“Kensei” is an honorary Japanese title bestowed upon swordsmen of legendary skill. The word translates to “Sword Saint,” and it is the relentless commitment to being the best that iFi channeled into the masterfully crafted product that is the iFi Kensei. 

This is truly a tool for the audiophile, so without getting too deep into the weeds, we’re going to get a bit more technical in this review than normal, with an eye on keeping it accessible.

iFi GO bar Kensei: Price and availability

The iFi GO bar Kensei is available from ifi-audio.com, Amazon and other online retailers like Sweetwater, for $449. Unlike the iFi Gold bar, this is not a limited run and will be around for a while according to an iFi rep’s comments on a HiFi user forum sponsored by iFi.

iFi GO bar Kensei: Build and fit

Unboxing the Kensei is an experience. It’s set in a beautiful, environmentally friendly, carved wooden box. You get two premium braided cables (USB-C, USB-C to Lightning with USB-A adapter) and a leather pouch. No bigger than a USB flash drive, the GO bar Kensei is made with Japanese stainless steel and is deceptively heavy for its size. Its body has chamfered edges and feels premium all the way around, though it does attract fingerprints like a magnet. It has branding beautifully etched into the underside of the bar, but the face is where it gets exciting.

On the face, you’ll find a panel with LEDs that indicate volume level, audio format, frequency, and sound effects. The right side is where you’ll find the volume and settings push buttons, as well as the IEMatch switch. The top of the device is where the 3.5mm and 4.4mm headphone outputs are found, and the bottom is where you’ll find the USB-C input, which supports up to 32-bit/384kHz audio.

The Go bar Kensei gets a bit warm during use, but not uncomfortably. Though it is dense and has good heft, the stainless steel is a bit soft when it comes to external wear and will show scratches and scuffs.

iFi GO bar Kensei: Features

The GO bar Kensei uses a 32-bit Cirrus Logic DAC chipset with Hi-Res True Native® playback of music formats from MP3 to DSD256, PCM384, and DXD384. You also get full MQA decoding. The Kensei is chock full of high-end capacitors, which give you a clean signal, reduce potential distortion, and have premium noise-reduction capabilities. You can read about those in detail here.

The stars of the show are the four digital filters and two analog modes. The modes and their corresponding LEDs are:

Bit-Perfect (cyan) I ran this with the Sennheiser IE900 IEMs, and it was bright without sibilance and transparent. This one gives you your Hi-Res or lossless audio just as it was intended.

Standard (red) came across as “smooth,” with warmth in the vocals instead of brightness.

Minimum phase (yellow) is warmer but with tight bass. If you’re a basshead, this is the filter for you. Use it with the XBass filter turned on and the K2HD filter activated, and you’ll get kick-you-in-the-face bass with no loss of mids and vocal clarity.

Gibbs Transient-Optimised (white) upsamples your audio to 352/384kHz. I’d just describe this one as “energetic” overall. You’ll feel it across the frequency range.

The Kensei goes a long way to make sure every headphone or IEM you plug up is treated well with their IEMatch switch, which reduces output for high-sensitivity IEMs like the Campfire Audio Mammoths I played with, and their Turbo Mode, which does the opposite and increases gain by 6dB to drive power hungry headphones like the HiFiMan Planar magnetics I used. It isn’t like the Kensei lacks the power to drive what you throw at it, with 477mW or 7.2V out of the 4.4mm output and 300mW or 8V  out of the 3.5 S-Balanced output. 

Regarding volume level output, you can control source audio from the Kensei in sync with the source device or bypass the source device’s audio controls altogether. 

The downside to all of the amazing power unleashed upon your ears is that you’ll experience a decent amount of battery drain from your phones and tablets since that’s what powers the Kensei via that USB-C port. Your laptops won’t be as noticeable since they have larger batteries, and you can easily charge while listening, but that drain is there. There is no internal battery here like the iFi GO blu. 

iFi GO bar Kensei: Sound quality

The “Sword Saint” produces audio that is, in a word, “ethereal” but full-bodied. It’s all there. The sound quality out of both the 3.5mm and 4.4mm ports is effortless, with beautiful musicality.

This transparent DAC/Amp allows you to enjoy every nuance of a stereo image. Pair the Kensei with analytical headphones or IEMs, and it’s like turning on a floodlight in a large space previously lit by a small 40-watt bulb. That’s exactly what I experienced when I plugged Sennheieser’s IE900 IEMs into the 4.4mm balanced output with the bit-perfect digital filter. 

Listening to “Violin Duel” from the Chevalier OST was illuminating. You could hear artifacts and nuances I’d previously missed. The tension of the bow against the violin strings. The attack on the chord changes, whereas before, I really only heard the attack in different movements. Same with Beyonce’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” where the plucking of the banjo and guitars, still layered toward the back, was richly detailed.

When it comes to bass and sub-bass, the transparency really shows how a track was engineered. The IE900 isn’t a bass-heavy IEM, but its 7mm dynamic drivers can energetically play back deep, dark bass via PEQ or digital filter tuning, as was the case with iFi’s XBass filter activated. Skrillex’s “Mumbai Power” and “Start A Riot” from the Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse soundtrack both growled and rumbled with enough authority and aggression that they had me making the “stank face” while bobbing my head to that nasty bass and sub-bass. That led me down the rabbit hole of sampling a dozen or so hip-hop tracks with this IEM/DAC filter combo.

What’s important here is that the digital filters I mentioned in the features section may make your music sound even better depending on which IEMs or headphones you’ve paired to the Kensei. For example, I ran the $120 1MORE Penta Driver IEMs, which don’t have nearly the level of transparency of the IE900, but with the K2HD, XBass, and XSpace filters activated, they open up and give the listening experience quite a bit more than what their default tuning offers.

iFi GO bar Kensei: Competition

The GO bar Kensei is unique in that it is more like a collector’s edition DAC, with its ornate box, accessories, and fit and finish. In this price point, there are however competitors with various feature offerings. Fiio makes excellent products and the Q15 may be a better fit for some folks’ listening habits as it has a built-in IPS display and a Bluetooth SoC, giving you access to wireless hi-res audio connectivity.

Then there’s the iBasso DC-Elite, which I tried unsuccessfully to get my hands on for a separate review. It has a feature set that matches closely the Kensei, and a design that is eye-catching. On paper, it appears to be a worthy competitor and is generally regarded as a solid piece of kit.

iFi GO bar Kensei: Should you buy it?

You should buy the iFi GO bar Kensei if...

• You don’t need Bluetooth
• You like DACs with transparent sound
• You don’t want PEQ

You shouldn't buy the iFi GO bar Kensei if...

• Price is a concern
• You need Bluetooth 
• You want PEQ

The GO bar Kensie is transparent without being harsh or overly smooth. It pairs perfectly with musical IEMs, it's digital filters give you greater options as you pair it with different headphones or IEMs and the analog processing modes XBass Plus and XSpace breathe new bass and sub-bass life into open-back over-ears. All of this while efficiently driving everything I’ve thrown at it, even though that comes at the cost of your mobile audio source’s battery life.

This DAC/Amp will be pricey for casual music consumers. For audio hobbyists, it is feature-rich and built like a tank, so it should give you years of listening pleasure on the go.

It is said that we “eat with our eyes.” Do we also listen with them? People seem to place a lot of stock in how an audio product looks, which makes Fiio’s KA11 a delicious auditory dish that will satiate your Hi-Res audio hunger. 

Sure, you can buy Apple’s 3.5mm to Lighting/USB-C dongle for around $9 but as your tastes and headphone or IEM collection grow, it may not be enough to drive your new toys and that’s where the $29 KA11 comes in.

Fiio KA11: Price and availability

The KA11 is available for $29 through their site and Amazon.com. You can get it in two colors, black and a fun silver and teal combo, with your choice of either a USB-C or Lightning connector for those with phones older than an iPhone 15.

Other than the Apple Lightning or USB-C dongle, which will cost you $9, this is one of the most inexpensive DACs on the market and also the most powerful at this price point.

Fiio KA11: Build and fit

Fiio’s KA11 weighs in at only 8.5 grams and is built with high quality components for its $29 price point. The body of the DAC is composed of an aluminum-magnesium alloy, so you won’t have to baby it when you’re headed out the door and tossing your EDC items into your favorite bag.

The cable carrying your sound is equally well-appointed and durable. Wrapped in a layer of silicone with braided cloth on the outside, it consists of high-purity, oxygen-free palladium-plated copper wires that go between your connector of choice and the DAC. 

The cable features rubber or silicone connector caps, adding to the overall feeling of durability and the connectors themselves don’t feel loose when plugging and unplugging. Connections on both ends are tight, and 3.5mm headphone connectors have that satisfying click when plugging in.

Fiio KA11: Features

The most powerful feature (pun intended) of the KA11 is the power delivery which drove even the most sensitive pair of planar magnetic headphones I own. The single-ended 3.5mm port delivers up to 245mW of power per channel at 16ohms, and 200mW at 32ohms. The Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC chip decodes DSD256, and up to 384kHz/32-bit files over PCM. The SG-Micro SGM8262 amp is what’s inside, driving thirsty IEMs. 

An LED on the 3.5mm port end of the dongle body tells you the sampling rate. DSD decoding gets a green light, and tracks above or below 48kHz get a yellow or blue light, respectively.

The good news is that you can control those LEDs and digital filters through the FIIO Control app. The bad news is that it’s only on Android.

Fiio KA11: Sound quality

Now we’ll talk about the most important aspect of the KA11, the sound. I listened to the KA11 using several over-ear headphones and IEMs, and for $29, its ability to drive my HiFiMan HE4XX planar magnetic headphones was impressive. My iPhone 15 Pro Max only needed to be turned up to 75% of their max for a comfortable listening experience. My Campfire Audio Mammoth IEMs are quite sensitive, and the KA11, with its best-in-class power output, handled them expertly. The power output of the KA11s meant that the comfortable listening level was around 15% of the max. Sennheiser’s $1500 IE900 IEMs were a delight to experience through the KA11, only needing to be turned up to 33% of the max volume of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

Okay, technically, those notes weren’t about sound but power. The KA11 is well-balanced in its sound profile. You’ll get a bit of warmth through the mids, but vocals shine through, and bass and sub-bass are an enjoyable element of the sonic feast without overpowering the other “flavor notes.” The soundstage isn’t the most expansive I’ve experienced from a DAC, but it is still large enough that your airy tracks shouldn’t feel constricted. 

Fiio KA11: Competition

Some DACs on Amazon compete on price with the KA11, but nothing at $30 competes on power output or performance. This DAC's output rivals products that can cost hundreds of dollars more.

So, does the Fiio KA11 have competition? The short answer is, no.

Fiio KA11: Should you buy it?

You should buy the Fiio KA11 if...

• Cost is your primary purchasing consideration
• You have power-hungry headphones or IEMs
• You want an EDC DAC you can just throw in a bag and go
• You’re new to Hi-Res or Lossless mobile audio

You shouldn't buy the Fiio KA11 if...

• You have the budget to spend $100-$300

Look no further if you want a powerful DAC that won’t overpower your bank account balance. This is it, full stop. Fiio’s KA11 is a USB-C or Lightning-connected DAC capable of driving most of the headphones or IEMs in your stable, featuring a sound profile balanced enough not to add significant unnecessary color to your listening experience.

When you enter audiophile land, there are many areas where you’ll spend your discretionary income, but this need not be one at the outset. Focus on headphone or IEM costs first, then sit back and enjoy them with the KA11.

What’s the point of an indoor security camera? Monitor a pet? Keeping an eye out when you aren’t home? Maybe it’s to keep an eye out while you sleep? This camera does it all with enough detail to really make a difference if, heaven forbid, you ever need evidence of a break-in or have a pet emergency. Let’s dig into the Tapo TC73!

Tapo TC73: Price and availability

Tapo’s TC73 is widely available online and in brick-and-mortar stores. Right now, it can be purchased for $50 at places like Best Buy or Amazon.com. It was at its highest price in January 2024, at $70, but it seems to have price dips every couple of months or so, bringing it back to the $50 price point.

Its pricing aligns with one of our other favorite pan-and-tilt indoor security cameras, Aqara’s E1. The TC73 comes in only one color, white and black, with a red stripe toward the bottom.

Tapo TC73: Specs and features

I’ve been on a HomeKit Secure Video kick lately, looking at various cameras and accessories. The Tapo TC73 is one of the best cameras I’ve had the privilege of reviewing. The 2K QHD 4MP video is bright, with true colors and plenty of detail in darkness and daylight. That was even before I activated the HDR function, which increases dynamic range and enhances image quality in the shadows and highlights (areas that may be “blown out” due to light streaming through a window). If 2688x1520 (2K QHD) is too much for your available video bandwidth, you can scale the video down to 720P, saving space on the optional microSD card you can use to store videos locally. Another great option for keeping the bandwidth usable for your setup is the ability to switch video frame rates. You can choose from 15fps, 20fps, 25fps, and 30fps. 

With all of the high-resolution things activated, I noticed my stream going from around 160KB/s with no activity in front of the camera to around 350KB/s when I walked in front of it, looking at the app to note bandwidth changes. Those numbers are based on your motion settings before recording kicks in. 

The camera has more options than many of its competitors when it comes to motion and sound settings. You get the usual unspecified motion, then specific person/pet/vehicle options, but add to that “Line-Crossing Detection” and ‘Camera Tampering.” The former allows you to set a boundary in a location and get notified anytime a person or object crosses the boundary from either side. The latter sends you a notification when someone attempts to obstruct the camera and comes with sensitivity settings. You can also set the built-in alarm to go off when obstruction/tampering is identified.

As I said, there are sound detection options aplenty. A crying baby, glass breaking, dog(s) barking, and even cat meows will trigger alerts. I tested them all with YouTube sound effects, and they worked—well, except for the glass-breaking detection. But that could be based on the types of sound effects I’d found. And I love ya’ll, but I'm not breaking my windows to test that for you.

Speaking of breaking, if someone does break in at night, you have two options that may help you identify a thief. The TC73 features a starlight sensor, giving you better night visibility. It’s a larger sensor that captures more light, but the camera unit also comes with two IR lights to illuminate further what you’re trying to protect: red and blue. What’s the difference? Blue light is practically imperceptible, but the trade-off is the visible distance from the camera in the dark. If you’re only using the camera to watch a baby or pet, it’s ideal for that. The red light allows you to see further in the dark, up to 30 feet from the camera but is visible at night.

There’s native HKSV support built in here, so you can go and add it to Apple Home once you have everything configured the way you like in the Tapo app. Of course, that means lower resolution video and most of its features are unavailable in Apple’s app, including the built-in alarm, which does get exposed in Apple Home with some security cameras. With Tapo, besides the camera itself, you get the motion sensor exposed so that you can configure automations with it—something I’d like to have been able to do with the alarm.

Tapo TC73: Build and looks

I like the camera unit's looks, though some might find it large-ish for their use. At almost 5 inches tall by 3 inches wide, compared to others,† it isn’t inconspicuous. Recently, my younger brother visited the house and noticed it, telling me I had HAL9000 in my living room. That’s because the red status LED is pretty bright, but you can deactivate that if you want the unit to be more discreet.

The unit does feel substantial, though not heavy. It can be mounted upside down, with an inversion option in the Tapo App 3.0 menu. It is powered by a 12V DC adapter and connects to your network via 2.4GHz Wi-Fi only; there is no ethernet port.

I have noticed that the pan and tilt motor, and the AI which drives it are the most responsive I’ve used so far. The TC73 does a fantastic job of keeping up with people and pets moving in front of the camera’s lens.

Tapo TC73: Ease of use

Setting up the TC73 version two was quite simple. Download the Tapo app, create a login, tap the “+,” look for your device, and follow the prompts. Some of those will be voice prompts, letting you know you’re connected to the network or finished with setup. It took me roughly five minutes to get it up and running.

Because the app’s camera settings are laid out intuitively, using its extensive features is easy. You can access all of the camera’s settings from two screens: the main home screen for the TC73 and through the settings cog on that home screen. From the main screen, you get the pan and tilt function, privacy mode, alarm on/off, screenshotting, video recording, two-way communications, and playback and download of events. 

The other settings are behind a cog in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. I really like the way that the screen is organized. It uses cards and a menu list. The privacy options there are easy to use. I really like that they’ve included a privacy occlusion option and that the lens privacy option is in the app and can be activated via a physical button on the face of the camera body. Both options rotate the lens so it’s facing inside the camera body, giving physical privacy and not an app-based “blackout.”

Tapo TC73: Competition

Right now, the HKSV options you have are Aqara’s E1, and Camera Hub G3, as well as Eufy’s Indoor Cam E220 and Netatmo’s Smart Indoor Camera. 

Aqara’s E1 and Eufy’s E220 fall in line price-wise with the TC73, while the Netatmo offering is $190 and the Hub G3 is $88. Netamo’s Smart Indoor Camera is much more expensive than the TC73, but on its face, it appears to offer a similar feature set. I haven’t had my hands on that one yet though, so I can’t really compare it. Of the several cameras I have had the opportunity to review, Tapo’s has the best-looking video so far. That said, it doesn’t compare line-by-line to Aqara’s Camera Hub G3 as that one has a built-in Zigbee hub. The saving grace there is that the hub only connects to other Aqara products.

Right now, I would not recommend any other HKSV-supported pan and tilt camera over the TC73, but we’ll keep you updated as new devices come onto the market.

Tapo TC73: Should you buy it?

You should buy the Tapo TC73 if...

• You want detailed, high resolution video
• You want a great value
• You want a pan and tilt camera with HKSV support

You shouldn't buy the Tapo TC73 if...

• You want something more inconspicuous
• You want something with ethernet and USB-C out

Tapo TC73: Verdict

There is so much to cover with Tapo’s TC73! You can even watch your video directly through a PC with RTSP support, which also means that you can connect that video recording to a NAS. And we haven’t even gone into all of the products you can connect it to with TP-Link’s Kasa line of products or other Tapo products.  There’s a lot to offer here with the TC73’s high-quality night and day video, fluid pan and tilt that keeps with the action in front of the lens, smart privacy options, and an intuitively laid out Tapo App 3.0.

All of that combines to make Tapo’s TC73 easy to recommend for any shopper looking for an HKSV-supported pan and tilt camera that has plenty of compatible accessories to build your own smart home.

I’ve used a few doorbell cameras and thoroughly enjoyed my time with Aqara’s Smart Video Doorbell G4. Like many Aqara products, the G4 is chock full of features at a reasonable price and is compatible with HKSV, Google, and Alexa. There’s a lot on offer, so let’s get right to it! 

Aqara Video Doorbell G4: Price and availability

The Video Doorbell G4 is available only through Amazon for $120. At the time that I’m writing this there is an instant $22 discount coupon you can clip to apply to your purchase. It is currently available only in the U.S.

The G4 is priced below competitors like Arlo, Ring, or Nest, and doesn’t require a subscription for video recording, as the repeater features expandable storage for local recording. So you’ll save a few dollars compared to competing products. It’s important to note that for a few extra dollars, some competing products offer a vertically wider field of view, and slightly higher video resolution.

The G4 is available in either black, or shadow gray.

Aqara Video Doorbell G4: Specs and features

Aqara’s Video Doorbell G4 is powered by six AA batteries, which can be standard or rechargeable, but will last up to four months depending on how often activity is triggered. The G4 can also be wired to an AC/DC transformer like some of the best video doorbells available. The video is 1080p with a 162-degree field of view, but in my testing, I found that I’d like it to have a greater vertical field of view. I have it positioned pretty low on my door, as you'll see in the ultra-wide shot of my patio below. At that level, I can see as tall as a 6’ person’s head, but I can’t see the ground, so when packages are placed at my door, they’re out of view.

This is also due to the way my front porch is set up. It’s pretty narrow, so if you have a larger front porch, you’ll get more of the person in view as they approach the camera. You won’t likely see a package on the ground if it’s placed too close to your door though.

The G4 has some nifty AI and privacy features, like on-device facial recognition. Using the Aqara Home app, you can answer the doorbell using an “Uncle”, robot, or clown voice. Another handy privacy feature is the ability to mask areas of the image that may contain sensitive or unwanted views of neighbors' apartments or homes.

The repeater and doorbell units are both single-band 2.4GHz b/g/n only. While the doorbell can be powered by batteries or wired, with batteries used as a backup, the repeater must be connected to an external power supply via USB-C connection. The repeater also supports local storage up to 512GB via microSD card, which will allow you to set up 24/7 recording without needing an internet connection or the cloud. 

The repeater/chime is actually pretty full-featured. It features a loud 95dB speaker, which is great for the custom ringtones you can set up with it. You can use facial recognition to trigger those custom tones based on who’s at the door. It can also be set up with other automation to act as an alarm. Say, if you have other Aqara products like the window sensors and someone breaks into that window.

Aqara Video Doorbell G4:Build and looks

The G4 will likely evoke strong emotions from different users for its looks. While some folks like the svelte styling of the Arlo video doorbell, the Aqara G4 is larger and boxier like the Ring doorbell. Its doorbell button which lights up via LEDs, and its camera module are large and obvious, nothing discreet about it.

The G4 feels substantial and is IP-rated, though the instruction manual recommends placing it on a porch or other shaded area. It’s available in two colors, both dark tones only. If you’re in an apartment and can’t permanently alter your front door, or swap out the doorbell, this unit fits into one of my favorite temporary mounts, the Doorbell Boa. It’s a tight fit through the face of the Boa due to the large buttons on the face of the G4, but it works with minimal hassle.

Aqara Video Doorbell G4: Ease of use

Setting up the Video Doorbell G4 was a breeze. There are QR codes for downloading the Aqara Home app and for binding to HomeKit. The repeater is the part that connects to your home router, while the actual doorbell unit connects to it. So, you’ll set up the repeater first by adding it to the Aqara Home app, and following the prompts. 

I recommend setting everything up in Aqara Home first, and then connecting to Apple Home because there are a lot of features worth using that aren’t exposed to HomeKit. Once you configure features like image masking or custom ringtones, you can access and use the G4 through Apple’s Home app.

One aspect that doesn’t get enough attention is how easy it is to use most of these HKSV-supported cameras with your Apple Watch. The folks in Cupertino, CA, deserve their flowers for creating devices whose connectedness is pretty solid across hardware. I love being out and about and looking at the Home app on my Apple Watch to see who’s at the door. I can even control speaker volume and talk directly through the watch to anyone at the door.

Aqara Video Doorbell G4: Competition

There is some solid competition in the connected doorbell space, but Aqara’s offering stands out because of its value. You get a lot of features for less money than you would with competitors.

If you need a wider front porch view, you can look at the Nest doorbell cam. I’ve used it, and the view is excellent. As tight as the space is in front of my door, I can see an entire person and packages on the ground. The catch, though, is that it does not support HomeKit. Belkin’s Wemo brand has its compact Smart Doorbell Camera, which does support HomeKit, though I’ve not yet had the chance to test it out. It comes with a larger field of view and price tag, almost double the cost.

Aqara Video Doorbell G4: Should you buy it?

You should buy the Aqara Video Doorbell G4 if...

• You want a great doorbell at a fair price
• You want a battery-operated doorbell cam
• You want a lot of customization options

You shouldn't buy the Aqara Video Doorbell G4 if...

• You need a wider field of view
• You don’t want to deal with a two-piece unit

Aqara Video Doorbell G4: Verdict

Like I said earlier, I haven’t tested the Wemo offering yet, but of those I have tested, this is in the running for the best of show! The Aqara Video Doorbell G4 gives you a wealth of customizations, some very cool privacy features, and most importantly, solid video performance with timely notifications. If you’re all in on the HomeKit ecosystem, you may want to go all in on Aqara, and it’s video doorbell.

 Aqara’s Indoor Security Camera E1 is the little sibling to their excellent Camera Hub G3, aimed at those who don’t quite need all the bells and whistles or the higher price. But don’t let that fool you! The pan and tilt E1 is a robust indoor security camera with a great feature set and solid video performance in both daylight and nighttime scenarios. I have only one minor complaint. We’ll touch on that shortly. 

Aqara Camera E1: Price and availability

The Aqara Indoor Security Camera E1 is currently available only through Amazon.com for $59.99. Although price drops on this unit don’t happen often, it was $44.99 in December 2023. At the time of this writing, Amazon is offering a 10% off voucher in the US. 

Aqara Camera E1: Specs and features

Aqara’s Camera Hub G3 is one of their best indoor cameras, but if you’re invested in the Apple ecosystem, an Aqara hub may not be what you’re after. That’s where the Indoor Security Camera E1 comes in. For $50 less, you get much of what the G3 offers and some updated features in a smaller 4-inch tall package.

The E1 supports Wi-Fi 6, while the Camera Hub G3 is Wi-Fi 5. The E1 ups the G3’s robust privacy features by adding masking zones. You can add a black block to your video feed, so those areas are literally blacked out. That is in addition to an automated privacy mode, which allows you to set specific times when the camera will pan and point toward a wall or other privacy-focused area. The privacy options are a great feature because you will see everything pretty clearly with this 2K, f/2.0 camera, which looks great in good lighting and low-light conditions.

Connected to Apple HomeKit, the E1 has Secure Video support for storing incident videos in the cloud. However, you can also record locally because it has a microSD slot for up to 512GB of local video storage. This is especially useful if you turn on the camera’s 24-hour recording with timelapse mode. Accessing that slot is simple; just slide the camera's tilt lens up, revealing a microSD slot at the bottom of it.

One of the features I loved playing with is the 2-way telecom system. There's a speaker and microphone built into the E1 so you can use it as a telecom to talk to whoever's on the other side of the image. Your kids, your significant other, your pet, talk to everyone!

Aqara Camera E1: Build and looks

The Camera E1 feels well-built, even though it’s primarily plastic. It’s tiny, measuring 4 inches tall by 2.68 inches wide, so it should easily fit on a bookcase shelf or most other locations. It can even be mounted to the ceiling, and then you can go into the Aqara Home app and reorient the video.

The camera stays out of the way with an infrared backlight, which you won’t notice during lights out if this is in a bedroom. The motor is whisper quiet, so you’ll likely never hear it panning.

Aqara Camera E1: Ease of use

Setting up the Camera E1 is simple, as the Aqara and Apple Home apps do so with a QR code. If you have everything necessary, you’ll be up and running in just a few minutes. In this case, having everything necessary would mean you own a power adapter because the E1 doesn’t come with the brick in the box, just the USB-C cable.

Setting up the privacy features in the Aqara Home app is a breeze, and though there is a bit of a delay, the manual pan and tilt features work well. You should know that once you bind the camera to HomeKit, or if you choose to forgo Aqara Home and only use HK, you lose access to many privacy features, as well as manual pan and tilt control. It will still track humans and detect motion, but you won’t be able to set those privacy positions and you lose the ability to set up to three occlusion zones. For the privacy features, you’ll have to set those up in Aqara Home as scenes first, which are then exposed to Apple Home. Then, you can trigger them using automation in Apple Home without needing the Aqara Home app.

One significant aspect of the privacy features is that they’re processed locally. The E1 has a built-in neural processing unit that enables person and sound detection on the device.

As I alluded to earlier in the piece, my only gripe with Aqara’s Indoor Security Camera E1 is that the human-tracking automatic pan and tilt is finicky. I’ve found that placement affects its ability to track, just like the Camera Hub G3. When the camera is placed around hip height (I’m 6’ tall), I’ve found it a bit slow to pan with moving objects, namely me. Place the camera higher where its AI can pick up faces, and your human tracking improves.

Aqara Camera E1: Competition

Pan and tilt options that support HomeKit Secure Video are few, but there are two other cameras worth checking out. We reviewed and liked Eufy’s Pan 2K which is now the 2K Indoor Cam E220 and right now its price can’t be beat at only $35.99 on Eufy’s site and Amazon. 

VOCOlinc Opto HomeKit Indoor Camera is also an option at a lower cost, available on their site for $49.99. It also has pan and tilt functionality but is only running 1080P video which is fine because of the HKSV limitations when binding 2K cameras like the E1. HomeKit knocks 2K video down to 1080P in Apple Home and for video recorded to the cloud.

Aqara Camera E1: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if...

•  You want pan and tilt at a great price 
•  The privacy features are essential for your use case 
•  You don’t need all of the Camera Hub G3 features 

You shouldn't buy this if...

•  You need to mount it on a vertical surface like a wall 

Aqara Camera E1: Verdict

With the Aqara Indoor Security Camera E1, you get quite a bit of camera for a great price. Onboard person and sound detection and robust privacy features make this a great option for use cases where what’s on camera at certain times is a concern. Wi-Fi 6 means you have more reliable live video feed access in homes with dozens of other Wi-Fi gadgets, and 360-degree rotation means you can see almost everything. 

There aren’t many pan and tilts at this price point with this feature set, so the Camera E1 should be on your shortlist if you’re after PT functionality. Even if you don’t need the hub but PT is essential, consider looking at the Camera Hub G3, which has more reliable tracking, built-in facial recognition, and an alarm exposed in HomeKit.

Great googa mooga, this DAC/Amp is impressive! It’s beautiful on the outside, feature-packed on the inside, and has some EQ presets that liven up the party when you want. iFi Audio makes great audio kit, but they’ve outdone themselves with this one, and it will grow with you. It can be updated over the air with new Bluetooth codecs as they become available. This one’s a no-brainer—almost.

iFi GO blu: Price and availability

You can pick up the iFi GO blu for $200 direct from ifi-audio.com, or Amazon. I’d also consider picking up the $29 GO blue case with a clip from ifi-audio.com. The case makes it easier to use with your headphones by clipping them to your shirt so the microphone is closer to your mouth when you take calls.

iFi GO blu: Build and fit

Next to the Qudelix-5K, this is one of the smallest DAC/Amps on the market to pack this level of sophistication and features. It’s the size of a 9V battery. The unit’s exterior is wrapped in a soft-touch polymer with copper-colored trim. On the right side of the GO Blu is where you’ll find a luxurious infinitely scrolling ChronoDial, which gives you fine analog volume control and handles playback and phone functions with various clicks. Below that is the button that controls EQ preset modes, Bluetooth pairing, voice alert functions, digital filter mode, and factory reset.

On the top, you’ll find an LED that tells you which EQ preset you’re using, Bluetooth connection, and digital filter status. Next to that are the balanced 4.4mm and S-Balanced 3.5mm headphone outputs. On the bottom, there’s an LED for battery status, a microphone, a factory reset pinhole, and USB input, which supports charging and audio playback up to 24bit/96kHz.

The power button is on the left side. Press it twice to hear which Bluetooth format you’re currently receiving. You’ll also use this button in conjunction with the button under the dial to turn on/off voice announcements.

This powerful device is incredibly small and light but has a delightful in-hand feel thanks to the soft-touch plastic. The buttons all give satisfying clicks, and the USB-C port has no play as you plug in and pull cables out. A refined touch is the labels on the rear etched next to all of the buttons, telling you what they do so you don’t have to remember all the things. They do a lot!

iFi GO blu: Features

We touched on hardware features as we talked about build quality and fit, so let’s discuss what some of those features do in a bit more detail. The GO Blu comes with three presets: XBass, XSpace, and XBass + XSpace. The first two boost bass and expand the soundstage, respectively. The third is a combo of both. As a bass lover, I’d like to have more control over how much the bass is boosted, but for most, it will give an appreciable bump that doesn’t overpower the rest of the mix

The 3.5mm output features balanced circuits instead of the single-ended circuit approach traditionally used in most products around this price point. This reduces noise, giving you clearer sound.

The GO Blu uses Qualcomm’s QCC5100 chip, in conjunction with the Cirrus Logic 43131, supporting aptX Adaptive/HD/LL, LDAC, LHDC, AAC, and SBC with the ability to be updated over the air to add newer codecs. Because the GO blu is calling enabled and uses that QCC chip, you also get active noise canceling with those mics so that you can use traditional IEMs or headphones during your commute or in the office and have the ability to take and make calls with minimal interruption to your listening flow. Pick up the GO blu case with a clip so you can clip it to your shirt and make hands-free calling even easier.

I haven’t worn the battery down yet, but it gets me through an entire workday and is rated for ten hours. A high-powered charger (6.3v) can recharge the GO blu in 40 minutes.

iFi GO blu: Sound quality

So, with all of this technology packed in such a small space, how does it sound? I’ve listened through both the 3.5mm and 4.4mm ports, utilizing both Bluetooth and wired USB-C audio sources, and I’ll tell you that the output from this DAC/Amp is an elevated experience. I tested audio quality with sensitive and hard-to-drive IEMs from 1MORE, Campfire Audio, and Sennheiser’s IE900. For headphones, I did the same, using Sennheiser and HiFiMan planar magnetic over-ear headphones.

Knowing that the iPhone only supports AAC, I wanted to hear what the GO blu could do with one of the Hi-Res codecs. In this case, LDAC connected to a Pixel 7 Pro, and both codecs were a delight. The LDAC stream offers more dynamics, but iPhone owners won’t feel left out, as the sonic imaging is still quite nice via AAC.

The wired connection, giving you access to Apple Music lossless audio, is transcendent. Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes,” and the main title track from the “Get Out” film’s soundtrack, Michael Abels’ haunting “Sikiliza Kwa Wahenga” were both ethereal experiences for their large, open soundstage. With the right pairing, the imaging with the iFi GO blu is highly analytical, allowing you to lose yourself in the nuances of the music you’re listening to. Paired to headphones or IEMs which aren’t very analytical themselves, you still get impressive clarity and nuance.

The overall sound signature is very balanced and neutral, which is why I’m thankful for the XBass feature. Getting that bump in the low end made hip-hop tracks that much more enjoyable when I connected the 4.4mm cables of Sennheiser’s IE900, which itself has a very neutral sound. The Go blu really gives you bright, sparkly upper mid, and high-frequency reproduction without being sibilant or harsh. The entire listening experience is smooth without compromising instrument attack or nuance, and I never had to crank my phone’s volume past 75%. Most of the time, I listened at highly satisfying levels with the slider up to around 50%.

iFi GO blu: Competiton

Interestingly, iFi’s own Zen DAC 3 is at the same price point, but that DAC is larger and more tailored toward a desktop experience with its available 5V Dc input. Then, you’ll want to look at the FiiO BTR7. It has similar features, but no mics for calling, and a bit less battery life. It does, however have a companion app with parametric EQ, which the GO blu doesn’t. 

