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30 NEW APPS TO GET TODAY

THE STUFF AWARDS

We crown the greatest tech of 2022

101NEW GADGETS FOR 2023

All the best kit you need to own next!

ALSO INSIDE!

Tested: Apple iPad 10th Gen

The Spectre: first electric Rolls-Royce

Tips 'n tricks for iPadOS 16

Best camera: Huawei vs Xiaomi

Welcome to our new issue. This one’s all about our annual awards, eagerly awaited by an excited nation. We’ve spent weeks compiling our definitive list of 2022’s hottest tech and have come up with an absolutely cracking array of the best gadgets. It’s been a hell of a process –friendships have been formed and broken, resignations threatened, romances started, children conceived (particularly while the gaming awards were being passionately argued) and reputations risked. We don’t think you’ll be disappointed by our choices, although we surprised ourselves with some of them. Particularly the name of the baby, which is apparently going to be Rog Strix, poor little bugger. And who won our Gadget of the Year award? It’s a well-deserved win, but to find out you’ll have to turn to page 25 and start from there. We didn’t take short cuts, so we’re not letting you take any.

We’re also revealing in these pages all the essential tech you need to own in 2023, with a mammoth list of cutting-edge products for this year. Our list combines the best of ’22 with the most likely upcoming launches, and it’s the result of some serious time spent with the crystal ball as well as our inside track on what’s expected over the coming months. There’s lots of shiny new tech to look forward to. If you don’t believe me, see page 63.

Oh, almost forgot: we’ve brought you a big, fat selection of 30 new must-download apps as well. Maybe you started the

year by clearing out those screens of dusty, unused apps cluttering your devices. Good for you, that’s one New Year resolution kept. But it’s time to re-evaluate your favourite apps too – the world has moved onwards and upwards since Wunderlist and MS Paint and it’s time to upgrade, old timer. Into the bin with them, and that goes for those decade-old tracksuit pants you wore all during lockdown, too. Look to the future –you’ll find it on page 53.

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HOTSTUFF

6 The Hot Five Samsung Neo QLED 2023 range

Yep, all the TVs we were loving in December are obsolete already

Lenovo Yoga Book 9i

This laptop thinks it’s a flip phone

BMW i Vision Dee

This electric concept car thinks it’s Elmer the elephant

Fuell Fllow

Consonant-heavy e-motorbike

LG Signature OLED M3

How can a television this big be scared of cables?

12 Vital stats Asus Vibe CX34 Flip

Its camera has a human-style iris

14 Games Like a dragon?

Yeah, so would we, but think of the vet bills…

16 Wheels Bugatti -Royce Spectre

It’s now the Spirit of Electricity

18 Stream

Shrinks, shyness and shotguns

20 Icon Nocs Monolith

Birch, bulk and blastability

ON THE COVER

TESTS

21 First test Apple iPad (10th Gen) Tasty tenth tablet tested… plus power-packed Pro pad probed

48 Versus Xiaomi vs Huawei Pocket pic-takers pondered

49 Tested Fitbit Versa 4

A smartwatch that’s guaranteed to make you fit (as long as you also do lots of fitness training)

60 Long-term test Apple TV 4K

p76

DualSense Edge

The little square streaming box gets a hot new chip – and who doesn’t love hot chips?

86 Games Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, Sonic Frontiers

p73 Pocket panoramas

p75 Sapphire & titanium

p73 Mirrorless marvel

Dedicated follower of mashin’

Samsung’s Gaming Hub has also been improved and now offers Virtual Aim Point, which makes the crosshairs easier to see in first-person shooters.

HOT FIVE #1

NEURALLY GOT ME Samsung Neo QLED 2023 range

You didn’t keep your resolutions for January – remember the vows of abstinence and that fitness plan? – but Samsung did. It’s the time of year when all the big TV makers show off their new wares – and the spec sheets for Samsung’s latest Neo QLEDs make for much better reading than our bathroom scales. Available with both 4K and 8K screens, all the new models are powered by the rather Skynet-sounding Neural Quantum Processor – although Samsung says this uses Shape Adaptive Light Control and Real Depth Enhancer Pro tech to deliver a more lifelike picture, not threaten the very existence of humanity. There’s also an Auto HDR Remastering mode that uses AI to analyse and improve non-HDR pictures on a scene-by-scene basis. And there’s more cleverness: you’ll no longer need a SmartThings dongle to link the telly to Zigbee and Thread smart home kit, while the new 3D Map View makes it easier to see and control all the connected stuff around your gaff. Well, with a TV as smart as this in your living room, you’d be a fool to leave the sofa anyway.

As hot as… rhino curry Rtba / samsung.com/za

Hitting the AI notes

The AI skills also apply to the audio, with each individual ‘sound object’ getting a good buffing up to make sure voices cut through and environments sound alive.

ALL THE BIGGEST STORIES FROM PLANET TECH

HOT FIVE #2

DO YA THINK I’M FLEXY?

Lenovo Yoga Book 9i

While some people are doing everything they can to cut down their screen time, Lenovo’s dual-touchscreen Yoga Book 9i will double it in an instant.

With a pair of 13.3in 2.8K OLED PureSight screens, it’s a bit like a folding phone that’s been gigantified – but you also get a detachable Bluetooth keyboard and stylus, which opens up all kinds of different ways to use it. Unfold it fully and you’ve got a massive space to browse the web on; open it up like a book and you can work on two documents simultaneously; turn it landscape to take notes on the bottom while joining a video call on top; or prop it up on its edges and you can control a presentation from one screen while people view it on the other. It runs Windows 11, although Lenovo has made some tweaks to make the most of the two touchscreens, and the whole thing is powered by a 13th-gen Intel Core i7-U15 processor, with up to 1TB of SSD storage and 16GB of RAM. The battery is supposed to last up to 14hrs of video playback using just one display – or, if you’re trying to keep your screen time down, you can use both and that’ll drop to 10hrs.

As hot as… a Bikram barbecue Rtba / lenovo.com

foolishSqueezethings

The car is voice-controlled, but there are also touchpoints on the steering wheel for adjusting the HUD. These only wake up when your hand moves close to them.

Bloke gets in your eyes

You can choose an avatar that’ll be projected on the driver’s window when you approach. We don’t think this can be used for sending messages to fellow road users.

HOT FIVE #3

PAINT MISBEHAVIN’

BMW i Vision Dee

Do you ever wish you could change the colour of your car as often as you change your pants? BMW’s all-electric i Vision Dee concept (it stands for Digital Emotional Experience, before you ask) is covered in E Ink panels – 240 segments in total – that can be controlled individually.

You get a choice of 32 colours for each one, so when you wake up in the morning you can make sure your motor matches your outfit. And if you’re one of those weirdos who stick eyelashes to their car’s headlights, you’ll love the front grille, which can display different facial expressions to reflect the car’s ‘mood’. Presumably that

means it frowns if you park it badly or fail to indicate. Which you probably will, being a BMW driver and all.

Inside there’s a head-up display that spans the whole windscreen, with a Mixed Reality Slider that lets the driver control how much info it displays. You can even go full VR – handy if you’re stuck on the motorway and want to replace your surroundings with something more soothing. It might only be a concept at the moment, but BMW has already said the full-width HUD is coming to its cars in 2025. As hot as… KITT’s girlfriend Rn/a (concept) / bmw.co.za

What goes in

With no fuel tank taking up space between the rider’s knees, the Fllow has a 50-litre locker on board – big enough to hold a helmet and laptop bag when you’re parked up.

HOT FIVE #4

THIS BIRD HAS FLLOWN Fuell Fllow

Erik Buell knows a lot more about bikes than he does about spelling. As founder of the Buell Motorcycle Company, which was bought by Harley-Davidson in the ’90s, Erik’s innovative engineering made him a legend of the road and track. So while it might look like a couple of typos slipped through when he was naming his latest project, don’t let that put you off this electric two-wheeler.

While Fuell designed the Fllow with short journeys in mind, it still has a range of up to 150 miles, so you won’t have to plug it in every night – and when you do, the 10kWh battery integrated into the bike’s chassis

can be charged in as little as half an hour. Its 35kW motor has enough oomph to hit 100kph in just 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 137kph, but the bike’s onboard software can also limit it to just 15hp14. if you want to tame the beast for inexperienced riders.

The motor lives inside the rear wheel, meaning there’s no chain or gears to worry about, which makes maintenance easier and means you’ll be able to upgrade your Fllow as and when better tech comes along. Llovely stuff.

As hot as… lliquid llead R220 000 (import) / fuell.eu

I’m throughlockingyou

You can connect your phone to do all kinds of stuff, including starting the ignition, unlocking the storage, checking the charge level and helping you find where you left it.

Blink for yourself

It’s a tech-packed machine: the indicators are built into the handlebars, plus there are blind-spot detectors and integrated cameras for the collision warning system.

HOT FIVE #5

HE’S A REAL NO-WIRE MAN LG Signature OLED M3

If you’ve got the money to buy yourself a 97in TV, you can probably also afford to neatly hide all those miles of the cables away in the wall behind it… but with LG’s latest giant OLED, wires are not an issue. The M3 comes with a voice-controlled Zero Connect box, which happily accepts all the wires from your consoles, set-top boxes and such like, and beams the signal wirelessly to the actual telly. That means you can stow all your stuff out of sight and not have to worry about spoiling the look of your new gogglebox by having a load of spaghetti hanging out of the back. Now, picture purists will no doubt be very concerned about the quality and latency of those wireless transmissions, but LG reckons it can send 4K 120Hz visuals and crisp sound across the room with minimal errors or disruptions, thanks to a specially designed algorithm that identifies the optimal path between the Zero Connect box and the TV. It’s even clever enough to make changes on the fly, adjusting things if somebody stands up to make a brew or the dog gets the zoomies. You will need to plug in one cable, though: for power. It’s clever but it’s not magic. As hot as… cable carbonara Rtba / lg.com/za

TAKE ME CHROME, GRUNTY LOADS

Asus Chromebook Vibe CX34 Flip

Rtba / asus.com/za

Game-streaming has changed the way we play… and now it’s changing our Chromebooks too

Canny throng

Playing games on a Chromebook used to be like trying to cook a roast dinner on a heater, but you no longer need a juggernaut of a graphics card to run Cyberpunk 2077 or Dying Light 2 . Although Google recently sent its own game-streaming platform to the big ‘game over’ screen in the sky, ChromeOS now has Nvidia’s GeForce Now baked in, plus there’s an app to access Xbox’s Cloud Gaming – while the four-zone

RGB lighting on the CX34 Flip’s QWERTY means it’ll fit in alongside the rest of your lurid gaming gear.

Rocky mountain Wi-Fi Asus knows there’s more to being good for gaming than having a few pretty lights, so it’s equipped the CX34 Flip with a 14in 16:10 WUXGA screen, packing a 144Hz refresh rate and 9ms response time. With the internet doing so much of the heavy lifting you get support for Wi-Fi 6E, so if your router is equally skilled you’ll get faster connection speeds, lower latency and better network capacity – just what you need if you want to stream at the highest quality without lag. And the

The CX34 Flip has plenty of ports, including HDMI 2.1. This outputs video at up to 4K @ 60Hz, so you can easily hook it up to an external monitor.

10hr battery life should also keep it going for all but the most epic Rocket League sessions.

Sunshine on my folder

Unfortunately you can’t spend all your time playing games, but this Chromebook has you covered for the rest too. It has a generous 5.5in touchpad, and the screen folds over so you can prop it up to watch TV, with Harman Kardon speakers taking care of the sound. Keep pushing it back and you can also use the CX34 Flip in full-on tablet mode, plus there’s a stylus stowed inside for sketching. Throw in up to 512GB of storage and this is a Chromebook that means business.

THE 14-INCH 16:10 WUXGA SCREEN HAS A 144HZ REFRESH RATE AND 9MS RESPONSE TIME

MORE NEW GAMING GEAR

Alienware M18

With 30% more CPU muscle than the old model, this is Alienware’s most potent laptop to date, with more heatpipes, vapour-chamber cooling, and Element 31 liquid metal on both the CPU and GPU to improve heat dissipation.

Rtba / dell.com

Asus ROG Flow Z13

Like a Microsoft Surface that shunned the corporate life and became a professional gamer instead, the 2023 version of the convertible Flow Z13 comes with an improved 165Hz QHD screen and supports speedier 130W charging.

Rtba / rog.asus.com

Razer Leviathan V2 Pro

This RGB-covered soundbar uses cameras and artificial intelligence to track your head. So even when you’re ducking and weaving to avoid virtual bullets, its beam-forming tech means you’ll still have your ears in the sweet spot.

R4 800 / evetech.co.za

Baby drone get hooked on me DJI MINI 3

When you fly on a budget airline you have to put up with extortionate baggage costs, expensive in-flight food and morons who clap when the plane lands, but DJI’s new budget drone has no such downsides. In fact, at just 248g you’re free to fly it almost anywhere you want, with the 2453mAh battery keeping it in the air for up to 38 minutes. Its camera can shoot 12MP stills in portrait or landscape without having to perform any aerobatics, and 4K HDR video at up to 30fps. It doesn’t have the obstacle-avoidance tech that DJI’s pricier drones offer, but it does fold up to almost pocketable size, which should come in handy if you haven’t paid for any baggage.

Rtba / dji.com

Blue Man Group before the fame LEGO AVATAR METKAYINA REEF HOME

What better way to show everyone you’re an Avatar fan than by having a Pandoran home in your Earth home? This eye-catching set taken from Avatar: The Way of Water features a Metkayina clan dwelling, nestled into the mangrove-like trees of Pandora above colourful coral reefs. It also comes with Neytiri, Kiri, Ronal, and Tonowari minifigures together with a few accessories for them to wield. You may need to clear some shelf space as the main hut measures 19cm high, 41cm wide, and 25cm deep. Then there’s the added benefit of not destroying your wallet.

R1 400 / greatyellowbrick.co.za

FIRST PLAY LIKE A DRAGON: ISHIN

It’s a little ironic that, just as the once-niche Yakuza series has finally become more of a global brand, Sega has decided to start over and ditch the name. Yet Like A Dragon is actually much closer to the literal translation of its Japanese title Ryu Ga Gotoku (also the name of the studio behind the series) – and it’s a good time for it, as the latest instalment goes back to its roots: this is a spin-off set in 19th-century Japan.

Ishin is an ideal entry point for newcomers as there’s no baggage from the series’ history,

but longtime fans will get a kick out of seeing their favourite characters recast in a costume drama. It does, however, make learning names a bit tricky, especially as series protagonist Kiryu’s character is now historical figure Sakamoto Ryoma… but he’s also introduced with the alias Saito Hajime.

While the main series is set in Tokyo, this game takes place in Japan’s former capital of Kyoto, its neighbourhoods looking very different depending on whether you’re playing during the day or at night. Either way, it’s just as

PS5, PS4, XSX, XB1, PC

bustling with things to do, whether it’s helping out others in well-written side quests, or getting distracted by chopping wood or fishing.

Combat has more focus on weapons rather than fists, including a samurai’s katana as well as a pistol; best of all is a fighting style that lets you use both at once. Adding to that are Soldier Skills ability cards that make fights even more OTT. If Ghost of Tsushima’s triumph was getting Western audiences interested in Japanese period games, Ishin is the real deal.

RESIDENT EVIL 4

Resident Evil 4 is one of the greats of all time, pioneering the modern third-person shooter. But you can play it on virtually any platform, which makes a remake feel wholly unnecessary.

Yet our first proper look at this one has us cautiously

optimistic. It sticks to much of what made the original such a classic – notably with its unforgettable opening, as ex-cop now US secret agent Leon Kennedy shows up in a village in Europe searching for the US president’s daughter… and instead encounters a mob of murderous villagers.

The terror of trying to hold out against this deadly horde

BEST OF UNDERRATED GEMS FROM 2022

is elevated by an attempt to lean more into the series’ horror roots, although the inclusion of some new cheesy one-liners from Leon hopefully means it won’t lose all of the original’s campiness. Modernised controls mean he’s able to move and aim at the same time, while also having new actions such as parrying attacks – with

less of the original’s dated quick-time events.

Most importantly, the whirring of a chainsaw wielded by Dr Salvador still sets us on edge when he appears in that opening sequence, even if Leon can now (somewhat improbably) defend himself against this with just his knife. Outrageous and iconic – it’s Resident Evil 4 alright.

TRIANGLE STRATEGY

Switch, PC

A throwback to tactical RPGs from the 32-bit era but presented in gorgeous HD-2D, there’s a gripping fantasy epic of warring nations on a Game of Thrones scale here – but it’s the tough battlefield decisions and sticking to your convictions that really seal the deal.

HINDSIGHT

Switch, PC, iOS Interactions in this narrative game are simple; but the act of looking at an object that transports you to another memory (and then to another) is powerful and quietly devastating as you explore a woman’s life, her cultural identity, and her relationship with her mother.

WE ARE OFK

PC, PS5, PS4, Switch

Like a Netflix miniseries of a ’90s MTV animation but with lots of heart and zero snark, this biopic of a virtual band is mostly for sitting back to watch… though you’ll be just as glued to the characters’ phones as they are, with a lot of dialogue happening over messaging and dating apps.

INCOMING

FORSPOKEN

FIRE EMBLEM ENGAGE

DEAD SPACE

ONE PIECE ODYSSEY

DEAD ISLAND 2

WILD HEARTS

OCTOPATH TRAVELER II

DELIVER US MARS

PC, PS5, PS4, XSX

Rolls-Royce Spectre THIS ONE’S REALLY QUIET

Unique features include huge 23in wheels, a tweaked grille and even a reshaped Spirit of Ecstasy bonnet mascot for aero efficiency.

Ah, splendid, I’m due a new Rolls. The usual 6.75L engine?

Not at all: the Spectre is the iconic brand’s first electric car – part of a concerted effort to move away from combustion engines by 2030. They’re calling it an ultra-luxury super-coupé, complete with rear-hinged doors. A low drag coefficient of just 0.25 means the car should deliver lots of ‘waft’ factor and a sublime ride through its planar suspension system.

What’s it like on the inside?

Rolls-Royce will be including its new-gen Spirit infotainment system, supplemented by the aptly titled Whispers app that lets owners set the car up just as they wish. Meanwhile there’s lots of interior bling, including optional ‘Starlight’ doors with no less than 5876 illuminated dots. So you can gaze at the stars without even looking up.

And what’s the range?

With a kerb weight of 2975kg, this is a heavy EV despite lots of aluminium being used in its build (well, it is over 5m long). Even so, Rolls-Royce predicts a range of over 500km. Thanks to a beefy 120kWh battery plus 577bhp and 664lb/ft of torque it should also be reasonably rapid, with 0-100km arriving in 4.5secs. And it’ll support recharging speeds of around 200kW.

Well, that all seems to be in order. Can I have one delivered to my Monaco apartment?

Sure you can you afford it? While the base price is likely to be around R5.8m, nobody ever orders a Rolls without lots of custom trimmings – so the Spectre will cost most buyers more like R10m or more. Reassuringly, while BMW might own the brand nowadays, the car will still be built in West Sussex.

HY FLYER

Hyundai’s Ioniq 6 is an all-electric saloon whose 77.4kWh AWD edition offers a range of 8. 610km and a 0-100kph time of 5.1secs. The design is sleeker than the Ioniq 5 and the comfort and tech levels inside make it a treat to drive, while digital door mirrors only enhance the ‘premium’ experience.

BOLD FOLDER

The Pure Advance Flex is a smart new take on the electric scooter. It promises more stability and a smoother ride than most, with a design that folds away smaller than ever. You also get built-in indicators, puncture-proof tyres and a range of around 25 miles on a charge, while the IP65 resistance rating means it’s rain-proof.

X FLEXER

Best enjoyed in its e-Power e-4orce incarnation, the latest Nissan X-Trail delivers a neat twist on electric motoring without the need to plug in: there’s a petrol engine, but it only charges the battery. It’s also got plenty of in-car tech, including a 12.3in infotainment screen and HUD… and this SUV won’t mind if you decide to go off-road.

The Legend of Vox Machina

Based on the real-life Dungeons & Dragons campaign of a bunch of voice actors, The Legend of Vox Machina is pretty much a nerd’s paradise: a comic animated fantasy adventure with its characters voiced by geek royalty. And yes, it’s back for a second season of more of the same.

S2 / Prime Video, 20 January

Extraordinary

What if you were the only regular person in a world of superheroes? That’s the only slightly Encanto-ish question posed by this British sci-fi sitcom, in which 25-year-old Jen still hasn’t received the powers everyone else gets when they turn 18. With the help of her flatmates, she sets out on a journey to become normally abnormal.

S1 / Disney+, 25 January

Shotgun Wedding

J-Lo plays a bride-to-be whose dream tropical island wedding to hunky Josh Duhamel is interrupted by the arrival of a heavily armed group of pirates. Cue romantic comedy clichés flying out of the window (to be replaced by action comedy clichés) as the couple fight to save their nuptials from death and disaster.

Film / Prime Video, 27 January

You People

Riffing on modern love, generational differences and a clash of cultures, this romantic comedy about an interracial marriage stars the increasingly bearded Jonah Hill, who also co-writes. The cast is rounded out by an assortment of familiar faces including Eddie Murphy, David Duchovny and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Film / Netflix, 27 January

DON’TMISSTHIS

Lockwood & Co

Joe Cornish is the big executive producer and writer behind this teenage ghost-hunting adventure show, but – like seemingly half of Netflix’s original output these days – it’s based on a series of wildly popular YA novels. Supernatural surprises, suspense and swashbuckling are the order of the day.

S1 / Netflix, 27 January

Shrinking

You

Narcissistic stalker Joe Goldberg hops across the pond to reinvent himself again in this London-set fourth season of the surprise smash hit. Joe, now posing as an academic, is apparently seeking redemption for his crimes – and with the series reportedly taking on a whodunnit flavour, perhaps he can get it by finding a killer?

S4 / Netflix, 9 February

Jason Segel has teamed up with Ted Lasso writers Brett Goldstein and Bill Lawrence to create this sitcom about a grief-stricken therapist who sets aside professional ethics to start telling his patients exactly what he thinks of them and their problems. With, we predict, hilarious and radical results. And if all that doesn’t whet your televisual whistle, there’s also the small matter that Shrinking co-stars Harrison Ford in a rare TV role.

