Table of contents for January 2018 in Stuff UK

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Unless you’ve left your present-buying until Christmas Eve, and have to contend with the shopping-centre leftovers before heading back to a home filled with tetchy in-laws and sugar-addled little ones. Then the holiday season can be an unmitigated nightmare. Fear not, because this month’s bumper issue of Stuff is here to see you reign supreme among friends and family as the king of Crimbo. Not yet rifled through the 100+ present ideas we’ve crammed into the Gift Guide you got with this issue? There’s plenty to keep you going in this main mag. From a smartphone supertest that sees the iPhone X face off against Google’s Pixel 2 XL, to our Christmas TV streaming guide, there’s loads to be digging into. Alas,…

1 Pokémon Pikachu Christmas Jumper As joy-inducing combinations go, it’ll be hard to top snowflakes and reindeer-inspired Pokémon prancing towards a Poké Ball. £17.49 / nintendo.co.uk 2 Official Classic Sonic Christmas Jumper Sonic has had something of a renaissance this year, so fans of the hedgehog should move fast to get this jumper in celebration. £35 / yellowbulldog.co.uk 3 Deadpool: Merry Chimichanga Sweater Deadpool has a lot in common with Santa: they both wear red and want you to sit on their lap. So he’s perfect for your jumper. £40 / merchoid.com 4 Pink Floyd Official Dark Side of the Moon Christmas Jumper This artwork has been spoofed to death, but we’re in a forgiving mood since it’s Christmas. £24 / amazon.co.uk 5 Official Fallout 4 Vault Tec Christmas Jumper…

GeForce Now? That sounds like a recruitment drive for space marines. Hmm, it would appear you’ve been reading too many sci-ficomics. GeForce Now is Nvidia’s cloud-based streaming service, which essentially turns any old laptop into a GTX 1080-powered gaming supremo. It’s been around for a while in the US, but the big news is that Mac users in Europe can now enjoy it in beta. How is that possible? Macs are as good at gaming as Sunderland are at football. Harsh but fair. It’s true that macOS has only recently started playing nice with Steam, and even then Apple’s operating system is irritatingly selective about which titles it’ll run. The magic of GeForce Now is that it offloads the heavy lifting to a graphics card in the cloud, so all…

NEXT ISSUE February New Year’s fitness special On sale 04/01/18 JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE We’re as apprehensive about this one as you, but The Rock is always fun, right? It’s billed as a sequel to the ’90s original, and rather than an old board game, this time around the group of teen protagonists are sucked into the jungle setting of a video game. Santa bringing you an Xbox One X? You’ll be able to watch Dunkirk in 4K DUNKIRK (BLU-RAY) Christopher Nolan’s visceral, relentlessly tense tour de force of a war movie was made for the biggest screen possible, so if you didn’t catch it in the cinema… well, bad luck. That said, as one of the director’s very finest achievements, it really is one of the greatest films…

Seven months on from its previous supertest win, the impeccable Galaxy S8 is still our No1 smartphone. That it’s still top after seeing off the monumental iPhone X and Pixel 2 XL is a testament to just how remarkable this Samsung is. As an all-rounder the S8 just can’t be faulted, and it’s this comprehensive finesse that earns its elevated status against more affordable or future-thinking rivals. Apple’s new iPhone is a particularly stern challenger, but it costs near-on double the price of Samsung’s alternative. Ultimately, that difference is too huge to ignore. With an S8 in your pocket, you get a brilliant smartphone experience wrapped in one of the most stunning designs we’ve ever seen. Now add these Anker PowerCore+ 26800 PD You’re not going to squeeze this battery…

Microsoft Xbox One S £200 / xbox.com What’s the story? Microsoft’s budget-friendly console is a halfway house as far as 4K is concerned. It’s got the same UHD Blu-ray drive as the Xbox One X and can upscale games to 4K, but has pretty much exactly the same power as the original Xbox One. Still, compared to that unsightly machine, the One S is much more pleasant to gaze upon. You don’t want an uggo-box spoiling your lounge aesthetic, after all. Is it any good? Despite its 4K trappings, the One S is best thought of as a FIFA or CoD machine for people who are only going to play a couple of games a year. Sony’s library of PlayStation exclusives makes sure of that. However, there’s no arguing with…

