Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2017 i T3

Are TVs now so massive, so pristine and so perfect that they’re too good for mere humans? lthough I wouldn’t claim to know a lot about TVs, I do like being shown new ones, and nodding sagely while someone yaks on about ‘bezels’, ‘HDR’ and ‘Super OLED Ultra Mega Hi Definition-o-matic’. Well, it gets me out of the office. A I do feel, however, like the current generation of goggle-boxes is reaching some kind of pinnacle of frenzied tech willy-waving. Are they now so massive, so pristine and so perfect that they’re too good for us mere humans? TVs are nearly always sold on their picture quality being ‘realistic’. But OLED 4K, at least as presented in shops and at trade shows, is not realistic at all. It’s so ultra-vivid…

1 Apple iPhone 7 Plus (Product) Red Take home this luscious edition of the 7 Plus and enjoy its Retina HD, multi-touch 5.5-inch display and 12MP camera. You’ll also be helping The Global Fund, which seeks to cure HIV, AIDS and malaria. £819, apple.com/uk Mofily YoCam Waterproof and dustresistant, the two-ounce YoCam can be clipped to your clothing, enabling you to record 2.7K/30fps high-definition video hands-free. There’s a range of modes and features, too, include burst shot, slow motion and time lapse. $199.99 (£163.73), getyocam.com Polar H10 Track your heart rate in the pool, on the track and at the gym with Polar’s new waterproof, chest-worn sensor. Compatible with Polar’s health and fitness app, its accurate feedback helps you train harder. £76.50, polar.com/en Peli Storm iM2050 Keep your GoPro safe…

01 Artisan Disc Floor La mp Medium Embrace the Industrial trend by illuminating your home with one of these warm-hued lamps fashioned with nickel plated iron from artisan makers in India. A larger version costs £550. £375, lombok.co.uk 02 Coconut Pa lm Tree Add an exotic feel to your conservatory, patio or balcony with this stunning Coconut Palm Tree, standing over eight-foot tall and ready for housing in your own stylish planter. £299, sweetpeaandwillow.com 03 Bicycle Wheel Clock Save the Earth from more landfill with an upcycled bicycle tyre masquerading as a large, Quartz movement wall clock. Choose a red clock hand for a splash of colour. £130.68, treadandpedals.com.au 04 Micro Plane Ma ster Series Cook up a storm with Micro Plane’s new series of ultra-sharp stainless steel graters. Choose…

e’re a nation obsessed with our homes. It’s no wonder we’re so keen to build our own personal castles – we’ve been doing it for thousands of years – but instead of a moat and high walls, we’re turning to tech to make our homes safer and more secure. W Which is why we’re buying smart security cameras by the bucketload. When people think of creating a smart home, improved protection against unwanted miscreants is one of the biggest reasons to do so. These CCTV-like cameras can capture video and audio, inside or outside your home, and the real beauty here is that you can look through the eyes of your camera remotely, in real time, right from your smartphone. So, if you’re not at home, you can check up…

1 Samsung Gear VR Grab yourself a Samsung Gear VR and experience the incredible world of virtual reality. The Gear VR gives you onheadset controls and a head strap so you don’t have to hold it with your hands. £79.99, samsung.com 2Samsung Galaxy S8 Keyboard Cover If you were a fan of BlackBerry handsets back in the day, this cover for the S8 will likely appeal. It gives you a full QWERTY keyboard on your device and proper rear protection, while also keeping a sizable chunk of the screen on display. £49, shop.samsung.com 3samsung Fast Charging Wireless Stand Plugging in your phone to charge is old news. Wireless charging is the future, and this pad will not only charge your S8 without have to plug the phone in - it’ll…

he America’s Cup was started in 1851 by Great Britain, making it the oldest trophy in international sport, and we’ve not won it back since. Now, though, GB’s team BAR – run by a former McLaren F1 boss and skippered by Olympic gold medallist Sir Ben Ainslie – has teamed up with Land Rover to create the most advanced cup boat ever made. It’s so fast it can fly, thanks to hydrofoils, and has so much aerodynamic power it can boil the water where it cuts through the sea. Until race day in May, the boat is top secret, but we’ve got some details on just how humans can take to the air using wind power alone, and how Great Britain plans to do it best in the waters off…

