Your best ever phone photos
summer gadget special
Sizzling tech from £30 to £3,000 for amazing outdoor living!
Win!
dolby atmos
A hi-res music streaming system
The best living room upgrade you can make
sonos beam The smarter soundbar
new! Tested oneplus 6 vs honor 10
4K OLED Wonder! Why LG's next-gen TV
porsche design headphones
is totally irresistible
Hot! gps sports watches
Garmin vs Apple vs Fitbit
lenovo mirage solo VR headset
bluetooth digital radios
Contents
Contents
horizon
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top 10 Bank card at the ready? Good! Because here we go again with the month’s most exciting new tech, including Parrot’s epic 4K HDR drone and Amazon’s chatty new media streaming box
BEST TECH FOR SUMMER
Make this summer your most exciting yet with our pick of top gadgets for fun in the sun. We’re talking folding BBQs, electric skateboards, motorised paddle boards and laser tag for the beach!
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we can build you… Destress and take time for yourself by learning how to sketch, paint and draw the digital way with these six key tools
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style Attending a summer wedding? We have the five suits you need to try. Going to a ball? Zac Efron shows you how to do black tie in blue
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auto For those going on holiday soon, we’re not jealous. In fact, allow us to hook you up with a bevy of convertible beauties ready for an incredible summer road trip
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living Speaking of that holiday… Don’t leave your plants to die while you’re off quaffing oysters somewhere. Instead, learn how to water your greenery while you’re away
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travel Ever been to Sitges? It’s a pretty town near Barcelona, and it gives you the best of beach and city breaks all in one
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Man vs tech
Ever dreamed of being the next Kelly Slater? Our man has, but can the latest surfing tech help him make that dream a reality?
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State of the art
We test three of the most popular GPS sports watches to see which helped us hit peak performance
fitness & outdoors It’s summer, a time of adrenaline-fuelled, outdoors, water-based activities. We pick three belters for you to try. And yes, there’s a Jet Ski involved
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gadget guru Our gadget master imparts yet more tech wisdom. This month it’s all about cycling, coffee and cheap TVs
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talking tech Duncan Bell considers his relationship with Alexa, and whether those two crazy kids have what it takes to make it
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PRO-LEVEL PHOTOGRAPHY on your phone
Learn how to take better images, and what gear to buy, with our expert guide
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COMPLETE GUIDE TO…
Everything you need to know about Dolby Atmos sound, and how it can transform your home cinema
Contents
win! A RUARK R2 MK3 SYSTEM Fill your ears with the glorious sound of Ruark’s award-winning R2 Mk3 all-in-one music system
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Home 056
THE SETUP There’s no excuse for bare, dull walls at home, so this month learn how the LIFX Tile smart lighting system can make your room look like a disco
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tested 092
Lenovo Mirage Solo The next big standalone VR headset is here, and it’s way more advanced than the Oculus Go. Is it the next big thing?
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UPGRADE
SMACKDOWN
Got air con but afraid to use it much for fear of the cost? Try this smart AC control system that chills your home without heating up your energy bill
It’s a dust-up this month between two hot handsets: Honor 10 vs OnePlus 6
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DESIRE Rattan dining chairs are a lot more appealing than they sound. Plus other ways to brighten the home in summer
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HOME TEST Control your smart home and keep tabs on activity with motion sensors
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SONOS BEAM Is Sonos’ new Alexa-enabled soundbar. as good as the song and dance being made about it?
best of the best 106
your in-depth buyer’s guide Want to know what the best top-end telly is? Or the best first-time DSLR? Or the best wireless headphones? Our giant buyer’s guide helps you find the world’s best tech, and only the best!
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LG C8 LG was king of OLED last year, but is this year’s range a big upgrade?
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Bluetooth dab radios With so many cute tune-players to choose from, how do you know which is worth buying? Let us show you…
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SMART HOME SURGERY Our resident experts dish out the answers to your smart home queries
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kef space one wireless
Apple users, here’s how to control all of your smart gear with HomeKit
The Porsche Design collab headphones look out of this world, but do they have the sound to match?
