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GOOGLE PIXEL 7 PRO: IS IT WORTH THE BUY?

Top-of-the-range TVs, superb surround systems and astounding soundbars

HOT

iPHONE 14 PRO MAX REVIEWED

+ 10 TIPS

TO GET YOUR TECH FOR LESS!

Must-have SECURITY GADGETS

Its always-on display will blow you away

SMART SPEAKERS UNDER £300

REVIEWED

ASUS’ FOLDING OLED TABLET The versatile Zenbook 17 Fold is a serious flex

GREAT UPGRADES FOR YOUR GAFF

Top tech for entertaining, dining and unwinding with friends and family

RATED

PANASONIC LZ2000 Bright OLED picture, trailblazing 3D sound

ISSUE 340

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

QUALITY CONTROL Don’t worry that this digital trickery will impact the quality of your favourite recordings: its digital signal processor runs at 24 bits and uses a 96kHz sampling rate for precise processing

PRO-JEC T V IN Y L N R S BOX S3 A slight crackle is a part of the joy of listening to vinyl. But if you’re a collector of classic and second-hand records, you’ll know only too well you can have too much of a good thing. Fortunately, Pro-Ject has come up with an innovative solution for taming pops and hiss on your older LPs. Stick this innovative device in after your phono preamp and its digital de-crackle algorithms will get to work reducing the peaks of pops and clicks by up to 8dB, depending on how high you set its potentiometer. Still not happy with the amount of fuzz reaching your ears? Then hit the Vinyl Noise Reduction System switch! This splits the audio into two distinct frequency bands and runs it through two expanders that increase the signal to noise ratio, reducing the background noise by up to 8dB. £289, project-audio.com

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Meet the team

MEET OUR ADVERTISING TEAM Get in touch to see what T3 can do for your brand! ACCOUNT MANAGER CHARLOTTE BECKETT charlotte.beckett@futurenet.com ADVERTISING DIRECTOR SASHA McGREGOR sasha.mcgregor@futurenet.com

JOSH RUSSELL Editor

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RUSSELL LEWIN Production Editor

THE GLOBAL MAGAZINE T3 is currently licensed worldwide, from Australia to Mexico JO GULLIVER Group Art Director

GRAHAM BARLOW Group Editor In Chief

MAT GALLAGHER Editor in chief, T3.com

FRANCE

ROBERT JONES Deputy Editor, T3.com

DUNCAN BELL Lifestyle Editor

MIKE LOWE Tech Editor

POLAND

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Welcome

Editor’s letter Everyone loves a good bargain. David Dickinson. Pete Townshend. Faust. Which is what makes this such a wonderful time of year: bargains abound, from October’s Prime Day 2: Prime Another Day to the upcoming Black Fortnight (or ‘Friday’, as they still insist on calling it). No matter where you look right now, you can net some satisfying deals on top tech. ,èP QRW LPPXQH WR WKH WHPSWDWLRQ WR VKRS XQWLO , ZHOO QHHG D VLW GRZQ (YHU\WKLQJ IURP PXVLF JDGJHWV WR WKH QHZ .LQGOH 6FULEH DUH FXUUHQWO\ VLWWLQJ RQ P\ DKHP çVKRUWè OLVW DQG WKDWèV MXVW WKH JDGJHWV $GG LQ P\ XVXDO GLHW RI GHVLJQHU ERDUG JDPHV VDQGER[ VLPV DQG REVFXUH YLQ\O DQG LWèV VDIH WR VD\ P\ EDQN VWDWHPHQWV KDYH VWDUWHG WR ORRN OLNH D SDLQW E\ QXPEHUV -DFNVRQ 3ROORFN ,I \RX DOVR QHHG D KDQG ZKLWWOLQJ GRZQ \RXU ZLVKOLVW ZH FDQ KHOS :HèYH SDFNHG WKLV T3 IXOO RI EDUJDLQ SULFHG WHFK å ZKHWKHU \RX QHHG VXSHUE VPDUW VSHDNHUV RU VWHOODU VHFXULW\ FDPHUDV ZH KDYH WKH GHYLFHV IRU \RX 3OXV RXU EUHDNGRZQ RI QH[W JHQ 79V DQG VRXQGEDUV ZLOO KHOS \RX DFKLHYH KRPH FLQHPD KHDYHQ ZLWKRXW VSHQGLQJ WRR PXFK )LQDOO\ LI \RXèUH ORRNLQJ IRU DQ H[WUD OLWWOH EDUJDLQ ZK\ QRW SLFN XS LVVXHV RI T3 IRU MXVW e RQ SDJH D JUHDW &KULVWPDV JLIW IRU \RXUVHOI RU D ORYHG RQH

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Contents

Contents 029

LEVEL UP YOUR HOME CINEMA

From affordable sets and soundbars to deluxe quantum dot OLED TVs and Dolby Atmos surround systems

+ 10 TIPS

TO GET YOUR TECH FOR LESS!

P61

042

047

UPGRADE YOUR HOME

Essential tech improvements for your home while hosting family and friends over the holidays

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055

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO...

Smart security cameras for protecting your possessions and property

SMART SPEAKERS AND SCREENS

From £17 to £1,299, here are the slickest speakers you can buy, no matter your budget

Contents BEST OF THE BEST

HORIZON

TESTED

010

066

HORIZON TOP 10 *HW \RXU VPDUWZDWFK Ć[ DQG GLVFRYHU what makes Google’s Pixel Watch tick

iPHONE 14 PRO MAX

A huge hi-res camera sensor, slick always-on display and that Dynamic ,VODQG PDNH WKLV D VXUHĆUH KLW

070

iPHONE 14

A modest step forward that is still by far the best mid-range iPhone to date

071

018

STYLE

SONOS SUB MINI

This mighty, moderately priced micro sub makes only a few sonic missteps

Don’t get caught out in the cold this winter – don some of these duds

079

020

FITNESS

YOUR IN-DEPTH BUYER’S GUIDE

Give those tired guns a rub with Therabody’s inspired massage gun

072

ASUS ZENBOOK 17 FOLD OLED This bold, folding tablet may make your discrete laptop and monitor obsolete

2XU JLDQW EX\HUèV JXLGH KHOSV \RX ĆQG 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!

074

021

TRAVEL

PANASONIC LZ2000

Panasonic’s set offers stunning 4K images and gamechanging 3D sound

Cruise the country in comfort with the new luxury Range Rover

AND SAVE BIG MONEY Get the latest offers

022

040

LIVING

Enjoy the Instant Brands’ all-in-one air frying and pressure cooking beast

024

GADGET GURU

076

BOSE QUIETCOMFORT EARBUDS 2

Attain tech contentment, spook spiders and make your boots muck-proof

Bose’s superb noise-cancelling buds can keep practically any racket at bay

027

078

TALKING TECH

Duncan Bell gives the lie to air frying

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GOPRO HERO 11 BLACK

Smoother 5.3K video, great big sensor

Horizon

The best new tech heading your way

GOOGLE PIXEL WATCH From £339, store.google.com It’s finally arrived. After literally years of speculation, and a fair few leaky months where we were pretty sure of exactly what the Pixel Watch would be but couldn’t actually tell you, it’s here. But does Google’s first official foray onto the wrist make the most of the company’s acquisition of Fitbit and its experience in producing WearOS for others – and has it kept enough tricks up its sleeve for this to be special? All signs point to yes. While the processing package in here isn’t the burliest, comprising primarily of the Exynos 9110 chip found in some older Samsung Galaxy Watches, early wearers suggest that helps its battery make it through 24 hours without the need to drop to a lowpower mode or compromise its always-on display. Google has also, it seems, optimised its software to the hilt, making this potentially the smoothest WearOS device to hit the market despite packing lower power on paper. Fitbit’s influence is front and centre: a purchase gets you six months of Fitbit premium and the company’s well-honed smarts ensuring the heart rate, blood oxygen and ECG sensors in the Pixel Watch run super-smoothly; new features like fall detection are apparently coming soon, helping this keep pace with the far more mature Apple Watch. Android or iPhone, this might even be a better choice than going Apple if you’re worried about your wallet given that the base model vastly undercuts Apple’s alternative. Time will tell, though, whether it’s quite slick enough to win the wrist.

TECH-O-METER

TOUGH STUFF The case of the Pixel Watch is made of 80% recycled stainless steel, and it’s tough enough to withstand 5 atmospheres when swimming; the 3D crystal is made of Gorilla Glass 5, so it won’t scratch easily.

“Worth the wait – the smartwatch game is now a two-horse race” Josh Russell, Editor

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Top 10

EXTRA SPECS A Cortex M33 coprocessor deals (we presume, given its spec sheet) both with making sure touch inputs are super-responsive and keeping battery use to an absolute minimum – and a generous 32GB of ﬂash storage means apps and music get plenty of room.

IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE

SIZE MATTERS Unlike the Apple Watch, which offers the option of a smaller 41mm model and a 45mm version suitable for meatier wrists, the Pixel Watch simpliﬁes things with a single 41mm edition, either with standard wireless or (for £379) 4G LTE connectivity.

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 11

Horizon Top 10

GOOGLE PIXEL 7 PRO £849, store.google.com

IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE

A new Pixel phone is cause for celebration. But how loud should our festivities be? Internalswise we’re in very much the same kind of space as last year’s Pixel 6 Pro – there’s a new generation of Google’s impressive Tensor chipset and a nigh-identical camera package in a phone that also looks very similar outwardly. But quality-of-life? That’s a different story. This gets face unlock, a built-in VPN, faster image taking with advanced unblurring functions, and (distinct from the non-Pro version) a 4.8x optical zoom and newly reﬁned Macro Focus. Both the Pro and the standard Pixel 7 also tighten up the screen, tighter bezels surrounding a far brighter 6.7-inch AMOLED – larger than the non-Pro’s 6.3-inch panel. Evolution, not revolution then – but this should stay on the right side of natural selection. T3 SAYS: The price is right, too...

TECH-O-METER

DRAGONFLY HYPERSCOOTER DF £2,500, dragonflyhyperscooter.com

T3 SAYS: Innovation in the scooter space? We’re all for it.

TECH-O-METER

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IMAGE SOURCE: DRAGONFLY

Dragonfly calls this the ‘world’s first hyperscooter’, which isn’t a difficult feat to pull off if you’ve just invented the word hyperscooter. To be fair, though, this does do scooting differently. Four wheels is better than two when it comes to stability, and you won’t need to put a foot down when you come to a stop; conversely, the rigidity of traditional e-scooters has been switched out for a flexible link between deck and wheels, which allows you to carve through the streets like a snowboard. Great fun and highly manoeuvrable, then, but also asking for trouble if riders decide to start getting fancy rather than watching the road. At least this is a case where we’re kinda glad that in the UK it will be legally capped at 15.5mph.

Horizon Top 10

AMAZON KINDLE SCRIBE £330, amazon.co.uk

IMAGE SOURCE: AMAZON

Amazon’s latest is the biggest Kindle yet with a 10.2-inch display, and it’s a clear salvo ﬁred back against versatile e-ink rivals like the ReMarkable 2 and Onyx Boox Note Air 2 Plus, which mix tablet and stylus in perfect harmony. Yep, you can write and draw on this one – and we’re promised improved connectivity, including the ability to scrawl notes on things like Word documents. It looks like this’ll make a great reader, particularly if your eyes aren’t up to smaller screens, but at a price beyond even the already-too-expensive Kindle Oasis we’d imagine the Scribe is more suitable for business or student use that’s actually going to make the most of its stylus. That said, this is a big change for Amazon’s Kindle strategy – could this new functionality usher in an app ecosystem, too? T3 SAYS: A whole new type of Kindle.

TECH-O-METER

PSVR 2 £TBA, sony.co.uk

T3 SAYS: Okay, it’ll sell a ton anyway.

TECH-O-METER

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IMAGE SOURCE: SONY

Valve’s pace in the VR race is slowing; Meta’s Quest Pro is very much the premium end of the market. Leave it to Sony, then, to brew up what might end up being the deﬁnitive VR experience. By offering each eye a dense 2000 x 2040 OLED, driving those panels up to 120Hz, and reﬁning its lens tech to the point that the PSVR 2 offers 110 degrees of vision in an incredibly streamlined and lightweight body, the hardware seems right – and that’s not even mentioning the new VR2 Sense controllers, a pair of orb-like grips which look ace. There’s a one-cable connection to the PlayStation 5 console’s front USB port, so it’s easy to just plug in and play. Sony says ‘over 20’ titles are in development for this PS5-only headset, which doesn’t sound a lot – if it softens on PC compatibility, we’d bet it’ll sell a ton of these.

Horizon

BOWERS & WILKINS PX8 £599, bowerswilkins.com

IMAGE SOURCE: BOWERS & WILKINS

Compare the Px8 and the Px7 S2 on paper and you’ll not ﬁnd much between them. The battery life is identical at 30 hours, they’re both packing six microphones for noise cancelling, and even the outward design is very similar. We’re not sure if the ANC is any different here, either. So what gives? Why is B&W asking an astonishing £600 for these – putting them right at the top of the ANC over-ear price table? Basically because they’re super-premium. The build here is a huge step up, with nappa leather ear cups and cast aluminium arms ensuring these will take far more of a beating than their cheaper cousins. And the sound should be astonishing: here B&W couples a revised and optimised drive unit with its Carbon Cone diaphragms, as seen in the 702 S3. T3 SAYS: They’re going to sound great. They just are.

TECH-O-METER

AMAZON HALO RISE $140 (around £140), amazon.co.uk

T3 SAYS: It’s watching. Always watching.

TECH-O-METER

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IMAGE SOURCE: AMAZON

There’s something a teeny bit HAL 9000 about the Halo Rise. Just a little. It’s a sleep tracker that looms over your bed, using its sensors to track your breathing and movements – so adept is it at using its nocturnal gaze, it can differentiate between you and a partner. An uneasy feeling is the price you must pay for sleep tracking, though, particularly if you also want the environmental data on offer here and don’t want to wear a watch to see how you toss and turn. The clock and light, ready to wake you up at the ideal point of your sleep cycle, are a bonus, and you can plug all of your snooze info into Amazon’s other products, or combine the Rise’s wakeup facilities with, say, your favourite tune played through an Echo speaker. It’ll also dim lights or turn off other distractions when you’re climbing into bed.

Top 10

BOWERS & WILKINS 702 S3 £5,500 per pair, bowerswilkins.com S3s are not for everyone, particularly given that they cost about as much as a boat – but the 700 series goes as low as the £1,300 707 S3 standmounters, and there are matched centre speakers and subs to round out your home cinema setup too.

IMAGE SOURCE: BOWERS & WILKINS

If B&W is bestowing one of its products with the word ‘flagship’ you’d better believe it’ll be seaworthy – and with a solid body carbon dome tweeter on top, a compositeconstructed 6-inch Continuum cone handling the mids, and a triplet of B&W’s super-rigid 6.5-inch Aerofoil profile bass cones doing the hard work, the third-gen 702s are sure to drown you in sound. There’s some pretty shipshape cabinetry on offer, too, with a three-way vent, downward-firing port, and a decoupled midrange ensuring separation of sound. Okay, the 702

T3 SAYS: The last speaker you’ll ever have to buy.

TECH-O-METER COOLNESS INNOVATION FEATURES

RIPPLE MAKER II PRO £2,000, drinkripples.com Ripples Pods at once for two-colour printing; the Chameleon range uses a mixture of cabbage extract and an alkaline colour ﬁxer for some pretty vibrant reds and blues, which change depending on the alkalinity of the drink. T3 SAYS: Who says this is just for businesses? Tart up your home bar.

TECH-O-METER COOLNESS INNOVATION FEATURES

IMAGE SOURCE: RIPPLES

You know what those fancy drinks are missing? It’s not additional booze (though that certainly wouldn’t hurt) – it’s presentation. The Ripple Maker II Pro, which is smart enough to sense the size and position of the cup beneath its nozzle, prints a design on top of whatever drink you present, from espresso to frothy-topped cocktails. That speciﬁc design is up to you – it’s all app-based, and Ripples includes a bunch of free-touse stock images if you can resist putting your own face on that mocha. The big gimmick in the Pro version is support for a pair of

OPTOMA CINEMAX D2 $2,499 (around £2,499), optoma.co.uk most out of a source that supports VRR, and the D2’s HDR support stops at HDR10. That’s the bad news – the good news is that this is (in the context of high-resolution laser projectors) a pretty damn affordable piece of kit. T3 SAYS: Paint a wall white immediately.

IMAGE SOURCE: OPTOMA

Short-throw projectors were once hamstrung by their optics. Not any more: put the CinemaX D2 (or its app-ﬁlled cousin, the D2 Smart) about a foot away from a suitable wall, and its laser-based DLP beamer will blast out up to 150 inches of 60Hz true 4K resolution. No more rearranging your living room, then – and Optoma reckons its gaming mode can manage latency as low as 4ms if you’re playing in its 240Hz 1080p mode. Pretty neat we have to say, though we do note the lack of HDMI 2.1, which means you’re out of luck if you want to get the

TECH-O-METER COOLNESS INNOVATION FEATURES N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 17

Horizon

BABY, IT’S COLD OUTSIDE

Embrace the cooler climes of the new season and style up with these winter essentials

COUNTRY CAP Whether you’re out for a trot in a rural or an urban setting, this classic peaked country cap is the perfect accoutrement, crafted from Harris Tweed and lined with nylon. £29.95, houseofbruar.com

IMAGE SOURCE: THE HOUSE OF BRUAR, MATCHESFASHION, LANDS’ END, PAUL SMITH

STONE ISLAND COAT Keep the chilly breeze at bay with this insulating quilted down coat that’s been ﬁlled with 80% duck down and 20% duck feathers. It’s machine washable and comes in a more demure black if preferred. £1,155, matchesfashion.com

BLACK SHELTON X LANDS’ END JACKET Get seriously cosy with snug casual-wear. This zip-up, Sherpalined hooded jacket ticks all the boxes for relaxed warmth and it comes with a kangaroo front pocket to keep frosty ﬁngers at bay. £70, landsend.co.uk

BRAD SHEARLING LEATHER BOOTS Stomp your way through winter this year with a pair of robust leather boots edged with cosy shearling trims to help keep your tootsies toasty all winter. £345, matchesfashion.com

STRIPY SOCKS Adorned with the iconic Paul Smith ‘artist’ stripes, these style-savvy, newseason socks are made in Italy from a soft cotton and silk blend with a ribbed construction. £30, paulsmith.com

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Style

MONEY NO OBJECT

WHICH WATCH

THE HOTTEST TIMEPIECES RIGHT NOW

DOXA, ARMY

With a muscular design inspired by the military, this watch features a 47mm '/& FRDWHG WLWDQLXP FDVH ĆWWHG ZLWK D unidirectional rotating ceramic bezel. It’s powered by the P.9100/R movement. £TBC, panerai.com

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the iconic DOXA Army, this reissue of one RI WKH YHU\ ĆUVW ZDWFKHV WR XVH D FRDWLQJ process for cases comes with a choice of two bezels: steel and black ceramic or bronze with a hunter-green ceramic insert. £1,875, doxawatches.com

MAURICE LACROIX, PONTOS DAY DATE

GIRARD-PERREGAUX, LAUREATO 42MM GREEN

The dial of the new Pontos Day Date is dressed in khaki and decorated with sunray brush, while its 41mm stainless steel case is coated in a stealthy shade RIbEODFN '/& £1,780, mauricelacroix.com

Girard-Perregaux has launched a brand new Laureato featuring a stunning green dial and distinctive Clou de Paris pattern. It arrives with a slimmer height of 10.68mm and the calibre GP01800. £11,000, girard-perregaux.com

Are you thinking of hitting the slopes this winter? Well, if so, adorn yourself in this collab between French luxury fashion house Balmain and fellow Gallic brand and winter sport specialist Rossignol – you’ll be the darling of the piste. Rossignol is a pioneer in ski-wear, which has been producing high-end equipment since the turn of the century. It was also one of the first companies to produce a plastic ski. Balmain, born in the mid-century, is well-known for its high-end, sharp-edged style and is a fashion house that isn’t averse to a little drama. It’s a match made in heaven! This collab was launched last year with a spectacular video set on the summit of Solaise in the Val d’Isere ski resort, and is, says Rossignol and Balmain, “a love story between mountain spirit and fashion”. The range includes equipment and clothing for on the slopes and off, all of which feature the Balmain labyrinth monogram, which was first introduced 50 years ago and recently reintegrated into the brand by Balmain Creative Director Olivier Rousteing. This padded quilted jacket, made in Italy, features reflective detailing, detachable hood and padded design. £3,395, farfetch.com

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IMAGE SOURCES: PANERAI, DOXA, MAURICE LACROIX, GIRARD-PERREGAUX, FARFETCH

PANERAI, SUBMERSIBLE FORZE SPECIALI

Balmain x Rossignol jacket

Horizon Fitness BEST PROTEIN DRINKS

With 10 grams of protein, 3000mg BCAA, Vitamin B complex and zero sugar, it’s hard to say no to the UK’s ﬁrst clear whey isolate protein drink. Comes in two ﬂavours. £13.99 (for a pack of 6), upbeatdrinks.com

BATTER-Y POWER

IMAGE SOURCE: THERABODY

IMAGE SOURCE: UPBEAT

UPBEAT PROTEIN HYDRATION DRINK

FASTER, STRONGER & QUIETER Therabody launches new PRO Gen 5 and mini Gen 2 massage guns

IMAGE SOURCE: BAREBELLS

BAREBELLS LEMON CHEESECAKE MILKSHAKE Wouldn’t it be great to have a dessert without the feeling of guilt? The new limited edition milkshake ﬂavour from Barebells contains 24 grams of protein, has no added sugar and is lactose-free. £16.90 (for a pack of 8), barebells.co.uk

As well as launching its SmartGoggles eye-massager, Therabody also recently announced two new massage gun products, the top-of-the-line Theragun PRO (5th Gen, £549, therabody.com) and the smaller Theragun mini (2nd Gen, £175, launching later this year), both bringing more power while also being quieter than their respective predecessors. The new PRO underwent a serious update to make it more appealing to pro athletes and determined amateurs. The

three key changes are the redesigned QuietForce brushless motor that now delivers more power and 20% less noise, a new OLED screen with four visuallyguided routines built into the device, and six attachments, including the new SuperSoft and Micro Point heads. The second iteration of the Theragun mini is 20% smaller and 30% lighter but delivers 20lbs of no-stall force and 12mm of amplitude, more than enough force to batter away neck pain.

WAVE HELLO

RIPPLE EFFECT

IMAGE SOURCE: HUEL

HUEL READY-TO-DRINK More than just a protein drink, Huel’s Ready-todrink is complete nutrition delivered in a bottle. It contains all 26 essential vitamins and minerals and packs 22 grams of plant-based protein per serving. £42.89 (for a pack of 12), uk.huel.com 2 0 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

The compact Hydrow Wave (£1,395, hydrow.co.uk) delivers the signature Hydrow experience via patented computer-controlled dynamic resistance that mimics the feel of water with a live and on-demand content library of waterways around the world for much less than its larger sibling. Better still, the Wave can also be stored upright and features electromagnetic braking, ‘high-quality polyester webbing’ and a custom-designed spring assembly to ensure smooth and quiet operation.

