Indholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i Stuff UK

What’s your favourite app? Apple keeps snapping up mine. First it was the song identification service Shazam, and then the intuitive weather forecaster Dark Sky. If that trend continues and they take over Sky Go, WhatsApp and, er, Go Green Taxis, we really will have a story on our hands. Anyway, the fact is smartphones, smartwatches and tablets are amazing things that can open up a whole world of possibilities, yet we rarely unlock their real potential. The easiest and often cheapest way to do this is by downloading excellent apps and games. So in this issue, app expert Craig Grannell (with a wee bit of Wear OS assistance from Andrew Williams) has amassed a comprehensive list of 100 of them – covering all the main platforms – to take…

MI FIRST AND THE XIAOMI XIAOMIS Xiaomi Mi 11 This time last year there was only one thing from China making the headlines – and it wasn’t something anybody wanted to pick up. What a difference 12 months make, because here’s something we’d be more than happy to give a good lick. Xiaomi’s Mi 11 is the first phone anywhere to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset, which you can expect to find in almost all the other flagship phones that’ll emerge throughout the rest of 2021. Paired with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage plus a 4600mAh battery and an Adreno 660 GPU, it powers a 6.81in 2K AMOLED screen and a 108MP 8K main camera. The 123° ultrawide and 50mm telephoto macro lenses offer decent flexibility…

£50 / consumer.huawei.com Huawei unleashes an affordable electric toothbrush packing 36 cleaning modes and an app, for one of the most technologically advanced oral examinations ever • Tooth to power Huawei is known for its phones, but the tech giant has a finger in a plethora of gadgety pies… which now includes this inexpensive system for removing bits of steak and kidney from your gnashers. The Lebooo Smart Sonic Toothbrush offers real-time visual cleaning tips and a staggering 36 cleaning modes to choose from. Not confident in your brushing technique? Fret not, because the accompanying app gives voice tips on brushing gestures, pressure and even the angle at which you hold the brush. • Leader of the plaque The sonically oscillating head attached to the Lebooo features a metal-free design,…

Honk might sound like a new social network for geese, but there’s no need for a beak or webbed feet if you want to use it – just careful fingers. Because rather than merely showing those telltale dots you get with iMessage or the ‘…is typing’ warning in WhatsApp, Honk’s chat box is always live, so the person on the other end can see what you’re typing as you type it. That means there’s no send button – but once you empty your box, what you wrote is gone for good. You can still send pictures and emojis, plus there’s a ‘honk’ button that you can hit to get somebody’s attention if you just fancy a chat. When you sign up the app asks for your age, and the choices…

Don’t tell me this is some sort of smart dowsing gadget for finding water? As with most attempts at discovering life-preserving liquids with a forked stick, you’re miles away. Instead, StreamLocator is a dedicated hub for tapping into top-flight sporting events and hit shows without paying full whack or waiting for a British broadcaster to air them. It acts like a VPN, blocking geo-locations so you can sign up for services like HBO Max or watch Premier League games via a Canadian channel for a fraction of the cost. Not dodgy at all, then… Its creators claim that unlocking foreign streaming services is above board – and compatible with a variety of devices, including Roku streamers, Apple TV, PlayStation and more, so you’re not forced to squint at your phone…

GOOGLE GOES OFF CAMERA Google has discontinued the Nest Cam IQ Outdoor and said to expect a “new line-up of security cameras for 2021”. Existing IQ owners will still benefit from security updates and recent added features, such as face and pet recognition, meaning curiosity won’t necessarily lead to killing the cat just yet. APPLE GOES BY THE ’BOOK Apple loves a patent, and recent records show the company has filed paperwork for tech that would see a MacBook turned into an oversize wireless charging pad for the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Rather than resting devices in a specific place, however, even the trackpad and lid would become conductive. TILE GOES OUT WIDE Tile is working on a tracker for locating lost kit that uses ultra-wideband (UWB) frequencies, putting…