LIVING SMARTER
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Horizon
The best new tech heading your way Edited by Claire Davies
Parrot Anafi £649, parrot.com Once upon a time, all you needed to enjoy the great outdoors was yourself and a sense of adventure. You can still get by with those, but now we’re spoiled for choice with gadgets that love the natural landscape as much as we do, and let you explore it it all new ways. The most exhilarating of these is the camera drone. For the longest time, DJI has had the market sewn up, but that could be about to change; Parrot has released its new folding drone, the Anafi, and it’s gunning for the DJI Mavic Air’s crown. Parrot’s 4K HDR flying video camera is built for ‘anytime, anywhere’ use, from dusty dirt trails to snow-covered vistas, with a 33mph top speed to cover the distance. The camera films in 4K HDR and 4K Cinema (4096x2160) at pro quality, so those dramatic peaks will look amazing. The 21MP, 1/2.4-inch Sony CMOS sensor should produce epic stills too. Its three-axis gimbal keeps the camera moving smoothly, and can even tilt to record straight down or straight up – a drone first. The only downside, and the reason why the Mavic Air might cling to its hovering crown, is that the Anafi has no obstacle-avoidance tech. But if you’re confident in your flying skills and want an affordable drone with a superior camera, generous 25-minute battery life and a suite of intelligent flight modes, throw the Anafi in your backpack and hit the trail.
tech-o-Meter
The Anafi’s frame is inspired by insects: the head (camera and threeaxis gimbal), the thorax (electronics and mechanics), and the abdomen (the li-ion battery)
The tight spec, folding design and good price make the Parrot Anafi a hefty DJI challenger Matt Bolton, Editor
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Top 10
Flight school Parrot’s AI-infused Anafi can be controlled via a series of automated flight modes. There’s SmartDronies for aerial selfies, Cameraman, putting you in control, and Follow Me, which uses a neural network to tightly hone in on the star of your image
Rock steady Anafi is the first drone with a camera that can tilt 40 degrees vertically, ensuring the camera stays steady whatever the weather throws at you and inspiring you to capture images from innovative new angles
Sky, camera, action! Not only is the Anafi’s camera equipped with lossless zoom (1.4x in 4K, 2.8x in Full HD), it also offers Dolby Zoom, a cinematic feature that enables you to hone in on a fixed subject while moving the background away
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Horizon
Summer road trip Travel to your staycation in style with Nick Odantzis’s pick of the best convertibles for hire
Getting away from it all is exciting enough, but imagine the thrill of travelling to your UK holiday destination in a slick convertible, with the wind in your hair and the sun on your face. And there’s a way to do that without buying a new convertible: hire one instead! Sixt (sixt.co.uk) offers some tantalising options including the BMW 2 Series Convertible, a stylish fourseater that’s perfect for family
getaways. It costs from £271 per day, including loss damage waiver and third-party insurance, and you get the first 200 miles free. To drive something that feels quintessentially British, why not slip behind the wheel of a Morgan Plus 8. With its gorgeous retro looks and the addition of a burly V8 engine, this two-seater makes for a memorable road trip. It costs from £260 a day (lunevalleyvintageandclassic.co.uk),
which includes the cost of insurance and breakdown cover. To really treat yourself, lust over The Dream Collection from Hertz (hertz.co.uk). Our pick is the Ferrari California T; at £1,790 per day it ain’t cheap, and the £10,000 excess means you’ll probably want to keep a light foot on the accelerator, but imagine the thrill of driving this beauty down winding country lanes and along some of the UK’s breathtaking coastlines.
Meadow for two Take your dining outdoors with our pick of stylish, car-friendly picnic gear Coleman 28QT Xtreme Cooler
Amara Pure Wool Polo Picnic Rug
2 Person Canvas Picnic Carry All
Pack your picnic treats and drinks into Coleman’s 26-litre cooler, designed with a polyurethane foam insulation lining to keep contents chilled all day.
A tartan rug is ideal for impromptu picnic stops. This one has a waterproof backing to protect you from dew, and rolls up to save space in the boot.
All the wares you’ll need for a picnic for two are here, including plates, cutlery, napkins and a corkscrew. Like the rug, it won’t take up much space.
£49.99, coleman.eu/uk
£100, amara.com
£80, fortnumandmason.com
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Horizon
GADGET GURU
T3’s yellow jersey holder (he got it from Next) peddles some advice
Ciaran Wells, Trowbridge
How can I make cycling a habit? GaGu’s chafed thighs know that the health benefits of cycling are powerful indeed. Taking to two wheels is one of the best ways to improve your cardiovascular fitness while also taking in lungfuls of questionable air, absorbing skin-reddening vitamin D, and swallowing clouds of protein-rich tiny insects. But if you just can’t face another coccyx battering, and the draw of spending thousands on a couple of welded-together pipes and a bit of rubber doesn’t force you to stack up the miles, turn to this favourite method of motivation: turn it into a game, Mary Poppins style.
