APPLE AIRPODS MAX: YOUR NEXT HEADPHONES

NAIL YOUR
FITNESS
GOALS
• Get trim faster with home gym tech
• Fix your posture with yoga wearables
• Tone up easily with smart weights

SUPREME
SOUNDBARS
Flawless TV audio from
£299 to over £2k 24
EXCITING
E-VEHICLES
Ace e-scooters and
ebikes for a more
active, fun commute
RATED

MACBOOK AIR
Apple’s M1 marvel
is faster than light

REVIEWED

SAMSUNG
Q800T
Elite 8K TV
QLED tech,

5 PERFECT lower price

NOTEBOOKS
FOR ANY TASK
 SHOWSTOPPER
Gadgets that showcase the
very best that design and
technology have to offer

SPEED OF SOUND
Engage gaming mode and the
Hammerhead True Wireless
Pro’s customised Bluetooth
5.1 slashes the latency of your
sound to just 60ms – meaning
you can react the instant you
hear shots fired

R A ZE R H A M M E R H E A D
TRU E W IR E L E S S PRO
Non-headphone brands releasing their own take on true wireless buds has become so commonplace these days that you
need to be doing something truly remarkable to stand out. So what has elite gaming brand Razer done with its new
Hammerhead True Wireless Pro to so pique our curiosity? Is it its intuitive touch controls and remappable touch gestures?
Nope. Its snazzy gamer-baiting design? Hah, not quite. Advanced hybrid active noise cancellation, which packs two external
and two internal mics to serve up first-class sound nullification? Close but no cigar. Even the impressive total 20-hour
battery life offered with its case wasn’t what finally clinched it for us. No, what won us over was its THX-certified 20Hz –
20kHz frequency response, offering truly cinematic sound whether you’re gaming or streaming. Coupled with the above-
mentioned super-low latencies, this results in buds that place you right in the heart of the action.
£199.99, razer.com

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 3
 Meet the team

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ADVERTISING TEAM
Get in touch to see what T3
can do for your brand!
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Group Art Director Content Director Home Tech Editor  THE GLOBAL
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Ecommerce Editor Lifestyle Editor Product & Style Editor

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4 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Welcome

Editor’s letter
As we speak, a sigh is rolling across the whole world. Not
of satisfaction, resulting from a sustained binge of nuts,
nog and Netflix. Neither is it a sigh of wonder, as we
collectively soak ourselves in the next-gen graphics of
our newly acquired consoles. No, ’tis simply a sigh of
relief: 2020’s over.
Without a doubt, the year that was has been tough on us
all, with a life-altering pandemic, a once-in-a-generation shift
in working patterns and the high street changing, possibly
irrevocably. Closer to home, T3 recently lost long-time
contributor Adam Banks: not only will he be sorely missed,
our thoughts are with his family during this incredibly tough
time. 2020 is a year that will long linger in our memories.
However, as of 1 January, we’ll hopefully be entering a
brighter year. Not only should our most vulnerable loved
ones soon receive a vaccine (a real miracle, so please do
your bit and get yours as soon as it’s your turn) but it’s a
chance to start looking to the future once again. And
whether you’re looking for gadgets to relaunch your drive
for health and fitness, make your commute greener and
more joyful or just help you work and create better on the
go, T3’s here to support you.
Happy new year and here’s to a brighter 2021!

Josh Russell, Editor

josh.russell@futurenet.com
Tweet me @joshlrussell

T3’S MISSION
Our mission is to bring you the clearest recommendations
we can – and that means a great deal of hard work happens
before a product even reaches our pages!
Because we only feature products the T3 team would
happily use ourselves, we end up discarding a significant
number of options in each category before settling on a final
shortlist to review. We select only the best of the best for
our Tested section; the gear we know you’ll want to seriously
consider purchasing. And that should mean an end to you
having to undertake hours of painstaking research and
product comparisons.
You won’t see any duff products, but you will come away
with clarity on which one is the best in its category or for
a specific task: our awards badges (see below) ensure that
everything T3 recommends is clearly highlighted on the page.
It goes without saying that every product in our review
section has been thoroughly tested by our team of experts,
enabling you to buy with total confidence.

OUR AWARDS
THE BEST FOR BEST ON
PLATINUM DESIGN BATTERY TEST
AWARD AWARD LIFE

Only the best products – For kit that demonstrates This accolade and others This is given to winners
those that score five stars exceptional industrial design like it show you which of our group tests, so you
– receive our coveted and refinement, in addition gear is best for specific can see exactly which
Platinum Award to being great features or tasks is the best at a glance

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 5
 Contents

Contents
030
NAIL YOUR FITNESS GOALS
Top-notch tech for upgrading your
exercise regimen – improve your gait,
gain muscle more easily and track your cardiac health

044
IDEAL LAPTOPS
FOR EVERY TASK
Discover your dream
machine for Zooming, working or streaming

052 059
COMPLETE GUIDE TO SOUNDBARS ELECTRIFYING EBIKES AND E-SCOOTERS
Revel in room-filling sound with these truly Spend less time in traffic and be green while you’re
astounding discrete bars at it with these commute-cutting e-vehicles

6 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Contents
HORIZON
010
HORIZON TOP 10
Razer means business with its Book
13, and Apple launches its stunning
AirPod Max spatial-audio cans
018
STYLE
Wrap up warm with a classy winter
coat and pick up some new wrist candy
020
FITNESS & OUTDOORS
Drag your wheels and get your sweat
on with these air bikes
022
TRAVEL
Let the spirit move you: hop into
Rolls-Royce’s dead-deluxe Ghost
024
LIVING
After the Christmas blowout, here’s a
great suggestion how to start eating
more healthily again
026
GADGET GURU
Enhance your heating, stay safe on the
slopes and play board games with your
buddies abroad
029
TALKING TECH
Duncan Bell discussing why Apple’s
latest headphones warrant Maxing out
your bank account
8 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
BEST OF THE BEST
TESTED
068
MACBOOK AIR
With its M1 chip, the new Air is
nothing short of a revolution
072
HUAWEI WATCH FIT
The brand’s new smartwatch offers
great features and a slick design
079
YOUR IN-DEPTH
BUYER’S GUIDE
073 Our giant buyer’s guide helps you find
CHROMECAST the world’s best gadgets in over 50
WITH GOOGLE TV categories, from top tellies to DSLRs
Google’s new streaming dongle frees to car tech to shavers – all tested by
you from casting with your phone T3’s team of tech experts!
074
SAMSUNG Q800T
With scorching whites and deep inky
blacks, this is an unbeatable 8K set for
those on a £2k budget
SUBSCRIBE
AND SAVE BIG MONEY
Get the latest offers
042
076
APPLE HOMEPOD MINI
A pint-sized smart speaker that offers
unparalleled audio quality
078
BLINK MINI
This cutie will keep a watchful eye on
your possessions – and isn’t too pricey
 Horizon

The best new tech heading your way

RAZER
BOOK 13
From £1,199, razer.com

Did you miss it? Razer’s slow creep into the

non-gaming market has been, if you’ll forgive
the pun, something of a stealth move. The
Blade line of laptops does all the big flashy
gamer stuff, such as the Blade Stealth, but it’s
seen entries like the Studio Edition emerge on
the side, dishing up high-powered hardware for
creatives in a Mac-ish silver shell. Thus far,
though, the company’s non game-oriented
laptops have always tended towards the very
highest end. With the Razer Book 13 comes a
laptop for the rest of us, one with its sights
firmly focused on matching, or even bettering, Razer hasn’t
Dell’s revered XPS 13. crammed in
It has the look, with a super-compact shell discrete graphics
and slim bezels on all four sides of the screen. – though Intel’s
It’s practical, weighing as little as 1.34kg new Iris platform
depending on which loadout you pick, and can lift a
mating a CNC-cut anodised aluminium shell surprising amount
with Gorilla Glass 6 protecting the screen. of weight – but
And vapour chamber cooling should mean it’s packed loads
that, despite its ultra-thin shell, you don’t hit else in, such
any thermal throttling unless you’re really as THX Spatial
pushing things hard. Audio, a per-key
Extra points, too, for the expansion options: RGB keyboard,
while this is fully equipped with a pair of Wi-Fi 6, Windows
ultra-versatile Thunderbolt 4 ports, there’s also Hello, and more.
a USB Type-A socket, a microSD card reader,
full-sized HDMI and an audio jack, ensuring
you won’t be caught short even if you’re
not dragging a dongle around with you. It’s
a delightfully well thought-out and absolutely
gorgeous work machine, then, with the looks
and the power you deserve at a price that
might even sneak past the bean counters.

“Razer steps into the

TECH-O-METER ring with a laptop that
looks the business”
Josh Russell, Editor

10 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Top 10

EASY ON
Although you can pick up the Razer Book 13 in
a cost-effective Core i5 configuration, opting
for the 11th-gen Core i7 confers with it access
to Intel’s fancy Evo platform: this means instant
wake and instant resume, faster charging, and
battery tweaks that could keep you working for
14 hours on the trot.

SEEING IS BELIEVING
The screen scales with the price too. All editions of the
Razer Book 13 include a matte-finish display, which should
cut down on unwanted reflections (take that, Dell); opt
for the bottom tier Core i7 model (£1,579) and you get a
touch screen tacked on, but you’ll need to pick up the most
IMAGE SOURCE: RAZER

expensive configuration (£1,999) to enjoy the ludicrous

detail of a 13-inch 4K panel.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 11
 Horizon

APPLE AIRPODS MAX

£549, apple.com

Apple’s debut in the over-ear headphone

market (barring its involvement with Beats, of
course) is so tremendously Apple it hurts: a
totally excessive package of technology, the
company’s distinctive styling pulling in
influences from everything from the AirPods
case to the Mac Pro, and a premium price that
puts these cans truly into the prestige bracket.
Apple is offering advanced ANC, the return of
Adaptive EQ (which tweaks the output to
match the shape of your ears) and its nascent
spatial audio tech, which is basically Dolby
Atmos for headphones. We’d imagine – we’ve
not been able to strap a pair on at press time
– that you’ll get class-leading audio quality too,
and we doubt that Apple hasn’t compensated
for their weight with some serious comfort.

T3 SAYS: An impressive and substantial set of

IMAGE SOURCE: APPLE

cans with a focus on next-level sound.

TECH-O-METER

TRANSPARENT LIGHT
Around £280, transpa.rent

Transparent’s speakers come with a pretty solid

philosophy. They’re made to be objects of
impeccable design, and they’re built to be
sustainable, something well and truly checked
off by the gorgeous tempered glass and
aluminium combinations of the brand’s previous
speakers. Transparent hates e-waste, too, so
everything it builds is designed to be modular
and upgradeable: bust a component, and
you’re encouraged to replace it yourself. Each
of these admirable tenets trickles down to the
portable Transparent Light, part nifty 5W
Bluetooth 5.0 speaker, part gorgeous LED
lantern. The lamp component varies between
900 and 3500 Kelvin to give it a realistic glow,
and it includes a vibrating diffuser on top that
moves in tandem with the bass of your tunes.
IMAGE SOURCE: TRANSPARENT

T3 SAYS: Raw looking, cool, and IPX2

weatherproof, this is no pedestrian speaker.

TECH-O-METER

1 2 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Top 10

BELKIN BOOSTCHARGE
TRUEFREEDOM PRO
£149, belkin.com

Qi charging is wonderful, but it’s something

you have to get right. It’s no wonder Apple
brought in the magnetically-aligned wireless
charging system of the iPhone 12; if your device
is off-centre on its charging pad, it won’t drink
up that juice with the same speed and
sometimes won’t even charge at all. Belkin’s
answer: make a next-level charging pad that’s
absolutely packed with little overlapping Qi
coils, so devices will lock on to that power
wherever you happen to toss them. You can
also scatter other Qi devices on there –
watches, headphones and the like – and they’ll
top up at the same time. The TrueFreedom Pro
will even charge a pair of phones at once, with
a pair of LEDs highlighting charging status.

T3 SAYS: Not just a drop-and-go charging

solution for your phone.

IMAGE SOURCE: BELKIN

TECH-O-METER

LINLEY AMPLIS AUDIO

SYSTEM
£5,750, davidlinley.com

Ruark’s audio systems are pure class, so its

collaboration with bespoke luxury furniture
manufacturer Linley is a team up for the ages.
The tie-up started with Linley’s Tempo radio (a
beautiful re-skin of Ruark’s iconic first-gen R1)
and continues with the Amplis, essentially a
Ruark R5 clad with Linley’s precision marquetry.
That means you get a rich, warm audio player
that can do it all – it’s a network streamer, a CD
player, an amp, an internet radio – and one
which pulls off all of its attendant duties with
aplomb. But it’s the outsides which really sell
this, as well they might given that Linley is
asking a premium of almost £5,000 over the
already beautiful R5; pulling in and laying out
veneers from woods like Sycamore, Bolivar and
Anegre to create a proper statement cabinet.
IMAGE SOURCE: LINLEY

T3 SAYS: Well and truly has the Linley touch.

TECH-O-METER

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 13
 Horizon
Top 10

STAR WARS COMIC ART

PINBALL
$4,495 (£3,370), sternpinball.com

While arcades have progressively become

home to money-drinking ticket machines and
morally bankrupt fruities rather than the fun
distractions we remember, the silver ball lives
on in our hearts and (more and more) in our
homes. Stern knows the value of the domestic
market, so along comes this cut-price reskin of
its commercial Star Wars table. It’s completely
clad in comic book art, from the side art to the
backglass to the playfield, and stripping out the
coin mechs and slightly shrinking the display
has helped the company cut a big chunk off
the price of its commercial equivalent. There’s
plenty going on with the gameplay, designed
by industry legend Steve Ritchie, and it’s
backed up (of course) by a booming John
Williams soundtrack to keep you flipping.

T3 SAYS: The Force is strong in this one.

IMAGE SOURCE: STERN

TECH-O-METER

KAMIBABY
£135, yitechnology.com

Before we say anything about what the

KamiBaby can do, we need to talk about its
looks. Skinning a cam to fit a baby’s room isn’t
new, it’s just that we can’t really work out if the
cute bunny look really works here, given that
said bunny has one massive black eye where its
face should be. If it doesn’t scare the bejesus
out of your little one, you’re onto a winner here:
this is a capable and very smart night vision
baby monitor, and one which doesn’t stop at
giving you a live view of your (hopefully)
sleeping tot. AI on board can work out if your
baby is crying and alert you immediately, you
can play back a recording of you singing your
baby’s favourite song, and it includes both
humidity and temperature sensors so you can
check that the nursery environment is
absolutely perfect.

T3 SAYS: Gives peace a chance.

IMAGE SOURCE: KAMI

TECH-O-METER

14 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Horizon
Top 10
NEBULA COSMOS MAX
£1,400, seenebula.com
Nebula snuck its way into the
projector market with its portable
line; Anker’s sub-brand managed
some very impressive results with the
tiny Capsule, the touch-enabled
Apollo, and the easily movable Mars
and Solar projectors. It was only
logical that the company would blast
off into the full-sized projector
market, and so here’s the Cosmos
Max. It’s a 4K, 1,500 ANSI lumen
beast of a beamer, packing Android
TV 9 to make it simple to run
streaming services directly on the
hardware. Alternatively, you can send
stuff over HDMI, play content from
NOKIA 3.4
£129, hmdglobal.com
HMD Global’s custodianship of the
Nokia brand in consumer phones
has given us some real gems at the
mid-range, but it’s clear the Finnish
company hasn’t forgotten about the
budget market: the Nokia 3.4 is an
affordable phone with big ambitions.
That punch-hole front camera and
triple-sensor rear cam array; the
mighty battery, good for close to
two days’ action; the metal chassis;
the Android One operating system,
dishing up clean and useable
Android without bloatware and a full
two years of updates along with it.
Sure, the RAM is lacking and the
16 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
USB, or even Chromecast. That oval
shape packs in four 10-watt speakers,
capable of firing 3D audio around the
room, though it’s Dolby Digital only,
not Atmos. The key, really, is that this
has that customary Anker price –
and if you’re happy sticking with
1080p, the non-Max is even cheaper.
IMAGE SOURCE: NEBULA
T3 SAYS: Reaches for the stars.
TECH-O-METER
COOLNESS
INNOVATION
FEATURES
TEENAGE ENGINEERING PO-133
STREET FIGHTER
£85, teenage.engineering
Teenage Engineering’s Pocket them melodically, and run through a
Operators are the height of raw whole bunch of patterns. Also out is
music-juggling cool. With 40 seconds the PO-128 Mega Man, and if the
IMAGE SOURCE: TEENAGE ENGINEERING
of sample memory, a built-in exposed tac-switches worry you, the
microphone and the ability to chain CA-X case is available for £23 – but
different Operators together with that does cover up a lot of the
nothing but a 3.5mm jack, they’re PO-133’s bare-bones appeal.
one of the simplest and most tactile
ways to get started with your own T3 SAYS: Time for a funky break.
glitchy tunes – and now there’s one
that’s packed with classic Street
Fighter tunes and samples. This is TECH-O-METER
based, appropriately, on the COOLNESS
hardware found in the PO-33 KO, INNOVATION
which lets you split samples, play FEATURES
processor is distinctly last-gen: it’s
not winning any awards for its
performance. But this is a fantastic
and great-looking handset for the
price, with integrated Family Link
facilities to help you manage usage
boundaries if you’re putting the 3.4
in the pocket of a youngster.
IMAGE SOURCE: NOKIA
T3 SAYS: Ideal for ‘beginners’.
TECH-O-METER
COOLNESS
INNOVATION
FEATURES
 Horizon

UNDER WRAPS
It’s proper chilly right now, so if you haven’t yet invested in a good winter OLIVER SPENCER
NEWINGTON DOUBLE-
coat, this is the time. Use these five key styles to inspire your search… BREASTED COAT
This has a soft, shearling-lined
interior, with zips in the shawl
collar to transform it into notch
lapels for smarter occasions.
£490, mrporter.com

BLACK SHEARLING
BIKER JACKET
IMAGE SOURCE: OLIVER SPENCER, RIVER ISLAND, THE NORTH FACE, HUGO BOSS, HELLY HANSEN

Partner thick, dark-hued roll necks

with this take on shearling biker
jackets. We like the multi-zip
fastenings and cosy collar neck.
£85, riverisland.com

THE NORTH FACE LHOTSE

DOWN JACKET
Prefer sportier looking jackets?
Slip into this waterproof puffer,
packed with responsibly sourced
700 fill goose down.
£260, thenorthface.co.uk

HUGO BOSS SLIM-FIT

WOOL-BLEND COAT
If you’re looking for a warm yet
supremely well-tailored winter
coat, wrap yourself in Hugo Boss’
attractive wool-blend offering.
£455, hugoboss.com

HELLY HANSEN
SVALBARD PARKA
The best-selling Svalbard Parka is
waterproof, windproof and fully
seam-sealed to keep out the most
intense winter weather.
£250, hellyhansen.com

MONEY NO OBJECT
Kiton Slim Fit Cable-Knit Cashmere Rollneck
Italian fashion house Kiton is responsible
for some of the finest tailored suits
outside of Savile Row, so no wonder
people get excited each time Kiton drops
a new ready-to-wear collection. This dry
clean-only rollneck is current season
Kiton, and has been crafted in Italy from
traditional cable-knit pattern. It would
look incredibly handsome (and timeless)
when worn with chinos, though it would
also partner well with dark wash, heavy
weight jeans. Kiton was founded over 50
years ago by fifth generation fabric
merchant Ciro Paone, and the fashion
IMAGE SOURCE: KITON

skin-soft, 100% cashmere. As it’s slim
fitting, we’d recommend choosing a size
up from your normal sweater size. Kiton’s
luxury Slim Fit Cable-Knit Cashmere
Rollneck has a neutral grey shade, with a
subtle zigzag weave replacing a more
house’s ready-wear pieces nearly always
sell out. So if you want a rollneck you can
pull out year after year without losing any
style points, this is the one to invest in
while you can.
£2,347, farfetch.com

18 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

WHICH WATCH
THE HOTTEST TIMEPIECES RIGHT NOW
ZENITH, DEFY CLASSIC CARBON
Lighter, bolder, more innovative and featuring an integrated carbon
bracelet – a first for an automatic watch – this unprecedented technical
feat is not only lightweight and durable, it looks stunning too.
£16,300, zenith-watches.com
IMAGE SOURCES: ZENITH, BREITLING, BELL & ROSS, RADO
BELL & ROSS, BR 05 CHRONO
Unquestioningly faithful to the brand’s reputation of legibility,
functionality, reliability and precision, the BR 05 collection has now been
enriched with a chronograph, complete with squircle sub-dials.
£5,200, bellross.com
Style
BREITLING, PREMIER B01 CHRONOGRAPH 42
Featuring a vintage design dating back to the 1940s, but completely updated
with a self-winding COSC-certified chronograph movement and power
reserve of 70 hours. This piece combines elegance and performance.
£6,600, goldsmiths.co.uk
RADO, TRUE SQUARE X TEJ CHAUHAN
Designed in collaboration with award-winning British industrial designer
Tej Chauhan, the True Square visualises the great futuristic visions of pop
culture with innovative high-tech ceramic and bold colours.
£1,640, rado.com
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 19
 Horizon
Fitness

BEST AIR
BIKES

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY

ASSAULTBIKE ELITE
IMAGE SOURCE: WOLVERSON

This is built for intense

resistance training. The
professional-grade machine
has a sturdy steel frame
and solid steel cranks to
withstand all workouts.
£1,249.99,
FLY WHEEL
PEDAL POWER
wolverson-fitness.co.uk

What’s an air bike and how can it improve your fitness at home?

