Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2021 i Stuff UK

Over the past four weeks there have been moments where the Stuff team possibly haven’t been as productive as they could have been. Suspiciously this tended to occur around the hours of 2pm, 5pm and 8pm on the matchdays of a major football tournament, but being an understanding boss I gave them all the benefit of the doubt. Maybe this liberal approach to management signals the fact that this is my last issue of Stuff as editor – but before you ready the celebratory fireworks, I’m duty-bound to tell you what’s happening in the August instalment of the world’s finest tech magazine – and so, to close the loop on this admittedly indulgent intro of a welcome letter, it’s all about gadgets to get more done. Of course, all work…

Playdate Between the brilliant Nintendo Switch and whatever smartphone is currently in your pocket, you’d be forgiven for thinking there’s no need for another handheld gaming machine. That is, until you meet the Playdate. Announced last year but finally available to pre-order around the time you’re reading this, it’s a teeny handheld system with a black and white display, a D-pad, a few buttons, a built-in mono speaker and, most importantly, a flip-out crank handle on the side that can be used as a controller. And now there’s an accessory: the Stereo Dock (pictured), a charger and speaker with Bluetooth… and a big yellow pen. The Playdate is made by Panic – publisher of indie gems like Firewatch and Untitled Goose Game – in collaboration with Teenage Engineering. Just as…

Beats Studio Buds Beats headphones aren’t exactly known for being affordable – what do you expect when Apple spent $3bn on buying the company from Dr Dre? – but at barely half the price of a pair of AirPods Pro, the new Studio Buds look like a bargain. With active noise-cancelling, Siri-based voice control and support for Apple Music’s nifty new Spatial Audio tracks (see p21), you don’t have to make do without any of the fancier features you get on pricier buds – although it’s got to be said the 5hr battery life (with 10 more in the charging case) is a little bit stingy. Switch the noise-cancelling off and that jumps to 8+16hrs, but why have ANC if you’re not going to use it? Each bud weighs just…

Is this the US spelling of ‘special audio’? Now, now. Spatial Audio – with Dolby Atmos, no less – creates immersive, multidimensional sound and clarity that comes from all around and above you, so think of it like surround sound but for music rather than dumb films. Sony is already doing something similar with 360 Reality Audio, but now there’s an Apple version and they won’t shut up about it. Presumably it’s expensive? Actually that’s the good bit, because Spatial Audio songs on Apple Music are available at no extra cost, which is a pretty hefty shot across the bows of streaming rivals like Spotify and Tidal. The upgrade is in addition to a catalogue of 75 million songs in Lossless Audio also available to Apple Music subscribers for £9.99…

You can bang on about wireless speakers all you like, but every true audiophile knows there’s no substitute for a proper hi-fi setup. So to celebrate the launch of Roksan’s all-new Attessa range, the award-winning British brand has teamed up with Monitor Audio to offer one lucky Stuff reader a state-of-the-art sound system worth £1895. This amazing prize bundle includes Roksan’s new Attessa Streaming Amplifier, plus a pair of Monitor Audio’s Bronze 100 bookshelf speakers and some AudioQuest Rocket 11 cables. The Attessa Streaming Amplifier is the linchpin of a class-leading hi-fi system, whether you’re listening to music, gaming or watching TV. It also supports 20+ streaming services and can stream to up to 64 zones, all controllable via smartphone, while the phono stage allows for easy connection to a…

£279 / stuff.tv/Gemini ■ Yep, there’s room for one more on the ANC wireless bandwagon… and it’s French luxury hi-fi brand Devialet, bounding up to the top deck with a pair of surprisingly inexpensive in-ears that promise high-class sound and hi-tech noise-cancelling. Even if they do look a bit like big clompy boots. ■ Do you like acronyms? You’ll love these. They’ve got EAM (ear active matching), whereby the buds tune their sound to the shape of your ear canals; PBA (pressure balance architecture) to regulate the amount of air inside; and IDC (internal delay compensation) for more accurate ANC in the high frequencies. ■ They should sound amazing, shouldn’t they? But on first listen, the Geminis’ edgy aggression has us wincing. Luckily, a visit to the app’s EQ screen…

