Table of contents for July 2021 in Stuff UK

Ball ball ball, footie footie footie, ball ball ball, football! Plus cricket, golf, cycling, tennis and, well, anything goes in the Olympics these days – although the IOC did refuse to acknowledge our art editor’s calls for PCR testing to be included in Tokyo, opting for skateboarding instead. Yes, if you hadn’t guessed it by the headline slapped across the front of this issue, we’ve gone sports-mad at Stuff HQ, with a summer packed full of major tournaments to keep you glued to the shiny new TV our cover story is going to convince you to buy. Fancy twatting some balls yourself? We’ve matched every event with a selection of top training equipment, and some sports sim games, to give you your own shot at glory – virtual or otherwise…

£719 / vive.com Could this beefed-up VR headset eliminate motion blur and tummy troubles? Maybe, provided you’ve got the PC to run it… • Real gone grid Performance gains are important all across the gadget-sphere, but with VR headsets you can really see them with your eyes… and sometimes feel them in your stomach. Luckily, HTC’s latest Vive headset claims to bring an improvement in every department. With a 5K screen and a dual-lens design that ups the field of view to 120°, the PC-powered Vive Pro 2 aims to all but eliminate the screen door effect (where you can see the gaps between pixels) and let you see more of your virtual world of choice up close. • Motional rescue The Vive Pro 2’s panel has a 120Hz refresh…

£poa / mansory.com THIS RIDE-ON LAWNMOWER MARKS THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE NIKE AIR JORDAN XI That’s an interesting go-kart… This, my friend, is no go-kart. It’s a Nike Air Jordan ride-on lawnmower, courtesy of an absurd collaboration with a very leftfield connection to the sport of basketball. But to hell with it – it looks absolutely mega and we’re wondering whether it can be used as a glorified mobility scooter for popping to the shops. You know, like in the Goldie Lookin’ Chain video for Guns Don’t Kill People, Rappers Do. Seriously, though – why? The designer of the Air Jordan XI, Tinker Hatfield, was inspired by a ride-on lawnmower. So German car-modding company Mansory has got together with sporting goods seller BSTN to celebrate the 25th anniversary of…

£tbc / mercedes-benz.co.uk Looks like a happy chappy. This smiley little fella is a result of designers at Mercedes-Benz getting a bit creative. Based on the existing V-Class van, the Concept EQT is a look at what an electrified small van from the German brand might look like in the not-so-distant future; but it’s actually more likely to form a design base for the upcoming petrol and diesel T-Class. Are those little stars all over the front grille? Yep, the grille itself is made up of 3D-effect back-illuminated stars, while the narrow LED headlights save that big grin from looking downright goofy by adding a bit of menace that leads into some neatly puffed-up wheel-arches. This is a concept – so, come on, where’s the wacky feature? In the boot!…

• Komoot Fed up with riding the same old streets? Komoot points you at new pedal-powered adventures by way of collections and routes, each of which outlines highlights you’ll see along the way and how knackered you’ll be when you’re done. Or you can define your own routes using waypoints, and beam when Komoot suggests an especially safe and pleasant shortcut. One region’s free; buy more with IAP. £free (IAP) / Android, iOS • Bikemap An alternative to Komoot, Bikemap is geared more towards barrelling about freely than discovering new routes. A bit like Waze for bikes, it’ll give you turn-by-turn directions and 3D maps, entertainingly peppering the latter with information important to cyclists (obstacles, bike-sharing locations, cycle shops, toilets). Pay up for offline routing that you can also optimise…

THE BASICS ■ Try or buy Do you want to own digital magazines or just rent access to their back catalogues? As with music and video, that decision will determine which services to use. You can always subscribe to one or two favourites then widen your available reading matter by way of an ‘unlimited’ service. ■ Take a tablet You can read digital mags on a phone, but doing so can be fiddly. They’ll work on a laptop, but landscape screens aren’t well suited to magazines… unless you have a huge display and can set up your digital mags to display as spreads. So if you have the means, use a tablet to read your mags – preferably one that’s at least iPad-sized. ■ Make mags visible If you’ve been…