S1 / Apple TV+, 27 January

This month’s new-to-streaming treats include shrinks, dragons, superheroes, pirates, beards, ghosts and murderers (but not all at once)

ICON

NOCS MONOLITH

R27 500 (import) / nocsdesign.com

That looks like something from 2001: A Bass Odyssey

Are you making a clever reference to Kubrick’s sci-fi classic, or is that the name of a dodgy rave you went to in an abandoned warehouse 20 years ago? This wireless speaker looks like it could have come from either. Weighing in at 12kg and measuring just over half a metre across, it’s not quite as imposing as the alien structures in the film, and probably wouldn’t get a whole

warehouse raving all on its own, but it’s certainly got enough oomph to start a party.

How much are we talking?

A Class-D amplifier provides 150W of music-pushing power – and you can group several Monoliths together if your Wi-Fi (and your wallet) can cope with it. Each one is made from blackened birch plywood sourced locally in Sweden, with two 6in vented

woofers and three 3.5in full-range drivers, and feet to angle it slightly upwards – so if you place it on the floor it won’t just play tunes at your shins. It’s Swedish-made and designed to be easily repairable.

And how do I make it play music?

That’s easy – you just have to get a message to the all-powerful extraterrestrial civilisation of old-skool ravers that controls the development of the human

race. But if that fails you can always use Wi-Fi or Bluetooth 5.0 instead. When Nocs starts shipping the speakers at the end of January they’ll support Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, so you can easily play tunes straight from the apps as long as your phone is on the same Wi-Fi network, and AirPlay 2 support is in the works too. Just don’t play Also Sprach Zarathustra through it or you might end up in outer space.

IT’S MADE FROM SWEDISH BIRCH PLYWOOD AND IS DESIGNED FOR EASY REPAIRS

Pick up the TAB

The latest ‘basic’ iPad is a stunning tablet compared to its rivals… but it’s expensive, and raises questions about some of Apple’s design decisions

Adozen years after the original iPad, the home button has finally disappeared from this 10th Gen model. We’ve come a long way from a gadget that was once dismissed as just a bigger iPhone.

This tablet brings a complete and much-needed overhaul to the ‘standard’ iPad range, and it’s

available in a few nice colours including a rather lurid pink (as well as blue, yellow and a more regular silver). What’s on offer here is essentially a slightly stripped-down iPad Air, and there are several reasons why that makes sense… plus several reasons why it doesn’t.

This is not quite the base-level iPad, by the way – the 9th Gen

model is still around (complete with its traditional home button).

It’s not that Apple doesn’t want to say goodbye; it’s just that this one is too high-end in terms of price, starting at R10 000. (As with Apple’s other recent launches, SA pricing is currently very high compared to overseas)

The 9th Gen is on borrowed time, surely, but it does make

sense that it’s still available – it can be bought for R7 300, dropping even more when there’s a sale on.

The 10th Gen model, then, clearly fits with Apple’s strategy of taking things more premium, not less. But is the company justified in charging so much more for this over the previous version? Let’s find out…

From R10 000 / incredible.co.za

Retina way with it

The 10.9in Retina display is larger than the 10.2in screen on the last iPad, which itself was an upgrade on the original tablet’s 9.7in size. It’s not the brightest at 500 nits and it isn’t laminated like on the more expensive iPads, so it only supports the original Apple Pencil.

Smart me up

The iPad range hasn’t had the same phobia of USB-C as the iPhones, and this redesign has inevitably meant the appearance of a USB-C port. Apple’s Smart Connector is also present on the side, to enable connection to accessories.

Here cams are nice

The cameras have been updated, and both front and back units are now 12MP – a welcome step forward. Images are clear and crisp, and everything is nice and quick – gone are the days when iPad photos were a poor relation to those from smartphones.

24 hours with the Apple iPad (10th Gen)

Good Meh

Evil

Been port stealing

Despite having four speaker grilles, this iPad has stereo rather than quad speakers. With the move to the newer design, it’s also worth noting that there’s no headphone port. We think that’s a bit of a challenge at this price point.

Sister golden Air

The new iPad’s similarities to the original ‘all screen’ 2020 iPad Air are striking. It sports the same A14 Bionic hardware and can cope with everything you’d normally throw at it: editing 4K video or fiddling about with large images is simply not a problem.

Ourreviewtabletispink.Infact,it’s VERYpink.Wow!ConfusionbetweenthisandtheiPadAirisinevitable.Setupispredictablyeasyandwe’retransferringappsfromouroldiPad.NotusingthenewerPencilissilly–a decisionbasedontheoldscreentech.

TouchIDisstillfavouredoverFaceID, andit’sonthepowerbutton.

Thedisplayisn’tthebrightestifyou’re outinthesun,butit’sfineelsewhere.Thislarger10.9insizeisfineforhaving twoappssidebysideinSplitView.

Thefrontcameraisnowonthelonger sideoftheiPadforvideocalling…

…anditusesApple’sCentreStagetech soyou’rekeptintheframe.

Chargingthefirst-genApplePencilis acompletepain–adapterahoy! DespiteApple’smorepremiumiPads, thisisallmostbuyerswilleverneed. TheMagicKeyboardFoliosnapson nicelyandevenhasafunctionrow.Ifyou’vegotthecellularversion,this iPadsupports5GliketheProandAir.Batteryliferemainsconsistentat around10hrsonWi-Fi.

Tech specs

Screen 10.9in 2360x1640 Liquid Retina touchscreen

Processor Apple A14 Bionic OS iPadOS 16

Storage 64/256GB Cameras 12MP rear, 12MP front

Connectivity USB-C, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2

Battery life Up to 10hrs (USB-C)

Dimensions 249x180x7mm, 477g

And here are the fiddly bits

Upselling

If you want this iPad as a laptop replacement, that means adding a keyboard. But the Magic Keyboard Folio is crazy-expensive at R5 700. Added to the iPad’s cost, you’re into discounted MacBook Air territory.

Upstanding

That keyboard is in two parts, one of which gives your iPad a kickstand. It includes a function row for playback controls and screen adjustments, and is excellent for typing if you’re on a flat surface.

Up in the air

Because this iPad still has an air gap between the display’s layers, it only supports the first-gen iPad Pencil (R2 100)… which doesn’t magnetically attach to the tablet, unlike the second-gen version.

Messed up

Here’s something else that’s odd: the first-gen Pencil uses Lightning to charge but this is a USB-C iPad. An adapter is in the box if you buy a Pencil, but if you have one already an adapter is R240.

The new everyday iPad is predictably good… but it’s also disappointingly expensive and uses the wrong Apple Pencil. Still, there’s much more positive than negative here: it’s a big upgrade over the previous model, with various worthwhile enhancements. The move to USB-C for the standard iPad range is also very welcome.

STUFF SAYS A much-needed and mostly excellent reworking of Apple’s entry-level tablet

7hrs 8hrs 15hrs 18hrs 24hrs

The new iPad’s accessory lineup is, um, rather idiosyncratic to say the least. Here’s why…

The alternative: Apple 12.9in iPad Pro (M2)

The high-end tab that might just make you think of buying a laptop instead

from R25 000 / incredible.co.za

Apple’s new iPad Pro has one big change from its predecessor: the M2 chip lurking inside. It’s a formidable bit of tech. Available in storage sizes from 128GB right up to 2TB, this tablet can do everything.

Well, we say everything, but macOS-style multitasking is still a little beyond it. Stage Manager, introduced in a recent iPadOS 16 update, brings iPads closer to Macs in this regard as you can resize windows flexibly, but it’s still not quite the same. An upcoming update to add external display support may narrow the gap further.

The design of the 2022 tablet is the same as last year’s, and it shows in a couple of details. The 10th Gen iPad has both a camera on the long edge and function keys on the keyboard; these enhancements aren’t present on the Pro – bizarre when the Magic Keyboard costs R8 000.

Still, the Mini LED display is way better than the one on the basic iPad, and it absolutely sings on this larger version (there’s also an 11in Pro, from R18 300). You might struggle to see it properly if you’re outdoors on a very sunny day, but it copes with most situations thanks to its 1600-nit peak brightness.

Key specs

Sweet and 10hr hooligan

As with other iPads, Apple cites 10hrs of battery life. You’ll get there with normal tasks, but with cellular on you’ll be lucky.

Screen 12.9in 2732x2048 Liquid Retina touchscreen

Processor Apple M2 Storage 128/256/512GB/1TB/2TB

Connectivity USB-C, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2

Dimensions 281x215x6.4mm, 682g

There’s so much you can do with this stunningly powerful tablet, but you do need to buy the Magic Keyboard and Apple Pencil to really make it fly… and with all that included you’re well into MacBook Pro money, let alone Air.

STUFF SAYS

Just like starting hover

Apple Pencil Hover shows you where you’re about to mark on the display. OK, we’ve seen this deployed before, but Apple regulars will love it… and apps are being updated for it.

All about that face

Face ID is once again offered by the iPad Pro, and works in both portrait and landscape orientations. It’s way more natural than the Touch ID system on the non-Pro model’s power button.

Kick out the cams

The iPad Pro has a formidable camera array, and it’s had one improvement: the rear cam now records 4K ProRes video. Bit niche, but it could be handy if your iPhone isn’t close by.

It’s super-spendy, but supreme power makes it better than ever

It’s been a dismal year for tech, with hardly anything good being launched… nah, just kidding. We’ve had our usual marathon discussions/arguments/brawls to sort out the game-changingly fantastic from the merely brilliant, and here are the results: the greatest gadgets of the year! And the winners are …

Plug ’n play A good thing about budget phones is that you’ll often find a 3.5mm jack. And on the A04s, also a microSD and NFC.

Not camera shy

On the back there’s a 50MP, f1.8 main camera backed up by 2MP, f2.8 macro and 2MP, f2.4 for depth. On the front, 5MP f2.2

BUDGET PHONE OF THE YEAR

SAMSUNG GALAXY A04S

One of the most affordable Samsung smartphones in the market right now. If you’re on a tight budget but want the assurance of the Samsung brand – and its customisable One UI interface – the A04s is a very good bet. Powered by a Samsung Exynos 850 Processor and

5000mAh battery, it offers a sharp 6.5-in, 90Hz display, though only a 720p-resolution screen (that’s the budget part). Plus a decent 50MP primary camera and video capture, and very good battery life. R2 600 / takealot.com

Image conscious Xiaomi bumped the main camera up to a 108MP sensor and it’s a welcome addition.

MID-RANGE PHONE OF THE YEAR

Punching above its weight

The 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display is up there with some of the flagship phones.

XIAOMI POCO X4 PRO 5G

With looks that belie its mid-range status, this Poco packs in some good specs for the money and stands out from the crowd — especially if you opt for the bright yellow model.

One of its best features is its buttery-smooth, 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display, which is up there with some of the top flagships we’ve tested. It’s powered

by a large 5000mAh battery for all-day stamina too, with speedy 67W fast charging.

If a large, speedy-charging battery, sumptuous screen and main camera performance are high on your list of priorities, this could very well be the choice for R7 000 / incredible.co.za

Quick on the draw

The S22 Ultra is the first S Series phone to feature a built-in S Pen, and it comes loaded with AI-reduced latency, so is super responsive.

Eyes front

Even the front camera is exceptional – the S22 Ultra gets a 40MP selfie shooter which also shoots steady 4K video.

PHONE OF THE YEAR

SAMSUNG GALAXY S22 ULTRA

A reimagined Galaxy Note in spirit, we love this beautiful beast’s 6.8in AMOLED display, incredible cameras (especially the zoom), and brilliant built-in S Pen functionality, which makes doodling on the go a joy.

Stunning screen? Check. Rich styling? Check. Fancy pen? Check. Class-leading camera … the

S22 Ultra is the best of the best as far as Samsung imaging goes. There’s no getting around the fact that it isn’t cheap, but if you’re an Android fan, a lover of tech and can justify the cost, the Galaxy S22 Ultra is the most fully-featured Android phone of 2022. From R30 000 / samsung.com/za

Crowning glory

The digital crown is bigger than the Series 8 and features more pronounced grooves to make it easier to use with gloves.

Hit the button

A new Action Button lets you create quick action shortcuts, like launching straight into a workout or taking a lap split while running or cycling.

Honourable mention:

Apple Watch SE 2022

If you’re looking for value, the SE is the best Apple Watch hands down. R6 000 / takealot.com

SMARTWATCH OF THE YEAR

APPLE WATCH ULTRA

With a bigger 36-hour battery life, a new rugged design and beefed-up outdoor smarts for runners, hikers, divers and climbers, the Apple Watch Ultra is the first Apple smartwatch built with adventure and endurance in mind. Previous Apple Watches may have dipped a toe in Garmin’s waters, but the Ultra has its wetsuit on and has dived straight in. The health and activity features are too many to list, but if you’ve been looking for temperature sensing for female cycle tracking, sleep stage tracking, Afib heart history and fall

detection, you’ve come to the right watch. Apple’s added a three-microphone array and dual speakers, a bigger, brighter 2,000-nits display and tougher durability standards, including 100m water protection compared to the Series 8’s 50m. It’s also designed to withstand high forces from faster water activities like kitesurfing. When you consider the smarts the Ultra offers beyond your adventures, it’s arguably the best allrounder for straddling life on and off the beaten track. R20 000 / incredible.co.za

BUDGET TV OF THE YEAR

MID-RANGE TV OF THE YEAR

HISENSE 43 A4H 2K FULL HD TV LG 48C2 EVO OLED

The A4H comes loaded with more tech than we’d expect at this price point. The voice remote gives quick access to the built-in Google Assistant and provides voice control over TV functions. Motion Rate 120 renders motion smooth and distinct with less blurring. This feature is important for the TV’s game and sports modes, which adjust the settings for an optimal viewing experience when playing fast-paced games or watching fastaction sports content. Picture quality, colour accuracy and audio are all good, though you may want to step up the audio with a soundbar. For the consumer in the market for a smaller-size TV that packs a punch, the A4H stands out.

R4 000 / takealot.com

We’d expect excellent picture quality from an LG OLED, but the C2 is fantastic right out of the box. Its 4K Ultra HD (3,840 x 2,160) display performs well in low and bright ambient light, with a wide viewing angle. Where it really shines, though, is in its impressive array of gaming features, and its very low input-lag will boost your gaming performance and save you from the zombies almost every time. One other feature that’s handy for gamers: the interface supports user profiles, so you can customise settings for members of your household.

R23 000 / takealot.com

That’s handy

As is becoming fashionable, the QN800B ships with two remote controls. One is a full-function handset, the other is much swisher, headline-functions-only, and it’s – ta-dah! – solarpowered.

Premier league

Switch to ‘Game’ mode and there’s no arguing with the motion-control the Samsung is capable of. And a latency of sub10ms isn’t to be sniffed at, either.

PREMIUM TV OF THE YEAR

SAMSUNG 65QN800B

Samsung has done great work making the QN800B as slim and elegant as possible. Every socket is contained in the One Connect box –which makes the QN800B just 17mm deep. So it’s ideal for hanging on the wall, as long as your wall can cope with its 23kg weight.

The most obvious feature, of course, is that spectacular 8K resolution. With over 33 million pixels making up the screen, the potential for sharpness, fine detail and superior picture quality compared to the 8-million-or-so pixels

of a 4K display are obvious. The 70-watt, 4.2.2 speaker system matches the screen’s performance.

That 8K picture quality really is extraordinary. Detail levels are stratospheric, colour fidelity is impeccable, edge-definition is utterly convincing. If you think 8K is coming, and If you don’t really watch anything of less than 4K resolution, the Samsung 65QN800B is a deeply impressive television at a reasonable price. R60 000 / samsung.com/za

TV GADGET OF THE YEAR

DSTV STREAMA

DStv’s Streama is a standalone media box which lets you watch DStv content, as well as content from the world’s most popular streaming services, anywhere you have an Internet connection.

You can stream your favourite shows from various apps, including DStv, Showmax, Netflix, Prime Video, HBO Max, YouTube, YouTube Kids, SuperSport and People’s Weather – all on one platform. It makes life and viewing easier, which is why we’ve given it this lovely award. It also turns any TV – or display –into a smart TV, and offers 4K picture quality if you have a 4K-capable TV.

R1 100 / takealot.com

STREAMING SERVICE OF THE YEAR SHOWMAX PRO

After the brilliance of the Devilsdorp documentary, Showmax has aired several more outstanding local series. It also carries all the great HBO shows, including Raised by Wolves. And Showmax Pro adds a slew of international sports (with a heavy emphasis on football) to this heady mix, including the entire Premier League, La Liga, the PSL, professional boxing and global athletics tournaments. Showmax Pro Mobile is R225 per month, a standard subscription is R349.

From R225/m / showmax.com

SOUNDBAR OF THE YEAR

SONOS

BEAM (GEN 2)

It’s not the biggest soundbar around, but the Beam is still a winner for most living rooms. Despite its compact proportions, the Beam (Gen 2) benefits from plenty of sonic smarts, and the addition of Dolby Atmos makes Sonos’ already excellent compact soundbar even better. Paired with an impressively expansive soundstage, the Beam (Gen 2) is a small but effective solution for superior sound –and you can always add a Sub if you want more whump.

The Beam Gen 2’s stylish build, ease of use and additional music streaming features make it easy to recommend to anyone wanting a simple solution for better TV audio. Control is easy with the Sonos app, your voice, or Apple AirPlay 2. And if you want more oomph, it couldn’t really be easier to add a Sub and a few Sonos Ones, provided you’re happy to part with a fair bit of cash.

R13 000 / takealot.com

SMART SPEAKER OF THE YEAR

AMAZON ECHO DOT 5TH GEN

The newest iteration of the popular Echo Dot (with or without clock) promises twice the bass performance of its predecessor, making it more sonically robust. Naturally, you’ve got built-in Alexa smarts at your disposal, along with the usual volume and Mic Off buttons for added peace of mind. If you’ve currently got a fourth-generation Echo Dot then perhaps there’s not enough of an upgrade here to absolutely warrant a purchase, but if you’re in the market for a second device anyway (or if this is your first foray into the Echo world) then the latest generation Dot makes the best sense for most people.

R1 400 / geewiz.co.za

Adjust can’t get enough Every time you put the buds in place, CustomTune tech tailors the audio and ANC to your ears.

OVER-EAR HEADPHONES OF THE YEAR

SONY

WH-1000XM5

Sony’s XM5s improve on their predecessors in every area. Do we wish they still folded? Possibly. But we’ll get used to it.

R8 000 / incredible.co.za

EARBUDS OF THE YEAR

BOSE QUIETCOMFORT EARBUDS II

What with Bose having invented active noisecancellation, nobody was much surprised when its first in-ears to bear the QuietComfort name were incredibly good at blocking out the horrors of the outside world. They didn’t sound half bad either.

Our only real issue was with the design – the earbuds being too chunky for our liking and the charging case even worse. So we were chuffed when Bose told us it had streamlined the second-gen buds, which are smaller,

lighter and simply more wearable than their predecessors. The QC Earbuds II show their sonic strength whichever zone of the frequency range you choose to focus on, and once again the ANC is as close to flawless as you’ll find in a pair of true wireless buds. We’ve encountered slightly better-sounding in-ears than this, and a fair few that last longer; but as a whole package, nothing could beat Bose this year.

R7 500 / incredible.co.za

BUDGET EARBUDS OF THE YEAR JABRA ELITE 3

Jabra makes its new Elite 3 buds affordable while keeping what you really need from a set of in-ears –a decent battery, waterproofing, and excellent audio. Jabra is a Stuff favourite. Their Elite range, both inand over-ears, are consistently excellent. Now the company has a cheaper line-up, the Elite 2 and Elite 3 in-ears. The latter are affordable buds that, admittedly, lack some features but there’s one area they don’t skimp and that’s the audio. The Elite 3’s combination of a tight seal, passive noise cancellation, and solid sound strike the right note.

Songs are crisp and detailed, with almost no distortion at any place on the audio spectrum. The specs? 6mm drivers, battery Life 7hrs (buds), 21hrs (case), IP55 waterproof rating.

Yes, you can grab wireless in-ears for less than a grand, but you won’t find anything like the sort of audio quality presented here.

R1 200 / takealot.com

LOADSHEDDING TECH OF THE YEAR GIZZU 155WH PORTABLE POWER STATION

Most powerbanks that promise to power “small electronic devices” will manage to keep your phone, router and tablet going. But if you’ve got work to do you need your laptop, and in the era of Stage 6 few of them have the muscle to get a laptop through four hours of government-issue darkness. The Gizzu has, and it’s saved our bacon here at Stuff on more than one occasion. It packs 155Wh/42000mAh, with three USB ports and an SA three-prong socket. Plus it’s easily portable, so you can take it with you for instant popularity at a meeting or a weekend away.

R2 800 / takealot.com

SPEAKER OF THE YEAR

JBL FLIP 6

It takes confidence to release a straight-up, no-frills Bluetooth speaker in 2022. But given that JBL has been on such a winning streak with the rugged Flip series that it’s now arrived at the sixth iteration, it’s no wonder such confidence exists. The Flip 6’s highly rubberised design is very much in keeping with every version before it, but if you did manage to crack it open you’d find notable enhancements inside. A new tweeter joins the racetrack-shaped driver and dual passive radiators, resulting in detailed mids and highs to go with a generous helping of bass. Or in plain English, it’ll handle anything in your party playlist with aplomb. Bluetooth 5.1, 12hrs of battery life and an IP67 waterproofing rating mean we’re still head over heels with the Flip series half a dozen speakers later.

R2 300 / takealot.com

FITNESS TRACKER OF THE YEAR

GARMIN EPIX

With the Epix, Garmin has given us something we didn’t think we were allowed to have: a fully featured sports watch with a glorious, easily readable AMOLED display that doesn’t come at the expense of expedition-friendly battery life. You can expect up to 16 days of solid use in smartwatch mode and 42hrs of GPS (or 75hrs with a few tweaks). And what will you be looking at on that lovely screen? Well, data from more than 30 sport modes for a start, plus a host of important heartmonitoring info, in-depth training guidance and progress charts. Once you’ve had an Epix on your wrist, you won’t want to wear anything else.