LEGO STAR WARS KYLO REN’S TIE FIGHTER Ross Presly, Art Editor It must be hard designing new spaceships in the Star Wars universe – there are so many iconic designs already that you just end up smoothing things out, sharpening them up or simply making them bigger. Take Kylo’s new TIE Fighter as an example – it looks a lot like Darth’s original classic, only pointier at the front and a tad slimmer. Maybe these improvements make it less prone to spinning out of trenches and off into space… anyway, we’re pretty sure the Lego version of Darth’s didn’t have firing lasers, or come close to the 630 pieces in this easy-to-build kit. £75 / lego.com PROPEL T-65 X-WING STARFIGHTER DRONE Matt Tate, Hot Stuff Editor I’ll admit I’m not…

Assassin’s Creed Origins Forza Motorsport 7 Call of Duty: WWII FIFA 18 Super Mario Odyssey Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus Destiny 2 The Evil Within 2 Gran Turismo Sport The rad hatter Without Cappy, Odyssey is another well-made Mario game. With him, it’s a whole new leap forward for the inventive series. BEST FOR PLATFORM MADNESS SUPER MARIO ODYSSEY SWITCH Nintendo pulls a classic out of the hat with a Mario adventure that stomps on other 3D platformers Is it a T. Rex? Is it a space rocket? Is it a giant ham? No. It’s Mario with a magic hat that can possess pretty much anything. That’s right, Super Mario Odyssey is a game where your favourite dungaree revivalist is no longer limited to his mortal dimensions. Just chuck his…

THE BASICS Take your best shot Whether you want to boast about your affinity for late-era Dostoevsky or poke fun at a celeb biography, it’s easy to get a screenshot from your Kindle. Simply press down on two opposite corners of the screen. To share your screenshot, you’ll need to connect it to a laptop and transfer the png file. Hold your highlights We love Kindle’s touchscreen highlight feature for saving a book’s funny bits or most thought-provoking quotes. Trouble is, these selections can easily get forgotten about once you’ve moved onto your next page-turner. Hook your Kindle up to your laptop and you’ll be able to export all your highlights as a text file. Smart. Nerd up… later Fancy reading a longform essay on cryptocurrency and the dark web,…

Should I up rade? APPLE iPHONE 8 Ryan Jones Staff Writer It’s a simple life for Apple fans. You don’t need to peruse offers and spec sheets for your next phone – just wait until the annual iPhone release and, if you have the money to spare, splash out on the new upgrade. The only decision you’ve had to make until now is whether to opt for the standard model or the Plus. But now Apple has shoved you out of your comfort zone by releasing not two but three iPhone options. So, do you settle for the 8 or 8 Plus, or spend big on the X? Apple of our eye? You could easily mistake an iPhone 8 for the old iPhone 7 – they share the same bezel-heavy…

Sky Q from £20 + £22/month / sky.com 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’ frequent doses of football and F1 now all in stunning Ultra HD, 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 Q Acoustics Media 4 £349 / qacoustics.co.uk This soundbar has…

So here it is, your Christmas Gift Guide, and this year it’s bigger than ever. Why? Because if you’re anything like me, then uncovering the perfect present for your nearest and dearest is a whole lot more satisfying than getting a gift card in return. It just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, and the indisputable air of moral superiority isn’t half bad either. So, to help with what can be an epic challenge, we’ve gathered together over 100 gifts across 22 categories. Whether it’s an Apple fanatic, a petrolhead or a photo pro you’re shopping for, we’ve got a tonne of ideas that are sure to put a special Crimbo smile on someone’s face. WIN! A SPHERO R2gD2 Sphero’s adorable droid is this month’s mag cover star, and…

