Meze Audio Strada: Two-minute review

Visually, the Meze Audio Strada are more than a little reminiscent of the company’s much more expensive Liric II planar magnetic over-ear headphones. In terms of the most important technical aspects, they share quite a bit with the brand’s 109 Pro open-back model. But despite all this apparent cross-pollination, the closed-back, dynamic driver-toting Strada manage to be a distinct and individual proposition. And not only because they’re only available in a combination of ebony hardwood and a delightfully deep, slightly metallic green.

The materials that have been deployed — magnesium, PU leather and memory foam as well as that good-looking quantity of Macassar wood — feel luxurious and utterly fit for purpose. The standard of build and finish cannot be argued with. It’s even possible to overlook the rather unsophisticated ‘adjustment rod’ mechanism that alters the fit — although it is not possible to overlook the fact that even at their smallest adjustment these are quite large headphones. The smaller-headed music-lover can probably stop reading now.

Those listeners who aren’t physically swamped by the Strada, though, are in for a treat — a spacious, detailed and deliciously informative treat that only the best wired headphones can deliver. By the standards of the closed-back configuration these headphones sound large and airy, and create a well-defined and expansive soundstage. The have plenty of dynamic headroom, great neutrality where both tonality and frequency response are concerned, a proper facility with rhythmic expression thanks to excellent control over the deep and textured low frequencies they generate, and an overall sense of refinement and sophistication that is bound to satisfy a whole lot of customers.

In fact, if they didn’t play the ‘refinement’ card quite so strongly, even when dealing with the most unrefined music, they could conceivably snatch that extra half-a-star.

Meze Audio Strada review: Price & release date

• Released January 21, 2026
• Priced $799 / £799 / AUS1,499

The Meze Audio Strada (stylised to 'STRADA' in the company's marketing materials) are on sale now, and in the United States they sell for $799 per pair. They’re £799 in the United Kingdom, and AU$1,499 in Australia. Which means they have so very stiff competition, from both inside and outside their parent company, to overcome if they’re going to be a hit…

Meze Audio Strada review: Specs

Meze Audio Strada review: Features

• 50mm dynamic drivers
• 5Hz - 30kHz frequency response
• 111dB sensitivity

There are very few pairs of passive headphones that have a long list of features, and the Meze Audio Strada are not among them. The one significant feature they do have, though, has quite obviously come in for an awful lot of attention.

The 50mm dynamic drivers Meze Audio has used here are derived from the drivers fitted to the company’s open-back 109 PRO model — but naturally it’s been finessed in order to suit its new closed-back environment.

So each driver features a ‘W’-shaped dome made from carbon fibre-reinforced cellulose composite — it’s a combination that offers light weight and durability, and is designed to reject most of the resonances that can cause audible distortion. The torus surrounding the dome is made of semicrystalline polymer that’s been beryllium-coated; the coating adds to the durability of the component, and because it adds stiffness without any knock-on effects where weight is concerned it doesn’t hamper transient response. The torus also features some grooves positioned at carefully calculated angles to further boost its effectiveness. And there’s a copper-zinc alloy stabiliser surrounding the membrane that absorbs unwanted vibrations and reduces distortion yet further.

This painstaking arrangement results in a frequency response, says Meze Audio, of 5Hz - 30kHz, which in real terms means ‘staggeringly deep’ to ‘inaudibly high’. The 4ohms impedance measurement is nothing to be alarmed by, but a sensitivity rating of 111dB (SPL/mW @ 1kHz) seems to suggest a fairly powerful DAC or digital audio player will be required to get the best out of these headphones.

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

Meze Audio Strada review: Sound quality

• Spacious, organised and detailed sound
• Seem comfortable with pretty much any style of music
• Could conceivably sound a little more demonstrative

If you’ve read the words ‘closed-back’ during the course of this review and have assumed the Strada are going to sound intimate, direct and quite, well, closed then I can’t really blame you — that’s how the vast majority of closed-back headphones sound, after all. But what’s most immediately striking about these Meze Audio is how open and spacious their presentation is. They can do ‘direct’ and ‘conspiratorial’, sure — a listen to a nice big FLAC file of Elliott Smith’s Between the Bars lets you know they can communicate on a very one-to-one basis. But switch up to Shabaka’s Ol’ Time African Gods as a 24bit/48kHz file and it quickly becomes apparent the Strada create a big, well-organised and airy soundstage on which pretty much any recording gets the space to stretch out and express itself.

Tonally, the Meze Audio are almost entirely neutral from the top of the frequency range to the bottom. There’s the tiniest suggestion of heat at the lowest frequencies, but it’s not even close to making you want to take your pullover off. And the frequency response they muster is similarly even-handed — though they dig very deep into the lowest frequencies, and have great shine and a polite amount of shine at the opposite end, they neither under- nor overstate any particular area of the range. And in between those two extremes, they communicate in the most unequivocal manner — listen again to that Elliott Smith tune and the eloquence of his voice in unarguable.

These headphones seem able to turn their hand to pretty much any type of music, too. They have the sort of dynamic reach to put huge distance between the quietest and the most intense passage of Bernstein’s rampage through Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, they are deft enough to tease out the harmonic over- and undertones that exist within the squeal and grind of The Stooges’ I Wanna Be Your Dog, they have the power and the facility with rhythmic expression to make the heavily sedated skank of Dr Alimantado’s Best Dressed Chicken in Town roll by in the most natural and convincing manner.

Really, about the only meaningful criticism I can level at the Strada is not so much about the nuts and bolts of music reproduction but more about attitude. There’s a slightly self-conscious sense of refinement to these Meze Audio headphones, a grown-up and unflappable character that’s very pleasant and welcome right until the moment that it isn’t. If there’s energy in a recording, the STRADA do more than just allude to it, but at the same time, they seem unwilling or unable to properly sink their teeth in. I get the impression they think this sort of behaviour is both juvenile and a bit beneath them — if they could sound a little more demonstrative when it’s absolutely crucial, they’d be holding all the cards.

• Sound quality score: 4.5 / 5

Meze Audio Strada review: Design

• Macassar hardwood ear cups
• Magnesium frame
• PU leather ear pads attach magnetically

The Strada are, at a glance, a dead ringer for Meze Audio’s (much more expensive) Liric II over-ear model. The fact the pricier headphones use planar magnetic technology to produce sound, rather than the dynamic drivers that are fitted here, goes a long way to explaining the price difference — certainly there’s nothing about the way the Strada are designed, built or finished that suggests penny-pinching.

The magnesium frame contributes towards a very acceptable 300g weight (without cables attached), and the carefully considered hanger arrangement and clamping force also helps the comfort quotient. Or, at least, it does if you’re not one of the smaller-headed among us — the Strada, like almost every pair of Meze Audio headphones I’ve encountered, are large.

The rather prosaic ‘adjustment rod’ mechanism that alters the fit of the headphones allows the size to run from ‘quite large’ to ‘very large indeed’.

As well as being quite large, these headphones are quite wide — and the generous nature of the PU leather-covered memory foam earpads makes them larger still. Happily, the broad headband (which is covered on the outside with more PU leather) is much more judiciously padded on its fabric-covered inside, and the layout of the padding allows air to flow and prevents your head from warming up too quickly.

The outside of the ear cups are, just as with the Liric II, made from some handsome and actually quite tactile Macassar ebony hardwood. The lustre of the wood contrasts nicely with the colour of the frame — it’s a mildly metallic variation on British Racing Green, it’s applied by hand (all four coats of it) and it’s your only option when it comes to the colour of the Strada.

The headphones arrive in a fairly large, rigid EVA travel case, and there’s a little pouch inside containing two 1.8m lengths of braided Kevlar OFC cable. Each has two 3.5mm terminations at one end (both Strada earcups must be wired), and at the other end there’s either a single-ended 3.5mm connection or a 4.4mm Pentacon alternative. Plug in both ear cups, plug the other end of your preferred cable into your source of music, and away you go.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Meze Audio Strada review: Value

• Aesthetically very similar to much pricier Meze Audio cans
• …and luckily, they sound very good too

If you’re judging purely on looks, it’s hard to argue against the value that’s on offer here — after all, the $799 / £799 Strada look very, very similar indeed to the $2,000 / £1899 Liric II. If you’re judging on engineering prowess and integrity of construction, it’s similarly tricky to suggest the Strada don’t represent value. And then when you consider the sound quality that these headphones are able to serve up, their case becomes even more watertight.

• Value score: 4.5 / 5

Should I buy the Meze Audio Strada?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Meze Audio Strada review: Also consider

If the closed-back configuration isn’t essential for you, then the Meze Audio 109 PRO are well worth considering — they have much of what makes the Strada so compelling, and they’re not green.

You can also consider the five-star Grado Hemp — great sound, interesting materials and a decent saving over the Strada, but hardly the last word in luxury.

If closed-back is your thing, though, then the Audio Technica ATH-W1000 (for a little less money than the Meze Audio) and the Audeze LCD-2 (for more-or-less the same price) should be on your radar.

How I tested the Meze Audio Strada

I use the cable with the 4.4mm termination to connect the Strada to an iBasso DX340 digital audio player, and also (although obviously not at the same time) to an iFi iDSD Diablo 2 headphone amp/DAC that’s hooked to an Apple MacBook Pro via USB-C. Additionally, I connect them to the 6.3mm headphones socket of an Eversolo DAC-Z10 pre-amp/DAC (using a 6.3mm adapter on the 3.5mm cable) — this way I get to hear music delivered by a Technics SL-1300G turntable, a Rega Apollo CD player, and an Arcam ST25 network streamer.

• First reviewed: April 2026
• Read more about how we test

AI-agnostic is how I'd describe myself. I can see how it might be useful in some fields, for certain tasks. But I'm no hype-man for artificial intelligence. I'm not sold on a lot of what AI tools can do (or claim to do). And I certainly don't think it's a replacement for human creativity, whether that's writing or designing. No, not even turning documents into slide decks.

So, it was with some trepidation and skepticism that I approached VistaPrint's recently unveiled AI logo maker

Now, right off the bat, I have to say, if you possess a degree of design nous, this isn't the service for you. I find it to be relatively basic overall - which is the idea.

This is for small businesses who understand the need for company branding, but lack the time and knowledge to spend hours tinkering in creative apps like Photoshop or Affinity.

You can check out the full service by clicking here (although I used the UK version here, it's an identical platform).

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Pricing & plans

The AI logo maker is free to use. To start, you get four free starter logos. Sign up for a VistaPrint account, and that increases from 4 to 64 free logo generations.

Where it will cost money is all the extras. You can have a professional designer tweak your AI-created logo or build one from scratch, you can print your logo on a range of promotional materials, from business cards to coffee mugs, or use it alongside the VistaPrint website builder.

You can also purchase additional AI credits with a subscription to VistaCreate for $10 / £10 a month. This unlocks a raft of extra features, including unlimited storage, access to design templates, and 100 monthly AI credits. You can see what's on offer here.

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Interface

Navigating the VistaPrint AI logo maker is delightfully simple. I always thought Canva nailed an intuitive design interface, and even that feels cluttered compared to this one. It's sparse. It's minimalist. It's not going to overwhelm anyone, particularly first-timers and new designers.

On the AI logo maker home page, I found a text box requesting a business name. I typed it in, hit 'Let's Go'. And I'm off.

A nice touch here is the progress bar at the top. Despite only being three steps from prompt to output, it will still help put first-time users at ease. It tells users: This is not going to take a hundred years to produce a usable AI logo.

From here, I could add a business tagline to sit under the company name, and details about my business.

Next, I had to choose up to four logo styles I liked. This ranged from simple and minimalist designs to bold, colorful, and playful ones. It gives the AI an idea what sort of logo you're looking for.

Finally, I was prompted to add a few more details about my ideal logo.

The platform suggests detailing colors, styles, imagery, icons that best represents your business. As a means to get started, there are also AI-produced starter topics, like 'Capture the brand personality of...' Just fill in the blanks.

What I'd recommend here is be as specific as possible, particularly if you have even the vaguest notion of what your logo should look like. I experimented with both a short and long answer, and the longer ones delivered superior results overall.

With these steps complete, VistaPrint will show you four logo options. You can then see more logo ideas (but that will eat up your credits), alter your original ideal logo description, or begin using AI to edit one specific logo.

So, in terms of the interface and figuring out what you need to do, it's incredibly simple. And it doesn't break any molds. If you've used a similar service before, you'll be in familiar territory here.

VistaPrint AI logo maker: In use

In general, I found the tool very easy to use. It's all basic text-to-image prompting, so you'll want to be descriptive with how you describe what you want from your logo.

My first experiment was to replicate, as closely as possible, our TechRadar Pro logo. That way, I'd be able to compare the professionally designed logo with the AI's output. And this is where I ran into the first problem.

A problem for me, that is - but not for large businesses.

It turns out, VistaPrint recognized that TechRadar was a trademarked company. It wouldn't let me use that business name at all (I tried multiple times). Here's the message I received.

I tried this again with other big brands, like Google and Facebook, and got the same message. When I tried it with a random selection of Seattle cafes, however, it produced these without issue.

Fair enough. I altered my business name to TR Pro, and that went through with no issues.

When the platform served up four AI-generated logos based on my descriptions, I began tweaking the best version with more prompts.

Now, the AI output is pretty quick - around five to ten seconds at most. And edited logos are similarly quick.

In the main, the service understood what changes I wanted to make. When I wanted to turn the very angular typeface to a bolder, more rounded one, it tackled this with ease. When I changed the color of the 'TR' to our brand colors, pasting in the correct hex code, it was done.

However, results are not completely perfect.

Any attempt to remove the color gradient into a single block color was ignored. Each time, the logo with reproduced with no identifiable change. I attempted this multiple times, and every time, the gradient remained.

The same thing occurred when I tried removing the outline around the word 'Pro'. Instead of taking it out, the AI simply turned it from grey to white, while the lines were still visible.

And it's worth pointing out, that each time you edit the existing logo, you're using up yet another AI credit. Even if, as with the example above, the AI doesn't deliver on your request.

That's why I recommend being as specific as possible the first time around, to reduce the amount of time and credits you'll spend getting the logo to match your vision.

Outside of the radar icon, my original TR Pro logo lacked imagery. So, I decided to run a few more tests with more graphical logos.

First, I asked for a friendly, anthropomorphic coffee bean to help promote my fictional cafe Cosy Beans coffee & book shop. This was almost ridiculously easy for the AI to produce. A little generic, perhaps, but more than suitable for placing on promo materials and social media.

Next, I created Stevie C's House of DJ - it's party time central. The logos produced here were colorful, visually appealing, and struck all the right notes as I requested.

Finally, I asked for a logo for my burger joint Meat Sax - tagline: Burgers. Booze. Bands.

I was a little more specific here, requesting a Pixar-style man, and a McDonalds-style carton of fries (replacing the fries with a handful of saxophones).

Once again, the computer said: No. I was asking for trademarked elements. I had to try again. I kept the Pixar reference, removed McDonalds from the description of changes, and that seemed fine.

The carton of fries, while in a McDonalds red, was more like a wheelie bin of saxophones.

And while it had no issues with me asking for a Pixar-style cartoon figure, that wasn't what I got. The man munching on the burger was a standard figure. But then, I suppose no business using VistaPrint's AI logo maker wants to tangle with the lawyers of the Golden Arches or Disney, so it makes sense.

I then noticed these additional edits had stripped out the business name and tagline. Without specifying, I asked the service to re-add them to the new image. Instead of complying, it created a whole new business name and tag. Gone was Meat Sax - Burgers. Booze. Bands. In its place, was Melody Bites - Where food sings.

Overall, results were mostly hits, but with some noticeable misses.

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Export & download

If you thought the AI creation was straightforward, actually downloading your logo is child's play. Beneath your edited image is an option to download SVG, PNG, and PDF versions with a single click. These are all placed in a ZIP file. Considering this is free, I can't complain with that line-up.

You can also retrieve your logo from Account Dashboard. All projects are added here - including any you've uploaded (if you already have a logo) and all previous AI creations. You'll also be able to view the prompts used to create them. Very useful, especially if you're collaborating with colleagues.

It's here where you can also manage other aspects of your company brand kit, like brand colors, and look through VistaPrint's catalog of promotional products if you plan on printing this logo.

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Rights

Ok, you have a fresh new logo - but can you legally use it for your business?

This is one of the big concerns for businesses who need commercially safe AI-generated designs.

I asked VistaPrint's Patrick Llewellyn, Vice President, Digital and Design Services.

Here's what he told me:

"The AI generates designs based on a unique combination of a business name, industry, and style preferences, the experience is designed to produce a high degree of variety and distinction.

From a usage perspective, every user has the full right to use its finalized logo for its business, marketing, and social media. However, it is important to note that no intellectual property rights in the logo are transferred to the user.

This means that while you have the right to use your AI-generated logo, the logo can not be registered for exclusive trademark or copyright protection. To date, this is usually the case with all AI-generated imagery."

VistaPrint AI logo maker: Final verdict

For a free service, there's not much to dislike about the VistaPrint AI logo maker. It won't be acceptable for professional designers, but then, that's not its intent.

It's fast, fun, and will be useful for small businesses looking for a quick way to produce an eye-catching - and most importantly usable - logo. The AI designs are fine for that sort of use.

I did run in to some quirks when trying to refine my original logo designs. I would've liked a little more control over this (or to have the AI actually 'hear', rather than just assuming it's delivered).

On top of that, you could quickly burn through AI credits with every edit you make if you're not specific enough. That's a curse for pretty much every AI logo maker I've tested out, it's not just VistaPrint.

But if you're relatively clear about what the logo should include - the style, the color, the imagery, and so on - and you're not trying to reinvent the wheel, then 64 credits feels like more than enough to get a good representation of your company in logo form.

Should I try the VistaPrint AI logo maker?

My team and I have also tested and reviewed the best logo makers and the best free logo makers.

Boulies EP200: One year on

March 2026: It's been a little over a year since I first reviewed the Boulies EP200 (published February 18 2025) - and I thought it might be helpful to offer a few thoughts after a solid 12 months' using this office chair.

First, this is still my daily driver. Unless I'm testing out another model, this is the chair I use all-day at work, which I think speaks volumes. I haven't felt any fatigue when using it, although ten hours is about my limit before I need a break.

Comfort and support remain excellent. And it's more adjustable than I originally thought - not as much as a premium seat like the Herman Miller Embody, but certainly more than, say, the Boulies OP180 I have downstairs.

Build quality was an initial concern - especially at this price-point. However, so far, the adjustment mechanisms show no sign of wear, and neither does the plastic or the rubberized armrests. Crucially, the mesh seating remains tight with no noticeable sagging. For the price, what more could you ask for, really?

It's a firm sit. If you suffer back pains or aches, this is ideal - it may sound counter-intuitive, but a soft seat office chair is the worst choice for chronic lower back pain, since it won't support the lower back or spine. Alright, it's not up there with a chair like the Steelcase Leap, but for mild aches, where you need a good amount of support, I find it works well.

Overall, a year on, I still find the Boulies EP200 to be the archetypal office chair for most people. It's relatively cheap, not overly engineered or designed (in a good way), and suitable for long hours in the office and home office.

--

The original, unedited review continues below

Boulies EP200: 30-second review

Supremely comfortable. That was my first thought after assembling the Boulies EP200 office chair and sitting down for the first time. And after a month of constant use - for at least eight hours a day, sometimes more - this initial assessment still holds true.

This is a delightful mesh seat which feels at all times supportive, relaxed, and one of the best office chairs I’ve ever tested. I’ve long been a fan of mesh office chairs, which are a lot more breathable and far less sweaty than fabric and leather (or worse, so-called PU or faux leather) options you’ll often find on even the best gaming chairs. If you’re using your chair for long hours at a time, to my mind mesh is the way to go. On this score, the Boulies EP200 ably fits the bill.

My real concern was whether that mesh seat would suffer from a general sagging or whether it would be too firm - either can lead to discomfort and fatigue during the work day. I’m happy to report that it hits the Goldilocks spot, neither too hard nor too soft, but just right.

There are a handful of features lacking here, which you’ll find on higher-priced desk chairs. Notably, the lumbar support is fixed to one spot - although you can move it back and forth, it isn’t height-adjustable to accommodate for taller users (as a man of average height, this wasn’t an issue for me).

Nonetheless, it does boast decent lower back support, 3D armrests, a pleasant headrest, and overall, I had no real problems positioning these to make it as comfortable as possible for all-day use.

Boulies EP200: Price & availability

The Boulies EP200 Series retails for $300 via the Boulies.com website by clicking here.

In the UK, the chair is available for £280 from the Boulies.co.uk site which you can visit by clicking here.

Right now, only the black cold-cured foam version is available in the US, while the UK offers both gray and black models.

At the time of review, this chair is currently discounted to $200 / £190, which is more in-line with budget-price office chairs - and an excellent price for what’s on offer, I feel. You can also pick it up from Amazon.co.uk and other online retailers.

Boulies EP200: Specs

Boulies EP200: Design

The EP200 Series is available in black or gray, with the choice of a mesh or a cold-cured foam seat. Both models possess a tightly woven, single-piece mesh backrest. I selected the gray mesh variant for review, which I found unimposing in the home office.

Design-wise, it’s of the classic office chair look, not dissimilar to the likes of the Sihoo M57 (read our review here). Smart and professional, it won’t look out of place either in the home or in the office, and I have no complaints with its appearance. At 51cm, the backrest itself is relatively wide compared to some at this price-point, giving it more utility for those with a larger frame.

Around the back, it’s similarly unfussy, with a Y-shaped plastic support where, within the nub, you’ll find the adjustable lumbar support. The only sign of decoration comes from a silver piece of plastic stamped with the Boulies signature. This is a separate piece, fitted post-assembly, and entirely optional depending on your tastes.

Boulies EP200: Assembly

Taking around twenty minutes from start to finish, constructing the Boulies EP200 is about as simple as any I’ve tried. Plug the wheels into the aluminum base, bolt the backrest to the seat, then affix the contoured headrest. Connect the armrests, add the gas lift to the base, and rest the chair on top. All par for the course when it comes to office chair assembly.

While the box is admittedly heavy, I had no issues hauling it upstairs into the office, and assembling the entire unit on my own. The included manual is straightforward and easy to follow, and if you have any experience piecing chairs together, you’ll have no trouble here whatsoever.

Boulies EP200: Comfort & adjustability

I was impressed with the comfort of this office chair - in fact, I’d find reasons to sit at my desk outside of work hours just to use it. I found the suspended mesh seat firm without being too hard, and supportive in all the right places.

As a chap of average height and build, I didn’t struggle with finding the sweet spot here. Like all gas-lift office chairs, you’ll find a lever beneath the seat to adjust the overall height. Pulling this lever outward unlocks the backrest so you can recline - just push back with your body weight until you find the appropriate angle, then lock it into place again. Easy stuff.

A second lever beside this is where you can control how far back the seat can go, and I found I had to have it moderately far forward in order to get into the lumbar support in the correct position. After making this adjustment, the foam lumbar support pushing through the mesh offered consistent lower back support.

I was expecting the unpadded armrests to be a bind, akin to resting one’s elbows on a slab of warm concrete. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find the foam, while relatively thin and somewhat hardened, provided an excellent balance between comfort and support - much like the rest of the chair, to be fair. As typical 3D armrests, these can be moved up and down, backwards and forwards, and outward and inward.

However, I would’ve liked to see a few more adjustability options. Specifically, the lumbar support, which can be repositioned on the horizontal plane by turning the screw cap, but not vertically, which would be useful for taller users. The headrest, too, can be moved up and down, but won’t shift forward, back, or angled in any way. Perhaps I’m being greedy, since for the price, I don’t consider these deal-breakers.

Boulies EP200: Final verdict

If you’re looking for a decent ergonomic office chair that won’t break the bank, there’s a lot to recommend about the Boulies EP200. It might not boast all the bells and whistles you’ll find on chairs twice the price, and it would’ve been nice to have a few extra adjustability points here and there. But for a modern, uncomplicated seat, I found it supremely comfortable and ultra-breathable even when used all day.

Should I buy the Boulies EP200 Series office chair?

For more workspace essentials, we tested the best standing desks for the home and office.

