huawei p30 pro: camera revolution
outdoor gadget special Tech to help you skip the lawnmowing, enjoy the garden, or survive the wilds
Bluetooth turntables
58 Top buys under £100
Classic sound, no wires: 3 decks rated
Smartest new ways to commute
tested
Electric vehicles to beat traffic jams, road tax and fuel bills
samsung galaxy s10+
Why it’s the best Android phone you can buy
5 watches to die for
2019’s most desirable new timepieces
rated
Canon EOS RP
This small camera puts DSLRs to shame
Contents
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live life outdoors
Spring is here, so now is the time to enjoy spending more time outdoors. Whether for you that means hiking or gardening, we have the tech to help you do it
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state of the art We test out three stylish wireless turntables, at a range of budgets, to see which is top of the pops
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the new movement Meet this year’s hottest new watches, including a legendary ’60s prototype that’s finally come to life
Contents
win! A vango taiga 600xl air tent for family camping horizon 008
TOP 10 Meet the supercar you’d kill to own, LG’s mid-range OLED master, and Garmin’s new classy smartwatches
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a spring clean setup Take the strain out of cleaning your home with epic dust-busting tech
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style How to work the light wash denim trend, from shorts to caps
tested
Be in with the chance to win a six-person inflatable Vango tent, complete with footprint sheet!
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samsung galaxy s10+ The S10+ is the ultimate Galaxy experience right now, sure, but is it good enough to buy instead of holding out for the Galaxy Fold or S10 5G?
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Audio Technica m50xbt vs marshall monitor bt
Worth £1,060 TOTAL!
We pit two high-quality Bluetooth headphones against one another
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netgear orbi voice
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BEST OF THE BEST
Test your nerve with a stunt-driving experience, then stock up on kit to leave your car gleaming
This router pulls double duty as a smart speaker, and it does it well. Question is, do you actually need the combination it’s offering?
YOUR IN-DEPTH BUYER’S GUIDE
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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!
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travel Tired of adulting? Escape to a luxury treehouse holiday for grown-ups
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FITNESS & OUTDOORS We show you the kit to help you train for your next marathon
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living Raise your cooking game with Thermomix’s new food processor that’s more akin to a kitchen robot
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GADGET GURU Our tech expert answers your questions about smart toothbrushes, standing desks and, um, USBs
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talking tech Duncan Bell thinks the tech world needs to get in touch with its feelings
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canon eos rp Canon’s newcomer brings high-end full-frame prowess at a lower price. Too good to be true? Let’s hope not
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hi-fi streaming adapters
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and save big money Get the latest offers
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We review four of the best for adding the ease of music streaming to your existing wired hi-fi system
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LENOVO SMART TAB P10 It’s an Android tablet one minute, an Alexa smart screen the next. Meet Lenovo’s wonderful hybrid for those who can’t make up their mind
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Horizon
The best new tech heading your way Edited by Claire Davies
Huawei P30 Pro From £899, huawei
The P20 Pro was one of the stand-out phones of last year, and its successor upgrades pretty much everything. The screen is now a 6.47-inch OLED with HDR support and a wider P3 colour gamut, the powerful Kirin 980 chip from the Mate 20 Pro powers it, the notch is reduced to just a drop, and then there’s the cameras… The Leica quad system is a whole new setup, and in our early tests with the phone, it’s clear that this is a hugely impressive and impossibly versatile camera – photographs are scalpel sharp and burst with colour. The real star of the show is the zoom function, though: the P30 Pro has a 5x optical zoom built into its telephoto lens (using a periscope system), and when that combines with the other cameras, it gives a 10x ‘hybrid’ zoom that Huawei claims is “lossless” thanks to AI trickery. We’ve been trying it, and the results are incredible – it seems to work a little better on things like text than people, which look a tad over-sharpened, but are still a million times better than using a digital-only zoom. We’ve only been able to use it briefly so far, but it feels so slick, and so full of technology, that we’re more excited about it than any non-folding handset this year. A phone with no compromises? Here we go.
tech-o-Meter
Part of the new camera system is a different type of sensor: instead of the usual RGB pixels, the P30 Pro uses RYYB (red-yellowyellow-blue), because yellow pixels can take in twice as much light as their green equivalents
“Huawei ticked all the boxes, and then just kept ticking. This phone looks incredible” Matt Bolton, Editor
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Top 10
high-tech display There’s more to the gorgeous screen than meets the eye… There’s a hidden fingerprint sensor underneath, and it uses acoustic surface tech to turn the whole thing into a powerful speaker (Sony’s highend OLED TVs use similar tech)
soft on software The only small reservation we had in our early testing is that Huawei’s EMUI software over Android 9 isn’t as pretty and slick as the new One UI on the Samsung S10+ (p74)
power pack The 4,200mAh is very generously sized, though you’d hope so when the phone is this big. Like the Mate 20 Pro, it feature reverse wireless charging, so you can juice up your wirelessly-charged headphones, or another phone or anything else, from the P30 Pro by placing the other device on its back
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Horizon
GADGET GURU
T3’s tech expert solves teething troubles and much else besides
Paul Gartside, Hampshire
How can I get smart with brushing my teeth? Ask yourself if you really need to. GaGu went hunting for statistics, but most of them were published by toothpaste companies so he’s not inclined to believe them. Instead, here are some he’s made up: 76% of people scrub their teeth with a manual toothbrush. Less than 0.01% of people use a smart toothbrush, and less than half of those people actually use all of the features as they’re intended. Three of them use it to brush their eyebrows. Those figures are lies, but they do make a very good point about the occasional fallacy of ‘smart’. Do you want to open an app when it’s
ILLUSTRATIONs: stephen kelly
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time to buff your pearly whites with a Colgate E1 (£90) or the Sonicare DiamondClean Smart (£360)? Have your eyes even focused well enough to look at a Bluetoothaddled map of your mouth first thing? Perhaps it’s only Guru who doesn’t wake up properly until mid afternoon, and only then enough to get settled for a refreshing nap.