Google Pixelbook Go from £629 / store.google.com What’s the story? Google’s own Go is an ode to minimalism and the best attempt yet at convincing Chrome OS doubters. The inherently limited operating system and lack of professional multimedia software mean it won’t be suitable for everyone, but the spec options are plentiful, including one with a 4K display and 16GB for £1329… if you’re some kind of maniac. Is it any good? The Pixelbook Go gets a lot right: great design, a long-lasting battery and plenty of portability. Chrome OS across the range means functionality doesn’t really alter, so how you spec it up is all down to how luxurious you want to go with the hardware. For anyone who travels a lot (fat chance), Google’s apps are always at…

CONCEPTS Almost everything you own started life on a drawing board; Concepts takes pro-orientated scrawling into the digital realm. With your device and a stylus, you can use realistic tools to jot down ideas on an infinite canvas, with a customisable wheel to quickly access presets; and since it’s vector-based, every line remains editable. £free (IAP) / Android, iOS DJAY If your dream is to spin decks in front of a frenzied crowd of adoring fans, get some practice in with this app. The intuitive interface means even noobs can ‘UNCH UNCH UNCH’ into the wee small hours… but hook up Tidal, delve into the looper and integrate some hardware, and they’ll soon be calling you the next Peggy Gou. Probably. £free (IAP) / Android, iOS SMOOTH TRACK This one…

UNIVERSE IN A NUTSHELL If you’d like to know your place in the scheme of things while slurping up knowledge along the way, try this app. It compares the sizes of objects, from a Planck unit all the way up to the observable universe. The visuals are smart and vibrant, and you can tap on stuff to learn more. £3.29 / Android £2.99 / iOS CAPO 4 Apps like Yousician can help you master the guitar, but they’re not much cop for nailing your favourite songs. That’s where Capo comes in: load a track and it’ll figure out the chords. Its guesswork can be edited, and you can adjust speed and pitch while trying to figure out the hard bits and become the next EVH. £18.99/yr / iOS UPTIME Describing…

GOLF SKIES If you play real golf, you might have whacked a ball into the heavens in frustration once or twice. Golf Skies imagines an entire game played there, launching a ball into orbit and weaving a path through tiny planetoids, each exerting a gravitational pull to drag you off course. Never again will you grumble about a mere bunker. grumble about a mere bunker. £free / Android, iOS FANCADE With its blocky voxels and virtual disks, Fancade is a love letter to old-school thrills reimagined for mobile, from bombing around dinky racing circuits to one-thumb leaping through 2D platforming worlds. Each challenge is brief but collectively they’re a marvel – and when you’re done playing, you can start creating your own levels. £free / Android, iOS STICKY TERMS Instead…

■ Hassles made of hand The dual-mode LED/LCD display is clear and concise, and includes a satisfying calorie-killer totaliser. The only downside is that heart-rate readings only show up when switching from the handles to the in-built receivers. ■ App from the skies Trainer-led guided workouts can be tailored to time, but switch to the Explore the World app and you can tour iconic locations – hello naked rambling without leaving the house – and race against your own shadow avatar. £1999 / stuff.tv/BowflexM8 ■ The Max Trainer M8 is a kind of elliptical step machine and treadmill in one – which basically means you’ll feel like you’re constantly walking (or running) upstairs, rather than strolling on flat plains. That should equal quads and calves of steel, but swinging arms…

APPLE PENCIL Apple’s first-generation scribbling stick was pretty good. But if you have a flat-edged iPad, its successor feels great in the hand, includes a double-tap surface for switching tools, and attaches magnetically for pairing, charging and not getting lost. £119 / apple.com ADONIT PRO 4 Should you want to scribble on an iPhone or an Android phone that doesn’t have its own stylus, this is a solid buy. It lacks palm rejection and tilt sensitivity, but the fine point provides precision for sketching, it’s durable, and it never needs charging. £30 / amazon.co.uk SKETCHBOARD PRO Your iPad ‘sinks’ into the surface of this workstation, enabling you to make dramatic arm sweeps as if drawing on paper. It has fold-out legs, and you can flip it 90° for a tabletop…

