Indholdsfortegnelse for May 2023 i Stuff UK

Hello, and welcome to this smartphone special issue of Stuff! Long-time readers will know that once a year we like to get all our phones out on the table and pit them against each other in a massive supertest. This time around is no different, but what is remarkable this year is just how much you can get for your money both in the mid-range and at the budget end of the spectrum. More than ever, you can get a lot for less – and that can only be a good thing for you (and for competition). Also in this issue we’ve looked at the toppermost tablets for mobile gaming – and at all price points. We’ve taken an in-depth look at the next-gen Sonos speakers known as the Era…

Celebrated plumber SWAN ALEXA 1.5L SMART KETTLE Until Alexa is advanced enough to bring you a cuppa in bed, Swan’s new voice-activated kettle is the closest you’re going to get. It’s the first smart kettle to work natively with the Alexa app – so as well as being able to boil the water just by asking your Echo, you can set up automated daily routines or even link it to when your morning alarm goes off. You’ll get notifications when it needs descaling or when the water level is low, so you’ll have no excuse for forgetting to fill it up before you hit the hay, and you can also ask it to keep the water warm for up to 2hrs – perfect if you’re not quite ready to get…

£52,500 / mini.co.uk At last, an electric Mini that lets the rain in! What took them so long? Well, designing a normal EV is hard enough, let alone producing one in droptop guise. So it’s surprising that there are going to be just 999 Cooper SE Convertibles made. The UK is getting 150 of them. But will it be more than just a pretty face? It should be. It has a 32.6kWh battery pack and 135kW motor, which sends power to the front wheels, with a range in the region of 125 miles. A 0-62mph time of 8.2secs is reasonable enough, but doubtless the best part will be getting there with the wind whistling past your ears. Why so expensive? The Mini Cooper SE Convertible is a little bit special,…

My love of cycling was a major catalyst for working in the industry. I love all types of riding and am fortunate to have a bike for every occasion. I get out to the trail less these days, so you’ll most likely find me out on the road. Hammerhead products have made me feel safer on the road in all senses of the word, and encourage me to explore new areas with the benefit of knowing the effort required – and having the navigation guidance – to bring me back home. Our team rides together. I have the privilege of working with incredibly talented people who are committed to building products that solve problems. We have a supportive culture where ideas are welcome and team success is celebrated, and an…

The Sonos Era 300 represents exactly what the name suggests – a new Era for Sonos. While the Era 100 (see p32) is a direct replacement for the tremendous One speaker, the Era 300 drops into a new zone. Sonos claims it doesn’t replace the Five (£549), but it does mean you’d be crackers to buy one of those given what this can do for £100 less (sorry for the spoiler). This does pave the way for an even more capable Era 500 to replace the Five at some point, though. And you can already use Era 300s as rear speakers in a more comprehensive Dolby Atmos-capable Sonos setup – up to a 7.1.4 system when used alongside the Arc or Beam (Gen 2) and the Sub. But top of…

With styling advice pinched from Honor’s high-end models, you might well mistake the Magic5 Lite for the outgoing Magic4 Pro. Both have curved-edge displays, super-slim bezels and tempered glass rears, each with a sizeable circular module to contain its cameras. But the polished central frame here is polycarbonate, not metal. It’s satisfyingly light, rather than straying into toy-like territory, and the frosted finish does a great job of disguising fingerprints. The silver model’s pearlescent effect is easy on the eye, or there are less flashy green and black options. The spec sheet has been trimmed quite a bit to keep the price in check, but the screen has survived relatively unscathed: this 6.67in OLED’s 120Hz refresh rate is a lot more enticing than the 60Hz of the Google Pixel 6a. Colours…

This sub-£300 steal of a phone packs a fast-refreshing OLED screen, a 5000mAh battery and an optically stabilised 50MP triple-cam system – all features you’d expect to find in handsets costing a lot more. Throw in the firm’s trademark clean take on Android and there’s an awful lot to get excited about here. The G82 feels like a bit of a handful, although it isn’t too unwieldy with its 6.6in display, and it’s light at just 173g. Its plastic body sports a metal-effect rear and has a perforated pattern that reminds us of a high-end speaker grille. It looks the part, with minimal branding also helping to disguise its affordable status, but it does pick up finger smudges all too easily. On the plus side, the bundled silicone case helps…

