Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2017 i T3

Louise Blain, VR explorer Louise is News Lead for our friends at gamesradar.com – at least, she is when she’s not exploring strange new worlds as part of reviewing the greatest VR setups for our State of the Art supertest on p60. Steve May, AV expert Steve’s eyes are like a hawk’s, able to hunt for small prey hundreds of metres away. Fortunately for local rodents, this month he’s using his powers to pass judgement on Philips’ new OLED TV, on p94. Damian Hall, marathon man Damian’s done so many endurance runs and hardcore fitness trials, he’s more running shoe than man. He can still type enough to pick out the best marathon gear for our reader’s build on p22.…

From €329 (£285), huawei.com My Huawei Watch 1 is pretty badass. Why should I upgrade? You’ll dig the features of Huawei’s sporty second-gen smartwatch – there’s also a stylish Classic option if you prefer something more traditional. An abrasionand water-resistant ceramic bezel and Corning Gorilla Glass face helps the Watch 2 withstand punishment, whether you’re sweating it out in the gym or boardroom. So the Watch 2 can help me train? You bet! Beneath the bezel you’ll find a mountain of fitness-tracking tech, including a three-axis gyroscope and compass, barometer, GPS and heart-rate sensor. All that adds up to live GPS mapping, heart-rate monitoring and coaching. There’s also an offline music function piping your playlists to your wireless earphones. Will it still work without my phone? Oh yes. Opt for…

I t’s a terrible world we live in, isn’t it readers? War, terror, corruption, a President made of sweaty, orange putty. These are GRIM TIMES. But do you know what keeps me happy amidst all the travails? Toilets. As a British person, I find khazis almost endlessly hilarious. I expect you do too! For reasons I’ll come to shortly, I recently was speaking to some leading members of the interior design press. They actually get to go to press conferences for sinks and baths and taps and toilets. At a recent one, a new loo was announced, with great fanfare. All the European journalists sat solemnly nodding and scribbling notes saying things like “dual flush – v good” and “heated seat”. Meanwhile, in the British part of the room, they…

T3 HOME | MAY | 2017 One of the best things about building a smart home is that you have access to all of your connected gadgets right from your phone, enabling you to control everything in one place no matter where you are, whether you want to watch live video remotely, turn up the heat on your thermostat or automate your lighting setup. But what happens when you have guests over for dinner, or you’ve gone out for the evening? How will visitors in your home control all these cool gadgets without the appropriate access? The simple act of turning on a light becomes the most complicated thing in the world if you’re not around. Thankfully, there’s a very simple solution to this oh-so-very-modern tech conundrum: the Logitech POP…

Multiroom speakers were some of the earliest connected home devices. They enable you to stream music from a smartphone or tablet to any room in the house, without wires. Sonos is almost synonymous with this technology, offering wireless speakers ranging from the small PLAY:1 (£199), right up to a full surround sound system (around £1,300). There are numerous stunning alternatives, from Bose with its SoundTouch range (from £170) to more premium brands such as Naim Audio (from £595) and Bang & Olufsen with its BeoSound 1 (from £995). Increasingly, these speakers now connect to the rest of your smart home. They can act as a siren for an alarm system, for example, or wake you up gently with birdsong. How lovely.…

LIKE Let’s start with the S8’s super screen - it’s absolutely the show-stopping feature here. Thanks to the lack of bezels you get a big screen, without the big feel. We would have liked to have seen 4K resolution, as with the Xperia XZ Premium (p48), but the inclusion of HDR makes up for it. LIKE It’s a relatively minor thing, but Samsung has collaborated with Harman and will be offering a pair of quality AKG in-ears with every S8 and S8+, so you won’t have to buy another set. And you get a regular headphone socket, so you can still use your favourite set of headphones. DON’T LIKE Samsung is making a big deal about Bixby, its intelligent assistant. Bixby learns what you do and offers relevant info when…

LIKE The P10’s fingerprint scanner is something to behold – not only is it seamlessly integrated within the design, it also features quick navigation, enabling you to use finger gestures to control the interface. You can slide your finger right to show recent apps, or left to go back. LIKE Let’s be fair, the P10 looks pretty stunning, but it’s been designed with practicality in mind, too. Take the recessed power button, for instance, which prevents it being accidentally pressed when you’re in the middle of something. It’s a simple thing, but it’ll make a big difference in everyday life. DON’T LIKE Compared to the competition, the P10’s screen is a little middling. Sure, it still looks good, but with the majority moving beyond Full HD, and others – Sony,…