Asus ZenFone 8 What’s the story? If you’re cursed with stumpy fingers, then modern smartphones probably plunge you into a bottomless pit of woe. Most blowers these days are super-sized monstrosities, so the rise of mini mobiles like the Google Pixel 5 and Apple iPhone 12 Mini is genuine cause for celebration. Asus has also noticed this trend and come to our rescue with the 5.9in ZenFone 8. This handset packs some seriously beefy specs, including a Snapdragon 888 chipset and 120Hz AMOLED screen, yet squashes it all down to a form that even wee Jimmy Krankie could comfortably wield. Is it any good? We love the ZenFone 8’s compact build, which makes one-handed use an absolute joy, though the bland back means it’s not exactly a visually thrilling phone.…

SPOTIFY Spotify Connect lets you cast the music service’s tunes directly to your Show. Have multiple Echos? Group them in the Alexa app for multiroom Spotify streaming. from £free AMAZON PHOTOS If you’re after an overqualified digital picture frame, the Echo Show could be the smartest option. But you’ll have to install Amazon’s Photos app first. £free SAINSBURY’S “Alexa, ask Sainsbury’s to add cake to my shopping list.” It’s possible: download the Sainsbury’s app, create an account and link it with the relevant skill through the Alexa app. £free…

Sony WH-1000XM4 £299 / stuff.tv/XM4 With their balance of wearability, active noise-cancelling prowess and audio performance, there hasn’t been a better package than the Sony XM3s… until now. The XM4s look and sound almost identical, but a range of new features – including Speak-to-Chat, which stops the music when you start talking – aims to lure you away from your current’phones. If those are the XM3s (still available at a super-low price, by the way), it’s tough to justify the upgrade; but who’s going to knock Sony off its perch now? Stuff says Not surprisingly given their heritage, these are the best all-round noise-cancelling headphones you can buy Bowers & Wilkins PX7 £279 / stuff.tv/PX7 B&W’s second ANC headphones place greater emphasis on comfort and are all the better for…

Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar £2199 / stuff.tv/AmbeoSoundbar Utterly convincing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D sound, ample power and lots of inputs mean no other soundbar currently available can perform feats with the solidity and confidence of this Sennheiser. The sheer room-filling scale of this device’s sound is remarkable, and it’s hard to think of any content that wouldn’t benefit from being Ambeo’d. That’s why, as well as being the biggest and the most expensive, it’s the best you can buy. Stuff says The Ambeo Soundbar is a big unit but the sound it makes is bigger still Sonos Arc £799 / stuff.tv/SonosArc Don’t expect this soundbar to do everything a multi-speaker Dolby Atmos setup can do, but its up-firing and side-firing drivers give a real sense of scale for an immersively…

Sony PlayStation 5 £450 / stuff.tv/PS5 The PS5 is not a modest upgrade. Its hulking design means it’ll make a bad first impression on some, but spend time playing it and it’ll soon win you over – and then some. This is essentially a high-spec gaming PC for the living room: stupendously powerful, with greatly reduced loading times compared to the PS4. Most last-gen titles will run fine, many with a boost, and the line-up of new games is strong; we just hope developers make use of that fascinating DualSense pad and its haptic feedback trickery. Stuff says Huge power, clever hardware and a guarantee of great games to come make the PS5 hard to resist Nintendo Switch £279 / stuff.tv/NintendoSwitch Now four years old, the Switch is the second-best-selling…

Half-Life: Alyx from £41 / Oculus, Vive, Valve Index Anouncing Alyx as not only a ‘midquel’ but a VR exclusive got some Half-Life diehards riled up… but in classic Valve fashion, the end result is utterly brilliant. Alyx succeeds because its universe just happens to be a perfect fit for the format. It’s also larger and much more robust than most VR games, at a meaty 12-15 hours. And though it unfolds at a different kind of cadence to past Half-Life games, it feels like a fully fledged solo campaign and a key part of the franchise narrative. Stuff says Valve’s beloved series returns… and offers one of the strongest arguments to date for VR gaming Beat Saber from £23 / Oculus, Vive, PSVR Gleefully swing your twin lightsabers to…

