250 SPECIAL EDITION

TH

GADGETS / GAMES / GEAR

Capture
the
night

195
+++++

GADGETS
LIFESAVING RATED
INSIDE
WEARABLES Shoot
Why it’s watches the

E
stars

N
to the rescue

E RP H O
SU P E ST
SU PE RT P OW E R , M O R
E
E
, M OR E M O B I L
ME RAS E Y O UR
E CA R A D
MOR NS TO UPG
REASO Go
extra
wide
PLUS! SONOS
FIFA vs PES played MOVES
Noise-cancellers clash OUTSIDE
Mega Drive Mini mashed
& ‘the future’? £4.99
Dec 2019
www.stuff.tv
 Excellence Remastered
Introducing the Mu-so 2nd Generation family from Naim.
The premium wireless speakers your music deserves.
Welcome
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This is a very special edition of Stuff. Probably not Ad Production Manager
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for you personally, unless you’ve got some sort of 220245, stuff@
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weird psychokinetic connection with the editorial Management
Managing Director
team, but because the world’s best-selling gadget Phil Weeden
Chief Executive
magazine (yes, us) has reached the milestone of Steve Wright
Chairman
its 250th issue. Steve Annetts
Finance Director
What does that mean? Well, we’re still here. We’re older, but not Joyce Parker-Sarioglu
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Managers
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Netflix was launched around the same time, offering DVD rentals. Head of Events
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I wonder if anyone predicted it would be making its own movies Senior Print Production
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This issue’s 16-page smartphone supertest proves that, for now, Subscription
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mobiles remain the most important devices in our lives. We rate Nick McIntosh

everything from the latest iPhones to Google’s new Pixels. • Volume 23 issue 12
• ISSN: 1364-963
• On sale 31 Oct 2019
Here’s to another 250 issues, by which time we may be reviewing • Audit Bureau of
Circulations: 39,953
the iPhone 34. Presumably still with a Lightning connection. (Jan-Dec 2018)

James Day, Editor-in-Chief / @James_A_Day

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3
 Go Beyond

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 Making Stuff up
Editor-in-Chief
James Day I HAD LUNCH I DEFILED THE
Hot Stuff Editor WITH FUJI’S NEW MONACO ELITE
Matt Tate RETRO CAM There’s no way of writing
Online Editor Fujifilm’s X-Pro3 is a bit this without sounding awful,
Natalya Paul special – aimed at those but enjoying collection by
Contributors who have retro sensibilities, chauffeur from Nice Airport
Andrew Williams, probably still love film cameras, and quite in a new Bentley is about as lovely as life
Craig Grannell, possibly own a selection of berets. I spent gets. No, I hadn’t become an overnight
Andrew Hayward, the afternoon in London’s Borough Market pop sensation – I was among the world’s
Sam Kieldsen, to test it out… but having skipped lunch, my billionaires to test the new Flying Spur. With
Tom Wiggins, acute desire to go head-first into a massive supercar performance and an interior more
Tom Morgan, paella meant that none of the photos I took opulent than a sultan’s smoking room, it
Verity Burns, inside the food market were in focus. So might just be one of the greatest material
Chris Rowlands, I dashed back and asked this willing staff possessions in the world. Unlike my shirt,
Simon Lucas, member to strike a quick natural pose. which might just be one of the worst.
Basil Kronfli, Natalya Paul, Online Editor Leon Poultney, contributor
Leon Poultney, Review
p63
Vikki Blake,
Alan Wen,
Jon Denton,
Barry Lineker,
Richard Purvis,
Ross Presly

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myaccount
I BELIEVED
I COULD FLY
It might look like a bold
take on Microsoft Flight
Simulator, but this was
Beats’ novel way of testing
the transparency settings on its new
Solo Pro on-ear noise-cancellers from
the comfort of a swanky hotel suite (and
out of reach from Extinction Rebellion). The
cans feature plenty of proprietary ANC tech
to block out this godforsaken miserable
world, but should you need to listen in to
vital airline announcements regarding the
lack of cheese and ham toasties, one button
press lets just enough noise in.
James Day, Editor-in-Chief
SPHERO MADE
ME ENVIOUS OF
TODAY’S YOUTH
I’m pretty sure we did get
to play with a robot when
I was at school, but the sole
objective of the hour-long class was to get
the temperamental blob to move forward.
It definitely didn’t have an customisable
expansion plate to which you could attach
a Raspberry Pi, nor a sensor that would
launch a ping-pong ball at my face. But
that’s all in a day’s work for Sphero’s
modular RVR robot, which the company
plans to roll out in classrooms across the
UK. And suddenly I want to be nine again.
Matt Tate, Hot Stuff Editor