1 Know your nose The basic skin types for men are oily, dry and sensitive (though some can be a mix of all three). Most brand concessions in department stores will do a test to help you determine yours. 2 Widen your wallet Even on a tight budget, you can find high-quality skincare – see above. But step things up a little if you can: more expensive products are often loaded with better, stronger ingredients. 3 Save your skin When shopping, study the ingredients – some you’ll want to avoid. Generally, anything with sodium lauryl sulfate, parabens or unspecified ‘fragrances’ risks doing more harm than good. 4 Protect your planet Most new brands care about sustainability, but not all. Check out EWG’s Skin Deep website at ewg.org/skindeep – this rates…

NOW APP THESE FOCUS Can’t trust yourself not to get distracted by a Reddit thread that’s just pictures of bread stapled to trees? Focus lets you create a timed blocklist. £4.49/m / macOS COFFITIVITY Missing the general hubbub of the office? Coffitivity plays the ambient soundtrack of a coffee shop, with three environments to choose from. from £free / web, macOS BETTER SNAPTOOL There aren’t many things that Windows does better than macOS, but it has the edge in arranging your open apps. BetterSnapTool fixes that. £2.99 / macOS NOW ADD THESE NETGEAR WI-FI 6 ORBI Some people don’t spend £700 on their laptop, let alone their Wi-Fi… but if you have to get a good signal to every corner of your crib, this is the daddy of mesh networking.…

ALTERNATIVELY… SAMSUNG GALAXY BOOK PRO 360 The Super AMOLED display might be a more conventional swiveller, but if you opt for the 15.6in version you get a whopper of a convertible that’s great in tablet mode thanks to Samsung’s excellent S Pen. Even with all that screen it’s still thin and reasonably light, with plenty of ports. from £1199 / samsung.com ASUS ZENBOOK DUO 14 £1299 / stuff.tv/Duo14 Laptop design hasn’t changed much in the past 40 years: screen at the top, keyboard at the bottom, hinge in between. While the displays sometimes fold both ways, twist or detach completely, it’s always a variation on that common theme – but Asus’s Zenbook Duo 14 isn’t like other laptops. Lift the lid to reveal its 14in touchscreen and you’ll be greeted…

If you think printing seems a bit wasteful in a world of PDFs and tablets, think again. HP+ is built with sustainability in mind. Its innovative Forest First feature tracks how many pages you print; then, no matter what paper brand you’ve used, HP invests in the restoration and preservation of healthy forests. More broadly, HP is striving to become the most sustainable and just technology company. Within its climate action work, it has worked with the WWF to develop real, science-based targets to help it know which are the best causes to invest in. Since 2019 it has donated more than $12m to NGO partnerships to protect forests and improve forest management. HP also makes sure all of its own paper stock is responsibly sourced, and is committed to maintaining…

from £599 / stuff.tv/OB4 ■ The TE OB-4 is a hyper-stylised hybrid audio box combining the warm buzz of an old wireless with modern tech and Kraftwerk styling. In its simplest form it’s a high-fidelity loudspeaker with twin 4in bass drivers and neodymium tweeters; in its most complex, it’s a little black box of weirdness. ■ Treat it as a speaker and the OB-4 reaches around 100dB, but blaring out crisp sounds isn’t the only party trick here. Behind the amorphous exterior is a core of gadgetry that turns this radio into an ambient-noise-emitting drone wizard. ■ Aside from its awesome motorised user interface, the OB-4 can record live FM radio, Bluetooth audio or a line input for two hours on a continuous loop, meaning you can rewind a big…

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HABITICA Organisation can feel like a chore, particularly with tasks you do on a regular basis. Habitica ‘gamifies’ task management, using success to power up a pixelated hero. Suitably equipped with weapons, skills and pets, your little character can then duff up monsters. £free (IAP) / Android, iOS STREAKS This habit-former invites you to define up to 12 habits (ideally just six) to track; these can include timed habits and ones you want to break. When done, you prod the big button; when curious, you can dig into the stats. The app’s sense of focus encourages good results. £4.99 / iOS BFT – BEAR FOCUS TIMER Blocking out time in your calendar to do all of the things is no good if those time-blocks are frittered away. BFT helps you…

from £169 / stuff.tv/AppleTV4K DAY 01 It’s been four years since Apple first introduced a 4K TV box. That’s so far back its own TV+ streaming service didn’t exist at the time – and nowadays TV+ is baked into many tellies’ own smart platforms. You might think that makes this latest version of the Apple TV 4K even less of a must-buy, especially given the most exciting thing about it is the new remote control. We’re talking about an incremental upgrade in a world of affordable Roku sticks and Chromecasts… but this still promises to be one of the best all-round video streamers. The new Colour Balance feature uses an iPhone’s sensors to match your TV’s picture to ‘industry standards’ It’s not tall, so it slips into our entertainment unit…

