mmñ by feliz16

101 GADGETS YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

SAMSUNG Z FLIP 3 A FOLDABLE FOR UNDER £1,000!

BOLDEST EVER

OLED TV PLUSsensational soundbars! PLUS

REVIEWED

COMMUTE BOOSTERS

Back TO THE

OFFICE

From headphones to tablets, enjoy thereturn towork

Go for an easy ride with ebikes from Canyon and Gocycle!

STUNNING 4K SECURITY CAMS

+ more top smarthome tech

GETTING FIT

MADE EASY Smart weights,massagers and treadmillsfor no-sweat workouts

HOT!

CLASSIC TURNTABLE

UPGRARADDED

+ 7 superb speakers and streamers

SHOWSTOPPER Gadgets that showcase the very best that design and technology have to offer CHANGE YOUR TUNE

Simply ﬂick the M20’s EQ switch to indicate if they’re in a corner, against a wall or in free space and their processing will adapt the audio accordingly

Q ACOUSTICS M20

Q Acoustics’ range of bookshelf speakers are synonymous with audiophile-thrilling sound. What they aren’t usually known for, however, is affordability. So when we heard the brand was launching a new set of active, hi-res bookshelves for under £500, our ears pricked up. The Q Acoustics M20 each use a 22mm tweeter and 125mm mid-range driver powered by a built-in 130 watt amplifier. They can play CD-quality 24-bit/48kHz audio over Bluetooth aptX and, if you really want to max out your streaming setup, up to 24bit/192kHz hi-res audio over a wired input. Not only that but they draw on the audio-engineering finesse of their more expensive siblings, with their curved speaker grilles dispersing tweeter activity to reduce unwanted reflections. And, at this price, they make a great accompaniment to any device, whether that’s your TV, turntable, smartphone or games console. £399, qacoustics.co.uk SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 3

Meet the team

JOSH RUSSELL Editor

MICHELLE McLAREN Art Editor

RUSSELL LEWIN Production Editor

MEET OUR ADVERTISING TEAM

Get in touch to see what T3 can do for your brand! ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY KATE COLGAN kate.colgan@futurenet.com ACCOUNT DIRECTOR JOSHUA McGONIGLE joshua.mcgonigle@futurenet.com ACCOUNT MANAGER ISABEL LINCOLN-MOORE isabel.lincoln-moore@futurenet.com

THE GLOBAL MAGAZINE

JO GULLIVER Group Art Director

PAUL DOUGLAS Content Director

MATT BOLTON Home Tech Editor

T3 is currently licensed worldwide, from Australia to Mexico

FRANCE

ROBERT JONES Ecommerce Editor

DUNCAN BELL Lifestyle Editor

SPENCER HART Product & Style Editor

POLAND

MATT KOLLAT Staff Writer

YASMINE CROSSLAND Reviews Writer

RUTH HAMILTON Outdoor & Wellness Editor

HOW TO LICENSE T3 T3 is available for licensing and syndication. To ﬁnd out more contact us at licensing@futurenet. com or view our available content at futurecontenthub.com. Head of print licensing: Rachel Shaw

and get a fantastic STM Tree Charger!

Our subscription offer gets you this great gift worth £69.95!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE! magazinesdirect.com/t3charger21 4 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

VISIT T3.COM We’ve overhauled T3.com – the best site for gadget news and reviews now has a great new look and is fully responsive, enabling you to enjoy it on any device.

Welcome

Editor’s letter

Everyone loves a comeback. Like the Jedi, Michael Myers and the King before us, T3 has returned. Our long walk in the wilderness – alright, our long sit in our respective home offices – is over and we have reclaimed our castle at the heart of our tech kingdom: T3Towers. Getting back to the office has actually been pretty exciting. Not because we’ve finally been able to recover our coffee mugs – mine hasn’t been washed for 15 months and has subsequently taken over much of the fifth floor. But because the team is finally back together and tackling the deluge of inbound tech. And with a bunch of gear from Galaxy Unpacked already on our desks and a new iPhone in the offing, we need all hands at the pump. Naturally, with so many exciting gadgets being released right now, its hard to choose just a few favourites. That’s why this issue we’re bringing you 101 of the most unmissable gadgets out there. From 120Hz 4K TVs and hi-res streaming speakers to devices for creatives and super-efficient workout gear, we’ve got an absolute plethora of high-tech products we think you should consider. And if you’re heading back to the office yourself, check out our feature on the best tech for flexible working, as well as the creature comforts you need for bringing home with you.

Josh Russell, Editor josh.russell@futurenet.com Tweet me @joshlrussell

T3’S MISSION

Our mission is to bring you the clearest recommendations we can – and that means a great deal of hard work happens before a product even reaches our pages! Because we only feature products the T3 team would happily use ourselves, we end up discarding a signiﬁcant number of options in each category before settling on a ﬁnal shortlist to review. We select only the best of the best for our Tested section; the gear we know you’ll want to seriously consider purchasing. And that should mean an end to you

having to undertake hours of painstaking research and product comparisons. You won’t see any duff products, but you will come away with clarity on which one is the best in its category or for a speciﬁc task: our awards badges (see below) ensure that everything T3 recommends is clearly highlighted on the page. It goes without saying that every product in our review section has been thoroughly tested by our team of experts, enabling you to buy with total conﬁdence.

OUR AWARDS This is given to winners of our group tests, so you can see which is the best at a glance

Only the best products – those that score ﬁve stars – receive our Platinum Award

T3 (ISSN 1364-2642) is published monthly with an extra issue in September by Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA, UK The US annual subscription price is $194.87 Airfreight and mailing in the USA by agent named World Container Inc., c/o BBT 150-15 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA Application to Mail at Periodicals Postage Prices is Pending at Brooklyn NY 11256. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to T3, World Container Inc., c/o BBT 150-15 183rd St, Jamaica, NY 11413, USA Subscription records are maintained at Future Publishing, c/o Air Business Subscriptions, Rockwood House, Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 3DH, UK

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 5

Contents

Contents 029

053

101 GADGETS YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT From high-end headphones to effortless exercise gear, discover all the latest unmissable tech

BACK TO THE OFFICE

Smooth your return to the workplace with these laptops, accessories and home comforts

6 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

059

STATE OF THE ART

Not keen to get back on the bus? These amazing ebikes will help you transform your commute

Contents BEST OF THE BEST

HORIZON 010 HORIZON TOP 10

Discover the Galaxy Z Flip3, Samsung’s most affordable foldable ever

TESTED 068 SONY A90J

Searing white highlights, superb AI enhancement and innovative in-screen sound make this a TV to treasure

072

016 STYLE

FITBIT INSPIRE 2

This sleek sleep tracker is packed full of features and yet super affordable

Tired of sole searching? Let us recommend some steezy sneaks

018

FITNESS & OUTDOORS

Lift weights without the faff of plates, thanks to JaxJox’s adjustable dumbbell

073

NOTHING EAR (1)

Can these (semi-)transparent ANC earbuds live up to the hype?

074

ONEPLUS NORD 2

020

TRAVEL

Lightning strikes twice for OnePlus’s sequel to its slick-screened, affordable smartphone smash

We test ride Harley-Davidson’s high-tech touring motorbike

022 024

GADGET GURU

076

BEOSOUND LEVEL

An upgradeable, great sounding and gorgeous speaker with a few foibles

TALKING TECH

NIKON Z FC

Duncan Bell is evangelising for ebikes, doubters be damned 8 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

SUBSCRIBE 050

Junk the garlic funk, scrap malicious apps and upgrade your litter tray

027

Our giant buyer’s guide helps you ﬁnd the world’s best gadgets in over 50 categories, from top tellies to DSLRs to car tech to shavers – all tested by T3’s team of tech experts!

AND SAVE BIG MONEY Get the latest offers

LIVING

It’s time for some coffee chat – and here’s the perfect machine for that

079

YOUR IN-DEPTH BUYER’S GUIDE

078

With retro looks and modern innards, this is a great starter mirrorless cam

Horizon

The best new tech heading your way

SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FLIP3

From £999, samsung.com

Samsung’s bendable range grabs the headlines like no other, and the recent Galaxy Unpacked event proved that the Korean giant still has ﬂexibility placed at the head of the line. So T3 should be putting the star of the show, the newly toughened Z Fold3 (with its pressureretracting S Pen and mostly-invisible underscreen selﬁe cam) in the Horizon top spot, right? Ordinarily, yes. That appears to be one seriously awesome phone, and we’ll be taking a good look at it very soon. But realistically there’s something about the Z Flip3 which excites us even more. It’s the price. £300 less than the Z Flip 5G, introduced at the start of this year, the Z Flip3 sneaks in just under the £1,000 mark. That is an absolutely killer price point, some £600 cheaper than the Z Fold3, and a good chunk less than, well, just about the entirety of the high-end phone market. It’s genuinely the sort of price point that could start to make foldables mainstream, and one which is surely going to encourage more pockets to hold compact phones in the years to come. The Z Flip3 will, admittedly, need more than just a shiny price tag to succeed though. Here there’s a big hardware upgrade along for the ride, Samsung’s software appears to have been edge-honed to better suit the Flip’s half-open Flex mode, and it’s tougher, too – as long as the screen (newly upgraded to 120Hz) can hack the pressure of folding and re-folding, this may just have what it takes.

TECH-O-METER 10 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

Though the camera and battery package stays pretty much the same as that of its predecessors, and the chassis trims down just slightly, the Z Flip3 is bigger where it counts: there’s now 8GB RAM on board.

“A foldable for less than £1,000? is could be a real game changer” Josh Russell, Editor

Top10

GOT IT COVERED The Z Flip’s cover display gets a big upgrade here, from tiny 1.1-inch sliver to a fully useable 1.9-inch area four times larger than before. That’s good for notiﬁcations, slight guesswork selﬁe shooting and widgets like Samsung Pay, which can now be used while the phone is closed. And it should be available to coders to cook up their own useful phone-folded apps.

WATER SHED Samsung has managed to add the same IPX8 waterprooﬁng to the Z Flip3 as it has to the Z Fold3 – which means this can withstand full immersion – and it has upped the physical strength too. The frame and hinge are made of ‘Armor Aluminium’, which apparently proffers a 10% strength increase, and the Gorilla Glass covering the screen is said to be 50% tougher too.

G N U S M A S :ECR UOS E G A M I

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 11

Horizon SONY ZV-E10

£680 (body only), sony.co.uk

It seems to be Sony month in this issue, with three of the company’s new products hitting our coveted top ten. Here we have the followup to last year’s ZV-1, and the big change is that, unlike its fixed-lens predecessor, this is a mirrorless camera compatible with the company’s E-mount lenses. It’s marginally heavier, but a larger APS-C sensor inherited from the a6100 gives the ZV-E10 far superior ISO capabilities and an expanded autofocus that covers 84% of the frame. Oddly, though, there’s no significant difference in video recording capabilities – this still tops out at 4K 30p – which means the ZV-1 will still have its place: if you’re looking for more options in your filming, this is perfect, but there’s still that point-and-shoot option if you prefer. Y N O S :ECR UOS E G A M I

T3 SAYS: This looks as good for compact snapping as it is for Insta ﬁlming.

TECH-O-METER

B&O BEOPLAY EQ

£349, bang-olufsen.com

T3 SAYS: If these are half as good as they look they’ll equalise the ear bud market.

TECH-O-METER 12 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

N E S F ULO & G N A B : E C R U O S E G A M I

It’s pretty unbelievable that the Beoplay EQ buds mark Bang & Olufsen’s debut in the true wireless ANC space, yet here we are: the EQs step up slightly from the three generations of E8 before them, adding a six-mic adaptive ANC solution to the mix, one which will apparently automatically adjust itself to combat ambient noise levels while you’re using it. Specs are as high end as you’d expect, with aptX adaptive, Bluetooth 5.2 and a super-sleek aluminium Qi charging case. Time will tell if that ANC gives them the edge over their predecessors, which are unlikely to be leaving the market any time soon, or whether the Beoplay EQ has what it takes to unseat Bowers & Wilkins’ absolutely superb (and similarly priced) PI7s from their true wireless throne.

Horizon Top10 STEAM DECK

From £349, steampowered.com

We’ve seen Switch-aping PC prototypes in these pages before – the Alienware UFO, to name just one – but Valve is clearly conﬁdent that the Steam Deck is the machine that’ll take the PC fully portable, because this is no prototype. It’s tooled, specced and ready to go: it runs on a new kind of AMD APU that looks like it should offer decent graphical performance, packs 16GB of quad channel RAM and a 7-inch 1280 x 800 touchscreen and, while it does run Linux by default, Valve suggests it will run today’s games. We’re grabbing a little salt, though, given Valve’s track record with supporting hardware and the middling performance we’ve seen from similar devices in the past. We would love this to succeed, and we’re sure it’s going to sell, but let’s not allow ourselves to be blinded by hype. EVLAV :ECR UOS EGAMI

T3 SAYS: Mobile PC gaming isn’t to be sniffed at.

TECH-O-METER

SONY HT-A9

£1,599, sony.co.uk

Surround sound was due a rethink, and Sony’s new home theatre system does just that. You won’t ﬁnd a centre speaker here, unless that’s the look you’re going for. You can place its four satellites just about anywhere you like, even at different heights – each employs a dual microphone array to determine exactly where the others are, and calculates its output to help broadcast its part of the 12 overall virtual speakers on offer. Every unit features a rectangular upﬁrer and woofer as well as a 19mm tweeter, and the system is capable of AI-backed audio upscaling, both enhancing audio resolution and divining the best formula to convert regular audio to 7.1.4. Naturally there’s DTS:X and Dolby Atmos source support too, through a discrete sender box.

TECH-O-METER SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 13

Y N O S :ECR UOS E G A M I

T3 SAYS: At last, no need to arrange your living room impractically to enjoy quality surround.

Horizon SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH4

From £249, samsung.com

Another new arrival from Galaxy Unpacked, the Watch4 feels like the perfection of Samsung’s smartwatch formula. First of all, it offers the new BioActive Sensor, a three-in-one chip that monitors blood pressure, detects an AFib irregular heartbeat and measures blood oxygen level, as well as analysing your body composition. It also runs Samsung’s slick new One UI Watch OS, which automatically syncs settings and compatible apps from your phone. Finally, it’s received a serious boost both in style and substance. Not only does it have a thinner case, but it also packs a super crisp 450 x 450 pixel screen. And inside it has a 20% faster CPU, 50% more RAM and a ludicrous GPU 10 times faster than on the previous gen. G N U S M A S :ECR UOS E G A M I

T3 SAYS: Better health tracking, hardware and looks for less than an Apple Watch? Yes please!

TECH-O-METER

GIGABYTE AERO 15 OLED From £2,499, aorus.com

The more time moves on, the more Windows becomes an entirely viable platform for creatives who don’t find themselves aligned with Apple’s hardware direction. Machines like Gigabyte’s upgraded Aero 15 highlight why this might be. Although the chassis design hasn’t changed from previous generations, there’s a new addition in the form of a bright and pin-sharp 4K OLED panel on board here, pre-calibrated with Pantone X-Rite certification for the ultimate in colour accuracy. Backing it up we find Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics, which offer more than enough pep for video and 3D modelling tasks, as well as a motherboard upgraded not only to support Intel’s latest Tiger Lake mobile CPUs but to offer the expansion potential of Thunderbolt 4, too.

TECH-O-METER 14 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

S UROA :ECR UOS E G A M I

T3 SAYS: The screen’s the queen here, and there’s plenty of power to match.

Top10 SONY LSPX-S3 GLASS SOUND SPEAKER £315, sony.co.uk

enough carrying a glass tube around with you, it packs eight hours’ battery so you can give it some physical range, too. The price is a little high – particularly if you want to run two in a stereo pair – but full marks for some spectacular design. T3 SAYS: The perfect speaker for playing a very speciﬁc Blondie song.

Y N O S :ECR UOS E G A M I

Atmosphere and audio combine to make the LSPX-S3 a very interesting device, albeit one that makes us a little nervous. The organic glass tube on top isn’t only there to give its candle-aping LED something to reﬂect from, it is itself a tweeter, physically tapped by three actuators at its base (using a tech Sony calls Advanced Vertical Drive Technology) in order to resonate those high frequencies. It’s joined by a standard 46mm mid-range speaker in the centre and a passive radiator for bass, giving the LSPX-S3 some serious range – and if you’re happy

TECH-O-METER

COOLNESS INNOVATION FEATURES

TCL ROKU TV 2021 6-SERIES

From $2,199 (around £1,580), tcl.com start, a statement, and an important marker. When TCL gets 8K, 8K ceases to be some unattainable dream reserved only for afﬂuent buyers. It moves far closer to the norm, and we fully expect 2022 to see far more affordable 8K panels. T3 SAYS: TV’s next generation is right around the corner.

TECH-O-METER

COOLNESS INNOVATION FEATURES

LCT : E C R U O S E G A M I

8K has thus far been the exclusive playground of the big boys, but LG, Sony, Samsung et al will have to learn to share: TCL is making its 8K debut this year with a screen which undercuts its rivals on price, and brings super-resolution screens home for the rest of us. Well, mostly. The 6-Series 8K is still not, at this point, cheap, slashing a few hundred bucks from its rivals but still remaining at over $2,000 in the US; it is also unlikely to have the same picture processing chops as TCL’s more mature rivals, making this a questionable purchase. But it’s a

YADEA G5 (2021)

£1,799, lexmoto.co.uk and there’s cavernous storage below the seat. You won’t be winning any races, with the 2.3kW motor topping out at a trundling 28mph, but that’s not really the point: this is affordable, practical, stylish urban transportation, perfect for a commute. T3 SAYS: If you don’t have fun on this, you’re probably stuck in trafﬁc.

OTOMXEL :ECR UOS EGAMI

There’s no doubt that the future is electric, but an electric car or a (questionably legal) battery-powered kick scooter doesn’t suit everyone. The former can be prohibitively expensive, and the latter potentially a lot more dangerous. But there’s a third option, and Yadea seems to have the formula for electric mopeds all summed up. The G5 packs a learner-legal AM-category motor, which means it can be ridden by 16-year-olds, and sports a fully removable battery that can take it up to 55 miles on a charge. It’s easy to ride, with no gears to worry about,

TECH-O-METER

COOLNESS INNOVATION FEATURES

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 15

Horizon

A SNEAKY PEEK

Kick oﬀ your dusty summer trainers, welcome in a new season and feast your eyes on these autumnal sneakers GUCCI ACE WEBBING-TRIMMED LEATHER SNEAKERS Glamour, opulence, scandal: the Italian-born design house is a symbol of those who aren’t shy of making a bold statement with their fashion. While these classic white sneakers aren’t cheap, they don’t stint on style either. £460, mrporter.com

CONVERSE COSY GRANOLA CHUCK TAYLOR 70 HI Try saying ‘cosy granola’ not in an American accent. Yup, we can’t either… These quirky Chuck Taylors, says Converse, “combine mountain town style and city fashion”. Whatever the inspiration, we reckon the bold, block-colour contrast looks pukka. £85, endclothing.com

EKIN ,HTIMS LUAP ,ESREVNOC ,ICCUG :ECRUOS EGAMI

NIKE BLAZER MID ’77 These suede-trimmed leather sneakers do more than just nod to the past. It’s more like a respectful bow. We love classic design and these sneakers certainly tick our retro inclinations with a high top, big Nike swooshes and thick rubber soles. £90, mrporter.com 16 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

PAUL SMITH GREEN ECO LEATHER VELO As we tumble out of summer 2021 and all the extreme weather it bought with it, being environmentally responsible is on everyone’s mind. These Italiancrafted calf leather shoes are made with chrome-free, recyclable uppers. Subtle suede trims complete the stylish Paul Smith look. £325, paulsmith.com

PAUL SMITH BLACK AND ORANGE ZEUS The Greek god Zeus was feared for his thunderous antics but we’re sure these technicolour-tipped trainers will have a more uplifting effect on the wearer. The knitted polyester upper decorated in bright stripes is lightweight and boasts plenty of elasticity. £165, paulsmith.com

Style

WHICH WATCH

THE HOTTEST TIMEPIECES RIGHT NOW

MAURICE LACROIX, AIKON AUTOMATIC TITANIUM CHRONOGRAPHE

Strong and sturdy, titanium is like steel, but much lighter. By using it, Maurice Lacroix has created a lightweight, comfy timepiece – ready for any adventure. £3,750, mauricelacroix.com

Featuring a titanium case topped with a ceramic bezel. The azure colour echoes that of the skies above Naples, and is also found on the strap and counters. £9,900, hublot.com

PANERAI, RADIOMIR EILEAN

This combines the features of the Radiomir collection and the aesthetic lineage of historic sailing yacht Eilean – vintage-style golden hands mark the time on a sandwich dial ﬁlled with beige Super-LumiNova. £7,000, panerai.com

Commuter

Launched in 2014 by Robin Bennett and Robin Winch, this men’s brand may look like it’s aimed at first-class flyers but its premium-quality bags and accessories are made for anyone who simply needs to get from A to B, whether that means a trip to the gym, weekends away at the folks’ house or an overnight work stay. The brand has rewritten the rule book for men’s bags by combining functionality, quality and minimalist style with products that are all hand-made in London and come with a lifetime guarantee. This Leather Commuter bag will prove to be a flexible friend with its detachable waterproof pouch for shoes and gym kit, a secured laptop sleeve and concealed external passport pocket, plus a carrying capacity of 32 litres. “We’ve personally selected the full grain Tuscan leather used on this innovative take of the classic duffle bag, ensuring durability and promising a look that will only get better over time,” say the two Robins. If you need any more convincing that these are premium products, eagle-eyed cinemagoers will spot a Bennett Winch product (the Suit Carrier Holdall) in the forthcoming Bond film No Time to Die. If it’s good enough for 007... £995, bennettwinch.com SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 17

H C N I W T T E N N E B :ECR UOS E G A M I

G-SHOCK, GM-2100

Based on the GA-2100, which is popular for its octagonal shape and streamlined design, but now incorporating a metal bezel with a hairline ﬁnish for an even more sporty, rugged look. £TBC, g-shock.co.uk

HUBLOT, CLASSIC FUSION CHRONOGRAPH BOUTIQUE CAPRI

MONEY NO OBJECT Bennett Winch Leather

Horizon Fitness BEST PELOTON ALTERNATIVES

ECHELON CONNECT EX3

SWIFT LIFTS

HURRY UP AND (PUMP) WEIGHTS

XOJ X A J : E C R UOS E G A M I

NOL E H C E : E C R U O S E G A M I

e Echelon Smart Connect EX3 is a sturdy Peloton alternative for those on a tight budget. It might not have a built-in display but if you’re happy to stream workouts on your smart TV, you can save a signiﬁcant amount of money getting this smart bike. From £1,199, echelonﬁt.uk

e JaxJox DumbbellConnect adjustable dumbbell lets you change weights with a push of a button

APEX BIKE X E P A :ECR UOS E G A M I

UK’s answer to Peloton, the Apex Bike is a wonderful piece of home gym equipment that proves that you can enjoy a Peloton-like experience without spending thousands of pounds on an exercise bike. £1,200, apexrides.com

Do you find traditional dumbbells too – well – basic? Do you wish there was a better, more convenient way to switch between different weight settings? Do you find the Bowflex dial too pedestrian? If the answer to these questions is a resounding yes, the JaxJox DumbbellConnect (£499, jaxjox.co.uk) will be right up in your street. Similar to the extremely popular KettlebellConnect, JaxJox’s smart dumbbells allows users to switch between weights with a touch of a

button: it doesn’t get more convenient than this! Better still, the broad weight range (3.6–22.6kg) of the DumbbellConnect can be adjusted in 3kg increments, which will help you progress in a steady fashion. The ‘Connect’ part in the name is no coincidence either: using the JaxJox App, you can gain access to a range of ondemand classes designed to provide the most variety for your training experience. The app also keeps track of your workout: you’ll never miss a session again!