You’ve heard of exercise bikes and you
might have heard of elliptical trainers but
you most likely are not familiar with the buff
love child of them, the air bike. Air bikes
combine the positive aspects of both of the
aforementioned machines and combine
them with air resistance. And a lot of it.
Unlike exercise bikes, air bikes are not
preferred by people in their late 60s who
JTX MISSION AIR BIKE want to cram in some extra exercising at
A robust home exercise bike home. No, air bikes are preferred by
IMAGE SOURCE: JTX
short recovery sessions are rapidly followed
by intense bursts of exercise.
There are no knobs or levers to adjust
resistance on an air bike. Just like the
excellent WaterRower (from £1,049,
waterrower.co.uk), the more effort you put
in when working out on air bikes, the harder
it will get. And if ‘air resistance’ doesn’t
sound tough enough for you, be assured air
bikes make people sweat buckets.
If you are looking for extremely intense

that is small enough to be American footballers, cage fighters and but short workouts, an air bike is definitely
transported around the house CrossFitters, as they work perfectly with the contraption for you. These machines are
if needed, and stable enough in-vogue High Intensity Interval Training best used to get the heart rate spiking and
to stay in place when it’s time (HIIT) and Tabata-style workouts, where push the cardiovascular system to its limits.
to work out on it.
£710, jtxfitness.com

HIIT HOME
DIGITAL PT
High-tech resistance band Hyfit Gear 1 uses AI to get you fit at home
Lots of people are now used to working out at
home. The issue is, getting advice from a
personal trainer is a bit tricky: you can Zoom
each other but it’s definitely not the same.
The Hyfit Gear 1 (around £150, hyfitgear.com)
aims to help. It combines space-tech resistance
SCHWINN AIRDYNE bands with an app that uses AI to deliver
IMAGE SOURCE: ROGUE

PRO workout data real time. Sensors detect the

IMAGE SOURCE: HYFIT

A 26-blade fan, moisture- number of reps, exercise duration, speed and

repellent steel construction resistance used. The bands are paired with the
and nine programmable Hyfit App, which provides dozens of high-
workout options are all yours. intensity full-body workouts, including HIIT and
Around £752, cardio, core, weight loss, martial arts and more.
roguefitness.com

2 0 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Horizon
Travel

PRO VALET
AT HOME
DYSON CYCLONE
V10 ABSOLUTE
The updated V10 is not
only more powerful
than its predecessor
the V8 (grunt from
the motor is up 40%),
it also boasts three
separate power
modes to boost
battery life. Of
great importance
IMAGE SOURCE: DYSON

also: the bin is

not only bigger
but easier to
empty
as

IMAGE SOURCE: ROLLS-ROYCE

well.
Dyson, £449

PHILIPS SPEED
PRO MAX
While this is primarily
for households, Philips’
latest vac offering is too
good to pass up. Its
SCARILY GOOD
GHOST STORIES
Turbo Brush features its
own powerful motors
that rotate a cleaning
bar for effortless pet The new Rolls-Royce Ghost is the marque’s most advanced car yet
hair and dried mud
removal, while a The original Ghost became the most sends a jolt up your spine and, luckily,
IMAGE SOURCE: PHILIPS

small built- successful product in the Rolls-Royce’s
in crevice 116-year history and now, on a cold morning
brush in 2020, we’re standing in front of the
is perfect for brand-new Ghost. It’s the most advanced
getting down the back of seats car that Rolls-Royce has ever made, and
and other awkward spots. from the moment you step into it you’re
philips.co.uk, £420 imbued with a sense of serenity.
Reduction is the key theme here – busy
details and superficial embellishments were
SHARK CORDLESS stripped out to create a more relaxing
HANDHELD VACUUM refuge, while acoustic engineers worked to
CLEANER create a whisper-quiet environment.
The Shark Handheld In fact, Rolls-Royce experimented with a
is much smaller completely silent interior but found it too
than other cordless disorientating. Instead, they manufactured
vacuums, which a soft undertone – a subtle note which
means it’s much more perfectly resonates throughout the vehicle.
mobile. Like Dyson’s It’s calming, hand-crafted, and so special
cordless vacuum, you’ll find yourself speeding up as you walk
it’s still powerful towards it, in anticipation of its luxury.
enough to suck As well as creating a serene environment,
IMAGE SOURCE: SHARK
Rolls-Royce has taken care of this as well
with the new ‘Planar Suspension System’.
This combines a radical front suspension
assembly with the ‘Flagbearer system’,
which uses two cameras to read the road
ahead and prepare the suspension system
for any changes in the surface. The result is
unprecedented levels of ride comfort.
A bespoke Ghost engine map was
created to ensure ‘sufficient’ performance
from the 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12,
delivering a tarmac shattering 563bhp and
850Nm of torque to the all-wheel drivetrain.
Combined, this makes the Ghost a driver’s
Rolls-Royce, one that you’ll very much want
to drive, rather than be driven in.
The new minimalist aesthetic is confident,
pure, and unmistakably Rolls-Royce, whilst
still feeling fresh and modern. Special
mention goes to the ethereal front-end,
using 20 LEDs in the radiator grille to subtly

up lost cereal the near-silent cabin creates a perfect stage illuminate the vanes. It’s incredibly effective.
in between for the Bespoke Audio system, which uses So, although this may be the ‘entry-level’
the cracks of new exciter speakers bonded to the surface Rolls-Royce, priced from a mere £249,600
your car seats, of the Starlight Headliner, transforming the (rolls-roycemotorcars.com), the Ghost is far
though (just don’t expect car’s ceiling into a large speaker. from ‘entry-level’; it’s a super-luxury saloon
Dyson V10 levels of suction). There’s no point in having an interior that that is dynamic, serenely comfortable and
sharkclean.co.uk, £129.99 lulls you to sleep if every bump in the road perfect in its minimalism.

2 2 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Horizon
Living

MORE
CALORIE
CRUSHERS

SAGE THE SMART

GRILL PRO
For maximum healthiness
with minimum effort, this
IMAGE SOURCE: SAGE

pairs a temperature probe

with a George-Foreman-style
grill. The result: perfectly
cooked meats, fish and veg
every time, with less fat.

IMAGE SOURCE: INSTANT POT

£329, sageappliances.com

KITCHENAID
CORDLESS HAND
BLENDER
Mix up
healthsome
soups and
smoothies
POT LUCK
TO YOUR HEALTH!
with this hand
IMAGE SOURCE: KITCHENAID

blender. It’s as
powerful and
chic as you’d Feeling the after effects of the Christmas Lard Apocalypse?
expect from Instant Pot has a great new way to rustle up healthier meals
KitchenAid with
the massive
bonus of being So that was Christmas. And what have you
cordless. done? Eaten rather too many pigs in
£129, kitchenaid.co.uk blankets, puddings made with suet and
delightful chocolate snacks, we’ll wager.
Now you’ve finished stuffing yourself (with
stuffing), it’s time to try a more healthy
approach. If only for January.
Luckily, Instant Pot, possibly the world’s
most popular type of pot, has just the
thing for you. Instant Pot Crisp + Air Fryer
(£180, instantpot.co.uk) does just what its
name suggests, being an Instant Pot and
an air fryer. Two great forms of low-fat
cooking in one handy pot. What more
could you ask?
For those who are not up to speed
PHILIPS VIVA with the Instant Pot revolution, they are
COLLECTION JUICER essentially pressure cookers. However, via
No, you may not use this for a lot of clever presets and a huge online
fruit juice, if you want to lose community offering advice on cooking
IMAGE SOURCE: PHILIPS
cooking rice. By cooking in liquid at
temperatures well above boiling point –
thanks to the miracle of ‘pressure’ – this
type of cooker is able to cook food much
faster than by boiling.
This description doesn’t really do
pressure cooking justice though, and
makes it sound like a primitive, water-based
microwave. However, the real genius of
pressure cooking is that gives a
flavoursome effect not unlike slow cooking,
with meat falling off the bone in deep, rich
sauces. But without the need to wait for
hours. Yes, you heard right.
This particular Instant Pot, as we
mentioned just now, is also an air fryer. This
is thanks to a weird-looking, chef’s hat type
attachment, and means you can ‘fry’
anything you would normally fry – from
chips to chicken to Mars Bars – in a

weight; it’s full of sugar. But
this compact and easy-to-
clean juicer can also make
you a delicious kale juice.
Sorry, it’s January: you’re
meant to be suffering.
£80, philips.co.uk
techniques and recipes, it’s a pressure
cooker with all the guesswork taken out.
Pressure cookers are a great way to
tenderise meat and cook vegetables
without vitamin loss. They’re also excellent
for everything from making your own stock
– a bit of a niche pursuit admittedly – to
minuscule amount of oil.
The Instant Pot Crisp + Air Fryer can also
‘roast, bake, dehydrate and more’ so it’s
certainly versatile. Moreover, the cleverly
simplified controls and AI mean you can
leave it to do all this healthy cooking for you
on autopilot, while you go for a long jog.

24 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Horizon
GARY MARTIN, NEWBURY
Can tech improve my central heating?
This may be preaching to
A
the choir a little, since you
are (of course) a regular
reader of T3, with (naturally) a
subscription to the mag (see page
42) and a vast collection of smart
technology cluttering up your every
corner. But yes, tech can improve
ILLUSTRATIONS: STEPHEN KELLY
your central heating. It’ll get you
super-toasty, and save you money
too. Or, at least, kinda, usually.
See, the thing with smart
thermostats is that they tend to be
at their best when they’re using
their proximity detection functions
to work out when you’re home and
adjust themselves accordingly. You
have noticed, Guru is sure, that you
SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO: INBOX@T3.COM OR FACEBOOK.COM/T3MAG
26 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
T3’s tech titan warms up the start
of the new year with his hot tips
are home a lot more often these
days, so one might not necessarily
come into its own until you’re able
to go and frolic in the streets a lot
more often. Even then, it’ll only shine
once the thermostat in question
has worked out that you’ve
changed your regular pattern.
If you do want to go smart with
your thermostat, you’re looking at
Yes, tech can improve your
central heating. It’ll get you
super-toasty, and save you
money too. Or, at least, kinda
three primary options: the Nest
ABOVE
And the radiators range, Hive, or Tado. There are
bowed and others out there – Netatmo’s looks
prayed, to the interesting, and brands like Ecobee
silicon god they and Honeywell offer up further
made options – but those are the three
that Guru immediately recommends.
Of them, the Nest Thermostat E
(£200) is Guru’s considered
favourite because it’s a truly smart
little thing at a decent price. That
said, if you’re installing a smart
thermostat yourself opt for Tado’s
DIY third-gen wireless number
(£199) – and the company’s range
of individual radiator valve
thermostats can make room-by-
room control a realistic option.
 Gadget guru

KERRY LEWIS, JERSEY

How do I pick the television

that’s right for me?
That’s not an easy question
A to answer at the best of
times, but Guru will tell you
the main thing you shouldn’t do:
don’t buy the TV that looks the
brightest or most colourful in the
shop. People in the business of
selling you TVs are notorious liars,
particularly ‘TV Steve’ at GaGu’s
local electricals superstore. Steve
will overdrive the heck out of that
one screen he needs to shift this
week, dial back the others, and sell
them to chumps by the cartload.
If you’re visiting a showroom, at
least ask to fiddle with the remote
control and check out the picture
settings yourself, and bear in
mind that a consistently-lit shop is
a very different environment to
your living room.
Presuming you’re not actually
hitting up bricks and mortar
retailers anyway, Guru would
happily draw you a tedious flow
chart to help you decide, but (since
T3 refuses to print his flow charts) it
all boils down to one simple
question. What is the thing you
care about most? Are you a gamer,
a movie buff, an audiophile? Do
you care about an eye-searing TV
that can blast through the light
from your living room window?
Do you just want the cheapest TV
you can find?
The answer to all of these
questions, reader, lies in your heart.
Follow your heart to the TV that
suits you best. Spend on HDMI 2.1,
low latency, variable refresh rate
and all the rest if you want your
new console to shine on that new
screen. Look for filmmaker mode if
you like a movie, and check for as
much HDR support as you can get.
Philips’ higher-end TVs have great
speakers with them, though you
should branch back and look at ABOVE
your second-choice killer feature if And if you get HARRY, VIA EMAIL
you already have a soundbar or hungry, there’s
receiver setup. And if you want always that How do I stay
cheap, buy cheap. The low end is delicious carrot
getting pretty damn good. to munch on safe off-piste?
Please insert your own
A joke about Guru being a

GADGET GURU’S MAGIC BOX bit over-squiffy and falling

How good are cheap headphones these
days? Professional Review Guy GaGu is here
to tell you: they’re pretty okay. He gives a
solid four stars to the Enacfire E60 true
wireless buds (£35), though he’s feeling
mean so he must do so while making you
acutely aware of their flaws. There’s no ANC
whatsoever, though their passive isolation is
remarkably solid; they can, like just about
every other Bluetooth device, get a little
glitchy when attempting to send their signals
through a big wobbly sack of water, which
is Mrs Guru’s nickname for your author.
The audio itself, though?
Crikey. Really good. There’s
meat to the bass without
it smashing all of the
other frequencies out
of the way, there’s
a crispness to the
high end, and a
surprisingly expansive
soundstage. They’re
comfy and light,
they’ve got a ridiculous
battery life, and
they’re really
cheap. With
budget true
wireless that’s this
strong – and, from
his understanding,
this is far from
uncommon in the
market these days
– GaGu reckons wire’s days are numbered.
Guru Jr has somehow convinced us to
squidge in a refresh of his bedroom
between all of the other costly renovation
projects on the Guru Towers docket. This
basically just involves some fresh paint on
the walls, for which Mrs Guru was swayed
by the Instagram ads of wall-colouring
startup Lick (lickhome.com). They send
over fancypants vinyl stickers, which you
slap on the wall to see how it looks. You can
peel and reposition them, in order to fully
convince your son that he does not actually
want bruise purple and canary yellow on his
walls. They’re really cool. Promise.
asleep in a shallow stream here.
That did actually happen. It’s no
joke. Had Guru been carrying the
hilariously-named Mammut
Barryvox S (around £325) he’s not
sure if it would have sped up the
local constabulary’s rush to wake
him up or not, but it’s something of
a revolutionary tool in the field of
mountain rescue.
Getting serious, ol’ Barry could
save your life. It’s a transceiver,
meaning it can listen for beacon
signals from those buried by
avalanches, help you pinpoint
where those signals are coming
from, and blurt out its own for up
to 350 hours. It’s powerful, too,
covering a 70m digital search
strip, or up to 95m analog. Buddy
it up with clothes in the most
contrasting, vivid colours you
can find – Guru reads that
(scientifically) a neon green is the
most visible, though orange
might offer the best slope
contrast. Avoid white clobber
for obvious reasons.

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 27
 Horizon

NEW MEDIA ROSIE TILLER,

NOW PLAYING
Guru finds the finest
media you need on
your various devices
THE CROWN SEASON 4
Netflix’s flagship hits the ’80s,
detailing the shenanigans of
Princess Diana and Margaret
Thatcher, the latter played by
Gillian Anderson – giving Guru
a mightily confused loin.
CAMDEN
How do I get a
cheap phone?
It may not feel like a
A bargain, but you’ll always
get the best deal buying a
phone outright rather than getting
sucked into spreading the cost (and
the rest) over the course of a
contract. A refurb will save you
even more, if you’re willing to take
the risk. Networks like Giffgaff offer
very decent month-by-month deals
which’ll likely keep you running
cheaper than you might on a
traditional contract.
Come December 2021, the law
will prevent networks from selling
phones locked to their own SIMs;
GaGu expects this will mean those
networks will then stop selling solo
phones in a big angry huff.
ABOVE
DANIEL WATKINS,
Providing an
GLASTONBURY
enormous
FRANK BALL,
ABERDEEN iceberg doesn’t
come along,
How can I play
Help me find things shouldn’t
be too bad…
board games with
the toilet at distant friends?
night, Guru There’s nothing stopping

GaGu is at ‘the age’ now. He

A you doing so over a video
call, but that’s a bad

POWER UP
There’s no stopping them. Death,
deafness and dementia could
not prevent what might be the
band’s last hurrah from turning
into a solid chug-fest worthy of
Acca Dacca’s electric legacy.
CR ACKING THE CRYPTIC
A YouTube channel in which
two chaps enthusiastically solve
Sudoku puzzles sounds utterly
tedious, doesn’t it? But it’s a
strange, fascinating tedium that
makes for great entertainment.
2 8 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
A feels your pain. And the
Guru Towers facilities are
two floors up from where your
ageing twilight urinator sleeps,
which makes it doubly annoying.
He generally just bumps into stuff
on the way and wees wherever.
There is hope, though, in the
form of the ToiLight (£12), which is
a motion-activated LED contraption
that sits on the rim of your loo. It
lights up the insides when you
come near, illuminating your
convenience with your choice of
eight colours. GaGu quite fancies
secretly picking one up and installing
it just to confuse his family; there
are clones out there for as little as
£4, if you’re not interested in
widdling your money away.
The ToiLight lights up the
insides when you come near,
illuminating your convenience
with your choice of eight colours
experience that nobody enjoys.
Although it lacks the tactility of the
real thing, the best option is to
embrace an online tool to play
those games digitally. In many
cases, you can do this for free:
tabletopia.com gives you access to
thousands of games, for example.
If you’re looking for some real
immersion, try Tabletop Simulator
(£15). It’s a full-on toolkit for virtual
board games, in which you can
muck about in whatever way suits
you – and that includes flipping the
table. It’s VR compatible too.
Don’t miss another
instalment of the
legendary Gadget Guru!
SUBSCRIBE
TODAY!
See p42

Duncan Bell is
getting the Max
Apple has really done it this time, with £550
super-futuristic AirPods Max headphones
he expense of products
T
is such a relative thing.
This Morning – which is
some kind of TV show,
my butler tells me – was recently
flooded with complaints because it
featured some £89 pyjamas. I could
afford £89 PJs, if I wanted them,
but obviously to many people, not
least in a recession, that amount for
jim-jams is TOO MUCH.
A few months ago, I wrote about
an Oral-B electric toothbrush that
was £500. That seemed a little rich
to me, but as they were at great
pains to point out, on Amazon and
at Boots it’s usually going to be
about half that. Which makes you
wonder, why not just make it £250
in the first place. Then it won’t
seem like TOO MUCH.
In the world of headphones, the
most popular devices in the world
right now are posh, noise cancelling
headphones and Apple AirPods.
Apple’s true wireless buds seem
quite reasonably priced to me. Of
course, to many people that is not
the case, and that’s why you can
buy those buds that look exactly
like AirPods for £3.50 at places
such as the dodgy end of your local
street market, and on Amazon.
A lot of noise cancelling, over-
ear headphones are probably what
a fair few people would consider
TOO MUCH. I’m thinking of the
really nice ones from Bose, Beats,
Bowers & Wilkins and other brands
beginning with B (and Sony).
This style of noise-cancelling
cans was originally aimed squarely
at business-class frequent flyers,
back in the days when people went
on aeroplanes – remember them?
Brands then realised that you can
actually experience noise in places
other than the business-class
section of planes and began to
market them
to a broader
market, with
massive success.
On the whole,
these are headphones
that have an RRP of about
£350 and may retail for anywhere
from £200-£250 thanks to the
miracle of online retail competition.
Before the rise of true wireless
buds – driven largely by Apple
AirPods – noise cancelling
headphones made up the largest
share of the headphones market by
monetary value.
So of course, what many people
– including the makers of all those
very successful headphones – have
been thinking is: ‘when will Apple
make some over-ear noise
cancellers?’ And the answer is…
NOW and the price? It’s TOO TOO
MUCH! How much? £550, to you.
“Apple has mastered
the art of making
people pay a bit more
for a product”
With most brands I would now
be saying: these guys are out of
their trees. Who is going to pay
that when you can get market-
leading, noise cancelling
headphones from Bose, Sony and
the rest for less than half that? TOO
MUCH! However I am not going to
say that too loudly, because if
there’s one brand that has
mastered the art of making people
pay a bit more for a product, it’s
Apple. Even if they’ve called it
Opinion
wrong,
it’s hard to
imagine them ever admitting it and
slashing the price, and they won’t
ever reveal sales figures in all
probability. So we’ll never know.
You have to ask what Apple can
bring to the noise cancelling table
to justify that extra moolah. The
Max look quite distinctive, in the
usual Apple way, so everyone will
know you are wearing Apple
headphones. But the noise
cancelling and the sensors that
‘automatically detect when they are
on a user’s head’ – so the audio can
be paused when you take them off
– surely can’t be that much better
than anyone else’s noise cancelling
or pause button.
That suggests that their ‘spatial
audio’ – which allows for surround
support all the way up to Dolby
Atmos – is intended as the killer
feature here. It’s certainly true that
an increasing number of people
want to use headphones for
watching movies on their laptop,
phone or TV, and nobody else has
really addressed this up to now.
Nonetheless, my gut feeling is
that AirPods Max will be more of a
HomePod level of success than an
AirPods-style triumph. Except in
one area. I confidently predict
AirPods Max will be 2021’s product
with THE most moans about it
being TOO MUCH. It’s nailed on.
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 2 9
 Nail your fitness goals in 2021

NAIL YOUR
FITNESS
GOALS IN
2021
Time to work off that 2020 flab. Peruse our selection of strength-building, muscle-toning,
limb-stretching tech and grab the gadgets you need to ensure new year means new you

Words: Leon Poultney Photography: Neil Godwin

3 0 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
Nail your fitness goals in 2021