HOT BUY Bose QuietComfort Earbuds £250 / stuff.tv/QCE They’re bulkier than the average in-ears and come with a ridiculously large case, but otherwise the QC Earbuds are difficult to knock. The noise-cancelling doesn’t do a disservice to the esteemed QC name, it’s hugely customisable, and the buds themselves sound great: bassier than you might expect, but in a nicely rounded way that retains lots of detail. They’re at the upper end where price is concerned – but if silence is what you seek, you currently won’t find better. Stuff says A fun listen with excellent noise-cancelling skills, these are the best buds to stick in your ears NEW Bowers & Wilkins PI7 £349 / stuff.tv/pi7 B&W’s debut true wireless buds are brilliant in a number of ways – most notably,…

HOT BUY BARGAIN BUY Mi Smart Band 5 £26 / stuff.tv/MiBand5 With no installable apps, Xiaomi’s dinky wearable can’t stack up to smartwatches or reply to notifications, but it can relay alerts and track everything from sleep to workouts. It’s better than the Mi Smart Band 4, thanks to a bigger and brighter screen, smarter software and a charger that’s much less annoying. The slightly reduced battery life really isn’t an issue – and with the addition of activity, stress and menstrual cycle tracking, this is a sub-£30 gift that keeps giving. Stuff says Fantastic value and decent features make this an easy fitness tracker to recommend Myzone MZ-Switch £140 / stuff.tv/MZSwitch Myzone’s modular heart-rate tracker can be attached to different parts of the body, while the app gamifies your…

HOT BUY Samsung QE65QN95A £2699 / stuff.tv/QN95A This is Samsung’s single most expensive 4K TV for 2021 (unless you buy a bigger version), but the pictures justify the outlay. The Korean giant’s implementation of the new Mini LED tech is, on this evidence, something to be reckoned with. It’s difficult to imagine how any of the other sets that are incoming this year could be better. Stuff says This Mini LED television is a fearsomely accomplished set – and the one to beat • NOW ADD THIS Samsung Q-Series soundbars Pairing your QLED with one of these is a stress-free way to get 3D object-based sound. from £499 / samsung.com LG OLED65G1 £2999 / stuff.tv/65G1 £3k is a lot of money to pay for a television, even one as slim…

HOT BUY Apple iPad Air from £579 / stuff.tv/iPadAir The 4th-generation iPad Air ushers in big changes. It looks the spit of an 11in iPad Pro (at least from the front), and supports Apple’s snazzy Magic Keyboard and second-gen Pencil… and the A14 chip makes it blazingly fast, leaving its predecessor in the dust. Sure, there are compromises, but none are critical. So if you were considering an iPad Pro but don’t really need the extra power of that phenomenal M1 processor, it might be wise to save yourself a few quid and buy the Air instead. Stuff says Pointing to the iPad’s future rather than its past, this is a meaningful, impressive, powerful Air update NEW Apple iPad Pro (M1) from £749 / stuff.tv/iPadPro The 2021 iPad Pro’s display…

HOT BUY Lego Mindstorms Robot Inventor £330 / stuff.tv/Mindstorms It’s clear Lego has prioritised immediacy and fun with its latest build-your-own-bots kit, which lets you and/or your little ones create five different coding-controlled mecha-beings. Yes, the set lacks a proper screen and relies on a separate device for programming; but it offers great clarity and scope, plus an attitude that encourages tinkering… whatever your age. Stuff says A fun, versatile set for Lego electronics newcomers and old hands alike Sphero RVR £250 / stuff.tv/SpheroRVR The RVR pulls off the balance between serious coding and knockabout fun perfectly: it’s an all-terrain vehicle that you can throw around without worrying about it breaking, but also has serious programming chops. Stuff says Enough fun to convert any coding-phobe Lego Vidiyo from £3.99 /…

