Stuff UK -julkaisun August 2022 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

Hello and welcome to this gaming-themed issue of Stuff. Without significant new consoles hitting the streets in 2022, it’s time to upgrade what you’ve got instead – so we’ve a mighty selection of accessories for PlayStation, Switch and Xbox (whether you’ve got one of the newer models or something slightly older), but we’ve also looked at add-ons for PC and mobile gaming. And to top it off, we’ve a bumper selection of upcoming games for each platform – some crackers await as we move into the later part of the year. Mobile gamers will no doubt be interested in our review of the Asus ROG Phone 6, while our game reviews this issue are pretty tasty too, with in-depth looks at the Sonic Origins collection and the excellent Mario Strikers.…

Nostalgia’s not as good as it used to be, is it? Sure, you might be able to download pretty much any game from your childhood within seconds these days, but playing on your new PS5 controller or using an iPad’s touchscreen just isn’t the same. If you really want to get the retro juices flowing you’ll want to pick up Evercade’s new EXP handheld. As well as using physical multi-game cartridges – none of this new-fashioned download nonsense – it has a special Tate mode with dedicated buttons so you can spin the console 90° to play games like Centipede, Mysterious Stones and Burger Time vertically, just as the ancient gaming gods intended. Evercade has also dealt with its original handheld’s shortcomings, so there are now L2 and R2 trigger…

IT’LL HAVE NO TROUBLE REACHING THE MAGIC 88MPH… IN 4.35 SECONDS Great scott! A new DeLorean! Yep, and with any luck this one won’t be such a glorious failure. The Alpha5 is the first new DeLorean since the DMC-12, known for its starring role in Back To The Future, although it’s worth pointing out that this car has nothing to do with the late John DeLorean. The new four-seater EV was designed by a Texas firm that bought the rights to the name back in 1995… but while it might not be a true successor to the ’80s classic, at least it still has those iconic gullwing doors. But no Flux Capacitor? DeLorean hasn’t revealed the full details yet – look out for the public unveiling on 18 August –…

Is that ‘gears’ as in ‘manual’? Has Toyota listened to the people? It certainly has. Earth is doomed anyway and lots of folks still want a proper petrol-powered sports car with a manual gearbox… which is why the Toyota GR Supra is now available with a six-speed intelligent manual transmission (iMT). That means you can currently get three of Toyota’s sporty GR models as manuals, including the incredible little GR Yaris and hugely popular GR86 coupe on the right. So just how good is it? We thrashed the GR Supra around the Monteblanco circuit in Spain and it felt like a brilliant mating of the 3L engine and six-speed box, via a new clutch design. There’s plenty of power – and the braking and control systems have been tweaked too.…

• Tomorrow.io When you fancy heading to the beach, this weather app does the usual things: providing hourly forecasts and rain warnings to help you avoid a soaking. It also lets you choose activities and then outlines when’s best to do them. Alas, sunbathing isn’t an option for some reason, but you can infer solid beach time from when the app suggests you might partake in a spot of barbecuing. £free (IAP) / Android, iOS • Google Maps Google Maps isn’t solely about making sure you don’t get lost when attempting to travel somewhere. It includes photos and Street View images to gawp at, helping you confirm a beach isn’t 90% jagged rocks. You can peruse predictive and live graphs relating to how busy a place gets, and you can…

PLAYSTATION ACCESSORIES If you’re lucky enough to have been able to snag a PS5, you’re a special person indeed (or you live near Argos). Here are our top add-ons. p38 PC ACCESSORIES Choice among computer bits and bobs is never a problem – there’s stacks of the stuff to pick from. Here’s our guide to the latest and greatest. p46 XBOX ACCESSORIES If you’ve got a new Series X or S (or a One X or One S), you’ll find something to love here – including a selection of pads and all-important extra storage. p40 PC GAMES Sims! Strategy! Grown-up Pokemon! It’s all here and it’s all coming to your machine down the pipe of dreams… even a game about Gollum. p48 SWITCH ACCESSORIES Whichever variant you own, here’s our…