ABOVE No, silly, a smart toothbrush isn’t one you plug directly into your phone. It’s appcontrolled, innit?
If you love stats, a smart tooth -brush lets you flick through past mouth ablutions to see how well you’re battering plaque
Alright, alright. If you’re serious about cleaning your gnashers, these oft-pricey bristlewands are an interesting experiment. Whether a toothbrush absolutely needs an app or not is a question for another day – there’s no better way to ensure you’re all clean than having a live-in dentist, and they tend to be rather expensive. And if you love statistics, boy will you be happy with this: a smart toothbrush will generally let you flick through past mouth ablutions to see how well you’re battering plaque. But a two-minute timer on your phone and a decent electric brush will likely do you just as well.
send your questions to: inbox@t3.com or facebook.com/T3mag 2 2 T3 m ay 2 019
Live life outdoors
Live life outdoors Make the most of great weather this year by spending more time outdoors, whether that’s camping, chilling in the garden, or hitting the road for an epic adventure. Here’s the tech to help you do it… Words: Chris Barnes Photography: Neil Godwin
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Live life outdoors
Garden the easy way
Take the strain out of outdoor chores, lawn maintenance and yard work with the latest high-tech gardening gadgets 1
Netatmo Weather Station
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Bionic Tough Pro Gloves
Unsure whether you need to water your lawn and plants today, or whether nature is on the case? This smart Weather Station will ping you real time weather notifications, such as the onset of rain, and can even track how much has fallen with an add-on. £149, shop.netatmo.com
With the right gloves, there’s little chance of destroying your hands doing garden work. These ones feature reinforced silicone on sensitive areas including thumbs, fingertips and palms, with anatomical relief pads promoting a more secure grip to prevent a barrage of blisters. £29, amazon.co.uk
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Spear and Jackson Neverbend Trowel Yes it’s a humble purchase among the cuttingedge garden tech found elsewhere on this page, but every gardener needs a trowel, and they don’t come more robust than Spear and Jackson’s weatherproof, anti-bend version. Use it for digging and potting. £13, amazon.co.uk
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Gardena Smart Sensor Control Set
A heatwave doesn’t have to mean frazzled plants and yellow grass. Gardena’s Smart Sensor feeds garden moisture and temperature data to its app, instructing the Smart Water Control (connected between your outside tap and hose) to hydrate your garden before it gets parched. £369, gardena.com
5 Kärcher K5 Compact Patio Washer Perhaps your ‘garden’ is a yard with potted plants, or maybe you have a patio backing onto a lawn. Either way, keep slabs and stones, and weatherproof garden furniture, sparkling clean with Kärcher’s compact pressure washer, designed with telescopic handle. £279, kaercher.com/uk
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Bosch ALR 900 Lawn Raker
A lawn scarifier cuts through garden soil, removing dead moss and debris. In turn, this action aerates the soil, making it healthier. Bosch’s Lawn Raker removes moss and thatching, using a Jet-Collect System and 50-litre collection box to catch debris. £179, shop.bosch-do-it.com/gb 3 0 T3 m ay 2 019
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Garden the easy way
Robomow RX 50 Pro S If your garden is sizeable, you’ll know how much work it takes to maintain turf with a manual lawn mower. Thankfully, salvation is nigh: Robomow’s RX50 Pro S is designed to autonomously tackle sprawling lawns bigger than 400m2, cutting grass and even tidying edges, and all at a neighbour-friendly volume. Program your desired mowing schedule within the Robomow app, or connect the mower to an Alexa device, and use voice commands to put it to work – ideal if the lawn needs a quick spruce up before a garden party, but you need to shower. With the job complete, Robomow returns to its base station to charge, ready for the next job. €949 (£813), robomow.com
Stihl HSA 56 Cordless Hedge Trimmer An award-winning garden power tool to make short work of pruning bushy shrubs and for scaling back unruly hedges. The HSA 56 is lightweight (at 3.7kg with battery) and easy to grip, so it shouldn’t put any strain on your wrists and forearms. It’s quiet in use, so the neighbours won’t hate you if you fire it up on a Saturday morning, and runs for 40 minutes per charge. A double-sided 45cm blade ensures an even cut, whichever angle you’re trimming at. See those mini teardrop blades? They pull in small branches and twigs to make cutting faster and easier. £199, stihl.co.uk m ay 2 019 T3 31
Live life outdoors
Cook more outdoors
Serve mouth-watering chargrilled fish and meat, perfect pizza and ice cold drinks, using the ultimate al fresco host tech
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Weber Genesis II E-410
Between the four stainless steel burners and wide cast iron cooking grates, you’ll never be short on heat or space to whip up a summer feast using Weber’s new gas-powered barbecue. An inner warming rack ensures your banquet stays hot without drying out. £1,099, weber.com
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Meater Block
Cook to perfection using the Meater Block Wireless Smart Thermometer. Tell the app what you’re cooking, then insert the thermometer into the meat. You’ll receive an alert when the meat is cooked. The Block comprises four thermometers for monitoring four cuts at once. £249, meater.com