Quedelix 5k is $100 cheaper and while it doesn’t quite have as expansive a soundstage, it is definitely a very capable Bluetooth/USB-C DAC/Amp and has microphones for calling. Add to that it’s insanely impressive companion app with robust parametric EQ settings and it becomes a very tempting competitor. I’ve purchased the Quedelix 5k for my personal use, but I will be buying the GO blu at some point as well.

iFi GO blu: Should you buy it?

You should buy the iFi GO blu if...

• You want a great multi-source DAC/Amp
• You want superb sound at a fair price
• You want enough battery life to get through a workday

You shouldn't buy the iFi GO blu if...

• You want PEQ
• Money is tight

When you first unbox Aqara’s diminutive Camera Hub, you’re greeted by a tiny face with removable cat ears. It’s all very kawaii (Japanese slang for “cute”) if you’re into anime and such, but that cute little face belies a monster of a device inside. 

It does a lot and you’re going to wind up asking yourself, “Do I run this through HomeKit or their proprietary app Aqara Home, or a bit of both?” It may be overwhelming. Good thing the Apple Home and Aqara Home apps are both well-designed and easy to use. Let’s get into it!

Aqara Camera Hub G3: Price and availability

The Aqara 2K Security Indoor Camera Hub G3 is available through Amazon for $109.99 but looking over price tracking history, in December and January, the G3 was on sale in the 80-dollar range.

Aqara Camera Hub G3: Specs and features

The Camera Hub G3 is a nearly five-inch tall robot-shaped device that pans 340 degrees horizontally, tilts 30 degrees up, and 15 degrees down. It can do that automatically with AI-powered tracking, or manually via the Aqara app, but no manual control in Apple’s Home app. Pair that all with a 110-degree field of view; you should be able to capture everything in almost any room. 

The centerpiece of the unit, the high-resolution 2K 2304x1296P camera, and its infrared night vision LED module have a face on it, which is cute and functional. When the G3 is “live” you can see the camera, but for privacy, you can stop the live feed and the lens module rotates into the “head” housing, exposing another look, eyelashes. Yes, you can tell the camera is “sleeping” because the face shows that. 

If you’re still uncomfortable with that, you can store a preset viewing angle and send it there. To the left and right of the lens and LEDs are two microphones that allow you to have two-way conversations, detect abnormal sounds, stream audio, and record it. The audio recording is pretty good from the dual mic setup! 

The front also has a microSD slot which supports up to 128GB of storage. You access it by turning off the camera’s live feed and having the cute eyelash cover rotate into view. Below is a status LED that glows red when active, along with some subtle branding. The back of the camera is where you’ll find the speaker and the USB-C port which also supports video output directly from the unit via the UVC protocol, so if you connect the Camera Hub G3 to your computer for example, it should automatically recognize it.

You can set the Camera Hub G3 on a flat surface like a bookshelf, or mount it via the standard tripod quarter-inch threads on the bottom. It can be mounted upside down, then the image adjusted accordingly in the Aqara Home app.

Aqara’s Camera Hub G3 has a neural processing unit (NPU), powering some AI functions that don’t require an internet connection. A Zigbee 3.0 smart home hub on board allows you to connect up to 128 Aqara devices to the G3, though you’ll need to include repeater devices like a wall switch or smart plug in your setup to achieve that number.

The Camera Hub G3 supports both 2.4 and 5GHz Wi-Fi connections, and Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3). There’s also IR blaster support for your home devices which still use that standard.

Aqara Camera Hub G3: Build and looks

The Aqara Camera Hub G3 looks like something you’d buy in a Sanrio store (Hello Kitty) until you remove the pre-installed cat ears accessory hood. You can set the Camera Hub G3 on a flat surface like a bookshelf, or mount it via the standard tripod quarter-inch threads on the bottom. It can be mounted upside down, then the image adjusted accordingly in the Aqara Home app.

Though it’s mostly plastic, the Camera Hub G3 gives the impression that it is well-made and will be long-lasting indoors. The pan and tilt motor is whisper quiet, and the different faces for the lens cover, though novel, put the “fun” in “functional.” It should look right at home with just about any decor, and you can remove those cat ears if that’s a bit too flamboyant for your feng shui.

Aqara Camera Hub G3: Ease of use

Aqara’s Camera Hub G3 does so much that it would take a few pages of a deep, deep dive article to address them all thoroughly, yet its features in the Aqara app are clearly laid out and easy to use. And since not all of those features are exposed in Apple Home, it’s even easier to use there. That was one of the hallmarks of all the Aqara cameras I’ve tested recently, ease of use. This G3 was set up in less than ten minutes and I thoroughly enjoyed the voice confirmations I received from the unit as I completed specific steps in the onboarding process.

I have the G3 connected to my 5GHz wifi network. Opening either app and connecting to its live feeds has been fast each time. I’ve even opened Apple Home on my Apple Watch Series 9 and held conversations with my wife, which was pretty cool! No glitching, fluid audio, and picture, all from my wrist.

Movement tracking is easy with the G3. You can set it to track humans, dogs, and cats, work with face detection, or gestures, and there’s a cruise option that will set the camera to pan and tilt to pre-defined positions for a period of time. Face detection from Aqara works by uploading pics from your phone, or snapping a pic of someone’s face right then and there. Then you can set automations like getting a notification when little Jamaal gets home from school. Gesture activation allows you to assign automations to five different hand gestures, but that disables the human and animal tracking functions.

Speaking of tracking, I really thought the G3’s ability to keep up with the humans it was tracking was admirable. If someone is running, or moving rapidly, it may lose them though. When the G3 is tracking someone and panning and tilting to keep up, you’ll see the video pixelate a bit until the camera settles, and then the video clears up and is solid again.

For the security conscious, using the Aqara Home app’s face detection requires you to upload those images to Aqara’s cloud servers. With the G3 having a built-in neural processing unit, I’d like to see facial recognition store images locally as well. 

There are some other minor issues I’d like to see improved. The graininess the camera picks up when it’s in motion isn’t ideal. I’d also like to see the manual pan and tilt features, as well as the predefined position setting available in Apple’s Home app.

Aqara Camera Hub G3: Competition

There isn’t a lot of competition at this price point with comparable features, considering the G3 has a built-in Zigbee hub. 

One alternative worth a look at is Eufy’s E220. It has a larger 125-degree field of view and an 8X digital zoom. The E220 is half the price but is 2.4GHz wifi only, has no privacy mode, and doesn’t include a built-in hub for connecting other IoT devices. 

Aqara Camera Hub G3: Should you buy it?

You should buy it if..

• You like Aqara and want to connect more devices
• You want a pan and tilt HKSV camera with a robust feature-set
• You want a camera with a physical privacy mode

You shouldn’t buy it if…

• You want a camera closer to $50
• You don’t need hub functionality

Aqara Camera Hub G3: Verdict

Besides being a cute camera with removable cat ears, Aqara’s Camera Hub G3 is a powerhouse of features at a fair price. Aqara has some great IoT devices in their offerings of motion sensors, window/door sensors, and automated blinds, so having the hub built-in is a great feature. 

With Matter support, HomeKit exposed alarm functionality, USB-C video out, local storage, and local AI processing, you have a winning package that is hard to beat in the indoor pan and tilt camera market. The Aqara Camera Hub G3 is easy to recommend.

I’ve been on a tear lately reviewing DACs, and I have to say that my time with the Zen DAC 3 has been fun. It’s a beautiful machine that looks great on a desk, with the audio chops to match. 

You get a lot for $229, and my only gripe is that I’d like to see the XSpace analog mode included for IEMs and headphones whose soundstage is a bit lacking.

iFi Zen DAC 3: Price and availability

The iFi Zen DAC 3 is currently available direct from ifi-audio.com or Amazon for $229. It hasn’t gone on sale since it’s been on Amazon, so if you’re in the market and looking at this, there is no better time to buy it.

For what you’re getting, the price is pretty solid as competing devices don’t have the same number of features at this price. Want more, you’ll have to pay more, generally speaking.

iFi Zen DAC 3: Build and fit

Constructed of aluminum, the Zen DAC 3 has a solid heft when you pick it up. All of the buttons give reassuring clicky feedback, the volume knob is smooth and beautifully machined, and the ports are tight and feel well manufactured. There are a lot of little details to appreciate on the Zen DAC 3, from the various textures of the brushed or dimpled metal surfaces to the Sunlit Bronze accents, buttons, and knobs to the dust covers on the RCA inputs on the back of the device.

A lot of design elements were well considered and it shows.

There are rubber feet on the bottom of the device, another nice detail that will save the finish on the bottom. It’s smart because those feet provide extra grip on the bottom as you plug/unplug cables. Additionally, the unit is so light that those rubber feet will keep the DAC from moving around on your desk due to cable movement if you’re fidgety while listening to your tunes.

Lastly, when we talk “build,” the input/outputs are intuitively placed. There is I/O on the back of the Zen DAC 3, but it makes sense to have outputs there because they connect to larger external devices than a pair of headphones.

iFi Zen DAC 3: Features

The Zen DAC 3 has two headphone jacks in the front. One balanced 4.4mm input pushing 390mW at 64ohms, and one 6.3mm input pushing 210mW@32ohms. Inside the box, you’ll get a 3.5mm to 6.3mm adapter since there’s no input for one of the most common types of audio interfaces. Also on the front are the Power Match and XBass Plus buttons. Power Match provides a gain boost for power-hungry headphones, while XBass is iFi’s signature analog bass enhancer.

That beautiful analog volume nob on the front also doubles as an audio format LED that glows in seven different colors indicating the audio format and sampling frequency being received from the audio source.

The rear of the unit is where you’ll find the USB-C input with overvoltage protection, a DC 5V input, another balanced 4.4mm out (2V-6.2V max variable, 4.2 fixed), and RCA outputs (1V-3.3V max variable, 2.1V fixed). The output impedance on those is 200ohm and 100ohms, respectively. The 4.4mm and RCA outputs allow you to connect this DAC/Amp as a preamp to another amp or active speakers. Since you have these I/O options, it was also smart for iFi to add a fixed or variable output gain switch to the back of the unit.

All of these outputs and their features are powered by a bit-perfect DSD and DXD Burr Brown DAC, which supports PCM up to 768kHz, DSD up to DSD 512, and full MQA decoding.

iFi Zen DAC 3: Sound quality

Sound quality places the iFi GO blu and GO bar Kensei among my favorite DACs, both of which use Cirrus Logic chipsets, but the Zen DAC 3 utilizes a Burr Brown DAC whose sound quality differs from the former two. The word that best describes the Burr Brown chip is “smooth.” Its tuning isn’t as “transparent” as the Kensei, but it makes the listening experience with the Zen DAC 3 fun and engaging.

One of my regular test tracks, “Moanin’,” has some horn sections that can be quite harsh, but the Zen DAC 3 makes those sections easy to listen to as its smooth top end mitigates the shrill blasts from the brass. 

If you want a break from the smoother curve in your lower frequencies, the XBass Plus analog mode restores the growl back to bass and sub-bass. But this isn’t some muddy, compressed digital filter. The low end boost is tight and controlled. Activating this makes listening to bass-heavy tracks quite enjoyable, especially if you’re using flatter headphones like a pair of Planar Magnetics. Without XBass Plus active, and using more balanced or flat headphones or IEMs, tracks like Skrillex’s “Mumbai Power,” with its deep bass and sub-bass, lose a bit of their bite. 

Despite being smooth, you still get great stereo imaging, with a wonderful feel for the instruments and where they’re layered in the sonic image. And those images will always feel nice and full thanks to the Power Match feature, which boosts gain and provided enough output for my Sennheiser HD660S2 and HiFiMan HE-4XX that, depending on the track, I never needed to push that analog volume higher than 50% to 75% of its max. For my IEMs, with Power Match off, I only need to turn the volume nob to 25% of its max output for nice, full audio.

The Zen DAC 3 is an all-around great DAC to connect to your laptop or desktop for warm, smooth sound that doesn’t compromise mid-range vocals or allow harsher sounds in the higher frequencies to become grating. I’d definitely categorize this as “fun and entertaining” as far as DACs and active listening go. It's great for listening to music at a desk or watching movies.

iFi Zen DAC 3: Competition

There are a few alternatives to the Zen DAC 3, but there are trade-offs. Many use different USB standards, making mobile phone connectivity a pain. For example, the Fiio K7 and Topping DX3 Pro Plus are both great options but utilize USB-B connections. On the upside, you’ll get coax and optical connectivity. The DX3 Pro Plus even has a built-in screen.

Then there’s the Schiit Magni, which does offer a USB-C connection. Look at the internal DAC option, which will run you $189 and give you many of the features of the Zen DAC 3. The downside to this one is the headphone cable connectivity options. On the front, you get only one ¼”, aka 6.35mm, single-ended jack. No balanced 3.5mm is available, so you’ll have to use an adapter. It is worth checking out.

iFi Zen DAC 3: Should you buy it?

You should buy the Zen DAC 3 if...

• You want a capable laptop/mobile phone/desktop DAC
• You want a DAC that can power headphones or active speakers
• You want quality without breaking the bank

You shouldn't buy the Zen DAC 3 if...

• You want Bluetooth connectivity
• You want coaxial/optical audio connectivity

For a semi-mobile DAC that produces smooth sound and has some great connectivity options, the Zen DAC 3 is well worth its price tag! You get a beautiful piece of hardware, a smart feature set, and plenty of power to drive just about any pair of headphones or IEMs you plug into it. XBass Plus makes the DAC something that even bass heads can get into!

The beauty of the Zen line is that iFi just released a couple of new versions, which, between the three, should cover the needs of just about anyone looking for a semi-mobile desktop DAC. 

You regularly hear tales of audiophile life being exorbitantly expensive, but it doesn’t have to be. For $60, you can get a well-manufactured, well-equipped DAC/Amp in the Fosi Audio DS2 2024 and have plenty of money to spend on a quality headphone or IEM purchase.

Fosi Audio DS2: Price and availability

You can buy the Fosi Audio DS2 2024 directly from Fosiaudio.com or Amazon for $59.99. At that price point, you won’t find many portable DACs/Amps with both a 3.5mm and 4.4mm port. The nearest competition is around $80.

Fosi Audio DS2: Build and fit

Coming in at 3.2 ounces, the DS2 2024 feels effortlessly light. But don’t let that fool ya, oh no! It’s CNC machined from solid metal, and Fosi claims it’s shock-resistant. I’m guessing they’re pretty confident because unlike most of the DACs I’ve tested recently, this one comes with a two-year warranty, as opposed to one year.

Externally, you’ll get a sample rate LED indicator on one side. The 3.5mm and 4.4mm ports are on the bottom, and opposite those on the top is the USB-C port. Left side, you get independent 60-step volume controls, which give a satisfyingly clicky feedback when pressed.

Internally dual Cirrus Log CS43131 DAC chips are powering those 3.5mm and 4.4mm outputs.

Fosi Audio DS2: Features

The DS2 2024 isn’t a powerhouse of features, but most of what it does, it does well. It supports up to DSD256 and PCM 32-BIT/385kHz decoding, pushing 510mw at 32ohms out of the 4.4mm, and a somewhat anemic 130mw at 32ohms out of the 3.5mm connection.

The top face of the DS2 2024 has an LED next to the Fosi Audio branding that tells you what you’re decoding. For PCM, anything less than 48kHz = Red, 48-96kHz = Green, 96-384kHz = Yellow. For DSD, all sample rates get the blue light.

My only quibble is that the 3.5mm port is a bit underpowered. My Campfire Audio Mammoths had to be cranked up higher than with any other DAC I’ve used to date. Usually, I have to keep my volume slider around 10% of max to avoid damaging my hearing with the Mammoths, which are quite sensitive. With the DS2 2024, I really pushed the volume, and that doesn’t bode well for power-hungry IEMs.

Fosi Audio DS2: Sound quality

This $60 DAC/Amp has impressive sound for its price point! I’d characterize the DS2 2024 as a warm DAC/Amp that doesn’t sacrifice clarity or detail for that bump in the lows and mids.

I listened to several different playlists through Sennheiser’s HD660S2s and their sublime IE900 IEMs. I also connected Campfire Audio’s Mammoth IEMs and HiFiMan HE-4XX planar magnetic headphones. Charles Mingus’ “Moanin’” is an intricately detailed and mixed big band jazz romp that shines a light on the DS2's detail and musicality. It reproduces that track with almost analytic precision, allowing you to bask in the separation of the instruments and how they’re layered in the stereo image.

The bass and mids aren’t earth-shattering, but they are entertaining. On that same Mingus track, the upright bass is present and assertive without stepping on the horns or hi-hat. Skrillex’s “Mumbai Power” and Big K.R.I.T.’s “My Sub” growl and rumble with aplomb.

In listening to Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes” and the Get Out OST track “Shikilinga Kwa XXXX,” you’ll discover the closed-back headphone-like soundstage. To be clear, the vocals are bright. On good headphones and with DACs that don’t smooth out the mids and highs, Paul Simon’s vocals are just a hair shy of sibilant, as was the case with the DS2. The shrill horns I regularly reference in Art Blakey’s “Moanin’” are expectedly shrill with the DS2.

Overall, this is a great listening experience for $60, and it will grow with you thanks to its inclusion of the 4.4mm balanced connection that should have sufficient power to drive all but the most extremely demanding headphones and IEMs.

Fosi Audio DS2: Competition

The competition at $60 is almost non-existent. There is competition in hardware from the HiBy FC4, Fiio KA13, and Fiio Ka3. All three share similar features and have both single-ended and balanced outputs, but you’re going to pay $20 more for them with no significant difference in sound quality.

Then there’s the iFi GO link, which will run you the same $60 but won’t get you the same features. You’ll get the 3.5mm single-ended port but no 4.4mm, or 2.5mm balanced output and no on-device volume controls.

Fosi Audio DS2: Should you buy it?

You should buy the Fosi Audio DS2 if...

• You’re on a budget
• You have good headphones/IEMs with 4.4mm cables
• You’re just getting into Apple Lossless

You shouldn't buy the Fosi Audio DS2 if...

• You have power hungry 3.5mm cabled IEMs

At this price point, you won’t find many options with a 3.5mm and 4.4mm balanced audio jack. For $59.99, the clarity and detail of the Fosi Audio DS2 2024 make this an excellent choice for those just diving into audiophile territory. It even provides enough bass and sub-bass to satisfy the bass heads among us. 

With a solid build quality and a 24-month warranty, the DS2 is a solid investment in enjoying hi-resolution audio.

The Quedelix-5K DAC/Amp is a marvel of engineering on several levels. The most impressive of which is the true 10 and 20-band PEQ found in its companion app. Throw in Hi-Res Bluetooth audio, MEMs microphones for phone calls, and both single-ended and Balanced outputs (2.5mm), and you have one of the most versatile mobile DACs on the market.

Qudelix-5K: Price and availability

The Quedelix-5K is available direct from Quedelix for $109, or from Amazon for $110. You likely won’t find it on sale but for everything you get with the Quedelix-5K, and when compared to its competition, $110 is a fair price point. 

Some folks may have an issue with the plastic body at this price, but it doesn't feel cheap, and there’s a reason for that build decision. We’ll get into that in a moment.

Qudelix-5K: Build and fit

The Qudelix-5K feels very light in hand, although it is heavy in hardware and software features. It has a plastic body, which ensures you get a solid Bluetooth connection to your music source. Metal bodies tend to attenuate radio frequency signals. Look at the build of your home router, for example. Metal or plastic? Internally, you get a lot for $110. The 5k is packed with a Qualcomm BT 5.0 chipset and dual ES9219 SABRE HiFi DAC, which supports single-ended and balanced outputs and high-sensitivity MEMs mics for phone calls. 

Externally, you’ll find the lone microphone port on the top of the unit next to the 3.5mm and 2.5mm ports. There’s a handy spring-loaded aluminum clip on the underside of the unit and two confusing buttons on the sides. Neither is labeled, and that’s the only pain point I have with the external setup. One button is the volume rocker, and on the other side of the unit, you have the power button, which also controls Bluetooth functions: pairing, playback, track skipping, and phone calls. Once powered on, the buttons glow red and blue when pressed, making them easier to use. The blue-lit button controls the Bluetooth functions.

Besides the button labeling, my only other issue is the choice of a 2.5mm port instead of a 4.4mm port. I’m sure this decision was based on unit size but I’d take a larger 5k for the 4.4mm port. Reading online forums, a common complaint is that quite a few people have snapped those tiny 2.5mm pins. Your mileage may vary.

Qudelix-5K: Features

The Qudelix-5K offers great codec support for Bluetooth streaming, which iPhones won’t be able to take advantage of. In addition to the standard SBC and AAC, you also get support for aptX Adaptive, LDAC, and aptX HD. This is an important note because app support for the device extends to your computers through a Chrome browser plug-in. Even with iOS’ lack of Hi-Res Bluetooth codec support, you should still download the app because iOS and iPad OS don’t have EQ support that works across all your apps. Quedelix app’s settings, though, are ubiquitous and saved directly to the 5k’s internal storage. This is to say, once you have it configured to your liking, that sound profile will be persistent across every device you connect to it: car, phone, tablet, computer, etc. That also means it is persistent no matter which music apps you use on your mobile devices.

The app's most important feature is the 20-band PEQ, which can also be set to a 10-band left/right independent PEQ. This is where the 5k shines. As you dive into the world of “coloring” your audio to your liking, this is a great way to hear how fine changes in the EQ curve affect your audio in real time. This is a welcomed feature for audiophiles and a brilliant teaching tool for audiophile neophytes. Best of all, you can save up to 20 of your EQ settings, and there’s an exhaustive database of automatic EQ presets that you can access in the DSP tab of the app.

Sure, other manufacturers offer EQ support, but often, it isn’t true PEQ. You generally get EQ presets or simple 3 or 5-band EQ support with no option for things like pre-gain, headroom, peak filters, high or low-shelf filters, and Q factor (frequency bandwidth) adjustment.

The app will also show you the state and stats for your current input (BT or USB-C), show you important battery/power consumption stats, give you control over gain, and both coarse and fine control over volume with separate sliders for the phone’s volume and the 5k’s. Note that you can also control volume directly from the 5k itself.

Quedelix 5k: Sound quality

On its own, the Qudelix-5K reproduces audio beautifully. It doesn’t have as large a soundstage or that sparkle that my current fave iFi GO blu has, but that one doesn’t have the PEQ. But, again, that is the 5k’s strength. I hooked Sennheiser’s $1500 IEMs, the IE900, up to the Quedelix 5k, and the first listen through the 3.5mm cable was wonderful. The sound is well-balanced and nuanced, a delight. 

Next, I connected the 2.5mm cable to get the balanced output power, turned on the PEQ, and added some bottom to the sub-bass and bass in the 31 and 63Hz frequencies and Sweet Christmas, I grinned ear-to-ear like the Cheshire cat when I played “Start a Riot” from the Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack! It’s a delicious Dolby Atmos mix that shows what can be achieved when a producer knows how to use those tools effectively. The IE900s aren’t a bass head’s IEM at all. With the 5k’s PEQ, they become just that, but the mid and high-end clarity is not diminished. The bass on that track becomes downright dark and nasty and makes me want to get in the ring and bang leather with one of my Muay Thai buddies. 

The right PEQ settings can take enjoyable music and make it transcendent. They can take you from having a listening session to having a listening experience. With the right headphones or IEMs, of course.

This is a last note on the Qudelix-5K. I threw a few headphones and sensitive, low, and high-impedance IEMs at it, and it drove everything with aplomb.

Quedelix 5k: Competiton

There are a few other options at $100, but none of them offer true PEQ like the Qudelix-5K. For example, options from FiiO will give you EQ customization through their app, but the level and variety of customizations are greater with the 5k. 

The closest device is FiiO’s BTR15, which has MQA support and native DSD support for the same $110. It also includes an OLED display, which the 5K doesn’t have and it uses 4.4mm instead of 2.5mm balanced output. Shanling has their UP4 2022, which is larger, has a larger battery, and includes codec support for LHDC. They all feature single-ended and balanced outputs, but the app makes all the difference, so I’d choose the Quedelix 5k over its competition.

Qudelix-5K: Should you buy it?

You should buy the Qudelix-5K Bluetooth DAC/Amp if...

• You’re interested in fine-tuning audio
• Cost is a primary factor in your DAC purchase
• You want a DAC for almost any source

You shouldn't buy the Qudelix-5K Bluetooth DAC/Amp if...

• You don’t need Bluetooth connectivity
• You prefer 4.4mm outputs

The Quedelix-5K is well worth the cost for the parametric EQ alone! When you consider all of the unit’s other features, I think this device is a no-brainer for those who want to learn about crafting their ideal sound curve or those who already know how to but want a device they can take anywhere and connect to almost any audio source. You can even use the 5K as a preamp.

If true PEQ piques your interest, look no further. This is the one.

Aqara is a top-tier HomeKit smart home device manufacturer. Window/door, temperature, motion, and vibration sensors are among the items you can buy from them but when you put a device like the Camera Hub G2H Pro in the mix, you can now connect everything without needing a separate hub. That and some strong privacy and security features make this an indoor security camera well worth taking a hard look at. 

Aqara Camera Hub G2H Pro: Price and availability

 The Camera Hub G2H Pro is currently available on Amazon in the U.S. for $69.99 and in any color you want, as long as it's white. 

Aqara Camera Hub G2H Pro: Specs and features

What I like about Aqara and this camera hub is their attention to privacy features and ease of use. Going into the Aqara Home app, you can tap into the video settings and set up a privacy occlusion area. Let’s say you’re in a condominium and your children's bedroom windows are on the first floor. You want to place a camera but don’t want them recorded, only the window. Tap into the privacy occlusion area feature, and using a grid, you can drag up to three areas on the screen which will place black bars over your recordings. No image, or action/motion will be recorded in the occluded area. You can even disable audio recording to give you even more privacy.

For a 1080P camera, the video is pretty good. There is better out there, but ultimately HomeKit Secure Video takes all those 2k and 4k cameras and records in 1080P anyway. Mounted opposite a large sliding glass door, the light streaming in from it washes out some details on that side of the room, but you’re going to deal with that from many cameras to varying degrees. Details in videos like lettering on a picture on the wall, and faces are easy to make out within around 20 feet from the camera, but the further out you go, they’ll lose fine detail.

Supporting Siri, Alexa, and Google Home makes this a great camera for someone like me who uses iOS primarily, but whose wife prefers Google and Alexa. Using Ark 2.0  makes this a unique option for failsafe automation usage. 

In a nutshell, Ark 2.0 allows some of your devices to connect to others via a mesh network and still run local automation even if the internet connection goes down. This is a critical security function because there are those with nefarious intentions who use Wi-Fi jammers to knock out internet-connected cameras before breaking into a home. And those jammers are fairly easy to come by for those interested in committing property crimes. 

In terms of connectivity, the G2H is 2.4GHz Wi-Fi only, with a built-in Zigbee 3.0 hub. It is powered by a dated microUSB to USB-A cable.

Aqara Camera Hub G2H Pro: Build and looks

The Camera Hub G2H Pro is a plastic affair, but I haven't seen a bunch of negative reviews or Reddit posts complaining about long-term durability. It's smaller than Aqara's G3, and E1, standing a diminutive 3.24 inches tall by 2 inches wide, unless you raise it up on its extendable base. 

The bottom of the G2H Pro features a magnet that is strong enough to attach to many metallic or iron surfaces. I mounted mine to an iron apron hook thingy in my kitchen/dining room area, and it feels quite solid there. Also, on the bottom, you'll find a microSD slot that supports up to 512GB of storage and, next to that, a reset button.

Aqara Camera Hub G2H Pro: Ease of use

 Aqara’s Camera Hub G2H Pro is easy to set up and use. Opening the box, you’re met with a micro USB to USB A cable, but no power adapter, a 3M patch for mounting to various surfaces, the manual, an ejector tool, and a metal plate. I didn’t use the metal plate or the 3M sticker for mounting; instead, I used the powerful magnet to attach it to an apron hook mounted on the wall between my kitchen and dining room. Mounting there felt quite secure and gave me views of my dining area, living room, and a portion of my kitchen. 

Connecting the camera to the Aqara app and HomeKit was as easy as scanning some QR codes, and following the prompts, which took less than 10 minutes to do.

Once connected to Wi-Fi, you can go through the Aqara app and configure all of the privacy and security, automation, motion/abnormal sound detection, and custom ringtone settings. Since the Hub G2H Pro now supports Apple HomeKit Security, you can jump into the Apple Home app and set up automation and alerts based on the four-alarm modes supported in that app. With those alarm modes and any motion or sound detection configured, you can use the available onboard storage, up to 512GB via microSD, to run your video continuously 24/7 or per alarm event. You’ll get about a week’s worth of video if you run it 24/7.

Aqara Camera Hub G2H Pro: Competition

At $69.99 the Camera Hub G2H Pro doesn’t really have a direct competitor because it includes the Zigbee 3.0 hub. That said, for $40 more you should take a look at Aqara’s Camera Hub G3. 

The Hub G3 also supports connection with up to 128 Aqara smart home devices, but it advances every feature the G2H Pro has except for image occlusion. The G3 also adds pan and tilt to the equation. And if a $40 difference seems steep, a quick look at historical pricing shows that the G3 has been on sale twice in the last four months for $87.49, which is only a ~$15 difference. 

Aqara Camera Hub G2H Pro: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if...

• You are invested in the Aqara ecosystem
• You want a camera with great mounting options
• You want a camera with great privacy options

You shouldn’t buy it if…

• You want pan/tilt/zoom functionality
• You want 5GHz Wi-Fi connectivity

Aqara Camera Hub G2H Pro: Verdict

A built-in Zigbee 3.0 hub, flexible mounting options, great privacy controls, and good video make the Aqara Camera Hub G2H Pro a great option for those wanting to fill their home up with Aqara’s wallet-friendly sensors and camera options. And the $69.99 price point for all of that isn’t bad either. Add onto that HomeKit Security and Ark 2.0 support and you have a robust hub, camera, and basic security system to help watch over and protect what’s precious to you. 

If you’re just jumping into the market, I’d suggest looking at the newer Camera Hub G3, but you may not need all that has to offer. Either way, the G2H Pro is a good purchase in building out your smart home security.  

Mac gaming has been getting serious in recent years, with a slate of AAA games finally making their way to macOS. If you want a top-notch mechanical keyboard to blast your way through these titles, Razer’s new Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless could be the answer.

With high-quality build materials and many customisable features (even including the ability to change how hard you press each key to activate it), this is a device for the most discerning of Mac gamers. But does its high price and lack of software support make it a questionable choice for Apple fans? Let’s find out.

Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless: Price and availability

The Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless costs $219.99/£219.99 and is available from Razer and third-party retailers.

Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless: What I love

The Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless is priced for the top end of the market, and you definitely get a premium-feeling product for your cash. The body is made from solid plastic with an aluminium top plate, and there’s no bending or flexing anywhere you look. There’s also a crisp LED display above the arrow keys that indicates the profile that’s in use, whether caps lock or game mode are enabled, and more.

Razer has opted for textured PBT keycaps with a slightly rough texture to them, and they feel great in use and will be resistant to shining over time. They’re also backlit, and the lighting is beautifully bright and clear, making the keyboard a cinch to use in a dark room.

Underneath the keycaps are Razer’s analogue optical switches. These are linear, meaning there’s no tactile feedback when you press each one, and they offer a very fast response – ideal for high-intensity gaming. Unlike some linear switches, they’re still pretty comfortable for long typing sessions (although more tactile switches are still better suited to this).

The tenkeyless form factor is more compact than a standard keyboard layout (it chops off the numpad), and it’s a good balance for both typing and gaming. In the top-right is a volume dial with built-in mute button, plus buttons for media controls and opening the Xbox Game Bar in Windows (in macOS this does nothing). As with almost every other key, these can all be remapped in the Razer Synapse app in Windows (but not in macOS).

As we’ll discuss in the next section, Razer’s Synapse app – which is used to customise many of the keyboard’s features – doesn’t work with macOS. But Razer has a solution of sorts, in that you can adjust key actuation, switch profiles, and enable and adjust the Rapid Trigger and Snap Tap features using keyboard shortcuts. This is a little clunkier than using the app, but it means that Mac users don’t miss out on these features entirely.

The ability to tweak key actuation levels – that is, how far you need to press a key for its input to be registered – is really useful, as it means you can make the keys feel as heavy or as light as you like (and they can be made incredibly light). To use this feature in macOS, you press the Function and Tab keys, then twist the volume dial or use the arrow keys. The LED display shows your chosen key actuation level (such as “1.2” for 1.2mm). You can also press a key to test your chosen actuation level, then press Esc or Function and Tab to save your changes directly to the keyboard (which means they’ll carry over to any Mac or PC you connect the keyboard to).

There’s a similar feature for Rapid Trigger mode, which lets you re-activate a key without fully letting go and allowing it to return to its unpressed position. You press Function and Caps Lock, then press Caps Lock again to highlight currently active Rapid Trigger keys. Spin the volume dial to adjust their sensitivity, or try tapping them to test them out – their backlighting goes green when the key is actuated and red when it’s reset.

Similarly, Snap Tap is enabled by pressing Function and Left Shift. This lets you press and hold one key, then tap another and both keys will alternate (e.g. hold A and tap B and the output will be ABABABAB). Unfortunately, without Synapse you can’t tell when it’s on or off except by testing it, as there’s no visual indication.

Finally, you can also switch profiles using just the keyboard. Press Function and one of the six keys in the top-right corner (Home, End, etc) – each one has a corresponding profile number printed on its keycap. The LED display’s profile icon will change colour when you change profiles. You can pick from one of five pre-made profiles, each with custom actuation levels, Rapid Trigger settings and more, and the profiles include ones for FPS games, racing titles, a high-sensitivity mode, and more.

Being able to customise things with just the keyboard takes a lot of the pain out of the lack of Synapse compatibility, and Razer’s implementation is very easy to use and understand. While we’d prefer to use Synapse, adjusting things on the keyboard itself means you don’t miss out on a lot of these excellent gaming features.

Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless: What I don’t love

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Razer Synapse. Razer’s companion app is used to customise all of its products, and the Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless is no different. You use Synapse to change key actuation levels, enable features like Snap Tap and Rapid Trigger, tweak the lighting mode, and more.

The problem? Synapse doesn’t work with macOS. That means a sizeable range of features – many of which are core elements of the Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless – are unavailable to Mac users. That includes enabling Continuous Rapid Trigger (but not the regular Rapid Trigger) mode, remapping keys, creating new profiles, setting macros and creating advanced lighting patterns. As we’ve seen, though, the good news is that many of the keyboard’s essential features can be enabled without requiring Synapse. Still, you might feel that the keyboard’s price is a little too high to justify without Synapse.

There are a few other issues of note. There’s only one switch option (linear) and the switches are not hot-swappable. The typing sound might displease mechanical keyboard purists, too – it’s loud, clunky and heavy. The palm rest is also very firm (some people will like this, while others might not). While it magnetically attaches to the keyboard along its top edge, it lacks clips holding it in place, so it can slide from side to side. Finally, there’s no way to enable the macOS keyboard layout, so certain keys (such as Command) are not where you expect them to be.

But none of these issues are as pressing as the lack of Synapse support in macOS. We’ve spoken to Razer about this repeatedly in the past and they’ve always assured us that macOS support is on their to-do list. We followed up again regarding the Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless and received the same reply: future support is possible, but there’s nothing definite just yet. The sooner support arrives, the better.

Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless: Competition

The SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL is another tenkeyless mechanical keyboard built with customisable actuation and a rapid trigger function. Like the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless, it comes with backlit PBT keycaps, an adjustable stand and an on-board display. It’s a little more affordable at $189.99/£189.99.

If the gamer aesthetic isn’t quite your thing but you still want many of the same features as Razer’s keyboard, the Keychron Q1 HE QMK is a much more subdued affair. You’ll still get a control dial and customisable actuation points, but in a more mature look. It also features hot-swappable switches with magnetic activation, a gasket mount design and a button to alternate between macOS and Windows layouts. It’s priced at $219/£193.

Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You’re looking for premium touches in a keyboard
• You’re after professional-grade gaming features
• You want to quickly customise your keyboard without using software

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You’re on a tight budget
• You prefer to set up your keyboard’s features using a companion app
• You want clicky, tactile mechanical key switches

Razer Huntsman V3 Pro Tenkeyless: Verdict

A really solid keyboard with some excellent high-end gaming features and plenty of on-board customisation. it’s mostly just the price and lack of macOS support for the Synapse app that’s holding it back.

When I sold my Apple Watch earlier this year to buy a ‘dumb’ watch, I started to miss the health tracking features of Apple’s smartwatch. Fast forward a few months and I’ve been using the Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon and it has opened my eyes to the world of smart rings. Combined with a regular watch, the Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon gives me some of the Apple Watch’s best benefits without wearing an intrusive display on my wrist. After three weeks on my finger, I love the execution and the benefits of the product, but does that outweigh the massive elephant in the room: A monthly subscription fee?

Oura Ring Gen 3: Price and availability

The Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon starts at $349 for the Silver or Black models and is available from Amazon and Oura’s website. Other color options include Stealth, Brushed Titanium, Rose Gold, and Gold (the version I have for review).

On top of the initial cost, Oura Rings require a membership that is free for the first month, then costs $5.99/month.

Oura Ring Gen 3: What's good?

We’ve covered most of Oura’s benefits in our review of the Oura Ring Gen 3, but this Horizon model brings a timeless look that oozes class. From the moment you try on the Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon, you’ll notice just how nice it is to wear on your finger: It’s light, stylish, feels expensive, and most importantly doesn’t scream smart ring.

In this review, I wanted to focus on incorporating a smart ring into my daily life and as someone who has actively tried to detach from technology more and more, it seems to tick all the right boxes. With a seven-day battery life, I’ve found myself only needing to take the Oura off once every week to charge before bedtime. I’ve worn the ring in the shower, while exercising, and sleeping — for someone who has forgotten to wear their Apple Watch in the past, it’s a very welcome change.

Oura Ring Gen 3 tracks my heart rate, sleep, determines if I’m ready to tackle the day, and even tells me when I’m stressed — it’s been refreshing to have so much data at my fingertips all built-in to Oura’s excellent app. I worried that the ring would feel cumbersome and get in my way, but if anything I forget I’m wearing it completely until I glance down at my hand and see the shiny gold band.

Oura Ring Gen 3: What's not so good?

If you want to use a smart ring for weight training, I’d advise against it as the ring can feel uncomfortable in the gym. If you need to take off a ring to even do an exercise comfortably, at that point you’re probably best looking elsewhere. 

Weight training aside, the biggest issue I have with the Oura Gen 3 Horizon is the company’s decision to charge $5.99/month to use the ring in the first place. While the information in the app is incredibly vast, charging a monthly fee to use a product that is expensive to begin with doesn’t sit well with me. The Oura Gen 3 Horizon I’ve been wearing costs a whopping $499 and on top of that it’s around $70 a year to use. Add the fact that paying the monthly subscription doesn’t give you an extended warranty or any perks in that sense, and it feels like Oura is really asking for too much here. 

I love the Oura ring but I can’t recommend a product that has an internal battery that is likely to fail after a few years and a monthly subscription model that demands your hard-earned cash. Other smart rings exist without the monthly subscription cost and while they may not be as good (I have yet to try competitors), they don’t feel like an endless money pit.

Oura Ring Gen 3: Competition

Oura offers another Heritage model which is at a slightly more affordable starting at $299. Elsewhere smart rings like the Ultrahuman Ring Air have a one-time upfront cost and no subscription model.

If you’re looking for the best way to track your fitness on the best iPhones, you could also opt for an Apple Watch Series 9, although at that point it’s a smartwatch and not a smart ring.

Oura Ring Gen 3: Should you buy it?

• You want a gorgeous smart ring
• You don’t mind paying a monthly fee
• You don’t plan to do weight training

• You want a screen
• You don’t like paying monthly
• You plan to use it in the gym lifting weights

The Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon is a gorgeous piece of tech that can be mistaken for high-end jewelry. It tracks all of the vital health information you want to know at a glance and packages it all up in a very nicely designed app. Oura, however, charges a monthly subscription fee and unfortunately, the added cost leaves a bitter taste in the mouth, especially when you’ve forked out anywhere between $349 and $549 to begin with.

At iMore we love Keychron’s mechanical keyboard offerings. From the company’s most premium options like the Q1 Pro to the more affordable K2 model. This time, Keychron is back with a new K2 HE mechanical keyboard that looks to expand on the iconic design of the K2 and fit perfectly into your desktop Mac experience. With a lower price point and fewer customization options than Keychron’s flagship models, is the K2 HE worth a spot on your desk?

Keychron K2 HE: Price and availability

The Keychron K2 HE is available in black and white, both options finished with real wooden sides to complement the metal frame. The K2 HE is currently available on Kickstarter for $125 ($130 once fully released) with expected delivery in November, and will be available to purchase on Keychron’s website and Amazon later in the year.

Keychron K2 HE: What I love

The Keychron K2 HE takes everything from its popular predecessor and makes it better. Straight out of the box, you’ll find a mechanical keyboard that not only looks right at home next to your Mac but also sounds and feels way above its price bracket. The K2 HE is a fantastic example of just how far the mechanical keyboard world has come over the last few years. $125 bags you one of the best typing experiences under $150, with a full-bodied sound that you would’ve needed to pay hundreds of dollars for in the past.

The metal frame combined with the wooden sides is a nice change from Keychron’s full-metal Q-series keyboards and has a welcoming design for anyone looking to purchase their first mechanical keyboard. Mac users will find all of the familiar keys such as option and command, and the function row shortcuts are identical to those found on the Magic Keyboard.

I love Keychron keyboards and the K2 HE gives an experience I’ve come to expect in products closer to $200 for way less. Everything you’d want in a Mac’s mechanical keyboard is here: A nice sound, a clean look, RGB lighting, a premium build, Bluetooth, 2.4 GHz, and wired connectivity options. It’s a complete package.

In my Keychron Q1 HE review, I explained the benefits of the Gateron magnetic switches so if you’d like to read more I advise heading over to that article. The same switches are found here, allowing you to fully customize the accentuation point (the amount of press required to activate the key switch). The K2 HE is also hot-swappable so if you choose to use a different set of switches, you can easily remove the magnetic Gaterons with the tool included in the box.

Keychron K2 HE: What I don’t love

There isn’t much to not like in this Keychron K2 HE package — it ticks all the right boxes and gives you a great bang for your buck. Ideally, you wouldn’t have to wait until November for the keyboard to ship — it would’ve been nice to see stock readily available — but that’s just the way most mechanical keyboard production works.

Another issue you might find if you intend to upgrade the keyboard at any point is the lack of screws in the bottom of the chassis. I haven’t tried to take the Keychron K2 HE apart but it looks like you’ll be unable to modify the internals because the bottom plastic enclosure is sealed shut. That said, if you don’t intend to add internal foam or make other modifications, you’ll never need to open up the keyboard.

Keychron K2 HE: Competition

There are plenty of mechanical keyboards on offer at different price points. Keychron’s Q1 HE is a more premium option than the K2 HE, but it’ll set you back closer to $200 for a full metal enclosure and the ability to open it up from the bottom. 

Elsewhere you might be able to grab a Keychron Q1 Pro at a discounted price as it doesn’t have the fancy new magnetic Gateron switches. Closer to the K2 HE’s $130 price tag is our current choice for the best mechanical keyboard for Mac, the NuPhy Halo 75.

Keychron K2 HE: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You want a mechanical keyboard that matches your Mac
• You care about magnetic switches for gaming
• You’re looking for a mechanical keyboard that feels awesome to type on

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You want to modify your keyboard
• You don’t like the wooden rail design
• You aren’t fussed about modifying the accentuation point of the switches

Keychron K2 HE: Verdict

I’m thoroughly impressed with the Keychron K2 HE. It’s a very solid mechanical keyboard at a competitive price point and it matches the Mac ecosystem perfectly thanks to its clean and thoughtful design. For under $150, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better way to spend your hard-earned cash.

Bowers & Wilkins has a world class reputation for high-end audio. The brand is synonymous with superior sonics, and its flagship loudspeakers are resident in some of the world’s best known recording studios (we’re looking at you, Abbey Road). It’s also been making waves in the world of head-fi, with luxury Bluetooth headphones like the Px8. 

But when it comes to true wireless earbuds, it hasn’t quite hit its stride - until now. With these new flagship Pi8 noise cancellers, we finally have earbuds worthy of the company's pedigree.

These are no gentle evolution of their Pi7 forebears. Not only has the design been revamped, the Pi8 feature all new 12mm drive units that use Carbon Cone technology trickled down from the aforementioned Px8 over-ears. 

The catch is they cost a lot. A lot.

So are they a worthy investment? Let’s dig a little deeper…

Price and availability

Occupying the upper echelons of the true wireless market, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 will set you back $399 (£349 / €399). This pits them against some heavy hitters in the market, notably Apple and Sony, so they need to be good. 

Along with their cheaper Pi6 stablemate earbuds (which have a very different specification and component bill), they’re available now. 

Build and fit

With rounded edges and glossy finish, the Pi8 feel good in the hand and will look smart in your ears. 

They’re available in four colourways: Anthracite Black, Dove White, Jade Green and Midnight Blue. I've been testing the black pair. The brand logo is printed across each bud, but you’ll need to be uncomfortably close to read it.

Comfort is high. I found that I could wear them for extended periods of time, without them becoming onerous.

A closer look reveals that the skirt, the bit that forms the seal with your ear, is made of rubber (a change from the Pi7). It’s firm but has a modicum of give. This enables them to sit comfortably in place and offer better acoustic isolation, thereby improving the effectiveness of noise cancellation. 

The Pi8 come with a choice of three additional ear tip sizes: XS, S and L, so everyone should find an optimal fit.

The various sensors, antenna and microphones reside in a notch that sits clear of the ear itself, for maximum effectiveness. There are three microphones in each earbud.

Don’t fret if you're out and about in the rain, as the Pi8’s are IP54-rated for protection against dust and water spray.

Features

For such diminutive buds, the Pi8 cram in the features. 

Made for iPhone (MFi) support means iOS users will be up and running in no time. Android users can expect Google Fast Pair (GFP) support in due course. There is actually no dedicated pairing button. However, if you want to force the Pi8 into Bluetooth mode, this is achieved by pressing and holding both earbuds for three seconds.  

Built upon Qualcomm’s Bluetooth 5.4 wireless transmission platform, there’s support for aptX Adaptive up to 24-bit/96kHz, as well as aptX Lossless, which is useful if you have an aptX Lossless playback device.

They also support Multipoint connection. Rather neatly, you can pair to a second device while still wearing the Pi8. To initiate, just tap both earbuds at the same time. You can assign the primary device in the accompanying Bowers & Wilkins app.

This app is key to the Pi8’s overall usability. It features a five-band Advanced EQ function, if you feel the need to tweak, as well as a bypass mode. You can also link any of your streaming services.

The Pi8s don’t come with a standard charging case. This Smartcase is able to retransmit audio up to 24-bit 96kHz audio from USB and 3.5mm connected music sources. The case converts analogue to digital and then transmits that in aptX Adaptive Low Latency.

You can use the Smartcase with aeroplane in-flight entertainment systems (so you no longer need to tie yourself in wired knots when juggling inflight meals), a DAP (Digital Audio Player), as well as laptops, the latest generation of iPads and USB-C-enabled iPhones. Just connect the case to the source, hit play and it automatically transmits to the earbuds.

Battery life is on the right side of acceptable. You can expect around 6.5 hours of playtime, with ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) engaged. The case itself holds an additional 13.5 hours. If you’re running low, a quick 15 minute charge will earn you a couple of hours in the wild.

But there are caveats. There’s no support for Dolby Atmos Spatial audio (as available on LG’s Tone T90S buds). 

You can alter the volume on the buds themselves with a swipe (though I found it a temperamental control at best), and there’s no dedicated voice interaction. Commands are acknowledged with peeps and beeps. 

Sound quality

Long story short: the Pi8 earbuds sound superb. They’re capable of quite extraordinary detail - crisp and articulate with no sibilance or granular fizz. Vocals sound realistic and nuanced while guitar tonality is spot on. 

The acoustic strumming of Space, by Boltex and Yiu (24-bit, 44.1kHz) is almost three dimensional, the track’s plaintive vocal tremulous and immediate. It’s enough to give you live performance chills.

Interestingly, Bowers & Wilkins isn’t using the DAC which comes as part of the Qualcomm package. Instead, these earbuds swerve that in favor of a separate DAC (Digital to Analogue Converter) supplied by ADI, which is coupled to improved DSP (Digital Signal processing) and amplification designed by the Bowers team.

Bass handling is excellent. Deep, and fulsome without being overbearing or heavy handed.

The breakout Billie Ellish hit Bad Guy (24-bit 44.1kHz) drops deeeeeep, to the point where my cranium seemed to reverberate under the pressure. Similarly, the bass riff on Teddy Swims’ 911 (24-bit 44.1kHz) hits hard, taut and funky. 

Coherent musicality is difficult to achieve with true wireless earbuds, but the Pi8 seems to have nailed it. You really sense you’re hearing what the artist intended.

Black Dog, by Arlo Parks (24-bit 48Khz), is a multi-layered treat, the singer’s vocal floating above a deep rhythmic beat. There’s a transparency to the Pi8 which is intoxicating.

The Active Noise Cancellation algorithm used in the Pi8 is essentially the same as that used on the brand’s Px8 over ears. I found it doesn’t nullify extraneous commuting noise quite as efficiently as some rivals, but it certainly knocks back burble to the point where it doesn’t impinge on the listening experience. 

Competition

At the higher end of the true wireless category, there is some significant competition. The Pi8 go head to head with Bang & Olufsen’s Beoplay EX, and the rather more esoteric Master & Dynamic MW09 - so we’re in rarefied territory indeed. 

The real competition though is likely to come from Apple’s AirPods Pro (Second gen), and Sony’s highly regarded WF-1000XM5, both of which come in slightly cheaper. They have USPs but I rather think the Pi8 edges it when it comes to unbridled musicality.

Should you buy them?

You should buy them if…

• You want outstanding audio quality, without unnecessary coloration
• You want premium design 
• You want leading edge Bluetooth connectivity 

You should not buy them if…

• Absolute noise canceling is paramount when you listen mainly to audio books or podcasts
• You want the longest possible battery life 
• You want Spatial Audio with Head Tracking support for Apple Music

Verdict

The Bowers & Wilkins Pi8 raise the bar when it comes to audio quality from a true wireless form factor. They effortlessly handle different genres, have a terrific treble and melodious mid-range, but drop deep when dance tunes demand it.

They also combine superior build and materials with a class appropriate feature set. 

The price point may be chilly, but if you want arguably the finest sounding true wireless earbuds on the market, I reckon they’re worth it.

Finding a unique selling point in a pair of headphones at the moment is like searching for a needle in a very big haystack made out of audio gear. What are you looking for? Good sound? Comfort? Noise-canceling? A good price? There are differences between everything out there, but by and large, they are much of a muchness. So how do you make your headphones stand out?

Well, if you’re Cambridge Audio, then you mix your HiFi equipment expertise with some epic hardware, and add in a dash of the most recognizable over-the-top British accent around for a package that stands out — and then you undercut the competition with a very slick price point that makes them the best deals in audio right now. These are the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100, and if you’re looking at some new overhead headphones for the bus, the commute, when you’re out for a walk, or for just chilling on the couch and watching Apple TV Plus, then you might have just found something that ticks all the boxes.

Price and availability

In a market that sees top-of-the-range noise-canceling headphones priced at over $300, the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 buck the trend. They’ll cost you $279 at full price, and you’ll occasionally see that price drop to $229 on sale. When the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM5 cost you $399 and the Sennheiser Momentum 4 cost $299, that makes the very shiny and very new P100 a very tempting proposition.

As for where you can get hold of one, you’ll likely be looking at Amazon to grab yourself a pair.

Build and fit

Cambridge Audio is well known for making home HiFi equipment that is built to last — and it's got years and years of experience and catalogs of equipment that shows just how good it is at it. Its headphones have never been an exception to the rule, and despite a lack of metal of any kind in their construction, the Melomania P100 are no different. The headband, while slightly lacking in padding, is solid-feeling, and the earcups themselves are wrapped in some premium plastic. Color options are fine: There’s a black option or a gray option, and I can already see the light gray color that we’ve got here attracting all the grime from the surrounding area with the clinical precision of a well-trained robot butler.

The case is excellent as well. It’s stiff, very solid, and has a space sized perfectly for the cables inside, nestled between the headphone slots. The color matches the headphones, and just like the cans themselves, while I’m confident that they’re protected when I stick them in a rucksack, I’m not so confident that the case will stay nice and gray. I can foresee a mucky future for the case, one that’s managed to accumulate all the bits and bobs from the bottom of your backpack.

Fit-wise, you’re looking at a pair of extremely comfy headphones. The padding all around is soft and accommodating, although it's a bit thin on the headband. If you can situate them on top of your head properly it never becomes an issue, but it is something that’s worth bearing in mind. They aren’t fatiguing when you wear them for long periods of time, and I had no problems wearing them throughout the day while listening to my tunes while working.

Features

For a pair of headphones that in their native UK only cost £229, they are packed to the brim with some top-tier features that easily put them either on par or above against the more expensive competition. The title feature is one that only the audio nerds amongst us are going to care about, and that’s the amplification hardware that’s been packed inside each earcup. They use the same AB classification amplification that you’ll find in Cambridge Audio’s dedicated HiFi amplifiers, lending them some serious audiophile credibility. As with all Bluetooth headphones, you won’t get the full effect of a lossless audio track, but Hi-Res is going to sound fab. 

The battery life is also well worth highlighting, with the number on the box promising 100 hours. I’ve been testing them for the last week, using them through a work day, and I’m yet to need to charge them (I’m still, in fact, on around 20% or so), so the battery life claim seems to match up with the actual life you’ll get on a charge. Manage to use up that titanic battery life and need to juice up quick? Stick them on charge for just five minutes and you get a full four hours of use — very nice. The battery life will change depending on how you use them, of course, so max volume, every single ounce of noise canceling people are going to end up with batteries as dead as their ears (seriously, stop using your headphones at max volume if you want to hear past the age of 50).

There’s the aforementioned noise canceling as well, and its pretty good. It’s not quite as impressive as the noise canceling on the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM5 or the AirPods Max, but it does a decent enough job of making sure that the noise outside the headphones won’t bother you while you listen to your music. Offices silenced, bus journeys more comfortable, and, if you’re a terrible parent, cries of small children quietened. There’s, as usual, a focus on the bottom-end sounds, so higher-pitched noises can make their way through. What’s nice is the three different noise-canceling modes — on, off, and transparency. Off is just like wearing any normal pair of wireless headphones, allowing some of the noise in, while transparency mode feeds the noises from the outside into your earholes so that you can have a chat with the person at the Costco counter. Or the bus driver.

It’s the environmental features that I really appreciate, however. I have loads of headphones from a couple of years ago that now have dead batteries, that no longer hold a charge. They are, ostensibly, completely dead, with non-user-replaceable batteries. There are headphones I don’t want to use because the earpads are toast, leaving horrible bits of faux leather coating all over the place. The P100, on the other hand, have both user-replaceable earpads and batteries, so in theory, they could last for an extremely long time, particularly thanks to the replaceable batteries. I say in theory because that relies on the batteries continuing to be available, and that 3rd party companies make replacement earpads beyond Cambridge Audio. I do really like the feature however, and I hope that more companies embrace the idea of user-replaceable batteries.

Finally, there’s the Melomania connect app, which lets you activate gaming mode and choose a vocal assistant who talks you through your experience with the headphones. There’s the standard voice, or the voice which you should use — the ‘Southwark’ option. That uses the actual recorded voice of actor Matt Berry, himself from London, Southwark, just like Cambridge Audio itself. You may have heard of him from the likes of Toast of London, The IT Crowd, or, more recently, TV’s What We Do in the Shadows. It’s loads of fun to hear his over-the-top lilt shout ‘noise canceling’ or ‘gaming mode’, and adds some more personality to a headset that’s already set well apart from its contemporaries. The app lets you activate gaming mode, which reduces lag on the Bluetooth so that you can hear all the sounds you need closer to when you need them in game.

Sound Quality

Ok, so Cambridge Audio has brought every ounce of its significant HiFi chops to bear on the Melomania P100. There’s the aforementioned class AB amplifier at play in addition to aptX and other assorted Bluetooth goodies to make sure that they sound as good as possible. Has it worked? In a word — yes.

In a few more words, the Melomania P100s are a well-judged and excellently well-balanced pair of headphones, with a decent amount of beef to keep things from feeling too analytical. There’s plenty of detail up high, and then some stellar low-end grunt that goes all the way down. The soundstage is top-notch, wider than you might expect from some closed-back headphones, and stereo imaging is pretty good as well. For the price, there’s not much that can take the fight to the Melomania P100, and you’d find it tricky to find much better that are $100-$200 more expensive.

The chunky distorted bass of Psycroptic’s Rend Asunder lays the foundation for a crisp interpretation of tech death, equally detailed and weighty in all the right places. The hi-hats are piercing and bright, while layered guitar parts weave their syncopated rhythm. Instrument separation is uncommonly good for a death metal performance, each part of the ensemble separable from the rest. The vocals are clear and thick, although there are some occasional hiccups when the rest of the ensemble gets busier.

Michael Giachinno’s Kronos Unveiled from The Incredibles soundtrack shows some impressive dynamic range. When the music is supposed to be quiet and subtle, it is, not boosted by the headphones. It builds and it builds to the mighty crescendo, which is punchy, powerful, and revealing. The orchestra is wide, and surrounding, making for an involving, engaging listen.

Finally, the pulsating synth and slick retro style of Carpenter Brut’s Day Stalker brings a threatening undertone thanks to the driving sub-bass line that the Melomania are more than happy to provide. It’s not a complicated track, but the headphones do a quality job of building throughout with the addition of each new additional instrument line.

Competition

There is loads of competition out there for the Melomania, but all the stuff that offers the same features, sound quality, and carrying case will cost you a whole bunch more money than you’d spend on Cambridge Audio’s offering. There are the aging Sony WH-1000XM5, and while their noise canceling might be better, you’ll get better sound quality at a much lower price from the Melomania. They might not be as well made as the AirPods Max, but they rival the Apple option in sound and cost less than half as much. When you look at the competition in the same price bracket you’ll soon find that battery life won’t be as good, they’ll lack noise canceling… The Melomania are an excellent option, and outweigh the competition in a whole range of ways.

That and no other pair of headphones has a Matt Berry voice option.

Should you buy them?

You should buy them if…

• You want a unique pair of headphones in a world of cut-and-paste options
• You want spectacular sound quality
• You’re after something comfortable

You shouldn’t buy them if…

• You don’t have much space for the large carrying case
• You hate Matt Berry (you weirdo. And you can turn him off. Weirdo.)

Verdict

The package that the Melomania present is more than you could imagine possible for the otherwise fairly low price. If nothing else, they’ll make Sony and other manufacturers look up from their desks and realize that they need to step the game up — turns out you can make premium, fully-featured headphones for less than $300. If you now want to cost more than the Melomania you’re going to have to really put in a whole lot of work to make sure that buyers get their money's worth.

As for the headphones themselves, they’re a real treat. They sound excellent, fit comfortably, and while they take a little more space in your bag, they’re a great example of some great-sounding headphones. If you don’t mind not having a Sony or Apple logo on your head, the Cambridge Audio Melomania P100 should be at the top of your list.

Who knew the best AirPods for many people wouldn’t be AirPods? Despite the extensive ear physiology research conducted by the engineers in Cupertino, AirPods don’t stay in my ears. And AirPods Pro don’t work for me unless I add Comply foam ear tips. Then they’re AH-MAZING! 

On the other hand, the new Beats Solo Buds work well for my ears' shape, and their sound quality is very good. Because they work natively with iOS—excluding some features—they’re likely the best AirPods for most people.

Beats Solo Buds: Price and availability

Beats Solo Buds became available to order in Transparent Red, Storm Gray, and Matte Black from Apple.com and authorized resellers for $79.99 on June 18th. Two days later, they became available in Apple Store locations and other brick-and-mortars on June 20th. 

The Arctic Purple version I have for review will be available exclusively online or in-store from Apple or Target.

Beats Solo Buds: Build and fit

The Beats Studio Buds Plus are lauded for their relatively balanced sound, with an emphasis on mid-range frequencies and vocal clarity. The Beats Solo Buds use the same 8.2mm dual-element diaphragm transducer found in the Buds Plus, while the rest of the acoustic architecture is unique to the Solo Buds.

They’re larger than the Buds Plus because they have larger batteries in the earbuds themselves. That’s because the case is built without a third battery to recharge the buds when you place them inside. Charging goes directly into the buds themselves from the USB-C port on the rear of the case. Because of this, the Solo Buds are some of the smallest TWS earbuds I have ever slipped into the coin pocket in my pants. So small in fact, after a time, I forget that they’re there.

Concerning fit, though they’re larger than the Studio Buds Plus, they feel great for long periods of wear. The larger “bulbs” feel just right in my ears without fatiguing them. Speaking of sitting right, if you’re listening to music on your iPad and then slip them in your ears, the music will automatically switch to your Solo Buds if you have the Automatic Ear Detection feature turned on.

Like other Beats earbuds, the Solo Buds use mechanical push buttons on the “b” logo area instead of the touch-sensitive buttons you’ll find on many others. I prefer the mechanical over the touch-based buttons because they’re generally more accurate and less prone to accidental touches. Controls on the Solo Buds are enjoyably “clicky” and responsive.

Beats Solo Buds: Features

18 hours of battery life! In this case, that’s a “feature.” And since the case has no battery for recharging, nothing short of that would’ve made sense. I tested that battery life, and with the volume on my phone at 50%, I did indeed see a bit over 18 hours. They support Fast Fuel, so a 5-minute charge gets you an hour of playback time.

They have Beats’ proprietary chip in them, so they work with both iOS and Android, supporting some native features. You do get Spatial Audio, but there's no head tracking. And there’s no official IP rating, so keep that in mind if you get caught in a thunderstorm or are a particularly heavy sweater.

The native features they support on iOS are one-touch pairing, iCloud pairing, Find My, and Audio sharing. Though the feature works on my Beats Fit Pro (Beats Solo 4), Audible Notifications doesn’t work on the Solo Buds, and I have to admit that it’s a bit of a letdown. I love that feature, and it comes in quite handy during workouts when I receive text messages from family and loved ones. I take my gym time seriously; it’s how I keep Type 2 diabetes in check, so it’s great to hear a message read aloud to me so I can determine if it requires me to interrupt my workout or respond when I’m finished.

To make the case as small as possible, Beats omitted more than just the battery. There’s also no LED for charging and connection statuses and no pairing button. Instead, you’ll hear audio tones from the earbuds themselves, signaling they’re ready to pair, and that process is easy. Just hold the “b” button for a few seconds while in the case, and you’re paired. You’ll also hear audio tones for charging confirmations and low-battery warnings. 

Beats Solo Buds: Sound quality

Like the Studio Buds Plus, the Solo Buds' audio is delightfully clear and bright without being harsh or sibilant. While the bass is not as pronounced as in earlier versions of Beats products, these earbuds are like fenced Clydesdales. Let ‘em out, and their horsepower impresses.

The Solo buds gave a rousing performance with all of my regular test songs, which show how large a product’s soundstage is, how they handle vocals, and the quality of the stereo imaging. Seemingly, the only downside to all of that clarity found in the Solos would be the lighter low end.

When listening to bass and sub-bass heavy songs like Skrillex’s “Mumbai Power,” I go into the Settings app, scroll down to Apple Music’s settings, and turn on the Increase Bass EQ preset. For music on my phone’s local storage or Tidal, I use my favorite EQ app for iOS, Boom. Utilizing those tips uncages the Clydesdale and imbues some rumbly, distortion-free bass and sub-bass back to your favorite basshead tracks. It’s seriously, aggressively satisfying. Best part? The Solo Buds transducer can give you those dark lows without compromising clarity or mid-frequency sonics. The sound quality is impressive for $80.

Beats Solo Buds: Competition

I’m writing this review from the lens of native iOS support, so the only competition is other Beats products and AirPods. In that regard, there are only two: Beats Flex, and AirPods (2nd generation). The Flex have the Apple W1 chip for native iOS support, and with the AirPods, you’re going to get features like Audible Notifications, “Hey Siri” voice invocation, and a battery in the case. Flex is $10 cheaper than the Solo Buds, but for the AirPods, you’re going to pay a bit less than twice the cost at $129. 

There are some very competitive options outside Apple iOS support when you look at products like the Nothing Ear (a), and Anker Soundcore Liberty 4 NC. Both of those will cost you $20 more unless you catch them on sale, which is highly likely with Soundcore products.

Beats Solo Buds: Should you buy it?

You should buy Beats Solo Buds if...

• Cost is a primary purchasing consideration
• You don’t need ANC
• AirPods don’t fit your ears well

You shouldn't buy Beats Solo Buds if...

• You want full AirPods iOS integration
• You need ANC

The clarity, balanced sound, and ability to take EQ and drop that bass like an EDM DJ make for a highly satisfying listening experience with the Beats Solo Buds. I haven’t missed having a battery for charging in the case because, with 18 hours of battery life, topping off regularly hasn’t been necessary with my listening habits.

Yes, for $80, you’ll have to give up some features, but at $80 you also won’t find a better set of “AirPods” with native iOS support.

A solid charger is a dime a dozen nowadays so, for one to stand out, it either needs to have some central gimmick or needs to do everything you need just a bit better than its competition. With the Anker MagGo 3 Wireless Charging Station, Anker has gone for the second choice and mostly pulled it off. 

If you’re sick of picking up cheap options that break in less than a year, or want to start out with something with real quality, the device I’ve been testing for the past few weeks is the perfect answer. 

Anker MagGo 3 in 1: Price and availability

The Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Stand is currently available for $99.99 on Amazon and the Anker site, though you can get a 25% off coupon if you buy through Amazon, and you can get super fast delivery with Amazon Prime so this is how I’d recommend picking it up. 

In my time using the charging stand, I haven’t seen any stock issues and it always seems to suggest a fast delivery window so you should have no problem getting your hands on it.  We’re a big fan of Anker here at iMore and have never had any problems when it comes to shipping.

Anker MagGo 3 in 1: What I love

The first thing I noticed when I plugged this in was how sturdy it was. On an office desk setup, there’s never too much worry of it falling and smashing but the strength and quality of its design means I can throw it in my backpack and ensure it won’t snap off easily. With its Qi2-certified 15W wireless charger, my iPhone 15 Pro Max, the best iPhone right now, charges almost as quickly as a traditional cable charger, and the magnetic pull is super strong, ensuring it never falls off. This means it is a great choice for both watching videos in the background or accessing StandBy Mode to constantly display the time. 

Being a 3-in-1 charger at a decent price, with its own plug and cable, it is a super versatile choice for any room that can charge your iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at the same time. Despite being my main charger for a few weeks, I never noticed an inordinate amount of heat from charging any of my devices. 

As well as all of this, with a clean black and white aesthetic, it is noticeable on the desk but doesn’t draw the eye away from the entire setup. It’s neutral enough to fit in and striking enough to look quite nice. 

Anker MagGo 3 in 1: What I don't love

The biggest thing I wished for when using this over the last few weeks was a little more versatility with the specific angle my iPhone sits at. Thanks to the sturdiness of the device, it has very little wiggle room and this means having to sit at a certain angle or not using a standing desk if I want to keep an eye on the charging devices. A little bit of a swivel on just the top wireless charger could make this a nicer device to use. 

As well as this, the Anker foldable MagGo wireless charger does almost everything this does, except it can also be folded away for easy use on the go. This charger is very rigid and sturdy, which is great, but is a little less easy to use in a pinch. It can still travel with you but it requires a bit more effort to set up, and takes up more room when you do. 