5
 CONS
ON THE
COVER
P58

P12

p46
The Goog
place

HOT STUFF TESTS

8 The Hot Five 31 First test Apple Watch Series 5
O Microsoft Surface Neo Simply the best, better than all the wrist?
O Google Pixel 4XL 58 Tested Nintendo Switch Lite
O Bowers & Wilkins PX7 The portable console just got portabler
O Nikon Z50 60 Versus Noise-cancelling headphones
O Amazon Echo Buds p40 Sennheiser Momentum Wireless vs Dali IO-6
16 Vital stats Amazon Echo Studio Queer 63 Tested Bentley Flying Spur
Smart speaker with a permanent grimace iPhone Built like Gary Mabbutt, moves like Gareth Bale
18 Icon Transparent Speaker 67 3 of the best Tablets
We can see through the hype A spate of great slates debated and rated
20 Apps 72 Tested Google Nest Hub Max
Including an app for making apps Good listener, even better speaker
22 Games 73 Tested Sega Mega Drive Mini
What’s going to keep us indoors this winter? Never mind the tech, feel the Chris Rea puns
24 Stream 77 Tested Huawei Watch GT 2
How to watch Godfatherfellas A sexy tracker to raise your heart-rate
26 Start menu 78 Long-term test Sonos Move
Invest in ear-trumpets for hamsters I like to move it, move it (into the spare room)
27 Wheels 80 Tested Games
Tech-first car news, featuring an exciting FIFA 20 vs eFootball PES 2020, Link’s
Volvo. No, really. Awakening, Borderlands 3, Ghost Recon

p42
That 7T’s
show

6

12.19
P68
FEATURES
38 Cover feature Smartphone supertest
All the big makers have wheeled out their
latest flagships, so… wait, you don’t wheel
out a ship, do you? Anyway, we tested them…
55 Mini meme Mobile football managers
Just go out there and enjoy yourself
56 Upvoted Mice
The best digital rodents for every purpose
64 Instant upgrades DJI Osmo Action
Do this before you do gnarly stuff
68 Future gadgets
A tech soothsayer tells us what’s coming…
and it’s going to pop our trembling minds
74 Beta yourself macOS Catalina
Come and get your luvverly fresh Apple
106 Random access memories Commodore 64
ZX Spectrum fans, prepare to be indignant
WIN!
p29
P104
TOP TENS SAVE!
88 Smartphones, tablets, mobile games
What’s the handiest, handsomest handset?
90 Headphones, wearables
In-ears, on-ears, smartwatches, trackers
92 Laptops, wireless speakers
Porta-powerhouses and music movers
94 TVs, soundbars, smart speakers
All you need for a lazy night/day/year in
96 Home cinema, consoles, games
Streaming gadgets and gaming goodies
98 Tech toys, electric cars, VR Subscribe
Playing, driving, escaping from reality
100 Smart home, drones, action cams, compacts
to Stuff and
Comfort when you’re in, fun when you’re out get 58% off!
102 System cameras, budget buys
‘Proper’ cameras and the best tech bargains
104 How to buy… a TV soundbar p36
7
 Chip to
be square
Microsoft’s reveal video for
the Neo showed an Intel logo
on the processor. Exactly
which kind isn’t known,
but it’s expected to come
from the Lakefield
hybrid range.

HOT
FIVE
#1
THE ANSWER IS
OUT THERE, NEO
Microsoft Surface Neo
‘Neo’ is an anagram of ‘one’, which is weird
considering Microsoft’s newest Surface
tablet has got two screens. Shouldn’t it
be called the Wot instead? Someone in Stuck
Microsoft’s marketing department isn’t with you
trying hard enough. Prop the Neo up in an ‘A’
Maybe it’s missing a letter and should shape and one person could
be called the None, because apart from watch a movie while someone
the size of the displays there aren’t any facing them carries on
confirmed specs available yet. That doesn’t working on the other
mean we don’t know what it’ll do, though. screen. Could get
The 360° hinge between the two 9in annoying, mind.
screens means they can be folded back
to create a tab with displays on both sides,
opened out flat as a single 13in slate, or
somewhere in between to be used like a
regular laptop with a fold-out keyboard. It
runs Windows 10X, which allows for proper
split-screen multitasking, and comes with
a Surface Pen stylus that attaches to the
back when not in service.
Fortunately, Microsoft has plenty of time
to work the other details out, because
the Neo isn’t due to be released until the
end of next year – along with the Surface
Duo, a smaller dual-screened device that
runs Android. Yep, it’s the return of the
Windows Phone! Sort of.
As hot as… a double-shot magmaccino
£tba / microsoft.com

8
 20 PAGES
OF THE BIGGEST
STORIES FROM
PLANET TECH

The power
of shove
In laptop mode the
keyboard can be placed
on top of the lower screen,
which then becomes
a massive trackpad
or secondary
display.

MORE
’SOFTIES

SURFACE PRO X
With a custom-built
CPU, the keyboard cover
included and somewhere
to store and charge the
stylus, the Surface Pro X
could just be the ultimate
Windows tablet.
from £999

SURFACE LAPTOP 3
Available in a new 15in
version with a bigger
trackpad and USB-C
ports, the updated
Surface Laptop should
give the MacBook Pro a
real kick up the rear.
from £999

9
 Better when
I’m glancin’
Google has doubled the
camera count on the back,
so you now get a 12.2MP
dual-pixel main camera
and a 16MP telephoto.
Max video quality is
4K at 30fps.

MORE
GOOGLIES

NEST MINI
You might struggle to tell
the difference between
this new Nest Mini and the
original Home Mini smart
speaker; the easiest way
to tell them apart is that
this one sticks to the wall.
£50

PIXELBOOK GO
A griddle-inspired
Chromebook with a
13.3in touchscreen and
a battery that lasts up
to 12 hours, the top-end
Pixelbook Go comes with
a 4K screen.
from £629

NEST WIFI
Google’s mesh Wi-Fi
system now comes with
a speaker on board, so you
can ask Google Assistant
stuff while it pours hot
internet into every nook
and cranny of your gaff.
from £149

10
SMARTPHONE
SUPERTEST p38

Like I’m gonna

confuse you
This year the standard 5.7in
Pixel and 6.2in Pixel XL look
identical. The only difference,
aside from screen size, is
the battery: 2800mAh
compared to the XL’s
3700mAh.