From R17 000 / capeunionmart.co.za

FITNESS HEADPHONES OF THE YEAR BEATS FIT PRO

We met the Beats Fit Pro way back in last January, so it’s a testament to their quality that over 12 months on they’re still the headphones we reach for when the gym calls. Why? Well, the flexible wingtips mean they stay in for a start – you’d be shocked at how often that isn’t the case with fitness-focused headphones – plus they’re comfortable enough to wear for long runs and weights sessions. Powered by the same H1 chip as the AirPods Pro, they have similar noise-cancelling and transparency modes, plus spatial audio and Apple’s adaptive EQ tech, which tailors sound to your environment. Performance is great, but it’s the fit that really wins out here.

R3 700 / incredible.co.za

FITNESS GADGET OF THE YEAR

HYPERICE HYPERVOLT 2

Hypervolts are a very popular range of deep-tissue “percussive massage” guns, and they’ll change the way you exercise. No, really.

Percussive massage uses rapid impacts and vibration to alleviate stiffness and post-exercise soreness in soft tissue. You’ve got a sore spot or a tense muscle or joint? Just press the flat head in there and… well, wince. At first, anyway. It’s a proper piece of exercise equipment, a tool that lets your body work longer and harder without suffering from the after-effects of that punishment. Comes equipped with five different attachments, three speed settings, three-hour battery life, and a companion Hyperice app that tells you how to work on specific muscle groups.

R6 500 / totalsports.co.za

Wall of silence

The added ANC blocks external noise efficiently for a more immersive gaming experience.

GAMING GADGET OF THE YEAR SONY INZONE H9

Somewhat confusingly, Sony’s new gaming-focused sub-brand is not directly associated with PlayStation, despite its first headset adopting the same colour scheme as the PS5 and working perfectly with the console. The big difference between this headset and the Pulse 3D Wireless is noise-cancelling. The Inzone H9 can do

Those soft leatherette earpads are really comfortable. They even get gently warm.

all the same wireless 3D audio wizardry, but it’ll do a decent job of blocking out external rabble at the same time. This is also one if the most comfortable gaming headsets we’ve ever had the pleasure of planting on our heads.

R7 500 / makro.co.za

GAMING LAPTOP OF THE YEAR GAME OF THE YEAR ASUS ROG STRIX SCAR 17 ELDEN RING

With this machine, Asus has managed to make highend performance gaming cheaper somehow.

Cheaper than you’d expect for this much performance, anyway.

The ROG Strix Scar 17 isn’t keen on compromises. This was built for high-end gaming and to be portable enough that it won’t take a full day to pack up and then reassemble elsewhere. On that front, mission accomplished.

Behind that performance are Intel’s latest 12th-gen Core i9-12900K and Nvidia’s updated 3070ti. That’s paired with 16GB of the new DDR5 RAM, all powered with a 90WH battery for around seven hours of screen-on time with a light workload. All for significantly less than what competitors are asking for similar hardware. That makes ROG Strix Scar 17 a very attractive proposition.

R65 000 / asus.com/za

Elden Ring is an open-world game for people who’ve had enough of the hand-holding, tower-scaling and tedious side-quests of open-world games – one that trusts you to go out there and make your own adventures. You’ll die. A lot. But getting stuck on one particular boss doesn’t mean you’ve hit a dead end: if you’re struggling, you can just walk off and explore. Pick a point on your map, hop on your horse and save the merciless loop of failure for another session. We could talk for days about the brilliant combat, the huge range of play-styles it allows for, the stunningly intricate world design, the eccentric NPCs, the mysterious lore and the awe-inspiring boss fights, but the best thing about Elden Ring is that everyone’s experience of it is entirely their own.

One of the greats.

From R1 200 / PS5, PS4, XSX, XB1, PC

TABLET OF THE YEAR

APPLE iPAD AIR (5TH

GEN)

What a surprise, the best tablet of 2022 is an iPad… but for the second year running we haven’t given the award to the Pro, despite its indisputable brilliance. No, this year’s iPad of choice is the latest Air. While looking all but indistinguishable from last year’s model, this is a more ferocious beast underneath its 10.9in screen. Apple has been generous enough to give its mid-range tab the same M1 chip as its big brother, meaning it’ll happily bat away anything you throw at it. 5G is now an option with the cellular model and the 12MP ultrawide selfie-cam is a big improvement, while the display is more than ready for your latest Netflix binge. And iPadOS continues to improve, so add a Magic Keyboard and you’ve got yourself a capable laptop alternative.

From R13 200 / incredible.co.za

BUDGET TABLET OF THE YEAR

SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB A7 LITE

Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A7 has several factors in its favour — there’s a solid build behind it, the battery has enough legs to keep you entertained for ages, and that screen is better than the specs might suggest. In other words, if you’re after a budget media player that’ll work when all others are lacking power, this is your device.

If you’re looking for something affordable and sturdy to serve as a distraction when all the lights go out, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A7 Lite will do the job admirably. R3 000 / samsung.com/za

PREMIUM LAPTOP OF THE YEAR APPLEMACBOOK AIR (M2)

The new Air’s redesigned shell moves things up a gear, but the real revolution is Apple’s M2 hardware: its performance and battery life are nothing short of stunning. This machine leaves the M1 Air in the dust and means the MacBook Pro is once again the preserve of actual pro users – there’s simply no reason to take that step up from the Air unless you’re doing sustained top-tier work like editing 4K video. If you’re trying to find faults, well, there’s the price… but we can see that slipping down over the coming months. Oh, and the webcam remains crappy. But this is without a doubt the best laptop of 2022. From R26 000 / incredible.co.za

MAINSTREAMLAPTOP OF THE YEAR

LENOVO YOGA SLIM 7i PRO GEN 7

Lenovo laptops are solid, as you’d expect from the maker of the ThinkPad. But the Yoga line is the sweet spot, combining this long-lasting excellence with impressive spec sheets at great prices. With at least 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM married to 12th-gen Core processors and a 2240x1400 Full HD display, there’s plenty on offer from the 14in Yoga Slim 7i Pro in addition to its handsome metal casing and excellent keyboard. It’s a machine you’ll enjoy owning, which is more than you can say for most everyday laptops. Need more power? Choose the Yoga Slim 7i Pro X instead – it’s got an even punchier H-series CPU. But the standard 7i Pro is the best value for sure.

R26 000 / lenovo.com

ACTION CAM OF THE YEAR GOPRO HERO11 BLACK

GoPro is to action cams what Kleenex is to tissues and Coca-Cola is to fizzy drinks, so us picking the latest Hero as our action cam of the year may seem like a cop-out – but even by the company’s usual standards, the Hero11 is a banger. The key change from previous generations is a new 27MP image sensor with an 8:7 aspect ratio, which lets you crop your footage for various formats – whether it’s widescreen, square, or TikTok-friendly 9:16. Horizon Lock and excellent electronic image stabilisation keep things looking level and beautifully smooth; and while low-light results aren’t great, this GoPro’s versatility, features and picture performance make it the best all-round action cam you can buy.

R11 500 / takealot.com

CAMERA OF THE YEAR SONY A7 IV

The A7 is supposed to be ‘standard’ rather than ‘premium’, but this fourth iteration is anything but run-of-the-mill. Its 33MP sensor and Bionz XR image processor serve up fantastic photos and videos, with 4K footage at framerates up to a silky 60fps, or 1080p footage at an even silkier 120fps. If you want to gain a Stuff Awards crown, however, it’s not enough to just be a beast when it comes to image quality – so the A7 IV also excels for features and usability, possessing one of the fastest, most accurate and more customisable AF setups on the market as well as superb connectivity, a flip-and-twist articulating touchscreen, and effective in-body image stabilisation – all in a compact, lightweight and weatherproof body. If you’re looking for one camera that can really do it all, the A7 IV has got you covered.

R45 000 (body) / ormsdirect.co.za

Honourable mention: Volvo XC40 P6

Recharge Plus

The all-electric compact SUV packing over 400 horsepower and – for an EV – an affordable price tag. From R1m / volvocars.com/za

Light fantastic

The auto-dimming panoramic sunroof is complemented by very swish ambient lighting inside.

Inside tech

At your fingertips are a 14.9in dashboard touchscreen, 12-speaker audio system, Apple and Android support, three USB-C ports and wireless phone charging.

E.V. OF THE YEAR

BMW IX

BMW’s all-electric SUV is premium all the way, with looks that divide opinion and performance that is every bit what you’d expect from BMW. But it’s the space and comfort of the interior that makes the iX a real standout.

The feel of luxury inside is supplemented by the ride quality. This car might have SUV bulk, but it drives like a dream. It’s perfect for longer journeys, with those soft-touch materials and delicious

seats soaking up the worst that SA roads can throw at you. If your budget is stretched, you’ll have to make do with the xDrive 40 model, a 322bhp, entry-level offering featuring a 71kWh battery good for over 400km. Splash the cash for an xDrive 50 edition and you’ll get 523bhp and a beefy, 105kWh battery delivering over 600km on a charge. From R1 735 000 / bmw.co.za

SA APP OF THE YEAR

MOYA.APP

Moya.app is more like WeChat than WhatsApp, a super-app with all the trimmings. But what truly sets it apart is that everything you do inside the app is data free – meaning you don’t use up your data when you’re using it. You can message other users for free, read the news for free – including Stuff and our sister publication Scrolla.Africa – and it has its own mobile wallet, called MoyaPay. It’s only the seventh South African app to reach 10-million downloads in Google’s Play store – which is no mean feat. Moya’s 4-million daily users have access to a range of publications and information, including news, sport, weather, games, education, employment services, and reading books – all without using any data.

Rfree / Android, iOS

PODCAST GEAR OF THE YEAR

RODE RODECASTER PRO II

Podcasting: it’s dead easy, right? Plonk down in front of a microphone, hit record, and you’ll be top of the iTunes charts in no time. Sorry to break it to you, but there’s a lot more to it than that: controlling volume levels, mixing channels and balancing EQs make all the difference. Enter the Rode Rodecaster Pro II. This compact audio mixer is for everyone, not just those with a background in broadcast radio. It’s got all the inputs, sliders and effects pads a budding podcaster could want, and is flexible enough to also appeal to music producers and game streamers.

With ample connectivity, plenty of physical controls and a comprehensive touchscreen UI, the Rodecaster Pro II is about as advanced as home audio mixers get. A comprehensive mixer with fine-grain control and advanced features, that also nails the basics. It’s a killer bit of kit.

R16 000 / bothners.co.za

It just gets better

The S22 Ultra improved on its excellent predecessor with the (faster) built-in S-Pen, better cameras, faster charging and more.

Public display of affection

A reimagined Galaxy

Note in spirit, if not name, we loved this beautiful beast’s big, bright, 6.8in 120Hz Dynamic AMOLED display.

1st

2022 GADGET OF THE YEAR

SAMSUNG GALAXY S22 ULTRA

The “phone” part in smartphone is so hilariously low down the list of its talents that by now we really should have a better name for the things. Never is this more obvious than when picking up the terrifyingly cutting-edge Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra.

We’ll mention just one aspect: While each individual camera on the S22 Ultra might not necessarily be the absolute best in class, combined they outperform the competition. What

makes them shine overall is their flexibility, thanks to an incredible 10x optical zoom. This is pretty much unmatched by most of the competition, meaning that with the S22 Ultra in your pocket, you’ll be ready for practically any photography scenario you can encounter.

As we’ve been saying in our Top Tens for months: this is the most capable smartphone you can currently buy. So take a bow, Samsung – you’ve won Stuff’s Gadget of the Year.

INSIDE TECH APPLE WATCH ULTRA

EVERY STEP YOU TAKE

How Apple took the Watch’s activity tracking to the next level with an Ultra version for fearless adventurers

The Ultra model is the first major ground-up redesign of the Apple Watch as we know it. So when Apple suggested that Stuff sit down (well, virtually) with three of the company’s vice presidents to ask them about the key sensors on the device, we didn’t have to think about it very long.

We spoke to Stan Ng, VP for Apple Watch marketing; Ron Huang, VP for sensing and connectivity; and Jay Blahnik, VP of fitness technologies. So, first things first: Why is now the right time for the Ultra?

“Over the years we’ve heard from customers who shared with us how they wanted to use Apple Watch for their extreme adventures,” explains Stan Ng. “We wanted to create a watch that would be a meaningful tool, and it was driven by three use cases: endurance athletics, outdoor adventure and exploring the ocean.”

PUSH HOUR

The action button is one of the key new features of the Watch Ultra – but why have a dedicated button? “When we thought about the ultra endurance athlete, it made a lot of sense to have a button that you can dedicate to do things during a workout without touching the screen,” explains fitness guru Jay Blahnik.

“If you put together a custom workout – let’s say you you’re doing 30-second intervals followed by one-minute recoveries and you want to move past a recovery or an interval. You can do that manually by pushing the action button. When you’re doing custom workouts, you don’t want to have to look at the screen.”

A multi-sport feature helps athletes doing any configuration of swimming, biking and running, and automatically detects when you’re doing those activities. “But we know there are endurance athletes who are very,

very picky about the exact time they consider their swim stopping and their transition time starting, and then their bike ride starting. So you can even flip into manual mode and use the action button for that.”

You’re also able to use the button to get a precise start time, while the Watch Ultra’s screen can display six metrics at any one time.

“So perhaps you want time, pace, distance and heart rate, but you also at certain times of the run want to focus on our new running metrics like vertical oscillation, ground contact time or stride length. You can have a secondary screen and, with one scroll of the digital crown, it flips to that.”

FOLLOW TWO FOLLOW ME

One of the major upgrades on the Watch Ultra is its dual GPS. Of course, everyone’s been relying on GPS for a long time, but most of that has been on the L1 frequency, which is now almost 50 years old. L5 is the upgrade tech to GPS; the two frequencies are designed to complement each other, but L5 has been limited to a selection

of smartphones as well as devices like Garmin’s dedicated GPSMAP adventure trackers.

“If you think about how GPS works, it’s computing the distance between you and satellites that are 20,000km above you,” explains Huang. “It does that by very precise timing between the satellites and your watch, with signals travelling at the speed of light. So it’s easy to incur some error from passing through the atmosphere. The ionosphere has a lot of plasma that disrupts the radio waves, for example. Because L1 and L5 are 400MHz apart, you can correct for that.”

Blahnik cites the Boston Marathon as an example of where the watch can come into its own: “A good proportion of the marathon is run in the middle of the city’s skyscrapers, where L1 can be compromised.”

HOMEWARD FOUND

Backtrack is a new feature of the Compass app that enables you to retrace your steps if you get lost. As Huang points out, often you don’t know you’re lost until it’s too late. So Backtrack has an automatic mode that he calls a ‘safety net’.

“We built a wilderness detector, if you will. We look at Wi-Fi signals, because when there’s no Wi-Fi today it’s likely to be wilderness. We also look at your past usage to see if it’s a place you’ve been before. We even remember when you went from driving to walking, as that’s probably where you want to get back to. So the watch automatically starts recording the trace for you. We can do that with very minimal battery impact.”

“The Apple Watch has become essential for so many users now,” adds Ng. “And they want to use it everywhere they go – including mountains, deserts and the ocean. We think they’re going to be very excited about the Ultra.”

DON’T LETTHE CELLSEND

Another key area of focus during the Watch Ultra’s development was battery life. It tracks 12hrs of workouts in the standard mode, “which of course is way more than enough for a marathon and is getting into ultra marathon distance,” says Jay Blahnik.

Now available via an update, the 60hr multi-day adventure mode will be able to track around 15hrs of workouts. “But if you don’t need the full 60hrs and you just want to push through for a workout, you can get to 20hrs-plus.”

Low-power mode can be activated in the Apple Watch app on your iPhone: “If you go to the workout section, there’s a new switch, but it’s only applicable if you put the watch into low-power mode.”

The Apple Watch Ultra: it’ll get you home, but it won’t put the kettle on

Let’s glance

During a hardcore hike the Watch Ultra checks the GPS once a second. In low-power mode this is dialled back to only run once every 2mins.

Fool if you think it’s under The Depth app starts up at 1m down. The Watch assesses whether you’re in water based on multiple sensors.

On the screech

To ensure suitability for watersports, Apple built a 7m-long waterslide so they could accelerate the Watch Ultra to over 70kph on its way down.

The mode to quell

Cellular data affects battery life, so the watch doesn’t stay connected in low-power mode… until you launch an app that wants to use data.

The 12T Pro’s display has an adaptive refresh rate for smooth scrolling without killing the battery.

Face for the prize

A depth-sensing selfie-cam setup in the display notch is secure enough to use your mug for biometric security.

Lights, camera, action

Do you really have to spend big to get stunning smartphone photos?

Huawei Mate 50 Pro Xiaomi 12T Pro

Look, we get it – size isn’t everything. And neither is pixel count. But you can’t deny 200MP is impressive. The 12T Pro’s main camis leagues ahead of its meagre secondary snappers, capturing incredible detail in all conditions.

The glass and plastic construction betrays the 12T Pro’s more wallet-friendly nature, but the display is gorgeous and it gives up nothing in performance. Battery life is decent, and 120W wired charging brings sub-20min top-ups.

You don’t get any kind of IP rating, and the design is a little lacking in personality – rear logo aside, you’d have a hard time telling the 12T Pro was a Xiaomi. Still, the in-display fingerprint scanner is speedy and the speakers are OK.

Screen 6.67in 2712x1220 120Hz AMOLED

Processor Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

RAM 8/12GB OS Android 12 Storage

128/256GB Cameras 200+8+2MP rear, 20MP front Battery 5000mAh (USB-C)

Dimensions 163x76x8.6mm, 205g

Price From R15 500 / cellucity.co.za

It has a periscope lens for 3.5x optical zoom and an ultrawide with macro focus, but the Mate 50 Pro’s main snapper is the standout. Its variable aperture is unique in the phone world, delivering real depth blur and outstanding low-light shots.

While it’s as rapid as any top-tier Android phone doing the rounds right now and has a stunner of an OLED screen, you know the Huawei issue: no Google Play Store access means having to jump through hoops to get the apps you like.

With orange vegan leather, a curved screen made from toughened glass and a bronze frame, the Mate 50 Pro is as luxurious as they come. It’s waterproof, and has wireless chargingand even an IR blaster. There’s no 5G data, though.

Screen 6.74in 2616x1212 120Hz OLED

Processor Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1

RAM 8GB OS EMUI 13 Storage 256GB

Cameras 50+64+13MP rear, 13MP front

Battery 4700mAh (USB-C, Qi)

Dimensions 162x76x8.5mm, 209g

Price Rtba / huawei.com/za

We love Huawei’s talented lenses, but Xiaomi will have price and pixels on its side

Rockin’ scroll

You square it well

As brand owner Google launches its own circular-faced smartwatch, the Versa 4 serves as a reminder that Fitbit is still vying for a place on your wrist

For Versa number 4, Fitbit has brought over some big apps from its new owner Google – with the same goal of getting you to hit your fitness and health targets in a highly motivated fashion. It’s kinder on your bank balance compared to the Pixel Watch, or Fitbit’s own Sense 2 smartwatch, and

makes one particularly welcome design change.

That’s right: physical buttons are finally back. Well, one is, following Fitbit’s decision not to bother with any for the previous generation. When you’re mainly prodding and swiping at a touchscreen, that might not sound like a big deal, but buttons are handy while

you’re working out. Now you can wake up the display, have a chat with a virtual assistant or jump into the exercise menu.

The Versa 4 is a tad slimmer than its predecessor, with assorted colour options offering something for everyone, though it’s hardly a design classic. You can still swap straps between gym visits and work meetings,

and the aluminium case’s gently curved corners separate it from the rest of the smartwatch crowd. You’re safe to dunk it down to 50m.

If you liked the Versa 3 but needed that button back in your life, then that’s the most alluring aspect of the Versa 4. But it’s not all smooth sailing on the software side…

24 hours with the Fitbit Versa 4

Decentbatterylifemeansnoneedto pluginbeforebed. Ohyes,thatOLEDscreenisnice andbright. Thebuttonisback,baby–andyes,we didmissit. ThankstoGoogle’sinput,thenewUIis prettyswish. ItlooksOK,buttheVersaisstillnota styleicon. Always-onmodemightbea batterydrain. Somanysportmodestotry–careful, youmightaccidentallygetfit.Exercisetrackinglackstheprecisionofpricierwearables.I’mlostonarun!Noworries,Google Mapstotherescue.

UI in my heart

Swiping and tapping our way around watch screens, it’s clear FitbitOS now has a much more Googlified feel. A few things have moved, and there’s a bigger emphasis on full-sized widgets as opposed to lots of menu screens. It’s nice and slick.

Maggie pay

Contactless payments are still on board, though Fitbit Pay doesn’t have the widest support from banks. Google Assistant is out, but you can chat to Alexa using the onboard microphone. Google Maps is a particularly useful inclusion too.

Do ya think arm sexy?

‘Square vs round’ screen debate aside, the display you’re getting on the Versa 4 is a good one. It’s surrounded by a little too much bezel for our liking, but the 1.58in AMOLED dishes out good colours, goes nice and bright, and can be left on 24/7.

Baby pain

What’s not so great is that a number of features found on the Versa 3 have vanished. The Fitbit Gallery app store has been stripped of third-party apps, and there’s no Wi-Fi or music player. No coincidence, given the Pixel Watch’s recent arrival.

Got legs

Hate the idea of having to charge your smartwatch as regularly as you do your phone? That’s not a problem with the Versa 4. It regularly manages over six days of use between top-ups, as long as you’re not keeping the screen on all the time.

Stepgoalsmashedyesterday.I’ma tiger,grrr! Atthisrateit’sontrackforafullweek ofcharge. OneareawhereFitbitisonpointis sleeptracking.There’snoGoogleAssistant,butAlexa hearsmeclearly. Thereareanawfullotofpaywalled Premiumfeatures.

Tech specs

Screen 1.58in 336x336 AMOLED

OS Fitbit OS

Connectivity Bluetooth 5.0

Battery life 6+ days

Durability 5ATM

Dimensions 41x41x11.2mm, 38g

Are you putting in enough exercise time? Are you getting good-quality sleep? Fitbit will let you know…

Sailing

The number of exercise modes has almost doubled. New additions like crossfit, skiing and paddleboarding push the total up to over 40, with Fitbit’s own metrics measuring your effort.