Aqara Camera Hub G350: two-minute review

Owned by Shenzhen’s Lumi United Technology, and backed by Chinese mobile phone/EV giant Xiaomi, Aqara offers a wide range of AI-driven automation products including sensors, cameras and controllers. I’ve previously reviewed the Aqara G100, a versatile indoor/outdoor security camera which I was very impressed with. However, I was less impressed with the company’s battery-powered video doorbell, the Aqara G410 Doorbell Camera Hub, which not only looks big and clunky but isn’t waterproof — surely a failing for any doorbell camera?

The Aqara Camera Hub G350 under review here is very different. Finished in white, it is — unlike the company’s doorbell camera — very well designed. Though the removable bunny ears may not be everyone’s idea of great design, it is at least good fun and does feel like a piece of tech you wouldn’t be ashamed to put on a bookshelf or fireplace. However, it’s much more than a pretty face. It’s also a heck of a powerful and versatile home security camera.

Unlike most indoor cameras, the G350 features a motorized base which provides a 360-degree field of view with zero blind spots. This is paired with a dual lens setup that allows you to track a subject (human or animal) using the wide-angle lens or zoom in to an area of detail using the telephoto lens. A 9x hybrid zoom is provided which really does allow you to get close up to your subject with reasonable picture quality.

Like all security cameras these days, setup requires downloading an app (the Aqara Home app) and scanning a QR code from the back of the device. However, rather confusingly, this camera features three QR codes — two on the back for setting up the camera with the app and with third party Matter devices (it supports Matter 1.5) and one on the base for Apple HomeKit Secure Video. While you can use the Matter QR code for connecting to Apple devices, it will currently only connect as a bridge rather than a camera.

Importantly, if you are using Apple HomeKit Secure Video to control the Aqara camera via your iCloud subscription you will only be able to view footage with a maximum resolution of 1080p. You will also not be able to access many of the camera’s features including its pan and tilt options. Instead, if you want full functionality you will need to use the much more advanced Aqara app instead.

Like many security devices these days, the Aqara G350 is packed full of AI features. This includes sophisticated on-device detection that can identify different types of motion, from humans and pets to specific hand gestures for home automation. Particularly impressive is the AI sound detection, which can recognize and alert you to specific audio events such as a baby crying or a dog barking. This makes it an ideal choice for parents and pet owners who want more nuanced alerts rather than generic ‘noise detected’ pings.

While Aqara provides a monthly subscription option for storing video clips for up to 90 days and some advanced AI functionality (including AI video search — see below), the good news is you don’t have to pay a fee to use most of the device’s features, as you do with some manufacturers. Instead, you can store video clips on a MicroSD card of up to 512GB (not provided) and still use most of the product’s extensive feature list. For those worried about storing videos of loved ones in the cloud for cybersecurity reasons, investing in a MicroSD card is not only a cheaper option but a potentially more secure one too.

Aqara Camera Hub G350: subscription options

HomeGuardian One: £3.99 (about $5.40 / AU$7.60) per month, or £39.99 (about $54 / AU$76) per year for a single device. Includes: 90 days of video event history, person, animal, vehicle, package, and fire detection.

HomeGuardian Unlimited: £7.99 (about $11 / AU$15) per month, or £79.99 (about $110 / AU$150) per year. Same as above but also includes Premium AI Event Detection including AI Video Summary (one sentence summary of videos) and AI Video Search (enter keywords to search video). Support for unlimited cameras in one home.

Aqara Camera Hub G350: price and availability

• How much does it cost? $139.99 / £139.99 / AU$249
• When is it available? Since March 2026

Generally, security cameras are not expensive to buy. For example, EZVIZ now offers a 4K indoor camera with pan and tilt for under £50 (about $67 / AU$95) on Amazon in the UK, so £139 (about $190 / AU$270) does seem slightly pricey at first glance.

However, one key difference is that the Aqara offers a dual lens system, complete with 133° wide-angle lens and 43-degree telephoto lens for zooming in to areas of detail. Another is that it’s more than just a camera. It’s really a central hub for your smart home, supporting Matter 1.5, Zigbee 3.0 and Thread formats. It also works with all the major smart home ecosystems including Apple Home, Alexa, Google Home and Samsung SmartThings. This makes it a truly versatile piece of kit.

While this level of integration might not be essential for everyone, for those building a smart home system comprising different components such as window locks, lighting, switching and smart locks it is extremely useful.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Aqara Camera Hub G350: design

• Solidly built
• Playful design with removable bunny ears
• Can be mounted on the ceiling (with additional hardware)

When thinking about this camera’s design, it’s difficult to overlook the distinctive bunny costume (the ears of which are bigger than those of its predecessor, the Aqara Camera Hub G3). Yet focusing extensively on its removable plastic cover is to do the Aqara Camera Hub G350 a major disservice as it’s actually a very well-designed camera indeed.

Not only does it look good (with or without bunny ears) for placing in your home, it’s also solidly built. One feature I like is the privacy mode which physically moves the dual lenses, which look like open eyes, to the back of the device’s ‘head'. These are replaced with two sleeping eyes with the MicroSD card slot forming a mouth underneath. Again, it’s a bit of fun but it clearly shows the camera is asleep (privacy mode can be scheduled for certain hours of the day — for example when you know lots of family members are going to be in the room).

A small button on the front is usually illuminated blue during operation, but turns red to indicate it is recording while next to the two lenses is a microphone for two-way communication (a speaker can be found on the camera’s rear). A USB-C port can be found on the base, and a USB-C to USB-C cable is provided, but you will need a USB-C plug unless you use a different cable.

Finally, for those looking to mount the camera on a wall or ceiling, the camera features a standard ‘tripod-style’ threaded screw hole on the base. However, the actual bracket and mounting hardware (wall plugs etc) are sold separately for non-bookshelf installation.

• Design score: 5/5

Aqara Camera Hub G350: performance

• 4K image quality
• Overly complex menus
• Very useful

It’s really when it comes to performance that the Aqara justifies its higher-than-average price tag. During testing I used the camera in my home office, where I wrote most of this review, and in the kitchen/dining room where my dog Poppy was recovering from a serious operation.

The ability to track her every move automatically using the pan-and-tilt motor was invaluable. I could easily check that she wasn’t getting her stitches caught in the furniture, even when she wandered out the initial field of view. What’s more, using my phone to draw a box on the screen, I was able to zoom in on areas of the frame I wanted to focus more clearly on.

Thankfully, the 360-degree rotation is nearly silent, which isn’t so much of an issue when monitoring my dog, but could be if you are using the camera as a baby monitor and you don’t want to wake a sleeping child.

Whereas many manufacturers now put their most advanced features behind a subscription paywall, the vast majority of those on the Aqara G350 are free — at least for now. For example, you can set up the device to get alerts if it hears a baby crying or dog barking, or if you want it to distinguish between different types of motion such as a person or a pet. It’s even possible to add faces to the device’s face management system so that it recognizes certain people.

However, you will have to pay a subscription fee if you want more advanced AI functionality such as AI Video Summary that provides a one sentence summary of videos and AI Video Search that enables the device to find certain clips — for example someone wearing a red T-shirt or with blond hair.

Finally, while I mostly used the Aqara app to view images in stunning 4K quality and navigate hundreds of different menu options (including the ability to change the look and feel of onscreen menus) I also connected the camera up to Apple HomeKit Secure Video. Here image quality was limited to the much lower 1080p and I wasn’t able to use the pan-and-tilt or zoom features which are really useful.

However, it was possible to save and record footage using my iCloud+ subscription rather than using a MicroSD or subscribing to Aqara’s Home Guardian service.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Should you buy the Aqara Camera Hub G350?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Aqara Camera Hub G350: also consider

If you're not sure whether the Aqara Camera Hub G350 is right for you, here are two other options to think about.

How I tested the Aqara Camera Hub G350

• I used the camera indoors in two locations
• I installed it myself
• The camera was connected to the Aqara app and Apple Home

Initially, I set the Aqara up in my office to get a feel for how it worked and how to use the pan and tilt functionality to focus on certain parts of the room. However, it soon became apparent that this camera really thrives in a busy environment where you can really put the motion tracking to the test.

So, I put it in the kitchen where it could track other family members as well as my dog who was recovering from an operation. This perhaps wasn’t as straightforward as I’d hoped as it required reinstalling to operate on a different Wi-Fi network, but that didn’t take too long.

After a while, other family members began to find the camera a little ‘big brother-y’ in the way it tracks you with its eyes as you move across the room (though it is exceptionally quiet). However, it was highly effective at monitoring the dog while everyone else was out during the day and I placed it in privacy mode during the evening when everyone was home.

For more info, check out how we test, review, and rate products at TechRadar.

Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub: one-minute review

The Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub All-in-One-Multi-Surface Cleaner is a cordless vacuum and mop in one. It effectively picks up dirt from bare floors as well as certain kinds of rugs. A single charge is probably enough to vacuum and mop an average-sized home, though you might need to refill the cleaner if you have a lot of carpets or rugs. It's lightweight, easy to use, and not too loud. A headlight really shines a light on dirt so you can be sure to get it all. However, it lacks some features that may be a dealbreaker for some.

It's great on bare floors and hard carpets and rugs. But the Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub is not intended for flimsy or fluffy carpets. It lacks a wand or hose of any kind, which means you can't use it on furniture. Also, don't expect any miracles in the stain-removal department.

For the day-to-day cleaning of a typical home with hard floors, either bare floors or dense rugs, the Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub All-in-One-Multi-Surface Cleaner excels. For specialty carpeted surfaces or deeply ingrained carpet stains, it may not be enough.

Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub: price and availability

• List price: $369.99 (about £280 / AU$540)
• Available on BISSELL's website and Walmart

As of this writing, the Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub All-in-One-Multi-Surface Cleaner is available on Bissell's own website and at Walmart. The price is the same at both places, $369.99 (about £280 / AU$537). It's fairly expensive for this type of cleaner but might be worthwhile if it fits your needs.

• Value score: 4/5

Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub: specifications

BISSELL CrossWave HydroScrub: design and features

• Cordless
• Wet and dry cleaning modes
• Cleans bare floors and rugs

The cordless Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub All-in-One-Multi-Surface Cleaner takes about five hours to charge fully, and then will clean for about 45 minutes on a single charge. Vacuum your floors and rugs with the PowerVac Mode, and then switch to Power Mop Mode for wet cleaning. A headlight comes on automatically as you clean, and makes it easier to find and clean any dirt.

It's relatively lightweight, weighing in at under 11 pounds. The front of the handle has three buttons: Power, Cleaning Mode button, and a Turbo Mode button for extra suction. The inside of the handle has a Scrub Mode trigger for extra scrubbing in mopping mode. On top of the handle, you'll find the Clean-Out Cycle button.

A lit display on the front of the body indicates which cleaning mode you're in and how much power you have left. This display informs you of any issues, such as clogs, an empty clean tank, or a stuck brush roll, among other things.

The size and shape allow you to get close to walls and in corners to clean. There are no hoses or attachments that would allow you to clean sofas or other furniture.

The back of the unit houses the clean water tank. You fill it with warm tap water up to the water fill line, and then add cleaning formula to the formula fill line. This gives you the right concentration of cleaner to water. Empty out the dirty tank as needed; you'll have to disassemble all of the parts and give them a good clean by hand.

If you wish to run the Clean-Out Cycle, you need to empty the dirty tank first. Add cleaning solution up to the Clean-Out Cycle line on the clean water tank, then put the machine in the docking station and press the Clean-Out Cycle button. It takes just 45 seconds to clean out the machine. Then you'll need to clean out the dirty tank again.

• Design score: 4.5/5

Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub: performance

The Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub All-in-One-Multi-Surface Cleaner made quick work of food crumbs on my kitchen floor. I also threw down some salt and that was easily vacuumed up as well. I ran it over some dried-on mess in Power Mop Mode and that was easily cleaned up as well. I did need a few passes in the same spots, especially near walls. One odd thing I noticed was that the wheels got dirty very quickly, and there's no easy way to clean those.

I vacuumed and then wet-cleaned three good-sized area rugs plus two carpeted bedroom on a single tank of cleaner and a single charge. I also attempted to clean a thin, flimsy, washable area rug and unsurprisingly that didn't work at all; it just got sucked up into the CrossWave HydroScrub.

It never gets particularly loud. My dog usually barks at vacuums because she hates the loud noise; she didn't bark at this one until I'd been using it for a while (and I got into her space.)

The pulling back motion on rugs feels a bit rough sometimes. Forward motion is consistently smooth. It took several passes to vacuum up a single hair on an area rug, but it did get up eventually.

My area rugs had actually been shampooed rather recently, but not the bedroom carpets. I didn't realize how dirty they were, but wow: the dirty tank was filthy after my cleaning session. I mean, really gross.

After wet cleaning, the rugs were slightly damp but not soaked. They dried pretty quickly after cleaning. I did have some old, set-in stains and those did not come up. It's worth noting that my rugs and carpets are all very dense; the Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub All-in-One-Multi-Surface Cleaner is not designed for plush or fluffy rugs.

I cleaned out the dirty tank after I was done with this cleaning session, and then I added more cleaner and ran the 45-second Clean-Out Cycle. Again, the dirty tank was filthy, so I cleaned it out again and then hand-washed all of the parts.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should you buy the Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub: also consider

If the Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub All-in-One-Multi-Surface Cleaner isn't exactly what you're looking for, you might consider the following:

How I tested the Bissell CrossWave HydroScrub

• I tested both wet and dry modes and Scrub Mode
• I ran a Clean-Out Cycle
• I took apart the dirty tank and washed all of the parts

I vacuumed up crumbs and food from my kitchen floor. I ran a mop cycle on some dried-up mess on the floor. I vacuumed several area rugs. I did a wet-cleaning cycle on three area rugs and two bedrooms. I attempted to clean some set-in stains on carpet. I ran a Clean-Out Cycle when I was done cleaning. I took apart the dirty tank and hand-washed all of the parts.

Read more about how we test.

AceMagic K1: 30-second review

The AceMagic K1 is a compact mini PC with a stylish silver metallic finish and ultra compact square form factor that should find a place easily enough in any desktop.

Lifting the K1 out of the packaging, despite its quality, the all-plastic body is immediately apparent, although it does have a decent weight for its size, and everything feels solid and well put together. At this price point, I didn’t expect a metal case, and the silver finish does a good job of initially fooling you that this is a premium styled model.

The port layout is split between front and rear. On the front, you get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports running at 10 Gbps, a USB-C port for display and data, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The rear offers four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports at 5 Gbps, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs, and a single Gigabit Ethernet port. The rear ports sit just above the exhaust vent, which means some care is needed with cable management to avoid obstructing airflow through the machine.

Due to the small size, mounting the K1 on the back of your monitor utilising the VESA would be the best solution and also free up desk space. While there is a decent amount of ports, it’s a shame that aside from the USB-C on the front, there are no additional options on the rear, opting for older USB Type-A instead.

Inside the machine is an Intel Core i5-12600H; this CPU isn’t the latest Intel technology, but it has a proven track record and is a step above the Intel N150-equipped machines that still seem to be available.

In my review unit, it came equipped with a single 16GB DDR4 stick, which essentially means single-channel operation. This is worth mentioning as, through the test, I did find the GPU performance limiting, and a second matched 16GB module should improve memory bandwidth and GPU performance, and the 32GB dual-channel configuration is the better starting point if the budget allows.

Running Windows 11 Pro and then loading Microsoft Office applications, the K1 was fast and handling all Office programs was well within its abilities. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint all loaded and ran well, able to handle everyday work without issues. Through the test, I was able to lay out large PowerPoint presentations with embedded images and video, and all was easily handled by the machine.

Taking a look at some creative applications and Lightroom Classic took a little longer to open than I am used to on more powerful machines, but once loaded, it ran well enough for cataloguing and basic editing of files from the Canon EOS R5 C. Using Adobe Bridge showed the first real signs of the GPU starting to struggle, with noticeable lag rendering thumbnails from a folder of more than 500 images.

Another bigger point to note was the speed of the Wi-Fi connectivity. Connecting the machine through the Wi-Fi 6 connection to an Eero 6 router performed well, but when downloading games through Steam, it felt slightly slower than other Wi-Fi 6 devices I also have in the office. The wired RJ45 Ethernet was connected to the router, and speeds took a notable step up.

When video editing, I ran two 4K BenQ monitors via HDMI and DisplayPort, and added a third 1080p monitor via the front USB-C port, which the K1 again handled without issue, although every time the system was pushed, the fans kicked in, and the dual fans were noticeable, especially when editing video and gaming. While not quite up there with the machines in our best mini PC guide, it's a fair all-rounder that's ideal for everyday tasks at home and in the office.

ACEMagic K1: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? From £359 / $359
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from Acemagic.com, and online retailers such as Amazon.com, and Amazon.co.uk

The K1 with either the Intel Core i5-12600H or a range of AMD Ryzen processors is available for $395 direct from Acemagic.com.

In the US, you can also get the model sporting an AMD Ryzen chip starts from $330 at Amazon.com, and comes in a range of configurations.

In the UK, I'm seeing a configuration with an AMD Ryzen processor, 16GB DDR4 RAM, and 512GB SSD for £330 at Amazon.co.uk.

The machine ships with Windows 11 Pro. A two-year warranty is included on purchases from the official store.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

AceMagic K1: Specs

*as reviewed

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600H
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
Memory: 16GB DDR4 3200MHz (2x SO-DIMM slots, up to 64GB)
Storage: 512GB M.2 2280 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 (2x M.2 slots, up to 4TB total)
Display output: HDMI 2.0 (4K@60Hz), DP 1.4b (4K@60Hz), USB-C (4K@60Hz) — triple 4K supported
Front ports: 2x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A (10Gbps), 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, power button
Rear ports: 4x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A (5Gbps), 1x HDMI 2.0, 1x DP 1.4b, 1x RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet, DC in
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Dimensions: 128 x 128.2 x 41.3mm

AceMagic K1: Design

The K1 is a surprisingly compact square-format mini PC that measures in at just 128 x 128.2 x 41.3mm, one of the smallest that I’ve seen for a while. The exterior could initially be mistaken for high-quality brushed metal, but as soon as I lifted it from the box, the warmer, non-metal feel instantly highlighted the all-plastic construction. Still, for a few moments, the finish does give you the impression that it's a slightly higher-quality product than you might expect at this price.

On the front panel, there are two USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports at 10Gbps, a USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C port that supports display output and data, and a 3.5mm audio jack alongside the power button. These front connection options are useful if you ever connect external SSDs, USB Keys or headphones and help you to avoid reaching around to the back of the machine, where port placement can be tight, especially on a machine like this.

The rear panel of the machine packs in a surprising amount of ports with four USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4b, and a single LAN port. The ports at the rear are close together, but there’s still just enough space to plug in all your accessories, and for a machine of this size, that volume of ports is handy. My only comment on the ports is that, like the older CPU, the bulk of ports here are the older USB Type-A, and in reality, an additional USB-C or two would definitely have been an advantage.

As I opened up the machine to look at the layout of the internal components, it was good to see the dual-fan exhaust design, with the large main fan mounted at the top. As I used the K1 to edit FHD video in DaVinci Resolve, the fans were quick to kick in, helping to keep things cool. For less intensive work, such as working with Word and Excel, the fans generally stayed quiet.

Checking over the machine and while using the computer for a good 6 hours, parts of the machine were warm to the touch.

As I went through the test, I did find that the specifications were a little limiting, especially the RAM and internal SSD. An upgrade is possible, but compared with the quick access of many Mini PCs to the internal components, here the process is altogether more involved.

To reach the RAM and second M.2 slot, for instance, the four rubber feet on the base need to be carefully lifted; they are held with double-sided adhesive to reveal the four mounting screws beneath. These four screws sit in deep recesses of the mini PC’s body, and to reach them, you need a longer cross-head screwdriver than I commonly use.

However, once inside, you then need to lift the motherboard and set it carefully to the side. If you want to completely disconnect the motherboard from the chassis then you can, otherwise I found carefully propping it up was a great was to save time. Once the chassis is moved aside and the motherboard lifted, you have access to the memory and SSD slots below.

The process is manageable with patience and some experience, but if you’re less confident, then you may prefer to order the higher-spec configuration from the outset with more RAM and storage.

• Design: 4 / 5

AceMagic K1: Features

The list of features of the K1 does all seem a little dated, but this is a machine aimed at those who are looking for a solid, tried and tested specification that should run Windows and Microsoft Office apps without issue.

Therefore inside is an Intel Core i5-12600H, the 12-core hybrid configuration combines four cores running at up to 4.5GHz with eight cores handling background tasks, which means Windows 11 ran smoothly from the outset with the standard Microsoft Apps, however, while Microsoft application loaded quickly, Steam, the Adobe Suite and DaVinci Resolve took a good while to completely load, and some games wouldn’t load at all due to hardware requirements.

My review unit came pre-installed with 16GB of DDR4 at 3200MHz in a single SO-DIMM, running in single-channel mode. It is worth noting that single-channel memory halves the available memory bandwidth compared with a dual-channel pair (When you have two sticks installed), which will have an impact on the GPU performance.

Storage is just 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD running on PCIe 3.0 x4, and this is again fine for Windows and Microsoft Office applications, but a little limiting on space for more creative tasks and applications. What I did like is that there is a second M.2 slot available for additional storage, and if you want, you can install two 2TB sticks to bring the full internal storage up to 4TB.

The display setup is well captured, and while you can run triple 4K displays through the test, I settled on two 4K BenQ models. These displays are connected to the HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4b outputs on the rear, and then a third display can be connected to the USB-C on the front, which is never the neatest solution.

The port selection on both the front and back does offer plenty of scope with two 10Gbps USB-A ports and a USB-C port on the front, plus four 5Gbps USB-A ports on the rear. On connectivity, alongside the single LAN port that covers wired networking, there’s also Wi-Fi 6 with Bluetooth 5.2 that handles all wireless connectivity.

• Features: 4 / 5

AceMagic K1: Performance

Taking the small AceMagic K1 out of the packaging, the initial impressions are good with a decent weight and finish to the casing, with a premium metallic look despite being plastic.

Windows 11 Pro comes installed on the system, and the last part of the setup process, which involves entering your details and running the updates, is all that’s needed before you install your selection of applications.

Once everything is set up, Windows 11 Pro performs well, as do the Microsoft Office applications, really all well within the abilities that you would expect for a home office machine. Checking the PCMark overall score and sure enough, with a result of 6,322 and backed up by a Geekbench multi-core score of 6,190, all show that this is a machine that is perfectly tuned to everyday tasks and administration.

In Microsoft Office, the K1 was able to switch quickly between Word, Excel, and PowerPoint and loading up relatively large files and copying data from Excel to Word and embedding in PowerPoint all worked without issue. The only brief pause came when opening a large, image-heavy PowerPoint file, which took a moment to load before it seemed to settle, and editing became available.

As expected, web browsing in Edge and media streaming from YouTube and BBC iPlayer were all well handled, and while the Wi-Fi connection did feel slightly slower than other machines I also use on the network, streaming video ran well on the 4K monitor.

Pushing the demands on the system, I loaded Lightroom Classic, which did initially take a while to load, but once the application was ready, it worked well, handling RAW files from the Canon EOS R5 C and Hasselblad X2D II 100C for cataloguing, editing, and batch export without major issues.

Adobe Bridge was the first place where the GPU started to struggle, with a noticeable delay in rendering thumbnails when browsing a folder containing over 500 images. Photoshop handled general editing and multi-layer files without any real issues, although applying dodge-and-burn effects to larger landscape files did cause some stuttering.

In Premiere Pro, the limits of this machine really started to show with the 4K timeline rendering being particularly slow. I then cut the resolution to 1080, and the editing and export were much better. Taking that same footage over to CapCut, the machine was able to handle social media edits without issue.

An interesting point is that the SSD's read and write performance of 3,468 MB/s and 2,582 MB/s is solid for a PCIe 3.0 drive and does help with the speed of more demanding tasks, but while these transfer speeds were fast, some applications were slow to load.

Testing out the speed of the SSD and importing files from CFexpress cards, the speed was noticeably fast, although with only 512GB of storage, an external SSD would be a good idea, or a secondary 2TB internal SSD would be a good option.

To finish off the test, I tried out a few games, and again, the limitations of the machine's hardware really started to show as the Iris Xe GPU was put under pressure.