HOT
FIVE
#2
NOTCH ON
THE ROCKS
Google Pixel 4XL
Almost as suddenly as it arrived, the Age
of the Notch seems to be on the way out.
Apple aside, Samsung and Huawei have
managed to shrink theirs down to pinholes,
while OnePlus, Oppo and Xiaomi have
ditched them completely and opted for
natty pop-up selfie-cameras to make
space for more screen.
That makes the full ‘forehead’ at the top
of Google’s new Pixels something of a
throwback, but it’s worth it when you find
out what they’ve crammed in up there
above the smooth-scrolling 90Hz OLED
display. The Pixel’s radar-based Motion
Sense tech knows when you’re around, so
it’ll turn the display off when you’re not
within reach and fire up the face-unlock
sensors when you go to pick it up; plus it’ll
enable more responsive gesture controls
for snoozing alarms, silencing calls and
skipping songs sans hands.
Google has also multiplied the cameras on
the back for the first time, promising better
background blurring on your portraits and a
low-light mode that’s so good it’ll allow you
to take photos of outer space. Perhaps the
Age of the Bezel wasn’t so bad after all.
As hot as… running the Venus marathon
in under two hours
£829 / store.google.com

11
 Dear future
headband
The arms are made with
a lightweight carbon-fibre
composite, so the PX7s will
stand up to whatever rough
and tumble your daily
commute can throw
at them .

Just
got pad
The PX7s are over-ear
headphones, but if you’d
prefer more discreet on-ears
there’s also the PX5 model
(£270), with smaller 35mm
drivers and 25-hour
battery life.

12

HOT
FIVE
#3
CODEC THE
HALLS WITH
BOWERS JOLLY
Bowers & Wilkins PX7
Codecs are a bit like vitamins – they’re
essential for things to work properly
but only professionals really need
to know much about them. That said,
it’s worth noting that B&W’s PX7
wireless headphones are the first to use
Qualcomm’s new aptX Adaptive Bluetooth
codec, which promises 24-bit/48kHz
quality and low latency. To normal people
that means they sound better, especially
with their 43mm drivers – the largest in
any of B&W’s cans.
Lifting an earcup automatically pauses
your music, plus you get three levels of
active noise-cancelling to choose from.
So whether you’re trying to block out your
fellow commuters’ stomach-churning
sniffling or the sound of next door’s new
conservatory being built, there should be a
setting to send you off into your own little
world. Battery life extends to 30 hours,
with five hours available off a 15-minute
quick charge via USB-C – so you can
stay in that world for well over a day,
although you might need to emerge
every now and then to eat. After all,
everyone needs their vitamins.
As hot as… a napalm smoothie
£350 / bowerswilkins.com
All about
that space
Nikon has also added two
new lenses to its Z-mount
arsenal: a 50-250mm
f/4.5-6.3 zoom and a
16-50mm f/3.5-6.3
pancake. Mmm,
pancakes…
HOT
FIVE
#4
BUILDING A
BRIDGE CAMERA
TO YOUR HEART
Nikon Z50
Indecisive snappers who can’t choose
between a full-frame DSLR and a regular
CSC have just had their choice made even
tougher with the arrival of Nikon’s Z50, its
first DX-format mirrorless model. That’s
Nikon’s name for an APS-C sensor, which is
smaller than a full-frame one so it can fit in
the Z50’s little 395g chassis.
You get 20.9MP to play with here, with an
Expeed 6 processor doing the heavy lifting
each time you press the shutter button,
plus a nice chunky grip to wrap your paws
around to make up for the lack of built-in
image stabilisation. Round the back
is a 3.2in flippable touchscreen and a
2360k-dot electronic viewfinder, but it’s
also covered with buttons and dials, so
those who prefer to keep their eyes on the
prize and adjust using physical controls will
feel right at home.
The Z50’s phase-detection autofocus,
auto exposure and 11fps burst mode
should help you keep up with all but the
most Bolt-like subjects, while 30fps
4K video and a microphone input should
put it on the radar of any wannabe
YouTube sensations.
As hot as… steamed sunspots
£849 (body only) / nikon.co.uk
13
 Flow
excuses
The drivers are inspired
by in-ear monitors used by
professional musicians, but
a quick double tap allows the
noise in when someone
has to interrupt
your groove.

Tips
are movin’
The Echo Buds come with
six different tips in three
different sizes – so unlike
AirPods, you don’t need
to have Apple-approved
earholes to wear them
comfortably.

