Table of contents for May 2019 in Stuff UK

In the last couple of years, the world has fallen head over heels for headphones. It used to be that noise-cancellers were the sole preserve of hardcore business travellers and their exclusive Boses, but now it seems most people find them as essential as their phones for getting through the daily commute. So this month we’ve created our ultimate headphone buying guide: whether you’re after in-ears or on-ears, wireless fitness buds or even a gaming headset, we’ll help you find your perfect pair We’ve also gone green in this issue, and compiled an eco-gadget special dedicated to the best in ethical and sustainable tech. As we all become more aware of where our devices are coming from and the impact they have on the planet, it’s great to see products…

$399 / oculus.com The original Oculus Rift headset might have sparked the virtual reality revolution, but it’s beginning to show its advancing years. Step forward the Rift S, which, while not exactly the Oculus Rift 2.0, does a lot more than give the old model a fresh coat of paint. • It’s very sensor-ble For our money, the Rift S’s true killer feature is the integration of five room-tracking sensors into the headset itself. That means no need to dig out the tape measure, drill, wall plugs and cable ties to install a bunch of sensors in your living room. Now you get full-fat room-tracking right out of the box. Mind, as with the original, you’ll still need to tether up a beefy PC. • It opens doors Nothing scuppers…

GOOGLE STADIA CONTROLLER While Google’s new Stadia platform doesn’t require gamers to add another console to their collection, it does have a very traditional controller. The pad, which looks something like a DualShock and Xbox One controller’s controversial lovechild, has a share button that can be used to send clips straight to YouTube. Perfect for headshot specialists. It seems strange that one of the largest tech companies on the planet has taken this long to grab a slice of the oh-so-lucrative gaming pie, but Google has finally arrived with Stadia, an online game-streaming service. It’s not unlike OnLive or Sony’s PlayStation Now, but the key here is freedom. Rather than asking you to find space for yet another console under the TV, the big G’s processing heft comes entirely from…

from $39,000 / tesla.com Oh great, another electric wondercar I can’t afford… Not so fast. The Model Y (named so Elon Musk can complete the ‘S3XY’ line-up, because of how hilariously funny that is) is Tesla’s affordable SUV. The world is going gaga for these high-riding hatches, and Tesla is promising a starting price of US$39,000. In EV terms, that’s quite a bargain. But isn’t it just a Model 3 on stilts? It kind of is – from the outside, at least. The Model Y has the same swooping body as the Model 3, and the same oddly closed-off front grille that looks a bit like Neo in The Matrix when he has his mouth removed. And finding differences inside the cabin would be splitting hairs: the Model Y has…

It seems crazy to think that, less than a decade ago, non-nerds didn’t know what Huawei was. Now it’s everywhere and was second, after Samsung, for worldwide smartphone sales in 2018. It was only last year that we crowned the Huawei Mate 20 Pro as the new king of phones, but excitement for its successor, the P30 Pro, has been building for quite a while. We’ve been following the leaks like a ravenous fox hunting out a particularly succulent rabbit, and now we’ve finally got to try out the real deal. But before we get to the important things, can we just talk about the colours? Because they are quite sublime – we can see exactly why Huawei has been waxing lyrical about pearlessence and iridescence and other words that…

SOUNDMAGIC E11C Price £50 / soundmagicheadphones.com In-ear headphones can be the hardest thing to convince people they should buy. Many consider the buds that come bundled with their devices to be good enough – but you can get a huge leap in quality for around £50. SoundMagic has dominated this corner of the market in recent years, and the E11Cs are its most recent addition, slotting in just above the company’s oft-awarded entry-level effort, the E10Cs. So what’s new? There are upgraded drivers and a more subtle silver finish. The earbuds have an aluminium casing and a choice of three silicone eartips, and there’s a carry case for keeping them out of harm’s way in your bag. The cable is tangle-resistant (not tangle-proof, though) and they promise better sound reproduction…