Incus Nova With Alistair Brownlee involved, you know this backmounted wearable means business. It tracks swimming stroke rate, pace and body roll; the follow-up promises full triathlon stats. from £200 / incus performance.com JBL Reflect Mini NC These running buds offer 21-hour battery life, waterproof build, ANC for gym peace and ambient pass-through for road running… and best of all, they don’t fall out. £130 / jbl.com Forrest This oddly useful Strava-compatible running and cycling app pits you against a virtual race buddy. You set your goal and the ghost racer will compete with you (through audio updates) for the gold medal. £free / iOS…

■ Buffer little, children Great for online gaming, Orbi’s mesh network also provides added capacity for dozens of smart home devices connected at the same time – and the app allows you to prioritise the ones that need the most bandwidth. ■ I won’t share view You get a free one-year trial of Armor powered by Bitdefender (£60/yr thereafter), bringing multi-layered security for all connected devices, an encrypted VPN for private browsing, remote monitoring and more. £700 / stuff.tv/Orbi ■ Netgear has been pretty forward-thinking when it comes to its mesh networks – some even double as Harman Kardon multiroom smart speakers. This one features the latest Wi-Fi 6 standard for faster data speeds, plus tri-band frequencies using both 5GHz and 2.4GHz. ■ In plain English? Mesh networks drape a…

You could describe Cyberpunk 2077 as a critical hit. At the time of writing, the game has been plagued by countless problems causing CD Projekt Red to offer refunds, Sony to pull it from its PlayStation Store and Microsoft to issue warnings… but it’s also sold over 13 million copies – and that’s factoring in returns – so what gives? With major bugs, little trees appearing out of nowhere, incomplete missions, reported crashes and blurry textures, the game’s launch was nothing short of disastrous; but given fans had already endured months of delays, perhaps the mindset has been “We’ve come this far…” To be clear, if you’re thinking of buying a copy, approach carefully; but there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic, because buried underneath all the bugs is an exciting…

1 HOT BUY 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 2 Sony WF-1000XM3 £169 / stuff.tv/WFXM3 The way Sony’s XM3 buds serve up such spectacular sound quality while being truly wireless, while…

1 HOT BUY BARGAIN BUY 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 2 Peloton Bike+ £2295 + £39/m / stuff.tv/PelPlus A fitness phenomenon based around a connected bike with a Full HD touchscreen that…

1 HOT BUY 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 2 Apple iPad Pro from £769 / stuff.tv/iPadPro With its huge…

1 HOT BUY 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 2 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 3 Lego Boost…

TIPS & TRICKS Fed up of yelling? Alexa’s voice can work like an intercom with connected Echo devices. Alexa Voice Shopping lets you order from Amazon; add a ‘voice code’ to keep the kids off. Dot at your bedside? Saying “Alexa, turn on whisper mode” will stop it waking up sleepyheads. 1 HOT BUY Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) from £50 / stuff.tv/Dot This fabric-covered take on Marvin the paranoid android in disguise as a Magic 8-Ball feels playful yet classical. It can’t match a full-size smart speaker for audio, but as a little radio and an Alexa assistant for the bedside table or kitchen worktop, this cutey gets the job done. It’s worth paying £10 more for the ‘with Clock’ version, which adds extra functionality beyond telling the time.…

DO YOU REMEMBER THE BURST TIME? Leica SL2-S There are lots of great quotes in Top Gun: “You can be my wingman any time”, “It’s time to buzz the tower” and “Take me to bed or lose me forever.” But the one that Leica most likely had blown up on the wall while it was working on the SL2-S is the most famous of all: “I feel the need… the need for speed.” If that sounds like your approach to photography (and you’ve got a spare four grand to offload), this full-frame 24MP BSI-CMOS speedster has a Maestro III processor with 4GB buffer memory, so it can burst-shoot at up to 25fps at full resolution, with back-side illumination offering a higher ISO range (up to 100,000) and better low-light performance…

