Table of contents for March 2018 in T3

1 SONY XF90 • £TBC, sony.co.uk TV is the undisputed king now. Even Hollywood has acquiesced to this, having doffed its cap to a range of Netflix and Amazon Prime Video originals at this season’s film and TV awards. With ‘binge-racing’ the new binge-watching, no wonder so many of us are ploughing cash into our home cinema setups. 2018 will be a defining year for always-connected laptops, sure, but 4K HDR TVs are gearing up for glory too – and that’s due in part to Sony’s XF90 Series of LCD 4K HDR TVs. While we haven’t yet tested the XF90, the big spec, dynamic features and glossy looks are enticing. We’ve complained in the past that bigger screens have more noticeable motion blur during action scenes, but Sony says that…

THE TRAINER’S GYM BAG Keith McNiven, British wrestling champion and owner/personal trainer at Right Path Fitness, reveals his gym bag essentials 1 APPLE AIRPODS I like to listen to music that I know motivates me while I’m working out, and these earphones don’t get in the way. £159, apple.com/uk 2 RESISTANCE BANDS A versatile piece of workout equipment... These bands are perfect for working out outdoors and for warming up in the gym. £6.99, amazon.co.uk 3 BLENDER BOTTLE PROTEIN SHAKER A protein shaker is handy if you need to get protein on the go, or to stay hydrated. £8.49, blenderbottle.com 4 APPLE IPAD 5TH-GEN Perfect for keeping records of my clients’ (rightpathfitness.co.uk) measurements. From £339, apple.com/uk 5 TP THERAPY MB5 MASS AGE BALL I use this for myself and for…

It was one of GaGu’s three yearly birthdays this month and, as is tradition, he made out like a bandit with the presents. Rising to the top of Guru’s official friend ranking is the chap who bought him an Otamatone, the oh-so-Japanese musical instrument (around £25) in the shape of a cutesy musical note. It consists of a touch-strip stem that makes various honking noises emerge from an internal speaker, and a squishy notehead that shapes the sounds as they emerge. It’s silly and brilliant and Guru’s cats (and wife) absolutely hate it. Second on the gift ranking, Mrs Guru’s begrudging contribution was a massive mouse mat – the Cmhoo XXL 90x40, £10 from Amazon – for GaGu’s desk. It has a classy monochrome world map on it, which is…

We give this award to products we’ve tried at shows and expos that especially impressed us. Audio-Technica ATH-DSR5BT Audio-Technica puts a lot of gadget know-how into simple-looking headphones, and these are its most advanced in-ears yet. They use the company’s ‘Pure Digital Drive’ system, which allow the drivers that actually make the sound to be controlled directly by the digital audio signals, instead of having to go through a conversion to analogue audio first (which can spoil the sound if done badly). And with aptX HD for higher-quality streaming, they’re perfect for getting every drop of crystal-clear audio piped directly to your ears. £349, eu.audio-technica.com DJI Osmo Mobile 2 Steadicam-style gimbals are definitely not something that only professional video makers should be using. Whether you’re recording a family holiday or…

When you think of the next generation of TVs, your mind immediately goes to 4K, and with the new and improved format offering four times the amount of pixels as regular Full HD it’s easy to see why. 4K is certainly a big step forward in the detail stakes, but there’s another technology that’s arrived alongside it that offers almost as big a step forward for picture quality. That technology’s name? High dynamic range. While 4K (also known as Ultra HD) offers more in the way of pixels, HDRs focus is on improving the quality of individual pixels. If you’re buying a new 4K TV that doesn’t have it, you’re missing out on almost half of the benefits of the next generation of television. WHAT IS HDR? Thankfully, the benefits…

1 BEOPLAY A9 KVADRAT COVER Designed by the textile experts at Kvadrat, this replacement cover for the BeoPlay A9 – available in colours like Infantry Green, Dark Rosa and Dusty Blue – brings the warm wool blend texture of the A6 up the line, with no acoustic impact. £119, beoplay.com 2 BEOPLAY A9 LEGS While you can wall-mount the A9 with the appropriate bracket (£89) it’s best enjoyed on the floor. Switching out between oak, maple or walnut legs to suit your decor is a quick process – though you’ll need to manhandle the weighty saucer section yourself to screw them in. £89, beoplay.com 3 BEOPLAY A6 WALL BRACKET This awkwardly shaped speaker has a bigger footprint than you might think. If you want to get it off that surface…