Titles with demanding graphics requirements, such as Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, would not run at all, highlighting Vulcan incompatibility issues with the machine.

Dirt Rally, which is a far older game, ran at reduced settings and played smoothly enough to be enjoyable. The K1 is not a gaming machine, but lighter and older titles are within reach at low to medium settings.

• Performance: 3.5 / 5

AceMagic K1: Final verdict

The AceMagic K1 is a decent entry-level mini PC that’s perfectly suited to administration work where Microsoft Office applications are going to be the main focus of use. While the machine can handle lightweight multimedia editing, the limitation with graphics holds it back.

However, around the body there are plenty of connectivity options enabling you to plug in not only your keyboard and mouse, but plenty of additional accessories such as external SSDs, USB Keys and control boards. It’s also good that you can connect up to 3 4K monitors, although in this test I connected two 4K on the HDMI and DP and a third 1080p monitor through the front USB-C.

Through the test, I did note that anything that required graphics, from loading the Adobe applications to gaming, took the machine a while to load. This may well have been solely down to the GPU, but could also be due to the single-channel RAM configuration. Having 32GB will give an obvious boost, but adding that additional stick will also provide more memory bandwidth.

While the specifications for RAM and SSD in my review sample were modest to say the least, there’s plenty of upgrade potential with the RAM option up to 64GB and the SSDs enabling up to 4TB of internal storage. If you did go down this route, then you would have to clone the OEM version of Windows from the smaller SSD to the new one.

If you need a compact, Windows 11 machine to run the full Office suite, some light multimedia work, and a two to three-monitor setup, on a budget, the K1 is a decent choice. It is a good, solid machine that looks great and will provide you with all the power you need for core apps and the Microsoft Office suite. If you need it to do anything more, I would look at a higher-spec machine.

Should I buy an AceMagic K1?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

For more desktops, we've reviewed the best business computers.

Panasonic Lumix ZS300 / TZ300: two-minute review

Eight years ago, and before my time as Cameras Editor, TechRadar called the Lumix ZS200 / TZ200 "the most advanced travel zoom camera" and gave it a near-perfect 4.5 / 5 rating in its review — and that discontinued model now has a surprise successor, the Lumix TZ300.

Like the 2018 original, the Lumix ZS300 / TZ300 packs a stabilized 24-360mm f/3.3-6.4 lens and large 1-inch sensor, shooting 20MP stills and 4K video — a tempting cocktail of quality and versatility, all in a truly pocketable body.

Despite the years, there's very little between the two cameras; in fact, I can tell you the key differences in a single sentence: the 2026 model gains USB-C charging, but loses a built-in viewfinder. That’s it.

It’s great to see the once-popular travel zoom compact readily available again — I thoroughly enjoyed reviewing the older model long before my TechRadar days — and it's now compliant with common charger EU laws thanks to its USB-C port, and ready to compete for a spot on my best compact cameras round-up. However, in a way the 2026 version is a pricier downgrade.

Will Panasonic's decision to strip the Lumix TZ300 back, without seemingly compensating with new features, come back to bite it?

The fact is, compact camera shipments are on the up again, and right now the Lumix TZ300 still has little competition, so Panasonic might just cash in anyway — I don’t think it needs to improve is flagship travel zoom compact to maximize sales, just make it available again, which is what it's done.

Removing the viewfinder no doubt cuts costs down (not that those savings are passed onto the consumer), and could be a reflection on how people tend to rely on screens more in 2026. For me, it doesn’t feel like a dealbreaker — the EVF in the original model wasn’t the best in any case.

What bothers me more is that the new version offfers no compensation — there’s just more plastic in place of where the viewfinder once was — and it feels dated in other areas. For example, in the absence of a viewfinder, I would have loved for Panasonic to install a tilt mechanism for the 3-inch rear display for easier viewing from awkward angles, but we again have a fixed screen.

Nor do we get Panasonic's latest features seen in other recent cameras, such as its improved autofocus and Real Time LUTs color profiles.

So what are we to make of the Lumix ZS300? There is seemingly enough of a compact camera resurgence to merit Panasonic bringing the range back to life, but not enough competition or consumer desire (or both) for Panasonic to feel it was worth producing a truly new and improved model — the quality was already there eight years ago to satisfy today’s demands.

The bottom line is that I’m happy to see the popular Lumix travel zoom return — I just wish for a little more camera.

Panasonic Lumix ZS300 / TZ300 specs

Panasonic Lumix ZS300 / TZ300: Price and availability

• Announced in March 2026 and available from the start of May
• Costs $899 / £869 / AU$1,599
• Available in black or gray

The Lumix ZS300 / TZ300 is expected to hit stores in May 2026 and cost $899 / £869 / AU$1,599. It comes in two varieties — the gray version that Panasonic sent to me for this review, and an all-black version.

That price pits the Lumix TZ300 against the likes of the Canon PowerShot V1, which is a vlogging camera with a bigger sensor, superb autofocus and modern video skills, but a narrower standard zoom range. Given how much new tech is in Canon’s compact, it feels like better value (and there's rumored to be a travel-zoom version on the way which could rain on the Lumix parade).

The same money could also get you a small beginner mirrorless camera with kit lens, such as the excellent Fujifilm X-M5. Overall, the Lumix TZ300 feels like okay value at best.

• Price score: 3/5

Panasonic Lumix ZS300 / TZ300: Design

• Small and compact, with a foldaway / extending lens
• Finally, USB-C charging
• No viewfinder, detail-rich fixed 3-inch touchscreen

I’ll cover the core specs of the Lumix TZ300 in this review, but most of what you need to know about the camera’s design and performance has already been covered in our Lumix TZ200 review.

The Lumix TZ300 is still a tidily packaged camera that slips easily into a pocket, with a reassuring weightiness — it feels like a quality piece of kit.

There are rubberized front and thumb grips for a firm hold, and every control is nicely dampened but also responsive, as is the 3-inch touchscreen.

The lens folds neatly away when the camera is powered off, and extends smoothly as you move through the zoom range, either using the ring around the lens or the touchscreen — it’ll depend on which shooting mode you’re using.

It’s easy enough to set the camera to auto and let it take care of the settings based on the scene you're photographing, but there are also enough manual controls to satisfy discerning photographers, including manual exposure and auto ISO with the ability to set a minimum shutter speed (my go-to setup with my professional camera).

A pop-up flash is squeezed into the body, and is a handy feature for party portraits and creative low-light photography, especially since it’s possible to manually adjust its strength and swap between first and second curtain flash sync (the point at which the flash fires during exposure).

I really appreciated how slick the touchscreen function felt, and the detailed 1.84m-dot display itself, but a pronounced bump serves to highlight how its fixed design could have easily been upgraded to tilt without increasing the camera’s footprint.

Although the original viewfinder wasn’t the best in terms of the viewing experience, it was positioned smartly at the top-left, and felt easy to bring to the eye. I did miss having the option in the new version of the camera.

As mentioned, with the viewfinder having been removed I would have liked to see a tilt-screen upgrade to further assist viewing in bright light and at awkward angles; as it is, there's just plastic where the viewfinder was on the previous model.

• Design score: 3.5/5

Panasonic Lumix ZS300 / TZ300: Performance

• Versatile 15x optical zoom and decent stabilization performance
• Decent photo quality, dated video specs
• On-the-go charging is handy for traveling

For such a versatile and small camera, the image quality from the Lumix ZS300 / TZ300 is surprisingly good. Naturally, you lose a little sharpness at the telephoto end of the zoom, but it’s still decent enough.

What you also lose as you zoom in is light sensitivity. That’s because the maximum aperture is reduced from f/3.3 at the 24mm wide-angle end to f/6.4 at the 360mm telephoto setting.

Long-exposure photography isn't well served — the minimum possible lens aperture is f/8, and there's no practical way to utilize an ND filter besides physically holding one in place in front of the lens.

Still, the 1-inch sensor knocks the socks off the much smaller one in Panasonic's other recent travel zoom compact, the Lumix ZS99 / TZ99, a camera that majors on versatility and value, less so on quality. For me, this new Lumix, like its predecessor, strikes the right balance between quality and versatility.

In addition to Panasonic’s usual color profiles, there are filter effects including cross process and toy camera. These effects have been around for years, and in an age of Real Time LUTS profile and flat LOG profiles for video recording, they feel a little dated.

And, if it wasn’t already obvious, none of Panasonic’s current Real Time LUTs or LOG profiles are present, which also means no access to customizable LUTs as you get with the Lumix S9 mirrorless camera.

There’s nothing new under the hood, which means we’re getting an old processor, limited continuous shooting speeds, and dated autofocus performance compared to other cameras at this price point.

The autofocus system did feel dated to me. Yes, subject tracking and face / eye detection was a thing back in 2018 and we still have it here, but Panasonic’s recent mirrorless cameras have much more responsive autofocus performance.

Is having similarly good autofocus too much to ask for in a compact camera? Maybe, but look at Canon, which has bestowed excellent autofocus features on its PowerShot V1.

There is a particularly versatile macro focusing mode, mind you. Close focusing is so effective, in fact, that you can effectively be touching your subject with the end of the lens and it’ll still be in sharp focus.

Battery life is decent enough without standing out. The 1,025mAh unit can capture up to 360 shots on a full charge according to its CIPA rating, which felt about right based on my use.

And on-the-go USB-C charging, a boon for traveling, is a big upgrade in the new Lumix TZ300 over its predecessor, which doesn’t offer it.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Panasonic Lumix ZS300 / TZ300: testing scorecard

Should I buy the Panasonic Lumix ZS300 / TZ300?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested the Panasonic Lumix ZS300 / TZ300

• I took the Lumix ZS300 / TZ300 traveling for a couple of weeks
• I tested all of its photo and video modes
• I checked battery life and USB-C charging

Panasonic loaned me a Lumix TZ300 for two weeks to complete my review. I was fortunate to be traveling in China during this period, and was therefore able to use it for the scenarios it’s designed for, taking video and photos of ancient towns, portraits, wide vistas and more.

I shot the same photo sequences spanning the zoom range of the lens, shoot photos in raw and JPEG format, and video in 4K and 1080p with the various frame rates.

For a lot of the test I was in changeable weather conditions at high altitudes. I kept track of battery life, counting how many photos I could take on a full charge, plus how long it took to recharge the camera.

• First reviewed April 2026

8849 Tank X: 2-minute review

For those unfamiliar with 8849, this is a sub-brand of Unihertz, and it takes its name from the height of Mount Everest in metres. Well, other than plate tectonics is pushing the mountain up, and rocks and ice fall off, so at the time of writing, it is 8,848.86 metres to be correct.

Oddly, the Tank series on 8849 has styling and functionality similar to the Unihertz Tank series, so perhaps the Unihertz brand will go away at some point.

The target demographic of the Tank X is those who need a go-anywhere design that packs plenty of battery capacity, are probably travelling to remote locations where they will want a camping light and to capture high-quality images and video.

A flagship product from 8849, the Tank X was launched in February 2026 at an early bird price of $549.99, against an RRP of $1,049.99. At that higher price, it will face serious scrutiny, but even at launch pricing, it is one of the more expensive rugged smartphones available.

The justification for that cost is a combination of headline features that most competitors simply cannot match. These include a built-in 1080p DLP projector rated at 220 lumens with laser autofocus, a 64MP night vision camera with four dedicated infrared LEDs, and a 17,600mAh dual-cell battery paired with 120W fast charging.

The MediaTek Dimensity 8200, built on a 4nm process, is a genuine step up from the mid-range chips used in most rugged phones at this price. Combined with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, the Tank X has the hardware to handle demanding tasks.

The downside to the kitchen-sink approach to feature selection seen here is that at 750g, this is one of the heaviest rugged phones around, and not something that anyone travelling on foot would choose to include in their backpacks.

That bulk is a deliberate engineering choice, since a smaller device wouldn’t be able to mount the dedicated FPC connections for the projector, flashlight, camping lamp, sensors, and antenna array. The absence of wireless charging is also intentional, with 8849 prioritising a field lantern over Qi coils.

Durability credentials include IP68 and IP69K waterproofing, along with MIL-STD-810H certification, which covers immersion, high-pressure water jets, shock, vibration, and temperature extremes. The device runs Android 15, which is current but not cutting-edge, and 8849 hasn’t mentioned if it will see an Android 16 upgrade.

The inclusion of features like a projector always takes this device into niche areas, since this isn’t a capability that everyone needs on their Smartphone. And because of that, I won’t be including it in our list of the best rugged phones. But that’s not to say it isn’t perfect for somebody.

8849 Tank X: price and availability

• How much does it cost? $550/£460 (early-bird)
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? You can get it directly from 8849 or via many online retailers such as Amazon.

Many phone makers like to make the launch of a new phone something special, probably because in the first month or so, it's likely they will see the largest number of sales.

The aggressive pitch of the 8849 Tank X is an early bird price from the makers of $549.99 (£460.46), which is almost half the $1,049.99 RRP. Call me cynical, but I feel it is unlikely the makers will sell any at the RRP, but the early bird price is attractive considering the specification of the Tank X.

The Amazon.com price is $629.99 with a coupon if you want next-day delivery.

To put that in perspective, the last phone I reviewed with a projector was the Ulefone Armor 34 Pro, a phone that cost $550/£519 when launched. It offered a bigger 25500 battery, a 150-lumen projector, and the current official price is $699.

However, Unihertz has the competitively priced Tank 2 Pro that can be bought for $479.99 direct from the maker, but only $412.59 on Amazon.com. And what makes that doubly interesting is that Unihertz is behind the 8849 sub-brand, so it's competing with itself with these products.

The Tank 2 Pro has more battery capacity, only 12GB of RAM, an older Helio G99 SoC, and is only 4G. But if it’s the projector that you want, this is the cheaper way to get that functionality.

There aren’t many phones with projectors, and the one in this design is higher quality than most, so the asking price seems realistic.

• Value score: 4/5

8849 Tank X: Specs

Oukitel WP61 Plus: design

• A blunt instrument
• Odd button arrangement
• No wireless charging

The Tank X is a substantial piece of hardware. At 31.9mm thick, it is approaching the depth of a small portable battery pack, and at 750 grams, it is heavier than many 13-inch laptops. Carrying it in a trouser pocket is impractical; a jacket chest pocket or belt holster is the more realistic option for field use. Personally, I think it's best mounted on a vehicle.

The chassis uses a half-board, double-sided internal layout to house its unusual combination of components. The projector occupies the upper rear section of the body, with a dedicated lens housing visible on the back panel. The 1,200-lumen camping light and emergency warning lights are also rear-mounted, along with the triple camera array.

Where the Tank X goes slightly off the well-worn path, it’s the button layout, which is odd for those who have used many Android phones. The right side has only the power button that doubles as a fingerprint reader, a choice that’s not ideal for left-handed people.

On the left are two tiny volume buttons, and why they’re so small, I’ve no idea, and then two customisable push-to-talk buttons. The SIM tray isn’t on either side; instead, it gets relegated to the top edge alongside the projector and an infrared emitter.

Why this phone ended up with such a non-standard button layout seems inexplicable, given how big it is and the large amounts of unused space on the sides.

Build quality is reinforced throughout with corner protection and a textured rear panel. IP68 and IP69K ratings mean the device tolerates water immersion to the 1,8M depth for up to 30 minutes and high-pressure wash conditions. MIL-STD-810H certification covers a broad set of environmental tests, making the Tank X suitable for deployment in demanding field environments ranging from construction sites to remote expeditions.

Although, and this is something I’ve not seen before, owners are not recommended to operate the buttons underwater. And, you are warned that “In daily use, exposure to seawater, swimming pool water, soapy water, hot water, or other liquids may reduce protective performance”.

The absence of wireless charging is worth noting for buyers accustomed to Qi pads. It is an intentional trade-off: 8849 replaced the Qi coil with the field lantern hardware, reasoning that users in the environments this device targets are more likely to have a USB-C cable than a charging mat.

The USB port is 2.0 spec, which means that getting files off the Tank X is substantially quicker over Wi-Fi than with a cable.

One aspect of the design I admired more was that the 6.78-inch LCD Punch-Hole Display is both bright, at up to 750 nits, and the colours are well saturated. This panel also has a small border to the physical front edge of the phone, which makes it seem even bigger than it is.

As a design, the priority for those making the Tank X was to stuff all the technology inside and protect it from the environment, which they achieved. However, there is almost nothing about this phone that is elegant or refined; it's more like a brick that’s had its sharpest edges filed down.

Design score: 3.5/5

8849 Tank X: hardware

• MediaTek Dimensity 8200
• 17,600 mAh battery
• 1080p 220 Lumen Projector

The last phone I reviewed that used the MediaTek MT6896 (Dimensity 8200) was the Oukitel WP210 (read it here), and then I remarked that this SoC is a solid choice for those seeking a capable and efficient SoC in the mid-range smartphone market.

Built around an octa-core CPU, combining high-performance Cortex-A78 cores with energy-efficient Cortex-A55 cores, and a Mali-G610 MP6 GPU for enhanced graphics capabilities.

What’s great about this SoC is that it's extremely well-balanced in terms of processing power and graphics capabilities, and it supports high-end camera sensors and 5G comms.

There are more powerful chips available, like some of the Samsung options, and the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon designs, but you don’t typically see them in rugged phones.

In this context, the Dimensity 8200 has 16GB of LPDDR5 memory to work with, and 512GB of UFS 3.1 storage, along with up to 2TB on an optional TF card. That’s plenty of RAM and space for most use cases.

Before we get to the headline feature, it’s worth talking about the battery in this phone, and how it seems slightly smaller than I’d have expected. While 17600 mAh isn’t a small battery, a phone that weighs 750g or more, like the Ulefone Armour 33 Pro, for example, would normally have 20000 mAh or more battery capacity.

In fact, the Ulefone Armor 33 Pro has 25500 mAh, or 7,900 mAh more than the Tank X. And that phone isn’t special, the Blackview Oscal Tank 1 has 20000 mAh of capacity, but is only 640g.

But as we’ll discover in the performance section, thanks to the power efficiency of the Dimensity 8200, the Tank X can make its reduced capacity go as far as, or farther than, phones with larger batteries.

Clearly, the culprit in making this phone 750g and reducing the space for extra battery capacity is the built-in projector.

The DLP projector is the defining feature of the Tank X and the one most likely to determine whether this device is relevant to any individual buyer. It can output at 1920 x 1080 with a claimed brightness of 220 lumens and uses laser autofocus for rapid alignment.

The throw range is approximately 0.5 to 3 metres (1.6 to 10 feet), allowing image sizes from small desk-surface projections to something approaching a practical portable screen.

I’ve seen other phone makers put projectors in their devices and claim all sorts of things, but this is the first one I’ve seen that could practically deliver most of what was claimed.

I should say that a home or office use projector might be rated at three times as bright, but then that’s physically much larger and requires mains power. But it should not be compared to a standalone projector with an equivalent lumen rating; the lens size and thermal constraints of a phone-integrated DLP mean the effective perceived brightness will be lower than that of a dedicated unit.

For a phone, however, it is the most capable projection system currently available in a handheld device, beating the 720p, 100-lumen units found in earlier 8849 and competing products. The 220 lumens offered here is genuinely usable in a darkened tent or unlit room, something I found quite shocking.

The one-touch projection feature allows rapid deployment without navigating menus, which is important for professional presentations and field briefings. 8849 claims the projector operates without excessive battery drain, but that’s something I’ll talk about in the performance section.

• Hardware score: 4/5

Oukitel WP61 Plus: cameras

• 50MP, 64MP and 8MP on the rear
• 50MP on the front
• Four cameras in total

The 8849 Tank X has four cameras:

Rear camera: 50 MP Sony IMX766, 64MP Omnivision OV64B1B Sensor (Night Vision), 8 MP HiSilicon HI847 Telephoto with 3x optical zoom and AF
Front camera: 50MP Hi5022Q Fixed Focus

The camera layout of the Tank X is unusual, and probably a little bit ground-breaking.

Although it doesn’t have a Samsung 108MP sensor, this is easily one of the most capable camera setups I’ve found on any rugged phone tested to date. The primary rear sensor is a 50MP Sony IMX766, the same component used in several mainstream flagship handsets from the past two years. It is a strong choice for a device targeting serious outdoor photography and documentation work.

But ironically, it isn’t the sensor with the most elements. That’s the 64MP Omnivision OV64B1B, a night vision camera that is supported by four infrared LEDs and, crucially, retains autofocus capability in IR mode.

Fixed-focus night vision cameras, which are common on competing rugged phones, struggle with anything but stationary subjects at predictable distances. The Tank X's AF capability in infrared mode is a meaningful operational advantage for field surveillance, wildlife observation, and low-light navigation.

And rounding out what is already an impressive rear camera cluster is an 8MP telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and autofocus. The dual-LED flash system uses two colour-temperature LEDs at 1.5A maximum output, supplementing the IR LEDs for mixed-lighting situations. The front camera is a 50MP sensor, which is exceptionally high resolution for video calls and documentation selfies.

When I first ran the camera app, I was disappointed that it presented me with 1X and 3.4X options, but you can easily slide all the way from 1X to 20X, although it gets rather grainy over 10X. Being able to frame images without having to move is great, and the results, especially from the Sony IMX766 and Omnivision OV64B1B, are generally excellent.

If there is a weakness here, it's how bare the screen is for special modes.

It offers you Timelapse, QR-code, Mono, Super resolution and an editing mode. There is a PRO control set, but what happened to sports mode, or Panoramic?

Thankfully, there is no dumb AI mode where it puts hats or animal features on people, but a more fleshed-out photo application would be ideal.

One of the best things about this phone is the restraint of the Android 15 installation, as it leaves the AI to Gemini, and avoids all the cash-grab chatbots that other brands (Blackview, looking at you) have smeared onto their devices.

Overall, it could have more features in the photo app, but the camera offering here is exceptionally strong for a rugged phone.

8849 Tank X Camera samples

• Camera score: 4/5

8849 Tank X: performance

• Modern and efficient SoC
• GPU issues with OpenGL 3.1 and Vulkan 1.3
• Great battery life

If it wasn’t for the projector, this phone would probably weigh around 650g, and have at least 20000 mAh of battery, so I thought it best to compare it with one that has almost exactly that spec. I should also mention that the typical price of the Blackview Oscal Tank 1 is only $285, although it doesn’t have a projector and has less memory and storage.

What these numbers are a good representation of is how much better the newer MediaTek 4nm SoCs are over their older 6nm models.

This gives the Tank X more processing power, more GPU performance, and it's singularly more power efficient. In fact, the CPU-GPU combination is so potent that it maxed out most 3DMark tests, except for Wildlife and Steel Nomad Lite.

One note about the battery consumption is that while it didn’t last as long by roughly an hour, the Tank X has roughly 88% of the capacity, and the test stopped with 20% of the battery capacity left. Had it used that final fifth of the battery, it would have exceeded Tank 1 by at least three to four hours, I estimate.

If given the choice between these two phones, it comes down to how much eight is too much and whether your budget goes far enough to have the superior features of the Tank X.

I almost forgot to mention the projector, which has both good and bad aspects. The bad first is that the fan needed to keep it cool is loud, and you will need to turn up the volume to be able to hear whatever content you are watching. I estimated that it was in the 55-60 dB range, which isn’t something easily ignored.

To see the impact on battery performance, I ran a YouTube video for 30 minutes and recorded the battery consumption before and after. Projecting 30 minutes of video used up 11% of the available battery, suggesting you might get through the first Lord of the Rings movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, but I suspect not the extended edition.

Therefore, you can watch a whole movie with a fully charged battery, as long as you choose the right one.

• Performance score: 4/5

8849 Tank X: Final verdict

Putting all the good things that 8849 put into the Tank X to one side for a moment, the elephant in this room is disguised as a phone or the monolith from 2001: A Space Odyssey, depending on taste.

This isn’t a phone anyone would carry casually, unless they’re related to the late Andre the Giant.

That said, if you can put up with something as big and heavy that it could be mistaken for a useful part of house construction, then there is plenty to like here.

The screen on the Tank X is bright and large, with an excellent colour gamut. The camera cluster goes way beyond what most rugged phones offer, and you can take exceptional photos and video with it. This device also has the first truly practical 1080p projector I’ve seen on a phone, and that’s an exclusive feature.

As for price, the early-bird pricing is good, but I couldn’t see many of these being sold at a price greater than $1000 RRP.