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 31
 Nail your fitness goals in 2021
STRENGTHEN YOUR CORE Perfect kit for building up your back and augmenting your abs
3
1 NADI X SMART
YOGA PANTS
It’s probably the least likely
physical pursuit to receive a full
technological makeover, but yoga
is molten hot right now and it’s
one of the finest, low-impact
ways to improve strength and
flexibility, especially where the
core is concerned. These high-
tech leggings feature embedded
sensors and motors that offer yoga
flow guidance through vibration
and audio prompts. No kidding!
Around £185, wearablex.com
3 2 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
2 BEST FITNESS
AB-HYP BENCH
Combining two of the most
popular and longest running
ab-building exercises in the
book (the ab crunch and back
hyperextension), this space-saving
bench supports the lower body so
users can perform all manner of
crunches, sit-ups and leg extension
exercises to strengthen the core
and ensure that washboard
stomach really pops. It folds flat
when not in use, for easy stashing.
£149, fitness-superstore.co.uk
4
3 ELEIKO DIPPING BELT
Granted, if at home you’ll need to
have access to something sturdy
to take your weight. But once
you’re able to get your feet off
the ground with the upper body
supporting your mass, a durable
leather dipping belt like this is the
perfect way to gradually overload
the abs during hanging knee raises,
pull-ups and tricep dips. Learning
to properly engage the core during
these fundamental exercises is a
great route to solid abs.
£59, eleiko.com
4 TECHNOGYM
SKILLMILL CONNECT
What better way to shred fat and
reveal abs than with the most
punishing running experiences
around? Designed to improve
power, speed, stamina and stability
in pro athletes, this clever piece
of tech adjusts its resistance
automatically with user effort.
That makes it your best friend (or
worst enemy) when it comes to
performing high intensity interval
training workouts.
£9,680, technogym.com

5 P.VOLVE
This app and equipment combo
has been carefully curated to
improve mind-muscle activation,
meaning users are trained to
achieve serious muscular workout
without the injury causing
intensity of, say, thousands of
crunches. The system utilises
patented resistance bands, glute
activation balls and light weights
to assist in its unique, app-
assisted high-intensity workouts,
guaranteed to carve solid muscles
and improve form.
$159.99 (Starter Kit), pvolve.com
6 PERFECT FITNESS AB
CARVER PRO
Crafting the six pack of your
dreams needn’t cost the earth, as
this advanced abs roller boasts
some basic but clever technology
in a package that costs less than
most monthly gym memberships.
An interior kinetic engine, which
uses a carbon steel spring to
provide resistance when rolling
in and out, makes it far more
approachable, while ergonomic
hand grips are deliberately angled
to target arm and core muscles.
£39.99, amazon.co.uk
7 JAXJOX
KETTLEBELLCONNECT
2.0
Forget investing in an entire
load of kettlebells, as this clever
contraption stashes six different
weights into one handy unit.
Simply press a button and the
kettlebell automatically adjusts
from 5.5kg to a hefty 19kg. Better
still, the kettlebell is one of the
best devices for achieving total
body strength, which the app-
based JaxJox on-demand and live
classes can prove.
£229, jaxjox.co.uk
Strengthen your core
8 SLENDERTONE
CONNECT ABS
TONING BELT
Working in conjunction with an
app, this abs belt uses advanced
electronic muscle stimulation
(EMS) technology to contract the
abdominal muscles. Essentially,
you can kick back and chill while
the belt sends signals to your
abs and oblique muscles. There
are between 1 and 100 intensity
levels, with five specific toning
programmes that cover a range of
end goals. Weird, but it works.
£154.99, slendertone.com
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 3 3
 Nail your fitness goals in 2021
2 3
1 WAHOO KICKR BIKE
Purveyors of some of the finest
turbo trainers money can buy,
Wahoo has taken things to the
next level by unleashing arguably
one of the most realistic indoor
cycling experiences around. The
Kickr Bike is styled like a carbon
fibre Tour de France racer and
features real road-bike-style gear
shifting. It is also ready to roll out
of the box, seamlessly integrating
with the Wahoo ecosystem and
some of the best virtual training
programmes out there, such as
Zwift and The Sufferfest.
£2,999, uk.wahoofitness.com
3 4 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
GET TRIM
Fix up, look sharp by getting the right helpers
2 NINJA BLENDER
Getting trim is as much about diet
as it is about exercise, so clean up
the daily intake of calories with
the brilliant smoothie maker. Its
1,000W motor can slice through
frozen fruit, vegetables and
all manner of healthy snacks.
Automatic one-touch blending
programs make things nice and
easy. Better still, everything is
mixed into the cup, so you can
create great tasting, high protein
body fuel quickly and then
consume it post-workout for
maximum results.
£89.99, ninjakitchen.co.uk
3 PELOTON BIKE+
It’s no secret that working out
with others increases motivation
and the likelihood of sticking to
fitness goals. Peloton riffs on
this idea by bringing class-based
exercise to a domestic setting, with
a smart bike and accompanying
display that hosts thousands of
classes and live leaderboards for
that added kick up the posterior.
A fresh, moveable HD screen also
helps with the new, weights-based
resistance classes that you can
hit when you’re not spinning your
legs into a frenzy.
£2,295, onepeloton.co.uk
4 BODY POWER
STRIKEMAN
Boxing is one of the most physically
demanding pursuits going but the
thought of hanging a heavy and
awkward punch bag is enough to
put most off. That’s where your
new best friend, the Strikeman,
comes in. His high-density foam
torso and noggin is perfect for
pummelling, while the heavy duty
base is sturdy enough to withstand
even the mightiest of stress-
fuelled upper cuts. The height is
adjustable, so it’s great for people
of all different heights.
£249, fitness-superstore.com

5 FIIT APP AND
FIIT DEVICE
Not got the space or the budget
for one of Peloton’s offerings?
Consider Fiit. Offering hundreds
of classes with live leaderboards,
it harnesses the collective
knowledge of 30 trainers, bringing
everything from mobility to
strength classes direct to your
smartphone. The accompanying
Fiit device analyses your effort
and counts reps, so you can track
progress, accrue points and move
up ’boards the more you sweat.
£25 & £20p/m, fiit.tv
6 POWER PLATE
THE MOVE
Essentially a smaller, more
portable version of the hefty
Power Plate machines in gyms,
this diminutive unit features the
same patented PrecisionWave
vibration technology that is
designed to stimulate natural
reactions in the body to increase
muscle activation. With a larger
surface area than other domestic
Power Plate products in the
range, it helps users achieve a
powerful, total body workout.
£2,699, powerplate.com
7 ACTIV5
POCKET GYM
This small but mighty gizmo works
on the fundamentals of isometric
training, where users hold a stress
position rather than busting
out rep after rep with weights.
Essentially, the palm-sized device
measures the amount of force you
are putting through it, while an
accompanying app coaches you
through hundreds of different
exercises. It’s possible to build
strength using only the force your
body can muster. Clever huh?
£124.95, amazon.co.uk
Get trim
8 GARMIN S2
SMART SCALE
We are all created differently
and our weight is made up of
various proportions of bone mass,
skeletal muscle mass, body fat and
water percentage, which is why
it pays to track these stats when
shedding pounds safely. Garmin’s
innovative tech measures these
key indicators and tracks it over
time, seamlessly synching with
Garmin’s ecosystem of fitness
trackers and computers for a
more detailed fitness picture.
£149, garmin.com
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 3 5
 Nail your fitness goals in 2021
BUILD MUSCLE
2
1 BOWFLEX
SELECTTECH 1090I
These adjustable dumbbells should
form part of any prospective
muscle builder’s armoury, as the
unique design replaces up to 15
sets of dumbbells. The clever
package sees an exterior rotary
grip select the desired weight with
a quick spin, meaning you can pick
from 4kg to a hefty 41kg. Perfect
for tough drop sets, A/B workouts
and progressive overload, they are
durable and comfortable to use.
£699, fitness-superstore.co.uk
3 6 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
Never be frightened to approach a jam jar again
2 ELEIKO
WEIGHTLIFTING
TECHNIQUE BAR
With a lower starting weight
(choose between 5kg or 10kg
bars) and less aggressive knurling
(the rough grip on the bar), these
bars are easier on the hands and
perfect for those looking to brush
up technique before moving on to
heavier weights. Of course, they
can be loaded up with standard
Olympic weight discs when it’s
time to really push the limits.
£422, eleiko.com
3
3 CENTR APP
Brainchild of Thor himself (actor
and buff dude Chris Hemsworth),
Centr aims to bring together
some of his favoured trainers,
dieticians and mindfulness
teachers to create an app-based
environment that promotes
healthy living. Live classes,
guided meditation and dietician-
approved recipes are all geared
up to get you looking like the God
of Thunder… or at least within a
hammer’s throw of there.
£22.99 p/m, centr.com
4 BOWFLEX XTREME 2
SE HOME GYM
As versatile as a pulley-and-
weights system in the gym,
the Xtreme 2 SE model from
Bowflex uses Bowflex Power
Rod technology to provide
the resistance, which is just as
beneficial for training but weighs
far less and doesn’t consume as
much floor space. With multiple
cable/pulley positions, you can hit
the chest, back and lower body in
one handy and compact machine.
£899, fitness-superstore.com

5 MYPROTEIN
FAT GRIPZ
Simple, affordable and easy to
use, these rubbery additions to
your dumbbell or barbell workout
aim to improve grip strength and
build up the important muscles in
the forearms. Simple manoeuvres
like a bench press or barbell curl
suddenly become more difficult,
as extra emphasis is placed
on the biceps and forearm
muscles. Great for achieving that
enviable Schwarzenegger-esque
‘pump’ faster.
£25.99, myprotein.com
5
6 TRX HOME 2
Did you know you can build
muscle just by hanging around?
Well, there’s a bit of work
involved than just that, as
the TRX Home 2 suspension
training system is designed
to harness the power of your
own bodyweight to add tough
resistance to all the major
muscles in your body (and plenty
of minor ones, too). Anchor this
on a door frame and push, pull,
plank, hinge and rotate your way
to a rippling physique.
£169.95, trxtraining.co.uk
7 THERAGUN PRO
One of the biggest stumbling
blocks in the quest for serious
gains is recovery, with sore
or painful muscles inhibiting
workouts later in the week. The
Theragun PRO uses percussive
therapy to gently pummel the
ouch out of sore muscles, while
its patented powerful motor
delivers up to 30kg of force
to improve circulation and
release tension in weary glutes,
shoulders and much more. Your
body will thank for you getting it.
£549, theragun.com
7
Build muscle
8 OPTI MULTI PULL UP
BAR ARGOS
Sometimes bodyweight is the
only mass you need to build
serious muscle and mastering
the pull up is a surefire way to
increase the size and strength
of your shoulders, abs, biceps
and triceps. This affordable Opti
number easily hooks onto most
doorframes and offers close grip
handles to place more emphasis
on the biceps. The perfect
platform for summertime gun
show preparation.
£19.99, argos.co.uk
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 37
 Nail your fitness goals in 2021
SMASH YOUR RUN TIMES
1 NURVV RUN
Take the guesswork out of
perfecting running form with
these smart running insoles, which
feature 32 precision sensors
that are discreetly embedded
into the insole. They constantly
feed data to a smartphone app in
order to analyse running health
and offer real-time metrics. The
app then offers tips on how to
improve running stride, with haptic
feedback sent to compatible smart
watches in order to vibrate your
running form into shape.
£249.99, nurvv.com
3 8 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
Stay ahead of the crowd, quite literally
2 STRYD POWER
METER
Why should cyclists be the only
ones to accurately track power
output? The updated Stryd Power
Meter now takes into account wind
speed, temperature and humidity,
so it offers accurate read-outs.
Simply hook it onto the laces of
your favoured running shoe, link
it up to the provided app and get
instant feedback on running power,
allowing you to fix energy leaks due
to poor running form, or better
pace a run over varied terrain.
£199, apex-sports.co.uk
3 WAHOO TICKR FIT
Traditional heart rate sensors wrap
around the chest and can prove
uncomfortable over long distances,
while wrist-based systems tend
to be a tad unreliable. The TICKR
from Wahoo tackles both of these
issues, wrapping around the arm
for comfort and using advanced
optical technology to accurately
track the heart rate. It is equipped
with Bluetooth and ANT+
technology, meaning it will hook
up with most devices for on-the-
fly BPM info.
£64.99, wahoofitness.com
4 ASSAULT
AIRRUNNER
With no need to plug in to the
mains, the Assault AirRunner feeds
off its user’s energy and gives back
twice as much as it gets. With a
unique curved running surface and
grab handles, it is predominantly
designed for HIIT sessions, where
users can change speed at will,
making it a great training partner
for those who want to get stronger
and faster over shorter distances.
It’s fairly quiet compared to other
running machines too.
£2,999, wolverson-fitness.co.uk

5 BEATS
POWERBEATS PRO
With an outer casing that has
been reinforced to handle sweat
and tweaked for maximum water
resistance, the snug-fitting
Powerbeats Pro make a great
training partner. Battery life is an
impressive nine hours, while both
ear buds have controls for volume
and track skipping. Of course,
they pack the patented Beats
bass notes too, ensuring your
run is accompanied by a suitably
thumping soundtrack.
£219, johnlewis.com
6 GARMIN
FORERUNNER 745
Monster your upcoming
marathon with this terrific
running watch. Going far beyond
simply displaying split timings,
the Forerunner 745 can analyse
the effectiveness of a training
routine, display recovery time
post-exercise, predict race times
based on fitness levels, and it links
up with accessories to measure
running metrics. It’s like having a
running coach on your wrist – one
that weighs just 47g.
£449, garmin.com
5
Smash your run times
7 ZWIFT RUN POD
Previously only allowing cyclists
to cruise around its digital
landscapes, one of the world’s
greatest pieces of virtual training
software recently opened its
doors to runners. Attach the
Zwift Pod to the laces of your
trainers and jump into Zwift’s
virtual world when putting in the
miles on the treadmill. It cleverly
analyses stride and speed,
feeding this info back to a little
avatar on-screen and displaying
your output in real-time.
£37.99, zwift.com
6
8 SAUCONY
ENDORPHIN PRO
Engineered in conjunction
with a crew of Saucony’s elite
athletes including Olympian
Jared Ward and Molly Seidel,
the Endorphin Pro features a
curved carbon fibre footplate
for powerful running transitions.
There’s also plenty of lightweight
cushioning, which keeps overall
weight down to just 213g per
shoe. If you’re looking to smash
run times, these are the shoes to
stick on your feet.
£190, saucony.co.uk
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 3 9
 Nail your fitness goals in 2021
IMPROVE YOUR
CARDIO FITNESS
1
3
1 APEX
Partnering with popular London
spin studio Boom Cycle, Apex
is one of the latest additions
to the at-home bike workout
scene. £1,200 buys a sleek and
capable bike, while the £30
per month subscription gains
access to hundreds of live and
on-demand classes. The bike
syncs to a smartphone or tablet
via Bluetooth and sends live
workout data to an in-workout
leaderboard. All rides are logged,
so it’s easy to track progress and
hit those fitness goals.
£1,200 + £30p/m, apexrides.com
4 0 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
Kick-start your journey to a healthier heart
2 SCHWINN
AIRDYNE A8
Sometimes referred to as ‘the
Devil’s Tricycle’ in fitness circles,
the humbling Air Bike packs
enough air-generated resistance
to bring even the fittest folk in
the world to their knees. A brutal
combination of upper and lower
body work means it is possible to
take a heart rate from resting to
max threshold in seconds, making
it a brilliantly brutal HIIT machine.
Better still, it doesn’t require
power and serves as a brilliant, low
impact way of toning muscle, too.
£1,099, fitness-superstore.com
2
3 WATERROWER A1
Sleek, stylish and arguably the
closest sensation to real rowing
you can get without venturing
outdoors, the WaterRower A1
would make a solid addition to
any living room, even if it never
gets used. But that would be
silly, because this solid Ash
machine features WaterFlywheel
technology, which feels and
sounds like you’re skimming
along the open water. Low
impact, high-intensity workouts
don’t get much more aesthetically
pleasing than this.
£799, waterrower.co.uk
4
4 CONCEPT2 SKIERG
The chances are you’ve never
been Nordic skiing, so trust us
when we say it is one of the most
demanding workouts a human can
endure. Working the legs, arms
and core in unison, the Concept2
SkiErg mimics the movements
required to traverse tough, snow-
laden terrain and is guaranteed
to set pulses soaring. It builds
muscle and improves aerobic
fitness with the same trusted
flywheel resistance and electronic
monitoring systems found on
Concept2 rowing machines.
£700, concept2.co.uk

5 MYZONE
MZ-3 BELT
Gamification and social
interaction: two buzzwords in the
fitness game right now that have
proven to motivate, challenge
and improve overall fitness levels.
MyZone, essentially a smart
heart-rate tracker and an app, sees
users earn points for their effort.
Exercise in a higher heart-rate
zone and you earn more points.
This, in turn, sees you climb a
leaderboard made up of anyone in
your social network or gym group.
£129.99, buy.myzone.org
Improve your cardio fitness
6 MEGLIO SKIPPING 7 APPLE WATCH 8 GARMIN
ROPE PRO SERIES 6 VIVOACTIVE 4S
Skipping isn’t just for kids in The latest Apple Watch is geared Where do we start with this
the playground, as the potent towards the active, as it goes thorough fitness tracking
mixture of fast feet and excellent beyond basic heart rate monitoring device? Body energy levels,
coordination make it one of the and now measures the oxygen blood oxygen saturation, stress
easiest ways to raise the heart rate saturation of the user’s blood. A tracking, hydration tracking and,
and torch calories. Lightweight greater SpO2 level indicates that of course, wrist-based heart-rate
aluminium handles and stainless more oxygenated blood is being monitoring all come crammed
steel ball bearings in this bad boy delivered throughout the body, into this small but stylish device.
equate to a silky smooth rotation. which is a good thing. Throw in Better still, it features workout
Plus, there’s 9ft of easily adjustable accurate step counting, an always- animations on the wrist, so there’s
rope to play with here, so it’s on altimeter and improved sleep now no excuse to not get your
suitable for diminutive beginners tracking and you have a great heart rate spiking with some
and fleet-footed giants alike. platform for measuring health. perfectly executed squats.
£11.99, mymeglio.com From £379, apple.com £259.99, garmin.com
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 41
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J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 4 3
 Ideal laptops for every task

IDEAL
LAPTOPS FOR
EVERY TASK Get a laptop that’s tailor-made for the way you’re going to be using it
Words: David Nield Photography: Phil Barker

4 4 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 MacBook Air

BEST FOR ON THE GO

MacBook Air
Apple’s brand new MacBook Air for late 2020 has instantly up-ended the laptop market, alongside the 13-inch
MacBook Pro, which got a similar refresh at the same time. They’re the first two MacBooks to come with Apple’s
own M1 chipset design, which potentially offers huge gains in terms of both the performance and the battery life
you can expect. While these laptops have only been on the market for a couple of weeks at the time of writing,
it looks as though that potential is going to be met – and as applications are updated to take advantage of the
redesigned silicon, the speed gains should be even greater. This MacBook Air is essentially a major step forward
in terms of components and architecture, for exactly the same price as the model it replaces.
In terms of the outward design of the laptop, hardly anything has changed from the previous Intel-based
incarnation. You get the same 13.3-inch high-resolution display, and the same lightweight, streamlined
construction – this tips the scales at a mere 1.29kg. Add in the slickness of the latest macOS Big Sur, and it’s the
ideal laptop for getting stuff done on the go.
From £999, apple.com

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 45
 Ideal laptops for every task

BEST FOR GAMING

MSI GE66 Raider

When it comes to gaming laptops, you’ve got a wide range of models to pick from – but very few have impressed
us as much as the MSI GE66 Raider. Depending on the configuration you pick it can be expensive, but it
combines top-tier gaming performance with an excellent, 240Hz or 300Hz refresh rate screen and customisable
lighting for that fully immersive experience.
One glance at this laptop and its superb 15.6-inch display should be enough to tell you whether you’re going to
fall in love with it or not. Powered by some of the fastest Intel processors around, together with the latest Nvidia
GeForce RTX graphics, you can be sure that even the most demanding games are going to look super-smooth.
What the GE66 Raider does better than a lot of its competitors is find a balance – a balance between the most
expensive and the most affordable gaming laptops, as well as a balance between looking too plain and too
flashy in terms of extra bells and whistles. Add in MSI’s expertise in building these sorts of laptops and a host of
connection ports to make use of, and this is a definite winner.
From £1,689, msi.com

4 6 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Google Pixelbook Go

BEST FOR STREAMING

Google Pixelbook Go
With their stripped-down, low-maintenance, web-based operating system, Chromebooks aren’t for everyone
– but for some people, they’re going to be absolutely perfect. The Pixelbook Go is Google’s idea of what the best
possible Chromebook can look like, with a sharp 13.3-inch screen, a robust and solid casing (with textured
rubber grips underneath), and a choice of black or pink colours.
With no desktop programs to slow you down, you can get straight into the business of streaming music and
video from whatever website you like: Netflix, Disney Plus, Spotify, iPlayer, Apple Music or anything else. As an
added bonus, Chromebooks run Android apps too, so you can install the mobile versions of these streaming apps
and sync playlists and content for offline enjoyment too.
With a total of four different component configurations to choose from – going all the way up to an Intel Core i7
model with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage (probably a lot more than you’ll need) – you should be able to find
a Pixelbook Go to suit your needs and your budget. And once you’ve made your choice, let the streaming begin!
From £629, store.google.com

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 47
 Ideal laptops for every task

BEST FOR VIDEO CALLING

Asus VivoBook S15

The Asus VivoBook S15 is just a great all rounder – the screen, the size, the build quality, the battery life, the
performance... it’s all impressive. This is a laptop that can do just about anything that you need it to, besides
really heavy duty gaming and video editing, and it comes in at a competitive mid-range price too.
In terms of video calling, take a look at the large 15.6-inch screen – perfect for seeing all your family members
and friends – as well as the Harman-Kardon-certified stereo sound system that should mean you can hear
everyone clearly too. The all-important webcam is sensibly positioned above the screen, and that’s not
something we can say about every laptop that we’ve come across.
Despite the large screen size, it’s a laptop that you’ll have no problems taking around with you, and you can
expect around eight hours of use between charges. You get a generous number of ports to make use of, a choice
of configurations that include the latest Intel silicon, and of course Windows 10 – easily able to run every video
calling app out there. Come for the video calling, stay for everything else the Asus VivoBook S15 can do.
From £954.95, asus.com