THE BASICS ■ Get onside In the context of mobile, sideloading means installing apps from outside of an app store – like you’ve been able to do on PCs and Macs forever. Apple argues this is a security threat. But sideloading allows you to dodge lock-in and install apps and games that Apple and Google won’t have on their stores. ■ Sniff your sources Apple’s anti-sideloading stance is hyperbolic, but contains nuggets of truth: nefarious types can throw installers packed full of malware onto the internet. Before using any sideloading resource, do your research and find out whether it’s reputable and safe. ■ Be choosy, not cheap Sideloading can, of course, attract those of a piratical disposition. But it’s more ideally suited to unique products you otherwise wouldn’t be able…

£2899 / go.stuff.tv/OLED937 What’s better than a unique selling point? Two unique selling points, that’s what. And ever since Philips began collaborating with Bowers & Wilkins for the audio systems of its top-end tellies, it’s been able to count high-quality bespoke sound, along with its brilliant Ambilight feature, as distinct points of difference in the world of shiny flat rectangles. Its latest set promises much greater peak and full-screen brightness than your standard alternative, plus compatibility with all the major HDR standards, and P5 (Gen6) processing that uses AI to analyse your room in order to optimise picture quality. In the audio department, the built-in 5.1.2-channel sound system has drivers pointing in almost every direction, plus a tweeter on top and a rear-firing reflex port. All of that puts the…

Wahoo Elemnt Roam v2 What’s the story? Wahoo’s recently upgraded flagship tracker packs 32GB of storage, an improved 2.7in 64-colour LCD screen and dual-band GPS. Battery life rises to 17hrs, while ANT+ and Bluetooth make it easy to link up with a wide range of sensors, power meters and indoor trainers. Mid-ride smarts include climb profiles on pre-mapped routes, and it connects with Supersapiens blood sugar sensors. Is it any good? The Roam v2 packs in a lot for the price. The dual-band GPS improves tracking accuracy and sets it apart from most of its rivals, and the battery life is good too. There’s no touchscreen but the button controls are easy to use and the smartphone app is top-class. And we love the simple wireless syncing of planned workouts…

Resi 4 is an all-time classic, with creative variety and pacing that puts most modern blockbusters to shame. It still holds up brilliantly… but given Capcom ported it to every conceivable platform, we’ve had no trouble revisiting it over the years. So did it really need a remake? Visually, we’re all for it. This is the best-looking Resident Evil remake yet, and even more so because of how meaty the campaign is next to RE2 and RE3’s more constrained settings. There’s also a stronger ‘survival horror’ vibe here – not only in the visual tone, but also with new puzzle-solving elements that go beyond just glorified key-collecting. It’s still the story of rookie cop turned government agent Leon S Kennedy, who’s sent to rescue presidential daughter Ashley, and what begins…

HOT BUY 1 Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max from £1199 / go.stuff.tv/14ProMax This is essentially the same phone as the 14 Pro, but with a bigger screen and a bigger battery. So on paper it’s Apple’s best ever… but while that justifies its promotion to top spot, we should point out that it’s only worth it for people who really need that extra screen space. Do you? Well, it does make photo, video and audio editing (and gaming) easier. Stuff says The latest model gives the Pro Max a real bump, though all this quality costs ● NOW ADD THIS Belkin BoostCharge Pro This solid MagSafe charging dock lets you top up your iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods.  £140 / belkin.com TIPS & TRICKS The Dynamic Island makes it easier to…

Great. Now I’m having flashbacks to when all techy kit had to have a transparent blue shell. Bondi blue, thank you. And at the time, this made the iMac unlike any computer you’d ever seen. Until then, desktop PCs had been boring and beige – even Apple’s. The iMac was different. You wanted to show it off. Geeks could peer at its innards, while normal people would be intrigued by a piece of tech actually designed for real humans. Well, apart from the hockey-puck mouse. Steve Jobs claimed it was “the coolest mouse on the planet”. It wasn’t. It was awful. But not as awful as the beige PC I later saw with a lump of blue plastic glued to it… Indeed. Foreshadowing the next 25 years of tech, industry…

Hipstamatic X £free (IAP) /iOS Hipstamatic has always made your photos look as if they were taken in another era, but its newly relaunched version is a throwback in a different way. While it still has hundreds of lenses and filters that add Lomo-style shoot-and-see mystery to your phone snapping, it now has a social element that’s reminiscent of what Instagram used to be like. You know, before it got overrun by dumb influencers, scammers and bots. Your Hipstamatic X feed is chronological, so you don’t have to worry about some algorithm deciding what you see, and there are no ads or videos. It’s not all old-skool, though: posts disappear after 30 days, so there’s no permanent record, and you can only follow 99 other users.…