IMAGE SOURCE: HYDROW

The Hydrow Wave is 30% lighter and £600 cheaper than the original

Travel

THREE TRAVEL CAMERAS

LUXURY OVERDOSE

With responsive performance, robust construction and access to a very wide, wellsupported system of lenses, this aﬀordable mirrorless model from Nikon is an ideal camera to take with you wherever you roam. It has a comfortable grip too. £699, nikon.co.uk

IMAGE SOURCE: NIKON

IMAGE SOURCE: RANGE ROVER

NIKON Z30

KING OF THE ROAD Spencer Hart drove 1,500 miles around Scotland in the new Range Rover to see what all the hype is about CANON EOS R7 The EOS R7 oﬀers excellent build quality and a large pixel count. For those who have been tentative about making the switch from either a smartphone or existing DSLR to a smaller format mirrorless camera, this could be the camera for you. £ 1,349.99, canon.co.uk

IMAGE SOURCE: CANON

ahead and primes the suspension to provide perfect responses. Road rage just isn’t possible when sitting inside it. Even after a three-hour traffic jam on the M6, I arrived at my destination feeling relaxed. As well as the most luxurious Range Rover ever, this is also the most technologically advanced Range Rover ever. The highlight is the stunning central 13.1-inch curved screen that floats on the dashboard, and the 13.7-inch interactive driver display behind the steering wheel. It runs the intuitive Pivi Pro software, which features new high-definition graphics as well as Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. You also get voice control courtesy of Amazon’s Alexa and the ability to manoeuvre it into and out of parking spaces with your smartphone. Of course, you’ll want to actually be behind the wheel of the new Range Rover, because, despite its size, this tank of a vehicle is surprisingly easy to drive. As well as a range of impressively efficient and punchy plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid engines, every model gets next-generation all-wheel steering, which makes manoeuvring in tight spaces a breeze. So, is the new Range Rover deserving of the hype? I’m inclined to think it is. The overriding sense of refinement, luxury and elegance is hard to ignore. It’s a triumph.

SONY A7C Placing full-frame tech inside an APS-C-sized body is a mighty impressive task. In terms of image quality and performance, the A7C matches the larger A7 III, but this compact camera is much more suited to getting around and about with. £1,850, sony.co.uk N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 21

IMAGE SOURCE: SONY

Launched earlier this year, the new Range Rover is without a doubt one of the hottest commodities in the car world. Forget young upstarts from the likes of Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, Aston Martin and now even Ferrari – the Range Rover is the OG and the ﬁfth generation is here to reclaim its crown as King of the Road. It’s so popular, in fact, that if you ordered one today you’d have to wait 12 months until you actually receive your car. Is it deserving of such demand and hype or is it overrated? I drove 1,500 miles around Scotland in one to ﬁnd out… Land Rover has taken the existing iconic silhouette and given it a futuristic makeover, taking the brand’s modernist design philosophy to the next level. It’s incredibly elegant (especially for such a big thing) and is nowhere near as brash as its rivals. Don’t confuse this understated luxury with tedium, though, because even after spending a week with the new Range Rover I never tired of the sight of it and always felt excited walking up to it in a car park. Part of that excitement comes from the knowledge that soon you’ll be cossetted inside a sanctuary of calm. Materials are sumptuous, the car features an active noise cancellation system, and a new suspension system that reads the road

Horizon

KITCHENAID 6-SPEED HAND MIXER WITH FLEX EDGE BEATERS Beat it, beat it; no one wants to be defeated. And with ﬂexedge beaters that blend faster yet quieter, thanks to ‘twice as much contact with the bowl’, you won’t be! £119, kitchenaid.co.uk

FLYER FRYER

ULTIMATE INSTANT POT

IMAGE SOURCE: HOTEL CHOCOLAT

IMAGE SOURCE: DYSON

DYSON GEN5 DETECT Dyson has done it again. The V15 Detect was already the best cordless stick vac available to humankind. Now they’ve made the laser headlight more powerful, upped the suction, prolonged the battery life and given it an exciting new moniker: Gen5. £TBC, dyson.co.uk

VELVETISER, SATIN BLACK EDITION The UK’s favourite chocolaterelated kitchen gadget now comes in this limited-edition ﬁnish. As ever, it turns milk and choc into a deliciously moreish mug of magniﬁcence. Why have cotton when you can have velvet (and satin)? £100, hotelchocolat.com 2 2 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

It’s an air fryer, pressure cooker and more… and it’s only got one lid Air fryers are the current must-have kitchen gadget. A few years ago, Instant Pots were in that happy position, but air fryers have stolen their thunder somewhat. So what is Instant Brands – the maker of the Instant Pot – to do? The answer is obvious: make an Instant Pot pressure cooker and multi-cooker that is also an air fryer. Enter the Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid, a 13-in-1 cooker that wears many hats, but crucially, only has one lid (£229, instantbrands.co.uk). This isn’t Instant Brands’ ﬁrst stab at all a multi-purpose device, but it is a big leap forward. The advance here, as the product’s name suggests, is in the lid. Previous efforts have required you to have two lids, with one for pressure cooking duties and one for air frying. The Ultimate Lid, however, manages to house both these cooking methods under just one lid. This is quite signiﬁcant, since these are quite large products, and being required to have a lid of that size lying around at all times was quite inconvenient. The Ultimate Lid has a heating element and fan built into it for air frying but can be safely sealed shut for pressure cooking. Ninja’s SmartLid range pulls off a similar trick and will be the Ultimate Lid’s main competitor in the battle of the air-frying, one-lidded multi-cookers.

As well as air frying and pressure cooking the Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid also handles grilling, roasting, slow cooking, steaming, sautéeing, sous vide, dough proving and dehydrating – at last, you can make your own prunes! – as well as, erm, ‘food warming’ and, uh, yogurt making. By our maths, that is 12 functions but Instant Brands adds that it has a ‘mini oven’ function, which round it up to a lucky 13 cookery super powers. The great news is, not only is it surprisingly affordable to buy, it’s also cheap to run. Instant Brands says its “independent study” shows that “cooking with an Instant Pot uses 4.4 times less energy than in the oven”. Just make some deliciously crisp air-fried dinners, prepare a succulent casserole or two and turn out a few pots of yoghurt and it’ll have practically paid for itself! With its plethora of function buttons and a huge wealth of recipes and tips available online, this should also be as easy to use as it is versatile. We love pressure cooking as much as we love air frying. It’s a fast and delicious way to make stews, curries, stocks and more. Having a machine that can do that and air frying really is the best of all possible worlds. This could be the last cooking device you ever need to buy.

IMAGE SOURCE: INSTANT BRANDS

IMAGE SOURCE: KITCHENAID

MORE HOME UPGRADES

Living

SERENE DREAM Take a deep breath, relax and create a calming sanctuary in your home with warm neutrals, a key trend for Autumn/Winter 22 MOTION SAND TILES The bathroom is an obvious place to fashion a tranquil oasis in your home. Sticking to a warming neutral palette is key and these porcelain tiles are ticking all the right boxes with earthy tones and a slightly textured surface. Made in Italy and suitable for both walls and ﬂoors, the Motion Sand tiles are available in three sizes: 30 x 60cm; 60 x 60cm and 90 x 90cm. £33 per m sq, porcelainsuperstore.co.uk CHINESE WOODEN STOOL Alongside introducing earthy textures and warming neutral tones, it’s important to create a space in which there are plenty of opportunities to sit and contemplate when the mood takes you. These ﬂat top Chinese wooden stools, crafted from weathered wood, have a wonderfully rustic character and will offer a restful pew.

HABITAT RUG It’s slightly astonishing to witness beige being embraced once more as a trend tone and yet here we are with a 120 x 170cm brown and beige rug that suits the warming neutrals look perfectly. The sweeping strokes within this earthy design are also spot on as this trend promotes natural ﬂow and textures. £85, habitat.co.uk RATTAN BIN Accessories crafted from natural products, such as bamboo and rattan, are great complements for this look. Not solely because the warming hues create the right vibe but also because the natural textures support its celebration of organic ﬁbres and handmade products. The outside of this 20 x 27cm bin is hardwearing rattan but it also comes with a plastic removal inner for practicality. £85, rebeccaudall.com

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IMAGE SOURCE: PORCELAIN SUPERSTORE, SHIMU, HABITAT, REBECCA UDALL

£165 (per stool), shimu.co.uk

Horizon

T3’s king of tech oﬀers more baubles of advice to his followers

CHRIS BROAD, KENT

Will buying new tech make me happy? New tech is a way to make your life easier, smooth out certain tasks, increase your enjoyment of media, up your comfort levels. It’s about incremental improvements, and occasionally just throwing some money at fun or your hobbies. If that quality-of-life boost makes you happy, job done. But Guru knows well enough that making a compulsive tech purchase is like making a compulsive donut purchase. It’s delicious, but it won’t chase the black dog away for long. Perhaps, though, you could focus your tech purchases on improving lifestyle habits that

ILLUSTRATIONS: STEPHEN KELLY

might send you along the correct path. You don’t even need to spend much; you could shell out a small amount on a ﬁtness watch (the Mi Smart Band 6 is £25 and absolutely ﬁne) and give yourself a step goal. Enjoy the endorphins: you’ve earned ’em. Maybe you pick up a cheap air fryer (often as little as £30) and tweak the way you’re

ABOVE “Fine, take my phone – just stop blinding me with your dazzling teeth lasers”

GaGu would never encourage you to eschew tech altogether, because then he’d be out of a job and even sadder than he is now

cooking to make things just a little healthier. Perhaps you spend £5 on a toilet night light and subsequently need to wipe less wee from the ﬂoor in the morning. Small victories. GaGu would never encourage you to eschew tech altogether, because then he’d be out of a job and even sadder than he is now. But a new purchase and the guilt that goes with it might not feel quite as good as fully exploiting the kit you already have. Buy some reasonably priced cables, consider the way you want your gadgets to work, and make sure you’re getting the most out of your setup whatever it happens to be.

SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO: INBOX@T3.COM OR FACEBOOK.COM/T3MAG 24 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

Gadget guru

VALERIE GREENE, HOVE

New battery technology, Guru. When’s it happening? Guru’s moles in the battery game tell him that new battery chemistry is being worked on all the time. GaGu probably didn’t need to ask them, to be honest. They did do a lot of scofﬁng and called Guru some very rude names when he did. 80% of demand in the battery market currently comes from EVs, and those aren’t exactly dropping in number, so new and more efﬁcient tech is imperative. Everyone wants batteries which last longer and explode less. The demand is there. There’s a good reason we’ve not recently seen any revolutionary battery recipes overhaul the market. Primarily it’s because it is bloody hard to get a new kind of battery right, let alone to produce one in an affordable package. Some of the new formulations on the table – things like sodium-sulphur and aluminium-sulphur – do make use of cheaper, more abundant materials. This is relevant at a time

when the head of one of the largest lithium mining companies, having seen the potential value of energy scarcity, is conveniently warning of potential shortage of supply. Many pundits, a category into which Guru apparently neatly ﬁts, suggest solid state batteries are the future. These don’t use a liquid electrolyte, making them safer and giving them a far faster charge time. Great! Except they’re probably about ten years from taking over, and they’re outrageously expensive to produce even as Nissan and Honda attempt to get production lines up and running. So the long answer is a mixture of screaming, panic, shrugging and Old Man Guru tutting and grumbling about how in his day he had to string together a bunch of potatoes to power his wristwatch and you don’t know how good you’ve got it. Short answer? Not for a while, but it’ll happen. That’s a Guru promise.

ABOVE On the plus side, it’d just killed a massive ﬂy

GADGET GURU’S MAGIC BOX So, what obsessions has your favourite neurodivergent uncle been battling this issue? One is a deep yearning to get his hands on a C64 – or its modern remake, ‘The C64’ (about £120) if he must make concessions to things actually working. Guru was a Speccy boy as a youth, both in terms of face and home computer preference, and assaulted those who tried to claim that the clearly superior C64 was better than Sir Clive’s hastily-assembled box of crap. This practice, and the fact that Guru was also no good at ﬁghts, likely explains some of the mild brain damage he suffers today. GaGu feels he could use a C64 to learn assembly and BASIC programming and such, but he’d probably just play Paradroid a bit and get bored, so he’s given Mrs Guru his credit card for safe keeping. Speaking of Guru’s excellent wife, she recently dragged him to yet another

extremely loud gig in, it would appear, an attempt to both extract Guru from the house and to relive a youth long past. This time it was a pair of Finnish numetal bands performing inside (and this is true) a small metal boat; if Guru’s doctor was to prescribe tinnitus, which is a thing he probably shouldn’t do, this would be the dispensary. Next time GaGu will pack his Flare Audio Isolate Pro earplugs (£30) to lower the level a bit. Such activities did inspire Guru to crack out the old guitar, which worked beautifully as a way to encourage the younger members of the household to retreat to their rooms. His thoughts then naturally turned towards fancy pedals, something he is explicitly banned from getting but (shh) knows of plenty of ways to conceal. Particularly when they’re as small as the Amazon Basics range, which looks like it’s due to launch soon. At about £35 each, that’s a cheap pedal board.

L POWERS, ISLE OF MAN

Can tech scare away spiders? For the past couple of months Guru’s advanced security network has been rendered useless by the unsightly corpse of a particularly fat arachnid hanging in front of the lens of his primary camera. Yes, Guru hasn’t ﬁxed it yet. No, he’s not going to, stop nagging him, and don’t commit any crimes in his back garden please. If you believe in them, ultrasonic electromagnetic scarers might do the trick. Plug in one of Pestbye’s £22 whole-house bug frighteners and the entire eight-legged population of your house either all go scurrying out of your front door or, well, they won’t. Younger people might also be discouraged – Guru is pretty sure these things aren’t far from the tech they put outside corner shops to disperse teens, so they may only be suited to households with mostly-deaf members. GaGu suggests making friends with your many-eyed stalkers: not only do they chomp pesky ﬂying bugs, but they’re more than happy to help with the Halloween decorations.

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Horizon

NEW MEDIA

NOW PLAYING

IMAGE SOURCE: DEVOLVER DIGITAL

Guru ﬁnds the ﬁnest media you need on your various devices

KIERAN POTTER, LONDON

How do I stop my shoes getting mucky? Guru has never shined a shoe in his life. He fondly remembers the smell of shoe polish from his youth, and that weird brush his dad used in order to buff up his fireman boots, but GaGu’s disregard for his own biohazard sneakers is legendary. If he’s going to suggest something to you, it’s going to be the laziest possible option. That would be Crep Protect (£12 a can), which is a magical fluid that you spray on your kicks. Doesn’t matter if they’re canvas, nubuck, suede or whathaveyou – water will just bead off, and stains won’t stick. That said, Guru wouldn’t put it on leather – and it’s unlikely to work too well on flip-flops.

IMAGE SOURCE: YOGSCAST GAMES

RETURN TO MONKEY ISLAND Actual new Monkey Island at last! Guru played the originals in his childhood best friend’s dad’s oﬃce – he’s readying his break-in tools to do it again.

ABOVE We’d personally love a gizmo that made our wallet more full of cash

DAVE, VIA EMAIL

IMAGE SOURCE: NINTENDO

PLATEUP! You’ll get Overcooked vibes from this PC cook-’em-up, but its persistent elements, which see you upgrading your kitchen as time rolls on, make it a far more compelling option.

SPLATOON 3 GaGu personally doesn’t care for this half-baked rehash of the Switch ink-slinger, but Guru Jr insisted that Guru include it here. Apparently, “it’s great and I ﬁnished it in a day”.

26 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

Can I hide that I’m wearing ear buds? Can Guru suggest a nice beanie hat? Perfect for this time of year, and it’ll cover up that haircut. No? Okay then: JLab, ever in search of new and exciting features to introduce into the increasingly generic world of true wireless ear buds, appears to have the answer. That would be the JLab GO Air Tones (£20), which (thanks to the colour science of nail polish experts Orly Labs) come in a series of seven colours, one of which might match your skin tone – there’s even an online ﬁtting room to check. Now nobody will know you’re listening to a podcast about murderers, except when you start dribbling.

The JLab GO Air Tones come in a series of seven colours to match skin tones. There’s even an online fitting room to check

EVAN HENNESSY, GLASGOW

Should I use an RFID blocking wallet? Ask yourself instead if you shouldn’t use one. The only reason to not use RFID blocking is if you’re happy for the contents of your wallet to be scannable as-is; if you only have one contactless card, you might want to slam your wallet on the reader and call it done. That’s absolutely ﬁne. Otherwise, there’s no reason not to add an extra layer of protection. Guru has no doubt that the threat of unscrupulous individuals waving card readers over people’s bottoms is exaggerated at best, but caging that RFID potential won’t hurt your cards at all, and it’s not expensive.

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Opinion

Duncan Bell is air frying tonight Air fryers are quite literally the hottest gadgets of 2022 – but what exactly are they? magine if, instead of calling it a smartphone, Microsoft and later Apple had decided to call phones with computers and internet connectivity built in ‘outer space super communicators’. Sure, it’s a much zappier name, but people would have soon realised you couldn’t actually use them to talk to space aliens, Star Trek style. That’s pretty much what the inventor of the air fryer did, though. You might think, not unreasonably, that they ‘fry’ using ‘air’ – the clue, after all, is in the name. Clearly, they do not. How could they? It’s a physical impossibility. Despite that, air fryers are hugely popular. People love their convenience and affordability. Their running costs are low too – very important now electricity costs slightly more than platinum. But with the best will in the world, they still can’t ‘fry’ using ‘air’. Everyone has noticed this. Even the editors of the Guardian recently descended from their la-di-da Islington ivory towers long enough to discover that air fryers are popular with the little people. So they dispatched Jay Rayner, who is the exact opposite of a little person, to try one out. Being a clever fellow, he immediately came to the same conclusion that I did when I ﬁrst tried an air fryer. That it is not a ‘fryer’ in any meaningful sense, but rather a small fan oven – the fan provides the ‘air’ element.

Surely everyone must realise this shortly after they buy one or – full disclosure – get sent several for free, as in my case. Jay Rayner claimed to have borrowed one from a colleague so I guess they just don’t have the right industry contacts at the Guardian. However, despite the fact that their name and entire reason for being is a LIE, I am a big fan of air fryers. This can be hard to explain to people, because they are, after all, just small fan ovens, and most people own a full-size fan oven that can do all the same stuff.

The sad fact is that ‘air fryers’ are largely bought by people who use them to cook chips This is due to their size and the efﬁciency with which they cook. The smaller cooking cavity and powerful fan mean they get very hot, very fast, and stay that way. This deﬁnitely reduces cooking times once you get used to it and stop burning everything. In fact, a much better name for an air fryer – or at least the larger ones – would have been ‘Super Roaster’ or something. You can make fantastic chicken in them – in

fact pretty much any meat comes out in a most delicious, succulent state once you know what you’re doing. They’re also great for hardier vegetables such as aubergines and broccoli – even chickpeas are a treat. However, the sad fact is that, thanks to their erroneous marketing, so-called ‘air fryers’ are largely bought by people who use them to cook chips. This is madness, because oven chips already exist and are… adequate. If you want chips that taste fried, an air fryer simply cannot provide that, because it’s not – and I hate to keep labouring this point – a fryer. Similarly, if you want to batter something and fry it – the other classic technique used in actual fryers – you will be out of luck, because that powerful fan will blast the batter or crumb from your food, and then it will fall through the bottom of the cooking basket. For foodies in a hurry, air fryers are great; they’re fun to experiment with and can produce stunning results. I recommend the Ninja SmartLid and Instant Pot Duo Crisp ranges, as they double as pressure cookers, slow cookers and a bunch of other things as well. But one thing air fryers will never be able to do is truly fry anything. Is it too late to come up with a new name? N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 27

Level up your home cinema

LEVEL UP YOUR HOME CINEMA Turn your living room into Hollywood no matter what your budget is, with one of our brilliant TV and separate audio combos Words: John Archer Main image photography: Neil Godwin

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Level up your home cinema

UNDER £400

TCL 55RP620K There’s no way you can buy a good 55-inch TV with comprehensive smarts and still have enough change left from £400 to buy a potent soundbar to go with it, right? Wrong. Despite costing just £299, the TCL 55RP620K combines a fully functioning Roku smart system with better HDR contrast, stronger 4K detailing and more impressive colour than many TVs costing twice as much.

£299, tcl.com

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Under £400

SOUNDBAR

SONY HT-SF150

Sony’s HT-SF150 is nearly a metre wide, deploys a mighty 120W Sony S-Master DPSOLĆHU WR IHHG LWV VWHUHR VSHDNHU VHWXS XVHV D %DVV 5HćH[ VSHDNHU GHVLJQ WR bolster its low-frequency sounds, boasts a wide-ranging roster of connections, and SXPSV RXW HQRXJK G\QDPLF UDQJH LPSDFW DQG UDZ SRZHU WR ĆOO D JRRG VL]HG OLYLQJ room. In fact, the only thing small about Sony’s soundbar miracle is its price. £99.99, sony.co.uk

THREE ALTERNATIVE TVs

TOSHIBA 50UK3163DB

HISENSE 43A6BGT

PANASONIC TX-43JS360B

$OWKRXJK LWèV ĆYH LQFKHV VPDOOHU WKDQ WKH TCL 55RP620K, the Toshiba 50UK3163DB is £20 cheaper and boasts one of the most straightforward operating systems you FDQ ĆQGbLQ WKH WHOHYLVLRQ ZRUOG %XW PRVW importantly of all, its surprisingly high TXDOLW\ bGLUHFW OLW /&' VFUHHQ VHUYHV XS VRPH RIbWKH VKDUSHVW SXQFKLHVW . KLJK G\QDPLF range pictures we’ve seen at the happy VLGHbRIbe £279, toshiba-tv.com

:HèYH VWHSSHG GRZQ LQ VFUHHQ VL]H DJDLQ here, which we realise hardly seems appropriate in an article about home cinema. 7KLV LQFK +LVHQVH /&' 79 WKRXJK HDUQV its spot for its vibrant direct LED lighting, FULVS . UHVROXWLRQ DQG VXSSRUW IRU DOO IRXU NH\ +'5 SLFWXUH IRUPDWV 'ROE\ 9LVLRQ HDR10+, HLG and HDR10. This means it will DOZD\V JHW WKH PD[LPXP SLFWXUH TXDOLW\ IURP any source. £299, hisense.co.uk

)LUVW WKH EDG QHZV WKH -6 % LV RQO\ D IXOO +' 79 QRW D . RQH $ . SL[HO FRXQW LV OHVV LPSRUWDQW RQ D LQFK 79 OLNH WKLV WKRXJK WKDQ LW LV RQ PXFK ELJJHU VFUHHQV å DQGbFRPSURPLVLQJ RQ UHVROXWLRQ enables Panasonic to focus on delivering both a brilliantly user-friendly smart system and impressively contrast- and colour-rich +'5bSLFWXUH TXDOLW\ ZLWKRXW EUHDNLQJ WKH e bEDUULHU £299, panasonic.com N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 31

Level up your home cinema

£400-£800

SAMSUNG UE50BU8000 There’s no way £499 should be able to buy you a 50-inch TV that combines a wide colour range with more than a billion shades, a full version of Samsung’s comprehensive Tizen-powered smart system and a gorgeously premium ultra-thin design. But Samsung’s 50-inch UE50BU8000 is here to prove us wrong, serving up basically a good mid-range TV quality for a budget price.