NOW HEAR THIS Sound magic Active noise cancellation (ANC) specialises in eliminating the lowerfrequency rumbles in your environment, such as engine roar. Noise-cancelling headphones use microphones in the earcups – the headphones feed your ears a version of the incoming noise in reversed phase, effectively cancelling the sound out. This isn’t as easy to do with high-frequency sound waves, which are dealt with by passive isolation instead. B&O H9i Price £329 / bang-olufsen.com These wireless and noise-cancelling cans are B&O’s flagship over-ears. They certainly look the part, but have their work cut out swooping into territory dominated by the likes of Bose and Sony. Like all B&O products, the H9is scream luxury. It’s an all leather and aluminium design, with supremely comfortable memory-foam earpads. The grip is just right, making…

? Linea Go Alongside a minimal toolset, Linea Go has a lot of smart stuff going on for Android and Apple lovers. There are layers, smart shapes that snap into something recognisable when you hold the screen for a second, templates and variable pen widths. Its elegance and efficiency ensure you get on with sketching, rather than giving up, buried under countless palettes and tools. Stuff says £1.99 / Android, iOS ? Autodesk SketchBook A quick tap on SketchBook’s menus reveals a lot lurking behind the minimal interface. Going freestyle? Delve into paints, pens, and tones you can fiddle around with to make your own. Like it more rigid? Try the selection and transform tools, and the guide shapes to trace around. You’ve no excuse to not get your art…

LAST PASS If you don’t fancy paying for a password manager, LastPass is your best bet. It’ll hold passwords, form fills and notes (a catch-all for other kinds of data). The service allows cross-device sync for nothing; a premium tier adds 1GB of encrypted storage. from £free / lastpass.com 1PASSWORD This is a fine feature-rich choice. Along with logins and notes, you can stash server details, software licences and more. Travel mode even lets you remove vaults from your device before going away unless they’re flagged as safe. $2.99/month / 1password.com A NOTEPAD If this is what you use, stop. Whether it’s one of those real-world password notepads, or a digital equivalent, don’t leave passwords accessible in a manner that’s barely any more secure than pinning a copy to your…

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 stuff.tv link in this issue 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.…

Data Wing £free / Android, iOS This game starts off as if Asteroids had a baby with a top-down racer: your triangular craft blasts around circuits, gaining speed when its bum scrapes neon track edges. Soon you discover you’re part of an OS ruled by a deranged AI. Story and game quickly expand, as you glimpse the world beyond the screen and battle gravity in cavern-based sections that recall 8-bit classic Thrust. Rarely do mobile titles pack in so many hours of clever, thoughtful narrative. Pretty much never are such games free. Stuff says A mobile game we’d happily recommend if it cost a fiver – for nowt, it’s an absurdly generous bargain Euclidean Skies £4.99 / iOS This is a challenging mobile game that pulls off quite the achievement…

Apple Watch Series 4 from £399 / stuff.tv/WatchS4 The Apple Watch Series 4 has everything going for it – the larger screen, improved processor and louder speaker mean it’s easier to actually do stuff on it than any previous Watch, and it has a load of health features that just aren’t on other wearables. Whether you’re navigating somewhere using Maps, going for a run without your phone, or just wanting to keep track of your activity during the day, this Apple Watch does a great job of handling all these things and more. Stuff says Best wearable ever: a sleek, sophisticated redesign of the previous generation with some hearty upgrades Samsung Galaxy Watch from £299 / stuff.tv/GalaxyWatch A sturdy and stylish smartwatch with plenty of power and a truly lovely…

Sonos One £199 / stuff.tv/SonosOne Making an amazing speaker was an easy job for the multiroom champs, but getting Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant to dance along in time with it… well, that wasn’t such a simple task. But the One is now an altogether more well-rounded device than it was at launch, supporting Spotify with voice control as well as Amazon Music and TuneIn Radio, while the early Alexa hiccups seem to have been fixed by a series of software updates. It also has an improved processor in its 2019 ‘Gen 2’ form. Stuff says Sonos’s Alexa-powered speaker remains a class apart from the competition Amazon Echo Dot £50 / stuff.tv/EchoDot The massive price difference means that, for many people, the 3rd-gen Dot is a better bet than the full-size…