NOW KEEP IT SAFE AMFILM PROTECTOR Tempered glass screen protectors are essential in case you drop your Switch while out and about. The OLED model already has one fitted, but better safe than sorry. Just note the two Switches are different sizes. £7 / amazon.co.uk CARRYING CASE You could just sling your Switch into any old bag, but a proper case is much better. They come in many designs, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons (pictured), with room for storing a few game cards as well as a stand. from £15 / store.nintendo.co.uk SWITCH PRO CONTROLLER For all the innovative tech of the Switch’s in-built Joy-Cons, not to mention the ability to carry your gaming on the go or turn the pair into two single gamepads, they are far from ideal.…

£130 / stuff.tv/Vivosmart5 ■ It’s easy to forget you’re wearing Garmin’s latest tracker. That’s partly because it’s so lightweight and low-profile – even the larger size weighs less than 27g – and partly because it looks so blandly generic. But it feels pretty sturdy, plus it’s swim-proof. ■ With no GPS onboard you’ll need to connect the Vivosmart 5 to your phone to record location data, but pairing is swift and the routes we logged compared favourably to the built-in GPS of a Polar Vantage V2. You do get optical heart-rate and blood-oxygen monitors, together with an ambient light sensor and accelerometer. ■ The Vivosmart 5 supports up to 10 sport profiles, including running, swimming and HIIT. But indoor cycling is absent… and the metrics shown are often too small…

£219 / stuff.tv/TRex2 ■ With the ability to withstand shock impacts and temperatures down to -34°C – including ice and freezing rain – and to cope with salt spray or high humidity without corroding, the T-Rex 2 is built for serious punishment. ■ The 1.39in circular AMOLED display is crisp and sharp, with excellent contrast and punchy colours. It could be a little quicker to wake up when you flick your wrist, but there is an always-on mode with a decent range of faces. ■ The Zepp OS is easy to navigate, either by touch or with the buttons, and puts all the key functions just a swipe away. There’s no shortage of apps, but their usefulness is limited… and while you can install ‘third-party’ ones, the list is short…

1 Sony WH-1000XM5 £379 / stuff.tv/WHXM5 Nobody was able to displace Sony’s WH-1000XM4 headphones from the top of this list for two years… yet the 2022 model manages to be even better. Key to the XM5s’ overall quality is the new carbon-fibre composite 30mm drivers: they bring even greater clarity than the previous generation, and the sound reproduction is beautifully precise. The simple fact is that these are the best noise-cancellers around by almost every measure. You really won’t regret buying them. Stuff says Sony keeps its grip on the top spot with an unrivalled combo of great sound, ANC and comfort 2 Bowers & Wilkins PX7 £249 / stuff.tv/PX7 B&W’s second ANC headphones place greater emphasis on comfort and are all the better for it, while the noise-killing is…

1 GoPro Hero10 Black £330 / stuff.tv/H10B At a glance it’s almost impossible to tell the Hero10 Black apart from its predecessor. Each is a little box with screens front and rear, and a lens housing that juts out. Under the hood, however, GoPro has truly levelled up its latest action camera – and much of that is down to the new GP2 processor. It’s more responsive and captures better images in all lighting conditions, while ‘nice to have’ features (better livestreaming and webcam support, faster wireless and wired transfer of video) iron out some old issues. Stuff says Beefed-up internals make the Hero10 Black a nippy, powerful, polished action cam 2 DJI Air 2S £865 / stuff.tv/Air2S DJI’s laurels remain assuredly un-rested-upon, and this may be its best drone…

Choosing a laptop can be harder than baking one of those clever rainbow cakes without a recipe – there are just so many ingredients slopping around the bowl and you need to consider them all. So unless you have your heart set on a particular model, there are plenty of questions. What processor to go for? Should you get a Mac or a PC? Will 4GB of memory be enough? (The answer to that last one is no.) And why does Intel still have a processor called a Pentium when it’s a brand-new chip? The main thing to decide first of all is how much to spend: what can you afford, and what’s right for your needs? There’s no point splashing a couple of grand on a premium laptop if…