£499, samsung.com

3 2 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

£400-£800

SOUNDBAR

PANASONIC SC-HTB490EK 1R \RXU H\HV GR QRW GHFHLYH \RX WKDW UHDOO\ LV D VHSDUDWH ZLUHOHVV VXEZRRIHU VLWWLQJ DORQJVLGH WKH +7% (.èV PDLQ VRXQGEDU 6RXQGEDUV WKDW WDNH EDVV VHULRXVO\ HQRXJK WR LQFOXGH DQ H[WHUQDO VXEZRRIHU DUH UDUH EHORZ e EXW WKH +7% (.èV VXE FHUWDLQO\ LVQèW MXVW IRU VKRZ ,Q IDFW LWV PDVVLYH : RI SRZHU XQGHUSLQV WKH PDLQ VRXQGEDUèV DOVR VWDUWOLQJ : RI EDVV UHćH[ SRUW ERRVWHG sound to beautifully cinematic effect. £249, panasonic.com

THREE ALTERNATIVE TVs

PANASONIC TX-50LX650BZ

HISENSE 50E7HQTUK

TCL 55C635K

The main attraction of Panasonic’s 50-inch 50LX650BZ is – to a certain demographic, at least – its use of the Android TV smart platform. This supports Chromecasting and Google Assistant voice control right out of the ER[ DVbZHOO DV FDUU\LQJ $QGURLGèV KXJH DUUD\ of video streaming, gaming and information DSSV $OO EDFNHG XS E\ 'ROE\ 9LVLRQ FDSDEOH SLFWXUHbTXDOLW\ DQG D 'ROE\ $WPRV HQDEOHG sound system. £529, panasonic.com

The 50E7HQTUK continues the handy WULFN RI +LVHQVHèV SUHYLRXVO\ PHQWLRQHG $ %*7 LQ VXSSRUWLQJ DOO WKH ODWHVW +'5 types, including HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, DW D SULFH ZKHUH \RXèUH OXFN\ WR ĆQG VXSSRUW for even one of these ‘premium’ formats. (YHQ PRUH LPSUHVVLYHO\ LW EDFNV WKHVH +'5 charms up with a Quantum Dot colour engine, helping it achieve more brightness and richer colours than most of its rivals. £549, hisense.co.uk

As well as giving you more screen inches (55) than most good sub-£500 TVs, TCL’s 55C635K stands out from the crowd with LWV JDPLQJ FKRSV ,W VXSSRUWV +] UHIUHVK rates with full HD resolutions, variable refresh rates (including AMD Freesync) and the ALLM feature that automatically switches the TV in and out of its fast-response Game mode based on what content your console or PC is playing. £449, tcl.com N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 3 3

Level up your home cinema

£800-£1,500

LG OLED55A2 Not so long ago it would have been unthinkable to buy a new 55-inch OLED TV cheap enough to go with a high quality soundbar and still leave you change from £1,500. Cleverly, though, the OLED55A2 deploys a 60Hz rather than 120Hz panel and drops support for next-gen gaming features, bringing OLED’s self-emissive pixel home cinema talents to a whole new market.

£989, lg.com

T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

£800-£1,500

SOUNDBAR

SONOS BEAM GEN 2 7KHUHèV VR PXFK WR ORYH DERXW WKH 6RQRV %HDP *HQ LWèV KDUG WR NQRZ ZKHUH WR start. It can become part of a Sonos multiroom system, and have two Sonos One 6/ UHDU VSHDNHUV DGGHG IRU WUXH VXUURXQG VRXQG ,W ORRNV JRUJHRXV LQ FULVS ZKLWH RU EODFN ĆQLVKHV %HVW RI DOO LW VRXQGV VWXQQLQJO\ SRZHUIXO DQG GHWDLOHG HYHQ NLOOLQJ LW ZLWK 'ROE\ $WPRV VRXQGWUDFNV GHVSLWH ODFNLQJ DQ\ XS ĆULQJ VSHDNHUV £449.99, sonos.com

THREE ALTERNATIVE TVs

SAMSUNG QE50QN90B

TCL 65C835K

SAMSUNG UE75AU7100

This Samsung TV’s headline grabber is its mini-LED technology. This replaces traditional /('V ZLWK YHUVLRQV RQO\ RQH IRUWLHWK WKH VL]H VR WKDW IDU PRUH RI WKHP FDQ EH ĆWWHG LQWR LWV 50-inch screen, providing far more localised brightness and contrast control. Couple this with AI-powered processing and Quantum 'RWbFRORXUV DQG \RXèYH JRW SLFWXUHV WKDW combine the brightness of LCD with the contrast of OLED. £999, samsung.com

7&/ ZDV DFWXDOO\ WKH ĆUVW EUDQG WR VHOO D PLQL /(' 79 DQG LWèV EURXJKW DOO WKDW H[SHULHQFH to bear here with a meaty 65-inch Androidpowered TV that delivers mini-LED’s now IDPLOLDU FRQWUDVW DQG EULJKWQHVV EHQHĆWV alongside comprehensive support for the latest cutting-edge gaming features, at a price that will have more established UK brands trembling in their boots. Grab some popcorn and a sofa and you’re away. £1,049, tcl.com

6L]H PDWWHUV ZKHQ LW FRPHV WR KRPH FLQHPD VR LWèV JUHDW WR ĆQG WKLV LQFK 79 QRZ selling for under £1,000. Especially as that epic screen plays host to Samsung’s colourUHĆQLQJ 3XU&RORXU WHFKQRORJ\ PXFK PRUH brightness and contrast than you’ve any right WR H[SHFW IRU VXFK D PRGHUDWH DPRXQW RI money, a comprehensive smart system, and even ALLM and enhanced motion gaming features. £999, samsung.com N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 3 5

Level up your home cinema

£1,500-£3,000

PANASONIC OLED55LZ1500 While other brands are now scrambling to catch up, Panasonic has been making high-brightness OLED TVs for years. This experience, together with picture processing developed from Panasonic’s decades of experience working closely with actual Hollywood ﬁlm industry creatives, oozes from every pixel of the 55-inch OLED55LZ1500’s pictures, resulting in some of the most dramatic but also reﬁned, natural and simply beautiful pictures ever seen.

£1,799, panasonic.com

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£1,500-£3,000

SOUNDBAR

SAMSUNG HW-Q930B 7KH 6DPVXQJ +: 4 % SXVKHV WKH VRXQGEDU GHĆQLWLRQ WR LWV OLPLW E\ XVLQJ IRXU separate components (front soundbar, large subwoofer, two two-channel rears) to GHOLYHU D MDZ GURSSLQJ FKDQQHO FRXQW 7KHVH FKDQQHOV å SDUWLFXODUO\ WKH IRXU XS ĆUHUV å KHOS WKH 4 % SURGXFH D VHQVDWLRQDOO\ IXOO\ IRUPHG DQG FRQYLQFLQJ KHPLVSKHUH RI VRXQG WKDW GHOLYHUV PRUH FRQYLQFLQJ 'ROE\ $WPRV VRXQGWUDFN H[SHULHQFHV WKDQ DQ\ RWKHU VRXQGEDU LQ LWV FODVV £799, samsung.com

THREE ALTERNATIVE TVs

LG OLED65C2

SAMSUNG QE65QN95B

PHILIPS 65OLED807

The 65-inch OLED65C2 builds on LG’s legendary C series of OLED TVs with a new high-brightness panel, LG’s latest Alpha 9 processor and even more comprehensive gaming support than its already groundEUHDNLQJ SUHGHFHVVRUV /*èV SUHPLXP * OLED series are even better if you can DIIRUGbWKHP EXW IRU DOO URXQG EDQJ IRU \RXU EXFN WKH 2/(' & UHPDLQV WKH SLFN RI /*èVb 79 UDQJH £1,899, lg.com

6DPVXQJèV . LQFK 79 VWXQQLQJO\ showcases all of the brand’s most cutting-edge technologies. It’s illuminated by mini-LEDs, for starters, supported by 720 separately FRQWUROOHG OLJKWLQJ ]RQHV &RORXUV DUH GHOLYHUHG E\ PHWDO ZUDSSHG 4XDQWXP 'RWV SHDN brightness is three times higher than the best OLEDs manage, image processing combines the NQRZOHGJH RI QHXUDO QHWZRUNV DQG WKHUH are cutting edge gaming features galore. £1,899, samsung.com

7KH 2/(' ĆUVW FDWFKHV \RXU H\H ZLWK LWV VSHFWDFXODU $PELOLJKW V\VWHP ZKLFK ĆQGV LEDs casting coloured light that can match picture content out around the TV’s sides. Philips’ latest P5 picture engine soon lures \RX LQWR LWV H[FHSWLRQDOO\ YLEUDQW DQG VKDUS pictures too, though, while the 65OLED807’s OLED panel serves up stellar contrast and viewing angles. All for what is, in the circumstances, a very attractive price. £1,980, philips.co.uk N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 37

Level up your home cinema

£3,000+

SONY XR-65A95K The 65-inch XR-65A95K uses new Quantum Dot OLED technology. This ﬁnds each pixel shining organic blue light through red and green Quantum Dot layers, resulting in more brightness than regular OLED TVs muster and the purest, most richly saturated colours ever seen outside of a professional mastering suite. In fact, factor in Sony’s uniquely life-like Cognitive Processor too, and you’ve got a new picture quality standard.

£3,199, sony.co.uk

3 8 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

£3,000+

SOUND SYSTEM

Q ACOUSTICS 3050I 5.1 & YAMAHA RX-V6A RECEIVER

With the budgetary constraints cast off, we’ve stepped up to a full surround sound VHSDUDWHV V\VWHP 7KH VSHDNHUV DUH 4 $FRXVWLFVè DZDUG ZLQQLQJ L SDFNDJH å D JRUJHRXV HVSHFLDOO\ LQ LWV ZKLWH ĆQLVK FRPELQDWLRQ RI WZR L ćRRUVWDQGHUV WZR L VXUURXQGV WKH L FHQWUH VSHDNHU DQG WKH 6 VXEZRRIHU $OO SRZHUHG E\ <DPDKDèV H[HPSODU\ DQG JUHDW YDOXH FKDQQHO 5; 9$ 'ROE\ $WPRV DQG '76 ; $9 UHFHLYHU £1,550, qacoustics.co.uk; £649, yamaha.com

THREE ALTERNATIVE TVs

LG OLED65G2

SAMSUNG QE65S95B

SONY XR-77A80K

%\ DGGLQJ D KHDW VLQN WR DQ DOUHDG\ JURXQG EUHDNLQJO\ EULJKW SDQHO GHVLJQ /*èV ćDJVKLS 65-inch OLED TV for 2022 is comfortably WKH EUDQGèV ĆQHVW 79 ,Q IDFW LWèV DUJXDEO\ WKH best regular (rather than Quantum Dot OLED) OLED TV ever made period, especially when you throw in the set’s peerless gaming features, LG’s much improved new processing engine, and class-leading professional calibration support. £2,499, lg.com

6DPVXQJ 'LVSOD\ LQYHQWHG DQG H[FOXVLYHO\ manufactures Quantum Dot OLED WHFKQRORJ\ VR LWèV QR VXUSULVH WR ĆQG 6DPVXQJ MRLQLQJ 6RQ\ LQ VHOOLQJ D 4' 2/(' 79 LQ 6DPVXQJèV WDNH IHDWXUHV D UHPDUNDEOH XOWUD WKLQ GHVLJQ ZKLOH LWV SLFWXUH quality pushes the technology’s colour and EULJKWQHVV EHQHĆWV WR PRUH H[WUHPH OHYHOV WKDW ODFN WKH UHĆQHPHQW RI WKH 6RQ\ EXW DUH well suited to gaming and bright living rooms. £2,299, samsung.com

To really put the ‘cinema’ in home cinema, \RXbQHHG WR WKLQN ELJ å DQG WKH FRQWUDVW ULFK 2/(' WHFKQRORJ\ VR EHORYHG RI ĆOP IDQV doesn’t get much bigger – or better – than this glorious 77-inch Sony specimen. The epic GLPHQVLRQV MRLQ IRUFHV ZLWK 2/('èV LQQDWH picture quality and Sony’s reality-focused SURFHVVLQJ WR GHOLYHU H[DFWO\ WKDW çEHLQJ WKHUHè immersion you usually only get at your local Odeon or Showcase. £3,499, sony.co.uk N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 3 9

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magazinesdirect.com/ttt/x731 or call 0330 333 1113 and quote X731 ɯǣǼǼ ǝȒȇȒɖȸ Ɏǝƺ ȇɖȅƫƺȸ Ȓǔ ǣɀɀɖƺɀ ȵƏǣƳ ǔȒȸً ȇȒɎ Ɏǝƺ Ɏƺȸȅ Ȓǔ Ɏǝƺ ɀɖƫɀƬȸǣȵɎǣȒȇِ IȒȸ ǔɖǼǼ Ɏƺȸȅɀ ƏȇƳ ƬȒȇƳǣɎǣȒȇɀً ɮǣɀǣɎ ɯɯɯِȅƏǕƏɿǣȇƺɀƳǣȸƺƬɎِƬȒȅٖɎƺȸȅɀِ IȒȸ ƺȇȷɖǣȸǣƺɀ ȵǼƺƏɀƺ ƬƏǼǼ‫ גגڷ ي‬٢‫׎‬٣ ‫ ِב׏׏׏ בבב ׎בב‬ nǣȇƺɀ Əȸƺ Ȓȵƺȇ xȒȇƳƏɵ‫ٮ‬IȸǣƳƏɵ ‫׎בِז‬Əȅ‫וٮ‬ȵȅ ƏȇƳ ³ƏɎɖȸƳƏɵ ‫׎׏‬Əȅ‫בٮ‬ȵȅ ³Á ٢ƺɴƬǼɖƳǣȇǕ ƏȇǸ RȒǼǣƳƏɵɀ٣ Ȓȸ ƺȅƏǣǼ‫ ي‬ǝƺǼȵ۬ȅƏǕƏɿǣȇƺɀƳǣȸƺƬɎِƬȒȅِ !ƏǼǼɀ ɎȒ ‫ ׎בב׎‬ȇɖȅƫƺȸɀ ɯǣǼǼ ƫƺ ƬǝƏȸǕƺƳ ƏɎ ȇȒ ȅȒȸƺ ɎǝƏȇ Ə ȇƏɎǣȒȇƏǼ ǼƏȇƳǼǣȇƺ ƬƏǼǼً ƏȇƳ ȅƏɵ ƫƺ ǣȇƬǼɖƳƺƳ ǣȇ ɵȒɖȸ ȵǝȒȇƺ ȵȸȒɮǣƳƺȸ‫ټ‬ɀ ƬƏǼǼ ƫɖȇƳǼƺِ

The complete guide to…

42 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

Security cameras

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO…

Install one of these smart security cameras around your home and you’ve got yourself an extra eye that never sleeps – keeping your property and your loved ones safe Words: David Nield Photography: Neil Godwin

here’s now a plethora of devices in the smart home category, with more seemingly arriving every week – but the security camera remains hard to beat as one of the most useful and valuable in terms of bang for your buck. These compact devices act as all-seeing eyes guarding your home, making sure that if someone is there who shouldn’t be, you’re going to know about it straight away. If you don’t already have a security camera system set up at home, it’s the perfect time to invest in one: the days are getting darker earlier, giving would-be intruders more time under the cover of darkness. We’re also getting to that period of the year where it’s traditional to spend time away from home visiting friends and family, and these devices give you peace of mind when you can’t be at home yourself. Whatever the extras and bonus features, every security camera has one key feature, which is watching

out for any signs of motion and then sending a notification to your phone when something is detected. That core functionality can then be augmented in all kinds of ways, whether it’s 24/7 video recording, integration with your other smart home devices, or whatever else. The good news is that you no longer need to spend huge amounts of money or get a professional installation team in to set up a surveillance system at home. These cameras attach themselves to your local Wi-Fi network and largely configure themselves – through an accompanying app on your phone, you can be up and running in just a few minutes. Adding a second or third camera is even more straightforward. We’re also seeing security cameras improve year on year, offering higher resolution video footage and still images, smarter integration with the rest of the devices in your home, improved abilities in terms of being able to identify what’s happening in front of

them, and so on. The smart home cameras that you can pick up today are the best we’ve seen yet. If there is a problem in getting started, it’s in picking the right camera from the wealth of options that are now available to you – but that’s where we can help out with some suggestions and some advice about what to look for. Big names such as Amazon and Google have their own lines of products, and while Apple doesn’t have its own security camera range, it does oversee a smart home standard that cameras are part of. In other words, there’s a home security camera out there for you, no matter what your needs and your budget. While features and functions vary, they all oﬀer 24/7 monitoring of whatever space you put them in, and you’ll be able to tap into the live feed of the camera from wherever you are in the world; whether you’re upstairs in bed or on a trip at the other end of the country, you can always check in on what your camera is seeing.

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 4 3

The complete guide to… The top three…

CAMERA ACCESSORIES As well as the cameras themselves, you also need to think about extras that can complement them 01

WASSERSTEIN ANTI-THEFT MOUNT An accessory like the Wasserstein AntiTheft Mount can help and add a layer of protection if your camera is situated outside – it’s designed for Google Nest cameras, but similar mounts are available for other models. £14.99, store.google.com

RING SOLAR PANEL Battery-powered security cameras need recharging: solve this with a solar panel. This particular model is for Ring cameras, and needs just a few hours of sunlight every day to keep an outdoor camera charged. £49.99, ring.com

ARLO RECHARGEABLE BATTERY If you do go for a battery-powered camera, it might be worth investing in an additional rechargeable battery – like this one for Arlo security cameras. Simply swap the batteries over when a recharge is needed. £34.99, arlo.com 4 4 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

KEY SECURITY CAMERA FEATURES So you’re ready to invest in a smart security camera for your home – exactly what features should you be looking for? At first glance the selection can seem daunting, but as you start to do some research you’ll quickly begin to pick up on the differences between devices, and the features that you’re absolutely going to want to have. As with most tech purchases, you’re going to need to weigh up the budget you have against the specs that you’d like: security cameras cover all sorts of price points, which means that you can get a load of bells and whistles if you can afford them, but you should cut back and go for something more basic if you can’t. Some upgrades are nice to have while others are essential, and which fall into which category really depends on your own personal preference and how you want to use your cameras. The key spec you’ll usually see listed first is resolution. The norm at the moment is 1080p (1,080 horizontal lines per frame), though you’ll also come across 720p on cheaper models and 4K on the higher-end ones. Obviously a higher resolution is better for getting a sharper shot, but at the same time 1080p is usually fine for most purposes. This isn’t Netflix – you’re probably not going to settle down with the family to watch some security camera footage on your 4K TV – but at the same time you might consider extra pixels worth the price for a better picture. There are then two different ways of categorising security cameras that are important to consider. The first is indoor cameras versus outdoor cameras, which is fairly self-explanatory: some cameras are built to be weatherproof and to sit outside your home, while others are designed to be permanently inside buildings. Obviously this is a fairly easy choice to make,

depending on where you’re putting your camera, though you’ll usually have to pay extra for the more durable outdoor models. The second major split is between batterypowered security cameras (which are usually but not always outdoor models) and cameras which rely on a wired connection to a power socket (which can be indoor or outdoor cameras). The battery option gives you a lot more convenience for setting the camera up – especially if it’ll be outside – but you do then have to deal with recharging the battery every so often. Typically, batterypowered cameras can last for months between charges, but it does have an impact on features such as round-the-clock video recording – while a wired camera might be less convenient to set up initially, you don’t have any maintenance to worry about. Speaking of recording, most cameras now record footage to the cloud, which is sometimes associated with an ongoing subscription fee. A minority of models let you save clips to an integrated memory card, so you can save on cloud storage and just pay once for the memory card. Most security cameras now come with an optional subscription plan of some description – as well as cloud storage, these plans will typically give you more days of video history to look back through, and extra perks like premium tech support.

You might consider extra pixels worth the price for a better picture

Security cameras T3 recommends...

THE BEST HOME SECURITY CAMERAS These are the cams to get on your shortlist if you want the best money can buy

MOST VERSATILE

RING STICK UP CAM BATTERY Affordable, versatile and reliable, the Ring Stick Up Cam Battery brings with it 1080p video recording and can be used inside or outside thanks to its weatherresistant design – it’s equally comfortable standing on a coffee

table or attached to the side of a garage wall. As this model is battery RSHUDWHG \RX FDQ ĆW LW DQ\ZKHUH you like, and it brings with it features such as night vision, twoZD\ DXGLR DQG D ZLGH ĆHOG RI YLHZ

£59.99, ring.com

You’re certainly not short of options when it comes to picking up a security camera, and to try and help you navigate through the maze of different products, we’ve pulled together four of our favourite models right here for your consideration. From high-end, premium 4K to the budget, value-for-money end of the market, something here should fit the criteria that you’re looking for – and they all come from brands that you can rely on. All of these cameras cover the basics that you’re going to need from a device like this and then some, and they all offer straightforward setup and an intuitive app experience right from your phone.

BEST BUDGET

NEOS SMARTCAM Considering the wealth of features on offer here, it’s amazing that the Neos SmartCam costs so little: it brings with it motion and sound detection, 1080p video quality, two-way audio, night vision, and WKHbDELOLW\ WR DXWRPDWLFDOO\ DUP

itself as soon as you leave home (based on the location of your phone). Thanks to its dinky size DQG ćH[LEOH VWDQG \RX FDQ ĆW LW just about anywhere you like too, though it’s only for indoor use.

£19.99, neos.co.uk

PREMIUM LEVEL

BEST OUTDOOR

ARLO PRO 4 SPOTLIGHT

TP-LINK TAPO C310

The Arlo Pro 4 Spotlight doesn’t FRPH FKHDS EXW LW MXVWLĆHV LWV SULFH with high-end specs and a long list of useful features. As well as 2K HDR-enabled video, you also get up to 12x zoom for checking out details in front of the camera,

an ultrawide viewing angle, an integrated spotlight, a built-in siren, colour night vision and two-way audio. It’s battery powered too, so it can go anywhere you like, LQGRRUVbRU RXWGRRUV

£219.99, arlo.com

If you’re looking to get a solid security camera installed outdoors, you can’t do much better than the robust and affordable Tapo C310 from TP-Link. It can record video to a local memory card, it supports two-way audio, and it can

integrate with both Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant devices – so you’ve got plenty of options for controlling it. Features such as night vision, two-way audio and an integrated alarm are included too.