ILLUSTRATIONs: stephen kelly
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The real spoonful of cycling sugar is fitstuff tracker Strava (iOS/Android, free). Combining its route-mapping metrics with a standalone GPS module that you can switch on and forget about – Garmin’s £500 Edge 1030 will track up to 20 hours on a charge – turns every ride into a mission. You’ll set your own scores, collect your
ABOVE Try some friendly competition for motivation. Well, it starts friendly…
The real spoonful of cycling sugar is fitstuff tracker Strava; its route-mapping metrics turn every ride into a mission
distance, do your time. And if you connect with fellow mudguard abusers, you’ll be able to weigh your own paltry efforts against their impossibly brilliant results. Going premium with Strava is by no means required, but if you’re taking your pedalling somewhere extreme (or merely like to boast about your actions) you’ll be grateful of its beacon mode, which shares your live location with a bunch of chums. It also gives you access to real-time segments, allowing you to fight your own ghost over those tricky or motivating sections of a ride – that’s worth £5.99 a month.
send your questions to: inbox@t3.com or facebook.com/T3mag 3 0 T3 a u g u s t 2 01 8
Best tech for summer
Best tech for summer Make this summer your most exciting yet with our pick of the latest and greatest gadgets for fun in the sun Words: Becca Caddy Photography: Neil Godwin
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Summer gadgets special
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Best tech for summer
Holiday in the sun
Hoorah! Your summer vacay is finally here. Make the most of your time off, and ensure you reach your destination in style, with these holiday must-haves 1
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Enjoy your holiday with top gadgets for the beach and travelling 4
1. Kobo Clara HD This budget-friendly ereader has a six-inch HD screen that gives you the best reading experience in any light. It holds 6,000 ebooks, so it should be enough to see you through your holiday. £109.99, uk.kobobooks.com 2. Sony WH-1000XM2 Headphones are essential as you travel, to distract yourself from delays and screaming kids. With best-in-class noise cancellation that adapts for your head shape as well as factors like pressure changes on a plane, plus a lightweight over-ear design, these are comfortable enough for napping anywhere. £299, sony.co.uk 3. Fujifilm X-T20 camera This welldesigned and compact camera with a threeinch touchscreen is ideal for travel and takes cracking photos. Budding photographers can change controls themselves, or select the auto mode. £750, fujifilm.com
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Holiday in the sun
4. Mophie Powerstation USB-C XXL There’s nothing more frustrating than running out of battery on holiday. This portable back-up is beefy enough to charge up a USB-C laptop, as well as smaller gadgets. £90, mophie.com 5. DJI Mavic Air A portable drone is the perfect companion to an adventure holiday. It flies (autonomously) for 21 minutes, takes panoramic photos and video, and it’s controlled with hand gestures – great for drone selfies. £769, dji.com 6. WaveJet Pau Hana Big EZ WaveJet surf and paddleboards come with lightweight propulsion tech built-in, adding extra oomph to your ride. This one is tough and remains stable in all conditions, so it’s at home surfing on the sea or riding along a river. $4,199.99 (£3,139.07), wavejet.com 7. G-Ro Classic Carry-on Suitcase This carry-on’s big low-friction wheels are extra easy to handle, and leave more space for packing. It has built-in charging for your gadgets, and Bluetooth tracking in case it gets lost. £449, Smartech at selfridges.com 8. Seaview 180 snorkel mask This fog- and leak-resistant mask lets you focus on what’s important – discovering the underwater world like never before. A GoPro mount on top lets you record the marine life as you spot it. $69.99 (£52.31), wildhornoutfitters.com
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9. Laser X 2 Player Pack Swap tag on the beach for futuristic laser tag. The game has a 60-metre range, and if you get hit, your vest changes colour. £49.99, argos.co.uk 10. Snapchat Spectacles Sunglasses with a built-in camera are ideal for holidays. Grab 10- or 30-second video clips, which sync to Snapchat. £149.99, spectacles.com/uk
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Man vs Tech
The Mission Surfers around the UK are currently experiencing a summer slump: the sea may be warmer but surf conditions range from flat to unremarkable. Our man is itching to get back on his board and he’s looking to tech to help him progress as a surfer. The big questions: is an artificial wave pool as good as the real thing for boosting technique, and can surfing tech transform our writer into the next Kelly Slater? Time to hang 10‌
Point break
man tech
surf’s up
Point break Can the latest surfing technology help our writer build more confidence on the board and advance to riding gnarlier waves? Words: Chris Barnes Photography: Olly Curtis
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Home
the setup
Each issue, we show you how to set up a key piece of connected-home tech. This month… LIFX Tile
wall tiling tips
Attaching a Tile to your wall couldn’t be easier: each of the squares comes with 3M adhesive on four corners, with the necessary channels for neat cable routing around the edges. Take LIFX’s advice, though, and test your Tile setup before you hook it up to the wall; although you can configure any arrangement you like, you’ll want to make sure your tiles are properly aligned and working first.