Ooni Koda Outdoor Pizza Oven No outdoor kitchen is complete without a pizza oven, but building your own can be a faff. This gas-powered beauty is pretty much idiot-proof; it sets up in minutes and is capable of pumping out hot pizza in just 60 seconds. Built-in gas ignition gets those flames rocking instantly, and adjustable heat control enables you to dial in the ideal pizza-cooking temperature up to an eyebrow-singeing 500°C. The powder-coated, cold-rolled carbon steel shell looks the business, and the cordierite stone baking board makes an ideal cooking surface for your creations. The culinary fun doesn’t stop at delicious pizza, either, as the Koda can roast fish, steak, fresh veggies and flatbread. £249, uk.ooni.com
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Femor 3-in-1 Fire Pit
The multi-purpose Femor pulls triple-duty as a compact grill for outdoor cooking, as a fire pit to keep guests toasty when the sun turns out its light, or as a giant ice bucket to chill drinks and canapes. No respectable summer party should be without one. £99, patiomate.co.uk
Survival tech
survival tech
Into the wild Does tech make it easier to survive in the great outdoors? T3 takes to the open spaces of Dartmoor to find out‌ Words: Mark Mayne Photography: Phil Barker
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Survival tech
urvival is easy. Turn on the tap for clean water, hit the ‘increase’ button on your smart heating app, order dinner from your phone. But strip away the phone, the food delivery, even the home itself, and things are considerably less rosy. We recently went to one of the UK’s real wildernesses, Dartmoor, in singlefigure temperatures to find out how to survive in the outdoors for real. Handily, we had some of the latest and best outdoors tech, and professional help in the form of dynamic duo Will Batho and Tom Powell, two adventure guides for Beyonk, the online adventure marketplace. Would this combination be enough to beat the elements?
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Find your way We begin with some scene-setting advice from Will, putting our remote location into a survival context. Based on his military training as a helicopter pilot, the main elements of survival are PLAN: Protection (including fire and shelter), Location (make yourself seen), Acquisition (acquire food and water), Navigation (safest and most direct route to safety/habitation). “The key is to combine these according to the challenge you find yourself in,” says Will, “so in a desert, for example, water may become your first priority.” Today, navigation is our starting point. It’s a transferable skill, whether you’re trekking back to civilisation from a wrecked plane or traipsing around the lakes, but relying entirely on tech is not ideal. Indeed, our Casio Pro Trek F30 has excellent GPS RIGHT Even the might of Nikon’s binocs couldn’t scout a pub within sight FAR RIGHT “And this bit of woodland is where people saw those big cats…”
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smarts coupled with a clear mapping layout, but battery life is just over a single day in full ‘smart’ mode, which would leave you potentially lost in a real survival situation. However, while learning how to use a map and compass is an essential outdoor skill, it is one that requires practice. We begin by planning a short route on a 1:25,000 OS map, a journey that follows the River Dart downstream for a few kilometres, paying attention to contour lines (those orange squiggles) and the number of squares we’re navigating across. “Every 1cm on the map is equal to 250m on the ground, and terrain plays a big part in how long it takes to walk that distance, so don’t get too carried
there are usually towns and villages on river banks, it’s harder to get lost when following a river, and, perhaps most importantly, you have a ready water source. “Having a fast-flowing river like the Dart as a water source is helpful, survival-wise,” Will explains, “as the fast-flowing white water aerates the water, introducing oxygen and UV, which helps kill off harmful bacteria.” Fortunately, we also brought along the LifeStraw Go (£33, amazon.co.uk), a filter bottle with built-in micro biological filter that’ll render even the dirtiest puddle drinkable. So we fill up and march on, breaking out our Nikon Monarch 7 (£479, nikon.co.uk) binoculars to check ahead. Using their powerful optics, we quickly confirm
there’s a built-in micro filter that’ll render the dirtiest puddle drinkable away when planning a route,” says Will. “Good map reading and compass work are a skill that takes time and effort to master, so start off practising somewhere very accessible at first, increasing the difficulty of the terrain as you gain proficiency.” It’s tempting to cheat with the Casio Pro Trek, though, as it’ll display your location at the touch of a button, while a quick swipe up gets you straight into navigating using the familiar Google Maps interface… set to ‘Outdoors’ mode, of course. The benefits of following the river in a survival situation are numerous:
we’re on the right track, so descend across moorland and down into the treeline along the river. Light my fire Making fire is easy enough with dry newspaper and a lighter, but it’s much harder when you’re standing in a wet wood, without firelighters or dry fuel. However, foraging expert Tom has plenty of advice as we navigate through heath, moorland and woods. On the moor, dry gorse sprigs provide excellent tinder, as does a Clematis vine we pass (just the loose bark is taken), while deeper in the
Into the wild
outdoor tech essentials survival gear that’ll help you survive, anywhere, from Pontins to Patagonia
Black Diamond Storm 375 Headtorch The latest iteration of the BD Storm 375 is a compact, feature-laced powerhouse of a headtorch. Firing a 375-lumen beam, there’s a handy tap-operated brightness setting, as well as a dual-button system that allows you to cycle between the main beam, a smaller, localised beam for in-camp faffing and a red light to minimise the pain of those alpine starts in the dark. With IP67 waterproofing, easy safety lock and a battery indicator, this has all the bells and whistles, but in a simple, usable package. £50, eu.blackdiamondequipment.com