Oculus Rift £349 / stuff.tv/OculusRift The Oculus Rift has been playing catch-up for a while; but now that it’s got the fantastic Touch Controllers, has boosted its room-tracking capabilities to match the Vive and has had a price drop to easily undercut HTC’s standard headset, it finally deserves to top our VR headset rankings. Its library of exclusive games has grown considerably since launch too, with the likes of Robo Recall, Lucky’s Tale and Lone Echo all added. This is now the best VR headset available that doesn’t cost the world. Stuff says Thanks to the price cut and much-needed updates, the Rift is now the best reasonably-priced VR headset HTC Vive £499 / stuff.tv/HTCVive Barring a £100 price difference, there isn’t much difference between the HTC Vice and Oculus…

Fujifilm X-T3 £1349 / stuff.tv/FujifilmXT3 It’s really hard to find anything bad to say about the X-T3 – it’s just consistently great in so many ways. Fuji has looked at virtually every feature on the X-T2 and upgraded it. With substantial tweaks made to the pro-level video options, the high-res EVF, the super-fast autofocus and the burst shooting, what you’re left with is an all-round beast of a camera in a small, beautiful form. As APS-C shooters go, it’s the best there is. Stuff says An incredible stills shooter with video smarts to match • NOW ADD THIS Manfrotto 190 Go! Carbon Fibre Tripod You no longer have an excuse for wobbly photos with this carbon-fibre tripod. It weighs just 1.65kg. £249 / manfrotto.co.uk • TIPS & TRICKS • Pre-shot…

I CONJURED MUSIC OUT OF THIN AIR You may have reached for your woollen mitts during the recent cold snap, but my left hand was adorned with something more sophisticated: the Micro:bit Mini.Mu. It’s a craft kit for kids that includes felt, croc clips and some other bits you need for making a glove. Not just any glove, though: one you can code to make music with an app. I know it’s not cool, but can you program your fingers to play The Entertainer when you wave? Natalya Paul, Online Editor I DABBLED WITH A 3D PHONE IN CALIFORNIA Glasses-free 3D – wasn’t that a thing Nintendo did back in 2011? Well, Rokit, the headline sponsor of the Williams F1 team, is attempting to bring it back with the launch…

HG Wells called – he wants his aliens back. Very observant, but don’t pretend Tom Cruise didn’t introduce you to War of the Worlds. Anyway, these floor-standing speakers aren’t the result of a unique collaboration between Earth and Mars; they’re the work of Berlin-based audio experts Teufel and Bavarian porcelain pros Rosenthal. Standing almost exactly a metre tall, the stereo pair is apparently the first ever Wi-Fi speaker system to be made from porcelain. Isn’t porcelain what they make lavs out of? Good luck finding an Armitage Shanks that sounds this good. They might look a bit like two massive AirPods propped up on plastic canes, but the teardrop shape of the enclosures minimises distortion and interference, while the hollow tail ensures you get nice deep bass. The oomph is…

MAGINARY £free (IAPs) / iOS When you were a kid, you might have been given one of those books that inserted you into the story by clumsily adding your name to a few pages. They were rubbish. Maginary isn’t. Although it broadly uses the same trick, this novella makes you feel properly immersed in the story, primarily through interactions with your device having an impact on events. Brilliantly, even the £4.99 IAP to unlock the last two-thirds of the book is part of the story. But beyond that, you’ll be using all of your iPhone’s tricks to propel the narrative onwards, in what’s one of the most successful mash-ups of its kind.…