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The Setup
What’s in the box?
The standard Tile pack (£250) comes with five individual units, all of which chain from a master tile that takes the power input and deals with intercommunication. That single point of management means you won’t need to fiddle about with five lights, although each tile can technically be individually addressed. Five is also the maximum number of tiles a power source can support, so don’t worry about leaving expansion room.
Transform your walls with a smart light installation Enjoy a world of custom colours and slick voice control, all with LIFX’s excellent app at the heart of it Atmosphere is all-important in the modern home. In fact, there might be no better way of generating a specific mood or vibe than by having the right lighting, and that’s where LIFX seems to be focusing most of its efforts these days. The brand’s ceiling or lamp bulbs are just the tip of the iceberg – the company is pushing security lighting with its infra-red emitting LIFX+ line, it has downlights, light strips and light bars… Basically, wherever you need a splash of colour, this Kickstarter success story is determined to splash it there for you. The Tile, one of LIFX’s latest products, makes the jump from light to wall feature, almost leaping so far as to become digital art. Its big, bold, smart illumination designed to create a conversation as much as it is to help you relax and enjoy your living area. The Tile is a way to fill a space with something practical. It is, we must say, pretty damn cool. Part of the Tile’s appeal comes in its design, a simple setup that uses LIFX’s system of individually addressable bulbs, each with its own Homekit code should you wish to use it. The individual tiles are chained together, connected to a single power source and operated as a single entity. They’re covered in diffuse plastic, opaque enough to completely obscure and combine the LED array below, but with no hard edge. That means the light of each blossoms out onto your wall. Each tile can take on a kaleidoscope of colours at once. They can also be configured to show bright individual colours, to use different white temperatures or brightnesses, and be arranged with others in whatever configuration (within the short length of the connecting cables wires) you see fit. You can, naturally, use them with all the gimmicks of the LIFX app, tying them together as a music visualiser, giving them random patterns, or animating themes like some jumped-up, modern-day lava lamp. So the Tile (or a combination of Tiles) is a tool for ambiance and a tool for fun. You won’t use it to light up your entire room – it doesn’t quite throw out the lumens of a proper bulb, and you’ll generally need full light to come from the ceiling rather than a wall – but for those spots where you want something special, highlight lighting like the Tile is hard to beat.