Receive your first 6 issues for £12 Continue to save 38%* off the cover price Have each issue delivered directly to your door Never miss an issue of the world’s greatest gadget mag SUBSCRIBE TODAY! ONLINE shop.kelsey.co.uk/STU0221 CALL US 01959 543747 Please quote STU0221 Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-6pm (calls charged at your standard network rate) Offer ends 28 February 2021 DIGITAL ONLY? Pay just £37.99 for a 13-issue digital subscription! Visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/stuff Terms and conditions: Offer available for UK direct debit customers only. You will pay £6 for your first 12 issues then continue to pay £19.99 every 6 months. For overseas rates please visit shop.kelsey.co.uk/stuff. Offer closes 28 February 2021. *Full UK subscription rate for 13 issues is £64.87, USA & EU £78, ROW £85. Here at Kelsey Publishing we…

RUNNERS AND RIDERS The blazing biker Proviz Reflect360 Plus Perfect for cycling on dark winter nights, this hi-viz jacket has millions of tiny reflective glass beads that light you up like a ’90s raver when you’re caught in car headlights. Taped inner seams, a 10,000mm waterproof rating, a fleece-lined collar and adjustable cuffs also protect you from the rain and wind. £120 / provizsports.com The sparkling sprinter Brooks Carbonite This light and bright running jacket is built for winter but offers year-round versatility for the UK’s topsy-turvy climate. Night safety is sorted thanks to six reflective stretch panels that help drivers’ beams catch your running motion, while fantastic water-repellency keeps your base layers dry. £130 / brooksrunning.com The dry dasher Gore-Tex R7 ShakeDry The most breathable Gore-Tex active jacket you…

DATA COUNTER WIDGET By default, your Android phone lets you keep an eye on basics like the time, your battery level and whether you have an internet connection. But the last of those can be costly if you’re using a lot of data, so this widget makes it a cinch to track your usage. £free (IAP) / Android HURRY Countdowns are a good way to get you excited about an upcoming event, or to ensure you don’t forget a special day – and Hurry is a friendly way to get such things right on your home screen. The widgets are customisable, can integrate online GIFs if you can’t find a custom snap, and can even sync between devices. £free (IAP) / Android KWGT KUSTOM WIDGET MAKER If you fancy creating…

SLEEP BY MAX RICHTER Max Richter’s original Sleep is both awe-inspiring and overwhelming, given its eight-hour run-time. The app reframes his compositions to help you focus on work, meditate or, yes, fall asleep. You’ll need a paying Spotify account if you’re on Android, or Spotify/Apple Music on iOS. £free / Android, iOS STRIDE: WALK, RUN, CAPTURE If you need an added incentive to get outside and walk or run, Stride reimagines exercise outdoors as an epic struggle for territory. As you move, hexes are coloured on a live grid. Repeat visits enable you to defend your turf. Rope in local friends and Stride becomes a fun way to gamify exercise. £free (IAP) / Android, iOS PORTAL Instead of merely providing sounds to soothe your ears and help you relax, Portal…

XBOX GAME PASS If you want console-grade games on your phone in a literal sense, take out a Game Pass sub and you can stream over 100 AAA games to your device, prodding the screen to play or using a controller if you’ve any sense. It’s Android-only for now, mind, because Apple. from £7.99/m / Android GRIS Gris isn’t having a great time, having lost her voice and tumbled into a world of surreal watercolour landscapes. You help by navigating side-scrolling leapy sections, light puzzles and occasional boss battles. Visually gorgeous and now on Android, Gris is a console-quality masterpiece. £4.19 / Android £4.99 / iOS ANTSTREAM ARCADE Think every game after 1990 sucks? Try Antstream, which pipes all manner of old fare to your phone for a tenner a…