A h, wires. You only need to gaze, horrified, down the back of your TV unit to realise we don’t live in quite the tangle-free age we thought we did. While VR wireless solutions are on the way - a pricey £200 adaptor is en route for Vive - all three sets are going to seriously mess with your minimalist chi. The good news? When the headsets are on, you can’t see any of it. While potentially the most accessible of the three, the PlayStation VR still comes with a slew of cables in the box. It’s clearly been as streamlined as possible, though, and everything flows through a central processor unit plugged into a USB at the front of your PS4. The essential PlayStation Camera (£39.99 and not included)…

Fancy tearing a robot to bits with your bare hands? Knocking it down with its own arm that you’ve just yanked off? Or perhaps even juggling a scuttling AI spider foe with bullets mid-air? Robo Recall from studio Epic Games comes free with the Oculus Touch controllers and is a thrilling robot shooter fest with gorgeous design and heart-pounding action. Whether you’re testing the expert tracking by reaching over your shoulders for two enormous shotguns, or pretending you’re John Wick with a set of pistols, you can feel every squeeze of the trigger with the Touch haptic feedback.…

1st HTC Vive Price: £759 URL: vive.com/uk T3 RATES: Ultimate immersion just sneaks this ahead of the competition – gazing over parapets, out of windows and into the eyes of your enemies; this is a full, beautiful gaming world just waiting to be explored. T3 SLATES: It’s not cheap and, just like the Oculus Rift, you’re going to need a PC with a beefy graphics card, but that doesn’t have to mean breaking the bank. T3 SAYS: The supreme virtual reality package, the HTC Vive is still the solution to beat. Incredible visuals, exceptional tech and the ultimate escape solution if you’re willing to make the investment. 2nd Oculus Rift Price: £499 (£598 with Touch) URL: oculus.com T3 RATES: The best VR controllers on the market. T3 HATES: When it…

01 AIRBNB Forget hotels, the way to see the world these days is from the comfort of somebody else’s home. Free, App Store, Google Play 02 TRIPADVISOR As the ancients said, ‘When in Rome, download TripAdvisor and find somewhere decent to eat.’ Free, App Store, Google Play 03 LONELY PLANET Featuring advice from on-the-ground experts, these city guides help you get to grips with your location in no time. Free, App Store, Google Play 04 EXPEDIA Expedia is a one-stop shop for planning your next holiday. Particularly good for bundle deals. Free, App Store, Google Play 05 LUCKYTRIP Set your budget, then each time you tap the Lucky button you see a different adventure. Great fun! Free, App Store 06 CAMPR A guide to the UK’s most beautiful campsites that…

They’ve done what now? It’s really real. In 2017, you’ll be able to buy a Nokia 3310. Well, kind of. The company that’s making it isn’t really Nokia, but a company named HMD Global that bought the Nokia name. And the 3310 itself is a new design that looks a bunch like the original (without Xpress-On covers, though, criminally). So it’s a modern phone? Eh, not so much. It’s not touchscreen, only has 2.5G connectivity, and a 2-megapixel camera. There’s no proper apps, or support for services such as Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger – these are pretty much as important as regular texting these days, so we wish some kind of option to use them had been included. But it does have a larger colour screen than the original, an…

Planet Earth II Let’s kick straight off with the crown jewel of amazing shots. Just as the original Planet Earth was the ideal showcase for Full HD Blu-ray (or HD-DVD, if that was your bag), the new series looks absolutely amazing in this rich 4K HDR presentation. See every strand of adorable fur, and every grim bite from a predator in ridiculous detail. £29.99 Pacific Rim The more spectacular your home cinema setup, the better this film gets. The 4K HDR Blu-ray offers astounding picture quality – it adds amazing depth to the gigantic battles between skyscraper-sized robots and colossal monsters. And the Dolby Atmos audio mix means this is the best way to show off your speakers along with your TV. £24.99 John Wick The price on this one…