SPECIFICATIONS OS Android 8.0 + EMUI 8.0 Screen 5.99-inch, 18:9 Processor Huawei Kirin 970 RAM 6GB Storage 128GB Camera 16MP + 20MP rear, 13MP front Battery 3,750 mAh Ports USB-C, 3.5mm headphone jack Weight 172g Dimensions 157x74.98x6.97mm £449 store.hihonor.com Since November last year, the OnePlus 5T has ruled over the mid-range phone market largely unchallenged. Its great screen, affordable price point, and premium design and features made it an absolute no-brainer if you weren’t shopping with a flagship-level budget, and while other devices like the Honor 9 had it beaten on price, or on specific functions (like the ZenFone 4’s excellent image-taking capabilities), they didn’t offer the same level of holistic package. New challenger Fast-forward to now and, finally, a worthy rival has emerged: the Honor View 10. As well…

SPECIFICATIONS Price £2,790 Screen 55-inch OLED 4K HDR UDS Audio 2 x 40w stereo speakers Dimensions 123cm x 74.2cm x 5.6cm (w/h/d) Weight 20.6kg Connectivity 4 x HDMI, 3 x USB, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Tuners Freeview and Satellite DVB £2,790 loewe.tv Loewe televisions have an enviable reputation for design, thanks largely to the vision of creative director Bodo Sperlein. They’re sleek, minimal and a little bit posh. The new Bild 3.55 is no exception, despite the fact it’s a good deal more affordable than its upmarket Bild siblings. The Bild 3 line actually spans LED LCD (the smaller 3.49 and 3.43 iterations) as well as this OLED. The idea being you can achieve a uniform look between the screens in your kitchen, den and living room. (Life’s too short to only…

MULTI-ROOM SPEAKERS SONOS ONE Pound for pound, this is a hell of a lot of speaker for your money, easily filling a room, and expandable through the versatile Sonos speaker range. Built-in Alexa support clinches it for Sonos. £199, sonos.com PORTABLE BLUETOOTH SPEAKER CAMBRIDGE AUDIO YOYO M These portable speakers are made for wireless stereo sound and come as a pair (though you can use one on its own). They offer punchy audio in an impressively wide sound field, and look great, too. £299, cambridgeaudio.com WIRELESS IN-EAR HEADPHONES FLARES PRO These headphones plug into a mini-DAC you need to clip about your person, but the result is truly amazing sound for the size. It’s audiophile stuff, with beautiful stereo channel separation. £349, flareaudio.com WIRED IN-EAR HEADPHONES SENNHEISER MOMENTUM M2IE The…

FAMILY CAR VOLVO XC60 Well-appointed and exquisitely designed, this mid-size hybrid SUV has all the entertainment options you need, the poise to make those long journeys smooth and enjoyable, and is safe as houses. From £35,655, volvocars.com/uk CITY ELECTRIC CAR BMW I3 The i3 is a responsive, highly practical electric runabout packed with connectivity options and enough power in its 170bhp motor to hit 62mph in just 7.3 seconds. Perfect for a daily commute. From £30,250, bmw.co.uk SMART CONNECTOR LOGITECH ZEROTOUCH Transform your Android phone into an Alexa-powered voice assistant for your car. This car holder connects to your phone over Bluetooth to provide voice and gesture control when driving. £49, logitech.com DASH CAM GARMIN DASH CAM 55 Constantly watching the road, the Dash Cam 55 does more than record…

MATT BOLTON Editor Matt cast his scrutinous eye over all the 2018 product announcements so far, and selected the best for your enjoyment from p32. He also discovered that ‘scrutinous’ is a word, so that’s nice. JO GULLIVER Senior Art Editor Jo explained that it was very important that she go on our Man vs Tech (p76) photo shoot to make sure the look was right. But her reaction when the raccoons came for a cuddle revealed the truth… ANDREW WESTBROOK Operations Editor It’s new phone time for Andy, which means battling through the piles of choice. That the Honor View 10 (p92) is so good might help. Oh hang on, no, he says yet another great choice does, in fact, not help. SPENCER HART Product & Style Editor, T3.com…

