / amazon.co.uk

Alexa Flash Briefings deliver bursts of news or trivia; choose from 5000 sources in the app.

2

3

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen)

Google Nest Mini

It can’t match a full-size smart speaker for audio, but as a radio and Alexa assistant for the bedside or kitchen, this cutey gets the job done. It’s worth paying £10 more for the ‘with Clock’ version, which adds extra functionality beyond telling the time.

If you live in Google’s world (and let’s face it, most of us do) then the Nest Mini is the best, cheapest way to get into the smart home game. It’s a better bet than the Echo Dot with Clock if you want close integration with your Google calendar and apps.

Stuff says +++++ With the optional clock, this is our favourite bedside wondergadget

Stuff says +++++ Louder and cleverer than ever… and it’ll only improve with updates

from £50 / stuff.tv/Dot

£49 / stuff.tv/NestMini

4

Ring Indoor Cam

5

Nest Learning Thermostat (3rd Gen)

6

Philips Hue Starter Kit

7

Dyson V15 Detect Absolute

8

Brisant-Secure Ultion Smart

9

Amazon Echo Show 10

10

Nanoleaf Essentials A19

+++++ £49 / stuff.tv/RingIndoor This cute little spy-cam is a bona fide bargain for anyone with security worries.

+++++ £187 / stuff.tv/Nest3 A simple and mess-free smart thermostat with Alexa compatibility.

+++++ from £45 (white) / stuff.tv/Hue Become an indoor god with the smartest way of lighting up your home remotely.

+++++ £600 / stuff.tv/V15Absolute Ludicrous but brilliant: a vacuum cleaner that illuminates your dust particles with a laser.

+++++ from £259 / stuff.tv/UltionSmart Tradition and tech partner up in a smart lock to please everyone.

++++, £240 / stuff.tv/Show10 The revolving trick makes this a handy (but not essential) upgrade on the previous Echo Show.

++++, from £18 / stuff.tv/NanoleafA19 Simple, affordable, effective: these lights are a must for any Apple smart home.

FOR FULL REVIEWS OF THE BEST SMART HOME DEVICES, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SMART-HOME-DEVICES

TOP TENS VR HEADSETS

1

VR GAMES TOP TENS

94

1

HOT BUY

HOT BUY

Oculus Quest 2

Half-Life: Alyx

The original Quest felt almost too good to be true. Its successor lacks the same wow factor, but you can’t argue with a better display and processor – not to mention a lighter, more comfortable build – for less money. Are there more powerful headsets? Is motion sickness still an issue? Yes to both, but superb tracking and a total absence of wires make this the VR package to get… that is, unless you’re boycotting Facebook, because you have to be logged in to use it.

Announcing Alyx as not only a ‘midquel’ but a VR exclusive got some Half-Life diehards riled up… but in classic Valve fashion, the end result is utterly brilliant. Alyx succeeds because its universe just happens to be a perfect fit for the format. It’s also larger and much more robust than most VR games, at a meaty 12-15 hours. And though it unfolds at a different kind of cadence to past Half-Life games, it feels like a fully fledged solo campaign and a key part of the franchise narrative.

Stuff says +++++ Not a complete reinvention, but our favourite VR headset is now even better… and cheaper!

Stuff says +++++ Valve’s beloved series returns… and offers one of the strongest arguments to date for VR gaming

from £299 / stuff.tv/Quest2

2

Valve Index

3

HTC Vive Pro

4

HTC Vive Cosmos

5

PlayStation VR

£919 / stuff.tv/ValveIndex While not revolutionary, the Index carries enough subtle upgrades to put it atop the PC-based headset pack. Everything looks fabulous and the controllers deliver the most fluid-feeling VR interactions to date.

Stuff says ++++, The best of the performance-PC VR options

£599 (headset only) / stuff.tv/HTCVivePro No longer the top dog for high-end VR using a PC, the Vive Pro remains a strong headset thanks to its crisp screens and comfy fit. We can’t wait to try the new and improved Pro 2…

Stuff says ++++, Impressive, but not the best around in 2021

+++,, £699 / stuff.tv/Cosmos A simple setup with potential for upgrades, but tough to recommend at this price.