THE SUPER SIX Home audio 01 RUARK MR1 MK2 www.ruarkaudio.com PRICE £329.99 TESTED T3 267 Ruark’s second-gen Bluetooth bookshelf speakers look stunning and have the audio performance to match, belying their miniature size. They can also be plugged into a TV or console, for a big sound boost. T3 SAYS Great looks, great sound. 02 DENON HEOS HS2 www.denon.co.uk PRICE From £376 TESTED T3 267 Last time T3 reviewed multi-room systems, HEOS took the honours, and history has repeated itself – the HS2 is easy to set up, has great build quality and now sounds even better with support for 24-bit high-res audio. T3 SAYS Hi-res multi-room audio at its best. 03 DALI KATCH www.katchspeaker.com PRICE £329 TESTED T3 265 This high-end portable Bluetooth speaker from Danish audio connoisseur Dali is worth…

Matt Bolton EDITOR New Editor Matt has had a whirlwind first issue, and is looking a bit dazed. He’s been using liberal doses of Zelda on Nintendo Switch as a restorative, though that’s a full-time job in itself. Jo Gulliver SENIOR ART EDITOR The new head of T3’s design has been improving the process of how our custom tablet edition is made. Much like sausages, it’s probably best if you don’t know the details. Andrew Westbrook OPERATIONS EDITOR This month, Andy has spent too many back-breaking hours getting his garden ready for BBQ season. The T3 digital edition’s new grammar tyrant is now eyeing up the robo mowers in our store room. Nick Odantzis DEPUTY EDITOR Nick’s phone-mad this issue, from his giant in-depth look at the latest releases on…

01 SWATCH NERAMENTE New for this year, the Neramente chronograph has a playful glow-in-thedark function and follows a minimalist design with crisp, clean lines. This simple Swatch is water resistant to 30 metres and has a sun-brushed, silver dial with SuperLuminova printed hands and chronograph sub-dials. The entire look is pulled together by a polished, stainless steel bezel and black silicone strap. £92, shop.swatch.com 02 THOMAS SABO REBEL WITH KARMA Bring some good karma your way with this striking Quartz movement watch, designed with an on-trend grey leather, vintage-style strap. The fashionable strap colour carries over to the sweeping sunray dial and is partnered with an eye-catching stainless steel ‘Kathmandu’ crown. Hardened, nonreflecting mineral glass with sapphire coating on the watch face keeps scratches and scuffs to a minimum. £225,…

Never let it be said that Guru doesn’t enjoy the finer things in life, and with a relaxation of the purse strings from the family bursar he’s been splashing out a little. Beginning, despite GaGu’s usual disgust for hipster reboots of old formats, with a nice record player. Sony’s PS-HX500 (RRP £400, but you can find it for £100 less) fits the bill nicely: a beautiful angular black turntable, with the ability to record hi-res rips directly to a PC, it both allows Guru to enjoy his crackly old collection and safely box it away once everything is sufficiently digitised. You may crow all you like about Guru tearing the soul out of his music, since he’s also safely ensconced in his fancy wooden Symphonized Magnum headphones (£59.99), enjoying the…

ADD TO YOUR DEVICES To add IFTTT functionality to your POP switch, go to the app and tap the menu in the topleft corner of the screen. Then tap MY DEVICES, tap the + button in the bottom of the screen and choose IFTTT from the list of compatible devices. IFTTT ON A SWITCH In the EDIT section of the app, tap the switch you want to add IFTTT to, drag it into the devices area and choose the type of button press to use. Now go to ifttt.com and log in to your IFTTT account. Find Logitech POP, select it and hit Connect. CONNECT TO POP Log into your POP account and authorise IFTTT. Back on the POP services list, tap the one you want to use and turn…

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. NICK ODANTZIS Paranoia has taken hold of deputy editor Nick, and therefore he’s become a smart home-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 healthy about kitchen gadgets! DUNCAN BELL Lifestyle editor Duncan is a connectedhome – and multi-roomaudio – expert, and can advise on everything from setting up your Sonos to getting Amazon Echo to order you a puppy. SPENCER HART Mobile tech editor Spencer covers everything from coffee machines…