HOT
FIVE
#5
IS THERE AN
ECHO IN-EAR?
Amazon Echo Buds
The best thing about Apple’s wonderfully
slick AirPods? They’re so conspicuous that
nobody can ever think you’re nattering
away to yourself when you’re just trying
to get Siri to add an aubergine to your
shopping list. The worst thing? They
still look ludicrous. If you can cope with
the former but not the latter, Amazon’s
Alexa-housing Echo Buds could pose
serious competition to Apple’s inexplicably
popular in-ears.
With a snug fit, three microphones on each
bud and Bose’s active noise-reduction tech
on board, everything is designed to make
sure you can hear them and Alexa can
always hear you. Your phone’s built-in voice
assistant can also be summoned with a
long press on one of the buds, so you can
have more than one imaginary friend, but
they still support all the Alexa skills you use
on your Echo at home, making Siri look like
a bit of a dunce in comparison.
Each charge should last five hours, with an
One new extra 15 on offer from the charging case,
Amazon Echo and the IPX4 rating means they’re just
gadget not enough as happy in the gym as they are in an
for you? unexpected downpour. Alexa, why are
Turn the page… AirPods so popular again?
As hot as… desert yoga
£120 / amazon.co.uk

14
MASTERS OF
COLOUR
Over 80 years of experience in
photography goes into every camera
we make. It’s part of what makes
the FUJIFILM X Series special

FUJIFILM-X.COM
IMAGE TAKEN BY UK X-PHOTOGRAPHER MARIANNE CHUA
 AMAZON TURNS
IT UP(WARDS) The Studio can
use Alexa to
Amazon Echo Studio control Zigbee-
compatible smart
£190 / amazon.co.uk home devices.

When it comes to weather

forecasts, pointless pub
trivia and conducting the
smart home, Amazon’s
Echo speakers are
peerless. But with the
possible exception of
the Echo Plus, they don’t
have the sonic muscle
to do your Rick Astley
back catalogue justice.
That changes with the
Echo Studio – the most
powerful Echo to date.

OStudio apartment
This is the first smart speaker
capable of delivering 3D audio,
with Dolby Atmos and Sony’s
360 Reality Audio bringing added
depth and height to your tunes.
There aren’t many songs that
support the format yet, and you’ll
need to subscribe to the new
Amazon Music HD service, but
even on its own the Studio is
a room-filling monster capable
of giving Sonos a scare.

OAnother fine mesh

Under its grey mesh hood, the
Echo Studio has five directional
speakers – one of which fires
upwards – while a 5.25in woofer
and 330 Watts of peak power
produce big bass. That’s
complemented by a 1in tweeter
and three 2in midrange drivers.
There’s a 24-bit DAC and the
power amp has 100kHz of
bandwidth for hi-res music
playback. Echo Studios can
be stereo-paired or connected
to some Fire TV devices for 5.1
surround sound.

OGoing commando
This is also a proper smart home
hub with voice commands. It has
an Alexa wake-up button, volume
controls and a mic disabler on the
top, and – like the Apple HomePod
and Sonos Move – is capable of
calibrating its output based on the
acoustics of where you position
it. Pre-order now for its release
on 7 November.

16
 H O T S T U F F

ECHO THOSE
SENTIMENTS
OSonos Move
The first truly portable speaker
from Sonos is a fairly hefty 3kg
and twice the price of the Echo
Studio – but hold off on your
judgement until reading our full
review on p78.
£399 / sonos.com
OApple HomePod
It has its Siri flaws, but one thing
that can’t be disputed is just
how good Apple’s smart
speaker sounds. It’s also had
a fair old price drop and an
AirPlay 2 upgrade.
£279 / apple.com
The arm-buyer strikes back
GARMIN LEGACY SAGA
With its droids, hyperdrives and holographic chess sets, the Star Wars
universe has its fair share of enviable tech – but one thing you won’t
see on Tatooine or Bespin is one of Garmin’s Legacy Saga Series
smartwatches. With their SW-inspired designs – one based on Darth
Vader and the other on Daisy Ridley’s Rey – they’d fit right in, offering
24/7 health monitoring, on-screen workouts, smart notifications
and Garmin Pay to anybody who wears one, no matter how many
midi-chlorians they have inside them. With its larger 45mm case, the
Vader edition lasts a day longer than Rey’s seven, but both include GPS
and a heart-rate sensor, and work with iOS and Android.
£350 / garmin.com

OBose Portable
Home Speaker
Promising 360° sound and
deeper bass than any rival
speaker of the same size,
Bose’s effort will work with
Alexa or Google Assistant.
£329 / bose.co.uk

Puck up your troubles

TILE STICKER
Tile has been on a mission to stop us being massive losers. Specifically,
losers of bags, keys and wallets, thanks to its smart trackers and
THE 5.25in app-based network of like-minded users. It’s now refreshed its
WOOFER AND established Pro and Mate products by boosting their range and added
a credit-card sized Slim model, but it’s the new Sticker that’s piqued our
330W AMP interest. The tiny puck with a 150ft range has an adhesive back that, Tile
says, will attach itself to just about anything. That could mean slapping
PRODUCE it on a laptop, a bike saddle, a tortoise or your partner before they go out
BIG BASS for the night – although if you take that idea seriously you’ve got some
serious trust issues to resolve.
from £35 (twin pack) / thetileapp.com