4 8 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Razer Blade Stealth 13

BEST FOR CREATIVE TASKS

Razer Blade Stealth 13

There’s so much to like about the Razer Blade Stealth 13 that it’s difficult to know where to start. As this is our
pick for hardcore creative tasks we should probably begin with the simply gorgeous 13.3-inch 4K touchscreen,
which really shines when you’re trying to edit images and video, with the touchscreen a useful alternative to the
mouse and keyboard. The laptop is also available with a non-touch Full HD screen.
With immersive THX Spatial Audio delivering advanced 7.1 surround sound, the audio coming from the laptop is
as good as the visuals – handy for editing video as well as watching it. Meanwhile, the design exudes class – this
is a computer that’s a pleasure to work on, and because of its size you can pick it up and work with it anywhere.
The Razer Blade Stealth 13 is also one of the smallest laptops around that can actually cope with top-tier games,
thanks to its Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 Ti GPU. You won’t get the best frame rates of course, but the GPU and
Intel’s Core i7 processors mean even the most demanding games run smoothly – and they also help when it
comes to all the other tasks you need the laptop to do.
From £1,899.99, razer.com

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 49
 Join the revolution

5 0 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

JOIN THE REVOLUTION
Meet the Canon EOS R5 and Canon EOS R6 – the
full-frame mirrorless cameras that are changing
the game for photographers and film-makers
Canon’s EOS R series of full-frame
mirrorless cameras deliver all the
benefits of large-sensor photography
and movie-making in bodies that
are more compact and lightweight
than traditional DSLRs. The latest
pro-spec Canon EOS R5 and Canon
EOS R6 redefine mirrorless
performance, offering advanced,
industry-first features that set a new
benchmark for hybrid cameras.
As the flagship of the EOS R range,
the EOS R5 packs the cream of
cutting-edge Canon technology.
Capable of recording sensational
45-megapixel high-resolution stills
in bursts up to 20fps, it never misses a
beat. With 5940 autofocus positions,
Animal Tracking and Eye Detection
AF, the EOS R5’s next-level Dual Pixel
CMOS AF II system offers exceptional
focusing precision. Powerful image
stabilisation, achieved through a
combination of an in-body image
stabiliser and lens-based
stabilisation, delivers up to eight-
stops of shake reduction for super-
sharp images every time.
REVOLUTIONARY RF LENS MOUNT
The marvellousness that is at the epicentre of the new Canons
At the heart of the Canon EOS R system is
the innovative RF lens mount. Its combination
of a large diameter and shorter flange
distance from the mount to the sensor allows
for large aperture lens designs that offer
superior image quality.
The future-proof 12-pin RF mount
features four more electrical contacts than
the EF mount and enables higher-bandwidth
The EOS R5 is a full-featured tool
for all film-makers too. It’s the first
ever full-frame mirrorless camera to
record cinematic 8K 12-bit RAW video
up 30fps internally, as well as high
frame rate 4K to 120p for smooth
slow-motion playback. You can even
extract 35-megapixel stills from 8K
video clips, so you can find and freeze
the perfect moment in your own time.
If you don’t need the 8K video
specification, but still want to step
up to professional mirrorless
performance, then the EOS R6 with its
manageable 20.1-megapixel file size is
a great choice. Like the EOS R5, it
offers up to 12fps shooting with its
mechanical shutter, as well as a silent
electronic option that captures
high-speed bursts at up to 20fps. It
can also record crisp and detailed 4K
video footage at up to 60p, and
features Canon Log and HDR PQ
options if you need to capture more
dynamic range.
The EOS R6 shares the same
ground-breaking intelligent autofocus
technology as the EOS R5. Powered by
Advertorial
the new DIGIC X processor, the Dual
Pixel CMOS AF II system stays locked
onto people even if they turn away
from the camera, and it can even
identify and track cats, dogs and birds
with its intelligent AF.
Being able to push the EOS R6’s
sensitivity all the way to ISO 102,400
means it’s also the perfect camera for
low-light photography. Its in-body
five-axis image stabiliser works
co-operatively with stabilised RF
lenses to provide up to eight-stops of
stability for sharp handheld results as
light levels drop.
The EOS R system is supported by
a growing range of dedicated Canon
RF lenses. This includes unique
zooms, such as the bright, prime-
quality Canon RF 28-70mm F2L
USM and discreet Canon RF
70-200mm F2.8L IS USM, as well
as pioneering fixed-focal length
lenses like the Canon RF 800mm
F11 IS STM. You can even use your
EF and EF-S lenses on an EOS R
series camera via a range of EOS R
mount adapters.
communication between the lens and the
camera. The increased amount of data being
passed back and forth enables a host of
improvements, including high-precision
autofocus tracking with Eye Detection AF,
superior image stabilisation, and real-time
Digital Lens Optimiser, which corrects for
distortions and aberrations without any
effect on shooting performance.
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 51
52 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Soundbars

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO…

Soundbars
The ever bigger pictures we’re getting from our TVs deserve to
be partnered with equally big sound – and nothing can deliver
that better without destroying your decor than a soundbar.
Here’s what any prospective buyer should be looking for

Words: John Archer Photography: Neil Godwin

oundbars feel like As both the market and the actual AC-3 audio decoding, a quartet of
they’re relatively new product size of this new home three-inch drivers and two one-inch

S additions to the home

entertainment
landscape. An inevitable spin-off
of our obsession with ever-thinner
TV designs that just don’t have
enough physical space to hold a
half-decent sound system.
In reality, though, basic efforts to
build passive left, right and centre
speakers into single enclosures have
been around for decades. Even if you
formalise things and define a ‘true’
soundbar as a horizontally
configured enclosure that contains
fully powered speakers for multiple
channels of sound, then the first
example, the wonderfully prosaically
named ADA106 from US brand Altec
Lansing, went on sale 22 years ago.
In fact, the emergence of
soundbars probably became
inevitable as far back as the 1980s,
when the arrival of the Dolby
Surround and Dolby Pro-Logic
sound formats ushered in a living
room audio revolution as movie and
TV fans suddenly found they could
enjoy cinematic sound at home.
cinema revolution grew, so did
demand for solutions that delivered
the joys of separate audio devices
without the usual attendant clutter
of speakers, amps and AV receivers.
Ironically, it was ultimately the
villain of the AV audio piece – the
television – which arguably
provided the ‘missing link’ that led
to the creation of the soundbar. In
the mid 1990s, some TV makers
started to deploy psychoacoustic
processing to create much bigger
sound stages and even some vaguely
surround sound audio effects from
their (still in truth pretty puny)
built-in speakers.
Naturally such approaches only
achieved moderate success in sound
quality terms. But they proved there
was a consumer appetite for a
compromise between sound quality
and convenience that led Altec
Lansing to the ADA106.
The ADA106 was a surprisingly
serious bit of kit considering its
ground-breaking status. It supported
Dolby Pro-Logic and Dolby Digital
tweeters, and even shipped with an
external subwoofer for bass.
Nowadays, many models try to
squeeze all their speakers, including
bass drivers, into one-box solutions.
All sorts of new speaker designs and
psychoacoustic algorithms have
been thrown at trying to get big
sound from ever smaller boxes, too.
We’ve seen soundbars get
consistently slimmer but also wider,
so they can fit underneath ever more
minimalistic TV designs. But we’ve
also seen the soundbar world expand
to include premium hybrid models
that ship with or can have rear
speakers added to the main
soundbar unit.
External subwoofers along the
lines of the original Altec Lansing
approach have also continued to be
popular, at least in the mid-range
of the market. And it’s now typical
for the extra speakers in hybrid
soundbar systems to offer wireless
connectivity with the main
soundbar component. Soundbars
have appeared that use beam

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 5 3
 Soundbars

T3 recommends... If you want the perfect soundbar to suit your own specific tastes and
feature requirements, it’s always worth doing your own research

THE BEST SOUNDBARS based on the advice provided in this feature.

If that all sounds far too much like hard work for your liking,

FOR EVERY BUDGET though, fear not: the T3 team have put their heads together to come
up with four models at very different price points that all excel in
their own different ways.
From cheap and cheerful to luxurious and Whether you’re after power on a budget, kick-ass Dolby Atmos
uncompromising, these won’t let you down without the clutter, classic hi-fi refinement or money’s-no-object
luxury, there’s something here for you.

BUDGET BLASTER CLASS ACT

SONY HT-G700 SAMSUNG HW-Q70T

The HT-G700 is a classic example
of just how much bang – literally
– you can get for your buck in
the soundbar world these days.
Despite costing under £300, it
ships with a hunky subwoofer,
gives you surprisingly convincing
virtual Dolby Atmos and DTS:X
sound from its clean and powerful
(400W) 3.1-channel speaker
arrangement, and supports
eARC. There’s no streamed music
support, but this is still great value.
£299, sony.co.uk
Samsung can usually be relied
on to deliver levels of power and
dynamic range from compact
soundbar designs that seem to
defy the laws of physics – and the
Q70T doesn’t let the side down.
Its subwoofer hits exceptionally
deep for such an affordable model,
while the addition of two up-firing
speakers on the soundbar’s top
edge helps it deliver more precise
Dolby Atmos and DTS:X than
anything else in its class.
£499, samsung.com

EVERYWHERE AT ONCE LUXURY OVERDOSE

SONOS ARC SENNHEISER AMBEO

Having established itself as a
legend of multi-room audio, Sonos
achieved the same status in the
soundbar world with its brilliant
Arc. Despite housing all of its
speakers in a single, elegant box, it
manages to combine wall-shaking
levels of power with arguably the
most convincing Atmos-assisted
surround sound effect ever heard
from a one-bar solution. And it
sounds at least as great with music
as it does with movies.
£799, sonos.com
The Ambeo’s party trick sees 13
high-quality drivers delivering
incredible levels of power,
dynamic range and almost freakish
surround-sound precision from a
single-bar solution. It also outguns
rivals by carrying no less than four
4K, HDR-friendly HDMI ports.
Okay, it’s massively expensive,
and its size creates potential
installation challenges. The
rewards for your outlay and effort,
though, are truly jaw-dropping.
£2,199, sennheiser.com

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 55
 The complete guide to…
exception of the Philips OLED+935 range,
even efforts like these don’t deliver results
comparable with a good soundbar.
SIZING UP SOUNDBARS
As we’ve seen, soundbars have evolved in all
sorts of different directions, offering a huge
number of different setups and options
across a wide range of price points. To try
and narrow things down a bit, therefore,
there are a number of things you should
think about before starting your search.
First, make sure you know where you’re
putting it. If, as we’d generally recommend,
it’s sitting under your screen on top of
whatever bit of furniture your TV’s sat on,
make sure it’s slim enough to sit there
without obscuring either your TV’s picture
or infrared receiver. If your TV is mounted
LITTLE THINGS THAT MATTER
Because there’s more to a satisfying soundbar experience than pure audio muscle
BUILT-IN LED
Soundbars that carry displays are much
easier to use than those that don’t. Being able
to see at a glance which input you’ve
selected, which sound format you’re playing
and which speaker volume level you’re
adjusting during set up is far preferable to
having to figure such stuff out ‘blind’.
ARC/EARC SUPPORT
For some set-ups, it’s more convenient to run
sources into a TV first, and then output
sound from the TV to the soundbar. Do this
by using your TV and soundbar’s ARC HDMI
ports. These allow digital sound that can even
5 6 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
on feet that protrude in front of it, you may
need a soundbar narrow enough to fit
between the feet, too.
Next, decide if you want just a single
soundbar enclosure or whether you’re
prepared to also accommodate an external
subwoofer and even, potentially, rear
speakers. Bear in mind that since subwoofer
sound is non-directional, you can
potentially hide one behind a sofa or under a
side board. You can’t hide rear speakers in
the same way – but they will typically give
you a more convincing full surround
experience than a front-only system.
This decision over how many separate
speakers you get is to some extent tied to
how much you’re prepared to compromise
your audio experience for the convenience of
minimising the number of speaker boxes in
include compressed Dolby Atmos and
(similar) DTS:X mixes to be passed through
your TV (if it supports both formats) to your
soundbar. There’s also now an eARC
variation, which allows TVs to pass
uncompressed Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.
VIRTUAL VS REAL DOLBY ATMOS
Many soundbars now claim to play the latest
Dolby Atmos (and, less commonly, DTS:X)
soundtracks. That doesn’t mean they all play
them the same, though. Some will only carry
two or three forward-facing drivers, and so
have to use processing to create height and
surround effects. Others add up-firing
your room. Price and performance quality
are also factors here, though, and a really
high-quality single-enclosure soundbar can
sound better overall than cheaper systems
that ship with more speakers.
Think, too, about whether you anticipate
using your soundbar extensively for music
playback. Some soundbars that work
brilliantly for movies aren’t necessarily well
tuned for music, so if you’re looking for an
all-rounder, pay attention to what reviews
say about their musicality. Or maybe even go
for a soundbar that focuses on a high-quality
stereo rather than multi-channel prowess.
Also worth considering is what sources
you’ll likely be using your soundbar with.
Some that work
brilliantly for
movies aren’t well
tuned for music
For instance, if no sources you’ll be using
support the Dolby Atmos or DTS:X sound
formats, you don’t need to invest in a
soundbar that supports them either. If you
expect to attach two different sources to
your soundbar, make sure it has enough
HDMIs or other audio sources to cope. Bear
in mind that only HDMI ports can carry
Dolby Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks.
Finally, consider your budget. Soundbars
vary in price from less than £100 right up to
more than £2,000. So figure out what you can
afford right off the bat and you’ll instantly be
able to narrow your search right down.
drivers to deliver a true height channel sound
output. Some provide rear speakers too, and
a few even build up-firing drivers in the rear
speakers to create a full dome of sound. So if
Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support is important
to you, make sure you do your research.
SAFE PASSAGE
Some soundbars don’t support the premium
quality Dolby Vision HDR system, some don’t
support the similar HDR10+ system, and some
only support the basic HDR10 system. So if
you have a both a 4K Blu-ray player and a TV
that supports one or both of these premium
formats, ensure your soundbar does too.

THE GREENSTAR 8000 STYLE
The most intelligent, most powerful heating for your smart home,
thanks to Worcester Bosch
Our homes are a lot smarter than they used to be.
You probably have a smart TV and a smart speaker or
two; you might also have some smart appliances and
light your home with smart bulbs. But even the
smartest homes may not have smart heating.
Worcester Bosch would like to help you with that.
The stunning, design-led Greenstar 8000 Style
delivers the highest levels of heating comfort for your
home, comes packed with state-of-the-art smart home
tech and is so good-looking you won’t want to hide it.
Greenstar 8000 Style boilers aren’t like other
boilers. They’re astonishingly quiet, incredibly energy
efficient and deliver spectacular performance: in fact,
the Style combi model is the most powerful model with
the highest hot water flow rate of any wall-hung combi
boiler. That means truly sensational showers as well as
fast, efficient warming for your whole home.
It also isn’t something to hide in a cupboard: its
premium design, modern looks and choice of high gloss
white or black finishes makes it a perfect part of any
designer kitchen. The Greenstar 8000 Style is
beautifully designed, engineered and simple to use: the
new, full colour display in the Style model features touch
controls for easy operation.
Advertorial
The Greenstar 8000 Style has also been created
with connectivity in mind. With a wireless connection
to the Bosch EasyControl system you can get the
temperature just perfect either using your
smartphone or your Alexa or Google Assistant smart
speaker. It also enables you to monitor and control
your heating when you’re not home via the Bosch
smartphone app.
While its contemporary design and cutting-edge
technology may be new, its rock-solid reliability and
engineering excellence isn’t: Worcester Bosch has
won more awards than a Hollywood heart-throb and
its Greenstar products are the choice of professional
installers, consumer magazines and nearly 20,000
delighted owners who’ve rated Worcester Bosch
boilers “excellent” on TrustPilot. The new Greenstar
8000 Style builds upon that enviable reputation to
deliver the smartest, most stylish, most desirable
boiler available on the market, and it’s available in
combi, system and regular boiler types to suit any
kind of home.
To find out more about the stunning, stylish and
smart Greenstar 8000 Style, visit: worcester-bosch.
co.uk/greenstar-8000.
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 5 7
 Commute-cutting gadgets

COMMUTE-
CUTTING
GADGETS
Say no to time-wasting traffic, expensive petrol and parking
nightmares. Trim your journey to work, reduce your carbon footprint
and minimise your lifestyle: go green with these nifty non-gas-
guzzlers and earn yourself a cool rep while you’re at it
Words: Michelle Rae Uy

I N PA R T N ER S H I P W I T H JA N UA RY 2 0 21 T3 59
 Commute-cutting gadgets

E-SCOOTERS
While still awaiting regulatory approval for use on UK roads,
these nifty and nimble devices may soon be ideal for nipping from A to B

1
AER 557
The AER 557 is an absolute stunner, blending – in a way that only ingenious artists can
– scooter portability with ergonomic handlebars and wheels you’d be more likely to find on a
bike. But, with a 43km/h top speed and 32km battery range, it’s more than just a pretty face.
£2,199, aer.store

2 3
RAZOR POWER A2 PURE AIR
When it comes to budget scooters, Razor is king and, with the Power Entry-level doesn’t necessarily mean basic. Among the best value
A2, it’s soon to rule over the budget e-scooter kingdom as well. With a electric scooters at the moment, this two-wheeled congestion-buster
battery life of 40 minutes, push-button throttle control, and a bargain- delivers quicker commutes at 25km/h and a battery life that lasts up
basement price tag, this one’s ideal for matriculating young adults. to 30km. Better yet, it’s made for wet-weather riding.
£299, amazon.co.uk £399, pureelectric.com

6 0 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 I N PA R T N ER S H I P W I T H
 E-scooters

4
4 XIAOMI MI 1S
Three speed modes, effortless folding and
stowing, and a cruise control feature make
the Xiaomi MI 1S a no-brainer for folks
who want to go beyond greener commutes
and turn e-riding into a lifestyle. And its
extremely robust, pneumatic tyres make
sure you do so in comfort.
5 £449, mi.com

5
7 NINEBOT-SEGWAY
KICKSCOOTER AIR T15
The Black Panther of e-scooters, this kick
scooter from Ninebot-Segway isn’t only
6 incredibly lightweight and compact. It also
boasts a regenerative braking system, which
captures its own braking energy and stores
it back in its battery pack for more power.
Need we also mention its futuristic-looking
bezel-less dashboard?
£679, box.co.uk

6
PURE AIR PRO
With a motor more robust than its entry-
level brother, the Pure Air Pro kicks things
up a notch with a built-in anti-skid electronic
brake and a longer riding range of 36km.
That’s while keeping the same IP65-rated
water resistance and largely the same size
as the Pure Air.
£579, pureelectric.com

7
8 BIRDONE
More than just a rent-an-e-scooter
startup, Bird has its own line of personal
electric scooters as well, led by the
appealingly minimalist BirdOne. It’s on
the pricier end, especially for one with a
40km range. But it compensates for this with
that gorgeous aesthetic and built-in GPS
technology for anti-theft protection.
£999, pureelectric.com

8
NINEBOT-SEGWAY E25E
Go 25km/h for 25km with the E25E, or shell
out for an external battery and go even
longer, faster. Also among the best value
e-scooters out there, three things come in
three here – lights, reflectors, and brakes –
for your ultimate safety.
£429, box.co.uk

I N PA R T N ER S H I P W I T H J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 61
Commute-cutting gadgets

EBIKES
Sometimes you want the bike to take a bit more of the strain,
and these cracking models also look fantastic out on the street

1
FUROSYSTEMS FURO X
Sure, the FuroSystems Furo X can fold up small enough to fit into
luggage. More impressively, with a nine-speed gear system, hydraulic
brakes, and a battery made from the same cells as those in a Tesla S, it
will have you gliding up and down hills with ease.
£1,699, furosystems.com

2
GTECH EBIKE CITY
Don’t judge a book – or, rather, a bike – by
its cover. Gtech’s eBike City might look like
any regular bike you’d find on the street.
However, it is an electric motor to give you an
assist when you need it, complete with two
modes to choose from.
£995, gtech.co.uk
3
GOCYCLE G3
Gocycle’s G3 might look like a sleeker, more attractive cousin of an exercise
bike, but it’s got a few things going for it. This uber-smart ebike has a futuristic
streamlined dashboard, lightweight frame and the foldability people love about
e-scooters. Oh, and Bluetooth connectivity, anyone?
£3,499, fullycharged.com

62 T3 JA N UA RY 2 0 21 I N PA R T N ER S H I P W I T H
 Ebikes

6
4
VANMOOF S3
VanMoof’s ultra-modern ebikes are cheaper than ever while still touting
critical key features where it matters. The S3 comes with innovative features
like automatic electronic gear shifting and integrated anti-theft tech with
a remote lockdown capability. It’s an ebike perfect for urban commuters
yet worthy of James Bond.
£1,798, vanmoof.com
6

5
RAD POWER BIKES
RADRUNNER PLUS
Just because ebikes are new tech doesn’t
mean they can’t go a bit retro-cool. The
RadRunner Plus combines a seven-speed
drivetrain, puncture-resistant tyres and an
on-board lithium battery with the kind of
stylings that will make you want to say ciao.
About £1,350, radpowerbikes.eu

6 7
RALEIGH CENTROS TOUR
CROSSBAR 8
With the Centros Tour’s battery built into its
frame, no one will know that you’re getting
some battery assistance on your bike ride, at
least for the first couple of miles. Its 500WH
battery will have you crisscrossing both city
and countryside without breaking a sweat.
£2,600, raleigh.co.uk
8
7 TRIUMPH TREKKER
CANYON ROADLITE: ON The Triumph Trekker might look like it came
Need an assist? There are three modes of from the future, with its sleek black and dark
support to choose from. Up for a challenge? grey frame, but it’s available now. And, as a
Simply pop that battery off. That’s what premium ebike from a quality UK company,
Roadlite: ON offers its riders – the best of it will take you anywhere your heart desires
both worlds. Though traditionalists should in comfort and style. The Trekker combines
take comfort in the fact that it also delivers a the latest Shimano battery with a top-drawer
ride that feels more analogue. array of components.
£2,499, canyon.com £2,950, triumphmotorcycles.co.uk