Peugeot e-208 What’s the story? Rather than unleashing a glitzy electric sub-brand, like VW has with its ID range, Peugeot merely offers and electric version of its superbly stylish 208 model. So now, customers pick their paint, wheels and optional extras… before plumping for petrol, diesel or electric. We’d strongly suggest leaning towards the latter, because the 136hp electric motor and 50kWh battery-pack make this a brilliantly nippy and oh-so-stylish little number. In fact, it’s the quickest 208 in the line-up and the hottest model until a full-on GTI is maybe unveiled. Is it any good? The new 208 looks fantastic and this version is no different. For all its flared wheel-arches and fancy front lights it’s a much smaller car than the VW, but it doesn’t lack on the…

■ Points of VU The Meters Connect app (on iOS and Android) is as simple as they come, with just two features to fiddle with: a five-band EQ and, happy happy joy joy, the ability to change the LED background colour of those VU meters. ■ Drop of the pops If you insist on being sensible, the EQ is the important bit. The five bands have been tuned with care, and if you find the default tone a little too thumpy it’s a simple matter of dialling down the bass a few notches. £350 / stuff.tv/OV1B ■ Featuring the same glowing VU meters found on parent company Ashdown’s bass amplifiers, the original Meters allowed you to walk around with the spirit of Abbey Road clamped to your head. Sort of.…

Tempo Studio It’s all about connected gym kit in 2021, and the new kid in town offers expert workouts through its 42in vertical HD touchscreen with AI sensors powered by 10th-gen i5 processing, plus Bluetooth-enabled 60W stereo speakers. Oh, and if you open the base you’ll find a whole suite of weights plus a heart-rate monitor, workout mat and foam roller. $1995 / shop.tempo.fit Nexersys N3 Elite Trainer Your very own MMA sparring partner, and the only legal way to try your secret Street Fighter moves: this interactive personal trainer delivers super-physical HIIT workouts and sessions against animated avatars as you perfect your striking and defence, as well as enduring Rocky-worthy core sessions with real-time feedback. £2244 / amazon.co.uk Apex Rides A British alternative to Peloton, Apex is a stylish,…

Canyon Grail CF SLX 8 eTap The perfect go-anywhere superbike, Canyon’s latest carbon frame weighs in at 830g and offers a phenomenal stiffness-to-weight ratio. It has the class-leading SRAM Force eTap AXS wireless electronic groupset, a flexible carbon seat-post, and double-decker handlebars that give you four hand positions. £5299 / canyon.com Bose Frames Tempo The original Frames gave us a disconcertingly good Bose sound system in our spectacles, and this forward-thinking tech has now been applied to a series of functional sport frames with three interchangeable polarised lenses, non-slip silicone nose-pads and voice-control smarts, all without blocking out traffic noise. £240 / bose.co.uk Alpkit Silvertip Thermal Wetsuit Wild swimming was fun in July, but in February cracking ice on the pond is hardly appealing. What you need is a fleece-lined…

Burton Men’s Ion Step-On Bundle Burton has finally nailed clip-in snowboard boots, meaning an end to frantic ratcheting as your ski buddies stand around tutting. Previous attempts failed to offer any feel or response with the board, but here the two-point connection feels right and you can still give the boot-strap a last-second confidence-boosting tighten. £670 / burton.com Spektrum Ostra Bio Photochromic When visibility plummets, you need a pair of goggles with photochromic lenses that instantly adjust. This stylish oversized pair from Spektrum transitions from clear (for overcast and cloudy conditions) to super-dark for sunshine, while a waterproof treatment inside and out means you’ll still see even after a face-plant. £215 / spektrumsports.com WNDR Vital 100 Proof skiers should inherit – or at least look after – the earth, these…

1 HOT BUY Sony WH-1000XM4 £349 / 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 2 Sony WH-1000XM3 £219 / stuff.tv/XM3 Only just outshone by the new XM4s, Sony’s previous flagship over-ears still offer reliable Bluetooth,…