Casio Pro Trek F30 The water-resistant (to 50m) outdoor GPS watch from Casio has added smarts in the form of Google Wear OS (voice control is here), and is less bulky than the traditional navigation watch. With a dual-layer touchscreen and impressive mapping capabilities, including the ability to display full-colour maps on the watch face, the Pro Trek F30 is a weekend warrior that will see you through many an adventure. Cramming all that tech in means the battery life is short, but as a do-it-all navigation device (GPS, GLONASS, Michibiki) there’s lots to like. £450, wsd.casio.com
Mountain Hardwear HyperLamina Flame Sleeping Bag Designed to be one of the lightest synthetic bags on the market, this packs down to the size of a large water bottle. With a temperature rating down to zero degrees, the HyperLamina Flame is an ideal sleeping bag for sleeping out in the UK, and will still keep you warm even when wet. Clever body-mapped and welded insulation is designed to eliminate cold spots, and a draught collar and generous internal baffle work to keep the heat in. This will be especially welcome during the wee, cold hours. £209, ellis-brigham.com
Black Diamond Focus Climbing Shoes A dual-velcro, slipper-style shoe, the Focus is marketed as an intermediate choice, but with a curved sole and aggressive toe box, we’d say this is at the top end of that spectrum. However, the power and precision is right up there, and with impressive build quality and comfort-enhancing engineered knit tech in the tongue, this is a climbing shoe that’ll get you up there whatever problem you throw at it – from indoor climbing wall to gnarly crag, these shoes will empower you to bring your A game. £140, cotswoldoutdoor.com
GoPro Hero7 Dusk White The new limited edition of GoPro’s jawdroppingly brilliant action camera not only looks the part, but delivers the digital visuals too. With top-flight in-camera video stabilisation tech, even the choppiest sequences look super-smooth, and with voice activation it’s easy to start recording during key moments. The robust and waterproof Hero7 Dusk White limited edition colourway comes with a helmet mount, flat surface mount and a handy telescopic tripod/selfie stick in a padded case, all ready for your next journey. £379, shop.gopro.com
Columbia OutDry Ex Reign Jacket When it’s really throwing it down, the highly breathable Columbia Reign Jacket is the one you want to be wearing. Fully seam sealed, this robust waterproof jacket will keep you dry in anything short of full immersion. The Reign is designed with a large storm hood that’s fully adjustable, depending on the fit you want to achieve, along with adjustable sleeve cuffs and a drawcord hem, enabling you to keep all rain out. There’s underarm venting to keep you cool on the move, plus useful zippered hand pockets, which you could keep small outdoors tech in. £155, columbiasportswear.co.uk
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Join the e-volution
Join the e-volution Cut commuting costs, save the planet and join a community of e-mobility converts with the latest and greatest crop of personal e-vehicles that make it a snap to get around Words: Leon Poultney Photography: Phil Barker
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Join the e-volution
he spiralling costs of fuel, hikes in insurance premiums and the impracticalities of caring for a hulking box of depreciating metal means car ownership is rapidly becoming a fantasy for many – especially those city dwellers with restricted parking. In years gone by, the only other commuting options would have involved sweating it out on a pedal-powered bicycle, battling the hordes of grumpy morning commuters on public transport or racking up a taxi bill that would have the accountant nervously fretting over piles of receipts come tax return time. Thankfully, improvements in battery technology and the shrinking of powerful electric motors means it is now possible to enjoy electrical assistance across a variety of personal mobility forms. From teeny micro-cars that shun fuel bills, to e-scooters that fold down and fit under a desk, there’s now a form of transport to suit all needs, tastes and budgets. Initial outlay is often a stumbling block preventing those making the
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jump to an e-powered commute, but the savings resulting from plugging in can be considerable. Consider that a litre of petrol now hovers around the £1.20 mark, an average weekly zones 1-4 TfL travel card is a heady £50.50, and innercity parking can range from £10 to £150 per day. Alternatively, a sub-£1,000 e-bike costs roughly 0.13p per mile to run. Or, you could get really lazy, ditch the pedals entirely and your e-scooter will cost as much as cup of cheap coffee to complete the average 17-mile daily commute for a week. Many of the vehicles listed on these pages require little change to your daily habit, too, with access to a domestic plug socket and enough
Many of the vehicles require little change to your daily habit
time to charge among the only real demands on the user. Electric cars are a slightly different kettle of kippers, as their larger battery packs can take days to fully charge via a domestic plug socket. Instead, their makers will advise owners to install a 7kW wall charger at home, or to research the availability of public charging points in the area. Contrary to popular belief, the public charging network is now expanding at a rapid rate and those living in busy cities will likely find there is point located nearby, while various smartphone apps help take the strain out of plotting longer journeys or working out those points that are free or faulty. Finally, we’ve included a bit of detail about the legalities of these various modes of e-transport, as there can be some confusion over licences, taxation and insurance requirements. Just because you are emitting nothing but a warm glow of planet-saving satisfaction from your tailpipes doesn’t necessarily mean you can ride, park or charge your electric wheels however and whenever you please.