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State of the Art
GPS sports watches
GPS sports watches are also smartwatches and activity trackers now. But which is the gold medalist? Words: Damian Hall Photography: Neil Godwin
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What’s on test…
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Fitbit Ionic
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Apple Watch Sport Nike+
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Garmin Forerunner 645 Music
Can the king of the activity tracker step up (pun unintended) to make a convincing, premium sports watch? £299, fitbit.com
The fitness-focused version of the Watch comes with Nike faces and has the Nike+ Run Club app built-in. £429, apple.com
Can the GPS sports watch marketleader match more lifestyle models for comfort and ease of use? £399, garmin.com
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GPS sports watches
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hanks to the combined rise of activity trackers and smartwatches, being a GPS sports watch simply isn’t enough nowadays. A premium sports watch must do everything: count steps, calories and sleep 24/7, relay notifications and be a desirable, brightly coloured vibrating gadget that people want to tap, swipe and constantly tinker with. What’s fascinating about the three GPS sports watches on test is that they’re all trying to make the same thing, but coming at it from totally different angles. Garmin has
T
long been the master of the sports watch, but has lagged behind on the more crowdpleasing trendy smartwatch stuff. Apple knows all about that, but can it turn its hand to a genuinely credible premium sports piece to rival Garmin? Meanwhile, can newer kid on the block, Fitbit, hitherto master of simpler activity trackers, up its game significantly enough to make a viable rival to these two? The sports-minded consumer expects a wrist-based gadget that can accurately record reams of data from their workouts – be that running, cycling, swimming, gym-based
gurning and more – collate it and coach from it. But alongside that, count steps and monitor heart rate and sleep all around the clock. While we do want them to be connected to the social world, it’s not our biggest focus here: we’re primarily judging them on their ability to help you beat your personal bests and feel harder, better, faster, and whatever else that song said. So who does that the best? And which watches make compromises too far? And when it comes down to the wire, who can offer that little bit extra? We put each watch through its paces to find out. JANUARY 2 01 8 T3 7 7
Pro smartphone photography
Your smartphone may be compact, but there’s nothing small about the power and quality of the camera. Discover how a little know-how goes a long way when it comes to shooting pro-level stills and video… Words: Ali Jennings
Smartphones have evolved from tools of communication to our one-stop shop for life, and a window into the world of others. Images sit at the heart of phone use, partly because it’s so easy to capture them in this way. But smartphone cameras are no longer basic point-and-shoot compromises; some of the specs can rival the might of DSLRs. Isaac Reynolds, the product manager for Google’s Pixel 2 phone, knows more about smartphone technology, imaging and their use than almost anyone; his job centres around bringing together smartphone technology and software to take image capture to the next level. We recently caught up with Isaac and asked for a few tips and tricks for getting the most out of smartphone cameras, and added some extra tips from our own photography experts. A few tweaks to the way you use your smartphone could take your photography skills to a whole new level. Au g u s t 2 01 8 T3 7 7
Pro smartphone photography
Shooting better photos on your phone Do you know the best angles to shoot from? Want to learn how to frame a shot properly on your phone or how to work with natural lighting? Our phone camera expert reveals all…
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Take lots of pictures
Isaac says: “I went to the Grand Canyon a while ago and shot 1,400 pictures in one week, and liked seven of these. When you’re shooting portraits especially, never take just one – take many to ensure you get just the right expression! (The Google Photos app gives you unlimited storage. Use it.)” T3 says: If you’re visiting a once-in-a-lifetime location, make sure you get a variety of shots from different angles. A slight shift in position to the left or right can make a significant difference to the dynamics of your images. One potential problem is that as camera sensors get higher resolution, the pictures take up more space. If your phone can take a microSD card, make sure you add a big one (128GB or more, if your phone supports it) so that you don’t have to worry about the number of shots (or how much 4K video you take). If you can’t add storage to your phone (as is the case with iPhone, for example), send photos to a cloud service then delete them from your device when more room is needed, or get some external storage that you can connect – there are USB keys and hard drives that work with iPhone (see p81).
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Keep your camera out
Isaac says: “Make sure you always have your camera out. It sounds obvious, but you need to be ready.” T3 says: As phones are always on standby, they can be ready to use almost instantly. For added speed, consider using a sleeve and lanyard to keep your camera out and primed, but only if you feel safe exposing your phone in such a way. The Zizo Bolt case (zizowireless.com) is an excellent choice. It has a hook to attach a lanyard, so you can loop it around your wrist. It’s also a tough case, built to withstand any accidents that could happen if you’re carrying your phone everywhere. You might also run low on battery if you’re walking around with your camera app already 7 8 T3 AUGUST 2 01 8
running a lot. In that case, you could look at a battery case instead of the Bolt – Mophie’s Juice Packs are a great option for iPhone and Samsung – or a slimline external battery pack that can sit in a pocket until needed.
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Use natural light more intelligently
Isaac says: “At midday, when the sun is directly above, take pictures of objects and people in the shade. Midday sun is incredibly harsh, but in the shade it’s much softer and more distributed. Your subject also won’t squint, and you’ll get a better photo. Everyone’s happy!” T3 says: Using naturally diffused light through a canopy of leaves is another great way to find complementary lighting, but watch the background. If the scene beyond the shade is cast in bright sunlight you may find it burns out and gets lost. If this is the case, move your subject slightly to get a background with light that more closely matches the foreground. If you are stuck for cover and want to take the picture in direct sunlight, position your subject with the sun at 45 degrees behind you. This will cause some shadows across the face but will help to avoid squinting,
since they won’t be looking directly at the light. To reduce the shadows on the face when shooting a portrait, you can always hold up a piece of white fabric, card or paper to reflect some of the light back into the face on the shadowed side.