1 HOT BUY 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 2 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…

1 HOT BUY 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 2 Nintendo Switch £280 / stuff.tv/NintendoSwitch Nintendo’s console earned a promotion…

1 HOT BUY Half-Life: Alyx from £46 / 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 2 Beat Saber from £23 / Oculus, Vive, PSVR Gleefully swing…

BUILDING A FRIDGE TO YOUR HEART LG Furniture Concept Appliances There’s no getting away from the fact that kitchen appliances tend to be pretty boring. But do you know what doesn’t help that? The fact that they’re pretty much always white. Sure, you occasionally get a grey or black one, but that’s hardly being spoiled for choice, is it? Well, LG has finally had enough of the monochrome life. Its new range of Furniture Concept Appliances, which includes a fridge-freezer, microwave, dishwasher and more, comes in various colours and finishes (admittedly still on the understated side – this is your kitchen, not the set of Nina and the Neurons) including stainless steel, glass and something called Fenix, which is durable and resistant to fingerprints. Our favourite is probably the InstaView…

I CAN FEEL IT HUMMING IN THE CHAIR TONIGHT Bodyfriend Quantum Audio Speakers by Bang & Olufsen We’ve all done more than our fair share of sitting in the past 12 months. Chances are you’ve decided you quite like doing it – the bald patch your cheeks have worn into the sofa certainly suggests so. Then why not make 2021 the year you upgrade your sitting apparatus? As posterior plinths go, you’ll struggle to find anything more luxurious than Bodyfriend’s new Quantum massage chair – which, as the slightly clunky full name suggests, comes with speakers supplied by B&O. Combined with an articulating 10.1in high-def tablet, it gives you even less reason to get up and check that your legs haven’t turned to jelly. There’s no built-in doughnut dispenser but…

IT RECORDS THE LAST TWO HOURS OF RADIO SO YOU CAN REWIND, LOOP AND TIME-WARP IT Is that Wall-E’s permanently shocked cousin? Although this extremely clever (and slightly mysterious) radio can do a lot of things, it can’t fly around space falling in love with other radios. Instead, this sharp-suited wireless records the previous two hours of whatever station you’re listening to, so you can rewind anything you’ve missed and replay, loop or time-warp the frequency modulation out of it. Why is it so… naked?! It’s true, the chaps at Teenage Engineering love to simplify things, but you can’t deny that the end result here is nothing short of pornographic. What’s more, that sleek, slab-sided front houses two four-inch bass drivers and a pair of neodymium tweeters for crystal-clear sound.…

In the worldwide push to achieve zero-emission aviation, the first commercial aircraft powered by a hydrogen fuel cell has been successfully flight-tested here in the UK. ZeroAvia, a US/UK startup, flew an adapted six-seater above Cranfield Airport in Bedfordshire to 1000ft without using fossil fuels. Tests were so successful that the company has just netted $21.4m from a fund backed by Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and, bizarrely, Shell. The next stage of testing will aim to complete a 250-mile flight.…

FILE BROWSER Apple’s Files app is great for exploring what’s stored on your device or iCloud; this app is for everything else. It can connect to a range of cloud storage services, and also locally networked PCs, Macs and drives. It integrates with Files too, so you can quickly get at your documents wherever they live. £6.99 / iOS ULYSSES The idea behind Ulysses isn’t so much to be a tool for writing your great novel, but as a repository for every word you write. Its flexibility means it’s as good for note-taking as it is for longer jobs, and cloud-synced text can export in a range of formats. The best bit: you’ll always know where everything you write is. £5.99/m / iOS 1BLOCKER The internet is full of cruft,…