the stats
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how many vehicles will be powered by plug-in hybrid, electric or fuel cell technology by 2050
cost to run an e-moped per mile
£1500 2020
the max government grant to purchase a new electric motorcycle
the year the number of electric charging points in the UK will outweigh petrol stations M A Y 2 0 1 9 T3 51
Join the e-volution
e-bikes
Ride like Chris Hoy, without the need for thighs of steel Gocycle G3 Take some of the brightest minds in automotive engineering and throw in a passion for portable, twowheeled transport and you get a sexy, light and smart folding e-bike. The G3 has many neat features, including an allelectric range of 50 miles on a single charge, built-in daytime running lights, hydraulic disc brakes and a folding mechanism that takes seconds to master. Oh, and it also features a patented Pitstopwheel, which can be removed with eyes closed and one hand tied behind the back. From ÂŁ3,499, gocycle.com
Why an e-bike? E-bikes are a far cry from the weighty brutes of yesteryear. Electric motors housed in the wheel hubs or embedded in the crank system ensure riders receive a varying amount of torque assistance on the daily ride, making longer journeys a breeze and turning mountains into molehills. To legally ride on the road, the majority of these machines will only offer e-assistance up to a certain speed (around 15mph), so don’t expect to keep up with typical traffic. But the powerful electrical assistance means nippy acceleration and a sweatfree journey to work.
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Specialized S-Works Turbo Levo Downhill mountain biking is awesome, until you face the messy business of returning to the top of the rad incline you just tore to pieces. But the carbon frame and 150mm of Fox Float suspension travel make this a formidable trail king, with the addition of a new Specialized 2.1 Rx trail-tuned motor that provides 250W of electric assistance. Instant torque, as well as a new 700Wh battery that provides 40% more capacity and range than its predecessor equate to one ass-kicking, mud-loving e-bike package. ÂŁ9,999, specialized.com
Wireless turntables
Wireless turntables
Two words: game changing. Two more words: quite fiddly Words: Duncan Bell Photography: Neil Godwin
inyl’s revival may be a blip on a chart compared to the growth of music streaming, but there’s no denying that the medium is making a comeback. Ten years ago it looked like you’d need a medium to communicate with it by now, but instead vinyl pressing plants are re-opening, record sales are booming and turntables are back on a lot of people’s shopping lists. And not just those of
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really old people, either. Kids are queuing up to buy record players with built-in speakers for 50 quid and then wax lyrical about how much ‘warmer’ the sound is. Idiots. If you buy a turntable that doesn’t have a speaker built in, it’s usually something of a pain to position and setup, but these gamechanging wireless (Bluetooth) decks change all that. Well, they change most of that. They are still a touch fiddly, as you will read over the
next five pages. If you don’t have a dedicated ‘hi-fi area’ in your home, they are an absolute godsend; now, your record player can be positioned anywhere you like, because it doesn’t need a pre-amp or to be in close proximity to an amplifier and/or speakers. The growth of the wireless audio market also means there is a speaker to suit all of these models, from the entry level Audio-Technica to Cambridge Audio’s sumptuous Alva TT… M A Y 2 0 1 9 T3 59
State of the Art
What’s on test…
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Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT We have something for every taste and budget in this instalment of State of the Art. This AudioTechnica turntable is excellent, but you’d have to say it’s for those whose taste is for the more plasticky end of the market and whose budget is a tad limited. £179, eu.audio-technica.com
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Pro-Ject Essential III BT Pro-Ject makes a turntable to suit just everyone: cheap ones, pricey ones, ones with digital outputs, ones you hang vertically on your wall… And now they make this, the brand’s top-selling model III Essential, served with a helping of Bluetooth. It really looks the part in a choice of high-gloss paint finishes. £319, henleyaudio.co.uk
SPECS
SPECS
Connectivity aptX and SBC Bluetooth, 3.5mm analogue out, switchable between phono and line level drive Belt drive Speed selection Button
Connectivity SBC Bluetooth, phono level dual RCA out, line level dual RCA out drive Belt drive Speed selection Manual
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Cambridge Audio Alva TT This one takes things way up the scale, with build like a brick shipyard, and the inclusion of aptX HD. Where the Audio-Technica uses standard aptX, which is of approximately CD quality, the Alva TT encodes and transmits your vinyl at high resolution – 24-bit/48KHz. The look here is very no-nonsense and premium. £1,500, cambridgeaudio.com
SPECS Connectivity aptX HD, aptX and SBC Bluetooth, line level dual RCA out drive Direct drive Speed selection Button
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Wireless turntables test 01:
Audio-Technica AT-LP60XBT
initial Setup Just turn it on and connect to your Bluetooth speaker, right? Not quite… he promise of Bluetooth record players is to do away with the inconvenience that used to be synonymous with these devices. However, while they undoubtedly make placement easier – you can put them anywhere you like, with no need to consider the position of your speaker/s – there are some new setup issues to consider. The main one of these is that connecting via Bluetooth without using a phone, laptop or anything else with a screen is not entirely straightforward. You need to put whatever you’re pairing with into pairing mode, then activate pairing on the turntable, then wait for it to pair. This sounds simple enough, but with no indication that anything at all is happening, it’s actually rather stressful. If you then want to pair with a second device – headphones, say – you will need to turn off the device you already paired with in order to repeat the process. More problematic, when you then re-pair with either your speaker or your headphones, the other device will need to be turned off, or the turntable may pair with the ‘wrong’ device. With no app, you can’t just switch between devices in the way you’re used to. All that said, Audio-Technica’s AT-LP60XBT was an absolute doddle to fire up. You can literally take it out of the box, follow the Bluetooth pairing process/es detailed
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Pro-Ject Essential III BT
Cambridge Audio Alva TT
The Audio-Technica was a doddle to fire up. Just pair it and you’re away
TEST 01: WInner
Audio-Technica This one isn’t even close – the AT-LP60XBT is basically ready to go from the box, and the Bluetooth connection is really simple to get up and running.
