Innholdsfortegnelse for December 2022 i T3

KEF MU7 With a rep for balanced but agile sound and smart design, KEF’s loudspeakers are a sure-fire hit for audiophiles looking for max return for a mid-range price. Despite this, its forays into the headphones space haven’t quite managed to get its tanks on the lawn of brands like Sony. Until now. KEF’s new noise-cancelling Mu7 have plenty of features that make them a worthy rival of Sony’s WH-1000XM5. Their 40mm drivers dwarf the XM5’s 30mm, meaning they should offer better bass response and dynamism, although Sony’s 32-bit/96kHz LDAC Bluetooth codec does trounce the 24-bit/48kHz offered by the Mu7’s aptX HD. The Mu7 more than make up for this in terms of battery life though: they last a whopping 40 hours and will top up eight hours’ use after…

Iiiiiiiiit’s Christmas! That magical time of year where we focus on the true spirit of the season – making sure children don’t listen to the words of Xmas songs too closely. We all have our own Xmas traditions. Mine is to drink enough spiced booze for my blood to congeal into mulled wine and play computer games until my brain resembles three-day old trifle. But apparently some people actually exchange gifts on Christmas Day now. So for the sake of this newfangled custom, we’ve been taking a look at some of the cracking gadgets you can give your loved ones. First off, if you’re looking for the perfect tech to place under your tree, make sure you check out our Xmas gadget gift guide. Whether you’re looking for cracking creative…

CHRISTOPHER WARD, C1 BEL CANTO For the first time, one of the most complex mechanical complications has been made accessible by Christopher Ward. Chiming on the hour, the Bel Canto is limited to 300 pieces in Azzurro blue. £2,995, christopherward.com MONDAINE, CLASSIC Launching its most recent sustainable innovation; Mondaine’s iconic Classic Collection is now available with brand-new vegan grape leather straps, made with high-quality composite grape material at the same competitive price. £189, uk.mondaine.com OMEGA, SPEEDMASTER X-33 MARSTIMER Creators of the first watch worn on the Moon have anticipated humanity’s next giant leap with a Speedmaster designed for life on Mars. It’s made in partnership with the European Space Agency. £6,000, omegawatches.com RADO, DIASTAR ORIGINAL 60-YEAR ANNIVERSARY EDITION For this very special launch, Rado worked with Swiss designer Alfredo Häberli,…

SAMSONITE STACKD SPINNER EXPANDABLE 55CM Roll through the airport in style with Samsonsite’s new Stackd Spinner cabin case, which weighs just 3.1kg. £225, samsonite.co.uk POLAROID P2 MUSIC PLAYER Polaroid has stepped into the world of Bluetooth speakers and we’re loving the retro vibes of the ultra-portable P2, designed to be slung over wrists and shoulders. £114, polaroid.com HELLY HANSEN MEN’S ELEVATION INFINITY 2.0 SKI SHELL JACKET Stay warm and dry on the slopes – or anywhere else-with this. Features include an aerogel-lined pocket, which keeps your gadgets going for longer in cold conditions. £650, hellyhansen.com…

1 LINKSYS ATLAS 6 There’s really no excuse to leave any Wi-Fi black spots in your home – so if you’re sick of having to crouch in just the right corner to get any connectivity whatsoever, it’s probably time to gift yourself some serious signal power. The Atlas 6’s nodes are simple to set up, and AX3000 radios make them damn quick. Game, stream or work to your heart’s content. £250, linksys.com 2 iPHONE 14 PLUS You can convince yourself that this is the ultimate work phone. Frankly, it is, because no platform has more seamless app support and connectivity. But the key, really, is that you’ll be Christmaslisting the iPhone 14 Plus because you want it. And so you should. Apple has done it again: this is a fantastic…

The Ultra is the biggest transformation to the Apple Watch since its 2015 launch. But there’s more to it than just being a premium alternative to the Watch Series 8 and the Watch SE. This watch is designed to be outdoor-focused for extreme sports, from ultra marathons to rock climbers. It’s a much bigger device than the regular Series 8, in part thanks to its chunky design. There’s a hard titanium bezel to protect the screen, a bigger and more rugged digital crown and a more pronounced second button. It’s also water resistant down to 100m (compared to 50m). There’s a new depth gauge and water temperature sensor, as well as a dedicated depth gauge app included and a soon-to-be released dive computer app called Oceanic+. With the larger casing…