Honor MagicBook 16 £800 / stuff.tv/MB16 Honor probably isn’t the first name to come to mind when you think of laptops. But that is exactly why you should consider the MagicBook 16. Let us explain. Honor has made laptops since 2018, but this relationship is still in its honeymoon period: we don’t know about each other’s bad habits and Yu-Gi-Oh! card collections yet. And so, anxious to impress us, Honor is packing its laptops with more power, more RAM and more storage than most of the competition. This is a 16.1in laptop with a full aluminium shell, begging you to draw comparisons with Apple’s MacBook Pro 16in. It has 16GB RAM and a generous 512GB SSD too… and the closest MacBook Pro to those specs will set you back over…

Ridiculous power and gamer-friendly design make this laptop a genuine desktop replacement • Wedge hammer If you’re going to call something a Titan you’d better be sure it’s got the specs to match, otherwise it’s a bit like having a pet beagle called Killer. But MSI wasn’t messing about when it drew up the spec list for its Titan GT77. Effectively a gaming PC in portable form, it has a 12th-gen Intel Core i9-12900HX processor along with a GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card, a 17.3in 120Hz 4K screen and up to 128GB of RAM. This thing should slice through AAA games like a steak knife through jelly. • Don’t div up MSI’s OverBoost tech means it’s capable of delivering a whopping 250W of power, so both the CPU and…

Is it some sort of electronic citrus fruit? You’re probably better off sticking to the real thing when it comes to breakfast time… but once your stomach is full and you’re ready to go to work on some banging tunes, this union of half a grapefruit and a classic synth lets you craft sample-based hits without even leaving the table. The palm-friendly design of the Orba 2 (£150, artiphon.com) responds to a variety of gestures including taps, bumps, shakes and spins; these change how sound is played, making the whole music-making process feel more tactile – like plucking a guitar string or whacking a bongo. Haven’t I seen something like it before? You might be thinking of the original Orba, which was released about three years ago, but this new…

MICROSOFT FINALLY STOPS EXPLORING Internet Explorer is officially dead. Microsoft confirmed the browser was ‘retired’ on 15 June, after 27 years of service. Yes, we thought it was already dead too, but it’s only fitting we gave it an obituary here. Its replacement, Edge, lives on but is only used by people who don’t know any better. POWERS OF BOWERS GET A SEQUEL Bowers & Wilkins’ excellent over-ear cans have been upgraded. The PX7 S2 (£379) come in three colours – grey, blue and black – with newly developed 40mm drive units, six mics for better ANC, and sonic fine-tuning via B&W’s Music app. We’ll have a full review in next month’s issue. EUROPE IS UNSTRUCK BY LIGHTNING Bad news for iPhones: by autumn 2024 all gadgets sold in the…

SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION OFFER Get 6 issues for £12… …plus a free welcome gift worth £34.99 Save 60% off the shop price Have each issue delivered directly to your door – FREE Never miss an issue of the world’s greatest gadget magazine TWO EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE: ONLINE shop.kelsey.co.uk/STU722P CALL US 01959 543747 Please quote STU722P Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5.30pm (calls charged at your standard network rate) Offer ends 31 October 2022 Terms and conditions: UK offer only. You will pay £12 for 6 issues then £19.99 every 6 months. Savings are based on the standard cover price of £4.99. Offer ends 31 October 2022. Your subscription will start with the next available issue, and you will receive 13 issues in a year. The free gift is only available for UK delivery…

SUSTAINABLE SUNNIES The plastic-free pretties Bird Suma Keep misplacing your shades? This standout pair should be hard to forget. A striking take on a classic shape, they pair a marbled finish with sustainable sandalwood temples. And if you do lose your Sumas, at least their plastic-free frames can biodegrade within three years. £99 / findyourbirds.com The fishy frames Waterhaul Pentire Dangle a rod in the sea for long enough and you might reel in some jettisoned specs. Or, try these lightweight frames crafted entirely from recycled fishing nets. Saltwater-resistant and shipped in a cork case, each pair sold also supports marine cleaning workshops. £75 / waterhaul.co The woody wayfarers Bear Essentials Maverick Most bears don’t wear sunglasses, but even Pooh needs protection when he strays from the forest. These Bear…