Having ‘former Apple designer’ on your CV isn’t a guarantee that you’ve got the magic touch, but it can be a pretty good sign. First there was Tony Fadell, who invented the iPod and then went on to create Nest, and now another Cupertino alumnus has decided to go it alone. The Syng Cell Alpha is a 360° spherical speaker from Christopher Stringer – one of the brains behind everything from the PowerBook to the HomePod. It’s billed as the world’s first ‘triphonic speaker’, with three mid-range drivers, two subwoofers and a trio of mics inside that combine to perform neat spatial audio tricks, including the ability to mimic a full 7.1 setup if you stick three of them together. You can hook it up to your TV (via the…

Vive Facial Tracker What’s the point of throwing a rock at someone in VR if you can’t wink at them afterwards? The new Facial Tracker captures face movements from all angles, from scowls to smiles. £129 / vive.com Vive Tracker 3.0 Vive likes to ensure movements are accurately replicated on screen so the virtual world feels real; this latest tracker is 15% lighter and 75% longer-lasting than its predecessor. £129 / vive.com Vive Wireless Adapter The Oculus Quest 2 has proved that wireless VR is the way forward… so this adapter untethers you from your PC while maintaining a low-latency VR experience. £359 / vive.com…

#1 ANDROID 12 REDESIGNED Google’s mobile OS has a new design language and philosophy called Material You. The idea is to give you more control over the look and feel of your apps and interfaces. #2 MORE PRIVACY Google is also bolstering Android’s security. A new Privacy Dashboard will offer an all-over look at your anti-snoop settings, while a small indicator will pop up any time an app is using your camera or microphone. #3 SHARE WEAR Google’s Wear OS has been merged with Samsung’s Tizen software. Now simply called Wear, the new platform should produce a larger selection of faster, more reliable apps for wearables, plus more watch faces and improved battery life. #4 MORE INCLUSIVE CAMERA TECH Google confirmed it’s building a phone camera that more accurately captures…

Well, this isn’t quite how I imagined the new Nintendo Switch looking… Nah, this is the Onexplayer: a portable games machine that marries AAA PC gaming with handheld convenience. While it’s impossible not to draw comparisons with the current Switch, the Onexplayer politely crushes it in the specs department. We’re talking up to an 11th-gen Core i7 with integrated Iris Xe graphics and a whopping 8.4in 2560x1600 IPS display. That’s more than four times as many pixels as the Switch’s 6.2in screen. Ooh, that won’t go down well in the Mushroom Kingdom… You get the full complement of controls, including analogue triggers around the back, plus dual vibration motors, stereo speakers, and dual cooling fans to ensure the console doesn’t burst into flames when you’re playing Doom Eternal. It weighs…

SUBSCRIBE TO STUFF AND RECEIVE YOUR FIRST 3 ISSUES FOR JUST £5! YOUR SUBSCRIPTION WILL THEN CONTINUE AT A RATE OF £19.99 EVERY 6 MONTHS, SAVING 38%*. SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION OFFER Receive your first 3 issues for £5 Continue to save 38%* off the cover price Have each issue delivered directly to your door Never miss an issue of the world’s greatest gadget mag SUBSCRIBE TODAY! ONLINE shop.kelsey.co.uk/STU721 CALL US 01959 543747 Please quote STU721 Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-6pm (calls charged at your standard network rate) Offer ends 31 July 2021 JUST WANT DIGITAL? Pay just £9.50 via continuous credit card – simply select the ‘digital only’ option at checkout. Terms and conditions: Offer available for UK Direct Debit customers only. You will pay £5 for your first 3 issues then continue…

BADBOY BUCKETS The surfy statement Stussy Stock Bucket Hat Much like the Stuff editorial team, Stussy might be heading into middle age these days, but the kings of Californian casual clothing remain cool as feck – and you’ll not find a more vintage surf vibe than this classic washed cotton bucket, complete with iconic embroidered logo. £54 / stussy.co.uk The technical topper Norse Projects Gore-Tex Bucket Hat This is clean, simple Scandi style with robust 50-denier polyester and a waterproof but breathable Gore-Tex membrane in the middle. An excellent practical choice… but please, no matter how bad the weather gets, do not be tempted to use the adjustable chin-strap. £80 / norseprojects.com The dashing deckhand Universal Works Waxed Bucket Hat A direct descendent of hardy 15th-century sailors who waxed sailcloths…