I N PA R T N ER S H I P W I T H JA N UA RY 2 0 21 T3 6 3
 Commute-cutting gadgets

EXTRA E-VEHICLES
We’re certain you’re going to be on the move a lot more in 2021 than you were
in 2020, so make sure you travel in style, however many wheels you choose

1
HONDA E
Honda’s first all-electric urban car is a speedy little fella. And, it’s one that comes with fast-
charging capabilities, surprisingly rapid acceleration, and the kind of smart design that
somehow gives a small car enough legroom for four adults to comfortably fit in.
From £27,160, honda.co.uk

2 3
MICROLETTA VESPA ELECTTRICA
The love child of EVE from Wall-E and Mike Wazowski from Monsters When people think of mopeds and scooters, the name Vespa certainly
Inc, this adorable three-wheel concept moped, which may be reserved comes to mind. The Vespa Electtrica takes that legacy to the modern
now, will endear itself to anyone with its looks alone. It’s the Microletta’s age with a 4.3-inch colour digital dashboard, whisper-quiet motor and
features, however – which include a tilting-blocking mechanism, shorter an energy-recovery system that kicks in upon deceleration. If those
braking distance, and up to 80km/h – that will get you hooked. aren’t enough to impress, its 100km battery range should.
About £4,400, microlino-car.com About £5,800, vespa.com

6 4 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 I N PA R T N ER S H I P W I T H
 Extra e-vehicles

4
MICROLINO
With just enough space for two people and
three beer crates in its tiny boot, the Microlino
might not seem like much. However, this self-
professed non-car, which you can reserve now,
might just be the ticket for four-wheel fans
living in large cities where looking for a parking
spot feels a bit like Battle Royale.
6 About £10,700, microlino-car.com

5
ONEWHEEL PINT
All the cool Insta kids are riding it these days,
but don’t let that hipster cred fool you. This
nifty-looking electric skateboard tops at
26km/h and has a 13km range. Though if you
really want to hang with the popular crowd,
customisations and accessories abound.
£1,004, skatehut.co.uk

6
NIU UQIPRO
The UQiPro has an impressive range of 30km-
7 40km, an anti-theft alarm, and a regenerative
electronic braking system so you’re reusing the
energy you’re spending without even trying, all
wrapped in adorable packaging.
£1,516, urbanebikes.com

7
8 NINEBOT-SEGWAY ONE S2
Ninebot-Segway’s One S2 – which kind of
reminds us of a unicycle, only cooler and with
LED lights – is the latest rad thing to come
out of the EV revolution. While it might look
like a new toy for skaters to play with, this
one-wheeler can last 30km at up to 24kph.
£499, box.co.uk

8
SLICK REVOLUTION
URBAN CARVER
Whether you’re rushing from one class to
another or making a quick trip to the shop,
Slick Revolution’s Urban Carver is just svelte
enough to shorten your trip without being
a burden when you get to your destination.
With three speed modes, you can travel
however leisurely or lightning-fast you want.
£980, slickrevolution.co.uk

I N PA R T N ER S H I P W I T H J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 6 5
 TESTED
Expert reviews and recommendations
to help you buy with confidence

Edited by Josh Russell

68 72 73 74 76 78

MACBOOK AIR HUAWEI CHROMECAST SAMSUNG 8Q00T APPLE BLINK MINI

WATCH FIT WITH GOOGLE TV HOMEPOD MINI

In T3, we feature only the finest gadgets out
there, and we believe that you – our loyal
reader – deserve only the best tech in your
life. We don’t want you to waste time, and
money, on inferior products, and that’s
exactly why our Tested section exists.
In here you’ll find only the latest and
hottest tech. Each product has been
handpicked and tested by T3’s experts.
HOW WE TEST
We only choose people with specialist THE SCORES EXPLAINED
knowledge for each test, so you know you’re
going to get an outcome based on many years Forget it
of experience in their respective field. Below average
As well as our traditional five-star rating
Good for the price
system (right), we also give out awards to
particularly exceptional gadgets, using the Very good all round
line-up below - so when you spot one of An exceptional,
these, you’ll know you’re onto a good thing. best-in-class product

Only the best products
– those that score five
PLATINUM stars – receive our
AWARD
Platinum Award
OUR AWARDS
This is given to winners This accolade, and For kit with exceptional
BEST ON of our group tests, so BEST FOR others like it, show you THE industrial design and
TEST you can see which is BATTERY which gear is best for DESIGN refinement, in addition
LIFE AWARD
the best at a glance specific features to being a great buy

J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 67
 Tested

Processor Apple M1 chip

Screen 13.3-inch, 400 nit, 2560x1600 LED
Memory 8GB / 16GB Storage 256GB /
512GB / 1TB / 2TB Battery Up to 18
hours Connectivity 2x Thunderbolt 3,
Wi‑Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0 OS macOS 11
Dimensions 304.1.212.4x4.1–16.1mm
Weight 1.29kg

AIR POWER

Apple MacBook Air

Thanks to Apple’s new M1 chip, this laptop is a revolution:
light, impossibly fast and near silent

whether this would be the long-term Its Geekbench 5 scores of 1732 in

From £999 plan. The M1 chip makes that a reality,
apple.com and it turns out to be a big leap forward
for laptops. If you want a computer
than can do standard tasks without
his is the start of breaking a sweat, the MacBook Air is
single-core and 7556 in multi-core
give you an idea of what to expect:
that is as fast for single-core
performance as laptops get, and for
multi-core performance it’s stronger

T
something huge for Apple:
computers made using its
own chips. Ever since the
iPad debuted the first Apple-made
chip back in 2010, we had to wonder
pretty much unmatched.
It’s simply screamingly fast for a
mid-price, lightweight machine.
Actually, it’s screamingly fast for
almost any laptop.
than the 16-inch MacBook Pro that
costs more than twice as much.
It’s not just benchmarks either – in
practical tests such as video encoding
or compressing files, we saw

6 8 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

GOLDEN SCREEN
While the new MacBook Air
still packs the same 400 nit,
2560x1600 display as its
predecessor, its move to the
P3 colour gamut means it
will offer more realistic hues.
performance pretty much in line with
hefty pro machines.
That’s all paired with storage
that’s incredibly fast too – we
measured write speeds of 2,292MB/s
and read speeds of 2,789MB/s using
BlackMagic’s Disk Speed Test, which
is around twice what the previous
MacBook Air achieved.
In combination, very fast storage
and a very fast processor means you
don’t really have to wait for anything
to happen. Open the lid and by the
time you’ve lifted it the screen is
waiting for you to put your finger on
the scanner – which instantly
unlocks it. Apps open immediately,
working with files is lag-free, website
loading is as fast as your internet can
handle… there’s just no compromise
for having a thin and light laptop.
Remarkably, this all applies to the
graphics too. The M1’s GPU appears to
be close to what a mid-level discrete
graphic chip is capable of, and is a
massive leap forward from what came
before in these kinds of machines.
It’s capable of playing all kinds of
games smoothly enough, even when
they haven’t been optimised for the
M1 chip yet – you can play newer
games on decent settings, and we’ve
been playing some Steam favourites
like XCOM 2 and Planet Coaster.
They’re not high-end, but they’re
more than capable of pushing these
kinds of laptops beyond their limits
even at middling settings, and we had
no problem playing them at great
frame rates. It’s no gaming machine,
don’t get us wrong, but that
something this size and weight plays
games this well at all is kind of
mind-blowing!
Apps-olute power
The MacBook Air M1 runs macOS 11
(Big Sur), which has been optimised
for the new chip, to help apps make
the most of the multi-core processor.
It looks and works exactly like any
other Mac with macOS 11, but there
are some key differences because of
the different chip.
Because the M1 chip is built very
differently to Intel chips, ideally all
apps would have a custom version
made for the M1 machines. All of
Apple MacBook Air
SPEEDY CPU
Thanks to its deservedly
hyped new M1 system-on-
a-chip, everything the Air
does is lightning fast. And it
enables you to run iOS apps
while you’re at it.
Open the lid and Apple’s apps do, and other developers
straight away the are rolling these out at a good rate –
screen is on, waiting even Adobe has early versions of
for your finger on
the scanner Photoshop and Lightroom available,
and Adobe has been infamously slow
at this kind of thing in the past.
However, even for apps that
haven’t taken this jump yet, there is a
solution called ‘Rosetta 2’ built into
the operating system: any Mac app
that hasn’t had an M1 version made
should still work, with the OS silently
translating things in the background.
This has a bit of a performance hit, but
here’s the thing: the M1 chip is so fast
that it still runs these converted apps
faster than an equivalent Intel chip.
And the flip side of all this is that
the MacBook Air M1 can actually run
iPhone and iPad apps as well as Mac
apps. So if you have a favourite iOS
app that doesn’t have a good Mac
equivalent, just download the iPhone
version from the App Store instead!
In theory, great – in practice, it’s
mixed. The apps we’ve tried worked
well enough as long as they’re not too
complicated about gestures and things
(remember, no touchscreen on Macs,
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 69
 Tested

WEBCAM WOES
Thanks to the help of some AI
trickery, the Air’s webcam has
seen a bit of a boost in quality
over previous models – but falls
far short of its rivals.

FAN OUT
Its new chipset means
that the new Air
(ironically) no longer
needs fan cooling. As
a result, it kicks out
less heat and runs with
barely a whisper.

so the mouse pointer just becomes
your finger). However, half the ones
you’d really want have been excluded
from running on the Mac by the
developer. Instagram? Not there.
Netflix? Prime Video? Nope.
Easy on the eye
Apple hasn’t changed the design of the
MacBook Air externally at all for this
new version. It has the iconic tapered
design that makes it lower volume
than the MacBook Pro, even though
they’re about the same depth at the
thickest point. It has the tough
aluminium build, and impeccable fit
It has the flawless and finish, we expect from Apple’s
fit and finish laptops. There are almost no joins, and
expected from it’s totally sturdy.
Apple’s laptops
The MacBook Air’s screen is a sharp
2560x1600 16:10 display, which is the
same as the previous Intel MacBook
Air model. The typical brightness of
400 nits is also the same as before, and
is bright enough for this kind of model.
A bit brighter would be preferable
because it can dim a bit too much
when viewing off-angle – which is
unavoidable in laptops sometimes –
but it’s never a major problem.
The one change in the screen is it
now supports the wider P3 colour
gamut. This means it can offer more
realistic colours in some situations –
the best way to take advantage is view
iPhone photos on it, because they’re
taken with the same wide range.
The keyboard is the new Magic
Keyboard Apple uses on all its
machines, and it feels great –
comfortable, with good feedback and a
nice amount of travel. The trackpad is
large, easy to use and responds
perfectly. There’s a fingerprint sensor
that doubles as a power key, which
works well and is convenient.
On the left-hand side, you have
two USB-C ports that actually pull

PRO ADD-ONS

FAGUO FRATELLI COMPUTER BAG ANKER POWEREXPAND+ 7-IN-1 AIRPODS MAX

When you have a laptop this suited to working
on the go, you’ll want to pair it with a similarly
chic bag. This offering from Faguo has a padded
pocket for your new pal, leather detailing, and
the company plants a tree for every one sold.
Around £81, faguo-store.com
USB C ADAPTER
With so few ports in the Air, a USB-C hub
should be your first purchase. This one from
Anker offers a USB-C, two USB 3 and an HDMI
port – as well as SD and micro SD card slots
£36.99, amazon.co.uk
Alongside features you’d expect from high-end
cans – like ANC, adaptive EQ and on-head
detection – the AirPods Max have another trick
up their sleeve: spatial audio. Pair this with your
Air and upgrade movie-watching on the move.
£549, apple.com

7 0 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

triple duty: they’re also Thunderbolt
4 ports and power ports. For
connectivity, this makes them
stunningly fast for hooking up
external drives, and they can output
video to external screens up to 6K
resolution. They’re overkill for the
average user, however, and only
having two ports can potentially be
quite limiting.
The other design change here is that
there’s no fan inside. This is really nice
– no hot air slowly cooking your lap,
and no noise, even when you do
something that turns out to be
surprisingly intensive. The MacBook
Air gets warm, but not excessively hot
– it compares favourably to a lot of
laptops we’ve used, and seems cooler
than the previous MacBook Air.
Battery definitely included
When it comes to battery, believe
the hype. If you want a laptop where
you just don’t have to worry about
battery life very much, this is it.
Downloading huge games at speeds
averaging 7.5MB/s – so with the
wireless tech going, the processor
running to assign all that new data,
and the screen set to full brightness
just for kicks – it still only drained
10% per hour.
The worst-case scenario we found
was running a game, where we
managed to push it to 24% of battery
gone in an hour – but four hours is
still more than a gaming laptop can
hope to deliver. Otherwise, Apple’s
claims of 15 hours of use seem totally
in line with our experience.
The webcam is also worth
mentioning, although for a different
reason. Apple has kept it as a 720p HD
model, but with improved processing
from the M1 chip. And it’s
significantly better than the ropey
webcam on the previous model, but
struggles with ultimately basic stuff
like white balance as well as being
lower resolution than we want a
premium laptop to be. It’s fine; it’s
just not good.
Apple has also updated the
microphone array here too, which is
welcome for video calls and things –
the three-mic array is definitely
better for clear audio.
The MacBook Air (M1, 2020) is the
ideal laptop for most people, because
it does the thing all great computers
should: it just gets out of your way. It’s
so fast that it’ll never slow you down.
It’ll pretty much always have charge.
It doesn’t get loud or overly hot. It’s
comfortable and light.
Apple MacBook Air
PORT SHORTAGE
You may be relieved to spy
the increasingly endangered
3.5mm headphone jack. But
the Air still only has a scant
two Thunderbolt 3 ports.
You’ll struggle to There are reasons people might not
find a longer-lasting want to choose it – the limited range
battery than the of ports, macOS not being suitable for
one on the
MacBook Air your apps, or worries that specialist
software won’t work with the new
chip – but for most, this machine is
just wonderful, and is good value.
And though it isn’t part of the
machine’s specs, it’s always worth
noting that Apple is one of very few
companies you can buy from where,
for repairs and servicing, you can visit
their own store and only deal with the
company, which is a real bonus.
VERDICT
WE’RE IMPRESSED Stunning performance;
fantastic battery; top build quality; good screen.
WE’D IMPROVE More ports would be nice;
webcam still not great.
THE LAST WORD A small revolution. As much
power as you could need in a light, silent design.
Find the best deals for the MacBook Air at:
bit.ly/t3mbam1
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 71
 Tested
Huawei Watch Fit

FACE VALUE

Huawei
Watch Fit
Slim yet sleek, Huawei’s
latest activity tracker is
brimming with features
but offers great value
on the last hole then forget it, as there are no
£89.99 third-party bands available for it online.
consumer.huawei.com With a massive 96 workout modes – from
your running and cycling to fencing and hula
hoop – there are tracking options for just about
hen Huawei first unveiled this any workout. The great thing is these fitness

W
portrait-shaped smartwatch, which
looks like a stretched out Apple
Watch, it was met with some
scepticism. However, once it’s on the wrist any
doubt fades away: it boasts the features of a fully
fledged smartwatch but without the added bulk
and – crucially – the elevated price.
The Watch Fit is a super handsome
smartwatch that feels perfectly comfortable for
long periods. Measuring just 10.7mm thick, and
with a weight of 21g, it’s much slimmer and
lighter than it appears, so we were surprised by
how sleek it feels. It boasts a vibrant and
clean-looking 1.64-inch AMOLED display
sporting an impressive 280 x 456 resolution.
Brightness levels are also decent enough that the
display can be seen clearly even in sunlight.
The only issue we had with the Watch Fit’s
design was its strap. It was only just able to fit
our notoriously slender wrists and we were
informed the straps on all models are the same
length, strangely. So if the circumference of
your wrist is larger than the 20cm of the strap
modes aren’t just a novelty. They provide
accurate tracking, displaying vitals in real-
time, presented in a well laid-out manner
on-screen. You’re not going to find the stats you
would on a Garmin. But with a £120 RRP, we
don’t think anyone would expect it to.
When it comes to daily use, the Watch Fit
delivers all the standard smartwatch features
that you’d expect. There’s phone notification
syncing, access to weather, stress level
monitoring and basic health information like
steps taken, calories burned, average heart rate,
that kind of thing. It’s all very easy to navigate.
The Huawei Watch Fit is an exceptional
wearable, especially considering its price. The
fact that it can be picked up online for less than
£100 now is – quite frankly – amazing. Yes, it’s
not going to give you everything a fully fledged
smartwatch will but the Watch Fit isn’t aimed at
users like that. It’s best suited to those who
want an upgrade on their fitness band without
splashing out on a pricey device with all the
bells and whistles.
VERDICT
WE’RE IMPRESSED Excellent
value for money; compact yet
handsome design; great features.
WE’D IMPROVE Restrictive one-
size band; no third-party straps;
not for serious fitness fanatics.
THE LAST WORD As a great
all-round smartwatch disguised
as a compact fitness band, the
Huawei Watch Fit is an easy-to-
use, intuitive and handsome little
wearable that’s bound to please
most people.
Find more cheap smartwatches
at: bit.ly/t3bgtsmw

7 2 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

CHROME RUN
Chromecast
with Google TV
One of the best 4K streaming upgrades out there,
offering a great HDR picture and plenty of apps
£59.99
store.google.com
he revamped Chromecast video
T
streamer is here, albeit a bit bigger
and more expensive than before –
but that’s because it does more than
it used to. It’s no longer just something you can
stream to from your phone, but now a fully-
fledged smart TV add-on, with Android TV and
the new Google TV app that aims to make it
easier to find what you want to watch.
Given the best 4K HDR sources to work with,
the Chromecast with Google TV turns in an
impressive performance. Dolby-Vision-assisted
images are crisp and detailed, with plenty of
dark-tone information available and contrasts
handled well. Motion is gripped with authority
and edges are drawn cleanly.
As far as audio quality goes, it’s a success of
the qualified kind. Dolby Atmos material has
plenty of presence, and as far as music is
concerned, it hangs together as a performance
too. There’s a good level of detail retrieved and
– as long as you have an Atmos soundbar or a
surround system – ample space in both the ‘left/
right’ and ‘up/down’ planes. What there isn’t,
Tested
Chromecast with Google TV
though, is all that much dynamic expression –
everything tends to happen at a set, uniform
level, without much variation.
The new Chromecast is supplied with a
remote control handset that incorporates a mic
for use with Google Assistant and while it’s
nicely laid out and fits neatly in the palm, the
hard and slippery plastic it’s made from means
it moves about with button-presses more than is VERDICT
ideal. Other than that minor gripe, though, it’s
simple and swift to operate. No matter if you’re WE’RE IMPRESSED Great HDR
using Google Assistant voice-control or the picture quality; plenty of apps;
handset itself, it’s straightforward to operate. Dolby Atmos audio.
You can load any number of different apps WE’D IMPROVE Inexpressive
onto the Google TV home page, including sound; no Apple TV app; slippery
Amazon Prime Video, Netflix and YouTube. remote control.
Apple TV isn’t available, and UK users should THE LAST WORD The
note that All 4 isn’t either. The smart Chromecast with Google TV
recommendation system is responsive, both to is as good as affordable video
your selections and to titles you’ve flagged as streamers currently get. The end
watched – and the more you use it, the more result really stands out, even in a
genuinely attuned to your tastes it becomes. market as wildly competitive as
Thanks to the addition of “...with Google TV”, video streaming dongles.
the latest Chromecast is not only the best yet but
it’s one of the very best 4K video streamers
around. It’s easy to find what you want, the
video quality is excellent, and there’s impressive Find the best deals for the
audio. It’s a shame about the occasional missing Chromecast at: bit.ly/t3chrtv
apps, but overall it’s an excellent choice.
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 73
 Tested

Display sizes 65, 75, 82 inches

Panel 7,680x4,320 QLED
HDR HDR10+ Inputs 4x HDMI (1x
HDMI 2.1), 3x USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
4.2 Operating system Tizen Voice
assistant Alexa, Google Assistant,
Bixby Dimensions 1448x831x25mm
/ 1673x958x25mm /
1830x1050x25.7mm Weight 24kg /
34.3kg / 41.5kg

RIGHT ON Q

Samsung Q800T
With bright pictures and remarkable black levels, this 8K TV offers
better-than-4K power, and the price isn’t as frightening as before

after some price drops it has come
down into more realistic territory,
From £2,299 making it more tempting than ever.
samsung.com With native 8K sources, you can
appreciate the benefits of the
Q800T’s native 8K pixel count, even
reat 8K TVs have from a regular viewing distance. On
This holds up with upscaled 4K
sources too. Samsung’s upscaling
processing does well enough to make
4K pictures look slightly denser and
three-dimensional than they do on
native 4K screens. It means that there
really is a benefit to going 8K at this

G
remained stubbornly
beyond the budgets of all
but the wealthiest AV
fans. Until now. Samsung’s Q800T
doesn’t quite come as cheap as most
similar-sized flagship 4K sets but
65-inch screens, this will feel more
about slightly better clarity,
naturalism and depth of field than
massively increased textures or
details. If you want more you’ll need
to step up to 75 inches or even bigger.
time, even with no native material yet.
Bright lights, dark shadows
But while the Q800T’s 8K resolution
is nominally its highlight feature, its
contrast is arguably more important.