01 POCKET EARTH OFFLINE MAPS & TRAVEL GUIDES A map app and travel guide rolled into one, with no need for internet! Free, App Store, Google Play 02 WILD EDIBLES FORAGE A guide that helps you identify, prepare, and cultivate over 250 plants. You can filter by region and season, and more. £5.99, App Store, Google Play 03 iTRACK WILDLIFE Identify local animals without having to hire a professional tracker. The app is packed with details, track images, and skulls of more than 70 species. £13.49, App Store, Google Play 04 WEATHER Is it gonna rain where you’re going? This app includes all the basics of weather monitoring, as well as hyper-local alerts for changing conditions, and more. Free, App Store, Google Play 05 Ofcom mo bile and Broad band…

ou don’t always have to spend big money to get something you’ll love to bits. That’s why we’ve put together a list of our favourite products for £100 and under. Some of our chosen gadgets also happen to be the best things you can get in Y their particular category, others are great-value alternatives to bigger ticket purchases, but all are brilliant products we’d be happy to use ourselves. So next time you get paid and there’s spare cash burning a hole in your trouser pocket, make sure you consult T3’s £100 Hotlist! THE SUPER SIX 01 Neff Stripe Watch neffheadwear.com PRICE Around £40 A product of the US surfwear brand rather than the UK appliance-maker, the Stripe makes a loud statement on your wrist with a unique look that…

Matt Bolton Editor Matt’s been testing a bunch of different headphones for his BeatsX review (p105) and travel feature (p83), so the team’s had blissful quiet from him this issue. Alas, it’s back to normal now… Jo Gulliver Sen ior Art editor Jo went on location for our Man vs. Tech photoshoot and managed to avoid losing any major body parts standing near an amateur-driven 70mph quadcopter. Some Matrixlevel dodging was required. Andrew Westbrook Ope rat ions editor Movie-lover Andy has been eagerly awaiting the results of our soundbar test (p106) to upgrade his TV setup. He says you can never truly appreciate The Love Guru without the right speakers. Nick Odantzis DEPUTY Editor Nick outfitted himself with a new smart heating system (p34) and home security cameras (p56). Now…

£200, thenorthface.co.uk Monsoon chic British summertime is an unpredictable beast, making clothing choices difficult. But now you can tackle the elements head-on, without sacrificing style, courtesy of The North Face Apex Flex GTX. An innovative design, the jacket pairs the functionality of a premium, 100 percent water- and windproof shell with the versatility, warmth and casual styling of a hoody. In other words, this is a festival season must. Flex appeal The Apex Flex combines a Gore-Tex three layer outer shell with stretchy fabric for maximum protection without sacrificing flexibility, and a toasty inner section that keeps you warm whether you’re wearing multiple base layers or just a t-shirt. What’s more, taped seams and a polyurethane zip work to keep you bone dry, even if forecasters predict typically British summer…

the experts There’s nothing these lot don’t know about smart homes matt bolton T3’s editor and wireless home fanatic Matt is obsessed with all things TV and home streaming, as well as home monitoring, from temperature to weather to energy usage. NI CK OD ANT ZIS Paranoia has taken hold of deputy editor Nick, and therefore he’s become a smarthome security expert. He has no fewer than 11 connected cameras dotted around his house. CLAIRE DAVIES Sleep expert Claire knows all about wellbeing tech and keeping yourself healthy around the house. She also knows more than is normal about kitchen gadgets! DUNCAN BE LL Lifestyle editor Duncan is a connected home and multi-room audio expert, and can advise on everything from setting up your Sonos to getting Amazon Echo to…

Because we only feature products the T3 team would happily use ourselves, we end up discarding a significant number of options in each category before settling on a final shortlist to review. In this respect, T3 Select does exactly what it says on the tin, picking only the best of the best to test; the gear we know you’ll want to seriously consider purchasing. And that should mean an end to you having to undertake hours of painstaking research and product comparisons. You won’t see any duff products featured in our tests, but you will come away with clarity on which one is the best in its category or for a specific task: our awards badges (see below) ensure that everything T3 recommends is clearly highlighted on the page. It…

his iPad is the most exciting boring update to a product we’ve ever seen. It replaces the iPad Air 2 at the lower-price end of Apple’s 9.7-inch tablet range, and doesn’t include any new tricks, features we’ve never seen before, or anything like that. What it does is take T3’s number one tablet, make it a little bit faster, a little bit cheaper, and give it even better battery life. It’s more of the same, and when the same sits at the top of our Elite list, we’re good with that. T These upgrades come with a surprising downside: it’s thicker and heavier than the iPad Air 2. It’s pretty weird to see Apple add bulk to a product, but this iPad is the same 469g weight and 7.5mm thickness…

if you’re looking for the very best tech available today, you have definitely come to the right place. T3 Elite is the best gadget-buying guide you will ever encounter. To create it, we’ve ruthlessly filtered all the categories that count, to bring you rock-solid recommendations. We’ve selected a Super Six of elite gear for each of the categories listed below. If something’s not included, we don’t rate it – it’s that simple. Each Super Six is ranked in order, and the number-one product makes it into The Elite (p112), which is our pick of the 12 best products you can buy today. To make your next purchase as straightforward as possible, we’ve also included useful buying advice, and highlighted the hottest gear you can get for £100 and under (p121).…