STAR TREKKING

THE NEW SPACE AGE

Under Armour + Virgin Galactic Capsule Collection is cosmic magic

O H P N E R :ECR UOS E G A M I

e cheapest option of the lot, the RENPHO AIPowered Exercise Bike comes fully equipped with FTP customised workouts and subscription free AI Gym App. Workouts are tailored to the user’s biometric data. £699.99, amazon.co.uk 18 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

To commemorate Sir Richard Branson’s ﬁrst excursion into space on board the VSS Unity back in July, Under Armour released the limited edition Virgin Galactic Capsule Collection, which comprises various T-shirt and under layer-type garments with a suitably science ﬁction twist. The collection incorporates UA’s Rush and RECOVER fabric technologies, including the ultrasexy UA x Virgin Galactic Flight Jacket (£220, underarmour.co.uk). Sadly, there is no space suit on offer.

R U O MRA R E D N U : E C R UOS E G A M I

RENPHO AIPOWERED EXERCISE BIKE

Horizon

THE ULTIMATETECH-LADENTOURER Smart, modern technology and serious motorcycle pedigree combine superbly in the Harley-Davidson CVO Limited, as T3’s Robert Jones discovers

For a long time when I thought of Harley-Davidson I merely thought of rumble and leather. Loud, brash, and fundamentally simple motorbikes with so much torque and grunt that when even just one of them approached it was like a thunder cloud had just broken overhead. I thought you bought a HarleyDavidson if you wanted that classic, no-nonsense cruiser/tourer motorbike experience, and were happy to buy into that despite a lack of mod-cons and smart tech. But then last year I saw just how wrong my perception was when I rode the Harley-Davidson LiveWire, the most exciting electric motorbike built to date, and one that was built by none other than Harley-Davidson itself. This was a state-of-the-art, technologically cutting edge bike that felt like it was from the future, 20 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

and it opened my eyes to just how forward-thinking the famous bike maker is and, crucially, just how much advanced tech it has installed on its bikes, electric or otherwise. Fast forward to summer this year and I’m getting what, for many riders, would be the ultimate tourer experience. That’s because I’m powering down the A4 in Wiltshire towards Avebury on the brand new 2021 Harley-Davidson CVO Limited, and its Twin-Cooled MilwaukeeEight 117 engine (1,923 cc!) sounds absolutely phenomenal. The thing is, though, the CVO Limited’s engine isn’t the only thing that sounds phenomenal, because I’ve also got the bike’s advanced and super powerful Boom! Box GTS sound system cranked up and I’ve got classic rock blaring out of its four, 75-watt speakers.

The Boom! Box GTS system is part of the CVO Limited’s comprehensive smart infotainment system, which is accessed via the bike’s full colour TFT display, and on top of giving access to a fantastic radio system also lets you play whatever music you want via a built-in USB connection. You’d think the audio would be hard to hear above the wind blast and roar of the engine, but this is one very impressive sound system, both in terms of how balanced its phonics are, with deﬁned audio reproduction over the soundscape, as well as just how crazy loud it can go. And this is just one element of the advanced technology that comes loaded onto it. The infotainment system also supports wireless headset connectivity, which connects to it via Bluetooth and enables riders to communicate with other riders in

Travel

Parking up the Harley-Davidson in Marlborough, I’m made aware of another advanced piece of technology that comes as standard on the CVO Limited – keyless ignition. All the while I’ve been riding the bike I’ve had the key tucked into one of the dashboard’s compartments, but you can have it located anywhere on you or the bike to trigger it to ﬁre up or not. It’s a small detail but every time you ﬁre the bike up without any

Youcan have the key located anywhere on you or the biketo trigger it to ﬁre up

visible key, it reminds you you’re riding something a bit special. In Marlborough, I purchase a copy of Motorcycle News, a new vinyl album and a bottle of juice, as the one thing the Harley-Davidson CVO Limited also has plenty of is storage. The bike comes with two large panniers as well as an even larger top

box, that is so wide and deep that you could store serious amounts of clothes or other motorbike gear. As I ride back home, I fire the bike up keylessly, with its 1,923cc engine drawing plenty of admiring glances from passers-by, punch in my destination and then enjoy listening to the deep hammering growl of the motor and punchy music emanating from its speaker system, all the while enjoying the gorgeous views afforded by the Wiltshire countryside. The 2021 Harley-Davidson CVO Limited isn’t a beginner’s motorbike at all, with its large size and big power definitely better suited to those who aren’t new to two wheels. But after walking away from it I can honestly say that it is accessible and, if you’re in the market for a luxury tourer, should be right at the top of your list of bikes to check out. It’s a fantastic blend of old-school motorcycle pedigree and class with a series of smart modern technologies that not only make the bike safer than ever before and easier to ride, but also elevate the overall experience and fun. For more information about the Harley-Davidson CVO Limited, check out the maker’s official website. SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 21

NOSDIVAD -YELRAH :ECR UOS EGAMI

up to a four-way mesh intercom network within a mile of each other. The system also enables hands-free mobile phone calls, too, meaning that you don’t have to stop and pull over to get in touch with someone. The CVO Limited’s infotainment system also comes loaded with quality GPS map service, that makes it easy to find a route and follow directions to any chosen destination. It’s easily navigable, too, via the bike’s TFT touchscreen, which works even when wearing motorbike gloves. Having admired the standing stones of Avebury, and also admired the gorgeous Bronze Armor colour scheme that the CVO Limited has been delivered to me in, I continue the exploration of this bike’s advanced technology by firing it back up and heading on over to the nearby town of Marlborough. The bike’s Reflex Defensive Rider Systems (RDRS) include anti-lock brakes, cornering enhanced ABS, cornering enhanced traction control (C-TCS), drag-torque slip control (DSCS) and vehicle hold control (VHC). These are the exact sort of modern rider-aid technologies that I did not expect to find on HarleyDavidson motorbikes.

Horizon MORE COFFEE MATES

NESPRESSO AEROCCINO4

JAVA JABBER

A TALKING COFFEE MACHINE DUALIT ESPRESSO COFFEE MACHINE TILAUD :ECR UOS E G A M I

is affordable machine from Dualit is essentially a black cube that coffee comes out of. ere’s a steam wand too for what Dualit describes as ‘lashings of froth’ and the machine can use Dualit’s ESE pods as well as ground coffee. £150, dualit.com

SMEG BCC02

GE M S : E C R UOS E G A M I

Smeg’s new bean to cup coﬀee machine is an eye-catching design that’s modernist, minimalist and probably other things ending in -ist. It promises to be simple to use, with everything you need including a milk-texturing steam wand. A classic Italian blend of style and, er, coﬀee. £680, smeguk.com 22 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

Like coﬀee and voice assistants? You’ll love Lavazza Voicy

Lavazza Voicy is not just a coffee machine. It’s a coffee machine with Alexa in it! That may sound rather odd on the face of it, but if you don’t have any Echo speakers – or at least you don’t have any in your kitchen – we can’t think of a better way to add one than Lavazza Voicy (£249, lavazza.co.uk). Oh and it is also a rather excellent coffee maker, of course. It both looks and sounds quite like someone has nailed one of the new, spherical Echo speakers to a pod coffee machine. It’s not the best-sounding speaker ever but it is by far the bestsounding coffee machine ever made. Alexa is also in good voice of course. Ask her to ‘make a coffee’ and she obeys! Of course, Alexa is not a real person so she can’t put a pod in the machine, top up the water, place a cup under the spout and then bring your order to you as you recline on a chaise longue. But if you have placed a pod and cup, Alexa will carry out the arduous task of pressing the single espresso button on your behalf. You can also use Lavazza’s iOS and Android app to create and name your own favourite coffee – this includes setting the extraction time, water temperature and, well, that’s about it – so you can proudly say, ‘Alexa, make my extra special favourite coffee,’ and out it

will pour. You can also apparently start the descaling process via Alexa as well, which seems slightly less glamorous. Arguably, the important thing here is this is a fully-featured Alexa speaker that sounds way better than you’d ever imagine a coffee machine could sound. It can play music, control your smart home devices, tell you the news and recipes and whatnot, and keep your teeth on edge with its awful dad jokes and ‘banter’, delivered in a disinterested computer voice. This would be of little use if Voicy didn’t also make excellent coffee, but it does. Lavazza’s A Modo Mio is a pod coffee system similar to Nespresso. For our money, Lavazza’s pods taste slightly but noticeably better, and the Italian brand also makes much more play of having compostable pods and more sustainable supply chains than Nespresso. The process of making the coffee is identical – plonk in pod, pull big lever, press ‘small’ or ‘large’ button. There’s no milk frother so you will need a separate one if you like your lattes and cappuccinos. If you are in the market for an elegant, space-saving and rather witty gadget that also happens to make delicious coffee, Lavazza Voicy should be right at the top of your list.

A ZZ AVAL :ECR UOS EGAMI

O S SE R P S E N :ECR UOS E G A M I

Voicy does not come with a milk frother so if you want to get your latte or cappuccino on, you’ll need a milk warmer and frother. is one from Nespresso is easy to use and produces hot milk, hot frothy milk and hot extra frothy milk. Oh, and cold frothy milk too! £60, nespresso.co.uk

Living

STYLE & FUNCTION

If you like the Scandinavian look and have a penchant for minimalistJapanese furniture, allyour interior design dreams have been answered with Japandi CHIONISERIE GARDEN MURAL For those new to Japandi it is the seamless blend of two distinct styles that, despite originating from opposite ends of the planet, share a passion for simplicity and functionality. One of the most prominent features of this look is a love of nature. Bringing the outdoors inside is key and this pretty mural will imbue natural calm in any room. £30/m2, wallsauce.com BAMBOO ROOM DIVIDER Unleash your inner minimalist by adopting the psychology behind the Japandi style. Clean, uncluttered spaces are important with this look, as is the simple separation of spaces to maintain a sense of calm functionality in your home. Natural products also rule, so this bamboo divider ticks multiple boxes.

£70, homebodydecor.co.uk

EICHHOLTZ JASPER PLANTER When styling a space with Japandi in mind, one question you need to ask yourself is, ‘Is this a quality product?’. While the price tag of this vintage brass, copper and gold planter may widen your eyes a little, the Japandi look is aimed at those who like to change their interiors infrequently, and all the features and furniture should be wellchosen, high-quality items that will last and last. £1,155, sweetpeaandwillow.com SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 23

ZTLOHHCIE ,Y ERG & ESOR ,ROCED YDOBE MOH ,ECUASLLAW :ECR UOS EGAMI

BRASS ORGANIC MIRROR If you like opulence, or to ﬁll your living spaces with bold, bright statement pieces, then this is possibly not the look for you. Understated items that are functional and well-made are in keeping with the calm, relaxing ambience of Japandi and this pretty, small mirror in brass quietly and calmly says, ‘Look at me’. £199, roseandgrey.co.uk

Horizon

T3’s gizmo chef rustles up another feast of tasty tech advice

RYANWESTON,LONDON

How do I get garlic smell oﬀ my hands? the hunt for classic tips tablet in order to ﬂavour all of your kitchenware fully. consulted Mrs A OnGuru Anyway, you had a question. Beeton’s Book of YLLEK NEHPETS :SNOITARTSULLI

Household Management, but she just called garlic ‘offensive’, ‘most acrimonious’ and suggested that the best thing to do with it is to use it to ‘rub the dish on which the substance to be ﬂavoured is going to be served’, which is frankly terrible advice. Gadget Guru’s Book of Household Manglement (and yes, he will accept a lucrative publishing deal) says you should use eight times as much garlic as is suggested in any recipe, and pop a few cloves in your dishwasher instead of the usual detergent

ABOVE When Dr Strange gets in the Guru is quite happy to have his kitchen, it really ﬁngers stink. Wards off creatures of is quite a sight

the night, including Mrs Guru. Yet GaGu is also aware of a few ways to get that scent off. These range from the preventative – grab some blue powder-free vinyl gloves before

Try some stainless steel soap. Steel apparently pulls away the sulphur molecules responsible for that tell-tale garlic niff

chopping, for example, or coat your fingers in oil – to the frankly quite stupid. Brush your hands with toothpaste if you want to feel like a real dork after cooking. Probably the niftiest choice, however, is to pick up some stainless steel soap. Steel apparently pulls away the sulphur molecules responsible for that tell-tale garlic niff, and jumbling a bar of it around in your hands under cold water can effectively get you clean. Lakeland can offer you a hunk with a holder for a fiver. It’ll baffle anyone not in the know, so be sure to display it with as much prominence as possible next to your kitchen sink.

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO: INBOX@T3.COM OR FACEBOOK.COM/T3MAG 24 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

Gadget guru ‘FRAGS’,VIAEMAIL

Should I be worried about what apps I use? know the ones – which tucked in are two prevailing, competing logics regarding data-stealing nonsense. Today A There it’s... well, it’s flashlight apps phone apps. The first is relatively liberal: who cares what you use, really? You’ll be fine. It’s only an app. Agree to whatever EULA they throw up, make sure you’re careful about your phone’s permissions, and there’s not much that can go wrong. The other more conservative school of thought suggests the complete opposite. You don’t know the underlying code of an app. You don’t know what data it is collecting, who it is communicating with, or whether some malicious payload has been tucked in there unbeknownst to Apple and Google’s store-checkers. While GaGu, ever the ghostly diplomat, tends to hover somewhere in between, there’s a bit of merit to that second argument. In the early days of smartphones it was that pointless guff – the flashlight apps, the glug-glug ‘beer’ ‘drinkers’, you

again, a litany of absolutely pointless crap that (for some reason) asks for access to your location or just straight-up installs malware on your phone. And then there’s the hiding-inplain-sight stuff. Guru is wary, for instance, of apps of Chinese origin. Far be it for him to agree with a certain lurid ex-US-president, but you won’t ﬁnd him installing TikTok. He is far too crusty to understand it, yes, but he’s also a bit concerned about the amount that TikTok knows. Same with apps like ReFace: no, you may not have Guru’s face. Another major app with ‘Face’ in the name should probably be off the books too – ahem – but you lot are incorrigible so Guru is not sure he can force you to drop your main source of ‘reliable’ health research and hilarious Minion memes.

GADGET GURU’S MAGIC BOX

As if to fully cement Guru’s new role as a high-level inﬂuencer, the nice folks at Govee sent him an Immersion TV backlight (MSRP of £72, though often cheaper) to try out. Govee is a company that has essentially looked at the smart lighting market, decided it can’t be that hard, and opened its gadget valve to spew forth a torrent of competitive devices. Govee has proven disruptive, with its gear coming in far cheaper than most alternatives, and doing a (mostly) bang-up job of showing Philips Hue what for. The Immersion backlight is basically an Ambilight clone that carefully sidesteps Philips’ patents by employing a screen camera to work out what colours it should be showing. Even Captain Ham-Fist here didn’t have any trouble installing it; it’s basically just a case of applying a selfadhesive light strip and plugging some stuff

ABOVE This is why you don’t tell tech fans: ‘if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it’

in. It’s very neat, and once you’ve dialled in your settings through the (only slightly baffling) app the colour-bleeding effect is definitely there. Guru likes it, with caveats: processing what a camera sees means that there’s a little lag, it’s limited in the number of light zones around the screen’s perimeter, and it doesn’t seem to do white, which can be distracting. If you’re looking for precision, head Philips’ way, wallet in hand – but there’s plenty positive here. Guru is, sadly, unlikely to be able to point his influencer finger in the direction of Tag Heuer, which is a shame given that the company has just partnered with Nintendo to launch a £1,500 Mario-skinned version of its WearOS Connected smartwatch. It’s gaudy and silly and totally un-Tag, yet Guru would love to have one on his wrist just for the giggles.

 QHAVERBROOK, HAMPSHIRE

How can I control the sound on my PC better? swears by a little program called A GaGu VoiceMeeter (free from

voicemeeter.com). Want to route in audio from another device and into Discord? Go for it. Guru uses it to pump his Mac sound in through the amp connected to his PC, his wireless headphones, or both at the same time if he’s really feeling fruity. Proper EQ? No problem. Normalisation, 3D positioning, echo, whathaveyou? It’s all there. On the Mac, Soundflower (free from github.com/mattingalls) is a solid option, if baffling to get to grips with; alternatively, if you’re willing to spend an unreasonable amount of money, Rogue Amoeba’s tools like Loopback, Audio Hijack and Farrago (from rogueamoeba.com) are fantastic and more user friendly. You could always employ a hardware mixer to do the job – the Allen & Heath ZEDi 10FX is good value at £200 – but software will suffice if not. SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 25

Horizon

NEW MEDIA

LIZ,ALDERSHOT NOW PLAYING What happened Guru ﬁnds the ﬁnest

media you need on your various devices

S O I D U TS L E V R A M : E C R U O S E G A M I

LOKI Elon Musk has tweeted that this is like a live-action Rick and Morty, and if that hasn’t made you a little bit sick in your mouth you’ll ﬁnd this very bingeable series on Disney+.

to smart glasses, Guru? glasses are not a thing that any reasonable A Smart person needs. Guru writes

S D R O C E R NAIR E M U S :ECR UOS E G A M I

this as a man who once had a truly idiotic column printed in a major magazine about how he would never get a smartphone because his ﬁrst-gen Kindle had internet access. He has learned a lot since. Essentially, Google got bored and didn’t smell much proﬁt, and everyone else realised that if even Google Glass couldn’t cut it, there wasn’t much hope. There’s a chance that someone comes up with a practical and attractive smart glasses solution one day; for ABOVE now, let’s just leave the concept be. A cat biryani? No

 JAMESALEXANDER, NORWICH

HER GaGu is calling it now: this new one from Poppy marks the beginning of the longanticipated ’90s grunge revival. Guru is shining up his Pixies records in anticipation.

S O I D U T S S R E H T O R B R E N RAW : E C R U O S E G A M I

300 A classic on Netﬂix, starring the brother of one of Mrs Guru’s workmates, a man known in Guru Towers as ‘Uncle Gerry’. at’s the best name-drop Guru can manage. 26 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

Cleaning the litter tray is demeaning, Guru.Help me you are not inviting Guru around for a A Presumably personal session digging

thanks, we’ll have a chicken tikka masala instead

for gold in the gravel mines, here. Luckily PetSafe is one of a number of companies offering a range of self-cleaning litter trays, starting at around £58, that would do a better job at sifting out the dark matter than GaGu ever would anyway. They utilise a special crystalline litter to absorb liquids, so you’re on the hook for speciﬁc reﬁlls. But they are at least smart enough to wait until your cat is well clear before they move the solids to a secondary sealed compartment. Maybe don’t try one with a kitten.

There’s a chance that someone comes up with a practical and attractive smart glasses solution one day; for now, let’s leave it be

CHRISELLIOT,JERSEY

How can I reliably shuffle playing cards? shuffle, overhand shuffle, repeat seven times A Riffle – Guru’s magician friend

Ricardo Shazam said that’s the key, but he then pulled Guru’s card out of his own nose so he may not be entirely trustworthy. Shufﬂing machines are as little as £8 on Amazon: they’re noisy plastic boxes that may or may not work well. Step up in price and things get better looks- and sound-wise, though GaGu cannot vouch for the mixing. What you’d really need is a casino-grade shufﬂer, but you can’t have one: casinos are not in the habit of sharing this stuff for obvious reasons.

Don’t miss another instalment of the legendaryGadget Guru!

SUBSCRIBE TODAY! See p50

Opinion

Duncan Bell is riding his ebike Going electric means never having to fear the hill – or the Lycra lot

ccording to a recent study, 50% of the British population is considering buying an electric bike right now. Admittedly that study is by Bosch, which makes motors and batteries for electric bikes. And sure, ‘considering’ can have a number of levels, from considering getting a sandwich at lunch to considering becoming a globetrotting crime fighter who travels the world righting wrongs. But we can say with some certainty that more people are thinking about buying an ebike now than before. There are a number of reasons for this: post lockdown, people want to do more exercise – but not too much exercise. A lot of people are also extremely conscious about their carbon footprint. Nobody wants to use public transport if they can possibly avoid it. People in big cities have also probably noticed that cars average about 10mph tops, and yet there are some big and beautiful cycle lanes with about three bikes in, right next to where they’re sat in gridlock. I’ve been riding and reviewing electric bikes for ages now, and the good news I have for you is that ebikes today are vastly better than they were five years ago. Back then, they were all massive things that didn’t look like bikes, and didn’t feel much like bikes to ride, either. If you tried to push above the legal limit of 15.5mph, they would start actively fighting back against you. Turn to page 59, however, and you will find three modern electric steeds that are all a lot of fun to ride, and which even look quite cool. Okay, maybe not Xiaomi’s

one, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that has a lot of redeeming qualities, aesthetics aside. Modern electric bikes have a lot going for them, from value-packed ones that cost under £1,000 to high-end ones that cost over £3,000. If you are considering buying one, having given up on the whole ‘international crime ﬁgher’ thing, I have some words of advice. The ﬁrst thing to bear in mind is that 15.5mph speed limit. This is a unique factor in the world of shopping for vehicles. Whether your new cycle cost £500 or £5,000, the motorised assistance will top out at 15.5mph. Imagine if, when shopping for a car, it was

“e good news isthat ebikes today are vastly better than theywere five years ago” impossible to go at more than 70mph regardless of whether you bought a Kia or a Lamborghini. This might sound like a good reason to buy the cheapest ebike you can find, but wait. More expensive bikes will tend to have more torque, and will apply power in a more intelligent way, so if you pedal faster, the motor will also work harder, and if you are going up hill, it will work to make it feel like the flat.