74 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

Despite only having half as many
dimming zones as Samsung’s much
more expensive Q950TS 8K models, it
still delivers the deepest black levels
you’ll find on any LCD TV for its price
point. Seriously, we’re talking
OLED-like blackness at times.
That it can do this while also being
capable of hitting the best part of
1,700 nits with bright HDR image
highlights is quite something, and
typically makes it a monumentally
spectacular sight with HDR sources.
Even when an HDR highlight appears
against a dark backdrop you tend to
see surprisingly little backlight
clouding around it. This minimal
clouding is only possible, though,
because Samsung’s processing dims
small bright highlights down quite
heavily when they appear against
very dark backdrops.
As ever with Samsung TVs, the
Q800T doesn’t support the Dolby
Vision format of HDR, with its extra
scene by scene image data. It does
support the HDR10+ format though.
But there’s no hiding from the facts
that Dolby Vision content is more
common than HDR10+ content, and
that some rival TVs from Panasonic
THE ALTERNATIVES
PANASONIC HZ2000
Now it doesn’t offer
bargain 8K. But
the HZ2000 offers
gorgeous cinematic
images with its
customised panel and
produces immersive
Dolby Atmos sound without needing a soundbar.
£2,299, panasonic.com
and Philips support both HDR10+ and
Dolby Vision.
The Q800T’s Object Tracking
Sound system works brilliantly. The
way it positions specific sounds at the
correct place on the screen to match
the action in the pictures is uncanny.
It unquestionably makes soundtracks
feel more immersive and detailed,
and you really miss it whenever you
find yourself watching a TV with a
‘normal’ sound system.
The Q800T isn’t as attractive as the
Q950TS but it still looks attractive for
the money. Its frame is still very trim
indeed, while making its rear as flat
as its screen gives it a fashionably
monolithic look. This is reinforced by
uncompromising build quality, and
some handy cable channelling
systems make the lack of an external
connections box pretty easy to take.
As you’d hope of an 8K TV, the
Q800T has the connections to unlock
8K playback from external sources
including, potentially, the next
generation of consoles – both the PS5
and Xbox Series X have promised 8K
support, though have yet to say what it
might look like. One of the HDMI ports
is built to the latest 2.1 standard, and
SAMSUNG Q950TS
Sure, it’s almost triple
the price of the others
here. But it’s also the
best 8K TV you can buy.
Not only is it stunning,
it has the best HDR and
contrast out there and
gloriously mind-blowing 4K AI upscaling.
£5,999, samsung.com
Samsung Q800T
The frame is very includes support for 8K at 60Hz, 4K at
trim: its rear is as 120Hz (a must for the new consoles),
flat as its screen Variable Refresh Rate and Automatic
Low Latency Mode switching.
While the Q800T doesn’t make
quite as irresistibly compelling a case
for 8K as its bigger, more highly
specified Q950TS siblings, it is good
enough to get some extra capital from
its 8K resolution – as well as delivering
the other brightness, colour range and
contrast strengths that have become a
premium Samsung TV hallmark.
This makes Samsung’s mid-range
8K TV well worth considering if you’ll
be watching in a bright room
especially, and if you want to have a
TV future-proofed with the latest tech,
as well as that incredible resolution.
VERDICT
WE’RE IMPRESSED Bright,
detailed picture; impressive
design; remarkable black levels;
120Hz and VRR support.
WE’D IMPROVE Pricier than 4K
OLEDs; highlights struggle on
dark backdrops; no Dolby Vision.
THE LAST WORD A sensible
futureproofing move, especially
now Samsung has actually made
quality 8K much less expensive,
without compromising picture
and sound quality too much.
Discover more of the best 8K
TVs at: bit.ly/t38ktvs
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 75
 Tested

Drivers 1x full-range
driver, 2x passive radiators
Connectivity Wi-Fi 4, Bluetooth
5, AirPlay 2 Voice assistant Siri
Dimensions 98x84mm Weight 345g

POD ALMIGHTY

Apple HomePod mini

Adorable, solid value and sounds excellent for the size – but it’s very Apple-centric

mini also punches well above its size
£99 class for sound – it’s the best
apple.com sounding smaller speaker by a mile.
The HomePod mini is effectively
the same size as the Amazon Echo Dot
(4th gen), and is similarly round,
pple’s tiny new Siri though the HomePod has a slice off
underneath that swirl when Siri is
listening. When the speaker is simply
playing something, the screen glows
faintly white. It looks great – it’s both
whimsical and tasteful at the same
time – and makes the whole thing feel
like a magical cauldron for a Barbie to

A
speaker brings the same
focus on music quality
that the full-size
HomePod has, but in a package the
size of a bread roll. And not to spoil
what’s coming, but the HomePod
the top for its little ‘screen’ and
controls. It’s easily held in one hand,
and so finding a spot for it is no
problem at all.
The really nice touch is that the
screen has multicoloured lights
cast spells with.
The HomePod mini’s audio quality
is incredible for its size, and really
good for its price. Compared to the
two rivals in the same size bracket –
the Echo Dot (4th gen) and Nest Mini

76 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

– the sound is next-level stuff. It’s
fuller, deeper and more detailed.
The real trick is the balance, which
it manages to stretch to a clear and
detailed high end, warm mid-range
and bouncy, precise bass – all from a
single driver (with two bass radiators
to back it up). It also spreads
impressively and evenly throughout
the room, thanks to the use of a
shaped sound diffuser – the driver
actually fires downwards, and a
circular ‘lens’ reflects the sound
outwards in all directions. This is tech
we’ve seen before, but on high-end
Bang & Olufsen speakers, so it’s very
cool to have it here.
Half-hearted smarts
Setting up the HomePod mini is easy,
provided you have an iPhone or iPad
– and literally impossible otherwise.
You just bring your device near it, and
then a pop-up will appear to talk you
through the process.
To play stuff on the HomePod mini,
you can either request songs from
Apple Music (or podcasts), or you can
play audio from any app to it using
AirPlay 2. AirPlay is so flexible but
only from Apple devices, since there’s
THE ALTERNATIVES
AMAZON ECHO DOT
The original and still the
granddaddy, the Echo
packs great sound, easy
setup for smart home
devices and the most
advanced smart assistant
on the market. It’s also
perennially affordable at under 50 quid.
£49.99, amazon.co.uk
no official support for it on Android.
In fact, there’s no way at all to play
things to it from Android – no
Chromecast, no Bluetooth, no line-in
– so it’s best in an all-Apple house.
And right now, you can only ask it
for songs via Apple Music. More
services are coming to Siri – Pandora
and Amazon Prime Music, specifically
– but there’s been no confirmation yet
on Spotify or Tidal.
Another slight drawback is Siri
generally as a smart assistant. It’s
perfectly serviceable, but its
knowledge isn’t as broad as Google
Assistant or Alexa, and there’s
nothing close to the way the latter can
understand context and engage with
you more naturally. Siri also doesn’t
have the extensibility of Alexa’s Skills.
Apple has recently added a useful
Intercom feature to the HomePod,
where you can send a voice message to
other rooms by asking the HomePod
or your Apple Watch. It’s great if you
plan to buy a bunch of minis.
Another nice feature here is that
the HomePod mini acts as a control
hub for HomeKit smart home
accessories. Unlike the Echo 4th Gen,
it can’t do this without a phone to set
GOOGLE NEST MINI
Despite its boost in
audio quality, the
Nest Mini doesn’t
necessarily pack a
whole load of oomph.
What it does offer
is solid features,
Bluetooth, and a cheap as chips price.
£49, store.google.com
Apple HomePod mini
Siri is your smart things up, but it does provide a
assistant here – but connection hub for devices to all be
she’s not quite as controlled using automations you set
smart as Google
Assistant or Alexa… up in the Home app. It supports the
new Thread smart home protocol too,
a new system all the big makers are
starting to roll out to make everything
work better together.
For those well into the Apple orbit,
the HomePod mini is the best small
speaker you can buy. It has a great
design, mind-blowing sound quality
for its size, useful smart features and a
good value price. But outside of this,
it’s a hard, or even impossible, sell –
Siri isn’t an impressive standalone
smart assistant, and the lack of
alternative music services (especially
Spotify) will put off some.
VERDICT
WE’RE IMPRESSED Excellent
sound quality; fun design; some
useful smart features.
WE’D IMPROVE Best if you’re an
all-Apple household; lack of non-
Apple services; Siri not as smart
as Alexa or Google Assistant.
THE LAST WORD The HomePod
mini is the small speaker of
choice for music lovers, but
only if you’re deep in the Apple
ecosystem, and don’t need it to
be too smart.
Find more of the best smart
speakers at: bit.ly/t3smtspk
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 7 7
 Tested
Blink Mini

LITTLE WHITE EYE

Blink Mini
Offering impressive home
security on a budget, this
is the best affordable
security cam out there
As you’d expect, you can connect it to the
£35 Alexa app on your phone. This lets you arm and
amazon.co.uk disarm the camera with a voice command to an
Echo speaker or get the live video feed from it up
on an Echo Show or a Fire TV display. Pretty
f you want a security camera that useful if you have other Amazon devices.

I
covers the basics for as little money
as possible, Amazon’s Blink Mini is
very much the affordable, basic
option. But, despite the low price, you get a
good deal in terms of features, making it the
cheap security camera to beat right now.
Unbox the Blink Mini and it’s clear where
some of the cost-cutting has happened: this is
a cheap-feeling device dominated by plastic.
Adjusting the direction of the camera on its
attached stand also feels a bit janky. All that
said, it does the job – it at least feels solid.
In terms of audio and video quality, it’s…
satisfactory. Footage is crisp and clear in both
night and day scenarios. The night vision isn’t
especially advanced, but you can easily see
what’s happening, even in the pitch black.
Audio is fine too. We like the press-to-talk
button that appears inside the app, so you can
pass on your encouragements to your pets or
children. Our voice sounded clear and loud
coming through its speaker, as does audio
coming back the other way.
The associated Blink Home Monitor app is
basic but capable. Adding a new camera only
takes a minute or two, while opening up the live
feed and checking in on motion alerts is all very
straightforward. You can even set zones in a
scene where motion should be ignored (a window
onto a busy street, for example).
Like most security cameras, you’ll need to
pay to save recordings long-term. One option is
the Blink cloud storage service, which is free
with your camera until March 2021 and then
costs £2.50 a month or £25 a year. The other is
via a USB drive and the £50 Blink Sync Module 2
attachment, which hasn’t gone on sale yet.
Neither option is particularly appealing.
Is the Blink Mini up to the quality of the best
Arlo, Nest and Ring cameras? Of course not –
the difference in the build quality, materials and
apps are obvious – but then again it does cost a
fraction of the price. If you’re looking for an
affordable way to get some or all of the rooms in
your home kitted out with a security solution,
this could well be the way to go.
VERDICT
WE’RE IMPRESSED Excellent
price point; decent video quality;
Alexa integration.
WE’D IMPROVE Cheap, plastic
feel; rather dated app; confusing
storage options.
THE LAST WORD The Blink
Mini has its weaknesses but,
considering the low price that
you can pick it up for, it’s a very
appealing package overall, adding
up to a home security camera
that won’t disappoint.
Find more of the best security
cameras at: bit.ly/t3secam

7 8 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 BEST OF
THE BEST
The world’s best tech, all in one place
If you’re looking for the very best tech available
today, you’ve definitely come to the right place.
Best of the Best is the most useful gadget-
buying guide you will ever encounter. To create
it, we’ve extensively tested the best tech the
world has to offer, to bring you rock-solid
recommendations for your home life, daily
commute and the tech you use all the time.
In 54 different categories, we’ve chosen the
top four products, so you can choose one that’s
just the right mix of features and budget for what
you need. These rankings come from real testing
by our team of experts – they’re the products
we’d choose for ourselves, and we can’t
recommend any higher than that.
Look for the links above each category that
take you to the same list (plus more beyond the
top four, and many more categories) at T3.com,
where our price comparison system shows you
the current best deals for every product.
INSIDE
Smartphones 80
Cheap smartphones 80
Smartwatches 80
Hybrid smartwatches 81
Watches 81
Watches under £500 81
TVs 82
TVs under £1,000 82
Projectors 82
Soundbars 83
Streamers 83
Games consoles 83
Turntables 84
Streaming DACs 84
Multi-room speakers 84
Bluetooth speakers 85
Bluetooth headphones 85
True wireless headphones 85
Noise-cancelling headphones 86
Wired in-ear headphones 86
Wired over-ear headphones 86
Laptops 87
2-in-1 laptops 87
Tablets 87
Gaming laptops 88
Gaming headsets 88
4K monitors 88
Drones 89
Action cameras 89
Cheap action cameras 89
DSLR cameras 90
Mirrorless cameras 90
Compact cameras 90
Sat-navs 91
Dash cams 91
Electric bikes 91
Smart speakers 92
Smart bulbs 92
Smart thermostats 92
Smart plugs 93
Security cameras 93
Robot vacuums 93
Cordless vacuums 94
Washing machines 94
Dishwashers 94
Coffee machines 95
Fridges 95
Ovens 95
Electric shavers 96
Electric toothbrushes 96
Beard trimmers 96
Fitness trackers 97
Running watches 97
Running headphones 97
J A N U A R Y 2 0 21 T3 79
 Best of the best

CHEAP
SMARTPHONES SMARTPHONES SMARTWATCHES
Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestphone t3.com/bestcheapphone t3.com/bestsmartwatch

APPLE iPHONE 12 iPHONE SE (2020) APPLE WATCH SERIES 6

From £799, apple.com From £420, apple.com From £379, apple.com

Apple has outdone A near-flagship Series 6 adds a pulse
itself. 5G has been iPhone experience oxygen sensor to
added, the CPU has for a fraction of the its health systems,
more power than cost. The SE is under makes its always-on
you’re ever going to half the cost of the display 2.5 times
need, and the dual- iPhone 11 Pro, and brighter, steps
lens rear camera for that reason it up to the new S6
system can take demands attention CPU, and throws in
spectacular photos from any prospective all the new features
in any kind of light. phone upgrader. of watchOS 7.

ONEPLUS 8 PRO ONEPLUS NORD SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH

ACTIVE2
From £800, oneplus.com From £379, oneplus.com From £269, samsung.com
A simply jaw- A fantastic mid- Sleek and powerful,
dropping handset ranger, with a this is the best
that delivers Snapdragon 765G smartwatch for
across the board. processor, at least Android users. The
It is, simply put, 8GB of RAM and screen and design
the best phone 128GB of storage, are on par with the
on the market for and 5G. That’s not to Apple Watch, while
those shopping mention the sharp, a collection of new
for a premium bright 6.44-inch watch faces give it
Android handset. AMOLED display. a modern edge.

iPHONE SE (2020) SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 FE SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH 3

From £420, apple.com From £699, samsung.com From £399, samsung.com

Apple’s iPhone SE The best core S20 The Galaxy Watch 3
(2020) handset has functionality, along comes in two sizes,
taken this year by with 5G, but at a and with a very good
storm, the hot new more affordable battery life. It’s the
handset winning price point, this is innovative rotating
acclaim worldwide actually nothing like bezel that is the star
with its balance of a budget handset, as here, though, as it is,
features, quality and it is still loaded with without doubt, the
performance for a premium hardware best way to control
very attractive price. and features. a smartwatch.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S20 ULTRA MOTO G8 POWER APPLE WATCH SE

From £1,199, samsung.com From £239, motorola.com From £269, apple.com

Samsung has really If you’re looking for a Despite being
gone to town here, phone that gives you the ‘affordable’
from the 100x digital a lot of bang for your smartwatch from
zoom on the rear buck then you simply Apple, the SE is fast
camera to the huge can’t go wrong with and comfortable
6.9-inch AMOLED the Moto G8 Power. with a clear screen
display around the The big selling point (no always-on
front. It’s the priciest here is that huge display though) and
of the S20 models, 5,000mAh (three- excellent health and
and it shows. day!) battery. fitness features.

8 0 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

HYBRID
SMARTWATCHES
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/besthybrid
WITHINGS STEEL HR SPORT
£190, withings.com
Featuring a heart-rate
monitor and the ability
to track 30 different
exercises, this is ideal for
fitness fanatics. It’s water
resistant to 50 metres,
and the battery lasts
around 25 days.
FOSSIL HYBRID
SMARTWATCH HR
£209, fossil.com
This timepiece features
activity and sleep
tracking, plus app and
call alerts and buttons to
control music playback.
Yet it mostly looks like
a regular watch, aside
from the e-ink display.
WITHINGS MOVE ECG
£129, withings.com
Think a pricey Apple
Watch is needed to take
an ECG reading of your
heart? This can do that,
plus activity tracking and
sleep monitoring, with
a 12-month battery life,
for a really low price.
WITHINGS SCANWATCH
£249, withings.com
Beneath the attractive
face, the ScanWatch has
a heart rate monitor, plus
ECG, and can measure
blood oxygen saturation.
The ScanWatch can also
track sleep, and log your
exercise sessions.
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WATCHES
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestwatch
HUBLOT BIG BANG INTEGRAL
£17,300, hublot.com
The first Big Bang to
feature an integrated
bracelet – this watch has
been designed to flow
seamlessly from the case
to the clasp. Available in
black ceramic, King Gold
or titanium.
TUDOR BLACK BAY FIFTY-EIGHT
£2,760, tudorwatch.com
Named after the year in
which Tudor released its
first diver’s watch, this
comes in a new vintage
colour combination and
smaller 39mm sized
case. It’s powered by the
Calibre MT5402.
OMEGA SEAMASTER DIVER
300M 007 EDITION
£7,390, omegawatches.com
This stylish Seamaster
made from Grade 2
Titanium will be strapped
to the wrist of 007
in No Time to Die. It’s
strong, lightweight,
and perfect for an
undercover agent.
JAEGER-LECOULTRE MASTER
CONTROL DATE
£6,000, jaeger-lecoultre.com
Featuring a calibre
with a 70-hour power
reserve, a new 40mm
double-polished case,
and a clear, legible
dial, this is pure and
simple watchmaking at
its finest.
bit.ly/3jXtD2k
Best of the best
WATCHES
UNDER £500
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestwatch500
VICTORINOX I.N.O.X V
£459, victorinox.com
Having undergone 130
durability tests, this
watch will stand up to
anything you throw at
it. The paracord strap
hints at its adventurous
heritage, and it’s great
for all wrist sizes.
HAMILTON KHAKI FIELD
£375, hamiltonwatch.com
This is a faithful
recreation of its original
1960s forebear and
is true to Hamilton’s
military heritage. The
38mm stainless steel
case is paired with a
durable NATO strap.
TISSOT QUICKSTER
CHRONOGRAPH
£295, tissotwatches.com
This packs a Swiss quartz
movement with 1/10 of a
second counters, central
60-seconds chronograph
hand, and add/split
functionality. The case
is finished with a sleek
PVD coating.
CHRISTOPHER WARD C5
MALVERN MK III
£495, christopherward.co.uk
This sleek dress watch
retains its classic British
design cues from older
models, but features
a new 39mm stainless
steel case with Fluid
‘light-catcher’ lines and
38 hours power reserve.
J A N U A R Y 2 019 T3 9 7
 Best of the best

TVs UNDER
TVs £1,000 PROJECTORS
Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/besttv t3.com/besttv1000 t3.com/bestprojector

SAMSUNG 75Q950TS SONY KD-55XH9005 ACER V7850

£7,999, samsung.com £899, sony.co.uk £1,699, acer.com

Samsung’s 2020 This LCD TV gives Acer really hit the
flagship TV is our you bright HDR sweet spot here:
new pick for the best images that really small enough to fit
TV you can buy even dazzle with colour, on a coffee table,
though 8K content but it’s also quite whisper-quiet in
is rare, thanks to capable when it operation, and yet
the way it takes 4K comes to darker still produces a
video and boosts it scenes too, thanks bright, crisp HDR 4K
to make use of its to Sony’s excellent picture of 70 to 110
8K resolution. motion processing. inches (at 3.5m).

PANASONIC TX-55HZ2000 PHILIPS 55OLED754 OPTOMA UHD40

£2,999, panasonic.com £799, philips.com £999, optoma.co.uk

Panasonic has A handsome, super- 4K resolution and
made this TV skinny TV with a HDR in a projector
slightly thicker for stack of connectivity for this price is hard
lots of extra heat and the deep blacks to beat. It doesn’t
dispersion, so it can for which OLED is quite have the pop
overdrive the panel celebrated. With and HDR richness of
to be brighter than support for every more expensive sets,
other OLED TVs, HDR format, it but it’s way beyond
while still having all makes 4K content HD projectors at the
the deep blacks. look its best. same price.

LG OLED65CX SONY KD-49XH9505 OPTOMA UHZ65

£2,799, lg.com £999, sony.com £3,499, optoma.co.uk

The blockbuster of Sony’s flagship LED This is very aimed
LG’s 2020 range: it’s 4K TV for 2020 at the proper AV
got the same image packs in all kinds of enthusiast, but
quality as TVs double advanced technology laser projection at
its price, but delivers and processing for this price makes it
them at a price more supreme picture worth it for anyone.
people can afford, quality. Somehow, 4K HDR video is
especially now that the 49-inch model supremely rich, and
there’s a new 48-inch is available for less it can hit 120 inches
that costs even less. than a grand. from just 4m.

PHILIPS 48OLED935 SAMSUNG QE55Q70T EPSON EH-TW6700W

£1,499, philips.com £999, samsung.com £999, epson.co.uk

A total home The Q70T sits in If you’re happy with
cinema upgrade in a real sweet-spot Full HD resolution,
a compact package. in Samsung’s TV this is the best
Not only a fantastic range. Pictures from option, partly thanks
48-inch OLED TV, 4K sources are to a super-easy setup
but the speaker outstanding: vivid- process. The image
bar in the stand is a yet-natural colours, quality is good, you
Dolby Atmos system, strong contrasts, just don’t get the
complete with lavish detail levels future-proofing of
upfiring speakers. and smooth motion. HDR and 4K.

