Table of contents for December 2022 in Stuff UK

Hello and welcome to Stuff! This issue we’ve got reviews of all the latest from the autumn launches including all three Apple Watches, the iPhone 14 lineup, Google’s long-anticipated Pixel Watch and the Pixel 7 Pro. Then we’ve rounded up a bunch of new true wireless earphones including the innovative NuraTrue Pro, Samsung’s Galaxy Buds2 Pro and, of course, the revamped Apple AirPods Pro. Our lead feature this issue is a guide to the latest in home audio. As well as a review of the new Sonos Sub Mini, there are stacks of options from modern streamers to classic hi-fi speakers, plus the best amps and turntables. And we look at some excellent Bluetooth speakers in case your needs are a little more modest. If you’re looking to improve your…

Dust off your best beskar armour, disable your helmet’s comlink and clear a space on your starship’s dining table, because you’re about to embark on a truly epic quest the likes of which the galaxy has rarely seen before. With a whopping 6187 pieces, this Ultimate Collector Series version of Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin’s ride is second only to the 7541-piece Millennium Falcon on the Lego Star Wars size chart. Measuring 72cm in length, it features retracting ramps and a removable cockpit and engines, which lift off to reveal the interior – where you’ll find an escape pod, a blaster cabinet and a (non-working) carbon freezing chamber. You also get four minifigs from the series: Baby Yo… sorry, Grogu, Mando himself, the Mythrol, and Kuiil on a buildable blurrg.…

from £190/store.google.com Nice diffuser. How does it smell? Absolutely divine. This one gives off the unique scent of mesh networks and WPA3 encryption, because despite the fact that it looks like it belongs in a wellness catalogue this is actually a Wi-Fi router. Routers work best when they’re out in the open, but many people squirrel them away because they look like, well, routers. That’s why Google has made the Nest Wifi Pro look a bit like a unicorn egg or a varnished melon, so people will be happier to have it out on display rather than hidden inside a dusty cupboard full of cables. It’s not unlike a giant AirPods case. Don’t let Siri hear you say that… although there’s no need to worry about Google Assistant listening, because…

Apple’s iPhone development cycle has a problem… and that problem is the cycle itself. The iPhone 11 offered a superb new night mode; the 12 brought a big design change; the 13 remixed the formula and added some decent enhancements, notably in battery life and screen brightness. But it looked the same, aside from a downsizing of the notorious ‘notch’ housing the selfie-cam and the hardware for Face ID. And the iPhone 14 series? It’s a reworking of the same design again, and doesn’t really push things on. There is, though, a change to the notch. In fact, the iPhone 14 Pro does away with it entirely, with the in-display camera cutouts forming a pill shape called the Dynamic Island. What’s more, there are various ways to interact with it…

SONOS SUB MINI £429/go.stuff.tv/SubMini Sonos has had a busy few months: it dropped the optical-only Sonos Ray soundbar in our laps, as well as some new colours for the Roam. And it introduced its own voice assistant. Now it’s back with this – a smaller wireless subwoofer to slot in the range beneath the £749 Sonos Sub. Sonos is quite explicit that the Sub Mini is designed for small-to-medium spaces and to work with lower-priced Sonos gear, particularly the Ray and Beam on the soundbar front, but also the One series of speakers and Ikea Symfonisk gear. Which is not to say it won’t work with other products like the Arc, but that’s not what it’s designed for. This is not really a subtle device but it won’t cause your…

MISSION 700 £1299 (pair)/mission.co.uk It happened in the car industry I a while back with the Mini, Beetle and Fiat 500 – and now it’s happening to the audio business. Especially where loudspeakers are concerned, companies are looking to their heritage when developing new products – and they seem to be going down a storm with customers. And of course, it doesn’t do any harm if you have a heritage as considerable as that of Mission. These 700 standmounters represent the second time Mission has delved into its own past to produce a new speaker – and, just as with the 770 from earlier this year, this is nostalgia brought right up to date. Everything everyone always loved about the way the original 700 speaker looked – the main driver sitting…

ALTERNATIVELY… Audio Pro Drumfire II If you took an old-school guitar amp stack, shrunk it down to a more polite size and gave it a style makeover, you might end up with something that looks like the Audio Pro Drumfire II. It’s a two-part multiroom speaker from one of the most revered brands in the game… but don’t worry, it isn’t too grown up. See that bottom part? It’s home to a huge 8in bass driver that digs down to 30Hz for real sub-bass fun. This second version of the Drumfire updates the original with AirPlay 2 and Chromecast for much-improved streaming flexibility. £649/audiopro.com Sonos Sub While the Sub Mini on p36 is one of the most important additions to the Sonos family in ages, the full-size Sub remains a…