1 MARNI HOODED COLOURBLOCK JACKET All eyes will be on you in Marni’s new season colourblock jacket; a sporty, water-resistant garment with full lining and zipped pockets. £720, farfetch.com/uk 2 GUCCI WOLF-APPLIQUÉ COTTON BLEND SOCKS Colourblocking isn’t just for tops and trousers – give your sock draw a vibrant lift with Gucci’s ribbed knit, cotton blend socks. £85, matchesfashion.com 3 PRADA LO PATCH HI-TOP SNEAKERS For a more casual approach to colourblocking, pair your dark denim with Prada’s funky hi-tops, designed with a sunshine sole. £490, farfetch.com/uk 4 GIVENCH Y STAR KNIT SWEATER If you only buy one colourblock piece make it Givenchy’s SS18 stunner, a cosy cotton sweater with tricolour-stripe slee ves and heaps of sartorial versatility. £465, harrods.com/en-gb 5 PICTURE ORGANIC CLOTHING SOAVY BAG Boost your green credentials…

CORKCICLE CANTEEN Keep cold drinks cool and hot drinks warm with this durable vacuum flask. The Corkcicle Canteen is ideal for taking to the gym and fitness classes, and comes in a variety of colours and three sizes: small (265ml), medium (475ml) and large (750ml). From £20, root7.com INFRUITION SPORT Can’t stomach plain water? Add a fruity twist with the Infruition Sport, a BPA-free reusable bottle with central infusion chamber to house sliced and diced fruits. Light enough to take running, and it comes with a 28-day recipe plan for infusion inspiration. £14.99, infruition.co.uk LIFESTRAW GO The perfect water bottle for outdoors types, the LifeStraw Go has an integrated water filter that instantly purifies water from rivers, streams and other natural sources, giving you access to clean, safe and free…

HARD SUN Luther’s Neil Cross returns for this pre-apocalyptic thriller about two police officers who uncover MI6 secrets that the sun is going to die. Cue mystery, paranoia and lots of explosions. CELESTE In this beautifully animated puzzle platformer, you play a girl called Madeline who must climb gigantic mountain Celeste while facing her inner demons (and collecting strawberries). DOOMSDAY CLOCK Our minds were blown when we found out that Watchmen was coming to DC. If you’re a fan of comic books, seeing Rorschach and Batman on the same page is quite the thing.…

When Apple announced the HomePod last June, the smart speaker market was still nascent. The original Amazon Echo and Google Home played music, but weren’t exactly an aural extravaganza. This Christmas, things exploded. We had the release of the improved second-gen Amazon Echo, as well as smart speakers such as the Sonos One, Harman Kardon Allure, and tons more – the HomePod has entered a much more crowded market. At £319, it’s three times more expensive than an Echo, and over 50 per cent as costly as a Sonos One. Can it really be worth the price? After getting to hear one in the flesh, we can say that it easily earns its price tag. The difficult question is whether it’s worth spending that over other options. Let’s start with…

01 HDR10: THE BASELINE HDR10 is the minimum HDR standard you should look for. It’s the most widely available, and also includes support for 10- bit colour and wide colour gamut, meaning images using it have more vibrant hues, as well as better brightness management. Image performance is solid, but it uses static metadata, meaning dark and brightness levels are set for the whole video – see the next box for why that’s a bit basic. A new version, HDR10+, is on the way to fix that. 02 DOLBY VISION: THE PREMIUM CONTENDER Dolby Vision includes everything from HDR10 along with nice extras, such as dynamic metadata and 12-bit colour. The former offers scene-by-scene HDR mastering, meaning instead of a brightness level being set based on an average of the…

