Stuff UKの March 2021 の目次

‘Consumer insight’ is a terrible way to open an editor’s letter but bear with me. Consumer insight shows that, when it comes to the smart home, cost versus the value you’re going to get from a gadget is the deciding factor in whether to buy it. We’re also told that people are bewildered by the choice, and because everything seems so complicated they give up. We feel you. So this month we’ve unravelled the smart home maze: which platforms exist, which products are worth your money, and how to provide a sound broadband basis so it all works. But before immersing yourself in the ‘serious’ part of the mag, hit up the Hot Stuff section. From the CES gadget spectacular (usually in Las Vegas) where we’ve selected our ‘Most Wanted’…

PANASONIC JZ2000 Panasonic’s new 4K OLED is powered by a new HXC Pro chip that uses AI to optimise picture and sound quality based on what kind of content you’re watching. TCL 8K 6-SERIES ROKU (R648) No, you still don’t need an 8K telly, but it’s notable that budget-friendly champion TCL is updating its top-value 6-Series with 8K resolution support for 2021. SONY BRAVIA CORE Sony claims its new streaming service (yes, another one) can deliver streamed UHD movies at near-lossless 4K Blu-ray quality at up to 80Mbps. Mind, you’ll need stellar broadband to pull that off (see p52). PHILIPS 9000 SERIES Philips’ first miniLED TVs are the 9639 and 9506. The former gets an integrated B&W soundbar; both have the fifth-gen P5 chip and support all the major HDR…

Hear now, prolific music listeners: there’s yet another pair of premium true wireless earbuds competing for your dollar. As part of its latest Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung announced the Galaxy Buds Pro, its most advanced in-ears to date. The Buds Pro no longer look exactly like jelly beans, but do adopt the same metallic design as the old Galaxy Buds Live, while a supposed better seal in your ear should help with the noise-cancellation. An IPX7 rating makes them workout-ready, but it’s what’s inside that’s really interesting. The pairing of an 11mm woofer with a 6.5mm tweeter balances, Samsung says, deeper bass with crisp treble, while the three microphones and voice pickup unit should mean you’re not drowned out by dog barks and screaming kids – you know, the usual…

Big Sky Disney+ isn’t totally kid-centric any more. Star, a new hub full of shows aimed at grownups, comes to the platform on 23 February, and crime drama Big Sky is part of its launch line-up. Named after the glorious open vistas of its Montana setting, it stars Ryan Phillippe as a private eye unwinding the disappearance of a dozen young women. S1 / Disney+ Star, 23 Feb I Care a Lot Legal guardian Marla Grayson (Rosamund Pike in formidable form) makes a killing from swindling the wealthy elderly people she’s supposed to be looking out for… but her latest ward proves a tougher mark than usual thanks to some unlikely underworld connections. Screen legend Dianne Wiest also stars in this black comedy. Film / Amazon Prime Video, 19 Feb…

I like thinking outside the box. No one wants to be in the situation we’re in but we’ve got to make the most of it, and I’ve tried to do that. I started Quarantine Karaoke on Instagram, and we got some huge artists (Glass Animals, Este Haim) to come on, so I ended up taking it to Twitch. That was when I really started to think about tech and what I could use to make my house a professional setting. I really invested in gadgets. The Shure SM7B is the best microphone going. I got myself a little TC Helicon GoXLR mixer, which allows me to run audio, video and separate channels like a proper studio mixing desk. I also got a dual-monitor PC setup and lights behind the monitors.…

1 Identify your trigger Start by assessing what sets off your stress. Perhaps it’s noisy neighbours, a stench in the air or anxiety brought on by work – or maybe you just need to switch off from the real world. 2 Tech might not help If too much technology and an addiction to your smartphone is causing you to prang out, another gadget might not be the answer, especially if it means an extra screen or app. 3 Take a deep breath Breathing exercises are probably the easiest way to balance mind, body and soul. Soothing sounds, good-quality audio and meditation tools can really help here. 4 Air your grievances If it’s air quality causing issues, the Homes Act requires landlords to consider whether tenants’ indoor air is safe. This…