HOT BUY Fujifilm X-T4 £1399 / stuff.tv/XT4 The Fuji X-T4 might be the high-end mirrorless camera of your dreams. Relatively affordable for a flagship, it excels at stills and video thanks to in-body image stabilisation, high-speed shooting and 4K recording at up to 60fps. Rapid shooting is backed up by fancy AF tricks that feel equally fast and reliable, and even the battery life goes above and beyond the usual standards. There’s no doubting this is a worthy successor to the already fabulous X-T3. Stuff says A superbly capable mirrorless camera for shooting pretty much anything in style • NOW ADD THIS Fujifilm XF 16-80mm f/4 This versatile lens covers a bigger zoom range than most and adapts to pretty much any requirements. £699 / wexphotovideo.com Sony A7C £1709 /…

HOT BUY Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) from £50 / stuff.tv/Dot This fabric-covered take on Marvin the paranoid android in disguise as a Magic 8-Ball feels playful yet classical. It can’t match a full-size smart speaker for audio, but as a little radio and an Alexa assistant for the bedside table or kitchen worktop, this cutey gets the job done. It’s worth paying £10 more for the ‘with Clock’ version, which adds extra functionality beyond telling the time. Stuff says With the optional clock, this is our favourite bedside wondergadget • NOW ADD THIS Sportlink Wall Mount This minimalist acrylic mount for the Dot will keep it clear from wet surfaces in the bathroom or kitchen. £9 / amazon.co.uk Microsoft Xbox Wireless Headset £90 / stuff.tv/XboxHeadset These black cans are…

1980s arcade gaming meets 1930s cinema. Double retro overload! It does feel like that when you first set eyes on Shigeru Miyamoto’s legendary design. This was one of the earliest ‘climbing’ games, laying the foundations for the platform genre. And it’s packed with film tropes, from the damsel in distress to the giant ape – too packed, according to Universal City Studios, who filed a lawsuit against Nintendo alleging trademark infringement of King Kong. Universal lost; Nintendo won; gamers and everyman carpenters everywhere erupted in celebration. Probably. Carpenters? Duh, Mario’s a plumber! Not at first. He wasn’t even called Mario – he was an unnamed everyman, trying to rescue the generically named Lady, avoiding deadly barrels and removing rivets from towers in a flagrant breach of health and safety regs.…

Leitz Phone 1 £tba / leica.com ● Dot stuff When just the strap for a Leica camera can cost £450, it’s hardly surprising that some people look for other ways to own something with that famous red dot on it – and if you find yourself in Japan any time soon you might be tempted to pick up a Leitz Phone 1. While some of Huawei’s fancier phones come with Leica-made cameras, this is the first mobile to come bearing the famous branding… although the spec sheet reveals some striking similarities to Sharp’s recent (also Japan-only) Aquos R6. ● Shot stuff While the Sharp doesn’t have the Leica logo, both phones come with 20MP f/1.9 wide-angle main cameras that use whopping 1in sensors. That should mean the pictures they spit…

While there was news aplenty at this year’s show, E3 isn’t the extravaganza it once was. There was a PS5-shaped hole in proceedings, with Sony opting once again to give it a miss. PlayStation has recently showed off a chunk of its biggest upcoming game, Horizon Forbidden West (above), but we’re still awaiting more information on what the future will look like for PS5 players. The other major absence was EA, which will stream its annual EA Play Live event on 22 July. Expect plenty of FIFA, more Battlefield and hopefully a few surprises when that rolls around. As for games that didn’t show up, well, we couldn’t fit them all in here if we tried. Skull and Bones (above), the Ubisoft pirate game that’s been in development for a…

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Organise your life p74 ● Todoist The most popular entry on this page, Todoist ticks all the boxes you might include on your ‘get a solid task manager’ list – and more, such as natural language input. It’s simple enough for newbs to grasp but flexible for those who want extra. And it’ll work offline when you’re in a tunnel. Just be mindful that some key features (reminders, filters, labels) are gated behind premium payments. £free (IAP) / Android, iOS ● TickTick With a name that sounds like an invitation to anxiety, TickTick gets off on the wrong foot. Fortunately, it’s packed with features that help you blaze through tasks. You get all the usual creation and checklist tools, but there’s also a pomodoro timer that trains you to use…