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Get an unusual perspective
Isaac says: “Think about shooting something from directly above or directly below. Or very close. Or while using a natural frame like bushes or leaves. The phone is small. It can be used in many different settings, so take advantage of that. You should never take the same photo twice; always change perspectives or settings between photos.” T3 says: A common trick used by photographers is to angle the horizon, a technique known as the Dutch tilt. This unusual angle instantly adds further interest and dynamics, and can be used in a variety of ways. Used in combination with a low or high angle, for example, the effect can be super-dramatic. Take a look at your surroundings too. You can use objects such as trees, fences, paths or even a lamp post to create patterns or paths through images, helping to draw the eye through your composition.
The complete guide to‌
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The complete guide to... Dolby Atmos
the complete guide to…
Dolby Atmos
From movies to music, home entertainment has wholly embraced Dolby Atmos. But what does it offer above regular surround sound, and is now the best time to upgrade? Words: Steve May Photography: Olly Curtis
eorge Lucas famously said that sound was 50 per cent of the moviewatching experience. With Dolby Atmos, we think it could be a good deal more. Basically 3D for your ears, it’s the biggest thing in home cinema audio since the launch of Dolby Digital 5.1, and has opened up a totally new way for TV and films to deliver sound. A big change in Dolby Atmos is that sounds become ‘object-based’, rather than ‘channel-based’ as in Dolby 5.1. With channel-based tech, the engineers could direct sounds to specific speakers. In an object-based system, audio designers can place individual sonic elements inside a 3D soundfield, with their movement and position reflected by the speaker arrangement. This technology, says Dolby, creates an ‘illusion of an infinite number of speakers’ and it can fully immerse you in the action.
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Atmos origins Of course Dolby Atmos, like so many proprietary Dolby sound formats, made its debut in the cinema. The
award-winning Disney Pixar’s Brave was the first movie released with an Atmos soundtrack, and the sound system has since become a common attribute of premium screens. The loudspeaker array embraces a 360-degree configuration in a Dolby Atmos cinema. Enclosures reach right to the edge of the screen, bolstered by additional speakers overhead. Within a Dolby Atmosencoded soundtrack, every element within a frame can effectively become a separate sound object. Adaptive rendering in the cinema’s audio decoder determines exactly where a sound should be heard in any particular theatre. So while the number of loudspeakers in a screen may vary, mandated by its size and layout, the listening experience will be uniform. Dolby Atmos arrived in the home on the back of Blu-ray, but it’s since been adopted by streaming services and premium TV providers such as Sky (using the Sky Q platform) and BT. Atmos isn’t just for movies and TV shows, though: it has added a whole new level of realism to live
broadcasting. Sport led the way, but more recently Sky transmitted the Royal wedding in Dolby Atmos, and pumped out 19 hours of live music from the Isle of Wight Festival 2018. VoD service RakutenTV now rents out Dolby Atmos-encoded movies through its streaming TV app (albeit only on LG TVs for now), and this autumn Apple will bring Dolby Atmos to Apple TV 4K with tvOS 12, and promises that iTunes will have the largest collection of Dolby Atmos movies to date.
Home Atmos-sphere In its domestic guise, Dolby Atmos comes in all shapes and sizes. Home cinema systems, built around an AV receiver, offer the nearest you can currently get to that fully immersive theatrical experience, through a combination of regular surround sound, with either five of seven speakers, plus either two or four height channels (depending on available amplification). A Dolby Atmos surround system with 5.1 surround and two-height 5.1 channels is commonly referred to
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Tested
Display 5.5-inch IPS LCD Resolution 2560x1440 Refresh rate 75Hz Field of view 110 degrees Operating system Daydream OS Dimensions 204x270x180mm Weight 645g Processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Memory 4GB Storage 64GB Connectivity USB-C, microSD card slot, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5
THE DESIGN AWARD
Daydream Believer
Lenovo Mirage Solo The first standalone Google Daydream VR headset adds high-end tracking to a totally wireless virtual experience 9 2 T3 a u g u s t 2 01 8
£349 lenovo.com
That’s where standalone VR headsets come in: all the good stuff, totally wireless and self-contained.