Anker MagGo 3 in 1: Competition

As mentioned above, the foldable Anker MagGo Wireless Charging Station is an excellent choice that’s just $10 more and comes with the same charging speed. The MagGo 3 is a better dedicated charging stand thanks to its stability but less good on the go. The Nomad Stand One Max is also a very nice charger but, at $80, the Anker is a much better choice. 

The Anker 3-in-1 Cube was one of our favorite chargers and, at almost $50 more, it’s worth considering for its excellent design and retractable Apple Watch charger. 

Should you buy the Anker MagGo 3 in 1 charging stand?

You should buy this if…

• You want a sturdy charger
• You need to charge multiple devices
• You’re looking for the perfect office setup

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You use a standing desk
• You plan on traveling a lot

Anker MagGo 3 in 1: Verdict

The Anker Mag Go 3 in 1 wireless charging stand looks great on a desk, charges devices super quickly, and feels super sturdy. Though a little bit of rigidity in the position of the wireless charger lets it down on standing desks, it makes up for it in use. 

The Withings Body Comp is the middle member of the Withings smart scale family that draws more measurements than your average scale when you step on it, including monitoring cardiovascular health and nerve health in your feet to potentially help you detect any chronic conditions.

Price and availability

As mentioned, the Body Comp sits in the middle of the Withings smart scale family and is priced at $189.95£179.95, though it has since dropped to $149.95/£139.95. You can pick it up directly from the Withings website, Apple.com and retailers like Amazon.

That price firmly puts it in the expensive smart scale category, though it’s not quite as pricey as the Withings Body Scan ($399.95/£349.95), which most notably includes an 6-lead ECG. There’s also the cheaper Withings Body Smart ($99.95/£89.95), which mainly lacks the vascular age insights you will get on the Body Comp.

Specs and features

The Body Comp packs in four weight sensors to cover a maximum weight of 200kg (440lb) with Withings’ position control technology in place to know when you’re stepping onto it. When you do weigh in you’ll be able to capture first and foremost a range of body composition data including muscle mass, fat mass, and bone mass. Beyond that, Withings is able to track standing heart rate and vascular age to offer insights into your heart health. It’s also delving into data from your feet and assess nerve health to assess potential nerve damage that could raise the alarm about potential health issues in your feet.

Build and Performance

The Body Comp is a sleek-looking scale with a tempered glass top and you’ve got a good-sized colour screen that means it can display more information than most screens you’ll find planted into a set of connected scales. Scanning the many measurements on offer here thankfully takes about 20-30 seconds and that includes additional metrics like heart rate and vascular age. There’s a nice breakdown in the Withings app that puts those measurements into context while heart rate data was in line with the continuous tracking on an Apple Watch Ultra. There’s a lot to take in here, but crucially Withings does a good job of explaining what those different measurements actually tell you about your health.

Competition

There are a lot of smart scales that do sit in and around the same price or come in less than the Body Comp. Outside of Withings’ own collection, you have scales like the Garmin Index S2 ($129/£129), which offers comprehensive body composition analysis, support for up to 16 users (the Body Comp offers up to 8) and can also display weather from a high-resolution screen. There are also alternatives like the Renpho scales (From $19.99/£19.99) which offer similar design elements, 13 body measurements, and works with Apple Health.

Should you buy it?

You should buy it if...

• You want a great-looking, feature-packed set of smart scales
• You want to track heart health from your smart scales
• You want a better understanding of what measurements mean

You shouldn’t buy it if…

• You only care about the body composition analysis
• You want to save some money and can pick up the Withings Body Smart
• You have an accurate way to track your heart rate already

Verdict

The Withings Body Comp is an attractive smart scale that’s well designed and lets you quickly capture a whole raft of measurements from your feet. What’s equally important is that Withings doesn’t simply dump them inside of its app. It does explain what it means and is telling you about your health and fitness levels and that’s key here. It definitely feels a bit on the pricey side, especially given that Withings has a not too dissimilar scale for less money in its range. If you like the idea of being able to capture heart and nerve health along with your typical scales stats, then it’s well worth taking a look at.

The Ember Mug is made for people who have a tendency to make a hot cup of coffee then forget about it, leaving it to go cold. Using the smartphone companion app you can keep that hot drink to your preferred temperature to make sure it stays just how you like it for longer. 

Ember Mug 2: Price and availability

The first Ember Mug first launched in 2010 with the new Mug 2 arriving alongside Ember’s heated travel mug in 2019. At $149.95/£149.99, it’s a pretty expensive way to keep your cup of coffee or other hot drink to the perfect temperature.

You can pick it up from the Apple Store, direct from the Ember website or retailers like Amazon. There’s two size options here too, with the larger 495ml (14oz) version we tested joined by a smaller 295ml (10oz) version that comes in cheaper at $129.95/£129.95.

Ember Mug 2: Specs and features

The Ember setup consists of a mug made from a stainless steel core with a ceramic coating that sits on the charging coaster base. It uses a dual-band microprocessor-controlled heating system along with precision sensors to detect the liquid and measure the temperature of your hot drink. When the drink temperature is starting to fall, the sensors jump into action to heat the mug. Without the companion app, the mug is preset to keep the mug heated to 135F. With the app, you can adjust that to sit anywhere from 120F to 145F. Once you’ve set your desired temperature, you’ll be notified through a phone notification when your cup has hit your preferred temperature level. There’s integration with Apple Health, which means you can keep a closer eye on your coffee intake. It’s a bit fiddly to do, but a nice feature to have nonetheless.

Ember Mug 2: Build and Performance

There’s nothing delicate about the stature of this mug, especially if you opt for the larger 14oz version and while it looks great, it’s a shame that you can’t chuck it in a dishwasher due to those built-in components. Once you’ve completed the pretty painless setup with the companion app (iOS or Android), it’s nice and easy to set your desired temperature, and the notifications to tell you when it’s hot are nicely presented. What’s not so nice is that if you happen to have a few coffees in the morning, the 80-minute battery life feels a touch short if you’re not immediately returning it to the coaster charger after your first drink. If you don’t and it runs out, it can take anywhere from 2-3 hours to fully charge again.

Ember Mug 2: Competition

There are other heated mugs out there including cheaper alternatives to the Ember. The Nextmug by Nextboom uses a similar coaster charging system and also includes a lid to make its mug more travel-friendly. It also offers a longer battery life and that lid boosts warmth as well too. There’s also the Cosori mug warmer and cup that lets you adjust the temperature from the coaster base. Basically, you’ve got cheaper options here.

Ember Mug 2: Should you buy it?

Ember Mug 2: Verdict

The Ember Mug 2 looks great and is backed up by a slick app and notification system that makes keeping your hot drinks to the optimal temperature a breeze. What counts against it is that you’re paying a big price for something that needs to be charged quite regularly and isn’t safe to be used in a dishwasher or microwave. Granted, you shouldn’t need to do the latter, but it feels like you might be able to spend less and get a good smart mug that offers a similar experience to the one the Ember Mug 2 promises and does deliver. 

The HidrateSpark Pro isn’t the only smart water bottle out there, but it’s the most popular for tracking how much water you drink during the day, reminding you to drink up via a customisable glowing LED ring at the base of the bottle. The Pro keeps your liquids cold for 24 hours and keeps the smart tracking running for 10-14 days off a single charge.

HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Price and availability

The HidrateSpark Pro Steel 21oz version costs $69.99/£69.95, making it one of the most expensive smart water bottles you can currently buy. There are cheaper bottles out there, but most have different uses, including monitoring the temperature of liquids and offering self-cleaning modes.

You can buy the Pro directly from the Hidrate website and it’s also available from Apple’s own website with retailers like Amazon also offering it up. It doesn’t seem to drop in price, though you can pick up the cheaper Hidrate Spark 3, which adopts a slightly different approach to reminding you to drink. 

HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Specs and features

The concept of the HidrateSpark Pro is pretty simple. It hosts a sensor in the removable base that wirelessly connects to the companion phone app to communicate how much water has been consumed from the bottle. It will also use that information to remind you when to drink if you’ve not sipped from it for a while. A customisable LED ring around the base glows brightly to make sure you don’t ignore those visual nudges and you can keep track of your daily totals from the app. There’s Apple Health integration and an Apple Watch app, so the bottle can use stored Health data to influence your daily water intake along with tracking intake from the wrist. 

HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Build and Performance

The 21oz-sized bottle we had to test is definitely on the large side, but is made from nice quality stainless steel with a strong and secure lid. The sensor is well hidden in the base, but it does slightly protrude, which means it doesn’t sit entirely flat on a surface. It does keep liquids cold for up to 24 hours, but isn’t one you can use for hotter drinks. Getting things set up is pretty straightforward and it’s hard to ignore the sizable glowing reminders. The app is nicely presented and makes it easy to check on water intake and see if you’re hitting your hydration goals. Hidrate also offers the ability to track more drink types and adjust the bottle glow colour, though that surprisingly requires a monthly or annual subscription.

HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Competition

There aren’t a lot of smart water bottles out there like the Pro and that’s something the HidrateSpark has in its favour. There are cheaper alternatives like the AQUAME bottle and the HANDYSPRING, which is clearly inspired by the HidrateSpark and even offers a glowing reminder feature as well. The Pro does have that added Apple integration, which does make it more appealing over other options.

HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Should you buy it?

HidrateSpark Pro Steel: Verdict

The HidrateSpark Pro Steel is a hulking smart water bottle that can effectively remind you to keep drinking and offers a companion app that’s easy to keep track of your progress. It’s thankfully something you don’t have to think about charging every few days and it does feel like it’s built to withstand some rough and tumble. It’s disappointing to find that some features in the app require a subscription and it still feels a bit pricey for what it does. What you can’t argue with is that it goes about its tracking business in a pretty slick manner. 

The Withings Thermo is a smart thermometer that’s designed to let you quickly take readings by swiping it across your forehead, letting you store and sync readings to the companion Withings app. It’s one that can be used by multiple users, helped by the non-invasive way you take readings, with Withings claiming that its hygienic thermometer has an accuracy of +0.2C (+0.4F).

Price and availability

The Withings Thermo has been around for a while now and actually launched back in 2016. It’s pretty widely available, but you’ll find it easiest on places like Withings’ own website, the Apple Store, and retailers in the UK like Boots, Currys, and Amazon.

At $99.95/£89.95, this is certainly not a cheap smart thermometer. The price has actually dropped below the $70/£70 mark since launch and likely has something to do with the emergence of Withings’ new more feature-packed BeamO thermometer, which will launch at $249.95/(£TBC) when it goes on sale later in 2024.

Specs and features

The smarts in this thermometer lies with the array of 16 infrared sensors that sit at one end of the device. These are used to scan from the temporal artery to detect temperature changes at the forehead. Measurements are nice and quick to take and are then displayed on the built-in LED matrix display. When you set it up with the Withings app, you can use the Thermo with up to eight people, so when measurements are taken, you can scroll through users to assign the measurement to. Those readings in the Withings app will display readings and determine whether you have a fever or not.

Build and Performance

The Thermo is larger than your typical non-smart thermometer, but it does look great and there is a cap to keep the sensor covered and protected. Setting up was very straightforward and it’s nice to have the option to quickly sync readings over Wi-Fi or Bluetooth to the Withings app. It’s also handy to have a good-sized display and while it’s not rechargeable, the AAA batteries it’s powered by should keep you measuring for some time. Crucially, the measurements felt accurate. As long as you correctly take the measurements and follow the instructions, the readings are reliable and you can quickly review them inside of the packed Withings app.

Competition

In terms of other smart thermometers you could grab instead, there are a few alternatives. iHealth for instance makes a no-touch forehead thermometer as well that costs less than $20/£20. You can also pick up a Kinetik ear and forehead thermometer for less, which lets you sync data to your phone making it possible to share data with a doctor. These alternatives might not look as good as the Thermo, but they do offer a cheaper route to non-invasive measurements.

Should you buy it?

You should buy it if..

• You want a nicely designed smart thermometer
• You want a smart thermometer that quickly takes measurements
• You want a thermometer that shares data to Apple Health

You shouldn’t buy it if…

• You want to use a thermometer without setting up with a phone
• You don’t need to track the temperature of multiple people
• You’re happy with a cheaper, more invasive thermometer

Verdict

The Withings Thermo does the simple job of taking your temperature in an unfussy fashion. It’s really easy to use and it takes reliable measurements very quickly, letting you view them on a big built-in display. The Withings app doesn’t hide away too many extras, but if you’re looking for a well-designed, non-invasive thermometer that’s ideal for keeping tabs on the temperature of a few people at the same time, the Thermo does deliver and it does it in a really polished manner. While its one of the best fitness accessories you can buy from the Apple Store, You just might be able to spend less and get the same results elsewhere.

I’ve only recently joined the iPad fold, but now that I have, I can’t stop using it to watch TV, browse my photos, and read comic books. There is only one thing that annoys me about iPad use, and that’s the hand strain that comes with holding a fairly weighty 13-inch diagonal slab of metal and glass. Does it stop me from using my iPad? No, not even remotely — but it has made me search out new and innovative ways to not hold it with my hands while I use it.

I’ve tried propping it up on pillows, setting it up against piles of heavy books — even fashioning a makeshift stand for it with lollipop sticks. None of them worked particularly well, so you bet my fingers went straight to the keyboard when Lululook let us know about the new stand for the M2 iPad Air and M4 iPad Pro. I don’t think I’ve grabbed something so quick, and now that I’ve been using it for a solid month I think I’ve found the perfect companion to my iPad Air, and you might’ve as well.

Price and availability

You can head directly to the Lululook website and nab yourself a 360 stand, and it will cost you $129 for the 13-inch version that I’ve got here. That’s the same price for the Air and Pro stand, and it still doesn’t change for the 11-inch version. Given the square cutout for the camera on my stand, I suspect that the Pro version is going to be much the same as what I’ve got here.

That does make it a fairly costly iPad stand, but you’ve got to bear in mind that this one is not just made out of metal, but contains all the electrical gubbins needed to charge your iPad as well. That adds a whole bunch more value to the package, and more than justifies the higher price.

What I like

I’ve used plastic stands for iPhones and other devices before, and they are, by and large, terrible. So when I pulled the 360 out of its box, the reassuringly cold and weighty metal frame was both a joy to hold and unfold. It lends a sturdiness to the stand that invokes more confidence, especially when you remember it has to hold an iPad’s worth of metal, glass, and circuitry.

Once out of the box (and suitably hefted about with impressed ‘hms’, ‘yeahs’, and ‘wow, that’s heavier than I thoughts’), you’ll find a large, heavy metal base with a standing arm jutting out of the top. That arm allows you to tilt and pan your iPad at a whole range of heights and angles, the bottom raising and lowering the height and the top pivot chatting the angle.

There’s a further swivel on the top that changes the orientation of the iPad, from portrait to landscape, and vice versa. All of the swivels and angle adjustments are tight as can be, although you’ll want to keep the iPad above the final quarter of the height adjust — towards the end it starts to sag, which we’ll touch briefly on later. 

The base also rotates on a clicking rubber plinth, which keeps the whole thing rooted to the desk while providing more adjustment and swivel. The clicks are obnoxious, but they’re easy enough to ignore after a while.

The iPad itself attaches to the stand on a large panel that uses the magnets in the back of the tablet for a secure fit. It is about as secure as they come — while I wouldn’t recommend it, you could very easily lift the entire assembly by the iPad. Again, don’t, but they are strong enough that you could.

On the magnetic backing plate,you’ll also find some contacts for the smart connector on the iPad. This feeds power to the battery in your tablet, so you don’t have to worry about charging the iPad separately or even plugging in the iPad itself. It’s a very useful and well-implemented feature, and it means that if you want to use the iPad at a better angle on a desk with a keyboard and have something else plugged into the USB-C port on the bottom (like an SSD, for example) then you can.

What I don’t like

That charging is powered by a USB-C port on the back of the main panel, and it’s not in the best place. When the stand is in portrait mode and standing slightly tighter against the back panel, the cable that you’ve plugged in can become worryingly squished by the stand arm itself. It’s not massively concerning, but it could well mean that the cable you’re using will have its life cut short by a lack of space to bend properly.

The other issue is the stiffness of the arm itself if you plonk your iPad at a lower height. The arm has a habit of drooping at that point, and sometimes the already weighty stand doesn’t feel like quite enough to handle the weight of the iPad and topples over. It’s only slight, and for most people, it’s not going to be an issue — but if you want your iPad at a low height for drawing and want it floating and not resting on a table, then you might be better off with something else.

Finally, there are those obnoxious clicks. I never found myself swiveling the iPad all that much, given that I basically only needed it to be facing me while in use, but the noise the thing makes while spinning it on its base sounds like an old engine about to explode. It might be there to make the swivel feel more premium, perhaps, but it is a noise. Your mileage may vary, of course, but to me, it was like nails on a chalkboard.

Competition

There are a plethora of different iPad stands that we’ve used out there. Similar to the 360 is the Benks Infinity Pro, which looks almost identical but lacks the charging element of this model. If you want something more foldable then you can go pick up Lululook’s Foldable magnetic stand, although the hinges on that model are unreasonably stiff. Finally, if you want something to hold your iPad a little higher, then there’s the super-premium MagFlott Pro stand — which is our pick for best iPad stand in 2024. 

All in though, the 360 presents very well against the competition, especially taking into account the charging addition in the back.

Should you buy one?

You should buy one if…

• You want a stand that will charge your iPad
• You want loads of adjustment
• You have one of the latest iPad models

You shouldn’t buy one if…

• You want a silent stand
• You need extra height

Verdict

The Lululook 360 stand is a great iPad stand, even with its few foibles. Sure, that clicking is grating and it would be nice if the lower height levels were sturdier. Overall though, the charging more than makes up for the issues and the stand still feels like a premium product that justifies its price tag.

That, and it makes it super easy to read comic books in bed.

In case you hadn’t noticed, artificial intelligence (AI) is taking over the world. Logitech is getting in on the action, not by launching its own chatbot, but by releasing a new mouse with built-in AI buttons. Is it a gimmick, or is there something more here?

Logitech Signature AI Edition M750: Price and availability

The Logitech Signature AI Edition M750 mouse costs $49.99/£54.99 and is available on Logitech’s website or at third-party retailers. That puts it roughly in the middle of the pack pricewise when it comes to Logitech’s mice.

Logitech Signature AI Edition M750: What I love

Let’s start with the feature the M750 mouse is designed around: AI. Logitech has built a Prompt Builder into its Logi Options+ software (so you’ll need that to get the most out of this mouse). Every time you press the mouse’s green button, up pops the Prompt Builder, ready for you to enter some text. There are four options: Rephrase, Summarise, Reply, and Create Email, and each has its own settings (like the length of the generated response and its tone). When you copy text and press the green button, it’s automatically pasted into the Prompt Builder window. Select your options, press Submit, then wait as it’s sent over to ChatGPT (in its own pop-up window).

You can add your own Prompt Builder preset (called a Recipe) and doing so is relatively simple. You need to give it a name, set a prompt that will be used to prod ChatGPT into action, then define what form the input will take and any custom parameters (such as writing style) you want to set. Using the Prompt Builder is easy, and if you’re the type of person who frequently refers to ChatGPT, having it at your beck and call will be a welcome addition.

The mouse has a compact shape with comfortable, grippy sides and sculpted, ergonomic flanks that fit easily into your hand. The right and left-click buttons are beautifully quiet, too. There are two side buttons, and while they are programmed to activate voice dictation and ChatGPT, they can be set to other functions in the Logi Options+ app.

The scroll wheel is one of Logitech’s SmartWheel specialties. Ratchet it gradually and it behaves as you’d expect; spin it quickly, however, and the ratcheting is loosened, enabling it to fly quickly down web pages and through spreadsheets. It works better scrolling down than up, but it’s a great feature.

Underneath is a button to switch between one of the three devices the M750 mouse can connect to. This is handy for controlling multiple Macs or iPads without needing to use different mice. That said, it’s not ideally located on the underside, as you have to stop what you’re doing to switch your connection.

Logitech Signature AI Edition M750: What I don’t love

The mouse’s small size doesn’t make it ideal for palm-grip users (although it should be fine if you prefer fingertip or claw grip). As for the scroll wheel, I’d prefer it if there was a bit more resistance between each “stop” so that actions performed by moving the wheel once (such as in games) are easier to perform.

The AI side of things isn’t perfect, either. I’m not a huge fan of the way the Prompt Builder window is permanently fixed on top of other windows. It’s not such a problem if you’re using an iMac or a large external display with your Mac, but it noticeably cramps up your screen space when using a MacBook’s more limited frame. That meant I was constantly moving it out of the way in order to see what I was doing behind it.

And then there’s the big question: is there actually any need for a feature like the AI Prompt Builder button? If you spend much of your day consulting ChatGPT and using it to summarise text, write messages or rephrase chunks of copy, being able to summon it with the press of a button instead of navigating to OpenAI’s website might be a helpful feature.

But if you don’t use ChatGPT much as it is, the M750 mouse is not going to change that. I use ChatGPT from time to time, but at no point did I feel that the M750’s easy access button made me more likely to use the chatbot to aid in my work. In other words, if you’re not already converted, the M750 probably isn’t for you.

Logitech Signature AI Edition M750: Competition

If you’re looking for an alternative mouse with an AI button, there aren’t really any other options out there. You could, however, use a different Logitech mouse with programmable buttons – like the $99.99/£119.99 MX Master 3S or the $79.99/£89.99 MX Anywhere 3S – and use the Logi Options+ app to reassign one of its buttons to launch the Prompt Builder.

Logitech Signature AI Edition M750: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You want a quick way to access ChatGPT
• You’re looking for an ergonomic mouse that won’t break the bank
• You prefer smaller mice

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You have no need for a ChatGPT button
• You have large hands
• You want a greater number of programmable buttons

Logitech Signature AI Edition M750: Verdict

Scoring the M750 mouse is tough because its utility depends on how much you need ChatGPT. Look past that, though, and you get a solid, comfortable mouse that has a lot going for it.

The Razer Viper V3 Pro is the company’s top-end symmetrical esports mouse. It offers wired and wireless modes (the latter using Razer’s HyperSpeed dongle), a Focus Pro 35K optical sensor, optical button switches and up to 95 hours of battery life at the 1,000 Hz polling rate.

Compared to the more affordable Razer Viper V3 HyperSpeed, the Pro model is more than twice as expensive, and its 95 hours of battery life can’t match the former’s 280 hours. Yet it also packs in wired connectivity in addition to wireless HyperSpeed, optical switches under the buttons versus mechanical switches, and a much lower weight. It’s probably one of the best wireless mice for Mac you can buy.

Razer Viper V3 Pro: Price and availability

The Razer Viper V3 Pro costs $159.99/£159.99 and is available from Razer’s website and third-party retailers.

Razer Viper V3 Pro: What I love

When you pick up the Razer Viper V3 Pro, you’ll immediately notice how lightweight it is. We weighed it at 55g, making it one of Razer’s lightest mice. I love how it can be quickly moved around without feeling like it’s dragging you down. I also appreciate that Razer has achieved this without poking the mouse full of holes like a cheese grater – an unfortunate technique employed by some rivals.

The experience is aided by the incredibly smooth way it glides over your mouse mat. There are two large white pads on the underside of the Viper V3 Pro, and these enable it to quickly cover ground on a variety of surfaces. It’s beautifully fluid in use.

Combined with all that smoothness, the mouse feels reliable and accurate. Its DPI rating (which essentially determines your pointer’s sensitivity) goes all the way up to 35,000. There’s no way I’d need anything remotely close to that much, but it’s worth knowing if you’re looking for that kind of rating.

Pushing the left and right buttons feels perfectly balanced – not too firm, not too soft — and they sound pleasingly clicky without being overly loud. The scroll wheel, meanwhile, is tactile and precise, meaning you can quickly turn it just one ratchet even in high-speed gaming sessions. I’d prefer it if it was slightly looser (or if you could adjust its resistance), but that’s only a minor complaint considering how good it feels.

The mouse’s wireless HyperSpeed dongle doesn’t plug directly into your Mac, but instead connects to a long USB-C to USB-A cable. That means your connection is always solid, as you can position the dongle close to your mouse. The sacrifice is that the cable clutters up your desk, and you’ll also need an adapter if your Mac doesn’t have any USB-A ports.

The Viper V3 Pro lacks any RGB lighting, even on the logo – an unusual departure for Razer. While your opinion of RGB comes down to personal taste, the lack of lighting means there’s much less drain on the battery. In my case, I’d rather take longer battery life than some shiny lights that I won’t look at anyway.

Razer Viper V3 Pro: What I don’t love

Let’s address the elephant in the room first: software. All Razer mice link up with the company’s Synapse app, and this is used to adjust the mouse’s sensitivity, create button macros, tweak its power-saving settings, and more. The problem, though, is that Synapse doesn’t work in macOS, and while Razer says compatibility is on the way, we don’t know when it will arrive. For now, you’ll have to use a third-party app to adjust your mouse settings, or just go without. It’s a real pain.

That problem is illustrated by the mouse’s side buttons. They don’t do anything out of the box, and without Synapse, you’ll have to configure them using a third-party app.

There’s also no on/off button on the underside of the mouse, and instead the Viper V3 Pro will enter sleep mode when it’s idle for five minutes (you can change this duration in Synapse … if you have a PC). You can wake it up by moving the mouse, but I feel like it would be better for battery life to be able to actually turn off the mouse when required.

At $159.99/£159.99, the Razer Viper V3 Pro is also very expensive, and unless you play a lot of games on your Mac, that kind of price is hard to justify. That said, it is a superb performer, so if you want a truly premium-feeling device, it’s a top contender.

Razer Viper V3 Pro: Competition

The Logitech Pro X Superlight 2 gaming mouse is a solid competitor to the Razer Viper V3 Pro. Like Razer’s pointer, it is feather light (weighing 60g), smooth on your mouse mat and lacks RGB. It costs $159.99/£149.

Alternatively, there’s the Turtle Beach Burst II Air, which cuts the bulk down to a measly 47g. You get 120 hours of battery life and a 26,000 DPI sensor for $99.99/£99.99.

Razer Viper V3 Pro: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You need a great all-rounder mouse
• You want your mouse to be as lightweight as possible
• You don’t like RGB lighting

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You want an easy way to customise your mouse settings
• You don’t want to pay so much for a mouse
• You don’t want a cable that clutters up your desk even in wireless mode

Razer Viper V3 Pro: Verdict

The Razer Viper V3 Pro is a phenomenal mouse. Lightweight, smooth, accurate and satisfying in use, it’s a brilliant all-rounder for work and play. It’s just a shame about the price and lack of macOS compatibility for the Synapse app.

If a regular Mac pointer like the Magic Mouse gives you wrist pain, an ergonomic wireless alternative like the Logitech Lift for Mac might help heal the discomfort. This Bluetooth mouse places your hand in an upright “handshake” position rather than flat and horizontal on the mouse, which channels less pressure through your wrist during the day.

Is it any good, though? And should you buy it instead of plumping for one of the best wireless mice for Mac? We’ve put the Logitech Lift for Mac through its paces to see if you should consider it for your Apple setup.

Logitech Lift for Mac: Price and availability

The Logitech Lift for Mac costs $69.99/£69.99. You can buy it on Logitech’s website and at third-party retailers.

Logitech Lift for Mac: What I love

The design of the Logitech Lift for Mac results in a fairly comfortable grip, although it does take a little getting used to. If you’re after an ergonomic mouse, though, you’ll appreciate the upright layout that fits snugly in your hand. It’s also superbly well-made and feels incredibly solid.

The mouse looks lovely with its white and grey colour scheme and grippy ridged rear half. I also appreciated the extremely quiet clicks, especially those of the left and right mouse buttons, which still feel satisfying in use. The sound is so discreet that you barely hear it in everyday use, and you won’t hear the buttons at all if you’re listening to music.

Most of the mouse buttons can be customised using the Logi Options+ app, including the two side buttons, the middle (scroll wheel) button, and the button that lies just behind the wheel. Assigning new functions to the buttons is incredibly easy in Logitech’s software, and there are plenty of choices available to you. You can set app-specific controls that only come into play when your chosen app is open, or allocate a button to launch Logitech’s ChatGPT-like AI Prompt Builder.

Speaking of buttons and controls, the Lift for Mac’s scroll wheel uses the SmartWheel tech found in popular Logitech mice like the MX Master 3S. Move it normally and it ratchets like any other scroll wheel. Spin it harder, though, and it moves much faster and more smoothly, allowing you to zip through long web pages and lengthy documents with minimal effort. It’s a great addition to the mouse.

On the underside is a button for switching between devices. You can connect the mouse to three different devices at once, including those running macOS, iPadOS and, despite the mouse’s name, Windows. It might have been preferable to have this button on the top of the mouse so you don’t have to keep turning it over, but it’s a very handy feature to have regardless.

Also underneath is the access point for the mouse’s battery. It uses a single AA battery that provides phenomenal longevity and means you never need to connect a wire and charge up the mouse. Logitech says you’ll get up to two years of life from a single AA battery.

Logitech Lift for Mac: What I don’t love

The Logitech Lift for Mac is designed for small-to-medium-sized hands, with Logitech saying you should try the MX Vertical mouse if the Lift for Mac is too small for you. I normally use a claw grip with my mice, but I found that didn’t quite feel right on the Lift for Mac. Despite ostensibly being for smaller hands, it felt like the Lift for Mac’s design was made with full palm grips in mind.

Part of the reason for that is the fact that the upright angle makes it hard to lift the device off your mouse mat if you need to reposition it. On a regular mouse you’d just pinch the sides and carry it upwards. With the Lift for Mac, the position of your hand and smooth vertical sides of the mouse result in your fingers frequently slipping off when you try to lift it. That’s not helped by its 131g weight, which also means it’s not ideal for fast-paced gaming sessions.

As well as that, every time I used it for more than a few hours at a time, I started to feel a little discomfort in my forearm. This could simply be because I’ve spent my entire life using standard flat mice and it takes time to get accustomed to their vertical siblings, but it wasn’t too encouraging considering the Lift for Mac is supposed to alleviate wrist pain, not cause it.

Because of the sideways angle of the mouse, it can be difficult to properly push in the scroll wheel and use the middle mouse button. This isn’t helped by the fact that this button is a tad spongey (its click is not very crisp) and stiff to press, so you often end up accidentally scrolling the wheel instead of pushing the button in.

Finally, Logi Options+ is good for the most part, but I really don’t like its method for configuring mouse pointer speed. Most apps like Options+ use a DPI rating, but Logitech’s app instead opts for a percentage figure. That makes it very difficult to set the speed to match what you use for other mice (or at least those that use DPI ratings, which is most mice). Even Logitech’s own gaming mice use DPI ratings instead of percentages because they come with a different app (Logitech G Hub).

Logitech Lift for Mac: Competition

Logitech’s own MX Vertical is another option if you’re in the market for an ergonomic mouse. It’s a little larger than the Lift for Mac and uses a top button rather than placing one behind the scroll wheel. It costs $99.99/£109.99. Alternatively, there’s the wordily named Anker 2.4G Wireless Vertical Ergonomic Optical Mouse. It uses two AAA batteries and a USB receiver instead of Bluetooth, and at $27.99/£23.99 it’s a much more affordable choice.

Logitech Lift for Mac: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You want to prevent wrist pain
• You prefer quiet mouse clicks
• You love Logitech’s SmartWheel tech

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You don’t find vertical mice comfortable
• You’re left-handed or have large hands
• You want a lightweight mouse for games

Logitech Lift for Mac: Verdict

A solidly well-made mouse that could be just the ticket for relieving wrist pain – although it might take some getting used to.

The Razer DeathAdder is one of the world’s most popular gaming mice, so getting the next-generation version right is important. Fortunately, Razer has hit a home run with the DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed, and it might even be a better purchase than its more expensive DeathAdder V3 Pro sibling.

Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed: Price and availability

The Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed costs $99.99/£99.99 and is available from Razer and third-party retailers.

Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed: What I love

The DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed is Razer’s mid-range DeathAdder model. Yet despite that, it might actually be the shrewder choice over the high-end DeathAdder V3 Pro. Consider the differences:

• The HyperSpeed has a slightly lower maximum DPI rating (26,000 versus 30,000), but unless you’re a top-level pro gamer, that difference is unlikely to matter
• At 55g versus 63g, the HyperSpeed is lighter
• It’s also much, much cheaper, with an asking price of $99.99/£99.99 against the Pro’s $159.99/£159.99

Sure, the Pro model has a far higher polling rate (8,000Hz versus 1,000Hz), but the lower rating will be fine for us mere mortals. If you really want to, you can buy Razer’s 8,000Hz polling dongle separately, but not doing so confers a significant battery benefit, with Razer noting the V3 HyperSpeed’s battery life drops from 100 hours to 20 when you jump from 1,000Hz to 8,000Hz.

So, the V3 HyperSpeed is looking like a strong choice then. What else is going for it? Well, Razer has adjusted the shape of its famous DeathAdder mouse with the new V3 HyperSpeed model, and it’s an excellent revision. The slightly swooping, ergonomic design fits snugly in your hand, and it’s a subtle enough curvature that it’s comfortable without feeling overengineered. Start using it and you’ll settle into it pretty much straight away.

As we mentioned above, this is one lightweight mouse. We weighed it at 54g, which Razer managed without poking holes in the mouse’s body like some rivals do. Its low weight is ideal whether you’re playing fast-paced twitch shooters or just don’t want to feel like you’re lugging a brick around your desk. Combined with the large pads on the mouse’s underside, it can swiftly glide over your mouse mat without a hitch, making it lovely and smooth in use.

The left and right buttons are enjoyably clicky. They’re a little on the loud side, but nothing too distracting. On the left-hand side are two well-placed thumb buttons that are easily within reach, no matter your grip type.

The DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed’s scroll wheel is remarkably precise, which helps greatly when you’re changing weapons in the heat of a gaming session, although it is perhaps a touch too rigid. It would be good if we had a way to adjust its resistance, but it’s better than being overly loose.