1 BELKIN BOOST CHARGE PRO 3-IN-1 WIRELESS CHARGING PAD This handy wireless charger fills the batteries of your iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch, all in one place. Available in black and white, the Boost Charge Pro also features MagSafe, so your iPhone snaps magnetically into place, while your Apple Watch is charged when either laid down or propped up in Bedside Mode. £149.95, apple.com 2 AIRPODS PRO 2 New, second-generation AirPods Pro have improved noise cancelling, better sound and touch-sensitive volume controls. They summon Siri with a press and come with four sizes of rubber tips for a snug fit – great for running to your favourite tunes, streamed over Bluetooth from the Watch Ultra. £259, apple.com 3 VON HOLZHAUSEN WATCH BAND POUCH Vegan and sustainably made, this plush carry…

Surely any speaker from the makers of the mighty Marshall amp that has powered some of the greatest rock ’n’ roll legends has to be good, right? The Marshall Acton III home speaker isn’t perfect but it undoubtedly delivers where it counts most – sound – and there’s no denying how cool it looks. The body of the speaker is covered in a vegan leather type of material, with a grey mesh grille across the front and a gold Marshall logo sprawled across the front. It’s available in three different colours: black, cream or brown. We tried out the black version and it looked really cool wherever we put it. Along the top, it has a gold brushed metal panel with three knobs to adjust the volume, bass and treble,…

The Pixel 7 Pro quickly establishes itself as being in the running for one of the best phones of the year, especially given its fair asking price. But does it strike pure Android phone perfection or do some of its features fall short? When we first pulled the Hazel-finish Pixel 7 Pro out of the box, it was a bit of a wow moment. The look isn’t going to be for everyone, but we think this new colourway is rather fetching. However, the first issue that the Pixel 7 Pro presents is the finish of its aluminium-edging. Buffed, polished and shiny as it looks when brand new, it doesn’t take long at all for it to get scuffed and scratched. Our handset already has little marks and lines, from pushing…

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What does the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, and luxury horologer Maximilian Büsser have in common? Well, both had childhood dreams of travelling in rockets to space. To be fair, there are a lot of children who have fantasies of heading towards the stars but only the billionaires get close to achieving it. Unlike Musk with his real-life SpaceX programme, watch-maker Maximilian is living out his galactic fantasy with this collaboration between his own MB&F brand and fellow Swiss luxury pen designers Caran d’Ache. Titled the Astrography, the pen is a feat of technology in its own right having required a total of 99 polished ruthenium and rhodium-plated components to complete the rocket-shaped pen body and more than 500 manual operations to produce each instrument. The pen comes fitted with…

BEEM ESPRESSO GRIND PROFESSION If you live for the grind, this Beem is for you. It comes from Germany rather than Italy but nonetheless, the espressos, lattes, cappuccinos and Americanos it makes are excellent. It no doubt knocks up a mean schwarzer Kaffee or Kaffee mit Milch, too. £399, beem.co.uk ECOFLOW RIVER 2 There’s some worrying talk of power cuts this winter. Best invest in a ‘power station’ like this then. Essentially a massive phone battery, River 2 is good for 10 years of daily fast charging, with a plethora of plug and USB sockets to keep your gear alive. £TBC, ecoflow.com STRATOS Sounding suspiciously like a 1980s aftershave, Stratos is in fact the latest wave of vacs from Shark. They clean your air while cleaning your carpets, thanks to…

1 JLAB GO AIR TONES Although a lack of ANC means they might not be the most technologically advanced true wireless buds out there, JLab’s flesh-toned phones offer aural camouflage whatever your skin colour, and they’re cheap enough to slot into a stocking. Don’t think that means iffy sound, either. You can tweak the EQ through an app, and these don’t make any compromises where it counts. £20, jlab.com 2 METZ ROKU TV German firm Metz hasn’t made a big splash in the UK as yet, but there’s a good chance it’ll swallow up a big chunk of the budget TV market with its banner on this ultra-affordable Skyworth-made Roku-toting TV line. Kids’ rooms are well catered for with the £159 1080p 32-inch version; go all the way up to…