OR, FOR A BIT OF COLOUR… DUALSENSE In case you object to the futuristic white of the original DualSense, a whole range of other colours have been introduced. So you can go back to black or, if you don’t mind splashing out a fiver more, how about pink or purple? from £60 / playstation.com CONSOLE COVER Give that big white whale of a PS5 a makeover with console plates sporting colours that can match your new DualSense. Maybe buy one the same time you upgrade your storage, as those plates are tricky to take off. £45 / playstation.com SCUF REFLEX PRO It may have sounded like a bundle of gimmicks, but the DualSense really has proved a quiet gamechanger for the moment-to-moment PlayStation experience. Its dynamic haptics and adaptive triggers…

MARVEL’S MIDNIGHT SUNS Arriving just as the MCU is also getting weirder, this Marvel game trades the usual action-orientated superhero antics for tactical gameplay. It’s what you might expect from the developers behind XCOM, although using each hero’s abilities from a deck of cards still leads to some flashy sequences, while you can use the environment to your advantage. What sets Midnight Suns apart is that you’ll actually be creating your own superhero, who can be fully customised in appearance, play styles and relationships with other heroes. Yes, here’s a game where you can just hang out with your favourite Marvel icons over a pint. PS5, PS4, XSX, XB1, Switch, PC / 7 Oct STREET FIGHTER 6 The last entry in the great fighting series may have had a bumpy…

BEYOND HANDHELD LAMICALL GOOSENECK TABLET HOLDER LS02 Who says handheld gaming needs to be in your hands? For maximum comfort, clamp this to your desk, coffee table, even bedframe, and adjust so your phone, tablet or Switch is held at the best distance. £24 / lamicall.com UNI USB-C TO HDMI CABLE If you’d rather transfer your mobile experience to the big screen, you can – just by getting a USB-C to HDMI cable. This is a pretty simple setup, though you can always opt for a USB hub if you want to connect more gadgets. £17 / amazon.co.uk RAZER KISHI V2 Whether you’re using streaming services like Stadia, Luna and Xbox Game Pass to play console-grade titles on your blower or digging into the latest Google Play hits, touch controls…

THE BASICS ■ Optimise playback Mobile devices are more powerful than ever, but they still lack the clout of high-end gaming rigs. When playing demanding mobile titles, use the best hardware you can and improve playback by turning off notifications and power-hungry background apps. And when playing online, make sure your internet connection is solid – unless you like losing. ■ Get set Think through your setup prior to starting a game. About to immerse yourself in an hours-long bout of thinky strategy? Plonk your tablet in a stand. Into fast-paced multitouch arcade fare? Play with your device flat on a table. Want to try a twitchy platformer or complex FPS? Use a controller rather than relying on your touchscreen. ■ Go mobile-first A brief trip through the history of…

01 iPOD (1ST GENERATION) In 2001, an unassuming white box arrived and transformed the gadget world. Good job it did too: if Apple had carried on just making computers, we might all be walking around today listening to MiniDiscs, taking photos on compact cameras and making calls on Nokias. Imagine! In terms of design, the original iPod was a classic. It had a scroll wheel that actually turned – a clever system that in many ways beats a touchscreen for the tactile pleasure of scanning from Abba to Zappa – and four buttons around it that made a satisfying click when pressed. With 5GB of storage (generous at the time) and an interface that didn’t make you want to punch your own face off, Apple’s first iPod was nonetheless derided…