£38.99, tapo.com N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 45

The complete guide to…

smarter at being able to tell the diﬀerence between human beings and everything else (like cars and animals): this is also helpful when it comes to cutting down the number of times your phone gets pinged. Finally, you need to think about how the security camera is going to be integrated into the rest of your smart home. If you already have a series of gadgets that are connected through Google Home, Amazon Alexa or Apple HomeKit, then you’re going to want a camera that matches. It means you’ll be able to control your smart home through one central hub app, as well as the individual apps that came with your kit. You’ll also be able to do some tricks, like get your Ring

OTHER BUYING CONSIDERATIONS As you dig deeper into security camera specs, you’ll see that there are actually quite a few features and specs to weigh up. One is night vision: most security cameras will offer this, but the quality can vary, so check on the details (and the reviews). Another is two-way audio, which lets you hold a conversation with whoever is at the other end of the video feed – useful for putting off would-be burglars, giving instructions to couriers, or maybe even comforting your pets while you’re away from home. From the security perspective, built-in floodlights and sirens are two features that

can be really helpful in chasing people off your property when you’re not there (or when you’re tucked up in bed). Again, these all have extra costs attached most of the time, so you might not be able to afford all the features you want – but we’d encourage you to certainly get the most premium model you can afford. On the software side, some cameras are smart enough to let you set up ‘motion zones’ so that activity in a certain part of the video frame doesn’t trigger an alert – that’s very handy if you just want to keep an eye on one particular window or door. These devices and their apps are also getting

Built-in ﬂoodlights and sirens are two features that can be really helpful camera footage up on a TV with an Amazon Fire Stick plugged into the back of it. As ever with these kinds of tech decisions, have a good think about the setup you want and the features you’d like – that should make it a little more straightforward to pick a camera from the many available. Consider future upgrades too, and leave scope for any additional cameras or other devices you might want to add further down the line.

KNOW YOUR SECURITY CAMERA APPS Your chosen hardware will also come with a mobile app that you’ll need to install What can easily get lost when it comes to choosing a security camera is that it’s also going to have a companion app for your smartphone. While the quality of the app might not be vitally important, it’s still worth thinking about – and you can usually check these apps out in advance on app stores. It’s in the app that you’ll be able to FRQĆJXUH IHDWXUHV OLNH WKH VHQVLWLYLW\ RI WKH motion alerts, and whether or not you want to set up particular ‘zones’ in the camera’s ĆHOG RI YLHZ ZKHUH PRWLRQ LV LJQRUHG WKLV can save you from getting alerts every two minutes). Some apps will let you enable motion alerts when you leave your home, and disable them again when you come back, using location data sent from your phone. Once you’ve got your new camera safely home and set up, it’s worth spending some 4 6 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

time digging into the options that your app has. You’ll be able to check the live feed coming from your camera, and test out features like the two-way audio and the night vision, if they’re included (it’s a good idea to do this before going on holiday or heading to bed for the night). If your camera is capable of telling the difference between actual people moving and other types of motion, this setting will be in the app too. You should also be able to get to an overview of motion alert events from the app on your phone, though how big the archive is will depend on the camera and possibly which subscription service you’ve signed up for. If there were several incidents while you were on holiday, for example, you’ll be able to tap through to see them in turn.

In the Ring app, for instance, you can tap Motion Settings from the opening screen and then Motion Sensitivity: if you’re getting too many motion alerts (from waving trees and the like), then move the slider to the left. Back on the front screen, you can select Event History to check back on previous alerts and see exactly what happened. Apps for other security cameras will be laid out in similar ways. If you get a camera that works with a larger smart home system – Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple HomeKit – then you’ll also be able to use that app on your phone to control your camera as well. You might not get exactly the same set of options, but you should be able to manage the basics, and better integrate the device with the rest of your smart home.

Upgrade your home

UPGRADE YOUR HOME

Deck the halls… the kitchen, the dining room and the lounge for the Yuletide. These gadgets should spruce up your house and turn it into a home for the holidays Words: Michelle Rae Uy

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 47

Upgrade your home

ENTERTAINING 2 1

3 4

PRO-JECT E1 BT TURNTABLE

SONOS ONE

ARCADE 1UP INFINITY GAME TABLE

PLAYSTATION 5

What better way to make holidays even more nostalgic than by listening to those classic Christmas carols on vinyl? You’ll need a stylish yet amazingsounding record player like the Pro-Ject E1 BT. It boasts a builtin phono pre-amp, a cartridge from reputable Ortofon, and an affordable price. It even comes ZLWK %OXHWRRWK IRU WKH EHQHĆW RI the zoomers in the family.

Jump on the smart speaker bandwagon, and discover all of Alexa’s holiday offerings. You can play carols, take part in WULYLDbJDPHV DQG HQVXUH WKDW those cookies in the oven are baked to perfection. All while enjoying the rich sound and deep bass the Sonos One has to offer. Pair it with other equally attractive Sonos speakers WR ĆOO \RXU ZKROH KRXVH ZLWK Christmas cheer.

Take board game night to the next level with this digital game table from Arcade 1Up. It’s got everything from iconic board games like Monopoly and 7ULYLDOb3XUVXLW WR ROG IDYRXULWHV like chess, solitaire and even noughts and crosses. With over 40 games and more available for SXUFKDVH b\RXèOO JHW VR FDXJKW XS you might even forget to open the presents.

Christmas Day is best spent opening presents and indulging in a massive feast. As for the rest of the holiday season, Sony’s popular console will be there to ensure the entire family entertained. Although, with its stunning 4K performance, 3D audio and controller that deepens your immersion, you might have a hard time getting them out of their Christmas pyjamas.

£399, project-audio.com

£199, sonos.com

£899, game.co.uk

£479, playstation.com

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Dining

DINING 1

INSTANT VORTEX PLUS DUAL

SAGE THE BARISTA EXPRESS IMPRESS

BLACK + DECKER BEV

CROCKPOT 4.7L DIGITAL SLOW COOKER

We’re all for spending hours labouring in the kitchen to prepare that unforgettable Christmas feast, but wouldn’t you prefer to spend more quality time with the family? This powerful 7.6L air fryer from Instant Pot will be the perfect kitchen assistant, cutting your cooking time in half while ensuring that those dishes are cooked to perfection.

Get your holiday dinner guests addicted to caffeine with this Red Dot Design Award Winning espresso machine. It’s more than just a regular coffee machine. True to its moniker, it serves as your own barista, with its smart dosing system, digital temperature control, and a manual steam wand that’ll have you mastering Christmasthemed latte art in no time.

Why spend most of your party mixing drinks when you can have your personal mixologist do the work? This brilliant cocktail maker from Black + Decker, appropriately called Bev, is simple to set up and only requires one thing from \RX å WKH SUHVV RI \RXU ĆQJHU 6HW LW XSbZLWK XS WR ĆYH W\SHV RI OLTXRU bVWRFN XS RQ FRFNWDLO capsules, and your guests will never be thirsty.

£199, instantbrands.co.uk

£729, sageappliances.com

£299, blackanddecker.co.uk

We all love a hearty soup, a good casserole, or a warming stew to keep warm during the frosty season, which is why every household should invest in a slow cooker. This 4.7L model from CrockPot will let you make winter dishes for the whole family without needing to check them every few minutes. It’s a huge energy and time saver. £50, crockpot.co.uk N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 49

Upgrade your home

CATCHING UP 2

META QUEST PRO

PETCUBE BITES 2 LITE

GOOGLE NEST HUB MAX

LOGITECH BRIO 500

Gamers in the family can still play together without physically being in the same space, thanks to Meta Quest Pro. This new VR headset supports many multiplayer games, which will let you squeeze in some game time with your buddies in between chaotic shopping excursions and never-ending dinner parties. A bonus: the zoomers in the fam will think you’re cool.

,I \RX KDYH PDQDJHG WR ĆQG DQ DIIRUGDEOH ćLJKW GHVSLWH WKH ULVLQJ LQćDWLRQ \RX GRQèW KDYH WR feel too bad about abandoning your furry babies over Christmas break. This treatgiving gadget from Petcube DOORZV \RX WR QRW RQO\ ćLQJ goodies to them but also check in on them to make sure they haven’t destroyed the house out of spite.

Sadly, we can’t turn into Santa and deliver presents across the world in one night. Luckily, you can still spread that Christmas cheer with the Google Nest Hub Max, which lets you jump on group video calls with loved ones. You could even set it at the table so those who couldn’t make it to Christmas dinner can still partake – and they won’t be able to steal your roasties.

Form meets function in the Logitech Brio 500. While it is the perfect tool for hybrid working, it’ll also let you deck two trees with one garland by letting you connect with friends and family during the holidays. This 1080p webcam makes you look good on video with light correction and boasts Show Mode, which you can use when opening presents.

£1,499, meta.com

£149, petcube.com

£219, store.google.com

£129, logitech.com

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Kicking back

KICKING BACK 1

AGA RAYBURN STRATUS EXTRA TALL 100 ELECTRIC FIREPLACE

EMBER MUG2

EVE WEIGHTED BLANKET

BEURER FW20UK COSY FOOT WARMER

Can it be Christmas without chestnuts roasting on an open ĆUH" ,I \RX KDYHQèW JRW RQH though, you can roast chestnuts in the oven and enjoy them in IURQW RI WKLV HOHFWULF ĆUHSODFH LQVWHDG 7KH ĆUH ORRNV UHDO enough to be cosy, especially since its 1.9kW heat output will keep you toasty.

It’s hard keeping that cup of cocoa warm during the cold winter months. Luckily, the Ember Mug2 is here to save the day – or at least those who tend to nurse their drinks for an unfeasibly long time. It comes with its own battery, as well as a charging coaster, VR \RXèOO QHYHU EH IRUFHG WR ĆQLVK the remainder of your tea (or mulled wine) cold again.

Who doesn’t love a warm snuggle when it’s cold outside? This full-body hug of a blanket will keep you toasty and soothe you to a dreamy slumber. It’s made from 100% cotton – unlike other weighted blankets that use sand or micro glass beads. You’ll get a restful sleep the night before Christmas, which you’ll need for opening presents.

Holiday shopping is not for the faint of heart or the feeble of feet. Luckily, you need not spend money at a spa when you’ve got this affordable foot warmer. It keeps your trotters toasty, yes, but the warmth should also encourage healing to get you ready for the next day, while its VRIW ćHHFH OLQLQJ ZLOO PDNH \RXU feet feel pampered.

£1,690, agaliving.com

£149, ember.com

£199, evesleep.co.uk

£34, beurer.com N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 51

Upgrade your home

SAVING MONEY 2

BLACK + DECKER DIGITAL THERMAL LEAK DETECTOR TLD100

GOOGLE NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT 3RD GENERATION

LUTRON MAESTRO MOTION SENSOR SWITCH

SODASTREAM TERRA

You won’t have to worry about high energy bill during the winter months. At least not when you’ve got this smart thermostat from Google Nest. It learns your routines and temperature preferences so it can turn the temperature up or down as needed, reducing your energy consumption while still ensuring your comfort.

Don’t worry about turning the light off; the Lutron Maestro Motion Sensor Switch will be a little marvel and do it for you. It will automatically control the light as you enter or leave a room. You don’t have to lift D ĆQJHU RU EH IUXVWUDWHG ZLWK your kids for leaving all the lights on and running up the electricity bill while they’re home for the holidays.

Save the environment and quench your thirst at the same time with the Sodastream Terra. Comprising a carbonator and a reusable, dishwasher-safe water bottle, it’ll let you enjoy soda water whenever you like without buying it in a bottle that will inevitably end up in a ODQGĆOO 7KHUH DUH DOVR SOHQW\ RI ćDYRXUV DYDLODEOH LQFOXGLQJ some of your favourite pop drinks like Pepsi and 7up.

£46, blackanddecker.co.uk

£219, store.google.com

£41, lutron.com

£79, sodastream.co.uk

That exorbitant energy bill is coming. But it doesn’t have to be so high. Using the Black + Decker TLD100, you can detect any thermal leaks in your home, whether it’s a draft entering from an unexpected place or a window that isn’t sealing properly. Even if you aren’t handy, the thermal leak detector is incredibly easy to use.

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ON SALE NOW

Available in print and digital

SUBSCRIBE TODAY AND SAVE! WWW.MAGAZINESDIRECT.COM/TOF

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Smart speakers and screens

It’s time to play the music, it’s time to light the lights, it’s time to make your smart home smarter with one of these delights Words: Carrie Marshall Photography: Neil Godwin

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Smart speakers and screens

Under £75 2 1

4 3

ECHO DOT (5TH GEN)

ECHO SHOW 5

ECHO DOT (3RD GEN)

The latest Echo Dot is dramatically different from the 3rd gen, both in terms of its shape, which is a sphere rather than a puck, and in terms of sound quality, which is considerably improved. It too is frequently available with huge discounts, so if you want to listen to music as well as news or podcasts, this is the Echo to get. £21.99, amazon.co.uk

Amazon’s smallest Echo/Alexa device with a built-in screen has MXVW ĆYH LQFKHV RI GLVSOD\ PDNLQJ it ideal as a small room speaker, a kitchen recipe helper or a bedside speaker. If you need a home hub or plan to watch video, you’re better off investing in one of its bigger siblings, but it’s surprisingly good for having video chats with friends and colleagues. £74.99, amazon.co.uk

GOOGLE NEST MINI (2ND GEN)

5 6 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

Google’s revised and cheapest smart speaker looks like a slightly more attractive Echo Dot and is an excellent alternative if you’d rather control smart home devices and apps by speaking to Google Assistant than Alexa. If you already have an Android phone you can EHQHĆW IURP LQWHJUDWLRQ EHWZHHQ that and your Mini. £49, store.google.com

At £39.99 the Dot was already cheap, but at the time of writing it’s just £16.99 – and that means it’s absolutely exceptional value for money. It’s better for speech and smart home control than music – its speaker is much too small to shake even a fairly compact room – but it’s a very cheap way to add Alexa smarts to your home. £16.99, amazon.co.uk

£75-£150

£75 - £150 1 2

3 4

ECHO 4TH GEN

GOOGLE NEST HUB

ECHO SHOW 8 2ND GEN

APPLE HOMEPODS MINI

Amazon’s smart speakers haven’t always sounded fantastic, but the 4th generation Echo is the bestsounding version yet. It’s much clearer and involving than before, it streams effortlessly from all the key music services, it’s easy to expand with Alexa skills and it has a built-in Zigbee hub for connecting to and controlling smart lights and other devices. £80.99, amazon.co.uk

The Nest Hub looks like a VLPSOLĆHG *RRJOH EUDQGHG Android tablet, and that’s essentially what it is: it connects to Nest devices such as door cameras and Wi-Fi cameras, it enables you to access your Google Calendars, Google Photos and other Google services, and it plays YouTube, as ZHOO DV 1HWćL[ 'LVQH\ $SSOH Music and Spotify. £89.99, store.google.com

This larger Echo Show is a vast improvement over the smaller model, with a usable 8-inch HD display and a 13MP camera. Browsing through calendars and reminders or watching online video won’t make you squint, and its VWUHDPLQJ FDSDELOLWLHV åbLQFOXGLQJ 1HWćL[ 3ULPH 9LGHR DQG PRUH DV ZHOO DV PXVLF VHUYLFHV åbPDNH LW D great kitchen device. £119.99, amazon.co.uk

Apple’s original HomePods were wonderful but pricey, and while these tiny replacements can’t deliver their predecessors’ sheer grunt, they punch way above their size and price tag. If you’re all-in on Apple services such as Apple TV+ and Apple Music, they offer superb integration, multi-room audio and seamless transition between Apple devices. £89, apple.com N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 5 7

Smart speakers and screens

£150 - £300 1

2 4

ECHO SHOW 15

SONOS ONE

DENON HOME 150

Amazon is pitching its largest Echo Show as a family hub, its 15.6inch 1080p display a canvas for calendars, reminders and other life admin, as well as for recipes and displaying family photos. It connects to smart home cameras and video doorbells, streams movies and music and offers LQGLYLGXDO SURĆOHV ZLWK YLVXDO DQG voice ID for each family member. £239.99, amazon.co.uk

Many smart speakers prioritise the smart over the speaker. Not Sonos. The Sonos One is a powerful and punchy speaker when it’s streaming music solo, superb when it’s part of a stereo pair DQGbPDJQLĆFHQW LQ D PXOWL URRP setup. It has Alexa and Google Assistant built in, supports Apple’s AirPlay 2 and is controlled by voice or the Sonos app. £199, sonos.com

B&O BEOSOUND A1 (2ND GENERATION)

5 8 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

If you’re wondering how any small, portable Alexa speaker can be this expensive, you need to hear this one in action. To say it’s in a different league to similarly sized rivals would be an understatement. It sounds absolutely spectacular, and when we reviewed it we said it was the best portable speaker on the market. It still is. £229, bang-olufsen.com

As you’d expect from Denon this Alexa speaker is for serious music fans, and as such it has Hi-Res Audio support to 192kHz/24bit and DSD 2.8/5.6MHz, HD streaming services integration, AirPlay 2 and HEOS integration with Denon hardware. It’s impressively loud for its size; if you need more power the Home 250 and 350 are louder still. £189, denon.com

£300 & over

4 3

BRAUN LE01

BOSE SMART SPEAKER 500

Not all smart speakers look as good as they sound, so congratulations to Braun for bringing brutalist design to hightech home audio. There’s AirPlay, Chromecast and Google Assistant, extraordinary good looks and ĆYH GULYH XQLWV IRU SRZHUIXO and precise sound, but there’s no Bluetooth aptX streaming or HDMI input for use as a soundbar. £1,040, braun-audio.com

Bose’s mid-range speaker claims to deliver the widest sound of any smart speaker thanks to two custom drivers, which point in opposite directions to bounce sound off your walls so you don’t need to buy two speakers. There’s Google Assistant and Alexa integration, AirPlay 2 support and superb microphones so you don’t need to shout to control the music. £305, bose.co.uk

DEVIALET PHANTOM II 95DB

NAIM MU-SO 2ND GENERATION

Available in three increasingly loud YHUVLRQV WKH G% ĆJXUH LV HDFK model’s maximum sound pressure), the Phantom II looks unlike any other smart speaker and delivers a huge sound with impressive bass despite its relatively small size. It supports AirPlay 2, Spotify Connect, Roon and UPnP streaming up to 24-bit/96KHz. £1,100, devialet.com

The most expensive smart speaker here is a technological tour de force with support for up to 32bit, 384Hz hi-res audio, excellent integration with services ranging from Spotify to TIDAL, HDMI ARC so you can use it with your home entertainment kit, and great looks. %XW WKDW DOO SDOHV LQWR LQVLJQLĆFDQFH when you hear it. It’s glorious. £1,299, naimaudio.com N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 59

10 tips to get your tech for less

TO GET YOUR TECH FOR LESS

7R KHOS \RX ĆQG WKH EHVW SULFHV DQG DYRLG VSHQGLQJ D IRUWXQH KHUH DUH ZD\V \RX FDQ VDYH PRQH\ RQ %ODFN )ULGD\ Words: Bethan Girdler-Maslen

The annual Black Friday sales event is coming up on 25 November. Black Friday is the best time of year to get the latest products for a steal and, most importantly, to get your Christmas shopping started. The cost of living has been particularly brutal this year, with everyday prices soaring insanely high. From food shopping to energy bills, everything is taking a hit, so it’s unsurprising that many people are worried about aﬀording Christmas this year. If you fall into this group, scoring some Black Friday deals can deﬁnitely help you save on Christmas presents, replace old or broken devices and stock up on everyday essentials. But before you head to the checkout, keep these 10 money-saving tips in mind when braving the Black Friday sales. Happy shopping! N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 61

10 tips to get your tech for less

MAKE A LIST & STICK TO IT

RESEARCH THE RETAILER

USE PRICECHECKING TOOLS

SHOP A YEAR BEHIND

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10 tips to get your tech for less

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ISSUE 341 ON SALE WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER

XMAS GADGET GIFT GUIDE All the amazing tech your loved ones will be thrilled to unwrap come Christmas Day

All contents © 2022 Future Publishing Limited or published under licence. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be used, stored, transmitted or reproduced in any way without the prior written permission of the publisher. Future Publishing Limited (company number 2008885) is registered in England and Wales. Registered RIĆFH 4XD\ +RXVH 7KH $PEXU\ %DWK %$ 8$ $OO LQIRUPDWLRQ FRQWDLQHG LQ WKLV SXEOLFDWLRQ LV IRU LQIRUPDWLRQ only and is, as far as we are aware, correct at the time of going to press. Future cannot accept any responsibility for errors or inaccuracies in such information. You are advised to contact manufacturers and retailers directly with regard to the price of products/services referred to in this publication. Apps and websites mentioned in this publication are not under our control. We are not responsible for their contents or any other changes or updates to WKHP 7KLV PDJD]LQH LV IXOO\ LQGHSHQGHQW DQG QRW DIĆOLDWHG LQ DQ\ ZD\ ZLWK WKH FRPSDQLHV PHQWLRQHG KHUHLQ If you submit material to us, you warrant that you own the material and/or have the necessary rights/permissions to supply the material and you automatically grant Future and its licensees a licence to publish your submission in whole or in part in any/all issues and/or editions of publications, in any format published worldwide and on associated websites, social media channels and associated products. Any material you submit is sent at your own risk and, although every care is taken, neither Future nor its employees, agents, subcontractors or licensees shall be liable for loss or damage. We assume all unsolicited material is for publication unless otherwise stated, and reserve the right to edit, amend, adapt all submissions.

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GOOGLE PIXEL 7 PRO REVIEWED Is this mid-ranger ready to enter the big leagues? BEST EARBUD STOCKING FILLERS From affordabe earphones to primo audio pros PSVR2 VS META QUEST PRO Which will be our VR Xmas number one? SMARTWATCH FACE OFF The Apple Watch 8 vs the Galaxy Watch 5 * ALL CONTENTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE

TESTED Expert reviews and recommendations WR KHOS \RX EX\ ZLWK FRQĆGHQFH Edited by Josh Russell

APPLE iPHONE 14 PRO MAX

iPHONE 14

SONOS SUB MINI

ASUS ZENBOOK 17 FOLD OLED

PANASONIC LZ2000

BOSE QUIET COMFORT EARBUDS 2

GOPRO HERO 11 BLACK

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

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

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

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

Only the very best products – those WKDWbVFRUH ĆYH VWDUV å UHFHLYH RXU Platinum Award

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Tested

From £1,099 apple.com

MAX ELOQUENT

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Providing more than just a Dynamic Island, this brings huge advances in its screen, camera and processor here’s no doubt that the iPhone 14 Pro Max offers an upgrade. The specs show advances in almost every area of the phone, from the brighter always-on display and new 48MP camera to the A16 processor and longer life battery. But does it offer enough to tempt users to upgrade from their iPhone 12 or iPhone 13? Slightly unusually for Apple, the design of the iPhone 14 Pro Max has changed very little from the 13 Pro Max, and the 12 Pro Max. Holding the three phones next to each other, the only clear differences come in the shape of that notch or Dynamic Island and the exclusive colours that each year brought. In previous years the iPhone has undergone a more physical change at least every two years, with the model in between often being an ‘s’ version. We’re actually glad that Apple didn’t decide to change the design this year. The flat edges make the phone more tactile than in previous modes, the overall size and weight of the Pro Max are very satisfying and it doesn’t

6 6 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

Display 6.7-inch 2796x1290 120Hz always-on OLED CPU Apple A16 Capacity 128GB / 256GB / 512GB / 1TB Battery 25 hours OS iOS 16 Camera 48MP main, 12MP ultra-wide, 12MP 2x telephoto, 12MP 3x telephoto rear; 12MP front Connectivity Lightning, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 Dimensions 77.6x160.7x7.9mm Weight 240g

MORE POWER TO YOU Packing Apple’s brand new A16 Bionic chip, the iPhone 14 Pro Max has a hell of a lot more power under the hood than its predecessor, running 10% faster and wielding 50% more memory bandwidth.

feel unwieldy, despite the 6.7-inch screen size. As with previous models, the 14 Pro Max uses a ceramic shield on the front display for strength and strengthened matte back glass, plus a colour-matched stainless steel band around the edge. It retains its IP68 rating, which gives dust, splash and water resistance down to 6 metres for up to 30 minutes. The days of worrying about dropping your phone in water are long gone – though you’d be brave to throw this phone in the water on purpose.