GOPRO HERO6 BLACK So your little brother spent his gap year gallivanting across the globe, and you’ve been stuck in the office raging with envy. While it’s easier said than done to quit your job and join him, you could at least buy him the GoPro Hero6 Black. Then the 4K videos he’ll post to social media will be so buttery-smooth, it’ll feel as if you were right there with him in Peru. £499 / stuff.tv/GoProHero6 STANLEY CLASSIC LEGENDARY VACUUM BOTTLE This is a flask fit for the more serious adventurer who appreciates a fine tomato soup in a blizzard up Ben Nevis. With a vacuum construction that’ll keep its contents hot for up to 24 hours, it’s the kind of pedigree vessel that could be passed from generation to…

1 MIGHTY So you need to buy a gift for a ‘proper’ runner? One who needs motivational music without strapping a phablet to their arm? Get them the iPod Shuffle’s spiritual successor. It lets Spotify Premium subscribers store hundreds of offline songs in its internal storage, while built-in Bluetooth means they can cut the cables with wireless headphones. US$86 / stuff.tv/Mighty 2 WAHOO ELEMNT BOLT What’s the point of going on a bike ride if you can’t bore people senseless about cadence and power outputs afterwards? That’s the joy of the Elemnt Bolt, a tiny bike computer that brings all sorts of live data to its owner’s handlebars. This includes heart-rate stats from Bluetooth Smart straps, as well as directions home thanks to the built-in GPS. £200 / stuff.tv/WahooBolt 3…

1 SMEG STAND MIXER This mixer is so lovely and innocent-looking that no one will suspect your cunning plan. You buy it for someone you see quite regularly, and then you pester them for the next 12 months about using it. They will feel suitably obliged to produce baked goods, and you will have yourself a steady stream of sponge and biscotti. £349 / stuff.tv/SmegMixer 2 EDIBLE GOLD It’s simply not fair that our lives will never be as lavish as those of Lewis Hamilton’s dogs, and that Kanye owns a gold chain that’s worth more than the sum of all our possessions. So give this edible bling (for sprinkling on fancy desserts) to someone who needs a taste of glamour. Nothing says hedonism like eating gold, even if it…

1 PARKER: YOUR AUGMENTED REALITY BEAR BY SEEDLING Parker looks like your typical teddy: plush fur, shiny eyes, etc etc. But point an iPhone or iPad at him and the magic of AR gives him life… albeit in a rather sickly way. You see, Parker is unwell, and your child’s task is to make him better by playing a variety of games and making use of the included accessories. £60 / stuff.tv/ParkerBear 2 LEARNING RESOURCES ZOOMY 2.0 MICROSCOPE Microscopes can be fiddly for young kids, but the Zoomy makes it all easy by going handheld. Hook it up to a laptop via USB then hold the ’scope above your subject and the screen becomes your eyepiece, making it a lot easier to see what’s going on. With a 54x zoom,…

FOREO LUNA 2 FOR MEN It might look weird, but if you spend a minute scrubbing your face with Foreo’s Luna 2 before you shave, the 8000 sonic pulses it emits will unclog pores and remove dead skin cells, helping you get a smoother shave and preventing razor burn. It’ll even make your blades last longer… and claims to keep you looking younger. Got to be worth a try, right? £169 / stuff.tv/Luna2Men BRAUN SERIES 9 Braun’s latest shaver is cleverer than most, and a gift-wrapped reminder that Movember is long gone. Its SyncroSonic technology checks the density of your facial hair 160 times every minute and adjusts the power accordingly, a bit like traction control for your beard. It even comes with a charging base that cleans and lubricates…

1 PHILIPS SOMNEO SLEEP AND WAKE-UP LIGHT Don’t let the long, dark winter nights get you down – stick a wake-up light by the side of your bed and it’ll feel like the sun is rising right on cue. Instead of an alarm jolting you into life as rudely as a defibrillator, the gradually increasing light should leave you more refreshed and ready for the day ahead. £190 / stuff.tv/PhilipsSleepLight 2 LAMETRIC CLOCK To save you groggily reaching for your phone every morning, this pixel-faced clock will provide you with the time, weather, calendar events, emails and more, right there on your bedside table. LaMetric updates in real time and can hook up to your other smart home tech, so you can control it all with one button. £159 /…