17

TRANSPARENT SPEAKER
from £450 / transparentspeaker.com
Is that really a transparent speaker
called Transparent Speaker?
Perhaps the Swedish makers were
worried things would get lost in
translation, but at least the name
ensures you won’t confuse it
with any opaque devices on your
discoverable Bluetooth list. It also
means we can concentrate on the
more important things at play with
this gorgeous creation, like the
aluminium uniframe combined
with tempered glass panels
18
I mean, it’s pretty clear what
they’ve done here…
Yes, very good. But before you
go thinking you can see through
what looks like a pretty standard
wireless speaker, there’s more
to it than that. You see, the folks
at Transparent Sound claim this
device has been designed to
become better over time, thanks
to a modular system whereby
components can be swapped
out as new wireless and audio
technologies become available.
There’s also the ability to add
plug-in upgrades like an Amazon
Echo or a Sonos Connect.
Perhaps things aren’t quite so
transparent after all.
Just stop. If this is right up your
minimalist Scandi street, the
30W Small Transparent Speaker
(with white cones and controls)
is yours for £450 and the 100W
Transparent Speaker twice its size
PARTS CAN BE
SWAPPED OUT AS
NEW WIRELESS
AND AUDIO TECH
IS LAUNCHED
(with black cones and controls)
is £900. And if you don’t like the
see-through aesthetic… well, firstly
we appreciate you sticking with
us this far down the article, and
secondly your patience has been
rewarded because the brand’s
Uncrafted range swaps glass
panels for wood, steel and
stoneware editions from £1350.
Lastly, we also like that every
Transparent Sound speaker can
be wall-mounted.
 H O T S T U F F

WTF
ARE ECHO
FRAMES?
Hope I die before they get old
MARSHALL MAJOR III VOICE They look like… normal glasses?
They certainly do, but in a feat comparable
How many Marshall amps do you think Pete Townshend smashed up
to the genie’s miraculous occupation of
in his rebellious prime? Sixty might be pushing it, but that’s how many
a lamp, Alexa has managed to squeeze
hours of battery life the legendary brand is promising you’ll get from its
herself into these unassuming spectacles.
new Major III Voice headphones. For context, that’s double what you’ll
They’re part of Amazon’s ongoing mission
get from Sony’s class-leading WH-1000XM3s – if the claims hold up,
to put its voice assistant into every
that is. You get the same 40mm dynamic drivers as the standard Major
existing physical object – and when
IIIs, but the new cans – if you hadn’t already guessed – add voice
you think about it, it’s a bit of a surprise
control via Google Assistant. With a press and hold of the voice button
that the Frames were actually beaten to
you can tell it to play your favourite playlist, read your text messages
it by the Alexa toilet.
or give you directions to the nearest amp repair shop.
£150 / marshall.com
You’re worryingly infatuated with the
Alexa toilet. So what do these things
do, then?
Put simply, the Echo Frames are
prescription-ready glasses that offer
hands-free access to Alexa. There’s no
camera or AR features – both of which
tend to make wearables look like Star Trek
props – to speak of here. Using them is
much like using any Echo device you might
have in your house: you can use voice
commands to check your calendar,
make phone calls and control compatible
smart home devices, with the Frames
wirelessly funnelling your requests
through the Alexa app on your phone
(Android-only at launch). If you get a
notification or alert, you swipe the panel
on the right temple to play the message.

But won’t everyone be able to hear

my wife giving me a bollocking for
forgetting to pick up milk?
Apparently not. Amazon says the Frames’
open-ear audio tech make use of four
Papaya and higher micro speakers that direct sound straight
ONEPLUS 7T PRO McLAREN EDITION into your ears, rather than those of nosy
passers-by. There are volume controls
Good God, Formula 1 is boring, isn’t it? Still, we’ll tell you what isn’t boring: on board for when you’re in a noisy place.
the latest McLaren Edition from OnePlus. We loved the 6T tie-in with Meanwhile, a pair of beam-forming mics
the F1 team because, as well as some awesome styling, it debuted are designed to pick up your voice without
Warp Charge 30 tech offering a day’s power in 20 minutes. The new requiring you to raise it. They can be turned
7T Pro McLaren Edition doesn’t get first dibs this time – it shares Warp off with the double tap of a button.
Charge 30T with the standard 7T Pro and to all intents and purposes it’s
the same phone. But wait, there’s a chunky 12GB of RAM here for extra When can I get them?
speed. Then there’s the car-seat Alcantara case, some customised The Echo Frames are currently US-only,
McLaren software, plus the subtle papaya orange glow that illuminates but we’ll be surprised if it stays that way
the curved edges when you get a notification. Brrrm-brrrm indeed. for long.
£799 / oneplus.com

19
 A P P S
This month’s mobile must-downloads
1 2 3
IN THE
SPOT-
LIGHT

SNEAKY
4 5 6 SASQUATCH
Apple Arcade
People were
never against
mobile games,
just exploitative
freemium
awfulness. So
while Nintendo
blazes the latter
trail, the new
Apple Arcade
subscription
service goes
fully premium,
meaning things
7 8 9 like Sneaky
Sasquatch can
exist. Like Yogi
Bear meets
Metal Gear, it
has you play as
the titular hairy
chap, who steals
grub, hides from
rangers and
acquires kit from
a kleptomaniac
raccoon. You
might narrow
1 A Park and Pigeons 2 Mario Kart Tour 3 Dear Esther your eyes at
£1.99 / Android, iOS £free (IAPs) / Android, iOS £4.99 / iOS ‘Apple does
In this score-chaser, you too can Remember all your fun times with Florence created a market for games’, but you
be a pigeon, desperate for whatever Mario Kart? Well, forget them here, narrative sort-of-games, and have to love a
scraps the humans have dropped… because this stripped-down slice this one sees you explore a gloomy title where a
including, for some reason, entire of loot boxes and IAP even has a island, piecing together a story cartoon beast
bagels. Get munching, chase your subscription that costs as much from letter fragments read by an steals a golf cart,
foes away and watch feathers fly. as Apple Arcade. anonymous man. drives into a tree
and is the next
day chastised by
4 Mindkeeper: 5 Apollo: Immersive 6 Pixelmator Photo the raccoon,
The Lurking Fear Illumination £4.99 / iPad who had to hire
£1.99 / watchOS £2.99 / iOS Most famous for letting you a wheelbarrow
Doom on Apple Watch? Not quite, Apple gives you all kinds of new enhance any snap with a single to get him
but you do get tidy 3D visuals portrait photo trickery in iOS 13. tap (powered by machine learning), home safely.
on your wrist in this auto-runner But Apollo lets you map on lighting Pixelmator Photo now ramps up
where you stomp along, turning effects that weren’t originally productivity with batch edits and
whenever you twiddle the crown. there – you massive cheat, you. full Files/Photos integration.