£6499 / stuff.tv/A1 ■ In the noughties a flagship DSLR would have been twice the size and weight of the A1… but stick a smallish lens on this mirrorless machine and it could almost be called discreet. That’s despite chunky dials, an OLED viewfinder, and a grip that feels super-secure with your right mitt around it. ■ This weather-sealed snapper is pitched at pros, and it feels solid enough for years of tough shoots… although the rear LCD – which only tilts about 90° upwards or 45° down – feels like a backward step compared to the full flippability seen on some recent models. ■ Considering the sheer amount of data the sensor produces, the A1 feels nimble and rarely sluggish. The setup allows for 8K video at up to…

NEWSPAPERS: READLY If you fancy a side of news galore with your magazines galore, Readly can cater for that too… well, as long as you don’t fancy the Times, FT or Telegraph. The Guardian and Independent are in there, along with most of the tabloids. £7.99/m / readly.com BOOKS: KINDLE UNLIMITED Amazon is unsurprisingly a good bet for digital books. You can of course grab a single title and squirt it to your Kindle, phone or tablet; but Kindle Unlimited gives you over a million books to read and thousands of audiobooks to listen to. £7.99/m / amazon.co.uk COMICS: MARVEL UNLIMITED Marvel gives you enough comics to choke Galactus for a smallish monthly fee. Prefer owning rather than renting? Beyond ComiXology, plenty of indies sell direct, and you can get…

£600 / stuff.tv/V15Absolute ■ You’ve surely got to be obsessed with cleaning to consider a vacuum costing four Henrys, but Dyson’s latest features a piezo sensor for measuring microscopic dust, a laser to illuminate dirt, and a clever conical head for picking up hair. Welcome to the Rolls-Royce of cordless handhelds. ■ Design-wise it’s definitely a Dyson. The filter, large bin and cyclone innards are all where you expect them. It comes with more attachments than ever, in more cardboard than ever, and compared to the V11 the sucking time and power have increased. ■ The piezo sensor detects the vibrations of dust hitting the cyclones 15,000 times per second and automatically adjusts suction power accordingly. It displays this info on a super-bright colour panel, along with remaining battery life…

£550 approx / stuff.tv/VisionS ■ The Vision S looks like every other 65in flatscreen TV. The bezels are slim, as are the metal feet – which are very far apart, so your surface will need to be wide as well. For £550 it’s very plastic, but well put together. ■ The key here is what’s missing: there are no tuners, so strictly speaking this isn’t a telly, it’s a gigantic monitor. Well, given how we consume content now, perhaps a smart streaming platform is the way to go? ■ This is an edge-lit 4K LED 120Hz screen, with support for HLG and HDR10 HDR, but no HDR10+ or Dolby Vision. A magnetic housing at the top houses a 13MP camera for MeeTime video calls to other Android devices, while four…

£900 / stuff.tv/Catalyst ■ Motorsport is expensive, but track days where you turn up in something mechanically sound for a few laps are increasingly affordable. So this is a circuit sat-nav that draws on Garmin’s sensor, accelerometer and camera tech to create a virtual racing coach. ■ The 6.95in touchscreen tablet mounts to your windscreen and all interaction is via the large, bright and easy-to-read display – which it needs to be for cursory glances at over 100mph. A separate camera captures 1080p video and offers overlays of performance data. ■ Garmin’s 10Hz Multi-GNSS positioning tech allows the Catalyst to build an incredibly accurate picture of your line around a circuit. This, coupled with racing-line info from circuits around the world, helps determine the most efficient (read fastest) way to…

Although it’s a larger game world, Village’s length matches previous instalments – so expect to wrap things up in about 10 hours. That includes exploring to find all the optional treasures and upgrades. But as with the recent series remakes, there are plenty of incentives to replay, where completing challenges nets you points to unlock new stuff like weapons, figures and loads of concept art. In one especially ludicrous touch, you can hunt animals and give their meat to the Duke to cook up meals that boost Ethan’s stats. The real highlight, however, is Mercenaries – first seen in RE4 – which is unlockable after beating the main game. This arcade-type mode takes you on a silly but entertaining shooting gallery across the game’s different locations under a time limit.…