TIPS & TRICKS Swipe up from the bottom of the screen for the app tray, so you can browse all of your apps. Press volume and standby together to take a screenshot, or just swipe your hand across the screen. Go to Settings > Battery to finely control your phone’s battery-saving efficiency. 1 Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra from £1149 / stuff.tv/S22Ultra If you’re a tech-loving Android fan and can justify the outlay, this is the most fully-featured phone of the 2022 crop. The first ‘S’ model to have a built-in S Pen, it also offers a wonderfully sharp 6.8in QHD+ screen with super-smooth 120Hz scrolling and a stellar zoom camera, aided by a new neural processing unit that creates Samsung’s best pictures yet. Stuff says This is the most capable…

1 Apple Watch Series 7 from £369 / stuff.tv/WatchS7 If you’ve got an Apple Watch Series 3 or even earlier, upgrading to this one will be like walking into a lighting shop from a dark and foggy winter evening: the display is bigger and clearer, and there are new input options too. As a wearable it can’t be beaten simply because it does so much, especially if you’re into fitness; just bear in mind that it’s probably not worth upgrading from a Series 5 or 6 – and of course, its usefulness remains totally dependent on you having an iPhone. Stuff says The mighty Apple Watch cements its place at the top of the wearable tree 2 Garmin Fenix 7 from £600 / stuff.tv/Fenix7 If your budget stretches, the impressive…

TIPS & TRICKS The Echo’s built-in Zigbee hub can hook up hundreds of smart home devices without a bridge. Pair a compatible thermostat and the Echo’s temperature sensor can activate the heating. Alexa Flash Briefings deliver bursts of news or trivia; choose from 5000 sources in the app. 1 Amazon Echo (4th Gen) £90 / 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 for listening to music, but it’s significantly smarter and considerably cheaper too. Stuff says An all-round upgrade that makes the Echo a smarter speaker than…

TIPS & TRICKS It’s easy to set up the X-T4’s customisable Q button: just hold it down for a couple of seconds for options. Avoid those wonky horizons by turning on the built-in on-screen level in screen settings. Fujifilm X Acquire is a clever bit of PC/Mac software that backs up all your X-T4’s custom settings. 1 Fujifilm X-T4 £1549 / 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…

When you’re looking for a laptop, sometimes you can have too much of a good thing: with so many different shapes, sizes and specifications to choose from, it can all seem a little overwhelming. The good news is that Stuff is here to help. Rather than start wading through endless laptop listings online, the best way to choose a new machine is to ask yourself two questions. The first is: “What do I want to do with it?” And the second, just as important, is: “What might I want to do with it a year from now?” So for example, if you’re sure you’re only going to use a laptop for surfing on the sofa, doing a bit of online shopping and staying on top of your social media, you…

NOW ADD THESE… CREATIVE T60 Fix your laptop’s naff audio with these latest speakers from the long-running T-series. They have 2.75in drivers and multiple audio modes. £70 / creative.com ELGATO FACECAM The go-to webcam for buyers with a bit of cash to spend, the Facecam delivers a sharp picture and uses a Sony Starvis security camera sensor. £150 / elgato.com KNOMO HARPSDEN This is a real looker of a backpack, and has a waterproof outer shell and zips to keep your 14in laptop safe even if it’s weeing down. £129 / knomo.com Acer Vero A laptop with better green credentials than most, the 15.6in Acer Vero is made (in part) using recycled plastics. The effect is nice enough – a mottled greeny-grey finish that’s much more interesting than basic black…

NOW ADD THESE… ANYCUBIC KOBRA 3D Get your dream laptop, then render your dreams with a 3D printer. This model sets new standards at under £300. £290 / anycubic.com Q ACOUSTICS M20 HD These classy wireless active speakers pair beautifully with a laptop thanks to their USB input. A bargain. £379 / qacoustics.com OPAL C1 A webcam that promises DSLR-like image quality, the C1 blows other options out of the water with its 4K sensor. $300 / opalcamera.com Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Here’s a cheaper way to get the clever ScreenPad trick of the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED on the previous page. The latest version of the 14X OLED comes with a 4K screen and 12th-gen Intel silicon, but this 11th-gen model is still around, with its extra display…