Amazon Echo (4th Gen) £70 / amazon.co.uk Amazon has swapped the old ‘Pringles tube’ trim for a new spherical style. This means the latest Echo looks like a sci-fi crystal ball – especially as it now illuminates from underneath, giving it a vaguely ethereal feel when you ask Alexa a question. But the real magic is inside: the Echo now comes with a Zigbee smart hub. This means you can hook up smart devices such as Philips Hue lightbulbs without having to install a separate bridge, which makes using the speaker with smart home tech even easier than it was already–ideal if you just want a simple plug-and-play setup. You’re also able to take greater control of your devices with Amazon’s companion app. The new Routines automation feature lets you…

Apple TV 4K from £179 / apple.com The Apple TV 4K… really? You might be sceptical seeing this four-year-old set-top box in a roundup of cutting-edge gadgets. But the answer is yes… emphatically so. Apple has splurged on a range of new services recently – so as well as having a one-stop shop for all your favourite apps from iPlayer to YouTube, and the benefits of AirPlay and screen-sharing from Apple devices, you can now watch Apple TV+ too. Its original programmes may be a bit of a mixed bag, but they’re always cinema-quality with 4K HDR visuals and Dolby Atmos sound. Then there’s Apple Arcade, for a new way to play games online, while Fitness+ offers guided home workouts. Though these services cost extra, they’re all great reasons to…

Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500 $600 / netgear.com If you’ve already bought a new high-end router in the past year, congratulations on scoring serious nerd points – and there’s a decent chance it already supports Wi-Fi 6 (see panel below). While the new standard works its way down to freebie routers dished out by broadband providers, investing in something like Netgear’s Nighthawk RAXE500 is the ultimate way in. But pay attention, because this router doesn’t just support Wi-Fi 6, but Wi-Fi 6E. This means you’re still on the same 6GHz spectrum, only the E’ signifies even more bandwidth for a very select number of new devices. Think of it like a VIP section for the very latest gadgets only. REVENGE OF THE 6 Looking a little like Darth Vader’s docked landing craft…

£2295 + £39/m / stuff.tv/Tread DAY 01 ONE MONTH WITH THE PELOTON TREAD £2295 + £39/m / stuff.tv/Tread Having revolutionised the spin-bike world, Peloton now hopes to do the same for the treadmill… so marathon runner Kieran Alger spends January going nowhere fast Peloton’s swapped the equipment but the angle is the same: get reluctant gym-goers off the sofa by combining a cardio machine with workouts beamed into your home. Only this time it’s about running, not cycling. If you like the sound of that, you’ll need deep pockets to join the Tread revolution: for full annual access to all the classes plus extra accessories such as dumbbells, you’re looking at a combined outlay of £2870. So is it worth it? Or should you, well, run a mile? I’m putting it…

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 £421 / stuff.tv/Fenix6 Anyone who’s truly into their fitness will appreciate the Fenix 6’s endless feature list. This is the finest…

Sky TV from £25/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, Disney+ and BT Sport in its user-friendly interface – and now Amazon Prime Video too. 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…

We vaguely scoffed at (but also quite liked) the Sero, Samsung’s crazy vertical TV for millennials that landed last year – but Lenovo’s idea of using a similar concept on a desktop PC makes a massive amount of sense whether you’re a TikTok fanatic, have an aversion to scrolling through blogs, or find yourself regularly navigating very, very long spreadsheets. The all-in-one Yoga AIO 7 doesn’t scrimp on specs either. The vertical/horizontal rotating 4K display is obviously the showpiece, and can also be tilted back by up to 20%; but it’s joined by JBL stereo speakers, a top-spec AMD Ryzen 7 4800H processor and Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics, which feels like a brutal enough combination to handle gaming and creative willy-waving. Whether Lenovo’s idea of incorporating ‘human billboard’ spin…