Ant-Man and The Wasp Being the first Marvel Cinematic Universe movie to follow the events of Avengers: Infinity War can’t be an easy job, but Ant-Man and The Wasp, in which Paul Rudd’s shrinking superhero gets a sidekick, succeeds. The story here doesn’t concern the fate of worlds (well, who cares about worlds?), which lets the action sequences flourish. Film / Now TV Rilakkuma and Kaoru The perfect antidote to the 24-hour hell-scape of UK current events, this Japanese stop-motion series about a woman who lives with an anthropomorphic teddy bear is designed to metaphorically dunk viewers into a relaxing bath of warm, fuzzy feelings. What a refreshing change to see Netflix put out a good old-fashioned animation show. S1 / Netflix When They See Us Co-written and directed by…

23rd MANGA The British Museum is to host the largest exhibition of Manga ever seen outside of Japan. This is exciting not only because it will annoy America, but because the breadth of the global phenomenon – which encompasses comics, graphic novels, anime and gaming – means it’s bound to earn itself even more new fans. 17th JOHN WICK CHAPTER 3: PARABELLUM The series’ titular dog-loving protagonist, played once again by Keanu Reeves, is in big trouble for taking the life of someone in The High Table, an organisation of the world’s most feared crime lords, and must join forces with Halle Berry to try to shoot his way out. TRIUMPHANT! Yes way: Keanu and Alex Winter have confirmed Bill & Ted Face the Music, the pair’s first outing since…

Apple iPhone XS from £999 / apple.com What’s the story? Apple’s showcase device for everything shiny in iPhone land is the same size, costs the same and has the same underlying screen tech as its predecessor the X, but a new camera ramps up the quality of your pics during the day and at night, and there’s a more powerful processor. Is it any good? The XS is slap bang in the middle of its first year; and despite Samsung turning its nose up at the notch, Apple’s design is still cutting-edge. You get the most advanced facial unlocking feature going, a flawless Super AMOLED display and a superb A12 Bionic brain. The cameras let in more light than before and there’s optical image stabilisation, though shots aren’t quite as…

JARGON BUSTER Open-back Open-back headphones have a grille on each earcup, allowing air in and out to prevent pressure building up inside. As they leak sound, it means they’re really only suitable for at-home listening. Closed-back Closed-back headphones are entirely sealed, making them better for on-the-go listening. Not only does sound not leak out, but they’re also better at stopping outside noise getting in. B&W P9 SIGNATURE Price £699 / bowerswilkins.com When choosing over-ear headphones, fit is almost as important as sound quality. Go for an uncomfortable pair and after a long listening session your head might feel like it’s been in a vice. Thankfully, with the B&W P9s, your ears will feel bathed in luxury, in both performance and design. Sitting at the top of B&W’s stellar headphones range,…

AUDEZE MOBIUS Price £349 / audeze.com There is this theory of the Möbius. A twist in the fabric of space where time becomes a loop from which there is no escape.” That quote from Star Trek: The Next Generation, sampled by electronic dance duo Orbital, sums up what it’s like to game with Audeze’s’phones – they’re so damned good you’ll get lost in time and won’t want to take them off. Based on flexible circuit materials developed for NASA, they use thin-film drivers and custom magnets. Audeze claims this makes them faster and more responsive than heavier moving-coil or dome drivers, thanks to clever electromagnetic wizardry. But it’s in the 3D capabilities that things get really interesting. Integrated Wave NX head-tracking checks your bonce’s location 1000 times a second, feeding…

COOL COLLECTABLES The poignant pole star Marloe Haskell Black Edition Commemorating Captain Scott’s ill-fated return from the South Pole, this British brand’s Swiss-made special edition has an image of a penguin atop the earth on the back of its case, representing the Terra Nova expedition, plus five stars for the explorers who never made it back. £845 / marloewatchcompany.com The rugged rainbow Casio G-Shock MTG-B1000RB If She-Ra needs a reason to drop in on Swift Wind to boast about Bluetooth synchronicity and Multi-Band Atomic 6 timekeeping, then this should do it. Celebrating 20 years of G-Shock’s Metal Twisted series, the B1000RB is a luxury analogue with a rainbow colourway. £950 / gshock.com The firefighter’s friend Victorinox I.N.O.X. Carbon Featuring a full carbon case and dial with a striking neon cord…