THE COMMUTER p38 Oh God, you’ve got to go back to an actual place of work, with people. Get more done, bunk off early, and speed home quicker with these tech tools. THE HOMEWORKER p40 Desktop dazzlers, Wi-Fi-weaving wonders and planet-friendly printers for people who think the office is a place where you buy espadrilles. THE DIGITAL NOMAD p42 Time to decamp to paradise for Wi-Fi and wanderlust, telling everyone who cares to listen that you’re the next big thing in ‘drop shipping’. You berk. THE STUDENT p44 Our top picks for computing on a budget and home accessories to make Pot Noodle-stained hovels appear ever so slightly more inhabitable. THE ARTY TYPE p46 A dual-screen laptop for doodling, a phone for making those presentations pop, and A/V goodies for…

ALTERNATIVELY… HUAWEI MATEPAD PRO 12.6IN Don’t want an iPad Pro but not convinced by any of the standard Android alternatives? Now there’s a third option. The 12.6in MatePad Pro runs Huawei’s HarmonyOS and it works a lot like Apple’s iPadOS, although obviously without anywhere near the same level of app support. €799 (est) / consumer.huawei.com APPLE iPAD PRO 12.9IN from £999 / stuff.tv/iPadPro Being a digital nomad in the age of Covid might mean you spend more time on the beaches of Bridlington than Bali – but when globetrotting does return, having an iPad Pro stashed in your bag will mean you’re ready to work from anywhere. Possibly even Bognor. Apple’s cleverest rectangle hasn’t changed much on the outside, but opt for the 12.9in version and you now get a…

The way we work has changed. Even as the country slowly reopens, that doesn’t mean we’re going back to the office full-time. The pandemic has shown that lots of jobs can be done just as well at home, while employees enjoy life with no commute and fewer distractions… not to mention the pure, unadulterated pleasure of working in their fluffy slippers. Savvy business owners have also realised they can save a packet by renting less office space. Instead, the future of work is going to be flexible. They call it ‘hybrid working’. Sadly this doesn’t mean having a centaur for an office manager (or any other half-human, half-beast for that matter). Instead you’ll split your time between work and home as needed: working remotely when you need to get your…

FIRST ADD THESE… ONE BELKIN 15W WIRELESS CHARGING STAND If you’re about to cough up £70 on the official OnePlus Warp Charge 50W wireless charger made for the 9 Pro, don’t do it! Why? Because the 9’s wireless charging speeds cap out at a mere 15W. For just half the price, you can pick up a fancy Belkin charger that’s as fast as you need it to be. £35 / belkin.com TWO CHIPOLO ONE OCEAN EDITION AirTag? Jog on, Apple – as an Android user, you ought to have an OS-neutral way to find your house keys. The Chipolo One is loud and water-resistant, and if you pick up the blue Ocean Edition you’re doing your bit in two ways: it’s made from recycled fishing nets, and $1 of your…

from £299 / stuff.tv/NordCE ■ The OnePlus Nord CE 5G is a cheaper version of the original Nord. Is it better? Hell no. The back is plastic, the main camera is worse, the processor doesn’t have as much gaming power and you’ll only save £30… but we’re not sure how much longer the proper Nord will be available. ■ CE’ stands for ‘core edition’. Really it’s all about creating a friendly face to mask something that’s not quite as good. Still, it looks more sophisticated than your average sub-£300 5G phone. ■ It has a 64MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide and a 2MP monochrome. We assume a OnePlus employee found a few million of these black-and-white cams discarded in a skip, because it’s totally pointless, but the CE can…

£180 / stuff.tv/Fire10Plus ■ The Fire HD 10 Plus is now the top slate in Amazon’s roster, bringing a Full HD screen, improved innards and wireless charging. Not bad for a £180 tablet, right? Well, the downside is you’re stuck with Amazon’s Appstore and its limited selection of apps and games. ■ Slick integration with Alexa transforms it into a portable Echo Show, but it won’t be long before you realise YouTube, Gmail and Call of Duty: Mobile are absent. It’s said the web has some really easy tips on a Google ‘jailbreak’… we couldn’t possibly comment. ■ It won’t win any design awards, but it’s far from ugly. The plastic build feels sturdy and we like the dark matt finish. Controls are on the right-hand side of landscape and…