£249 / go.stuff.tv/Era100 ■ How do you replace one of the best wireless speakers out there? One that’s not left the bestseller lists (or indeed our Top 10) since it was launched over half a decade ago? The answer is here. Unlike the Era 300, the 100 is a direct replacement for an existing model – the Sonos One. There’s more flexibility (including, at last, Bluetooth support) and the same new control panel you get on the 300. ■ The Era 100 is about 2cm taller than the speaker it replaces, but is clearly designed to fill the same space – yet provide more punch and a bit more refinement. The speaker itself is all mesh except at the back, with a subtle Sonos logo placed vertically on the front.…

If the S23 Ultra is the ultimate Android phone, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is its maxed-out iOS counterpart. From the back it looks almost identical to the 13 Pro Max, but with those polished metal sides and frosted glass back it looks and feels as premium as ever. This phone’s heavy at 240g, and when you factor in the camera bump its profile measures a little over 12mm, making it one of the chunkiest options around. But it sits confidently in the hand, provided you don’t mind its heft. We’re also very sweet on the new Deep Purple colour, which has an almost aubergine sheen. If you thought this would be the iPhone to finally give you permission to ditch the Lightning connector, you’ll have to wait a little longer…

With its focus on design, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Nothing Phone 1 was all style and no substance, but that would be a mistake. Nothing, whose founder Carl Pei was integral in making OnePlus a household name, has made its debut phone both avant-garde and ultra-sensible. Rather than propelling itself onto the scene with a £1000+ stunner, Nothing has arrived on the market at an inoffensive £399. Yet this is a phone with two decent 50MP cameras and wireless charging, plus an AMOLED screen and standout design. Where’s the rub? Well, there’s a modest Snapdragon 778G+ CPU in the Phone 1. While you won’t suffer from slowdown when going about your day, this isn’t the gaming champ that esports fans might want. And the battery isn’t so huge…

Oppo’s Find N2 Flip packs the fastest-charging and highest-capacity battery of any folding phone, and its cover screen is the biggest around. It’s all very promising… and for the most part, the phone lives up to that promise. With its simple styling and premium finish, there’s nothing overt about the Find N2 Flip’s look – it’s all about clean lines and soft curves, whether you pick it up in purple or black. This gives a smart backdrop to the ample 3.26in cover screen; and when you open it up, the rounded corners and edges marry with the glass and metal for a great feel. Oppo’s hinge isn’t quite as solid as that of the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold4 – it holds its position between 45° and 110°, rather than throughout…

● Google Arts & Culture This app offers succinct stories about art and inventions, like a book in a hurry. But the camera button is the path to magic, letting you use AR to place famous paintings right in front of your face. Alternatively, fire up a ‘pocket gallery’ to physically walk around in AR – or navigate by tapping to scoot things up, lest you otherwise blunder into a wall in the real world. £free / Android, iOS ● Shepard Fairey AR - Damaged Temporary installations are a bit… well, temporary. Fortunately, the ambitious Damaged show lives on in virtual form. Using tap controls or sauntering about in AR, you can poke around Fairey’s warehouse-sized exhibition, filled with the artist’s response to damaging social media and political toxicity –…

£899 / go.stuff.tv/Carbon ■ With Wi-Fi on board and an app to guide you through setup, the Victrola Stream Carbon could be the most hassle-free turntable going. It even auto-connects to any Sonos speakers in your network. Aside from attaching the belt to the motor spindle, which is a touch fiddly (top tip: use a chopstick), it’s a doddle. ■ Each element of the Stream Carbon feels strong and has a reassuring weight to it, with a die-cast aluminium platter and a low-resonance veneered MDF plinth that passes the trusted ‘doesn’t skip when we bash the table’ test. The thick silicone slipmat is rubbery and grippy. ■ We tested our turntable using a Sonos One and all our records came through perfectly, with more depth and clarity than the mp3…

Amazon Fire HD 10 What’s the story? As with any Amazon kit, you know you’ve at least got something reliable here. The Fire HD 10 has a walled garden so there are critical omissions for gaming without a lot of fiddling about (we’re looking at you, Xbox Cloud Gaming); but it has a bright 10in screen, and Fire OS offers access to the most popular mobile titles if not all of the Google Play Store. It’s a family-friendly alternative to higher-priced tabs that may be offputting to less tech-savvy users. Is it any good? The screen is the highlight of the Fire HD 10. At 10.1in and 1920x1200, its 224ppi density means it looks nice and punchy. An extra 10% of brightness compared to the previous model isn’t obvious but…