You can connect the mouse to your Mac using the included USB-C to USB-A cable or wirelessly using Razer’s USB-A dongle. There’s a separate adapter that connects to the cable on one end and the USB-A dongle on the other, and it allows you to bring the wireless receiver much closer to the mouse, minimizing the risk of signal blockages. Alternatively, you can just use the plug-in USB-A receiver to minimize cable clutter on your desk.

Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed: What I don’t love

As with all of Razer’s products, the main issue right now is that the company’s Synapse companion app – which in this case is used to create macros, change button functions, and tweak mouse sensitivity, among other things – isn’t compatible with macOS. Razer says it’s working on a version that will work on your Mac, but it doesn’t know when it’ll be ready.

That presents some problems. For example, the side buttons do nothing out of the box, and without Synapse, you’ll need a third-party app to assign functions to them. It’s hardly ideal.

What’s also not ideal is the fact that both the included cable and the wireless dongle use USB-A connections, so you’ll need an adapter if you have a modern Mac. As well as that, the cable is not braided and so is prone to kinks, which can drag on your mouse mat.

It’s also worth noting that while the DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed is capable of achieving an 8,000Hz polling rate, you’ll need to buy a separate $29.99/£29.99 dongle for that.

Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed: Competition

If you like Razer’s mice, the Viper V3 HyperSpeed is a good alternative. It has a symmetrical shape rather than the DeathAdder’s curved design, has much more battery life but is a chunk heavier, and has a cheaper price of $69.99/£69.99.

You could also try the Logitech G703 Lightspeed, an ergonomically designed gaming mouse with a 1,000Hz polling rate and 25,600 DPI sensitivity. It’ll cost you $99.99/£94.99.

Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You want a great mouse that can do a bit of everything
• You want quality without breaking the bank
• You prefer lightweight mice

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You don’t want to look for third-party apps that let you adjust mouse settings
• You want pro-level performance
• You don’t want to buy USB-A adapters for your Mac

Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed: Verdict

The Razer DeathAdder V3 HyperSpeed is a worthy upgrade to a classic mouse. Its excellent feature set makes it mightily appealing, whether you game or not.

It’s not always easy to find a Mac mouse that balances quality and features with a price tag that won’t send shivers down your spine. Can the latest effort from Keyboard maker Keychron hit the mark? Let’s find out in our review of the Keychron M7 mouse.

Keychron M7: Price and availability

The Keychron M7 is priced at $49/£49 and can be bought from Keychron’s website or from third-party retailers.

Keychron M7: What I love

The Keychron M7 adopts an ergonomic shape that includes a thumb rest on the left-hand side. It’s a fairly standard size and feels comfortable in the hand, and it should be suitable for all mouse grip styles. What sets the M7 apart from previous Keychron mice is the addition of a dedicated macro button, which is a handy way to save time.

In the box is a flexible braided cable, and Keychron has also generously included 2.4GHz receivers in both USB-A and USB-C form, as well as USB-A to USB-C and USB-C to USB-A adapters. There are also wired and Bluetooth options, and it means you shouldn’t have to buy any extra dongles, no matter what ports your Mac has.

On the underside is a switch that lets you change between 2.4GHz, Bluetooth and wired modes, as well as buttons to change the DPI and polling rates – something that’s fairly unusual on Mac mice. It’s nice to be able to alter these settings without having to dive into Keychron’s software.

Speaking of which, the Keychron Engine app has a basic design but offers plenty of customisation options. You can assign system macros to buttons or create your own, change the lift-off distance and scroll direction, adjust lighting effects, and more (this last one was a little baffling since the M7 does not have any RGB lights). You can change the DPI up to a frankly absurd 26,000 if you so desire, while the polling rate ranges from 125Hz to 1000Hz.

We weighed M7 at 64g, making it very lightweight to hold, and it glides around nicely on a variety of surfaces. And at under $50, it’s affordable and offers plenty for its price.

Keychron rates the M7 for 70 hours of battery life, and we had no issues with this over the days we used it. Its lack of RGB lighting will undoubtedly help it last a reassuringly long time.

Keychron M7: What I don’t love

The M7 doesn’t always bely its affordable price tag, and its plastic frame can feel cheap at times (and is a little rattly when you place it down on a desk). It doesn’t scream premium build quality, although at this price you probably wouldn’t expect it to.

That questionable construction can be seen again in the scroll wheel. Officially speaking, the M7’s scroll wheel shouldn’t give extra button functionality by moving it from side to side … except it kind of does. Nudge the scroll wheel to the right and it reacts as if you’ve pushed the wheel inwards (so you can use it to middle click, for instance). But push it leftwards and you get nothing. It feels like a quality control oversight.

The scroll wheel itself is a touch on the stiff side, and while we’d appreciate a free-scrolling option like you find on the Logitech MX Master series, we understand why it’s absent at this price.

I also found that the macro button was just slightly out of reach when holding the mouse with a claw grip, and even with a palm grip you must move your hand far forward to comfortably reach it.

Keychron M7: Competition

Like the Keychron M7, the Razer Basilisk V3 X HyperSpeed has wireless connectivity, a thumb rest and a macro button. It’s more expensive at $69.99/£69.99 but has longer battery life and better build quality (it is nearly twice as heavy, though). Elsewhere, there’s the Logitech Signature AI Edition M750 that, as the name suggests, has an AI button that works with ChatGPT. It also comes in a compact shape and has a smart scroll wheel that can slowly ratchet or quickly spin depending on how fast it’s spun. It costs $49.99/£54.99.

Keychron M7: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You want a solid mouse at an affordable price
• You like ergonomic mice designs
• You want quick access to DPI and polling rate buttons

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You need more programmable buttons
• You want better build quality
• You want RGB lighting on your mouse

Keychron M7: Verdict

The Keychron M7 is a no-nonsense mouse with some useful features and a comfortable design. Its build quality is lacking a little, but at $50 it’s hard to complain too much.

Air purifiers can make a real difference to the air quality in your home. Whether you’re susceptible to dust allergies, hayfever, general pollutants, or the dander from pets, an air purifier can capture the particles that would otherwise irritate and annoy our sensitive airways.

They’re an increasingly common sight in our homes, particularly for city-dwellers, but they tend to be quite industrial in their design, medical-looking, even. They’ll get tucked away in a corner, rather than being a centerpiece for your home.

The Smartmi Air Purifier E1 hopes to change that. With its arty covers and wall-mountable design, it wants prominent placement in your living spaces. That it gets its core job done very effectively is a plus — but its unique filters might make long-term maintenance costly.

Price and Availability

The Smartmi Air Purifier E1 is available now direct from Smartmi, with an RRP of $160, with a 3-pack of filters priced at $129.99. Though its price has fluctuated since launch, at that price point it makes for a relatively inexpensive air purification system, but the fact that the filters are built specifically for the E1 means you’ll be locked into a pricey filter replacement cycle for the device’s life. But it’s also one of the better-looking air purifiers available, and so that’s what you’re paying for, ultimately.

What I love

If home aesthetics are important to you, the Smartmi Air Purifier E1 is a great choice. Before you’ve even switched it on, it’s trying to catch your eye. A frame-like box, rather than the cylindrical designs that seem to dominate the consumer purifier market, it can be wall-mounted and is designed to be paired with a number of arty filters. They give a pop of color where other similar purifiers can feel sterile, and the purifier’s not insubstantial 313 x 415 x 118mm size, that’s a good thing.

That slickness extends to the set-up process too. Wall-mounting screw brackets are part of the package, though it’s easier to set up the E1 for a floor-standing setup with the included metal foot frame, which simply clips into the bottom of the purifier. I did find it interesting that the instructions encourage you to keep a 20 cm radius around the purifier when floor-standing it though — I’m not sure what performance effect that would have when wall mounting, given it’d be impossible to make that clearance. Swapping the colorful filters is a breeze, however, sliding up and out of the main plastic housing that holds the extraction fan and electronics. 

There are just two simple controls on the device itself — two orange buttons that control power and the extraction level, each with accompanying LED indicators that can be toggled off — and so most of the interesting stuff is left to the accompanying app. As well as Apple Home integration, the Smartmi Air Purifier E1 works with Google Home and Alexa, so can easily be controlled by your smart home assistant of choice — Samsung SmartThings and Matter support being the only notable missing standards. 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connectivity gets the purifier talking to your other smart home devices and the app.

The app is pretty stripped back as, as we will get onto shortly, there is not the usual array of sensors onboard that you’d find with pricier air purifiers. You can check filter life, set timers, switch power modes (listed as ‘gears’ in the app) and integrate into your Apple Home set up via HomeKit, and that’s about it. Note that, once integrated into the Apple Home interface, the slider-like mechanic for tweaking power levels can be a bit confusing — it doesn’t illustrate the steps between the three different power levels.

Onto the air purifying process itself. The Smartmi Air Purifier E1 is intended for ‘small to medium’ rooms, with Smartmi suggesting a max size of 205 square feet or below for optimal performance. The purifier is equipped with a replaceable HEP13 filter which can tackle irritants like dust, pollen, and pet dander, as well as removing odors and low-level smoke build-up. It’ll handle these up to a PM2.5 rating — which means fine particles 2.5 microns or less in diameter, which is smaller than the thickness of human hair, while an active carbon layer in the filter will deal with many VOCs (volatile organic compounds), such as the airborne chemical leftovers from hair sprays and perfumes.

It’s done a great job around my home. My office window opens out towards a nearby main road, and the annual summer dance between cooling the room with the window open and breathing in the resultant pollutants is never a fun one. After an hour or so with the purifier on after having the window open, I can tell the difference in how much cleaner the air feels. As a sporadic asthmatic, it’s helped too — I’m sleeping much easier with the purifier on overnight, and its quiet operation means it doesn’t disturb too much when on.

What I don’t love

The long-term cost of filters for the Smartmi Air Purifier E1 could be an issue. A proprietary design, you’re not going to be able to equip the purifier with off-the-shelf alternatives that other companies offer. Of course, to do so would be missing the point of what the Smartmi device offers — an arty smart home unit, rather than a generic appliance. But you’ll want to factor that long-term cost into the purchase price, and consider stocking up on filters in advance, as you never can tell how long a product will be supported for.

A second annoyance is the lack of sensor data from the purifier. Though it can handle PM2.5 particles, it doesn’t have the means to track how much it’s pulled out of the air, so you’re going to need to add a secondary air quality sensor to your smart home array for more than an anecdotal sense of cleanliness.

It’s also a shame not to see Matter support included here — the open smart home standard, it would have future-proofed the purifier to any shake ups to your smart home setup in the future.

Verdict

Some of the best HomeKit air purifiers we’ve looked at on iMore succeed in clearing the air in a room, but can be pretty dull looking in the process. The Smartmi Air Purifier E1 doesn’t have that problem — well equipped for cleaning the air of small rooms, and good looking at the same time, it’s a great air purifier. Just don’t go in expecting to get lots of cleaning data from the job, and be ready to stock up on filters.

If you’re looking for a display to match up with your Mac, you really are spoiled for choice. There’s the Studio Display from Apple, although its 27-inch size is becoming too small for many users. There are options galore in the larger 32-inch size class, and the BenQ PD3225U is shaping up to be one of the best monitors for Mac.

The PD3225U may well have a monstrous name, but the monitor sitting behind the incomprehensible moniker is a stunner. It’s big, smothered with anti-glare matte coating, and has a useful settings dial to avoid those annoying monitor reach-arounds when you want to change the input source. But just how good is it?

Price and availability

The monitor costs $1,099/£1,099, placing it below the $1500 Studio Display. It’s worth bearing in mind that Apple’s monitor will scale better with MacOS, thanks to its 5K panel, and with twice the resolution your images will be sharper and crisper. That’s still a $400 price discrepancy, however, and the BenQ offers a more holistic package with more creator-centered features and stand options straight out of the box.

While you could never call the BenQ PD3225U a ‘budget’ monitor, it certainly brings a great value proposition to the table — a massive, 32-inch display, calibrated for creators with a Thunderbolt 3 connection in the back to make hooking it up to your Mac a doddle, for around two-thirds the price of Apple’s display.

As for where you can get one, you can head over to the BenQ site and shop there. You can also find it on Amazon in the UK, and in the US you have a range of stockists including B&H Photo, Adorama, and Best Buy.

Display quality

Let’s start with one thing first — the display has a matte, anti-glare coating so that you can see the picture in brighter and more direct light. That comes with benefits, obviously, but there are also downsides. The first is that the monitor’s sharpness is slightly affected, and the second is the dulling of brightness and saturation of the colors. It’s not a massive difference, but it is noticeable when you stack it up next to something that has a more reflective glass panel. Personally, I’ll take the trade-off of visibility of clarity, but your mileage may vary. Crucially, the monitor is not available without the anti-glare coating, so you might want to look elsewhere if it’s a matter that’s important to you.

When all is said and done, however, despite the coating, the display is a stunner. The 4K resolution makes lines pop on screen, and the colors are about as accurate as I’ve ever seen. BenQ gives us some key numbers on its site, telling us that the monitor has a 2000:1 contrast ratio, with support for display P3 color. You can tell from that and the Thunderbolt 3 support that it’s designed for Mac users — and it matches up pretty well with the display on my 14-inch MacBook Pro.

For the real color nerds, the monitor covers 98% of the P3 color space, 99% of the sRGB, and 99% Rec.709. That, according to BenQ, gives the monitor ΔE≤2 accuracy with its factory calibration, so professional artists, color graders, and movie makers are well served.

In the real world, that makes for colors that are more accurate than other monitors that you might find elsewhere — although for the full effect, make sure you’ve turned off TrueTone in your Mac. That warms the colors of all the displays you’ve got connected, not just the screen of your MacBook Air or MacBook Pro.

HDR support is nice to have, although it’s not the brightest around thanks to its IPS screen technology. While the likes of LED and OLED can get super bright, the PD322U is stuck with 400 nits peak brightness in non-HDR content, which doesn’t rise any when you’re watching or editing HDR. In fact, while HDR 10 accredited, that’s not quite true HDR — so if you want the best, brightest HDR replication possible, then you might want a different monitor.

Gamers aren’t going to be as well served here, unfortunately — the monitor maxes out at 60Hz. For most people and creatives, that’s more than enough, but gamers will demand more for their higher-framerate games.

Stand out feature

One of the best features of the monitor is the little control puck that the monitor comes with. It plugs into the back of the display, and provides you with a dial, and five buttons. The three buttons under the dial choose different color modes, cycling through the connected display’s default, sRGB, and P3. The top left button opens a quick settings menu that you can navigate with the joystick on the back of the monitor, while the top right button changes the input of the display.

The dial in the middle, however, is the best bit. If you click down on it you get a fully-featured settings menu, which you can scroll around and manipulate with the dial. It’s around 150% easier to use than the clicky buttons or joystick that you get on most monitors. For one, you can actually see the button that you’re trying to click, so you don’t accidentally press the up and down buttons when you want to select something.

If you don’t click the dial and just turn it instead, then you can quickly adjust the brightness depending on the lighting conditions you’re in. The dial is perhaps one of the best accessories I've seen come with a monitor of any kind, and I’d personally like to see it come with more.

Build and features

The PD3225U, unlike Apple’s super-premium feeling Studio Display, is made mostly out of plastic. That’s not a problem — the plastic at hand is quality feeling, and makes sure that the monitor’s spectacular girth isn’t as heavy as a similarly shaped piece of osmium. And spectacular that girth is indeed. The PD3225U can be described as many things, but petite, slim, or svelte don’t apply.

The display is chunky even before you’ve strapped it to its weighty metal stand. It’s a thick display, but then it houses not just the display but enough USB ports to make it a de-facto dock as well. There’s a USB-C and a USB-A port alongside a headphone jack on the side of the monitor, and then 3 USB-A type 3 ports on the back. That goes with the inputs as well — there’s that USB-C Thunderbolt 3 port, which goes with 2 HDMI 2.0 ports, and a DisplayPort 1.4. That’s pretty much everything you’ll need, unless you have seventeen different things to plug in.

Beyond the hub, there are some more useful features that you can unlock with the Display Pilot 2 software. There’s one called Dual View, for example, which divides the display into two different inputs, each with its own half of the monitor. You can also select different color modes with the app, from the full list rather than the shorter one that you’ll find in the settings menu on the monitor itself. There are more quality-of-life features that the app opens up as well, such as ICCsync which matches the colors of your monitor setup so that they aren’t too different when switching around.

The stand is a solid piece of monitor engineering too, with tilt, pan, and height adjust built-in. It is weighty, which is great for keeping it standing, wobble-free, on your desk, although the large base plate does take up a lot of useable desk space. If you’ve got a particularly shallow desk, for example, you might find that it takes up more space than you might like, pushing your keyboard closer to you than you might like. Thankful, it’s Vesa mountable, so you might find investing in a monitor arm for the display a solid space-saving venture.

Competition

First of all, is the oft-mentioned Studio Display from Apple, although there are some key differences between the two displays. First is the price — there’s a $400 difference is favor of the BenQ display. Now, if you’re looking for a much higher resolution and more brightness, then the Apple monitor is your go-to, although you’ll pay more to get it on your desk. Alternatively, if you’re not bothered by HDR or 5K resolution, the BenQ brings better value and more real-world features than the Apple Studio Display, and makes for a very tempting similar option.

There’s also the Philips 27B1U7903, another bafflingly named monitor that sports a Micro-LED display and Thunderbolt 3. It’s cheaper too, although it’s also smaller and doesn’t have some of the more premium features of the BenQ monitor. If you don’t need 32 inches of screen real estate, however, it’s a great option.

Should you buy it?

You should buy it if…

• You need a calibrated 4K monitor for your Mac
• You need something you can see in direct sunlight
• You find reaching around your monitor to change settings annoying

You shouldn’t buy it if…

• You want something with a glossy panel
• 5K is important to you
• You have a small desk

Verdict

While it comes in over $1,000, the BenQ PD3225U brings some premium features to the table that make it a very solid monitor option for professional creators. Photographers and artists will like its accurate colors, videographers the incredible array of color options, and everyone else the display clarity despite its softening ant-glare layer.

There are also features for people who don’t care about stuff like that, such as the control puck and the USB hub that lives on the back. It might not have the same build as a Mac Studio Display, but it more than takes the fight to the child of Cupertino with its features.

Headphones are a tricky thing to get right, particularly when they’re wireless. There are a bunch of different things to perfect, like sound quality, comfort, weight, features, and more — a balancing act that not every manufacturer is particularly good at. If you’re Sonos, then, entering a crowded space with your first pair of headphones, what do you focus on?

Where other headphone brands have emphasized the music ability of their headphones, Sonos has done something different — it’s a unit that feels designed more for at-home use than anything else. That’s not to say there’s no effort put into their out-and-about qualities, far from it, but there’s a sense that these are headphones that want to squeeze into an existing Sonos system rather than working completely on their own.

But has Sonos managed it? Are they the best headphones you can buy, or are there still elements that the brand needs to work on before they really take the headphones world by storm? We’ve been spending the last couple of weeks getting into the nitty gritty with the Sonos Ace headphones, and now we have a clear picture of the kind of product that Sonos has produced — and whether they’re a must-buy, a solid choice, or one to avoid.

Price and availability

The Sonos Ace are available now, for $449/£449, at most places where you can buy headphones. That means Best Buy, Amazon, and more — where you can buy headphones, you’ll likely find a pair of Sonos Ace. Remember, however, that to get the most out of the Ace you’ll need to add in a Sonos Arc sound bar. If you’ve already got one, then you’ll be completely fine, the Ace will just seamlessly slip into your use case.

If you haven’t got one, however, then you’re going to need to factor in picking up one of those — and that’s another $899 on top of what is already a fairly expensive pair of headphones. Of course, you don’t need the Arc to have a good time with the Sonos Ace, but if you want to use the headline feature then it’s a must-have — for now.

Broadly, the Sonos Ace are priced fairly competitively to their rivals. They’re more than the equivalent Sonys, the WH-1000XM5, but around $100 less than the AirPods Max. Again, this is not a cheap pair of headphones, but a higher price was to be expected by something that wants to go up against the very best. Whether they’re worth that price, however, remains to be seen.

Build and fit

From a typical Sonos cardboard box, formed of multiple layers and environmentally friendly paper tape-sealed sections, comes a remarkably solid hard case. It feels good in the hand — sturdy, and hardwearing. It’s made out of environmentally friendly material, which does come with its own strengths and weaknesses. For one, it lends the case a kind of felt covering, more fibrous than the fabric you’ll normally find adorning headphone cases. It’s more akin to the case that comes with the extremely premium Master & Dynamic MH75, for better or for worse.

See, the black color that my headphones have come in has, initially, a premium feeling and look, but the moment it gets a chance to go near dust, or other assorted household muck, it loses its slick noir luster, taking on a mottled grey hue instead. Given that this case will not exist in a vacuum, and presumably be tossed into many a backpack (of which the contents can not be guaranteed to be immaculate), it’s a disappointment to what could otherwise be one of the best cases in the business.

The case is compact, around the same size as the case that my older WH-1000XM4 came in (the XM5’s case grew significantly), and crucially, it’s very slim. Packing it into a bag, despite its ability to take on a layer of grime, is a great deal easier than other cases in my collection, and it’s stiff enough that it feels like it could take some punishment on the road. It’s set out nicely on the inside as well. The headphones fit perfectly in place, the earcups swiveled down, and then a small, removable, purse-like oval holds the charging and headphone jack cable. It squeezes open, which lends a kind of ‘those edges are going to squeeze their way open around the whole thing at some point’, but until then it's a compact and convenient way to store the cables you need.

As for the quality of the headphones themselves, Sonos has done a great job at making a confidence-inspiring pair of headphones. The materials used to build the headphones are top-notch, from the stainless steel of the expanding headband to the leatherette that covers the earcups and plush headband. The plastic of the earcups is top-notch, although the black color is susceptible to greasy fingerprints — easily wiped off, but ugly when you’re using the headphones out of the house. There’s a white option if you’d rather something less inky, and potentially less likely to show off greasy fingerprints.

Overall, the Sonos Ace feel like a well-put-together, solid-feeling pair of wireless headphones. The sliding earcup adjustments are smooth and stiff, so they’re not going to start sagging on you over time. There are no significant wobbles that make you question their longevity, and all of the buttons have positive and quiet action. As a headset, the Ace are up there with the very best — as you’d hope, given the lofty price tag.

As for the fit, they are close to being pitch-perfect. The light weight makes you forget them once they’re on, and the plush headband and earcups feel fantastic — for most people. Clamping force is good too, not pushing on your head too much while retaining a secure fit. They pass the headbang test with flying colors, that’s for sure. But what do I mean when I say ‘for most people’?

Now, this is going to sound like a very niche complaint (mostly because it is) but if you’re like me and you’ve got a cartilage piercing on your upper ear on either side, there’s a likelihood that they’ll start to cause discomfort after a while. It’s not something I’ve experienced with other headphones either, which is why it’s worth bringing up here — and I’m not entirely sure why it happens. It could be because the opening in the earcups isn’t quite big enough for my ears, and the thinnest part of the cups are pressing my ears into the harder plastic surface below — on the side where there’s no piercing, no problem. On the side where there is, however, owch. For most people? Not a problem. For people like me? Something to consider before dropping $449 on a pair.

Features

As with most wireless headphones that you can pick up from a big manufacturer in 2024, they are packed to the gunnel with features. From noise canceling to a dedicated home cinema mode, Sonos is hoping to pull you in with not only features you’ll find elsewhere but completely unique ones as well — making for an interesting set of headphones indeed.

Let’s start with the simple features, the ones that don’t take much explanation. First up — physical controls! And in this case, some of the best buttons I’ve ever seen on a pair of headphones. Where the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM5 rely on inaccurate, irritating touch controls, the Ace opt for simpler physical controls. They’re better even than the dial button combo on the AirPods Max, and feel well thought-through and ergonomic. 

There are two buttons — one on the bottom of the left earcup which turns the headphones on and off and activates pairing mode. On the right earcup, you’ll find the second button which controls the noise control modes, and conjures your voice assistant. Then there’s what Sonos calls the ‘Content Key’ — a sliding switch thing that presses in. Up and down on the toggle change the volume, pressing once pauses the music, and pressing twice or three times skips forwards and backward respectively. All work well, and are placed in helpful, natural spots.

The noise canceling triggered by the button is fine. It’s not as good as Sony’s or Apple’s that’s for sure — but it’s going to do ok at blocking out the sound of the commute, or your busy office space. Louder sounds make their way through though, and there aren’t any hybrid modes to keep things interesting. Instead, you get ‘noise canceling on’, ‘noise canceling off’, and ‘aware mode’. The latter isn’t going to read your surroundings and decide how much canceling you need, rather it uses the microphones to pump the sound into your ears so that you can hear what’s going on around you. It’s all the same modes as the AirPods Max, but given that Sony and other brands have more noise adjustable noise canceling you would have thought Sonos would have done the same.

The Sonos also have wear detection, so they’ll pause your tunes when you pop them on and off. It works really well, and doesn’t get confused when I do my ‘someone's talking to me’ one earcup on one earcup off thing. That doesn’t turn them off mind you — you’re going to need to press and hold the power button, rather than just popping them back in the case as you might with the AirPods Max.

So far, the Sonos Max seem like a fairly run-of-the-mill pair of headphones. Battery life is similarly as expected — 30 hours of listening while noise canceling is on. That’s more than the AirPods Max, by the way, although there is a four-year difference between the two. There are headphones out there now that exceed that 30-hour promise with gusto, however, so if you’re after the best battery life possible there are other options that might fit your wants and needs better than the Sonos offering. Charging comes through a USB-C port on the bottom of the left earcup, and you can hook that port up to a headphone jack with an included (hear that Apple?) USB-C to 3.5mm headphone jack. That will also up the bit rate of tunes (if it's available in your app of choice) so that you can listen to hi-res lossless audio.

There’s Spatial Audio on board as well, and it’s really, really good. It works with Apple Music, and Amazon Music Unlimted. My experience with the former has been nothing short of transformative — it’s generally a feature I leave off for headphones listening, but the Sonos Ace have me searching out tracks so that I can hear their Spatial Dolby Atmos mix and get the full ‘I’m in the recording studio with James Hetfield’ effect. Perhaps it's down to Sonos’ experience making surround systems for the home, but the Ace are far and away the best Spatial Audio I’ve ever experienced. You can place every instrument with pinpoint accuracy, and get immersed in the audio more than you might have thought possible. It’s epic.

Dynamic head-tracking is here as well, and while part of me says it feels like a gimmick, it is fun. It also works better than most examples I’ve used before, however, with a smooth transition around your head that’s much better than the jerky experience that tends to come with head-tracked Spatial Audio.

Now, I’d like to say that experience extends over to the home cinema portion of the headphones — but until I get to try it, I can’t say for sure. The idea is to hook the Ace up to a Sonos Arc soundbar, and then listen to all the audio from your TV through your headphones. It’s how Sonos wants’ the headphones to fit into a Sonos system, given that they aren’t able to strap a WiFi antenna and gubbins into a pair of headphones yet. Now, it seems easy to use, but again, once I’ve tried it out I’ll be able to report back properly.

It would be remiss of me not to mention Sonos’ app here as well — it’s never been perfect, but after a recent update many users complain about some features not working, and some being outright missing. Since the initial update, there have been a plethora of fixes, and I’ve been lucky enough to not suffer from the same issues as others. It’s worth noting going in, however, and reports are so widespread that it’s a ‘when I suffer from the issues’ rather than ‘will I suffer from the issues’. I should also say that you shouldn’t let the app put you off the headphones — the issues at hand have affected the speaker lines rather than the Ace so far.

Sound Quality

Now, you can have the most impressively featured headphones around, but if they don’t sound any good then they’re not going to be worth picking up. Thankfully, you needn’t worry about the Sonos Ace — they sound great. There’s a breadth to the sound that manages to dwarf the bassy WH-1000XM5, and a solid soundstage even when not using spatial audio. The mids are well-rounded and placed perfectly, and the highs are pin-sharp. It must be said that they’re a very bass-forward presenting headphone, but in the long run, you’re not going to mind as some deceptively rumbly sub-bass shakes your skull to your favorite tracks. It’s not particularly dynamic, with a fairly consistent noise ceiling that has a habit of flattening out sections of music, but that’s something you can say about most of their rivals. Overall, it’s a stellar performance that shows Sonos has put a great deal of work into how they sound.

Aespa’s Supernova hits in all right ways, that slick bass synth plowing through the mix like a freight train with grease on the tracks. It sounds huge, emphasized by the solid Spatial Audio mix. The girls are perfectly placed with the soundstage, and the synth stabs throughout are threatening and powerful. The Sonos Ace excel when given the chance to flex their bass drivers like this, giving you buckets and buckets of sub and mid-bass to really hit their point home.

Devin Townsend’s Addicted goes all the way to eleven, and the Ace are more than happy to oblige. Hevvy Devvy’s guitar tone is already known for being monstrous, but the Sonos Ace kick it up a notch and make it indomitable. The kick drum hits hard and fast, while the more delicate parts of the track don’t get lost in the cacophony. It’s 5 minutes of heavy, and the Sonos are some of the best around for the sound. 

Finally, Joe Hisaishi and the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra play the main theme of Howl’s Moving Castle with a Merry-go-round of life. The piano in the beginning is delicate and well-placed, and the orchestral build-up to the triumphant mid-way point is engaging and exciting. It’s fun, and while perhaps not as dynamic as some classical listeners might like, it’s a great way to listen to one of the best pieces of movie music around.

Competition

If you’re looking for a pair of headphones like the Sonos Ace, then you’ll very quickly notice that you’re spoilt for choice. For one, there are the AirPods Max, which while old, bring the sound quality, noise canceling, and top-quality build (bar the case) for $549. If you absolutely must have everything Apple, then you’re probably already popping a pair of these in your basket, the four-year date on their release schedule not bothering you and your Apple-filled house. If, however, you’re looking for something that gives you something different and even does some things better (like sound quality, case quality, and controls) for less money, then the Sonos Ace are a great alternative.

Then there’s the likes of the less expensive Sony WH1000XM5. They’re bassy headphones that won’t sound as good as the Sonos Ace, but they will block out more noise on the train or while you’re walking to work. They’re comfortable too, and they won’t hurt the ears of those with cartilage piercings. What they, lack, however, is something that only the Sonos Ace can provide.

If you own a Sonos Arc, then the Sonos Ace should almost be a no-brainer. They connect up to your sound bar, and let you listen to your movies with surround sound without the need to bother the neighbors when you want to watch Dune 2 at max volume at 3 in the morning. It’s really the killer feature of the headphones, and, by the looks of things, it’ll be coming to Sonos’ smaller soundbars later this year. Where the Sonos Ace make a compelling case musically as to why you should grab a pair over their competition, it’s really the surround sound movies and TV that really hammer home the kind of people that should be considering grabbing a pair.

You should buy the Sonos Ace if…

You own a Sonos Arc soundbar

If you buy the Sonos Ace and don’t have access to the Arc soundbar, then you’re almost getting half a product. They’re still good without the soundbar, but you’ll always feel like you’re missing out

You want the best Spatial Audio

The head-tracked Spatial Audio is some of the best around, with plenty of depth, and crucially lacking in over-processed sound as some are.

You want something different

Sonos is a newcomer to the headphone market, and with that comes a certain degree of exclusivity. They look cool, sound good, and connect effortlessly — and look different to most of the competition.

You should not buy the Sonos Ace if…

You have a piercing in your upper ear

Take it from me — it can get sore.

You want the best noise canceling around

The noise canceling isn’t rubbish, but there are better options out there if you want something that will block out every single outside noise.

Verdict

Judging the Sonos Ace completely on their own, they are an excellent pair of headphones with a great feature set that more than justifies their slightly higher price than some of their closest rivals. They’re comfortable, good-looking, and present some great sound thanks, most likely, to Sonos’ audio wizards who continue to know exactly how to dial in a piece of sound equipment.

Things become trickier when you stack them up against the competition, but even then there’s a compelling reason to pick them up — albeit one that's exclusive to current Sonos Arc users. Overall, the Ace should be on your list if you’re looking for some solid over-ear headphones, but you should consider what you find most important before taking the plunge.

You might think it’s strange that we at iMore are reviewing the X4 Aileron. After all, it’s marketed as being made for Android and Xbox. Yet when we asked GameSir about it, they told us it works perfectly well with iOS as well. 

Putting that claim to the test, we decided to give it a try to see if it’s worth your time, and a coveted place among our best game controllers for iPhone rankings.

GameSir X4 Aileron: Price and availability

The GameSir X4 Aileron costs $99.99/£99.99 and is available from GameSir’s website and third-party retailers. There are lots of telescopic control pads on sale for iPhone now similar to the X4 Aileron, and GameSir's offering here sits at a price point dead-center of the average price we see them retail at.

GameSir X4 Aileron: What I love

Although it’s marketed for Android, the GameSir X4 Aileron uses Bluetooth for its connections, so it will work with your iPhone. Because you don’t need to plug anything in, it also doesn’t matter if your iPhone has a Lightning or USB-C port. To connect, press and hold the Xbox and B buttons until the connection light flashes blue, then connect to the controller from the iOS Bluetooth menu.

The X4 Aileron comes in a left and a right half that can be magnetically snapped together into a very compact shape for storage, and its lightweight frame means it won’t take up space or weigh you down. Each side clips onto one end of your iPhone, which leaves the back of your device free for phone coolers and MagSafe charging pucks. The controller also comes with a sturdy protective case, keeping it safe if you decide to chuck it in a bag and take it travelling.

The layout is designed to mimic that of a standard Xbox controller, with A-B-X-Y buttons and the non-symmetrical thumb stick layout fans of Microsoft’s console will be used to. The thumb sticks come with Hall Effect tech that should stop them wearing down and giving rise to “stick drift” over time.

Around the back are two additional buttons that can be assigned to extra controls, while there’s a USB-C port on the bottom edge. On the front is an M button that lets you adjust lighting effects and brightness, tweak trigger resistance, remap buttons, and more.

When you lift the green clamps that hold your iPhone in place, the controller automatically turns on, which makes setup much more straightforward. When it’s on, it emits some subtle, pleasant RGB lighting under each thumb stick that cycles through various colours.