NOW ADD THESE… 8BITDO PRO 2 WIRED CONTROLLER Android app support makes Chromebooks ideal for casual and retro gaming. Just add this ergonomic pad. £29 / 8bitdo.com ANKER POWERCORE III ELITE 19200 Most Chromebooks charge over USB-C these days, so you can recharge them using a power bank. £90 / anker.com LOGITECH SIGNATURE M650 This petite mouse has a near-silent clicker. It can be used with the included wireless dongle or over Bluetooth. £40 / logitech.com Acer Chromebook 515 This Acer leads Chrome OS into its next era: that of Steam gaming. It’s one of just a handful of models that can run games from the platform as well as Android apps and games… if you get one with an Intel Core CPU. That’s a big ‘if’, because the Pentium…

DON’T MISS OUT! PAY THE NORMAL SHOP PRICE* AND GET THE NEXT ISSUE DELIVERED DIRECT TO YOUR DOOR ORDER ONLINE AT SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/STUISS CALL NOW ON 01959 543747** & QUOTE STUISS Terms and conditions apply. Order by 21 July; you should receive your copy around 4 August. Front cover is for illustration purposes only and is subject to change. *Delivery is included in the cover price for UK customers only. An additional £1 will be added to any overseas addresses. **Lines are open Mon-Fri 8:30am–5:30pm. Calls are charged at your standard network rate.…

LG GRAM With four different screen sizes – from 14in to 17in – LG’s latest Gram caters for almost any bag, but they’re all less than 18mm thick and come with Intel’s 12th-gen silicon. from £1200 / lg.com DELL XPS 13 The XPS 13 has long been one of the best laptops not to wear an Apple logo, and Dell has given its ultraportable a major makeover for 2022, including latest-gen Intel processors. from £949 / dell.com MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP GO 2 In the more affordable zone, Microsoft’s 12.4in Surface Laptop Go 2 now has a faster 11th-gen Intel chip with Iris XE graphics. from £529 / microsoft.com…

Have you ever seen a hedgehog run? Those spiny little blighters are surprisingly fast considering the length of their legs… but if Sonic’s brethren have taught us anything, it’s not to make assumptions based on appearance. So while the Realme GT Neo 3 might look like just another mid-range smartphone, those go-faster stripes provide a clue that things are not all as they seem. It’s loaded with Realme’s latest 150W Ultra Dart charging tech, which means you can fuel up the battery to 50% in just 5mins, with a full top-up taking less than 20. Some people take longer than that just to find their charger in the first place. The fun doesn’t stop when you unplug it either, with a Dimensity 8100 5G and 12GB of RAM providing the…

In-car technology should be more advanced. When I grew up, a phone had a cable and a dial; but now your phone is a mini computer. You go out in your car and it doesn’t feel quite as modern as your phone. That’s a problem because the car is expensive; it’s supposed to have the most advanced technology… but for the last 50 years the car industry has been very insulated. It took four and a half years to make a car. And that means, about between year three and four, you’re selecting the technology. When you buy a new car today, the technology was chosen years ago. We set out to make a development plan of two and a half years, so it’s just as fast as a phone.…

It’s only been a few months since Sony launched the rather unique LinkBuds, earphones designed to let the world in rather than keep it out. They’re perfect for dealing with annoying co-workers while still being able to blast your eardrums with Lizzo, and we were impressed enough with them to break out the full five-star Stuff rating. And now we get a £30 more expensive version, called the LinkBuds S. You might well expect from the ‘S’ that these are a slightly changed version of the original design, but in fact they’re completely different, and look far more like conventional earbuds. You’d never guess that the two sets of LinkBuds are supposed to be close siblings. Even the charging case has a totally new look. As with the originals, all-day…

1 Open eyes Some shades ship in different sizes, while others can be tweaked to fit your temples. If you have a Harry Maguire bonce, check that the measurements can accommodate it. 2 Golden eyes Clarity isn’t the only consideration when it comes to lenses. Polarisation reduces glare, while tints change the way you see the world. Some sunnies let you switch coloured inserts. 3 For your eyes only Beyond the practicalities of fitting, you’ll want to pick a style that suits your kisser. Nothing beats trying frames for real, but many brands now offer virtual fittings – or free returns. 4 Compromise? Active glasses are usually lightweight, hitting the scales at around 25g. Some classic styles sit heavier on the bridge of your sniffer, while smart specs can weigh…