Apple iPhone 12 from £799 / stuff.tv/iPhone12 The demise of Samsung’s glorious Galaxy S20 5G left a space on the Stuff smartphone throne (and its replacement didn’t even make the Top Ten)… but don’t go thinking the iPhone 12 is only our No1 phone by default. We loved the iPhone 11, and its successor carries a whole host of improvements. If you can live without the telephoto camera of the flagship 12 Pro (and most can), you should save yourself some cash and get the 12 instead. In many ways it’s the Stuff says A top display and all the power you’ll ever need in an iPhone ● NOW ADD THIS Sandisk iXpand Flash Drive Go Bump your iPhone’s storage capacity by 64, 128 or 256GB with this tiny Lightning…

Samsung Galaxy Watch3 from £349 / stuff.tv/GW3 Sneaking into the top berth courtesy of a slightly underwhelming Apple Watch update, Samsung’s gorgeous Watch3 is an easy wearable to love. It’s superbly made and very attractive, and the spinning bezel makes it a joy to use. Samsung’s Tizen OS is slick too, with lots of customisation and shortcut options to keep things feeling fresh – made all the better by a class-leading screen. It also has all the fitness skills you’re ever likely to need, with handy auto-tracking features. Stuff says A beautiful and powerful piece of kit that you’ll be proud to have on your wrist Garmin Fenix 6 £530 / stuff.tv/Fenix6 Anyone who’s truly into their fitness will appreciate the Fenix 6’s endless feature list. This is the finest…

Sonos Move £399 / stuff.tv/SonosMove The Sonos range of wireless speakers had been crying out for a battery-powered portable model for ages – and finally our favourite multiroom audio specialist caved in. Luckily, the Move was worth the wait. Its adaptability and sound quality mean it’s fine value for money, and a no-brainer for anyone who’s already a fan of the brand. This is the speaker Sonos should have launched years ago – and for even better portability, see the Roam model at No3 on this list. Stuff says Sonos finally gets up to speed with the portable speaker craze, and in style ● NOW ADD THIS Primephonic Bringing sexy Bach, this is streaming for classical music. Niche, yes, but its not-on-Spotify film and game scores offer a great way…

Sky TV from £27/month + setup / stuff.tv/SkyTV Already home to the biggest selection of 4K content, from blockbuster films and original dramas to top-flight sport, Sky has adopted a can’t-beat-’em-join-’em approach to streaming by incorporating the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and BT Sport in its user-friendly interface. It’s also restructured its packages to make them more affordable, while multiroom and mobile options round off the most comprehensive content system money can buy. Stuff says Sky has come out fighting to move with the times and its selection of shows is unrivalled Amazon Fire TV Cube £110 / stuff.tv/FireTVCube The Fire TV interface is easy to use and all the big catch-up services are available via this tidy box – and best of all, Alexa voice control…

Amazon Echo (4th Gen) £80 / stuff.tv/Echo Having morphed from a cylinder to a sphere, the latest Echo is an excellent newsreader, weather forecaster, personal assistant and intercom straight out of the box; but it’s now also a capable speaker and a very accessible smart home hub. It doesn’t sound as good as the Sonos One or Apple HomePod for listening to music, but it’s significantly smarter than both and considerably cheaper too. Stuff says An all-round upgrade that makes the Echo a smarter speaker than ever ● NOW ADD THIS Honeywell T6R This Zigbee-enabled thermostat is wireless so you can place it where it’s most convenient. £170 / amazon.co.uk ● TIPS & TRICKS ● The Echo’s built-in Zigbee hub can hook up hundreds of smart home devices without a…

Lego Mindstorms Robot Inventor £330 / stuff.tv/Mindstorms It’s clear Lego has prioritised immediacy and fun with its latest build-your-own-bots kit, which lets you and/or your little ones create five different coding-controlled mecha-beings. Yes, the set lacks a proper screen and relies on a separate device for programming; but it offers great clarity and scope, plus an attitude that encourages tinkering… whatever your age. Stuff says A fun, versatile set for Lego electronics newcomers and old hands alike Sphero RVR £250 / stuff.tv/SpheroRVR The RVR pulls off the balance between serious coding and knockabout fun perfectly: it’s an all-terrain vehicle that you can throw around without worrying about it breaking, but also has serious programming chops. Stuff says Enough fun to convert any coding-phobe Lego Vidiyo from £3.99 / stuff.tv/Vidiyo The…