1 NUMSKULL DESIGNS CHRISTMAS JUMPERS Ironic festive jumpers are an essential part of any winter wardrobe, so Numskull’s knitted range – which hits an enormous list of nerdy pop culture marks like Star Trek, PlayStation and (pictured here) Back to the Future – should give you a way to both show off your love for the classics and look suitably gaudy at the Christmas party. From £30, justgeek.com 2 BREWDOG ADVENT CALENDAR Make the row-filled run up to Christmas a little less excruciating with Brewdog’s boozy day-byday drinkathon, comprising its core beers, seasonal favourites, 2022 newcomers and even a few exclusive brews only found here. You’ll even get a lovely festive glass, in case this happens to be your first foray into the practice of consuming liquids. £60, brewdog.com 3…

The award-winning true wireless earbuds with 4-mic noise-cancelling call technology Punchy sound with a great feature set and classy finish with up to 35 hours whole day playtime Can be submerged in water up to a depth of one metre for up to 30 minutes Your special Christmas offer • FREE headphones worth £55• Enjoy a year of T3 for just £38.99 – that’s just £3 an issue!• Receive every issue delivered direct to your door• A thoughtful gift that keeps delivering throughout the year Upgrade to include digital for only £15 • Instant access any time, anywhere • Never miss an issue of T3 • Available on iOS + Android Order the gift that keeps on delivering magazinesdirect.com/ttt/x731 or call 0330 333 1113 and quote X731 Terms and conditions: Offer closes…

A premium Wear OS smartwatch in a military standard case sold for a tantalisingly low price, the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS doesn’t disappoint. It offers a range of intelligent features, and its build quality is nothing to be frowned at. The TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra GPS is built using US Military Standard 810G (MIL-STD-810G) materials to withstand “extreme temperatures, humidity, solar radiation, shock, low pressure”. It’s also IP68 water rated for those extreme showers you might take wearing the watch. Of course, the 1.4-inch AMOLED display is protected by a Corning Gorilla anti-fingerprint glass to ensure the front is as tough as the rest of the watch. The screen itself is fully touch-sensitive and, to our surprise, there was hardly any lag between movements we made with our fingers…

APPLE WATCH ULTRA From £849, apple.com WE’RE IMPRESSED Feels big and solid; great screen; easy to use on the go. WE’D IMPROVE Design won’t suit everyone; battery life still not a match for some sports watches out there. THE LAST WORD The Apple Watch Ultra is big and bold, and has the very impressive performance to back that up. Whether you’re an athlete or just want the very best, you won’t be disappointed in this device. The combination of an incredible screen, larger battery and a seriously durable casing make this worthy of the Ultra name and one of the best rugged watches on the market. GARMIN ENDURO 2 £929.99, garmin.com WE’RE IMPRESSED Insane battery life; TOPO maps added; fast processor; so many health, fitness and outdoor features. WE’D IMPROVE…

The Samsung Odyssey Ark is clearly aiming to blow all other gaming monitors away. It’s completely ridiculous, from its gigantic 55-inch size to its portrait ‘cockpit’ mode, to the sheer number of different features that it has on offer. And there is of course a price attached – a price that’s going to put it beyond reach for a lot of people out there. There’s no doubt about it, this is an absolute monster of a monitor, and getting it assembled isn’t straightforward. It’s definitely a job for two people, as there are three main pieces to put together: the base slides into the stand, and the stand then clips into the back of the monitor. Included is an Ark Dial, plus a more conventional-looking Ark Remote. You use them…