XBOX ELITE WIRELESS SERIES 2 If you were an Xbox owner in the previous generation, the great news is that your controllers can still work on the Series X/S consoles without a fuss. Still, new models do well to iterate on already terrific designs… and that’s certainly the case with the Series 2 model of Xbox’s official gamepad. The original Elite, released back in 2015 for Xbox One, already set a high standard for premium customisable controllers, but the Elite 2 builds on that with even more customisation for pro gamers – while retaining the excellent circular d-pad and the pristine metal back paddles for mapping inputs to save from taking your thumbs off the sticks. Those sticks can be swapped out, by the way. The most notable change comes…

WINDOWS DRESSING SAMSUNG PORTABLE SSD T5 If you’re in need of more storage space, a portable SSD is just the job – and it’ll give much faster USB-C transfer speeds than the old HDDs. This one comes in 500GB, 1TB or a whopping 2TB. from £74 / samsung.com ANKER 4-PORT USB 3.0 ULTRA SLIM DATA HUB If all these PC accessories are taking up your ports, you need a USB hub. This one should start you off nicely with four additional ports, but there are variants with even more. from £13 / uk.anker.com STEELSERIES APEX PRO When it comes to PC gaming, you can’t beat the tactile clacking of a mechanical keyboard. And if you’re about to make the switch, then you might as well go all-in. The SteelSeries Apex…

ZENLESS ZONE ZERO It’s been impossible to ignore the phenomenon of Genshin Impact, an anime open-world game that’s proven itself more than just a Chinese knock-off of Breath Of The Wild thanks to its fun combat and constantly growing roster of memorable characters. So it should come as no surprise that we’re getting more than slightly excited about the next big thing arriving from its creators, HoYoverse. While details are scarce right now, we do know that Zenless Zone Zero has more of a post-apocalyptic future vibe – it’s set in the metropolis of New Eridu, where humanity is under threat from Ethereals invading through portals known as Hollows. Expect HoYoverse’s familiar brand of fast-paced action and cute character designs. Android, iOS, PC / date tba STAR WARS: HUNTERS Stakes…

APPLE ARCADE Arcade started out as a home for ambitious mobile exclusives and experimental fare, before pivoting hard to ‘freemium minus IAP’ and then welding a load of old classics to its collection. So it’s a mess… but as part of Apple One, it’s a bargain. £4.99/m / apple.com GOOGLE PLAY PASS Google’s answer to Apple Arcade lacks exclusives, but your monthly fiver (or £30 a year) unlocks access to a heaving stack of premium games including Limbo, Mini Metro, Star Wars: KOTOR and Thimbleweed Park. £4.99/m / google.com ANTSTREAM PREMIUM Native on Android and coming soon to iPhone browsers, Antstream is all about playing ancient games on the go. Yes, emulators exist, but this is worth the outlay for the zero-hassle setup. £39.99/yr / antstream.com…

£1299 / stuff.tv/Xperia1iv ■ Meet the mobile equivalent of a sharp business suit. The Sony Xperia 1 IV is tall, slim and angular, with an all-black frame squeezed between two slabs of glass. It’s an iconic look that’s familiar but refreshingly distinct from anything else in the phone world. ■ The 4K OLED is stunningly detailed, colours are superbly accurate and it’s received a much-needed brightness boost. In order to save battery it doesn’t run at its full native resolution all the time, though. ■ The three 12MP rear cameras are flexible, fast and capable, with impressive manual controls – plus useful added smarts like real-time object-tracking and true variable zoom. If you take a great shot it’s because you did all the hard work, not because the algorithms fixed…