FIRST ADD THESE… ONE REMARKABLE MARKER PLUS If you have the cash to splash and want something fancier than Amazon’s own Premium Pen, consider the Marker Plus. With a grippier finish, a fancier design and a much less budget-feeling eraser, it works great and magnetically affixes to the side of the Scribe. The only thing it lacks is Amazon’s handy shortcut button. £109 / remarkable.com TWO SAMSUNG GALAXY S23 ULTRA Which phone pairs perfectly with the Kindle Scribe? It’s got to be the S23 Ultra (reviewed on p36). On top of all the features unlocked by the Kindle app for Android, its S Pen works brilliantly on Amazon’s slate, so you can take notes even when you’ve left its dedicated pen at home. And yes, it has a shortcut button.…

Back in 2017, Nioh came damned close to matching the punishingly difficult but oh-so-satisfying gameplay pioneered by Dark Souls (and arguably perfected by Elden Ring). So Team Ninja has smartly built on those foundations for follow-up Wo Long, a heady blend of Chinese mythology and original storytelling involving a mysterious elixir that turns people into demons. The essentials are still there, namely some ultra-masochistic challenges you’ll have to master or die trying. But a few smart new additions, which tie neatly in to the game’s setting, might make this the genre’s most approachable entry point yet. Instead of placing you in an interconnected world, this journey plays out mission by mission. Epic battles are largely relegated to cutscenes, leaving you to pick up the pieces in ravaged villages and burning…

HOT BUY 1 Amazon Echo (4th Gen) £110 / go.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 for listening to music, but it’s significantly smarter and considerably cheaper too. Stuff says  An all-round upgrade that makes the Echo a smarter speaker than ever ● NOW ADD THIS  Honeywell T6R This Zigbee-enabled thermostat is wireless so you can place it where it’s most convenient. £149 / cityplumbing.co.uk TIPS & TRICKS The Echo’s built-in Zigbee hub can hook up hundreds of smart home devices without a bridge. Pair a compatible…

from £449 / mi.com Like sharp photos but not sharp drops in your bank balance? Here’s a 200MP shooter at a friendly price… ● You really got Mi Smartphone camera pixel counts have hit stratospheric figures recently, but that usually means a lofty price to match. At about £2.25 per megapixel, though, Redmi’s Note 12 Pro+ offers a 200MP main camera at a price that won’t make your credit card run away from home. Include the 8MP ultrawide, 2MP macro and 16MP selfie cameras as well and it actually drops to under £2, with phase-detect autofocus and optical image stabilisation thrown in for free. In comparison, Samsung’s 200MP Galaxy S23 Ultra (tested on p36) is at least £6.25 per megapixel. ● Take a look at Mi now Of course, you’re not…

£1199 / pantheoneaudio.com Obsidian? That’s my goth name. Very gloomy. Did you know it’s also the name of a type of volcanic glass that’s formed when lava cools quickly? Pantheone Audio’s Obsidian was formed in Australia, where there hasn’t been an eruption for about 5000 years, so this 36cm-tall speaker is made from a high-density resin, with acoustic fabric covering the front. Stone Age hunters used to craft arrowheads out of obsidian, which might explain why Pantheone has decided to make its new speaker this pointy shape, but it’s less obvious why it also comes in white. What’s wrong with white? Obsidian is famous for being black; and while impurities can give off other colours if you hold it up to the light, the closest you’ll get to white is…

AMAZON COMES OUT TO PLAY WITH LUNA+ Amazon has finally launched its cloud gaming service in the UK. An £8.99/m Luna+ subscription includes games such as Control, WRC Generations and, oh yes, Chicken Police, but there are optional Ubisoft (£14.99/m) and Jackbox Games (£3.99/m) bundles that add a load more. NINTENDO LAUNCHES A SWITCH LINK-UP The long-awaited return of Link in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is just around the corner, so Nintendo has released a special-edition Switch OLED console to play it on for £320. The console, dock and Joy-Cons are all adorned with Hyrule graphics… but you’ll still have to buy the game. DYSON FRESHENS UP ITS FANCY FAN RANGE Dyson’s snappily named Purifier Humidify+Cool Formaldehyde will do pretty much everything to the air except…