+++,, from £260 / stuff.tv/PSVR Held back by niggling issues… let’s hope the upcoming second-gen PSVR will fix those.

from £39 / Oculus, Vive, Valve Index

2

Beat Saber

3

Star Wars: Squadrons

4

Pistol Whip

5

Population: One

from £23 / Oculus, Vive, PSVR Gleefully swing your twin lightsabers to chop blocks that are flung your way to the thumping beat of a song. This game has reinvented the rhythm genre for VR and it’s glorious, especially on the cable-free Quest.

Stuff says +++++ A mesmerising musical melee

from £21 / Oculus, Vive, PSVR Suit up and enter the cockpit in this dazzling dogfighter, a robust Star Wars sim that you can play fully in VR across the entire experience – campaign missions and online shootouts alike.

Stuff says ++++, Spacey fun… and even better with a joystick

++++, from £20 / Oculus, Vive, PSVR Like John Wick meets EDM, this rhythmic blaster makes you feel like a master assassin.

++++, from £23 / Oculus, Vive Not as polished as Fortnite, but still a ripping battle-royale shooter with chaotic action.

FOR FULL REVIEWS, AND TO EXPLORE MORE OF THE STUFF TOP TEN LISTS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10

TOP TENS DRONES & ACTION CAMS

1

95

HOT BUY

DJI Air 2S

Lego Mindstorms Robot Inventor

£899 / stuff.tv/Air2S

£330 / stuff.tv/Mindstorms DJI’s status as overlord of the consumer drone world is pretty much unchallenged, but there’s no sign of laurel-resting here.

The Air 2S may be its best drone yet: an almost perfect balance of portability, performance and price, ideal for novices but still able to produce nigh-on pro-level results. The richness of colour in conditions where a smaller sensor would struggle is the real killer feature; that this camera is bolted onto such a stable and easy-to-fly drone just makes it all the better.

It’s clear Lego has prioritised immediacy and fun with its latest build-your-own-bots kit, which lets you and/or your little ones create five different coding-controlled mecha-beings. Yes, the set lacks a proper screen and relies on a separate device for programming; but it offers great clarity and scope, plus an attitude that encourages tinkering… whatever your age.

Stuff says +++++ DJI cranks up the magic once again with the best all-round camera drone on the market

Stuff says +++++ A fun, versatile set for Lego electronics newcomers and old hands alike

2

DJI Mini 2

£419 / stuff.tv/Mini2 Just light enough to avoid having to be registered with the CAA, DJI’s latest pocket drone is a little beast that grabs stellar aerial video. It’s also super-intuitive to control and capable of shooting in 4K. Stuff says +++++ DJI’s dinky drone soars above the competition

3

DJI Mavic Air 2

4

GoPro Hero9 Black

5

GoPro Hero8 Black

2

Sphero RVR

4

Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit

5

Lego Adventures with Mario

£250 / stuff.tv/SpheroRVR The RVR pulls off the balance between serious coding and knockabout fun perfectly: it’s an all-terrain vehicle that you can throw around without worrying about it breaking, but also has serious programming chops.

Stuff says +++++ Enough fun to convert any coding-phobe

£769 / stuff.tv/MavicAir2 DJI has built on the platform of a simple entry-level drone and thrown in a heap of pro features, so those dipping a toe into aerial photography or videography no longer have to put up with mediocre content.

Stuff says +++++ A viable cheaper option than the new Air 2S

+++++ £330 / stuff.tv/H9B One of the most versatile bits of filming and photography kit we’ve used.

+++++ £260 / stuff.tv/H8B Overtaken by the Hero9 Black… but this is still arguably a better option if you don’t need 5K.

++++, £100 / stuff.tv/MKLive AR software, real-life cars and course markers turn your living room into a Mario Kart track.

++++, from £50 / stuff.tv/LAMario Basically Mario Maker in brick form; begin with the essential Starter Course.