£649, sonymobile.com, available spring 2017 Sony’s latest smartphone is a bit of a shock – many thought that 4K screens on phones were dead, such was the lack of purpose of this tech on the Xperia Z5 Premium, but it’s back… and it’s rather impressive. The Xperia XZ Premium has all the parts needed to create a world-beating phone: the latest Snapdragon 835 chipset, a big 5.5-inch 4K display with HDR, Android 7.1.1 and eminently practical water resistance. Combine these with the best tech from Sony’s camera, TV and audio departments and you can really make the most of that potent screen. The XZ Premium tiptoes into phablet territory, but by modern smartphone standards it’s relatively compact, and easy to hold in one hand. Design-wise the XZ Premium’s mirrored finish…

LIKE Naturally, the physical keyboard is the single most impressive part of BlackBerry’s new phone – it isn’t really a BlackBerry without one after all. The thing we like most is the 52 customisable keyboard shortcuts. Want to get straight to your emails? Just tap a letter of your choosing. LIKE A working phone needs to be called into duty many times during a typical day, so the battery life needs to be up to scratch. The KeyOne’s 3505mAh battery is quite sizeable considering its relatively low power needs, and the USB-C quick charge provides 50 per cent capacity in just 36 minutes. DON’T LIKE While the KeyOne has some really impressive standout features, overall it’s not the most capable of handsets, on paper anyway. Unless you really need that…

£TBC, lg.com, available spring 2017 With the LG G6, the brand has dialled down the ‘out-there’ innovation of the G5, and gone for a more quietly refined design, while doing enough to make it feel like an all-new phone; a fit warrior for the great smartphone battle of 2017. The G6 is a much more conservative design than its predecessor, taking the form of a sealed unit that drops the removable battery, replacing it with a largercapacity power pack and waterproof shell. The screen is, really, the main area of innovation, with the longer 18:9 display giving more real estate, and introducing some clever little changes to the user interface to exploit the extra pixels. The permanent Always On Display of the G5 remains, enabling you to quickly check the…

£170, alcatel-mobile.com, availble May niceties, Alcatel’s latest phone takes a entirely different route to grabbing headlines, with an interactive LED cover, designed to capture the imagination of a younger crowd. While other handsets make do with aluminium unibodies, 4K screens and other i ti Al t l’ l t t h t k The cover – a protective case, much like the HTC Dot View with the HTC 10 – can be used to good effect, so you might set the grid of LEDs to light up when you receive incoming calls or messages, for instance, and you can customize the way it looks with cover patterns and themes. It’ll also light up and display animated patterns while you listen to music, and if you shake the device, the pattern…

Virtual reality isn’t just graphically demanding, it’s port hungry too and the Oculus Rift is the guiltiest of the lot when it comes to hogging your PC USB slots. Not only does it want a USB 3.0 and HDMI for the headset, each sensor requires a USB 2.0 or higher. You’ll need one sensor for tracking the headset and another for the Touch controllers. This means if you’re planning on playing with the Oculus Touch and the supplied Xbox One pad which needs a wireless adaptor, you’ll need at least four slots free if you don’t want to juggle. Conversely, the HTC Vive just needs an HDMI and USB 2.0.…

I t’s worth saying now that regardless of which of the big three you choose, donning one of these headsets is transformative. They are literally a window to another world. Every friend that visits will be forced to don VR and experience exactly what it’s like to disappear into pixels. But which experience truly reigns supreme? Performance-wise, the PS VR is constantly surprising. This is a headset built for existing home console tech and in that it excels. While the PS4 Pro delivers a slight boost in graphical quality and framerate in games like Crytek’s dino adventure Robinson: The Journey, the standard PS4 offers up a satisfyingly solid experience. It has a slightly smaller field of view than its competitors but your eyes never feel restricted and, like the other…

01 GO PORTABLE If you want to dive into VR but don’t like the idea of a huge gaming PC in your living room/ future virtual play area, there’s an easy, if expensive, solution. VR-ready gaming laptops come with Nvidia’s latest series of graphics cards, letting you play and pack up when you’re done. The ultra-thin Razer Blade (£1,799, razerzone.com) comes with a GTX 1060 as standard and ate Oculus Rift’s Robo Recall for breakfast in our test. 02 HIDE THOSE BASE STATIONS Thankfully, Vive’s tracking devices look a bit like miniature speakers and blend in well to most rooms. Wall mounting isn’t to everyone’s taste so hide them on the top of bookcases or cabinets and feed the wires down the back. Subtle. 03 TAKE OVER THE SPARE ROOM…