Inside the case are four extra thumb sticks in different sizes, plus an additional cover for the D-pad (again, in a different shape if you want to try something new). GameSir also bundles in a free one-month membership of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

The X4 Aileron’s sides are coated in a rubbery, dimpled surface that makes them very grippy. The button layout will be familiar to anyone who has used an Xbox controller, and all of the buttons are satisfyingly clicky.

GameSir X4 Aileron: What I don’t love

The main thing you’ll notice when you load your iPhone into the X4 Aileron is that it has quite a loose hold on your phone. The two halves are disconnected – there’s no “backbone” locking them together – and the slot into which your phone fits is quite tall, meaning there’s a lot of wobble when the controller is in your hand. It’s a bit better if you have your iPhone in a case, but it’s not the most stable of grips.

Slotting your iPhone into place can also be a tad fiddly, as you have to either lift the green clamp and hold the controller with one hand while the other pushes your iPhone into place, or you must use your phone itself to wedge the clamp upwards. That made us a little worried about scratches.

Each half of the controller is fairly narrow, so the thumb sticks and buttons are located above each other. It means you have to angle your thumb inwards a bit to reach the right thumb stick and left D-pad, which made operating them accurately more difficult than on a traditional Xbox-style controller.

Some of the buttons feel a little cramped on the two halves of the controller, in particular the A-B-X-Y buttons. The rear paddles on the back are also a little hard to distinguish from the raised edge of the controller by touch alone.

GameSir X4 Aileron: Competition

When it comes to this controller layout, the Backbone One is a popular choice. Its two halves are joined and it uses either a USB-C or Lightning connector rather than Bluetooth. It costs $99.99/£99.99. GameSir also offers split controllers with a solid back, such as the GameSir G8 Galileo, which costs $79.99/£79.99.

GameSir X4 Aileron: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You want a controller that folds down into a compact shape
• You prefer the Xbox controller layout
• You want the peace of mind that Hall Effect thumb sticks bring

You shouldn’t buy this if…

• You find the X4 Aileron’s thumb stick and D-pad positioning awkward
• You’re used to PlayStation controller layouts
• You want an easier fit for your phone

GameSir X4 Aileron: Verdict

The GameSir X4 Aileron has some neat tricks for iOS gamers (despite its Android branding), but its split layout is a little wobbly and cramped. Xbox fans will appreciate its attempt to closely mimic Microsoft's gamepads, but rival telescopic control pads feel sturdier than the magnetic fit the X4 Aileron relies on. If you're a household that makes use of both Android and iOS devices though, it's connectivity offers flexibility that might make it a good choice for you.

Teamforce makes a ton of great computing products, and its SSDs are quite popular. While the company is known for its internal SSDs and RAM sticks for PCs, it has a few external SSDs, which are excellent and provide great value for money. 

One of its popular offerings is the T-Force M200 SSD, a well-built compact external SSD that supports USB 3.2 Gen2x2. I tested the 2TB version for a month, and here’s how it performed. 

Teamgroup T-Force M200 SSD: Price and Availability

The T-Force M200 SSD is available worldwide in capacities ranging from 250GB to 8TB, although the smallest capacity version isn’t widely available. The M200 costs $69.99 for the 500GB version, $99.99 for the 1TB version, $199.99 for the 2TB version, $399.99 for 4TB, and $799.99 for 8TB. It’s available at Amazon and Newegg, among other major retailers. 

The M200 is a couple of years old, which means that it’s nearly almost always on sale at a discount. The 2TB version we tested is available for as little as $104, making it an excellent value. The 8TB capacity variant is the only one that doesn’t seem to be on discount at the moment. The price goes even lower during shopping holidays, making this one of the more affordable external SSDs you can get for your Mac.

Teamgroup T-Force M200 SSD: Specs and Features

The T-Force M200 is a part of the modern crop of SSDs. You get a military-inspired design with a long lanyard hole, and Teamgroup says the M200 sniper rifle inspires the design. There’s not much you can do to port over a sniper rifle’s design to an external SSD, but I see the vision. The ridged design looks great, and it’s functional in terms of grip as well as cooling. You also get a 2-meter drop resistance, but there's no mention of an IP rating.

In terms of the hardware, you’re getting support for the USB 3.2 Gen2x2 interface via USB-C. This means there isn’t Thunderbolt support, but it works just fine with Macs and has good enough speeds to a point where you won’t feel like you’re missing out — especially at this price point. What that means is there isn’t Thunderbolt support here. Teamforce promises speeds of up to 2000MB/s read and write because of the USB 3.2 Gen2x2 interface. 

Although not as portable as the Crucial X9 Pro or Crucial X10 Pro that I've tested, the M200 is still quite portable. It has a smaller footprint than an iPhone 13 Mini, making for an easily pocketable drive. You get five years of warranty.

Teamgroup T-Force M200 SSD: Performance

Performance evaluation for this drive was a bit tricky. It’s a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 drive, and that interface supports up to 20Gbps of speeds. However, due to some technical limitations, USB 3.2 Gen2x2 isn’t supported on Apple Silicon devices. Despite Macs getting USB4 ports, the standards itself are designed as such that the faster USB4 port cannot support USB 3.2 Gen2x2. As such, this drive will run on the slower 10Gbps USB 3.2 on a Mac.

You get slower speeds as a result, and our speed tests reflected that. I did get better peak speeds when I tested this drive on a Windows system with a USB 3.2 Gen2x2 port.

I’ve included the performance figures as tested on a M3 Pro MacBook Pro. The slower speeds still are pretty fast. The overall speed tests we ran showed the M200 to be a very quick drive. The drive also supports macOS’ Time Machine feature if you format it with the APFS format using Disk Utility.

What that means is that despite the bottleneck on Macs, the drive is still one of the best value-for-money SSDs you can get today to use with a Mac. 

The thermal performance of the drive is also quite impressive, and I didn’t find the drive getting warm to the touch even during heavier file copy workloads I put it through. Overall, this drive will not disappoint on the performance front, and is an incredible value for money today.

Teamgroup T-Force M200 SSD: Competition

There are a few drives that compete with the T-Force M200. The top alternative is the Crucial X9 Pro, which offers decent speeds, and is more portable. However, it costs quite a bit more than the M200. The ADATA SE880 is another great option with similar performance figures but costs a bit more. The Crucial X8 is also a great alternative, with a current price closer to the M200. 

Should You Buy The Teamgroup T-Force M200 SSD?

You should buy this if...

• You want a portable drive
• You want performance on a budget
• You want a stylish design

You shouldn't buy this if...

• You need the fastest speeds
• You have a high budget

Teamgroup T-Force M200 SSD: Verdict

The Teamgroup T-Force M200 is the best budget external SSD you can get right now. At launch, it wasn’t a great value, but as the prices have dropped, the drive has become a great value-for-money SSD option. You get a nice design, and the drive is very portable. The reduced speeds on Macs are a bit disappointing, but it’s hard to fault Teamgroup for it since it’s largely a problem with USB standards in general. Regardless of that, the M200 is the external SSD to get on a budget.

I have a habit of calling my mom and telling her about the tech I’m testing out. Given we live in different countries, this is more an excuse to chat than anything else. Yet, when I held up the UGreen 300W 48,000mAh power bank, the rest of our conversation revolved around it. 

My mom isn’t a particularly techy person but, when something is that right combination of flashy and practical, she suddenly becomes very techy. My mom regularly goes camping with my family and she’s an overpacker — someone who will bring an extension cord just in case all phones go dead at the same time. With this power bank, UGreen offers a large charge and convenience in the form of many ports, fast charging, and even a light on the side for power outages and camping. It’s a mighty bit of tech and one that, if my mother’s jealous looks are anything to go by, I may struggle to keep my hands on. 

UGreen portable charger: Price and availability

Priced at $199.99, you can pick up this power bank at Amazon with next-day delivery or via UGreen’s own site for the same price. In my time monitoring the device, it has not gone on sale or out of stock. However, curiously, you can buy the charger with a 3.3ft USB A to USB C cable for just $144.99, making it much cheaper in a bundle. If you want this charger, this is the best way of getting it. 

There are no unique color schemes for this charger on either site so there’s no major difference between the two, though Amazon is likely the better choice thanks to the bundle deal and next-day delivery. 

UGreen portable charger: What I love

UGreen’s 300W portable charger is super sturdy, and I’m never worried about it getting damaged in my backpack. It also comes with a light on the side which means it can be great in a power outage or while camping. That light on the side comes with three modes: low light, high light, and an SOS mode, which flashes on and off. The light uses very little of the battery, taking less than a single percent of the total battery over two hours of use. 

At 48,000mAh of battery, this power bank can fully charge an iPhone 15 Pro, the best iPhone right now, over 10 times. However, with three USB-C ports and two USB-A ports, you can fully charge your iPhone, AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBook, and have an extra port for something else. It also has a pretty nifty display that not only gives you a reading of how much charge you have but your input and output in wattage, to more accurately predict how long your charge will last. 

Doing away with one of the only problems I run into with other portable chargers, UGreen’s power bank is capable of 300W charging, making it more than capable of keeping computers and even handheld devices topped up with their huge power consumption wasting quicker than the charger can work. As well as all of this, Lifepo4 batteries in the device mean that the device will last much longer than traditional devices. In five years time, this will keep more of its max charge than most of its competitors. 

UGreen portable charger: What I don't love

This charger is huge, not just in size but in weight as well. I can comfortably get it into my backpack but even popping it out on a table at a cafe to charge my MacBook can be tedious and cumbersome. This is the type of device you use when you’re camping or when you don’t mind the odd glance from a stranger. 

In addition, despite coming with two USB-A slots and three USB-C ports, the UGreen 300W 48,000mAh portable charger only comes with a single USB-C cable and doesn’t include a plug to charge it from a wall outlet. You will need your own to get it working. 

UGreen portable charger: Competition

You don’t tend to find the same watt output and charge from devices without going for actual camping equipment. The Powdeom 300W power station, for instance, is about $20 more and has just under double the charge but it is significantly heavier and more clunky. It also doesn’t come with a display that is as smart. This is a better choice if you want a power bank specifically for camping but UGreen has it beat as more of a versatile power bank for most situations. 

You can also get power banks with as big a charge, like the 50,000mAh found in Enerwow’s 30W charger but UGreen’s two-way charging, host of safety features, and long-lasting batteries ensure you can use it for a much longer time. You’re paying a premium for something to last long and it will charge your devices quicker too. 

Should you buy the UGreen Portable Charger?

You should buy this if...

• You need a lot of charge in your power bank
• You want to go on day trips, city breaks, or camping
• You want to charge your devices quickly

You shouldn't buy this if...

• You only need to charge your iPhone once
• You’re on a budget
• You don’t care about fast charging

UGreen Portable Charger: Verdict

I’ve tested a lot of power banks and UGreen’s 300W 48,000 mAh power bank sits near the top of the pile for me, thanks to fast charging, a high-capacity battery, and some very good safety features. It’s light enough for me to justify bringing with me to a cafe in the off chance they don’t have plugs yet versatile enough to work on a camping trip too. 

While Apple’s AirTag might be the household name in tracking for the Apple-enthused, its singular, circular nature precludes it from use in places where you might otherwise really benefit from tracking, notably in your wallet. 

Nomad has tried to solve this problem once before, with its very own Card for AirTag adapter that turns it into a (thick) credit card shape. Now, however, it’s back — albeit this time a more subtle and elegant solution, its new Tracking Card. But what does it do? How does it work? And, crucially,  is it any good? Here’s our rundown of a brilliant AirTag alternative. 

Nomad Tracking Card: Price and availability

The Nomad Tracking Card is available from Nomad for £40 / $40 from Nomad’s online store, Nomadgoods.com. Nomad does have a presence on Amazon but doesn’t have the Tracking Card listed there yet. As it stands, the Tracking Card is incredibly popular, so is currently on backorder of around one month.  

Nomad Tracking Card: Design and features

The basic design and the functionality of the Nomad Tracking Card is incredibly simple. It’s a 2mm thick polycarbonate card, no thicker than two regular credit cards, and broadly the same shape. The material feels really nice in hand, and it’s suitably grippy enough that I have no concerns about it sliding out of my wallet without my knowledge. It’s IPX7 waterproof and dustproof, so it can take a beating should you drop your wallet or purse outdoors, too. I love the black color and the subtle branding on the front, and the rear pattern design that reflects the card’s internals is particularly snazzy. 

Fully charged, the Tracking Card comes with a battery good for five months of life. That means you can depend on it for even the longest trips abroad, or simply slide it into your wallet and forget about it (for five months). When you do need to charge it, it works with MagSafe! Simply slap the Card onto whatever MagSafe charger you happen to have handy, and a small red light will illuminate to indicate it’s charging, turning green once full. Don’t worry, the Card itself isn’t magnetic but contains enough metal that it securely sticks to a MagSafe charger, albeit at some quirky angles. 

Nomad Tracking Card: Ease of use and reliability

The Nomad Tracking Card is very easy to use. There’s only one button, that serves one function, pairing the device with your iPhone. I must admit this didn’t work the first time, but it’s possible this is because I selected the wrong option in Find My. You simply open up the Find My app on your iPhone, select Items, tap the + icon, and then hold down the button on the Card. It’ll make a melodic beeping sound before pairing up to your iPhone, and Find My does the rest. All you have to do is give the Tracking Card a name and an emoji icon and voila!

The Tracking Card is certified to work with Apple’s Find My network, which means that it can bounce signals from a multitude of different iOS devices, including those belonging to other people, to give you an accurate location. It doesn’t feature the Precision Finding tools of the AirTag or Apple’s best iPhones, but that’s not the purpose of the Card, so not a reason to avoid it. The Tracking Card gives you an accurate location of maybe 40-50 feet, based on what I found when using it. As such, it’s a helpful tool that can tell you whether you’ve left your wallet or purse at home, in the office, on a bus, or anywhere else for that matter.

However, it’s not going to be useful in guiding you to the correct room in your house or in helping you dig it out of the back of your sofa. That’s where the Play Sound function comes in. Tapping this option in the Find My app will yield the same melodic tone as the aforementioned pairing process. The Play Sound function is key to finding your Tracking Card at close range, and when you hit the button the Card will play a tune that will help you locate it in any large room. From the Find My app, you can also track the Card’s battery, set Directions (if you need to travel to find it), and enable Lost Mode, which will notify a user who finds it that you’re looking for it. You can also turn on or off the Notify When Left Behind feature, so if you move out of range of your Card, you’ll get an alert on your iPhone. 

The technology behind the Card is quite basic, so if you run into any problems, your recourse is limited. In my first few minutes of use, I had a couple of connection issues, as well as my aforementioned pairing quirk. With no menus and only one button, tech of this kind requires more patience and trial and error to smooth things over. Generally, connecting the Nomad to an iPhone is straightforward, and Play Sound works on request. However, there were a couple of occasions during my use when the Play Sound feature didn’t fire, but this is more a drawback of the tech in general rather than a weakness with Nomad’s product.  

Nomad Tracking Card: Competition

The best AirTag alternatives on the market include some great tracking cards. We’ve tried and loved the Chipolo CARD Spot, and there’s also the Tile Slim in this bracket. All of these can be found at broadly the same price, and do roughly the same thing. The Tile Slim requires a $3 monthly subscription to get the most out of it though, so the Nomad stands out here. As mentioned, Nomad also makes a $20 card for AirTag, if you want to combine Apple's trackers with an adapter that's a bit thicker. 

Nomad Tracking Card: Should you buy it?

Nomad Tracking Card: Verdict

Ultimately, the Nomad Tracking Card is a solid tracker I’ll gladly be adding to my passport wallet in short order. It might not have the Precision Finding of the AirTag or the cheap price, but it’s more discreet and suits the one purpose it serves incredibly well. 

If you’ve followed my reviews on iMore over the past couple of things, you’ll have likely spotted a trend in my tastes — I’m not really into in-your-face designs. I like my tech to have sleek lines and serious industrial designs, the sort that slip into the background and don’t bring attention to themselves. It’s why I love the diminutive-but-powerful Mac Mini so much.

The Acemagic M2A Starship mini gaming PC is the exact antithesis of that aesthetic. As its name suggests, it’s designed to look like something from another world, replete with spaceship-like towering wings, a futuristic front-facing display, and flashy rainbow-scrolling RGB lighting strips. 

And yet, I can’t help but love this mad little machine. Quiet in operation, relatively compact in size, and with enough power under the hood to race through loads of top-tier games at high settings and with great framerates, it’s a fun, console-like addition to a living room or gamer’s bedroom. It deserves to be considered alongside the best Mac mini rivals, especially if gaming is your core pursuit.

Price and availability

The Acemagic M2A Starship gaming PC is available now. Prices start at $1399 for the Nvidia RTX 3060 version, rising to $1499 for the RTX 3070 model and topping out at $1599 for the RTX 3080 version (which is what we’re reviewing here). All models come with a 12-gen Intel Core i9 12900H, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, a 1TB SSD, and Windows 11 Home as standard.

That’s not cheap for a PC running the mobile version of Nvidia’s last-gen graphics card, but what you’re really paying for here is the unusual and compact form factor. And while the Alder Lake generation CPU is a little older too, the CPU and GPU combined deliver performance just about worthy of the price tag.

Design

As the name suggests, the Acemagic M2A Starship takes its inspiration from the stars when it comes to design. It’s almost insectile, with the core of the computer elevated off the ground, suspended between two angular wings, each topped off with customizable RGB lighting strips. I’m not sure what spaceship it really looks like — maybe Palpatine’s Imperial Shuttle from Star Wars? — but regardless, there’s not much else out there in the world of Windows gaming PCs that looks like this.

It’s full of little quirky flourishes, from its triangle, forward-facing power button, to its front-mounted display, shielded behind a curved clear perspex cover, which displays customizable information including system temperatures, fan speeds, and GPU wattages. There’s even a little tiny Acemagic logo projected from the bottom of the computer onto the surface below. It’s barmy then, but not without utility — those wings are full of ventilation space, and though the fans can whirr up and whine under an intense load, most of the time spent with the Starship saw it emit little more than a gentle hum.

The Acemagic M2A Starship has great IO options, too. Though it’s annoying that they’re all served up around the back, you have access to 1x USB-C (Type 4), 6x full-size USB-A ports (3x at 3.2 Gen 1, and another 3x at 3.2 gen 2), 2x 2.5GB Ethernet ports, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.0, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. I’d have liked to have seen a couple more USB-C ports, and HDMI pushed to 2.1 for access to higher framerates when attached to a compatible TV. But when it comes to ports, it’s no slouch.

In terms of size, it’d be on the bigger side of what we’d categorize as a mini PC, measuring around 13-inches x 7.3-inches x 7.8-inches — with lots of negative space thanks to the span of the wings. The Acemagic M2A Starship weighs 2.15kg, with a giant power supply that itself weighs more than a kilo. It’s not exactly discreet then, which for many is the appeal of ‘mini’ PCs, and though it’s possible to get inside the case, upgrading RAM or SSD will be a challenge for all but the most patient.

Performance

Though packing slightly older components, the Acemagic M2A Starship still offers more than respectable performance, given its quirky size. AAA games at a 1920 x 1080p resolution won’t trouble it at all, and you can achieve great framerates at 1440p and even at 4K depending on the title and if making some concessions to graphical fidelity.

For our test machine, we’re looking at the variant with Nvidia’s RTX 3080 mobile GPU (16GB VRAM) onboard, paired with the Alder Lake 12-gen Intel Core i9 12900H CPU, all backed up by 32GB of DDR5 RAM. Though you can get newer generations of each component, it's rare to see innards this powerful on a mini PC. Just note you might get more bang for your buck with a less unusual form factor. Connectivity is solid — Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 handle wireless duties.

Kicking off with the always-demanding Cyberpunk 2077 benchmark, at 1080p resolution the Acemagic M2A Starship managed framerates of 141fps at the ‘Low’ preset, 115fps at the ‘High’ preset, and a still-respectable 37fps on the super demanding ‘Overdrive’ Ray Tracing-packed preset. Pushing up to 1440p saw framerates of 124fps, 81fps, and 31fps for those respective tests. A great time can be had with CD Projekt Red’s sci-fi title then — for the sake of pushing things to their limits, the Overdrive setting at a 4K resolution managed to scrape an average of 19fps, which isn’t too bad, all things considered.

Hitman 3’s Dartmoor benchmark offered up similarly impressive results. At 1080p, with all options set to ‘Low’, it returned average frame rates of 131fps. ‘High’ managed 130fps, and the ‘Ultra’ options, with all Ray Tracing features set to on, managed a very playable 41fps. Moving up to 1440p, the same tests hit framerates of 118fps, 104fps, and 26fps respectively, while running the top-tier test at 4K resolution to really stretch the machine managed a 13fps slideshow.

So long as you’re not a stickler for Ray Tracing options and 4K visuals then, the Acemagic M2A Starship will stick the landing for even demanding 3D titles — and those performance intensive 3D titles can be surprisingly smooth here thanks to the magic of DLSS upscaling. There’s lots of fun to be had, though you’ll likely get better performance from a custom build or more generic form factor. It goes without saying then that it’s a more-than-capable productivity machine too, and would make a great talking point in a college student’s dorm room.

Competition

Though they’re totally different in both form and function, I’d be remiss not to mention our top-pick mini-computer, the Mac Mini with M2 chipset. Small, affordable, and discreet in its super-slick design, it’s my recommendation for anyone looking for a gateway into the Mac ecosystem, especially if they’ve already got a good monitor to pair it with. Prices start at $599.

For something more directly comparable to the Acemagic M2A Starship, consider the AyaNeo Retro Mini PC AM01. It has a similarly playful design in the way it apes the Mac design of old, and is aimed at gamers — though its AMD Ryzen 7 5700U chipset is no match for the performance of the i9 / 3080 combo found in the Starship. Still, the AyaNeo option’s price tag reflects that — prices start at just $319.

Should you buy it?

Buy the Acemagic M2A Starship if...

• You want a gaming PC that sticks out from the crowd
• You find the idea of an onboard screen useful
• You haven’t got room for a full-sized tower PC

Don't buy the Acemagic M2A Starship if...

• You find RGB and wacky cases distasteful
• You want the most bang-for-buck, performance-wise
• You’ve got room for a PC with full-sized, current-gen components

Verdict

I’ve never seen a mini PC quite like the Acemagic M2A Starship before. Its wacky case is in-your-face loud, with its wings and RGB lighting, but it’s not solely for the sake of futuristic aesthetics, making plenty of room for IO, a useful display, and plenty of ventilation. It’s not quite the fastest GPU in existence, but paired with its speedy CPU, the mobile Nvidia 3080 variant in use here still delivers great gaming performance, especially at 1440p resolutions. Sure, you can get more power at a cheaper price point… but with this compact and wild form factor? Unlikely. It’s a fun alternative to the staid mini PCs currently on the market, and a delightful partner to a Mac mini in a space-constrained desk setup.

Accessory maker Anker, best known for its line of mobile power banks and chargers, has recently released its newest power bank on a budget.

The Nano Power Bank is small in size but comes packed with many useful features. Released back in May, it’s part of a refresh by Anker to improve upon its power banks in regards to its environmentally-friendly design, as well as implementing the faster Qi2 charging standard.

With this Power Bank, you can shout “It’s over 9000mAh!” just like Vegeta from the Dragon Ball anime. As well as being at a great price point, the Nano Power Bank is a great fit for any backpack if you need to charge your iPhone quickly. With this in mind, I put it through its paces over the past couple of weeks to see how it held up when charging my iPhone 15 Pro Max when required.

Anker Nano Power Bank: Price and availability

Anker’s Nano Power Bank costs $39.99 / £39.99, which is great value for the amount of charge it offers. For example, if you have an iPhone 15, you can charge the phone up to 1.8 times.

You can buy the Nano Power Bank directly from Anker right now, but you can also buy it from Amazon and Walmart for the same price.

Anker Nano Power Bank: What I like

Anker’s Nano Power Bank is a great example of how big things can come in a small package. Featuring 10,000mAh of power, it can charge an iPhone 15 almost twice. With the power bank’s 30W Bi-Directional Charging, built-in USB-C cable, and additional USB-A and USB-C ports at the front, you can recharge the power bank to 50% in just 45 minutes or charge an iPhone 14 to 50% within 30 minutes. The PowerBank can also charge three devices at once, but be careful — 10,000mAh only charges your devices so much in this situation!

Using the Nano Power Bank over several weeks, I’ve found it to be very useful because of these features. I’ve been taking it out of my bag to quickly charge my iPhone 15 Pro Max while I’ve been out, as well as plugging it into my MacBook Pro to give it a small power boost.

I’m also a big fan of the Nano Power Bank’s design — it’s a curved rectangle weighing a light 7.58 oz. There’s a small screen to let you know how much charge there is left too, so you know exactly how much you have before you leave for a work commute. Its external case is also made from 80% recycled plastic, showcasing Anker’s effort to make sure the Nano Power Bank is environmentally friendly. Overall, the Power Bank feels well-made every time I hold it. It’s perfectly designed for portability, so if you’re looking for something small yet mighty, Anker’s Nano Power Bank is it.

Anker Nano Power Bank: What I don't like

There’s not a lot to dislike about the Nano PowerBank. It does exactly as promised, although there’s only one improvement I’d like to see in a future revision.

The lack of MagSafe, Apple’s method of magnetically attaching its products to accessories, feels like an obvious miss here. This addition would have allowed four devices to be charged at once — meaning an AirPods Pro case could attach through MagSafe. The size of the Power Bank allows for MagSafe, but it seems like this is something Anker purposely left out — perhaps due to pricing reasons.

Anker Nano Power Bank: Competition

There are countless power banks that you can buy right now — some are cheaper and some have a larger capacity You only need to look at our best portable battery bank guide to see the huge amount of varied products available in the category.

For example, take the UGreen 145W, 25,000mAh power bank. As this one is slightly longer than Anker’s Nano Power Bank in design, it means that there’s 15,000mAh more here to charge your devices with. It’s important to mention, however, that the price of UGreen’s power bank is $90 / £84, making it significantly more expensive compared to Anker’s power bank at $39.99 / £39.99.

For something that fits well in a bag, with a great design and enough ports to charge your iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch all at once, we strongly recommend Anker’s Nano PowerBank if you’re looking for something easy to use to keep your devices charged.

Should you buy it?

You should buy this if…

• You crave a power bank with portability
• You need to charge more than two USB-C devices
• You’re on a budget

You shouldn't buy this if…

• You want a power bank with MagSafe
• You need a power bank that can charge your MacBook repeatedly in one charge

Verdict

The Nano PowerBank is a fantastic accessory. Despite its small design it offers a lot of useful features to keep your nearby devices charged when needed. At $39.99 / £39.99, it’s at a great price point for those who want a backup to keep in their back for those just-in-case scenarios. Granted, there’s no MagSafe, but it’s a small price to pay for what this power bank offers.

I’ve spent the last few weeks getting to grips with Mokibo’s Fusion Keyboard 2.0, an innovative iPad case that features a folio keyboard design. What’s innovative about another iPad keyboard? Well, the Fusion Keyboard 2.0 features a built-in touchpad integrated into keys. This means that, in theory, you can get all of the benefits of a Magic Keyboard for iPad without compromising on size and space. 

This all-in-one solution sounds good on paper, but does it actually work?

Mokibo Fusion Keyboard 2.0: Price and availability

Currently, the Fusion Keyboard 2.0 exists as a Kickstarter project, however it has absolutely smashed its funding goal. As such, I’d expect it to be made available on both Amazon and Mokibo’s own website in the near future, just like the first iteration is now. The reward price set for the Fusion Keyboard 2.0 starts at $89, with larger models for the iPad Pro 11-inch (pictured here) and the 12.9-inch iPad Pro also available for slightly more. We don’t have official pricing yet but the current model is around $120 on Amazon. 

Mokibo Fusion Keyboard 2.0: What I Like

There’s a lot to like, initially, about the Fusion Keyboard 2.0. The outer shell casing feels premium and sturdy, for one. The material is smooth and rubbery and there’s no sense that it's fragile in any way. Despite only being held in place by magnets, my iPad Pro rests snugly in place and doesn’t shift around at all. When closed, it forms a neat, reassuringly weighty package that I’d happily throw in a rucksack or bag for commuting. 

Likewise, the method to deploy the keyboard into its upright configuration is very smooth. You simply open up the case and rest your iPad in the slot along the top of the keyboard. There are no gaps or play in the mechanism, and your iPad sits at the perfect angle for viewing and typing. 

Beyond the pleasantly robust design, the Fusion Keyboard 2.0 has a couple of really nifty features. For starters, it works with almost any operating system. There’s iPadOS, of course, but it also works with macOS, Windows, Android, Linux, your Steam Deck, and even some smart TVs. You can connect it to up to three devices, switching between them using a shortcut on the function key. This is perfect if you’re working across multiple devices at once, but only want to use one keyboard. For instance, if you’re typing away at a document on your iPad and receive a message on your iPhone, you can simply switch inputs and keep typing on your iPhone. The same applies to Mac, and so on. 

The Fusion Keyboard 2.0 also boasts a battery life of 60 hours of continuous use. That’s enough for a week's worth of productivity in most spheres. But how good is it to type on?

It’s a thin, low-profile keyboard for an iPad Pro 11-inch. As such, there are some inevitable drawbacks, the keys are very close together, and there’s not much travel/satisfaction in the key presses. However, for a small on-the-go keyboard it's pretty good, especially after a little bit of adjustment time. Everything’s just about where you’d expect it to be, save the space bar, which is two separate keys set on either side of a click button for the trackpad, which confusingly also works as a space bar.

Mokibo Fusion Keyboard 2.0: What I don’t like

The Fusion Keyboard 2.0’s party piece is that baked-in trackpad, and sadly, what should be its greatest strength is in fact its downfall. While the idea of using the whole keyboard as a trackpad sounds fun, in practice it's messy, irritating, and a drawback on what could have otherwise been a solid iPad accessory.

The trackpad comes with OS settings for various different use cases including Mac and iPad. I used it predominantly on iPad, and once I’d set to my chosen input mode to suit my tablet, I set about trying to use the trackpad just as I would a normal Magic Keyboard for iPad. 

Unfortunately, the overall experience is too inconsistent and erratic for this feature to be considered anything other than a gimmick at this stage, and actually detracts from the overall experience. Single-finger tracking for moving around the iPadOS mouse cursor is fine, natural almost, but it’s imperfect, and landing the cursor exactly where you want to each time can get very frustrating. When it comes to scrolling, vertical movement with two fingers works broadly as expected (it goes up and down when you move your fingers up and down), but it’s quite jumpy, and very imprecise, even when you turn down the scrolling speed in the iPadOS settings. 

While the vertical work is clumsy, horizontal movements are generally unusable. Most notably, the two-finger gesture you might use to navigate between different pages on your iPadOS Home Screen is incredibly frustrating and lacks consistency. The same goes for the three-finger swipe gesture that should let you swipe between apps, up to the App Switcher, or down to the Home Screen. 

I really tried with the Fusion Keyboard 2.0, but after a ton of time trying to get to grips with its trackpad, it's impossible to recommend in its current state. My worry is that these are limitations of the hardware overall rather than its specific implementation here, as such I don’t think a trackpad experience built into the keys is ever going to triumph over a dedicated trackpad. 

There are times when the trackpad has pleasantly surprised me, or even been helpful, but those instances have been precious few and far between. More often, trying to use it has been infuriating and disruptive to my workflow, to the point that I’d rather it wasn’t included at all. Given this is a Kickstarter project, there’s still time for Mokibo to get this right, and I really hope it does, but right now I have more questions than answers. 

A final cautionary word on what I don’t like about the Fusion 2.0. The key placement is noticeably uneven and looks ever-so-slightly slapdash. It’s not obvious, but once you spot it you can’t unsee it. Where multiple keys meet at one point, such as where the B, N, and spacebar keys converge, the discrepancy in the manufacturing is obvious. Again, this is something that could get ironed out in the production phase once the Kickstarter is over, but as it currently stands the keyboard doesn’t scream premium.

Mokibo Fusion Keyboard 2.0: Competition

The Mokibo Fusion Keyboard 2.0 is a unique proposition. It’s the only keyboard on the market I know of that offers a trackpad baked into the keys of the keyboard itself, so in that sense, you won’t find any competition. 

The best conventional trackpad experience for iPad is Apple’s own Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, but it’s a lot more expensive. There’s also the Logitech Combo Touch Keyboard case and the ESR Ascend, all of which feature in our best iPad case picks right now. Given the drawbacks of the trackpad in its current form, I’d recommend a dedicated keyboard/trackpad offering over the Fusion.

Mokibo Fusion Keyboard 2.0: Verdict

The Mokibo Fusion Keyboard 2.0 is very innovative and ambitious in its design, but there are serious drawbacks to using the trackpad in its current form. If Mokibo can improve that then it might be onto a winner, but right now the Fusion Keyboard 2.0 is really just a keyboard case with a dud party trick, and there are better options on the market in that field. 

Ugreen already makes what we consider to be the best portable battery pack for iPhone in 2024, the Ugreen 145W power bank, so when we heard the news about its brand new MagSafe battery packs for iPhone, we were all ears. Ugreen now offers its Magnetic Power Bank in two different capacities, providing on-the-go emergency power and MagSafe compatibility for your iPhone. But are either worth your hard-earned cash? Let’s find out.  

Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank: Price and availability

Ugreen offers its Magnetic Power bank in two sizes, 5,000mAh and 10,000mAh. That figure simply refers to the amount of charge the battery can hold, the performance of which we’ll get to later. As you might expect, the heftier version costs more, but neither is truly expensive. The former is $29.99 from Ugreen or Amazon, while the latter is $49.99, also available at Ugreen and Amazon. They come in two colors a stealthy black, and white, pictured here. 

Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank: Specs and features

Both of Ugreen’s Magnetic Power Banks are incredibly self-explanatory in terms of their specs and features, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t impressive. Each one features a two-way USB-C port that can be used to charge up the device from any wall socket. Once loaded with charge, you can use them to power up any of Apple’s best iPhones. That can be done magnetically using the power of MagSafe and wireless charging or via a cable and the aforementioned USB-C port. The 5000mAh offers 15W of wired charging or 7.5W via magnetic, wireless charging, while the 10000mAh option offers 20W of wired charging and up to 15W of wireless charging.