Fujifilm X-T4 £1399 / stuff.tv/XT4 The Fuji X-T4 might be the high-end mirrorless camera of your dreams. Relatively affordable for a flagship, it excels at stills and video thanks to in-body image stabilisation, high-speed shooting and 4K recording at up to 60fps. Rapid shooting is backed up by fancy AF tricks that feel equally fast and reliable, and even the battery life goes above and beyond the usual standards. There’s no doubting this is a worthy successor to the already fabulous X-T3. Stuff says A superbly capable mirrorless camera for shooting pretty much anything in style ● NOW ADD THIS Fujifilm XF 16-80mm f/4 This versatile lens covers a bigger zoom range than most and adapts to pretty much any requirements. £699 / wexphotovideo.com ● TIPS & TRICKS ● It’s…

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) from £50 / stuff.tv/Dot This fabric-covered take on Marvin the paranoid android in disguise as a Magic 8-Ball feels playful yet classical. It can’t match a full-size smart speaker for audio, but as a little radio and an Alexa assistant for the bedside table or kitchen worktop, this cutey gets the job done. It’s worth paying £10 more for the ‘with Clock’ version, which adds extra functionality beyond telling the time. Stuff says With the optional clock, this is our favourite bedside wondergadget ● NOW ADD THIS Sportlink Wall Mount This minimalist acrylic mount for the Dot will keep it clear from wet surfaces in the bathroom or kitchen. £13 / amazon.co.uk ● TIPS & TRICKS ● Fed up of yelling? Alexa’s voice can work…

While modern consoles have all the design flair of a wireless router, the glory days of gaming were quite different. Cartridge slots and controller ports gave early consoles that bit more personality – and while from the wrong angle Evercade’s VS does look a bit like a printer, its plug-in carts and wired controllers will be a welcome hit of nostalgia in most living rooms. Compatible with all existing Evercade games – which means you get access to classics like Worms, California Games and Speedball 2 – the VS comes with a new telly-optimised interface that lets you quickly browse plugged-in games and choose from a selection of screen filters (including, presumably, one for those fiends who insist on stretching classic games to fill a widescreen display). Progress is saved…

Lego is still popular after a century because of its simplicity. You can have a pile of bricks in front of you, you don’t need instructions, it’s very intuitive and that resonates with people. It’s accessible, but you can go on to make incredible creations. There’s lots of testing. At Lego we test things so many times and try out so many versions to make sure we get it just right. The Aston Martin DB5 was a tricky build, and if you make a little mistake it’s hard to undo with all the grey pieces. The NES was challenging too, and we really struggled with Lego Dots. We make sure there’s something for everyone. Every kid and adult should be able to see something they can relate to reflected in…

FOOTBALL THE EUROS Euro 2020 is a year out, but Uefa has cobbled together a tournament so we’ve cobbled together some top tech to help you make the most of it. p38 STUFF MEETS… Two of the greatest minds in the modern game, England manager Gareth Southgate and sniper’s dream Peter Crouch, discuss AR, VR and VAR. p40 CYCLING TOUR DE FRANCE We’ll have you saddle-sore from the settee with the best home entertainment tech to catch the race… plus cycle kit for pretending to be there. p42 TENNIS WIMBLEDON It’s game, TV set and match with a motion-perfect gogglebox to catch all the action from SW19, plus a phone with a camera sharper than Hawk-Eye. p44 GOLF THE OPEN Get into the swing of things as we tee you…

FIRST ADD THESE… ONE AMAZON SMART PLUG There are loads of smart plugs on the market, many of them cheaper than Amazon’s, but what makes this one so excellent is how easy it is to pair with an Echo Show. Hook it up to the Alexa app and you can set your coffee maker for a 7am percolation, or stoke your electric heater’s embers with a simple voice command. £25 / amazon.co.uk TWO PHILIPS HUE STARTER KIT As with the Amazon plug, there are plenty of more affordable smart lights around… but when it comes to quality, availability and reliability, our experience places the Philips Hue range on top. From Edison screws to GU10s, in mood-making colour or affordable white options, Hue can light up your home like no other.…