1 CRAB MULTI TOOL If Blue Planet II has taught us anything, it’s that we all love those sideways-stepping pinchers. For this reason, we can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want this crab-shaped multi tool. In fact, you’ll be so impressed with its clawsome beech body and arsenal of stainless steel tools that it’ll be hard to resist shellfishly keeping it for yourself. (Sorry.) £17.99 / stuff.tv/CrabTool 2 GOJI MINI PORTABLE WIRELESS SPEAKER Is it a macaron? Is it a yo-yo? No, it’s Goji’s pocketable Bluetooth speaker, which is better than the two combined. OK, so nobody’s going to be soundtracking their house parties with this, but they’ll never have to tolerate tinny smartphone speakers again. And with IPX4 water-resistance, it’s great for bath wig-outs. £12.99 / stuff.tv/GOJISpeaker 3 THE…

IN THE GIFT GUIDE I HAD A LEVITATING LIGHTBULB MOMENT While I loved getting a Paul Daniels Magic Set for Christmas back in the day, this floating lightbulb is way more exciting. Flyte (£299, flyte.se) drew a crowd in the Stuff office when it landed for our Gift Guide. But then someone had to ruin the magic by saying his dad had seen magnetic induction lamps back in college. OK, but only the canny Swedes managed to turn that idea into a mantelpiece marvel, and it’s hard to imagine a better Boxing Day icebreaker. Mark Wilson, Features Editor I HAD THE POSTURE POLICE ON MY BACK Punishment takes many forms. Meet Upright Go (£75, uprightgo.com), a device that sits on your back and gives you a gentle buzz every time…

#28 AMAZON KEY Matt Tate A smart security system that lets people into your house when you’re not there. No, this isn’t our very own Black Mirror episode pitch, but the premise of Amazon’s new Key service. Recently launched in the US, it’s available free of charge to anyone with a Prime subscription, but you’ll need to purchase Amazon’s keyless door lock and Cloud Cam to start using it. With the devices installed, an Amazon courier can wander into your home with your package in hand simply by scanning in its barcode. After an encrypted authentication process to confirm the driver is at the right address at the right time, your door unlocks and the camera will start recording. This way you’re able to keep an eye on the stream…

1 Sweat Deck £free / iOS If you thought the only time cards could get you perspiring was during a tense bout of poker, Sweat Deck might come as a shock. You assign workout exercises to suits and then perform them when drawn. 2 Microsoft Edge £free / Android As Microsoft buries its mobile OS, more of its apps are coming to Android. If you use the Edge browser on your PC you can sync your data across, including bookmarks for Windows Phone memorial sites. 3 Fontmania £free / Android, iOS When your snaps need to speak, Fontmania can slap all manner of text over them. It’s nicely tactile (modify words with your fingers); and if you’re feeling lazy, you get pre-made phrases and clip art. 4 Lenny £free /…

Kitchen Stories Although Epicurious contains more recipes, this streamlined alternative is a better bet for the high-stress demands of Christmas. It reduces the panic of making that epic lunch by way of handy step-by-step guides complete with photos and videos. Great stuff for knowing whether you’re about to curdle the turkey or burn the ice cream. Stuff says £free / Android, iOS Pic Collage You’re having festive fun, but halfway through the 17th mince pie you realise you forgot to send any cards… or to invite half your relatives over. Make it look like you care by welding together a load of photos from your day, slathering them with festive stickers and then emailing the lot, shortly before you pass out in a small pile of turkey. Stuff says £free (IAPs)…

SLOPE ANGEL Slope Angel is a durable, compact device that helps assess the safety of terrain when skiers, mountaineers, hikers and rescue teams venture from marked pistes and trails. Slope Angel measures mountain slope gradients between 0º to 90º and air temperature in ºC and ºF. £19 / slopeangel.com INFINITE AIR The Infinite Air uses the wind to generate power and is perfect for charging smartphones, cameras and more. It’s portable, too, and effectively generates power when solar charging isn’t possible. Ideal for expedition teams and anyone who relies upon off-grid power to keep devices charged. £98 / texenergy.com VINTAGE WATCH MOVEMENT CUFFLINKS There’s life in the old ticker yet. These cufflinks have been reincarnated from intricate 1920s–1950s watch movements, set with their original ruby jewels, perfect for helping you…