above and you’re away. There’s no tone arm setup – it’s just there – and attaching the rubber belt to the platter, while fiddly, is easy enough. Cambridge Audio’s Alva TT has slightly fiddlier Bluetooth setup, and you need to calibrate the tone arm. This is fairly straightforward, but it must be said that most tech these days does not find you balancing an arm on a funny little plastic see-saw thing, to ensure the ‘down force’ is correct. Vinyl veterans will love it; anyone who’s grown up in the digital age may feel perplexed. Pro-Ject’s deck is the biggest pain to set up. You have to manually balance the tone arm, there’s a counterweight on a piece of fishing line that needs to be fitted – yes, really – and the belt drive needs to be stretched into place. Oh, and there are two power switches. Bluetooth pairing doesn’t even involve a button, never mind a display, which caused much head-scratching here. However, once setup is complete, you never really need to worry about any of this again.
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The new movement
The new movement From a legendary ’60s prototype come to life at last, to a high-end diving watch saving the ocean with recycled plastic, these are the most ground-breaking, desirable watches to buy in 2019 Words: Matt Bolton, Spencer Hart
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Tudor Black Bay P01
tudor black bay P01
In 1967, Tudor developed a dive watch that was intended to become standard issue for the US Navy, based on research into functionality, ergonomics and US Government specs. This project, codenamed ‘Commando’, never came to fruition... until now. The P01 is based on a prototype from this study, building on it with modern tech and featuring a unique bezel-lock inspired by the original’s removable bezel mechanism. Respecting the watch’s utilitarian heritage, the steel case, waterproof to 200m, is entirely satin-brushed for a matt finish. It houses a domed matt-black dial with painted luminescent hour markers, and Tudor’s Manufacture Calibre MT5612. This movement is certified as a chronometer by COSC and has a 70-hour power reserve. £2,830, tudorwatch.com
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Tested
THE DESIGN AWARD
Processor Exynos 9820 Octa-Core Screen 6.4-inch, 1440x3040 AMOLED Memory 8GB/12GB Storage 128GB/512GB/1TB Battery 4,100mAh Cameras 12MP wide, 12MP ultra-wide, 12MP telephoto rear; 10MP, 8MP depth front OS Android 9.0, OneUI Dimensions 157.6x74.1x7.8mm Weight 198g
From £899 samsung.com
he Samsung S10+ exists in a weird limbo right now. It’s currently the pinnacle of Samsung’s prowess: this is its most advanced, expensive phone so far. But that’s only until the Galaxy Fold and the S10 5G arrive to take its technological crown. So is the S10+ just a caretaker manager then, waiting for the real boss to arrive? If so, it’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
T
…and beyond
To Infinity-O…
Samsung Galaxy S10+ Packed with new tech all over, plus a smart new twist on Android, Samsung retakes its Android crown
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The design isn’t a massive break from the S9+ of last year, but it has been upgraded with features such as the striking Infinity-O display, ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, rear-mounted triple-camera, and wireless powersharing, to name a few. It’s brimming with new features and has a price tag to match: it starts at £899 for the 128GB model, but rises to £1,399 for the maxed-out model with 12GB of RAM and 1TB of built-in storage, plus the option to expand with a 512GB microSD. This is the ‘Ultimate Performance Edition’ which seems like a fitting description.
Samsung Galaxy S10+
S10+ meet HDR10+ This is the first phone to support the HDR10+ standard for its display. This dynamic form of HDR looks better than the regular kind, but support isn’t widespread yet. It’s nice future-proofing, though
Bye bye Bixby Samsung’s voice assistant, Bixby, isn’t great. Mercifully, the button dedicated to summoning it can now be changed to do something more useful, such as instantly launch the camera app
However much you pony up, you get the same excellent hardware experience. The curvaceous front and back feels solid in the hand, and while the aluminium band doesn’t have quite the same premium heft as the stainless steel on the similarly-priced iPhone XS, that’s a tiny nitpick in an outstanding piece of hardware. The expansive 6.4-inch Quad HD+ AMOLED display feels like it fills every available corner of the handset, though there is a bit of a bezel around it. The OLED panel itself is absolutely stunning. It’s bright, with gorgeous colours and cavernous blacks. It’s a genuine joy to behold. Samsung offers two settings for the display: Vivid and Natural. The latter is the default and is a little more subdued than some of the previous entries in the Galaxy S series, but feels more accurate. We much prefer it. The curved edges mean that the Galaxy S10+ isn’t as wide as rivals including the iPhone XS Max, so typing one-handed while juggling a coffee isn’t impossible, but it does take some practise.
The Infinity-O display isn’t the prettiest design and does take some getting used to. Samsung does a good job of obscuring the hole-punch camera with some aggressive shading in the top right-hand corner of its preinstalled wallpapers. But when you’re presented with a bright white screen – like every time you launch the Messages app – the pill-shaped cut-out for the dual front-facing is a real cycloptic eyesore. It also means the battery life, Wi-Fi and 4G signal icons are shifted into an asymmetrical position close to the centre of the screen, which looks pretty awful. Hole punch screens can be done well, but Samsung hasn’t quite nailed it yet.