£500 / sony.co.uk Can’t help but want to whack those pads. We understand the impulse, but sadly you’re buying a high-end speaker here, not a drum kit. It’s fair to say Sony’s 360 Reality Audio has hardly conquered the world; but now the company is making hardware to pair with the tech, maybe that’s about to change. Both the pictured SRS-RA5000 and the smaller SRS-RA3000 can deliver 360° audio, but unsurprisingly it’s the more expensive model we’re itching to get our ears around. How does it work, then? If you wanted to thoroughly cover your lounge in yoghurt, you could do worse than sticking a Muller Light fountain in the middle of the room and turning it up to 11. This wireless speaker takes the same approach to sound, but…

Minecraft We’d be remiss if we didn’t kick off this round-up with Mojang’s iconic sandbox effort. Immerse yourself in its creative mode and you can build anything you can think of – as long as it can be crafted out of blocks. Depending on your bent, you can opt to collaborate in multiplayer or get your jollies by kicking seven shades out of hostile mobs. Just don’t play too long or you’ll get square eyes. £6.49 / Android? £6.99 / iOS Mekorama Whoops, a tiny cycloptic robot has crashed on a mini-diorama. The only means of escape is by figuring out how to reach the exit – and then 49 more. This is achieved by rotating the scene and manipulating structures. The editor then lets you craft your own scenes,…

Samsung Family Hub from £2699 / samsung.com When you’re cooking, you need appliances that serve a practical purpose. Naff novelties are banished to the back of the cupboard. So it was no surprise that Samsung got a frosty reception when it first slapped a 21.5in tablet on a fridge-freezer, and one that continues to be a tad glitchy for its hefty price (better hold onto those warranty details). But Samsung continues to tinker with the Family Hub offering… and it’s giving us food for thought. This killer chiller comes enhanced with AI, so it was able to tell us not only what food we had, but how much we had left and when it was due to expire. It helped us manage meal prep too – from a one-off dish…

Dyson Lightcycle Morph £500 / dyson.co.uk Our favourite lamp? Luxo Jr the Pixar mascot, obviously. But as far as non-anthropomorphic ones go, the Lightcycle Morph takes some beating. It can track natural daylight to adjust its brightness and colour temperature accordingly. As well as using less power, this reduces the amount of blue light you’re exposed to, so you wake up and wind down more gradually. Or do you just want to stay focused for longer? There’s a study mode that intensifies the blue light in order to get your brain buzzing. Alternatively, relax mode emits an orange glow to keep the chill vibes going all day; this also works nicely for a touch of movie-night ambience. As well as letting you redirect its radiance, the lamp’s arm can rotate…

Linksys AXE8400 from $450 / linksys.com Linksys was hot off the blocks in 2017, launching one of the first true home Wi-Fi mesh networks. In truth, we found the original Velop system to be pretty buggy and the nodes suffered from numerous dropouts. But superfast broadband wasn’t built in a day… and now Linksys has something new. The AXE8400 system retains the brand’s usual straight-up tower-like design, only now it packs in Wi-Fi 6E technology for blazingly fast speeds and superspreading of the good sort: bandwidth. In fact, Linksys says it can manage the demands of more than 65 devices. The catch is that it’s very expensive indeed – about a grand for a three-no pack – but then, each node is supposed to be good for 3000ft2 of coverage,…

THE BASICS Kit up and sit up Zoom works with built-in mics and speakers, but that doesn’t always give you good results. If you use a PC and sit far from it, invest in a headset. Even with a mobile device, a headset can be a good way to screen out ambient noise. Also, position your device on a stand to avoid cramp and the camera pointing up your nose. Be silent, not deadly On all platforms, Zoom offers settings to define key defaults when you enter a meeting. Our advice: set it so you always begin meetings with video and audio disabled. That way you’re in control of your entrance, rather than rocking up at the precise moment your kid yells something rude or you sneeze over the camera…