In my testing, the 5000mAh version was able to charge up my iPhone 15 Pro Max from zero to 34% in just one hour, using up about 75% of its available charge. Using a fairly regular wall charger, you can probably charge up the 5000mAh version in less than 90 minutes. The charge level is indicated by a series of four LED dots next to the charging port, which shows whether you’re at 0-25%, 25-50%, 50-75%, or 75-100%. There’s a fifth blue light that indicates whether magnetic charging is being used. Otherwise, the Magnetic Power Bank has one button, which you can use to turn the pack on and off or to toggle the low current/trickle charging mode. This nifty feature lets you charge smaller devices such as headphones without overdoing the power delivery. 

The 10000mAh version improves on all of those figures but is much larger as a result. You’ll get even faster wireless charging (15W not 7.5W), double the capacity, and greater power delivery over cable too (20W instead of 15W). All in all, both the 5000 and 10000mAh versions of the Magnetic Power Bank are incredibly simple and useful, and very effective when it comes to charging up your iPhone. 

Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank: Build and looks

The white modeled here is more of an off-white and I have to say I love the shade. I also love the overall texture of the Magnetic Power Bank, the matte plastic is smooth, but also very grippy so you can keep using your iPhone with one attached, no issue. Likewise, the “rear” of the pack (the bit that faces your iPhone) is a very stylish rubber that shows no sign of wear and tear in my few weeks of use. 

I do, however, have two gripes with the design of the Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank. Firstly, each one is adorned with a plethora of technical information about the battery including its voltages, ingredients, and more. I imagine these are a legal requirement in terms of battery packs, especially when it comes to air travel — even Apple’s old MagSafe Battery Pack featured them — however, where Apple’s were hidden on the inside of the pack, Ugreen’s are plastered over the outer shell, making the design a tad unsightly. 

More apparent, however, the Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank is too big to use with a 6.1-inch iPhone. Both are perfectly sized for the iPhone 15 Pro Max or iPhone 15 Plus. However, when aligned with the magnets, both packs stick out over the edge of the regular-sized iPhone 15. It’s not enough of an incursion so as to make it unusable, but it’s very noticeable and might put off some users, especially those with smaller phones. Of course, you can always charge your iPhone using a cable instead, but for a pack that is advertised primarily as a magnetic charger, I’d have expected it to fit all sizes of Apple’s current iPhone lineup. 

I’ll end on a positive, both banks come with incredibly strong magnets. Sometimes MagSafe accessories don’t inspire much confidence when it comes to stability, but Ugreen says its magnets could hold the weight of five iPhones, let alone one, and honestly, I believe them. There’s no play or wiggle in the magnets at all, and I’ve no doubt they’ll never let you down when it comes to staying attached to your iPhone. 

Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank: Competition

With Apple’s MagSafe Battery pack no longer sold by Apple, and existing stock elsewhere still sporting the aged Lightning connector, it’s no wonder there are so many chargers on the market. There are plenty of alternatives to Ugreen’s Magnetic Power Bank. We’ve already mentioned its own Ugreen 145W power bank, which isn’t magnetic but does deliver a mammoth amount of charge thanks to its capacity. Other options include our recently acclaimed Native Union (Re)Classic Power Bank and the TORRAS MagSafe Power Bank. If you don’t mind (or perhaps prefer) Apple’s Lightning connector, you can still pick up Apple’s MagSafe Battery pack beyond Apple’s walls, but it’ll cost a lot more than the equivalent $29 option reviewed here. 

Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank: Should you buy it?

You should buy this if ...

• You want a practical and useful magnetic power bank
• You have a MagSafe iPhone
• You want a secure magnetic charger that won’t fall off your iPhone

You shouldn't buy this if ...

• You have a smaller iPhone and can’t live with the design flaw
• You don’t have a MagSafe iPhone

Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank: Verdict

So there you have it, despite the overlapping design flaw caused by the Ugreen Magnetic Power Bank’s size, I’m thoroughly impressed by its excellent stats, power delivery, and incredible utility. It’s not the most refined option on the market, but it’s definitely one of the most solid. 

I’m a sucker for the old days. I do my best to keep my rose-tinted glasses off as much as possible, but give me a vinyl deck over an MP3 any day, a GameBoy cartridge over a digital download every time. As a result, the 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard is pressing all the right buttons for me.

Not only is it a very good mechanical keyboard in its own right, with many of the modern conveniences you’d expect of a keyboard in 2024, but it aesthetically harks back to some classic gaming systems that will appeal to many people of a certain vintage. If you’re a gamer who turns their nose up at the modern obsession with RGB-everything  — or just on the market for a well-priced keyboard with a bit of personality, the 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard should be high on your list. It joins the ranks of our top picks among the best mechanical keyboards for Mac.

And of course, this entire review is written using the 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard.

Price and availability

The 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard is available now, and comes in four different styles — Fami, N, C64 and M. Fami is modelled after the Japanese 8-bit Famicom computers with beige shell and a selection of red buttons. It’s the one we’re testing out today, though they’re all functionally identical. N is modelled after the grey and red stylings of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) which dominated living rooms in the 80s. C64 looks very similar to the Commodore 64 computers, while the M takes its cues from Amiga systems.

They’re priced at $99.99 — though the company has regularly been knocking $10 bucks off that price with limited time sales. The exception is the C64 edition, which has a $109.99 price tag. And all include a separate set of oversized, programmable ‘Super Buttons’ in the box too — a fun and quirky extra.

Whichever model you go for, that’s a great price for a really solid mechanical keyboard, even before you throw in those additional macro buttons. You can easily pay double that price to get a mechanical keyboard with this feature set, so it’s a great value offering from 8BitDo here.

What I love

Just look at this thing! Though I grew up with the NES styled 8-bit Nintendo system rather than the Japanese Famicom that this particular version is aesthetically aping, you can’t help but overload whatever gland is responsible for retro nostalgia whenever you look at the 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard. It’s just a gorgeous item, with its mixture of red and cream colorings, golden details and kanji characters alongside the Roman alphabet on the keys. 

There are a ton of cool details here, from the NES-like arrow keys to the customizable B and A buttons that sit beneath the right Shift button, to the old-school bulb-like power indicator to the top right. I like the little nods to analog physicality here too — there’s a dial for jumping between Bluetooth LE, 2.4GHz wireless (over a Mario-block style dongle USB-A dongle that neatly stores away into a recess), and OFF / wired modes, and another dial for cranking up your system’s volume. Next to these is a trio of round buttons for connecting to devices wirelessly, setting up macros, and switching between custom key profiles. USB charging is on the rear edge, as well as four expansion ports for add-on accessories 8BitDo sells — as well as the included Super Buttons, you can get individual giant buttons, an arcade-style joystick, and a four-key SNES-style key add-on, each sold separately.

Those Super Buttons are dumb fun too. You can program them to do any function of your choosing. Are they that useful? Probably… not? But there’s something fun about switching between apps, for instance, with a push of a big mushy controller button. It’s fun, and hasn’t seemed to have added a giant extra expense to the overall cost, so I’m here for them.

It’s overall a good typing experience too  — a bit noisier and clicky than I’d like, but it’s a good feel. There’s 3.6mm travel to the keys, with a hot-swappable circuit board and N-Key rollover support (letting you press however many buttons as you like simultaneously without the keyboard freaking out and misinterpreting your inputs). 8BitDo kits the keyboard out with Kalih Box White Switches (V2), and the keycaps are dye-sub PBT, which should protect the icons from wearing off over time.

Though tenkeyless, it’s a chunky keyboard for the format (87 keys total), in part thanks to its full-size function row keys and separated sets for the likes of Print screen, Insert, Delete, PGUP, PGDN, and so on. It measures 377 x 170 x 47mm, and weighs in at 1050g. The weight works in its favor — this guy won’t slide around when you’re furiously typing away.

Though I’ve not had the time to test the 200 hour usage claim yet, that seems in-line with what I’d expect from the internal 2,000mAh rechargeable battery onboard here. 4 hours of charging time over the included USB-C cable will bring the battery to 100%, and the keyboard can still be used with zero power with that cable plugged into your computer and the connectivity dial switched to ‘OFF’.

What I don’t love

The first thing here will be obvious to anyone looking at those photos above closely — this is not a Mac-layout keyboard, and 8BitDo does not offer the option. By default you’re stuck with Windows and ALT keys rather than Option and CMD, and while they all map intuitively, you might be a stickler for a keyboard that matches your primary platform. Seeing as the keys are swappable, it’d be great if 8BitDo could offer a sold-separately Mac-pack in the future, but this looks unlikely. I don’t think I’d want to ruin the aesthetic with non-matching third-party Mac keycaps either.

Perhaps more frustrating is the accompanying keyboard software. On Windows, it’s actually great — you’re able to remap keys to any function you desire, program those big Super Buttons to macros, and scroll through different profile configurations. It’s great for building out custom shortcuts, or game-specific key mappings. It’s a shame then that there’s no Mac support for the software — and potentially troubling for the long-term health of the keyboard when paired exclusively with a Mac, as the software suite is the only current way to update the keyboard’s firmware.

Competition

There are so many different mechanical keyboards with different features to fit your needs. And with endless customization, there’s not necessarily a one-size-fits-all when determining the best.

The NuPhy Halo 75 is slightly more expensive than the 8BitDo coming in at $130 but it offers a fantastic typing experience with every connection option you could hope for. With lots of switches to choose from, the Halo 75 is the best mechanical keyboard under $150.

If you’re looking for something more custom and want to get your hands dirty with a DIY project, look no further than the Meletriz Zoom75. This gorgeous keyboard has exceptional build quality and is ideal for anyone who wants to make mechanical keyboards their hobby.

For something a little more low profile we suggest the Lofree Flow 100 which gives you a great sounding keyboard and build quality that feels like Apple could’ve made it.

Should You Buy It?

Buy the 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard if…

• You love the retro aesthetic
• You enjoy the feel of a good mechanical keyboard
• You want a keyboard with a bit of heft to it

Don't buy the 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard if…

• You want a more sedate-looking keyboard
• You prefer low-profile or chiclet keyboards
• Desk space is at a premium

Verdict

I’m smitten with the 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard. It’s so good looking with such fun little features that it’s easy to fall in love with — and that’s despite its lack of real Mac support, and me being a Mac user primarily, and my usual preference for low-profile keyboards. Sometimes though, you just want to look down at something you spend so much time of your day in front of, and have it raise a smile. The 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard does that,  and at a great price too. If 8BitDo ever gets its software over to the Mac, this would get top ‘excellent’ top marks. For now it’ll have to make do with ‘very, very good’ instead.

I have a confession to make, reader. Despite my enduring tenure as the News Editor of an Apple website, I use Windows. Not exclusively — I’ve had a Mac of some description for nearly a decade — but I’d say the split of my Windows vs. Mac usage is about 90:10. I’ll happily use macOS to do one thing in full screen (although my colleagues tell me that using full screen on macOS is questionable behavior) — but I simply refuse to rely on macOS to do anything that requires multiple windows, tabs, moving files, and any level of precision or speed. 

Naturally, then, I am the perfect candidate for a hands-on first impressions write-up of the new macOS Sequoia update, the beta of which is now available to download. As with our iOS 18 hands-on, and our iPadOS 18 first impressions, macOS Sequoia suffers from the same glaring absence of Apple Intelligence, which isn’t coming out until the fall in beta form. My task is made easier (and more difficult) further still by the lack of two other standout macOS Sequoia features, iPhone Mirroring, and Safari Highlights. But what about the new features that actually are available? Nose held, I’ve taken a deep dive into the very first iteration of macOS Sequoia to give you my honest thoughts on all the new features this year. 

Wallpapers

Not a new feature per se, but worth noting nonetheless, Apple continues to dominate the computing wallpaper scenes. Sequoia arrives replete with not one but two smashing wallpaper options, including a stunning retro collection that can be tailored to several colors. Likewise, the Sequoia piece for 2024 and beyond is a real head-turner. 

Notes

My first stop on my tour of macOS was the new Notes app. Fresh to Mac is a new audio transcription feature that lets you record audio sessions and type notes as you go. The target market here is clearly the student, with the new interface for recording a handy sidebar that lets you track your recording as you go, so you know it hasn’t stopped accidentally. By recording and typing notes at the same time, you’ll always have a recorded record of college lectures or classroom lessons, replete with the notes you typed alongside. The feature also includes live audio transcription, but you’ll need Apple Intelligence for that. 

I love the formatting boost that lets you include collapsible sections within notes, and you can now highlight notes to make them stand out. The biggest notes upgrade, however, is Math Notes. A headline of the iPadOS 18 launch, Math Notes lets users generate sums, equations, and more, solving them as they go. In Notes on macOS, you can now use the feature to great effect. You can simply type sums into Notes and macOS will generate the correct answer in real time. While the feature can be used for expressions and equations, it’s most useful in Notes on Mac for things like budgeting, expenses, and planning. For instance, if you were to tally up the cost of moving house in a quick note, you can use Math Notes to add up all the various expenses, rather than switching to your calculator app. All of these features make Notes much more useful and versatile, and at their heart ensure that users who rely on Notes for anything at all don’t have to dip in and out of the app if they want to start a recording, divvy up a restaurant bill, or anything else.  

Video conferencing

Whether you love to show off in Zoom calls with fancy backgrounds, make your colleagues giggle with a funky-looking spaceship, or want to hide a messy backdrop with blur or some nice mountains, video conferencing backgrounds are a staple of the remote worker and the office-goer alike. To that end, macOS Sequoia includes some snazzy new system-level backgrounds that you can apply to your video when on calls. As noted, these are system-level, so you set them by clicking on the green video icon in the menu bar. Once applied, they show up in whichever video feed you’re using, be it Zoom, Google Meet, or of course FaceTime. Right now there’s a limited selection of colors and the macOS High Sierra mountains. You can also add any background of your own choosing, so really the possibilities are endless. The video processing on these backgrounds is noticeably better than software clients like Google or Zoom, with edges of the subject much more crisp and the overall animation much smoother. If you use video backgrounds in calls, you’re going to love Sequoia. The new presenter preview mode also gives you a quick look at your presentation view before you share it with the group, so you can make sure you’ve only given access to the right presentation tab and not your embarrassing side chat with a colleague or the background movies you pretend not to watch. 

Passwords app

The Passwords app is one of the few truly new things in macOS, and it definitely shines on the computing platform. While the Passwords app is available on iPhone, iPad, Vision Pro, and even my beloved Windows, using it on macOS for any kind of password admin seems to make the most sense. Here the expansive interface makes all of the information readily digestible, and I personally consider changing passwords (and booking flights) to be a laptop job. The app is quite rudimentary — it only has three main fields and six categories — but simplicity is what’s needed here and the Passwords app has that in spades. Whether or not this means I’m now going to attend to my several hundred security recommendations remains to be seen. 

Messages

Messages on macOS Sequoia come with all the new flavors and spices of iOS 18. That means you can send messages with flair such as bold text, italics, and more. These can all be accessed with a right-click on the highlighted text you want to jazz up, but accessing the menu is definitely not as intuitive as using shortcuts. The usual array of CMD + B, I, etc, will generate bold, italic, and other effects as you’d expect. Right-click on Mac also gives access to the new emoji tapbacks. What’s more, all of these effects also display on macOS just fine, letting you get in on all the mobile fun of messaging. Scheduling messages is also just a click away and very easy to use. 

Maps

Keen hikers will be pleased to know that macOS Sequoia now comes with Apple’s fancy topographical maps, which give vital data about elevation and incline on prospective hikes. Only available in the U.S. and Japan right now, the new maps include trails from all 63 U.S. national parks. Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be a filter or way to search routes that have topographical support, so finding them is basically the luck of the draw. Naturally, the Sherman Tree Trailhead demoed by Apple works and looks wonderful, with a route and elevation readily available to be added to your library or navigated too. Apple awarded AllTrails its prestigious iPhone App of the Year award in 2023, but now planning a hike can be done without any third-party help whatsoever. 

Photos

The Photos app got one of the biggest overhauls of any app at WWDC 2024. Many of the iPhone-centric upgrades, like the Carousel, are notably absent, but the new Photos app on Mac does at least automatically organize your library into topics like Trips, and People & Pets. The Memories and Days collections are also nice, and all the changes stack up to make browsing your photos much better, especially at a glance. 

Calculator

I rarely reach for the calculator on my Mac, preferring the tactile feel of the iPhone version. However, both now come with an epic conversions feature with options for weight, measurements, and even currency powered by Yahoo Finance. On Mac, clicking Math Notes simply opens your Notes app.

Calendar and Reminders

As promised, you can now generate reminders directly from within the macOS calendar app in macOS Sequoia. The ‘+’ icon that once only created events now includes a clear option for setting a Reminder, selecting this opens up all the options you’d expect in this field, with spaces for notes, as well as settings for alerts and timing. 

Windows tiling and Stage Manager

Stage Manager on macOS Sequoia has not changed since its advent in macOS Ventura two years ago. It’s a divisive feature, but one that some find useful. As such, if you like Stage Manager and want to keep using it, you’re going to be pleased with Sequoia. If you still don’t like Stage Manager, you can still turn it off. However, the most noteworthy multitasking shift in macOS Sequoia is the brand-new easy window tiling, which you can use with or without Stage Manager. That’s right, macOS Sequoia stole Windows’ best feature, killing off notable third-party apps like Rectangle in the process. As a Windows user who thrives on the Redmond outfit’s immense multitasking capabilities, I was overjoyed to see this feature unveiled in macOS. It’s one of the biggest obstacles keeping me from macOS adoption, and I was really excited to try it. The news is, I’m afraid, mixed. The new tiling in macOS improves macOS window management by orders of magnitude. However, in other ways, it is a pale imitation of the Windows feature that keeps me from macOS. To start with the good, you can now grab a macOS window and snap it to either side of your main display. Using the mouse in this way, there are only two options, left and right. You can arrange two windows in a side-by-side configuration, resizing them to taste if you don’t want a 50:50 split. Perhaps more enticingly, hovering your mouse over the green full-screen button in the corner will bring up a list of various window configurations. That includes a vertical side-by-side, but also a horizontal, landscape 50:50 split. You can also pick from various combos that arrange four apps, one in each corner, and holding down the Alt key shows more options. 

As noted, however, the feature is not perfect. Firstly, macOS puts a gap around your windows so they don’t touch the dock, menu bar, or the far edge of your screen. That’s a design choice I would broadly file as “psychopathic” and one that needs to be rectified immediately. Secondly, while you can grab any window by its title bar and move it around, you cannot grab the tab from an internet browser and snap it the way you can on Windows. As someone who uses browser tabs more than anything else in the pursuit of multitasking, this is another criminal oversight. Less egregious, but still leaving room for improvement, there’s no “auto-suggest” option like that of Windows. If you have two apps floating on your Home Screen, and you choose to snap one to the left side, you’d have expected Mac to automatically offer to snap your second window to the right side, and vice versa. Instead the remaining window just kind of floats wherever it's left, and you have to do it manually. 

I don’t want to overstate the weaknesses of tiling in Sequoia, because it truly is a massive improvement on every iteration of macOS that has gone before. With a bit of tweaking, it could be a game changer, but it’s not enough to tempt me away from Windows just yet. With the feature still in beta, I’m hopeful for some improvements before the fall public release. 

In conclusion

By all accounts, there’s not a lot going on in the new macOS beta. Without Apple Intelligence, and without the impressive new iPhone Mirroring Continuity upgrade, the two headline features are still missing. macOS 15 Sequoia shows great promise, but in its current form, it’s more of a refinement than an upgrade.

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iPadOS 18 was announced earlier this week at WWDC 2024, and it comes at a very interesting time for the iPad. Just last month, Apple unveiled the M4 iPad Pro and the M2 iPad Air both with incredible hardware that is far too powerful for the streamlined tablet operating system it currently runs on.

The latest attempt to harness the hardware of the best iPads, iPadOS 18, is set to release later this fall. I’ve been using the early Devolper beta version of the new update for the last few days on my M2 iPad Pro to see if it finally unlocks the full potential of everyone’s favorite tablet.

There’s a lot to talk about, from the arrival of the Calculator app (and that mad Math Notes addition — more on that later) after over a decade since the iPad’s launch to the new customization features on the Home Screen. 

However, the biggest addition of them all isn’t present in the first developer beta, so we’ll need to wait until later in the year to truly understand what the iPad is capable of when Apple Intelligence arrives. With that in mind, here are my initial thoughts on iPadOS 18 after a few days of use.

iPadOS 18 first thoughts

Apple has made it very easy to download the iPadOS 18 beta, so I installed the new operating system on my iPad mere minutes after the end of the WWDC keynote on Tuesday. Since then I’ve been putting the software through its paces to see just what the update is all about. 

It’s worth noting that developer betas will impact performance and stability, and if you want to make sure that your iPad is free of problems, you might want to wait until full release. Having said that, my experience with the beta has been smooth and trouble-free — although, time will tell. Again, wait until full release in September just to be on the safe side.

I’ve wanted to be able to customize my iPad Home Screen for years and now I can finally take control over the position of apps. You can now move your icons and place them essentially anywhere on the screen which feels far more of a big deal on an iPad than the same feature on a smaller screen like the iPhone. I found that I could use screen real estate much better than before and it gives more control over your widget placement. There are also color themes for app icons for the first time ever allowing you to choose different tints — although I will say in its current form it can get pretty ugly as it pastes a blanket filter over everything, including the Photos widget giving your photos an ugly colored hue. More appealing is the ability to use Dark Mode for app icons, and it looks like Apple has made some lovely design choices here that pop off the screen. Additionally, you can choose between small or large icons with the latter removing any app names and it feels right at home on the larger tablet display — props for this one, Apple, but please let us add more apps to our grids, it’s 2024!

You can also adjust widgets by dragging the corner like you would a window on a Mac making widget management and placement far more intuitive than before. Elsewhere, Control Center has received a full redesign allowing you to swipe between different pages of widgets like Home controls and Apple Music. It’s nice to get more flexibility with the options in Control Center but this redesign isn’t as groundbreaking as I hoped it would be when I heard the rumors. Instead, it’s just a new coat of paint with a little more flexibility.

• iOS 18 compatibility: Will my iPhone work with Apple's latest software?

Calculator, finally

In the beta’s current state with the lack of Apple Intelligence features, iPadOS 18’s most impressive new feature is unironically the new Calculator app. Yes, it initially looks like a blown-up version of the Calculator app on iOS 18, perfect for doing some quick math. But it has an incredible new tool Apple is calling ‘Math Notes’ that makes the wait for a dedicated app on iPad totally worth it. 

Nestled at the bottom of the regular calculator, Math Notes takes math to a whole new level, something I wish existed when I was in high school. You can simply write an equation or a math problem and Math Notes will give you the answer, even going so far as to mimic your handwriting. You can even turn an equation into a graph and then make live adjustments that reflect in said graph, it’s seriously impressive. Best of all Math Notes works in the Notes app too which feels right at home on the iPad, meaning you can use your Apple Pencil to do math problems without ever opening the Calculator app. 

Coming later this year, handwriting on iPad will also improve thanks to Smart Script which uses AI to make your handwriting look more appealing and fluid. I’m excited to try this out as I find that my handwriting using the Apple Pencil is never quite right, so if it makes my scrawling appear more natural then it could be one of the biggest additions to the iPad in years.

The Tab Bar, Photos, and…

iPadOS 18 introduces a new redesigned tab bar for app design language and while I haven’t seen it often it looks good in the apps that do use it already. The new Tab Bar in Apple News floats at the top of the screen and is able to morph into the sidebar whenever you want it to with the tap of an icon. It’s a welcome design change for the iPad as it makes better use of the display, but like many of these new additions in iPadOS 18, it makes me wonder why Apple didn’t invest more time into transforming the capabilities of the tablet rather than a nice coat of paint and everything else from iOS 18.

Just like iOS 18, there’s a new Photos app that looks gorgeous on my 11-inch iPad Pro.  Having said that, I never had any issues with the old Photos app so it almost feels like Apple’s software design teams have done work for the sake of working. Yes, libraries are more organized, but I suspect that any iPad owner would’ve rather had these efforts put into, say, multitasking, rather than fixing an app that didn’t really need fixing.

Speaking of multitasking, you’re probably wondering what improvements Apple has made to make Stage Manager feel more fluid and powerful, in line with all the cool new accessories like the Magic Keyboard released alongside the M4 iPad Pro. Well, there aren’t any. Stage Manager remains unchanged from iPadOS 17, that’s to say far too barebones for a tablet that can cost upwards of $2,000.

The similarities with iOS 18 continue with improvements to Messages, like the added functionality of scheduling an iMessage and formatting with bold, underline, or italics. It's a much-needed addition but it’s hardly anything that’s going to get the heart racing. Tapbacks have also been redesigned, and you can now react with any emoji which is a nice change from the limited selection in the previous software.

Finally, Safari now has a better Reader experience that lets you consume content on the internet without the distractions of ads, pop-ups, and anything else that might get in your way. Reader looks great, but the real improvements in Safari won’t arrive until the introduction of Apple Intelligence later this year when summaries and Highlights, which surfaces key information like locations, become available.

No Apple Intelligence, no party

Using iPadOS 18 in its very infant form has been eye-opening, to say the least. It has given me a feel for how the operating system will run for any iPad that doesn’t have an M-series chip, which highlights just how minimal an upgrade this year’s software really is for most people. 

There are definite improvements peppered across the OS and Math Notes is seriously impressive, but I can’t help but feel like the iPad is yet again a forgotten sibling. Yes, the powerful M-series iPads will get access to Apple Intelligence and all that it has to offer later this year but even with AI improvements the iPad still feels like it has so much untapped potential. 

Adding the brand new M4 chip to the iPad Pro in early May was a sign of intent from Apple but after testing iPadOS 18 for a few days I still feel like that intent isn’t matched. For many, if iPadOS 18 had been a newly designed Files app and a better way to multitask that allows you to do actual work on the tablet then it would’ve been enough — instead, we get quality of life improvements from the smaller sibling’s OS and the promise of AI at some point in the future.

All the latest on the newly announced iOS 18, iPadOS 18, macOS 15, watchOS 11, visionOS 2, and Apple Intelligence.

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Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ll have seen that Apple unveiled iOS 18 yesterday. The latest software update for the best iPhones brings some of the biggest changes to Apple’s smartphone. There are a bunch of new customization options, designs, apps, and interactions. Not to mention all the Apple Intelligence AI features.

There’s a lot to digest with iOS 18, and we’re going to be talking here about what’s currently on the first iOS 18 beta, which I’ve downloaded to try out. This hands-on will break down which features are live so far, and how stable the beta is, too. I’ll also be pulling out some of the smaller changes that Apple didn’t highlight during the keynote reveal. After that, we’re going to break down everything that you should expect from the update when the final version launches.

So, here’s my hands-on with iOS 18 so far. Unfortunately, the developer beta rules dictate that I'm not allowed to share my own screenshots with you. So you'll have to get over not seeing my new personalised home screen. But I can reassure you that everything looks identical to what Apple showed off in the WWDC 2024 keynote, and the press images used here are representative of what you can actually try today.

Warning: Please don’t download the Apple developer betas unless you are a developer, or are fully aware of the consequences the process can have.  Early beta software can be extremely unstable and full of bugs, which could wreck your device. They definitely should not be installed on your main device.

My hands-on with iOS 18 Beta 1 so far

iOS 18 is shaping up to be one of the biggest updates to iOS ever, mainly thanks to the shiny new Apple Intelligence features on the horizon. Watching the keynote where Apple unveiled everything, I was super excited, rushed to download the first developer beta as quickly as I could. But I’ve got to be honest, the current beta is a bit of a letdown compared to the iOS 18 shown on stage. It’s completely lacking in the AI department – arriving sans the exciting updates to Siri, notifications, or the Mail app just yet. Instead, it feels more like a customisation playground than a groundbreaking overhaul, much like what we saw with iOS 16 and 17.

• iOS 18 compatibility: Will my iPhone work with Apple's latest software?

From the get-go, iOS 18 shows off a slew of new features right on your home screen. You can now shuffle your home screen icons around almost anywhere on the grid, and even change the app icon colours. By tapping and holding an empty area, you enter a new edit mode where you can pick between dark, light, or tinted themes. You can also tweak the app icon sizes and use a Color Picker for custom colours, giving you more freedom to personalise your home screen. Personally, I like being able to opt for bigger icons, but I’m not so sure on the color personalization. The dark mode icons look good, but when you go for the tinting, things start to look messy.

Plus, you can now lock individual apps behind Face ID, ramping up your security game. Just press and hold an app icon, and you can access an option to require Face ID to open certain apps. It’s not a feature that I’ll be using, but is one that users have wanted for years. 

Another major revamp in iOS 18 is the Control Center makeover. It now has rounded icons and a bunch of new customisation options, letting you add and resize controls right in the Control Center. The new design reminds me of visionOS, which I like. But it disappoints me that this design style isn’t implemented further throughout iOS 18. You can pop in a power-off button and even swipe through multiple pages of controls for added flexibility. The redesign gives it a 2015 jailbreak vibe, which I found both surprising and rather delightful.

The new Dynamic Island animations, especially for the flashlight, are a treat. They add a more immersive and visually appealing layer of interactivity. One of the more subtle, yet delightful tweaks in iOS 18 is the addition of minor animations for actions like taking screenshots or adjusting the volume. You’ll notice the bezel bulge out slightly, which is just delightful. These little touches showcase Apple's attention to detail and contribute to a smoother user experience.

The Messages app has been spruced up with several new features, including the ability to use any emoji as a Tapback reaction. As someone that uses Tapbacks a lot, I’m thrilled about this. You can also apply effects to specific words or characters within a message and schedule messages to be sent later. This scheduling feature is a real game-changer, adding a whole new level of convenience for setting reminders for important messages. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to schedule a message! Genmojis and all the AI image creation stuff is missing here (which I'll detail way down below).

The Calculator app has gotten a significant upgrade, carried over from the iPadOS 18 app launch (finally). It now offers scientific functions, Math Notes, and conversion capabilities. The Math Notes function lets you handwrite equations, which are automatically calculated and displayed – perfect for students and professionals alike. All I can say is that I wish I had this back when I was in school! It can sometimes take a hot second to work things out, but I expect this to get faster with time. Math Notes is definitely designed for a bigger screen, and the Apple Pencil will make writing easier on an iPad. But it’s still handy on iPhone.

Another standout feature is live audio transcription in the Notes app. This handy addition transcribes spoken words in real-time, making it a breeze to jot down ideas on the fly. No more relying on third-party apps, this feature makes note-taking more efficient. When I used the Google Pixel 8 Pro, I loved this feature; so I’m happy to see it come to iPhone.

Widgets are now more versatile, allowing you to resize them on the fly without the need to delete and re-add them. You can also transform widgets into app icons directly from the home screen, giving you more control over their placement and appearance. And for the first time, iOS 18 lets you customise lock screen shortcuts. You can swap out the default camera and flashlight shortcuts for other options, including launching specific apps. Although I found that I actually wanted to keep both of those!

Eye tracking, a highly anticipated feature, is now available under Accessibility settings. This lets you control your iPhone with eye movements. Although it's still a bit buggy, it's a promising addition to the accessibility toolkit.

The Settings app has been reorganised for better usability, with a dedicated section for apps making navigation more straightforward. Each settings pane now includes a brief description, improving clarity. The iCloud settings have also been given a modern, organised look.

T9 dialing in the Phone app is another practical addition, allowing you to quickly find contacts by typing their name or number. Plus, iOS 18 introduces call recording and transcription, with notifications to both parties, adding a useful tool for managing phone calls.

For AirPods users, new hands-free interactions are now available. You can nod or shake your head to answer or decline calls, and voice isolation ensures clearer phone calls by minimising background noise. The new animations for selecting audio modes in the Control Centre are a nice touch. Apple Music has received updates to its queue management interface, making it easier to shuffle, repeat, and clear your listening history. These improvements make managing your music library more intuitive and user-friendly.

The Photos app has been completely redesigned, featuring new sorting and filtering options, recent days, and automatic trip albums. These enhancements make organising and accessing your photos much more intuitive. To be honest, I don’t think this was entirely necessary. Or at least the redesign. The new Collections features are neat, as I like to browse through these. But getting into your library is a bit confusing at first. It did take me about 5 minutes to work out how to select images now, I’m ashamed to admit.

One of my favourite additions is the standalone Passwords app. This app consolidates all password management features into a single, user-friendly application. It's incredibly organised and includes essential tools for managing passwords and passkeys, particularly useful for two-factor authentication. As someone that lives by iCloud Keychain, this is amazing. It beats having to head into the Settings app every time I need to copy a password when AutoFill is unavailable.

Using iOS 18 overall has been pretty stable over the past 24 hours. Things have been a bit slow, especially certain features like Math Notes. But on the whole, I’ve had no major app or system crashes. It’s a bit early for me to comment on battery life, but the device managed to go the night losing only around 15-20% battery. It’s running on an iPhone 14 for context. 

But as I said, in the first developer beta, iOS 18 feels half-baked. And that’s because it is, what with the Apple Intelligence features currently missing. It appears like they’ll be coming with the public betas in July, or even later in the summer. That’s not the end of the world for an enthusiast like me, but could be problematic for developers. Since, you know, they can’t test out the biggest new features.

But alas, it looks like we’ll have to wait a little longer for Apple Intelligence. So, what else should you expect that’s missing? I won’t rehash all the features already in beta 1, but will outline everything else that’s coming up.

What else should you expect from iOS 18?

Before we delve into the AI stuff, first up is the redesigned Mail app, which is set to introduce On-Device Categorization. This clever bit of tech will sort your emails into Primary, Transactions, Updates, and Promotions, all powered by on-device intelligence. This should make managing your inbox a breeze, highlighting the most crucial emails first. There’s also Digest View, which groups relevant business emails together, so you can scan the important stuff without wading through a sea of messages. As someone that used to use Apple’s Mail app before Superhuman came out, this update could tempt me back over.