1 ANKER FAST CHARGE QI WIRELESS CHARGING PAD Apple is so late to the wireless charging party that everyone else has either retired to bed or fallen asleep in their pizza box – but its arrival is still great news. While Apple’s own AirPower pad won’t be here until 2018, in the meantime Anker’s low-cost offering will easily handle 10W fast charging with the right adaptor. £18.99 / stuff.tv/AnkerQi 2 KENU STANCE COMPACT TRIPOD Buying for the lucky owner of an iPhone X? You need to make sure they’re getting the best from that killer camera, and for that they’ll want a tripod. Kenu’s is a superb little device that holds the phone by its Lightning port. It also works as a portrait desktop stand, and even has a bottle…

GARMIN EDGE 1030 ‘No Garmin, no rules’: the popular tag for getting lost without any idea of where you’ve been, how fast you went or how many feet you climbed. It’s catchy, but we prefer ‘Turn-by-turn navigation, customisable data, automatic routing, Strava Live Segments, instant messaging, and it works with all your sensors’. We know, it’ll never fit on a sticker, but at least you’ll know how far you’ve ridden. £500 / stuff.tv/Garmin30 GIRO DND GLOVES X CINELLI Like VW Camper owners and people from the Valleys, cyclists should always say hello to each other when they pass by. But we know, you’re British, so saying hello to strangers can be difficult. Let your hands do the talking instead. With ‘Ciao’ printed on the fingers of these gloves – seen…

1 SUPER MARIO QUESTION BLOCK LIGHT WITH SOUND Navigating a room after a late-night gaming session is a sure-fire way of getting bruised toes. Spare someone the pain with this Super Mario gadget. Once its powered up via microUSB, upon bopping the top they’ll get a treat. No, not mushrooms – it’ll turn into a lamp, guiding your friend safely back to bed. £27 / stuff.tv/SuperMarioLight 2 NUMSKULL CRASH BANDICOOT CRATE MUG This throwback mug of PlayStation’s old mascot is the perfect gift for ’90s kids, providing a dollop of nostalgia every time they crave a cuppa. But be sure to warn them that smashing this dolomite mug won’t gain them an extra life – just a scalded leg. £15 / stuff.tv/CrateMug 3 XBOX DESIGN LAB CONTROLLER The game industry…

1 FLYTE LIGHT All hail the David Blaine of lightbulbs. This adult equivalent of a magic set will dazzle family, friends and pets alike on the big day, as their sherry-soaked brains attempt to comprehend the miracle of a wireless, levitating electric light. And, unless smashed by an over-excited nephew, the bulb will last a staggering 50,000 hours. €299 / stuff.tv/Flyte 2 GOOGLE HOME MINI The Amazon Echo Dot might be a more capable voice assistant, but the Home Mini trumps it by not looking like a cereal-box freebie. Available in three colours, its fabric finish will match most tastefully muted furnishings. Plus you’ll get to spend Christmas educating its excited new owner about voice commands: “No, it can’t control the cat.” £49 / stuff.tv/GoogleHomeMini 3 LEFF AMSTERDAM BRICK One…

1 NERF DOG TENNIS BALL BLASTER Seven hours into the Nerf ideas workshop, innovation was flatlining and tempers were rising. Then Ethel the tea lady tottered in, saw the blank whiteboard and pondered. “People like firing big plastic guns,” she said, “and dogs like chasing tennis balls. I don’t suppose there’s any way you could… no, silly me, forget I spoke. Tea, anyone?” £19.99 / stuff.tv/DogBlaster 2 RSPB WILDLIFE CAMERA They come as soon as you’re asleep. Owls, bats, foxes, hedgehogs, all sorts – and they party hard. If only you had some evidence, you could get the council to send them a formal warning… but how, when they’re so easily spooked? Well, you could always ask Santa for this motiontriggered wildlife cam from the RSPB. £100 / stuff.tv/ RSPBCamera…