Here’s how to set up your Echo Plus, connect devices and enjoy the freedom of an (almost) hubless smart home 01 GET THE ALEXA APP Download the Amazon Alexa app from your app store, then sign in using your Amazon details. Now power on your Echo, and in the app tap the menu button, hit Settings, and tap ‘Set up a new device’. Choose Echo Plus from the list, choose your language and hit Continue when the Echo is glowing orange. 02 CONNECT TO WI-FI In the next screen you’ll be able to choose your Wi-Fi network from the list, so tap the one that you use. Enter the password you use for this network, hit Enter and the app will start setting up your Echo Plus. With setup complete,…

IDEAL FOR Travelling light Super-sharp video LESS IDEAL FOR Adding accessories Low-light autofocus ADVANTAGES Lightweight & compact Versatile across genres DISADVANTAGES Limited lens choices Diminished battery life In recent years, professional mirrorless cameras have been driving innovation in the interchangeable lens camera market. While a DSLR was once the only choice for serious image quality, companies like Sony have provided alternatives that in many areas, eclipse their rivals. If you’re a pro photographer (and videographer) who wants the best do-it-all mirrorless around, you won’t find a better option than the Sony A7R III (£3,199). Its 42.4MP sensor is full-frame, and the camera is capable of 10fps silent shooting with full autofocus. The A7R III is such a high performer, it feels churlish to point its disadvantage: all this quality does…

The first lens you’re likely to own is the standard kit lens that comes bundled with your camera. This as an okay ‘starter’ that’s designed for some level of versatility, but it doesn’t go beyond that. So what do you need? It may sound obvious, but different lenses are suited to different subjects and situations. We won’t recommend specifics here, because that will depend on your choice of camera, but we can tell you what to look out for. Starting with wildlife shots, you’ll need a long lens with a wide aperture, such as a 300mm f/2.8 prime lens. This is ideal because it’s fast and will compress the background behind your subject, as well as any distracting elements around it. If you enjoy capturing birds or smaller creatures, you…

Garmin Dash Cam 55 £119, garmin.com DESIGN Garmin’s svelte, hard-edged design packs in a fully readable 2-inch screen and a feature wide-angle lens. A magnet-released sticky mount is included – you won’t have trouble positioning it, but you’d better get it right first time. FEATURES It’s almost as if the 55 doesn’t want to be a dash cam. The GPS-enabled box also tracks the position of speed cameras, alerts you if you’re drifting out of lane, and shouts if you’re too close to the car in front. It’s like driving with your dad. PERFORMANCE In daylight, Garmin’s sensor does a workable job, though we suspect there’s a little trickery involved to drag it up to its 1440p resolution, as there’s a little smearing between pixels. As the light starts to…

If you’re looking for the very best tech available today, you have definitely come to the right place. Best of the Best is the most useful gadget-buying guide you will ever encounter. To create it, we’ve ruthlessly filtered down to the biggest groups, to bring you rock-solid recommendations for your home life, daily commute and the tech you use all the time. Within each of those groups, we’ve got a dozen categories for key tech buys. We’ve picked one product for every category that we think is the best you can get on balance, taking into account price, quality and features, so it’s easy to know what you need in your life. You should also check out T3.com, where you’ll find even more categories, if you’re looking for something that…

ANDROID PHONE SAMSUNG GALAXY S8 Tremendously fast, with an Infinity Display that almost completely eliminates bezels, cameras that work in any light, and iris-scanning security. Samsung’s flagship is as much an experience as it is a phone. From £579, samsung.com MID-RANGE PHONE HONOR VIEW 10 It’s at the upper end of mid-range, but this is one hell of a phone for the money. You get a beautiful 18:9 display, premium design, powerful processor, AI smarts, and excellent battery life. £449, hihonor.com SMARTWATCH APPLE WATCH SERIES 3 Nothing in the smartwatch market does more than the Apple Watch, and this third generation can do it all without a tethered phone – perfect for keeping your life in order whatever you happen to be doing. From £329, apple.com/uk ANALOGUE WATCH MONDAINE STOP2GO…