7 Flick Launcher 8 Pocket Casts 9 Codea

£free or £3.29 / Android
Another launcher! This one has a
dock search bar, custom gestures,
and the means to get at Google
Now with a swipe. But also, its AI
wants to give you the app you want
before you realised you wanted it.
£free / Android, iOS
This one’s not new, but it has a new
business model: Pocket Casts is
now free, which is a big deal for such
a well-regarded podcast player.
Check it out with some of our
faves – you’ll find them on Stuff.tv.
£14.99 / iOS
Want to get own work in the App
Store? Codea is a sharp way to
craft apps and games that utilise
your device’s abilities. And yes,
people have released apps made
in this app. It’s like appception.

20
 NEWS FEED
Eggstravagance THE PLAYSTATION 5 IS
OFFICIALLY INBOUND
LINN SERIES 3 Sony has finally confirmed the PS5 will
Ever been told your taste in music stinks? Maybe you should invest launch in 2020. The next-gen console
in a Linn Series 3 speaker – which looks as if it could double as an will support ray-tracing for lighting
air-freshener. Unfortunately, especially considering the astronomical effects, and swaps the hard drive for
price, it doesn’t do that at all (and if it did, it’d surely smell of hard-boiled an SSD. A new controller replaces rumble
eggs); but it does stream from all your usual services, including Spotify with more realistic haptic feedback,
and Tidal, plus there’s Bluetooth and AirPlay if you want to connect your while adaptive L2/R2 triggers allow
phone. Control is via the Linn app, a connected Alexa device or the for customised resistance.
touch-sensitive buttons on the cut-glass top, and there’s even an
HDMI ARC socket for hooking it up to your TV. Just remember you’re
shelling out nearly three grand. No wonder it’s only available in Harrods. OCULUS QUEST BECOMES
£2950 / harrods.com THE HANDIEST HEADSET
The rather brilliant Oculus Quest
has already freed us from wires and
external sensors, and soon you’ll be
able to use it without controllers. From
early 2020, the Quest will support
hand-tracking, using a new method
of deep learning that can understand
the positions of your fingers.

REALME STAKES CLAIM AS

CHEAP PHONE CHAMPION
China’s Realme has launched the
X2 Pro, a flagship impersonator at
a fraction of the cost. On the spec
sheet is a top-end Snapdragon 855+,
a 64MP quad-camera, a 6.5in Super
AMOLED screen and a 4000mAh
fast-charging battery. Enough to
leave the iPhone 11 a bit embarrassed?

Quite the chimer

STAR WARS SEASON
ARLO VIDEO DOORBELL STARTS IN THE KITCHEN
Star Wars is full of cinematic icons,
Arlo says its first video doorbell allows users to get a bigger, more
from brave heroes like Han Solo to
precise picture of their front porch. Fairly useless in itself, unless you’ve
timeless villains like Darth Vader Round
been at the pub too long and can’t remember what the hell your house
Dutch Oven. Nope, we’re not making
looks like, but excellent if there’s someone dodgy standing on it and you
that one up: thanks to a collaboration
want to catch them in the act of looking shifty. With high-resolution
between Star Wars and pot dealer Le
live video, two-way audio (including direct-to-mobile video calls)
Creuset, a bunch of classic characters
and what Arlo claims is an industry-leading vertical field of view with
have been turned into kitchenware.
an optimised 1:1 aspect ratio, you can capture people from head to
toe – even if your would-be burglar is a basketball player in 6in heels.
Out now in the US priced $149, it arrives in Europe early next year.
£tbc / arlo.com

21

FIRST PLAY SHENMUE III PC, PS4
Pioneering the open-world
concept, Shenmue was at its
time the most expensive game
ever made. It not only had
cutting-edge graphics featuring
a detailed location with dynamic
weather cycles and hundreds
of characters with their own
schedules, but it was the start
of a cinematic epic as student
Ryo Hazuki embarked on a quest
to avenge his father.
[ Words Alan Wen ]
The saga was, however, cut
short by the untimely demise
of its host platform, the Sega
Dreamcast – which just recently
celebrated its 20th anniversary
22
in the UK. But after years of
false starts, campaigning from
fans and a record-breaking
Kickstarter, the story finally
continues with the series’
legendary creator Yu Suzuki
back at the helm.
While Shenmue III picks up
right where its predecessor left
off in rural China, it also feels like
stepping into a time capsule – as
if all the advancements of Skyrim
and Red Dead Redemption
never happened.
There’s an attempt to move
towards a typical RPG system,
as a task to find a man with a scar
OUT 19
NOV
on his face requires training and
levelling-up before you can beat
him in a fight. Yet it’s the other
things you get to do that stay
true to the original Dreamcast
experience: poking your head in
cupboards for no reason, doing
money-making jobs disguised
as mini-games, wasting your
dosh on toy capsules, asking the
locals the same question for the
umpteenth time.
And of course it’s Ryo, who’s
still as oblivious and robotic
as ever. Yep, this is Shenmue
alright, and it’s exactly what the
fans have been waiting for.
 FIRST LOOK WATTAM I SUPPOSED TO DO NOW?