UBTECH ALPHA 1S This little fella is controlled via an app on your smartphone and will tell you stories, dance with you and even exercise with you. It’s surprisingly flexible and pretty tough, being built out of sturdy aluminium, and will give you around 60 minutes on a charge. £399, ubtrobot.com CHiP If you’re after a companion but can’t be arsed with the dog mess or hair everywhere, CHiP could be the ideal robot. You can pet him and he’ll react, and using the smartwatch controller you can summon him and play with him until your heart’s content. £200, wowwee.com/chip NEATO BOTVAC CONNECTED This connected robot vacuum cleaner has something rather special about it – it can be controlled by Amazon Alexa. You can tell it to start cleaning from…

Give your tech cave an upgrade with this epic gaming chair Thanks to Overclockers UK – the place to head to if you’re looking for gaming PCs, components and much more – we’re giving away two noblechairs EPIC Series gaming chairs this issue. One of these thrones makes an ideal upgrade for your gaming space, whether you’re a hardcore PC gamer or a console fan. Available in a variety of colour combinations and covering materials – vegan fans can opt for the hyper-realistic faux leather, or meat-lovers can go for the real thing – this luxury gaming chair will ensure that you can commit to lengthy bouts of Battlefield 1 or Final Fantasy XV without needing hours of pricey physio treatment. Its open-cell cold foam structure offers greater comfort than…

£Free; App Store How many times have you sat down on the sofa but failed to find anything decent on TV, even if you’re willing to pay to buy or rent a movie? It’s frustrating and crazy. Popcorn slays this beast of a problem by finding movies you’ll enjoy through neat little curated packages like ‘Footy films for football fans’, or ‘10 of Bill Paxton’s best’. Swipe right on a film and it gets added to your Wishlist. There’s a brief description of each film, rather than a lengthy review, and the chance to watch the trailer. Tap on Watch and it takes you to buy or rent the movie. It’s a shame there are no direct connections to movie services like Amazon or Netflix, but let’s hope they add…

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 (p104), 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. Stay…

THE SUPER SIX Smartphones 01 SAMSUNG GALAXY S7/S7 EDGE www.samsung.com PRICE From £569 TESTED T3 255 The S7 duo are superbly designed phones with brilliant cameras, beautiful screens and some innovative additions. T3 SAYS These Galaxies are simply the best phones of the year, whichever you go for. 02 IPHONE 7/7 PLUS www.apple.com/uk PRICE From £599 TESTED T3 262 Water resistance, great haptic feedback and an amazing camera set-up are just some of the features on Apple’s stunning new releases. Expensive but brilliant. T3 SAYS If you can get past the lack of a headphone socket, you have a winner here. 03 HTC 10 www.htc.com PRICE £479 TESTED T3 256 HTC’s handset delivers the goods, with loads of power, a responsive interface, great battery life and incredible audio capabilities. The camera is terrific,…

Cougar 700K This is a great price for a solidly made keyboard with Cherry MX mechanical switches – the gold standard for crisp, responsive key presses. It even includes some macro options, so you can program a series of presses for gaming. £94, cougargaming.com Das Keyboard 4 Professional Available in PC or Mac layout, this offers a choice of Cherry MX switches (quieter Brown or easier to press Blue), a big volume control knob, two USB 3.0 ports, and media control keys. More for the hardcore typists than the hardcore gamers. £139.99, daskeyboard.com Topre Realforce RGB This is damn expensive, but it’s one hell of a keyboard. Topre custom mechanical switches feel excellent, and you can adjust the actuation of individual keys from 1.5mm to 3mm to make them respond…

Optoma NuForce BE Sport3 If you want a pair of great-fitting headphones that block out noise, get these. They sound fantastic, connect wirelessly over Bluetooth, and the battery life is strong at 8+ hours. They’re really comfortable to wear, and inexpensive. £75.05, optoma.co.uk Gibson Trainer Ti100 The Ti100 is a comfortable, excellent-sounding pair of aptX Bluetooth earphones that are very light, well weighted, and the unit has a flashing light on the back for night running. Noise isolation isn’t this set’s strong point, though. £129.97, gibsoninnovations.com Monster ROC Sport SuperSlim Cristiano Ronaldo endorses this wireless set, but don’t let that put you off. The earbuds stay in your ears solidly, and sound great (if bass heavy), with excellent noise isolation. We like the controls too. £129.99, monsterproducts.com…