That’s why our big feature (p44) this issue shows off a bunch of tech you might want to get into, but at different prices. We pick out the best tech at an entry-level price, then a higher price that mixes top tech quality with solid value, and then our high-end, no-limits choice. We want to make sure you can find something great and new, whatever your budget. But the key thing is that we still haven’t compromised on quality – we’re not suggesting things just because they’re cheap, but because they balance price and features really well. Of course, take a step up if you can and you’ll get something even better… Also this issue I took at look at great tech for travelling (p83), whether that’s for business or…

You never need to worry about blurry pictures or running out of storage again Clai re da vies the reader Elli Jackson iPhone 7 user Elli is planning a hiking trip and wants a versatile mobile photography setup to help her take better photos and video, and to keep them safe and her phone juiced. the expert Claire Davies T3’s associate editor Claire is an iPhone 7 fangirl. She’s tested lots of gadgets designed to boost the iPhone’s photographic clout and knows what works – starting with this lot… 01DJI Osmo Mo bile Silver Shaky pics and videos are the scourge of phone photographers, but thanks to the smooth three-axis gimbal of DJI’s Osmo Mobile you can add cinematic sheen to every moment. Download DJI’s Go app to shoot slick…

BLOWN AWAY 01 Melitt a Caffeo Barista TS As Twin Peaks fans will know, Dale is partial to a “damn fine cup of coffee”. We’d like to recommend a packet of Bourbons, but we’ll go with the Melitta Caffeo Barista TS. With looks to die for, plus Active Bean Monitoring (which informs you when you’re running low), Automatic Bean Select and 18 delicious drinks to choose from, this machine will have our hero salivating. £999, international.melitta.de/en boo king goo d 02 Roland R-05 Dale records his observations onto a microcassette recorder, for the benefit of the mysterious ‘Diane’, but we think he should upgrade and start talking to Roland. Its R-05 portable audio player enables high-quality 24-bit/96kHz stereo WAV recording straight onto an SD card, features an onboard editing function…

Price: £689 URL : samsung.com/uk T3 rates: The Infinity Display is absolutely stunning, and the S8 looks like no other smartphone on the market; we also love the power at our fingertips and the strong camera. T3 slates: The only issues with the S8 are some flakey biometrics – they’re great when they work, but it’s not every time; we’d have liked a slightly bigger battery too. T3 says: The Samsung Galaxy S8 is the best phone you can buy right now, packed with power and features, wrapped up in a stunning design. You have to pay for the privilege, but you won’t be let down. 2nd Huawei P10 Price: £549 URL : consumer.huawei.com/uk T3 rates: Compact design for one-handed use; clever dual cameras; the cheapest phone here. T3 SL…

he newest addition to Samsung’s high-end tablet line-up sports a specification that’s very close to Apple’s 9.7-inch iPad Pro. At first you might be taken aback by the Tab S3’s price tag, which looks like a worse deal than the Californian company’s nearest equivalent, but actually Samsung’s deal is a little better value: it bundles a redesigned version of its S Pen with the tablet, making this a more tempting proposition as a device on which to take handwritten notes and sketch out ideas using a pressureand tilt-sensitive stylus. T Let’s get physical Give or take a few millimetres, the S3’s dimensions are very close to those of the 9.7-inch iPad Pro. It weighs a little less than Apple’s tablet, but it’s lighter by no more than a maximum of…

Hue defined the smart lighting genre, but is it still the best? £150 (starter kit), philips.co.uk Compatibility Philips Hue trumps LIFX (at present) – with Apple HomeKit and Google Home support, as well as a mighty 96 commands on IFTTT.com. Third-party lights also work using the Zigbee standard, so you can connect non-Hue bulbs. usability Hue takes a bit more effort to setup – you have to plug in the hub and attach it to your router before you can add lights. But once that’s done, it autofinds all the lights. The Hue app is good, though its layout doesn’t quite match LIFX for simplicity. value In the short term, the Philips Hue Starter Kit’s three bulbs seems to be poor value for money stacked up against LIFX, but if…