More importantly, more expensive ebikes will tend to be lighter and to have more and better gears, meaning you can push on past the less-than-superspeedy 15.5mph limit. Of course, this will involve more effort on your part but you can’t have everything. There are people who think that ebikes are ‘cheating’, but I don’t agree. It’s just a different way of cycling. There is a popular delusion that ebikes let you easily overtake sweating MAMILs on expensive road bikes but no self-respecting Lycra warrior on a carbon ﬁbre bike is going to have any trouble at all overtaking you at 15.5mph. However, you will ﬁnd that on hills, your ebike has the edge. Sure, riders of ‘proper’ bikes will probably zoom nonchalantly past you at the bottom of the climb, but by the top, you’ll be pootling along at exactly the same speed, having made no additional effort, while the fella in the bib shorts and clumpy shoes will have expended huge amounts of effort and slowed to a crawl. It is at this point that you can trundle past at 15.5mph, perhaps while smoking a pipe and waving to him. It’s moments like this – plus the ability to arrive at work having barely broken sweat – that make ebikes such a winning proposition. Maybe consider buying one… SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 27

101 GADGETS

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

YOU CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT

Okay, you won’t stop breathing if you don’t own these objects… but they will take your breath away Words: Alex Cox, David Nield Photography: Neil Godwin

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 29

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#SOUND #1 #2 SONY WH-1000XM4 SHURE AONIC 3 Sony was so tired of the XM3’s place The more wireless headphones grow, at the top of the ANC headphone tree that it decided to knock it down itself: the XM4 marks a new high point for wireless over-ear headphones. This latest iteration is pricey, but it basically leapfrogs every other competitor – and there are many – with ANC that smashes its accomplished predecessor and audio quality that goes far beyond the usual wireless standard. £350, sony.co.uk

the more great-quality wired in-ear monitors work even harder justify their continued place in the market. If you’re looking for low latency, precise sound quality and great passive sound isolation, Shure’s tiny Aonic 3 buds offer it, with Shure’s studio standard sound shining through. And if you really want to go wireless in the future, these can be upgraded with a simple kit. £179, shure.com

#4 AMAZON ECHO Leading a growing, improving market means

making the best hardware possible – and Amazon’s 4th-gen take on the Echo is just that. It’s extra-smart, inheriting the Zigbee hub that used to be the domain of pricier Echoes. It sounds great, with a host of speakers and mics crammed into its spherical shell. And while its design is a little divisive, we think it looks amazing – for the money, this is the best smart speaker going. £90, amazon.co.uk 30 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

#3 BOWERS & WILKINS 606 S2B&W’sANNIVERSARY EDITION 600 series is a quarter of a century old,

and this seventh-generation refresh of its 606 standmounters declares, in no uncertain terms, that the reign of the king is far from over. The changes aren’t huge, sure – we wouldn’t replace an existing 606 setup – but they’re very apparent from top to bottom. These are tight, transparent units which perform far better than their reasonable price point might suggest. £599 per pair, bowerswilkins.com

#5 #6 THX ONYX BOWERS & WILKINS PI7 There are full-sized hi-fi DACs, there 2021’s T3 Awards cemented the are chunky portable DACs, and then there’s this: THX’s debut piece of first-party hardware, and one of the most compact DACs we’ve ever seen. Using the company’s own Achromatic Audio Amplifier tech, it pulls extra detail and power out of standard sources, reducing distortion and noise in the process. It supports MQA, too – perfect for getting the best from Tidal’s catalogue. £200, thx.com

PI7 as a truly standout performer, winning both the Best True Wireless Earbuds gong and the overall prize for Best Headphones, and if that doesn’t convince you of B&W’s expertise we’re certain you’ll be won over once they’re in your ears. Yes, they’re more expensive than many alternatives, but they’re worth every penny and quite a few more: this is true wireless done so, so right. £349, bowerswilkins.com

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#7 #8 TECHNICS SL-1200GR GRADO SR325X Technics’ SL-1200G sequel We love the way Grado has redesigns a host of its components, like its single-rotor cogless motor (capable of 2.2kg x cm torque), its heavier platter, and custom-cooked vibration dampening. Technics hasn’t gone crazy, though: this keeps the essential tech that made its predecessor the gold standard of direct-drive reference turntables, and the classic DJesque styling that the SL range is known for. £1,299, technics.com

proven itself entirely on merit. Its headphones are minimalistically designed and distinctively Grado, and their sound is out of this world. With the SR325x, a new entry in the company’s Prestige series, the formula laid out by the SR325e is not thrown out but iterated upon, with a better cable, upgraded ear pads, and a new drive unit, which boosts the audio quality even further. £330, gradolabs.com

#9 #10 PRO C10 MKII CAMBRIDGE AUDIO IfAUDIO you’ve ever wanted your EVO 150 sound to emerge from the face Not just the streaming centre of a very loud cartoon koala, of a hi-fi setup, but an entire hi-fi setup in itself, the Evo 150 combines Cambridge Audio’s superior streaming smarts with internal DACs, stacks of external connectivity, and 150W of Class-D amplification to drive your speakers directly. Whatever you’re looking to play, however you want to hear it, this has you covered. £2,249, cambridgeaudio.com

Audio Pro’s driver arrangement has you covered. Whisper it, but we actually kinda love that bold and contrasty design, and the sound – which is loud, clear and, if you want it to be, plenty boomy – absolutely justiﬁes this as the audio centre of any room. There’s plenty of connectivity, too, including Google Cast and AirPlay 2. £359, audiopro.com

9 7

10 SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 31

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#TV #11 #12 SAMSUNG UE43TU8500 LG G1 There’s a lot to like about the 4K Sometimes you just have to pay the Samsung UE43TU8500 set: natural colours, deep levels of contrast, 4K upscaling so that any content source looks fantastic, and plenty more besides – including all the on-board streaming apps you’ll need. We’ve picked the more compact, affordable 43-inch version here, but you can get the same set in bigger sizes. £479, samsung.com

going rate to get the best there is, and the LG G1 certainly falls into that category – this 55-inch, 65-inch or 77-inch 4K smart OLED TV produces a brilliantly sharp and rich picture, whether you’re using it for movies, sports or gaming. LG calls the panel its best OLED ever, and it’s not hard to see why. £2,999.98, lg.com

#14 SONY BRAVIA X95J One of the best 4K sets on the market right

now, the Sony Bravia X95J will set you back a good chunk of money but is worth the investment. Both picture and sound are superb, and its on-board processing power ensures that brightness, colour and contrast are always perfectly tuned. And the set comes in 65-inch, 75-inch and 85-inch models. From £3,499, sony.co.uk 32 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

#13 SAMSUNG QN900A You won’t ﬁnd much 8K content out there

at the moment, but there’s no doubt that it’s on the way – and when it arrives you’ll be more than ready for it with the outstanding Samsung QN900A. Available in 65-inch, 75inch, and 85-inch sizes, this set has virtually no bezels around it and packs in all the latest and greatest Samsung tech. From £5,299, samsung.com

#15 #16 FACEBOOK PORTAL TV HUE PLAY HDMI SYNC BOX You might associate Facebook with Ambilight TVs wash your walls with interminable updates from people you used to go to school with, but it also makes this rather impressive webcam for your TV. The Portal will follow you around and keep you in the frame while you make video calls over Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp, as well as showing your friends and family on the big screen. £149, portal.facebook.com

screen-matched colour to make the whole experience far more immersive – but it’s a feature exclusive to Philips TVs. Unless, that is, you get creative with the Hue Play HDMI Sync Box, which can tie in to behind-screen lamps and, indeed, your entire smart lighting setup, giving you the option to create custom light shows. £230, philips-hue.com

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#17 #18 #19 #20 #21 LGThe SP11RA APPLE TV 4K 2021 CHROMECAST WITH BENQ V6000 PHILIPS LG SP11RA is on There’s a brand new The BenQ V6000 OLED+ 935 the pricey side for a version of the Apple TV GOOGLE TV ultra short throw laser soundbar, but we don’t 4K for 2021, and while Google has somehow projector can transform You don’t have to spend think you’re going to be asking for your money back once you’ve hooked up the device to your TV and started listening. From movies to music, everything sounds fantastic through it, and there’s even on-board AI processing to help tweak the audio output. £1,499.98, lg.com

the black box might look the same, the bundled remote gets a fresh new look. There are changes inside too, including a faster processor, and if you’re looking to get all your favourite streaming apps and plenty more up on the big screen, then this is a ﬁne option. From £169, apple.com

made the Chromecast even better. This has its own remote for a start, so goodbye phone, and the Google TV software is a slicker, more modern take on Android TV that lets you consolidate your viewing across multiple streaming services easily. From £59.99, store.google.com

your viewing experience: get this unassuming grey box set up in your living room and enjoy your movies and TV shows like never before. It can project a screen up to 100 inches in size, with a 4K resolution, and a maximum 3,000 ANSI Lumens brightness. £2,998.80, benq.eu

as much as you used to on 4K OLED TV technology, and the 55-inch Philips OLED+ 935 is excellent proof of that (48-inch and 60-inch sizes are also available). Both the picture and audio are fantastic, and we like the simple, no-nonsense design as well. £1,799, philips.co.uk

21 18

20 SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 33

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#TRAVEL #22 NEXTBASE 422GW Should you run into an accident

on the road, a dash cam provides solid evidence of everything that happened, and the Nextbase 422GW is compact, clever and affordable: there’s a 1440p video resolution here, as well as support for Alexa so you can speak to the device too. The 2.5inch touchscreen panel also makes operating the camera very simple. £139, nextbase.com

#23 BELKIN BOOST CHARGE 20K Running out of smartphone juice

might be a somewhat trivial problem, but it’s still an incredibly frustrating one – and one which the Boost Charge 20K from Belkin can solve. That 20K refers to 20,000mAh of battery capacity, which means that it can charge a standard phone around ﬁve times before it needs to be recharged itself. £29.99, belkin.com

#25 ORBITKEY NEST Don’t let your important gadgets run out

of battery while you’re on the move – the OrbitKey Nest does double duty as both a desk organiser and a wireless charger, so you can pop down your phone, your smartwatch and whatever else to charge them up wherever you are. There’s even room for a stylus for your phone or tablet too. £93.82, orbitkey.eu 34 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

#24 ANGELL ELECTRIC BIKE If you ﬁnd the thought of an electric bike

appealing, then you really can’t do much better than the Angell, which comes in silver or black. It’s packed with technology, like a fall detector and automatic locking, and it gives you up to 70 kilometres (nearly 44 miles) of range between charges. It also looks superbly stylish, which is deﬁnitely a bonus. £2,690, angell.bike

#26 #27 NETGEAR NIGHTHAWK M2 PURE AIR PRO Get access to everything the internet If you’ve never tried getting around has to offer from wherever you are with the Netgear Nighthawk M2 – it works great for working from a hotel room or watching movies on a campsite. Up to 20 devices can be connected, you can clearly see data usage and other stats right on the screen, and all you need to supply is a 4G SIM. £329.99, netgear.com

town on an e-scooter, the Pure Air Pro might just make you fall in love with the idea. It is stylish to look at, a joy to ride, protected against the elements, comes with a 500W motor that won’t have a problem with most hills, and offers an impressive maximum range of 31 miles between charges. £599, pureelectric.com

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#28 STARESSO MINI Just because you’re on the

move doesn’t mean you have to do without your espressos, because the Staresso Mini will make them for you. It supports both coffee grounds and capsules, and all you need to do is add hot water to get your boost of liquid caffeine. When packed away it’s as small as the size of a drinks can, so it slips into your travel gear quite easily. £64.99, staresso.com

#29 #30 #31 FEIFUNS WORLDWIDE TheWAHOO ELEMNT BOLT TILE MATE perfect little sat nav for Tile was producing gadget TRAVEL ADAPTER your cycling exploits, the trackers long before the Apple Travel adapters don’t come Elemnt Bolt offers a bunch of AirTags came on the scene, and much more colourful, versatile and compact than Feifuns’, and it deserves a place in everyone’s travel kit. It works in more than 150 countries around the globe, it’s simple to conﬁgure, and you get the added bonus of two USB-A ports for charging up other devices. £17.99, amazon.co.uk

straightforward navigation features, smart notifications from your phone, statistics for your rides, and plenty more besides. Add in the compact and stylish design, and it’s well worth considering if you’re looking to give your bike a significant tech upgrade. £249.99, wahoofitness.com

the Tile Mate is perhaps the best value device in the range. Attach it to anything you like – from your keyring to your digital camera bag – and make sure you don’t lose track of it ever again. It’s water resistant, and works with both Android phones and iPhones. £149, tile.com

30 29

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 35

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#FITNESS #33 #32 GARMIN ENDURO CANYON STOIC 4 Although Garmin’s PowerGlass tech For a mountain bike to come this well equipped can’t quite keep the Enduro enduring as stock is one thing – a super-reactive RockShox Pike Select front suspension, hardbiting SRAM Guide four-piston brakes, and generous and grippy Schwalbe tyres are only a few of the highlights. But for a well-appointed, smooth-riding hardtail such as this to be easily available and come in well under two grand? That’s another thing entirely. Canyon has built one hell of a trail bike here. £1,749, canyon.com

#35 NORDICTRACK COMMERCIAL 2950 Training became pretty home-based over the past year or so, and as much as opportunities to hit the gym might be opening back up it’s going to stay that way for many of us. So why skimp? NordicTrack’s Commercial 2950 is a gym-standard treadmill packed with features that can make your runs much more than a static jog in the shed. On-demand workouts are a given, but there’s also an auto-incline function with Google Maps integration. £2,499, nordictrack.co.uk 36 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

forever, it’s a telling touch on a watch that really does want to run as long as possible. If you’re set for a long race, it has everything you need to track your progress step-by-step for up to 80 hours in GPS mode – and if you happen to get really lost, ultra battery mode can keep your wrist rocking for over 12 days. £700, garmin.com

#36 FINIS SMART GOGGLE Swim tracking on a watch is one

thing, but actually looking at your watch while you’re mid-freestyle? Unlikely. Finis’ goggles, powered by Ciye’s waterproof HUD, offer you coaching and statistics in the corner of your eye all the way through your swim. Admittedly that may be more pressure than you’re looking for if you’re just grinding out some laps, but you can also check your swim stats after if you need a mental boost. $235 (around £170), ﬁnisswim.com

#34 JAYBIRD VISTA 2 You’re not short of options when

it comes to sport-friendly true wireless buds, but Jaybird’s secondgeneration Vistas have come out of the blocks at pace. They’ve got serious ANC with an accomplished wind-guarded transparency mode, 6mm drivers for some massive EQable sound, and a military-spec IP68rated build that will take anything your sweaty ears can throw at it. £190, jaybirdsport.com

#37 GX SWEAT PATCH Every body responds differently to

being pushed, and every person’s sweat is slightly different – so managing your hydration properly is going to be a personal thing. Gatorade’s single-use patch records your precise drippiness and sodium output, which can then be read by the associated app to build a targeted hydration plan. Expensive, yes, but you need only use a patch once to proﬁle a speciﬁc workout. $25 (around £18), gatorade.com

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#38 #39 #40 #41 BOWFLEX SAUCONY ENDORPHIN NURVV RUN SMART Soothe HYPERVOLT GO your aching muscles SELECTTECH 2080 PRO 2 INSOLES wherever you may be – try it Although you’d probably have to Packing a carbon plate in the Whether you’re dealing with on the bus, why don’t you – be pretty flush with space (and slightly wasteful) to have seven individual barbells and curl bars in your home gym, there’s no doubt that BowFlex’s superclever seven-plate system is a more compact way to manage your lifts. Perfect for crosstraining thanks to its super-fast dial selector, and flexible enough to offer anywhere from 9kg to 36kg on the bar, it’s a marvel. £599, bowflex.com

midsole to aid in stiffness and spring, Saucony’s high-stack sequel marks a forgiving and effortless trainer style. It’s not just the carbon, it’s the PEBAbased PB foam, the Speedroll curve that helps drive every step forward, the mercifully breathable single-layer upper and super-durable outsole – as a foot-forward combo, Saucony challenges the best here. £190, saucony.com

shin splints, noticing wear on your trainers or simply looking to boost those 5K numbers, the NURVV Run keeps tabs on your pace right from your insole and offers the feedback you need. The NURVV app’s new Footstrike Coach can also spot ways you’re going wrong, and help you completely reprogram your running style to suit your body – and your arches – better. £250, nurvv.com

with a lightweight, portable and pressure-packed massager that can hammer your glutes some 3,200 times per minute and help you work out those knots. With three speeds and Hyperice’s fancy QuietGlide tech ensuring it doesn’t get too loud, it shouldn’t be too much of a workout to make the most of its pair of head attachments and really get in deep. £199, hyperice.uk

41 SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 37

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#CREATIVE #42 #43 AMAZON FIRE HD 10 PLUS DELL ULTRASHARP 4K Amazon’s Fire HD tablets have WEBCAM dominated the cheap end of the tablet market for a while now, but If you want to ensure you’re looking with the new HD 10 Plus, Amazon has bumped up the RAM and made the device a bit more of a business proposition with an optional keyboard. However you use it, it’s excellent value for money, and a great way into Amazon’s apps and services. From £179.99, amazon.co.uk

your best during live streams and Zoom calls, then the Dell Ultrasharp 4K Webcam is the way to do it. Besides that 4K resolution, you get HDR processing, image noise reduction, an auto-framing system powered by AI, and plenty more.. £179.71, dell.com

#45 SONY ZV-E10 Sony has very speciﬁcally marketed the ZV-

E10 as a digital camera for vloggers, so what exactly does that mean? There’s the vari-angle LCD screen for a start, helping you to frame your shots from any angle, and then you’ve also got the clear and bright recording lamp on the front. It works with a host of handy accessories too, including a wireless shooting grip. £679, sony.co.uk 38 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

#44 CANON EOS R6 A simply fantastic full-frame mirrorless camera whichever way you look at it, the EOS R6 from industry experts Canon offers 20MP images, 4K 60fps video, superior low light performance, the ability to track eyes, faces and animals, and top-class performance in terms of image stabilisation and burst mode. A worthy investment for keen photographers. £2,729.99, canon.co.uk

#46 #47 ZHIYUN SMOOTH 4 HTC VIVE PRO 2 You might be surprised at just how There are virtual reality headsets, much of a difference a well-chosen gimbal like the Zhiyun Smooth 4 can make to photos and videos taken with your smartphone: you get supersmooth results, plus the convenience of not having to tap on the screen every time you want to do something. It doubles up as a tripod for even more possibilities. £89, zhiyun-tech.com

and then there are virtual reality headsets. The HTC Vive Pro 2 is more expensive and takes longer to set up than many of its competitors, but the VR experience it gives you is hard to match – whether you’re working on designs in 3D, exploring virtual worlds, or playing one of the many excellent games available. From £719, vive.com

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#48 #49 #50 #51 FUJIFILM INSTAX iApple’s PAD PRO 12. 9 -INCH AKG LYRA REMARKABLE 2 premium tablet Whether it’s for video calls You may think that E Ink devices MINI 11 continues to get more and over the web or your fledging can’t compete against the full If you want your photo-taking to more premium: the stunning podcast empire, the AKG colour tablets of this world, be more about fun than f-stops, consider the Fujifilm Instax Mini 11, which doesn’t just take snaps but prints them out too. With an adorable design and five appealing colour options, it’s sure to help you stand out from the crowd as well as giving you physical copies of your pictures. £69.99, instax.com

12.9-inch iPad Pro for 2021 features Apple’s own M1 chip (yes the same one inside its laptops), 5G connectivity, and a mini-LED display that promises better detail, better brightness and better contrast than ever before. It’s a crazily good computing device – but it costs. From £999, apple.com

Lyra ensures that your audio is picked up perfectly every time. As well as offering some striking looks and physical onboard controls, this microphone is also very simple to use: it plugs into a spare USB-C port on your computer, and you’re good to go. £139, akg.com

but the Remarkable 2 proves otherwise. It’s half tablet, half notebook, and can seriously transform the way you do work or be creative – everything is seamlessly synced across other platforms, you can convert handwritten notes into text, and much more. £399, remarkable.com

51 SEPTEMBER 2 0 2 1 T3 39

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#CITY BREAKS #52 BOSE TENOR Bose’s second-gen audio sunglasses

do have deep arms, but to the untrained eye that looks like a stylistic choice – and one which totally works. They’re an awesome way to keep up on podcasts or make calls during that city break, all while keeping your eyes properly protected and (thanks to their open ears) your wits fully about you. If you want a more cat-eyed look, check out the Soprano frames. £240, bose.co.uk

#55 TRTL TRAVEL PILLOW Using words like ‘classic’ or ‘traditional’ to

describe the run-of-the-mill travel pillow design feels a bit wrong, given that the inflatable flocked u-shaped monstrosity rarely, if ever, offers any pillowy comfort whatsoever. Trtl’s complete rethinking of the concept, on the other hand, offers your neck a fleecy warm cradle with ergonomic support, and even stops your skull flopping forwards as you nod off. Travel well, travel rested. £25, trtltravel.com 40 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

#53 #54 ANTLER CLIFTON NETGEAR NIGHTHAWK M5 5G Perfectly appointed polycarbonate luggage made for comfortable travel, Getting away does not have to mean with 360-degree double castors that positively want to glide, an everything-proof shell and knockout looks in your choice of classy colours. This cabin-sized option is perfect for a quick ﬂight, but it’s equally great for overnight stays and swift getaways, with enough pockets inside to make packing straightforward and speedy. £149, antler.com

disconnecting yourself completely, or even trusting potentially iffy hotel Wi-Fi. With the Nighthawk M5 you can fully exploit 5G, delivering high-speed internet to up to 32 devices, or use it as a layer of protection, adding VPN pass-through support and mobile network fallback to existing wired connections. With a 13-hour battery, it’s perfect for getting off your feet and online with a coffee. £740, netgear.co.uk

#56 #57 GALAXY TAB S6 LITE MOZA AIR 2S One of the lightest and most portable While you’re off making memories, tablets in the world, Samsung’s compact panel is the perfect device to have stashed in your bag. At 467g you’ll barely even notice it’s there, but when you want to catch a movie, sketch a local landmark with an S-Pen or get in touch with the family via video call you’ll be glad to have it – and at the price, it’s a serious alternative to something like the iPad Air. £329, samsung.com

be sure that your record of your time away is as beautiful as it can be. The Moza Air 2S is a gimbal with real skill, packing three axes of motion, eight follow modes and (with Moza’s iFocus modules) intelligent focus and zoom control. It’ll take anything from a compact camera to a fully loaded DSLR, and auto-balance itself based on the weight of your kit. $499 (around £360), gudsen.com

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#PLAY ON THE GO #58 #59 SKULL FLIPSLIDE The best games are those you Bop-it? Bin it. The FlipSlide can play absolutely anywhere, take ﬁve minutes to explain, but contain enough complexity and cut-throat tactical possibilities that you’ll end up generating long-lasting feuds with your friends and family after a single game. Skull, a game developed with beer mats in smokey biker bars, completely falls into this category. It’s utterly gorgeous, and it’ll get its claws in right away. £16.50, asmodee.co.uk

is simply a better physical toy, offering everything from against-the-clock solo puzzles to a pass-around mode, making the most of its twisting, sliding edge nodes to confuse your dad and prove that your seven-yearold is far quicker at patternmatching than you. Ahem. Great fun, and it can even be played without its bombastic soundtrack – though that does cut out a little of its edge. £20, moosetoys.com

#60 #61 ANBERNIC RG351M SHARP GX-BT60 Though ﬁnding games for it Everyone needs a compact, could be somewhat problematic from a legal standpoint, it’s hard to fault the Anbernic RG351M in terms of its emulator performance. If you’re a fan of the classics it’s the perfect pocket companion. Its controls feel amazing, its battery lasts an age, and there’s room to expand – you’ll ﬁnd ports of stonecold classics like Half-Life, and even entire alternate operating systems to play with. From £110, droix.co.uk

cheap and powerful Bluetooth speaker. With the right sounds you can spice up any situation, be it a picnic in the park or a luxurious hour in the bath. Sharp’s dinky box is cheap enough that picking up a pair to take full advantage of its foolproof stereo linking functionality is almost a nobrainer, it’s easily packed, and its 45mm driver has enough wattage to happily ﬁll a room. £22.50, sharpconsumer.uk

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 41

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#OUTDOORS & ADVENTURE #62 #63 GOPRO HERO 9 BLACK BIOLITE SOLARPANEL 5+ GoPro remains the number one name Never be stuck for power while in action cameras, even with some very capable competitors now on the market. And the Hero 9 Black is the top pick if you’re willing to spend what it takes to get the very best: the camera comes with a frontfacing display, a maximum 5K video resolution, waterprooﬁng, voice control and video stabilisation. £329.98, gopro.com

you’re out and about with the BioLite SolarPanel 5+, which gives you 5W of charging power courtesy of the sunshine (or a backup battery if needed). There’s a total capacity of 3,200mAh, an integrated kickstand and sundial gauge so you can position it in the best spot for charging, and a light design that’s easy to carry. £79.99, bioliteenergy.com

#65 LIFESTRAW GO Whether you’re going for a run around the

park or a weekend in the middle of nowhere, the Lifestraw Go water bottle will keep you protected against bacteria, parasites, microplastics, chlorine, organic chemical matter, silt and sand while you’re drinking – not a bad list, and it means you don’t ever have to buy bottled water ever again. £46.75, lifestraw.com 42 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

#64 RAB MYTHIC ULTRA 180 Some sleeping bags are a little more impressive (and expensive) than others – case in point, the Rab Mythic Ultra 180, which wraps you in special, heat-reﬂective fabric that will keep you as warm as possible, wherever you are. It’s compact and lightweight too, and so is suitable for a wide variety of trips, no matter how much luggage you’re taking. £550, rab.equipment

#66 #67 MAGLITE ML300L GOTENNA MESH You don’t always need much from a No phone signal? No problem with torch – sometimes you just need it to be robust, bright and reliable, and the Maglite ML300L scores highly on all counts. Maglite makes a whole bunch of excellent ﬂashlights of course, but the ML300L hits a price and size sweet spot: it offers up to 625 Lumens and up to 117 hours of battery life. £71.99, maglite.com

the GoTenna Mesh, which lets you create your own bespoke network for text messages and GPS locations. You can create networks between you and your group (even if you’re up to four miles apart), as well as tap into the networks created by other GoTenna Mesh users if you need to make contact in an emergency. £131 for two, gotennamesh.com

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#68 #69 B&O BEOSOUND GARMIN INSTINCT EXPLORE SOLAR TACTICAL Not only does the Beosound A more affordable, simpler Explore speaker from Bang & Olufsen sound great, it can go just about anywhere, thanks to the hardened, waterproof, weatherproof shell made of anodised aluminium – there’s even a carabiner included so you can clip it to a backpack when you’re on the move. £169, bang-olufsen.com

Garmin Instinct Solar watch is also available, with a ton of features – solar charging, GPS tracking, heart rate monitoring, and much more – but the Tactical edition adds cool extras like night vision capabilities, military grid reference support and projected waypoints. £359.99, garmin.com

#70 #71 CELESTRON NATURE DX DJIDJIhasAIRdrones2S for all levels EDThere’s10X42 of experience and ability, but a lot to like about these the DJI Air 2S is a superb binoculars, and coming from Celestron you can trust the brand as well. The objective ED (Extra-Low Dispersion) glass eliminates colour fringing and other optical defects, and the binoculars are waterproof, fogproof and capable of close focusing as well. £199.99, celestron.com

choice for pretty much anyone: you get 20MP photos, video resolutions up to 5.4K, an intuitive ﬂight control system, obstacle sensing and more. On top of that, it’s compact and lightweight, and is relatively affordable when it comes to premium-level drones. £899, dji.com