THE SUPER SIX Smartwatches 01 APPLE WATCH SERIES 2 www.apple.com/uk PRICE From £369 TESTED T3 262 Apple’s wearable now packs GPS, water resistance for swim tracking, and even more styles – not to mention the ace watchOS 3, which keeps everything ticking over. Apple has nailed it this time – the Series 2 is the best smartwatch around. T3 SAYS 02 MONDAINE HELVETICA 1 www.mondaine.com PRICE £650 Tested T3 259 The Helvetica 1 is stunning on the wrist and packed with smarts, including fitness and sleep tracking contained within a sub-dial at the bottom – though further notifications can be found within the phone app. T3 SAYS A stunning and smart timepiece. 03 APPLE WATCH www.apple.com/uk PRICE From £269 TESTED T3 242 Recently superseded by the superior second-generation Watch, Apple’s original wearable still…

THE SUPER SIX Smart home 01 NETATMO PRESENCE www.netatmo.com PRICE £249.99 TESTED T3 264 The smartest outdoor security camera around, Netatmo’s Presence offers people/ car/animal detection, to minimise false alarms (ie the light only comes on when it matters). 1080p video is top-notch, too. T3 SAYS The perfect cam for mean streets. 02 HONEYWELL EVO www.getconnected.honeywell.com PRICE From £249 TESTED T3 264 The Evo might not be quite as en vogue as a modern thermostat, but it’s very smart. Standout features include a huge TFT touchscreen and an app that gives you fine control over every radiator in your home. T3 SAYS The smartest way to heat a home. 03 PLAYSTATION 4 PRO www.sony.co.uk PRICE £349 TESTED T3 264 The standard PS4 looks snazzier, but the Pro has it beat elsewhere. It delivers…

Withings Home This great-looking camera streams 1080p footage to Withings’ smartphone app. The camera will notify you when it detects motion or noise, it has an infrared mode for night viewing, and speakers so you can talk through it. £139.99, withings.com D-Link EyeOn This is packed with babyfriendly features. It streams 720p video to your phones (and records to microSD), has an infrared mode, can play lullabies, monitors the temperature, and has two-way audio communication built-in. £91.99, dlink.com Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Digital Video Monitor This video monitor has its own wireless 3-inch display module, so doesn’t rely on your smartphone. It also has a mattress sensor to alarm you if there’s no movement for 20 seconds, as well infrared vision, and two-way talking. £99.99, tommeetippee.co.uk…

You 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 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 STEELSERIES ARCTIS 3 01 www.steelseries.com PRICE £89.99 This gaming headset works with consoles or PC, and is more comfortable for long periods than most, with a ski-goggle-inspired suspended headband, and a breathable earcup material to…

5 FOR £5! Amazing subs offer on p58 The one-two punch of Mobile World Congress and Samsung’s separate launch of the Galaxy S8 mean that almost all of the big phone makers have a new showpiece out. HDR screens are the hot new thing on lots of handsets this year, but there’s loads more going on, from 4K displays to amazing new cameras, to beautiful button-less designs. I can’t wait to start putting them through their paces (you can expect reviews next issue). It’s been one hell of an introduction for my first issue (hello!), but who’d have it any other way? Amazing new phones and tablets are exactly the kinds of thing that got me excited to be here in the first place. Add to that our review of…

£599, samsung.com/uk What do we have here, T3? Why, it’s Samsung’s update to the ageing Tab S2. The Galaxy Tab S3 features significantly updated specs, a HDR screen and all-new pro accessories. It’s Samsung’s rival to the iPad Pro and we think it’s got legs. Can I draw on it, like it’s some kind of expensive notepad? Yep. The Tab S3 comes with an updated, ballpoint-style S Pen. It measures 9.4mm in diameter and features a narrow, 0.7mm tip for accurate, more natural writing and sketching. The S Pen doesn’t need to be charged to work. either. If bashing on keys is more your thing, the Tab S3 has an optional Pogo keyboard. Is this a good option for commuting? The Tab S3 is ideal for working on the fly.…