Yamaha SR-C20A What’s the story? If anyone knows what’s what when it comes to soundbars, Yamaha knows. The company’s been liberating big, high-quality sound from slim little bars for most of this century. This SR-C20A is small (by anyone’s standards), cheap (by Yamaha’s standards if no one else’s), and designed as a sort of all-round option. Want to put a rocket up your TV’s sound without finding space for a gigantic slab? Want to improve your gaming experience no end but don’t want to have to rearrange all your gear? This could be the answer. Is it any good? Despite its titchiness, this wee Yamaha has plenty of width and even a little height to its soundstage, while bass is properly varied depending on whether you’re listening to instruments or…

£1499 + £349 stands (pair) / stuff.tv/Q200 A bit like Steve Buscemi or Uma Thurman, the Q Acoustics’ Q Active 200 speakers have an odd sort of sexiness you can’t help but admire. The British brand has been on a hot streak of sonically excellent home cinema and passive speaker solutions, but these asymmetrical boomers mark its first serious foray into active sound systems that don’t require a separate amp. It’s a very well connected hi-res package, with everything from Apple AirPlay 2 to Google Chromecast built-in, a choice of voice assistant and streaming service integrations, and HDMI ARC for plugging them into your tellybox. The Q Active 200s have a special party trick too: it’s called ‘dynamic widescreen sound’, and it should mean Cliff Richard can always find your…

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 £168 / stuff.tv/WFXM3 The way Sony’s XM3 buds serve up such spectacular sound quality while being truly wireless, while effectively cancelling background noise…

Mi Smart Band 5 £30 / 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 £30 gift that keeps giving. Stuff says Fantastic value and decent features make this an easy fitness tracker to recommend Peloton Bike+ £2295 + £39/m / stuff.tv/PelPlus A fitness phenomenon based around a connected bike with a Full HD touchscreen that streams live and on-demand training sessions…

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 couple of hundred 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 from £769 / stuff.tv/iPadPro With its huge and super-slick 120Hz Liquid…

VanMoof S3 £1798 / stuff.tv/VanMoofS3 VanMoof’s second-gen S3 (or X3 if you’re under 5ft 8in) looks like a normal bike, rides like a normal bike and, crucially, doesn’t cost a ridiculous amount of cash. The chunky 50mm tyres, slightly swooped bars and upright riding position all combine to make it super-comfy, and 30 miles with the power assistance set to level three (out of four) left us completely sweat-free with 20% still in the tank. Plus, for such a looker, the S3 has a lot of tech hidden away to make it a less than ideal target for thieves. Stuff says This smart-looking e-bike offers a great ride, great features and some genuinely useful security smarts Cowboy 3 £1990 / stuff.tv/Cowboy3 The 43-mile range, app-controlled lights, smart tracking and anti-theft…

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…

Acer Nitro 5 The 2021 Nitro 5 comes in 15in and 17in variants, and you can pay as little as $750 for the base model or treble that if you spec it up to a Ryzen 5000 series CPU and Nvidia RTX 3080 graphics. from $750 / acer.com Asus ROG Flow X13 A Stuff CES Most Wanted pick, this sleek 13-incher looks more business than Battlefield, but it’s definitely here for a good time. We’re especially keen on the optional eGPU add-on. from $3000 / asus.com Lenovo Legion 7 Lo! Lenovo’s latest lovely Legion laptop also sports a Ryzen 5000 and up to an RTX 3080 GPU… but we’re more interested in its 16in 1440p display, which has a tall-ish 16:10 aspect ratio. from $1670 / lenovo.com…

SAFETY RAZER Dubbed ‘the world’s smartest mask’, Razer’s Project Hazel concept is a waterproof and scratch-resistant surgical N95 respirator that can apparently filter at least 95% of airborne particles, and uses UV light to kill bacteria and viruses while it charges. And naturally, this being a Razer, it has RGB lighting. CURL ME BACK The obsession with shapeshifting tech is growing stronger with every CES… and after the successful launch of LG’s rollable TVs, a pocket-friendly version is wildly enticing. The teaser video showed a phone with a display that extends to create a tablet-sized device, and the seamless transition between the two forms is sort of hypnotic. BOT STUFF Samsung’s Bot Handy concept robot claims to do pretty much everything but wipe your backside – which is a shame…