INDIE-GOGO Hover crafty 1-RING MOON Security cameras are getting smarter all the time. The 1-Ring Moon, though, is surely the first house cam to defy gravity. This wireless sentinel is claimed to stay totally stable by levitating above its base, with smooth 360º rotation and two-way communication as well as integration with Google Home, Alexa, Philips Hue and more. When the Moon detects movement or noise it will swivel its eyeball-like lens towards the source, taking stills if needed and pinging a notification to your phone. Just be prepared for having a silent, floating robot stare at you every time you make a sandwich. from US$219 / 1-ring.net KICKg STARTER Is this a wind-up? BE TOOTHBRUSH We spend most of our lives charging up devices, whether it’s a smartphone, a…

TIPS & TRICKS Chickens killed you in Zelda again? You can rewind up to five minutes and pretend it never happened. For full-fat nostalgia you can read the instruction manual for each of the SNES games online. Stop trying to raid Bowser’s castle in one sitting, and use one of the four save slots to take a break. SNES Classic Mini £80 / nintendo.co.uk 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…

SONY LFgS50G Anything Apple’s HomePod or Amazon’s Echo can do, Sony’s LF-S50G can do too (although it could really do with a snappier name). With Google Assistant moving in, this voice-activated speaker plays music, answers questions and can control your smart home better than Mary Poppins. And because it’s made by Sony, you can bet it sounds better than the average smart speaker. £200 / stuff.tv/LFS50G LOGITECH HARMONY HUB Since Logitech added support for Google Assistant, buying a Harmony Hub has become a shortcut to injecting your home with a shot of brain power. With all your smart kit hooked up to Logitech’s little black box, all you need is your phone and your voice, and your entire home is at your beck and call. If only the family were…

1 SONOS ONE Know someone who’s bang into their tunes, and could also do with a personal assistant to get their chaotic abode in order? Look no further than the Sonos One with Amazon Alexa: a speaker that both sounds good and connects to all your smart home kit, from your Philips Hue lights to your robot vacuum cleaner. Now their wish will be this diddy white cuboid’s command. £199 / stuff.tv/SonosOne 2 THE QUEEN IS DEAD gDELUXE REMASTERg As much as Morrissey has got tiresome of late, nothing can diminish The Smiths’ status as indie titans – and The Queen Is Dead remains arguably their finest outpouring of poetic miserabilia. To celebrate its timeless melodies, this five-LP remaster bundles together the album, its demos and B-sides, and a live…

ORIGINAL STORMTROOPER DECANTER Probably made as a warning to prevent Stormtroopers from being disrespectful to Lord Vader, this decanter is based on the original moulds used to create the Imperial footsoldiers’ helmets. It holds 750ml and is made from super flint glass, which offers extra clarity so you can really see how good your booze looks. The scotch is strong in this one. £16.99 / stuff.tv/ StarWarsDecanter GROW YOUR OWN CRAFT BEER Rather than paying £6 for every pint of it, why not grow your own craft beer? The ‘ecocube’ this hop plant comes in is biodegradable, so just whack the whole lot in the ground after the first six months and it’ll become fertiliser for your slurpy saplings. You still need to add yeast, barley and a whole lot…

ALIEN: AUGMENTED REALITY SURVIVAL MANUAL Unless things go really badly, you probably won’t have to fight for survival against an angry xenomorph this Christmas. Just to be on the safe side, this AR survival manual is packed full of tips that’ll help you in the unlikely event that your extraterrestrial dinner guest doesn’t like the way you’ve done the sprouts. £16.99 / stuff.tv/AlienManual SAMSUNG POWERBOT ROBOT VACUUM There’s one thing they don’t show you in Star Wars films, and that’s how Jedi use the Force to tidy up. Sadly, you’re not a Jedi, but these special edition robot vacuums definitely have the necessary force to clean your carpets. Choose the Stormtrooper one for light-coloured carpets and the Darth Vader one if they’re more on the dark side. US$700 / stuff.tv/…