£199.95, dlink.com/uk What am I looking at, T3? This is D-Link’s new Full HD, Wi-Fi home security camera. It’s special because it’s one of the first cameras to support Apple HomeKit. The Omna has a 180-degree lens, too, enabling it to view more of the room it’s surveying. Don’t worry about any warping from the wide-eye lens – D-Link’s de-warping tech means any recorded video is crystal clear when you view it. Where does it save the footage? While a lot of Wi-Fi cameras store footage in the cloud, requiring you to take out a subscription service, the Omna saves footage, including motion detection-triggered video clips and pre-event snapshots, onto a microSD card (up to 128GB). And it works with Apple HomeKit? The Omna is one of the first cameras…

THE READER Callum Lewis Inspired by the 2017 London Marathon, T3 reader Callum is looking to make the jump from 5K-completer to marathon runner. He’s looking for the best health and fitness tech to help him. THE EXPERT Damian Hall Outdoor and fitness journalist Damian has represented Great Britain at ultramarathon running and has a marathon PB of 2:40. His new book, A Year On The Run, is out now. 01 SALOMON FAST WING HZ SS TEE A t-shirt may not seem like the most crucial piece of kit, but sweating too much could lead to chafes and possibly cramps, so it pays to pick wisely. Salomon’s high-tech Fast Wing Tee is a cracking combination of breathability, comfort and style. 4Way Stretch Aero soft-knit fabric makes the material super-comfy and…

WHAT IS THIS? It’s a kind-of-charming appcontrolled robotic pet entertainment sphere. Woof woof. ER, WHAT? Rather than trying to spin any flowery words around this, let Guru be direct. Pebby is a ball. In the $200/£165 ball is some electronics: a teeny Intel Edison computer, a camera, a battery, an inductive charger, some motors, a laser, a speaker, a mic, and more. Leave it at home with a lonely pet and you’ll be able to see them, hear them, send them sounds, and generally annoy the bejesus out of them by sending Pebby whizzing around like a beheaded BB-8, shining its eye-safe laser as it goes. THAT SOUNDS PRETTY NEAT! It certainly sounds very ambitious. There’s also a collar which allows you to track your pet’s activity, with an eight…

PAIR WITH BRIDGE The first step to set up your POP is to download the companion app. Once this is installed, plug the POP bridge into the power socket; make sure this is somewhere central in your home so that you get good signal in all corners. The app will now pair with the bridge – make sure your phone is close to the bridge. CONNECT TO WI-FI Once you’ve paired your phone, the next step is to connect the bridge to your Wi-Fi network. Enter your Wi-Fi password and once it’s connected to your network you’ll need to create a new Logi ID. Do this, then sign in to your account. It might take a few minutes to complete, but once it’s done you can start adding switches. ADD…

LIKE We’re all over that 4K HDR screen - it really is massively impressive. This alone could be enough to sway those looking at a Galaxy S8. And with a plethora of 4K HDR content piped through Amazon, those who do make the choice will be able to make the most of it too. LIKE One of Sony’s strengths lies in its audio, and the XZ Premium offers the same hi-res audio support you’d find in its dedicated players, enabling owners to play high-quality files, such as FLAC or DSD, while support for LDAC means you can stream better-than-Bluetooth sounds to a compatible speaker. DON’T LIKE With only two colours available at launch, including Luminous Chrome and Deepsea Black, style gurus could be left wanting. Thankfully, Sony is offering brighter,…

LIKE Super-wide screen aside, one of the biggest reasons to love the G6’s display is the inclusion of HDR – only the really big guns have included it this year. Amazingly, even with this added image goodness, LG has cut down the power consumption of its display by 30 per cent. LIKE LG has made some sacrifices on the hardware side of things in order to keep the G6 looking smooth and slim. For starters, the camera sensors are narrower, to rid the back of the usual bump you get, and the battery is now sealed. We think it’s worth it - the G6 is stunning and feels great to hold. DON’T LIKE The dual camera system is almost identical to its predecessor – the G5 – with the only…