FOR FULL REVIEWS, AND TO EXPLORE MORE OF THE STUFF TOP TEN LISTS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10

TOP TENS CAMERAS

96

1

HOT BUY

Fujifilm X-T4 The Fuji X-T4 might be the high-end mirrorless camera of your dreams. Relatively affordable for a flagship, it excels at stills and video thanks to in-body image stabilisation, high-speed shooting and 4K recording at up to 60fps. Rapid shooting is backed up by fancy AF tricks that feel equally fast and reliable, and even the battery life goes above and beyond the usual standards. There’s no doubting this is a worthy successor to the already fabulous X-T3.

TIPS & TRICKS It’s easy to set up the X-T4’s customisable Q button: just hold it down for a couple of seconds for options.

Stuff says +++++ A superbly capable mirrorless camera for shooting pretty much anything in style

Avoid those wonky horizons by turning on the built-in on-screen level in screen settings.

O NOW ADD THIS Fujifilm XF 16-80mm f/4 This versatile lens covers a bigger zoom range than most and adapts to pretty much any requirements. £699 / wexphotovideo.com

Fujifilm X Acquire is a clever bit of PC/Mac software that backs up all your X-T4’s custom settings.

2

3

Sony A7C

Sony A7 III

Putting full-frame sensors in small bodies is one of Sony’s greatest strengths, and the A7C minimises things even further – but this is a compact package with a lot of imaging power. For photographers and video makers who want to carry everything with them in a modest bag (or hanging around their neck), the A7C fits the bill better than any other interchangeable-lens camera.

The A7 III manages to pack in a lot of technology and desirability for less than £2000. It’s a fantastic all-rounder that’s well suited to a bunch of shooting scenarios, coping well with landscapes, portraits, and even a little bit of high-speed sport shooting.

As a camera design it’s admittedly not the prettiest thing we’ve ever seen, but it handles well for its compact size.

Stuff says +++++ Superb quality and full-frame goodness from a half-pint camera

Stuff says +++++ An excellent all-rounder that thrives in low-light conditions

£1709 / stuff.tv/A7C

£1699 / stuff.tv/SonyA7iii

4

Nikon D780

5

Fujifilm X-T30

6

Canon EOS RP

7

Sony A1

8

Fujifilm GFX100S

9

Sony ZV-1

10

Nikon Z50

+++++ £1990 / stuff.tv/D780 An all-round DSLR that’s built like a tank and borrows the best tricks of its mirrorless siblings.

+++++ £799 / stuff.tv/XT30 Does a brilliant job of distilling the X-T3’s appeal into a cheaper, more compact body.

+++++ £1049 / stuff.tv/EOSRP A full-frame mirrorless marvel that’s light enough to not be a burden and offers top picture quality.

+++++ £6499 / stuff.tv/A1 There are better options for specialists, but this is the ultimate no-compromise all-round camera.

+++++ £5499 / stuff.tv/GFX100S Not cheap, but lightweight and compact: Fuji has made medium-format accessible.

+++++ £699 / stuff.tv/ZV1 With ace video and a flippable screen, Sony’s clever compact is a vlogger’s dream.

+++++ £929 / stuff.tv/Z50 One of the best APS-C cameras out there, offering a multitude of pro-level features.

FOR FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW CAMERAS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SYSTEM-CAMERAS

O System camera prices quoted are for body only unless otherwise stated

£1399 / stuff.tv/XT4

97

1 TIPS & TRICKS

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) This fabric-covered take on Marvin the paranoid android in disguise as a Magic 8-Ball feels playful yet classical. It can’t match a full-size smart speaker for audio, but as a little radio and an Alexa assistant for the bedside table or kitchen worktop, this cutey gets the job done. It’s worth paying £10 more for the ‘with Clock’ version, which adds extra functionality beyond telling the time.

Alexa Voice Shopping lets you order from Amazon; add a ‘voice code’ to keep the kids off.

Stuff says +++++ With the optional clock, this is our favourite bedside wondergadget

Dot at your bedside?

Saying “Alexa, turn on whisper mode” will stop it waking up sleepyheads.