8 2 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Best of the best

GAMES
SOUNDBARS STREAMERS CONSOLES
Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestsoundbar t3.com/beststreamer t3.com/bestconsole

B&O BEOSOUND STAGE ROKU STREAMING STICK+ MICROSOFT XBOX ONE X

£1,250, bang-olufsen.com £59, roku.com £449, xbox.com

B&O’s first soundbar, and The Swiss Army Knife With 4K, Dolby Atmos,
it’s been worth the wait. of streaming delivers Ultra HD Blu-ray and
There are 11 drivers 4K HDR, isn’t locked to a fairly compact profile
hidden behind its stylish a particular ecosystem, this is the best Xbox ever.
cloth finish, producing has tons of available apps It’s even more powerful
a wall of sound. It can and is a joy to use. It’s than the PS4 Pro and
get incredibly boomy the best streamer for also a great home
without a subwoofer, too. many people. entertainment hub.

SONY HT-G700 AMAZON FIRE TV STICK 4K SONY PLAYSTATION 4 PRO

£450, sony.com £49, amazon.co.uk £349, playstation.com

This soundbar and 4K HDR for under £50 It’s still overkill if you
wireless subwoofer isn’t to be sniffed at. It’s don’t have a 4K TV,
include Sony’s fanciest best suited to Prime but with 2160p HDR
processing, to make the subscribers and Google gaming, the PS4 Pro
three drivers seem like apps are absent, but delivers incredible
they’re giving you sound it’s a very capable and visuals and is smoother
coming from the sides affordable streamer and faster than its non-
and above. for TV and movies. Pro siblings.

SONOS BEAM CHROMECAST ULTRA NINTENDO SWITCH

£349, sonos.com £69, store.google.com £279, nintendo.co.uk

If it were just a soundbar, The Chromecast Ultra We love the Switch,
the Beam’s great audio is a receiver for phones which brings Nintendo’s
would still make it and laptops and depends great gaming pedigree
top – but with Amazon on them for control and to genuinely stylish,
Alexa, Apple AirPlay 2 content – but it’s simple, premium-grade
and support for a billion versatile and compatible hardware. Forget the
streaming services, it’s with iOS, Android, specs: it’s all about the
fantastically flexible. Windows and Mac. sheer joy of gaming.

SAMSUNG HW-Q90R NVIDIA SHIELD TV MICROSOFT XBOX ONE S

£1,100, samsung.com £149.99, nvidia.com £207, xbox.com

Described as a Offers an AI-powered The S is smaller, whiter
7.1.4-equivalent upscaler, which converts and much cheaper than
configuration, the result HD footage to sharp its big brother, and while
really is stunningly close 4K incredibly well, you don’t get its sibling’s
to the effect of having and support for Dolby super-powered specs
seven speakers around Vision, Dolby Atmos and you still get Ultra HD
you, but without all the GeForce Now, Nvidia’s Blu-ray. A fine home
hassle and expense. cloud gaming system. entertainment hub.

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APP EDITION (iOS/ANDROID) PRINT EDITION

FROM £2.20 PER ISSUE FROM £2.70 PER ISSUE

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 Best of the best

STREAMING MULTI-ROOM
TURNTABLES DACs SPEAKERS
Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestturntable t3.com/bestdac t3.com/bestmultiroom

PRO-JECT ESSENTIAL III SONOS PORT NAIM MU-SO 2ND GENERATION

£250, project-audio.com £399, sonos.com £1,300, naimaudio.com

Really sounds great A great streamer, Mu-So 2 crushes
for the money, with especially if you its competition. An
an expansive and already own a Sonos awesome, thumping
enjoyable sound speaker. It has an wall of sound and
across a range of analogue input and reliable, versatile
genres and volume output, as well as software platform
levels. It also looks streaming to any and streaming
very pleasing, in Sonos speaker, so support make for the
a variety of high you can plug in perfect 21st-century
gloss finishes. your turntable. music experience.

AUDIO-TECHNICA AT-LP5X YAMAHA WXAD-10 SONOS ONE

£330, audio-technica.com £120, yamaha.co.uk £199, sonos.co.uk

This direct-drive This Yamaha lets you Sonos One is
turntable comes stream everything compatible with
with the AT-VM95E from Bluetooth every music service
cartridge fitted to a to hi-res audio, ever, multi-room
J-shaped tonearm with support for connectivity is fab,
that sounds great. AirPlay, most of your and Alexa comes
Build is very solid, favourite streaming built in as an added
there are phono and services and, of bonus. Many pricier
USB outputs, and it course Yamaha’s Sonos speakers then
can play 78s too. own MusicCast. await you…

ELIPSON CHROMA CARBON IFI XDSD RUARK R5

RIAA BT
£699, elipson.com £399, ifi-audio.com £1,000, ruarkaudio.com
Elipson’s top-line This dinky little Like a mini system
turntable pulls down combined Bluetooth for the 21st century,
a lot of features from receiver, DAC and Ruark’s R5 chucks
the truly high end. headphone amp in a CD player, DAB
You get a super-stiff supports AAC and and FM radios and
carbon fibre tone aptX and sounds two extra inputs,
arm and new digital really superb. It has including one pre-
belt drive motor, a battery, and can be amped for use with
plus AptX Bluetooth used with earphones a turntable. There’s
and USB. as well as speakers. even Bluetooth too.

TECHNICS SL-1210GR AUDIOLAB 6000N BOWERS & WILKINS

FORMATION DUO
£1,000, technics.com £449, audiolab.co.uk £3,500, bowerswilkins.com
The iconic DJ Probably impractical These may look
turntable reimagined if you don’t have a like Bender from
as a lustworthy slab hi-fi stack, but with Futurama but sound
of home hi-fi. While support for audio up like God yodelling in
we wouldn’t take to 192Khz/24-bit, your ear. The only
this out clubbing, it’s its sound quality is wireless choice for
the ultimate deck noticeably better any real audiophiles
for gently maturing than the Sonos and out there: highly
ravers, and sounds Yamaha streamers specced, but not
excellent too. further up the list. exactly affordable.

8 4 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

BLUETOOTH
SPEAKERS
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestbluetooth
KANTO TUK
£749, kantoaudio.com
A stereo pair of
attractive, compact
bookshelf speakers. The
left-hand one contains
the connections and
DACs and Class D
amplifiers, and the right
one is a wired slave.
SONOS MOVE
£399, sonos.com
A Sonos speaker that’s
been ruggedised, and
had a battery and
Bluetooth added, so you
can use it anywhere.
Clever software
automatically optimises
the sound to its location.
ULTIMATE EARS MEGABOOM 3
£169, ultimateears.com
The best waterproof
speaker – it even floats
– offers 20 hours of
battery life and a hefty
sound, perfect for
outdoor parties. It works
great for kitchen audio
duties, too.
BLUESOUND PULSE FLEX 2I
£299, bluesound.com
More than a Bluetooth
speaker, with Wi-Fi and
Ethernet included this
is more like a portable
Sonos. It’s AirPlay 2
compatible, and works
with streaming services
and internet radio.
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BLUETOOTH
HEADPHONES
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestwireless
AUDIO-TECHNICA ATH-M50XBT
£179, audio-technica.com
Long battery life and
sound that’s closer to the
more neutral tones of hi-
fi cans (though still with a
slight extra kick of bass),
plus great comfort levels,
make these ideal for
losing yourself in music.
AKG Y50BT
£120, uk.akg.com
If you want an on-
ear alternative to the
Marshalls, these ’phones
from AKG remain a great
option. The sound is
punchy and the styling
is pretty cool without
trying too hard.
OPTOMA NUFORCE BE SPORT 4
£100, optoma.co.uk
Designed for the gym,
you might think these
wouldn’t sound very
good. But you would
be incorrect. They’re
very musical with
well-weighted bass and
excellent noise isolation.
SOUNDMAGIC E11BT
£69, soundmagicheadphones.com
These are as good as
buds that cost twice as
much. Audio is brilliant,
connectivity is rock solid,
the necklace-style band
stays stable, and the fit is
comfortable and secure
enough for exercise.
bit.ly/3jXtD2k
Best of the best
TRUE WIRELESS
HEADPHONES
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/besttruewireless
BEATS BY DR. DRE
POWERBEATS PRO
£220, beatsbydre.com
Marketed as workout
buds, their audio
quality is on par with
any other true wireless
headphones out there,
with the exception of the
much less comfortable
Sony WF-1000XM3s.
JABRA ELITE 75T
£169, jabra.co.uk
If the Beats are just too
bulbous for your tastes,
you can’t find finer
than these Jabra buds.
Sound quality could
be described as a little
artificial, but it’s also
pleasingly pumping.
CAMBRIDGE AUDIO
MELOMANIA 1
£100, cambridgeaudio.com
Less comfortable and
more prone to falling out
than their pricier rivals,
these combine the sound
quality of the Beats buds
with the portability of
the Jabras while costing
less than either.
GOOGLE PIXEL BUDS
£199, store.google.com
Finally available in the
UK, these have boomy
but good sound quality
and a very nice secure fit.
Pair with a Pixel phone
for the best experience,
but they’ll work with
iPhones and others too.
 Best of the best

NOISE CANCELLING WIRED IN-EAR WIRED OVER-EAR

HEADPHONES HEADPHONES HEADPHONES
Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestnoisecancelling t3.com/bestinear t3.com/bestoverear

SONY WH-1000XM4 FLARE AUDIO FLARE PRO 2HD GRADO SR325E

£349, sony.co.uk £399, flareaudio.com £399, gradolabs.com

Nailed it. Light, with These are both When you factor
broad, soft ear cups wired and wireless just how good these
and a remarkably – the in-ear bit has a sound, they’re a
comfortable cable to a DAC box, bargain. In a quiet
headband, these which you can then room, they sound as
offer best-in-class play music through good as headphones
noise cancellation over Bluetooth or that cost five times
with great sound, by plugging in. The more. They’re among
rich bass and a lively sound is fantastic – the leakiest we’ve
approach to music. huge and nuanced. tried, however.

BOWERS & WILKINS PX7 KLIPSCH T5M WIRED AUDIO TECHNICA ATH-A1000Z

£275, bowers-wilkins.co.uk £65, klipsch.com £439, audiotechnica.com

A bit dull-looking, The fitting is unusual, Forget about MP3s
but the audio quality but nonetheless or EDM: these
and noise cancelling immediately felt headphones don’t
are extremely comfortable and flatter or sacrifice
close to that of the solid. The audio is sound quality for
Sonys. B&W’s usual boosted, primped bass. But if you give
exciting, but well and pop-friendly, them a good amp
balanced, sound with plenty of bass and a good sound
meets excellent and a very lively and source they do
noise cancelling. engaging sound. incredible things.

SHURE AONIC 50 FLARE AUDIO FLARES JET 3 AKG K52

£359, shure.co.uk £89, flareaudio.com £25, akg.com

The sound quality Maintaining the These have
of the Aonic 50 quality of the Flares absolutely no right to
should have purists Pro (see Bluetooth sound half as good as
purring. There isn’t headphones), they do. For at-home
an excess of bass removing the DAC listening they offer a
and it delivers all element and thereby massive soundstage,
the sparkling detail slashing the price, impressive balance
and painstaking these audiophile in- and a frankly
accuracy you ear headphones are ludicrous amount of
could want. a tremendous option. detail for the dosh.

BOSE NOISE CANCELLING SOUNDMAGIC E11C FOCAL STELLIA

HEADPHONES 700
£299, bose.com £49, soundmagicheadphones.com £2,899, focal.com
Close rivals to the Can we really be Carefully engineered
Sony and B&W recommending a pair to give you the kind
options above, of headphones for of big soundscape
they’re less exciting, under £50? Yes we expected of high-
but also very easy to can! The grown-up end headphones,
listen to for hours on sound quality and the audio quality is
end. If you are easy exemplary comfort stunning. Detail and
like Sunday morning, of the 11c make expansiveness at
maybe these are them the sonic the high end is really
your babies. bargain of the year. impressive too.

8 6 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Best of the best

2-IN-1
LAPTOPS LAPTOPS TABLETS
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t3.com/bestlaptop t3.com/best2in1 t3.com/besttablet

ASUS VIVOBOOK S15 ASUS ZENBOOK FLIP 13 APPLE iPAD AIR (2019)

£539, asus.com £800, asus.com From £479, apple.com

This slim and super light The Zenbook Flip 13 With a sharp, vibrant
laptop hits a wonderful might be the best laptop 10.5-inch screen, Apple
sweet spot. With an Intel Asus has ever released. Pencil support, powerful
Core i5, 4GB of RAM, Tooled up with an eighth- A12 Bionic processor
a 256GB SSD and a gen Intel Core processor, and thin, light body, this
touchscreen ScreenPad, the tablet mode feels is a Pro in all but name,
it represents wonderful great to use, thanks to a for a bargain price. The
mid-range value. responsive touchscreen. best all-rounder tablet.

DELL XPS 13 (2019) MICROSOFT SURFACE BOOK 3 APPLE iPAD PRO 12.9 (2018)

£1,194, dell.com £1,439, microsoft.com From £969, apple.com

The Dell XPS 13 is Pull the screen away The biggest iPad Pro is
thinner and more from the keyboard and unbelievably powerful
powerful than ever. Up it’s a tablet. Connect and slick, with an
to 1TB of SSD storage, them for more graphics excellent screen, thin and
16GB of RAM, a 4K power and battery life. compact design, great
screen and fast Intel A premium, fantastically battery life and support
chips help make it a top portable, and supremely for the Apple Pencil.
quality all-rounder. versatile system. Pricey, but worth it.

HP STREAM 14 MICROSOFT SURFACE GO 2 APPLE IPAD 10.2 (2019)

£200, HP.com £519, microsoft.com From £349, apple.com

Not the most powerful Builds on what made A whole lot of Apple
laptop money can buy, the original Surface Go tablet for not much
but truly astonishing so good, adding a more money, it offers Apple
value, the HP Stream premium-feeling design Pencil support and the
14 shows that you don’t and a small specs bump latest iPadOS software.
have to spend a lot of to make sure you can Perfect if you want top
money to get a strong power through all your tablet performance on
computing experience. computing tasks. a budget.

APPLE MACBOOK AIR (2020) ASUS FLIP 2-IN-1 CHROMEBOOK SAMSUNG GALAXY TAB S7+

£999, apple.com £450, asus.com £719, samsung.com

Updated for 2020 If you are shopping for a A powerhouse that not
(including the keyboard) 2-in-1, hybrid laptop with only goes toe-to-toe with
and no slouch in terms anything but a premium the iPad Pros, but does
of power, this is a laptop budget we recommend so in style. This thing is
built for everyday tasks. looking at the Flip first. only 5.7mm thick with
But it’ll look gorgeous For the price it can’t a 12.4-inch AMOLED
on your desk or your lap be beaten as a 2-in-1 screen that refreshes at
while you’re doing them. running ChromeOS. 120Hz. Buttery smooth.

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 Best of the best

GAMING GAMING 4K
LAPTOPS HEADSETS MONITORS
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t3.com/bestgaming t3.com/bestheadset t3.com/best4kmonitor

ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS G14 STEELSERIES PHILIPS BRILLIANCE 328P

ARCTIS PRO WIRELESS
£1,099, asus.com £299, steelseries.com £420, philips.co.uk
A game-changer that The SteelSeries A plucky display
delivers buckets of Arctis Pro Wireless sporting an
performance despite is simply awesome. impressive HDR 600
being compact The dual-wireless rating and a 3,840
and light. It does audio system x 2,160 resolution.
this thanks to its that allows for It’s also shockingly
use of AMD’s hot both 2.4GHz affordable, when you
new Ryzen CPUs and Bluetooth consider it’s a 31.5-
and Nvidia’s RTX simultaneously is inch display with 4K
2060 GPU. especially fantastic. and HDR support.

ASUS ZEPHYRUS S GX701 LUCIDSOUND LS50X EIZO COLOREDGE CG319X

£2,500, asus.com £249, lucidsound.com £3,989, ezioglobal.com

Crammed A hugely impressive Equipped with a raft
with powerful new entry as we of high-end features,
components, this enter the era of the this screen is ideal
really looks the next-gen consoles, for high-end photo
part, and will play with an all-round and video work, as
any game out there package – style, well as general usage
without breaking a setup, audio – that’s and gaming. Serious
sweat. If you’ve got very difficult to beat. hardware commands
the cash, then it’s Build quality is first- a serious premium
worth it. rate too. price, however.

ACER NITRO 5 TURTLE BEACH ELITE SAMSUNG U28E590D

ATLAS AERO
£750, acer.com £129.99, turtlebeach.com £279, samsung.com/uk
A lower spec is Partners an Delivers a super-fast
reflected in the understated and 1ms response time,
lower price. With mature aesthetic 170-degree viewing
a Core 15, 8GB of with high-end build angles and a 1000:1
RAM, 128GB SSD quality and top-rate contrast ratio. You
plus a 1TB hard audio reproduction. don’t get quite as
drive and a Nvidia Allows audiophile- much size as other
GeForce GTX 1660 level customisation models, but it cuts
Ti 6GB, it’s still a through the Control very few corners
potent performer. Studio app. hitting its low price.

GIGABYTE AORUS 17X LOGITECH G635 7.1 LIGHTSYNC BENQ EW3280U

£3,000, gigabyte.com £90, logitech.com £699, benq.com

It’s hard to imagine Surround sound Offering something
any more powerful audio, Lightsync for for creatives,
components getting illuminating your gamers, casual users
packed into a gaming play space, plenty of and professionals for
laptop, which is why features and buttons a very reasonable
the Gigabyte Aorus and compatibility price, this is perfect
17x is so big and with PC, PS4, Xbox if you want your 4K
heavy, and needs One, and Nintendo display to wear a
two power cables Switch… what more lot of different hats
to run. could you want? through the week.

8 8 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Best of the best

ACTION CHEAP ACTION

DRONES CAMERAS CAMERAS
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t3.com/bestdrone t3.com/bestactioncam t3.com/bestcheapaction

DJI MINI 2 GOPRO HERO9 BLACK GOPRO HERO7 WHITE

£420, dji.com £429, gopro.com £179, gopro.com

The pocket-size Mini 2 A bigger sensor The wallet-friendly
is the perfect 4K camera (23.6MP), means this Hero7 White borrows
drone for the masses, cam can shoot 5K/30 premium features from
and folds so small you video and 20MP stills, the Hero7 Black. Ideal
can hide it behind an and you get a welcome for part-time adrenaline
iPhone. Incredibly, video 30% battery boost over junkies needing a simple
transmission distance is the Hero8. There’s a HD camera that shoots
now a huge 10km. front screen too. YouTube-ready footage.

DJI MAVIC AIR 2 GOPRO HERO8 BLACK AKASKO BRAVE 7 LE

£769, dji.com £279, gopro.com £140, akasotech.com

Everything about this This GoPro has goodies The Brave 7 LE fits
drone shouts BUY ME. everywhere. Four virtual nicely in the palm of
The camera is a cracker lenses get you the your hand. While its
capable of shooting 4K ideal field of view for headline feature is a
footage at 60fps, while what you’re shooting, front-facing screen, it
a completely redesigned and next-gen video also sports a number
controller is another stabilisation keeps it of features only usually
major improvement. stable and crisp. found on fancier models.

DJI MAVIC 2 PRO GOPRO HERO7 BLACK AKASO V50 X

£1,120, dji.com £250, gopro.com £99, akasotech.com

This pro-spec drone is The waterproof Hero7 4K at 30fps for under
almost impossible to Black makes capturing £100, plus two-inch
crash, and has a stunning pro-looking shots easier, touchscreen and image
three-axis gimbal- thanks to HyperSmooth stabilisation? This is
mounted Hasselblad electronic stabilisation. proper bang for buck. It
camera. As rock solid and 4K image quality is comes with accessories,
confidence-inspiring as excellent, and there’s including waterproof
we’ve come to expect. slick 60fps recording. housing and remote.

POWERVISION POWEREGG X DJI OSMO ACTION YI 4K

WIZARD VERSION
£1,099, powervision.me £329, dji.com/uk £119, yitechnology.com
A do-it-all drone that can With a cool front display Captures high-quality
fly safely in inclement but missing SuperView footage even in low light,
weather and over water. mode and live streaming, thanks to an LCE seven-
With a feature-set way DJI’s cam is ideal for layer all-glass lens and
beyond any other model, extreme sports types Sony Exmor-R IMX377
the PowerEgg X isn’t and vloggers. Image sensor. It shoots 4K at
just smart looking, it’s stabilisation is excellent, 30fps; buy a separate
really clever too. and it’s easy to use. case for waterproofing.

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 Best of the best

DSLR MIRRORLESS COMPACT

CAMERAS CAMERAS CAMERAS
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t3.com/bestdslr t3.com/bestmirrorless t3.com/bestcompact

NIKON D850 NIKON Z50 SONY RX100 VII

£3,299, nikon.co.uk £849, nikon.co.uk £1,099, sony.co.uk

With a high- All the best bits For the best image
resolution 45.4 from the Z range quality in a pocket-
megapixel sensor, shrunk into a more friendly body, look
4K video capture, affordable package. here. The RX100 VII
a 153-point AF A smaller (APS-C) continues to build
system, and a sturdy 20.9MP sensor on Sony’s reputation
body, you’ll never be means a smaller for high-quality
disappointed with overall body, ideal premium compacts,
what the D850 can for travel and and does so without
create for you. everyday shots. breaking the bank.

NIKON D780 FUJIFILM X-T3 FUJIFILM X100V

£2,199, nikon.com £899, fujifilm.co.uk £1,299, fujifilm.co.uk

The D780 is, in many An APS-C sensor A beautifully retro
ways, a Nikon Z6 means you don’t design mixed with
(mirrorless) camera have to lug around a host of advanced
inside a larger DSLR heavy lenses and features, this, like
body. Thanks to this, accessories but its predecessors,
we’ve got room for still leaves you with sports a DSLR-sized
dual memory card cracking image (APS-C) sensor,
slots and a lot more quality. The X-T3 has which is paired with
direct control dials impressive 4K video a 23mm f/2 fixed
and buttons. capabilities too. length lens.