WATTAM (thanks) and hit the button to

PS4
When Katamari Damacy
creator Keita Takahashi was
asked in a recent blog post
how you’re supposed to play
his latest oddball creation, he
replied: “Turn on the PS4 or
PS4 Pro, grab the controller,
buy/download Wattam
start the game.”
While this answer is in no
way helpful, it does accurately
describe exactly what we
want to do every time we
see this game’s action. First
announced way back in 2015
and finally coming to PS4 on
4 December, Wattam sees
you play as a bowler-hatted
green cube thing who
happens to be the mayor.
By the looks of it you’ll
also assume control of
anthropomorphic acorns,
ice-cream cones and toilets
as you strive to ‘reconnect
the people’.
Playing solo or in co-op,
you can dance with your
miscellaneous pals or blow
them into the air with a
confetti bomb hidden under
your hat.
We can’t make any sense
of it whatsoever right now,
but if you’ve had your fill of
moody violence this year and
want something a bit more
cheerfully absurd to kick off
the festive season, Wattam
looks like just the thing.

BEST OF GAMES COMING TO GOOGLE STADIA

CYBERPUNK 2077 RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 DESTINY 2: THE COLLECTION

Stadia
When CD Projekt Red’s follow-up to The
Witcher 3 arrives next year, Stadia users
will be among those able to play it. The
developer was satisfied that Google’s
processing could do its new game justice,
so you’ll be able to play as an immaculately
rendered Keanu wherever you are.
Stadia
You probably don’t need an excuse to sink
another 100 hours into the genre-defining
cowboy epic, but Stadia makes it possible
(internet permitting) to play the entire
thing on a compatible tablet or phone.
If this works as advertised, Stadia is going
to be pretty difficult to ignore.
Stadia
Sign up to the monthly Google Stadia Pro
subscription service and you’ll get a free
game each month, the first of which is
Destiny 2: The Collection. All of the game’s
available expansions will be playable in up
to 4K @ 60fps, with a Chromecast Ultra
included in the Founder’s Edition.

INCOMING
DECEMBER
OTERMINATOR: RESISTANCE
OBRAIN AGE: NINTENDO
SWITCH TRAINING
2020
OORI AND THE WILL OF THE WISPS
OGODS & MONSTERS
OTHE LAST OF US PART II
OIRON MAN VR
OFINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE

23
H O T S T U F F

Scorsese, De Niro, Pacino and Pesci are

coming to Netflix to make you an offer you
can refuse but almost certainly shouldn’t

Servant Marriage Story The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

Let’s twist again! M Night Shyamalan
picks up the ‘executive producer’
reins on this series produced
exclusively to stream via Apple
TV+. Details are scant, but if the
creepily lifelike doll used in the
promos is any indication, we’re
in for a rollercoaster ride of
psychological horror and things
that go goo-goo-ga-ga in the night.
S1 / Apple TV+
From The Squid and the Whale
to The Meyerowitz Stories, Noah
Baumbach’s movies have a knack
for laying bare the tragi-comic
complexities of modern human
relationships – and this Netflix
original with Adam Driver and
Scarlett Johansson promises
more of the same by digging into
the breakdown of a marriage.
Film / Netflix
The first two seasons of Amazon’s
fast-paced period comedy drama
scooped up armfuls of awards,
and we’ve been relishing the return
of trailblazing stand-up comic
Midge Maisel and the show’s
spot-on depiction of mid-century
Manhattan – the best since Mad
Men. Proof that Amazon can match
Netflix for original content.
S3 / Amazon Prime Video

The Expanse The Witcher The Grand Tour

Having saved this fine space opera
series from cancellation, Amazon
appears to have inundated its
showrunners with enough cash
to up its production values as it
‘expands’ into uncharted parts of
the cosmos. Its sobering vision
of a near-future solar system
colonised by rival factions is
mercilessly rooted in real science.
S4 / Amazon Prime Video
Henry Cavill ditches Superman’s
cape for Geralt’s white ponytail
in this adaptation of the Polish
fantasy novel series. If you’ve
played the games, you’ll know
what to expect: a hearty mix of
monster-slaying, potion-quaffing,
grim warfare and nudity. It could
either be the next Game of Thrones
or the next Xena: Warrior Princess.
S1 / Netflix
The world’s best-known trio of
stonewashed manbabies returns
for another series of hi-octane
stunts and backslapping banter.
It’s unlikely to win over new fans,
but will surely drag your dad back
to the telly to see what japes will
ensue as the three sniggering berks
continue their non-carbon-neutral
trot around the globe.
S4 / Amazon Prime Video

The Irishman Film / Netflix

TH ISS T
M N’

The streaming event of the year, if not the decade? Fuggetabout it! The Irishman is
DO

not only Scorsese’s long-awaited return to the world of organised crime; it also brings
together the holy trinity of gangster movie stars: De Niro, Pacino and Pesci. It’s kind of like
IS

The Expendables but with people who can act. Set over several decades (this is a great
advert for CG de-ageing tech), the film delves into one of 20th-century America’s biggest
mysteries: the disappearance of mob-connected union boss Jimmy Hoffa.