Trailing

Most sport modes only dish out basic heart-rate and duration stats, and data from Fitbit’s optical sensor isn’t too reliable. It’s more for casual fitness folks and doesn’t rival a Garmin or Polar watch.

Nailing

Fitbit’s strengths lie in nudging you to get more steps in and monitoring your sleep time. The level and accuracy of sleep metrics is up there with the best you can find on a smartwatch.

Retailing

Some insights are locked behind a Fitbit Premium sub. Want to know if you’ve been snoring via the built-in mic, or use Fitbit’s Daily Readiness Scores? You’ll need to pay extra for that.

It’s not a huge step up from last year, but the Versa 4 is still a good choice for anyone after a watch that will monitor steps and sleep then show you that info in a user-friendly way. That said, stripping away features that were turning the Versa into a capable smartwatch is a big step backwards, and leaves question marks over its future.

STUFF SAYS

Great for fitness and health data, but some missing features make for a less useful smartwatch

18hrs 19hrs 20hrs 22hrs 24hrs

I do want to talk about it

The alternative: Suunto 9 Peak Pro

It’s gnarlier than the Fitbit, but is this adventure watch a Peaky blinder?

R9

It may look a lot like the basic Suunto 9 Peak, but the new Pro version packs some significant updates – including a new processor, new GPS, a new optical heart-rate sensor and longer battery life.

It’s neat, compact and light on the wrist, and the 1.2in 240x240 sapphire crystal touchscreen is nicely responsive thanks to that faster processor. But visibility is just about OK. It’s bright enough in most light, but could be crisper.

There are 95 sport modes, with all the usuals covered plus one for triathlon. The suite of training tools and fitness insights is comprehensive, though not a match for Garmin or Polar. You get peak training effect, training load and recovery time recommendations, plus estimates for fitness age and VO2 Max. And there’s a built-in SpO2 sensor.

Smartwatch features are less fancy than you’ll find on most alternatives. They include basic smartphone notifications and music controls for a paired phone, but there’s no onboard music storage or offline playback. When it comes to navigation, you can plan, load and follow routes with turn-by-turn navigation and breadcrumb trails; but you don’t get full maps, and we found the lack of detail on that screen made routes hard to follow on the move.

Key specs

Downtown drain

You can create custom battery settings for workouts… but your options are limited to touch functions, display timeout and GPS accuracy.

The Suunto 9 Peak Pro is a mixed bag at best. Its suite of training tools and insights are OK, but it’s let down by its screen and lack of maps – and considering the rivals it’s up against, that makes it hard to recommend.

STUFF SAYS

Good on the basics but easily outpunched by its competitors

Hightailing

It’s quick to get a satellite fix; over an officially measured half marathon course in Performance mode, it clocked over 21km on a twisty, turny central London course where some watches might struggle.

Availing

The intelligent charge reminders are handy for spotting if you need to juice up before you head out. We love the fast charging that restores 100% battery in just 1hr, or 10hrs’ training time in 10mins.

Surveilling

Our battery dropped just 40% with a week’s usage, including 9hrs of running. We got an average overnight burn of a mere 1-2%, and a 2hr run in performance

GPS mode used up only 5%

500 / sportsmanswarehouse.co.za

Screen 1.2in 240x240 touchscreen Battery life 21 days Durability MIL-STD-810 Dimensions 43x43x10.8mm, 64g

DON ’ T WORRY, BE APPY

Good apps help you forget how terrible everything is – and these 30 will set you up for the year, whether you want to unleash your inner artiste, ease your daily routine or just have a bit more fun

[ Words Craig Grannell ]

CREATIVE CRACKERS

ABLETON NOTE

The iPhone equivalent of a three-minute single rather than a double album, Note distills Ableton’s desktop app into a musical sketchpad. Its combination of samples and a great interface lets you quickly get ideas down, which you can expand in Ableton Live – and then inflict on the masses at Glasto.

R105 / iOS

PHOTOLEAP

This app has long had form in the AI space. You can swap backgrounds, replace a sky, remove objects or explode a figure into animated shapes, as if they’d been subject to a finger-click by a geometry-loving Thanos. And now there’s AI image generation, to build quick pics from text or sketch input.

Rfree (IAP) / Android, iOS

CAPTIONISTA

These days a lot of videos are watched in silence on phones – hence the trend for burned-in subtitles. This app lets you add them with ease. Intuitive controls let you quickly adjust pacing, and there are plenty of style options to ensure your captions remain readable yet still suit the feel of your video.

Rfree (IAP) / iOS

LUMAFUSION

We’ve long been fans of this one on Apple kit, but now the LumaTouch video editor is on Android too. It’s desktop-grade stuff, with a wealth of features and effects – yet based on an interface that’s been smartly considered to the degree that you could feasibly edit your next Hollywood masterpiece right on your phone.

R380 / Android R550 / iOS

AFFINITY PUBLISHER 2

Another ‘can’t do that on an iPad’ barrier is smashed to pieces. This third entry in the Affinity series (after Photo and Designer) lets you use your tablet to lay out everything from posters to entire magazines, by way of a full suite of desktop-grade tools married to a touchscreen interface.

R380 / iPad

MIRROR LAB

Messing around with symmetry makes even mundane imagery shine. Mirror Lab gives you a host of options, from basic reflections to trippy kaleidoscopic effects that you can combine. The app lets you start with a photo or just a gradient; in either case, you’ll have something dazzling in just a few taps.

Rfree or R150 / Android

Phones and tablets were never merely for consumption – but these arty apps let you turn that little rectangle into an extension of your weirdly inventive brain

TUSKY

Given the lead times in making magazines, Twitter might be on fire by the time you read this. Mastodon provides an alternative for inflicting your bite-sized written morsels on the world at large – and Tusky is an excellent Mastodon client for Android, with a sleek interface and plentiful options a couple of taps away.

Rfree / Android

EVERYDAY HELPERS

CUISINE

If all the other cookery apps were lobbed into a blender, you’d end up with Cuisine. This feature-rich option lets you track groceries, pilfer recipes from books and the web, and crack on with cooking. Or filter thousands of recipes using a single search term when dinner prep looks set to involve 30 minutes and a potato.

Rfree (IAP) / Android, iOS

SPARK MAIL

Email is awful… but it’s still a thing. Luckily, Spark wants to make it less awful – even good. It does this via opinionated ideas on prioritising and categorising messages. It isn’t prescriptive: you can choose which contacts Spark brings to the fore, and those it buries at the very bottom of inbox hell.

Rfree (IAP) / Android, iOS

CARROT WEATHER

As if Carrot Weather wasn’t messed up enough with its mix of forecasts and sarcasm delivered by a hateful AI, the iOS-only v5 adds ‘bonding activities’ that let you win hearts by shaking your phone or telling Carrot you love her. In return, she might not destroy your house with a hurricane.

Rfree (IAP) / iOS

DYNAMIC SPOT

It’s always the same. Apple does a new thing. Android folks scoff. Then Android folks steal it… and make it better. Cue this Dynamic Island rip-off. Unlike the iPhone feature, you can adjust this one to your phone, and it neatly improves notifications and access to background tasks.

Rfree or R85 / Android

REWARD CARD WALLET –BARCODES

Your wallet is bulging. Hurrah! But it’s not from wads of cash – it’s all down to plastic cards. Hurroo. Remove bulk by using this app to store cards on your phone (or Apple Watch) instead. You get 10 for free, but maybe do the devs a favour and pay regardless, eh?

Rfree or R190 / iOS

Face it, you’re chained to that phone – might as well infuse it even further into your life with these tools that streamline various common tasks

5-MINUTE FUN FESTS

KNOTWORDS

Crosswords without clues, where you’re given the letters? Easy, right? Nope. Because Knotwords crosswords are broken into shapes and the letters within are scrambled. It’s your job to sort everything out, against the clock. You’ll quickly realise just how many words a small set of letters can make – loads.

Rfree (IAP) / Android, iOS

OTTERETTO

Tetris was always rubbish on devices with slippy screens and no buttons. Otteretto rethinks shape-dropping puzzling for mobile. It’s a smart turn-based effort where you tap out palindromic sequences to rack up the points needed to reach the next level. Colourful, thinky stuff, with great extra modes if you pay a few quid.

Rfree (IAP) / Android, iOS

ROCKET LEAGUE SIDESWIPE

You know those football matches that feature cars as players? Not nearly mad enough. So, like console title Rocket League , this side-on effort adds rocket boosters. Vehicles blaze through the air as you try to whack balls into goals, in a manner that would almost certainly lead to failed MOTs.

Rfree / Android, iOS

SUPER AUTO PETS

Teams of cartoon animals do battle in this turn-based brawler. Last creature standing wins. The twist: a mind-bending web of power-ups and boosts that can result in you thinking you’ve won, only for an opposing critter you thought long dead to be spat out by a whale and take out your army.

Rfree / Android, iOS

HORIZON CHASE 2

The original Horizon Chase evoked old-school racers where the sky was blue, the physics were dubious and speed was everything. This sequel does it all again, but adds dazzling new courses along with multiplayer and car customisation. It blazes along at breakneck pace, leaving other mobile racers in its dust.

R105/m (Apple Arcade) / iOS

KITTY DEATH ROOM

A big tower filled with traps and foes. More traditional platforming fare, then? Ah, but here the titular cat can munch gems and then project ‘ghosts’ of itself to use as platforms to reach targets.

Clever stuff – and creepy too, with a vibe that whiffs of the cat working its way through ‘purrgatory’.

Rfree / Android, iOS

Modern handsets will run console-style games, but are better suited to filling gaps in your daily tedium with little bits of bliss – as these gems show

WATCH TO 5K

When you’ve got a goal of running five whole kilometres, you need to minimise excuses. This Apple Watch app helps by running entirely independently of your iPhone. But now you can also use a companion app on your phone to peruse recent runs, track progress, and beam at how far you’ve already come since that first wheezy shuffle.

R80 / iOS

HEALTHY OPTIONS

WELLPAPER

Screen time systems tend to be invisible until you hit a usage limit. WellPaper is a novel alternative, using live wallpapers to denote the time you’ve spent within certain app categories. When specific doughnuts or planets swell to epic proportions, you know it’s time to cut back on the games and social media.

Rfree / Android

BELLY BOI

You know when you have a funny feeling in your gut?

That’s science –there’s increasing evidence that guts and mood are interlinked.

Belly Boi lets you track both, using a food log to explore how what you eat affects how you feel in your belly and brain. An Android version’s on the way later this year.

Rfree / iOS

TRAIL SENSE

When you’re roaming beyond the reach of internet connectivity, Trail Sense has your back – or at least an idea of where you’ve been (so you can backtrack), what the weather’s going to do, and daylight times. You also get a checklist to make sure you don’t leave behind important kit before venturing out.

Rfree / Android

AVOCADO HABIT

No, this isn’t an app to annoy braai masters columnists by urging people to eat more avocados. It’s all about getting good habits into your daily routine. Do well and you can beam at your stats while watching a virtual avocado grow bigger… although we’ve not yet spotted any virtual toast to put it on.

Rfree / Android, iOS

UNHABIT

You can limit time for websites using Apple’s Screen Time app, but Unhabit is simpler and more effective. You block directly from Safari, and can fine-tune settings: allowing access on certain days and defining an override countdown, for example. There are stats to check how often you’re cheating too.

Rfree / iOS

Phones can be bad for your health, and not only when you try to eat them; but your blower can also boost your physical and mental wellness and safety

CHANTLINGS

This app is for people who like to sing and want to be part of a group – but aren’t keen on involving other humans. As you sing (ideally wearing wired headphones, but wireless will do), you can tap one or more Chantlings. They’ll pick up on your voice and improvise harmonies that complement your own sounds.

R50 / Android R52 / iOS

TIME WASTERS

PLAY: SAVE VIDEOS

Video is everywhere – which makes tracking it a nightmare. This app lets you stash links to videos from YouTube, Vimeo, Twitter and more. Tags and smart searches help you organise and filter a collection, while iCloud sync makes everything ready on your Apple TV when it’s time to watch on the big(ger) screen.

R52/ iOS

RADIOMG

When your ears fancy something new and the usual suspects don’t cut it, SomaFM offers dozens of streaming radio stations with distinct themes. RadiOMG is a great player for the service, which lets you dig into everything from a covers-only station to a chillout ambient electronica zone.

Rfree / Android

DAIJISHO

Android reigns when it comes to emulating classic videogames on your phone, and it’s Daijisho that brings everything together. It can act as a front end for old-game time, or for your entire device. And when you don’t want to play, you can spend many happy hours browsing cover art and gawping at gameplay videos.

Rfree / Android

AUTOMATOYS

Remember those cheap Pachinko toys where you ping a tiny ball about? This is what happens when one has a baby with a mad scientist’s machine. Prod the screen and all the interactive components move. Your aim: traverse the many hazards, reach the goal, and feel smug when you’re quick enough to win three stars.

Rfree or R40 / Android, iOS

STICKER DROP

Apple devices with iOS/iPadOS 16 let you lift subjects from photographs and plonk them elsewhere. This app invites you to transform them into stickers that you can use in Messages and beyond. And each custom sticker can be edited, making it fancier by way of a border, shadow or corner curl.

R52 / iOS

If you’re determined to spend hours frittering your life away while staring at a screen, at least do it with high-quality apps like these

There’s an 18W power brick in the box, but be prepared to hang around while it does its thing: a full charge takes close to 2.5hrs.

Move on Opp

Oppo’s first crack atthe tablet market goes for the budget zone – but doesn’t skimp on screen size or build quality

The imaginatively named Pad Air really doesn’t feel like a budget tablet. The (mostly) aluminium construction, iPad-esque flat sides and rounded corners make a great first impression; and while the 3D ‘Sunset Dune’ strip along the back is plastic, its textured effect is neat. The only giveaways are the weedy-looking rear camera lens and chunky bezels – although these do give you somewhere to rest your thumbs.

The 10.36in panel is big and sharp enough for catching up on your latest streaming addiction without needing to squint. There’s no HDR support, and this isn’t the brightest screen around, with only average contrast and colours that are a little on the cool side. A 60Hz refresh rate is not surprising given the price, but you’ll notice it if you’re used to faster.

A Snapdragon 680 CPU and 4GB of RAM are now the baseline for a budget tablet. Stick to one task at a time and you’ll be happy with the amount of grunt on tap. Oppo’s take on Android 12 makes multitasking easy, and it can play a YouTube video and keep a few browser tabs open sidebyside.

Elsewhere ColorOS remains faithful to stock Android, with a scattering of custom icons. You get plenty of Google apps, with just a few of Oppo’s own thrown in for good measure, and little in the way of bloatware.

Tech specs

Opp-town funk

Don’t expect ‘home cinema’ performance from the Dolby Atmos-branded quad speakers. They don’t get loud, and the sound is overly airy. With no 3.5mm port or USB-C dongle, it’ll be Bluetooth for solo listening.

All shook Opp

It’s not verywell endowed in the camera department, with a single 8MP snapper on the back and a 5MP webcam up front. Both are best reserved for video calls: photos lack dynamic range and recording is limited to 30fps.

Screen 10.36in 2000x1200 60Hz

LCD Processor Snapdragon 680

RAM 4GB OS Android 12 + ColorOS

12.1 Storage 64GB Cameras

8MP rear, 5MP front Battery

7100mAh (USB-C) Dimensions

245x155x6.9mm, 440g

STUFF SAYS A capable budget Androidtab…but it isn’t short on competition

If you’re after a sensiblypriced Android tablet that’ll cover the basics, the Oppo Pad Air fits the bill. It’s wellbuilt, has respectable performance won’t set you back too much. The screen isn’t too shabby either. But big-name rivals are equally tempting, and there’s little here that you won’t also find elsewhere. With only average battery life, quiet speakers and a basic camera, it doesn’t do quite enough to stand out.

The price is nice, but the specs don’t add Opp to anything special

Ripped to be square

In one of the year’s leastexpected upgrades, Apple has given its TV streamer a bit of a beefing-up – so Stuff turns on the box for two weeks of 4K fun

From

R3 000 / incredible.co.za

DAY 01

Unboxing the new Apple TV, it’s clear that a lot has changed for Apple’s television strategy over the last couple of years.

The advent of Apple’s TV+ streaming service has finally brought some kudos, but TV+ apps are available for (almost) everything these days – and it’s likely your telly doesn’t require you to spend R3 000 (or R3 500 if you want more storage plus Ethernet and Thread support) to get it. Even AirPlay 2, once

standard logo. We’ll say this is probably just down to standardised branding rather than any wider ambitions.

The metal remote is the same as on last year’s model but now charges via USB-C rather than Lightning. This probably means Apple sees this box sticking around past the EU’s deadline to make devices USB-compliant. The change is worthwhile. This version of the Apple TV remote is much chunkier than we saw in the early days of the streaming box and that makes it far nicer

effectively an Apple TV exclusive, is now integrated with smart TVs at all price points.

The Apple TV has always been a great streamer, though, and we don’t see that changing here. Mind you,the big caveat is that you need to be embedded in the Apple ecosystem to make the most of it – and be prepared to pay a premium over perfectly decent streamers from Amazon, Roku and Google.

The black box has changed a little – it’s around 20% smaller, and gone are the Apple logo and the ‘TV’ on the top, replaced by the

to use. But if you misplace it, you can always use your iPhone to control the puck instead. Indeed, the initial setup is now ridiculously easy if you have an iPhone – no longer do you have to laboriously type in your info, and it will autodetect your device and transfer your Apple ID and Wi-Fi settings seamlessly.

Individual app setups are a bit patchy, just as it still is on other systems, but you can use the keyboard on your iPhone if you do need to enter any text, as well as confirming purchases with Touch ID or Face ID – very welcome indeed.

The new remote is much chunkier than in the early days and that makes it nicer to use –but you can also use an iPhone

You can use the included remote to invoke Siri, and the voice control works really well.

Tech specs

Processor Apple A15 Bionic Storage

64/128GB

Connectivity

Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, HDMI 2.1;optional

Thread support and Ethernet

Video formats

SDR, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR10, HLG, H.264, MPEG4

Dimensions

93x93x31mm, 208/214g

DAY 02

We have experienced HDR issues with other devices, but you just don’t get these with the Apple TV. This one now covers HDR 10+ in addition to Dolby Vision, HLG and HDR10, and it’s a robust streamer for these formatsas long as your hardware is up to it.

DAY 03

We were using an HD Apple TV prior to this, and the upgrade to the A15 chip inside the new one is noticeable. This is not a groundbreaking change, but things are loadingmore quickly and the experience is considerably slicker than the interface on, for example, my Amazon Fire TV Stick. It also helps that the interface is clean and simple (as it always has been) and, aside from some basic programme banners that can show you the next episode of things you’ve watched, isn’t littered with ads or promoted items.

DAY 05

Apple TV no longer has an issue that dogged it for its early years; third-party app support is now great, with all the services you’d expect from a streamer. In

Donut of Truth™

01 Apple TV is so easy to set up these days

02 The remote is excellent to use – and to charge

03 Using Face ID makes things simple

04 We prefer the Ethernet version but don’t need all that extra storage

05 Sign-in on some apps is harder than others

06 Apple = expensive

addition to the biggies like Netflix, and Disney+. You can customise the home screen with the array of apps you want.

More often than not, we needed to go into the individual apps to find exactly what we were looking for, which we’d rather not have to do. You can set up multiple users these days with tvOS, but this is of limited use as you still need to have different profiles within many apps.

DAY 11

Naturally all of Apple’s key apps are integrated. Photos remains a favourite for easy public display of photograph albums, and Fitness+ did becomemuch loved on the old box because of its tight Apple Watchintegration, although – full disclosure – our household lost access to this recently: due to a hike in the price of the Apple One sub,we removed it from our package. Sorry, Tim.

DAY 14

Despite some drawbacks. We do love the new Apple TV. Apple’s puck isn’t always the first thing we go to, but a lot of people will continue to prefer to use it than their television’s own OS. Why didn’t Apple make its own TV again?

STUFF SAYS

A top streamer if you’re already an Apple fan… and don’t mind paying the premium

Mastodon

The Mastodon network is distributed, so it can’t be owned by one rich helmet. It’s like lots of little Twitters that talk to each other; onboarding is a touch bumpy (you pick a server then find folks via #introduction, other hashtags or handle searches), but after that you’ll find a chilled vibe and nice features like post edits. Once engrossed, try other clients such as Tusky (Android) and Metatext (iOS).

Rfree / Android, iOS

Mini meme GIVE TWITTER THE BIRD

Time to jump ship? These apps can be your liferaft as the once-great site becomes a burnt-out husk drifting ever closer to the rocks of irrelevance…

Discord

If you always thought Twitter was aimless, Discord provides focus. It’s about joining or creating communities that can have a natter about a game, club or other activity. Yes, it’s chatrooms –forums mashed into chat apps with a fork (see also Reddit). Still, if you’re happy to server-hop or be obsessed with just one, its ideal – and there are already millions of active users. Rfree / Android, iOS

WhatsApp

Twitter’s mostly a public social network, but a lot of action happens in direct messages. If you have Twitter friends you’d like to continue chatting with, but in private, set up a WhatsApp group. Doing so is easy, and chances are everyone you know’s got an account. Just be mindful that anonymity will have to be discarded, as hiding your phone number or using multiple profiles is a hassle.

Rfree / Android, iOS

Instagram

Instead of words, Instagram goes big on photos and videos. Well, except in direct messages, which work as you’d expect. Otherwise, you can be jealous at folks who post photos of their glamorous lives while you’re sitting there with a tepid Pot Noodle… or you can revel in snaps and videos of all kinds of fun and exciting things. (Top tip: follow @whataboutbunny for endless canine joy.)

Rfree / Android, iOS

Tumblr

Surprisingly, Tumblr isn’t in a bin alongside MySpace and Friends Reunited. Despite being ancient in web terms, the network is doing well, as a kind of dissident oddball that channels the fandom, art and chaos of ‘old internet energy’. Which means endless scrolling feeds of weird utterances, gifs and videos. It can be a lot of fun, although head elsewhere if you crave meaningful conversation.

Rfree / Android, iOS

LinkedIn

Lots of thinky types stroked their chins and declared Twitter going kaput would be great for the world, because we’d all have more time. But the trouble is, careers have been built on that platform. LinkedIn might offer an alternative for some, given that it’s basically Twitter (or really Facebook) in a suit – and these days, posts increasingly veer towards the personal rather than PowerPoints.