HOT BUY Sony WH-1000XM4 £299 / stuff.tv/WHXM4 With their balance of wearability, active noise-cancelling prowess and audio performance, there hasn’t been a better package than the Sony XM3s… until now. The XM4s look and sound almost identical, but a range of new features – including Speak-to-Chat, which stops the music when you start talking – aims to lure you away from your current ’phones. If those are the XM3s (still available at a super-low price, by the way), it’s tough to justify the upgrade; but who’s going to knock Sony off its perch now? Stuff says Not surprisingly given their heritage, these are the best all-round noise-cancelling headphones you can buy Bowers & Wilkins PX7 £279 / stuff.tv/PX7 B&W’s second ANC headphones place greater emphasis on comfort and are all…

HOT BUY Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar £2199 / stuff.tv/AmbeoSoundbar Utterly convincing Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 3D sound, ample power and lots of inputs mean no other soundbar currently available can perform feats with the solidity and confidence of this Sennheiser. The sheer room-filling scale of this device’s sound is remarkable, and it’s hard to think of any content that wouldn’t benefit from being Ambeo’d. That’s why, as well as being the biggest and the most expensive, it’s the best you can buy. Stuff says The Ambeo Soundbar is a big unit but the sound it makes is bigger still Sonos Arc £799 / stuff.tv/SonosArc Don’t expect this soundbar to do everything a multi-speaker Dolby Atmos setup can do, but its up-firing and side-firing drivers give a real sense of scale for…

HOT BUY Sony PlayStation 5 £450 / stuff.tv/PS5 The PS5 is not a modest upgrade. Its hulking design means it’ll make a bad first impression on some, but spend time playing it and it’ll soon win you over – and then some. This is essentially a high-spec gaming PC for the living room: stupendously powerful, with greatly reduced loading times compared to the PS4. Most last-gen titles will run fine, many with a boost, and the line-up of new games is strong; we just hope developers make use of that fascinating DualSense pad and its haptic feedback trickery. Stuff says Huge power, clever hardware and a guarantee of great games to come make the PS5 hard to resist Nintendo Switch £279 / stuff.tv/NintendoSwitch Now four years old, the Switch is…

HOT BUY Half-Life: Alyx from £40 / Oculus, Vive, Valve Index Announcing Alyx as not only a ‘midquel’ but a VR exclusive got some Half-Life diehards riled up… but in classic Valve fashion, the end result is utterly brilliant. Alyx succeeds because its universe just happens to be a perfect fit for the format. It’s also larger and much more robust than most VR games, at a meaty 12-15 hours. And though it unfolds at a different kind of cadence to past Half-Life games, it feels like a fully fledged solo campaign and a key part of the franchise narrative. Stuff says Valve’s beloved series returns… and offers one of the strongest arguments to date for VR gaming Beat Saber from £23 / Oculus, Vive, PSVR Gleefully swing your twin…

OnePlus 9 Hasselblads were used during the Apollo moon landings; here on Earth, the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro have snappers developed with the Swedish manufacturer. from £629 / oneplus.com Huawei P40 Pro+ A number of Huawei’s phones come with cameras developed by Leica, but the P40 Pro+ wins the prize for sheer quantity with five of them on the back. £800 / consumer.huawei.com Vivo X60 Pro Carl Zeiss has made lenses for Nokia and Sony phones in the past, but the latest to get help from the German optics expert is newcomer Vivo. £750 / vivo.com A WHOPPING 1IN SENSOR SHOULD MEAN PICTURES ARE A STEP ABOVE OTHER PHONES…

£179 / ikea.com Ooh, that’s jazzy. But this is a gadget magazine, not Hartbeat. Nice obscure ’80s reference. Bet you didn’t know Tony Hart served in the Gurkhas in the Second World War. But we digress, because what you’re looking at is art – only Ikea has shoved some music behind it with a little help from Sonos. Yes, the Symfonisk Picture Frame WiFi Speaker is a hanging frame with ‘room-filling sound’ that can be hung in landscape orientation… or portrait if you live your life like one long TikTok video. Adding synth-pop group Art of Noise to the playlist, then? Another nice ’80s reference – are you trying to alienate all of our readers? In fairness, though, the flat-panel wireless speaker should sound pretty good with Class-D amps, a…