NIKON D500 NIKON Z5 PANASONIC TZ200

£1,699, nikon.co.uk £1,719, nikon.co.uk £629, panasonic.com

This solidly built If you’re looking for This might be
camera is the your first full-frame the ideal travel
perfect choice for camera, the Z5 companion, with a
those who like to makes a lot of sense. versatile zoom lens
shoot a little bit of You get a 24MP up to 15x, and a
everything, thanks to full-frame sensor, fantastic one-inch
a brilliant autofocus a nicely ergonomic sensor that captures
system and glorious body design and bright, sharp images.
image quality from excellent electronic It’s also stylish and
its 20MP sensor. viewfinder too. pocket-friendly.

NIKON D7500 CANON EOS RP CANON G5X MARK II

£799, nikon.co.uk £1,299, canon.co.uk £849, canon.co.uk

A chunky and nicely Excellent full-frame This full-blown
textured body makes image quality, overhaul of the G5
the D7500 a good but with a few line brings a one-
camera to hold drawbacks, such inch 20MP sensor
and use, with some as a low frame and a 5x optical
modern touches like rate (5fps). There’s zoom, plus 4K video
a fully articulating also the annoying recording, USB-C
touchscreen to problem of there still battery charging and
satisfy those used being scant native burst shooting up to
to smartphones. RF lenses available. 30fps. Versatile.

9 0 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Best of the best

ELECTRIC
SAT-NAVS DASH CAMS BIKES
Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestsatnav t3.com/bestdashcam t3.com/bestebike

TOMTOM GO PREMIUM NEXTBASE 622GW VANMOOF S3

£290, tomtom.com £250, nextbase.com £1,789, vanmoof.com

This state-of-the-art sat The latest dash cam This Dutch hipster brand
nav links with IFTTT, from Nextbase boasts has taken the S2, which
so you can connect much-improved video was excellent, and made
to home devices, quality, improved it better. Oh, and it’s
interact with personal stabilisation and the knocked over £1,000
digital assistants, get inclusion of some rather off its price. How could
notifications, and share clever What3Words we not make it our best
location and arrival data. geolocation services. electric bike?

GARMIN DRIVESMART 61 LMT-S GARMIN DASH CAM 66W GTECH EBIKE CITY

£209, garmin.com £169, garmin.com £995, gtech.co.uk

This sleek sat-nav has This fantastic little cam Way cheaper and
substance to match its earns its place on this list simpler than most of the
style, with a big display, with good image quality, bikes here, and despite
lifetime traffic and extra features including being years old now, it’s
maps (for Europe) and GPS and speed camera still the best cheap ebike
useful points of interest warnings, and a quite you can buy, and ideal
information courtesy attractive design. Video for beginners or those
of TripAdvisor. is 1440p, in a 180° angle. on a budget.

TOMTOM GO 6200 THINKWARE F800 PRO BROMPTON ELECTRIC

£299, tomtom.com £249, thinkware.com £2,595, brompton.com

Packed with features With an almost invisible Ebikes aren’t just about
but never fiddly, and design, time-lapse tech. They should be
with Google and Siri recording and a great fun too. The Brompton
support, this is a really night mode, this is a good is a hoot, and if you’re
good mobile companion stealthy option if you’re a commuter there’s no
too. The price includes worried more about better: it munches miles
lifetime updates via vandalism or theft than and then folds to an
Wi-Fi for most features. your fellow drivers. incredibly tiny size.

GARMIN DRIVELUXE 51 LMT-D NEXTBASE 522GW ORBEA GAIN F40

£329, garmin.com £149, nextbase.com £1,799, orbea.com

A petite 12.9cm screen A massively impressive Designed to act as
is good for smaller dash cam that not only your daily ride, with
cars, but this nav is still nails the basics (such as its racy aluminium
packed with features, recording outstanding frame, carbon forks and
including Bluetooth, image quality), but offers powerful disc brakes
Wi-Fi, speed alerts, features not seen before making a solid case for
traffic, battery backup in a dash cam, like Alexa racking up the miles
and European maps. and Emergency SOS. during your downtime.

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 Best of the best

SMART SMART SMART

SPEAKERS BULBS THERMOSTATS
Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestsmart t3.com/bestbulb t3.com/bestthermostat

GOOGLE NEST HUB MAX PHILIPS HUE NEST THERMOSTAT E

£219, store.google.com From £59, philips.co.uk £180, nest.com/uk

Wins our 2020 T3 Hue dominates the This cheaper Nest
award as the best smart lighting sector model doesn’t fit as
smart speaker for for good reason: it’s much information
doing absolutely a superb system with on its screen and
everything. You get the widest range of doesn’t feel as
a crisp 10in screen, a bulbs and a simple, premium, but that’s
speaker that can fill useful app. Rivals it. Same algorithm,
a room, a front may be cheaper but same Alexa and
camera and of course they can’t compete Google Home
Google Assistant. with Hue’s variety. compatibility.

AMAZON ECHO (4TH GEN) LIFX TADO SMART THERMOSTAT

£60, amazon.co.uk From £19, lifx.com £99, tado.com

Bigger than the old If you fancy a Hue Tado is very sociable:
model, Echo now system but don’t it works with 95%
has a large woofer want to spend so of the systems out
and two tweeters for much, LIFX has there. It’s flexible,
better balance and a strong product clever and supports
sound clarity. The range and integrates a wide range of
Zigbee smart home with your favourite accessories too.
hub from the Echo personal digital Price cuts have
Plus has also come to assistant. Philips still made it even
the standard Echo. wins, but only just. more enticing.

APPLE HOMEPOD MINI NANOLEAF ESSENTIALS NEST LEARNING THERMOSTAT

£99, apple.com From £18, nanoleaf.me £220, nest.com/uk

A quality little A line of bargain- Nest made smart
speaker with a lot priced bulbs and thermostats sexy and
of brains, including light strips that this third-gen model
the ability to act support Thread, an looks great. It’s
as a HomeKit hub. upcoming protocol simple to use with
If you’re using an a bit like Zigbee. good Google Home
iPhone, this is the We love the faceted and Amazon Echo
slickest phone-to- look, but they’re only integration, but a
speaker experience available in E27 or tad pricey, especially
there is. B22 fittings. with installation.

SONOS ONE IKEA TRÅDFRI HIVE HEATING CONTROL

£199, sonos.com From £13, ikea.com £179, hivehome.com

The Sonos One is a Ikea’s Zigbee- Imagine: British Gas
superb standalone compatible system in ‘exciting’ shocker.
speaker with doesn’t have the Hive is great: it’s
integrated Alexa, range of Hue, but affordable, works
but the real selling if you prize control well, and is part of a
point is its flexibility: over colour options larger smart home
use it as part of a it’s stellar value for system that includes
stereo pair or in a money and has some bulbs and security
multi-room Sonos great controllers options. This is an
audio system. and dimmers. ideal way to jump in.

9 2 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21
 Best of the best

SECURITY ROBOT
SMART PLUGS CAMERAS VACUUMS
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t3.com/bestplug t3.com/bestsecurity t3.com/bestrobotvac

TP-LINK KASA MINI KP105 ARLO PRO 3 iROBOT ROOMBA I7+

£19, kasasmart.com £550 (two cameras), arlo.com £1,199, irobot.co.uk

A reliable smart plug If you can live without The i7+ is the i7 with an
that doesn’t include the 4K resolution of additional dirt bin in the
energy monitoring, but the Arlo Ultra, then the base and an extra £300
it’s happy to work with Arlo Pro 3 is just about on the price. It’s worth
smart assistants, the the best home security it if you hate emptying
TP-Link Kasa app is camera you can buy right the bin, but any i7 is a
also much improved on now, and it’s available at great cleaning robot that
recent generations. a very reasonable price. learns its way around.

HIVE ACTIVE PLUG RING STICK UP CAM ROBOROCK S5

£39, hivehome.com £180, en-uk.ring.com £459, en.roborock.com

Similar to Belkin, Hive Pretty much any feature At less than £500, this
can turn sockets on/ you could ask for is is exceptional value,
off via your phone, and included, such as night especially for a cleaner
create schedules. It vision, motion detection with navigation that’s
also works with Alexa. alerts, two-way audio, arguably better than
You need a Hive Hub and 1080p video you can the i7. It gets regular
(£80) to use the Active view on Alexa devices updates, and a new S6
Plug, though. with screens. version, is coming soon.

TP-LINK KASA SMART WI-FI ALL-NEW BLINK OUTDOOR NEATO BOTVAC D7 CONNECTED
POWER STRIP KP303
£30, kasasmart.com £180 (two cameras), blinkforhome.co.uk £799, neatorobotics.com
With three smart outlets, Only 1080p, but very An excellent robo
each with independent simple to set up, and cleaner, with a range
control, as well as a easy to add on to. With of smart vacuuming
pair of USB ports for a single-camera system and mapping features.
charging and power, the starting at around £100 Robust suction, turbo
Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Power you can add an extra mode and an improved
Strip KP303 delivers layer of home security brush system help
plenty of flexibility. without paying too much. deliver a powerful clean.

PHILIPS HUE SMART PLUG EZVIZ C3N EUFY BOOSTIQ ROBOVAC 30C

£30, philips.com £120, ezvizlife.com £270, eufylife.com

If you’re already all-in A budget Full HD You’ll need to fence
on Hue, hooking one of waterproof camera that off obstacles from the
these up to a Hue Bridge puts up a solid fight 30C, as it doesn’t use
gets you Alexa, Google against cameras costing an internal map, but for
Assistant and HomeKit much more. The sensor the price this is a solid,
support, making it performs well in all kinds if slightly inelegant,
just about the most of light, and includes cleaning bot – especially
compatible plug going. person detection. if you’ve got hard floors.

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 Best of the best

CORDLESS WASHING
VACUUMS MACHINES DISHWASHERS
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t3.com/bestcordlessvac t3.com/bestwashing t3.com/bestdishwasher

DYSON V11 ABSOLUTE AEG 9000 SERIES L9FEC966R BOSCH SMS67MW00G

PERFECTDRY
£599, dyson.co.uk £899, aeg.co.uk £629, bosch-home.co.uk
The high-torque AEG delivers superb A top-notch
head, well-sized bin flexible cleaning, dishwasher that uses
and powerful suction effective water zeolite, a magical
make this the top softening and a mineral that turns
sucker to get, and steam-cleaning moisture into heat,
worth the ‘Dyson feature to reduce in this case to dry
tax’. The Auto power your ironing pile. dishes without using
mode works well, It’s quiet, efficient extra electricity.
balancing battery and environmentally And by dry we mean
and suction nicely. friendly, too. bone dry.

SAMSUNG JET 90 PRO BOSCH SERIE 6 i-DOS BEKO DEN59420DX

WAT286H0GB
£600, samsung.com £599, bosch-home.co.uk £400, beko.com
Matches the Dyson Smooth, near-silent There have been
in practically every when running, and ‘smart’ dishwashers
way, and will almost designed with app- before, but Beko
certainly end up connected features has now added
being cheaper. It to make laundry easy. Wi-Fi to the
comes with a proper The i-Dos function DEN59420DX free-
stand to hold and holds detergent and standing dishwasher
recharge it, and has softener for up to 20 without charging
attachments for washes – one less a big premium for
four tools. thing to worry about! the privilege.

VAX ONEPWR BLADE 4 BEKO WTK104121W BOSCH SERIE 4 SKS62E22EU

£220, vax.co.uk £279, beko.co.uk £549, bosch-home.co.uk

This new cordless A safe bet for a tight A table-top model
Blade from Vax is budget, this boasts for those who don’t
a lot cheaper than a huge 10kg drum have much room. It
the Dyson V11, but capacity replete with can accommodate six
there’s remarkably large 34cm portal, average-sized dinner
little to tell between 1,400rpm spin, an plates, a few side
them in terms of energy-efficient plates, a quartet of
cleaning power. The motor, quick wash mugs, a carving knife
Vax makes a bigger programs and an or two and a clutch
noise though. A+++ energy rating. of cutlery.

SHARK ANTI HAIR WRAP LG F4V910WTS MIELE G7150 SCVI

IZ251UKT
£449, sharkvacuum.co.uk
Comes with tech
that prevents long
hair and threads
wrapping around
the cleaning roller. It
has excellent suction
and folds in half for
easy storage. Make
a beeline for this
proficient contender.
£750, lg.com £1,249, miele.co.uk
This 10kg drum runs If you manage to
like a dream thanks accumulate dirty
to the direct drive dishes at an alarming
motor, which means rate then this speedy
it’s quiet too. There’s dishwasher fits the
an app, Alexa and bill. The design is also
Google Assistant perfect if you want a
connectivity, and machine that’ll keep
TurboWash tech that a low-profile and just
cuts water usage. get on with it.

94 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

COFFEE
MACHINES
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestcoffee
SAGE BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL
THE ORACLE TOUCH
£1,999, sageappliances.com
The Oracle Touch looks
like a barista-operated
machine, it produces
coffee like one, yet all
the clever stuff – dosing,
tamping, extraction, milk
texturing, is done for you.
Not cheap – but amazing.
DELONGHI LA SPECIALISTA
EC9335.M
£720, delonghi.com
Solidly built using
swathes of brushed
stainless steel and good
quality plastics, this
looks just like a small
version of a professional
café espresso machine.
Dynamite coffee too.
SAGE BY HESTON BLUMENTHAL
BARISTA TOUCH
£999, sageappliances.com
Cheaper, faster and with
better frothed milk than
the Oracle, this may be
the better buy for most
unless being unable to
make coffee and steam
milk at the same time is
a deal breaker.
GAGGIA VELASCA
£466, gaggiadirect.com
The espresso and
lungo that the Velasca
make are as good as
anything you can buy
in most coffee shops. It
produces a reassuringly
old-fashioned, intense
flavour for your brew.
NEVER MISS YOUR NEXT LIFE-CHANGING GADGET!
THE BEST TECH YOU NEED TO KNOW,
DELIVERED RIGHT TO YOUR DOOR
FRIDGES
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestfridge
MIELE K 28202 D WS
£875, miele.co.uk
If you have the cash and
60cm of space with no
cupboards above, this
cooler should be top
of your list. Its clever
cooling keeps foodstuffs
fresh without humidity,
and it’s cavernous.
LIEBHERR TP 1760 PREMIUM
£489, home.leibherr.com
Arguably the only A+++
rated under-counter
model on the UK market.
Despite its diminutive
exterior, inside it’s like
the Albert Hall, a chilled
Tardis with two separate
salad/veg drawers.
BOSCH SERIE 2 CLASSIXX
KSV29NW3PG
£643, bosch-home.co.uk
Looking for a mid-sized
larder fridge that doesn’t
cost the Earth, provides
plenty of food storage
space, cools quickly and
is cheap to run? Consider
this efficient and well-
made Bosch.
SIEMENS IQ500 KU15RAFF0G
£499, siemens.com
The hugely impressive
Siemens iQ500, with
137L of storage, is a
great option if you’re
looking to have a built-in
fridge that can fit either
under a worktop or in an
eye-level compartment.
bit.ly/3jXtD2k
Best of the best
OVENS
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestoven
NEFF N 70 B57CR22N0B
£789, neff.co.uk
The unique Slide and
Hide door is brilliant, the
touchscreen is handy
and the oven’s no slouch:
it enables you to cook
multiple dishes without
cross-contamination
from strong flavours.
AEG STEAMBAKE BPS355020M
£450, aeg.com
Not just for baking, this
is a great oven for just
about everything. It has
a massive temperature
range of 40ºC to
300ºC, with the option
of using grill and oven
simultaneously.
ZANUSSI ZOB31471XK
£260, zanussi.com
A stonking performer
for the price. This oven
heats up rapidly (about
nine minutes to reach
180ºC, topping out at
275ºC) and its grill is
one of the very best
out there.
AEG DCE731110M
£800, aeg.com
The bottom oven has 61
litres of room for large
stuff like turkeys and
anything else you want,
while the top 43 litre
oven also doubles as a
grill big enough to brown
six slices of Warburtons.
 Best of the best

ELECTRIC ELECTRIC BEARD

SHAVERS TOOTHBRUSHES TRIMMERS
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t3.com/bestshaver t3.com/besttoothbrush t3.com/besttrimmer

BRAUN SERIES 9 9390CC PHILIPS SONICARE PHILIPS SERIES 9000 BT9297/13

DIAMONDCLEAN SONIC
£250, braun.com £145, philips.co.uk £80, philips.co.uk
Given that the This is a great The best trimmer
trend is to shave toothbrush with for general beard
less nowadays, we excellent cleaning maintenance,
recommend the power, and an this has a largely
Braun Series 9 foil attractive but easily superfluous laser
shaver over Philips’ smashed glass (for ultra-straight
almost equally charger. It also edging, supposedly)
impressive efforts. It comes with a handy but also boasts
is slightly better on travel case with the very best blades
longer stubble. USB power. in the business. 

PHILIPS SERIES 9000 PRESTIGE ORAL-B PRO 2 2500 PANASONIC ER-GD60

£300, philips.co.uk £35, oralb.co.uk £50, panasonic.co.uk

The second best This only has two For slightly longer
shaver has a silly cleaning modes beards, this is the
RRP (£430!) but is and no ‘smart’ one to go for. Its
available for around functionality to unusual, ‘side-on’
£300. It’s good for speak of, but ask cutting action, where
sensitive skin, mows yourself… do you you pull the shaver
long stubble and is really care? It has through your hirsute
really close to the a timer, pressure tresses more like a
shave you get from sensor, and excellent comb, soon becomes
traditional razors. rotary cleaning. second nature.

BRAUN SERIES 7 70-N7200CC PHILIPS SONICARE PHILIPS ONEBLADE PRO

DIAMONDCLEAN 9000
£165, braun.com £170, philips.co.uk £50, philips.co.uk
This new offering A refinement The best trimmer for
from Braun, with even over the those with sensitive
three foil heads, DiamondClean skin, this uses
is an absolute Sonic, the 9000 innovative OneBlade
cracker in every adds an app that technology. It’s good
respect. It shaves will let you know if for both your face
as close as a wet you’re not brushing and your downstairs,
razor, only in half frequently enough, although you may
the time. And that’s and when the head wish to change
no exaggeration. needs changing. heads in between.

PHILIPS SERIES 9000 S9211/31 ORAL-B GENIUS 9000 BRAUN BT3040

£199, philips.co.uk £85, oralb.co.uk £26, braun.com

A rotary shaver that This is an extremely This is a bargain
requires a circular good electric all-rounder, offering
motion on the face. toothbrush with 39 precision length
Stubble disappears a rather pointless options with its
like magic, and the smartphone app, but combs, plus you
whole experience is it does a great job of get a Gillette razor
very low-irritation. cleaning and comes included for edging.
You get a clip- with four – four! – The battery life isn’t
on trimmer for brush heads, so it’s a great, but otherwise
sideburns too. bit of a bargain. this is a top deal.

96 T3 J A N U A R Y 2 0 21

FITNESS
TRACKERS
Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestfitness
FITBIT CHARGE 4
£130, fitbit.com
A big step forward for
Fitbit, adding features
such as GPS and a
new exercise tracker
alongside the step-
counting. There are
plentiful sleep-tracking
features too.
FITBIT VERSA 2
£155, fitbit.com
The best fitness-tracker-
cum-smartwatch you can
buy. It has Alexa built in,
its heartbeat and step
counting are reasonably
accurate, and it’s been
well designed in terms of
looks and usability.
GARMIN VIVOSPORT
£79, garmin.com
Garmin’s rival to the
Charge 2 boasts GPS for
a similar price, but it also
has a dodgy interface
and some pointless
extra features. The core
functionality is good, and
it’s waterproof.
POLAR IGNITE
£175, polar.com
Though mainly aimed at
runners, the Ignite can
track other activities,
and monitor your sleep
and heart rate too. You
get instant stats after
exercise, with deeper
analysis in the app.
T3 DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR
OR YOUR DEVICE WHEN YOU SUBSCRIBE!
PLUS GET THE ISSUE EARLY WITH A PRINT SUBSCRIPTION
Best of the best
RUNNING RUNNING
WATCHES HEADPHONES
Find the lowest prices at: Find the lowest prices at:
t3.com/bestrunningwatch t3.com/bestrunningphones
GARMIN FORERUNNER BEATS BY DRE POWERBEATS
245 MUSIC
£299, garmin.com £129, beatsbydre.com/uk
The ultimate phone- Powerbeats (without
free GPS running watch the ‘Pro’ bit) are almost
for the price-conscious £100/$100 cheaper and
runner. The battery can they sound identical –
last up to seven days in which is to say superb
smartwatch mode and for workout music. And,
six hours in GPS mode come to that, superb for
with music. non-workout music.
GARMIN FORERUNNER 945 BEATS POWERBEATS PRO
£520, garmin.com £219, beatsbydre.com/uk
The Forerunner 945 These true wireless
has retained the look powerhouses absolutely
and feel of the 935, crush their predecessors
but inside it has been when it comes to quality
completely revamped. of sound and security
There are new GPS chips of fit. All but impossible
and heart-rate sensors, to accidentally dislodge
plus on-board maps. from your ears.
POLAR VANTAGE V  OUNDCORE SPIRIT
S
SPORTS BY ANKER
£439, polar.com £27, anker.com
A peculiar flagship Our favourite budget
smartwatch, this has running headphones fit
some unique features brilliantly and are very
that might arouse the waterproof and sweat-
runners out there, proof. Sound quality is
especially the running acceptable rather than
power metric, measured astonishing, but we’ll
on the wrist. forgive that.
COROS PACE 2 JABRA ELITE ACTIVE 75T
£180, coros.com £189, jabra.co.uk
One of the best running For workout purposes
watches released in the 75ts sound great.
2020. Its screen is They’re sufficiently
sharp and bright, while bassy, great with
it can go for 30 hours pounding, workout-
between charges in GPS friendly music, and have
mode, and two weeks in a reasonable amount of
smartwatch mode. musicality too.
bit.ly/3jXtD2k J A N U A R Y 2 019 T3 8 9
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