£899 / stuff.tv/Air2S DAY 01 DJI’s status as overlord of the consumer drone world is pretty much unchallenged, but there’s no sign of laurel-resting from the Chinese company. This is the Air 2S, a souped-up version of the Mavic Air 2 that’s the same shape and size, but drops the ‘Mavic’ while upgrading the camera, obstacle-avoidance systems and transmission range. At £130 more than the Mavic Air 2, we’ve got two weeks of capturing videos and snapping photos to decide whether this is a worthwhile upgrade. At first glance the Air 2S is virtually indistinguishable from the Mavic Air 2: a rectangular block with four fold-out rotor arms and a gimbal-mounted camera on the underside of the nose. But the camera is slightly larger, and a pair of up-facing anti-collision…

Bose QuietComfort Earbuds £250 / stuff.tv/QCE They’re bulkier than the average in-ears and come with a ridiculously large case, but otherwise the QC Earbuds are difficult to knock. The noise-cancelling doesn’t do a disservice to the esteemed QC name, it’s hugely customisable, and the buds themselves sound great: bassier than you might expect, but in a nicely rounded way that retains lots of detail. They’re at the upper end where price is concerned – but if silence is what you seek, you currently won’t find better. Stuff says A fun listen with excellent noise-cancelling skills, these are the best buds to stick in your ears Sony WF-1000XM3 £169 / stuff.tv/WFXM3 The way Sony’s XM3 wireless buds serve up such spectacular sound while silencing background noise is quite something… and with…

Mi Smart Band 5 £26 / stuff.tv/MiBand5 With no installable apps, Xiaomi’s dinky wearable can’t stack up to smartwatches or reply to notifications, but it can relay alerts and track everything from sleep to workouts. It’s better than the Mi Smart Band 4, thanks to a bigger and brighter screen, smarter software and a charger that’s much less annoying. The slightly reduced battery life really isn’t an issue – and with the addition of activity, stress and menstrual cycle tracking, this is a sub-£30 gift that keeps giving. Stuff says Fantastic value and decent features make this an easy fitness tracker to recommend Myzone MZ-Switch £140 / stuff.tv/MZSwitch Myzone’s modular heart-rate tracker can be attached to different parts of the body, while the app gamifies your activity. It’s a versatile…

Samsung QE65QN95A £2999 / stuff.tv/QN95A This is Samsung’s single most expensive 4K TV for 2021 (unless you buy a bigger version), but the pictures justify the outlay. The Korean giant’s implementation of the new Mini LED tech is, on this evidence, something to be reckoned with. It’s difficult to imagine how any of the other sets that are incoming this year could be better. Stuff says This Mini LED television is a fearsomely accomplished set – and the one to beat ● NOW ADD THIS Samsung Q-Series soundbars Pairing your QLED with one of these is a stress-free way to get 3D object-based sound. from £499 / samsung.com ● TIPS & TRICKS ● You can configure this TV to work with the voice assistant of your choice, not just Samsung’s…

Apple iPad Air (2020) from £579 / stuff.tv/iPadAir The 4th-generation iPad Air ushers in big changes. It looks the spit of an 11in iPad Pro (at least from the front), and supports Apple’s snazzy Magic Keyboard and second-gen Pencil… and the A14 chip makes it blazingly fast, leaving its predecessor in the dust. Sure, there are compromises, but none are critical. So if you were considering an iPad Pro but don’t care about audio apps in portrait, a 12.9in display or more advanced cameras, save yourself a few quid and buy the new Air instead. Stuff says Pointing to the iPad’s future rather than its past, this is a meaningful, impressive, powerful Air update Apple iPad Pro (2020) from £600 / stuff.tv/iPadPro2020 With its super-slick screen, speedy internals and double-lens…

Oculus Quest 2 from £299 / stuff.tv/Quest2 The original Quest felt almost too good to be true. Its successor lacks the same wow factor, but you can’t argue with a better display and processor – not to mention a lighter, more comfortable build – for less money. Are there more powerful headsets? Is motion sickness still an issue? Yes to both, but superb tracking and a total absence of wires make this the VR package to get… that is, unless you’re boycotting Facebook, because you have to be logged in to use it. Stuff says Not a complete reinvention, but our favourite VR headset is now even better… and cheaper! Valve Index £919 / stuff.tv/ValveIndex While not revolutionary, the Index carries enough subtle upgrades to put it atop the PC-based…