Seamless screen There are two real diﬀerences with the iPhone 14 Pro Max screen: the brightness and the always-on functionality. The peak brightness in regular HDR mode now goes up to 1600 nits, compared to the previous 1200 nits. There’s also a new outdoor mode (which isn’t HDR) but oﬀers a 2000 nits brightness. Even in direct sunlight, the screen was still really easy to view, even to evaluate photos and videos.

The always-on display is a function that iPhone users have wanted for a long time and is even more impressive than many hoped for. The ProMotion display allows for adaptive refresh rates up to 120Hz but thanks to the new A16 chip, it can go as low as 1Hz. When placed into standby mode, the lock screen image dims and the refresh rate drops right down, leaving just the clock and widgets from the new lock screen clearly visible and a very subtle image. We were somewhat sceptical about the Dynamic Island when it was first announced. It felt like it was overcompensating for what is very definitely a punch hole in the screen. The Dynamic Island solution is a software solution to a hardware problem but it’s done so elegantly that it feels purposeful. Rather than being a static hole, the Island expands to include notifications and alerts. It grows wider to show a lock symbol, that AirPods are connected, or that music is playing – even showing a tiny version of album art. Small lights in the centre of the

All phone QRWLĆFDWLRQV QRZ come from the Dynamic Island

Island (between the sensors and the camera) show when the camera and microphone are being used. The Island becomes the place from which all phone notiﬁcations come from, like a personal assistant within the phone’s UX. It feels very Apple, in that it’s very graceful and feels premium to a level that many developers wouldn’t bother to go to. The true potential of the Dynamic Island is still to come though, as Apple has only recently announced the ability for developers to show their live activities in the Island. This will mean that everything from car share arrivals to sports scores can be shown.

The bigger picture The cameras on the iPhone 14 Pro Max got a big boost this year, with new units in three of the four oﬀerings. While the big number changes are on the back, the front-facing TrueDepth camera also got a boost. This now has a wider f/1.9 aperture, allowing more light onto the sensor and, for the ﬁrst time, autofocus. The results are sharper and more detailed. This N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 67

Tested

THIS SCEPTRED ISLE Perhaps the headline feature is the Dynamic Island situated in the Pro Max’s alwayson display. Replacing the monolithic notch of previous models is a smart notiﬁcation display cleverly concealing the selﬁe punch-hole.

LIVING A CHARGED LIFE You would think the always-on display would absolutely guzzle the 14 Pro Max’s juice. But thanks to the increased power efﬁciency of the A16 chip, you can still easily have 50% charge left after a full day’s useage.

stands out even more when using Portrait mode. On the rear, the main camera has been upgraded to a 48MP sensor, from the 12MP models we’ve seen on iPhones since the 6S. Of course, 48MP still isn’t huge by smartphone standards – there are plenty of 50MP sensors out there, as well as some now topping 100MP – but it’s not just the number of pixels that counts. The new main camera sensor is 65% larger than that on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The 12MP sensor on the latter was a 1/1.65-inch sensor, with each pixel at 1.9μm. The new 48MP sensor is a

We saw around 27 hours of heavy usage on one battery charge

1/1.28-inch sensor, with each pixel at 1.22μm. This is a physically bigger sensor than the 108MP sensor on the Samsung S22 Ultra and the 50MP sensor on the Google 6 Pro. Apple also acknowledges most images don’t need to be much larger than 12MP (as they’ll only be viewed on a screen). So for normal shooting, it groups pixels into fours, producing a 12MP image from the 48MP sensor. The advantage is you have four times the data for each pixel, so you get more accurate colour and detail. The ultra-wide camera is also new. While this still has a 12MP, the sensor

is now a 1/2.55-inch, which is around twice the size. This means each of the pixels is larger, also resulting in great colour and detail. The new camera system is really impressive. We compared a few images with identical ones taken on the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Even with iOS 16 on the 13 Pro, the night shots taken on the iPhone 14 Pro Max looked better. However, in daylight when shooting in 12MP JPEG using the main camera, the diﬀerences are harder to spot. Where the main camera really comes into its own is in the 48MP RAW mode. Here you can see the

PRO ADD-ONS

HALOLOCK 2-IN-1 WIRELESS CHARGER Not only will this MagSafe compatible charger juice up both your iPhone and AirPods but it allows you to rotate your phone 360 degrees and adjust its viewing angle, while its Cryoboost tech cools your phone so it charges faster. £54.99, amazon.co.uk 6 8 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

AIRPODS PRO 2 Dropped by Apple at the same time as the 3UR 0D[ WKHVH KDYH UHFHLYHG D VLJQLĆFDQW update. Not only do they offer improved sound and twice as effective noise cancelling but they offer Spatial Audio support as well. £249, apple.com

iPHONE 14 PRO MAX LEATHER CASE What’s the point of buying a gorgeous phone and sticking it in a case that makes it look a cheap brick? Apple’s case not only wraps your phone in classy leather but comes in a range of colours you can match to your handset. £59, apple.com

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max

HEY, BIG SENSOR Not only has Apple upped its main cam to 48MP, its new 1/1.28-inch sensor is larger than you’ll ﬁnd in rival ﬂagships, capturing unparalleled levels of colour and detail.

extra detail. When downloaded to a computer, these ﬁles have much more room for adjustment too, as they retain more of that detail. For video, there are some more improvements. Not only does the 4K video take advantage of the new 48MP sensor on the main camera, and the larger ultra-wide sensor, but there’s a new second-generation optical image stabilisation system on the main camera, plus a new Action Mode that goes one step further. Action mode uses the full area of the sensor to provide digital stabilisation. As the shooting resolution is a maximum of 2.8k (2816x1584), there’s lots of space around the image on the sensor, allowing it to compensate for any movement. The result is a much smoother video that seems to glide as you walk with the camera.

Performance art The iPhone 14 Pro Max (and the 14 Pro) use Apple’s latest A16 chip. This is not only a progression from the A15 but is actually brand new architecture, being a 4nm rather than a 5nm chip as the previous models. The new A16 Bionic chip has 50% more memory bandwidth than the

A15 and is 10% faster, and yet uses less power. To gauge what this means, we ran the Geekbench 5 reports on the 14 Pro Max and got a CPU multi-core score of 5490 and a GPU metal score of 15374. These are significant improvements on the average 4675 / 14203 of the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Though the battery is more power efficient, it also has more demands on it. The always-on display, while low on power use, still requires some input and the animation behind the Dynamic Island must make some extra demand on usage. However, the newer battery remains impressive. In the first few days of heavy usage, we were seeing around 27 hours of battery on a single charge. We then ran the Google Translate app, performing a live translation of French into English for two and a half hours and still had around 40% charge at the end of it. Now we’re finding that under normal conditions we have around 50% charge still left at the end of the day, which is very similar to the iPhone 13 Pro Max. At first glance, the iPhone 14 Pro Max might not look like much of an update but under the skin, this is a hugely improved device. It contains three main updates that even alone

The new camera sensor is 65% larger than it was on its predecessor

would be a reason to upgrade. The always-on display, while by no means a revolution, is extremely pleasing. The Dynamic Island functions beautifully and is likely to be even more useful as apps incorporate their live activities. Finally, the camera updates are some of the biggest yet. The 48MP main camera is really impressive, not just for stills but also for video with the inclusion of the Action Mode stabilisation. If you want the ultimate iPhone, this is it.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED 48MP camera is the best yet; always-on display; Dynamic Island. WE’D IMPROVE Still no USB-C or fast charging; new features will use more battery. THE LAST WORD The ultimate iPhone, boasting killer features that merit the upgrade.

Find the best deals on the iPhone 14 Pro Max at: bit.ly/t3iph14prmx

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Tested iPhone 14

£849 apple.com

PHONE CLONE

iPhone 14

The small but mighty iPhone 14 brings moderate upgrades, so is this Apple upgrade worth considering? o many an Apple fan the iPhone 14 could be seen as just an ‘iPhone 13S’ – because the design, screen and processor in both iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 are one and the same. But, as ever with the iPhone, it’s all about familiarity: it doesn’t shake the tree too hard, delivers on what’s tried, tested and is frankly loved by millions of people. The iPhone 14 is really a carbon copy of the iPhone 13. It’s the same size and (near enough) weight and features the same 6.1-inch display with a notch top and centre. It’s a bit of a shame Apple hasn’t upped the refresh rate of the iPhone 14’s screen with ProMotion, as the iPhone 14 is 60Hz only, not the adaptive 120Hz of the Pro and Pro Max. That shift in fluidity would make for greater smoothness. But who are we kidding? The iPhone 14’s display just looks great. There’s just something very natural about the images on its Super Retina XDR OLED panel. That’s because it still supports features such as P3 wide colour gamut and True Tone, plus there’s Dolby Vision HD so the display can boost its max brightness to an almost TV-beating 1,200 nits. The iPhone 14 is powered by Apple’s, um, not-newest processor. Rather than go A16 Bionic, it’s A15 Bionic as per the last generation. Does that matter? Not one bit. In our week of using the iPhone 14 for all manner of things it’s never stuttered, stalled or hiccuped. Although not an iPhone 14 exclusive, we do also find iOS 16’s updated customisation options really welcome too: the Lock Screen’s new options, in particular, are great. However, this ‘baby’ iPhone model doesn’t get the always-on display of its Pro and Pro Max cousins, which is more of a shame than we initially realised. However, the absence of features such as always-on and ProMotion all benefit the

7 0 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

longevity per charge. Despite featuring only a 3,279mAh cell the iPhone 14 lasts and then some. We’ve been easily crunching through a full day of 16 hours with it reaching around the 40% mark. While Apple has boosted the cameras in all iPhone 14 models, the entry model doesn’t get a giant boost in this department. It has two rear cameras, both of which are 12-megapixel in resolution. Both have new sensors compared to the earlier iPhone 13, while the main sensor gets a slightly wider aperture. Not groundbreaking, but it does open the door for mildly better results. When it comes to video it can shoot up to 4K video, including the Cinematic mode, which also supports 30 frames per second at that resolution. It also shares the 14 Pro and Pro Max’s Action Mode, designed to remove shake from action videos. It’s surprisingly eﬀective at ironing out, say, the motion from walking. You might think of the iPhone 14 as the honorary ‘iPhone 13S’, as the upgrades over its predecessor – while welcome – aren’t major by any means. That said, with shiny new iOS 16 software, a reliable and familiar build, and pretty much everything in its right place from cameras to battery life, this is still mighty attractive.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Reliable, familiar design; capable cameras; 6.1-inch screen looks great. WE’D IMPROVE Still has a notch; not a big upgrade; no fastrefresh or always-on display. THE LAST WORD The upgrades over its predecessor are welcome but not major. However, with shiny new iOS 16 software, a reliable and familiar build, and everything in its right place, it’s still a mighty attractive prospect.

Find great deals on the iPhone 14 at: bit.ly/t3iphon14

Tested Sonos Sub Mini

£429 sonos.com

SUB-LIME

Sonos Sub Mini A smaller Sonos sub will be exactly the kind of thing many Sonos soundbar users are looking for, so is it worth it? mall is generally beautiful, right? Especially where price is concerned. It always seemed a bit weird that one of the most expensive products in the entire Sonos catalogue should be a subwoofer – and so finally, here’s the brand’s Sub Mini. It’s smaller and more affordable than the Sonos Sub, so ought to be an altogether more realistic proposition for most Sonos users. In broad terms, the Sonos Sub Mini is a successful little speaker. It brings a whole stack of low-frequency presence to a Sonos soundbar, and makes for an altogether more cinematic experience as a result. Bass extension here is very agreeable indeed – the Sub Mini reaches a long way down the frequency range, and hits with well-controlled resolve. The decay of sounds is dealt with equally confidently, so even where the low-frequency stuff comes thick and fast the Sub Mini is manoeuvrable enough to stay in charge. It’s where sonic characteristics are concerned, though, that the Sonos Sub Mini starts to sound less of a sure thing. When listening to movies soundtracks, there’s a suggestion that the bass here is not as detailed or as nuanced as it might be – and if you switch to music the ‘suggestion’ becomes ‘certainty’. The Sub Mini is a slightly blunt instrument, and it doesn’t have the insight or the subtlety that low-frequency instruments require if they’re not going to sound rather monotonal. Music-heavy content can also expose the rather uncertain relationship between the Sub

Mini and the soundbar with which it is partnering. The Sub Mini doesn’t seem willing to reach to within touching distance of its soundbar partner, and as a result there’s a dip, a sort of ‘V’ shape, in the frequency range where there should ideally be a smooth transition. The Sub Mini is a cylindrical design – it’s 305mm tall and 230mm in diameter. Like its big Sub brother, it has a central void (or ‘tunnel’, as Sonos prefers) offering a glimpse of two drivers facing each other in an effort to minimise distortion and maximise output. Like the majority of Sonos products it’s available in matte white or matte black finishes. And, similarly, it’s also discreet to the point of anonymity. Also like the majority of Sonos products it’s simplicity itself to setup. The Sonos app makes integrating the Sub Mini into your wider Sonos system easy. Once it’s integrated into your system, it’s as easy to operate as we’ve all come to expect. The app allows some EQ adjustment, just in case you don’t trust the TruePlay tuning feature (you should, though). Once you’ve balanced the output of the sub against that of the soundbar using the app, a single volume control takes care of the output of both simultaneously. The Sonos Sub Mini is very capable in quite a few ways indeed, and given that its audience is somewhat captive it’ll surely be a success. It’s not exactly perfect, though, which makes the fact that it’s the only logical game in town for numerous Sonos owners a little frustrating.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Punchy, agile performance; reliable Sonos build and useability. WE’D IMPROVE Lacks sonic detail and insight; uncertain when handing over to soundbar. THE LAST WORD Finally, an affordable(ish) Sonos sub to join those excellent affordable(ish) soundbars – and in a number of ways (not least sonically) the Sub Mini is ideal. It’s not exactly perfect, though.

Find great deals on the Sonos Sub Mini at: bit.ly/t3snsbmni

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Tested

Display 17.3-inch, 2560 x 1920 60Hz FOLED CPU Intel Core i7-1250U GPU Intel Iris Xe Graphics RAM 16GB Storage 1TB SSD Operating system Windows 11 Home / Windows 11 Pro Battery 75WHrs Connectivity 2x Thunderbolt 4, 3.5mm jack, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5 Dimensions 378.5x287.6x8.712.9mm Weight 1.5kg

£3,300 asus.com

ZEN MASTER

Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED A tablet, laptop and desktop PC packed into one device, is the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED the future of laptops?

hen closed, the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED looks like regular laptops but open it up and it reveals a huge screen that can be used as a laptop, tablet or desktop PC. Combining all of your oﬃce kit into one, the potential is huge, so no wonder the buzz around this new style of computer is growing. The Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED looks like a cross between a laptop and

7 2 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

a notepad with a glossy casing covered by a leather grip over the fold. When you open it up, a vast 17-inch display stretches right across both halves. Lying ﬂat, the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED measures 37.85 x 28.76 x 0.87cm, which is pretty big, and it seems quite heavy, although it only weighs 1.5kg. If you’re constantly on the move then this is unlikely to feel quite as portable as a lightweight laptop, yet it’ll still be compact enough to carry with you.

The crowning glory of this computer tablet combo is that folding screen. A true beauty, the 17.3-inch FOLED display has a 2.5K resolution of 2560 x 1920p, a 4:3 aspect ratio, Dolby Vision and 500 nits of peak brightness. It’s a looker, with bold bright colours and sharp accurate details. What sets it apart is obviously the fold, which means the display can be used ﬂat or partially open depending on what you’re using it for or where.

Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED

When you use it ﬂat, it works just like a big-screened tablet; the crease isn’t too obvious, although you can still see it. There’s also a kickstand on the back to prop it up so you can use it as you would a computer monitor as well. The touchscreen is largely responsive and works quickly across the whole screen, even where it curves. Given the display takes up the whole of the inside, there’s no built-in keyboard but luckily a very thin slate-style keyboard comes included. Keys are tactile and the mousepad responsive.

Safe specs Under the hood, the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED packs the latest Intel Core i7-1250U processor, Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Given those specs, it should in theory cope with even the most demanding tasks but, in actual fact, it can be a little hit and miss. Despite loading up the majority of apps and software almost instantly, it did struggle a little with demanding programs including videogames like Fortnite. On Geekbench 5, it picked up an OpenCL score of 14,614, which places it among some of the powerful

portable PCs on the market. But this won’t be a good option for gamers, as it struggled more with graphics as shown in 3D Mark’s Time Spy test, only achieving a score of 461. To keep things up and running through the day, there’s a 4-cell 75WHr battery. We were relatively pleased with the results: after running a two-hour video on full brightness, the battery level dropped by 32%, which suggests it would have lasted just over six hours in total. That’s decent but it definitely could be better. The charge time is better, though: it took just over an hour to charge it back up from flat to full. Built-in Harman Kardon-certified quad speakers with Dolby Atmos deliver solid sound that carries well, which makes them perfect for streaming TV shows and movies, or even listening to music. Loaded with Windows 11, there are plenty of features that will help you to get your work done more efficiently. For instance, snap layouts offer up screen organisation solutions for when you have multiple windows open at once, something that you are bound to make use of with such a huge screen.

Word processing, photo editing or 1HWćL[ VWUHDPLQJ are all easy to do

THE ALTERNATIVES DELL XPS 13 9310 If you’re after performance and a killer screen then this is one of our top picks. Power and portability make it a fantastic work PC and while it might only have a 13.4-inch display, every inch is in stunning 4K. £1,699, dell.com

MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP STUDIO If you want the ćH[LELOLW\ of a laptop and tablet in one device, this is worth a look. The fold-over design suits all sorts of tasks, and screen and performance are great. From £1,449, microsoft.com

So will foldable laptops be the future of computing? It will depend on who you are and what you plan to use your laptop for. Those who spend a lot of time on creative work or who need as much screen real estate as possible day-to-day will beneﬁt a lot from this but those who spend a lot of time typing or commuting might not. As things stand the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED is a little too heavy and not quite powerful enough to really succeed up against the best 2-in-1 laptops. On the ﬂip side, we do really like the big screen and it’s very cool that you can use it as a laptop, a tablet and a desktop computer. The battery doesn’t take long to charge either, and the speakers are loud and clear.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Superb 17.3-inch OLED screen; fast charging; included keyboard, protective sleeve and kickstand. WE’D IMPROVE A tad bulky; not powerful enough for gaming; lacks connectivity like HDMI. THE LAST WORD This isn’t the most powerful or the longest lasting PC but its 17.3-inch 2.5K foldable screen has tons of different uses, especially when it comes to productivity.

Find the best Zenbook 17 Fold GHDOV DW ELW O\ W DV]QćG

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 73

Tested

From £2,299 panasonic.com

Screen sizes 55-inch, 65-inch, 77-inch Panel 3,840 x 2,160 OLED HDR HDR10+ Adaptive, DolbyVision IQ Sound Dolby Atmos, 360°Soundscape Pro OS my Home Screen7.0 Voice assistant Google Assistant, Alexa Connectivity HDMI 2.1 x4(eARC, ALLM x4, VRR x2, 4K HFR x2, AMD Freesync Premium x2), USB x3 (USB 3, USB 2 x2), Digital Audio output, headphone output Dimensions 1,227x764x69mm / 1,448x888x69mm / 1,723x1,050x78mm Weight 19.5kg / 24.5kg / 43kg

SPIFFING IMAGE

Panasonic LZ2000

The best-sounding 4K OLED TV out there, the LZ2000 also delivers stellar pictures. It’s the most satisfying Panasonic OLED TV to date ombining a state-of-theart OLED EX panel with ﬂawless Auto AI processing and genuinely immersive Dolby Atmos sound all built into its frame, the Panasonic LZ2000 is a premium proposition for those that demand the best – and have correspondingly deep pockets. The LZ2000 is unapologetically expensive, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s available in 55-, 65- and

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77-inch screen sizes, priced at £2,299, £2,899, and £4,299 respectively. The LZ2000 follows the sound and vision template established by the JZ2000, but adds welcome new attractions. When it comes to performance, the combination of its upgraded OLED panel, Panasonic R&D and system-on-chip (SoC) sophistication make the LZ2000 a formidable proposition. The screen retains the characteristics that have

made previous Panasonic OLED tellies so satisfying (cinematic depth and detail) but adds greater colour pop and a smidge more brightness. The SoC does a stunning job here, making the transition from pure black to just above black look smooth and inclusive and preventing shadow detail being crushed. The set’s HDR performance is uniformly outstanding. It conﬁdently delivers 1000 nits in its Normal image

Panasonic LZ2000

default, easily dealing with specular highlights and photographic ﬂare. And it holds onto those bright peaks when they persist, rather than abruptly fade. General brightness levels get a boost too. This screen is stunning in full dark conditions – Panasonic has managed to boost those peak HDR brightness without burning out bright details – but it wows in brightly lit rooms too, thanks to native luminosity and ambient sensor control. To maximise luminosity, the LZ2000 combines the new LG Display EX panel with a physical heatsink; this eﬀectively sucks heat away from the panel to allow more head room for brightness.

Sonic adventure Like its predecessor, the LZ2000 features a seven channel, Technicstuned 360-degree Soundscape Pro audio system, complete with height and side-firing drivers. But this season, there are changes to the front array, which now uses Beam Forming to offer surgical sound steerage, via the remote control. Two viewers can share the same room, but have a different listening experience, as one sits in the hot zone and the other out.

