T3の March 2022 の目次

CES 2022 was full of wonders but not many of them were as offbeat as the Wondercise Cycle Studio (price TBC, wondercise.com). This four-position exercise bike is like a workout Transformer, letting you exercise in multiple positions and toning different muscle groups. By getting one, you can also join the ever-growing Wondercise platform, which features enhanced multiplayer engagement with Live Motion Matching.…

JOWAIN JONES, BARRY I’m tired of x86. Is Windows-on-ARM worth trying? A Not yet. Oh, dear reader, not yet. Guru has recently tested a Samsung Galaxy Book Go, which pushes Windows 11 onto the most unwilling frame of the Snapdragon 888 processor, and there just isn’t enough power there for your £350. While there’s a translation layer that will do its darndest to get every app running, it’s dog slow. Also, and this has nothing to do with Windows-on-ARM, but the screen on the Galaxy Book Go is just about the worst panel GaGu has ever used – and he’s old enough to have worked with the original colour LCD displays on laptops. This is part of the problem Windows, and the PC market in general, will always face. There’s…

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO ALVA TT V2 Making other record players look rather drab and basic by comparison, the Cambridge Audio Alva TT V2 exudes quality even before you’ve put needle to vinyl. As well as everything you’d expect, the turntable gives you aptX HD Bluetooth connectivity, a built-in phono stage (plus the option to use your own), and an improved tonearm. £1,700, cambridgeaudio.com NOVETO N1 INVISIBLE HEADPHONES How do a pair of invisible headphones work, you might ask? The Noveto N1 sits in front of you like a miniature soundbar, using what’s known as beamforming technology to create a binaural audio experience not unlike wearing a pair of headphones, but without the physical earbuds. We’re very much looking forward to giving them a try. $800 (about £590), noveto.com ASUS ROG FLOW…

ROAD BIKE MERIDA SCULTURA TEAM As a brand, Merida is highly underrated in the cycling world – this despite having a significant presence on the WorldTour where its bikes are used exclusively by Bahrain Victorious. The Merida Scultura Team not only represents the best value-for-money offering in the brand’s line-up but the entire road bike segment, too. The bike is built around the all-new Shimano Dura-Ace R9200 Di2 hydraulic groupset so it’s polished when it comes to braking modulation and gear shifting. The carbon-fibre frame is stiff and responsive and supplies a good amount of communication through its underpinnings, allowing the rider to lean on the huge reserves of grip when descending at speed. £7,750, merida-bikes.com CYCLING ACCESSORIES VELOSOCK The Velosock is a novel solution for those who prefer storing…

1 OWO HAPTIC VEST Bullets entering and leaving your body… insects crawling… free fall… no, we’re not just writing random words. These are among the many feelings that the OWO Haptic Vest can deliver. Each sensation can be fully customised with an app and the OWO works across VR, PC, console, and mobile, so no one can miss out on the as-yet-unpriced touchy feely fun. £TBC, owogame.com 2 HTC VIVE WRIST TRACKER The latest wrist-worn HTC Vive tracker unveiled at CES 2022 has been designed for the Vive Focus 3 headset. Not only can it be worn but you can also attach it to other accessories like sports gear for full 3D tracking. Plus, if it’s on your wrist but not in direct view of the headset, it can still predict movements…

The Denon Home 550 has got a lot of the right ingredients. It’s compactand discreet, nicely made, properly finished and better-specified than many of its competitors for the price you pay. But can it knock our current favourite small-ish soundbar – the Sonos Beam Gen 2 – off its perch? Let’s kick off with an additional HDMI socket. Unlike the Sonos Beam Gen 2, with its single HDMI eARC socket, the Home 550 adds an HDMI input – so you don’t have to take up one of your TV’s HDMI inputs if you don’t need to. A seemingly obvious course of action, but not as obvious to some competing brands it seems. The HDMI sockets support 4K, HDR10 and Dolby Vision too. And in the little recess at the back…

Reviewing the Beats Fit Pro, we had a little deja vu: they share a lot of similarities with the relatively recent Beats Studio Buds. At least, on the surface. But, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll find a much improved experience. The Beats Fit Pro don’t reinvent the aesthetic wheel of earbuds, nor should they. Though the squarish charging case looks very different, they resemble the Beats Studio Buds quite a bit, only adding the wingtips that a lot of sports-focused earbuds tend to come with. As far as materials go, the body of the earbuds is made of a durable plastic while the wingtips have a flexible runner feel, letting the outer part of the buds have a softer feel. While the wingtips don’t look as secure as…