VOICE ASSISTANT AMAZON ECHO Alexa is everywhere these days, but nowhere is Amazon’s AI more at home than in its Echo. It couples an awesome array microphone with pleasing design for the perfect assistant experience. £90, amazon.co.uk SMART DOORBELL RING VIDEO DOORBELL 2 Part motion-detecting security camera, part ring-anywhere doorbell, the Video Doorbell 2 alerts you via your smartphone when you have a visitor – and you can two-way talk even if you’re not home. £179, ring.com LIFESTYLE WI-FI CAMERA NEST CAM This indoor cam streams sharp HD video to your phone or computer, and can alert you when it senses motion or sound, so you can tune in – with an 8x zoom and 130-degree view, you won’t miss a thing. £159, nest.com/uk DOOR & WINDOW SENSORS HIVE WINDOW…

COFFEE MAKER GAGGIA NAVIGLIO Everything you need to create a delicious bean-to-cup brew at an entry-level price. Gaggia’s pedigree is all poured into this quality espresso maker, and proves you don’t need to spend a penny more. £439, gaggia.uk.com COOKER RANGEMASTER ELISE 110 Want the versatility of gas hobs and the reliability of an electric oven? This dual-fuel range is the ultimate in kitchen convenience, with six solid burners, two ovens and a grill with glide-out action. £2,379, rangemaster.co.uk DEHUMIDIFIER MEACO 25L ULTRA LOW ENERGY DEHUMIDIFIER This small unit can drag 25 litres of water out of the air in a day, perfect for drying clothes indoors without the risk of mould or condensation ruining your windows. £299, meaco.com WASHING MACHINE MIELE WKG 120 Pre-load enough detergent for 30 washes,…

ULTRAPORTABLE LAPTOP HP SPECTRE 13 4K An incredibly thin, light and beautiful laptop, with a dense, high-end 4K panel. Despite being 1cm thick, it doesn’t skimp on the power either, thanks to an Intel Core i7 processor. From £1,599, hp.com GAMING LAPTOP ASUS ROG ZEPHYRUS GX501 This is an amazing piece of engineering. Despite being incredibly thin and light (2.2kg), it packs insanely powerful Nvidia GeForce GTX 1080 graphics, a quad-core processor, and a 120Hz 1080p display. £2,799, razerzone.com/gb-en ALL-IN-ONE APPLE IMAC WITH 5K RETINA DISPLAY There’s never been a screen like this. Big enough for every task, detailed, bright, colourful, and it happens to have a Mac stuffed in the back of it as well. From £1,749, rog.asus.com GAMING HEADSET STEELSERIES ARCTIS 7 Super-comfortable thanks to SteelSeries’ ski-goggle-inspired headband,…

ENTRY-LEVEL DSLR CANON EOS 800D Make no mistake: the EOS 800D’s tech, trickled down from higher models in the line, is remarkable. It offers up 45-point autofocus, a touch-sensitive screen and awesome image quality. £779, canon.com MIRRORLESS CAMERA SONY A9 Cleverly engineered to put every component right behind the 24.2MP sensor for speed, the A9 can shoot at a ridiculous 20fps, take 4K video, and has 693-point focus with a full-frame sensor. £4,499, sony.co.uk ACTION CAMERA GOPRO HERO 6 BLACK The most advanced action camera on the planet can shoot stunning 4K video at 60fps, with advanced stabilisation making footage super-smooth and realistic. It’s also waterproof to 10m without a case. £499, gopro.com RUNNING WATCH GARMIN FORERUNNER 935 The Forerunner 935 measures every aspect of your workout, from heart rate…

The first few months of the year usually bring some great tech launches, and they tend to range from the sublime to the ridiculous. We’ve tried to focus on the former in our round-up of the tech we’re looking forward to most this year (p32), but sometimes you’ve got to let the hype sweep you up and feature some futuristic robots, too. So we did. I’m still not sure what to think about the potential of home robots right now. The template seems to be a kind of ambulatory Alexa – you can use them as a smart home assistant, and they’re also walking security cameras. But given the size of them (plus whatever charging cradle they require), I’m having trouble imaging squeezing one in as a new housemate in…