71 70

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 43

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#SMART HOME #72 #73 RING INDOOR CAM NEST THERMOSTAT E Google’s more affordable smart Nest The Ring Indoor Cam will keep a thermostat couldn’t be any easier to set up or operate. And once it’s installed, it’ll start saving you money on your energy bills right away, adjusting your heating schedules so you’re only warming up rooms when you need to. What’s more, the accompanying app is almost as well designed as the thermostat itself. £199, store.google.com

careful eye on your property and possessions for not much money at all – and as it comes from an Amazon-owned company, it of course works perfectly with Alexa and the Echo smart speakers. There’s 1080p HD video here, two-way audio, and a polished mobile app that lets you tune into the live feed at any time. £49, ring.com

#75 NUKI CYLINDER LOCK Simple to operate, solid to look at, the Nuki

Cylinder Lock is a ﬁne choice for a smart device that keeps the people you don’t want out, and lets the people you do want in. Smartphones and smartwatches can act as keys, you can grant temporary access to guests and tradespeople as required, and the app gives you a full rundown of activity. £199, nuki.io 44 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

#74 BELKIN WEMO WI-FI Belkin is one of the most trustworthy names

in the smart-home business, and the Wemo Wi-Fi is a superb smart plug – essentially letting you turn dumb devices into smart ones, from fans to kettles. This works through Apple HomeKit or its own mobile app, and you can turn your sockets on and off manually as well as via a set schedule. £24.99, amazon.co.uk

#76 #77 TP-LINK KASA KP303 INNR OUTDOOR PEDESTAL Smart plugs are ﬁne, up to a point – Your smart lighting doesn’t have to but what about a smart power strip? The TP-Link Kasa KP303 gives you three power outlets and two USB ports, and you can manage them all separately. Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are supported for voice control and easy integration with the rest of your smart home, and the price is appealing too. £34.99, tp-link.com

stay indoors, as the Innr Outdoor Pedestal proves – light your way down the garden or across the yard, and choose from 16.8 million colours for the illumination. Each pedestal comes with a ground spike that you can use to securely ﬁx it, and there’s integration with Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant here as well. £149.90, innr.com

Smart home

#78 ARLO ULTRA 2 The battery-powered Arlo

Ultra 2 gives you just about everything you could want in a modern home security camera: 4K resolution video, weather resistance, HDR processing for balanced images, up to 12x zoom for checking details, night vision, an integrated spotlight, an 180-degree viewing angle and plenty more. It’s a pricey piece of kit, but it’s worth it. £309.99, arlo.com

#79 #80 #81 AMAZON ECHO SHOW 10 EERO 6 PHILIPS HUE ENSIS You can get smart lights in all You’re no doubt familiar with Supporting the latest and shapes and sizes now, and the Ensis pendant light from Philips Hue is further evidence of that. Not only will it stylishly and subtly illuminate any of your rooms from above, but as usual with Philips Hue, you’ve got millions of colours to pick from. It works best with a Hue Bridge, but can also be operated on its own. £349.99, philips-hue.com

the Echo smart speakers and smart displays by now, but the new 10-inch Echo Show from Amazon comes with a twist. It has a rotating screen that can follow you round the room, so you’ll always be in view when you’re on a video call (and you’ll always be able to keep an eye on your favourite Prime Video shows as well). £239.99, amazon.co.uk

greatest Wi-Fi 6 standard, and with smart home hub capabilities built in, the Eero 6 can blanket your entire home in fast, stable Wi-Fi – you’ll never have to put up with a wireless internet dead zone again. The router and the extenders can be set up in minutes, and they’re compact enough to fit mostly anywhere. £279, amazon.co.uk

79 78

SEPTEMBER 2 0 2 1 T3 45

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#CHORE BUSTERS #83 #82 DAAN TECH BOB CASETIFY UV SANITISER An attractive desktop dishwasher, We’re all hyper-aware of germs and bacteria and plenty smart with it, Daan Tech’s these days, so a convenient tomb in which to obliterate them is a handy thing to have. Casetify’s USB C-powered box uses six individual UV-C lamps to wash over whatever you put in it in disinfecting light. This could be anything from your phone, smartwatch or ear buds to items like makeup brushes or baby ephemera – and there’s a wireless charging pad inside, too, for a little extra usefulness. £82, casetify.com

kitchily-named scrubber is perfect for compact ﬂats and mobile homes alike given that it can run without needing a water source hooked up. It’s surprisingly spacious, with easily enough room for a full dinner’s worth of washing up, and you can opt for an ultraviolet module (£49) if you want to do some dry disinfection too. £330, daan.tech

#85 HOOVER STEAMJET HANDY Even the most stubborn ﬁlth cannot

#86 SAMSUNG JETBOT MOP Samsung’s 15-inch robot isn’t as

withstand the power of steam. And while we doubt you’ll be going over your entire home with the SteamJet Handy on a weekly basis, it’s compact, quick and cheap enough that it can spend most of its time at the back of a kitchen cupboard, and emerge only when you need a blast of either traditional wet or new and improved dry steam, with your choice of two nozzles for varying power. £50, hoover.co.uk 46 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

smart as most – it doesn’t map rooms, so it mainly just scoots around your hard ﬂoors on its two scrubbing wheels in what might seem like random directions – but it’s certainly smart enough to pull off full coverage eventually. Even better, perhaps, is the fact that you can grab it by its top handle and use it as a tool, effectively giving it the ability to polish up any hard surface. $300 (around £215), samsung.com

#84 EVE AQUA If even turning on a tap is too much

for you, the Homekit-compatible Eve Aqua is the solution. Stick it on your spigot, and you’ll be able to activate your sprinklers wherever you may be. And if you’re cunning about setting up automations you can ensure your plants are fully watered whenever they actually need it, or on a regular schedule if you’re a little more cavalier about your water use. £90, evehome.com

#87 HUSQVARNA AUTOMOWER 405X Trusting a robot to take care of your lawn

frees you up for numerous far more fun activities. Husqvarna’s Automower 405X is best suited to smaller lawns (but capable of going further), and it can take advantage of GPS-based navigation to optimise its path through your garden, trim narrow passages of grass without issue, and deal with inclines up to 40%. There are even headlights, if you fancy phone-controlling it in the dark. £1,699, husqvarna.com

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#88 #89 #90 #91 AEG AX7 AIR PURIFIER DYSON V11 OUTSIZE KÄRCHER WV 6 iROBOT ROOMBA S9+ The revolution here isn’t really Dyson’s pivot to battery-only It’s hard to argue that the S9+ PREMIUM the process of air purification vacs is 100% justified by the doesn’t hold the crown of best – though LG does use a likes of the V11 Outsize, which Keeping smooth surfaces clean robot vacuum cleaner, and super-quiet and very compact five-stage system that extracts a whole lot of particulate matter and up to 92% of airborne VOCs – but the fact that this air purifier doesn’t look like a purifier. It’s more like a speaker or a piece of fancy luggage, something that’ll blend right in, with a light grey fabric cover, which fights against only the most lurid decor. £400, aeg.co.uk

(thanks to its 31cm brush head) will feel more like Rightsize if you’re blessed with a large expanse of ﬂoor space. Extra tools and a 60-minute battery make it perfectly useable as a handheld way to clean your crannies, and the V11 Outsize also boasts a plenty-generous dust capacity with a full 1.7l bin, so you won’t be constantly running to empty it. £650, dyson.co.uk

is a pain, but at least Kärcher’s top-end moisture-remover has those little niggles in its sights. It’s not a cleaner in itself – you’ll still need to provide a little of your own elbow grease, we’re afraid – but as a second step it’s ideal, with a liquid silicon tip that can slurp every drop of moisture out of problematic edges and 100 minutes’ muck-sucking on a single charge. £133, kaercher.com

iRobot is doing its darndest to grab the best overall robot crown too: this thing is just magical. Not only does it do a superb job of cleaning every inch of your ﬂoors, with PerfectEdge cleaning, smart voice-activated spot cleaning and pet hair-proof power, but it trundles off and empties itself once it’s done. Weeks of dustfree ﬂoors, zero effort. £1,500, irobot.co.uk

89 88

90 SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 47

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#KITCHEN #92 #93 NUTRIBULLET GO IMPERIA DOUBLE CUTTER Smoothies and protein shakes are An absolute classic from the kitchens great for about 15 minutes, after which point they tend to separate into two forms of unappetising slurry. No problem: Nutribullet’s batteryoperated blender goes wherever you are, turning your choice of ingredients into a fully delicious drink right there and then. It can manage up to 20 blending cycles on a charge, and there’s a blade cover included to stop it hacking up your bag. £50, nutribullet.com

of Italy, combining stupendous stainless steel style with tried-andtested pasta cutting skills. It’ll change the way you think about pasta, with 2mm and 6.5mm attachments that allow you to trim tagliatelle and fettuccine, enough width for a good lasagne sheet or ravioli outer, and rock-solid parts that won’t bend or break if you feed it dough that’s a little too stiff. £77, johnlewis.co.uk

#95 DUALIT 4-SLICE NEWGEN TOASTER There’s little better than a well-bronzed slice of toast, and there’s little better way to prepare one than Dualit’s classic design. The Newgen is big enough even for that one pesky bread brand that doesn’t ﬁt properly in most other toasters, it looks like it’s beamed straight out of the 1950s into your kitchen, and it’s adjustable enough that you’ll get the perfect ﬁnish whether you prefer barely brown or fully charred bread. £200, dualit.com 48 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

#94 WEBER GOURMET BBQ SYSTEM PIZZA STONE Weber pitches this poise-packed pizza stone

as an extra for its Gourmet BBQ System, and indeed it’ll securely tuck itself right into the cooking grate to transform your grill into a selfcontained pizza or bread oven. The Cordierite stone pulls moisture out of your dough for a crispy ﬁnish, and it’s easy to carry too – we see no reason this couldn’t also make its way into your oven, upping your baking options indoors. £59, weber.com

#96 #97 BUTEFO 8-IN-1 KITCHEN JOSEPH JOSEPH BARWISE TOOL SET COMPACT LEVER CORKSCREW Sometimes the key to proper kitchen Given that the screw-top market has prowess is having the right tools, so here’s a way to pack a ton of useful gadgets into one small space. Butefo’s cleverly shaped and stackedup slicer, egg separator, funnel, juicer, measuring cup et al can even tuck into a wine rack if your drawers are full. We’re not sure about the plastic cheese grater portion, though… £10, amazon.co.uk

just about done with cork on the low end, a need for a corkscrew means you’re about to drink some classy wine – something for which that ratty old corkscrew just isn’t going to cut it. With an integrated foil cutter, and a nonstick spiral that’ll pull out corks without attempting to claim possession of them forever, this is the one. £55, josephjoseph.com

101 gadgets you can’t livewithout

#98 #99 #100 #101 KITCHENAID ARTISAN THUMBSUP RECIPE KENWOOD MULTIPRO DE’LONGHI COCKTAIL SHAKER COMPACT + PRIMADONNA SOUL MIXER A stand mixer, particularly one While there’s something to be Quite why Kenwood hasn’t Different beans demand as attractive as the Artisan, can transform the look of a kitchen – and it doesn’t hurt your ability to put together delicious meals, either. Think beyond the cake: even in its stock conﬁguration this is a great way to churn up everything from dough to meatballs, and with the right attachments you can blend, mince and make pasta. From £399, kitchenaid.co.uk

said for just pouring in what you fancy, having your recipes literally to hand during a cocktail party is likely to lead to some slightly safer concoctions. Thumbsup’s copper-coated shaker tucks them below its rotating outer – just twist to reveal the ingredients of one of eight favourites etched into the stainless steel cup beneath. £20, thumbsup.com

jumped on ‘weigh as you go’ as a tagline and run with it, we don’t know – but the integrated scale of MultiPro Compact + really transforms meal prep from a two-tool, many-bowl type affair into a simple one-machine job and it ought to be properly celebrated. This grates, slices, chops and liquidises with a rocksolid 800W motor. £140, kenwoodworld.com

different treatment, something De’Longhi’s coffee maker builds right in. It can manage some 21 varieties of the black stuff, everything from classics like espresso and flat white all the way to a delicious long black or cortado. Don’t like the recipes on offer? Customise them on the app and store them on one of the five built-in user profiles. £1,200, delonghi.com

101

100 SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 49

SUBSCRIBE & GET YOUR STM

TREE CHARGER

WORTH

£69. 9 5 RRP* Can charge three devices at once! • Ideal for phones, AirPods & Apple Watches • Slim and sleek, it takes up minimal space on a desk or nightstand

TO SUBSCRIBE GO TO magazinesdirect.com/t3charger21 OR CALL: 0330 333 1113. Quote code: BG33 50 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

Benefitsof subscribing to theworld’s greatest technology and gadget magazineinclude... Every issue of T3 delivered direct to your door Save up to 60% with each monthly issue T3 is packed with the latest gadgets, from TVs to drones, smart home tech to phones

Choose your package!

PRINT EDITION

PRINT & DIGITAL EDITION

PLUS WELCOME GIFT*

£41 a year

£46 a year

13 issues of T3 in print over 12 months, saving you 36%

13 issues of T3 over 12 months in print and digital, saving you 60%

DIGITAL EDITION

£28.50 a year 13 issues of T3 in digital, saving you 45% (gift not included)

Terms and conditions: Offer closes 1 October 2021. Offer open to new UK subscribers only. Advertised Direct Debit pricing is guaranteed for the first 12 months and we will notify you in advance of any price changes. Please allow up to six weeks for delivery of your first subscription issue. *Your gift will be delivered separately within 60 days after your first payment has cleared. Gifts only available to subscribers on the UK mainland. Gift not available with a digital subscription. The full subscription rate is for 12 months (13 issues) and includes postage and packaging. If the magazine order changes frequency per annum, we will honour the number of issues paid for, not the term of the subscription. For full terms and conditions, visit magazinesdirect.com/terms. For enquiries please call: +44 (0) 330 333 1113. Lines are open Monday–Friday 9am–5pm UK time or email: help@magazinesdirect.com. Calls to 0330 numbers will be charged at no more than a national landline call, and may be included in your phone provider’s call bundle.

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 51

BACK OFFICE

Back to the oﬃce

TO THE

Whether it’s the old normal or the new normal, many of us are back in the oﬃce at least some of the time. Here’s how you can work smarter and enjoy the oﬃce Words: Carrie Marshall

SEPTEMBER 2 0 2 1 T3 53

Back to the oﬃce

1 THE HECTOR LEATHER LAPTOP BAG is beautiful laptop bag is designed for 13-inch models such as the MacBook Air and Dell XPS 13. Inside that rich cognac saddle leather there’s a padded sleeve for your laptop plus multiple pockets and pen holders, and the included strap makes it more comfortable for commuting. It looks fantastic now and it’ll be even more gorgeous as it gets older.

WORK SMARTER 1

£245, ospreylondon.com

2 LOGITECH MX VERTICAL ADVANCED ERGONOMIC MOUSE

We love this mouse. e vertical design is more natural than traditional mice and puts less strain on your arm, and as former RSI suﬀerers we can attest to how painless it is even for very long sessions. But it’s not just comfortable. It’s clever too, with lots of customisation and the ability to work across multiple devices simultaneously.

£93, logitech.com

3 LOGITECH COMBO TOUCH FOR iPAD PRO

Logitech appears a few times here because its portable accessories are genuinely great. We particularly like this excellent iPad Pro add-on that makes your Pro look and feel like a MacBook Pro. It’s not just a keyboard, though. You can also use it as a stand for consuming media or to make your Pro more comfortable for sketching on.

£179, logitech.com

4 LOGITECH K480 WIRELESS MULTIDEVICE KEYBOARD

It’s been around for some time now, but Logitech’s Smart Keyboard is still a smart buy: it’s small without being uncomfortably so, it runs for up to two years before needing new batteries, it pairs and switches instantly between up to three diﬀerent devices, and it works with Macs, iOS, Windows, Android and ChromeOS. It’s nice to type on, too.

£55, logitech.com

54 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

Work smarter

5 MACBOOK AIR (2021)

e refreshed MacBook Air may look the same as before, but it’s incredibly fast thanks to its new Apple M1 chip. at delivers spectacular performance that comes very close to the more expensive MacBook Pro. e Air’s fanless design means it’s completely silent no matter how hard you push it, its screen is absolutely superb and its battery life is extraordinary.

£999, apple.com

6 HP ELITEDISPLAY E14 PORTABLE MONITOR

HP’s ultraportable monitor is ready to go in seconds thanks to its single USB-C connection, which enables you to power both monitor and laptop from the same charger. With 400 nits of brightness and an anti-glare coating, it’s useful outdoors as well as in, and the 14-inch, 1920 x 1080 resolution gives you plenty of room to work.

£262, hp.com

7 DRAGONFLY LAPTOP STAND

It’s cute. It’s clever. It’s like no laptop stand you’ve ever set eyes on. Made from bamboo, the Dragonﬂy is a superbly portable laptop stand that is very strong but incredibly lightweight. ere are two height settings to choose from, it assembles in a matter of seconds and it ﬁts in even the smallest bag. It’s eco-friendly too: bamboo is sustainable and its case is made of recycled plastic.

£41, dragonﬂystand.com

8 DELL XPS 13 (2021)

If you’re wedded to Windows, Dell’s XPS laptops are among the very best you can buy and the 2021 XPS 13 is a fantastic portable performer. It has 11th generation Intel Core i5 or i7 processors for exceptional performance, it has a gorgeous screen and surprisingly good audio, it looks and feels premium and it has the very fastest Wi-Fi too.

£849, dell.com

SEPTEMBER 2 0 2 1 T3 55

Back to the oﬃce

ENJOY THE OFFICE 1 2

1 SONY WH-1000XM4 NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES

Sony’s noise-cancelling headphones have won stacks of awards for their superbly dynamic and detailed sound, their comfortable ﬁt and their clever design. e ‘speak to chat’ function means you can even keep them on when a colleague wants a quick word: the headphones automatically stop playback and turn on Ambient Sound Mode when they hear you talk.

£350, sony.co.uk

2 DYSON PURE COOL ME

e Pure Cool Me doesn’t just blow cool air at you. It also captures gases and pollutants such as pollen and other allergens to help you breathe more easily. It’s an odd-looking thing and bigger than you might expect but it’s a joy on a hot day and it’s easy to get the air just where you want it.

£299, dyson.co.uk

3 FURBO DOG CAMERA

It’s hard to leave your furry friend at home when you’ve spent so much time together recently. But don’t despair: technology can save the day by connecting you to your pet wherever you go. You can see, talk to and even give treats to your dog while you’re at work: all you need is to have your phone handy.

£189, shopuk.furbo.com

4 CLICK & GROW SMART GARDEN

From herbs to ﬂowers and even tasty fruit and veg, this clever desktop garden enables you to grow fresh, organic, pesticide-free green things right there on your desk. Its automated water, lighting and nutrient system means you can easily grow impressive crops and there’s something great about having living things right there in your workspace.

£89, ecohuman.co.uk

56 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

3 4

Enjoythe oﬃce

5 JURA E6

Jura makes incredible heavy-duty coffee machines for offices and events, but small teams can get great Jura coffee for considerably less. e E6 is the smaller, more affordable sibling of the T3-Award-winning Jura E8, and its Pulse Extraction minimises extraction time while maximising aroma. With 11 different specialities, it’s a real team player.

£845, uk.jura.com

6 EMBER SMART MUG2

Being back in the office needn’t mean having to drink lukewarm mugs of tea or coffee. e Smart Mug2 can keep your beverage at the perfect temperature – from 50 to 62.5ºC – for up to one and a half hours. at means your coffee can still be warm even after one of those annoying meetings that should really have been an email.

£100, selfridges.com

7 POSTURITE LUMBAR ROLL

If your office chair isn’t delivering enough of that vital lower back support and the budget won’t stretch to an Aeron, put in an order for one of these: it fits on any office-style chair and delivers excellent lumbar support in either a circular or D-shaped model. If you’re a mobile worker there are versions for standard car seats too.

£21, posturite.co.uk

8 BELKIN 11-IN-1 USB-C MULTIPORT HUB

If you’re using a laptop then a USB hub is essential to connect devices such as external drives, displays, mice, keyboards and other items. is 11-in-1 adapter connects to a single USB-C port on your PC or Mac and gives you 4K HDMI, USB power delivery for charging, Gigabit Ethernet, SD and microSD, DisplayPort and VGA connectors.

£99, belkin.com

SEPTEMBER 2 0 2 1 T3 57

Cutting-edge ebikes

The tech is better than ever so you’ve no excuse not to jump on and ride. Let us advise on where to place your posterior… Words: Duncan Bell, Leon Poultney Photography: Neil Godwin

ike its electric car counterpart, the electric bike (or ebike to those who speak the lingo) has been around in one form or another since the days of the Boer War and Oscar Wilde, but the past few years have seen a veritable boom in its uptake. is is partly due to the fact that technology has improved to the point that it is now smaller, lighter and less cumbersome, often now neatly integrated into frames and hubs so

fellow road users are none the wiser about your cheeky electric helping hand. But perhaps more importantly, batteries, motors, sensors and controllers are generally cheaper to manufacture, meaning the bikes are, on the whole, a little bit easier on the wallet than they used to be. With the global pandemic looking slightly less ominous and the world starting to reopen its doors, the ebike is looking like one of the cleanest forms of personal transport to quickly

and easily commute to the hastily reconfigured office or that slightly awkward outdoor meeting on a park bench. So long as you don’t mind dodging rain showers, it’s perfectly possible to effortlessly breeze around 50 miles before modern batteries run dry and when they do, it costs pennies to top up. What’s more, you arrive at your chosen destination without embarrassing sweat patches or the look of someone who has had their cardio fill for the month. SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 59

State of the art

WHAT’S ON TEST… Xiaomi Mi Smart Folding Ebike

This little folding wonder somehow manages to cram a 208wh battery and 30V 250W brushless motor into its foldable shell, offering up to 25 miles of assistance on a single charge. It’s also supported by the Xiaomi Home app, so you can get feedback on charge status, distance travelled and

Gocycle G4i

Engineered to be the smallest and lightest foldable ebike on the market, the Gocycle G4i range is inspired by Formula 1 composite material learnings and has tyres inspired by the world of MotoGP. The folding system is quick, while the latest G4 front wheel motor delivers more torque and better low speed

Canyon Roadlite:ON 7

They don’t get much smoother and ninja-like than Canyon’s Roadlite:ON, which is based on the marque’s already slender Roadlite model, but packs a Fazua Evation drive system that sees batteries stashed in the bike’s downtube and a motor in the bottom bracket. The entire package

60 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

the whereabouts of your wheels from a smartphone. £1,399, halfords.com

SPECS

Motor 250w Ananda Performance Gears 3 Brakes hydraulic disc Battery removeable Samsung Battery Cell Range 25 miles Charging time 3 hours Lights built-in Weight 15kg

starts, making it a superb choice for space-strapped city commutes. £3,999, gocycle.com

SPECS

Motor 250w G4drive Gears 3 Brakes hydraulic disc Battery removable lithium ion Range 50 miles Charging time 3.5 hours Lights daytime running light, optional integrated riding lights Weight 16.6kg

weighs just over 16kg yet offers a commuter-friendly range of around 50 miles. £3,399, canyon.com

SPECS

Motor 250w Fazua RIDE 50 EVATION Gears 12 Brakes hydraulic disc Battery Fazua Evation Range 50 miles Charging time 3-4 hours Lights builtin Weight 16.17kg

Cutting-edge ebikes XIAOMI MI SMART ELECTRIC FOLDING BIKE

PRODUCT 01:

XIAOMI MI SMART FOLDING EBIKE X

Rides a lot better than it looks

iaomi has done very well out of electric scooters and is now making a foray into electric bikes with the Mi Smart, which is a Halfords exclusive in the UK. Let’s get its looks out of the way ﬁrst, shall we? Yes, the design of the Mi Smart resembles a child’s drawing of a bike. Or perhaps it could be the result of an episode of Scrapheap Challenge where the teams were handed some lengths of metal drainpipe and told ‘make a bike out of that, then’. However, it’s also a practical design that folds down quickly to a small size but is not a million miles away from riding a proper bike when fully unfurled. e Mi Smart is pretty enjoyable to ride. ere’s three gears and three assist modes, and it’d be suitable for beginners. Despite its name, power is applied in a much less ‘smart’ way than on the other two bikes here – but the 250W motor is enough to push you to the legally limited 15.5mph safely and fairly quickly. e battery is good for up to 25 miles, which isn’t amazing, but it does also fully recharge in just three hours, and can be removed from the frame, so keeping it topped up is easy. e Mi Bike does oﬀer some challenges to ride due to its small wheels – they’re 16 inches in diameter and narrow.

e 250Wmotoris enough to push you to the legally limited 15.5mph quickly

The battery will give you 25 miles – not amazing – but it can be fully recharged in just three hours, and can be easily removed from the frame to top up

You really wouldn’t want to hit a serious pothole on Xiaomi’s bike, and even negotiating curbs is something of a trial. However, there are upsides to the mini wheels. ey make the Mi Smart feel nippier than it actually is – you’re not really going to go any faster than 15.5mph on it unless you put in serious eﬀort in the highest gear – and mean it’s manoeuvrable. e fact the Mi Smart folds up will be a big attraction to many people, as it means the bike can be transported on public transport or in the boot of a car, and stored indoors rather than being left at the mercy of bicycle thieves outdoors. e good news is that the folding action is both simple and eﬀective. It’s less easy to wheel along when folded than the Gocycle or an electric Brompton but with an overall weight of 15kg, it was just about possible to lift it up stairs. You’re getting a lot of bike for your £1,399 with the Mi Smart. ose looking for an urban commuter bike or general runaround could do a lot worse. It does look a bit daft, but that’s never held Brompton back has it? SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 61

State of the art PRODUCT 02:

GOCYCLE G4i

Laughs at hills and feels super-stable no matter where you roam

his is a folding ebike, just like the Xiaomi Mi Smart, so how can it be that it costs almost three times as much? Trust us: as soon as you start pedalling the latest Gocycle, you will immediately know why. Clever, if overtly ‘futuristic’, design means the G4i is very much like a full-size bike to ride. e riding position doesn’t feel at all cramped, and you’re at the right height. e tyres are 20 inches, which is admittedly smaller than on a ‘proper’ bike, but they are also fat and hence much less of a worry on rough road surfaces than the Mi Smart. You can use Gocycle’s app to adjust how quickly, and to what extent, the electrical assistance kicks in. So we naturally dialled it to ‘almost immediately, and all of it’. e motor then applies a lot of torque, making pulling away from lights, or accelerating up hills – even from a standing start – a breeze. e G4i also applies power in a very intelligent way that matches the eﬀort of your pedalling. e result is that you feel like you are in control and also that you feel like you are a more ﬁt and capable cyclist than you actually are. Perhaps even more importantly, the bike feels incredibly stable and grippy, helped by those wide tyres. ere is even traction control! e three gears available can be set to change automatically – changing down when you come to a stop, for instance. We found this quite annoying, but for

Youfeel like a more fit and capable cyclist than you actually are beginners and the terminally lazy it could be handy. e automatic gearing can be turned off, so the choice is yours. Our only caveat here is that Gocycle has put a lot of thought and effort into propelling you in the most efficient way possible to 15.5mph. However, it can’t do anything after that – that’s the law – and you might question whether a top assisted speed of 15.5mph is worth paying £4,000 for. e good news is that while there are only three gears, they are enough to get you up to 20mph via your own efforts. e disc brakes are also excellent. e G4i also folds up quickly: the mechanism here involves folding the bike more or less in half, lengthways, while the handlebars flap down, leaving the seat post to serve as a sort of handle for you to wheel it along. On the ‘crossing Jubilee Bridge’ test, we found the weight of 16.6kg to be right on the threshold of acceptability for carrying up a staircase, but it’s easy to then wheel along. With its alloy, magnesium and carbon frame and sci-fi styling, G4i looks like the future. Even better, when you ride Gocycle’s folding marvel, it also feels like it. 62 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

There are just three gears but they are enough to get you up to 20mph via your own leg power; the disc brakes won’t let you down either

Cutting-edge ebikes CANYON ROADLITE:ON

PRODUCT 03:

CANYON ROADLITE:ON

A powerful hybrid bike that can take it hard when you want to take it easy

his model from Canyon could be said to be for riders of non-electric bikes, looking to move to e-power. e Roadlite:ON 7 doesn’t fold up, and it looks and rides very much like a normal bicycle. Or at any rate, a normal bike that’s assisted by a big, god-like hand pushing you along and up hills. What we have here is a ‘hybrid’ or ‘fitness’ bike. at means it’s got flat handlebars and flat pedals as standard. Motion is provided by a drivetrain with 12-speed Shimano Deore XT gearing, and a discreet but powerful Fazua Ride 50 Evation motor, powered by a 250Wh battery. ere are elements that are similar to a road bike, but the Roadlite:ON has more in common with a gravel bike, including its wider, grippier tyres. Everything is fine-tuned using Canyon’s considerable bike-building nous. e brand’s range offers superb quality and value across the board, and this is no exception. Built for urban environments, although we’re sure you could take it anywhere, the Roadlite:ON combines an upright riding position with sporty performance. Start pedalling and the motor almost immediately offers assistance. As with the Gocycle, the power is applied in a way that cleverly matches your effort on the pedals, so it feels natural and the bike never feels like it’s running away from you.

It feelsnatural and the bikenever feels likeit’s running awayfromyou

Despite it being quite a heavy bike (just over 16kg), it fair ﬂies along the road after an initial fast acceleration – which is a hugely fun feeling

Unusually for an ebike, where the Roadlite:ON really comes into its own is after you reach that 15.5mph legal maximum assisted speed. You’ve got a full 12 gears to play with, so you can go a lot faster, push yourself more and really feel like you’re racing along. e official weight is just over 16kg – Canyon makes five different frame sizes so this will vary slightly. It is a slightly odd feeling being able to accelerate so fast, and then ride along at speed, on a relatively heavy bike. It’s a great mix of speed with control and stability: it feels exciting and it feels fun. e excellent disc brakes can then bring you to a dead stop when necessary, which is always reassuring. e Canyon Roadlite:ON is the one to go for if you want an ebike with the most bike-like feel overall. It’ll put a smile on your face, whether you’re riding hard or letting the electric drivetrain take the strain. If you only want to pop to the shops now and then, or make a three-mile commute to work, it might be overkill – but what glorious overkill. SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 63

State of the art VERDICT:

THE OVERALL WINNER IS…

1st

GOCYCLE G4i £3,999, gocycle.com

WE’RE IMPRESSED A fold-up bike that rides much like a full-size one. Feels nippy but also very stable and grippy. The fast charger means you can get a full recharge in just three and a half hours. It looks fun and futuristic and quickly folds down. WE’D IMPROVE Not everyone will like the self-consciously ‘futuristic’ styling. You’re paying

a lot of money to get to 15.5mph. Just three gears, which might not be enough for some. THE LAST WORD About as good as electric bikes get, and worth the investment. It’s a blast to ride, and never feels less than zippy, right from the moment you start pedalling.

CANYON ROADLITE:ON

XIAOMI MI SMART FOLDING BIKE

From £2,699, canyon.com

£1,399, halfords.com

2nd

WE’RE IMPRESSED Superb fun to ride; fast yet stable; looks just like a normal bike; excellent components throughout. WE’D IMPROVE You need to be reasonably ﬁt to get the most out of it; no folding here. THE LAST WORD It’s a superbly made, urban hybrid bike that just happens to have a motor built in when you want to relax a little.

3rd

WE’RE IMPRESSED Great VFM; generally enjoyable to ride; folds up small, in no time. WE’D IMPROVE Looks a bit ridiculous; small wheels; no mudguards; powertrain can‘t be compared to pricier ebikes. THE LAST WORD Superb value folding ebike that’s a city dweller’s friend – just watch out for those irksome potholes.

THE KEY THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN SWITCHING TO AN EBIKE DO YOU LIVE IN A FLAT? Despite the overall mass of an electric bike considerably shrinking over the years, they are still heavy when compared to the lithe carbon racers you see in the pro peloton. Foldable bikes could be the best option for storing upstairs or in hard to access corridors.

HOW LONG DO YOU NEED IN THE SADDLE?

Electric bikes feature a variety of battery sizes, which directly impacts the amount of range 64 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

you’ll enjoy. If your commute is long, then perhaps the 25 miles offered by the Xiaomi Mi Smart Electric Folding Bike isn’t quite enough. Also, take these range ﬁgures with a pinch of salt, because it varies hugely depending on the weather, the terrain and your riding style.

with many things in life, scrimping on the budget tends to impact the quality and it will likely mean smaller batteries, a reduced range and less punchy performance. So set your expectation levels accordingly.

CAN YOU MAINTAIN IT?

Like regular bikes, ebikes require some maintenance, but this will vary depending on the components involved. For example, belt drive systems, rather than traditional chains, will reduce the amount of oily WHERE ARE YOU work you need to undertake, HEADING? while disc brakes tend to outlast WHAT’S YOUR traditional rim brakes. Naturally, To the ofﬁce or to the woods? not many of us have the skills to BUDGET? You’ll need the right sort of Prices of ebikes vary wildly and ebike to suit your adventure and delve into an electrical system if it goes wrong, so make sure it’s possible to part with the sort a folding commuter machine there is some aftersales support of money that will buy a second isn’t going to cut it when the included in the package. hand family car these days. As road runs out.

Cutting-edge ebikes

ESSENTIAL ADD-ONS

Maximise GoCyle G4i’s performance by treating it to these accessories

GOCYCLE FAST FOLD REAR LUGGAGE RACK

This clever system attaches to the seat post and folds up neatly with the bicycle, so once it’s on, you can just leave it without a care. The best thing about the rack is that it is compatible with most panniers and pieces of bike luggage. Which brings us on nicely to… £127, gocycle.com

ORTLIEB BACK URBAN LINE PANNIER

GOCYCLE PANNIER BAG

BEELINE VELO

SEE.SENSE BEAM+ FRONT LIGHT

These Ortlieb numbers are coveted by the discerning commuter, as they are lightweight, durable, stylish and waterproof. Oh, and they hold 20 litres of stuff, which is more than enough for a trip to the shops. £66, tredz.co.uk Gocycle claims this is one of the most popular accessories it sells and that’s because the handy satchel easily clamps to the front of the bike. It’s versatile too, as its expanding compartments allow it to swallow up an impressive haul. What’s more, it can be quickly removed and carried aboard public transport via a padded shoulder strap. £149.99, gocycle.com

E S N E S . E E S , E N I L EEB ,BE I L T R O ,ELCY COG : E C R U O S E G A M I

Beeline tethers to a smartphone app, where you can plan a route and much more. It will then indicate the direction to ride in, as well as the next turn and junction information. Cleverly, it also picks routes that users have ﬂagged as safer for cyclists. £99, beeline.co

04 05

Packing 1,500 lumens, this front light is impossible to miss but it goes beyond simply lighting up the road ahead. The Beam+ can detect your speed and adjust its brightness accordingly, while connecting it to an app allows it to send emergency notiﬁcations to contacts if you crash. £179.99, seesense.cc SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 65

TESTED Expert reviews and recommendations to help you buy with conﬁdence Edited by Josh Russell

SONY A90J

FITBIT INSPIRE 2

NOTHING EAR (1)

ONEPLUS NORD 2

HOW WE TEST In T3, we feature only the ﬁnest gadgets out there, and we believe that you – our loyal reader – deserve only the best tech in your life. We don’t want you to waste time, and money, on inferior products, and that’s exactly why our Tested section exists. In here you’ll ﬁnd only the latest and hottest tech. Each product has been handpicked and tested by T3’s experts.

We only choose people with specialist knowledge for each test, so you know you’re going to get an outcome based on many years of experience in their respective ﬁeld. As well as our traditional ﬁve-star rating system (right), we also give out awards to particularly exceptional gadgets, using the line-up below - so when you spot one of these, you’ll know you’re onto a good thing.

BANG & OLUFSEN BEOSOUND LEVEL

NIKON Z FC

THE SCORES EXPLAINED Forget it Below average Good for the price Very good all round An exceptional, best-in-class product

OUR AWARDS This is given to winners of our group tests, so you can see which is the best at a glance

Only the very best products – those that score ﬁve stars – receive our Platinum Award SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 67

Tested Display 55, 65, 83-inch Panel 3840 x 2160 120Hz OLED HDR HDR10+, Dolby Vision Audio Dolby Atmos Connectivity HDMI x 4 (HDMI 2.1 x2, eARC x1), USB x 2, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 4.2 Dimensions 1223x709x41mm / 1444x833x41mm / 1850x1067x53mm Weight 18.6kg / 22.5kg / 42kg

From £2,699 sony.co.uk

WOAH-LED

Sony A90J

The Sony A90Jtakes its OLED TVs to a whole new level, in so many ways

he idea of what Sony might be able to coax out of its latest panels with the assistance of its new Bravia XR processor is pretty mouthwatering. And the set delivers. is is absolutely one of the best TVs of 2021, and takes Sony’s OLEDs to whole new level (and they were pretty damn great before). 68 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

Here we take a look at the 65-inch model, which is a steep step up price-wise from the likes of Sony’s own A80J OLED (the model below this one), or the LG G1. But the A80J doesn’t have that all-important high-brightness panel, while LG’s G1 makes relatively restrained use of its high-brightness core. Simply put, they’re just not the same…

e brightness boost is easily the big headline here – and this is perfectly demonstrated by some of the A90J’s picture presets, especially Vivid. is seems able to overdrive bright parts of the picture to the point where small very bright HDR areas can ﬂeetingly achieve higher brightness levels than the measured ﬁgures of the LG G1.

Sony A90J THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL OLED has always offered rich colours and deep blacks but here it also gets incredible bright highlights, perhaps the best on any OLED we’ve seen. The end result is HDR that’s truly breathtaking.

BRAIN BOX The A90J’s most trumpeted feature is its ‘cognitive processing’. Essentially it centres the brunt of its AI improvement in the areas our eyes naturally focus, meaning it can offer even more impressive contrast, colour, motion and upscaling.

It’s well worth noting, too, that the heat dissipation ‘layer’ of the new A90J panel means you can enjoy the screen’s extra brightness without having to worry about it being any more susceptible to permanent image retention in areas of static image content, such as channel logos and game HUDs.

Cognitive diﬀerence

e new video processing is powered by Sony’s very own Bravia XR processor whose approach is described as ‘Cognitive’. Succinctly put, this means that it manipulates everything to deliver a ﬁnal image that more closely resembles the way our eyes perceive the real world. Sony additionally claims that the new XR engine brings general improvements in contrast, colour, motion and the upscaling of sub4K sources. Particularly intriguing on the colour front is Sony’s claim that its new processor works equally on the red, green and blue colour elements, rather than just manipulating the white

element that’s so key to aﬀordable OLED technology. All this talk of powerful image processing may sound alarming to AV purists. But trust us: the Cognitive Processor XR is driven much more by naturalism than any desire to make pictures in any way gaudy. ankfully the new XR processor doesn’t restrict its hefty brainpower to just picture quality. It joins forces with Sony’s Acoustic Surface technology, where the screen actually functions as the set’s speakers, so sound eﬀects appear to be coming from the area of the screen that matches the position of the object making the sound. However, some aspects of the A90J’s functionality aren’t quite as complete as its new processing system. For starters, the set is capable of handling Dolby Vision, HDR10 and HLG formats of HDR, but there’s no support for the HDR10+ system. While HDR10+ is not nearly as common in the content world as Dolby Vision, it is being used by Amazon Prime Video for its HDR content.

Picture quality is simply stunning thanks to the new XR processor

For UK users, it’s worth noting that at the time of writing the A90J doesn’t support the BBC iPlayer app and the majority of UK catch-up TV apps such as ITV Hub and All 4. Another key premium TV feature widely available on rival premium TVs not yet supported by the A90J is Variable Refresh Rate gaming. It has been promised in a future update, although as yet there is no ﬁrm guarantee on when this will be.

Bright and right

So what does the combination of a new high-brightness panel and sophisticated new processing engine yield? Pictures that can consistently only be described as breathtaking. e set excels in so many picture quality areas that it’s hard to know where to start. It’s instantly obvious that the new panel really has enabled Sony to give its OLED pictures a serious kick up the butt. Bright peaks in HDR sources aren’t just brighter and more intense than they’ve been on any Sony OLED before. In fact, they’re brighter and SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 69

Tested BEHIND THE GAME Despite producing one of the biggest gaming hits in years, Sony has missed a couple of gaming features from the A90J. The current lack of VRR and high-framerate Dolby Vision feels like an own goal.

ECHO LOCATION No unsightly grilles here: on the A90J the screen itself is the speaker, allowing sound to literally emanate from the relevant area of the display.

more intense than we’ve seen them on basically any other OLED TV. e extra brightness isn’t limited to mere HDR highlights, either. It also makes its presence clearly felt in full-screen bright HDR imagery. ere’s a radiance in sun-drenched daylight shots that we’d started to think we’d never see on an OLED TV. At the opposite end of the HDR light spectrum, the A90J delivers black levels every bit as inky and deep as we’ve come to expect from the best OLED TVs. Naturally this combination of extreme light and dark being able to share the screen

The blacks are as inky and deep as any on OLED TVs

without issue achieves truly spectacular contrast results. Also outstanding is how much shadow detail it retains in dark areas. ere’s not a trace of black crush, leaving dark scenes looking as full of depth and texture as bright ones. Great contrast often leads to great colours, and that’s true of the A90J – with bells on. Sony’s promise to deliver colours richly saturated enough to keep pace with the panel’s high brightness is fully delivered on, as the screen holds on to even the brightest of tones without even a hint of desaturation.

e Sony’s glistening array of picture triumphs make it an excellent gaming display, too. e combination of high contrast, rich colours, good detailing and, by OLED standards, impressive brightness are all perfectly suited to today’s HDR gaming worlds, and the screen feels suitably responsive in its Game mode. So good is the Sony for gaming, though, that you can’t help but rue the current lack of VRR and high-framerate 4K Dolby Vision support – two of the most promising next-gen features. It’s worth noting

PRO ADD-ONS

PLAYSTATION 5 Gaming is perhaps the best use for the A90J’s brightness and contrast, and the PlayStation 5’s results here are stunning. Sure, the TV’s latency isn’t the lowest and neither it nor the PS5 have rolled out VRR yet but it will still look awesome. £449, sony.co.uk 70 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

SAMSUNG HW-Q950A When pairing a soundbar with the A90J, you’ll want one that boosts its bass and that further augments its immersive sound. And those are two of the many areas this bar shines: it offers mind-blowing Dolby Atmos and serious bass. £1,599, samsung.com

AMAZON FIRE TV STICK 4K That lack of UK streaming services is a bummer. Fortunately, Amazon has you covered: the Fire TV Stick 4K covers pretty much every app and channel you could think of, while offering 4K and, critically, Dolby Vision and Atmos. £49.99, amazon.co.uk

Sony A90J

PRETTY AS ITS PICTURE Even beyond the panel itself, this is a gorgeous set. Its bezels are nigh-on non-existent, while it’s 4.1cm at its thickest – even taking into account all the tech for its picture-tracking sound. Seriously stunning stuff.

that you’ll ﬁnd support for both of these on the LG G1. But other downsides are very hard to ﬁnd, though there are a few. Some might wish that Sony had used the new high brightness panel to deliver a more sustained full screen brightness, like Panasonic does with its expensive premium OLEDs. e screen can dim a little where static image elements appear, for a protracted time, which can be noticeable when gaming. ere can also be a little more colour banding in bright, relatively uniform areas of colour when gaming in HDR than we customarily see. Also, the amount of times the TV keeps pointing out that a particular picture quality change might impact power consumption is quite infuriating.

Room with a phew

Great pictures need great sound and the A90J’s sound is strong in most ways. Particularly appreciated is the way using the screen as the speakers enables the TV to push sound directly out into your room, rather than everything sounding as if it’s coming from somewhere behind the screen. is makes

soundtracks feel more intense, impactful and immersive. ere’s enough dynamic range available to deliver a really open sound, too, that comfortably avoids that thin, compressed feeling associated with many TV sound systems. ere’s enough headroom in the sound, as well, to allow it to shift through a decent amount of gears as an action scene builds to a crescendo. Voices are crystal clear at all times and left and right separation is surprisingly strong considering the screen is being used for most of the sound. At times you can really hear how the Cognitive XR processing is working to enhance the sound eﬀect placement. ough the eﬀect is not as impressive as the XR’s picture processing is. Perhaps in part because they are found on the TV’s rear, the bass drivers feel a little detached from the main sound action. One other issue is that treble details and voices can start to become a little harsh and dominant at high volumes during very dense mix moments. Does the design match the picture and sound? Yes it does, especially if minimalism is your thing. e 65-inch screen is surrounded by an

The design feels futuristic and elegant in a minimalist fashion

incredibly thin bezel and is very slim around the back too, adding a futuristic feel to the minimalistic elegance. e support feet sit so flat in their ideal extreme bottom corner locations that you barely notice them. Plus, they can be attached differently to raise the screen up enough to fit a soundbar underneath. Simply put, no other OLED TV has delivered such an exciting demonstration of the joys of high dynamic range pictures – they’re so good, the A90J is almost irresistible.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Punchiest OLED HDR pictures yet; awesome upscaling processing. WE’D IMPROVE No VRR or 4K/120fps with Dolby Vision; missing UK streaming apps. THE LAST WORD A mind-blowing television, with some of the best HDR performance. Find the best deals on the Sony A90J at: bit.ly/t3snya90j SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 71

Tested Fitbit Inspire 2

£89.99 fitbit.com

KIP-BIT

Fitbit Inspire 2

A solidvalue choice for tracking wellness and sleep statsthat deliversuseful features for a very reasonable price

he Fitbit Inspire 2 is Fitbit’s more budget-friendly offering amongst its wide selection of trackers and smartwatches. It stands out thanks to being so lightweight and comfortable to wear and – of course – being able to track your sleeping patterns effectively too. As a simple way to track the basics and help you monitor your stress levels too, it’s refreshingly straightforward. Designed like a smallish wrist strap rather than a watch, the Fitbit Inspire 2 is thin and lightweight so you’ll soon forget you’re wearing it. e build quality feels reasonably competent for the price too. ere aren’t really any parts you’ll worry about knocking and water resistance up to 50m means you won’t need to worry about taking it off for a bath or shower. Where things falter is its 1.4-inch backlit OLED display. It’s fine and can show some limited information but it’s pretty basic. Receiving notifications can be a bit limited, with chunky bezels further restricting what you can see. It’s not the greatest in bright lights either and it’s all pretty rudimentary. But it does the job. On either side of the display are capacitive buttons, which are subtle but sometimes a little inaccurate to the touch. In conjunction with them, you can swipe up or down the display to view stats, such as how many steps you’ve taken or how many active zone minutes you’ve achieved so far today, as well as your sleep score. e Fitbit Inspire 2 also lacks GPS. So while it offers 20 goal-based exercises much like its 72 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

bigger sibling, the FitbitVersa 3, don’t count on tracking where you’ve actually been with it. On the plus side, it does retain SmartTrack, which automatically recognises your workouts and records them for you. It’s reasonably accurate. When it comes to sleep tracking and general health monitoring, the Fitbit Inspire 2 does a really good job. Via a combination of monitoring your heart rate and how still you are, each morning the Fitbit app gives you a score out of 100 of how well you slept and the length of time you were asleep, before breaking things down according to sleep stages. Upgrade to Fitbit Premium to view your sleeping heart rate too and see how that may affect your sleeping pattern. Everything about the Fitbit Inspire 2 is incredibly comfortable, to the point you almost forget you’re wearing it. It’s all lightweight and has curved edges so you don’t have to worry about anything digging in. It’s ideally suited for wearing all day and night, which is the point, of course. And its extended, 10-day battery life means that, if you’re anything like us, you may be prone to forgetting where you put the proprietary charger. e Fitbit Inspire 2 is a good fitness tracker providing you know you’ll be content with the basics. At this price range, it offers much of the functionality you’ll need but it’s more of a general wellness device than one aimed at fitness fans. However, for those on a budget that just want to keep an eye on the core basics to enriching your life, it still scratches that itch pretty well.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Sleek design; easy to use interface; great battery life; comfortable; extensive sleep tracking for price. WE’D IMPROVE Small display; no GPS; need Fitbit Premium for full functionality. THE LAST WORD A simple to use sleep tracker that also works well as an all-day tracker. It’s worth the investment if you’re serious about seeing how stress and sleep affects your daily life. Discover more great sleep trackers at: bit.ly/t3sleptrk