Formula 1 is back, and this year’s season looks set to be its most exciting yet – not just because of the Hamilton/Verstappen rivalry, but because we’ll see the first race in what might just be F1’s most spectacular location: Miami. Its inaugural GP takes place at the Miami International Autodrome over the 6, 7 and 8 May. It’s further proof you don’t have to be a petrol head to enjoy the sport. The track is at the Hard Rock Stadium, and race goers can expect some big names – Britney Spears, Bruno Mars and Kool and the Gang have all performed at the F1 race in Austin, Texas, and organisers of the Miami event are reportedly keen to raise the bar. There’s plenty to do away from the track…

Instant Vortex is the air fryer range from Instant Brands, which also makes Instant Pot. Now, in an instant, it has released three new Instant Vortex air fryers, each of which has its own killer feature (from £120, instantbrands.co.uk). People love air fryers because they’re a convenient way to cook and they have some health benefits. And because people just love kitchen gizmos – just look at the success of Instant Pots, which are quite literally pressure cookers with knobs on. The health benefits of air fryers are easy to overstate, but if you usually deep fry all your food or pan fry it in a ton of oil, lard, dripping and butter, you will definitely reduce your fat intake if you buy an air fryer and use that instead.…

DON’T LOOK UP Many critics say it’s rubbish, but Guru quite enjoyed the silliness of this star-studded Adam McKay Netflix comedy propagandathon. Eyes on the skies, folks. TETR.IO GaGu has struggled to do much this month, not only because of his usual laziness, but because he has rekindled his love of legally distinct free-to-play Tetris-adjacent games. A.Z This album of masterful nu-disco keyboard-slinging and track-chopping tunes from Applzaft has only one track with over 1,000 plays. Ridiculous. Get it in your ears.…

WAS £4.99 NOW £3.24* AN ISSUE SUBSCRIBER BENEFITS Every issue delivered directly to your door or digital device • Save 35% on the cover price* • You’re in control – manage your subscription online via our dedicated self-service site • Each issue is packed with the latest gadgets, from TVs to drones, smart home tech to phones TO SUBSCRIBE GO TO magazinesdirect.com/A24B OR CALL: 0330 333 1113. Quote code: A24B A FANTASTIC OFFER FOR 2022 • Stay bang up to date on what’s happening in the world of tech • Pay just £10.50 every three months – that’s just £3.24 an issue! • Receive every issue delivered direct to your door or device • Save £s on the cover price – leaving more money to spend on gadgets! • Enjoy…

FANTASTIC FOR iPHONE AIRPODS PRO Apple’s AirPods Pro offer superb iPhone integration and seamless switching between all your Apple devices – so you can be listening on iPhone and switch to iPad or Mac without any fuss. They sound great and Transparency Mode works very well. They support Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos, and you can locate them with the Find My app. The best features are iPhone-only; Android users should look elsewhere. £189, apple.com ALL-ROUND EXCELLENCE SONY WF-1000XM4 The WF-1000XM4 sound better than the AirPods Pro, and while they’re not quite up there with the B&W in terms of sonic fidelity – there’s no aptX HD – they’re not as pricey either. There’s wired and wireless charging, Speak To Chat to automatically adjust sound when you’re talking to someone,…

On paper, the Bose SoundLink Flex has everything it needs to compete with the best Bluetooth speakers: decent battery life, rugged and durable construction, decent technical specification and a trustworthy brand’s heritage behind it. But can it knock the Bang & Olufsen A1 2nd Gen and the Sonos Roam off their perch? The SoundLink Flex is a reasonably compact 20x9x5cm and weighs a very manageable 600g. It has an extremely sturdy fabric strap at one end of its chassis, too, which means it can happily hang off a hook or a bag. And the materials used mean the Flex has an IP67 rating against dust and moisture ingress. In fact, the SoundLink Flex will float quite happily in water. As far as usability goes, the Flex is properly, well, flexible.…

Smaller, smarter projectors are gaining popularity but your options can be limited when looking for one. Fortunately, the Xgimi Elfin has blown that wide open. It’s clear that the company has put everything it has learned into crafting the ideal one. The Xgimi Elfin isn’t something you can simply toss in your purse or small backpack, unlike the Xgimi MoGo Pro+. However, at 192 x 194 x 48mm, it will take up just as much space as a 13-inch Ultrabook. Better yet, at 900g, it will feel much less of a burden than something like a MacBook Air or a Dell XPS 13. So, if you’re used to carrying your laptop everywhere, you’ll have no concerns transporting this. While it does keep things travel-friendly, it’s also very stable. The biggest…