O NOW ADD THIS Sportlink Wall Mount This minimalist acrylic mount for the Dot will keep it clear from wet surfaces in the bathroom or kitchen. £10 / amazon.co.uk

3

4

Mi Smart Band 5

5

Orange Crest Edition

6

Microsoft Xbox Wireless Headset

HOT BUY

from £50 / stuff.tv/Dot

Fed up of yelling?

Alexa’s voice can work like an intercom with connected Echo devices.

2

BUDGET BUYS TOP TENS

Raspberry Pi 400 £94 / stuff.tv/Pi400

£90 / stuff.tv/XboxHeadset These black cans are unmistakably Xbox, with chunky earpads and plenty of padding. And the sound is impressive for the price, with a low-end response so impactful we had to turn down the bass in the Xbox’s EQ app.

This DIY computer kit isn’t about the work (or homework) it can do, but what you can turn it into.

It’s an affordable standalone programming rig, a hub for electronics and a stashable device that can become any classic home computer in seconds.

Stuff says +++++ Yes, you really can bag a decent gaming headset for under £100

Stuff says +++++ A superb gadget for hacking around and exploring computing’s past

+++++ £25 / stuff.tv/MiBand5 Fantastic value and decent features make this an easy fitness tracker to recommend.

+++++ £95 / stuff.tv/OrangeCrest Comfortable cans with a sound that’s true to Orange’s hard-rocking heritage.

Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2

+++++ £90 / stuff.tv/Wonderboom2 A rugged little wonder that’ll bring a sonic boost to any occasion.

7

Chromecast with Google TV

8

Moto G30

9

Nanoleaf Essentials A19

+++++ £60 / stuff.tv/ChromecastTV A solid buy if you like Google’s casting tricks but also want all your TV apps in one place.

++++, £160 / stuff.tv/G30 A phone that packs in plenty on a budget, even if not every feature adds value.

++++, from £18 / stuff.tv/NanoleafA19 Simple, affordable, effective: these lights are a must for any Apple smart home.

FOR FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THESE GADGETS, AND TO EXPLORE MORE TOP TEN LISTS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10

These are the bays of our drives The IBM 5150 could be configured with up to two 5.25in floppy drives – or a cassette deck. It was 1983 before IBM offered a hard drive as standard.

RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES 1981

ow, IBM. Has Stuff been taken over by suits? What next: “Why spreadsheets are fantastic”?

Sure, ‘IBM PC’ might evoke people doing dull things in dull offices, rather than the cool things people do with computers today.

But this was 1981. IBM’s debut PC, the 5150, revolutionised the market… despite the fact that it failed to outperform its rivals and was light on features unless you became light of wallet buying a load of upgrades prior to plugging the thing in. But to borrow a later Apple phrase, IBM quickly won out because it could ‘think different’.

W

Hang on, IBM was a lumbering monolith.

How did it think different?

By doubling down on the notion of not being unique. That sounds counter-intuitive, but bear in mind the market at the time was all about proprietary everything. People were tired of that, so IBM upended the industry by basing its system on standard off-the-shelf parts and open architecture. Users were encouraged to poke around. Third parties could plug holes in the ecosystem and then expand on it – all without permission or interference from IBM. The 5150 was an instant success and IBM quickly dominated.

So why aren’t we all using IBM PCs, IBM phones and IBM smartwatches today?

That ‘open’ thing was a double-edged sword.

Inevitably, the industry bellowed: “Send in the clones!” Within a year, IBM was staring at cheap ‘copies’ of its creation. Before long, no one was referring to ‘IBM PCs’ nor even ‘IBM-compatible PCs’. Compaq, Microsoft and Intel called the shots. And by the mid-2000s, IBM had exited the market it created. That might sound like failure, but as the late Charles Pankenier, IBM’s director of comms for the PC, once said, its legacy is nothing less than legitimising computing at the personal level.

DON’T MISS THE NEXT ISSUE! ON SALE 30 SEP

[ Words Craig Grannell ]

IBM PC

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