It’s time to create a feature matrix and see how many boxes it ticks, because the Tank X might not be for everyone, but it could be for you.

Should I buy a 8849 Tank X?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also Consider

For more ruggedized devices, we've reviewed the best rugged tablets, the best rugged laptops, and the best rugged hard drives

Garmin Approach S50: One-minute review

Sitting in the mid-range of the brand’s golf watch range, the Garmin Approach S50 is an excellent course companion. It includes all of the brand’s suite of excellent golfing features, as well as just the right amount of extra health and fitness, and everyday functionality to offer a golf-first, near-complete package.

It’s the golfing pedigree that shines the brightest, of course, and it puts those features into action brilliantly as a course companion. It enhanced my time and game on the course with its accurate yardages, automatic shot tracking and score logging, golf course and hole graphics, and the excellent PlaysLike feature — which factors in elevation and weather — is brilliant.

The design and build are of excellent quality, too, with the S50 having more of a lifestyle-friendly design and form than others in the Approach range. Combine this with some very friendly day-to-day functionality and a host of fitness and health features that are excellent to use, and the package becomes even clearer.

I still reserve a strong dislike for Garmin’s own proprietary charging method, which only gets more intense when combined with a super short charging cable, but this is a wider problem shared by the S50, not unique to it. Elsewhere, it’s easy to use on-screen, and its battery life is strong, offering more than two rounds of golf’s worth of juice before needing to even consider charging.

All in, however, the S50 could really give some more premium devices a scare with its overall offering, and for those who are put off by the higher-end Garmin Approach S70’s hefty price tag, this could be the perfect solution and new golf course companion.

Garmin Approach S50: Price and availability

• List prices of $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$729
• Mid-range in Garmin’s lineup
• Good value for money

Coming in right in the middle between the high-end Approach S70 watch and the budget, entry-level Approach S12, the Garmin Approach S50 is targeting the middle ground of its golf watch lineup. And does so successfully from a price and value perspective.

The balance of features on offer, its overall performance, and everything that getting into the Garmin Golf ecosystem gives you, all on an AMOLED watch with the brand’s best on-course elements — while still coming in considerably less than the S70 is excellent. In fact, I’d wager that the S50 might have the S70 worried from a value perspective, as only a couple of compromises could get you down to the S50 from the S70 and save you a bunch of cash.

The S50 is joined in the middle of the Garmin golf watch pack by the S44, released at the same time late last year. This offers a much leaner mid-range experience, without being a totally entry-level device. With the S50 being less than $100 / £100 / AU$180 more than the more streamlined-for-golf S44, but still $250 / £150 / AU$370 less than the S70 (42mm), it really does feel like it’s hit the sweet spot.

A small wrinkle for me on price was that I found the default strap to be really sub-par and swapped it out for another from Garmin; this naturally increases the overall cost of the S50, but the freedom to change straps and pick an alternative for one you like is welcome.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Garmin Approach S50: Design and screen

• 1.2in / 30.4mm AMOLED screen
• Two-button control system is an acquired taste
• Lightweight and robust build but default strap is lame

Broadly speaking, the S50 is the same size as its Approach siblings, and that comes from being built around a 1.2” / 30.4mm display, with no other size options. There’s no chunky bezel here either, and in fact, the S50’s display edge isn’t raised like the S70. As a result, the S50 is much more reminiscent of an everyday smartwatch like the more recent Samsung Galaxy models.

Two compact buttons positioned on the right-hand side, and the easily removable watch strap system on all Garmin watches, round out the design to create a compact and tidy build that can look like a lifestyle watch and is robust to boot.

The screen is lovely and clear. And while it can’t hold a candle to the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2)’s domed screen, which I loved, the S50’s display works well here. Fairways and course maps are a vibrant green on the wrist, figures are crisp and clear at a glance, and even though I don’t like Garmin’s font at all, health features, settings, and menus are all clear and easily readable.

I do far prefer the three-button control on the S70 and MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) for ease of navigation and input, with the latter devices providing more easy ways to navigate systems and menus to get to where you need to be. Of course, given time it soon becomes easy to use and intuitive.

The biggest design gripes I have are with the default strap, which I found, despite its comfort, very fiddly to use every time, and the inelegant Garmin charging solution with a short cable and the port on the back of the watch.

• Design score: 4/5

Garmin Approach S50: Features

• Includes all Garmin’s golf features, including PlaysLike
• Has extensive fitness and health features
• Battery life is good, and as stated

The Garmin Approach S50 includes all the (non-subscription-based) golf features that set the best Garmin watches apart, and that includes the excellent PlaysLike feature - Garmin’s own tool which will factor in weather and elevation difference between your location and the target to give you accurate, ‘real’ yardages, not just those based on straight lines on a 2D map.

In fact, positioning itself as the cheapest watch in the range that offers this feature is a very helpful way of identifying itself to golfers who are looking for the best features, but not anything outrageous price-wise. On the course, I found all the yardages to be excellently accurate and well presented on the crystal clear AMOLED color screen, and features like the AutoShot tech, swing temp meter, and green view (and more) were typically superb to use.

Away from golf, there’s a host of Garmin’s usual, and excellent, health and fitness trackers, which are super for the active golfer looking to monitor their wellness off the course. This sets it apart from the rest of the cheaper watches in the Approach range, and these include features such as sleep tracking, body battery, stress, and more, all of which perform as expected.

As far as daily watch features go, the S50 is perfectly functional and has been a solid if unspectacular companion for messaging, music control, and other daily use.

I found the battery life to be as Garmin described, too, going days and days in normal smartwatch mode before needing to charge, and easily getting two rounds in before having to think about charging it up when using it mainly for golf.

• Features score: 5/5

Garmin Approach S50: Performance

• Wonderful on-course performance
• Easy to use, accurate, and game-improving
• Perfectly functional as a daily smartwatch

As expected, the Approach S50 is a joy on the course, and offers exactly the top-level of performance I’d expect from a Garmin golf watch. The features are super, the courses are presented clearly, the yardages are accurate, and the full suite of features that includes the PlaysLike distance element is all fantastic.

Switching between the PlaysLike yardage of a hole and the on-paper yardage of a hole, and navigating courses clearly through the watch’s crisp screen, is a joy. You’ll get all the accuracy you’d expect, which can then be elevated even more with a Garmin Golf Subscription, should you wish.

The health and fitness features are also fantastic (typical Garmin), and perform with accuracy, ease of interaction, and help to ensure the watch offers something away from, or complementary to, the course.

There are a few Garmin-isms that I continue to dislike personally, that the S50 features such as the font and the way it displays the original messages from WhatsApp chats by default rather than the latest (Garmin has announced that there is better WhatsApp integration now available for some of its devices — but not its golf watches, at least yet, anyway). Battery life holds up as promised, and I found it to reflect Garmin’s own description pretty much like for like, but the very short cable combined with Garmin’s inelegant solution of where you attach the charger (on the back of the watch, which then has to lie face down, at least initially) makes for a couple more small frustrations.

The aforementioned two-button control system takes a bit of getting used to, especially if you’re coming from a different control setup, but give it enough time, and it’ll become second nature. Until I switched straps, however, I would also argue that the default one hindered the watch’s performance personally, as it detracted from using it and wearing it somewhat.

• Performance score: 4/5

Garmin Approach S50: Scorecard

Garmin Approach S50: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

How I tested

I tested the Garmin Approach S50 on the course and off it for several months, playing multiple rounds at my home course in Somerset and a few elsewhere in the UK. I also regularly used it as my daily smartwatch, testing a whole host of its features from fitness and health to messaging.

I compared the Garmin Approach S50 to my TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition, and the Garmin MARG 2 Golfer as well as the more affordable ShotScope G6 GPS watch, while also l,ooking back to my time with the Approach S70 for comparison.

First reviewed November 2025-March 2026

GEEKOM A5 Pro: 30-second review

The Geekom A5 Pro at 112.4 x 112.4 x 37mm is one of the smaller Mini PCs that I’ve looked at; however, removing it from the box, the all-aluminium casing gives it an instantly premium look and feel. The finish is exceptional, and it’s a good, solid machine that will be equally at home in the office or used as a portable machine in the field, for events or any situation where a PC is required. The design is decidedly premium, and unlike some of the more plastic Mini PC options, there’s an overall feeling of quality and style that would make this a perfect option for offices as well as stylish studios.

If you do want to hide the machine away, then there are the usual VESA bracket options so it can be secured to the back of a compatible monitor or stand, although it's worth noting that the SD card reader on the side would then become harder to reach.

One of the features that I like about this machine is the port layout, which, as ever, is split between the front and rear. The front features two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports and a 3.5mm audio combo, and on the side is an SD card reader. Around the back, there are two more USB Type-A ports, one 3.2 Gen 2 and the other USB 2.0.

There are also two USB 3.2 Type-C ports, dual HDMI 2.0 ports, and the 2.5GbE LAN port. That LAN port is a step up from Gigabit Ethernet that I usually see on machines of this size and price, and when connected to the UGREEN NAS, it delivered faster file transfer rates for archiving images and footage.

Powering the machine is an AMD Ryzen 5 7430U, which is paired with 16GB of DDR4. The 16GB is split between two channels, 8GB in each, and this helps ensure that the dual-channel potential is utilised, which is something that has limited other Mini PCs that offer the same RAM but in a single channel, which proves to be far slower. This dual-channel configuration did provide a boost in performance over similar machines, with applications loading faster, especially with Lightroom and Photoshop.

As I pushed the system with the creative apps, the cooling system IceBlast 2.0 kicked in. For a small machine, the noise was kept to a minimum and far lower than I would have expected. For most of the test, it was effectively silent, and even under extended office use, writing this review, the fan noise was hardly noticeable.

One of the additions that I always like to see is an SD card reader on the side. This just makes downloading images and videos that much faster, without needing to locate a card reader. Transferring 90GB of data from an SD card took around 9 minutes and 30 seconds, which is a reasonable speed.

Another feature that highlights its use in the office is the ability for quad display output, and this can be done through the dual HDMI and dual USB-C. I was only able to test with two 4K BenQ monitors running via HDMI or USB-C, but the machine was powerful enough to cope.

While this machine's GPU is limited, especially for gaming or mid-level creative work, for office use, the small machine packs plenty of power - expect to see it included in our guide to the best mini PCs soon.

GEEKOM A5 Pro: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? $499/£499 RRP
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? Directly from Geekom and Amazon.com

The Geekom A5 Pro is available from Geekom in the US for $569 and via Geekom UK for £518.

You can save an extra 7% when you use our exclusive code TECHA5PRO

This mini PC is also available from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

GEEKOM A5 Pro: Specs

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7430U
GPU: AMD Radeon Vega 8 Graphics
Memory: 16GB DDR4 SODIMM(Max 64GB)
Storage: 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 ×4 NVMe SSD (up to 2 TB) and M.2 2242 SATAIII SSD, (up to 1 TB)
Display output: 2x HDMI 2.0 (4K@60Hz), 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C
Front Ports: 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10Gbps), 3.5mm audio jack
Rear ports: USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10Gbps), USB 2.0 Type-A, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 2x HDMI 2.0, 2.5GbE RJ45, DC in
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
Kensington lock: Yes
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Dimensions: 112.4 x 112.4 x 37mm
In the box: A5 Pro Mini PC, VESA mount, 65W power adapter, HDMI cable, user guide
Warranty: 3 years

GEEKOM A5 Pro: Design

The Geekom A5 Pro is one of the smallest mini PCs I have tested, yet while closely packed, the ports, both front and back, are well laid out. The all-aluminium alloy chassis gives it a real premium feel and means that if you want this as a portable machine, that build quality should stand up. The machine feels solid and well-made, with a minimalistic quality that will appeal to many.

When it comes to the size, as already mentioned, it is small at 112.4 x 112.4 x 37mm, just larger than your palm-sized, so if you want, it’s more than small enough to be attached behind a monitor on a VESA bracket or slipped into a bag for location use.

The included VESA mount makes monitor mounting easy; however, as it is so small, it will equally take up very little space on a desk. One practical issue with VESA mounting is that if it is hidden behind a monitor, reaching the SD card reader on the side may be an issue. If you are planning to use the card reader, placing it on your desk will be a better idea, especially as it takes up so little room.

When it comes to connectivity, there are a surprising number of options considering the small size. On the front, there are two USB 3.2 Gen2 ports and an audio jack, while on the side, there’s the SD card reader.

Round at the rear, there's the rest of the connections: dual HDMI 2.0 ports for monitors, dual USB-C ports with DisplayPort support, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A and a USB 2.0 port, and the 2.5GbE LAN port. The rear port density is well balanced considering the size, and the fact that it has a 2.5GbE LAN over the more usual Gigabit Ethernet is good to see.

As this is such a small machine, decent cooling is essential, and here the IceBlast 2.0 cooling system is in place. This uses dual copper heatpipes and a large fan with side intake and rear output so that plenty of cool air is drawn through the system.

In practice, even under load, I found that the machine remained exceptionally quiet, which is good if you’re using this as an everyday office machine for general work and light creative use. Even when pushing the GPU harder with Lightroom catalogues or video timelines, the fan remained relatively subdued. Just checking the heat of the chassis, and it remained cool to the touch throughout the test.

While this is in no doubt due to the cooling system, the fact that the chip's 20W TDP means that the entire system will be running cooler than many higher-powered mini PCs.

Through the test, I took a look at the upgrade root for RAM and SSD, and the internal access is notably easier than that of some competitors. Removing four screws from the base lifts the cover, revealing both SO-DIMM and M.2 slots, all accessible without too much issue.

The primary M.2 2280 slot takes NVMe drives up to 2TB, and the secondary M.2 2242 SATA slot adds up to 1TB more, enabling a potential 3TB of internal storage. Upgrading RAM to up to 64GB is equally straightforward.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

GEEKOM A5 Pro: Features

Taking a look at the features, aside from the computing components, the small size has to lead the field. The fact that you have such a small machine in a solid aluminium chassis does make this Mini PC instantly appealing. Although from the outset, the lack of a powerful GPU means that while this is a good, powerful PC for office-based work, for creative and gaming, its feature set and performance are limited.

At the heart of the machine is an AMD Ryzen 5 7430U featuring a 6-core, 12-thread chip based on Zen 3 architecture with a 20W TDP, boosting to 4.3GHz. Essentially, this processor is focused on efficiency rather than performance.

What makes a difference to this machine compared with others that I have looked at that also use this processor is the RAM configuration. The 16GB arrives as two 8GB sticks in dual-channel mode, which delivers a noticeably better experience than single-channel alternatives that I have used.

Storage technology is on the older side, with a PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD in the primary slot. There is a second slot for storage, although this is an M.2 2242 SATAIII SSD, so it is still relatively fast and will take a module up to 1TB. It’s also worth noting that PCIe 4.0 is increasingly common at this price point, and the absence of a Gen 4 drive is a disappointment, even if the Gen 3 speeds are unlikely to cause an issue for office work.

On the side of the machine is the SD card reader, which will appeal to creative users. Transferring image files from an SD card is quick, and having the reader built in without needing an external adapter or hub is convenient and keeps additional accessories off the worksurface.

Networking is also a step up from most machines of this type, with a 2.5GbE LAN port on the rear. During the test, I connected this to the UGREEN NAS via a wired router, and transfer rates were noticeably faster than with Gigabit connections.

While quad-display output is supported via dual HDMI 2.0 and dual USB-C with DisplayPort, during this test, I was limited to two 4K monitors.

Connectivity was also solid for the most part, with Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 handling wireless connectivity. Wi-Fi performance was consistent at close range but sensitive to line-of-sight distance to the router, with occasional signal drops when the machine was farther from the Eero network.

The Kensington security slot is a useful inclusion for anyone deploying this machine in a shared office or workspace environment. At this price, it is not a common feature, and its inclusion reinforces the professional positioning Geekom aims for with the A5 Pro.

• Features: 4 / 5

GEEKOM A5 Pro: Performance

Getting into the performance and the use of this machine was almost instantly apparent. For office-based work, Microsoft Office and all its applications, browsing the internet and light creative work in CapCut, this machine excelled. However, as soon as I started to place demands on the GPU, the machine's speed started to struggle.

Checking the benchmark results highlighted the strengths of the machine and the PCMark overall score of 5,933, the Geekbench multi-core of 6,903, and the WEI score of 8.0, all of which highlighted that the A5 Pro is a very capable home office machine.

Over other very similar machines that I have tested, the dual-channel RAM configuration has recently given this machine the edge when it comes to performance, although there are still slowdowns. Switching between Lightroom Classic and Photoshop was notably faster, although there’s still quite a wait for many applications to load.

Where this machine is most at home is when running Microsoft Office, and with all applications, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, the A5 Pro was able to handle everything from large documents to image-heavy presentations without issue.

This is where the Ryzen 5 7430U and the Zen 3 architecture work well and provide fast and reliable performance. Web browsing, media streaming, and general Windows use are where this machine's strengths definitely lie.

Switching the type of work to light creative, the A5 Pro continues to perform well, although the 1TB SSD capacity is slightly limiting.

Lightroom Classic opened and catalogued files from the Canon EOS R5 C without issues, and basic editing and batch export were manageable once the application had loaded, which can take a while. Photoshop handled basic editing as well as complex multi-layer files at a reasonable speed, although I did find that as I built up complex focus layer stacks, which created larger files, there was a notable slowdown as the Vega 8 graphics started to work harder. Adobe Bridge showed the GPU limits more clearly, with thumbnail rendering becoming especially slow.

Again, referring back to the benchmarks, the Geekbench GPU score of 13,683 and Fire Strike Graphics of 3,376 show the Vega 8 limitations. 1080p video editing is possible, but 4K starts to challenge the system. In Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve, 4K timeline work slowed considerably once effects and colour grading were applied. At 1080p, both applications were more manageable, and in a lighter editor like CapCut, the machine handled social media editing well. This is a machine that you can use for some creative work, but it should be seen first as an office machine rather than creative.

As ever, to really push the system, I loaded a series of games, and this is where the machine really hit its limits. Demanding titles like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle would not run, and Hogwarts Legacy was equally beyond the hardware. Older, less demanding titles ran at low settings, which is about as much as the Vega 8 can handle.

Under sustained load, the IceBlast 2.0 cooling system performed well. Even when the machine was working hard, the fan noise remained relatively low, considerably quieter than that of machines running higher-TDP processors in similarly sized chassis. The 20W limit means there is less heat to manage, and the dual copper heatpipe system seemed to keep the machine in check.

The 20W TDP is both an advantage if low power systems are essential to you, especially out in the field or as part of Van Life; however, it's also the machine's limitation. The power consumption is exceptionally low, and through the test, I was able to run the machine from a compact power station for a full day, making it a great portable option for location work or van life setups.

The trade-off for this low power draw is the performance, especially under GPU-intensive creative and gaming workloads. If you are looking for a machine for productivity, this machine is a great choice. If you need a machine for more demanding creative use, then look for a higher-powered machine.

• Performance: 3.5 / 5

GEEKOM A5 Pro: Final verdict

The Geekom A5 Pro is a well-balanced and genuinely impressive home and office mini PC that just about justifies its price.

The all-aluminium build, dual-channel RAM, 2.5GbE networking, SD card reader, quiet operation, and three-year warranty all come together as a well-balanced offering that just takes the edge over similar machines that I have looked at recently. It essentially runs everything that most offices will need, including Microsoft Office and some creative apps.

The PCIe 3.0 SSD and the Vega 8 GPU do feel like older technologies and do limit the machine's performance, but these aren’t really an issue for the intended market.

If your daily work stays within Office, browsing, and light photo or video editing, the A5 Pro is more than sufficient for your needs. If 4K video editing or GPU-intensive creative work is part of your day-to-day tasks, then the 20W chip will leave you frustrated. If you’re a home-office professional, small-business owner, or content creator who needs a capable secondary machine, this is a good choice at a reasonable cost.

Should I buy the GEEKOM A5 Pro?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

For more productivity machines, we've reviewed the best business laptops around.

Philips Hue Omniglow: one-minute review

The Philips Hue Omniglow is the best Hue lightstrip yet. It's a classier kind of LED strip: where other models have visible LEDs, the Omniglow delivers seamless color gradients and smoothly moving light effects. The results are very impressive and the Hue app makes it easy to select, edit or create scenes either solo or as part of a wider Hue setup. If you've already got a Hue system you can add it in seconds and then include it in your scenes and automations. As with other Hue lights you'll need a Philips Hue Bridge or Bridge Pro to access advanced features such as custom scenes and smart home integration.

The Omniglow is easy to install and set up, although if you're mounting it up high you might curse the short power cable. The only real downside is the length: you can shorten the Omniglow but not extend it, and longer versions are not widely available in the UK or US. While European customers can choose between 3m, 5m and 10m models, the US and UK are currently limited to the 3m model only.

Philips Hue Omniglow: price and availability

• On sale from November 2025
• $139.99 / £119.99 / AU$279.99 (3m)

The Philips Hue Omniglow was announced in September 2025 and went on sale in November 2025. There are three sizes, but only the 3m model is available everywhere. That has a recommended price tag of $139.99 / £119.99 / €139.99 / AU$279.99.

Europe and Australia also get a longer 5m version, which costs €199.99 / AU$399. And in Europe there's a 10m version with a price tag of $349.99. The same 10m version was listed with a UK price of £349.99 but at the time of writing it's showing as as "not currently available" on the Philips website.

Philips Hue Omniglow: design

• RGB, warm white and cool white
• Seamless color and gradients
• Cuttable but not extendable

The Omniglow is a RGBWWIC design, which means it combines RGB, warm white, cool white and independent control in a single light source. Unlike other Hue lightstrips you can't see the individual LEDs; it's designed to deliver seamless whites, colors and gradients, which it does very well. That makes it look much more classy than lesser lightstrips.

The strip is 17mm wide and 8.5mm high and consists of multiple 12.5cm sections, each of which has 6 LEDs that can be individually controlled – so you can get twinkly lights and motion effects as well as solid color and gradients.

This lightstrip can be cut shorter at pre-defined 12.5cm spaces but any bit you remove can't be re-used or replaced later. Unlike previous Hue lightstrips the Omniglow can't be (officially) extended with additional sections, although inevitably some Hue fans have come up with warranty-voiding DIY solutions.

There are double-sided adhesive strips along the full length of the Omniglow, but you may want to use something more permanent if you're putting the strip in a place where it'll have to battle gravity; in my experience the adhesive that comes with Hue strips tends to be rather weak, and this lightstrip is quite heavy. The power supply is also very short, with just over 1m between the plug socket and the beginning of your lightstrip, and you're going to want to support the weight of the power brick.

Design score: 4/5

Hue Omniglow review: features

• Three-stage gradients
• Moving and flickering lights
• Great integration with other Hue lights

The Omniglow delivers the promised seamless gradients, and it also brings a feature across from the Festivia string lights in the form of moving lights. That enables you to pick a moving scene such as a fireplace, candle glow or looped color change, and you can tweak those scenes in the Hue app to adjust their speed or intensity. It's very smooth and very impressive.

The app offers very basic control via Bluetooth but for access to advanced features such as syncing and smart home integration you'll need a Hue Bridge or Hue Bridge Pro. That gives you the full range of customization, per-light settings and the ability to create your own custom moving gradients and flickering effects.

Features score: 5/5

Philips Hue Omniglow: performance

• Up to 2,700 lumens
• Seamless color
• Beautifully smooth transitions

If you're familiar with Hue lightstrips the first thing you'll notice about the Omniglow is how bright it is. It's much brighter than standard Hue lightstrips, delivering up to 2,700 lumens of brightness compared to the 1,700 lumens of a Hue Solo of the same length.

If you can get the 5m or 10m models they are more powerful still, putting out up to 4,500 lumens. That means the Omniglow isn't just a decorative lightstrip. You can also use it to illuminate spaces such as stairs or feature walls.

Performance score: 5/5

Philips Hue Omniglow: should you buy it?

Buy it if

Don't buy it if

Philips Hue Omniglow: also consider

There are multiple lightstrips for Hue, some of them much more affordable – so for example the Hue Gradient Lightstrip is much cheaper. Govee is the main rival in this space with very affordable products including the bendable, cuttable COB Strip Light Pro, the very cheap RGBIC LED Strip and several rope light models.