After relative silence in the second half of 2021, Garmin entered 2022 with a boom: the US-based company announced not one, not two but four new smartwatches in a span of just a couple of weeks. Two of them are the long-anticipated Fenix 7 and the new-and-improved Epix. The Garmin Fenix 7 (from £599.99, garmin.com) is likely to become hugely popular. The watch introduces the Power Sapphire glass that combines the now-improved solar harvesting ring around the watch face with a sapphire lens for added protection. With the added touchscreen functionality and built-in flashlight (7X model only), the Fenix 7 will be on the top of every outdoorsy person’s Christmas list. What happened if you added an AMOLED screen on the Fenix 6? You’d get a watch that looks something…

SWAROVSKI OPTIK’S CL CURIO 7X21 BINOCULARS You won’t miss a moment of the action with these. They won’t weigh you down, either – these compact binoculars, the result of a collaboration with world-renowned industrial designer Marc Newson, weigh just 250g. £630, swarovskioptik.com ANKER POWERBANK 10000 If you’re the kind of person who loves to send your friends trackside selfies, you’ll need to stay connected, something that gets significantly easier when you’ve got the slimline Anker Powerbank 10000, which can charge an iPhone 12 to 50% in 30 minutes. £32.99, amazon.co.uk KEEN NXIS EVO WP SHOES Quickly get from the bar to the grandstand by donning Keen’s new shoes. They’re packed with hi-tech comfort-enhancing features such as dual density PU footbeds, eco-friendly anti-odour treatments and compression moulded midsoles. From £135, keenfootwear.com…

1 TROPICAL LANDSCAPE 2 WALLPAPER Interiors trends in 2022 will continue with an environmental focus, featuring natural materials and recycled and pre-loved items. Creating the perfect backdrop to a more sustainable living space is this tropical-themed wallpaper. The huge ferns and leafy lushness will create a dramatic look as well as imbue your space with a sense of calm and serenity. From £35/m2 , wallsauce.com 2 PRIMROSE KITCHEN STOOL While the botanical trend promises to bring calm and well-being into our homes, this doesn’t mean you have to make any sacrifices when it comes to style and elegance. This Scandinavian-inspired stool boasts both rural charm and plenty of class with its mid-century look. Made from solid beech wood with gold-capped feet and velvet fabric. £159, cultfurniture.com 3 BOTANICAL PORTRAIT If you’d…

There’s no doubt that streaming services have revolutionised television. The ability to watch, in theory, any TV show or movie immediately is an incredible thing, and the original content made by the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime et al has made TV shows feel universal in a way they haven’t for decades. It’s like when there were only four channels, so practically everyone watched the hot shows. So yes, streaming is a marvellous thing, but for me there are a few tiny flaws. Just little things such as: I don’t like the original content, the cost is ridiculous and the amount of choice becomes actively oppressive. Just little things. I’ve recently been carrying out an audit of my spending. That’s because my energy bills are now so high, I…

1 META QUEST 2 Take away the Oculus name and all of a sudden existing Quest owners already own a little bit of Mark Zuckerberg’s future metaverse tech. The standalone Meta Quest 2 continues to be the VR gift that keeps on giving with an ultra-attractive price point and no need for additional tech other than your smartphone. Plus the stratospheric success of the system means that the Quest doesn’t suffer from a lack of dedicated apps. There are hundreds of games and experiences to make the most of the improved screen, speedy processor, and eternally impressive Touch Controllers with individual finger tracking. If you’re looking to play on PC, you can always just plug in for games like Half Life: Alyx. From £299, oculus.com 2 PLAYSTATION VR2 There’s no release date,…

In order to take on the consumer drone giant DJI, a company needs to design and build a drone that’s as good, if not better; a drone equipped with an excellent camera, a rock-solid flight controller and transmitter, an exceptional app and some decent autonomous flight modes. Well we’ve found that drone: the Autel Evo Nano. The Evo Nano weighs just 249g and that means that, like the DJI Mini and Mini 2, it can be flown in more places than drones above the 250g weight limit. This is a key selling point because most casual users only fly occasionally when, say, on holiday or shooting a family gathering. The last thing you want to have to do is jump through complicated legal hoops. Having flown numerous DJI drones, for…

If you’re looking for the very best tech available today, you’ve 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 extensively tested the best tech the world has to offer, to bring you rock-solid recommendations for your home life, daily commute and the tech you use all the time. In 54 different categories, we’ve chosen the top four products, so you can choose one that’s just the right mix of features and budget for what you need. These rankings come from real testing by our team of experts – they’re the products we’d choose for ourselves, and we can’t recommend any higher than that. Look for the links above each category that take you to…