FREE GIFT WORTH £25.50 Get 6 issues of Stuff for just £15 Receive a free welcome gift worth £25.50 Save 52% off the shop price Have each issue delivered to your door Never miss an issue TWO EASY WAYS TO SUBSCRIBE: ONLINE shop.kelsey.co.uk/STU423P  CALL US 01959 543747 Please quote STU423P Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-5.30pm (calls charged at your standard network rate) Offer ends 13 May 2023 JUST WANT DIGITAL? You can get 13 digital issues for £24.99 – go to shop.kelsey.co.uk/STU123P and click the digital option. Sorry, the free gift isn’t available with digital subscriptions. Terms and conditions: UK offer only. Direct Debit only. You will pay £15 for 6 months then £22.99 every 6 months. Saving is based on the standard cover price of £5.25. Offer ends 13 May 2023.…

COMPACT CARRIERS The six-pack sack Bellroy Cooler Caddy This dinky drinking buddy will cocoon a sextet of bevvies and its grab strap can be toted solo or hooked onto a backpack. A waterproof lining stops the bottom getting soggy, while the clip doubles as a bottle opener – protecting your teeth from any ill-advised party tricks. £55 / bellroy.com The totable tower Burton Beeracuda ‘Beer snakes’ are made by stacking empty stadium cups into long chains. Beeracudas are made by stacking five cans in a vertical column, zipping them into this heat-beating sleeve (made of recycled, water-repellent polyester), slinging it over your shoulder… then stashing a sixth in the strap.  £23 / burton.com The packable porter Monti The Shasta This quilted effort stuffs into its own sack, for pocket-friendly temperature…

If iPhone Pros and Galaxy Ultras are beyond your budget but you still want a seriously specced-out smartphone, the OnePlus 11 is an absolute winner, combining stellar value with top-tier power. It’s available in this smart green but we’d urge you to go for the black option. Its matt finish does a fine job of keeping fingerprints at bay and just looks posher. Whichever you go for, the sides of the phone taper in elegantly, making the whole package feel sleek; the metal frame and glass front and back are rich to the touch, while IP64 water-resistance gives extra peace of mind if you don’t live in Death Valley. Screen: silky The OnePlus 11’s strikingly zingy Fluid AMOLED screen comes complete with a 120Hz refresh rate and display specs that…

Xiaomi’s Poco X5 Pro is a great option for anyone out for a low-cost mobile with flagship highlights. An ample 6.67in screen and flat front and back give the X5 Pro an almost iPhone 14 Pro-sized footprint, but it’s slim and light at just 181g. It sports an updated fingerprint-resistant plastic around the back that’s available in black, blue or yellow – and while it does feel odd, it keeps that box-fresh look. Just like the X4 Pro before it, this phone has a power button that doubles up as a fingerprint scanner, and it packs loud stereo speakers, a 3.5mm headphone port and an IR blaster. For a mid-range phone, the screen specs read like a champ: 2400x1080 resolution, 120Hz maximum refresh rate, HDR10 support, and a sky-high contrast ratio.…

ASUS ROG PHONE 6D ULTIMATE Asus and MediaTek joined forces to create the ROG Phone 6D – a brilliant partnership delivering the coolest mobile gaming we’ve experienced. And we mean that literally: with a mechanical vent that opens when you hook up its clip-on fan, fresh air is pumped inside the phone. The interface and accessory suite round out a wonderfully complete experience, from the setup process to the themes that showcase exclusive partnerships Asus has secured with some of the best mobile titles around. Add to the mix the abundance of storage, two USB-C ports and class-leading connectivity across Wi-Fi and 5G, and this high-priced gaming phone champ is our MVP. £1200 / go.stuff.tv/ROG6D KEY SPECS ● 6.78in 2448x1080 165Hz AMOLED ● Dimensity 9000+ ● 16GB RAM ● 50+13+5MP…

£5300 / go.stuff.tv/GT77 If you call your laptop the Titan, and fit it with internals that’ll break benchmarking records, it needs to deliver. And on paper, the 2023 MSI Titan GT77 doesn’t disappoint. This gaming monster deploys the full-power version of Nvidia’s flagship GeForce RTX 4090, with a fantastic 4K display, one of the most powerful mobile processors Intel has ever built, and the sort of cooling gear you’d expect in a desktop PC. The bold design means people will know this is a top-tier laptop: the logo on the lid is packed with RGB LEDs, as is the keyboard, and the vast cooling module at the rear has its own lights that glow out from the vents. All this power doesn’t come cheap, though. The fully equipped version tested…