Neato Botvac D7 Connected What’s the story? This is Neato’s high-end automated cleaner, with the ability to clean specific rooms, compatibility with pretty much every smart assistant and gadget going, plus the ability to be driven manually using the app if you want to recreate Robot Wars in your living room. Is it any good? If you just want a robot vac that cleans to a schedule, then Xiaomi’s Mi model will do it for a lot less money than this Neato. But if you need more control, the D7 is one of the most fully featured robot vacs ever made. You can dictate exactly where it does and doesn’t go, so if you’re in a rush and spill your cereal in the kitchen you can call in the Neato…

FIRST ADD THESE… ONE PANASONIC DP-UB9000 Make the most of the 4K abilities of this gorgeous telly with Panasonic’s flagship UHD Blu-ray player. Picture quality is superb, while support for hi-res audio, plus two-channel and 7.1 analogue outputs, mean you can also enjoy pumping some serious beats through that built-in Bowers & Wilkins soundbar. £899 / amazon.co.uk TWO SONY PS4 PRO Gaming never looked and sounded so good, with the PlayStation 4 Pro’s 4K compatibility and boosted frame rates making the latest titles feel so real it hurts a little bit. Couple the fantastic colours and sharp visuals with explosive, immersive sound, and you’ve got a recipe for thumb-numbing sessions that last long into the night. £349 / currys.co.uk THREE SONOS PLAYBAR B&W has done an incredible job with the…

FAIRPHONE 2 €399 / fairphone.com The Fairphone 2 is a modular Android phone made using an ethical supply chain of conflict-free materials. The company also claims to promote good working conditions for production line employees. This includes membership of the Clean Electronics Production Network (CEPN), aiming to stop workers’ exposure to toxic chemicals when handling components. It’s also the first phone to integrate Fairtrade gold. Thanks to its modular design you can quickly and cheaply replace virtually every component, from the display to the cameras, earpiece and vibration mechanism – right down to the screws. This should make upgrades easy when a Fairphone 3, still a concept, surfaces. The mix of its ethical supply chain and reparable design means it’s been recognised by Greenpeace, has received a top score from…

Huawei Mate 20 Pro £800 / stuff.tv/Mate20Pro Huawei bumped its own magnificent P20 Pro off the top spot with another flagship phone that’s left Apple and Samsung scrabbling to catch up. The Mate 20 Pro brings back the triple-lens camera of the P20 Pro, only now it’s got a 20MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a new version of its predecessor’s AI-assisted night mode. It’s the most tech-packed phone in the world, yet battery life is a match for any of its rivals. No contest. Stuff says A stunning smartphone that makes the competition look lazy in comparison • NOW ADD THIS Huawei Smart View Flip Cover This case has a transparent window that will display your Mate 20 Pro’s notifications, time and weather. £13.47 / amazon.co.uk • TIPS & TRICKS •…

Sony WF-1000X £145 / stuff.tv/SonyWF Promoted to top spot because the Beyerdynamic Byrons are no longer available except in (non-bargainy) Bluetooth form, these fully wireless Sony buds offer impressive levels of detail and clarity, a decent amount of bass weight to the mix, and active noise-cancelling that works as well as you can expect from a pair of in-ears. Pairing is quick and playback is largely stable, with the familiar Sony sound that puts timing, drive and dynamics at the top of its to-do list. Stuff says Smart and comfy, these are the best-sounding fully wireless in-ears we’ve heard yet SoundMagic E11C £50 / stuff.tv/E11C Super-light and incredibly comfortable, the E11Cs have a slightly more premium look than their predecessors. See also the excellent E11BTs, which add Bluetooth for an…