Rfree / Android, iOS

Xiaomi 13 Pro

The latest Xiaomi flagship will already be on sale in China by the time you read this, and South Africa and Europe will be on the waiting list. There are plenty of reasons to think this will be a wow-me Xiaomi, not least a trio of 50MP rear cameras with Leica optics. The main snapper even has a 1in sensor, which is physically larger than almost everything else in the phone world and should cope brilliantly when shooting in low light. Other headline specs include a sizeable 4820mAh battery, capable of blisteringly fast 120W wired charging and similarly impressive 50W wireless top-ups. Rtba / mi.com

Crisp cams

One of the two secondary cameras promises 3.2x optical zoom shooting, while the other has a 115˚ ultrawide lens that can also manage macro snaps.

Crisp visuals

The 6.73in OLED screen is suitably top-tier, with 3200x1440 resolution and 1900-nit peak brightness. A fingerprint sensor hides beneath.

Crisp crunching

The whole thing is powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 – both more powerful and less power-hungry than the silicon powering most of 2022’s handsets.

Apple iPhone 15

Apple’s annual update is expected to split the iPhone line, with a new iPhone 15 Ultra boasting a much speedier processor, better cameras and faster data transfer, along with an even higher price. The standard iPhone 15 may get the same always-on display, Dynamic Island and cameras as the iPhone 14 Pro above. from R18 000 (est) / apple.com

Google Pixel Fold

If 2023 is going to be the year of the folding phone, Google’s first attempt had better be good. The (not yet actually named) Pixel Fold is expected to follow Samsung with a bookstyle design, while sharing its look with the Pixel 7 pictured. Photos should be on a par with those two. Rtba / google.com

Samsung Galaxy S23

The next gen of Samsung’s greatest hit is nearly upon us: we’re expecting a February reveal. It’s likely to take the already great S22 (above) and make it better with an optimised Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, improved cameras and more storage. The Ultra could have a 200MP camera. from R16 000 / samsung.com

SMARTPHONES

Oppo Find N2 Flip

Some of this year’s most interesting new ideas will come from Chinese brands like Oppo, whose Find N2 Flip folding phone will be released in Europe in 2023. It’s very similar to the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip4 but lighter and possibly cheaper. Oppo says it’s the lightest horizontal foldable yet.

Rtba / oppo.com

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5

While rivals are still catching up with the Z Fold4 (above), Samsung is hard at work preparing its successor. We’re expecting it to launch in late summer with the latest Snapdragon chipset, a similar camera setup and possibly S Pen stylus support. from R34 000(est) / samsung.com

Nothing Phone 2

The first Nothing Phone (pictured) generated hype but didn’t quite transform the industry as the PR suggested. But it’s still a nice phone; and while Nothing claims it isn’t planning a Phone 2, it has been teasing a US release – and it said it wouldn’t sell the Phone 1 over there.

R9 000 (est) / nothing.tech

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

Until the S23 Ultra lands, the S22 Ultra is the current best Android phone for power users – and with big discounts imminent when the new version launches, it’s going to be even better value for money. It’s a big, fast and slick smartphone with one of the best cameras in any device.

from R30 000 / samsung.com

OnePlus 11

With that tasty Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor, a Hasselblad camera module and a 6.7in 120Hz AMOLED display, the OnePlus 11 is going to be a powerful flagship. The company is still known as a mid-range phone maker, and if the price is right the 11 could be a very competitive successor to the OnePlus 10. Rtba / oneplus.com

Oppo Find X6

Here’s another interesting one from Oppo: the follow-up to the Find X5 (above) is expected to rival phones like the Xiaomi 13 Pro in key areas such as camera resolution, and it’ll be battling with some of the best flagships of 2023. The rear camera bump includes a periscope lens for optical zoom. Rtba / oppo.com

There’s a whole load of exciting new rectangular talent coming our way… and one ace phone having its last hurrah

Apple iPad Pro (2023)

The current iPad Pro range tops out at 12.9in, but Apple is reportedly working on a 14in version and possibly even a 16-incher. The next-gen Pro should have the same Mini LED display tech as the pictured 12.9in tab (OLED iPads are on the way but we don’t expect them this year) and an M2 chipset.

Rtba / apple.com

Asus Vivobook Pro 16X 3D OLED

Glasses-free 3D is making a comeback – and this time it’ll be good. Asus’s lenticular OLED display has fast response times and epic contrast; 13th-gen Intel CPUs provide the zip, and Nvidia’s 4000-series mobile graphics chips should be potent enough. Rtba / asus.com

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra

We’re expecting a successor to the Tab S8 Ultra (pictured), Samsung’s biggest and best Android tablet, this year. The current model is massive, with a 14.6in AMOLED that makes even the biggest iPad Pro look titchy, and comes with the S Pen stylus. Rtba / samsung.com

COMPUTERS

Alienware x14 R2

The skinniest ever Alienware laptop is a barely-there 14.5mm thick, but still finds room inside for a 13th-gen Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU and Nvidia 4000 series graphics. It steps up to a 16:10 screen with QHD+ resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate for smooth gaming, and the all-metal chassis adds a touch of class.

from R40 000 (est) / dell.com

Razer Blade 16

A new dual-mode Mini LED display sets the Blade 16 apart. It’ll switch between 4K at 120Hz and 1080p at 240Hz, to please both creatives and gamers. You get up to 24 cores of 13th-gen Intel power, the latest Nvidia GPUs, and a speaker system ready for THX spatial audio.

R60 000 (est) / razer.com

Dell XPS 13 (2023)

This all-rounder has been a firm favourite of ours for years. Dell’s lightest laptop is currently rocking 12th-gen Core i5/i7 brains, but Intel has just launched its fresher 13th-gen ‘Raptor Lake’ Core CPUs – and Dell tends to be an early adopter of processors, so surely… R21 000/ dell.com

HP Dragonfly Pro

Also available as an Intel-powered Chromebook, this 14in Windows wonder is all AMD, with a Ryzen 7 processor and Radeon graphics from the resurgent chip maker. With up to 16hrs of super-frugal battery life, Windows Hello and up to 1TB of storage and 32GB of RAM, it looks to be a superb everyday power-portable.

Rtba / hp.com

Microsoft Surface Laptop 6

The Surface Laptop 5 (above) only launched in October, but it was a modest refresh that felt dull compared to the Surface Pro 9. So it could do with more than a processor bump this year: the current model feels dated in both design and performance.

Rtba / microsoft.com

Apple MacBook Pro (M2)

The current 14in and 16in MacBook Pros are incredibly powerful, and they’re getting more powerful still in 2023. Yes, the larger Pros are getting Pro and Pro Max versions of the insanely good M2 processor – and while they won’t be cheap, they will be utter beasts. from R50 000 (est) / apple.com

Don’t actually put a laptop on your lap – it’s terrible for the posture. Anyway, here are some nice new PCs and tablets…

Asus Zenbook Pro Duo

Is this the future of the laptop? It could be! Asus’s dual-screen creation extends the display into the lower half of the device, delivering a huge touchscreen area right above the keyboard. Apple has apparently been making sly notes on a napkin – there’s a MacBook with a folding display under development in its labs – but this Asus is available right now, and for less cash than any similar Mac is likely to cost. Even without the extra touchscreen this is an impressive laptop: think up to Intel Core i9 processors, dedicated Nvidia graphics, 32GB of RAM, and as much as 2TB of SSD storage. R45 000 / za.store.asus.com

Screen one

Top-spec models get a pin-sharp 2880x1800 OLED, stretched across 14.5in, with touch and stylus support plus a satisfyingly smooth 120Hz refresh rate.

Screen two Asus calls this the ScreenPad Plus. It’s a 12.7in touchscreen that works just like a second monitor, except it’s sitting right there above your keyboard.

Screen lean

If you look closely you’ll see that the ScreenPad Plus isn’t flat with the keyboard keys: it’s slightly raised for a smooth transition from the keyboard and the big display.

Dyson Zone

Are incredibly expensive noise-cancelling headphones with air purification what the world has been waiting for? We’ll find out this year when the freaky Dyson Zone goes on sale. Pull the detachable visor down and it looks like you’ve stuck a Dyson vacuum on your head, but we can’t fault the impressive amount of engineering on show. Tiny compressors in each earcup pump filtered air to your nose and mouth, cancelling out pollution as you listen to top-tier Bluetooth audio through 40mm speaker drivers. A trio of EQ presets (picked through a phone app) have been tuned for clarity and low distortion. R25 500 (import) / dyson.com

Killing noise

There are 11 mics, eight dedicated to noise-cancelling. As well as muting the outside world, they also silence the sound of the filtration system’s own motors.

Killing nasties

Dyson says its purifying tech captures 99% of particle pollution, and works using electrostatic filters that target the nasty gases found in inner cities.

Killing time

You can expect 50hrs of listening in audio-only mode, but that plummets to just 4hrs with the purification system engaged. Charging takes around 3hrs over USB-C.

Samsung Galaxy Watch5

For a while it seemed like Samsung was the only firm interested in challenging the Apple Watch, and its latest Galaxy wearable is an excellent alternative if you prefer Android life. The 5 and 5 Pro are both good-looking things with long battery life and lots of sensors. from R6 000 / samsung.com

Garmin Fenix 7

Garmin’s Fenix range has won many fans with its focus on sport and fitness, and the 7 is mighty impressive. Its 18-day battery life makes rivals look pathetic, and with military toughness and multiple buttons for fast access to key features it’s ideal for all kinds of outdoor larks. from R13 500/ garmin.com

Meta Quest 3

The next iteration of ‘Facebook on your face’ is due this year, and rumours suggest it’ll be way more powerful than the pictured Quest 2, with improved processing power and resolution. Multiple reports say that this time around Meta will be delivering MR/AR rather than just VR. R9000 (est) / meta.com

WEARABLES

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds II

Some rivals may sound ever so slightly more exciting, but the active noise-cancellation here is spectacular and the sound quality is superb. That makes these the perfect partners for holiday travel, commuting or just catching up on podcasts while walking around.

R8 000 / takealot.com

Apple AR/VR

Apple’s debut headset will be too expensive for most of us: the first gen is really aimed at app developers and is expected to cost over R37 000. The consumer version will be a lot cheaper (by Apple standards); most importantly, it’ll show us if the company has a compelling vision for VR.

Rtba / apple.com

Nothing Ear 1

Whatever you think of the brand name and the PR puff, these are impressively lightweight ANC headphones that deliver decent audio at a nice price. They’re among the lightest buds of their type, and have the same retro-futuristic design ethos as the clever Nothing Phone.

R2 400 / nothingtech.co.za

Google Pixel Watch

Like the Pixel phones, this watch has a simple goal: to deliver the most pure Wear OS experience possible in an affordable, stylish device. Google’s acquisition of Fitbit means the Pixel Watch is a skilled fitness tracker, and while it’s best paired with a Pixel phone it’s a really good option for any Android user. from R9 725 / geewiz.co.za

Oura Ring Gen3

If you’d rather wear something more discreet than a watch, Oura has the perfect solution. Its third-gen Ring comes in a range of metal finishes and sizes, and monitors your sleep, activity, temperature, heart rate, stress and more. It runs for up to a week between charges.

R6 100 (import) / ouraring.com

Apple Watch Ultra

A titanium case, the brightest display of any Apple Watch and a new night mode make this ideal for extreme sports. It’ll last 36hrs between top-ups, stretchable to 60hrs. Huge overkill for staying on top of your emails and texts; but as a hi-tech status symbol, it’s the ultimate.

R20 000 / incredible.co.za

We’re including earphones here – well, they are wearable – but would you dare to go out in Dyson’s sci-fi cosplay headclamp?

Sonos Ray & Sub Mini

Sonos speakers, subwoofers and soundbars deliver great audio but the cost of getting on board has always been quite high. Not any more. These are Sonos’s most affordable bar and sub yet, and punch way above their price tags. Adding one of each to your home cinema setup will turn every episode of Vikings into an event.

R5 900 & R12 000 / takealot.com

Apple AirPods Max 2

The AirPods Max (pictured) are getting on a bit. Good as they are, they lack hi-res audio support and their high price is hard to justify compared to rivals from Sony and Sennheiser. Rumours predict a 2023 update with truly lossless audio, USB-C and hopefully a case that isn’t so silly.

Rtba / apple.com

Yamaha RX-A6A

Yamaha’s AV receivers are elite-smelling products for people who are serious about sound quality, and the RX-A6A really does not disappoint: with 9.2 channels at 150W per channel and AI-powered DSP, it delivers exceptional audio from any source, wired or wireless. R43 000 (import) / yamaha.com

B&W PX8 007 Edition

Yes, this special edition of some already special headphones celebrates all things 007, with neat touches like the ‘midnight blue’ colourway inspired by Bond’s dinner jacket in Dr No . But it’s what they sound like that really matters, and they sound incredible: neither shaken nor stirred, just punchy and clear.

R14 500 (import) / bowerswilkins.com

SOUND & VISION

Sony HT-A7000

This soundbar will upgrade any telly from skinny to sensational. It’s a 7.1.2 system with 11 amp channels, 500W of power, up-firing drivers for 3D audio and five front speakers for a wider surround effect. It supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X and has a dual subwoofer for positively seismic bass.

R36 000 / takealot.com

LG C3

Last year’s C2 could be the best OLED choice for many people thanks to its improved panel, which delivers much brighter images than the first-gen sets. But the C3 has just been launched and it’s better still, with even better brightness, great software and a new generation of image processing.

Rtba / lg.com

Bose Home Speaker 500

Much as we love smart speakers, we don’t always love the way they sound: many are made by firms whose expertise isn’t really in audio tech. And that’s why we like this Bose so much: while not as wide-sounding as separate stereo speakers, it delivers properly room-filling sound.

R9 000 / loot.co.za

Grado SR325x

If you want the ultimate cans for home listening without having to remortgage that home, you’ll love these open-backed Grados. They’re loads of fun, and while they make you look a bit like an air traffic controller you won’t care when you experience what they can do.

R7 500 / audicoonline.co.za

Sony XR-55A90J

Sony’s Master Series tellies offer very high specs and, in this case, exceptional contrast and HDR. There’s the usual Sony mess of acronyms, all of which contribute to a hugely impressive picture, with actuators behind the screen and twin subwoofers for punchy audio.

R32 400 (import) / sony.co.uk

If you can’t decide whether to go out or stay in watching telly and listening to Phil Collins, these beauties might sway you

Samsung QN900B

If you want the best TV money can buy, this could well be it. Available in 65, 75 and 85in sizes, it uses Quantum Mini LED tech to deliver OLED-quality visuals with much higher brightness and without any fear of screen burn. It’s everything you’d expect from a high-spec Samsung – complete with an incredibly powerful image processor, an almost bezel-less frame and tons of tech to deliver vivid visuals from any source. And while this 8K model is aimed at the oligarch end of the market, its skills are filtering down to more affordable tellies: the current Samsung Neo QLED range starts at R20 000. R68 000 / hificorp.co.za

Emitting

Like OLED, Mini LED displays don’t need to be backlit: their pixels are self-emissive and glow on demand. That allows for accurate images without light-bleed.

Nitting

This TV shines at up to 4000 nits.

To say that’s a lot would be an understatement: a similar-specced OLED will deliver peak brightness of around 800 nits.

Fitting

The borders around television screens have been getting smaller and smaller in recent years – and on this Samsung they’re almost non-existent.

Canon EOS R6 Mark II

Smartphones might have made entry-level digital cameras look as relevant as blank cassettes, but enthusiasts are still well catered for by models like the EOS R6 Mark II. This versatile CSC is a big step up over its predecessor, with a new full-frame sensor that can pump out 24.2MP stills at 40fps. It can also record 4K at 60fps, and the built-in image stabilisation is good for eight stops when paired with one of Canon’s RF lenses. It’s up against fierce competition from the likes of Fuji, Sony and Nikon, which have a wider selection of lenses, but few can match it for all-round ability.

R52 000 (body) / ormsdirect.co.za

Stacking

A battery rated for 760 shots should mean you won’t run out of puff during a typical day of stills shooting, unless you’re going mad with the 40fps burst mode.

Tracking

Subject-tracking

autofocus now goes beyond people and animals to include cars, bikes, trains and planes – so there can be no excuse for blurry shots.

Packing

At 670g without a lens but including the battery and memory card, this Canon is fairly light. That’s something you’ll be glad of on a long shoot or street snapping.

GoPro Hero11 Black

With a recent cut taking a bit off the retail price, the Hero11 Black is even better value for money. It’s got a new larger image sensor delivering 5.3K resolution and 24.7MP stills, it’s waterproof to 10m and built to withstand all kinds of lumps and bumps, and its battery life is even better than that of the previous model.

R11 500 / capeunionmart.co.za

Sony ZV-1

The promotional images of hip young vloggers make it clear who this compact camera is aimed at. The ZV-1 does live streaming and up to 4K video recording, and it includes a directional mic with a wind-shield to remove noise. The multi-angle LCD and body grip make it easy to hold and use.

R13 000 / ormsdirect.co.za

Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mk IV

Olympus’s OM range is all about DSLR-style cameras with Micro Four-Thirds sensors, for high image quality with reduced size and weight. This entry-level model has a 20MP sensor, image stabilisation and a tilting LCD viewfinder. R19 800 / krafts.co.za

DJI Pocket 2

It looks like something a doctor would stick in your ear, but the Pocket 2 is a clever little camera with a built-in three-axis gimbal for smooth, stable shooting, 180° panoramas and automatic subject tracking. Despite its tiny size it’s capable of shooting at 4K at 60fps and taking 64MP stills with up to 8x zoom.

R7 500 / mydrone.co.za

PHOTOGRAPHY

Instax Square SQ1

Fuji’s cheeky little shooter/printer is essentially a Polaroid camera for the selfie generation, taking good shots even in low light then printing them as 62x62mm photos in roughly 90 seconds. It runs off a pair of CR2 batteries and can hold up to 10 pieces of Instax Square film – fun for a night out.

R2 200 / kameraz.com

Instax Square Link

Fancy shooting with your phone instead? Fuji has you covered there too. The small and light Square Link printer uses the same film and can print photos, and collages via Bluetooth. Its app can also take your printed photos and turn them into AR images and animations to share.

R2 600 / outdoorphoto.co.za

Nikon Z FC Black

You’ll fall in love with this mirrorless marvel before you even see its specs thanks to its retro design, which echoes Nikon’s classic film SLRs. Inside there’s a 20.9MP sensor capable of shooting 4K at up to 30fps, with a flip-out viewfinder. The matching 16-50mm pancake lens (+R6 000) is ideal for street photography. R20 000 / kloppers.co.za

DJI Mini SE

DJI’s affordable drone has fine specs for the money: 30mins’ flying time, HD transmission over distances up to 4km, and a 2.7K camera on a threeaxis gimbal for smooth shooting in all conditions. It’s as light as a phone and just as easy to use, and you can add propeller guards to protect kids/pets/vases.

R7 000 / dronegear.co.za

Sony A7R V

The fifth-gen A7R adds AI-assisted AF, astonishingly accurate subject detection and 8K video to its tricks, alongside the same 61MP full-frame sensor as the outgoing model – aided by Bionz XR image processing. It’s pricey, but delivers top-hole still image quality and video with very low noise.

R85 000 (body) / ormsdirect.co.za

If you’re the sort of person who doesn’t believe anything truly exists until you’ve taken a picture of it, capture this lot

Apex Smart Bike

If you love the idea of a Peloton bike but don’t love the price, the Apex Smart Bike is an impressive and much more affordable option. The enclosed flywheel delivers a smoother experience than traditional wheels and isn’t a risk to nearby children or pets, and the adjustable tablet holder enables you to use the app of your choice rather than limiting you to Apex’s own. It provides telemetry data over Bluetooth, it’s easy to adjust the resistance and there’s even a wireless charger built in, so you can top up your tab while cruising to yet another well-earned imaginary yellow jersey.

R14 500 (import)/ apexrides.com

Slates

You’ve heard of BYOB; this is BYOT: bring your own tablet. The Apex app is available for both iOS and Android – but while it’s recommended, it’s not compulsory.

Weights

In addition to giving your legs a stretch, you can use the 2kg hand weights in spin classes and other workouts to give your upper body some attention too.

Liberates

The 4kg flywheel has adjustable resistance, but the lightweight Apex is a lot smoother and quieter than many other home bikes, and easier to move around too.

Fitbit Charge 6

We’re expecting the sixth-gen Charge to launch early this year with incremental improvements over the pictured fifth-gen model. It should bring improved battery life and new features that we’ve seen in rival devices, such as stress measurements and improved notifications… and much better Google integration. R3 000 (est) / fitbit.com

Hydrow Rower

With a 22in touchscreen, over 4000 view workouts filmed in some often breathtaking locations and a high-quality build, the Hydrow is the Peloton of rowing machines, with a similar sub-based service. It folds away for easy storage when you’re done.

R41 000 (import) / hydrow.com

Peloton Bike+

The Bike+ takes Peloton’s winning fitness formula and extends it to include total body workouts as well as the trademark bike stuff that made the brand famous. It relies on the same streaming video classes to keep you motivated, and it integrates with Apple’s GymKit.

R37 000 (import) / onepeloton.co.uk

Coros Apex 2

This is a rugged smartwatch for serious outdoor athletes who enjoy misery. It offers 17 days of battery life with normal use, or 45hrs with full GPS. This is one of the best-looking watches around, with a sapphire screen, a scratch-resistant titanium bezel and a choice of case colours: grey, black or coral.

Rtba / coroswearables.co.za

SPORT & FITNESS

Vaha Fitness Mirror

The Vaha is no ordinary mirror. When you wake it up, it tells you who is the fairest of them all – or rather, who’s the fittest. That’s because it’s home to a large touchscreen that can deliver body analysis plus hundreds of workouts and on-demand video classes.

R26 500 (import)/ vaha.com

Jabra Elite 5

These gym-ready earbuds deliver excellent sound quality, good performance in voice calls and highly effective ANC, with 7hrs of listening time rising to 28hrs via the included wireless charging case. An IP55 rating means they’re ideal for bad-weather outdoor sports as well as sweaty indoor ones.