GoPro Hero11 Black What’s the story? The Hero11 Black introduces a sensor with an almost square 8:7 aspect ratio, capturing footage that can be losslessly cropped at high quality for YouTube, Instagram, TikTok or whatever other format you want. Not that you’d know to look at it: the design is practically identical to its predecessor. But that just means it’s still compatible with almost all existing accessories. The flip-out feet make it seriously easy to mount and its lightweight build is just as durable as past GoPros; you can submerge it as deep as 10m without the need for any additional underwater housing. Is it any good? It’s not just the camera’s interface that’s been streamlined to make it easier to use. GoPro’s Quik software is simpler and more powerful…

FIRST ADD THESE… ONE ANKER 737 If you think all chargers are created equal, maybe you haven’t about GaN tech yet. GaN (gallium nitride) chargers are more compact and efficient than their silicon counterparts, and can safeguard your Z Flip4’s battery health so it lasts longer. The Anker 737 is our GaN choice to fast-charge your tab, laptop and phone at the same time. £90/anker.com TWO SAMSUNG GALAXY WATCH5 Thanks to its eSIM support, you can stay connected when your fancy phone can’t hack the action with Samsung’s smartwatch supreme. Like an Apple Watch, it can measure your heart rate and blood oxygen, and take an ECG on the fly… but unlike an Apple Watch, it also measures body composition. £289/samsung.com THREE GOPRO HERO11 BLACK Folding phones aren’t that rugged,…

In the mag We pick out the best price for every featured product Online Choose from our roster of great-value retailers Ever wondered what’s up with the links in Stuff? We’ve got a team of retail pros who scour the web to find you the best gadget deals – visit any go.stuff.tv link in this mag and you’ll be taken to the best deal for that product. If you make a purchase, we may get a small commission. It’s that simple, and has no impact on how much you pay.…

Huawei Mate 50 Pro from €1299/consumer.huawei.com The Mate 50 Pro’s screen is covered with something called Kunlun Glass, which Huawei reckons is up to 10x more durable than regular glass. Looking for a phone with top-class camera skills? Don’t open your wallet until you’ve looked at this multi-aperture marvel… ● Let it wide There aren’t many phones out there these days that have truly unique features, but Huawei’s Mate 50 Pro is one of them. Its 50MP main camera sensor has a 10-stop physically adjustable aperture, going from f1.4 to f4, so you can switch from extreme bokeh to pin-sharp backgrounds. It’s paired with a 64MP periscope lens good for 3.5x optical zoom, a 13MP ultrawide that’ll double as a macro snapper, a proximity light sensor and laser autofocus. ●…

Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max from £1199/go.stuff.tv/14ProMax What’s the story? The Pro Max model is essentially just a bigger version of the 14 Pro (6.7in compared to 6.1in), but it also comes with a bigger battery. Aside from that, the processor, cameras and everything else is identical to the smaller Pro model. Except, of course, for the price. Is it any good? On paper the iPhone 14 Pro Max is Apple’s best phone, but it’s not for everyone. Big and heavy, it’s only for people who really need that extra screen space. Do you? Well, it does make photo, video and audio editing (and gaming) easier, and the A16 Bionic chip isn’t fazed by any of it. There’s no obvious improvement in battery life over last year’s Pro Max, but…

ALTERNATIVELY… Adam A7V These are studio reference monitors, but are an excellent pick for a home office or smaller living-room setup, particularly if you’re going to be the only one listening most of the time. They’re near-field monitors, made for ears that will sit just a few feet away; but as you might imagine with studio boxes, their poise and fidelity is hard to beat. The series is famous for its ultra-detailed ribbon tweeters, and this model has easy and quick-to-use controls that let you tailor the sound to suit the room. Too close to the wall? Drop the bass a notch with a single button-press. £1189/adam-audio.com KEF LSX II KEF has probably done more for the ‘cool factor’ of active speakers more than any other company in the last…

from £849/go.stuff.tv/Pixel7Pro ■ Does the Pixel 7 Pro look familiar? It has the same glass and metal sandwich styling as its predecessor, but that distinctive camera shelf is now made from 100% recycled aluminium. The polished finish just loves fingerprints, though. ■ Those curved screen edges are less pronounced than last year, which keeps reflections in check. There’s still a high-resolution, HDR-friendly OLED panel underneath, with gloriously punchy colours and an adaptive refresh rate. Brightness has taken a big step up, to 1500 dazzling nits. ■ Google’s Tensor G2 brings two upgraded CPU cores and a new GPU, plus added machine-learning smarts. There’s enough grunt to run anything from the Play Store smoothly and split-screen multitasking works like a charm, although it remains a step behind the Qualcomm competition. ■…

from £849/go.stuff.tv/WatchUltra Donut of Truth™ 01 The display is superb 02 You’ll get at least two days’ battery life 03 100m water protection, compared to the 50m of the Series 8, makes it seaworthy 04 This watch lacks some navigation skills… 05 …and it carries a hefty old premium 06 It needs more stamina to take on the best DAY 01 No longer a mere status symbol, the Apple Watch has become one of the essential (and even mainstream) tech purchases of recent years. The new Ultra model is the first real supercharging of the concept, if you ignore the crazy-expensive and now discontinued Apple Watch Editions, and represents something of a move forward in terms of design. So it’s with some excitement that I take delivery of a Watch…