INFINITY LOOP Playing games on a smartwatch is a fiddly and frustrating affair, but somehow Infinity Loop works wonderfully on Wear OS watches. This simple puzzle game offers up a bunch of lines, leaving you to flip-reverse them until they form… yep, infinite loops, that look a bit like endless ballbags. Way less nauseating than it sounds. £free (IAP) / Wear OS BFT This app helps you track time in a different way from a clock face, helping you get things done by splitting your day into work/break sprints. These default to 25/5 minutes respectively, but can be adjusted on the watch. Every few cycles, you get a longer break. Do well and bear-based cards keep your motivation up. £1.99 / watchOS LIFESUM A stripped-back version of the full food-logging…

SNAPSEED Here’s an app we hope Google never gets bored of. Load a pic and you can improve (or wreck) it to your heart’s content with all kinds of tools, adjustments and effects. Changes you make are non-destructive too, so you can experiment before committing your edits and foisting your masterpiece on the world. £free / Android, iOS PHOTOSHOP CAMERA With Photoshop being a serious desktop app, it’s curious to see the brand applied to this box of often madcap camera filters. Everything’s free; and although you can be boring and make your lunch look 32% moodier, it’s more fun to transform your view into an eye-searing pop-art collage. £free / Android, iOS OPEN CAMERA Regularly updated, packed with options and entirely free, Open Camera is an Android marvel. The…

THE GARDENS BETWEEN A game about memories and time, The Gardens Between explores the relationship between two friends through the prism of their experiences. Linear pathways can be altered by reversing time, making changes and seeing how events play out. It’s gorgeous fare with an emotional punch. Google Play Pass INFERNO+ PEW! PEW! PEW! There’s lots of shooty action in this blaster, which combines twin-stick destruction, maze-roaming and enough neon to choke a thousand dodgy takeaway signs. You get 40 varied levels and endless challenges by way of the 90-second randomised Scorched mode in which to cause maximum carnage. GameClub SPYDER Think it’d be cool to be James Bond crossed with Spider-Man crossed with a robot? The snag is you’re the size of a spider as you skitter around surfaces,…

THE BASICS ■ Learn your tools Artists spend years mastering physical tools, and things are no different in digital – so don’t expect to pick up how every brush or app feature works immediately. To begin with, create documents akin to scraps of paper or canvas; then experiment making marks, blending them and seeing how virtual mediums interact, with no overriding goal other than to play. ■ Don’t overdo it With powerful digital art packages it’s tempting to revel in special effects and brushes, spraying a variety of textures all around your canvases. If you’re very fortunate, you’ll create a masterpiece. More likely, you’ll make a gaudy and incoherent mess. So exercise restraint, subtly adding effects only where necessary. ■ Follow the form If you’re new to drawing, take time…

Lumen Breath into the Lumen and it’ll measure your CO2 levels then analyse your metabolism before offering up nutritional advice. It’ll even tell you if you’ve got enough in the tank to work out efficiently. £349 / lumen.me Theragun Mini This palm-sized muscle-pummeller will allow you to recover from strenuous exercise faster, while also smashing out those knots caused by months working at the kitchen table. £175 / theragun.com Nutri-Genetix Using a painless cheek swab test (not those cheeks), the boffins at NGX analyse your DNA before assessing 28 nutritional traits in order to rustle up a personalised ‘body fuel’ shake. from £130 / nutri-genetix.com…

£115 / underarmour.co.uk Designed for wet winter runs, these shoes laugh in the face of puddles, keeping your feet dry without ignoring breathability, while the 8mm drop and generous cushioning offer enough bounce to keep you moving. So far, so-so – but hidden in the heel is a chip that measures over 400 data points every second to help analyse your cadence, stride length, ground contact time and foot strike angle, as well as distance and time. All this data is automatically uploaded to MapMyRun, a fitness platform that used to be brilliant… before, let’s be honest, Under Armour bought it and everyone jumped ship to Strava. Even so, it’s still a solid app with plenty of third-party compatibility, and the shoes’ additional metrics and real-time running analysis available through…