How I tested the Philips Hue Omniglow

I've been all-in on Hue lights for more than a decade, and my home currently features a mix of smart lights including two Hue gradient lightstrips, various Hue bulbs, a Hue motion sensor and Hue Festavia string lights, all controlled via the Hue app, Apple Home and Siri. I added the Omniglow to my living room setup and Hue Bridge and used it as both decorative lighting and functional lighting, controlling it alongside my existing lights and scenes.

First reviewed March 2026

Razer Huntsman Signature Edition: Two-minute review

Razer has been all about anniversary products in 2026, with special edition variants of some of its most beloved devices with different physical touches, limited quantities and price tags you could wince at – the Razer Huntsman Signature Edition is the latest entry.

Underneath, it's a Huntsman V3 Pro TKL, which is one of the best gaming keyboards you can purchase with the green brand's second-gen analog optical switches, an 8000Hz polling rate and more goodies that have kept it competitive among a sea of newer, Hall effect and TMR-powered keyboards. It's been out for a couple of years by this point, though.

The Huntsman Signature Edition isn't going to do much to move the needle in Razer's favor, though, and arrives as more of a vanity project than a serious release - it is limited to 1337 pieces (get it, that's leet). After all, with the $500 price tag this keyboard comes with, you could nab both a high-power gaming keyboard and then sink the rest of the funds into a top enthusiast-grade product with more customisation than you could shake a stick at.

The fact is, though, that I like what's here. This Huntsman is built like a tank, and I'm a fan of all the little extras it comes with, such as its mirrored surfaces, the large leather-bound box, and the decent array of accessories on show. Gaming performance is also strong with its optical switches, 8000Hz polling rate, and more besides that keep inputs fast and responsive, plus there are extras such as analog capabilities for controller-like inputs and extensive software customisation to boot, so users can tinker until their hearts are content.

I just wince at that price tag, especially with competition such as the Corsair K70 Pro TKL and SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless Gen 3 offering similar features for half the cost.

Razer Huntsman Signature Edition: Price & release date

• $499.99/£499.99/AU$799.99
• Available only from Razer directly
• Top-end of the market

The Razer Huntsman Signature Edition is only available to purchase from Razer's website, and costs $499.99/£499.99/AU$799.99, putting it right at the top end of the gaming keyboard market. It's also limited to 1337 pieces, so you'll need to have been quick on the button to snag one when it went on sale on February 22, 2026.

For the price, you get the keyboard itself alongside accessories including a keycap puller, a special-edition Razer keycap, swappable macOS command keycaps, a braided USB-C/USB-A cable and a leather sound-dampening mat. That all comes in a hefty leather-bound box with the Razer logo.

You can get premium gaming keyboards with a similar feature set for much less than the asking price, including the Corsair K70 Pro TKL and SteelSeries Apex Pro TKL Wireless Gen 3. The keyboard this is based on, the Razer Huntsman V3 Pro TKL, is also much more affordable, and provides an identical core experience to the Huntsman Signature Edition.

• Price score: 2/5

Razer Huntsman Signature Edition: Design and features

• Sturdy machined aluminum frame
• Lovely attention to detail
• Feature-rich software

Razer has certainly attempted to make the Huntsman Signature Edition look and feel like a $500/£500 keyboard. It carries this premium and understated look that we've seen brands move towards more generally, and it looks fantastic, with a black machined aluminum chassis with touches of gray on the volume roller and macro buttons in the top-right corner.

One of the key upgrades over the standard Huntsman V3 Pro TKL that turns this into a 'Signature Edition' is the decision to CNC-mill the entire chassis in 6063 aluminum, giving it this wonderful heft and thickness. It certainly means this keyboard isn't going to go anywhere when it's put down on your desk.

The rear side and underside of the Huntsman Signature Edition have been PVD surface-treated and hand-polished to achieve a mirror-like finish, giving the keyboard an extra extravagant feel. Granted, you won't be able to see it while you use it, but it shows a keen eye for detail on Razer's side.

I'm also a fan of the fact that this keyboard opts for a closed housing over the more common open, skeletal-feeling frames that are a lot more common on gaming-grade keyboards. It gives this product more of an enthusiast's feel, and also helps prevent ingress of dust or unwanted crud between the switches.

The lovely fit and finish of the Huntsman Signature Edition also extends to its textured PBT keycaps that feel great under finger. Razer also bundles a special Razer accent keycap in the box alongside ones for the bottom row for macOS functions, and a keycap puller so you can change them out if you wish. The lack of a wristrest for more optimal ergonomics is a bit of a shame, though, as some rivals come with one, including Razer's own Huntsman V3 Pro TKL.

The TKL (or tenkeyless) layout on offer is convenient and doesn't sacrifice much on overall functionality for the gains in desk space, only chopping off the number pad. You otherwise get a nav cluster with arrow keys, a feature-rich function row, and the usual alphanumeric set. Unlike other, more drastic space-saving layouts, it's easy to use.

In spite of not having an OLED screen, unlike rivals from other manufacturers, the Huntsman Signature Edition has some functions baked into its function row, including backlighting brightness, macro recording, and global adjustment of the actuation and reset points of the optical analog keyswitches. The tactile dial in the top right corner controls system volume by default.

Software control is handled by Razer Synapse, as with the brand's other peripherals, and the experience is familiar. It's a versatile piece of kit, offering means of controlling the actuation and reset points of switches individually, plus dealing with things such as analog, SOCD and rapid trigger functionality for the switches, and configuring the sharp RGB lighting

If you don't want to deal with sorting actuation and reset points on a per-key basis, then you can also select from a range of presets based on game genre, such as FPS or Racing, to optimise the keyboard's settings in one fell swoop.

• Design and features score: 4/5

Razer Huntsman Signature Edition: Specs

Razer Huntsman Signature Edition: Performance

• Very potent optical switches
• Rapid trigger and analog settings for lots of configuration
• Solely wired connectivity, although with 8000Hz polling rate

The internals of the Huntsman Signature Edition haven't changed much from the V3 Pro TKL model, meaning it comes with the same switches – that's the brand's own Analog Optical Switches Gen-2 – which actuate with light gates for immense precision and bring handy extras such as rapid trigger for instant inputs and analog powers for controller-like progressive keypresses.

In a general sense, these optical switches are snappy under finger with a linear keypress, while a 40g weighting keeps them light enough for serious gaming. The switches aren't lubricated, unlike their Hall effect brethren, but feel smooth enough by default that I enjoyed using them for both gaming and general work. In addition, thanks to a stack of sound-dampening material inside the keyboard, the acoustics are excellent with no case rattle or ping.

Sometimes non-standard switches such as these can tend to feel quite hollow and lifeless under finger, but I didn't necessarily feel that way about them during general use for work, writing articles and such for hours on end.

The lack of traditional mechanisms also lends them to being immensely configurable, with the actuation and reset point able to be set anywhere along the travel from 0.1mm to 4mm. This allows for brisk inputs where you'd only need to essentially breathe on the switch before it actuates, before it instantly resets.

This is rapid trigger in action, and it can be very useful in quick draw scenarios in FPS titles. I use Counter-Strike 2 as proving grounds for any gaming keyboard I test, and with the Huntsman Signature Edition, I chose to bind the WASD and weapon selection keys as rapid triggers, which meant movement takes much less effort than a traditional keyboard, and things felt especially responsive.

However, this is only one side of these switches, as they are also analog switches, too – and are a newer version of the ones you'll find in the Razer Huntsman V2 Analog to boot. This means they can offer controller-like inputs with a more progressive scale, which is handy because you can now use a keyboard in titles where you may normally use a controller.

Razer makes it easy to map inputs in its software, and using the default 'Racing' preset in the Synapse software, it maps the WASD keys to left analog stick movement and right and left triggers. I tested it in both BeamNG Drive and in Forza Horizon 5 in races and freeroam, and it felt responsive.

There is a little bit of a learning curve in mastering the power of those analog inputs if you’re used to the more standard on/off nature of mechanical keyswitches, but it is seriously clever, and one of the most underrated features on these switches.

Razer provides its own flavour of SOCD tech with the Huntsman Signature Edition, known here as Snap Tap. This allows you to activate one key while holding down the other for especially quick actions. In this instance, it works based on the most recent one pressed; for instance, if mapped to the A and D keys, it can allow for unnaturally quick side-to-side movement. It's very clever, although not something you'll probably use too much in online games, given Valve wields the ban hammer for anyone who uses it in online Counter-Strike 2 games.

The software controls also open up the power of dual actuation, where you can set two inputs to different parts of a switch's travel, such as pushing it down slightly to walk, before going all the way down to run, or crouch. It's a handy addition for FPS games, although is as far as these switches go. Rival devices offer even more versatility, such as four inputs per key, and other derivatives of the SOCD (Snap Tap) tech, if you wanted even more functionality.

Connectivity with the Huntsman Signature Edition is strictly wired, with no Bluetooth or 2.4GHz wireless choices available. Over this wired connection, you also get an 8000Hz polling rate for more frequent reporting of inputs than more 'standard' gaming keyboards, which can lead to more responsive inputs. This isn't necessarily something that mere mortals can feel, although for the pros, where every millisecond counts, it's a useful addition.

• Performance score: 4/5

Should I buy the Razer Huntsman Signature Edition?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Razer Huntsman Signature Edition: Also consider

How I tested the Razer Huntsman Signature Edition

• Tested for around two weeks
• Used for gaming and productivity across Windows and macOS
• A decade of experience as a journalist and mechanical keyboard hobbyist

I tested the Huntsman Signature Edition for around two weeks, using it as my main keyboard for work and play during this time with both Windows and macOS.

I played various games, including Counter-Strike 2 and Forza Horizon 5, to best gauge its optical switches for speed, precision, and the benefit of its analog powers. I also made sure to use Razer's Synapse software to test every facet of the keyboard.

I've been a journalist for the best part of a decade, and have reviewed plenty of keyboards in that time from brands big and small. I'm also a mechanical keyboard enthusiast, so I have a keen eye for peripherals, and have been involved with the hobby before it hit the mainstream.

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed: March 2026

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus: Two-minute review

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus is exactly what I expected it to be: a solid mid-tier Android smartphone that does enough to be great but doesn’t quite make it to excellence.

Powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset for Galaxy, the S26 Plus topped even the most premium competitors on performance. Jumping into games like Destiny Rising on the highest graphics is a breeze, and you can genuinely expect to enjoy performance that's largely comparable to the best gaming phones on Samsung's latest flagship middle child.

The S26 Plus' 6.7-inch display is just as bright and colorful as the S26 Ultra's, highlighting all of the gorgeous colors in my favorite media content. Its premium svelte design is stunning in certain colorways, too, and the near bezel-less face makes for an immersive viewing experience.

The battery life is decent, but not the best. I got a full day’s use out of the phone's 4,900mAh cell, needing to charge it toward the end of the night. The 45W fast charging makes the process pretty seamless, though. But the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and some of its competitors offer longer battery life.

Then there’s the cameras, which are solid overall, but should’ve gotten a boost, especially considering that the S26 Plus received a $100 / £100 / AU$150 price bump over the Galaxy S25 Plus, bringing its tag to $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus is a great Android phone, but it’s not the best. If you’re looking for something that’s exactly this size, then the S26 Plus will serve you well, but if you don’t mind going up or down a size, you might find a better deal elsewhere. Again, that doesn’t remove all the great qualities that the Galaxy S26 Plus has to offer; it just means that its competitors do it better, albeit at varying prices.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: price and availability

• From $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849
• Launched on March 11, 2026

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus launched on March 11, 2026 in a prismatic spray, offering six different colorways and two variants of storage. You can purchase it directly from Samsung or any of the company’s retail partners.

At its starting price — $1,099 / £1,099 / AU$1,849 — you can get the Galaxy S26 Plus with 256GB of storage. That’s a $100 / £100 / AU$150 price hike compared with its predecessor. Bumping up to 512GB will cost you $1,299 / £1,279 / AU$2,149. That’s an $180 / £179 / AU$1,849 increase.

In other words, Samsung’s larger 6.7-inch phone is becoming less affordable, and that’s pretty frustrating if you’re someone who needs it. The iPhone Air is just a wee bit smaller (6.5 inches), but it costs less ($999 / £999 / AU$1,799). The iPhone 17 Pro Max sizes up to 6.9 inches and starts at $1,199 / £1,199 / AU$2,149, while the Pixel 10 Pro XL sits at 6.8 inches for $1,199 / £1,199 / AU $1,999.

So, yes, the price hike is frustrating, but the Galaxy S26 Plus sits in this weird niche space between price and size in relation to its premium competitors, so there’s still some solid value here.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: specs

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: design

• Mostly the same as the Galaxy S25 Plus
• Gorgeous colors
• Cameras are elevated

For better or worse, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus looks pretty much the same as its predecessor (and its predecessors before that). It’s the exact same size and weight as the S25 Plus, at 158.4 x 75.8 x 7.3 millimeters and 190g. I’m not mad about this, though. Its thin build and round corners still give that svelte premium feel. The Galaxy S26 Plus also comes in a variety of colors.

Our review unit came in White, which is boring — sorry, not sorry. There’s Black and Silver Shadow, which fall in the same “meh” camp, but the more precious colors are Pink Gold, Sky Blue, and Cobalt Violet (my favorite). Tech products that offer more than shades of gray are a solid win.

The biggest design difference between the Galaxy S26 Plus and its predecessor is the appearance of its cameras. Now, the phone's rear module is slightly elevated on a platform. Apart from that, everything else is the same. The power and volume buttons are on the right, there are microphones on the top edge, and the bottom holds room for the USB-C port, SIM slot, speaker, and microphone.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus still features Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2 for protection against drops and scratches, but the S26 Ultra features Gorilla Glass Armor 2, which prioritizes reducing reflections as well as durability.

However, just like the S26 Ultra, the Plus is rated for IP68 water and dust protection. That means the device is completely dust-tight and can withstand immersions in water beyond one meter (up to three). I wouldn’t go testing this in the bathtub, though. But if you happen to drop it, the S26 Plus should be fine.

Overall, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus still looks great. It would be nice for Samsung to get more experimental with its design, but the Galaxy lineup still cleans up nicely.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: display

• 6.7-inch AMOLED
• 3120 x 1440 resolution
• 120Hz refresh rate
• 2600-nit peak brightness

If you’re looking for a stunningly bright floating piece of glass on which to watch all your favorite content, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus’ 6.7-inch AMOLED delivers just that.

With a near bezel-less screen and a peak brightness of 2600 nits, its 3,120 x 1,440 resolution display makes everything in the background practically fade away (fun fact: the phone actually defaults to 2,340 x 1,080 to save battery). The cutout for the selfie camera is always going to be mildly distracting, but it's pretty tiny.

In Destiny Rising, the ethereal valley that leads to Haven popped against the gorgeous blues and pinks on the horizon. While it’s not necessarily a gaming phone by trade, the Galaxy S26 Plus put in the work to make the world of Destiny look good.

With the S26 Plus’ adaptive 120Hz refresh rate, the navigation experience felt super smooth, and it also allows games to climb up to 120fps (although Destiny hovered around 60fps).

The S26 Plus’ screen is just as good as the Ultra’s, with one exception — the Privacy Display on the latter phone, which adjusts the screen so people around you can’t see what you see. You won’t get this extra layer of privacy on the middle child in Samsung’s lineup. I wouldn’t necessarily weep over it, though. There are privacy screen protectors that can accomplish the same thing.

• Display score: 4.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: cameras

• 50MP main (f/1.8)
• 12MP ultra-wide (f/2.2)
• 10MP 3x telephoto (f/2.4)
• 12MP selfie-cam
• Up to 8K/30fps video

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus’ camera suite is effectively unchanged from the previous generation. On the rear, you get a 50MP main, a 12MP ultra-wide, and a 10MP 3x telephoto camera, while the front sports a 12MP selfie camera.

I took a lovely trip to the park and put the Galaxy S26 Plus’ cameras to work. One common occurrence I noticed while taking photos is that the ultra-wide camera captured slightly bolder colors, and it’s most noticeable when looking at the sky. Meanwhile, the other rear cameras captured more flat images. They don’t lack color per se. It seems like it would be a more natural representation, but the images captured by the 50MP main and 10MP 3x telephoto cameras were just faintly duller than real life.

However, when it came to clarity, all of the rear cameras excelled at capturing highly detailed images. It’s easy to get high-resolution photos, but it’s another thing when a camera sensor can focus on exactly what you need it to, providing both a sharp and clear image. Naturally, the 10MP 3x telephoto lens was better at this than the rest, capturing the individual notches in the wood of a gazebo from far away.

I’m also impressed by the S26 Ultra's digital zoom, which can go up to 30x. You’ll rarely be using it all the way turned up, but there are several shots where I needed to crank past 3x to get a full image of something. Despite using a digital zoom, images like the birdhouse (as you'll see below) looked great. Although you’re losing a decent amount of detail the further you zoom in.

However, a really cool image I captured was around dusk, when there was still some blue in the sky, but the moon was out. The standard lens couldn’t capture any detail because of the surrounding light, but zooming in 30x allowed the camera to focus on the moon. The S26 Plus is not winning any awards in astronomy photography, but being able to capture the craters on the moon was cool.

Overall, then, the S26 Plus' camera array is solid as is, but the biggest issue it’s facing is the tech itself. The Google Pixel 10 Pro XL is close in price, and it sports a 48MP ultra-wide camera and a telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom. For that aforementioned price hike, we should’ve had at least some upgrade to the camera array, but we’re stuck with the same hardware as last year’s model. Hopefully, this’ll change in the future (without another price hike).

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: camera samples

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: performance

• Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite Gen 5 for Galaxy chipset is fiercely competitive
• Overall punchy performance

Like its siblings, the Galaxy S26 Plus is outfitted with a Qualcomm Snapdragon Gen 8 Elite 5 chip that's specifically designed for Galaxy phones. Whatever Qualcomm and Samsung cooked up is supposedly meant to work better overall for the system. Well, running the standard Geekbench overall performance test proved that it outpaced its predecessor. It also beat the scores of Apple’s A19 Pro.

Getting into the crunchy numbers won’t tell you the real story, though. I played around with the S26 Plus for a week, and it reflected my inputs with incredible speed. I navigated through games, responded to emails, and voice chatted with friends with no noticeable slowdown.

I jumped into Destiny Rising in performance mode, and the game ran at a smooth 60fps. It kept up with my wild spray-and-pray tactics as I tore through the opening area. I didn’t see any screen tearing, and despite not being branded a gaming phone, the S26 Plus didn't suffer any performance drops.

However, I did notice that under a little pressure, it does get warm near the cameras. It’s not dramatic, but something to keep in mind if you’re out in the sun using your phone. I’ve had smartphones overheat on me at the beach, for instance.

Overall, even as the middle child of the Galaxy lineup, the S26 Plus is highly competitive with the best out there.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: software

• AI everywhere
• More personal suggestions
• Unreliable generative AI features

The Galaxy S26 Plus ships with Android 16 dressed up in Samsung’s One UI 8.5 suit. Of course, it’s packed with a bunch of AI features that you may not ever use, many of which are facilitated by Samsung’s Galaxy AI as well as Perplexity, Bixby, and Google Gemini. It’s very much a “choose your Pokémon” situation.

Despite my reservations with AI, one of my favorite features is the automatic call screening, which Pixel phones have been doing for years now. But it’s nice not having to answer marketers or scammers on a Galaxy phone.

There is a new Galaxy AI feature called Now Nudge. It’s designed to constantly read what’s on your screen and suggest relevant actions, like creating a calendar event or sharing photos. It’ll also recall information, like saved contacts or location details.

Then there’s Now Brief, located at the bottom of the lock screen. Opening it will give you the weather, your calendar for the day, and whatever bleak news update is going on in the world. These features were useful for sure, but I don’t think you’re missing anything by not using them.

You’ve also got generative AI tools like Photo Assist and Creative Studio. I’m not a fan of generative AI tools, but for personal use, these are fine. The former is helpful for editing photos. I tried using it to change my hair color, and it worked well, except the original quality of the image became fuzzy. I tried recreating my epic goth D&D character in Creative Studio, but apparently, using “goth” was inappropriate. Then I tried creating a “fantasy warrior,” and it showed me a fantasy setting instead. Then I asked it to simply create a “woman and her dog” — it only made the dog. Creative Studio isn’t averse to creating people because one of the default prompts is to create a wedding couple. For my testing, however, it was incredibly unreliable.

Google is rolling out its Agentic features for Gemini. These will allow your smartphone to do more background tasks. For example, you could ask Gemini to call you an Uber, and all you need to do is review its work and accept. It’s great in theory, but it’s still under development. With more apps to follow, we'll get a better picture of its utility in Gemini in the future.

If you don’t want to use Google Gemini, you can use Bixby instead, which can accomplish similar tasks thanks to its being directly connected to Perplexity AI.

There are a lot of features packed into the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus. Well, I’d argue too many. And it’s unlikely one person will use them all. You could argue that Samsung is covering all its bases, but if you’re not big on AI to begin with, it can get overwhelming.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: battery life

• 4,900mAh battery
• 45W fast charging
• No magnets

Despite its smaller battery, the Galaxy S26 Plus managed to last me quite a while throughout the week before needing to charge. With very limited use, I got over two days out of it. When it came to focused use, it lasted the whole day before I had to plug it in. In both use cases, the S26 Plus was set to max resolution and refresh rate.

The S26 Plus also charges remarkably fast. It features 45W charging, and it took only an hour to fully charge with Super Fast Charging 2.0. It does come with 25W wireless charging, but the back isn’t magnetic, so you’d need to get a case to make use of magnetic charging accessories.

While the S26 Plus served my purposes, it’s not the most long-lasting smartphone out there. The S26 Ultra comes with a battery that’s larger by just 100mAh, but despite the small difference, it lasted longer in my testing than the S26 Ultra by quite a few hours.

Regardless, thanks to the efficiency of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, the Galaxy S26 Plus will get you through the day before you need to charge it at night. Well, keep in mind the intensity of use. If you’re burning through Destiny Rising, then you’ll be burning through your battery.

• Battery score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus review: also consider

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus is a strong mid-tier smartphone, but you could get more elsewhere if you're willing to pay a bit extra.

How I tested the Samsung Galaxy S26 Plus

• Review test period = 1 week
• Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, gaming, streaming video, music playback
• Tools used = Geekbench 6

First reviewed: April 2026

Dreame Miracle Pro: two-minute review

The Dreame Miracle Pro is a premium dryer that does a lot more than just dry your hair. Alongside six modes — Cool, Scalp, Essence, Comfort, Quick Dry, AI Smart — it comes with a built-in essence mister, a ring of red and near-infrared light therapy around the barrel, and a distance sensor that automatically adjusts heat and airflow depending on how close the dryer is to your head.

All of these features are designed to protect your scalp, improve the health of your hair, and add a level of customization that's rare on rival models. As a result, it's one of the most feature-packed hair dryers on the market, at any price.

During my tests, the main drying performance was strong. Using Comfort mode on high speed, my mid-length, fine hair went from wet to dry in around under five minutes with a smooth, frizz-free finish. Quick Dry mode got there faster, but the result wasn't quite as polished. Not bad, just not as smooth as on Comfort mode. The essence mister – activated in Essence mode for the final minute or two of a drying session – left my hair noticeably softer and smelling great. It's one of those features that sounds gimmicky until you've used it and seen how great it is.

The distance-sensing heat adjustment works well for rough drying but responds slower than I'd like and the constant change in sound as it switches between each speed just ends up being irritating. For more precise and less annoying styling one of the fixed modes tends to give more predictable results. The red and near-infrared light therapy ring is harder to evaluate in the short term, because any real benefit to scalp health takes months to show up, but it's a nice addition. It's also worth noting that fitting an attachment blocks most of the light, so getting the full benefit requires using the dryer without a nozzle.

At $399.99 / £399, the Miracle Pro sits at the same price point as the best hair dryers on the market. If you want a dryer that treats hair health as seriously as drying speed, it makes a compelling case. Keep reading to learn more in my Dreame Miracle Pro review.

Dreame Miracle Pro: price & availability

• List price: $399.99 / £399
• Availability: US / UK
• Launch: 2025

The Dreame Miracle Pro is available directly from Dreame and from Best Buy in the US. In the UK, it's stocked at Dreame's own site and Boots.