Double vision What the dual selfie cameras lack in beauty, they more than make up for when snapping. The S10+, which is the only model in the S10 range with dual front-facing cameras, is the only device capable of shooting Live Focus selfies. These photographs add an adjustable, artificial bokeh-style blur
The 6.4-inch screen matches the Note 9 for size. The next Note will have to be a true monster…
to the background behind the subject, as well as other effects including the excellent Colour Point mode, which turns the background greyscale so that only the subject is left in colour. The new Live Focus modes produce usable shots more reliably than Apple’s similar Portrait Lighting effects on the iPhone. Standard selfies look great, too – while the photos aren’t quite as sharp and detail-packed as those from the Google Pixel 3’s front camera, we don’t necessarily feel the need to see each individual hair and pore. Flip the phone over and you will find a new triple-camera system. This includes a 12MP wide-angle camera, a 16MP ultra-wide sensor and a 12MP 2x telephoto lens. This setup means you can take 0.5x wide-angle shots, the same as those seen on the Huawei Mate 20 Pro, as well as 2x optical zoom. Both are hugely useful – the ultra-wide, in particular, can produce really striking photos, especially in the middle of cities. With the S10+, Samsung has finally ditched the rear-mounted fingerprint m ay 2 019 T3 75
Competition
win! A Vango Taiga AIR 600XL family tent for true luxury camping This six-person inflatable tent is so comfy and spacious, you’ll be able to enjoy holidaying in the great outdoors for much longer this year
Worth
£1,060
TOTAL!
Camping with family is fun, unless you’re all squashed into a tiny tent that offers little privacy or protection from the elements. That’s why we love the Vango Taiga Air 600XL, an inflatable tent that offers everything you could want for a comfy family camping holiday… and we have one, plus Footprint groundsheet (for enhanced waterproofing), to give away! The Taiga Air 600XL sits in Vango’s prestigious line of AirBeam inflatable tents (double-action pump included). These are fast and fuss-free to pitch, so even the kids can help out. There are three king-sized bedrooms to spread out in, with ample sleeping space per person. Happily, the bedrooms have Lights-out Inners to block bright, blinding sunshine in the mornings. Hanging out with family and friends is a joy when you have a living space this big,
too, and it doubles as a place where you can arrange your camping furniture. Lanterns, wash bags and other kit can be hung from the SkyTrack II flexible hanging system. Want to increase the size of your living space? The multi-function awning can be ‘poled-out’ to create a sun canopy in the day, bringing the outside in. The Mesh Door and Diamond Clear Windows also create the illusion of a bigger space, enabling you to view the outside as you sit snugly inside. This issue, we have one Vango Taiga Air 600XL and matching Footprint groundsheet to give away to one lucky T3 reader. To be in with a chance of winning, enter via the address on the right. To find out more about the Taiga Air 600XL and matching Footprint, plus many other products in Vango’s award-winning range, visit vango.co.uk.
To enter, simply answer the following question:
What is vango’s flexible hanging system called? SkyFall II SkyDive II SkyTrack II Enter today at: bit.ly/t3vangocomp
The competition closes on 10 May 2019. By taking part, you agree to be bound by the competition rules: futureplc.com/competition-rules. Entries must be received by midnight on 10 May 2019 (UK time). Open to UK residents aged 18 years and over. There will be one winner, entitled to one Vango Taiga 600XL Air and Footprint. The prize is nontransferable and non-refundable. There is no cash alternative.
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best of the best The world’s best tech, all in one place Edited by Matt Bolton
inside Smartphones
88
Cheap smartphones
88
Smartwatches
88
Hybrid smartwatches
89
Watches
89
Watches under £500
89
TVs
90
TVs under £1,000
90
Projectors
90
Soundbars
91
Streamers
91
Games consoles
91
Turntables
92
Streaming DACs
92
Multi-room speakers
92
Bluetooth speakers
93
Bluetooth headphones
93
True wireless headphones
93
Noise-cancelling headphones
94
Wired in-ear headphones
94
Wired over-ear headphones
94
Laptops
95
2-in-1 laptops
95
Tablets
95
Gaming laptops
96
Gaming headsets
96
4K monitors
96
Drones
97
Action cameras
97
Cheap action cameras
97
DSLR cameras
98
Mirrorless cameras
98
Compact cameras
98
Sat-navs
99
Dash cams
99 99
Electric bikes
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.
Smart speakers
100
Smart bulbs
100
Smart thermostats
100
Smart plugs
101
Security cameras
101
Robot vacuums
101
Cordless vacuums
102
Washing machines
102
Dishwashers
102
Coffee machines
103
Fridges
103
Ovens
103
Electric shavers
104
Electric toothbrushes
104
Beard trimmers
104
Fitness trackers
105
Running watches
105
Running headphones
105
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Best of the best
Smartphones
Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestphone Apple iPhone XS
From £999, apple.com/uk The phenomenal speed, hyperpremium build quality, fantastic camera and gorgeous HDR screen with Dolby Vision support make this the world’s most desirable phone.
Samsung Galaxy S10+
Cheap smartphones
Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcheapphone Honor Play
Apple Watch Series 4
£249, hihonor.com Pitched as a gaming phone, but it’s just an all-round brilliant Android phone that’s a stone-cold bargain. It has a high-end processor, 6.3-inch screen, good rear cameras, and a fantastic design.
OnePlus 5T £327, oneplus.com/uk
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Sony Xperia XA1
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 From £899, samsung.com A stunning 6.4-inch screen, fast internals and advanced new S Pen digital stylus elevate this phone. The S Pen and clever split-screen app shortcuts make it a powerhouse for productivity.