TAXI CHAOS PS4, XB1, Switch This spiritual successor to Crazy Taxi has you getting behind the wheel of a yellow cab to drive around New York, picking up passengers and getting them to their destinations by any means necessary. It’s out on 23 February, and Sega is even handling publishing in Japan. BOMB RUSH CYBERFUNK PC A follow-up to cult classic Jet Set Radio has been a long time coming, but Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is ready to roll into action this year. OK, there’s no actual skating in this, but expect cel-shaded graphics, graffiti, showdowns with cops and a funky soundtrack to remain at its core. ALEX KIDD IN MIRACLE WORLD DX PC, PS4, XB1, Switch Before Sonic dashed onto the scene, Sega had Alex Kidd as its mascot. This…

Xiaomi clutching at thin air, are they? In a way, yes. Unlike traditional wireless charging, which requires a charging stand or pad, Mi Air Charge is truly wireless. It utilises a remote ‘charging pile’ that detects the location of your device and beams energy through the air. According to Xiaomi’s best and brightest, the pile has “five phase-interference antennas built in, which can accurately detect the location of a smartphone”. And then? “A phase control array, composed of 144 antennas, transmits millimetre-wide waves directly to the phone through beamforming.” There’s a lot of jargon there, but essentially it’ll charge devices within a few metres. No cables, no pads, just automatic wireless charging taking care of itself. What gadgets will it work with? Well, clearly the device being charged will need…

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LAID-BACK LISTENERS The wall warbler Zwitscherbox Stick the motion-sensitive Zwitscherbox on your wall and you’ll hear two minutes of blissful Black Forest birdsong whenever you go past. Sure, it’s not quite the same as a long walk in the woods, but it might just stop you going cuckoo, and it comes in a diverse choice of colours. from €49 / zwitscherbox.com The nocturnal nuzzler Soundasleep Speaker Pillow Pillow noise will be nothing new if you snooze beside a snorer; but if you want a softer soundtrack to your dreams, rest your head on this. Hidden beneath the quilted microfibre is a Bluetooth speaker: play an audiobook or a soothing playlist, or use the app for more advanced options. £40 / soundasleeppillow.co.uk The burring boulder Kikkerland Sound Pebble The right amount…

Arlo Essential Video Doorbell Wire-Free £179 / arlo.com Video doorbells are like embarrassing bladder conditions: we’ll probably all have one eventually. Operating over your home’s Wi-Fi, they call your smartphone when someone rings the bell so you can see them on screen and have a two-way conversation, even if you’re not in; and they send alerts when they detect movement. The appeal is obvious, in terms of both security (hey, there’s someone dodgy in the garden!) and convenience (hey, a courier’s here but I can’t get to the door because of my embarrassing bladder condition!). So, with the promise of hassle-free installation plus high-def video with HDR and night vision, this Arlo Essential might live up to its name. TALL OR NOTHING This is a handsome and weatherproof rival to…

iRobot Roomba i3+ £700 / irobot.co.uk Robot vacuum cleaners are one of those gadgets that will never stop feeling futuristic. And iRobot makes some of the best of them. he Roomba i3+ costs a lot more than your average Henry, but it has premium features that were up to now only available in the even pricier Roomba i7+ and S9+ models. This includes Clean Base Automatic Dirt Disposal, which meant our droid not only cleaned after us, but after itself too. It emptied weeks’ worth of dirt and debris into the Clean Base (which doubles as the charging station) unaided, saving us from frequent visits to the bin. And if that wasn’t enough, it even captured waste in AllergenLock bags that block 99% of pollen and mould from getting up…