The LG Gram 16 is back again for 2022 – as with previous versions of the laptop, LG has tried to pack as much power and quality as possible inside a super-light chassis. There’s no doubt that the LG Gram 16 is a fine-looking laptop to gaze at, with its grey matte finish and clean lines. It manages to be understated without looking plain or boring, and in terms of aesthetic finish you can tell it’s a premium bit of kit. We like the subtle Gram logo on the back of the laptop lid, while the chassis feels really well built too. We even like the style and spacing of the keys on the keyboard. With a 16-inch screen, it’s never going to be the most compact of portable computers,…

LOEWE ICONIC Buying a luxury TV with industrial styling often means dealing with the guilt of unsustainably sourced materials. Not so with Loewe’s Iconic, a statement 4K set that doesn’t obtain its brutalist aesthetic by brutalising the environment. While it looks like it’s finished in stark, CO2-producing concrete, it’s actually fashioned from Syno-Stone, an eye-catching concrete-mimicking recycled material developed by German materials firm Anders. Its 4K OLED panel offers Dolby Vision HDR images, ensuring you can enjoy high-contrast pictures and inky blacks. And the Iconic also packs a built-in 360-watt, 3.1 soundbar concealed behind its fabric panel – this offers room-filling Dolby Atmos sound and can be extended wirelessly with two front speakers, two rear speakers and a sub. So you can enjoy sumptuous sound and stark styling – without…

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CHRISTMAS SOCKS Yes, yes, we know that this trio is hardly winning any sartorial awards but how can you fully celebrate the festive season without comedy footwear? So here we go with a choice of three Yuletide inspired socks. £4.99, tkmaxx.com PAUL SMITH SIGNATURE SCARF You don’t need Paul’s name to recognise the designer’s distinctive artist’s stripes but it’s written loud and proud anyway on this wool and alpaca wool blend scarf that’s been crafted in Italy and completed with tasselled ends. £100, paulsmith.com SUEDE SLIPPERS While we’re all home more during the winter, these black Pascal slippers will keep you comfy and looking dapper. Made from premium suede with stripe detail and leather trim, they’re finished with leather soles. £190, paulsmith.com MEN’S UNDERWEAR The Just Wears team, who successfully…

ARC’TERYX SQUAMISH HOODY Weighing only 140 grams, this windshell is made with the Tyono 30 nylon, a highly wind-resistant fabric that offers a lot of strength for its weight. The Squamish Hoody is a masterclass in ultralight minimalist construction. £130, arcteryx.com SALOMON BONATTI CROSS WIND JACKET This jacket from Salomon offers full freedom of movement thanks to its lightweight fabric construction and stretch back panel. The bold design features one zipped chest pocket for your essentials, and a hood. £70, salomon.com THE NORTH FACE RUN WILD JACKET TNF’s Run Wild jacket is light and flexible, allowing you to move around on mountain trials (or local park runs) easily without the wind biting into your limbs. It’s made from recycled materials and has light-reflection detailing. £80, thenorthface.co.uk…

1 ARCADE1UP STREET FIGHTER II BIG BLUE Arcade1Up’s smaller-scale arcade machine replicas reach their zenith here with this recreation of Capcom’s iconic two player cabinet containing 12 of the company’s strongest arcade hits. Perfect for a retro-obsessed kid’s room or livening up the corner of a den – and a great way to spice up proceedings on a slow Boxing Day. Watch out for Grandma’s dragon punch. £579, libertygames.co.uk 2 LEGO ADVENTURES WITH PEACH STARTER COURSE First came a dinky Bluetooth Mario, then Luigi, and now the true brains behind the whole operation makes her digital/plastic hybrid debut. There’s not much new here, but kids already well into Lego’s Super Mario line will absolutely appreciate an extra player – and those just getting started get everything they need to start…

Let’s kick off with Sony’s upcoming headset. The PlayStation VR2 has just had its price and release date confirmed - it will go on sale for £530 on 22 February. And Sony has been forthcoming with plenty of juicy details about the hardware. The headset has been designed specifically for the PS5 with matching black and white stylings and rounded edges that matches it neatly to the PS Dual Sense controller and other PS5 accessories. The original PS VR headset felt like a bit of a miracle when it was released. This was new gaming tech that somehow worked with existing PlayStation peripherals like the Move Wands and PlayStation Camera but this also made it instantly demanding. This time around, Sony has made sure that everything we need is built…