R2 350 / loot.co.za

HidrateSpark Pro Steel

This vacuum-insulated stainless steel water bottle doesn’t just keep your drink cold – which is just as well given the price. Its LED ‘puck’ pulses to remind you when it’s time to drink, and it logs your water intake via Bluetooth sync to an app so you can include it alongside your other tracking data.

R1 600 (import) / apple.com

Garmin Vivomove Style

Garmin watches tend to be quite rugged-looking, but the Vivomove Style is more of a chic statement. It comes in a range of colours, looks great on any size of wrist and transforms from trad-looking watch to full-on digital health and fitness tracker with a single tap. from R5 800 / garmin.com

Shokz OpenRun

Shokz specialises in the magic of bone-conduction, meaning its headphones transmit audio through the bones of your skull instead of into your ear canals – ideal for runners who want to be aware of the world around them. There’s also a swimming model.

R2 500 / sportsmanswarehouse.co.za

Once this spread would have featured a football, a skipping rope and a set of darts; in 2023, this techy kit will have to do

SteelSeries Arctis Pro Nova Wireless

These aren’t just superb gaming headphones, although that’s their main job: they’re superb headphones full stop, and are just as happy delivering a detailed and nuanced musical performance as they are serving up explosions and 3D audio in fast-paced games.

R7 500 / incredible.co.za

Microsoft Adaptive Accessories

This range is designed to help with some of the most common accessibility issues that prevent people from getting the most from their PCs. And it’s not just about boring old productivity, but gaming too: there’s a joystick and a D-pad. from R400 / microsoft.com

GAMING

Secretlab Titan Evo 2022 Series

Get your arse in gear – because poor posture and inadequate body support can do serious damage over long gaming sessions. A good chair is a must, and this one has a huge range of customisation options that make it perfect for almost any gamer’s cheeks.

R6 400 (import) / secretlab.co.uk

DualSense Edge Wireless Controller

Sony’s latest pro-level controller makes the Xbox effort below look positively bargainy. While the DualSense is already viewed as one of the best gamepads ever made for any console, the Edge ups the ante with mappable buttons, swappable key caps and adjustable trigger lengths.

R4 400 / koodoo.co.za

Nintendo Switch 2

The Switch hasn’t changed much since it launched six years ago, even if the OLED version (above) is a nice screen upgrade. But rumours abound of a Switch 2 that will bring more processing power, 4K visuals and friendlier controls. We like these rumours.

Rtba / nintendo.com

PS5 (2023)

We’re expecting to finally see the PS5 Pro in 2024, but this year it seems Sony is going to launch a new PS5 model with an optional external disc drive and similar specs to the current version (pictured). Where the PS5 Pro will be all about power, this model could be more like the PS4 Slim.

Rtba / playstation.com

Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2

With adjustable tension in the thumbsticks, shorter hair-trigger locks and a rubberised grip, this pro-spec controller will give you the edge whether you’re an FPS fan or an esports nerd. And it’s supremely customisable thanks to its swappable components and multiple user profiles.

R3 500 / takealot.com

Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090

This is going to be the year of ultra-realistic raytracing and spectacular performance thanks to the next-gen Nvidia GeForce and AMD Radeon graphics cards. And the chip shortages have gone, so here’s hoping for some falling prices. from R32 000 (import) / nvidia.com

LG 27in UltraGear OLED Gaming Monitor

120Hz displays are so 2022: this year’s LG OLED monitors offer 240Hz refresh rates with vivid colour and this one has WQHD resolution, HDR10 and 0.03ms latency. Prices will soon come down.

R17 000 (import) / lg.com

PlayStation VR2

You know VR headsets are getting expensive when the PSVR2, which costs as much as the PS5 you plug it into, seems cheap compared to the Meta Quest Pro and Apple’s imminent AR/VR effort. It’s a lot of cash, but it’s a lot of fun too. Sony’s second-gen PSVR addresses everything we hated about the original: it has a high-res display, it doesn’t require lots of cabling and an expansion box, and it has brilliant controllers plus eye-tracking and 3D audio. It’s going to be fantastic, and the games for it are already looking tasty – we can’t wait to battle giant robots in Horizon Call of the Mountain R13 400 / loot.co.za

Move on

The days of waggling Move controllers are long gone. The PSVR2 Sense controllers feel great, have adaptive triggers and serve up haptic feedback.

Shine on

Each lens of the headset delivers 2K resolution, so you’re getting a 4K VR experience. That’s way better than the original PSVR, which was a bit low-res.

Lock on

Eye-tracking enables the PSVR2 to use a technique called foveated rendering: it knows what you’re looking at and maximises the resolution accordingly.

Nescafe Dolce Gusto Neo

When Cliff Richard lost his way, he turned to God. But nowadays everyone’s turning to pod – and the Neo is Nestle’s attempt to kick off a new generation of pod-based coffee machines. Its SmartBrew tech uses different brewing methods for espressos, americanos or drip-style coffee, and it automatically recognises each kind of pod, adjusting accordingly. Naturally there’s an app, enabling you to fine-tune your order remotely. But perhaps best of all, the pods are responsibly sourced and compostable, and use much less packaging than most, while the machine has been designed to be easy to repair and recycle.

Rtba / nestle.com

Tweaking

The app enables you to customise various aspects of your coffee, including the temperature, but it’s easy to switch back to the defaults.

Seeking

Nestle says the Neo took five years to develop because of the issue of getting nice coffee out of fully sustainable pods. Over 200 pod designs were tried out.

Not leaking

The answer was a biodegradable biopolymer lining, thinner than a human hair, to protect the coffee from oxidation. The outer pod is made from paper.

Sage Super Q

Sage’s top-spec blender is a much more tempting proposition after a recent price cut, and it delivers incredible power with its 2400W motor. Yet it’s pretty quiet thanks to intelligent cooling and noise suppression. If you want even smoother smoothies, it’s compatible with Sage’s Vac Q vacuum pump (R2 000). R7 000 (import) / sageappliances.com

Dyson Gen5 Detect

This promises to be Dyson’s most powerful and longest-lasting cordless vac. There’s a new filtration system, the same laser tech found in the V15 Detect model and an even more powerful digital motor with improved suction. It’s unlikely to be cheap, though.

R18 000 (est) / dyson.com

Apple HomePod 2

Apple’s smart speakers (above) are due an upgrade, and multiple reports say Apple is working on new HomePod models including one with a touchscreen display for smart home control. We’re hoping that means the return of big HomePods, maybe without the big price. Rtba / apple.com

THE KITCHEN

Instant Duo Crisp with Ultimate Lid Air Fryer and Instant Pot

The ultimate kitchen appliance? This is an Instant Pot with all the usual slow-cooking and pressure-cooking features, but press a button in the lid and it reveals a heating element and fan that turn it into an air fryer… with delicious results.

Rtba / instantpot.co.za

Ninja Air Fryer Max

This is the best of the bigger air fryers. It has a round drawer that’s easy to clean, and its 5.2L capacity makes it ideal for feeding large families. There’s a digital timer and simple touch controls for baking, crisping, roasting and more – and it’s not bad-looking, for a big grey pot.

R3 100 (import) / ninjakitchen.co.uk

Sage Smart Kettle

An ordinary kettle just won’t do for the discerning tea-lover of today. That’s why this one has five temperature settings to cover every kind of brew, no matter how delicate, plus a handy ‘keep warm’ button. You can even see how it’ll look in your kitchen with Sage’s AR app.

R2 100 (import) / sage appliances. com

DeLonghi

PrimaDonna Elite

Oh, DeLonghi, you had us at ‘connected coffee machine’. The PrimaDonna Elite works with the firm’s app, letting you choose your favourite slurp or create your own bespoke brews. It’s got touchscreen controls, and can even make two different drinks simultaneously.

R29 570 / takealot.com

Bosch Series 8 Ovens

These canny cookers have Bosch’s Home Connect tech, so you can remotely control them from anywhere, including pausing cooking if your plans change. Plus you can download recipes to the app and then send their instructions to your oven over Wi-Fi. from R12 900 / hirschs.co.za

Meater Block

We’re big fans of the Meater Plus, the Bluetooth thermometer for roasting and barbecuing. The Block is even smarter, and with an even longer range of 50m. It comes with four remote probes, clever cooking time estimators and an app that’s as useful as it is straightforward. from R9 000 / yuppiechef.co.za

It’s our favourite bit of the house – if only because the biscuits live there – so treat it to some intelligent new appliances

FIRSTADDTHESE…

APPLE iPHONE 14 PRO

ONE BELKIN ULTRAGLASS SCREEN PROTECTOR

Apple’s phones hold onto their value better than any other kind, so you can sell them for a tidy sum even after a year or two… unless, that is, you have a nasty ding, scratch or crack in the screen. So save yours with Belkin’s thin yet strong UltraGlass screen protector. (The 14 Pro Max version is the same price.)

R320 / takealot.com

TWO DJI MIC

With powerful new 48MP cameras, the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max capture fine 4K footage; but if you’re in a windy or loud environment and want to drown out the background noise, their mics need some help. Plug in DJI’s receiver and use its two wireless mics to feed quality sound to your video. Each one also works as a standalone sound recorder.

R7 300 / ormsdirect.co.za

THREE ANKER NANO 3

Upgrading from an iPhone X or older? Your old power plug has a full-sized USB port, but the cable that comes with all new iPhones plugs into the wall charger via a USB-C port. Anker is on hand with a tiny solution: the Nano 3. Fuelling your phone at up to 30W using GaN charging tech, it’s small, convenient and neat in classic white or cutesy lilac.

R400 (import) / anker.com

1 DON’T BE DISTRACTED

Whether you’re a phone addict or are letting your kid use yours for vital TikTok work, the 14 Pro’s billion-colour display is hard to ignore. But you can dial things back in the settings. Select Accessibility > Display and Text Size > Colour Filters; toggle it on, and choose Greyscale. Then go to Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap > Double Tap, and select Colour Filters. Now two taps of the back will kill the colour.

NOWTRY THIS… THENGETTHESE…

4 CONTROL YOURSELF

One of the most-used features of any iPhone is the Control Centre – that pull-down menu that gives you quick access to tools and settings. But if you don’t need Music Recognition or an Apple TV Remote a few swipes away, open Settings > Control Centre to zap old ones and add new ones. You can pick from loads of handy shortcuts including a QR code scanner, Voice Memos, Alarm and Notes.

2 DECORATE THE WALL

If you’ve changed wallpaper on an iPhone in the past, it’s been a very 2D affair: you just chose an image and that was that. Now, from your lock screen, if you just long-press your wallpaper and select Customise, the fun begins. As you choose your photo, take advantage of iOS 16’s depth detection with a foreground and background element, switch out typefaces and filters – and maybe even add widgets.

3 TURN THE LIGHTS OFF

As much as you love your new wallpaper, you probably want to turn it off once in a while – but dimming your screen all the way on the 14 Pro and Pro Max isn’t easy. That’s because the always-on display keeps your whole screen slightly lit up even when on standby. If flipping your phone face-down doesn’t scratch the itch, navigate to Settings > Display & Brightness > Always On, and toggle it off

PROMOVIE RECORDER

Unlike a lot of Androids, iPhones don’t give you manual control over photos and video. This app lets you adjust ISO, focus, shutter speed and more. Rfree (IAP)

STREAKS

Struggling to make good habits stick?

Try this fun app, which enjoys great Apple Watch support. You can set habits, adjust their frequency and check them off on your phone. R105

5 LEAP INTO ACTION

Action Mode gives the iPhone 14 series GoPro-grade stabilisation. Activating it is easy – open the camera app, tap Video, and look for the little running person (it probably has a line through it). Tap it to activate and you’re now in Action Mode. To get the best performance, though, there’s one more step: switch from the default 0.5x zoom to 1x. This switches to the main camera, which is better in low light.

6 CAM CLOSER

Have you noticed that, whenever you get close to a subject, your iPhone switches cameras and quality drops? The main camera can’t focus quite as close-up as the ultrawide, so your phone automatically switches. But as we’ve just seen, that main cam is better. To take back control of your macro photography, go to Settings > Camera > Macro Control. Turn it on, and now you’ll get an override option.

FITNESS+

The latest iOS update adds Fitness+ support even if you don’t have an Apple Watch. Open the Fitness app, tap Fitness+ and (as long as you subscribe) enjoy workouts galore. R210/m

FIRSTADDTHESE…

GOPRO HERO11 BLACK

ONE GOPRO MEDIA MOD

GoPros might seem like action cams through and through, but they support a rich suite of accessories that turn them into vlogging powerhouses – and our favourite is the Media Mod. Slide your camera into it, and the Mod upgrades the audio with a better microphone, brings video out and mic in, and adds an easily accessible charging port.

R2 100 / ormsdirect.co.za

TWO MAXCAM POWER TRIPLE BATTERY CHARGER

One of our biggest gripes with GoPros is the need for spare batteries when out on a shoot. If you capture long clips, you’ll want two or three spares to get you through a full day, and charging those spares is a pain – unless you have this charger. It takes up to three batteries, and is refuelled via a USB-C port. R370 (import) / amazon.co.uk

THREE RODE WIRELESS GO II

If you’ve picked up a Media Mod, you can boost your sound quality by plugging in any mic system that uses a 3.5mm jack. A fine option for anyone who vlogs or shoots a couple of different presenters is this Rode. Just plug the receiver into the Mod, hook up the two mics to your subjects, and you can capture multi-person content with pro sound.

R5 315 / bothners.co.za

1 SUBSCRIBE, IF YOU CAN

There’s this great idea called a GoPro subscription. For US$50 / R850 a year subscribers can buy GoPros direct for less, get discounts on accessories, unlimited cloud storage and more benefits. IF they live in eligible countries, that is - and South Africa isn’t eligible. Why not? We’re a big enough market for many of the benefits. Do something about it, GoPro. storage and more benefits.

NOWTRY THIS… THENGETTHESE…

4 PING ME THE HORIZON

The Hero11 Black delivers best-in-class horizon locking. That means you can shoot video and spin through a 360° loop with your footage looking perfectly steady. Activate Horizon Lock at up to 5.3K resolution by entering video mode, tapping the Digital Lens button at the bottom right and selecting Linear + Horizon Lock. Once that’s active, you can set your resolution and framerate.

2 TAKE IT EASY

This GoPro introduces an Easy mode so you can capture high-quality footage even if you’re using an action cam for the first time. While past GoPros forced you to make some decisions – resolution, framerate, angle of view and more – this one can handle all that. To activate Easy mode, swipe down for quick toggles, swipe from right to left, then select Controls, then Easy.

3 PAINT IT NOT-BLACK

The new Light Painting mode, which uses a mix of timelapse footage and computational photography, is a lot of fun and creates charming night-time clips. Ensuring you’ve got Pro controls active, navigate to Time Lapse and choose Light Painting in the modes menu. Using a light source like a phone torch, get in frame and draw pictures with light in a dark space – the results look great.

DAVINCI RESOLVE

This is a powerful editing tool, a bit of an industry darling, that’s recently been ported to new iPads with M1 or M2 chips. from Rfree / iPadOS, macOS, Windows

GOPRO QUIK

Even if you don’t have an action cam, the Quik app is a nifty tool for cropping video and turning your phone’s clips into lively musical montages. from Rfree / Android, iOS

5 CROP IT LIKE IT’S HOT

The camera’s 8:7 aspect ratio at 5.3K is almost square, and that makes it perfectly suited to being cropped into either landscape or portrait. And the GoPro Quik phone app (see right) makes this easy. Once you’ve transferred your footage over wirelessly, you’ll find a full range of preset ratios to choose from – so whether you’re cropping for Insta, TikTok or YouTube, you’ll be golden.

6 KEEP STILL

Stills from your footage can make crisp, croppable 24.7MP snaps – but to get max-quality grabs you’ll need to be shooting in 8:7 aspect ratio, not 16:9. We recommend making a custom preset for easy access by shooting in Pro mode, navigating to Video, tapping the horizontal bar in the middle of the screen and creating a new shooting profile with maximum resolution at 8:7.

LIGHTROOM

If you’re enjoying the GoPro’s RAW photo capture, you’ll want an app to edit the pictures – and Lightroom really is the best RAW editor available. Rfree / Android, iOS, iPadOS, macOS, Windows

iPadOS & macOS

Apple kit

THE BASICS

Manage multitasking

Strap in! Apple’s added a new windowing system to the Mac and iPad: Stage Manager. This is like a simplified take on Mac windows. You’ll need a 2018 or newer iPad Pro, or an M1 iPad Air – and only M1/M2 iPads get upcoming external display support. (Note: you can still use Split View on iPad and normal windows on Mac.)

Boost browsing

Safari now supports Passkeys, which will eventually consign passwords to oblivion. Until then, you can edit suggested strong passwords to deal with site-specific demands. Website settings and extensions sync between devices, and you can share tab groups, to organise events or inflict your terrible taste in websites on others.

Tweak toolbars

Apple talks about the iPad now having ‘desktop-class apps’. No, that doesn’t (yet) mean Final Cut for iPad – it’s mostly about the company laying the groundwork for consistent desktoppy features in iPadOS. The most notable is custom toolbars in apps such as Mail. Tap ‘…’ and Customise Toolbar, then drag and drop items to suit your needs.

Change chats

A FaceTime call comes in, but you answer it on the wrong device. You hapless buffoon! But if your devices use the same Apple ID and are close, you can simply tap or click the FaceTime banner that appears. The call (and wireless headphones) will switch over. You can also kick off FaceTime calls from shared docs – tap the Collaborate button and select audio or video.

Tidy tasks

In Reminders, tap the new Completed list to bask in the glory of cleared tasks, ordered by date. Tap-hold/control-click lists in the sidebar to pin your favourites. In the Today list, use ‘…’ (iPad) or control-click (Mac) and choose ‘Group by Time’ to arrange items into morning, afternoon and tonight, to see when they’re meant to be done.

Mappy days are here again

You can now add and rearrange multiple stops in Maps. To use Handoff to get a route to your iPhone, tap the banner in the app switcher.

SET THE STAGE

Turn it on

Stage Manager is activated in Control Centre, which on iPad also allows you to save space by auto-hiding the dock and list of recent apps. Newly launched apps will open in this view, which brings overlapping app windows to iPadOS.

Mix and match

The ‘recent apps’ area will display four apps and let you switch between them. You can also pair apps for these slots via drag and drop. On iPad, this is where Stage Manager’s power lies, vastly speeding up working with multiple apps.

As Apple’s tablet and desktop systems continue to nick each other’s ideas, Stuff finds the best bits of iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura to maximise your harmonised

CONNECT A CAM

Use effects

During a video call, move your iPhone close to your Mac and it should offer to replace your webcam. If not, select it in the app’s input sources. In Control Centre > Video Effects, explore Centre Stage, Portrait and Studio Light effects.

Share your desk

Clip your iPhone to your Mac and turn on Desk View. This uses the ultrawide camera to show a straight-down view. Share it during FaceTime calls (by pressing the Desk View button, then Share Desk View). This setup works best with flat objects.

NEW APPS FOR MACS

SHARPEN SEARCHES

Use Quick Look

The tiny Spotlight preview pane has gone from macOS. Instead, select a search result and press the space bar for a full Quick Look preview. Within, you can listen to audio or browse PDFs.

Find more facts

Search for a film or song on iPad or Mac and you’ll now get richer results. Look for a subject and Spotlight will start rifling through your photos – and web images too. On Mac, location-based searches are also shown.

Start actions

There are third-party Mac launchers that bake in actions, and now Spotlight takes a step in that direction. On Mac, type Shazam and Spotlight will tell you what’s playing. Type Timer or Alarm and you can define details to send to the Clock app.

POWER UP PICS

Edit in batches

In Photos on iPad, you can copy and batch-paste edits. Tap-hold an edited image and choose Copy Edits. Use the Select button to pick several photos and then Paste Edits to apply your improvements to them all. You can easily revert to the originals later.

Isolate a subject

Tap-hold a subject in a photo or illustration to ‘lift’ it from the background. Copy or share it via the menu, or drag it to Files or another app. The cutouts aren’t perfect, but they’re OK for social media or as a starting point in an art app.

WEATHER

Astonishingly, neither iPadOS nor macOS had the Weather app until now. It makes good use of screen space by letting you see a lot of information at once; also, tap a pane and it reveals more – most notably an animated precipitation map ripped right from Dark Sky.

CLOCK

Apple shoved a clock in the Mac menu bar back in 1994. Now there’s a full Clock app – which, oddly, isn’t accessed from the one in the menu bar. Ho-hum. Instead, it’s launched from the Applications folder and looks identical to the iPad’s Clock app. It’s solid, and very handy.

SYSTEM SETTINGS

System Preferences on macOS is gone, hurrah… only System Settings isn’t much better. Again the design seems to have been lobbed over from iPadville. Get used to using the search field and wondering who set fire to macOS interface conventions.

Pokemon Scarlet&Violet

Nintendo’s billion-dollar series is at its most revolutionary with a new open world and multiple story paths, but it’s marred by presentation and performance issues

R960/ loot.co.za

There’s hardly been a shortage of Pokemon games on the Switch, but Scarlet and Violet are the ones fans have been waiting for… perhaps for their entire lives. The mainline series’ ninth generation finally delivers a true open-world Pokemon experience.

This latest doseis available in two versions with slight differences in content. We played the Scarlet one, but the setup in either case is the same: you create your own character before embarking on a

journey to become a Pokemon trainer in the Paldearegion.

You soon realise the familiar structure has been completely shakenup. There’s still the goal of becoming the best trainer by battling the region’s gym leaders, but now that’s just one of three storylines. You can also take down a gang of bullies called Team Star, or seek out Titan Pokemon. And you can do it in whatever order you wish.

Well, to an extent. Attempting to take on the toughest gym leader

or capturing a high-level Pokemon without levelling up first will see you getting totally stomped.

There is still one area where Scarlet and Violet cling to tradition, and that’s the turn-based battles, still using the rock-paper-scissors format. The depth here comes from discovering, earning or even crafting new moves.

Compared to the other Pokemon titles on the Switch, these are by far the most ambitious, with a true open world that revitalises the series in the same way Breath of

the Wild did for Zelda.