But of course Apple Intelligence is the big dog here, and the moment you’ve been waiting for. Apple is stepping up its AI game in many ways, and one feature that got lots of screen time at WWDC were the new Writing Tools. These system-wide tools will help you rewrite, proofread, and summarise text across apps like Mail, Notes, Pages, and even third-party apps, all thanks to generative models. 

The AI-powered Image Playground feature sounds like a lot of fun too, letting you create playful images in Animation, Illustration, or Sketch styles right within apps like Messages, or as a standalone app. Another exciting addition is Memories in Photos, where you can craft customised memory movies by describing the story you want to tell, and the system picks the best photos and videos, even editing out distracting background objects.

Siri is also getting a major upgrade with Advanced Siri. It will be more natural and contextually aware, offering personalised assistance. You can type to Siri, switch between text and voice, and use it for more complex tasks thanks to its integration with ChatGPT, providing broader expertise and capabilities. Then there’s Private Cloud Compute, which ensures your data privacy by balancing on-device processing with server-based models on dedicated Apple silicon servers.

Over in Safari, there’s a nifty feature called Highlights on the way that automatically detects and brings attention to key information on webpages, like directions and quick links. This means you can get the gist of a page without slogging through all the text. It’s all powered by AI, but is separate to Apple Intelligence. The Reader mode has also been redesigned to include a summary and table of contents for longer articles, so you can get a quick overview before diving in. Again, AI is here, but this makes Reader into a feature I’d actually use.

Privacy gets a boost too, with Selective Contact Sharing, allowing you to share specific contacts with apps instead of your whole address book. Improved Bluetooth Privacy ensures that when you pair accessories, apps can’t see all the other devices on your network, keeping your personal info under wraps.

Maps is adding thousands of hiking trails across national parks in the United States, complete with offline access and custom route creation. You can save favourite hikes and routes in the new Places Library, adding personal notes to each spot. This could be a good alternative to AllTrails, but you’ll need to be in the US to use it. Although, I’d bet that it’ll expand to other regions soon, a la every other Maps feature.

Game Mode is set to enhance gaming experiences by minimising background activity, maintaining consistent frame rates, and making AirPods and game controllers more responsive. Personalized Spatial Audio will immerse you in your games, placing you right in the heart of the action. SharePlay with Apple Music is also about to get more interactive with Shared Control, letting multiple users share control of music playing from devices like HomePod, Apple TV, or any Bluetooth-enabled speaker.

Apple Pay is getting more flexible with Rewards and Installments, allowing you to redeem rewards and access installment plans from eligible cards. Tap to Cash simplifies paying your friend back, by letting you transfer Apple Cash by holding two iPhones together. Event Tickets in Apple Wallet will now include key event information like stadium details and recommended Apple Music playlists, enriching your event experience.

The Journal app is also seeing enhancements with an Insights View that tracks your journaling goals with writing streaks, entry stats, and a calendar view. You’ll be able to sort and search past entries more efficiently, and Home Screen or Lock Screen widgets will provide quick access to journaling prompts and streaks.

The Calendar app will now integrate Reminders directly, providing a seamless merge of events and tasks. A Redesigned Month View offers a comprehensive overview of your month, making planning easier.

Health is getting a redesigned Medical ID for quick access to essential health information in emergencies, and Pregnancy Tracking features to help you manage your health data during pregnancy. Emergency SOS is stepping up with Live Video, allowing you to share live or recorded media with emergency dispatchers, providing them with more context to respond effectively.

In the Home app, Guest Access lets you grant specific controls of smart home accessories to guests and set schedules for their access. Hands-Free Unlock uses Ultra Wideband technology to unlock doors as you approach, and an Energy Category will help you track and manage your home’s electricity usage.

Accessibility features are expanding with Music Haptics, which syncs your iPhone’s Taptic Engine with music, allowing deaf or hard-of-hearing users to experience the rhythm. Vocal Shortcuts will let users with severe atypical speech record custom sounds to trigger specific actions on the iPhone.

Other minor changes include enhancements to Freeform, with improved diagramming mode, scenes organization, grid snapping, and the ability to share a board copy via a link. SharePlay will get enhanced screen sharing capabilities, allowing you to draw on or control someone’s screen. Apple Fitness+ will offer a redesigned interface for personalized workout selections and improved search features, making your fitness journey even smoother.

Early verdict

As you can see then, there's still much more to talk about. iOS 18 has more potential than any iPhone software update to date — potential to fundamentally change how people interact with their phones, and their expectations around what a device can do with only minimal input from a user.

But in the immediate aftermath of the Apple Intelligence reveal? It's simply not ready yet. It's exciting, but still a few months or weeks away from leaving the oven in the state you can expect to find it in when iOS 18 eventually rolls out for everyone. It's an exciting time, and there's an excruciating wait ahead of us — but you can be sure that when those AI features roll out, we'll have a full rundown right here. Keep this page bookmarked, and check back soon for updated insights into all the cool new stuff headed to your iPhone.

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I love a good MagSafe power bank. Conveniently topping up your iPhone battery with a magnetic snap, the technology is one of my favorite features of the iPhone line in general. And though I’ve tested some of the best portable power banks on the market, they all tend to be temporary, utilitarian additions to my iPhone arsenal, even with MagSafe included. Either a bit ugly or a bit chunky, they’re only ever gainfully employed when my iPhone’s battery is about to breathe its last.

That’s not the case with the new Native Union (Re)Classic Power Bank though. It’s so slim and chic, I’m thinking about leaving it attached to my iPhone 15 Pro permanently.

Available now and costing $69.99 / £59.99, the (Re)Classic Power Bank is about as good-looking as they come. 

Slim style

Despite being a mere 86mm thick and 123g in weight, it squeezes in a 5,000mAh capacity — that’s enough for a full charge of an iPhone 15 Pro, without the heft and weight that similar power banks add to your device. With a textured finish made of Yatay (a plant-based material that feels somewhere between leather and plastic), it adds little bulk to my iPhone, but does add some much-needed grip to proceedings.

Four LEDs indicate remaining power in the bank, with a 15cm USB-C to USB-C braided cable included in the box. With passthrough charging available through the bank’s USB-C port, you can keep both phone and battery topped up with juice when plugged into a wall socket. In terms of charging speed, it’ll max out at 15W when wirelessly charging your handset, but jumps to 20W if you use a cable from the battery pack to your phone’s charging port.

I’ve been using the black version, but a ‘kraft’ (cheese) yellow, and slate green options are also available.

One thing worth noting is that this isn’t a Qi2 charger — it’s not taking advantage of the faster charging times that newer Qi standard offers. A Native Union representative explained that, when temperature management comes into play (particularly pertinent in a charger this slim) charging speed boosts end up in play only temporarily. So for the sake of a cheaper, slimmer charger that doesn’t lose out on too much charging speed, the trade-off of the older tech in this instance has been worth it.

And I wouldn’t argue with that — the design here allows me to comfortably leave the power bank on my phone at length and it never gets unduly hot. So with the (Re)Classic an almost permanent companion to my phone, I rarely see the difference.

I’ve gotten so used to it sitting on the back of my phone that I sometimes forget it’s even there now after a few weeks of use. And, seeing how many MagSafe power banks I’ve got stashed in drawers around the house, that’s about the highest praise I think I can give. Go grab one.

The Dockcase Studio Smart USB-C Hub is the apex predator of USB-C hubs. Smaller than a bar of soap but packing in a useful touchscreen and a wide array of ports, despite its utilitarian nature it’ll turn heads when people see its display fire up, plugged into your Mac, iPhone, or iPad.

However, it does also come with a big price tag to match its premium finish and features, and you may find yourself looking for similar functionality at a less expensive price point. But if you’re looking for the very best in portable connectivity, look no further.

Price and availability

The Dockcase Studio Smart USB-C hub is currently available via a Kickstarter campaign, with an RRP price of $199, and a ‘Super Early Bird’ price of $139 for the first 200 backers.

Even with the discount, that makes it far more expensive than our current top picks for the best USB-C hubs for MacBook Pro, and more expensive than the Dockcase Smart USB-C 10-in-1 hub that precedes it. You’re paying a premium here for the touchscreen, and a steep one at that.

What I Love

The Dockcase Studio Smart sets itself apart from other USB-C docks thanks to its 1.9-inch (diagonal) touchscreen. An LCD display behind tempered glass with a resolution of 320 x 170, it’s a surprisingly useful addition to a port expansion dock, letting you swipe and tap through the various devices attached, providing information on their respective specs. From transfer rates to temperatures, display refresh rates to power draws, and storage card health, there’s loads of valuable information, particularly for anyone looking to debug their devices or push for their optimum performance.

There are lots of ports to take advantage of here. As well as the host device USB-C connection, you’ve got a USB-C slot for up to 100W power delivery for charging up connected devices alongside another USB-C 3.2 gen 2 port (10Gbps), a full-size USB-A 3.2 gen 2 port (10Gbps), and an HDMI 2.1 port (up to 4K @120Hz or 8K @ 30Hz). But it’s the card readers that are pushing the boat out here, making this a particularly good dock for photographers and videographers. As well as full-size and microSD / TF cards (UHS-II for reading cards up to 2TB in capacity), you’ve also got card slots for CFExpress Type A (up to 800MB/s) and CFexpress Type B (up to 1,000MB/s). 

That complete selection should have most scenarios covered for content creators, and the advertised speeds were accurate in testing, too. The dock can get a little hot, but nothing eyebrow-raising, and the onboard display lets you monitor if things are going higher than you’re comfortable with.

It’s a good size too; shaped like a stack of credit cards, and weighing 118g, it measures roughly 98mm x 55mm x 18mm, letting it pop unassumingly in a bag. Matte black, a corrugated metal plate on the underside helps disperse heat. A short USB-C cable, capable of carrying the USB 3.2 gen 2 10Gbps high speeds is included in the box too.

What I Don’t Love

There’s no questioning the Dockcase Studio Smart USB-C Hub is a great device, but at $199 for a hub, you’re at the extreme end of what you’d ever want to pay for something like this. 

It has a good port array, and having the ability to see what each of your connected devices is doing is great. But you could argue that it is a tad over-engineered — it's a premium hub with a premium price tag, and you certainly get what you pay for. But think long and hard if you even need a touchscreen on your USB-C hub — the price tag here puts you into dozen-port desktop dock territory, and I’d be a little worried about casually tossing this into a rucksack in the same way I treat my other USB hubs, what with the glass touchscreen in play here.

I personally would have liked another USB-C input in addition to the host connection and PD 100W slot, too.

Competition

Though it doesn’t have a touchscreen, and is a bit larger with a candy bar shape, I still really like Dockcase’s earlier Smart USB-C Hub 10-in-1 Explorer Edition. It’s got more ports and a cool transparent design, and still provides some info on what’s plugged in. It’s cheaper at an RRP of $159.99 too — though, as stated above, some of the best USB-C hubs for Mac can be picked up much cheaper.

Should you buy the Dockcase Studio Smart USB-C 8-in-1 Hub?

Buy it if…

• You need detailed stats on the devices you use
• You want a wide selection of card readers
• You want to take full advantage of high-speed transfers via a hub

Don’t buy it if…

• You’re on a budget
• You don’t need intricate info on the devices you’re connecting
• You want to a hub you can carelessly throw in a bag

Verdict

It’s easy to love the Dockcase Studio Smart USB-C hub. It’s got a great port selection, is really portable, and offers genuinely insightful information on all manner of stats relating to your connected devices. But it doesn’t come cheaply, and that touchscreen makes it a little more delicate than less advanced hubs, meaning it's only really for the most demanding — and careful — of users.

Ah, the EarPods — they sounded rubbish, but there was something reassuring knowing that you’d get a pair of serviceable EarPods earphones with your iPhone or iPod purchases in days gone by. The death of the headphone jack in most mobile devices seemed to sign the death warrant for affordable, wired in-ear earphones, but the emergence of USB-C as a dominant, more-or-less device-agnostic connector has meant they’ve been able to make a niche comeback at the budget and high-end, high-res ends of the spectrum.

The SoundMagic E80D in-ear earphones are definitely priced at the budget end of the earphone spectrum, but have a pleasing sound and lightweight design that will make these a great backup pair — maybe even primary pair — or earphones for anyone tired of charging even the best AirPods out there.

Price and availability

Available now, the SoundMagic E80D are a steal at $45 / £40. You’d be hard-pressed to find a decent set of true wireless earbuds at that price, what with their added connectivity and battery costs. But all of the price here goes on comfort and sound quality, and as such, they represent great value.

What I Love

There are some obvious, simple things to love about going back to a pair of wired headphones. First, they obviously don’t need charging — plug-and-play simplicity is the order of the day here. They don’t need pairing either — provided your device has a USB-C port, you can be more or less certain it’ll be able to channel its audio through to the SoundMagic E80D earphones without faffing with settings menus. And with no batteries to house, they’re lightweight and comfortable to use over long periods of time, too — the SoundMagic E80D weighs just 16g, including its 1.2m cable.

SoundMagic made some smart design decisions with the E80D too. The cable and buds look very nice — there’s a transparent look to the cabling that lets you see the copper innards of the earphones, while the aluminum buds have a refined brushed-silver finish. The USB-C end is smartly stopped at a right angle too, making it a little less likely to catch or stick out of your pocket. A simple, slimline three-button remote (volume up, volume down, and a central play/pause button that can skip tracks with a double press), sits a few inches down the left bud’s cable.

You’ve got a selection of silicone ear tips to choose from across three sizes, and a single pair of double flanged tips too. The latter do a great job of passively blocking environmental noise (if not quite a match for active noise cancelation on, say, the AirPods Pro 2). A small, hard-shell carry case is provided too, good for stopping that cable tangling up in a rucksack.

Audio quality is of course the most important factor with any earphones though, and the E80D punch well above their weight in this respect. The E80D are making use of 10mm dynamic drivers, with a DAC cable of 24-bit/96Hz playback, good enough for hi-resolution tracks and better than you’re usually likely to get from Bluetooth buds in this price range. Bass has a presence, but these are relatively close to neutral in sound — there’s bottom-end when needed, but not such as to overwhelm the presentation. It’s a detailed and pleasant sound overall, well-balanced against any genre I threw at it. 

The distorted symphony of The Flaming Lips ‘Race for the Prize’, with its synth and harp layers doing battle against over-driven drums sounded sublime, picking out details and keeping a busy track’s instrumentation well separated.

But the low-end kick of Billie Eilish’s ‘bad guy’ landed with force, the walking bassline keeping its shape while Eilish’s whispered vocals sat comfortably and clearly at the fore.

For something a little more raucous, it’s over to Minneapolis’s The Replacements and ‘Favorite Thing’, charging through with trebly guitars and two-many-cigarettes vocals. There’s great presence to the drums, and the scattergun ending, with its blistering guitar runs, is given surprising room to breathe with the more-neutral tuning offered up by the E80D.

Rounding things off with Marika Hackman’s plaintive ‘Claude’s Girl’, the E80D keep vocals from becoming too sibilant, while displaying good dynamic clarity between quieter moments and those where harmonies fill the soundstage.  

What I Don’t Love

There are a few things I’d tweak, should the SoundMagic E80D ever get another revision.

There’s a fixed cable at play here — you can’t pop the buds off the end should you need to clean or replace them. It’s not a hugely common feature, but appreciated when present, if a little beyond the realm of budget earphones like these. More annoying is the placement of the remote — at just a few inches from the left bud they’re not placed in a natural spot for flicking through tracks or tweaking audio, causing you to raise your hand higher than you may be used to for remotes.

That remote itself is a bit fiddly. It’s very thin and small, and there isn’t a great deal of differentiation between its flush buttons, which can lead to unintended button presses.

You’ll only find one set of dual flange tips in the box too — the ones that offer the best passive noise cancelation. If they’re not a great size for your ears, you’re left with standard ear tips, which aren’t quite as good at blocking out external sound.

Finally, they’re a little quiet for my liking, no matter what device is driving them. That’s probably a good thing really in terms of hearing health. But sometimes you just want to crank up your angry playlist and rage at the world, right?

Should you buy the SoundMagic E80D?

Buy them if…

• You long for the simplicity of wired headphones
• You’re on a budget
• You have a USB-C compatible iPhone, iPad, Mac or games console

Don’t buy them if…

• Wires annoy you
• You’re on an older non-USB-C device
• You need active noise cancelling headphones for a noisy environment

Verdict

Even if you’ve got a pair of AirPods handy, the SoundMagic E80D should have a place in your rucksack. They sound great, despite not breaking the bank, and should be compatible with many generations of devices to come, such is the popularity of USB-C. I’ll be recommending them to any pals after an affordable pair of wired headphones, happily joining the ranks of the best wired earphones.

The Soundcore range really does have a speaker for everyone. From the Spatial Audio enabled Motion X600, which packs in excellent sound and gorgeous design, to this, the Boom 2 Plus which brings the noise and the light show for a proper party speaker.

It follows on from the very solid SoundCore Motion Boom Plus, another excellent speaker perfect for parties. I actually took a trip across the UK to a music festival with that same older model, pumping out nothing but the heaviest tunes for almost a week straight, and it put nary a foot wrong. Judging from the more rugged design and chunkier build of this new version, I can see the same from the Boom 2 Plus — my new go-to festival companion, it would appear.

Price

The Soundcore Boom 2 Plus costs more than the outgoing Motion Boom Plus by around $50/£30, with a full price tag of $249/£199. You can pick it up from either the SoundCore website or from Amazon, so it’s super easy to get hold of as well. That old speaker has a spot on our Best Bluetooth Speakers list, so you can guarantee that this one is well on its way over there.

That price does bring it out of the realm of the outright affordable, although compared to other similarly specced light-up party speakers it’s still very well placed price-wise.

Design and build

This is an attractive speaker, if you like brutalism and LED RGB flashing lights. It’s about as subtle as a brick to the face — the polar opposite of the X-series from Soundcore. It’s a center of attention speaker this one, and it oozes ‘I’m loud as hell, watch that volume dial’.

It also feels like it could survive a charge through a brick wall, while being used as a mallet. It’s a weighty thing, although not enough to make carting it around with the included shoulder strap for long periods of time uncomfortable. The plastic is chunky and solid feeling, and the whole thing gives you the confidence that it could make it through many a social gathering without any issues.

Features

Most of the speaker's features come through the continuously excellent SoundCore app. From here, you can control the colors and pattern of the lights, and the EQ, turn the speaker off, and you can even get a cool, spinning 3D model of the speaker. Pointless, for sure, but fun.

Those RGB lights on the side are both the most attention-grabbing part of the whole package and also the first thing I turn off. This isn’t something I can hold against the speaker personally, of course — for some, they are going to be the reason that they choose this speaker over something else. For me, they are too bright and distracting for use indoors, and for the times I use the speaker outside, not really all that visible. As RGB lights they are perfectly fine, with smooth transitions and solid beat-response to your ‘banging tunes’, but for me, they are a bit much.

There are loads of options, however, for those that do like the RGB lights. There are seven different lighting patterns, and you can change the lights’ brightness; and, of course, you can turn them off. 

The EQ changer in the app is solid too, and gives you some good preset options to choose from. You can also manipulate the sound through the frequency range, and dial in a sound that suits you pretty well. You can also boost the bass with what SoundCore calls ‘BassUp 2.0’, accessible through the app and a button on the speaker itself. That pumps out all of the bass for that quintessential party speaker ‘boom’.

Sound quality

The Boom 2 Plus sounds about as you would expect — it’s big, powerful, and forgoes many of the higher frequencies so that the lower ones can really shine. It’s loads of fun, although, for any normal listening periods, you’ll likely want to leave that BassUp 2.0 button turned off. Outside, or when you’re at a party though? Turn that baby on, whack the volume up, and you’ve got a mighty loud, and impressively clear music experience.

Crucially, the bass isn’t muddy, so it never completely destroys what you’re listening to. Pupil Slicer’s Momentary Actuality brings the heavy, and the bassy speaker pummels you around the side of the head with some properly weighty bass. Sub Focus’s Go Back is thick and pulsating, the bass swelling and booming like you’re sitting in front of a speaker at the Boiler Rooms. Is it delicate? Refined? No, but it doesn’t need or, crucially, want to be.

Here’s the thing — if you’re going for a speaker like this, then you’re not looking for audiophile-balanced sound signatures, you’re after big sound that can fill a campsite or a large room, like your college dorm. The Boom 2 Plus delivers exactly what you need, and stamps the envelope with confidence. 

Competition

At this price, there’s naught that is as loud, obnoxious, or fun. There’s the Motion X600 that’s perhaps more listenable on a daily basis, but that’s also nowhere near as loud or as bassy. There’s the Boom 2, the cheaper option, and that will be perfect if you don’t need the ear-shattering volume of the Plus.

Other light-up speakers are more expensive and less portable — if that’s what you’re after, then the Boom 2 Plus is about as good as they get.

Verdict

The Boom 2 Plus is many things. Big, slightly silly, chunky, and loads and loads of fun — but also a really good Bluetooth speaker that knows exactly what it's supposed to be. No one could ever hold its few shortcomings against it, given that they’re part and parcel of the job description of being a party speaker.

If you want something deafeningly loud and fun for this summer, then look no further than the Boom 2 Plus.

The gadget travel checklist seems to get bigger with every trip. Which cables should I bring? Which international adapters? Do I have space for a powerbank? It’s easy to turn up to a flight with the head-slapping realisation you’ve left an important piece of the charging puzzle in a drawer back home.

The Journey AXIE 3-in-1 charger is designed to take that stress away, acting as the only power-providing device you need to take away with you. Acting as a powerbank, wall charger and MagSafe charger all-in-one, it’s a great package that anyone looking to streamline their travel packing should consider.

Price and availability

The Journey AXIE 10,000mAh global charger and power bank is available now, priced at $139.99. That puts it towards the top end of what you could expect to pay for one of the best wireless chargers for multiple devices — but comes with the flexibility of doubling up as a very capable battery pack, too. Throw in the multiple global power adapters and a suitcase-friendly travel case, and it helps justify the price tag.

What I love

The smart 3-in-1 design is what makes the Journey AXIE so easy to recommend. Not only is it a travel-friendly wall charger package, complete with multiple global wall adapters, but the AXIE also features a MagSafe wireless charging element, and can be used on the go as a mobile battery pack. With a 10,000mAh capacity, that's a good size in terms of portable power too — good for about two charges of an iPhone 15 Pro.

Made of a white matte plastic, the Journey AXIE actually looks a lot like a standard wall charger for MacBook Pro in terms of its shape, and is a similar size at 91mm x 91mm x 35mm, with a 366g weight. It has a US-style two-pin power prong that can flip down in its default configuration, but in the box come slide-on adapters for the UK, EU and AU. 

These are all kept neatly in a grey faux-leather carry case, which also has room for the charger itself. The AXIE also comes with a short USB-C power cable of its own, with one end ending in a right-angle connector. A simple cable tie and catch for the other end of the cable lets it double up as a carry handle for the charger too — a neat touch.

You’ve two charging options with the Journey AXIE — directly from a wall, or via the 10,000mAh battery built in. Via the wall, you get access to two USB-C ports, sharing 35W. When in power bank mode you get access to the raised MagSafe-compatible wireless charging element on the left hand side of the charger — 10W goes to the wireless charging element, with 20W shared between the USB-C ports. If you’re just using the wireless charging spot alone, it’ll pump 15W to your device, enough to be considered a fast-charger with Apple’s iPhone. If you don’t have a MagSafe device, an adhesive magnetic ring is included in the box that can be stuck on the back of other handsets, to allow for non-slip wireless charging.

A five-point power indicator sits on the side where the USB-C ports live, next to a power button — you’ll have to switch the charger on before it’ll start to give its juice up in powerbank mode. You can also pass through charge a device while the powerbank refills its own reserves.

It’s a well-thought-out design across the board — portable, flexible and easy to use.

What I don’t love

There’s not much criticism to level at the Journey AXIE. It’s well thought out for the most part, and priced fairly for the design ingenuity on show.

My one criticism would be that, though it’s portable given its multiple use cases, it is quite big for a wall charger. I’d imagine that using its US two-pin default plug in particular (I’m based in the UK and use the three-pin outlet style) would see its weight and shape lean a little out of the wall. Perhaps an AXIE mini that reduced the internal battery capacity for a more pocketable and wall-friendly size will alleviate this sometime down the road, but even today it’s just a minor gripe with an otherwise rock-solid item.

Should You Buy It?

Buy it if...

• You’re a regular traveller with MagSafe devices
• You’re looking to charge multiple devices at once
• You want to save space on carrying both wall adapters and battery packs

Don't buy it if...

• You want a pocketable battery pack
• You have older devices that don’t use MagSafe
• You don’t travel with multiple gadgets

Verdict

There’s great attention to detail with the Journey AXIE. From the holding recess for the included cable to the magnetic cable tie that turns the lead into a carrying handle, you can see that a lot of thought has gone into elevating it above your usual travel gadget. It’s well-realized and well-executed, with the slight exception being its weighty nature when used in a wall socket. It’s otherwise great though, and I know which charger I’ll now be reaching for when I go on my own travels later this year.

We absolutely love Twelve South’s HoverBar Duo. It’s one of the best iPad stands on the market thanks to its excellent, flexible design, and its great build quality. Now, the HoverBar Duo is back in its second iteration. Sporting a new white color and a new QuickSwitch Tab, but can the second generation HoverBar Duo clean up five stars where the original only took four? Read on to find out. 

Twelve South HoverBar Duo (2nd-gen): Price and availability

The second-generation Twelve South HoverBar Duo is available directly from Twelve South for $79.99. The HoverBar Duo is also available for $79.95 directly from Apple.com, as well as most Apple stores (check your local for availability.) Finally, you can get the HoverBar Duo from Amazon. Given it's quite new, stock and pricing both remain pretty stable. 

Twelve South HoverBar Duo (2nd-gen): Ease of use

Out of the box, the HoverBar Duo is incredibly easy to use. You get the base stand, the arm, and the alternative clamp attachment. There are no screws or tools required, you simply attach the arm to either the clamp or the stand using the new QuickSwitch mount, and, voila! The only “assembly” required is the application of the clamp to your flat surface of choice. The design features a screw with a handle that can be used to grip tightly onto the surface of a desk or bookshelf. 

Applying the iPad to your stand is just as easy. The iPad grip features two symmetrical arms that can be extended to slot your iPad in, before magic (or some sort of mechanism) snaps them shut again, firmly holding your iPad in place. The HoverBar Duo supports all of Apple's best iPads, including all sizes of the iPad mini, iPad Air, and iPad Pro. As a bonus, it even works with all of Apple’s best iPhones including all of the iPhone 15 and 14 models, as well as some iPhone 13, 12, and SE configurations. 

Once assembled, the stand can be moved around pretty much any axis to perfectly position your iPad.

Twelve South HoverBar Duo (2nd-gen): Build

Like the previous model, the new HoverBar Duo boasts an impressive build. The base is a mixture of heavier metal and soft plastic, replete with a slot for your Apple Pencil. All of the hinges feel smooth yet sturdy, and the stand supports my 11-inch M2 iPad Pro with ease. Under adjustment, the base is just about heavy enough to compensate for input and stop the stand moving around, however, as with any stand of this nature, physics will take over after a certain point. Like many iPad stands and monitor arms, the HoverBar Duo ships with hex keys you can use to adjust the hinge’s resistance, making it easier or harder to move as you desire. We marked down the previous model for vibration under input. While the stand has some flex and wobble to it when you’re making inputs, it’s generally very sturdy and not at all unsteady. 

Twelve South HoverBar Duo (2nd-gen): Features

The HoverBar Duo doesn’t have any major features, as such, but its one defining feature is a brilliant one. As mentioned, you really are getting two stands for the price of one here. The base can be placed anywhere you like, while the clamp can be set up in an alternative location. The QuickSwitch tab lets you very quickly release the arm, swapping between the two at will. For instance, you could place the base stand on a desk or nightstand, really anywhere where space isn’t at a premium. The clamp could be set up in an alternative location, such as in your kitchen or on a coffee table, ready to receive your iPad at a moment’s notice. The clamp is particularly versatile because it means you can mount your iPad even where there’s no space for a conventional stand. It would be perfect on a kitchen shelf out of harm’s way from ingredients and food, or attached to a bed frame as a reading or viewing companion before you sleep. 

Twelve South HoverBar Duo (2nd-gen): Competition

There are a couple of rival stands you could consider as an alternative to the HoverBar Duo. Naturally, the old version, now cheaper, is a great option if you care less about the QuickSwitch tab. The MagFlött Pro is a sturdy option, but while it’s height adjustable, it doesn’t really hold a candle to the versatility or flexibility of the HoverBar Duo. 

Twelve South HoverBar Duo (2nd-gen): Should you buy it?

Twelve South HoverBar Duo (2nd-gen): Verdict

So there you have it, the TwelveSouth HoverBar Duo is a near-perfect iPad stand for anyone who wants flexibility, style, and functionality. The inclusion of not one but two bases, a clamp, and a stand, is a massive bonus that really delivers two stands for the price of one. It’s also incredibly simple and built to last. 

If you’re going to put a specific purpose directly in the name of your product, you better hope it’s better than everything else at that use case — particularly in a saturated market that sees new iPhone charging options crop up almost daily.

The Zens Office Charger Pro 3 wants to be THE wireless charging stand on your office desk. But does it do enough to take center stage in your office space?

Zens Office Charger Pro 3: Price and availability

The Zens Office Charger Pro 3 is available directly from the Zens website for $129.99 / £129.99 with free worldwide shipping. The charger is only available in black and is currently on backorder at a reduced price of $103.99 / £103.99. Zens also sells products on Amazon, but the Office Charger Pro 3 is currently unavailable on the world’s largest online retailer.

Purchasing the Office Charger Pro 3 directly from Zens gets you a 3-year warranty and is made from high-grade zinc alloy.

Zens Office Charger Pro 3: What’s good?

I’ve reviewed my fair share of wireless charging stands in the past, many of which are the best stands to charge both iPhone and Apple Watch. The Zens Office Charger Pro 3 has everything you’d want on paper, from a desk-centric charging stand including the ability to charge 3 devices wirelessly at once (iPhone, Apple Watch, AirPods), the brand new Qi2 wireless charging technology that can output 15W of power to the best iPhones, a 45W power adapter with multiple plugs for different regions, and premium materials that make the stand feel sturdy and nice to look at when working all day.

In reality, it matches all of those expectations, the “Dutch design” as Zens calls it, is attractive and the charging speeds are exactly what you’d expect for a $100+ iPhone charging accessory. I found that StandBy mode on iOS 17 worked a treat while sitting at my desk and all charging elements were easy to access at all times. Alongside the aforementioned 15W Qi2 charger that’s compatible with the iPhone 12 and newer, the Office Charger Pro 3 has a 5W Apple Watch charger and a wireless charging pad for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 3.

I really like the minimalist industrial design and the charger is sturdy enough with rubber pads on its base so that it doesn’t move around or wobble when you interact with your devices on it. It does exactly what you’d expect a product called the Office Charger Pro 3 to do: it charges your devices and looks good on your desk while doing it. But is that really enough?

Zens Office Charger Pro 3: What’s not so good?

Before I get into the features I feel the Zens Office Charger Pro 3 lacks, I want to reiterate that it’s a well-made charger that does everything you’d expect a 3-in-1 charger looking to rival the best MagSafe charging stands to do. That said, a product that wants to take that prime real estate on your desk needs specific things that I feel are missing from Zens’ solution.

Firstly, none of the charging elements are adjustable so the viewing angle always stays the same. At first, I didn’t think this would be too much of an issue as the angles on show are pretty reasonable for daily use, but as I used the charging stand more I couldn’t help but want more versatility. I found this a particular problem when using my standing desk as I’d have liked to tilt the Qi2 charger slightly to have a better viewing angle from above. I’m also not a big fan of the aesthetic when using an iPhone in StandBy mode as it covers the Apple Watch charging element making the Watch’s more streamlined clock view out of sight. 

Another big omission, and something that plays into the name of the product, is the lack of external ports like a USB-C or USB-A to charge extra devices. I don’t usually expect this from any iPhone charging stands I review, but if you’re going to target the name of your product at an office worker then extra ports would make sense. 

Finally, the lack of a USB-C port for powering the device is frustrating as anyone who works from home and at the office will need to lug around the power brick rather than use any USB-C charging brick they find lying around. This brings the lack of flexibility in the product into question as it definitely doesn’t fit into a bag easily with its awkward size and shape — a true office product in this day and age needs to be easy to transport around.

Zens Office Charger Pro 3: Competition

The Anker Cube is iMore’s best iPhone accessory 2023 with adjustable angles, an Apple Watch charger that’s retractable, and a beautifully compact design. It’s slightly more expensive than the Zens Office Charger Pro 3 coming in at $149,99/£139.99.

Belkin offers the BoostCharge Pro 3-in-1, one of the best iPhone and Apple Watch chargers. Although, it’s $150/£149.95 and doesn’t look quite as stylish, in my opinion.

And, of course, you could buy a MagSafe cable, an Apple Watch cable, and a wireless charger alongside a power brick, but that will set you back closer to the price tag of the Anker Cube than you realize, and it’ll look ugly doing so.

Zens Office Charger Pro 3: Should you buy it?

Buy the Zens Office Charger Pro 3 if…

• You want a sturdy 3-in-1 charger
• You want Qi2
• You want to charge an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and AirPods at your desk

Don't buy the Zens Office Charger Pro 3 if…

• You work from home and in an office
• You want different viewing angles
• You don’t own an Apple Watch

Zens Office Charger Pro 3: Verdict

The Zens Office Charger Pro 3 looks and feels premium. With an industrial design that stands out on any desk, it does everything you expect a 3-in-1 charger to do but ultimately it’s hindered by its name and lack of standout features.

Anyone who buys the Zens Office Charger Pro 3 won’t be disappointed, but the lack of adjustable viewing angles and no extra features for your desk make it a decent product in an ocean of competition. For this price, I can think of many other solutions that I’d rather have in my office and on my desk.