While PS VR lets you access the PS4 PlayStation Store via its cinema mode with the screen ‘projected’ in front of you, both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift have more immersive shopping options. The Rift pops you into a relaxing brightly lit living room, complete with crackling Minecraft-style fire and beanbags as you scroll intuitively through the games on offer. Vive, on the other hand, loads up SteamVR, dropping you into space with your base stations floating in midair while you get down to the business of exploring the ultra-slick Steam Store. Familiar yet futuristic, it’s a joy to use.…

APPLE iPHONE 7 Gaming on your phone has come a long way since the Nokia N-Gage, and Apple’s flagship device is no slouch when it comes to quality gaming on the go. It’s even got Mario and Pokémon now… From £599, apple.com SONY VITA It may be getting a bit long in the tooth but Sony hasn’t given up on its pocket PlayStation just yet. Its styling is classic Sony industrial design, and its selection of smart indie games is second to none. From £199, playstation.com NINTENDO 3DS Having sold more than 60 million 3DS systems, Nintendo clearly understands the handheld market. If the Switch is beyond your budget, then get your portable gaming joy in autostereoscopic 3D. From £159.99, nintendo.co.uk…

£4.99; App Store Vantage isn’t like your typical boring calendar app. Days scroll forward in a display that looks more like Guitar Hero than Outlook, giving you a far better visual impression of how far away events are. The colour scheme can be customised and you can put fun stickers over everything. Want to make that lunch meeting with a special someone hot pink? No problem. Why not stick a love heart on it while you’re at it? But having fun features doesn’t mean Vantage isn’t powerful. As you’d expect, it syncs with your iPhone calendar flawlessly, and can send you notifications and event reminders. So, with the backend stuff linked up perfectly, everything just works and you can just get on with enjoying Vantage’s original way of viewing your…

THE SUPER SIX TVs 01 HISENSE M5500 www.hisense.co.uk PRICE £499 TESTED T3 265 Looking for a next-gen TV but don’t want to stump up more than £500? Then step this way – the M5500 boasts a beautiful 4K HDR picture and comes with essential 4K streaming apps like Netflix and Amazon. T3 SAYS A super screen on the cheap. 02 PHILIPS 9000 SERIES 901F www.philips.co.uk PRICE £2,499 TESTED T3 268 Philips’ 55-inch OLED TV offers stunning OLED 4K HDR performance, top audio from its soundbar, and we love its Ambilight. Ph OL so T3 SAYS Spectacular OLED 4K HDR images, with superb sound, and Ambilight tech. 03 PANASONIC TX-65DX902B www.panasonic.co.uk PRICE £2,499 TESTED T3 258 This big 4K beast certainly has the wow factor, delivering stunning picture clarity, terrific sound and a range…

THE SUPER SIX Laptops 01 DELL XPS 13 www.dell.com PRICE From £1,149 TESTED N/A The XPS 13 is brilliantly designed and outperforms its rivals under the hood. The infinity display gives you the expanse of a 13.3-inch screen on an 11.9-inch laptop. T3 SAYS With its fantastic performance and build, it’ll serve you well for years to come. 02 APPLE MACBOOK PRO www.apple.com/uk PRICE From £1,749 TESTED T3 264 Supremely powerful with loads of innovation, including USB-C and that brilliant Touch Bar... But come on Apple, give us back that glowing Apple logo! T3 SAYS The ultimate laptop for any task. It’s pricey, but worth every penny. 03 MICROSOFT SURFACE PRO 4 www.microsoftstore.com PRICE From £989 TESTED T3 252 A sleek design, a bright display, an upgraded pen and plentiful power make the…

Twelve South Forté This is the ideal stand to show off and charge a steel Watch. The chrome finish mirrors (literally) the shiny finish, and the leather pad on the base keeps your strap in good condition. Just fit in your Watch’s cable for charging. £49.95, twelvesouth.com Nomad Pod Pro Charge your iPhone and Watch together on the go with this smart unit. It has a 6,000m Ah battery, a built-in Lightning cable, and is designed to fit your Watch’s charging cable inside its body, with the magnetic disc at the top. £79.96, hellonomad.com Native Union Dock for Apple Watch This stand can hold and charge the Watch upright or lying down, which means you can use it for the Watch’s Nightstand mode. It comes in great colours for aluminum…