Snowcookie This ski-mounted tracking system captures your metrics and sends the data to an iPhone app that will give you feedback on your stamina, turns, body position and more. $449 / snow cookiesports.com Huel Bar v3.1 While ramblers can get by on a nibble of Kendal Mint Cake, you’re going to need more fuel to keep you chasing fresh tracks. With each chewy Huel bar you get 12g of plant-based protein. £39 (30 bars) / uk.huel.com Garmin Fenix 6 The finest mountain sport watch of all, with solar charging, a compass, a gyroscope and a barometric altimeter. It even comes preloaded with trail maps for 2000 resorts. £459 / garmin.com…

TIPS & TRICKS Slide your thumb in from the edge and back for one-handed mode, which adjusts the screen layout. Screen recording is great for capturing Instagram live sessions. You’ll find it in system settings. Single-take mode uses all the lenses to snap various stills and video clips to cherrypick from. 1 HOT BUY Samsung Galaxy S20 5G £899 / stuff.tv/S205G The bigger and flashier S20+ and S20 Ultra models are the headline-grabbers, but the ‘basic’ Galaxy S20 feels like the Goldilocks of flagship phones right now – and it’s a fair bit cheaper than some. It delivers excellent battery life, a phenomenal display, blistering performance and superb photo quality. The new S21 models look wondrous (see p6), but for now this is the Android handset to beat. Stuff says…

1 HOT BUY 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 2 Garmin Fenix 6 £425 / stuff.tv/Fenix6 Anyone who’s truly into their fitness will appreciate the Fenix 6’s endless feature list.…

TIPS & TRICKS You can control your Move with the touch controls on top, the Sonos app, Google Assistant or Alexa. Auto Trueplay adapts the Move’s sound to different rooms, while the app offers additional EQ tweaks. 1 HOT BUY Sonos Move £399 / stuff.tv/SonosMove The Sonos range of wireless speakers had been crying out for a battery-powered portable model for ages – and finally our favourite multiroom audio specialist caved in. Luckily, the Move was worth the wait. Its adaptability and sound quality mean it’s fine value for money, and a no-brainer for anyone who’s already a fan of the brand. Not only is this the speaker Sonos should have launched years ago – it’s one of the best products of its type and price that we’ve heard. Stuff…

1 HOT BUY UPDATE Sky TV from £27/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 2 Amazon Fire TV Cube £80 / stuff.tv/FireTVCube The Fire TV interface is easy to use and all the big catch-up services are available via this tidy…

TIPS & TRICKS The Echo’s built-in Zigbee hub can hook up hundreds of smart home devices without a bridge. Pair a compatible thermostat and the Echo’s temperature sensor can activate the heating. Alexa Flash Briefings deliver bursts of news or trivia; choose from 5000 sources in the app. 1 HOT BUY Amazon Echo (4th Gen) £90 / stuff.tv/Echo Having morphed from a cylinder to a sphere, the latest Echo is an excellent newsreader, weather forecaster, personal assistant and intercom straight out of the box; but it’s now also a capable speaker and a very accessible smart home hub. It doesn’t sound as good as the Sonos One or Apple HomePod for listening to music, but it’s significantly smarter than both and considerably cheaper too. Stuff says An all-round upgrade that…

TIPS & TRICKS It’s easy to set up the X-T4’s customisable Q button: just hold it down for a couple of seconds for options. Avoid those wonky horizons by turning on the built-in on-screen level in screen settings. Fujifilm X Acquire is a clever bit of PC/Mac software that backs up all your X-T4’s custom settings. 1 HOT BUY Fujifilm X-T4 £1549 / stuff.tv/XT4 The Fuji X-T4 might be the high-end mirrorless camera of your dreams. Relatively affordable for a flagship, it excels at stills and video thanks to in-body image stabilisation, high-speed shooting and 4K recording at up to 60fps. Rapid shooting is backed up by fancy AF tricks that feel equally fast and reliable, and even the battery life goes above and beyond the usual standards. There’s no…