At $399.99 / £399 (about AU$560), the Miracle Pro sits towards the top end of the price scale. That's approaching the same price bracket as the $549.99 / £399.99 / AU$749 Dyson Supersonic Nural which, for a brand that has historically positioned itself as a more accessible alternative to its luxury rival, is a notable shift.

The Miracle Pro's drying performance is strong, but strong drying alone doesn't justify $400. What you're really paying for is the smart heat regulation, a built-in essence mister and the red light ring. There isn't another dryer on the market that offers this combination of features, making it stand out.

The essence capsule ships with one 30ml bottle of Dreame's own Boca formula, and replacing the essence will be an ongoing cost. It's not currently possible to buy the Boca essence on its own but the cartridge is refillable so you can spend as much or as little as you want on an alternative essence.

Four attachments are included in the box — a styling nozzle, smoothing nozzle, anti-frizz nozzle and diffuser. This is generous (albeit an expectation at this price) and compares well to the Nural, which ships with five attachments. The Miracle Pro also comes in a velvet-lined gift box, which adds to the premium feel.

At this price, the most obvious comparison is the Dyson Supersonic Nural, which is the benchmark for premium hair dryers and the closest rival in terms of smart heat technology. The L'Oreal AirLight Pro, at $475, is also worth considering if light-based technology appeals — it uses infrared rather than red light therapy, with the focus on faster drying rather than scalp health, and comes with an app for precise heat and airflow controls. In the UK, the GHD Speed at £299 is a strong alternative if pure drying performance is the priority — its halo airflow tech keeps the barrel cool to the touch and delivers super fast results, though it doesn't attempt any of the Miracle Pro's more advanced, smart features.

Whether it's good value for money or not is that it's complicated. If the scalp light and essence mist appeal to you, and you'd use them consistently, you will be able to justify the price. If you're only really after the fastest, most powerful dryer, you can spend less on the likes of the GHD Speed to get there.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Dreame Miracle Pro: specs

Dreame Miracle Pro review: design

• Faux-leather handle and matte gold finish
• Six modes, illuminated display, four magnetic attachments
• Red light and essence mister built into the barrel

There was a time when a tall, rather than wide, hair dryer was rare, but the ubiquity of Dyson's Supersonic shape has not only made the design more common, it also makes all rivals look high-end by association.

The Miracle Pro has the same barrel-over-handle shape as most has added a couple of features to make it look noticeably different. The handle is covered in textured faux leather, the barrel and attachments come in a matte gold, and the whole thing arrives in a velvet-lined box.

It's a bold look that won't suit everyone but it does feel genuinely premium. In testing, the leather grip felt solid and comfortable — even if it left my hand feeling clammy after long periods — but it's unclear yet how well it will hold up to daily use over many months.

At 0.9lb / 420g, it's light for a dryer with this much going on inside, and it's well balanced. Most of the weight sits in the handle, which makes it easy to move around your head without your wrist getting tired. The filter sits at the bottom of the handle and is a feature I generally dislike in hair dryers because it's easy to block with your hand mid-drying. However, Dreame has made the handle long enough on the Miracle Pro to prevent this happening, and without throwing the balance out of sync in the process.

The barrel is on the smaller side, which is useful for getting close to the roots and working around the hairline. Yet this is a slightly moot point because the built-in AI Smart mode uses a distance sensor to automatically adjust the heat and airflow depending on how close the dryer is to your head anyway.

The controls are simple enough. A sliding switch on the handle turns the Miracle Pro on and off and flips between the two speed settings — High (72 m/s) and Low (50 m/s.)

While two speeds are fewer than most rivals — the Dyson Supersonic Nural offers three, for example — it's the default on Dreame dryers and has never proved a problem for my mid-length, thin hair. Thicker or natural hair styles may need more options but, on the Pro particularly, the range of modes and the way AI Smart mode adjusts airflow in real time means you're unlikely to feel the gap.

A single button on the handle cycles through the Pro's six modes — Smart, Essence, Cool, Comfort, Quick Dry, or Scalp.

The six modes cover a good range.

• Cool: 86 F / 30 C
• Scalp: 100 F / 38 C
• Essence: 122 F / 50 C
• Comfort: 140 F / 60 C
• Quick Dry: 176 F / 80 C
• AI Smart: Adjusts in real time based on distance from scalp

Cool runs at 86 F / 30 C and is mainly for finishing. Scalp mode sits at 100 F / 38 C and is intended for anyone with a sensitive scalp. Essence mode runs at 122 F / 50 C, which is warm enough to activate the mist, but not so hot it defeats the point.

As 140 F / 60 C, Comfort is the most practical everyday setting, and Quick Dry goes up to 176 F / 80 C for when you need speed. AI Smart mode works across all of these, using a distance sensor to adjust the heat and airflow depending on how close the dryer is to your head, and every time you switch the dryer on, it starts in AI Smart mode by default.

A small screen on the rear of the barrel shows which mode you're in and this is much easier to read than the tiny color-coded LED ring on the Dreame Gleam, for instance.

The same sensor used by the AI Smart mode also feeds into the auto-pause feature, which recognizes when you've put the dryer down and dials back the heat and airflow automatically. It's a sensible safety feature, to avoid items on your desk being blown around every time you place it down, but I found it really irritating. The constant changes in noise as you pick it up and put it down was not an enjoyable sensory experience.

Around the front of the barrel is a ring of red lights that cover two wavelengths at 633nm and 1064nm. Dreame calls it "dual red light therapy," although the 1064nm wavelength is technically near-infrared.

The idea is that red light/infrared light stimulates scalp circulation during drying to support hair strength over time. It's visible in use but not distracting, and worth knowing that fitting an attachment blocks most of it so if scalp health is the main draw, you'll want to spend some time using the dryer without a nozzle attached.

Speaking of nozzles, Pro ships with four magnetic attachments by default:

• Styling nozzle: Directed airflow for sectioning and precise blow-drying
• Smoothing nozzle: Concentrated airflow for a smooth finish
• Anti-frizz nozzle: Neutralizes static and smooths frizzy hair
• Diffuser: Distributes airflow evenly for curls and volume

Each one clicks on and off easily, and the dryer recognizes which one is attached, automatically recalling your last-used settings for that specific nozzle.

It's a small touch but it means you're not manually resetting your preferences every time you switch between drying and diffusing, for example. The filter at the base of the handle is magnetic too, so it pulls off easily for cleaning.

• Design score: 5 out of 5

Dreame Miracle Pro review: performance

• Fast drying, smooth results
• Essence mister is a genuine highlight
• Red light benefits hard to assess short-term

The Miracle Pro is a strong everyday dryer. Using it most mornings on my long, fine hair, I found the Comfort mode on High speed to be the best setting for a regular wash-day routine. My hair went from wet to dry in just under five minutes, with a smooth, frizz-free finish that I'd normally need a separate serum to achieve.

Quick Dry mode gets there faster, in under three minutes, but the result is noticeably less polished. Scalp mode is the gentlest option and while it adds time to the overall dry, the finish is noticeably softer.

Essence mode – which activates the built-in mister – is the feature I didn't expect to care about and ended up using every time. It runs at a moderate heat and is designed to be used for the last couple of minutes of your routine, rather than the full session.

Switching into it at the end left my hair noticeably softer, smooth and smelling great. It's a small thing that adds up over time and was a genuine highlight for me.

AI Smart mode is the headline feature, and it largely delivers. The dryer adjusts heat and airflow as you move it closer to and further from your head, which takes some getting used to. There's a slight lag between changing your distance and feeling the adjustment, which the Dyson Supersonic Nural handles more quickly, and you'll notice the airflow change before you notice the temperature shift.

In practice, this works well for rough drying where you're moving quickly and not thinking too hard about distance. For precision styling, I tended to switch to a fixed mode where the output was more predictable. Plus, like with the constant changes in noise with the auto-pause feature, the fluctuations soon became irritating.

The red light therapy ring is harder to evaluate over a relatively short period. Dreame's claims – improved scalp circulation and stronger hair over time – are plausible, but any real difference would take months to show up. What I can say is that using the dryer without an attachment, which is required for the red light to reach the scalp unobstructed, feels slightly counterintuitive mid-routine.

Noise-wise, the Miracle Pro is genuinely quiet for its power output. Dreame claims 56.6 dB but it's not clear if that's just the lowest reading – on Cool – or an average. In my tests, the average readings for each of the modes were:

• Cool: 58 dB
• Scalp: 60 dB
• Essence: 62 dB
• Comfort (low speed): 63 dB
• Comfort (high speed): 68 dB
• Quick Dry (low speed): 65 dB
• Quick Dry (high speed): 72 dB

• Performance score: 4 out of 5

How I tested the Dreame Miracle Pro

I used the Dreame Miracle Pro as my main hair dryer for four weeks, replacing my usual dryer for daily morning use on my mid-length hair.

I worked through each of the six modes, both speed settings and the attachments systematically in the first week, then settled into more natural everyday use to get a realistic sense of how it performs over time.

I timed dry sessions across the different modes and speeds, and tracked decibels using the DecibelX app. I also compared the results to other dryers I've tested at similar and higher price points.

Read more about how we test

• First reviewed March 2026

Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 review: one-minute review

The Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 is a large-scale drawing tablet that — as the name implies — is designed firmly with the experienced artist in mind. However, I’d argue that if you’re an enthusiastic amateur who's looking to create art on a much larger scale, then it’s attractively priced enough to be worth considering, too.

It’s safe to say that the Kamvas Pro 24 is a bit of a beast — I’m tempted to call it "big" but the word "hulking" keeps coming to mind. At its size, you’re unlikely to be moving it around much, but its huge 4K 24-inch screen does deliver a huge art board to sketch on, even if its 185ppi pixel density doesn’t quite hit the microscopic precision of some of the smaller-screened tablets I’ve tested. Meanwhile, its built-in legs allow you to prop it up at an ergonomic angle, although I’d love it if it had a few discrete height settings.

Performance is impressive, too. Thanks to its expansive color gamut, the Huion Kamvas Pro shows off any artwork with the same level of vibrancy seen on many of the best drawing tablets. Not only does it avoid any trace of parallax or jitter, it’s capable of extreme tilt angles, plus its pressure sensitivity appears super accurate, even if I’d argue its 16K pressure levels don’t offer any palpable improvement over 8K. In addition, its driver software allows you to tweak a significant range of options, from pressure curves to assigning shortcuts to those concentric dials on its remote.

Huion’s styluses are also decent, although I wouldn’t say they stand out over and above their nearest rivals. I found both the Slim Pen PW600S and chunkier Pen PW600 comfortable to use over long drawing sessions, although neither displayed the same pitch-perfect balance as those offered by the XP-Pen. They do offer eraser shortcuts on their tips, though — as a perennial bumbler, the ability to quickly nix my mistakes is one of my must-have features.

Looking at the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 as a complete package then, it's easy to recommend. What you lose in portability compared to smaller options, you gain in that epic sketching space. It’s capable of impressive precision and its color gamut means every hue positively glows on its screen. Moreover, its $1,399 / £1,299 / AU$1,999 price is competitive, coming in cheaper than rival Xencelabs' slate, although marginally more expensive than its nearest XP-Pen equivalent. All told, I think you’re unlikely to be disappointed with this purchase.

Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 review: price and availability

• Launched on October 17, 2025
• List price of $1,399 / £1,299 / AU$1,999

Having launched on October 17, 2025, the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 is available now, for $1,399 / £1,299 / AU$1,999. To put that in a wider context, that’s cheaper than the Xencelabs Pen Display 24 — reduced from a list price of $1,899 / £1,850 (around $2,725) to $1,749 / £1,699 (around AU$2,725), but more than the XP-Pen Artist Pro 24 (Gen2) 4K, which has dropped down from a list price of $1,299.99 / £1,199 / AU$1,899.99 to $1,039.99 / £1,079 / AU$1,424.99. As such, the Huion slate sits firmly in the middle of the pack of the largest tablets for price.

But what does that spend net you? In addition to the tablet itself, you get the Huion Keydial Remote, all the cabling you could require (including HDMI and USB-C / USB connections), both the Pen PW600 and Slim Pen PW600S styluses, and a pen box. There’s no case or bag included, while its stand is built in. Unusually, though, it also includes a G1 Colorimeter for calibration, which is a nice touch for professional artists and designers.

Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 review: specs

Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 review: Design

• Huge 24-inch 4K screen
• Good range of accessories
• Lower 185ppi pixel density than some smaller slates

The first thing you’re likely to notice about the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 is its size. As the name suggests, its screen is a colossal 24 inches — very few drawing tablets exceed this size, apart from Wacom’s colossal Cintiq Pro 27. And while I’ve previously stated that I prefer 16-inch models for the flexibility and portability of their size, the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 has gone a long way towards convincing me that I might have been wrong.

Having such an enormous canvas provides the freedom to hone fine details while still being able to see them in the context of the wider piece. However, since it offers a 4K resolution, the Kamvas Pro 24's pixel density of 185ppi is actually lower than some drawing tablets — it falls shy of the Xencelabs Pen Display 16’s 275ppi, for example. That’s the price you pay for all that extra screen estate, though.

And while we're back to its size, I have to say that I didn’t notice the Huion’s extra bulk as much as I’d thought I would. Part of this is because it requires a more permanent workstation setup than some of its immediate rivals. Although I loved using Xencelab’s drawing tablet while kicking back on the couch, it was abundantly clear from the off that trying to do the same with the Huion model might lead to crush syndrome. Once set up as a workstation, though, the Kavas Pro 24 feels like the beating heart of your sketching setup.

This is definitely helped by the Kamvas Pro 24’s ergonomic design. Rather than needing a separate stand, its built-in feet will see it prop up at a comfortable angle of 20 degrees — although I can’t help but think that a couple of different height settings, so users could select the perfect angle for themselves, would have been better. Case in point: although it has a nice thick inch-wide bezel upon which to rest your wrist while you sketch, I didn’t often use it as the angle didn’t always feel the most natural for me.

Elsewhere, the rest of the sketching experience feels pretty great. The screen is made of Huion’s lightly etched Canvas Glass 3.0, and while on a personal level I'd prefer a bit more bite like some paper-like displays exhibit, it’s neither too slippery nor prone to catching as some other drawing tablets out there. And when you’re using the felt nibs, in particular, there’s definitely some tactile feedback as it glides across the screen.

Speaking of, not only does the Huion come with two styluses, one streamlined and one pro, its bundle is crammed with accessories. In addition to a wallet that includes 11 spare nibs, it also comes with all of the cabling you could need — USB-C-to-USB-C or HDMI cable — and, remarkably, the Huion G1 Colorimeter for calibrating the tablet. There’s no case included, although I suppose that’s understandable since this isn't really a very luggable device.

Given this is the kind of tablet that will be permanently stationed on a desk, I didn’t find the cable setup at all onerous. Most of the time, you’ll need just a USB-C hookup for your laptop and a power cable. Plugging in an HDMI cable for screen recording or using the shortcut remote wired will add to this — but, for the most part, your cable flow will be a basic two-lane road rather than a massive interchange.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 review: performance

• Bold, accurate color
• Zero parallax or jitter
• 16K pressure levels offer little benefit over 8K

So how does the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 perform? Honestly, pretty smoothly. Drawing on it felt natural. Shaping arcs with a flick of my wrist was incredibly fluid, making the spiraling nautilus shell I was sketching far easier to shape, without having to spend time tidying up and correcting mistakes — my own personal achilles heel when drawing freehand.

But it isn't only with line drawings that the device excels. Once I moved on to coloring in my sketch with orange and peach inks, it became clear that the Huion also offers impressive color performance. Its color gamut includes 99% sRGB, 99% AdobeRGB, 98% DCI-P3 and 98% Display P3 coverage, narrowly edging out tablets such as the Xencelabs Pen Display 16, and meaning it’s capable of rendering your artwork in sumptuous, vibrant hues.

Obviously, basic issues such as parallax or jitter would be a deal-breaker given the Huion's cost, but I’m pleased to report it suffered neither: the brush always seemed to sit precisely below the stylus nib, while any lines drawn were impressively stable, even at high speeds. There was a bit of lag on occasion when I was laying down a lot of ink at speed — but, to be honest, I blame my aged MacBook Pro here rather than the tablet itself.

While carrying out these line tests, it quickly became clear that the packaged stylus is capable of some extreme drawing angles. According to Huion, this tops out at 60 degrees, but I wasn’t actually able to find an angle at which it stops recording an input. Basically, as soon as I could tilt the stylus enough for the nib to touch the screen, it was able to record the result, which means you’ll be able to sketch no matter the slant at which you’re holding the pen.

On paper, the stylus’s pressure sensitivity sounds similarly superlative, as it’s capable of 16K pressure levels. However, in practice, you’re unlikely to feel the benefit of this over the 8K what other tablets offer — it’s too granular for the human hand to detect. This was largely borne out in my tests. The curves I was capable of drawing didn’t show any smoother gradation of pressure, and while testing sensitivity out in the Huion driver software, I found it hard to maintain a specific pressure level consistently enough for the difference to be beneficial even if it were detectable.

Naturally, the driver software also allows you to customize the pressure sensitivity to more accurately imitate the responsiveness of different mediums. Not only can you choose from five preset pressure curves, but you can also create your own to tailor how quickly the stylus responds. This allowed me to replicate everything from a rock-hard H pencil to a nice, fluid marker.

You can also use the driver software to customize the shortcuts on Huion’s fantastic Keydial Remote. Not only do its keys offer an array of handy shortcuts — whether that’s a keyboard key combo, text input, mouse clicks or tool specific functions — but it also features two concentric dials. Being able to set canvas zoom or brush size to one dial and canvas rotation or brush rotation to the other delivered a really fluid way to interact with the canvas, without having to switch up the tools I was using.

The shortcut buttons on both styluses are more standard: the Pen PW600 has three and the Slim Pen PW600S has two. The options on offer are incredibly helpful, particularly if you’re willing to look up a few of your drawing software’s keyboard shortcut combos. For example, I set them to control Photoshop brush pickup and clean settings, allowing me to quickly alter the mix of pigment on my brush at the tap of a button.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 review: stylus

• Comfortable and responsive
• Not quite as well balanced as the XP-Pen model
• Include eraser shortcuts

As I’ve mentioned above, the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 comes with two styluses — one chunky and pro, the other slim and refined — but whichever you use, you’ll find it pleasingly ergonomic. Both feel comfortable and natural in use, even across long sketching sessions for hours at a time. As is an issue with most styluses, I did occasionally knock their shortcut buttons accidentally; but that’s easy to avoid, if you’re careful with your grip.

Really my only criticism of Huion’s styluses is that they don't quite measure up to XP-Pen’s X3 Pro Slim Stylus and X3 Pro Roller Stylus. When I tested the XP-Pen Artist Pro 19 Gen 2, I raved about the exquisite balance of its styluses — since the fulcrum sits right on top of your fingers, it's easy to keep them in perfect equilibrium as you pivot and rotate them. By comparison, the balance of Huion’s styluses sits much further back.

Having said that, Huion’s styluses trump XP-Pen’s in a more practical manner: their inclusion of an eraser. And while I found these had a tendency to mark the screen on the Huion Kamvas Pro 19, my frantic rubbing out doesn’t seem to have defaced the Kamvas Pro 24’s display so far.

• Stylus score: 4 / 5

Should I buy the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 review: also consider

How I tested the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3

• Tested it over the course of several weeks
• Used it for line drawing, blending colors and touching up images
• Tried out all of the core accessories and driver software

I used the Huion Kamvas Pro 24 Gen 3 for several weeks, for doing line sketches, blending oil paint brushes, and touching up images in Photoshop. In addition, I also carried out a range of line tests to gauge the accuracy of the styluses and how they responded to pressure.

In terms of specifics, I put all of the tablet’s accessories through their paces while creating artwork, including both styluses and the Keydial Remote. To test the driver software, I tweaked pressure curves and programmed various shortcuts for the styluses and remote to see how well they functioned in a real-world environment.

I have been testing gadgets, including a range of mid-market drawing slates, at TechRadar for several years now. I’ve been creating art as an amateur for several decades, both digitally and using acrylic and canvas, which gives me the first-hand experience required to be able to assess what artists look for in drawing tablets such as these.

• First reviewed: March 2026
• Read more about how we test

Rokid AI Glasses Style: two-minute review

At first glance the Rokid AI Glasses Style should be nothing but a slam dunk.

Officially starting at $379 (around £285) but discounted to $299 (around £225) at Rokid’s own store, these glasses are cheaper (assuming you get the lower price) than Meta’s Ray-Bans, while boasting specs on-par or ahead of its rival.

These AI glasses run ChatGPT 5 for insightful answers to your questions (provided you have an internet connection), a solid 12MP camera for first-person shots, real-time translation over 12 languages — including English, Japanese, German, French, Korean and Chinese — and a promised 12-hour long battery life. In our tests they lasted a fair few hours, but regular calls, taking photos and video, AI use and music will drain the battery more quickly (my experience was closer to around five to six hours of charge per session).

The only slight let down was audio. It’s fine but you won’t get a song’s true flavor through these as notes are lost — especially in the bass department. That said, this is true of other smart glasses of this kind, though I do feel some brands have a slight edge (i.e. Meta).

However, the initial price isn’t what it seems.

For a start, it doesn’t include a charging case — that’s an extra $99 fee, unlike its rival, which includes the charging case for free and it’s a real game changer. Additionally, while it’s not uncommon for premium lenses to incur an added charge, especially prescription lenses, the price of Rokid’s glasses doesn’t even include basic clear lenses.

They’ll set you back an additional $59, shaded cost $89, polarized are $109, and my recommended option photochromic transition lenses (more on that below) also cost $109 — and that’s also not included the added cost of any coatings you might want to add to reduce blue light or reflections.

Plus, while I’m being negative, I’ll mention that Rokid’s frames also look and feel cheap. You could confuse them for the 3D specs you get given before a movie. As much a fashion accessory as a useful gadget, the design of smart glasses is crucial — something rivals like Meta has realized with Ray-Ban and Oakley designs, and Google with its Warby Parker and Gentle Monster collaborations.

All that’s to say that while Rokid’s AI Glasses Style make a strong opening impression, the feeling you’re being nickel and dimed, coupled with the lackluster look, left me disappointed.

Rokid AI Glasses Style review: price and availability

You can pick up the Rokid AI Glasses in the US (they also ship to Canada, the UK, and EU) from Rokid's own store for $379 (around £285), though they’re seemingly always on sale for $299 (around £225). This price doesn't tell you the full story however.

Firstly, lenses cost extra, and I'm not just talking about prescription lenses. Clear lenses are $59, shaded lenses are $89, while polarized options will set you back $109, and photochromic lenses that can swap between clear and shaded are $109 too.

My advice with smart glasses is always pay more for photochromic lenses. That way you can use the glasses in clear, sunny, and cloudy weather — as well as indoors. You don’t want your smart specs to only be usable sometimes.

There's additional costs for various additional coatings like anti-glare, and then you'll also need to pay more for a charging case if you want one — it sets you back $99.

Rokid is one of those brands that seems to run frequent deals, which keeps these specs from getting too out of hand financially, but what initially seem to be budget-friendly specs can still quickly spiral into the mid-range or beyond territory. At which point some of their deficiencies — especially in the design category — feel less than excusable.

• Value: 3/5

Rokid AI Glasses Style review: design

At a distance, Rokid AI Glasses Style follow the Wayfarer style that many smart specs adopt — not simply Meta’s Ray-Bans. But, ironically when you consider their name, upon closer inspection they miss the mark style-wise, while their core rival oozes cool.

The black plastic frame and flat lenses adopted by Rokid’s specs remind me of movie theatre 3D glasses, not a premium fashion accessory you’d be proud to be caught wearing in public.

I also don’t love that there isn’t a physical power off switch on the glasses’ frame. When I, say, go to the bathroom while wearing my smart glasses, knowing I have physically toggled them off puts my mind at ease that I am indeed conducting my business in private. Without this switch, I have to trust the Rokid glasses aren’t watching — and while I know Rokid will say the specs aren't spying, I still feel uncomfortable.

Rokid’s specs also get a knock points-wise when it comes to the lack of charging case. Unless you pay extra that is.