BT Smart Hub 2 Full Fibre 900 from £60/m / bt.com It feels like a monopoly. BT subsidiary Openreach maintains the majority of Britain’s fibre network, BT is also the UK’s biggest broadband provider, and it owns Plusnet and EE. Only Virgin Media has a dedicated rival fibre network – so even if you’re with TalkTalk, Sky or another provider, the likelihood is you’re still living in the shadow of London’s phallic tower. Most BT fibre customers get a bundled Smart Hub router; but if your postcode has 145Mbps+ speeds you can sign up for BT Halo and receive one of these, the Smart Hub 2. And we’ve been using it for a few months. BANDS ON THE RUN Compared to most ISPs’ bundled routers, the sleek and slim Smart…

Uptown top spanking That top unit is a solid speaker in its own right. It’s called the D-1 and costs £350. It does feel a bit flat on its own – but that’s just as well, because buying it without the subwoofer would be like buying cannoli without the filling. I’ve seen the sources Bluetooth, AirPlay, Works with Alexa, Spotify Connect, major streaming services, NAS drives, turntables, CD players, DJ controllers, Wi-Fi presets: the Drumfire can cope with it all… but forget Chromecast built-in. £650 / stuff.tv/Drumfire The Audio Pro Drumfire is a disastrous proposition in a national lockdown, because to get anywhere close to its 300W limit you really need the neighbours to be out, or better still residing in the next postcode. You can even stereo-pair two, although…

MESSENGER Nobody likes Facebook but almost everyone’s on it. Take advantage of that by kicking off a group chat in Messenger, prodding the camera icon and having a chinwag with your chums – or some randoms you unwisely accepted friend requests from in 2005. £free / messenger.com SKYPE Not keen on having all your video chats under the watchful eye of Zuckerberg? (In which case, also avoid WhatsApp.) Skype fell out of fashion after ill-advised attempts to transform it into a chat app, but the video bit works well. £free / skype.com FACETIME If your friends (or at least the ones you care about) have Apple kit, FaceTime is an option. Kick off a Messages thread, click Details on Mac or tap the group name on mobile, and prod the…

God only glows Audio kit always claims to let you “hear the music as the artist intended”, but here you get to see it too, with the designs using the colours of the Evangelions: the purple Unit-01 (above), red Unit-02 and blue/orange Unit-06. Serves up The case contains a chunky 950mAh battery that can refuel each bud eight times. Combined with 9hrs of wireless playback that means a total of 63hrs, long enough to watch all 26 episodes plus both movie spinoffs. £199 / stuff.tv/EVA2020 ? The EVA2020 x Finals could be the nerdiest earphone collaboration ever, bringing together Japanese personal audio gurus Final and legendary animators Studio Khara to produce a trio of wireless buds based on EVAs – the giant cyborg battle-thingies from anime classic Neon Genesis Evangelion…

We tried it too… It buzzed all my cynicism away There are two terms that are guaranteed to wind me right up: ‘mindfulness’ and ‘chillout music’. Which is hardly helpful in this context… but Sensate made fending off my inner cynic easier than I feared. The sounds are inoffensively relaxing, and the vibrations add to the sense of immersion in a way I wasn’t expecting. Richard Purvis An odd sensation, but very relaxing The only thing normally vibrating on my chest is the rumble of the PS4 controller after nodding off during a late-night THPS session. The Sensate vibrations were stronger than I was expecting, but they soon merged with the music and generally left me deeply relaxed. Just avoid the new-age chanty ones. Ross Presly £199 / stuff.tv/Sensate ?…

Sony WH-1000XM4 £309 / stuff.tv/XM4 With their perfect balance of wearability, active noise-cancelling prowess and audio performance, there just 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, it’s tough to justify the upgrade; but it’s going to take something extraordinary 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 Sony WH-1000XM3 £219 / stuff.tv/XM3 Only just outshone by the new XM4s, Sony’s previous flagship over-ears still offer reliable Bluetooth, great active noise-cancellation and fantastic…

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 £280 / stuff.tv/NintendoSwitch Nintendo’s console earned a promotion in our list after…

Half-Life: Alyx from £44 / Oculus, Vive, Valve Index Announcing 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…

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 £260 / 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 Boost Creative Toolbox £150 / stuff.tv/LegoCreativeToolbox…