Solo mission s much as VR feels like the future when you try an HTC Vive or PlayStation VR, it’s pretty clear that getting tangled in cables powering the headset from an expensive gaming box would always keep it niche. Phone-based headsets weren’t going to solve the problem, because even slotting your phone in is too much hassle. To take off, VR needs to be easy, convenient, not interfere with the rest of your life, and affordable.
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Like the Oculus Go from last issue, the Lenovo Mirage Solo basically has an Android phone built into it. It’s powered by Google’s Daydream platform, which the best phoneslotting headset uses – this means it’s ready to go with a wide range of apps and experiences immediately. It’s a pretty advanced system too, that promises to let you do VR the way it was meant to be: tracking in threedimensional space thanks to sensors inside and out means you can move
Lenovo Mirage Solo
band together The adjustable headband is a lot like the PlayStation VRs, and puts weight on the forehead (rather than the nose), mercifully
stereo vision The two cameras can detect objects and depth, so the headset can warn you about nearby walls before you come to a hard standstill…
around the environment. It’s even comfortable enough for long VR sessions every so often – not something every headset manages. Getting it to this standard does come with a trade-off, though, and in this case, the cost is… well, the cost. At £349, it’s straining against the idea that mobile VR should be budget. The Oculus Go can be had for £199, but that’s less technically advanced. An HTC Vive set with sensors and controllers is £499, and that offers an even higher-quality experience – but you also need a gaming PC that costs easily the same again.
Middle ground So, it meets its remit of being cheaper than the high-end sets, but it’s still a big chunk of change more than the Oculus Go. There are enough extra technical enhancements jammed in here that we think it’s actually worth it for those looking for something future-proof for the world of VR that’s coming. But Google’s Daydream platform still needs to grow considerably to make this a truly
tempting purchase for the mainstream audience over what the Oculus Go has. Especially when this looks so much more ‘techy’. The Mirage Solo is almost like the love child of the PSVR headset and the Google Daydream View – it’s bright and cheerful, but with two cameras on the front like googly eyes, and a big solid headband, it lacks the casual lifestyle look that the Oculus Go nails. That said, the fact that everything is stuffed into the headset itself makes the comfort levels here really impressive. The weight sits partly on your forehead, with a twisting knob for adjusting the fit around your skull correctly. The display housing can move back and forth without distorting the image, so if you find that light’s seeping in around the edges, you can easily fix it. Those cameras on the front are for WorldSense, Google’s technology that gives the Mirage Solo its impressive 3D tracking. Like the HTC Vive, this headset makes a map of your environment and warns you when you’re about to step outside of a safe
The 110-degree field of view in the Mirage Solo is joint widest in the market, but is still fairly confined
zone. Except unlike the Vive, you’re not bound to your VR-ready room full of sensors. You can take this literally anywhere… that you’re comfortable wearing a headset that cuts you off from the world. Even in a large open areas, Daydream OS seems to limit most experiences with a boundary of about six feet in either direction. It’s not a massive headset in the scheme of things, but it’s still tough to fit into a bag for travel, or toss into a drawer to hide away. Again, the Oculus Go tops it for convenience. The package includes Google’s Daydream remote, which is how you’ll interact with Daydream OS, as well as games and apps.
Unplug and play We usually have to set aside a whole swathe of a VR headset review to talk about setting it up. Even the Oculus Go, vanguard of the convenient future, still has a whole set of steps to take from your phone. But the Lenovo Mirage Solo is as easy and breezy as it should be. Give it a charge, put it on, start it up with the controller a u g u s t 2 01 8 T3 9 3
Competition
win! One of two Ruark R2 Mk3 music streaming systems! An all-in-one music system that brings radio, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth together in audio harmony, worth £419.99 each!