Until the Apple Watch Ultra arrived, rugged smartwatches mostly flew below the radar. While the regular Apple Watch, along with rivals from Samsung and the new Google Pixel Watch, commanded most of the smartwatch limelight, others quietly took the path less trodden. Made by the likes of Garmin, Mobvoi and Polar, rugged smartwatches are larger and tougher than those most are familiar with. They cost more too, stretching towards the £1,000 mark but justifying this outlay with a battery life measured in days instead of hours, tougher cases, solar panels and advanced mapping capabilities. The rugged smartwatch market was, until this year, a place avoided by the biggest technology companies. While they wowed with ECG apps and fall detection, Garmin and the like produced watches with gradient data for climbers,…

The Garmin Enduro 2 is a super-premium smartwatch that also happens to be a rugged outdoor watch. Its Power Sapphire glass lens isn’t only pretty, but it’s also scratch-resistant, which can come in handy when you’re exploring the wilderness. The bezel is made of titanium – light yet tough – and the watch case is fibre-reinforced polymer with titanium rear cover. The case has a water rating of 10 ATM. The ‘sunlight-visible’ memory-in-pixel display is 1.4-inch (35.56mm) in diameter and has a resolution of 280 x 280 pixels. It’s very similar to other large Garmin watch screens but due to its large size, there is plenty of space for your fingers to operate the watch. The Enduro 2 has an insane battery life. Its SatIQ GPS technology determines the optimal…

IF THE WATCH FITS… The Apple Watch Ultra’s 49mm case is larger than its siblings, and its bulk might dictate when you choose to wear it. The 48mm TicWatch is slightly smaller, while the Garmin is the largest of the trio, at 51mm. Most analogue watches fall between 34 and 42mm, so the extra size of a rugged smartwatch should be considered before you buy. PAY PER VIEW Although essentially tool watches, your rugged wearable still deserves to look good. Apple and Garmin both sell additional straps that use their own proprietary connections, offering a range of styles to pick from. Mobvoi uses industry standard 22mm lug bars for the TicWatch Pro 3 Ultra, so any strap of that size should fit fine. YOU AND VALUE Rugged smartwatches are expensive,…

Apple’s brand new, flagship tablet, replacing the previous M1 model as the very best iPad, has the same M2 chip as the latest MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. That’s a lot of power for a laptop, let alone a tablet. This means that the iPad Pro can be used for far more than the usual set of tablet tasks – browsing websites, watching movies and playing games. This is a proper creative tool, designed for use by photographers, videographers and graphic designers. You can edit RAW images or ProRes video files, with the benefit of the mini-LED Liquid Retina XDR display for accurate colour reproduction. Or you can use the second-generation Apple Pencil to sketch or draw directly on the screen. This is the sixth generation of iPad Pro and…

Fresh from this summer’s success with the PX7 S2, Bowers & Wilkins is back with what looks like more of the same. Despite the superficial similarities, though, the PX8 are meant to be an across-the-board improvement – in every respect, from aesthetic to sonic. So can lightning strike twice? Is it a spoiler to start by saying the PX8 sound great? With any type of music, at any volume level and in any environment. They’re a deeply accomplished pair of headphones, as the asking price insists they should be. They can turn their hand to anything. A massed symphony orchestra, a sensitive singer-songwriter with just one instrument accompanying them, a laptop savant whose music has never been anywhere near an actual musical instrument, you name it… the PX8 like it…

Tro-Ject and vinyl go hand in hand, but can the Debut Pro take the magic of its entry level honours and make them work higher up the turntable food chain? The simple answer is ‘yes’. There is no tearing up of the turntable rulebook here, but there has definitely been refinements. Take the tonearm, for example. It’s a combination of aluminium (on the inside, where it takes care of damping) and carbon fibre (on the outside, where its absolute rigidity is valuable). The tonearm base, too, has come under the microscope - it’s height-adjustable, which means you can go ahead and put on a chunkier slip-mat if you fancy, or try out different cartridges. But don’t be in any rush. The Debut Pro is supplied with a very capable cartridge…