NEW Straight outta testing and into our rankings. Time changes HOT BUY A product of techy genius that’s set our hearts aflame. BARGAIN BUY A proper steal. Worth owning regardless of cashflow. UPDATE everything, including Stuff Top Ten entries. HOW TO USE THEM SMARTPHONES 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 HOT BUY Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra from £1149/go.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…

First Amazon came for the regular books; now it wants to make jotters feel like something from the olden days too. The Kindle Scribe comes with a special stylus that allows you to draw on its 10.2in 300dpi E Ink screen, whether that’s annotating a book with digital sticky notes, marking up a PDF or Word doc you’ve imported via the Kindle app or a web browser, or using the built-in notebook to a create a list of every person who has ever wronged you and how you’re going to get revenge. Chuck Jeff Bezos an extra £30 (and boy does he need it) and you’ll get an upgraded Premium Pen, which has an eraser on the end and a shortcut button that can switch between writing and highlighting, or…

SAVE 41%! £4.99 £2.92 an issue SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION OFFER Get 13 issues for £37.99 Save 41% off the shop price Have each issue delivered directly to their door – FREE Never miss an issue of the world’s greatest gadget mag The perfect gift this Christmas! TWO EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE: ONLINE shop.kelsey.co.uk/XMAS22STU CALL US 01959 543747 Please quote XMAS22STU Hours: Mon-Fri 8.30am-5.30pm (calls charged at your standard network rate) Offer ends 24 December 2022 Terms and conditions: Offer available for UK customers only. You will pay £37.99 for 13 issues. Saving is based on the standard cover price of £4.99. Offer ends 24 December 2022. The subscription will start with the first available issue after Christmas 2022. Prices are correct at time of printing and are subject to change. For full…

TIDAL TICKERS The sea sweeper Timex Waterbury Ocean Time might be money, but this Timex proves a decent watch doesn’t have to cost the earth. As well as saving you from penury, it’s also designed to save the seas from plastic pollution: its strap, dial and lightweight case all use recycled waste that would otherwise have ended up in the oceans. £90/timex.co.uk The eco educator Sea2See Seal 06 With a recycled PET strap and marine plastic case, the Seal 06’s sustainable credentials are watertight. But Sea2See also pays it forward: every watch sale funds 10 days of schooling for a child rescued from fishing exploitation in Ghana. Which, like the vibrant dial, should make a lasting impact. €179/sea2see.org The solar saviour MVMT Minimal Sport Ocean Plastic Who needs vowels anyway?…

ALTERNATIVELY… NAD C 700 This NAD streamer is what we consider a classic design for this style of hi-fi separate. There’s a large 5in screen on the front to show off all that album art, taking us back to the day when a dream hi-fi was a box that would fit a whole music collection on a hard drive. You can do that here if you like, but the C 700’s real job is to be the one middle-man unit between the streaming world and your passive speakers. It has an 80W-per-channel amplifier inside, runs BluOS and supports Roon as well as AirPlay, with aptX HD for high-quality streaming over Bluetooth. £1299/nadelectronics.com CAMBRIDGE AUDIO CXN V2 The easy-to-recommend CXN streamer box has been around for a couple of years now…

● Yousician There have long been rumours of a new Guitar Hero game, but rocking out with a plastic axe doesn’t cut it. Yousician lets you discover and unleash your inner Hendrix with a real guitar. Using its game-like interface, you play along to notes and chords that scroll across the screen, amassing a high score and worldwide superstardom when you perform well. OK, maybe only the first one of those. £free (IAP)/Android, iOS ● MuseScore More Mozart than Megadeth? MuseScore has loads of songs transcribed as sheet music by its community. Put your phone in landscape and you get a handy scrolling view, with optional slowdown for when your fingers can’t keep up. Pay and you unlock a live keyboard, PDF export, offline playback, and classes that range from…

THE BASICS ■ Buy wisely Use personal preferences and storage space to drive your format choices: consider digital for read-once fare and paper for items you’re likely to re-read. Don’t default to Amazon for buying – other booksellers often offer better deals. And monitor Humble Bundle for digital geek fare and comics. ■ Understand ownership Before you start building up a digital collection, check if there’s vendor lock-in… and be clear on whether that matters to you. Most digital book ecosystems and many magazine subscriptions act in this manner, locking you to a single app. But some offer DRM-free content (such as PDF or CBR) that you can freely use on any device that’s capable of displaying it. ■ Find freebies Reading is hardly an expensive hobby. Even so, when…

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) What’s the story? Although they’re named the same and look pretty much the same, that’s where the similarities between the first and second gen of the AirPods Pro end. Most significantly, Apple has worked to improve the audio, the active noise-cancellation and the battery life. The charging case now has a speaker, which seems a little odd but comes into its own when you need to find it via the Find My app: it can now emit a welcome shriek from the back of the sofa. Mind you, if you charge your buds by your bed you might want to disable that: we had ours topping up on a pad and they kept pinging at us when they were charged. Are they any good? We…