If you want a tech-packed music system that fits neatly on a countertop or sideboard, the Ruark R2 Mk3 is perfect. The compact, minimalist design not only looks great, but manages to squeeze in a pair of custom 3.5inch high-fidelity speaker drivers with 20 watts of audio power, filling your room with clean, crisp music. The best part is that you can be totally flexible about what that music is. Want to chill out to the radio? DAB/DAB+/FM tuning is right there. Want a station from further afield? Built-in internet radio streaming gives you a whole world to choose from. Want to play one of the millions of tracks on Spotify? There’s full support for Spotify Connect. And there’s Bluetooth wireless connectivity, meaning you can stream to it from practically anything, including in glorious hi-res thanks to aptX support. Oh, and you can keep it simple with a 3.5mm analogue input, or
10 4 T3 A u g u s t 2 01 8
USB audio connection. However you like to listen, the R2 Mk3 is ready to go. The flexibility doesn’t end there: you can tune how it sounds by tweaking the bass, mid-range and treble individually, to get the perfect balance no matter whether you’re into Classic FM or some dirty dubstep. You don’t just have to listen on its own great speakers, though; there’s a headphone output, too. It’s all controlled using the intuitive RotoDial system on top: press the buttons to choose how to play, rotate the dial to go through options, or change the volume. Or there’s a remote control for when you don’t want to stay kicked back on the sofa. And we’ve got two of these fab systems, worth £419.99 each, to give away, in the beautiful walnut finish (it’s also available in black or white). To find out more about the R2 Mk3, and Ruark’s other products, visit ruarkaudio.com
To enter, simply answer the following question:
Which form of radio does the R2 Mk3 not support? DAB FM AM Enter today at: bit.ly/ruarkcomp
The competition closes 2 August 2018. By taking part, you agree to be bound by the competition rules: futureplc.com/competition-rules. Entries must be received by midnight on 2 August 2018 (UK time). Open to UK residents aged 18 years and over. There will be two winners, entitled to one Ruark R2 Mk3 unit. The prize is non-transferable and non-refundable. There is no cash alternative.
Best of the best best of…
Entertainment
However serious you are about your TV, movies and gaming setups, we’ve got the perfect buys for a tricked-out living room OLED 4K TV
Value 4K TV Sony AF8 Sony’s next-gen 4K HDR TV looks fantastic thanks to its OLED display and advanced image processing. Because of ingenious tech that uses the screen itself as a speaker, it also sounds superb. From £2,499, sony.co.uk
Top-end 4K TV
HiSense U7A This is a superior mid-range TV that over-delivers for the modest asking price. A smart design and excellent 4K image clarity are its best features, but the Vidaa U smart platform is also easy to live with. From £649, hisense.co.uk
4K HDR projector B&O Eclipse Bang & Olufsen’s fantastic TV features a gorgeous OLED panel and a colossal 450 watts of speaker through its integrated soundbar. The Eclipse comes in different finishes to match your room perfectly. From £7,495, bang-olufsen.com
Value 4K Blu-ray player
Optoma UHZ65 This projector brings cinema-like laser 4K projector to the home for an affordable price, meaning giant-screen Ultra HD detail with the richness of HDR. It’s unbeatable for home movie magic. £4,999, optoma.co.uk
Top-end 4K Blu-ray player
Xbox One S Yes, this is primarily a games console, but it’s a damn good UHD Blu-ray player too. Budget 4K players from other brands still cost around the same as this, but you can’t stick a game in them. £199, microsoft.com
4K streamer
PANASONIC DMP-UB900 The 4K and HDR pictures from this unit are out of this world, packing incredible colour depth and detail in Ultra HD (and making everything else look fantastic, too) to elevate your home cinema experience. £399, panasonic.com
Universal remote Roku Ultra This 4K HDR streaming box packs in a huge range of sources, including Netflix, Amazon, Google Play, iPlayer and more. It’s fast, easy to set up, and the remote includes voice search functionality. £69, amazon.co.uk
TV soundbar
AV receiver Sonos Beam Not only is this a superb-sounding TV speaker, with an excellent mode for enhancing dialogue, it’s multi-room ready with Sonos’ other products, supports Apple AirPlay, and has Alexa built-in. £399, sonos.com
Portable games console Nintendo Switch Not the most powerful current-gen console, but with Nintendo’s legendary games line-up and the flexibility to play in stacks of different control configurations, it’s the best portable machine you can buy. £279, nintendo.com 10 6 T3 a u g u s t 2 01 8
Logitech Harmony Elite A dual-purpose remote, as at home in your hands as it is sat in the corner of your living room, controlling everything from your TV to your lighting. You can even control it from a phone app! £279, logitech.com
MArantz NR1608 Small enough for any setup but packing in features, this receiver offers 7.2-channel surround, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D audio, eight 4K 60Hz HDMI ports, Wi-Fi music playback and smart 4K upscaling. £595, marantz.co.uk
4K games console Xbox One X The most powerful console ever is a true technical marvel, capable of astonishing graphics in native 4K and HDR, and Dolby Atmos 3D sound. It even includes highquality 4K Blu-ray playback. £449, xbox.com/en-gb
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