Moov Now £55 / stuff.tv/MoovNow Slow and steady wins the race, and the Now has gone on to prove that with a marathon-like pace helping it finally make it to the top of this list. We’ve long considered this tracker a bargain, but further reductions have helped it enter the realm of ‘downright steal’. OK, so it doesn’t have a screen or smartphone skills, but with guided voice coaching, a six-month battery and solid waterproofing, it has everything you’d ever want in your perfect fitness tracker. Stuff says A bargain-tastic fitness band that does more than just track your steps Fitbit Inspire HR £90 / stuff.tv/InspireHR Fitbit’s latest is a great little tracker. As well as step-counting, it’s surprisingly capable for proper run-tracking if you go out with a phone.…

Sky Q from £20 + £20/month / stuff.tv/SkyQ Sky Q works flawlessly and could change the way you watch TV – especially now 4K’s arrived. With Sky Movies’ huge range of films and Sky Sports in stunning Ultra HD, along with the new addition of Netflix, there’s something for everyone to treat their eyes with. And 2TB of storage means you can record 350 hours’ worth of entertainment, so you’re unlikely to be sweating over which show needs deleting. Factor in its multiroom skills, and Sky Q is undoubtedly the best TV experience you can get. Stuff says You’ll have to cough up for a subscription, but this is the best box for watching both live and recorded shows Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K £50 / stuff.tv/FireStick4K Amazon’s latest streaming…

Lego Boost Creative Toolbox £150 / stuff.tv/LegoCreativeToolbox Building Lego models is already ridiculously good fun, so think what great a time you’ll have when the completed model turns into a functioning robot. With the accompanying tablet app, you can use simple coding to make the robot move, fire projectiles and play various games. And rather than retiring it to the dusty shelf once you’re bored, you can rebuild him into four other programmable models: a harmonica-playing cat, a driveable rover, a working robot-builder and a playable guitar. Stuff says All hail Vernie and friends – for value and sheer fun, it’s hard to beat this programmable Lego kit Propel Star Wars X-Wing Battling Drone £48 / stuff.tv/SWDrone The Star Wars Battling Drone works indoors and outdoors, and doesn’t require a…

Superhot VR £16 / Oculus Rift, Vive, PSVR Superhot has found its home in VR – just watch those slow-mo bullets skim the tip of your nose. The enemy will only move when you do, so time your attacks to perfection and dodge, duck and dive to survive. There’s something really cool about hiding behind a desk before blitzing your opponents with streams of bullets as if you were starring in your very own Matrix movie. And with Superhot soon arriving on PSVR, more players will be able to experience this wonderfully action-packed title. Stuff says If you have a VR headset, this 2-in-1 puzzler and shooter should be right at the top of your shopping list Farpoint £16 (£130 with Aim Controller) / PSVR If it weren’t in VR,…

Sony DSC-RX100 V £740 / stuff.tv/RX100V We wouldn’t recommend buying this camera if you already own the old IV model, but a few improvements have ensured Sony remains the top dog in our compacts list – and we’re keeping this model above the newer RX100 VI simply because of the huge price difference. It remains one of the finest point-and-shoots we’ve ever seen, with a flexibility that few pocket cameras can muster. While it’s still not exactly cheap, we reckon this is the cam to buy if you want fantastic-looking snaps from your holidays. Stuff says A small improvement over the RX100 IV, but this Sony is close to premium point-and-shoot perfection Panasonic Lumix TZ200 £629 / stuff.tv/TZ200 This Panasonic compact is a significant upgrade from the TZ100, offering extra…

SNES Classic Mini £80 / stuff.tv/ClassicMini Why bother splashing out over £200 on a games console when you can get the SNES Classic Mini for a fraction of that? Especially when you get 21 classic titles pre-installed on this nostalgia-inducing machine, including the likes of Super Metroid, A Link to the Past, Super Mario World and the never-before-released Star Fox 2. And with two controllers bundled in the box, you’ll be able to start the Super Mario Kart action right away. Stuff says With 21 classic games installed, gamers won’t find better value anywhere • NOW ADD THIS 8Bitdo Bluetooth Retro Receiver Fed up of those short cables? Use this clever device to connect most modern controllers wirelessly. £15 / 8bitdo.com • TIPS & TRICKS • Chickens killed you in…