Tested Nothing Ear (1)

£99 nothing.tech

NOTHING VENTURED

Nothing Ear (1) Is Nothing onto something with these cheap, transparent-ish ANC earbuds?

othing is a brand new London based company started by OnePlus founder Carl Pei. e first of its new ecosystem of products is the Nothing Ear (1) true wireless earbuds, which were a popular talking point on social media in the run-up to their launch. So we got our hands on a pair to answer the question: do they live up to the hype? e Nothing Ear (1) buds have a dangling stem with an AirPods-Pro-esque design but the very first thing you’ll notice is the buds are transparent. Well, mostly transparent. You can see everything inside the stem, then the actual bud itself is solid white. at’s a shame because on hearing ‘transparent earbuds’, we expected the whole thing to be see-through. You can manage your music using the touch controls on the earbuds. Out of the box they’re set to, for example, double-tap to pause or play the music or slide up and down the stem to adjust the volume.You can also change what each gesture does from the smartphone app. e controls feel natural and are very responsive. We didn’t use them accidentally either, which is always a good sign. With ANC switched on, the Nothing Ear (1) will last up to four hours from a single charge and the charging case provides you with an extra 24 hours of playback – or 34 hours with ANC off. So you’re unlikely to be charging the case all that often. When you do though, it will need to be overnight because it takes at least six hours to recharge to 100%. Packed inside the tiny buds are 11.6mm drivers, which is pretty big for something so small. ey definitely sound like more premium buds than they are, but the treble is a little underwhelming at times, while some tracks don’t sound quite as precise as you’d hope for. Overall though they do sound good; they’re not quite going to deliver

knock-out performance but they do deliver rich audio with thumping bass. From the app, you can choose between four preset sound modes: Balanced, More Treble, More Bass and Voice. You can definitely hear the difference, especially in the More Bass mode, which actually made some songs far too bassheavy. You can’t adjust the equaliser settings manually though. You get three Active Noise Cancelling modes here: Maximum, Light and Transparent. Setting it to max, the Nothing Ear (1) earbuds do a very good job at cutting out noise. e noisy road outside disappeared and even when we played a YouTube video of plane noise, they manage to cut out the majority of that. Impressive for £99 true wireless earbuds. From the app, you can also activate Find My Earbud, which is a really great feature. If you’ve lost a bud somewhere at home, it makes it produce a loud ring to help you find it. ey also have ear detection, which will automatically pause the music when one falls out, and play it again when you put the bud back in. e Nothing Ear (1) true wireless earbuds promised a lot and while they are fantastic affordable buds, they aren’t quite going to be ruling the true wireless market just yet. Despite that though, we do really like them: for anyone who wants cool wire-free headphones without spending a king’s ransom, they won’t disappoint.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Easy-to-use touch controls; loads of useful features; ANC. WE’D IMPROVE The case takes ages to charge; no manual EQ; design isn’t fully transparent. THE LAST WORD There was a lot of hype around the Nothing Ear (1) buds, but they’re not as special as we expected them to be. Despite that, they do pack in tons of features considering their price, and sound great too. Discover more great budget headphones at bit.ly/t3bgthdph SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 73

Tested Screen 6.43 inch 90Hz AMOLED CPU MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI GPU ARM G77 MC9 RAM 8GB/12GB Storage 128GB/256GB OS Android 11 / Oxygen OS 11 Cameras 50MP, 8MP, 2MP rear; 32MP front Battery 4,500mAh Dimensions 158.9x73.2x8.3mm Weight: 189g

MY SWEET NORD

OnePlus Nord 2

One of the best cheap phones out there right now, it haseverything from style to speed

From £399 oneplus.com

74 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

n the lookout for a budget phone with impressive performance, very long battery life and a decent camera system? You will definitely find this and a lot more amongst the many must-have attributes that the OnePlus Nord 2 has to offer. Just like its predecessor, this new mid-range superstar is one of the best cheap phones you can get today, but what has changed? It still looks good but the performance, camera and battery have all been upgraded to make the Nord 2 very desirable. Straight out of the box, the OnePlus looks more premium than it is with a classy glass back and glossy metal frame. Measuring 158.9 x 73.2 x 8.25mm, it feels slightly thicker than some pricier handsets, yet it only weighs 189g so it is comfortable to hold even if you have small hands. A three-lens camera module sits on the back, while on the front a tiny hole punch camera is placed in the top left of the screen. e back camera module sticks out slightly, making the phone unstable on a flat surface, which can be annoying. On the frame, there’s a power button, volume controls and

OnePlusNord 2

phone. e point-and-shoot You won’t find photography in daylight came out well better video quality in a mid-range with a good balance between light and handset dark areas, although colours could look a little washed out, and objects far away sometimes lacked finer details. Despite that, for your everyday shots, it’s a good camera with a fast shutter speed, and it’s quick to focus. If you like camera modes, Ultra Resolution is a real winner and allows you to take bigger more detailed shots, which you can print out. Nightscape does a great job of illuminating scenes in low lighting conditions. On the video front, quality is excellent. You can record in resolutions up to 4K at 30fps, with 1080p and 720p video giving sharp 30 or 60fps and crystal clear audio. Powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 1200-AI CPU – an exclusive e power of three chip to OnePlus – the OnePlus Nord 2 As mentioned previously, the 2021 brings improved performance. Our Nord 2 handset now boasts a threelens camera module, one less than the test model packed in 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, perfect for everyday four lenses of the original Nord. But there’s still plenty on offer, including a tasks including photo-editing and 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultrawide mobile gaming. Plus, there’s 5G and lens and a 2MP monochrome lens with Wi-Fi 6 to make the most of speedy connections both at home and while a 32MP front camera, which is the you’re out and about. largest OnePlus has ever put on a an alert slider but there’s no 3.5mm headphone jack. If you still use wired headphones, you’re going to need to get an adapter. e large 6.43-inch AMOLED display has a resolution of 2400 x 1080 pixels with 410ppi and a 90Hz refresh rate. Just like its predecessor’s, the OnePlus Nord 2’s screen is a beauty – it’s bright and sharp across all types of content. A few new smart features help deliver a well-balanced vibrant display: AI Color Boost enhances colours, while AI Resolution Boost improves the quality of content from apps like YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. You’ll get a great display experience no matter what you do on it – online shopping, watching Netflix or playing games.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE

Offering an absurd 120Hz HDR10+ screen and highoctane innards, the S20 FE comfortably outstrips most mid-range phones. However, it doesn’t quite rival the Nord 2 on camera system or on price. £599, samsung.com

THE ALTERNATIVES iPHONE SE

Packing the Herculean processor from the iPhone 11 range, 2020’s SE offers a true flagship-for-less experience. Sure, the screen and camera aren’t quite as flash as on its more premium brethren but it’s also two-fifths the price. £399, apple.com

High performance can mean your battery taking a big hit, but that’s not the case here. In our tests the 4,500mAh battery easily lasted more than a day of casual use. Running a local video on full brightness for over two hours saw a drop of just 12%. But when the battery does drop, it’s easy to recharge quickly thank to its Warp Charge 65T feature, going from zero to 100% in no time at all. But there’s no wireless charging here. e OnePlus Nord 2’s glossy glass design paired with its impressive performance, battery life and camera system means it improves on the original in all key areas. It’s the perfect phone for anyone on a budget: you won’t get better for this price.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Very long battery life; quick charge time; excellent performance; decent camera system. WE’D IMPROVE No 3.5mm headphone jack or MicroSD; can’t charge it wirelessly; not completely waterproof. THE LAST WORD The OnePlus Nord 2 has everything you could need from a phone and manages to squeeze it all into a more affordable package. Find the best OnePlus Nord 2 deals at: bit.ly/t31plnrd2 SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 75

Tested Drivers 5 (2 x 4-inch woofers, 2-inch full range, 2 x 0.8-inch tweeters) Frequency range 39Hz - 23kHz Connectivity USB-C, Ethernet, line-in/optical combijack, Wi-Fi 5, Bluetooth 5.0, AirPlay 2, Chromecast Battery life Up to 16 hours Voice assistant Google Assistant Dimensions 348x230x56mm Weight 3.3kg

From £1,099 bang-olufsen.com

LEVEL BEST

Bang &Olufsen Beosound Level This reﬁned and stylish portable speaker is packed with features and is built to be upgradeable – but it has some oddities too

imed squarely at B&O’s audience of tech-savvy music lovers with an eye for design, the Beosound Level is a portable smart speaker that can be positioned on a surface upright, laid ﬂat, or wall mounted. If you’re looking for a stylishly understated speaker that isn’t understated on audio quality, it’s an excellent choice. Released in early 2021, the Beosound Level costs from £1,099, 76 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

which is for a model with a dark grey fabric covering and silver aluminium frame. at design looks good… but it’s not the right choice. If you’re going to splash out on an elite Wi-Fi speaker, you should be looking at the version that comes with a more gold metal finish, and a wooden grille. It fits nicely in either a minimalist setup or a more busy room. e design is interesting for a couple of different reasons – internally and

externally. e most obvious way to position it is sitting upright, it looks great like this. It’s 34.8x23x5.6cm, so its thinness makes it fairly easy to find a spot for it on a shelf. But that’s not the only option – you can also lay it flat. Or you can wall-mount it… but you’ll need to buy a specific accessory, which costs £89/$119. When you’ve already spent this kind of money, that really just feels like unnecessary hassle.

Bang & OlufsenBeosound Level

elements, to bass that isn’t exactly The Level delivers a richer sound than massive and pounding, but has no most smart problems making itself known and speakers – and filling out what it needs to with a looks great good level of impact. B&O often aims fairly neutral with its products, but there’s definitely a bit of energy here that adds the bounce you want for really effective pop or electronic listening – though it’s not a strong colouration, and it shines with more classic fare too. e issues with the sound of the Level are pretty much all to do with its design – that there’s only so much dynamic range that can be squeezed from this shape. It means that compared to something larger, the music sounds just a little constrained, and can’t totally let loose. When you lay the Level flat, it switches to a ‘360-degree’ mode automatically, shifting its sound processing, and we actually prefer Rolling in the deep this, because it adds extra For a thin speaker, the Beosound expansiveness that partly overcomes Level doesn’t struggle for depth. this constrained feeling. Once you put ere’s great representation across the whole range, from treble that has the Level flat, you can practically hear that the music has let its hair down no problem lifting clearly out of the mix, through a warm mid-range with and has a drink in each hand. So while it sounds great in either mode, plenty of definition for different

Being upright feels like how the Level is actually intended to be. You can’t lay it flat cleanly while also charging it, for example, so that’s clearly not how it’s expected to be. It also doesn’t look quite as good when you can see the little feet and stuff. e wall mount being an add-on makes that mode feel like an add-on too. e interesting internal design is that it’s made to be upgradeable. e wireless module, the sound processing and the battery can all be replaced with upgraded versions later – it’s intentionally a modular design. e idea is to try to give the Level the same kind of longevity that people used to get from hi-fi. e battery lasts for around 16 hours at normal volume, which seems like plenty – at 3.3kg, this isn’t exactly something you’ll take hiking.

THE ALTERNATIVES

NAIM MU-SO 2ND GENERATION

Inevitably, a larger speaker will result in more expansive sound. Opt for the 2nd-gen Mu-so, you’ll get powerful bass and detailed mids and trebles – but you’ll have to sacriﬁce a lot more space. £1,299, naimaudio.com

BOWERS & WILKINS FORMATION DUO Let us presume that you’re not too worried about expense. If so, it’s worth considering the Formation Duo, simply the best-sounding multi-room speakers out there. £3,499 a pair, bowerswilkins.com

we just wish the upright mode had that extra bit of openness. We’ve really enjoyed having the Beosound Level around. It takes up only a sliver of space on a shelf, but provides a bigger, richer and more enjoyable sound than your average smart speaker. And it looks better while doing it. Of course, it’s a premium price to get there, but we don’t think that is out of line at all. It also has these little foibles we’ve mentioned, so we can certainly imagine a 2nd-gen version that hits full marks with just a few tweaks. But the product we have here is still an excellent buy, by delivering massively enjoyable sound, and just being damn cool.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Great sound quality for the size; packed with features; love the look. WE’D IMPROVE Shame that the best sound is when laid ﬂat; wall mount is separate purchase; handle and buttons too close. THE LAST WORD The Level offers great sound, features, and a stunning modular design. Despite some odd quirks, few current wireless speakers beat it. Discover more great wireless speakers at: bit.ly/t3wiﬁspk SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 77

Tested Nikon Z fc

DAWN OF THE Z

Nikon Z fc

Nikon Z fc reinventsa 1980s camera to deliver retro looks and handlingto a new generation of photographers and videographers

t’s a case of back to the future with this latest Nikon APS-C mirrorless camera. No hoverboards or DeLoreans are required this time around, however, as the manufacturer has taken inspiration from its own Nikon FM2 film SLR from the mid-1980s. Bringing things up to date here, we get 20.9 million pixel effective digital images or 4K video clips. e seductively retro SLR-like pentaprism design of the Nikon Z fc with its tactile knobs, levers and dials is high up on the list of features that will appeal to the photo enthusiast wanting to get hands-on with manual selections, as opposed to simply letting the camera do it all and concentrating on pointing and shooting. ough it outwardly resembles a serious piece of kit, it is surprisingly lightweight and manageable when held in the hand, which the complementary compact and lightweight choice of kit lenses – either a wide-angle 28mm or the 16-50mm zoom – further exemplifies. As with most mirrorless cameras and all DSLRs, for setting up our shots we get the choice of either using the eye-level electronic viewfinder, or the larger, more obvious rear plate LCD instead. is LCD can be flipped out and turned round to face whoever is in front of the lens for those inevitable self-portraits. It features a regular APS-C sized CMOS sensor, the same as that of the manufacturer’s earlier Z 50 camera. Bringing performance in line with the cameras higher up in Z range, it also features the 78 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

latest breakthroughs in autofocus technology; namely both-eye-detection AF for zeroing in on the pupils of human subjects, along with animal AF, for making sure Kitty and Fido are also sharply rendered. e Nikon Z fc’s performance is as swift and responsive as we’d expect from a mirrorless camera or DSLR – which is to say that if we see the image in our mind’s eye, the camera is responsive enough for us to be able to capture it. We found the colours delivered were rich without being unnatural, while we were able to achieve pleasingly defocused backgrounds and sharp subjects with the provided zoom. While an APS-C sensor will rarely match the performance of a full-frame alternative, what we get here in terms of detail isn’t disappointing in the slightest, and on a par with most competing mirrorless cameras and sub-£1,000 DSLRs. If we’re being critical, in common with most consumer-targeted cameras there is a tendency to overexpose if the camera mode is set to auto. However, exposure can be easily and quickly be dialed down, if needed, via the top plate exposure compensation dial. e Nikon Z fc oﬀers the best of both worlds handling and design. Use the manual dials and switches if you’re a bit more familiar with how tweaking photographic settings impact the end result, or, if you’re not, leave everything on automatic and simply point and shoot. anks to the camera’s outwardly sophisticated looks, no one will realise you’re merely blagging it.

£899 (body only) nikon.co.uk

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Stylish design; growing lens lineup; manual controls; touchscreen. WE’D IMPROVE ‘Only’ an APS-C sensor; lacks waterprooﬁng. THE LAST WORD A desirably retro-fashioned yet affordable entry point into Nikon’s growing Z series mirrorless camera lineup. It ‘only’ has an APS-C sensor but that doesn’t stop us recommending it. Find great deals on the Nikon Z fc at: bit.ly/t3nikzfc

Best of the best

BEST OF THE BEST The world’s best tech, all in one place

If you’re looking for the very best tech available today, you’ve deﬁnitely come to the right place. Best of the Best is the most useful gadgetbuying guide you will ever encounter. To create it, we’ve extensively tested the best tech the world has to offer, to bring you rock-solid recommendations for your home life, daily commute and the tech you use all the time. In 54 different categories, we’ve chosen the top four products, so you can choose one that’s just the

right mix of features and budget for what you need. These rankings come from real testing by our team of experts – they’re the products we’d choose for ourselves, and we can’t recommend any higher than that. Look for the links above each category that take you to the same list (plus more beyond the top four, and many more categories) at T3.com, where our price comparison system shows you the current best deals for every product.

INSIDE Smartphones Cheap smartphones Smartwatches Hybrid smartwatches Watches Watches under £1,000 TVs TVs under £1,000 Projectors Gaming TVs Games consoles Soundbars Turntables Streaming DACs Multi-room speakers Bluetooth speakers Bluetooth headphones True wireless headphones Noise-cancelling headphones Wired in-ear headphones Wired over-ear headphones Laptops 2-in-1 laptops Tablets Gaming laptops Gaming headsets 4K monitors Drones Action cameras Cheap action cameras DSLR cameras Mirrorless cameras Compact cameras Sat-navs Dash cams Electric bikes Smart speakers Smart bulbs Smart thermostats Smart plugs Security cameras Robot vacuums Cordless vacuums Washing machines Dishwashers Coffee machines Fridges Ovens Electric shavers Electric toothbrushes Beard trimmers Fitness trackers Running watches Running headphones

80 80 80 81 81 81 82 82 82 83 83 83 84 84 84 85 85 85 86 86 86 87 87 87 88 88 88 89 89 89 90 90 90 91 91 91 92 92 92 93 93 93 94 94 94 95 95 95 96 96 96 97 97 97

S E P T E M B E R 2021 T3 79

Best of the best

SMARTPHONES

CHEAP SMARTPHONES

SMARTWATCHES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestphone

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcheapphone

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsmartwatch

APPLE iPHONE 12

iPHONE SE (2020)

APPLE WATCH SERIES 6

From £799, apple.com Apple has outdone itself. 5G has been added, the CPU has more power than you’re ever going to need, and the dual-lens rear camera system can take spectacular photos in any kind of light.

From £420, apple.com A near-ﬂagship iPhone experience for a fraction of the cost. The SE is under half the cost of the iPhone 12, and for that reason it demands attention from any prospective phone upgrader.

From £379, apple.com Series 6 adds a pulse oxygen sensor to its health systems, makes its always-on display 2.5 times brighter, steps up to the new S6 CPU, and throws in all the new features of watchOS 7.

ONEPLUS 9 PRO

ONEPLUS NORD 2

From £829, oneplus.com Very much an evolution of the OnePlus 8 Pro, with a similar design and iterative specs bump for this year, the OnePlus 9 Pro has doubled down on the camera. And the results are excellent.

From £399, oneplus.com This follows on from the immensely popular ﬁrstgeneration Nord with even faster speeds, an even bigger battery and even more features. Performance-wise, it’s a marvel.

SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ACTIVE2 From £269, samsung.com Sleek and powerful, this is the best smartwatch for Android users. The screen and design are on par with the Apple Watch, while a collection of new watch faces give it a modern edge.

iPHONE SE (2020)

SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE

SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH 3

From £420, apple.com Apple’s iPhone SE (2020) handset has taken this year by storm, the hot new handset winning acclaim worldwide with its balance of features, quality and performance for a very attractive price.

From £699, samsung.com The best core S20 functionality, along with 5G, but at a more affordable price point, this is actually nothing like a budget handset, as it is still loaded with premium hardware and features.

From £399, samsung.com The Galaxy Watch 3 comes in two sizes, and with a very good battery life. It’s the innovative rotating bezel that is the star here, though, as it is, without doubt, the best way to control a smartwatch.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S21 ULTRA From £1,149, samsung.com Not only the best phone Samsung has ever made, but the ﬁrst S-series handset that comes with digital stylus support. From its massive screen to the quad camera, this is a 5-star beast in every way.

XIAOMI MI 10T LITE

APPLE WATCH SE

From £249, xiaomi.com There’s a lot of handset for your money here. Decent battery life, respectable specs (including 6GB of RAM) and a quadlens rear camera are standard, plus 5G connectivity.

From £269, apple.com Despite being the ‘affordable’ smartwatch from Apple, the SE is fast and comfortable with a clear screen (no always-on display though) and excellent health and ﬁtness features.

80 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

Best of the best

HYBRID SMARTWATCHES

WATCHES

WATCHES UNDER £1,000

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besthybrid

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwatch

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwatchunder1k

WITHINGS STEEL HR SPORT

AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK CHRONOGRAPH £21,500, audemarspiguet.com We love Audemars Piguet’s simple stainless steel model with a blue Grand Tapisserie pattern dial. It features a selfwinding manufacture calibre 2385 movement with a 40hour power reserve.

CHRISTOPHER WARD C60 SAPPHIRE £795, christopherward.com Striking, bold designs really set this British brand apart from its more conventional Swiss rivals. The best example of this is the C60 Sapphire, which features a seethrough dial made from sapphire crystal.

BAMFORD LONDON MAYFAIR DATE £500, bamfordlondon.com The Bamford Mayfair Date is dependable and has the added beneﬁt of being waterproof to 10ATM, making it a great accessory for outdoor activities whilst remaining cool and stylish.

VICTORINOX I.N.O.X

£190, withings.com

Featuring a heartrate monitor and the ability to track 30 different exercises, this is ideal for ﬁtness fanatics. It’s water resistant to 50 metres, and the battery lasts around 25 days.

FOSSIL HYBRID SMARTWATCH HR £129, fossil.com

This timepiece features activity and sleep tracking, plus app and call alerts, time zones, and buttons to control smartphone music. Yet it mostly looks like a regular watch, aside from the e-ink display.

£459, victorinox.com

Having undergone 130 durability tests, this watch will stand up to anything you throw at it. The paracord strap hints at its adventurous heritage, and it’s great for all wrist sizes.

WITHINGS MOVE ECG

BAUME SMALL SECONDS

HAMILTON KHAKI FIELD

£129, withings.com

£430, baume-et-mercier.com Baume uses sustainable and recycled materials where possible, and its elegant watches are fully customisable, with over 2,000 permutations achievable on an online conﬁgurator.

£375, hamiltonwatch.com This is a faithful recreation of its original 1960s forebear and is true to Hamilton’s military heritage. The 38mm stainless steel case is paired with a durable NATO strap.

WITHINGS SCANWATCH

BELL & ROSS BR03-92 NIGHTLUM

£269, withings.com

£2,300, goldsmiths.co.uk No complicated bells and whistles here; the BR03-92 has its roots in aviation, a heritage the folks at B&R have clearly channelled into the BR03’s straightforward, seconds-minuteshours-date design.

TAG HEUER FORMULA 1 QUARTZ MENS WATCH £895, tagheuer.com This F1 timepiece features a steel case with sapphire crystal protecting the legible monochrome dial. The strap is black leather, a quartz movement provides the power and it’s water resistant up to 200 metres.

Think a pricey Apple Watch is needed to take an ECG reading of your heart? This can do that, plus activity tracking and sleep monitoring, with a 12-month battery life, for a really low price.

Withings’ latest hybrid is also its smartest, packing a huge amount of health and ﬁtness tracking tech into a slender body. And 15 different strap options ensure it’ll suit any outﬁt.

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 81

Best of the best

TVs

TVs UNDER £1,000

PROJECTORS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttv

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttv1000

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestprojector

SAMSUNG 75QN900A

LG OLED55BX

ACER V7850

£7,999, samsung.com A master of SD, 8K and everything in between, this isn’t OLED but has so many dimming zones you’ll swear it is. This is an outstanding TV, ready for anything today or tomorrow can offer.

£999, lg.com

SAMSUNG 65QN95A

SONY KD-55XH9005

OPTOMA UHD40

£2,999, samsung.com The ﬂagship 4K model from Samsung’s 2021 range is also the ﬁrst to use the new Neo QLED Mini-LED display tech, and the results are utterly incredible, beating even the OLED TVs we’ve seen so far.

£899, sony.com

£999, optoma.co.uk

LG OLED65G1

SONY KD-49XH9505

OPTOMA UHZ65

£999, sony.com

£3,499, optoma.co.uk This is aimed right at the proper AV enthusiast, but laser projection at this price makes it worth it for anyone. 4K HDR video is supremely rich, and it can hit 120 inches from just 4m.