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From £399, apple.com/uk This truly straddles the line between tech and fashion; it’s not just the bestlooking smartwatch, but its plethora of health and fitness features, plus strong app options, make it the most useful.
Samsung Galaxy Watch
From £899, samsung.com A premium build, incredible Infinity-O screen with HDR10+, brilliant rear triple camera system and blazing performance in Samsung’s slick new One UI make this the Android king.
From £899, huawei.com With a lightningfast processor, a beautiful OLED screen, a knock-out Leica camera system, a next-gen in-display fingerprint reader, a 4,200 mAh battery, and Android 9.0 Pie, this is a marvel.
Smartwatches
Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsmartwatch
This is a brilliant buy thanks to the price it’s dropped to, plus flagship-level specs such as the speedy Snapdragon processor, 6GB of RAM, OLED display and premium aluminium finish.
£129, sonymobile.com
From £279, samsung.com The best smartwatch for Android users brings a circular screen with great rotating bezel, and slick Tizen software that’s easy to use. It looks good too, and the battery life of up to six days is ace.
Tag Heuer Connected Modular 45 £1,950, tagheuer.com
A good budget buy with a superb camera sensor (23MP!), and design that looks smarter than the price suggests. You get good performance at all times from it, and an HD screen.
Samsung Galaxy A8 £279, samsung.com The A8’s camera package, both front and back, is stellar, and the roundedcorner OLED screen, coupled with an eight-core processor and 4GB RAM make it feel high-end. A real bargain.
This beauty, mimicking a traditional mechanical watch, ticks the luxury and heritage boxes. The Modular adds some welcome customisation to the smartwatch mix, too.
Skagen Falster 2 From £279, skagen.com This is an excellent choice for thinner wrists, thanks to minimal looks and a modern slim strap style. Wear OS bring notifications, activity tracking, Google Assistant, and more smarts.
Best of the best
hybrid smartwatches
watches
Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besthybrid
Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwatch
Withings Steel HR Sport
Tudor Black Bay GMT
£190, withings.com Featuring a heart-rate 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.
Mondaine Helvetica 1
£2,790, tudorwatch.com Sporting a bold 41mm steel case and distinctive blue and burgundy bezel, the Black Bay GMT can keep track of three time zones, making it ideal for those who often travel internationally.
TAG Heuer Autavia
£195, mondaine.com Mondaine is most famous for producing watches which resemble its classic Swiss Railways clock, but the Helvetica range is different. It includes activity and sleep tracking.
Kronaby Sekel
£4,250, tagheuer.com Part of TAG’s Heritage range, the Autavia was favoured by racing drivers in the 1960s. The vintage silver dial features a retro Heuer logo, and is encircled by a black aluminium bezel.
Omega Seamaster 300
£445, kronaby.com Looking for more than a pedometer? The Sekel vibrates to alert you to notifications on your phone, and there’s a button which can be programmed with IFTTT to do loads.
£5,520, omegawatches.com The 300 recalls its iconic namesake, but has been updated to include Omega’s more modern watch tech, including the anti-magnetic Master Co-Axial mechanical movement inside.
Garmin Vivomove HR Premium
Breitling Navitimer B01 Chronograph
£170, garmin.com
£6,460, breitling.com The Navitimer is Breitling’s most iconic collection. This model boasts a 43mm stainless steel case with a transparent back, showing off the selfwinding movement.
This hybrid has key features like heart-rate monitoring, the ability to estimate your VO2 Max, as well as wellness tools that suggest you take a moment to breathe when showing stress.
watches under £500
Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwatch500 Victorinox I.N.O.X V
£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.
Hamilton Khaki Field £375, hamiltonwatch.com This is a faithful recreation of its original 1960s forebearer and is true to Hamilton’s military heritage. The 38mm stainless steel case is paired with a durable NATO strap.
Tissot Quickster Chronograph £295, tissotwatches.com This packs a Swiss quartz movement with 1/10 of a second counters, central 60-seconds chronograph hand, and add/split functionality. The case is finished with a sleek PVD coating.
Christopher Ward C5 Malvern Mk III £495, christopherward.co.uk This sleek dress watch retains its classic British design cues from older models, but features a new 39mm stainless steel case with Fluid ‘light-catcher’ lines and 38 hours power reserve.
Get free headphones worth £49.99 when you subscribe to T3 for 1 year! Choose a Print or Print+Digital bundle at: myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/ttt/e11c
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9000
Luxuries Exclusive gifts to seriously spoil yourself
E l e ktr a M ic ro C a sa Sem i au tom atic SXC Here we have the world’s most expensive alarm clock. Okay, so it’s actually a coffee machine, but if one thing’s going to get you out of bed in the morning, it’s the prospect of making a cuppa with something this magnificent. The latest in a long line of wonderfully eccentric coffee machines built by Italian firm Elektra, since the 1940s, the Micro Casa Semiautomatic SXC is a visually arresting creation of silver-tone brass and wood. Equally stimulating is the coffee it serves up, thanks to a built-in steaming system, filters and cup heater all contributing to a barista-level taste experience. Catering for the masses? No problem here, as a two-litre boiler capacity means there’s more than enough to go around. £1,950, mrporter.com
NEXT issue is on sale friday 1o may Upgrade every part of your gadget life with the Best Tech for Everything! 10 6 T3 m ay 2 019