GET THE BEST GADGET DEALS WITH STUFF 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 stuff.tv link in this issue 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. • In the mag: We pick out the best price for every featured product • Online: Choose from our roster of great-value retailers…

The gift that keeps on giffing PEEQO These days, your friends are more likely to express ideas in gif and video form than use actual words. So it should come as no surprise that robots want in on the action. Desktop companion Peeqo eschews boring audio responses, instead wiggling his flexible body and playing videos and gifs when you give spoken commands. He’ll instantly find the right gif whether you set a timer, ask about the weather, or moan that you’re having a tough day. He’s hackable too, with a Raspberry Pi brain: just pop off the top of his head to plug in a keyboard and mouse, and then tamper away. $179 / shek.it Com-cuter GPD MICROPC GPD’s got form in tiny PCs, and this latest effort resembles a…

JAYBIRD TARAH PRO Price £140 / jaybirdsport.com Fitness headphones can come with plenty of added tricks these days, but most of the time all you really need is a durable design, top-notch battery life and a sound that’s energetic enough to push you through the wall. That’s what Jaybird has focused on here with the Tarah Pro buds, which sit above the original Tarahs and the oft-recommended X4s, and as an alternative to the Run XTs. These are more traditional wireless Bluetooth headphones, with a cable connecting the two buds. For all the convenience that truly wireless offers, on-ear controls are not always the most handy when you’re pounding the pavement, sweaty hands and all. Instead, the Tarah Pros have an in-line remote on the durable woven cable, for easy…

£149 / stuff.tv/VersaLite ▪ We get it. Not everyone wants an all-singing, all-jiving smartwatch. It seems Fitbit’s cottoned on to this too, and has got rid of the Versa’s onboard music storage, on-screen workouts, wrist-based payments and swim tracking to create the Lite. The Versa’s three buttons have been reduced to one and the Lite’s poppier colour options make for a more playful-looking wearable. It’s also £30 cheaper. ▪ As for what it can do – the Versa Lite’s superpowers include sleep, heart-rate and step tracking, and app support. You can also swim with it, given the fact it’s water-resistant to 50m – it just won’t keep tabs on your flappy excuse for a butterfly stroke. ▪ How good the experience is really does depend on your phone. Fitbit has…

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 Doing RDR2 justice by playing it on a quality 4K TV is the least we can do to repay the developers who invested large chunks of their lives into this epic. from £40 GRAN TURISMO: SPORT Another game that’s been years in the making, GT Sport takes photorealistic visuals to the next level when running through a good TV with HDR enabled. £29 (PS4 only) FIFA 19 Resist the urge to mess with sports mode on your TV and stick to game mode – FIFA’s Frostbite engine will thank you for it, and the B&W sound completes a winning combo. Back of the net. from £32…

ECO TIPS Responsibly recycling electronics reduces the need to mine precious materials for new tech. Most e-waste is shipped abroad, but metals such as gold are often recovered by bathing circuit boards in acids, which poison waterways. Check your local council’s policy on e-waste recycling – or for a certified responsible place to get rid of your old tech, go to recyclenow.com Apple Mac Mini As tech giants go, Apple is actually pretty green. Its latest Macs are claimed to be made from 100% recycled aluminium and high levels of recycled plastic. That includes the souped-up new Mac Mini. £799 / apple.com Transparent Upcrafted Speaker Limited-edition Upcrafted editions are made to order from natural materials like wood and stone, and use modular components. from £575/ transparentspeaker.com Lstn Troubadour These wireless…