Sonically, the LZ2000 impresses with its multiple built-in upwardfiring, side-firing, and front-firing speaker units. Unlike rivals, it hasn’t chosen to bolt the screen to an ostentatious soundbar, or hide micro-speakers within the panel bezel. Here the drivers are all too obvious. The resulting soundstage is huge, with pronounced bass. Total power output is a substantial 150W. This is the most cinematic sound system built into a TV we’ve ever heard. Gaming support is definitely to the fore on the LZ2000. New this year is a Game Control Board UI, which groups key game settings together in one place, including resolution, frame rate, input lag and VRR and HDR metadata. Backstage boffins have also been working hard to reduce input lag. The LZ2000 has a new 60Hz Refresh Mode, to cut latency for 60Hz games. We measured it at 14.5ms (1080/60). There’s also an adjustable Dark Visibility Enhancer that allows some adjustment of near-black, all the better to reveal any enemies lurking in the shadows. Connectivity is good, but not outstanding. Of the four HDMI inputs,

The LZ2000 looks suitably premium, solidly built with a KLJK HQG ĆQLVK

THE ALTERNATIVES LG C1

SAMSUNG QN95B

Already got a separates system or soundbar so you don’t want the a built-in soundsystem? Then have a think about the LG C1 instead, a yesteryear TV that’s still great quality but not nearly as pricey. From £1099.98, lg.com

If you fancy ultrabrightness rather than OLED ultra-blacks then the Samsung QN95B is an ace Neo QLED option. But it comes without as banging a built-in soundsystem and will cost you nearly as much cash. From £1,999, samsung.com

only two support High Frame Rate 4K120 video. There’s eARC on input 2, plus VRR (Variable Refresh Rate). All four HDMIs have ALLM (Auto Low Latency Mode) game mode support. There are also three USB ports, a digital optical audio output, an AV minijack and Ethernet. The Panasonic LZ2000 is a gorgeous TV, one that delivers a sensational picture performance and a class-leading 360-degree sound system. It’s great for gaming, too, further enhancing its appeal. Brilliance rarely comes cheap, and you’ll have to pay handsomely for the pleasure. But then the LZ2000 is a pleasure for the eyes and ears that comes most highly recommended.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Peerless images; Game Mode Extreme; 360-degree soundscape. WE’D IMPROVE Only two HDMIs support 120Hz 4K; premium price tag. THE LAST WORD The most satisfying Panasonic OLED we’ve VHHQ LW EHQHĆWV IURP WKH ODWHVW LG Display OLED EX panel tech, an HCX AI Pro processor, and an all-in-one Dolby Atmos sound system, with directional sound.

Find the best deals for the LZ2000 at: bit.ly/t3panlz2k

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 75

Tested

£279.95 bose.co.uk

Drivers 9.3mm full-range dynamic Connectivity USB-C, Bluetooth 5.3 Microphones 4 per bud :HDWKHUSURRĆQJ IPX4 Battery life 6 hours buds, 18 hours case Dimensions 17.2x30.5x22.4mm buds; 59.4x66.3x26.7mm case :HLJKW 6.24g per bud; 59.8g case

THE SOUND OF SILENCE

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 Bose’s sequel to its QC earbuds bring out of this world active noise-cancelling technology to your ears ose is, of course, the company that invented the ﬁrst noise-cancelling headphones. With the new QuietComfort Earbuds 2, Bose is promising its best-ever active noise cancellation (ANC), as well as a sleeker, less gawky aesthetic compared to the model it’s replacing. Broadly speaking, the QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are a variation on the ‘stem-drip’ design

76 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

pioneered by Apple and since extensively copied by all and sundry. Bose, though, has managed to put its own spin on the basic design by keeping the stem to a minimum and making the in-ear section of the earbud a twist/lock design. As far as ‘usability’ is concerned, Bose has outdone itself here. Control is available either via your source player’s native voice assistant, the touch-surface of each earbud or the

Bose ‘Music’ control app. The mic array proves just as capable of making your instructions heard as it is facilitating phone-calls. Touchcontrols are reliable too, while a ‘touch and hold’ action on either earbud either gives access to the voice assistant or allows you to cycle through noise-cancelling modes. When it comes to headline speciﬁcation, though, the Bose are a mildly vexing mixture. For example,

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2

they use Bluetooth 5.3 for wireless connectivity (which is state of the art) but are compatible only with SBC and AAC codecs (which is not). Bose is conﬁdent of being able to issue even quite in-depth updates and upgrades over the air, but for now we have to go without any aptX variation, LDAC or any of the other exciting codecs. Each earbud has a battery life of a perfectly-acceptable-if-hardlydramatic six hours, with an additional three full charges stored in the case. An all-in total of 24 hours is competitive in an unremarkable sort of way – and the same can be said for a ‘from ﬂat to full’ charging time of three hours.

Quiet riot If you’ve heard a pair of Bose headphones manufactured in the last dozen years or so, you’ll have a broad idea of what to expect. The QC Earbuds 2 are not a carbon-copy, but they don’t stray too far from the approved Bose sonic template. Low frequencies are full, detailed and punch with proper determination. There’s certainly more control where the attack and decay of individual

notes is concerned than is typical with Bose headphones. The midrange, too, enjoys impressive levels of detail – and so voices are delivered with a lot of attitude, emotion and character. At the top of the frequency range there’s that tiny lack of extension, or perhaps brilliance, that seasoned Bose-listeners will be familiar with. Treble frequencies are detailed, certainly, and attack with definite purpose but there’s just not quite the last dash of sparkle that some recordings benefit from. In every other department, these earbuds give a deeply enjoyable account of themselves. They’re not the most out-and-out dynamic earbuds you ever heard, but they’re in no way inhibited – when a full-scale orchestra launches into ‘attack’ mode, you’ll know all about it. They’re adept where less attention-grabbing dynamics are concerned too, more than willing to explain the differences between one press of a piano key and the next. It’s with their active noise cancellation, though, that the QC Earbuds 2 make the strongest case for themselves. If banishing all but the loudest and/or the most nearby

These are smaller than the model they replace – and better sounding

THE ALTERNATIVES GRADO GT220

SONY WF-1000XM4

If you make sound quality your out-and-out priority, you need to cast a glance (and an ear) at the Grado GT220 – they each have the edge on the Bose when it comes to detail resolution DQG RXWULJKW ĆGHOLW\ e JUDGRODEV FRP

If you can’t compromise on sound or ANC, it would be a brave consumer who discounts the WF-1000XM4. As all-rounders with a stack of peripheral functionality they’re nigh-on impossible to argue with. £199, sony.co.uk

ambient sounds is what concerns you most, these Bose will make your day. Without leaving any hint of how hard they’re working – no counter-signal, no circuitry hiss, no sensation of in-ear pressure, nothing – the QCE 2 simply take external sound out of the equation. Even the keys as we type this review are virtually inaudible – no other in-ear headphone we’ve tested does as complete a job. Smaller and better-sounding than the model they replace, and with noise-cancellation that puts them in a league of their own, the Bose QuietComfort Earbuds 2 are, frankly, the most complete active noisecancelling earbuds you can buy in 2022. Seriously impressive.

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED Remarkable ANC; robust, well-organised sound; good control options. WE’D IMPROVE Limited codec compatibility; ordinary battery life; not short of competition. THE LAST WORD While these aren’t the best-sounding headphones out there, if you absolutely, positively want the most effective ANC of any true wireless earbuds around, here they are. It’s next-level stuff.

Find great Bose QuietComfort 2 deals at: bit.ly/t3boseqc2

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 7 7

Tested GoPro Hero 11 Black

THE NEW BLACK

GoPro Hero 11 Black Make no mistake, this will give you fantastic images – albeit ones not wildly different to the GoPro Hero 10’s he GoPro Hero 11 Black is here, following on from the powerful and broadly well-received Hero 10 Black. GoPro claims its new, larger sensor delivers the highest resolution, 10-bit colour depth, video stabilisation and the widest field of view ever featured natively in a HERO camera. But is this upgrade too incremental? When you go to the official specs, you’ll find the GoPro Hero 11 Black is exactly, to the half-millimetre, the same physical size as the GoPro Hero 10 Black. Indeed, apart from the new ‘11’ gracing the side of the unit, the two are indistinguishable – to all intents and purposes, this is the exact same physical unit. Even under the hood, the GP2 chip is unchanged over the previous model, and the weight is 153 grams – a single gram lighter than the older model. Slim pickings indeed. So what’s the difference, we hear you cry? The first key change is a new sensor, which is upgraded to a 1/1.9-inch sensor. This opens up a whole new world of ‘Full-sensor video modes’ in 8:7 aspect ratio, on top of the usual 16:9 or 9:16, as well as increasing the available photo resolution – now up to 27MP in 8:7. There’s a new iteration of HyperSmooth stabilisation, now up to HyperSmooth 5.0, and now ‘Emmy Award-winning’, according to GoPro. It’s an improvement, but it’s another incremental win – better, but not mind-blowing. While the look and feel may be underwhelming, the performance is where

7 8 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

GoPro’s tweaking pays dividends. Aside from the sensor and image quality, GoPro has clearly dedicated some time and effort to improving battery life, interestingly making some serious gains at the higher resolutions. For example, you’ll get an extra 7 minutes shooting at 5.3K30 (up to 80 minutes), an improvement of nearly 10% on top of the HERO10 Black’s 73 minutes. The real superpower of GoPros is their ease of use. It’s always been easy to fire up a GoPro and grab some good footage straight out of the box, and after a few tweaks you’ll feel like a pro, with results to match. GoPro have taken this a logical step further in the GoPro Hero 11 Black, grading the settings into ‘easy’, and ‘Pro’, which allows you to unlock presets that let you choose the best settings for your shot (Standard, Activity, Cinematic, Slo-Mo and more), plus the ability to fine-tune all modes, settings and features. Another key plank in the GoPro Hero 11 Black’s armoury of easy-to-use tools is the new auto-highlight video, which takes a maximum of 75 photos + videos, no limit on length, captured within a 12hr window, and automatically creates a highlights video from them in the cloud. The GoPro Hero 11 Black is in many ways the ultimate in incremental evolution. It’s a better camera than the GoPro Hero 10 Black in several areas, and identical in most of the others you can measure. As an upgrade for existing GoPro Hero 10 Black owners it’s an unlikely shout – it’s not that much better – but as an upgrade for earlier model owners it’s a good one to go for.

£499.99 gopro.com

VERDICT WE’RE IMPRESSED New sensor amps up the quality everywhere; better battery life; same physical dimensions. WE’D IMPROVE Incremental improvement over older model. THE LAST WORD It’s a better camera than the GoPro Hero 10 Black in some areas, especially with its brilliantly boosted colour palette and improved user options, but it’s identical in most other ways you can measure.

Find great GoPro Hero 11 Black deals at: bit.ly/t3gohro11

Best of the best INSIDE

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

If you’re looking for the very best tech available WRGD\ \RXèYH GHĆQLWHO\ FRPH WR WKH ULJKW SODFH %HVW RI WKH %HVW LV WKH PRVW XVHIXO JDGJHW EX\LQJ JXLGH \RX ZLOO HYHU HQFRXQWHU 7R FUHDWH LW we’ve extensively tested the best tech the world KDV WR RIIHU WR EULQJ \RX URFN VROLG UHFRPPHQGDWLRQV IRU \RXU KRPH OLIH GDLO\ FRPPXWH DQG WKH WHFK \RX XVH DOO WKH WLPH ,Q GLIIHUHQW FDWHJRULHV ZHèYH FKRVHQ WKH WRS IRXU SURGXFWV VR \RX FDQ FKRRVH RQH WKDWèV MXVW WKH

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Smartphones

Cheap smartphones

Smartwatches

Hybrid smartwatches

Watches

Watches under £1,000

TVs

TVs under £1,000

Projectors

Gaming TVs

Games consoles

Soundbars

Turntables

Streaming DACs

Multi-room speakers

Bluetooth speakers

Bluetooth headphones

True wireless headphones

Noise-cancelling headphones

Wired in-ear headphones

Wired over-ear headphones

Laptops

2-in-1 laptops

Tablets

Gaming laptops

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4K monitors

Drones

Action cameras

Cheap action cameras

DSLR cameras

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Cordless vacuums

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Dishwashers

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Fridges

Ovens

Electric shavers

Electric toothbrushes

Beard trimmers

Fitness trackers

Running watches

Running headphones

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 79

Best of the best

SMARTPHONES Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestphone APPLE IPHONE 14 PRO MAX £1,199, apple.com The iPhone 14 Pro removes the notch in favour of a ‘dynamic island’, adds an always-on display and top-notch features such as upgraded cameras. The 6.7inch Max has better battery life too.

CHEAP SMARTPHONES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcheapphone iPHONE SE (2022)

From £419, apple.com $ QHDU ćDJVKLS iPhone for a fraction of the cost. The SE delivers cuttingedge innards, with a superb camera and a speedy A15 CPU, all wrapped in a nice small-scale design that’s easy to pocket.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S22 ULTRA

ONEPLUS NORD CE 2

From £1,149, samsung.com Combining everything we loved about the Galaxy Note series with the specs from the Galaxy S series, the S22 Ultra has an S Pen, a 6.8-inch screen, a top-tier camera, and storage options up to 1TB.

From £299, oneplus.com Based on the Nord 2, but cheaper, OnePlus gets all the fundamentals right. Anyone on a budget who wants a small, light phone with decent battery life and a good display will be happy.

ONEPLUS 10 PRO

MOTO G31

From £799, oneplus.com It’s OnePlus’ stunning 6.7-inch screen that we found to be the 10 Pro’s best feature – thanks to its 120Hz refresh rate and 10bit colour. It’s fast, has a good camera, and only takes 30 minutes to charge up.

OPPO FIND X5 PRO From £1,049, oppo.com An ideal alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S22 series, delivering a gorgeous GHVLJQ ĆQLVKHG LQ ceramic and a really impressive camera system with 50MP main/wide cameras and a 13MP tele lens.

8 0 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

From £169, motorola.co.uk Offering long battery life and a bright 6.4inch display, the G31’s lower-end processor may mean less-thanperfect performance at times, but you can still casually game and take successful snaps with the cameras.

SAMSUNG GALAXY A53 5G From £399, samsung.com The A53 looks like an S-series, and features an enormous 6.5-inch Super AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, but skimps on performance a bit in order to slash the price tag.

SMARTWATCHES Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsmartwatch APPLE WATCH SERIES 7 From £369, apple.com Apple is king when it comes to smartwatches. The Series 7 includes a bigger, better screen, and fast charging. ,WèVbVWLOO WKH RQO\ device to straddle WKHbOLQH EHWZHHQ WHFKbDQG IDVKLRQ SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH 4 From £259, samsung.com A modern, stylish take on a smartwatch – it’s slim, comfortable and able to withstand knocks and bumps. Plus it’s waterproof. The only downside here is battery life: at 40 hours it’s not the longest-lasting.

SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH ACTIVE2 From £269, samsung.com Sleek and powerful, this is the best smartwatch for Android users. The screen and design are on par with the Apple Watch, while a collection of new watch faces give it DbPRGHUQ HGJH APPLE WATCH SE From £249, apple.com Despite being the ‘affordable’ smart watch from Apple, the SE is a truly excellent smartwatch. You won’t notice if Apple has cut corners in general use, as it feels like the full Apple Watch experience.

Best of the best

HYBRID SMARTWATCHES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besthybrid

WITHINGS STEEL HR SPORT £170, withings.com Featuring a heartrate monitor and the ability to track 30 different exercises, this is ideal for ĆWQHVV IDQDWLFV ,WèV water resistant to 50 metres, and the battery lasts around GD\V

WATCHES Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwatch AUDEMARS PIGUET ROYAL OAK CHRONOGRAPH £21,500, audemarspiguet.com We love Audemars 3LJXHWèV VLPSOH stainless steel model with a blue Grand Tapisserie pattern GLDO ,W IHDWXUHV D VHOI winding manufacture calibre 2385 movement with a 40KRXU SRZHU UHVHUYH

GARMIN VIVOMOVE HR PREMIUM

BAMFORD LONDON MAYFAIR DATE

£250, garmin.com

£500, bamfordlondon.com The Bamford Mayfair Date is dependable and has the added EHQHĆW RI EHLQJ waterproof to 10ATM, making it a great accessory for outdoor activities whilst remaining FRRObDQG VW\OLVK

One of the most comprehensive hybrid watches you can buy, with a wide range of ĆWQHVV DQG KHDOWK tracking features, a subtle touchscreen digital display, and several different FRORXUV WR SLFN IURP FOSSIL HYBRID SMARTWATCH HR From £94, fossil.com This timepiece features activity and sleep tracking, plus app and call alerts, time zones, and buttons to control VPDUWSKRQH PXVLF Yet it mostly looks like a regular watch, aside IURP WKH H LQN GLVSOD\ WITHINGS MOVE ECG £129, withings.com Think a pricey Apple Watch is needed to take an ECG reading of your heart? This can do that, plus activity tracking and sleep monitoring, ZLWKbD PRQWK battery life, for a UHDOO\ ORZ SULFH

BAUME SMALL SECONDS £430, baume-et-mercier.com Baume uses sustainable and recycled materials where possible, and its elegant watches are fully customisable, with over 2,000 permutations achievable on an RQOLQH FRQĆJXUDWRU BELL & ROSS BR03-92 NIGHTLUM £2,300, goldsmiths.co.uk No complicated bells and whistles here; the BR03-92 has its roots in aviation, a heritage the folks at B&R have clearly channelled LQWR WKH %5 èV straightforward, seconds-minutesKRXUV GDWH GHVLJQ

WATCHES UNDER £1,000

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwatchunder1k CHRISTOPHER WARD C60 SAPPHIRE

From £850, christopherward.com Striking, bold designs really set this British brand apart from its more conventional 6ZLVV ULYDOV 7KH EHVW example of this is the C60 Sapphire, which features a seethrough dial made IURP VDSSKLUH FU\VWDO VICTORINOX I.N.O.X From £459, victorinox.com +DYLQJ XQGHUJRQH 130 durability WHVWV bWKLV ZDWFK ZLOObVWDQG XS WR anything you throw DW LW 7KH SDUDFRUG strap hints at its adventurous heritage, DQG LWèV JUHDWbIRU DOO ZULVW VL]HV

HAMILTON KHAKI FIELD From £395, hamiltonwatch.com This is a faithful recreation of its original 1960s forebear and is WUXHbWR +DPLOWRQèV PLOLWDU\ KHULWDJH 7KHb PP VWDLQOHVV steel case is paired with a durable 1$72bVWUDS TAG HEUER FORMULA 1 QUARTZ MENS WATCH From £1,050, tagheuer.com This F1 timepiece features a steel case with sapphire crystal protecting the legible PRQRFKURPH GLDO 7KH strap is black leather, a quartz movement provides the power DQG LWèV ZDWHU UHVLVWDQW XS WR PHWUHV

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 81

Best of the best

TVs Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttv SAMSUNG QN95B £2,399, samsung.com A Quantum Dot mini-LED TV with Shape Adaptive Light Control making for particularly punchy HDR content. It boasts the best Neo QLED performance we’ve seen in a stylish, slim design.

TVs UNDER £1,000

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttv1000 LG OLED48A1

The LG A1 isn’t as bright as more elite OLED TVs, but it costs a fraction of the price. More importantly, it gives you rich HDR performance. And LG’s excellent smart TV platform.

LG G2

SAMSUNG QE55Q80A

£2,399, lg.com

£999, samsung.com

PHILIPS 65OLED986 £3,099, philips.com

8 2 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

BENQ TK850 £1,499, benq.com

SAMSUNG 43QN90A £749, samsung.com

£7,799, samsung.com The QN900B is a stunning 8K TV with an incredible picture and great connectivity. It’s big, bright and colourful. The 75in boasts high HDR performance and convincing 4K upscaling.

£1,999, optoma.co.uk This second-gen ultrashort throw projector delivers a fantastic 4K viewing experience overall. Image quality is superb, and you can get a 120-inch picture with the projector placed around a metre from the wall.

This well-specced 55-inch set from Samsung is the overall best bang-for-buck TV at the time of writing, balancing image quality and features. Bright and colourful, it acquits itself excellently.

For a total home cinema upgrade in a single simple package, this is unbeatable. It’s not only a fantastic 65-inch OLED TV, but built into the stand is a Dolby Atmos system, complete with XSĆULQJ VSHDNHUV SAMSUNG QN900B

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestprojector OPTOMA CINEMAX P2

£749, lg.com

Offering exceptional image processing, incredibly bright HDR and superb visual accuracy, the G2 is LG’s very best OLED TV. The audio processing is standout too. It is pricey though.

PROJECTORS

A brilliant buy if you want 4K big-screen sports, but don’t particularly want to dim all the lights. Its motion smoothing is highly effective, so onscreen action looks wonderfully naturalistic.

BENQ TK700STI £1,299, benq.com

The only TV with Samsung’s next-gen ‘Neo QLED’ panel that comes within our budget, you can expect bright images with deep blacks in precise areas of the screen. It also handles motion really well.

SAMSUNG 65AU9000 £649, samsung.com

This 4K projector is smartly geared up for gaming, with a low input lag (16ms at 4K 60fps), with movies and TV catered for via a hidden Google TV stick, and an impressively short throw of 2m.

VIEWSONIC M2 MOBILE STUDIO £599, viewsonic.com

This is Samsung’s best 2021 TV that isn’t QLED, which means it might not have quite the same punchy colours and brightness, but costs a lot less, enabling this huge 65-inch model to squeeze under £1k.

The perfect 1080p option for big-screen fun and games. It requires next to no warm up, runs cool and is maintenance free. Images are sharp and detailed, and colour performance is similarly outstanding.

Best of the best

GAMING TVs Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestgamingtv SAMSUNG QN95B £2,399, samsung.com The QN95B uses the latest-gen Neo QLED mini-LED panel which means extremely bright HDR performance. It has four HDMI ports, and a Game Bar menu GHVLJQHG VSHFLĆFDOO\ for gaming.

GAMES CONSOLES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/gaming PLAYSTATION 5

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

£449.99, xbox.com

£1,399, lg.com

The A6G features HDR10+ and Dolby Vision HDR, and supports VRR and ALLM on all three HDMI 2.1 inputs. You get eARC, Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet, CI Card and RF too. Even composite video.

£349.99, nintendo.com How easily you can switch between playing on your TV to gaming on the go hasn’t changed. What has changed is that bigger, brighter screen; it makes handheld gaming much more enjoyable.

MICROSOFT XBOX SERIES S

SAMSUNG Q80A

£249.99, xbox.com

£649, samsung.com This TV offers rich colours and bright HDR at an affordable price. You get an HDMI 2.1 and three 2.0 ports. Black levels are striking for a mid-range LED TV. It really punches above its price level.

SONOS BEAM 2 £449, sonos.com

NINTENDO SWITCH OLED

£279, hisense.co.uk

£1,599, samsung.com Delivering over 600W with 22 drivers, this really brings the cinema experience home. You get an 11.1.4 channel FRQĆJXUDWLRQ IURP four wirelessly linked boxes. It’s good for 55-inch TVs and up.