£2,999, lg.com

The ﬁrst TV with a brighter, next-gen version of OLED that consumes less power. That means the G1 is around 20% brighter than previous OLED TVs, giving broader and more striking HDR than ever.

LG OLED65C1 £2,499, lg.com

The C1 is LG’s midrange OLED, and while it may lack a few of the G1’s features, it has everything you need. It’s a very capable set, especially when paired with the new consoles, and the picture is top-notch.

82 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

The best for the budget. The LG BX gives you everything that’s great about OLED TVs, and LG’s image processing makes 4K look expertly detailed, and brings HD up to a near-4K standard.

Some other TVs may beat it for image quality in certain areas, but nothing gives you this quality of picture at this size with such great technical features to make sure it’s future-proof.

Sony’s ﬂagship LED 4K TV for 2020 packs in all kinds of advanced technology and processing for supreme picture quality. Somehow, the 49-inch model is available for less than a grand.

£1,699, acer.com

Acer really hit the sweet spot here: small enough to ﬁt on a coffee table, whisper-quiet in operation, and yet still produces a bright, crisp HDR 4K picture of 70 to 110 inches (at 3.5m).

4K resolution and HDR in a projector for this price is hard to beat. It doesn’t quite have the pop and HDR richness of more expensive sets, but it’s way beyond HD projectors at the same price.

SAMSUNG QE55Q70T

EPSON EH-TW6700W

£999, samsung.com

£999, epson.co.uk

The Q70T sits in a real sweet-spot in Samsung’s TV range. Pictures from 4K sources are outstanding: vividyet-natural colours, strong contrasts, lavish detail levels and smooth motion.

If you’re happy with Full HD resolution, this is the best option, partly thanks to a super-easy setup process. The image quality is good, you just don’t get the future-prooﬁng of HDR and 4K.

Best of the best

GAMING TVs

GAMES CONSOLES

SOUNDBARS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestgamingtv

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/gaming

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsoundbar

LG G1

PLAYSTATION 5

SAMSUNG HW-Q950A

£449, playstation.com Look beyond the big, bold design. This console offers powerful next-gen hardware, backwards compatibility, an excellent DualSense controller with haptic feedback and truly stunning graphics.

£1,599, samsung.com Delivering over 600W of power from 22 different drivers, this really brings the cinema experience home, yet still retains all the size and convenience advantages of owning a soundbar.

MICROSOFT XBOX SERIES X

SONY HT-G700

£449.99, xbox.com

£450, sony.com

£2,999 lg.com

A next-gen screen that’s brighter while keeping OLED’s deep black levels. Four HDMI 2.1 ports are ready for 4K 120Hz, and there’s support for Nvidia G-Sync and AMD Freesync Premium too.

LG CX £1,500, lg.com

A gaming dream that’s packed with features ready for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. LG’s best OLED panel to date mixes with low input lag and 120fps 4K, with a variable refresh rate too.

Microsoft has nailed it. This is a console that delivers massive amounts of power and performance. Because of its raw pixelpushing prowess, it’s a superb base for a new generation of jawdropping experiences.

This soundbar and wireless subwoofer include Sony’s fanciest processing, to make the three drivers seem like they’re giving you sound coming from the sides and above.

SAMSUNG QN95A

NINTENDO SWITCH

SAMSUNG HW-Q800A

£2,200, samsung.com If price is no object, go for the best. This TV’s new Mini-LED tech means bright HDR performance, with ﬁne control of local dimming. You also get a special menu dedicated to its gaming features.

£279, nintendo.com

£800, samsung.com

SONY XH90

MICROSOFT XBOX SERIES S

YAMAHA SR-C20A

£249.99, xbox.com

£229, yamaha.com

£800, sony.com

This is one of two TVs branded as ‘Ready for PS5’ by Sony, which means it has a fast response time, and supports 4K at 120fps over HDMI inputs. It’s also one of the best-looking TVs for its price.

We love the Switch, which brings Nintendo’s great gaming pedigree to genuinely stylish, premium-grade hardware. Forget the specs: it’s all about the sheer joy of gaming.

Stylish, affordable, easy to set up and taps into the very slick Xbox ecosystem seamlessly. It does have limited storage space out of the box though, and can’t play current or previous gen games on disc.

Our top mid-range soundbar right now strikes just the right balance between being a big audio upgrade, being useful with most TVs, and a good price. It’s a hard target to hit, and the Samsung excels.

The audio quality here is excellent for the price, adding so much more balance, clarity and depth than a budget TV speaker could ever hope to produce, with really impressive width and stereo positioning. SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 83

Best of the best

TURNTABLES

STREAMING DACs

MULTI-ROOM SPEAKERS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestturntable

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdac

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestmultiroom

PRO-JECT ESSENTIAL III

SONOS PORT

£250, project-audio.com Really sounds great for the money, with an expansive and enjoyable sound across a range of genres and volume levels. It also looks very pleasing, in a variety of high gloss ﬁnishes.

£399, sonos.com

NAIM MU-SO 2ND GENERATION £1,300, naimaudio.com Mu-So 2 crushes its competition. An awesome, thumping wall of sound and reliable, versatile software platform and streaming support make for the perfect 21st-century music experience.

TECHNICS SL-1200GR

YAMAHA WXAD-10

SONOS ONE SL

£1,199, technics.com With rock solid build quality, easy set-up, immense bass, and a hugely exciting and involving sound, this is much more than just a DJ deck. There are few turntables that are more enjoyable to own.

£120, yamaha.co.uk

£179, sonos.co.uk

PRO-JECT PRIMARY E

IFI XDSD

£179, project-audio.com Pro-ject’s entry-level player is the record player stripped down to its most basic form. Everything comes pre-adjusted and preinstalled, so it’s ready to go right out of the box with the perfect tracking force.

£399, iﬁ-audio.com

ELIPSON CHROMA CARBON RIAA BT £699, elipson.com Elipson’s top-line turntable pulls down a lot of features from the truly high end. You get a super-stiff carbon ﬁbre tone arm and new digital belt drive motor, plus AptX Bluetooth and USB.

AUDIOLAB 6000N

AUDIO PRO ADDON C10 MKII

£449, audiolab.co.uk

£359, audiopro.com

84 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

A great streamer, especially if you already own a Sonos speaker. It has an analogue input and output, as well as streaming to any Sonos speaker, so you can plug in your turntable.

This Yamaha lets you stream everything from Bluetooth to hi-res audio, with support for AirPlay, most of your favourite streaming services and, of course Yamaha’s own MusicCast.

In terms of the sound quality, this really impresses with detail and clarity across the whole range, and how well balanced it is for treble and mid-range especially. You can get two for stereo, but one works ﬁne.

RUARK R5 This dinky little combined Bluetooth receiver, DAC and headphone amp supports AAC and aptX and sounds really superb. It has a battery, and can be used with earphones as well as speakers.

Probably impractical if you don’t have a hi-ﬁ stack, but with support for audio up to 192Khz/24-bit, its sound quality is noticeably better than the Sonos and Yamaha streamers further up the list.

£1,000, ruarkaudio.com Like a mini system for the 21st century, Ruark’s R5 chucks in a CD player, DAB and FM radios and two extra inputs, including one pre-amped for use with a turntable. There’s even Bluetooth too.

Audio Pro makes speakers that cater to every type of music and the Audio Pro Addon C10 MKII is no different. It’s energetic, loud and three-dimensional, showing off every detail of the track.

Best of the best

BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS

BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES

TRUE WIRELESS HEADPHONES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestbluetooth

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwireless

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttruewireless

BANG & OLUFSEN BEOSOUND A1 V2 £199, johnlewis.com If you want a full, punchy sound that’s fairly expansive, and that doesn’t crush when going loud, then this is the place to start. It’s also an object of desire, and is available in a great range of colours.

AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-M50XBT £179, audio-technica.com Long battery life and sound that’s closer to the more neutral tones of hi-ﬁ cans (though still with a slight extra kick of bass), plus great comfort levels, make these ideal for losing yourself in music.

SONY WF-1000XM4

ULTIMATE EARS WONDERBOOM 2

AKG Y400

£78, amazon.co.uk

£110, uk.akg.com

The Wonderboom 2 doesn’t really try to straddle home and outdoors: it’s clearly meant to be taken to wherever the party is. It’s waterproof, and well protected against grit, dust and beachside sand.

AUDIO PRO ADDON C3 £178, electricshop.com A super-portable speaker with Wi-Fi streaming for higher quality and multiroom, with Bluetooth for total convenience. It’s a stunner, especially if you can avoid using Audio Pro’s quite crappy app. ULTIMATE EARS MEGABOOM 3 £169, ultimateears.com The best waterproof speaker – it even ﬂoats – offers 20 hours of battery life and a hefty sound that’s perfect for outdoor parties. It works great for kitchen audio duties, too.

£225, sony.co.uk

The latest version of Sony’s high-end buds has slimmed down in size and weight, but improved on battery life, boosted audio quality and polished their noise cancellation. That’s quite the upgrade.

BOWERS & WILKINS PI7 These AKGs are minimalist and light, but still feel solidly built and comfortable. They offer impressive scale, excellent detail, and a very naturalistic attitude towards the whole of the frequency range.

£349, bowerswilkins.com Some of the very best wireless earbuds. They have exceptional sound, but there are no compromises here. Everything about the audio is exactly what you want, and you’ll love to wear them day in, day out.

OPTOMA NUFORCE BE SPORT 4 £100, optoma.co.uk Designed for the gym, you might think these wouldn’t sound very good. But you would be incorrect. They’re very musical with well-weighted bass and excellent noise isolation.

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO MELOMANIA 1+ £120, cambridgeaudio.com High-end sound for a pretty incredible price. With drivers made of miracle substance graphene, the Melomania 1+ are uniformly excellent. And their battery life is also right up there with the very best.

SOUNDMAGIC S20BT

BEATS STUDIO BUDS

£40, soundmagicheadphones.com Truly impressive buds. Connectivity is rock solid, and Bluetooth 5.0 means that they’re futureproofed. 25 hours of battery life is also great for the price. A wellmade, effective and engaging option.

£129, beatsbydre.com Beats Studio Buds are a great choice because they’re just such good allrounders for a really affordable price. They feature active noise cancellation, and they sound really good – powerful and fun. SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 85

Best of the best

NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES

WIRED IN-EAR HEADPHONES

WIRED OVER-EAR HEADPHONES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestnoisecancelling

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestinear

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestoverear

SONY WH-1000XM4

MEZE AUDIO RAI SOLO

FOCAL CLEAR MG

£349, sony.co.uk

£179, mezeaudio.com With a single-driver design capable of excellent dynamic range, these can pull from a deep well of bass as well as shimmering treble. A well-priced, unfussy and great-sounding pair of headphones.

£1,399, focal.com

BOWERS & WILKINS PX7

KLIPSCH T5M WIRED

GRADO SR325E

£275, bowers-wilkins.co.uk A bit dull-looking, but the audio quality and noise cancelling are extremely close to that of the Sonys. B&W’s usual exciting, but well balanced, sound meets excellent noise cancelling.

£65, klipsch.com

£399, gradolabs.com

SHURE AONIC 50

FLARE AUDIO FLARES JET 3 £89, ﬂareaudio.com

£359, shure.co.uk

Nailed it. Light, with broad, soft ear cups and a remarkably comfortable headband, these offer best-in-class noise cancellation with great sound, rich bass and a lively approach to music.

The sound quality of the Aonic 50 should have purists purring. There isn’t an excess of bass and it delivers all the sparkling detail and painstaking accuracy you could want.

BOSE NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES 700 £299, bose.com Close rivals to the Sony and B&W options above, they’re less exciting, but also very easy to listen to for hours on end. If you are easy like Sunday morning, maybe these are your babies. 86 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

The ﬁtting is unusual, but nonetheless immediately felt comfortable and solid. The audio is boosted, primped and pop-friendly, with plenty of bass and a very lively and engaging sound.

Maintaining the quality of the Flares Pro (see Bluetooth headphones), removing the DAC element and thereby slashing the price, these audiophile inear headphones are a tremendous option.

Simply sumptuous, with soft microﬁbre on the earpads and a headband that you can sink into; then comes the rich, warm sound to totally lose yourself inside. They’re just fantastic in that regard.

When you factor just how good these sound, they’re a bargain. In a quiet room, they sound as good as headphones that cost ﬁve times more. They’re among the leakiest we’ve tried, however.

AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-A1000Z £439, audiotechnica.com Forget about MP3s or EDM: these headphones don’t ﬂatter or sacriﬁce sound quality for bass. But if you give them a good amp and a good sound source they do incredible things.

SOUNDMAGIC E11C

AKG K52

£49, soundmagicheadphones.com Can we really be recommending a pair of headphones for under £50? Yes we can! The grown-up sound quality and exemplary comfort of the 11c make them the sonic bargain of the year.

£25, akg.com

These have absolutely no right to sound half as good as they do. For at-home listening they offer a massive soundstage, impressive balance and a frankly ludicrous amount of detail for the dosh.

Best of the best

LAPTOPS

2-IN-1 LAPTOPS

TABLETS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestlaptop

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/best2in1

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttablet

APPLE MACBOOK AIR (M1, 2020)

ASUS ZENBOOK FLIP 13

APPLE iPAD AIR (2020)

£999, apple.com

£800, asus.com

From £479, apple.com Technically the iPad Air 4, but more like the latest iPad Pro with some of the ‘pro’ features removed. Apple Pencil 2 support is here, though, and there’s a smart connector for a keyboard too.

Apple’s cheapest laptop is a revolution. Think thin and light laptops have to sacriﬁce power? Not any more. This is the best of all worlds, with an eight-core M1 CPU as powerful as those in gaming PCs.

The Zenbook Flip 13 might be the best laptop Asus has ever released. Tooled up with an eighth-gen Intel Core processor, the tablet mode feels great to use, thanks to a responsive touchscreen.

ASUS VIVOBOOK S15

MICROSOFT SURFACE BOOK 3

APPLE iPAD PRO 12.9 (2021)

£899, asus.com

£1,439, microsoft.com Pull the screen away from the keyboard and it’s a tablet. Connect them for more graphics power and battery life. A premium, fantastically portable, and supremely versatile system.

From £969, apple.com Apple showing off. The new mini-LED screen is simply the best display in any tablet, and the M1 processor inside is stunningly fast. It’s ridiculously overpowered for most people.

DELL XPS 13 (9310)

HP ELITE DRAGONFLY G2

APPLE iPAD 10.2 (2020)

£1,194, dell.com

£2,630, hp.com

From £349, apple.com A whole lot of Apple tablet for not much money, it offers Apple Pencil support and the latest iPadOS software. Perfect if you want top tablet performance and you don’t have lots to spend on it.

This slim and super light laptop hits a wonderful sweet spot. With an Intel Core i5, 4GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and a touchscreen ScreenPad, it represents wonderful mid-range value.

The Dell XPS 13 is thinner and more powerful than ever. Up to 1TB of SSD storage, 16GB of RAM, a 4K screen and fast 10thgeneration Intel chips help make it a topquality all-rounder.

A seriously impressive laptop – it’s faster, more premium and even nicer to use than the ﬁrst generation of the PC, the HP Elite Dragonﬂy, and that’s saying something. Versatile and transportable.

LENOVO YOGA 9I 14

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S7 PLUS

From £999, lenovo.com A premium laptop through and through, ideal for streaming video. The Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 will best suit business users, and could also be a great choice for students who are willing to splash out.

From £999, lenovo.com Not just stylish, but with substance too. This is a speedy piece of kit that is sure to cope with pretty much everything you could throw at it. The only real downside is that the battery life is fairly average.

£699, samsung.com

An Android powerhouse that not only goes toe-totoe with the iPad Pro in terms of performance, but does so in terms of style and build quality, too – this thing is only 5.7mm thick! SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 87

Best of the best

GAMING LAPTOPS

GAMING HEADSETS

4K MONITORS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestgaming

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestheadset

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/best4kmonitor

ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS G14

STEELSERIES ARCTIS 7P WIRELESS £160, steelseries.com This is an impressive piece of kit, delivering an excellent audio experience for PS4 and PS5. A USB-C dongle makes it quick to set up and means it will also work with a PC, Nintendo Switch or Android phone.

PHILIPS BRILLIANCE 328P6VUBREB £692, amazon.co.uk This monitor’s vibrant display will do your graphic design, video editing and gaming pastime justice. It’s also shockingly affordable, especially when you consider this is a 31.5-inch display with 4K.

£1,099, asus.com

A game-changer that delivers buckets of performance despite being compact and light. It does this thanks to its use of AMD’s hot new Ryzen CPUs and Nvidia’s RTX 2060 GPU.

MSI GS66 STEALTH £1,500, msi.com

An astonishingly powerful gaming laptop with up to a 10th-generation Intel Core i9 and Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 GPU. This is not a cheap laptop, but it delivers incredible performance.

ACER NITRO 5 £750, acer.com

LUCIDSOUND LS50X £249, lucidsound.com A hugely impressive new entry as we enter the era of the next-gen consoles, with an all-round package – style, setup, audio – that’s very difﬁcult to beat. Build quality is ﬁrstrate too. ASUS ROG DELTA S

A lower spec is reﬂected in the lower price. With a Core 15, 8GB of RAM, 128GB NVME SSD, plus a 1TB hard drive and a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6GB, it’s still a potent performer.

£190, asus.com

A very impressive headset that will work with just about any device. Audio quality is of the highest order whether you’re rocking out or taking part in intense gaming sessions.

EIZO COLOREDGE CG319X £3,989, eizoglobal.com Equipped with a raft of high-end features, this screen is ideal for high-end photo and video work, as well as general usage and gaming. Serious hardware commands a serious premium price, however. SAMSUNG U28E590D £279, samsung.com

Delivers a super-fast 1ms response time, 170-degree viewing angles and a 1000:1 contrast ratio. You don’t get quite as much size as other models, but it cuts very few corners hitting its low price.

ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS M16 (GU603)

STEELSERIES ARCTIS 7X WIRELESS

PHILIPS BRILLIANCE 329P1H

£2,499, rog.asus.com A premium gaming laptop, the Zephyrus M16 (GU603) packs in some serious specs, including the most powerful 11th Generation Intel Core processors and Nvidia’s RTX 30-series GPUs.

£90, steelseries.com

£816, philips.co.uk

88 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

The Xbox version of our favourite headset delivers really strong performance, with nuanced audio reproduction across the soundscape, a comfortable design, and a quality ClearCast mic.

A great 4K monitor for professionals, delivering a 32-inch Ultra HD IPS panel with integrated webcam, Windows Hello integration and USB-C connectivity, but no advanced gaming features.

Best of the best

DRONES

ACTION CAMERAS

CHEAP ACTION CAMERAS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdrone

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestactioncam

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcheapaction

DJI AIR 2S

GOPRO HERO9 BLACK

GOPRO HERO7 WHITE

£429, gopro.com

£179, gopro.com

£899, dji.com

A sensational camera drone. Despite being lightweight and very portable, this foldable drone packs some incredible onboard tech, including a 1-inch CMOS sensor that enables you to capture 5.4K video.

DJI MINI 2 £419, dji.com

The perfect quality camera-carrying drone for the masses, this titchy bird is so small when folded you can hide it behind an iPhone. The camera is 4K spec, and video transmission distance jumps to 10km.

DJI MAVIC 2 PRO £1,120, dji.com

This pro-spec drone is almost impossible to crash, and has a stunning three-axis gimbal-mounted Hasselblad camera. As rock solid and conﬁdence-inspiring as we’ve come to like and expect.

DJI MAVIC AIR 2 £769, dji.com

Everything about this drone shouts BUY ME. The camera is a cracker capable of shooting 4K footage at 60fps, while a completely redesigned controller is another major improvement.

A bigger sensor (23.6MP), means this cam can shoot 5K/30 video and 20MP stills, and youget a welcome 30% battery boost over the Hero8. There’s a front screen too.

The wallet-friendly Hero7 White borrows premium features from the Hero7 Black. Ideal for part-time adrenaline junkies needing a simple HD camera that shoots YouTubeready footage.

GOPRO HERO8 BLACK

AKASO BRAVE 7 LE

£279, gopro.com

£140, akasotech.com

This recent GoPro has goodies everywhere. Four virtual lenses get you the ideal ﬁeld of view for what you’re shooting, and next-gen video stabilisation keeps it stable and crisp.

GOPRO HERO7 BLACK

AKASO BRAVE 7

£250, gopro.com

£120, akasotech.com

The waterproof Hero7 Black makes capturing pro-looking shots easier, thanks to HyperSmooth electronic stabilisation. 4K image quality is excellent, and there’s slick 60fps recording.

The Brave 7 LE ﬁts nicely in the palm of your hand. While its headline feature is a frontfacing screen, it also sports a number of features only usually found on fancier models.

Able to record 4K at 30fps (the image stabilisation isn’t up to much, however). It’s waterproof to 10m, has a 2-inch rear touchscreen, and comes with a remote as well as supporting voice controls.

OCLU ACTION CAMERA

OLFI ONE.FIVE BLACK (2ND GEN)

£215, oclu.com

£149, olﬁcamera.com A bulging bag of bangs for a relatively small number of bucks. It can shoot in 4K, take 15MP photos, is waterproof to 30m, can record at 120fps, and has a wealth of other premium features.

Bucking tradition, this has a topmounted screen and a wide, low-proﬁle body perfect for mounting beneath a skateboard. Threebutton operation, an ultrawide lens and 4K 30fps round it out.

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 89

Best of the best

DSLR CAMERAS

MIRRORLESS CAMERAS

COMPACT CAMERAS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdslr

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestmirrorless

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcompact

NIKON D780

NIKON Z50

SONY RX100 VII

£2,199, nikon.com

The D780 is, in many ways, a Nikon Z6 (mirrorless) camera inside a larger DSLR body. Thanks to this, we’ve got room for dual memory card slots and a lot more direct control dials and buttons.

NIKON D850 £3,299, nikon.co.uk

With a highresolution 45.4 megapixel sensor, 4K video capture, a 153-point AF system, and a sturdy body, you’ll never be disappointed with what the D850 can create for you.

£899, fujiﬁlm.co.uk

A mid-range model that packs a lot of power for its price. You get a 32.5 megapixel sensor, uncropped 4K video recording, and an optical viewﬁnder that offers a 100% view of the scene.

£1,719, nikon.co.uk

An APS-C sensor means you don’t have to lug around heavy lenses and accessories but still leaves you with cracking image quality. The X-T3 has impressive 4K video capabilities too.

90 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

£1,299, canon.co.uk

For the best image quality in a pocketfriendly body, look here. The RX100 VII continues t o build on Sony’s reputation for high-quality premium compacts, and does so without breaking the bank.

£1,299, fujiﬁlm.co.uk

A beautifully retro design mixed with a host of advanced features, this, like its predecessors, sports a DSLR-sized (APS-C) sensor, which is paired with a 23mm f/2 ﬁxed length lens.

SONY ZV1 If you’re looking for your ﬁrst full-frame camera, the Z5 makes a lot of sense. You get a 24MP full-frame sensor, a nicely ergonomic body design and excellent electronic viewﬁnder too.

CANON EOS RP This solidly built camera is the perfect choice for those who like to shoot a little bit of everything, thanks to a brilliant autofocus system and glorious image quality from its 20MP sensor.

£1,099, sony.co.uk

FUJIFILM X100V

NIKON Z5

NIKON D500 £1,699, nikon.co.uk

All the best bits from the Z range shrunk into a more affordable package. A smaller (APS-C) 20.9MP sensor means a smaller overall body, ideal for travel and everyday shots.

FUJIFILM X-T3

CANON EOS 90D £1,249, canon.co.uk

£849, nikon.co.uk

£699, sony.com

Quite possibly the ideal vlogging camera, with 4K video recording, a vari-angle 3-inch touchscreen and the ability to use an external microphone. It can shoot the occasional still image too.

PANASONIC TZ200 Excellent full-frame image quality, but with a few drawbacks, such as a low frame rate (5fps). There’s also the annoying problem of there still being scant native RF lenses available.

£629, panasonic.com

This might be the ideal travel companion, with a versatile zoom lens up to 15x, and a fantastic one-inch sensor that captures bright, sharp images. It’s also stylish and pocket-friendly.