Tech specs Screen 1.43in 466x466 AMOLED Storage 2GB OS HarmonyOS 3.0 Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC Battery life Up to 3 days (watch), 3hrs (buds) Durability IPX7 (watch), IP54 (buds) Weight 66.5g (watch), 2x 4g (buds) ■ We are all on snugs Magnets stop the buds tumbling out whenever you open the watch, and metal contacts provide wireless charging as soon as they’re stowed. They’re identical, so no worries about right and left: they’ll work it out automatically. ■ Beverly drills Step counting and sleep tracking are on a par with other popular smartwatches, as is the GPS and heart-rate accuracy. Athletes won’t be swayed from pricier kit, but there’s plenty of inspiration to get off the sofa for the rest of us. £450 / go.stuff.tv/WatchBuds ■ Every so often a…

£129 / go.stuff.tv/Ear2 ■ The new Nothing buds might look identical to the old ones, but there have been changes made inside. Most notably, they offer higher-quality Bluetooth streaming with 96kHz LHDC 5.0 – although that’s not as widely supported as LDAC or aptX, so it’s worth checking your phone first. iPhone owners are stuck with basic AAC. ■ These are energetic buds with a frequency curve designed to please the majority, but there’s also added clarity, detail and space. Bass is impactful without being boomy; and while the high end can become sharp at higher volumes, you can tweak all that in the app. ■ Nothing’s app also lets you personalise the controls, adjust the ANC and run a bespoke audio test to boost any frequencies you struggle to…

Donut of Truth™ 01 Touchscreen gives the case more purpose 02 Respectable battery life with and without ANC 03 Lots of options for audio customisation 04 Average sound quality for the money 05 Noise-cancelling could be more effective 06 That distinctive screen is under-utilised £250 / go.stuff.tv/TourPro2 DAY 01 There’s a fine line between groundbreaking and gimmicky. JBL is aiming for the former with the Tour Pro 2s: these true wireless in-ears are the first to take smartwatch-style notifications and controls off your wrist and cram them onto the side of a charging case via a tiddly touchscreen. That feature pushes them into premium territory, which isn’t JBL’s usual stomping ground and is filled with capable rivals – ones with dumber cases, sure, but also a firm focus on sound…

This is Supermassive Games’ second stab at a horror-themed rollercoaster shooting gallery. Its levels take inspiration from the four Dark Pictures Anthology games, from Man of Medan’s ghost ship to The Devil In Me’s murder hotel – but you needn’t have played them to enjoy (if ‘enjoy’ is the right word) the ride. The Sense controllers’ adaptive triggers bring new immersion to your virtual weapons, while the headset’s haptics effectively mimic the rumble of your cart travelling along rickety rails. Steep inclines build tension before the inevitable stomach-churning drops, which are brilliantly convincing in VR. But the same exciting rush can’t be maintained throughout each 20-minute level. Your vehicle regularly slows to a crawl, forcing you to sit helplessly in the dark as the game milks all the suspense. It…

SMARTWATCHES HOT BUY BARGAIN BUY 1 Apple Watch SE (2022) from £259 / go.stuff.tv/WatchSE If you’re talking about value, the SE is the best Apple Watch hands-down. It tracks sleep and all the exercise you need, supports Apple Pay, works great with your iPhone and… what more do most people require? The user experience is broadly identical, and while the screen bezels are a bit larger than on the Series 8 it’s hard to tell them apart without getting right up close. If you want a stainless steel case you’ll have to splash out on a Series 8 – but first ask yourself if it’s really worth the extra. Stuff says Offers most of the Apple Watch Series 8 experience for a whole lot cash less 2 Garmin Fenix 7…

SOUNDBARS HOT BUY 1 Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar Max £2199 / go.stuff.tv/AmbeoMax Utterly convincing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D sound, ample power and lots of inputs mean no other soundbar currently available can perform sonic feats with the solidity and confidence of this Sennheiser. The sheer room-filling scale of its sound is remarkable – and see also the more affordable (but still hugely powerful) Plus model. Stuff says  The Ambeo Soundbar Max is a big unit but the sound it makes is bigger still 2 Sonos Arc £899 / go.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 cinematic scale. See also the much more affordable Ray model. Stuff says  Big-screen sound for your…