This case is super handy for recharging your smart specs on the go. On a day out, there are plenty of easy opportunities to recharge your frames with a case — say when you pause for a coffee or lunch — to make them feel like genuinely all-day companions. You could find a socket and use the USB-C charging cable, but that’s significantly less convenient.

Speaking of battery life, while Rokid promises 12 hours of use per charge, my experience using them for regularly calling people, taking photos, asking the AI questions, and playing music saw them last for around half that — about five to six hours.

That’s still not bad in fairness. And as I’ve noted with smart glasses in the past, at least when they do run out of charge, you still have a handy pair of shades.

Before talking about lenses, I will give one definitely positive design comment: the nose pads help to improve the comfort and secure fit of these specs. I wish my Ray-Bans had something similar — I have a large pair and in the summer when my face is covered in a mixture of sweat and sun cream, I constantly have to readjust where they sit on my face. With these Rokid glasses, I could leave them in place for a whole day.

They were comfortable to wear the entire time too.

Now, rounding the design section off: a comment on lenses. I was sent a shaded pair of Rokid AI Glasses Style to test, and in the UK Winter / early Spring these things are next to useless. It’s too dark outside to wear sunglasses, and you can’t really wear them indoors either — unless you’re in the minority of folks who wear sunglasses all-year round.

If you’re getting a pair, get completely clear or — ideally — photochromic lenses that morph between clear and shaded in harsh sunlight. That'll mean you have specs you can use in any conditions.

• Design: 2.5/5

Rokid AI Glasses Style review: Performance

If the Rokid AI Glasses struggle in terms of design and price, performance is where they solidly hit the mark.

Rokid’s AI assistant is powered by ChatGPT 5, which I found meant the specs were able to provide useful, insightful info on a range of topics — they even helped me find a new restaurant to try in Brighton’s Lanes after I asked for food recommendations. As someone who regularly uses my smart glasses as a tourist, they were more than capable of being your personal guide in both familiar and unfamiliar places.

I can’t speak for the full quality of their translation abilities, though tests at trade shows have proven they have a solid grasp of Chinese, and the 12-long list of supported languages — which includes English, as well as essential European and Asian languages — does put them ahead of some key rivals (read: Meta’s specs).

The microphones pick up clear audio and AI commands even in windier conditions, making voice notes is super easy, and navigation through the Rokid App is handy when it works properly — it sometimes misheard me and wanted to send me to Nottingham train station rather than my nearest one.

All of these tools can be activated hands-free using voice commands, but you can find recordings, photos, and additional information like a route map in the Hi Rokid app.

Speaking of photos, the Rokid AI glasses’ camera is, in a word, fine. The 12MP snapper is a little better for video, but it can be handy for snapping a quick first-person shot — especially if you haven’t got the hands to take your phone out of your pocket.

The audio is also fine. The bass lacks oomph, tracks feel noticeably emptier than they would with headphones and, at medium to louder volumes, there’s noticeable sound leakage if people are near you. But for casual tunes while you explore a city, these specs will serve you fine with open-ear audio that won’t take you out of the moment you’re in.

• Performance: 4.5/5

Should I buy the Rokid AI Glasses Style?

Buy them if…

Don’t buy them if…

How I tested the Rokid AI Glasses Style

I used the Rokid AI Glasses Style for a month, wearing them on days it was bright enough to use sunglasses and not look too odd in late Winter / early Spring. I also did some at-home testing where I didn’t mind how silly I looked.

I made sure to try all of their features, and took them on a couple of day trips to test their abilities over longer stretches of time to judge their comfort and battery life.

I ran the Hi Rokid app from my trusty Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.

• First reviewed: April 2026

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Two-minute review

After its strong showing with last year’s Magic 7 Pro, Chinese smartphone maker Honor is back with another excellent flagship. The Honor Magic 8 Pro is everything you could want from a top of the line smartphone, with a stacked spec sheet that features Qualcomm’s superb Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC (the same chip that powers the likes of the more expensive Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra), backed up by 12GB of RAM and a generous 512GB of storage in all available models.

It almost goes without saying, but this is a seriously speedy phone that breezes through everyday tasks and is an absolute gaming powerhouse to boot. I’ve been using it as a daily driver for months, putting it through its paces with high-end titles like Zenless Zone Zero and the recent Tomb Raider port, which it handles effortlessly at maximum graphics settings. Whether you’re playing the latest games or watching movies and shows on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video, you can rest assured that everything is going to look stunning on the top-notch 6.7-inch OLED display. It’s incredibly bright and vibrant, topping out at 6,000 nits, with a crisp 1256 x 2808 resolution and buttery smooth 120Hz refresh rate.

I also love Honor’s new design, which refines the already strong look of the Magic 7 Pro with a larger and rounder camera module that gives the phone a more even look than before. The Magic 8 Pro comes in much better colors if you’re willing to venture outside the basic Black, too, including bright Sky Cyan and the radiant Sunrise Gold version that I tested. I’m a sucker for gold or rose gold colorways, and the shimmery back material here is an absolute stunner.

That said, I’m not too impressed by the addition of a dedicated, touch-sensitive AI Button on the Magic 8 Pro. This is effectively just Honor’s version of Apple’s Camera Control button, letting you zoom the camera in or out by simply sliding your finger across it. Tap it while on the home screen, and you’ll open up some of Honor’s AI tools, which are honestly a little lacking and don’t really justify a dedicated button. The AI Photos Agent is great, offering genuinely useful tools like the ability to remove passersby, upscale images, remove reflections, and so on, but the AI Settings Agent and AI Memories apps are both borderline useless.

Like other Honor devices, battery life is superb here. The battery optimization software can be a little too eager to shut down background apps that you might want to keep open, but it’s easy to add exceptions in the settings. The Magic 8 Pro unit that I used boasts a mega 7,100mAh silicon-carbon battery, which gives it more than enough juice to last a full day with moderate use. Even when you’re streaming content or playing intensive games, it’s difficult to run out of fuel in a single day. If you’re a lighter user, you should be able to achieve multiple days of runtime — especially if you enable the battery saver mode.

There is a caveat, though: buyers of the Magic 8 Pro in EU regions will get a reduced 6,270mAh silicon-carbon battery. This is a small downgrade that most aren’t going to notice, and will by no means restrict your ability to squeeze out a full day of use. Still, it’s worth bearing in mind given that competing devices like the Oppo Find X9 Pro and OnePlus 15 have batteries exceeding 7,000mAh in the same region.

Also, shoppers in the US and Australia have to contend with limited availability as Honor phones are not officially sold there. You may be able to import the Magic 8 Pro through some online retailers, but do bear in mind that this may impact network compatibility and your access to support or warranty services.

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Price and availability

• £1,099.99 in the UK
• Almost always on sale for £899.99
• Frequently comes with great freebies
• Not officially available in the US or Australia

If you’ve bought an Honor device before, you’ll know that they are always almost on sale via Honor’s official website. The Honor Magic 8 Pro is no exception, and while it has an £1,099.99 RRP, it’s easy to find for as little as £899.99 at various times throughout the year.

Considering the high specs (plus that generous 512GB of storage), the Magic 8 Pro is absolutely incredible value at that lower price, and things only get better when you factor in the various freebies Honor likes to throw in.

At the time of writing, in addition to the £200 discount, the Honor Magic 8 Pro comes with a decent budget tablet (the Honor Pad X9a) that normally goes for £149.99, plus a £49.99 power adapter and £59.99 earbuds — that’s about £260 of extra value right there. The same offer might not be available as you read this, but it’s always worth checking Honor’s official website for similar freebies before heading straight to Amazon and other third-party retailers.

As with most other Honor phones, the Magic 8 Pro is not officially sold in the US or Australia.

• Value score: 5 / 5

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Specs

Here's a look at the Honor Magic 8 Pro's key specs:

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Design

• Sleek and stylish
• Follows usual Chinese phone design trends
• New AI Button

Honor hasn’t rocked the design boat with its latest flagship, but rather opted to refine the already strong aesthetics of the Honor Magic 7 Pro. The biggest difference with this new model is a more rounded ‘squircle’ camera bump, which has been moved a little higher up and made ever so slightly larger to give the phone a more balanced look. It’s a very sleek and stylish design, provided you like a big camera module — a trend in most Chinese flagships.

The phone feels lovely in the hands, with the hefty aluminum frame giving a good impression of durability. The back is plastic, but it’s impressively high-quality and reinforced in such a way that I didn’t even notice it wasn’t actually glass until I checked the device's spec sheet.

I’m very clumsy with my phones and generally use them without a case, which is a recipe for quite a few nasty drops. Embarrassingly, in my time with the Magic 8 Pro, I’ve dropped it from arm height directly on concrete a couple of times, and it’s emerged unscathed, bar a few small nicks on the Honor NanoCrystal Shield screen and a tiny dent in one corner. This is an impressive showing, and I have no doubts that it could take a much more intense beating with similarly strong results.

In addition to the volume rocker and power button, the right side of the Honor Magic 8 Pro now boasts a new AI Button. Unlike the other buttons, it’s flush against the side of the phone and is touch-sensitive. You customize what the button does in the phone’s settings menu, and I’ve found it’s most useful when used to open the camera, though given the existing camera shortcut on the lock screen, it’s not really something that I use a lot.

The Magic 8 Pro is available in three colors: Sunrise Gold, Sky Cyan, and Black. My personal favorite is comfortably Sunrise Gold, which happens to be the one sent to me for testing. It’s got a lovely shimmery look to it, with a subtle gold color that looks luxurious but, importantly, not overly garish.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Display

• Impressive brightness
• Strong resolution and refresh rate
• Features Magic Capsule

The Honor Magic 8 Pro has a formidable 6.7-inch 1256 x 2808 OLED panel with HDR support that's capable of reaching a blinding 6,000 nits brightness. Cranked up to the max (which is 1,800 nits in non-HDR content), it remains fully visible in even the harshest sunlight.

The 120Hz refresh rate is silky smooth and ensures that scrolling social media and system menus looks and feels great.

Some might not appreciate the rounded corners or subtle curve along the edge of the phone’s display, but I find that it's lovely under the fingers.

At the top of the screen, you'll find a small island with the front camera and 3D depth camera. You can use this for 3D face recognition, though I was perfectly happy just sticking to the Magic 8 Pro’s impressively snappy under-screen fingerprint reader.

This island is also home to the Magic Capsule, Honor’s take on Apple’s Dynamic Island concept. It provides an easy way to see your current song, any active timers, whether you have a voice recording running, and similar system app functions.

The whole screen is covered by Honor's NanoCrystal Shield coating, which seems to hold up quite well. You're still going to end up with scratches if you accidentally stick the phone in a pocket next to your keys, but otherwise, you shouldn't expect to pick up many blemishes in general use. I also appreciate the fact that the phone comes fitted with a plastic screen protector right out of the box, too.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Cameras

• Great camera performance
• Especially good in challenging environments
• Aggressive image processing

The Honor Magic 8 Pro’s camera array is headlined by a 200MP telephoto shooter with 3.7x optical zoom and 100x digital zoom. It performs excellently on the whole, though photography purists will inevitably spot that images do tend to suffer from rather aggressive processing that sometimes leaves edges looking a little too smooth or even slightly smudged if you like to zoom in on captured photos.

Still, the results are always bright and cheerful with strong colors and loads of detail. The optical zoom is speedy and effective, and you can get some surprisingly good results from the 100x digital zoom, though you should expect lots of visible AI processing. 4K 120fps video capture is also supported on the Magic 8 Pro, which makes it feel decidedly flagship.

This telephoto shooter is joined by a 50MP ‘Ultra Night’ wide lens, which really comes into its own in challenging lighting conditions. Whether it’s at a bustling club or an eclectic show, the Magic 8 Pro manages to capture details impressively clearly. It deals with motion extremely well, too, helping you effortlessly achieve great shots.

The weakest part of the camera setup is easily the 50MP ultra-wide, which is decent but nothing special in this market segment.

You also get plenty of cool modes to play around with, including Harcourt-inspired portraits and an absolutely incredible Stage mode that really takes the camera performance to another level at concert events.

• Cameras score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Camera samples

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Performance

• Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers lightning-fast performance
• Flawless in daily use and gaming
• Some audio settings tweaks needed

What is there really to say about the performance of a phone outfitted with Snapdragon’s latest top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset? You can easily achieve a rock solid 60fps in demanding titles like Genshin Impact and Zenless Zone Zero, even with the graphics cranked all the way up to the maximum settings. The phone stays impressively cool under heavy load, too, and doesn’t suffer from too much battery drain.

For daily use, the performance of the Magic 8 Pro is simply flawless, whether you’re scrolling through social media apps, online shopping, or browsing the internet. The 12GB of RAM (plus a rather superfluous additional 12GB of ‘Honor RAM Turbo’) is more than enough to multitask effectively and ensures that you will rarely struggle to flick between multiple apps.

The base 512GB capacity is excellent too, and should be plenty for most users. I download a helluva lot of high-fidelity music and high-end games, and have barely scraped past the 250GB mark in months of use.

The speakers on the Magic 8 Pro are also surprisingly good. No, they’re intended to replace your standalone JBL speaker, but music that you blast is perfectly pleasant and has an impressive level of bass. Just make sure to enable the premium bass mode in settings and disable 3D surround sound, as the latter leaves music sounding tinny and weird.

Also, make sure to turn off both Honor Sound Spatial Audio and Honor Sound Stereo Studio under Headphone Sound Effects settings, otherwise your sound with headphones is going to feel noticeably off.

• Performance score: 5 / 5

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Software

• MagicOS 10 is easy to use
• Seven years of support promised
• AI features are hit-and-miss

As a former Apple user, I've always championed Honor's MagicOS 10 for its attractive design and ease of use. Yes, the brand is rather shameless in its copying of the Silicon Valley giant’s latest software innovations (just seen MagicOS 10’s very Liquid Glass-inspired transparent new look), but it's hard to argue with the results.

Menus are well laid out and look pretty, and there are plenty of customization options to play around with. All of the system apps look great and are brimming with functionality too, with the well-organized Notes app and transcribing Voice Recorder regular favorites when I'm working at tech events.

In the EU and some other markets, Honor has also promised seven years of software support. This is an excellent commitment and puts Honor up there with market leaders like Samsung.

I do have to admit that I expected a lot more from the phone's AI features, given the brand's focus on them in marketing. There are a few good inclusions here, like some effective AI photo editing tools and the ability to generate summaries or graphs in Notes, but some of the software feels half-baked.

The AI Settings Agent is a prime example of this. On paper, it's a chatbot that can adjust your phone settings by turning off Bluetooth, enabling your hotspot, and so on when asked by voice or text. A cool idea, but in practice, it's slow, buggy, and can't parse complex commands at all. Then there's the AI Memories app, which is simply baffling. It's just a bog average screenshot tool with the word “AI” slapped on it for no apparent reason.

There's also no getting around the fact that buyers outside of China are missing out on the YoYo Agent, Honor's agentic AI assistant. Instead, you get Gemini built-in which is much less exciting.

• Software score: 4 / 5

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Battery

• 7,100mAh silicon-carbon, or 6,270mAh in the EU
• Easily powers through multiple days of use
• 100W wired charging, 80W wireless charging

Honor has always delivered phones with superb battery life, and the Honor Magic 8 Pro is no exception. As I mentioned previously, the model I tested sports a 7,100mAh silicon-carbon battery, though buyers in the EU will have a slightly smaller 6,270mAh model.

It comfortably lasts a full day of use and then some, and I’m a particularly frequent phone user who’s always checking social media and blasting music through my headphones.

With minimal use, you could easily squeeze multiple days out of a single charge, especially if you turn on the battery saver mode. The phone supports blazing-fast 100W wired charging, plus staggering 80W wireless charging, provided you use Honor’s own peripherals.

In terms of the competition, the Magic 8 Pro is comparable to the iPhone 17 Pro Max and Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, though it offers faster wired charging than both of those phones. The OnePlus 15, meanwhile, remains the overall battery life champion — but the Honor runs it close.

• Battery score: 4.5 / 5

Should you buy the Honor Magic 8 Pro?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Honor Magic 8 Pro review: Also consider

Not so keen on the Honor Magic 8 Pro? Stack it up against these compelling alternatives.

How I tested the Honor Magic 8 Pro

• Tested for multiple months
• Used as a daily driver
• Compared to other phones

I tested the Honor Magic 8 Pro over a period of multiple months, with Honor providing the phone a few weeks before its official launch back in October 2025.

It’s been my daily driver for that entire time, used for hours every week, and thoroughly compared with my hands-on testing of other phones from Honor in addition to top Android alternatives. Throughout my testing time, I was careful to evaluate the phone’s performance in a wide range of apps, including top games, social media applications, and more.

Read more about how we test

First tested March 2026

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro: Two-minute review

The Sivga Robin SV021 Pro are some primo-looking over-ears, designed to compete quite handily in a febrile market of Middleweight Listener Headphones That Tend To Feature Some Kind Of Wood In Their Construction. True to their mission, everything about the SV021 Pro is, at the very least, good — if not great — albeit with some caveats.

I went from absolutely loving them to pretty assuredly ‘meh’-ing them, and back again, multiple times during the course of my review. Even now, I don’t quite know what to make of them. They look the part, but sometimes feel a bit flimsy; they’re extremely comfortable, but might not fit smaller heads as well as mine; they sound great with respect to mids and highs, but the bass is off-kilter to the point that a quite-good soundstage is often choked. Every action, an opposite reaction (if not equal, per se).

Through all that, and on average, they quietly and not-so-surprisingly get decently strong grades – all the way to getting a good spot at the local polytechnic, and a dependable job with a reputable multinational firm. A win by technicality. A VAR victory.

What does this mean? That I’ve probably been a bit mean about them; that they’re pretty good, both in general and for the price. I think? But among the best wired headphones on the market? I'm not sure.

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro review: Price and release date

• Released February 2026
• $179 / £179 / approx. AUS $339

Sivga is a Chinese hi-fi brand, one which has been carving a space for itself in the wearable audio world since 2016. It sits pretty within a (relatively) new coterie of of industry-disrupting Chinese audio brands, leveraging experience and regional manufacturing capabilities to undercut a lot of the big names.

Indeed, Sivga has clearly taken aim at a handful of key operators in the headphones space, at least with its latest tranche of wood-plated objet d’audio. They seem pointed to the general space otherwise occupied by such listener-chic over-ears as the Meze Audio 99 Classics — and designed to undercut them quite handily.

The Sivga Robin SV021 Pro, are a successor set of closed-back over-ear headphones, improving on the OG SV021s with an smooth redesign and some quietly upgraded innards. They retail at $179 / £179 / AU$339 (approx.), making them some of the cheaper wood-flecked headphones available on the market, save for some tight competition from compatriot hi-fi disruptors like FiiO.

That’s a hotly contested price range for headphones more generally, but not so much for this new breed of bougie-aesthetic, headphones-as-statement home-listening accoutrements — headphones designed to be thought of differently.

So, do the Sivga Robin SV021 Pro compete?

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro review: Specs

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro review: Features

• Fetching wood-backed ear cups
• 45-ohm impedance
• 50mm aluminum-diaphragm dynamic driver

The Sivga Robin SV021 Pro are a pair of passive, closed-back over-ear headphones and, hence, there’s not much to say on the features front. They do one thing, and one thing only: receive sound from your amplified sound source of choice.

How it does that, though, may be of note. The Robins are equipped with 50mm dynamic drivers, utilizing an aluminum composite diaphragm that gives them a sort-of trademark upper-register solidity. These are powerful performers with respect to high mids and treble, as we’re about to discover.

The frequency range remains the same as the OG SV021, at a relatively unremarkable 20Hz - 20kHz. That said, the new driver design yields a slightly higher impedance of 45 ohms. By asking for a just a little bit more juice, the Pros give a little more richness in return.

Each ear cup is separately addressed by a 3.5mm TS connector; the SV021 Pro ship with a braided dual 3.5mm TS to 3.5mm TRS cable, terminated with some very suave-looking matte-aluminum connectors. They look the part, and they certainly don’t get in the way sonically.

The bigger USP here, really, is the visual design, more on which shortly. For now, though, the SV021 Pro come in two distinct colorways — beechwood and zebrawood. The former features bright wood earcups with silvery hardware and Wes-Anderson-chic tan fabrics, while the latter pairs a streaky walnut-esque wood finished with smoky metals and executive-chic black fabrics.

Both come with the requisite cable, a 3.5mm - 6.35mm adapter, and a nice hemp pouch to keep them in. That being said, I don’t think the bag would do much to protect them from the rigors of public transport, nor do I think these headphones are particularly travel-friendly in general.

Ultimately, there’s not much to complain about. Audiophiles might be upset at the lack of potential for balanced outputs, and I might be upset at the somewhat-hamstrung frequency range on offer, but everything else points to an above-average performer at a below-average price point, as far as passive headphones go.

• Features score: 4 / 5

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro review: Sound quality

• Tight, clear treatment of mids and highs
• Immersive soundstage
• Irrepressible and unfocused low-end representation

The SV021 Pros are, put simply, a mixed bag. There’s a great deal of good here, from a decently spacious soundstage to a general, non-fatiguing brightness in their representation, which lends even more to that soundstage.

In fact, it’s the Sivga SV021 Pro’s handling of high-end that sets it apart. Something like Pile’s Blood, a minimalist guitar-and-ambience ode to agnosticism, sounds as excitingly tactile, brittle and frail as it should. There’s an airy sheen here, thanks to which voices sound absolutely phenomenal.

Mitski’s latest album Nothing’s About To Happen To Me was on heavy rotation in my final few days' reviewing these headphones, both at its Hi-Res 24-bit/96kHz best on Qobuz and at its analog best on vinyl. It was an absolute joy to scrutinize through the SV021 Pro, if only for giving a little more space to Mitski’s satin-silk vocal timbre. I’ll Change For You is every bit the tear-jerking ballad it was written to be, vocal front, center and soaring. Where’s My Phone? simply has 'the juice'.

There’s a delightful tightness to transients, tissy hi-hats and high-tuned snares alike. Reedy instruments benefit from both that air and tactility, as do soft-played pianos — all of which speaks to a slightly more even-handed frequency response than the sharp V-shaped profile of the OG SV021s. There is still some prominent V-ing going on here, though, as demonstrated by the double-edged sword that is the SV021 Pros’ handling of bass.

It’s refreshing to hear a set of headphones with a supple low midrange; it lends gravitas to crooners like Mitski, and gives a lot of welcome energy to the rockier stuff. Despite the brighter sound profile, listening to Queens of the Stone Age’s Songs for the Deaf, revealed no ‘lack’ in heft. In fact, the transient response gives a little more grit to the brighter guitars of No One Knows, and some gratifying growl to the bass.

Unfortunately, the low end is as much a problem as a presence. I’d go as far as to say that the SV021 Pro overcompensate. When injecting them with any amount of audio-volume welly, the bass builds into a bulging mess of directionless energy.

Something as delicate as Mitski’s Dead Women, a soft-sold Trojan horse of rich and unsettling bassy weight, is run a little roughshod by the Robins; subby energy quickly becomes overwhelming, choking the dynamics and ultimately feeling to cramp the soundstage with pillows. Feed the Robins a little too much in the way of sub, and you may even catch some distortion.

That said, they are capable of handling more curated instances of bass fairly well. Mitski’s I’ll Change For You has a thick-thumping kick and a woolly electric bass, which benefit greatly from that upward EQ tilt towards the lower reaches.

All told, I don’t think I’ve had a more confusing experience evaluating a set of headphones. There’s a lot to love, and to love a great deal, about the SV021 Pros’ upper register definition and even-handedness; about their transient reproduction; about how all this comes together without creating a fatiguing listening experience. And yet, there’s a big bassy elephant in the room, that loves to stand right in your peripheries making things feel awkward and a bit small, actually.

For their sins, the SV021 Pro are quite an enjoyable listen. Whether it’s the kind of balanced, sensitive listen their wood-backed home-listener aesthetic is selling, I’m not quite as sold.

• Sound quality score: 4 / 5

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro review: Design

• Exceedingly comfortable to wear
• Easy-to-like aesthetics
• A bit rattly at times

As far as aesthetics go, the SV021 Pro are absolutely a winner. My review headphones were the beechwood variant, bearing bright earcups and tan fabrics in the way of a tight velour and a soft pleather – all mounted in matte aluminum hardware. The fabrics suit my tastes to the ground, and the wider look of the headphones is great (if a little school-cafeteria-furniture-y, in certain lights).