THE BASICS • Use better passwords A big reason to use a manager is to ensure your passwords are better. You can create new ones that are essentially unbreakable, and fiddle around with the password ‘recipe’ to cater for sites with specific requirements. Also, when you input existing passwords, ones that are deemed weak will be flagged up accordingly. • Mix it up a bit We still hear from people who blithely use the same password across a number of internet services. This is a terrible idea, because if a bot or human breaks into one of your accounts, that breach may cascade across them all. Password managers always serve up something unique, avoiding predictable patterns. • Don’t try to remember When it comes to complex passwords, people gripe that…

Sony WH-1000XM3 £270 / stuff.tv/SonyXM3 Sony’s WH-1000 series was already a top performer, and the WH-1000XM3s make for an even more compelling package. With Bluetooth wireless and great noise-cancellation, they’re the ultimate public transport stress killer… well, aside from a chauffeur or a lottery win that lets you retire. The leather pads make them incredibly easy to wear, not unlike sitting in one of those ultra-comfy leather chairs, and most importantly of all the sound quality is fantastic. Stuff says Great wireless headphones with effective ANC and a sound that nails just about everything Urbanista Seattle Wireless from £70 / stuff.tv/SeattleWireless The Seattles are some of the best-sounding affordable wireless cans around. They’re full and rich-sounding, with the sort of tasteful bass drive that will please the masses without turning…

Sonos Beam £399 / stuff.tv/SonosBeam Sonos’s home cinema gear has always been a little expensive, but with the Beam it’s created a great-value soundbar. It sounds ace, c omes with loads of features and is compact enough to fit into the average living-room AV setup without taking over. If you want the best-sounding system then the Playbar or Playbase are still the products to go for, but they’re a lot more money, they don’t have Alexa, and they don’t control your TV in the same slick way the Beam does. Stuff says Smaller and cheaper than the already excellent Playbar, and packed full of smarts Q Acoustics Media 4 £199 / stuff.tv/Media4 The justifiably multi-award-winning Media 4 combines subtle detail with precise surround effects to be one of the best-sounding…

Sony PlayStation 4 Pro £350 / stuff.tv/PS4Pro As a gaming platform, PlayStation 4 is the best around – which makes the PS4 Pro the best of the best. Games optimised for the new console look stunning on a 4K HDR TV, and are substantially improved by the extra grunt inside this slightly bigger machine. Sure, it can’t match the Xbox One X for sheer power or resolution, but it makes up for that with an impressive line-up of games – including Uncharted 4, Horizon Zero Dawn and Bloodborne – and virtual reality support. Stuff says The system for console gamers who have a 4K TV and want the best catalogue of games on offer Nintendo Switch £279 / stuff.tv/NintendoSwitch Nintendo’s console earned a promotion in our list after it impressed…

Jaguar I-Pace from £60,995 (with PiCG) / stuff.tv/ipace Not content with simply making an electric vehicle that can get you from A to B with minimal fuss (and fuel bills), Jaguar has created something desirable, fun to drive and impressively capable when the going gets tough. This car offers Amazon Alexa integration, smartphone connectivity and a 10in touchscreen on the upper deck. With the I-Pace, Jaguar can happily claim to be the first mainstream brand to really give Tesla something to worry about. Stuff says Fun, fast and practical, the I-Pace is the greatest thing to happen to electric cars in a long time Volvo XC90 T8 from £62,660 / stuff.tv/XC90T8 The latest XC90 is a monster 4x4 that features some of the most impressive interior tech seen on any…

Tado Smart Thermostat from £150 + installation / stuff.tv/Tado It might not be as pretty as the Nest 3.0, but Tado has quietly evolved into the best all-round smart heating system around. Like autopilot for your boiler, it senses when you’re leaving home or coming back thanks to the app’s geolocation. And Tado’s gadgety goodness is second to none, with the option of zonal control for individual rooms and voice smarts from the likes Alexa and Google Assistant. Stuff says Tado roasts the competition with its combination of simplicity and smarts • NOW ADD THIS • Tado Smart Radiator Thermostats • Once you’ve tasted the joys of zonal smart heating, you and your wallet will never go back. £70 each / tado.com TIPS & TRICKS Check out the app’s Energy…