Best of the best

SAT-NAVS

DASH CAMS

ELECTRIC BIKES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsatnav

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdashcam

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestebike

TOMTOM GO DISCOVER

NEXTBASE 622GW

CANYON ROADLITE:ON

£279, tomtom.com

£250, nextbase.com

£2,799, canyon.com

A straightforward navigation device without fancy features. It is ultimately about utility, not fancy tricks, and there’s no doubt TomTom delivers excellent usability here.

The latest dash cam from Nextbase boasts muchimproved video quality, improved stabilisation and the inclusion of some rather clever What3Words geolocation services.

A great example of how electric bicycles have evolved in recent years. Mainly because it feels, handles and largely looks like a normal bike, but with electrical assistance to keep you moving.

TOMTOM GO PREMIUM

GARMIN DASH CAM 66W

VANMOOF S3

£290, tomtom.com

£169, garmin.com

£1,789, vanmoof.com This Dutch hipster brand has taken the S2, which was excellent, and made it better. It’s a sturdily built thing, you can get up to 20mph on the ﬂat with minimal effort, and it irons out hills a treat.

This state-of-the-art sat nav links with IFTTT, so you can connect to home devices, interact with personal digital assistants, get notiﬁcations, and share location and arrival data.

GARMIN DRIVESMART 61 LMT-S £209, garmin.com This sleek sat-nav has substance to match its style, with a big display, lifetime trafﬁc and maps (for Europe) and useful points of interest information courtesy of TripAdvisor.

This fantastic little cam earns its place on this list with good image quality, extra features including GPS and speed camera warnings, and an attractive design. Video is 1440p, in a 180° angle.

THINKWARE F800 PRO

GTECH EBIKE CITY

£249, thinkware.com

£995, gtech.co.uk

With an almost invisible design, time-lapse recording and a great night mode, this is a good stealthy option if you’re worried more about vandalism or theft than your fellow drivers.

Way cheaper and simpler than most of the bikes here, and despite being years old now, it’s still the best cheap ebike you can buy, and ideal for beginners or those on a budget.

TOMTOM GO 6200

NEXTBASE 522GW

BROMPTON ELECTRIC

£299, tomtom.com

£149, nextbase.com

£2,595, brompton.com Ebikes aren’t just about tech. They should be fun too. The Brompton is a hoot, and if you’re a commuter there’s no better: it munches miles and then folds to an incredibly tiny size.

Packed with good features but never ﬁddly, and with Google and Siri support, this is a really good mobile companion too. The price includes lifetime updates via Wi-Fi for most features.

The ﬁrst dash cam available in the UK with Alexa builtin, this also has impressive safety features that will alert the emergency services of a crash. It also crisply masters the basics.

SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 91

Best of the best

SMART SPEAKERS

SMART BULBS

SMART THERMOSTATS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsmart

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestbulb

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestthermostat

AMAZON ECHO SHOW 10

PHILIPS HUE

NEST THERMOSTAT E

£239.99, amazon.co.uk The most comprehensive Alexa smart speaker to date, capable of doing lots, and with a unique trick: its large screen rotates to follow you around the room, so that you can always see it clearly.

From £59, philips-hue.com Hue dominates the smart lighting sector for good reason: it’s a superb system with the widest range of bulbs and a simple, useful app. Rivals may be cheaper but they can’t compete with Hue’s variety.

£180, nest.com/uk

AMAZON ECHO 4TH GEN

LIFX

TADO SMART THERMOSTAT

£139, amazon.co.uk

From £19, lifx.com

Bigger than the previous model, it has beefed up speakers and features, while the Zigbee smart home functionality that used to be part of the Echo Plus only has been moved into the standard Echo.

If you fancy a Hue system but don’t want to spend so much, LIFX has a strong product range and integrates with your favourite personal digital assistant. Philips still wins, but only just.

£99, tado.com

This cheaper Nest model doesn’t ﬁt as much information on its screen and doesn’t feel as premium, but that’s it. Same algorithm, same Alexa and Google Home compatibility.

Tado is very sociable: it works with 95% of the systems out there. It’s ﬂexible, clever and supports a wide range of accessories too. Price cuts have made it even more enticing.

GOOGLE NEST HUB MAX

NANOLEAF ESSENTIALS

NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT

£219, store.google.com Winner of our 2020 T3 award as the best smart speaker for doing absolutely everything. You get a crisp 10in screen, a speaker that can ﬁll a room, a front camera and of course Google Assistant.

From £18, nanoleaf.me A line of bargainpriced bulbs and light strips that support Thread, an upcoming protocol a bit like Zigbee. We love the faceted look, but they’re only available in E27 or B22 ﬁttings.

£220, nest.com/uk

APPLE HOMEPOD MINI

IKEA TRÅDFRI

HIVE HEATING CONTROL

£99, apple.com

From £13, ikea.com

A quality little speaker with the ability to act as a HomeKit hub to control smart home devices – and even support for new smart protocol Thread. The slickest phone-to-speaker experience there is.

92 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

Ikea’s Zigbeecompatible system doesn’t have the range of Hue, but if you prize control over colour options it’s stellar value for money and has some great controllers and dimmers.

£179, hivehome.com

Nest made smart thermostats sexy and this third-gen model looks great. It’s simple to use with good Google Home and Amazon Echo integration, but a tad pricey, especially with installation.

Imagine: British Gas in ‘exciting’ shocker. Hive is great: it’s affordable, works well, and is part of a larger smart home system that includes bulbs and security options. This is an ideal way to jump in.

Best of the best

SMART PLUGS

SECURITY CAMERAS

ROBOT VACUUMS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestplug

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsecurity

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestrobotvac

TP-LINK KASA MINI KP105

ARLO ESSENTIAL SPOTLIGHT CAMERA £130, arlo.com Arlo’s cheaper, standalone camera connects directly to your Wi-Fi but still manages person, package and animal detection, two-way communication, colour night vision and a spotlight.

iROBOT ROOMBA I3+

£19, kasasmart.com

A reliable smart plug that doesn’t include energy monitoring, but it’s happy to work with Alexa, Google Home and Bixby. The TPLink Kasa app is also much improved on recent generations.

£699, irobot.co.uk

This is also one of the quietest robot vacs we’ve ever used and one of the shallowest – perfect for reaching under low furnishings. Its twin rubber rollers performed extremely well on hard ﬂoor and superbly on carpet.

HIVE ACTIVE PLUG

ARLO PRO 3

ROBOROCK S6 MAXV

£39, hivehome.com

£550 (two cameras), arlo.com If you can live without the 4K resolution of the Arlo Ultra, then the Arlo Pro 3 is just about the best home security camera you can buy right now, and it’s available at a very reasonable price.

£599, roborock.com

RING STICK UP CAM

EUFY BOOSTIQ ROBOVAC 30C

£180, en-uk.ring.com

£270, eufylife.com

Similar to Belkin, Hive’s plug can turn sockets on/off via your phone, and create schedules. It also works with Alexa You need a Hive Hub (£80) to use the Active Plug, though.

TP-LINK KASA SMART WI-FI POWER STRIP KP303 £30, kasasmart.com With three smart outlets, each with independent control, as well as a pair of USB ports for charging and power, the Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Power Strip KP303 delivers plenty of ﬂexibility. AMAZON SMART PLUG £25, amazon.co.uk

Designed to be used with Alexa, this plug can be controlled using voice commands or through the Alexa app. If you use the Google Assistant, or if you have Apple HomeKit, you’ll want to look elsewhere.

Pretty much any feature you could ask for is included, such as night vision, motion detection alerts, two-way audio, and 1080p video you can view on Alexa devices with screens.

This robot vac has superb navigation skills and maps a room in a very logical fashion, starting at the edges first before filling in the gaps. It will also mop your hard floors using its 140ml water tank.

You’ll need to fence off obstacles from the 30C, as it doesn’t use an internal map, but for the price this is a solid, if slightly inelegant, cleaning bot – especially on hard ﬂoors.

EUFYCAM 2C

iROBOT ROOMBA I7+

£299 (two cameras), eufylife.com This is a wireless security camera system with a sharp 2K sensor, a 135-degree diagonal view, solid IR night vision (with a spotlight if you need a brighter view), and a claimed six-month battery life.

£799, irobot.co.uk

The i7+ is the i7 with an additional dirt bin in the base and an extra £300 on the price. It’s worth it if you hate emptying the bin, but any i7 is a great cleaning robot that learns its way around. SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 93

Best of the best

CORDLESS VACUUMS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcordlessvac DYSON V15 DETECT ABSOLUTE £599.99, dyson.co.uk Refined and improved across all surfaces but the real headline feature is the addition of a headlight: a laser mounted at an angle on the front of the hard-floor head that reveals a horrific amount of dirt. SAMSUNG JET 90 PRO £600, samsung.com

Matches the Dyson in practically every way, and will almost certainly end up being cheaper. It comes with a proper stand to hold and recharge it, and has attachments for four tools.

VAX ONEPWR BLADE 4 £220, vax.co.uk

This new cordless Blade from Vax is a lot cheaper than the Dyson V11, but there’s remarkably little to tell between them in terms of cleaning power. The Vax makes a bigger noise though.

DYSON V11 ABSOLUTE £599, dyson.co.uk

The high-torque head, well-sized bin and powerful suction make this the top sucker to get, and worth the ‘Dyson tax’. The Auto power mode works well, balancing battery and suction nicely.

94 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

WASHING MACHINES

DISHWASHERS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwashing

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdishwasher

AEG 9000 SERIES L9FEC966R

BOSCH SMS67MW00G

£899, aeg.co.uk

£629, bosch-home.co.uk A top-notch dishwasher that uses zeolite, a magical mineral that turns moisture into heat, in this case to dry dishes without using extra electricity. And by dry we mean bone dry.

AEG delivers superb ﬂexible cleaning, effective water softening and a steam-cleaning feature to reduce your ironing pile. It’s quiet, efﬁcient and environmentally friendly, too.

HISENSE WFQY1014EVJM £349, hisense.com

Well priced, spacious, easy to operate... there are a lot of reasons to choose this washing machine, and it’s no surprise to see the appliance earning rave reviews from plenty of satisﬁed customers.

BOSCH SERIE 8 WAX32GH4GB £849, bosch-home.co.uk Top-notch cleaning performance with a 10kg capacity and a 1,600rpm maximum spin speed, there’s also intelligent stain removal, a 4D wash system for extra efﬁciency, and Alexa voice commands. INDESIT MY TIME EWD81483WUKN £229, indesit.co.uk

The affordability of this appliance doesn’t mean you’re going to miss out in terms of cleaning quality, as the 8kg capacity is going to be enough to keep most families happy. It’s competent, efﬁcient and cheap.

BOSCH SERIE 2 SMS24AW01G £329, bosch-home.co.uk With a simple, intuitive design and a brand name you can trust, this 12-placesetting dishwasher has a lot going for it besides the low price. Washing and drying performance is excellent. MIELE G7310 SCI £1,019, miele.co.uk

Semi-integrated and smartphonecontrolled, you can start washing cycles remotely, check up on the status of the machine, and even order more detergent through the app (or via voice control).

BOSCH SERIE 4 SPS4HKW45G £439, bosch-home.co.uk Not just a slimline design. You get remote control from your phone, an extra dry mode for difﬁcultto-dry loads, and a silence-on-demand feature that will quieten things down for 30 minutes.

Best of the best

COFFEE MACHINES

FRIDGES

OVENS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcoffee

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestfridge

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestoven

SAGE BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL THE ORACLE TOUCH £1,999, sageappliances.com The Oracle Touch looks like a baristaoperated machine, it produces coffee like one, yet all the clever stuff – dosing, tamping, extraction, milk texturing, is done for you. Not cheap – but amazing.

MIELE K 28202 D WS

NEFF N 70 B57CR22N0B

£875, miele.co.uk

£789, neff.co.uk

DELONGHI LA SPECIALISTA EC9335.M £720, delonghi.com Solidly built using swathes of brushed stainless steel and good quality plastics, this looks just like a small version of a professional café espresso machine. Dynamite coffee too. SAGE BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL BARISTA TOUCH £999, sageappliances.com Cheaper, faster and with better frothed milk than the Oracle, this may be the better buy for most unless being unable to make coffee and steam milk at the same time is a deal breaker. GAGGIA VELASCA £479, gaggiadirect.com The espresso and lungo that the Velasca makes are as good as anything you can buy in most coffee shops. It produces a reassuringly oldfashioned, intense ﬂavour for your brew.

If you have the spondoolicks and 60cm of space with no cupboards above, this cooler should be top of your list. Its clever cooling keeps foodstuffs fresh without humidity, and it’s cavernous.

The unique Slide and Hide door is brilliant, the touchscreen is handy and the oven’s no slouch: it enables you to cook multiple dishes without that unfortunate crosscontamination from strong ﬂavours.

RUSSELL HOBBS RHTTLF1

ZANUSSI ZOD35660XK

£75, russellhobbs.com This A+ rated, 43-litre counter-top fridge is perfect for studio ﬂats, bedsits, student digs and mobile homes. For its size, this dinky chiller provides surprisingly ample estate for most solo needs.

£399, zanussi.co.uk

LIEBHERR TP 1760 PREMIUM

MIELE H7164BP

£489, home.leibherr.com Arguably the only A+++ rated undercounter model on the UK market. Despite its diminutive exterior, inside it’s like the Albert Hall, a chilled Tardis with two separate salad/ veg drawers.

£1,300, miele.co.uk

BOSCH SERIE 2 CLASSIXX KSV29NW3PG £643, bosch-home.co.uk Looking for a midsized larder fridge that doesn’t cost the Earth, provides plenty of food storage space, cools quickly and is cheap to run? Consider this efﬁcient and wellmade Bosch.

BOSCH SERIE 8 HBG634BS1B

This electric double oven is a ﬁne choice if you’re looking for plenty of cooking capacity and some really useful features on top, like even heat distribution, automatic switch-off and a bright display.

Reliable and easy to operate, this model comes with plenty of features that are going to appeal – like its Moisture Plus tech for getting perfect ‘bake off’ results. You can even control it from your phone.

£729, bosch-home.co.uk A great all-rounder, with a dedicated pizza cooking function, this is easy to use, easy to clean, and has a simple touch display. A fan constantly circles heat around the interior for even cooking. SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 95

Best of the best

ELECTRIC SHAVERS

ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSHES

BEARD TRIMMERS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestshaver

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttoothbrush

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttrimmer

BRAUN SERIES 9 9390CC

PHILIPS SONICARE 9900 PRESTIGE

PHILIPS BT9000 PRESTIGE

£250, braun.com

£300, philips.co.uk

£120, philips.co.uk

PHILIPS SERIES 9000 PRESTIGE £300, philips.co.uk

BRAUN SERIES 7 70-N7200CC £165, braun.com

PHILIPS SERIES 9000 S9211/31 £199, philips.co.uk

Given that the trend is to shave less nowadays, we recommend the Braun Series 9 foil shaver over Philips’ almost equally impressive efforts. It is slightly better on longer stubble.

Philips’ most advanced electric toothbrush yet, it features SenseIQ technology. It senses pressure, motion and coverage up to 100 times per second, adapting the intensity if you brush too hard.

ORAL-B IO9 The second best shaver has a silly RRP (£430!) but is available for around £300. It’s good for sensitive skin, mows long stubble and is really close to the shave you get from traditional razors.

This new offering from Braun, with three foil heads, is an absolute cracker in every respect. It shaves as close as a wet razor, only in half the time. And that’s no exaggeration.

£500, oralb.co.uk

PHILIPS ONEBLADE PRO The RRP for the iO Series 9 is ridiculous, but you can get it for less, and it is brilliant at actually cleaning your teeth, plus it’s also very stylish, with a colour touchscreen and a tooth-tracking monitoring system.

PHILIPS SONICARE DIAMONDCLEAN SONIC £145, philips.co.uk This is a great toothbrush with excellent cleaning power, and an attractive but easily smashed glass charger. It also comes with a handy travel case with USB power. ORAL-B PRO 2 2500

A rotary shaver that requires a circular motion on the face. Stubble disappears like magic, and the whole experience is very low-irritation. You get a clipon trimmer for sideburns too.

96 T3 SEPTEMBER 2021

£35, oralb.co.uk

The classiest looking beard trimmer we’ve ever clapped eyes on, it offers an equally classy shave. Designed primarily for neater beardscaping, it whips away whiskers without any snags or pulls.

This only has two cleaning modes and no ‘smart’ functionality to speak of, but ask yourself… do you really care? It has a timer, pressure sensor, and excellent rotary cleaning.

£50, philips.co.uk

The best trimmer for those with sensitive skin, this uses innovative OneBlade technology. It’s good for both your face and your downstairs, although you may wish to change heads in between.

BRAUN BEARD TRIMMER 7 £65, braun.com

This trimmer feels like good value for money, earning it a place on this list. Small, light and easy to use, its tough blades shave cleanly. Battery life is solid, and the unit is waterproof enough for easy rinsing.

PANASONIC I-SHAPER ER-GD60 £50, panasonic.co.uk For slightly longer beards, this is the one to go for. Its unusual, ‘side-on’ cutting action, where you pull the shaver through your hirsute tresses more like a comb, soon becomes second nature.

Best of the best

FITNESS TRACKERS

RUNNING WATCHES

RUNNING HEADPHONES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestﬁtness

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestrunningwatch

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestrunningphones

FITBIT CHARGE 4

GARMIN FORERUNNER 245 MUSIC £299, garmin.com The ultimate phone-free GPS running watch for the price-conscious runner. The battery can last up to seven days in smartwatch mode and six hours in GPS mode with music playing.

BEATS POWERBEATS PRO £219, beatsbydre.com/uk These true wireless powerhouses absolutely crush their predecessors when it comes to quality of sound and security of ﬁt. All but impossible to accidentally dislodge from your ears.

GARMIN FORERUNNER 945

JAYBIRD VISTA 2

£520, garmin.com

£190, jaybirdsport.com Real class, with an excellent ﬁt and advanced water and muck prooﬁng. Sound quality is great, and there is both effective noise cancelling and a ‘SurroundSense’ mode to hear what’s going on around you.

£130, ﬁtbit.com

The best ﬁtness tracker you can buy and a big step forward for Fitbit, adding features such as GPS and a new exercise tracker alongside the step-counting. There are plentiful sleeptracking features too.

FITBIT VERSA 3 £199, ﬁtbit.com

The Versa 3 offers more functionality and better looks than most ﬁtness trackers but it’s maybe not quite as smart and precise as an Apple Watch. For the price though, the Fitbit Versa 3 is a great buy.

GARMIN VENU 2 £349, garmin.com

The AMOLED screen of the Garmin Venu 2 really brings the widget view of the Garmin OS to life, including the animations when you hit new milestones such as your daily step goals.

POLAR VANTAGE V2

JAM AUDIO TWS ATHLETE

£449, polar.com

£50, uk.jamaudio.com The JAM Audio TWS Athlete are perfect if you’re on a tight budget. Sound is solid, ﬂexible plastic ear hooks keep them secure, they can handle sweat and light rain, and the battery life is great.

GARMIN VENU SQ

COROS PACE 2

£179, garmin.com

£179, coros.com

A watch that tracks a variety of health metrics in an Apple Watch-like body. For active people who don’t require the oversimpliﬁed, gamiﬁed health system of Fitbit, this is highly recommended.

The Forerunner 945 has retained the look and feel of the 935, but inside it has been completely revamped. There are new GPS chips and heart-rate sensors, plus onboard maps.

Excellent build quality, and loads of useful tests and data – many of which can’t be found elsewhere – for serious runners and cyclists to better their form and get ready for races more efﬁciently.

BEATS BY DR DRE POWERBEATS The Pace 2 gets the basics right, but also has a couple of tricks up its sleeve. It might provide fewer casual features than some Garmins, but the running features on offer here are pretty much spot on.

£119, beatsbydre.com/uk A chunk cheaper than their big daddy, and they sound identical – which is to say they sound superb for workout music. And for non-workout music too. As a bonus, they boast a longer battery life. SEPTEMBER 2021 T3 97

Future Publishing, Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA EDITORIAL +44 (0)1225 442244 SUBSCRIPTIONS & CUSTOMER SERVICES +44(0)844 848 2852

34,477 PRINT 15,013 DIGITAL 19,464

Jan–Dec 2019 A member of the Audit Bureau of Circulations

T3 IS… EDITOR JOSH RUSSELL

josh.russell@futurenet.com ART EDITOR MICHELLE McLAREN michelle.mclaren@futurenet.com GROUP PRODUCTION EDITOR RUSSELL LEWIN russell.lewin@futurenet.com CONTENT DIRECTOR PAUL DOUGLAS paul.douglas@futurenet.com BRAND DIRECTOR PAUL NEWMAN paul.newman@futurenet.com GROUP ART DIRECTOR JO GULLIVER jo.gulliver@futurenet.com EDITORIAL & ART CONTRIBUTORS Jennifer Allen, John Archer, Duncan Bell, Matthew Bolton, Alex Cox, Yasmine Crossland, Spencer Hart, Tamara Hinson, Steve Jenkins, Matt Kollat, Carrie Marshall, Katie Nicholls, David Nield, Leon Poultney, Gavin Stocker ADVERTISING Media packs are available on request UK COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR CLARE DOVE clare.dove@futurenet.com HEAD OF COMMERCIAL TECHNOLOGY DAVE RANDALL dave.randall@futurenet.com ADVERTISING DIRECTOR, TECHNOLOGY KATE COLGAN kate.colgan@futurenet.com ACCOUNT DIRECTOR JOSHUA McGONIGLE joshua.mcgonigle@futurenet.com ACCOUNT MANAGER ISABEL LINCOLN-MOORE isabel.lincoln-moore@futurenet.com INTERNATIONAL T3 is available for licensing and syndication. To ﬁnd out more contact us at licensing@futurenet.com or view our available content at futurecontenthub.com. HEAD OF PRINT LICENSING RACHEL SHAW licensing@futurenet.com PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS & BACK ISSUES Email enquiries t3@myfavouritemagazines.co.uk UK orderline & enquiries 0844 848 2852 Overseas order line and enquiries +44 (0) 344 848 2852 Online orders & enquiries myfavouritemagazines.co.uk CIRCULATION HEAD OF NEWSTRADE TIM MATHERS PRODUCTION HEAD OF PRODUCTION UK & US MARK CONSTANCE PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGER CLARE SCOTT ADVERTISING PRODUCTION MANAGER JOANNE CROSBY DIGITAL EDITIONS CONTROLLER JASON HUDSON PRODUCTION CO-ORDINATOR NOLA COKELY MANAGEMENT CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER AARON ASADI CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER RACHEL ADDISON HEAD OF ART & DESIGN RODNEY DIVE PRINTED IN THE UK BY William Gibbons on behalf of Future. DISTRIBUTED IN THE UK BY Marketforce (UK), 2nd Floor, 5 Churchill Place, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5HU www.marketforce.co.uk Tel: 020 3787 9060

ISSN 1364-2641 We are committed to only using magazine paper which is derived from responsibly managed, certified forestry and chlorine-free manufacture. The paper in this magazine was sourced and produced from sustainable managed forests, conforming to strict environmental and socioeconomic standards. The manufacturing paper mill holds full FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification and accreditation All contents © 2021 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered office: Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All information contained in this publication is for information only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to them. This magazine is fully independent and not affiliated in any way with the companies mentioned herein. If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/or have the necessary rights/permissions to supply the material and you automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications, in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and reserve the right to edit, amend, adapt all submissions.

Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne Non-executive chairman Richard Huntingford Chief ﬁnancial ofﬁcer Penny Ladkin-Brand Tel +44 (0)1225 442 244

25 T3

YEARS OF The 25 most innovative gadgets you can buy; discover the tech set to take over in the next 25 years; T3’s retro gizmo bingo and more!

ULTIMATE EARBUDS High-end true wireless buds face off SAMSUNG GALAXY Z FOLD3 REVIEWED The most convincing folding smartphone yet COMPLETE GUIDE TO SMART LIGHTING Which is the best smart bulb ecosystem for you? GRADO SR325X TESTED New open-backed design, same expansive sound

EGNAHC OT TCEJBUS STNETNOC LLA *

Future plc is a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange (symbol: FUTR) www.futureplc.com

ISSUE 326 ON SALE WEDNESDAY 29 SEPTEMBER