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

LG’s OLED TV brings improved brightness and image processing. Alongside four HDMI ports, the TV boasts a great low input lag level and customisable gaming modes. The LG smart platform LVbH[FHOOHQW WRR HISENSE 55A6G

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsoundbar SAMSUNG HW-Q990B

MICROSOFT XBOX SERIES X

LG C2

SOUNDBARS

A superb soundbar that’s small enough WR ĆW XQGHU HYHQ D 32-inch TV but big HQRXJK WR ĆOO \RXU room with brilliant sound. This version adds Dolby Atmos, and improved onboard processing.

YAMAHA SR-C20A £229, uk.yamaha.com Looking for a decent cheap soundbar? Your search has ended. Despite the soundbar only being 26cm in length, the sound has really impressive width and stereo positioning. Dynamic range is good too.

SONY HT-A7000 £1,299, sony.com

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

This delivers the best Dolby Atmos width and height from a one-box soundbar. Certainly at this price point. The array of drivers and clever audio processing deliver a really precise yet enveloping sound.

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 8 3

Best of the best

TURNTABLES Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestturntable PRO-JECT ESSENTIAL III £250, project-audio.com Really sounds great for the money, with an expansive and enjoyable sound across a range of genres and volume levels. It also looks very pleasing, in a variety of high JORVVbĆQLVKHV

STREAMING DACs Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdac SONOS PORT £399, sonos.com A great streamer, especially if you already own a Sonos speaker. It has an analogue input and output, as well as streaming to any Sonos speaker, so you can plug in \RXUbWXUQWDEOH YAMAHA WXAD-10

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

£120, yamaha.co.uk

PRO-JECT PRIMARY E

IFI XDSD

ELIPSON CHROMA CARBON RIAA BT £699, elipson.com

This Yamaha lets you stream everything from Bluetooth to hi-res audio, with support for AirPlay, most of your favourite streaming services and, of course Yamaha’s RZQb0XVLF&DVW

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8 4 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

£699, bowerswilkins.com Streams pretty much everything, and borrows some technology from WKH NLQG RI KL Ć JHDU where if you have to ask the price, you can’t afford it. By audiophile standards, this is cheap.

NAIM MU-SO 2ND GEN £1,449, naimaudio.com Mu-So 2 crushes its competition. An awesome, thumping wall of sound and reliable, versatile software platform DQGbVWUHDPLQJ support make for the perfect 21st-century music experience.

SONOS ONE SL £179, sonos.co.uk This dinky little combined Bluetooth receiver, DAC and headphone amp supports AAC and aptX and sounds really superb. It has a battery, and can be used with earphones as well as speakers.

AUDIOLAB 6000N £449, audiolab.co.uk

Elipson’s top-line turntable pulls GRZQbDbORW RI IHDWXUHV from the truly high end. You get a super-stiff carbon ĆEUH WRQHbDUP DQG new digital belt drive motor, plus AptX Bluetooth and USB.

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestmultiroom BOWERS & WILKINS ZEPPELIN

TECHNICS SL-1200GR

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

MULTI-ROOM SPEAKERS

In terms of the sound quality, this really impresses with detail and clarity across the whole range, and how well balanced it is for treble and mid-range especially. You can get two for stereo, but RQH ZRUNV ĆQH SONOS FIVE £499, sonos.co.uk

Probably impractical if you don’t have a KL Ć VWDFN EXW ZLWK support for audio up to 192Khz/24-bit, its sound quality is noticeably better than the Sonos and Yamaha streamers further up the list.

Multi-room compatibility, DbZLGH UDQJH RI audio sources and, of course, great sound. This is the replacement for the much-loved Play:5 and the winner of a T3 Platinum Award.

Best of the best

BLUETOOTH SPEAKERS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestbluetooth BANG & OLUFSEN BEOSOUND A1 V2

£239, bang-olufsen.com If you want a full, punchy sound that’s fairly expansive, and that doesn’t crush when going loud, then this is the place to start. It’s also an object of desire, and is available in a great range of colours.

BLUETOOTH HEADPHONES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwireless SONY WH-1000XM5 £379, sony.co.uk

£89, ultimateears.com The Wonderboom 2 doesn’t really try to straddle home and outdoors: it’s clearly meant to be taken to wherever the party is. It’s waterproof, and well protected against grit, dust and beachside sand.

£349, bose.co.uk

BOSE PORTABLE SMART SPEAKER

JBL TUNE 660NC

SONY WF-C500 £59, sony.co.uk Seriously cheap and lacking ANC, but that doesn’t mean you KDYH WR VDFULĆFH RQ quality. They sound superb, they’re super comfortable, and you can adjust the sound to exactly the way you like it.

PHILIPS FIDELIO T1

£58, jbl.com

£249, philips.com If you’re looking for a comfortable pair of Bluetooth headphones that offer great detail, these are ideal. They’re relatively heavy on the bass, ZKLFK LV ĆQH IRU ORWV of music genres.

SONY WH-1000XM4 £249, sony.co.uk This speaker is small enough to chuck in your bag with space left over. It’s now fully dustproof as well as waterproof. Battery life is average, with about 12 hours of music, but that’s not bad for this price.

7KH ĆUVW VHW RI $1& earbuds the company has put out – these buds’ noise cancelling is brilliant, and more than good enough to make up for the lacking battery life (at six hours on a charge or 18 with the case).

These cans deliver great, well-balanced sound. They’re especially good if you want a pair of top-tier noisecancelling Bluetooth KHDGSKRQHVbIRU calls and using YRLFHbDVVLVWDQWV

One of the best portable speakers money can buy. Connect it to Wi-Fi for Alexa or Google Assistant functionality, or use it over Bluetooth, for powerful, accurate, 360-degree sound.

£129, uk.jbl.com

BOSE QUIETCOMFORT BUDS

These headphones boast an unbeaten suite of features and audio quality. The sound is dynamic and full, offering rich bass and bright, clear treble. The active noise cancellation LVbLPSUHVVLYH WRR BOSE NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES 700

JBL FLIP 6

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttruewireless

£249, bose.co.uk

ULTIMATE EARS WONDERBOOM 2

£379, bose.co.uk

TRUE WIRELESS HEADPHONES

Powerful and crisp with a great level of GHWDLO \RX ZRQèW ĆQG many wireless buds that sound better. With effective noise cancelling and battery life of up to 48 hours with the case, the T1s are a winner.

SONY WF-1000XM4 £225, sony.co.uk

These were once the best wireless noise cancelling headphones money could buy. Now they look like a bargain. They fold better than the XM5s, and deliver much the same sound.

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

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Best of the best

NOISE-CANCELLING HEADPHONES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestnoisecancelling SONY WH-1000XM5 £379, sony.co.uk

These wireless headphones with multiple microphone noise cancelling keep out high and mid frequency noises, while the Auto NC Optimizer adjusts to wearing conditions and the environment.

WIRED IN-EAR HEADPHONES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestinear MEZE AUDIO RAI SOLO

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

BOSE QUIETCOMFORT 45

FLARE AUDIO FLARES JET 3

£319, bose.co.uk

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Comfortable, and great sounding, these feature some of the best noise cancelling we’ve (not) heard. Elsewhere, there’s no manual EQ, and you can’t turn noise cancelling off, but this is rarely a problem.

SONY WF-1000XM4 £219, sony.co.uk These offer one of the best, most dynamic and detailed audio experiences we’ve had from in-ear earbuds, thanks at least in part to the DSEE Extreme audio processor with Edge-AI. The ANC is exceptional.

JBL TUNE 660NC

8 6 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

BEYERDYNAMIC DT 900 PRO X e HXURSH EH\HUG\QDPLF FRP These studio headphones deliver incredibly precise sound for either listening to music or making, mixing or mastering. When listening to wellproduced music, they absolutely sing.

£1,399, focal.com Maintaining the quality of the Flares Pro (see Bluetooth headphones), removing the DAC element and thereby slashing the price, these audiophile inear headphones are a tremendous option.

SOUNDMAGIC E11C £53, soundmagicheadphones.com Can we really be recommending a pair of headphones for under £55? Yes we can! The grown-up sound quality and exemplary comfort RIbWKH F PDNH WKHPbWKH VRQLF bargain of the year.

£79, klipsch.com The Tune 660NC combine excellent noise-cancelling capabilities with a weighty, punchy sound, so there’s no chance of the outside world distracting you. These are an excellent budget buy.

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestoverear

FOCAL CLEAR MG

KLIPSCH T5M WIRED

£58, uk.jbl.com

WIRED OVER-EAR HEADPHONES

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

RØDE NTH-100 e URGH FRP

GRADO SR325X e JUDGRODEV FRP

7KH ĆWWLQJ LV XQXVXDO but nonetheless immediately felt comfortable and VROLG b7KH DXGLR LV boosted, primped and pop-friendly, with plenty of bass and a very lively and engaging sound.

Many headphones delivering this kind of impressive sonic signature would set \RX EDFN ĆYH RU times the asking price. These are probably the best affordable wired headphones you can buy.

When you factor just how good these sound, they’re a bargain. In a quiet room, they sound as good as headphones WKDW FRVW ĆYH WLPHV more. They’re among the leakiest we’ve tried, however.

Best of the best

LAPTOPS Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestlaptop APPLE MACBOOK AIR (M2, 2022) £1,249, apple.com

2-IN-1 LAPTOPS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/best2in1

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttablet

ASUS ZENBOOK FLIP 13

APPLE iPAD AIR (2022)

£800, asus.com Apple’s cheapest laptop is a revolution. Think thin and light laptops have to VDFULĆFH SRZHU" 1RW any more. This is the EHVW RI DOO ZRUOGV ZLWK DQ 0 &38 DV SRZHUIXO DV WKRVH LQ JDPLQJ 3&V

7KH =HQERRN )OLS might be the best laptop Asus has ever released. Tooled up ZLWK DQ WK JHQ ,QWHO &RUH SURFHVVRU the tablet mode feels JUHDW WR XVH WKDQNV to a responsive touchscreen.

DELL XPS 13 OLED

MICROSOFT SURFACE BOOK 3

£1,699, dell.com

£1,299, amazon.co.uk 3XOO WKH VFUHHQ DZD\ from the keyboard and it’s a tablet. &RQQHFW WKHP for more graphics SRZHUbDQG EDWWHU\ OLIH $ SUHPLXP IDQWDVWLFDOO\ SRUWDEOH and supremely versatile system.

3RZHUIXO ZLWK DQ WK JHQ ,QWHO &38 and up to 16GB RI 5$0 ZHOO EXLOW and compact thanks WR D LQFK . display. It’s just about everything you could ZDQW LQ \RXU VHDUFK for the best laptop.

ACER SWIFT 3

HP ELITE DRAGONFLY G2

From £699, acer.com

£2,003, hp.com An affordable PDFKLQH EXW ZLWK SOHQW\ RI RRPSK WKH 6ZLIW SDFNV WK JHQ ,QWHO &38V +' VFUHHQV DQG XS WR 7% RI 66' VWRUDJH ZLWK D VSDUH VORW IRU upgrades. It’s a lot for your money.

MACBOOK PRO (M1) 2021 From £1,899, apple.com Available as a 14-inch RU LQFK ODSWRS ZLWK HLWKHU WKH 0 3UR RU 0 0D[ FKLS 0DFERRN 3URV RIIHU top-level performance and yet hugely impressive battery life. The very best Apple has to offer.

TABLETS From £569, apple.com $ VHULRXVO\ SRZHUIXO SLHFH RI NLW WKH L3DG Air (2022) features $SSOHèV 0 FKLSVHW and the upgrade really VKRZV <RX FDQ SUHWW\ much do anything and everything on WKLVbLQFUHGLEOH WDEOHW It’s just right.

APPLE iPAD 10.2 (2021) From £319, apple.com The cheapest fullsize Apple tablet has evolved in some UHDOO\ XVHIXO ZD\V The storage options have been increased WR *% RU *% ZKLOH WKH SURFHVVRU has been boosted to WKH ]LSS\ $ %LRQLF SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S6 LITE £299, samsung.com

A seriously impressive ODSWRS å LWèV IDVWHU more premium and even nicer to use than WKH ĆUVW JHQHUDWLRQ RI WKH 3& WKH +3 (OLWH 'UDJRQć\ DQG WKDWèV saying something. Versatile and transportable.

MICROSOFT SURFACE PRO 8 From £895, microsoft.com $Q\RQH ZKR QHHGV versatility and portability should consider the Microsoft Surface 3UR ,I \RX EX\ WKH optional Surface Type &RYHU LW ZRUNV MXVW DV ZHOO DV D WDEOHW DV LW does a laptop.

Though not quite as SRZHUIXO DV RWKHUV LQ WKH UDQJH WKLV LV D strong yet affordable offering. It comes ZLWK DQ 6 3HQ ZKLFK makes it great for sketching in addition WR ZDWFKLQJ \RXU favourite content.

APPLE iPAD MINI (2021) From £479, apple.com $ OLWWOH SRZHUKRXVH of a tablet and a fantastic creativity PDFKLQH SDFNLQJ LQ an incredibly fast Apple A15 processor that makes it the PRVW SRZHUIXO L3DG RXWVLGH RI WKH 3URV remarkably.

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Best of the best

GAMING LAPTOPS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestgaming ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS G14 From £1,699, asus.com A game-changer that delivers buckets of performance despite being compact and light. It does this thanks to its use of AMD’s hot QHZ 5\]HQb&38V and Nvidia’s RTX b*38 RAZER BLADE 15 ADVANCED £2,399, razer.com The sort of system WKDW 3& JDPHUV dream of owning, VRbWKH IDFW WKDW LW DOVR looks like something you could take LQWR D )RUWXQH FRPSDQ\bERDUGURRP at the same time is just heavenly.

ACER NITRO 5

GAMING HEADSETS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestheadset STEELSERIES ARCTIS 7P WIRELESS £175, steelseries.com This is an impressive piece of kit, delivering an excellent audio H[SHULHQFH IRU 36 DQG 36 $ 86% & dongle makes it quick to set up and means it will also work with a 3& 1LQWHQGR 6ZLWFK or Android phone.

LUCIDSOUND LS50X £239, lucidsound.com A hugely impressive new entry as we enter the era of the next-gen consoles, with an all-round package – style, setup, audio – that’s YHU\ GLIĆFXOW WR EHDW %XLOG TXDOLW\ LV ĆUVW rate too.

ASUS ROG DELTA S

£1,399, acer.com

£189, asus.com A lower spec is UHćHFWHG LQ WKH ORZHUbSULFH :LWK D &RUH L *% RI 5$0 *% 190( SSD, plus a 1TB hard drive and a Nvidia *H)RUFH *7; 7L *% LWèV VWLOO D SRWHQWbSHUIRUPHU

MSI GS66 STEALTH £1,699, msi.com

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Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/best4kmonitor LG 27GP950-B £799, lg.com

7KLV LQFK . monitor comes with a stunning list of topend specs, such as +'0, DQG +] refresh rate, making it ideal for gamers. It all adds up to a screen experience that’s one of the best available.

DELL U2723QE £899, dell.com 7KLV ç8OWUDVKDUSè monitor is a great do-it-all option. It combines a 27inch panel with the IHDWXUHV RI D 86% & hub, so is ideal to use as a laptop screen whilst simultaneously powering it.

ACER CB282K £349, acer.com

A very impressive headset that will ZRUNbZLWK MXVW about any device. Audio quality is of the highest order whether you’re rocking out or WDNLQJbSDUW LQ LQWHQVH gaming sessions.

RAZER KRAKEN V3 HYPERSENSE £129, razer.com

An astonishingly powerful gaming laptop with up to a 10th-generation Intel &RUH L DQG 1YLGLD *H)RUFH 57; *38 7KLV LV QRW D cheap laptop, but it delivers incredible performance.

4K MONITORS

This monitor offers great picture quality at an affordable price. 7KHUHèV QR 86% & but there’s HDMI 2.0 DQG 'LVSOD\3RUW The 28-inch screen hits the sweet spot in terms of size for gaming and video.

SAMSUNG M8 SMART MONITOR £699, samsung.com

:LWK LWV FRPELQDWLRQ RI SRZHUIXO ' VRXQG and haptic feedback, you won’t just hear your game but feel it too. The mic is crystal clear, but the feedback tech makes it chunky, and there’s no wireless option.

The M8 comes with a camera included and lots of smart features like built-in apps – so it’s a bit like having a smart TV. It is on the large side, mind. ,W DOVR ERDVWV 86% & VRb\RX FDQ SRZHU your laptop from it.

Best of the best

DRONES Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdrone

ACTION CAMERAS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestactioncam GOPRO HERO 11 BLACK

DJI MINI 3 PRO £709, dji.com

£549, gopro.com The Mini 3 Pro comes with either a standard controller, or a brand new hand controller with its own ultrabright screen. The camera incorporates a 1 1/3-inch CMOS sensor and wide f1.7 aperture for low light.

£799, auteldrones.com The same drone as the Nano (see below), but with a major difference: the camera. The Plus will shoot stunning footage in low-light conditions, and can capture 4K video DQGb 03 VWLOOV

£499, gopro.com

DJI AIR 2S

INSTA360 ONE RS

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

AKASO BRAVE 7 LE £149, akasotech.com The Brave 7 LE ĆWVbQLFHO\bLQ WKH SDOPbRI \RXUbKDQG While its headline feature is a frontfacing screen, it DOVRbVSRUWV D QXPEHU of features only usually found on fancier models.

This stalwart action cam packs a powerful processor that means this GoPro is slicker than ever before. Video tops out at 5.3K 60FPS, 4K at 120FPS, and 2.7K/240p. Stills get DbERRVW WR 03 AKASO BRAVE 7 £149, akasotech.com

£279, insta360.com A sensational camera drone. Despite being lightweight and very portable, this foldable drone packs some incredible onboard tech, including a 1-inch CMOS sensor that enables you to capture 5.4K video.

£599, auteldrones.com The diminutive Autel Evo Nano gets everything pretty much spot on. The key item here is the camera and its 1/2inch sensor, which punches way above its weight, shooting exceptional 4K video.

GOPRO HERO7 WHITE

A new, larger sensor delivers the highest resolution, greatest colour depth, highest level of video stabilisation and ZLGHVW ĆHOG RI YLHZ ever featured in a Hero camera. You get good battery life too.

GOPRO HERO 10 BLACK

AUTEL EVO NANO

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcheapaction

£296, gopro.com

AUTEL EVO NANO+

£899, dji.com

CHEAP ACTION CAMERAS

This cam features an XOWUD ćH[LEOH PRGXODU design that’s superfun to play with. You get a raft of features both in terms of hardware (such as 4K Boost, 360 or 1-Inch Wide Angle lenses) and software.

GOPRO HERO 9 BLACK £429, gopro.com A high-res sensor (23.6MP), means WKLVbQLIW\ FDP FDQ shoot 5K/30 video and 20MP stills, and you get a welcome 30% battery boost over the Hero 8. There’s a front VFUHHQbWRR

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

OLFI ONE.FIVE BLACK (2ND GEN) e ROĆFDPHUD FRP A bulging bag of bangs for a relatively small number of bucks. It can shoot in 4K, take 15MP photos, is waterproof to 30m, can record at 120fps, and has a wealth of other premium features.

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Best of the best

DSLR CAMERAS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdslr

MIRRORLESS CAMERAS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestmirrorless NIKON Z 30

NIKON D780 £2,299, nikon.com

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcompact SONY RX100 VII

£699, nikon.co.uk The D780 is, in many ways, a Nikon Z6 (mirrorless) camera inside a larger DSLR body. Thanks to this, we’ve got room for dual memory card slots and a lot more direct control dials and buttons.

COMPACT CAMERAS

£1,150, sony.co.uk Nikon’s smallest MILC yet is aimed at videographers, ZLWK QR YLHZĆQGHU RU EXLOW LQ ćDVK <RX get 20.9MP in an APS-C sensor, 11fps shooting, 4K video at 30fps, and built-in stereo mics.

For the best image quality in a pocketfriendly body, look here. The RX100 VII continues to build on Sony’s reputation for high-quality premium compacts, and does so without breaking the bank.

NIKON D850

CANON EOS R7

FUJIFILM X100V

£3,499, nikon.co.uk

£1,349, canon.co.uk

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

CANON EOS 90D

2QH RI WKH ĆUVW APS-C EOS R cameras, the R7 packs 32.5MP and can shoot at 30fps using its electronic shutter. There’s powerful in-body stabilisation too, plus dual card slots.

NIKON Z 50

£1,249, canon.co.uk

SONY ZV-E10

£899, nikon.co.uk A mid-range model that packs a lot of power for its price. You get a 32.5 megapixel sensor, uncropped 4K video recording, and an RSWLFDO YLHZĆQGHU WKDW offers a 100% view of the scene.

NIKON D500

£679, sony.com All the best bits IURPbWKH = UDQJH shrunk into a more affordable package. A smaller (APS-C) 20.9MP sensor means a smaller overall body, ideal IRUbWUDYHO DQG everyday shots.

CANON EOS R10

£1,699, nikon.co.uk

9 0 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

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

PANASONIC TZ200

£899, canon.co.uk This solidly built camera is the SHUIHFWbFKRLFH IRU those who like to shoot a little bit of everything, thanks to a brilliant autofocus system and glorious image quality from its 20MP sensor.

A beautifully retro design mixed with a host of advanced features, this, like LWVbSUHGHFHVVRUV sports a DSLR-sized (APS-C) sensor, ZKLFKbLV SDLUHG ZLWK Db PP I Ć[HG length lens.

£599, panasonic.com The R7’s smaller sibling has a 24.5MP APS-C sensor and can manage 23fps or 4K/30 video. It’s a great all-rounder, but doesn’t have built-in stabilisation and there’s only one card slot.

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

Best of the best

SAT-NAVS Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsatnav TOMTOM GO DISCOVER From £239, tomtom.com A straightforward navigation device without fancy features. It is ultimately about utility, not fancy tricks, and there’s no doubt TomTom delivers excellent usability here.

DASH CAMS Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdashcam NEXTBASE 622GW £269, nextbase.com The latest dash FDPbIURP 1H[WEDVH boasts muchimproved video quality, improved stabilisation and the inclusion of some rather clever What3Words geolocation services.

TOMTOM GO PREMIUM

GARMIN DASH CAM 66W

£339, tomtom.com

£199, garmin.com This state-of-the-art sat nav links with IFTTT, so you can connect to home devices, interact with personal digital assistants, get QRWLĆFDWLRQV DQG share location and arrival data.

GARMIN DRIVESMART 61 LMT-S £229, garmin.com

THINKWARE F800 PRO

£1,099, pureelectric.com The Flux One offers exceptional value for money and punches above its weight in terms of looks and performance. Its max range is only 25 miles, but for urban riding that is plenty, and recharging is rapid.

CANYON ROADLITE:ON

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

XIAOMI MI SMART FOLDING ELECTRIC BIKE £1,099, xiaomi.com

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

NEXTBASE 522GW £149, nextbase.com

Packed with good IHDWXUHVbEXW QHYHU ĆGGO\ DQG ZLWK Google and Siri support, this is a really good mobile companion too. The price includes lifetime updates via Wi-Fi for most features.