Yet, despite all the ways Scarlet and Violet should excite both newcomers and veteran fans, it’s almost impossible to ignore just how poorly these games run, as if you’ve paid for an early-access PC title rather than a full-priced Nintendo blockbuster.

Still, if we’re to view this as a proof of concept, it’s certainly the future of the series – and one that we’re more than excited to

be in at ground level for.

Gotta

You’ll still need to fight and weaken a new Pokemon if you want to catch it. The most welcoming development here is that any potential rival trainers you meet will now only initiate a battle when you walk up and talk to them – so you’re no longer forced into a tight route where, like a Friday night in Hull,any eye contact instantly means a fight.

Unique to Scarlet and Violet is how you can briefly buff your Pokemon via an odd mechanic called ‘terastalization’. Basically, with the use of a crystal orb, you turn your Pokemon into a bigger, crystallised version (which also makes for quite a visual trip). You’ll need to recharge the orb between uses so you can’t just spam this, and it’s a mechanic your opponents can also deploy.

Adding to this is how you’ll find plenty of giant crystals randomly placed throughout the world. This allows you to battle and capture a wild terastalized Pokemon in a Tera Raid Battle, which can be done in online co-op or alone (the latter just matches you with three other AI-controlled trainers). It’s a great way of gaining bonus XP, as well as finding Pokemon that might differ in type from ones you normally find in the wild.

catch ’em all, again

Sudowoodo: basically Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo with sweetcorn bits.

The Farigiraf: basically a Girafarig eating its own head.

MAIL OF THE MONTH

QTIMELY TOP TENS

Hi guys. Big fan, I have been reading your mag for years. I have noticed though, that the top 10 list doesn't move much - certainly not in line with recent tech - even some items for which you already have detailed reviews. For example, on the camera front... The xt-5 is now out - and yet the top 2 spots are still old Fujifilms. And the Fujifilm x100v is nowhere on the list of compacts but has been all the rage of late. There have been newer Sony cams released too, that don't feature on the list.Would love to see a refresh on the new year! Even if just on the budget list - please!

Grant

AThanks for your email, you're spot on. We're picking up the pace on our Top Tens, and cameras and budget buys have been categories in need of new reviews and recommendations.

Speak

your

We'll review Fujifilm's new X-T5 – just arrived in SA and priced from R33 500 at ormsdirect.co.za – in our next issue. For now, we’ve got a new No.1 system camera, Sony’s A7 IV – winner of the Stuff Awards on page 25. As for the venerable Fujifilm X100V, we haven’t included it for two reasons. First, it’s hard to find a reliable supply of them, and we don’t want to recommend something readers won’t be able to find. There’s a global shortage, which is why the price has shot up over the last year or so. And secondly, as popular as it is, it’s a bit long in the tooth and doesn’t boast any new technology. Which makes it difficult to explain why a Nokia 3310 has found its way onto this issue’s Top Ten budget buys page.

brains to Stuff and you could win!

This letter wins an HONOR Band 6 worth R1 200 AND HONOR Earbuds Lite worth R1 400!

QGIFT OF THE GIVER

Christmas wasn’t a big success in our house. We agreed on very small gifts for adults but my wife didn’t stick to the agreement. I got her the Logitech mouse from your Christmas wish list. But my wife ignored the whole plan and surprised me with a car. A car! I feel

like a complete loser. She thinks it’s very funny and says that’s the way she wanted it but I can’t leave it like this. She’s also tech mad and we both read the Wish List but she won’t now choose another gift. We certainly can’t afford another car now. Any ideas in the R2 000 –R4 000 RANGE? Darren

AYou’ve been outplayed, Darren, in the best possible way, and you’ll just have to live with it. You’ve got two options. You can panic and get her an over-the-top gift for its own sake – that’s usually something expensive, shiny, gaudy with a designer label on it somewhere, and probably pointless. The most over-the-top, gaudy and pointless designer gift we’ve found is the magnificent and ludicrous Smeg Dolce & Gabbana 2-slice toaster, available from Yuppiechef for a mere R12 000. Knowing how long toasters last, that’ll probably work out to about R24 per slice of toast. That’s what happens when toaster makers and fashion designers get together. Or you can take her away somewhere amazing in it. Your email shows that you’re Jo’burg based, so take her for a surprise weekend somewhere like Quiet Mountain in the Magaliesberg (quietmountain.co.za). That’s not cheap either, but she’ll get the message.

In the meantime we hope she’s enjoying the mouse.

QANY PORT IN A STORM

I love Stuff and I’ve been a reader for years, so thanks for the mag. I’ve got problems with several of my gadgets with the USB-C ports. My phone and laptop both don’t connect properly or securely. I’ve tried with different charging cables, so it’s not the cable. It’s a hassle because I leave my phone to charge and after an hour it hasn’t charged because any tiny movement dislodges the cable. Any advice for a home fix?

AThe first thing to do is stop jamming the USB-C into the ports, if that’s what you’re doing. You could turn a temporary problem into a permanent one by deforming the port or the plug. The second is to clean the ports. Your phone especially accumulates grit and dust in there that prevents the plug from seating properly. Get a can of compressed air from a hardware store for around R100 and blow the hell out of the ports as regular maintenance. Blow, loosen any debris with a toothpick or soft plastic – not metal – pointy thing and try the port again. If that doesn’t work there are plenty of guys in checked shirts on YouTube telling you how to replace a port yourself. Ignore them. Take the device to a repair shop and let them decide if it’s necessary to open up your phone and possibly replace the port. Not difficult for a phone, but may not be possible on a laptop where the port is part of the motherboard.In short, USB-C ports require maintenance, or you’ll pay a price.

TIPS & TRICKS

iOS 16 finally allows for haptic feedback in its stock keyboard. Head to Settings, Sound and Haptics, choose ‘Keyboard feedback’ and tap the Haptic option.

See the juice – go to Settings, select Battery, and toggle ‘Battery percentage’ to see how much juice you have left.

iPhone 14 Pro Max

from R29 500 / incredible.co.za

Apple’s new flagship 14 Pro Max replaces the 13 Pro Max and moves up on our list, mostly thanks to being the latest and greatest from Apple – and that new A16 Bionic chipset also helps. The battery life, camera array, and almost everything else is identical to the slightly smaller 14 Pro but you do get a bigger battery here. If you’ve got big hands and want the best iPhone, this is the one. Whether it can hold its top position will depend on Samsung’s new lineup, which should be announced by the time you read this.

Stuff says

The largest iPhone for those with the largest hands and bank balance

NOW ADD THIS

APPLE MAGSAFE CHARGER

iPhones don’t come with a charger in the box. Ditch the cables and go wireless with this one. R870 / incredible.co.za

Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra

R30 000 / samsung.com/za

This will very likely be replaced by the S23 Ultra. For now, the S22 Ultra drops a position but still remains the best Android smartphone, with its stellar 6.8in LPTO display, snappy Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, spiffy array of cameras and built-in S Pen. The only gripe we had was the 5,000mAh battery. It doesn’t tend to last as long as you’d expect.

Stuff says

Still the most capable Android smartphone available, for now

Xiaomi 12T Pro

R17 000 / mia.africa.com

Although the 11T Pro can still be found for less than its launch price, the Xiaomi 12T Pro has a few notable improvements that wouldn’t look out of place in a Samsung flagship. They include a formidable 200MP main camera sensor, Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, and a slightly higher resolution for the 6.67in OLED display. That blisteringly fast 120W wired charging makes its return along with a large 5,000mAh battery.

Stuff says Impressive specs and price with minimal corners cut to get there

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iPhone 14 Pro from R26 900 / incredible.co.za

Better value than the Pro Max, and better specs than the non-pro 14.

Samsung Galaxy S22+ from R23 000 / samsung.com/za

A tempting middle ground, but will you regret not going Ultra?

iPhone 14 from R21 500 / incredible.co.za

Minimal upgrades and the same chip as last gen see the base iPhone lower than you might expect.

Samsung Galaxy S22 from R20 000 / samsung.com/za

An S22 without the excess, but it’s outshone by its brethren.

iPhone 13 Mini from R16 000 / takealot.com

The same A15 Bionic chip as the new iPhone 14 and for a whole lot less.

ROG Phone 6 R23 000 / za.store.asus.com

For mobile gaming, this beast absolutely wipes the floor with everything else.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 from R21 000 / samsung.com/za

Finds its way onto our list as the best value foldable you can get in SA.

TIPS & TRICKS

Watch your battery –select Settings and then search for Battery. Select Show battery percentage.

In Settings, type Side Key. This will bring up the various ways you can tweak the A33’s side button.

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Samsung Galaxy A04s

R2 600 / takealot.com

If you’re on a tight budget but want the assurance of the Samsung brand – and its customisable One UI interface – the A04s is a very good bet. A sharp 6.5-in, 90Hz display, decent 50MP camera and video capture, and very good battery life.

Stuff says

Perhaps the best smartphone value for money on the market

Samsung Galaxy A33 5G

R7 300 / samsung.com/za

Our previous budget headliner, the Galaxy A32, is still available from Samsung. But the A33 is better in every way except the price. 5G data speeds, 6GB of RAM, a 90Hz 6.4in OLED display, and 128GB of storage make this a fantastic buy. The camera skills have been upgraded with a new 48MP headliner. But if you’re on a tighter budget, you can still snag the Galaxy A32 for just R4 300.

Xiaomi Note 11 Pro

R6 500 / incredible.co.za

A flagship-grade 6.67in OLED display in a smartphone costing far less than R10k? That alone is reason to take notice. The Note 10’s massive 108MP camera makes the jump, as does 67W charging. Still no 5G, though.

Stuff says

In Settings, search for Navigation Bar. This will let you customise your software button layout, or remove it entirely. 9 10

You can’t quite have everything, but it turns out you can have most of it

Stuff says Samsung’s budget successor manages to be a success, all over again.

The Galaxy A32 features an audio jack. Make good use of it with these excellent budget ‘buds. R150 / sound-magic.co.za

Poco X4 Pro

R7 000 / incredible.co.za

The X4 Pro picks up where the X3 Pro left off. Looks prettier too.

Oppo A16

4 5 BUDGET PHONES TOP TENS 91

R2 550 / makro.co.za

One of the best super-affordable Android smartphones you’ll ever run across. Well done.

Apple iPhone SE (2022)

from R11 600 / incredible.co.za

Slightly more expensive than the last one but a whole lot faster.

Poco M4 Pro

R4 500 / incredible.co.za

Vivo Y33s

R6 000 / avo.africa

If you’re on a tight budget but still want features, the M4 Pro won’t disappoint. 8

A decent all-rounder but Vivo’s operating system still includes too many irritations.

Xiaomi Redmi 10 2022

R4 300 / incredible.co.za

Goes all-in on its camera skills, cuts a few corners in other places.

Samsung Galaxy A73 5G

R11 000 / samsung.com/za

Samsung’s most expensive ‘budget’ phone. Camera skills abound, but that’s about it.

1 FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS VISIT STUFF.CO.ZA OR STUFFSA ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM

Apple iPad Pro (2022)

From R25 000 / incredible.co.za

As we’ve said before: the sun will burn out and there will probably still be an iPad at the top of this list. 2022’s iPad Pro has had a processing boost through its M2 chip. The CPU is now 15% faster than M1, and the GPU 35% faster. These increases are more noticeable for those with heavier workloads – exactly the target user for the Pro tablets. This means the 2022 iPad Pro can play games better than before. It’s also been improved to work better with the also-improved Apple Pencil.

Stuff says

Still marketed as a high-end productivity tool for pro’s, now with M2 speed

Xiaomi Mi Box S

from R1 100 / incredible.co.za

Buying a TV box in SA is a hit or miss, as most of them are massproduced and run on iffy software. Your best bet is opting for a certified Android box, like the Xiaomi Mi Box S. It’s the second of its kind, and can stream content in 4K from a variety of services on the market. Already have a smart TV? Just add the Mi Box S to up its streaming game. It’s also got Chromecast built-in, with some Assistant chops to improve its desirability. The Play Store offers a variety of apps that should impress any content snob.

Stuff says Ready to join the Mi too movement? This is by far the best Android box on the market in SA right now

2 5

Apple iPad Air (2022) from R13 200 / incredible.co.za

Apple’s new iPad Air has landed and it’s bringing the might of Apple Silicon M1 to the company’s lightest tablets. it’s a tough call on whether you should buy an Air or a Pro. But the Pro is still a little bit more capable.

Stuff says

Still the best all-purpose iPad for most folks

3 4

Samsung Galaxy Tab S8+ R22 000 / incredible.co.za

Samsung would love it if you paid R30 000 for the Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra. But the 12in Super AMOLED S8+ will do just fine. There’s S Pen support, an amazingly high-res screen, and scads of power behind the panel.

Stuff says This is the gold standard for Android tablets

Apple iPad (2021) from R7 300 / incredible.co.za

The standard iPad remains as good as it has been every year before.

Samsung Galaxy Tab A7 Lite R3 000 / samsung.com/za

The A7 Lite has much in its favour — solid build, battery legs, decent screen, very decent price.

Google Chromecast 3.0

R1000 / takealot.com

The Chromecast is a cheaper option to smart up your TV, and it works seamlessly. Plug-in, play and cast from your mobile device without hassle. Pair it to a Google Nest and gain more control using Google Assistant.

Stuff says

Cast your dreams to the TV

3

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DSTV STREAMA

R1 100 / takealot.com

DStv’s Streama is a standalone media box for watching DStv and apps including Showmax, Netflix, Prime Video,HBO Max, SuperSport and more. Also offers 4K support.4K picture quality if you have a 4K-capable TV.

Stuff says DStv and more - on a home-grown platform

Apple TV 4K

from R3 000 / takealot.com

If you’re in the Apple ecosystem, might as well cough up for this one. It works. Well.

Mediabox Maverick

R1 570 / takealot.com

This box packs a punch, winning points for being so easy to install.

TIPS & TRICKS

Audio is great, but if you’re looking for the best performance, add a soundbar like the one we’ve listed.

Samsung’s Mini-LED QLED screens are brighter than OLED TVs – better for welllit living rooms with other things going on. Cheaper, too.

Comes with Samsung’s solar cell remote, named because it features a solar cell with which it will charge itself if left upside down.

Samsung 50QN90B

from R17 000 / Samsung.com/za

Samsung’s QN90A was our TV of the Year for 2021, and the QN90B is a worthy successor for the No. 1 spot. If you’re looking to replace your set ASAP so you don’t miss the rugby, or to hook up a console or PC, this one should be on your shortlist. For cinephiles building a home theatre, the lack of Dolby Vision might be an issue, but we doubt you’ll find a 50in TV packing these smarts for the same price. The QN90B series models range from 48in to 98in.

Stuff says Deserves a place on every TV shortlist for its versatility and value for money

NOW ADD THIS Samsung Q-Series soundbars

Pairing your QLED with one of these is a stress-free way to get 3D object-based sound. from R6 000 / samsung.com/za

Samsung 65QN800B

R60 000 / samsung.com/za

The QN800B is slim and sleek, yes, at just 17mm deep. But its most obvious feature is its spectacular 8K resolution. With over four times the pixels of a 4K screen, detail levels, colour fidelity and edge-definition are absolutely superb. It’s an 8K television in a 4K world, but if you don’t watch much content below 4K and you think 8K will take over soon, this is a deeply impressive television.

23 4 5 6 8 9

Stuff says

An excellent TV that’s ready for the future

LG 48C2 Evo Oled R23 000 / takealot.com

We’d expect excellent picture quality from a high-end LG OLED, and the C2’s 4K Ultra HD (3,840 x 2,160) display more than delivers. It offers class-leading accurate colour reproduction, outstanding contrast ratios and accurate images at wide viewing angles. Where it really shines, though, is in its gaming features- including support for and its very low inputlag will boost your gaming performance and save you from the zombies almost every time.

Stuff says Delivers on high expectations – at a reasonable price

Samsung UA65TU7000 from R16 000 / expertstores.co.za

Large and in charge sporting Samsung’s keen eye for design and 4K, all at a very attractive price.

Samsung 75Q950TS from R140 000 / coolcart.co.za

An amazing 8K TV but that price is… well, let’s be honest, if you’re not Jeff Bezos, it’s too high.

TCL C835 65in from R25 000 / tcl.com

The combination of picture, software, and audio does enough to warrant its R25 000 price tag.

Samsung The Frame 65in 4K R30 000 / takealot.com

A 4K TV that looks like it belongs in a gallery, even when it’s turned off. Who says television isn’t art?

HISENSE 43 A4H 2K FULL HD R4 000 / takealot.com

For the consumer in the market for a smallersize TV that packs a punch, the A4H stands out.

Skyworth 50SUD9300F from R7 000 / takealot.com

A refreshed version of the one below. Expect more of the same, but slightly better and cheaper.

Skyworth 55SUC9300 from R7 000 /expertstores.co.za

Feeling a bit long in the tooth now that its replacement has arrived. Still a decent TV.

TIPS & TRICKS

If you can afford it, the 512GB option brings faster flash storage (and more of it, of course).

Naturally the M2 Air performs better than the M1 version, but that older model is the value buy.

1

Apple MacBook Air 13in (2022)

From R25 000 / incredible.co.za

With its super-powered new M2 processor, the latest version of Apple’s ‘basic’ laptop leaves the M1 model – an excellent machine in its own right – in the dust. This revamp redefines the Air in a meaningful way, instantly renders the 13in MacBook Pro obsolete, and sets a yardstick by which Apple’s entry-level devices will now be judged.

Stuff says Shame about the price hike, but this is still the Mac to buy for most users

NOW ADD THIS

Belkin 4-Port GaN Charger 108W

This brick lets you charge your Mac laptop through its 96W USB-C output… and juice up three other devices at the same time. R1 500 / takealot.com

Microsoft Surface Laptop 3

2 UPDATE

Apple MacBook Pro 14in from R38 000 / incredible.co.za

If you don’t need this MacBook’s power and ports, it’s overkill. And if your software isn’t yet optimised for Apple’s incredible new M1 Pro chip, it might not (yet) represent great value. But if you work in a field that can take advantage of its tech, you’ll be thrilled. The return of the physical top row is a welcome addition for video editors, and battery life is fantastic too.

Stuff says

The Pro goes fully ‘Pro’ again – if you can afford it, you’ll love it

Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Pro Gen 7 R26 000 / lenovo.com/za

The Yoga line is the sweet spot of Lenovo’s rock-solid laptops, combining impressive spec sheets with good prices. With at least 512GB of storage and 16GB of RAM, 12th-gen Core processors and a 2240x1400 Full HD display, there’s plenty on offer from the 14in Yoga Slim 7i Pro in addition to its handsome metal casing and excellent keyboard.

Stuff says Impressive specs, good looks and that fine pedigree

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From R10 500 / connecteddevices.co.za

Microsoft’s attention to detail has created perfection. Still better value than the Surface Laptop 4.

Apple MacBook Pro 13in from R28 000 / incredible.co.za

Surpassed by the new M1 Pro models, but the ‘basic’ M1 chip still kicks large amounts of…

Dell XPS 13

R33 000 / incredible.co.za

An update to the processor and battery continues the XPS 13’s high standard.

Microsoft Surface Pro 7 from R19 000 / connecteddevices.co.za

Microsoft’s hybrid is a versatile, portable productivity machine that justifies its price.

MSI GE76 Raider from R65 000 / computermania.co.za

It’s a monster price, but there’s also monstrous tech stashed inside this not-very-bulky frame.

MSI Summit E16 Flip R38 000 / computermania.co.za

MSI’s business machine does a little of everything and does it all well.

Asus ROG Flow X16

R45 000 / incredible.co.za

Combines gaming hardware with a touchscreen that rotates through 180°. Impressive, but pricey.

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TIPS & TRICKS

The new Action Button that lets you create quick action shortcuts, like launching straight into a workout or taking a lap split while running or cycling.

Use the Race Route feature to pace yourself against any route you’ve previously run at least twice.

There’s a choice of three new bands. We found it hard to get a perfect fit with the Alpine loop; the Trail loop seems more adjustable.

23

Samsung Galaxy Watch5 Pro

From R9 800 / takealot.com

The all-new Galaxy Watch5 Pro carries a price premium over the Galaxy Watch5 and doesn’t add many features, but the Pro still makes a strong case for itself by its more robust build and better battery. For most people the Watch5 may be the better buy but there’s no denying the titanium Watch5 Pro has a real presence on your wrist.

Stuff says

The toughest, longest-lasting Galaxy Watch yet

UPDATE NEW NEW

BUY

Watch fans hankering for a bigger battery, more controls, beefed-up rugged design and features tailored to outdoor pursuits will find a lot to love here. The Apple Watch Ultra is definitely another step into Garmin territory and undoubtedly the best adventure-friendly Apple Watch to date. Apple’s added a three-microphone array and dual speakers, a bigger, brighter 2,000-nits display and tougher durability standards, including100m water protection compared to the Series 8’s 50m. When you consider the smarts the Ultra offers beyond your adventures, it’s arguably the best all-rounder for straddling life on and off the beaten track.

Stuff says

By far the best adventure-ready Apple Watch yet and a really great all-rounder, though battery life doesn’t match some rivals

4 5

An impressive mix of rugged durability, serious battery endurance, excellent nav skills and smartwatch features.

Garmin Fenix 6S

R9 000 / takealot.com

Compact, good looking, and the range of sports tracking is off the charts.

Apple Watch SE

R6 000 / takealot.com

If you’re looking for value, the faster 2nd-gen SE is the best Apple Watch hands down.

Fitbit Charge 5

R4 000 / fitbit.com

Fitbit’s tracker offers extensive metrics, a colour OLED screen, and on-board ECG and EDA scanning.

Garmin Epix

From R17 000 / capeunionmart.co.za

Garmin has given us something we didn’t think we were allowed to have: a fully featured sports watch with a glorious, easily readable AMOLED display that doesn’t come at the expense of expedition-friendly battery life. Expect up to 16 days of solid use in smartwatch mode and 42hrs of GPS (or 75hrs with a few tweaks). Plus a host sport modes and monitoring info.

Stuff says

A highly capable fitness and adventure all-rounder with hands down the best screen on any sports watch going

8

Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro

R3 000 / connecteddevices.co.za

Fast, stylish and suitable for any occasion, the Huawei Watch GT 2 Pro is built to fit any lifestyle.