Want to know what it’s like to drive an everyday supercar? Spencer Hart spends a week with the Audi R8 V10 Plus Spyder to find out Ever since its introduction in 2007 the Audi R8, now in its second generation, has been called the ultimate everyday supercar. Recently Audi handed T3 the keys to an R8 V10 Plus Spyder for a week, and to say we were excited is an understatement. On the big day, we didn’t see the R8 coming, we heard it – the Audi announced its arrival with a sonorous growl. So where did we drive it first? Tesco, of course! We spent most time in Sport mode, flooring the throttle at any opportunity (it does 0-62mph in 3.3 seconds). Parking wasn’t too bad – there are…

MIELE WKG 120 There are several reasons for the high price tag on Miele’s washing machine: a honeycomb drum means less ironing for you, while TwinDos offers a smart liquid detergent auto load for less refills, saving you money. This washer’s tough on stains, too, so don’t worry when you squirt Ketchup on your shirt. £1,249, miele.co.uk SMEG WMF147X-2 You might best know Smeg for its coveted designer fridges in a variety of colours, but this washing machine is equally as impressive, packing in a 7kg load, 15-minute quick wash option and, of course, minimalist good looks encased in a tough stainless steel build. £849, currys.co.uk SAMS UNG ADDWASH WW12K8412OW/EU Samsung has introduced a helpful new element to washing clothes with its AddWash tech, which enables you to add items…

HomePod £319 VOICE ASSISTANT Siri is solid at picking up commands, and can control your home, set timers, add reminders and find trivia. It’s most adept as a ‘musicologist’, though. MULTI-ROOM None at launch. But soon, it will support AirPlay 2, Apple’s multi-room streaming tech. You can mix and match AirPlay 2 speakers from different manufacturers. PLAYBACK OPTIONS You can play practically anything using AirPlay. Siri can only play back Apple Music tracks. There are no other connection options at all. AUDIO QUALITY The HomePod definitely sounds like a high-end speaker. It’s big across the range, meaning chunky bass as well as crystal-clear treble. It’s loud, too. T3 VERDICT The HomePod’s smart side has limitations, but Siri is great for Apple Music, and if you’re deep into Apple, HomePod will…

£300 sony.co.uk They say if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But with the WH-1000XM2, Sony went ahead and fixed it anyway. This subtle update adds new features plus some minor cosmetic changes to last year’s MDR-1000X, a phenomenally good pair of wireless headphones, and thankfully hasn’t broken anything in the process. There’s no shortage of noise-cancelling cans out there, but the WH-1000XM2 silence with the best. Not only is the noise cancellation eerily effective, they sound sublime. They deliver bass that’s never laborious, and have a crisp detailed edge that finds clarity in most every musical genre. There’s no appreciable performance bump over the original model, but that’s hardly a demerit. The sound is dynamic and musical, while a move to Bluetooth aptX HD means you can now stream…

OLED 4K TV SONY A1 SERIES Incredible 4K HDR is only a tiny part of this awesome package. The panel (55- or 65-inch) and bezel are super-slim, it offers lightning response times, and great sound comes from a screen that’s also a speaker. From £2,800, sony.co.uk TOP-END 4K TV LOEWE BILD 9 Loewe creates art just as much as it does high-end AV equipment, and its towering, sculptural bild 9 TV is as attractive as it is exquisitely powerful, with a hidden soundbar and top picture quality. £8,990, loewe.tv VALUE 4K BLU-RAY PLAYER XBOX ONE S Yes, this is primarily a games console, but it’s a damn good UHD Blu-ray player too. Why pay more for something that just plays discs when you could be getting your game on with…

GIBSON LES PAUL TRUE HISTORIC 1957 CUSTOM Back in ’57, the iconic Custom edition was the flagship model in the Gibson Les Paul line, made for those who loved the LP, but wanted that little bit of extra fairy dust. Dubbed ‘Black Beauty’, the Custom had a gloss black, all-mahogany body, delivering a warmer, darker tone, with luxurious flourishes, such as 24-karat gold-plated hardware, complemented by the split-diamond inlay lifted from Gibson’s Super 400. The ’57 Custom was handled by rock legends Jimmy Page and Keith Richards, and even prog rock’s Robert Fripp used one to drive all of King Crimson’s output. Fast-forward 61 years and you can still get your hands on this classic, albeit in reissue trim, with period-correct features and twin-humbucker performance. £5,500 gibson.com NEXT ISSUE IS…