They are a little lighter in weight than they look, which I initially interpreted to be a not-so-good thing, but which actually turned out to be a Very Good Thing Indeed. Particularly so for the fact that they’re so dang comfortable to wear.

The earcup cushions are pillowy as anything, and that soft velour fabric around your head is supremely soft. The pleather that furnishes the inside and outside of each cup is surprisingly soft, too. The only reason for which I ever felt even slight discomfort wearing them was for their closed-back nature – after a while in any set of closed-backs, you can expect your ears to get a little claustro.

There’s a ratchet system attaching each earcup to the headband, by which height is set. The system is reassuringly secure, if a little bit rattly when not on your bonce. I am the recipient of a surprisingly small head, and the very lowest setting for each ear cup is about perfect for me; others with smaller heads may encounter some difficulties.

Another minor complaint comes from the placement of the output terminals on each earcup — at the bottom, facing straight down — which isn’t great in practice. There’s a great deal of sound transferred to the cups through the cord, so you’re practically guaranteed to hear the consequences of those braided cables rubbing on your shoulders whether you stand or sit.

• Design score: 4.5 / 5

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro review: Value

• Good price for their niche
• Great value, comfort-wise
• Hard to recommend for active listeners

I wasn’t sure where I’d fall on the Sivga Robin SV021 Pro, and, writing this up now, I’m still not. Ultimately, they’re decent. Initially, they didn’t blow me away, but with time I found real magic in certain areas. Yet, for each parcel of magic, I found a bit of a nuisance counterargument. Broadly, they certainly don’t fall short of what they’re promising.

They strike me as a less-expensive alternative to something like the Meze Audio 99 Classics; a budget-conscious option for more-than-serviceable over-ear hi-fi, that doesn’t also do away with any sense of rarefied visual design by virtue of price. A distinguished pair of listener headphones for the entry level.

In this sense, the SV021 Pro succeed. For the money, you get a highly dependable set of headphones that look the part, are remarkably easy to wear for long stretches, and don’t give you much reason to complain while you’re wearing them — provided you don’t push them too hard. If you like the look of them and like the look of that price point, you’re probably going to like them a lot.

But. If you’re the kind of person that generally desires a little ‘more’ from passive headphones like these, in any sense of the term, you might be left wanting. Their EQ balance and low-end handling leaves a little to be desired, and, smart as the design is, there are a few missed opportunities from a quality-of-life standpoint. In particular, the transmission of vibrations through the cable, and the solidity of the ear cups as they attach to the headband.

Maybe I’ve been spoiled by other iterations of this ‘hygge’ headphone style, and maybe I’ve been a bit of a curmudgeon in the process of reviewing these, ultimately, extremely serviceable over-ears. Their comfort and quality, overall, already go some way to justifying that asking price. Everything else, for me, is just a bit of a juggle.

• Value score: 3.5 / 5

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro review: Should you buy them?

Buy them if...

Don't buy them if...

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro review: Also consider

Sivga Robin SV021 Pro review: How I tested

• Tested for 4 weeks
• Used at home, through a Volt 4 audio interface and Vestax mixer/amp
• Predominantly tested using Qobuz and vinyl records

Much of my testing took place in my attic studio, where I listened primarily to lossless audio using the streaming service Qobuz, as well as audio from my digital library. This was through a Universal Audio Volt 4 audio interface, and also through the headphone output from a pair of Edifier MR5 monitor speakers.

I also spent a little time listening to vinyl records, played on a Vestax PDX-D3 turntable through the headphone output of a Vestax PCV-275 mixer.

• First reviewed: April 2026
• Read more about how we test

CorelDRAW has long been one of our favorite creative apps, and it's especially notable that unlike so many similar software services, it's still - even in 2026 - offering a one-time fee instead of being subscription-only (although that is available too).

The tools here blend together graphic design software, drawing tools, and even a photo editor into a well-rounded alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

Well, time waits for no successful software package. It's got a new iteration and a bunch of new features for the new year, so, I’ve come to check out what’s changed in Corel’s flagship bundle of applications since I last explored it last year.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2026: Pricing & plans

• One-time fee option
• Monthly and annual subscriptions also available
• Works across PC and Mac

The CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2026 is available to download or try free for 15 days by clicking here.

When it comes to prices, the trend is increasingly moving towards renting your software, and here the monthly subscription cost is $22.42 / £26.58, or $269 / £319 for the year. This allows you to take advantage of any future major updates, but as always, once you stop paying, you have nothing to show for it.

Which is why I’m glad they also offer the option to actually purchase the software, for a one-time fee of $549 / £659, which is about two years’ worth of rental and you own it for good.

On top of that, Corel allows you to have a 15-day trial of their software to make sure it’s exactly what you’re after. The cherry on top? It’s compatible with Windows and Macs.

I found the specs are quite generous. For instance, PCs need Windows 10 or 11, at least an Intel Core i3 processor, or an AMD Ryzen 3, while Macs have to run Monterey (version 12) or above, and either be powered by an Intel multiprocessor or any of Apple’s own CPUs (M1 or better).

When it comes to RAM and storage space, you should never base your decision on a manufacturer’s minimum requirements, especially for a graphics application. Cram your computer with as much RAM as you can afford - you’ll never regret it.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2026: The suite

• A portfolio of applications including DRAW for vector and page layout work, and PHOTO-PAINT for pixel manipulation
• Frustratingly, Macs don’t have access to CAPTURE yet pay the same price as PC users

The main tool in this suite of apps lends its name to the suite itself: CorelDRAW. Its focus is on vector-based illustration and layout design, so if you think about it in Adobe terms, it’s a mix of Illustrator and InDesign.

On top of that, PowerTRACE is built inside CorelDRAW, which is an AI-based tool designed to improve image quality during the tracing process, for instance.

Next, is Corel PHOTO-PAINT, which is Corel’s Photoshop: pixel-based photo editing and digital painting tool.

There’s also the Corel Font Manager, which is software designed to help you manage and organise your fonts, kind of like Apple’s own Font Book.

And finally, there’s CAPTURE, which is a screen capture tool - although there’s a big caveat with that one: it’s only available for Windows users. Mac users are left out in the cold.

Still, Apple does have built-in ways to take screenshots and recordings of their screen, so it’s not that big a loss. However, paying the same price and not getting all the same tools as PC users is somewhat of a disappointment.

That’s quite a lot to include in a single suite. With it, you should have all the tools you need to create any kind of graphics work. There is however one additional tool I should briefly mention…

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2026: CorelDRAW Go & Web

• Corel provides two services to work online from a web browser:
• CorelDRAW Go is for beginners and intermediates
• CorelDRAW Web for advanced users, and included in the Suite’s subscription

CorelDRAW Go is a very clever service: it allows you to work in CorelDRAW inside a web browser. It’s like you’re drawing with Corel...on the go (get it?).

The service is truly excellent and it’s amazing to think how far we’ve come in terms of online technology, that you can create art inside a webpage and forget the tools you’re using aren’t actually installed on your machine. This means you can use it from any computer, just about anywhere. Just login to your account and you’re good to go.

It’s definitely worth checking out, especially since, just like the main suite, Corel offers you a free 15-day trial. The service itself would cost you $10 a month or $100 for the year. Think of it more as an entry level beginner’s design tool.

The reason I thought I’d mention it, is to casually highlight an advantage to the Suite’s subscription package.

No, CorelDRAW Go isn’t included, but CorelDRAW Web is. Web comes with more advanced tools, including vector illustration and page layout design - all from a web page.

Crazy, right? Companies will do anything to get you to subscribe to their services, including creating really impressive tools, like CorelDRAW Go, and especially CorelDRAW Web.

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2026: What’s new

• Improved interface
• New AI tools like background removal and generative AI art

As you’d expect, the CorelDRAW Suite comes with a mighty large collection of tools, and if you’d like an idea of what software such as DRAW and PHOTO-PAINT are like to work with, I’d recommend you check out my review of the Suite’s previous version, since it’s still relevant today, as I’ll be focussing the rest of this current review on what’s new in 2026.

Right out the gate, you’ll notice the interface has been upgraded. The look feels cleaner, with more condensed icons and menus, that allow more tools to be seen in a smaller footprint. The effect can be subtle in parts, but you definitely end up having more screen real-estate for your artwork, which is a very positive thing.

The blurb states that performance has been improved compared to previous versions, but that can be a very subjective thing, as performance greatly depends on your computer’s own specs. Personally, I didn’t notice much difference, but I have a fairly beefy machine. If you’ve got a powerful processor and oodles of RAM, you should be able to power through any project with CorelDRAW Suite 2026 with ease.

But the biggest draw is all the AI tools they’re peppering throughout the interface. Now I know there can be a lot of issues surrounding AI, and Corel is aware of that too. In fact, their spiel is that their AI tools focus more on empowering the artist rather than replacing them, and for some tools, I can certainly see that. Take ‘Remove Background’ as an example. In one word, the results are impressive.

It does something that was totally possible to do manually, but depending on the complexity of the background, such a process could take minutes to hours to achieve. Here, in seconds, the background disappears, leaving you with the foreground object, with clean sharp edges. That’s certainly empowering, and the results are definitely on par with its competitors, such as Adobe Photoshop and Pixelmator Pro.

What’s more contentious is ‘Generative AI’, and like it or not, it’s now available directly from within Corel’s software interface, with its own dedicated button, top right of the window. Through it, you get to either let the software create an image for you, or remix an existing one.

What I really like was that you’re given a choice of which generative algorithm you’d like to use; ‘Nano Banana’ is the one selected by default, and it produces excellent results for not too many credits (more on those in a bit), but you’ve got the option of six other algorithms for you to try out.

The same goes for one of 6 styles on offer, from photorealistic, to line art, 3D render and pop art, and you can even control the colour palette, if that’s your thing. As always, there’s a text prompt field where your own creativity gets slotted in, but even that can be taken care of by an algorithm if you’re stuck with writer’s block: simply click on the ‘inspire me’ button, and the interface will also create a prompt for you.

I particularly liked the Remix option. I took the image this AI created for me, fed it into Remix and asked it to turn the autumn setting into a summer one, and the results was astonishing. The exact same image, from the exact same angle, nothing’s changed, except it’s now a beautiful sunny day. Turn the scenery to winter, and the outcome was just as good.

Now there’s no doubt that all of this is impressive, and the results are astonishing, but how does a machine creating an image for you from nothing equate to empowering the artist, as no artist was actually involved in that particular ‘creation’ process?

CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2026: AI costs

• You get some credits when you purchase the software
• Monthly credits available when subscribing but don't roll-over
• Extra credits can be bought

It’s obvious a lot of fun can be had with generative AI, but you need to be aware that each image will cost you. Nano Banana eats 16 credits a pop. The most expensive algorithm is Nano Banana Pro, with 86 credits per image.

If you subscribe to the Suite, you get to play with 2,000 credits each month. Those who purchase the software outright, only get 2,000 credits in total (another push to incentivise the subscription model).

Now if you love generative AI, you have other purchase options open to you, starting at $20 for 2,000 credits, to $200 for 35,000. There’s even another subscription model, costing you $100 a year to get 2,500 each month, or $10 a month for 2,000.

There’s no doubt the subscription model is yet again, better value. Although there is a drawback: the credits you purchase last forever, those you rent, reset on the first of each month (so make sure you don’t start your agreement on the 30th!)

Should I buy CorelDRAW Graphics Suite 2026

Buy it if...

If you’re looking for a powerful image editor, vector illustrator and page layout suite, with numerous tools that are easy to learn and use, and include generous lashings of AI.

Don't buy it if...

You’re not a fan that most of the new features are AI-based, and you feel scared moving away from the Adobe hegemony.

Poco X8 Pro Max two-minute review

It may not be the best Android phone ever made, but if you need a certain type of mobile, the Poco X8 Pro Max might just end up being the best phone you can buy.

This new Android-powered device from Xiaomi’s mid-range sub-brand is the first of its family to bear the iPhone-copying ‘Pro Max’ suffix — an odd decision, since there’s no non-Pro model at the time of writing, but for all intents and purposes, this is the top-end Poco phone of 2026.

While most ‘Pro Max’ or ‘Ultra’ phones opt for flashy features and high prices, Poco goes the other way. The X8 Pro Max is possibly the ultimate workhorse smartphone, designed not for fancy gimmicks you play with once and forget about, but to be a handset you can use every day for years without worry.

Case in point: it has one of the biggest batteries you'll find in a smartphone. Its 8,500mAh power pack is absolutely huge, and it allows the Poco to last for literal days without needing to be recharged. 'Two-day battery life’ is a common claim you hear from Apple and Samsung, with dubious accuracy, but in the Poco, it’s a reality.

I imagine light phone users could even get three days' use out of the X8 Pro Max, and when you do run low, its fast charging capabilities will get you back on the move in minutes. I comfortably kept to a two-day routine, but I was using the Poco intensively to review it, and you (hopefully) won't use your device as much as me.

This is no one-trick pony either. The charging speed is equally impressive, hitting 100W, which means you can fill that massive power pack up in a reasonable time (about 45 minutes, depending on your charger). Its processor and display are both pretty great for the price, too, and I used the phone for gaming without issue.

The Poco X8 Pro Max isn’t a phone for everyone. Its cameras are fine for day-to-day use but aren’t designed for photographers, and the software isn’t as refined as on some alternatives. The addition of two LED ring lights around the camera lenses is a neat addition on paper, but they don't amount to much in practice.

But when you consider that this is a fairly affordable phone, it’s easy to forgive a few rough edges. The X8 Pro Max is a mid-range mobile that’s easy to pick up without worrying too much about the up-front cost, and it’ll last you for absolutely ages, so you won’t need to think about replacing it for many years.

Poco X8 Pro Max review: price and availability

• Released on March 17, 2026
• 256GB storage: $469 / £469 (about AU$940)
• 512GB storage: $519 / £519 (about AU$1,040)

The Poco X8 Pro Max was announced alongside its non-Max equivalent, the Poco X8 Pro, on March 17, 2026, and at the time of writing, there's no non-Pro entry in the lineup. We’ll wait and see, though.

The handset starts at $469 / £469 (about AU$940, but Xiaomi doesn’t sell its Poco phones in Australia). Despite the presence of a USD cost, Xiaomi phones aren’t technically available in the US, and this is just the official reference price for the device. You can still ship the X8 Pro Max to the US, but it'll incur additional costs, and you might find support spotty.

That base model has 12GB RAM and 256GB storage, but for an extra $50 / £50 (about AU$100) you can double the latter capacity to 512GB storage. If you're buying this as a power-hungry work phone, that's not much money for a lot more storage.

Poco X8 Pro Max review: specs

Poco X8 Pro Max review: design

• Average-looking Android in black, blue or white
• Not too thick, but a little heavy
• Ring lights around camera

The Poco X8 Pro Max isn't as chunky as you'd expect for a phone harboring a veritable power bank under its skin. It measures 162.9 x 77.9 x 82.mm, which is about average for a phone of its ilk, and it only tips the scales a little more than average at 218g.

That weight likely comes from the glass front and back, and the aluminum frame, more than anything. The phone is IP68-rated, so it's well-protected against dust and immersion in water, though in some regions you'll get an additional IP69K rating. This isn't the case with the UK model.

At the end of the day, the X8 Pro Max is not an especially novel-looking phone. The model I tested, the white one, has a barely-perceptible vertical-stripe pattern on the back, but beyond that, it looks like your average Android. I presume the other models, which come in blue and black, are the same.

Look hard enough, and you'll find two LED rings; one surrounding each camera bump. These can be toggled to light up under specific circumstances: for an incoming call, to double as a camera app timer, or when music is playing. Honestly, though, I found these lights quite situational, and I barely saw them in action during my testing.

The power button and volume rocker, both on the right edge, were within reach of my thumb when I was using the handset one-handed, but that may not be true for smaller-handed users. The camera bump doesn't stick out too much, so the phone could be placed almost flush on surfaces. That's not a given these days.

• Design score: 4 / 5

Poco X8 Pro Max review: display

• 6.83 inches, 1280 x 2772 resolution
• 120Hz refresh rate, 3,500 nits max brightness
• AMOLED with 68 billion colors

The Poco X8 Pro Max has a sizeable 6.83-inch screen, like many other mid-priced Android phones on the market right now.

The rest of its display specs are in line with the competition too: you get a 1280 x 2772 resolution, a 120Hz refresh rate, 3,500 nits of max brightness, and support for HDR10+.

Thanks to its AMOLED panel and support for up to 68 billion colors, the phone has a little bit of extra juice for watching movies or TV shows. This technology reduces the amount of banding you see (no more weird stripey sunrises in your shows!), and it combines well with the Dolby Atmos support also offered by the phone.

• Display score: 4 / 5

Poco X8 Pro Max review: software

• Android 16 with HyperOS 3
• Lots of bloatware to delete
• Four years of OS updates

The perpetual problem of Xiaomi's cheaper phones is that they always come pre-loaded with loads of bloatware; random games, third-party apps, and the company's own apps result in your main menu being cluttered before you've even started using the device.

You can delete them, but it's a chore to do so. You essentially have to claw your way back to the basic interface, which is Android 16 with Xiaomi's HyperOS 3 laid over the top.

To the same degree as most Chinese-made OSes, you get out of HyperOS what you put in; it doesn't have distinctive system-wide theme controls like One UI or stock Android, and instead tasks you with building your own interface with controls over the app icons, font, wallpaper, and so on.

As someone who doesn't like the overbearing system-wide themes of rivals, I'm a fan of Poco's approach, but it's not for everyone. If you want a simple and cohesive 'look', this phone isn't for you (unless you're willing to play around with its settings).

Poco doesn't make a huge song and dance about the AI features available in HyperOS, probably recognizing that consumers are a little tired of the subject at this point, but there are a few hidden away nonetheless: Circle to Search, Speech Recognition, and wallpaper generation are all here, and both Gemini and Copilot come pre-installed.

In terms of longevity, you'll get four years of operating system updates and six years of security fixes with the Poco X8 Pro Max. That's not the longest update commitment around, but it's a lot better than two or three years offered by some mid-range Android phone manufacturers.

• Software score: 3 / 5

Poco X8 Pro Max review: cameras

• 50MP main, 8MP ultra-wide, and 20MP front cameras
• Pictures are detailed but not optimized
• A few handy video features

Poco has never made a serious camera phone, and the X8 Pro Max doesn't change that fact. The phone has the same two-part lens array as basically every other Poco of the past few years: there's a 50MP f/1.5 main camera and 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide, with a 20MP f/2.2 camera on the front to round out the party.

It’s a tried-and-tested combo for budget phones: these lenses are great for taking pictures of pets, scanning documents, and capturing holiday shots, which is what most casual users will be using them for anyway.

But people who take their photography seriously will want to opt for an alternative device with a telephoto lens or bespoke camera modes.

As you can see from the camera samples below, snaps I took on the Poco are perfectly fine: the phone performs admirably in low-light conditions, and captured plenty of detail in various environments. The f/1.5 aperture on the main camera is a bit wider than we sometimes see in this category, and that probably explains why my pictures were nice and bright.

What differentiates this device from a bona fide camera phone, other than its lack of a telephoto lens, is its optimization capabilities (or lack thereof). Post-processing on the Poco X8 Pro Max is light-touch — the phone's software will make slight brightness and contrast adjustments, but that’s it. It doesn’t add vibrancy or color to pictures, which makes some of the photos below look a little duller than they otherwise would.

Video recording goes up to 4K at 60fps, and I was pleasantly surprised by how stable the recorded footage came out. A few other tools, like focus peaking and exposure 'zebra stripes', make the Poco X8 Pro Max a little more advanced for videography than I’ve come to expect from budget phones. However, there's no slow-mo, which I’d come to understand was a staple of phones at this price range.

• Camera score: 3.5 / 5

Poco X8 Pro Max camera samples

Poco X8 Pro Max review: performance and audio

• Solid Dimensity 9500s chipset + 12GB RAM
• Performs well in gaming, even if not top-end
• Stereo speakers or Bluetooth 6.0

If you want a solid, affordable phone for gaming, the Poco X8 Pro Max has you covered, as it’s one of the more powerful handsets you can buy without stretching your budget to the dizzy heights demanded by a top-end mobile.

The phone has a MediaTek Dimensity 9500s chipset, designed by MediaTek as a slightly stepped-down version of the brand’s flagship Dimensity 9500 processor (which itself is considered a step down from Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon range). That 9500s chipset is paired with 12GB RAM, whichever model you pick up.

Despite that 's' suffix, though, the Poco's Dimensity 9500s chipset proved an admirable performer in benchmark tests, even if it didn’t match up to the true top-end chipsets found in bespoke gaming phones. The phone's average Geekbench 5 multi-core score was 8603, while 3D Mark’s Wild Life Extreme scores hovered around the 6000 mark. For context, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, which I tested before, hit 7300.

What’s in 1300? Not much, because I found that the Poco X8 Pro Max could easily handle all the usual testing games I play: online shooters, PC strategy ports, and assorted indie titles. It could generally grapple with all the high-graphics options I threw at it, too, though sometimes it would find Ultra presets taxing. Still, titles loaded quickly and played smoothly, with none of the overheating issues that we often see on Snapdragon-loaded handsets.

For audio, you'll get a set of stereo speakers on the Poco X8 Pro Max, smartly positioned so you don't block them when holding the phone horizontally for gaming.

There's also Bluetooth 5.4 support for wireless headphones, but no 3.5mm jack for a cable connection.

• Performance score: 4 / 5

Poco X8 Pro Max review: battery life

• Massive 8,500mAh battery
• 2-3 days battery life, depending on use
• 100W charging

It’s taken us a while to get here, but battery life is, for me, the best part of the Poco X8 Pro Max. Xiaomi has packed the phone full of juice: its battery is 8,500mAh, one of the biggest I’ve seen on a consumer smartphone before. Apparently, some even regions get a 9,000mAh version, but in the UK, that model isn’t on sale.

Suffice to say, an enormous battery like this lasts absolutely ages on a single charge. I’m talking two straight days of average phone use, and you’ll still have something left over. I have no doubt that the Poco X8 Pro Max is the longest-lasting phone I’ve ever reviewed.

Exorcising charging from your daily routine isn’t the only benefit of a huge battery like this. It ensures you can throw some gaming, video capture, or lots of screen time into your routine, without any kind of battery anxiety creeping in.

With such a big battery, fast charging seems almost unnecessary, but Poco has sweetened the deal with 100W wired powering. You’ll need to buy your own charger to hit this speed, though, as there’s a cable in the box but no wall plug.

With this charging speed, you can power the phone up from empty to full in just under 50 minutes. That doesn’t sound quick, but bear in mind the power pack is huge. You can also use the Poco as a power bank to charge up other devices, with 27W reverse wired charging. This phone is a battery champion.

• Battery score: 5 / 5

Poco X8 Pro Max review: value

I've never used a Poco smartphone that didn't offer value for money in some way, and that streak remains unbroken with the X8 Pro Max.

The phone offers an unparalleled experience if you need something reliable that'll last you for ages without charging. Sure, it doesn't offer flashy features or advanced cameras, but it's trying to be the panacea for people who just want a reliable mobile.

It's also built to last better than most flagships, ensuring you won't need to buy a replacement phone every other year.

• Value score: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Poco X8 Pro Max?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Poco X8 Pro Max review: Also consider

Not quite sold on this budget battery blower? Here are a few similarly-priced alternatives which are also worth your consideration.

How I tested the Poco X8 Pro Max

• Review test period = 3 weeks
• Testing included = Everyday usage, including web browsing, social media, photography, video calling, gaming, streaming video, music playback
• Tools used = Geekbench 6, 3D Mark, native Android stats

I used the Poco X8 Pro Max for roughly three weeks before writing this review, and tested it alongside the non-Max version of the phone, which I was also sent.

Part of testing was lab-based: I used benchmark apps like Geekbench and 3D Mark, conducted battery tests, and timed it charging. The rest of my testing was experience-based: I used the Poco for normal smartphone purposes, gaming, and taking photos.

I've been reviewing smartphones for TechRadar for seven years, and in that time have tested countless mobiles from a variety of brands and price points. These include past Poco and Xiaomi devices, and other battery-focused phones.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed March 2026