Sony is the reason there are so many brilliant active noise-cancelling true wireless earphones around right now. The company kicked the whole thing off in 2017 with the original WF-1000X buds, and since then everyone else has been playing catch-up – some with more success than others. And while the WF-1000XM3s were always near the top of the class, in the two years they’ve been on sale everyone from Sennheiser and Bose to Bowers & Wilkins and now Devialet (see p32) has been trying to take the crown. But anyone who expected Sony to just fiddle around the edges of a proven design is going to be surprised. The WF-1000XM4 is Sony’s latest demonstration of the state of the art, and it’s an entirely new design, fresh from the ground…

CLOSE SHAVERS The hippy healer Doers of London Shave Cream All-natural, vegan-friendly and in appropriately trendy packaging, this non-foaming cream contains organic birch extract to relieve redness, organic grapeseed oil rich in antioxidants, shea butter to nourish the skin, plus vetiver and myrrh oil to heal your skin. Proper posh like. £14 (100ml) / doersoflondon.com The nutty nick-stopper Kiehl’s Smooth Glider Shave Lotion This long-lasting gel contains some rather wacky essential oils – including kukui nut, which not only gives off a lovely woody aroma but also helps soften facial hair in prep for the razor’s edge, ensuring a frictionless shave. The result? A mug so smooth you’ll put toddlers to shame. £17 (150ml) / kiehls.co.uk The friendly frother Gruum Når Aloe Vera Shave Bar Help save the baby seals…

ALTERNATIVELY… SAMSUNG GALAXY BOOK GO Slim and shockproof, Samsung’s 14in Galaxy Book Go could just be a commuter’s dream. It uses Qualcomm’s energy-efficient Snapdragon 7C Gen 2 processor with 128GB of storage, which should be plenty for catching up on emails and finishing off that presentation on your way in. from £399 / samsung.com MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 4 from £999 / stuff.tv/SurfaceLap4 When you’re only commuting as far as the kitchen table, it’s not really a problem if your laptop weighs as much as a fat spaniel; but if you’re heading to the office via train/bus/jetpack, you’ll want to carry as little bulk as you can… and at just 1.27kg, the sleek Surface Laptop 4 is a strong candidate. Crafted from aluminium with optional fuzzy Alcantara, it balances skinniness with sensible…

NOW APP THESE REFME If you’re writing essays you’ll need to know how to cite your references; RefMe makes it much easier. Just scan a book’s barcode or paste in a URL. £free / Android, iOS EVERNOTE Evernote is a bit like an online scrapbook: use it as a place to jot down ideas, record voice notes or keep clippings from websites. from £free / Android, iOS, Chrome GOOGLE DRIVE Anyone with a Gmail account gets 15GB of cloud storage for nowt, so you’d be a fool not to get the Drive app to make the most of it. from £free / Android, iOS, Chrome NOW ADD THESE SAMSUNG M70A SMART MONITOR A computer monitor is basically just a TV with all the fun stuff taken out, but the 32in…

HÅG CAPISCO 8106 One thing with ‘WFH’ is you have to provide your own office furniture. So if you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to fill in spreadsheets on horseback, get yourself a HÅG Capisco 8106. This back-strengthening steed was inspired by the posture of a horse rider and can be customised with different colours, fabrics and metals. Unlike a real office horse, though, it won’t trot off if someone wanders past holding a carrot. £792 / backinaction.co.uk HP PAVILION WIRELESS KEYBOARD AND MOUSE 800 This keyboard and mouse set completes your transition to bossing work from home. They don’t just look smart, they feel good too, with contouring that’s designed for maximum comfort for hands and wrists. HP has also designed the three-zone keyboard with full-size arrow keys…

THE BASICS ■ Get a routine You need good habits and routines to stay organised, even when armed with tech. If you start using to-do or GTD (Get Things Done) apps like Things, go all-in rather than arbitrarily adding tasks. Deal with documents and emails swiftly. Just because digital doesn’t involve paper, that doesn’t mean there’s no mess. ■ Be consistent Search engines can (in theory) rifle swiftly through countless documents and bring to the surface what you need. But searches are simpler if you file things properly in the first place. Do so with email and elsewhere, and ensure you give items keywords (including dates) that will help you find them later. ■ Make data accessible Ensure your files are readily available and secure. Three steps can make that…