PURE ELECTRIC PURE FLUX ONE

£2,799, canyon.com

£249, thinkware.com

£239, tomtom.com

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestebike

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

This sleek sat-nav KDVbVXEVWDQFH WR match its style, ZLWKbDbELJ GLVSOD\ OLIHWLPH WUDIĆF and maps (for Europe) and useful points of interest information courtesy RIb7ULS$GYLVRU TOMTOM GO 6200

ELECTRIC BIKES

Perhaps not the most fun on two wheels, but it really packs in the features. It folds up small, but drives along smoothly enough at the legal 15.5mph top speed, and has gears, a display, and lights.

GOCYCLE G4I £4,999, gocycle.com

7KH ĆUVW GDVK FDP available in the UK with Alexa builtin, this also has impressive safety features that will alert the emergency services of a crash. It also crisply masters the basics.

A folding bike with a riding position that’s practically identical to a full-size bike, everything from the overtly ‘futuristic’ styling to its wealth of high-tech features marks this out as one of the best in the biz.

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Best of the best

SMART SPEAKERS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsmart AMAZON ECHO SHOW 10 £239, amazon.co.uk The most comprehensive Alexa smart speaker to date, capable of doing lots, and with a unique trick: its large screen rotates to follow you around the room, so that you can always see it clearly.

SMART BULBS Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestbulb PHILIPS HUE From £69, philips-hue.com Hue dominates the smart lighting sector for good reason: it’s a superb system with the widest range of bulbs and a simple, useful app. Rivals may be cheaper but they can’t compete with Hue’s variety.

LIFX

£239 (without stand), amazon.co.uk Amazon’s biggest smart display can be mounted on the wall or on a stand. The 15-inch HD screen looks fantastic, and the brand new Alexa widgets, make this the most useful smart display yet.

From £15, lifx.com

AMAZON ECHO 4TH GEN

NANOLEAF ESSENTIALS

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

GOOGLE NEST HUB MAX £89.99, store.google.com Winner of our 2020 T3 award as the best smart speaker for doing absolutely everything. You get a crisp 10in screen, DbVSHDNHU WKDW FDQ ĆOObD URRP D IURQW camera and of course *RRJOHb$VVLVWDQW

9 2 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestthermostat NEST THERMOSTAT E

AMAZON ECHO SHOW 15

£89, amazon.co.uk

SMART THERMOSTATS

£180, nest.com/uk This cheaper 1HVWbPRGHO GRHVQèW ĆWbDV PXFK information on its screen and doesn’t feel as premium, but that’s it. Same algorithm, same Alexa and Google Home compatibility.

TADO SMART THERMOSTAT

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

From £18, nanoleaf.me A line of bargainpriced bulbs and OLJKWbVWULSV WKDW support Thread, DQbXSFRPLQJ SURWRFRO a bit like Zigbee. We love the faceted look, but they’re only available in E27 or % ĆWWLQJV IKEA TRÅDFRI

From £179, tado.com Tado is very sociable: it works with 95% RIbWKH V\VWHPV RXW WKHUH ,WèV ćH[LEOH clever and supports a wide range of accessories too. 3ULFHbFXWV KDYH PDGHbLW HYHQ PRUHbHQWLFLQJ NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT £219, store.google.com This smart-looking third-gen Learning Thermostat is able to monitor your habits and control the heating accordingly. There’s also an activity sensor which DGMXVWV WKH KHDWLQJ LI it someone’s home.

HIVE ACTIVE HEATING 2

From £13, ikea.com

£139, johnlewis Ikea’s Zigbeecompatible system doesn’t have the range of Hue, but if you prize control over colour options it’s stellar value for money and has some great controllers DQGbGLPPHUV

Hive is developed by British Gas but you don’t have to be a British Gas customer to use it. The system is simple to use, and the app features location tracking so it can warm your home when you’re nearby.

Best of the best

SMART PLUGS Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestplug TP-LINK KASA MINI KP115 £21, kasasmart.com

SECURITY CAMERAS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestsecurity ARLO PRO 4

HIVE ACTIVE PLUG £39, hivehome.com

7KH $UOR 3UR RIIHUV . +'5 YLGHR IXOO ZHDWKHUSURRĆQJ D GHJUHH YLHZLQJ DQJOH DQG HYHQ FRORXU QLJKW YLVLRQ ,W DOVR FRQQHFWV GLUHFWO\ WR \RXU KRPH :L )L VR \RX GRQèW QHHG D VHSDUDWH KXE ARLO ESSENTIAL SPOTLIGHT CAMERA £130, arlo.com

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Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestrobotvac ROBOROCK S7 MAXV ULTRA

£219, arlo.com A reliable smart SOXJbWKDW GRHVQèW LQFOXGH HQHUJ\ PRQLWRULQJ EXW LWèV KDSS\ WR ZRUN ZLWK $OH[D *RRJOH +RPH DQG %L[E\ 7KH 73 /LQN .DVD DSS LV DOVR PXFK LPSURYHG RQ UHFHQW JHQHUDWLRQV

ROBOT VACUUMS

Around £1,178, globalroborock.com 7KH 0D[9 8OWUD LV D URERW YDF DQG PRS WKDW QHHGV PLQLPDO LQWHUYHQWLRQ :KHQ LW FRPHV EDFN WR EDVH LW HMHFWV WKH GXVW DQG GHEULV DQG FOHDQV LWV RZQ PRS 7KLV UHDOO\ LV WKH URERW YDFXXP FOHDQHU GUHDP IROBOT ROOMBA J7+ £899, irobot.co.uk

$UORèV VWDQGDORQH FDPHUD FRQQHFWV GLUHFWO\ WR \RXU :L )L EXW VWLOO PDQDJHV WR SURYLGH SHUVRQ SDFNDJH DQG DQLPDO GHWHFWLRQ WZR ZD\ FRPPXQLFDWLRQ FRORXU QLJKW YLVLRQ DQGbD VSRWOLJKW

7KH VPDUWHVW ORRNLQJ FKDUJLQJ GRFN FXP FROOHFWLRQ ELQ LQ WKH EXVLQHVV ,QJHQLRXVO\ WKH - LGHQWLĆHV REVWDFOHV DQG DYRLGV WKHP ZKHQ QHFHVVDU\ VHQGLQJ LWV RZQHU LPDJHV LW KDV WDNHQ RI DQ\ REVWDFOHV

TP-LINK KASA SMART WI-FI POWER STRIP KP303

RING STICK UP CAM

YEEDI VAC 2 PRO

£30, kasasmart.com

£89, ring.com

£459, yeedi.com

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AMAZON SMART PLUG

EUFYCAM 2C

YEEDI MOP STATION PRO

£25, amazon.co.uk

£299 (two cameras), eufylife.com 7KLV LV D ZLUHOHVV VHFXULW\ FDPHUD V\VWHP ZLWK D VKDUS . VHQVRU D GHJUHH GLDJRQDO YLHZ VROLG ,5 QLJKW YLVLRQ ZLWK D VSRWOLJKW LI \RX QHHG D EULJKWHU YLHZ DQG D FODLPHG VL[ PRQWK EDWWHU\ OLIH

£650, yeedi.com

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Best of the best

CORDLESS VACUUMS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcordlessvac DYSON V15 DETECT ABSOLUTE £599.99, dyson.co.uk 5HĆQHG DQG LPSURYHG DFURVV DOO VXUIDFHV EXW WKH UHDO KHDGOLQH IHDWXUH LV WKH DGGLWLRQ RI D KHDGOLJKW D ODVHU PRXQWHG DW DQ DQJOH RQ WKH IURQW RI WKH KDUG ćRRU KHDG WKDW UHYHDOV D KRUULĆF DPRXQW RI GLUW GTECH AIRRAM PLATINUM £350, gtech.co.uk ,I \RX ĆQG VWLFN YDFV XQJDLQO\ WKLV LV WKH YDF IRU \RX 7KH ćRRU EHDUV WKH ZHLJKW RI WKH PRWRU DQG ELQ VR \RX MXVW QHHG WR SXVK DQG SXOO ,W DOVR PDNHV VKRUW ZRUN RI DOO W\SHV RI ćRRULQJ HYHQ GHHS SLOH FDUSHW VAX BLADE 5 DUAL PET & CAR £330, vax.co.uk 9D[èV EUDQG QHZ ćDJVKLS FRUGOHVV VWLFN YDF FRPHV ZLWK D ZLGHU DQG PXFK GHHSHU EUXVK EDU WKDQ WKH %ODGH ZLWK WDQGHP UROOHUV /(' KHDGOLJKWV DQG D QHZ 8, FRPSOHPHQW WKH FOHDQLQJ SRZHU HENRY QUICK

WASHING MACHINES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestwashing MIELE WEG 365 £1,199, miele.co.uk <RX SD\ D SUHPLXP IRU D 0LHOH EXW \RX FDQ H[SHFW LW WR ODVW ORQJHU DQG FOHDQ EHWWHU WKDQ RQH KDOI WKH SULFH ,W DOVR RIIHUV GHWHUJHQW DXWR GRVLQJ DQ H[FHOOHQW PLQXWH F\FOH DQG JUHDW SHUIRUPDQFH BOSCH SERIE 4 WAN28281GB £500, bosch-home.co.uk $ JUHDW ĆW IRU D IDPLO\ RI IRXU WKH 6HULH LV FDSDEOH DQG TXLHW ZLWK VHWWLQJV IRU VKLUWV VSRUWVZHDU ZRRO DQG VLON ,WV 6SHHG3HUIHFW SURJUDP FDQ FXW WKH WLPH VSHQW ZDVKLQJ E\ XS WR BOSCH SERIE 6 WAU28PH9GB £698, bosch-home.co.uk $ ODUJHU FDSDFLW\ DQG D ODUJHU SULFH WKDQ WKH 6HULH DERYH WKLV PRGHO FRPHV ZLWK D IXOO JDPXW RI ZDVKLQJ SURJUDPV D UDSLG USP VSLQ VSHHG ORZ RSHUDWLQJ QRLVH DQG ZRUNV ZLWK WKH %RVFK DSS

£349, hisense.com $Q H[WUHPHO\ HIĆFLHQW YDF IRU ERWK KDUG ćRRUV DQG FDUSHW ZLWK GXVW IUHH ELQ HPSW\LQJ WKURXJK FOHYHU GLVSRVDEOH SRG V\VWHP :LWK RQO\ WKUHH EXWWRQV LWèV D GRGGOH WR XVH DQG LV JUHDW YDOXH WRR

94 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestdishwasher

BOSCH SERIE 6 SMS6EDW02G

HISENSE WFQY1014EVJM

£300, myhenry.com

DISHWASHERS

£739, bosch-home.co.uk 7KLV EHVW VHOOLQJ FP IUHHVWDQGLQJ %RVFK KDV VSDFH IRU SODFH VHWWLQJV DQG LQFOXGHV :L )L ĆYH SURJUDPV DXWRPDWLF GRRU RSHQLQJ WZR FXWOHU\ KROGHUV DQG D GHFHQW &ODVV & HQHUJ\ FHUWLĆFDWH SIEMENS IQ500 SN95ZX61CG £1,059, siemens-home.com $ VWHUOLQJ LQWHJUDWHG PDFKLQH IURP D KLJK HQG EUDQG WKH L4 KDV QR GRRU KDQGOH DQG FRPHV ZLWK DQ H[FHOOHQW IHDWXUH VHW LQFOXGLQJ DQ DTXD6HQVRU WKDW PRQLWRUV WKH DPRXQW RI GLUW LQ WKH ZDWHU MIELE G7110 SC £1,199, miele.co.uk (FRQRPLFDO HDV\ WR XVH DQG FRQWUROOHG IURP \RXU VPDUWSKRQH WKH * 6& FRPHV ZLWK DXWRPDWLF GHWHUJHQW GLVSHUVDO IRU XS WR ORDGV DQG KDV D TXLFN SRZHU ZDVK F\FOH BEKO DFN05320W £255, argos.co.uk

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$ QR QRQVHQVH GLVKZDVKHU IRU D YHU\ DIIRUGDEOH SULFH LQGHHG <RX PLVV RXW RQ VRPH EHOOV DQG ZKLVWOHV EXW \RX VWLOO JHW SODFH VHWWLQJV IRXU SURJUDPPHV DQG IRXU GLIIHUHQW WHPSHUDWXUHV

Best of the best

COFFEE MACHINES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestcoffee DELONGHI LA SPECIALISTA ARTE £459, delonghi.com

FRIDGES Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestfridge SIEMENS IQ300 KS36VVIEPG £849, siemens.com

To make really great coffee, you usually need to spend big. This machine turns that notion on its head; it’s affordable, offers an intuitive dosing control knob and has a brilliantly simple tamping guide.

£1,195, jura.com

£192, ao.com The E8 makes great coffee at the press of a button – and offers more than a dozen options. And while fully auto machines used to be notorious for their weak coffee, this knocks it out of the park every time.

DELONGHI LA SPECIALISTA EC9335.M £720, delonghi.com

For those after a stylish, retro fridge that won’t break the bank, this is a great option. It also comes with plenty of space and convenient features like Auto Defrost and an adjustable thermostat.

KENWOOD KUL55X20 UNDERCOUNTER FRIDGE £159, currys.co.uk

The unique Slide and Hide door is brilliant, the touchscreen is handy and the oven’s no slouch: it enables you to cook multiple dishes without that unfortunate crosscontamination from VWURQJ ćDYRXUV BOSCH SERIE 6 MBA5575S0B £1,349, bosch-home.co.uk A premium double oven with automatic cooking programs and a built-in meat probe for roasting the perfect mediumrare beef below while a golden apple pie bakes in the WRSbRYHQ ZANUSSI FANCOOK ZKCNA4X1 £518, zanussi.co.uk

Have a compact kitchen? This could be your answer. With its 133-litre capacity, this LV VXIĆFLHQW HQRXJK WR accommodate all your fresh grocery needs. And despite its small stature, it doesn’t compromise in style.

SMEG FAB10LRD5 £1,099, ao.com

Solidly built using swathes of brushed stainless steel and good quality SODVWLFV bWKLV ORRNV MXVWbOLNH D small version of a professional café espresso machine. Dynamite coffee too.

NEFF N 70 B57CR22N0B

If you need plenty of space for your fresh groceries, this sizeable fridge has ample storage. What’s more, the Super Cooling technology reduces its temperature to +2 °C. Frosty.

HISENSE RR220D4ABF RETRO FRIDGE

£2,099, sageappliances.com The genius of the Oracle Touch is it seems like a baristaoperated machine, produces coffee like one, yet all the clever stuff – dosing, tamping, extraction, milk texturing – is done for you.

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestoven

£789, neff.co.uk

JURA E8

SAGE THE ORACLE TOUCH

OVENS

Smeg are the cool cats of the appliance world. If you have a compact space, this FRPHV ZLWK VXIĆFLHQW room for all your groceries. As with most Smeg gadgets, expect to pay a premium though.

A double oven with plenty of cooking capacity, with an extra-fast grill and a perforated air-fry tray for the perfect oven chips. It’s a breeze to use, and is available for something of a bargain price.

MIELE H7164BP £1,389, appliancesdirect.co.uk Reliable and easy to operate, this model comes with plenty of features that are going to appeal – like its Moisture Plus tech for getting perfect ‘bake off’ results. You can even control it from your phone.

N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 9 5

Best of the best

ELECTRIC SHAVERS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestshaver BRAUN SERIES 9 9390CC £250, braun.com

ELECTRIC TOOTHBRUSHES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttoothbrush

PHILIPS SONICARE 9900 PRESTIGE £300, philips.co.uk

Given that the trend is to shave less nowadays, we recommend the %UDXQb6HULHV IRLO shaver over Philips’ almost equally LPSUHVVLYH HIIRUWV ,W is slightly better on ORQJHU VWXEEOH

£300, philips.co.uk

£35, oralb.co.uk The second best shaver has a silly RRP (£430!) but is DYDLODEOH IRU DURXQG e ,WèV JRRG IRU sensitive skin, mows long stubble and is really close to the VKDYH \RX JHW IURP WUDGLWLRQDO UD]RUV

£125, philips.co.uk

BRAUN BEARD TRIMMER 7 £65, braun.com 7KLV WULPPHU IHHOV OLNH JRRG YDOXH IRU PRQH\ earning it a place on WKLV OLVW 6PDOO OLJKW and easy to use, its tough blades shave FOHDQO\ %DWWHU\ OLIH LV solid, and the unit is ZDWHUSURRI HQRXJK IRU HDV\ ULQVLQJ REMINGTON B5

£500, oralb.co.uk

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7KH EHVW WULPPHU IRU those with sensitive skin, this uses innovative OneBlade WHFKQRORJ\ ,WèV JRRG IRU ERWK \RXU IDFH and your downstairs, although you may wish to change heads LQ EHWZHHQ

2IIHULQJ WKH FXUUHQW EHVW EOHQG RI IHDWXUHV and price in the 6RQLFDUH UDQJH WKLV brush doesn’t pile on too many pointless cleaning modes – just WKH VHOI H[SODQDWRU\ ‘clean’ and ‘white’ plus D çJXP FDUHè PRGH ORAL-B IO9

A rotary shaver that requires a circular PRWLRQ RQ WKH IDFH 6WXEEOH GLVDSSHDUV like magic, and the whole experience is YHU\ ORZ LUULWDWLRQ You get a clipRQ WULPPHU IRU VLGHEXUQVbWRR

PHILIPS ONEBLADE PRO

This only has two cleaning modes and no ‘smart’ IXQFWLRQDOLW\ WR VSHDNbRI EXW DVN \RXUVHOIð GR \RX UHDOO\ FDUH" ,W KDV a timer, pressure sensor, and excellent URWDU\ FOHDQLQJ

7KLV QHZ RIIHULQJ IURP %UDXQ ZLWK WKUHH IRLO KHDGV LVbDQbDEVROXWH FUDFNHUbLQ HYHU\ UHVSHFW ,W VKDYHV as close as a wet UD]RU RQO\ LQ KDOI WKH WLPH $QG WKDWèV QRbH[DJJHUDWLRQ

£199, philips.co.uk

The classiest looking beard trimmer we’ve ever clapped H\HV RQ LW RIIHUV DQ HTXDOO\ FODVV\ VKDYH Designed primarily IRU QHDWHU EHDUG scaping, it whips away whiskers without any VQDJV RU SXOOV

£50, philips.co.uk

PHILIPS SONICARE 6100 PROTECTIVECLEAN

PHILIPS SERIES 9000 S9211/31

PHILIPS BT9000 PRESTIGE

Philips’ most advanced electric toothbrush yet, it IHDWXUHV 6HQVH,4 WHFKQRORJ\ ,W VHQVHV pressure, motion and coverage up to 100 times per second, adapting the intensity LI \RX EUXVK WRR KDUG ORAL-B PRO 2 2500

£165, braun.com

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/besttrimmer

£120, philips.co.uk

PHILIPS SERIES 9000 PRESTIGE

BRAUN SERIES 7 70-N7200CC

BEARD TRIMMERS

7KH 553 IRU WKH L2 6HULHV LV ULGLFXORXV EXW \RX FDQ JHW LW IRU less, and it is brilliant at actually cleaning your teeth, plus it’s also very stylish, with a colour touchscreen and a tooth-tracking PRQLWRULQJ V\VWHP

e bUHPLQJWRQ HXURSH FRP The Remington B5 borrows the URWDU\ GLDO VHW XS RI rivals, which makes adjusting the length RI WKH EXLOW LQ FRPE UHDOO\ HDV\ ,W DOVR ERDVWV RQH RI WKH EHVW VSUHDG RI OHQJWKV ZHèYH VHHQ

Best of the best

FITNESS TRACKERS

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestﬁtness

RUNNING WATCHES

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestrunningwatch GARMIN FORERUNNER 255S

WHOOP 4.0 From £18 a month, whoop.com $Q H[FHOOHQW ĆWQHVV WUDFNHU IRU WKRVH ZKR WUDLQ KDUG DQG ZDQW WR NQRZ ZKHQ WR VORZ GRZQ $OWKRXJK WKH PHPEHUVKLS FRVWV FDQ VWDFN XS LW FDQ KHOS \RX KLW WKH RSWLPDO EDODQFH EHWZHHQ UHVW DQG ZRUNRXWV

£299, garmin.com

COROS PACE 2

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£179, coros.com $ GHFHQW XSGDWH RYHU WKH &KDUJH DQG WKH $02/(' VFUHHQ LV YHU\ KDQGVRPH ,WèV FRPIRUWDEOH WR ZHDU DQG WKH RYHUDOO XVHU H[SHULHQFH LV DOVR JUHDW EXW LWèV DV H[SHQVLYH DV VRPH UXQQLQJ ZDWFKHV

£520, garmin.com 7KH )RUHUXQQHU bKDV UHWDLQHG WKHbORRN DQG IHHO RI WKH EXW LQVLGH LWbKDV EHHQ FRPSOHWHO\ UHYDPSHG 7KHUH DUH QHZ *36 FKLSV DQG KHDUW UDWH VHQVRUV SOXV RQ ERDUG PDSV GARMIN FORERUNNER 55

£349, garmin.com

£150, garmin.com 7KH $02/(' VFUHHQ RI WKH *DUPLQ 9HQX UHDOO\ EULQJV WKH ZLGJHW YLHZ RI the Garmin OS to OLIH LQFOXGLQJ WKH DQLPDWLRQV ZKHQ \RX KLW QHZ PLOHVWRQHV VXFK DV \RXU GDLO\ VWHS JRDOV

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JABRA ELITE 7 ACTIVE e MDEUD FR XN

GARMIN FORERUNNER 945

£50, huawei.com

Find the lowest prices at: t3.com/bestrunningphones

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N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2 T3 9 7

LUXURIES Exclusive gifts to seriously spoil yourself

TE SL A OP TIM US If you were born between the release of The Jetsons and The Terminator, there’s a good chance \RXèYH DOZD\V GUHDPHG DERXW RZQLQJ \RXU RZQ URERW /XFN\ IRU \RX 7HVOD KDV ĆQDOO\ GHPRHG LWV ĆUVW ZDONLQJ IXOO\ DUWLFXODWHG URERW 1RZ WKHUH DUH VRPH GHĆQLWH TXHVWLRQV WKDW UHPDLQ WR EH answered here. Why does the robot need bipedal movement, given how notoriously unreliable that is on uneven surfaces? Why design a robot that looks like a human being to work in factories where essentially no one will ever see them? Why give it a detailed recreation of a human hand, ZKHQ FODZHG SLQFKHU RU YDFXXP V\VWHPV DUH VLPSOHU PRUH UHOLDEOH DQG FUXFLDOO\ PRUH VFL Ć \" But that all falls by the wayside when you consider Elon Musk is also making them available for consumers. Finally, a wobbly C-3PO all of our very own! £20,000, tesla.com

NEXT ISSUE IS ON SALE WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER Xmas gadget gift guide – top tech your loved ones will be thrilled to unwrap 9 8 T3 N O V E M B ER 2 0 2 2

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