Garmin Forerunner 945

R9 000 / sportsmanswarehouse.co.za

Check temperature and altitude acclimation, make NFC payments, play music and more.

Garmin Fenix 6 from R11 000 / navworld.co.za

The best fitness-orientated smartwatch, offering incredible levels of detail.

UPDATE UPDATE FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS VISIT STUFF.CO.ZA OR STUFFSA ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM

TOP TENS BUDGET BUYS

TIPS & TRICKS

The neat little screen can display three different kinds of data: current, voltage, and remaining power. Charge it back up to full with a choice of three inputs: USB-C, Lightning, and Micro USB.

The 22.5W output might be a little too pap for a laptop but your friend’s phone? No problem.

Romoss Zeus 40000mAh Power Bank

R1 300 / takealot.com

New year, new Top Ten Budget Buys page. Sort of. With load shedding ramping up and no clear end in sight, we’re putting this power bank at the top spot – and for good reason. If you’re just using it for your smartphone, you should get at least eight full charges from it. You can charge two devices at once and it supports up to 22.5W charging, so it doesn’t dally about. And there’s also a neat little screen!

Stuff says

Plenty ports, massive capacity, and fast charging to get you through load shedding

NOW ADD THIS

BASEUS MAGNETIC CHARGING CABLE Make sure those plosives aren’t punching your listeners in the face with a proper pop filter. R210 / takealot.com

Nokia 3310 (2017 Edition)

R1 300 / takealot.com

Sometimes you don’t need all the smarts that modern smartphones provide. Sometimes you just need to make calls. Whatever your reason for wanting a feature phone instead of a smartphone, you can’t go wrong with this legend of the cellphone era. There have even been a few updates, like a colour display, refreshed UI, and monthlong standby battery life.

Stuff says

Sure there are cheaper options, but you can’t play Snake on those.

Amazon Echo Dot

3rd Gen

R1 175 / leroymerlin.co.za

Looking to smartify your home on the cheap? The Amazon Echo Dot is one of the more affordable smart speakers available in SA. It features Alexa, Amazon’s virtual assistant, who will listen to your commands and do your bidding or allow you to command other connected smart home devices.

Stuff says Enjoy ordering around technology while you still can.

UPDATE

8

Turtle Beach Recon Controller R1 300 / game4u.co.za

Want to up your K/D ratio while mocking your foes clearly and concisely? This should help.

Razer Viper Mini

R1 000 / game4u.co.za

A small, fast, and incredibly light wired gaming mouse that punches well above its weight (pun intended) for pro’s on a budget.

JBL Go 3 Waterproof Speaker from R700 / takealot.com

Bring your shower time to life with backing vocals and instrumental accompaniment. Also great for pool parties.

Logitech G403 Hero

R1 250 / takealot.com

Getting a little long in the tooth but still a great option for parties you want to remember.

Kindle Fire 7in Version from R1 400 / incredible.co.za

There’s a new 8in version out but while this one is in stock, it stays on our list.

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Xiaomi Mi TV Stick

R950 / takealot.com

Turn any TV, monitor or projector into a smart TV and stream anywhere with this little TV stick.

Wahl Rechargeable Beard Trimmer

R400 / superbalist.com

Looking for a decent, affordable, compact beard trimmer? Look no further.

Meta Quest 2

from R11 700 (128GB) / takealot.com

Formally known as the Oculus Quest 2, the Meta Quest 2 is still the most efficient way to experience VR, with the lack of cables and physically tethering to a PC making for an experience that’s like no other. The increased resolution, sitting at 1832x1920, means 50% more pixels than the original Quest. 6GB of RAM and the 90Hz refresh rate should hopefully alleviate any nausea. These upgrades mean the system runs faster and smoother than ever. Take note, a Facebook account is required to log in.

Stuff says

The Oculus Quest 2 is the best even if you have to jump through some Facebook hoops to use it

Valve Index

Half-Life: Alyx

from R330 / Oculus Quest/Rift, Vive, Valve Index

It’s Half-Life, right? Developers Valve said they’d only go back to the legendary franchise when there was some new kind of technology they wanted to show off and boy howdy, did they succeed with Alyx. One of the most detailed, comprehensive games in VR, Half-Life: Alyx tells a compelling story with riveting combat that shifts from explosive fire-fights to quietly disposing of zombies. Interacting with the environment in virtual space is amazingly done. There’s nothing else like it.

Stuff says

Hitman 3

R36 000 (full kit) / 180by2.co.za

While not revolutionary, the Index carries enough subtle upgrades to put it atop the PC-based headset pack. Everything looks fabulous and the controllers deliver the most fluid feeling VR interactions to date.

Stuff says

The best of the performance-PC VR options

Oculus Rift S

R1 250 / PSVR

Don the bald head and red tie of the world’s greatest assassin and take out your targets with clean efficiency or sheer chaos. There’s no better way to play the modern Hitman game than in VR.

Stuff says

Why be you when you can be Agent 47?

3 VR HEADSETS & VR GAMES TOP TENS 97 HOT BUY HOT BUY 11

R14 800 / zeekonline.co.za

An amazing swan song for VR’s first gen, the Rift S is excellence made more appealing by its accessible price tag. Just because it's cheaper doesn't mean you shouldn't look out for dangling cables…

Stuff says

A fantastic headset despite those unruly cables

HTC Vive Pro 2

2 2 4

Star Wars: Squadrons from R650 / Valve Index, Vive, Oculus

The closest you’ll come to sitting in a real X-Wing cockpit and blowing up those dastardly enemy TIE fighters, Star Wars: Squadrons campaign and multiplayer is some of the most fun we’ve had in VR.

Stuff says

Nothing like the smell of photon torpedoes

The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners

R27 700 (headset) / firstshop.co.za

Boasts the highest resolution of PC-based headsets and one of the highest prices.

HTC VIVE Focus 3 from R29 000 / takealot.com

3 5 5

Great hardware, but this one is only for enthusiasts who aren’t interested in gaming.

R220 / PSVR, Oculus, Vive, Valve Index

Beat Saber from R175 / Oculus Rift, Vive, PSVR

Dual laser swords are meant for slicing and dicing blocks to the thumping beat of a song.

FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS VISIT STUFF.CO.ZA OR STUFFSA ON FACEBOOK, TWITTER AND INSTAGRAM UPDATE UPDATE

GoPro Hero11 Black

R11 500 / capeunionmart.co.za

The GoPro Hero 11 Black ain’t cheap, but is nevertheless unique and damn good, doing something no other camera can and doing it well. With its unconventional 8:7 output, GoPro also blurs the lines between traditional action cameras and 360º alternatives like the Insta360 X3. It doesn’t capture the widest angle of view –that award goes to the DJI Osmo Action 3, and it doesn’t dive as deep as DJI’s camera either. But with its excellent dynamic range, reliable image quality in well-lit scenes, and versatility, it’s still our choice for best action camera.

Stuff says

Sony ZV-1

R14 000 / ormsdirect.co.za

Offering excellent image quality, a great range of video options and features designed specifically for vloggers on the go, Sony outdoes their previous compact camera, the RX-100. Our only issue is the lack of a touchscreen, which still blows our minds, and the battery being inaccessible if the camera is mounted. Yet those are small gripes with a piece of hardware that is one of the best available on the market and an easy recommend for anyone looking at investing in quality, portable cameras.

Stuff says

2

DJI Mini 3 Pro

R21 500 / africadroneking.co.za

DJI’s new flagship is a user-friendly, high-performance drone with onboard AI and professional-level features that give it the edge.

Stuff says Pro features in a very small package

DJI Air 2S

R9 500 / africadroneking.co.za

DJI’s laurels remain assuredly un-restedupon, and this may be its best drone yet: an almost perfect balance of portability, performance and price, ideal for novices but still able to produce nigh-on pro-level results.

Stuff says

The best all-round camera drone on the market

DJI Osmo Action 3

R7 300 / ormsdirect.co.za

An innovative, easy to use, powerful action camera that’s excellent for creators and adventurers alike 3 4

A very good camera, with the widest angle on a traditional action cam.

DJI Mini 2

2 3

Sony DSC-RX100VII

R28 400 / takealot.com

A true all-rounder that shoots 24fps at full resolution with a whopping 8x zoom lens, with class-leading autofocus system, tilting LCD screen, pop-up electronic viewfinder and a microphone socket for vloggers.

Stuff says Premium point-and-shoot perfection

Panasonic Lumix TZ220

R16 700 / cameraland.co.za

This Panasonic compact is a significant upgrade from the TZ110, offering extra reach with the zoom lens, better colour reproduction, and an improved experience when using the electronic viewfinder.

Stuff says Small, neat and not dramatically overpriced

Canon PowerShot G7X Mark III

R15 300 / ormsdirect.co.za

For the asking price, this compact does everything you want and does it well.

Olympus Tough TG-6

R10 300 / droneworld.co.za

For under R10k this is an absolute win. Budding droners owe it to themselves.

A tremendous compact camera that demonstrates how Sony is still at the top of the photography game 4 5

Need a rugged, waterproof (to 15m) compact with, 4k video, 12MP with RAW shooting? This is the one. 5

R10 500 / ormsdirect.co.za

The touch functions can be used to adjust menu options and swipe through the contents of your SD cards.

In-body image stabilisation works best in its Active form, which combines sensorshift and digital stabilisation, but that does involve a slight crop to the camera’s field of view

It shut down to cool off after 38 minutes of recording 4K/60fps video. Worth noting if you need to record long, continuous sequences. custom settings.

HOT BUY 1 NEW

NEW SONY A7 IV

R45 000 (body) / ormsdirect.co.za

The A7 series has become a premium range, and the A7 IV improves it with even better image quality, improved performance and thoughtful design touches. Its 33MP sensor and Bionz XR image processor make fantastic images, with 4K footage at framerates up to a silky 60fps, or 1080p at an even silkier 120fps. It’s still fairly pricey compared to some - but there’s a lot here for the money.

Stuff says

Pitched as a standard camera, Sony’s mirrorless all-rounder has the prowess and the performance to deliver premium stills and video

NOW ADD THIS

Sony FE 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens

This Sony lens has a built-in optical SteadyShotTM which stabilises your image even when your hands aren’t.

Add R5 000 bundled / ormsdirect.co.za

Sony A7C

Fujifilm X-T4

R24

600 (body) ⁄ ormsdirect.co.za

The Fuji X-T4 might be the highend mirrorless camera of your dreams. Relatively affordable for a flagship, it excels at stills and video thanks to in-body image stabilisation, high-speed shooting and 4K recording at up to 60fps. Rapid shooting is backed up by fancy AF tricks and even the battery life goes above and beyond. A worthy successor to the fabulous X-T3.

Stuff says

A superbly capable mirrorless camera for shooting pretty much anything

Fujifilm X-H2S

R38 000 / kameraz.com

Fuji’s long-running X-Series

mirrorless camera range has a new hero. If you’ve got the need for speed, the APS-C X-H2S deserves a spot on your shortlist. Excellent image quality in JPEG and RAW, its 40fps continuous-shooting performance puts it firmly among pricier systems from rivals like Sony, Canon and Nikon, and better video help it compete with go-to models for filmmakers.

Stuff says Class-leading speed, exceptional autofocus, wonderful stills and improved video

4 5 6 8 9 10

R35 000 / takealot.com

The Sony A7C unites portability and precision into a very appealing package.

Panasonic Lumix G9

R27 000 (body) / cameraland.co.za

The G9 is still the best Lumix to date, with staggering shooting speeds.

Fujifilm X-T30 II

R12 800 (body) / camerawarehouse.co.za

You get the X-T3’s sensor in a cheaper, smaller body with more spare change for buying lenses.

7

Fujifilm X-T200

R14 200 (body) / ormsdirect.co.za

A compact, lightweight and easy-to-master camera that won’t break the bank.

Nikon Z6 ii

R40 000 (body) / ormsdirect.co.za

The Z6 is still a good option, but the Z6 ii’s extra processing power makes it better for video.

Canon EOS 90D

R20 900 (body) / ormsdirect.co.za

An updated all-rounder, the 90D builds on the 80D with increased power and more megapixels.

Fujifilm GFX 100S

R108 000 (body) / ormsdirect.co.za

Light for a medium-format camera, except maybe in the wallet area.

100

1

Sony WH-1000XM5

R8 000 / incredible.co.za

Finally, something’s knocked Sony’s WH-1000XM4s off the top spot. The XM5s’ new design looks slightly less premium but the noise-cancelling remains absolutely best-in-class, with new smart features too. They’re an improvement over their predecessor and represent great value. Any negatives are just minor quibbles really – the simple fact is that these are the best noise-cancellers around by almost every measure. You really won’t regret buying them.

Stuff says

Bose Quietcomfort Earbuds II

R7 500 / incredible.co.za

Stuff says

2

Sony WH-1000XM4 from R5 400 / takealot.com

With their near-perfect active noisecancelling and audio performance, there hasn’t been a better package than the XM4s … until now.

Stuff says

An unrivalled combo of great sound, ANC and comfort 3

Nearly the best noise-cancellers you can buy

B&W PX7 Carbon Edition

R6 900 / soundandcinema.co.za

Bowers and Wilken make some fine headphones, but these are up there with some of its best. Stellar sound quality and a comfortable build make these an easy recommendation… if you can afford them.

Stuff says

A little pricey but worth every cent

4 5

Marshall Monitor II ANC from R6 000 / macnificent.co.za

Marshall’s amp-inspired design shines through with these headphones.

Bose NCH 700

R8 200 / everyshop.co.za

2

Sony WF-1000XM4

R5 000 / takealot.com

Serious noise-cancellation skills, the inclusion of Speak-to-Chat and typically well-balanced sound reproduction make these the in-ear to have.

Stuff says

They were our No.1 for a year

Sony WF-1000XM3

3

R3 500 / incredible.co.za

4

Amazing build and mind-blowing sound

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds

from R6 000 / loot.co.za

As so often happens, bigger, better features have knocked these ‘buds down the list –not that there’s a fault with these excellent, if bulky, in-ears. Noise cancelling is brilliant, but that price has got to come down.

5

Jabra Elite 3

R1 200 / takealot.com

These may cut a few corners here and there, but they keep the bits that count.

NEW SONOS BEAM (Gen 2)

R13 000 / takealot.com

Not the biggest nor most advanced Sonos soundbar, the Beam is still a winning package. Sonos has managed to squeeze some serious tech into a streamlined slab that’s small enough to sit beneath screens of pretty much any size.

The second-gen Beam features the same acoustic architecture as the first, but Sonos now employs psychoacoustic techniques across five speaker arrays (versus three on the original Beam) to trick your ears into believing sound is around and above you.

Stuff says

The addition of virtual Atmos magic makes an already excellent compact soundbar even more appealing

UPDATE

Sonos Roam

Amazon Echo Dot (5th Gen)

R1 400 / geewiz.co.za

The newest iteration of the popular Echo Dot (with or without clock) promises twice the bass performance of its predecessor, making it more sonically robust. Naturally, you’ve got built-in Alexa smarts at your disposal and a new temperature sensor, along with the usual volume and Mic Off buttons for added peace of mind. It also functions as an Eero mesh Wifi extender. The clock version gets our pick due to the extra functionality offered by its improved higher-density LED display.

Stuff says Added features take the latest generation Dot to the top of the heap

Sonos One Gen 2

UPDATE

UPDATE

3

R3 500 / incredible.co.za

Integrates with your other Sonos kit but equally capable on its own, with well-rounded audio, Sound Swap to hand off to nearby speakers, plus support for Alexa and Google Assistant.

JBL Charge 5

R3 400 / takealot.com

Compact enough to take anywhere, it’ll last 20 hours on a charge and it’s waterproof too.

Stuff says Small package, big sound, loads of features

Sonos Move

R9 500 / kloppers.co.za

2 4 Stuff says Beamed down to 4th now, but still great

Sonos’ first mobile effort is still worth your money, but cheaper rivals are catching up.

2

UPDATE

R4 700 / incredible.co.za.

This is one feature-packed speaker. There’s support for Alexa, Google Assistant, Spotify and AirPlay 2. While you’ll get the best separation by doubling up, a single One still delivers audio that’s rich and energetic.

Stuff says

This may be the best-connected speaker you can buy right now

3

UPDATE

Google Nest Audio

R1 700 / connecteddevices.co.za

Google has refined its smart speaker with a sound that may be fuller but is still better suited to casual listening. It’s fast and efficient but you should be aware that compatibility can be a problem.

Stuff says

While a little finicky, it’s still an impressive device

Apple HomePod Mini

R2 400 / connecteddevices.co.za

This smart speaker and Siri will do what you need and look good while it’s at it.

UE Megaboom 3

R1 900 / takealot.com

You’ll struggle to find a better, longer-lasting or more feature-laden portable speaker.

UPDATE

5 4 5

Google Nest 2nd gen

R2 050 / takealot.com

Sleep Sensing is cool, but that does mean you’ve got to stick it in the bedroom.

1

PlayStation 5 from R13 000 / takealot.com

Next-gen is finally here and it’s looking better than ever. The PlayStation 5 is a behemoth of a console and that size isn’t just for show. Games load faster and look better than ever before thanks to the new solid state drive and the actual machine is quieter than ever. Then there’s the DualSense 5 controller which is just… monumentally cool. Alongside a stellar lineup of launch games, Sony has really outdone itself with its latest console, justifying that price tag. The PS5 is an amazing console all round.

Stuff says

An amazing controller and some solid launch titles make for a great kick off to next-gen gaming

Xbox Series X R12 000 / game.co.za

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Microsoft’s new console is a beast of a bit of hardware. It’s also a far better proposition than it was at launch. Games Pass is a solid investment, making this a far closer race than it was a year ago.

Much more worthy of your time now

Nintendo Switch R7 000 / incredible.co.za

Nintendo’s console earned a promotion in our list after it impressed us with a growing list of fantastic games. Plus, no other device here offers the joy of portable gaming. Long journeys will never be boring again.

Stuff says

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE

This 2-in-1 console is the real deal

PlayStation 4 Pro from R8 000 / incredible.co.za

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A great all round console with one of the best libraries of games in recent memory.

Nintendo Switch Lite from R4 400 / takealot.com

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Yeah, it’s a tiny bit smaller. But it’s also cheaper and just as powerful as its big bro.

Be warned: your currency of runes will be dropped when you die and lost forever if you die before you recover them.

Elden Ring

From R1 200 / PS5, PS4, XSX, XB1, PC

Elden Ring is a crowning achievement for FromSoftware, taking the rich, imaginative worldbuilding it’s acclaimed for and expanding it into staggering scope on an open world. It doesn’t hold your hand, but gives you the freedom to confidently go into its world and take on its challenges and secrets your way. Of course, this doesn’t mean you’ll suddenly have an easy ride of it. This remains as punishing a challenge as any game in FromSoftware’s illustrious library.

Lore hunters will have a field day combing through the world’s mythology, speedrunners will relish every encounter. For us mere mortals, Elden Ring is an invitation to greatness. Arise, Tarnished, and savour every moment.

Stuff says

The word masterpiece gets overused, but Elden Ring is a masterpiece

Psychonauts 2

R330 / PC, PS4, Xbox One

Psychonaut Raz enters the minds of others to do battle.

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

R1 370 / PS5

Madcap weapons, unlikely scenarios and highenergy hijinks make this a must-play.

Returnal

R1 370 / PS5

This rouge-like was a serious contender for 2021’s GotY. It’s still an amazing play.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

R720 / PC, PS5

Do whatever a spider can in this stunning sequel featuring a new protagonist.

Hitman 3

God of War Ragnarök

from R1 200 / PS4, PS5

Emotionally compelling storytelling, breathtaking visuals, and rock-solid gameplay. Picking up where the last game ended, you can expect a deeper pool of side quests and more exploration of a familiar but also different Midgard. You won’t want to miss out on this one.

Stuff says

An absolutely fantastic game and well worth your time and money.

Deathloop

from R1 070 / PC, PS5

What if you were caught in the same day, over and over again, until you completed an almost impossible task? That’s the idea behind Deathloop. Throw in some well-executed parkour, stealth, and gunplay and you get this rather unusual first-person shooter..

Stuff says Groundhog Day meets violence, with some excellent writing behind it.

from R1 000 / PC, PS, Xbox, Switch

The end of the line for 47, but the end of the line for many, many victims first.

Monster Hunter: Rise

R1 100 / Switch

Monster Hunter is back to its handheld roots with excellent combat and polished loot grind.

Demon’s Souls

R1 370 / PS5

As difficult as it is beautiful, Demon’s Souls is a joy to play and eventually defeat.

Do you remember block’n’roll audio?

The Game Boy version of Tetris actually had three different soundtracks. We’re willing to bet good money you’ve forgotten two of them.

Tetris

Doo doo-de-doo, doo-da-doo doo-de-doo, doo-da-doo, da-doo-doo doo-doo-doo…

Indeed. But Tetris was five years old before Nintendo used it to flog millions of Game Boys and drive a generation of gamers mad by lodging Korobeiniki in everyone’s brains. Alexey Pajitnov had drawn from his love of pentominoes while creating a game to – ahem – ‘test’ new hardware that had arrived at a research institute in Russia. His initial design was a static two-player effort where players would take turns flipping pieces on a glowing Electronika 60 display.

But… doo doo-de-doo. And also, fun. That version of Tetris sounds dreadful. It does. Fortunately, Pajitnov was a master of iteration. He flipped the playfield, added gravity to drop in new and simplified pieces, and hit upon removing completed (and therefore redundant) rows. Boom! Tetris proper was born. Just add a PC port, quite a lot of piracy, the concept of intellectual property being non-existent in the Soviet Union, some seriously dodgy licensing shenanigansand a huge legal fight between a dozen companies who claimed rights ownership… and we’re back with Nintendo.

And I thought Tetris was all about falling blocks. That sounds more like a film. Actually, it soon will be. This year will see the release of Tetris , a serious biopic delving into all those business machinations. (And by ‘serious’ we mean no Arnie as Pajitnov, whacking Andromeda Software’s CEO with a giantL piece and growling “I’ll be back – to pick up royalties.”) Mind you, a movie screen’s the least surprising place to see a game that’s been to space, been played on the sides of buildings, and taken place using an electron microscope and glass microspheres. And you thought the Game Boy version was fiddly.

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