£899 / stuff.tv/Pro575 ■ If you’re the sort of person who thinks BBQs are a faff and a surefire way to get food poisoning, then Traeger’s Pro series might just change your mind. That’s because this hardwood pellet grill uses oven-like digital temperature controls and a meat probe for seriously easy and precise cooking. ■ Plug the grill into the mains, prime the auger motor that pushes the pellets along a kind of conveyor belt to a fire pot, and you’re ready to go to work. Traeger’s motto of ‘Set it and forget it’ then kicks in. Select your preferred temperature using the dial and you’re done. ■ OK, not quite done – but only because things get even easier. Connect the Pro 575 to Traeger’s app and ‘WiFire’ tech…

HOT BUY Apple iPhone 12 from £799 / stuff.tv/iPhone12 The demise of Samsung’s glorious Galaxy S20 5G left a space on the Stuff smartphone throne (and its replacement didn’t even make the Top Ten)… but don’t go thinking the iPhone 12 is only our No1 phone by default. We loved the iPhone 11, and its successor carries a whole host of improvements. If you can live without the telephoto camera of the flagship 12 Pro (and most can), you should save yourself some cash and get the 12 instead. In many ways it’s the same phone. Stuff says A top display and all the power you’ll ever need in an iPhone • NOW ADD THIS Sandisk iXpand Flash Drive Go Bump your iPhone’s storage capacity by 64, 128 or 256GB…

HOT BUY Samsung Galaxy Watch3 from £349 / stuff.tv/GW3 Sneaking into the top berth courtesy of a slightly underwhelming Apple Watch update, Samsung’s gorgeous Watch3 is an easy wearable to love. It’s superbly made and very attractive, and the spinning bezel makes it a joy to use. Samsung’s Tizen OS is slick too, with lots of customisation and shortcut options to keep things feeling fresh – made all the better by a class-leading screen. It also has all the fitness skills you’re ever likely to need, with handy auto-tracking features. Stuff says A beautiful and powerful piece of kit that you’ll be proud to have on your wrist Garmin Fenix 6 £400 / stuff.tv/Fenix6 Anyone who’s truly into their fitness will appreciate the Fenix 6’s endless feature list. This is…

HOT BUY Sonos Move £399 / stuff.tv/SonosMove The Sonos range of wireless speakers had been crying out for a battery-powered portable model for ages – and finally our favourite multiroom audio specialist caved in. Luckily, the Move was worth the wait. Its adaptability and sound quality mean it’s fine value for money, and a no-brainer for anyone who’s already a fan of the brand. This is the speaker Sonos should have launched years ago – and for even better portability, see the Roam model at No3 on this list. Stuff says Sonos finally gets up to speed with the portable speaker craze, and in style • NOW ADD THIS Primephonic Bringing sexy Bach, this is streaming for classical music. Niche, yes, but its not-on-Spotify film and game scores offer a…

HOT BUY Sky TV from £25/month + setup / stuff.tv/SkyTV Already home to the biggest selection of 4K content, from blockbuster films and original dramas to top-flight sport, Sky has adopted a can’t-beat-’em-join-’em approach to streaming by incorporating the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and BT Sport in its user-friendly interface. It’s also restructured its packages to make them more affordable, while multiroom and mobile options round off the most comprehensive content system money can buy. Stuff says Sky has come out fighting to move with the times and its selection of shows is unrivalled Amazon Fire TV Cube £110 / stuff.tv/FireTVCube The Fire TV interface is easy to use and all the big catch-up services are available via this tidy box – and best of all, Alexa…

HOT BUY Amazon Echo (4th Gen) £90 / stuff.tv/Echo Having morphed from a cylinder to a sphere, the latest Echo is an excellent newsreader, weather forecaster, personal assistant and intercom straight out of the box; but it’s now also a capable speaker and a very accessible smart home hub. It doesn’t sound as good as the Sonos One or Apple HomePod for listening to music, but it’s significantly smarter than both and considerably cheaper too. Stuff says An all-round upgrade that makes the Echo a smarter speaker than ever • NOW ADD THIS Honeywell T6R This Zigbee-enabled thermostat is wireless so you can place it where it’s most convenient. £165 / amazon.co.uk Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen) from £50 / stuff.tv/Dot It can’t match a full-size smart speaker for audio,…