£950 / stuff.tv/Magic4Pro DAY 01 I’ve long followed Honor phones and former parent company Huawei, so I was excited to try out the first flagship phone Honor has made since it was spun off. The key point is that Honor is not under onerous and rather boring trade restrictions (unlike Huawei), so the Magic4 Pro is widely available in the UK and comes packing a full selection of Google apps. This phone is no groundbreaker on paper or in the flesh – most of the specs are pretty standard for 2022 flagships, with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 hardware and a sub-7in display that butts it up against the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra in terms of size. The display is wonderfully bright, even if we’ve seen some that are slightly…

1 Hammerhead Karoo 2 £359 / stuff.tv/Karoo2 For ages cycling computers have been held back by outdated tech… but Hammerhead’s sharp screen really is a gamechanger, and effectively running a tiny Android phone inside a custom case feels like a no-brainer. The 3.2in display is a delight, helping you spot new trails branching off from routes, all with the nostalgic feel of an early smartphone. Navigating with swipes and taps is intuitive (and works with gloves), and the software is constantly updated with helpful nips and tucks. Stuff says At last, a bike computer for the 21st century – Wahoo and Garmin appear to have missed a trick here 2 Wattbike Atom £1999 / stuff.tv/WBAtom This is no beginner bike, but if you’re looking to improve your cycling form at…

1 Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar £1999 / 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 2 Sonos Arc £899 / 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 cinematic scale.…

TIPS & TRICKS Fed up of yelling? Alexa’s voice can work like an intercom with connected Echo devices. Alexa Voice Shopping lets you order from Amazon; add a ‘voice code’ to keep the kids off. Dot at your bedside? Saying “Alexa, turn on whisper mode” will stop it waking up sleepyheads. 1 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…

Acer Swift 1 from £300 / stuff.tv/Swift1 If you want an affordable laptop but don’t want to be whacked over the head by its cheapness whenever you fire the thing up, get an Acer Swift 1. It has three things you don’t often see in laptops this affordable, and they all count. The first is display quality. Sure, it won’t challenge a MacBook but you get a Full HD 14in IPS panel that’s 35% brighter than some other low-end models. This matters a lot if you want to use it anywhere other than indoors at home. Secondly, it’s not the chunky laptop you might imagine when spending this little: at just 15mm thick and roughly 1.3kg, its portable cred is as solid as laptops three times the price. And it…

Asus Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED from £2000 / stuff.tv/DuoOLED Every now and then you see a laptop that makes you think, ‘What on earth is that?’ The Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED is one of those laptops. After years spent tinkering with strange dual-screen machines, Asus has made this design seem more appealing than ever. It feels a lot like a two-monitor setup, but one you can easily stash in a rucksack. When closed, the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED looks like any slim laptop. Open it up and the second display glides up slightly, at an angle that’s comfy for touchscreen or stylus use. You can fling apps from the top screen to the bottom one with a key tap, or turn it into a giant touchpad. Run…

Alienware x17 R2 from £1977 / stuff.tv/x17 Buying an Alienware gaming laptop can seem a bit like getting a personalised numberplate for your car. It says you have more money than sense and a deficit of taste, right? The Alienware x17 R2 shows there’s a lot more to it than that. This is a masterclass in gaming laptop design… and while few can afford what Alienware offers, you’ll wish you could. We’re talking about £2700 to hit the good stuff, and it can be specced up to drain over £4000 from your wallet. But if gaming is life, you can’t do much better. It matches the best available laptop GPUs with an advanced cooling system that lets you make good use of them. It’s available with a great Cherry MX…

The vast majority of laptops run either Apple’s macOS or Microsoft’s Windows. They aren’t the only options – there’s Linux for those who like to tinker, and Google’s Chrome OS for lightweight, super-portable laptops – but they’re by far the most popular. So which one is right for you? The first and most important difference is that macOS is only available on Apple laptops. While Microsoft makes its own laptops in the form of the excellent Surface range, there are tons of companies making Windows PCs of every conceivable shape and size. And that has a significant effect on how much choice you have – as well as how much you’re going to have to spend. 1 CHOICE AND COST The cheapest Apple laptop is the MacBook Air, which starts…