24
S T R E A M

25
 S T A R T M E N U
The latest startups, crowdfunded projects and plain crazy ideas

TE -
R
AR K
ST KIC

Listen up
EARHD
Sorry to break it to you, but the
design of your ears is flawed.
Sound reflects off of your pinna,
which acts like a funnel. This helps
you determine where sound’s
coming from, but causes
distortion. Like tiny ear-trumpets
from the future, earHD is like a
lughole upgrade. These wearables
focus sound to a central location.
This isn’t about amplification – it’s
more like ‘cleaning’, removing
clutter and heightening the detail
for anything from lectures to
hi-res audio. That might sound like
rot, but boffins at the University of
Southampton have verified the
claims, which – if you were already
excited by the concept – will be
music to your ears.
from £199 / flareaudio.com

BACK IT

STACK IT

SACK IT
GOE-
TE -

TE -

TE -
R

R
AR K

AR K

AR K
GONDI
ST KIC

ST KIC

ST KIC
I

Clear up Beat up Cut up Light up

MUDITA PURE
Like a sci-fi take on an old
blower, the Mudita Pure mixes
sleek modern design with
a distraction-free ethos.
Everything’s stripped back
and offline, and it’s all about
mindful tech use – so no
internet or email, but there is
a music player and meditation
timer. Oh, and a headphone
port. Take that, Apple!
$258 / mudita.com
POCKETDRUM
Air-drumming’s fine, but it’s
basically flailing arms and spitty
drum noises. This is better:
Bluetooth-enabled drumsticks
that use spatial awareness
and haptics to make it feel
like you’re playing the real
thing. You can even strap
a PocketGuitar (which is a sort
of air-guitar plectrum) to your
foot for the kick drum.
from £56 / aeroband.net
CHOPBOX
Yep, even chopping boards are
now ‘smart’, although this one
avoids gimmicks and Alexa.
Instead you get a scale and
timer, with a digital readout
that’ll last 30 days before you
have to recharge your board.
There’s an integrated second
board, but sadly no automated
chef to make your dinner.
Perhaps in ChopBox 2.0.
$99 / theyescom.com
ARCADE CODER
This tactile board mostly
comprises 144 chunky LEDs,
and is designed for up to four
players to do battle on classics
like Whack-a-Mole and
Snake. But delve into iOS
app Game Studio and your
kid can create new games or
try Painter Mode, for fashioning
dazzling multi-coloured light
shows and more.
£80 / techwillsaveus.com

26
 Kindle surprise
AMAZON KINDLE KIDS EDITION
When their alternatives are playing FIFA, learning a new dance from
Fortnite or riding an e-scooter while vaping, it can be difficult to
convince kids to read a book. But show them something that looks
like technology and they’ll be 300 pages into Anna Karenina before
you know it. That’s why Amazon has made the Kindle Kids Edition: a 6in
e-reader with an adjustable front light and loads of sprog-friendly
features, such as achievement badges and definitions shown over
difficult words. Like its kids’ tablets, Amazon will replace it if anything
happens in the first two years, so no worries if it’s run over by
a two-wheeled vape addict.
£100 / amazon.co.uk
DROP
EVERYTHING
& DOWNLOAD
Astro Golf
£1.89 / Android £1.99 / iOS
O
When you think of someone playing ‘sport’
with planets, it’s usually a colossal alien
potting them into black holes, like Ronnie
O’Sullivan crossed with Galactus. But Astro
Golf is far more sedate, as you smack a ball
between planets in a single-screen solar
system that whirls off to somewhere new
when you complete a hole.
With its minimalist vibe, drag-based
controls and endless nature, there’s more
than a hint of mobile classic Desert Golfing
about this title. But it differentiates itself
through endearingly bonkers gravity-aided
ball-smackage (slingshots aplenty!) and
an entertainingly tricky ‘hard’ mode that
forces you to get a hole in one in order to
progress – every single time.

A cartridge among the pigeons

ANALOGUE POCKET
It’s 30 years since the Nintendo Game Boy arrived, but if you still love
the authentic experience of original cartridges, Analogue Pocket gives
you a better way to play. This handheld handles the entire Game Boy,
Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance back catalogue on its 3.5in
1600x1440 615ppi display. The buttons are mappable, there are stereo
speakers, and it charges via USB-C. Want to head beyond Nintendo?
There’s a built-in synth/sequencer and adapters are planned for a
range of other systems’ cartridges, including Sega Game Gear and Atari
Lynx. And when you want some big-screen action, you’ll be able to drop
it into a dock (sold separately), grab a Bluetooth controller and go crazy.
$199 / analogue.co

27
W H E E L S

Volvo XC40 Recharge

SWEDE’S ELECTRIC
No engine? No air
intake required… and
a filled-in front grille
makes for better
aerodynamics, which
improves range.

£53,000 (est) / volvo.com NEWS DASHBOARD

Where have you been hiding? The Batteries mean bulk, don’t they?
XC40 has been around for years! Is it nippy?
Sure, the planet-destroying petrol It does tip the scales at over two
and diesel versions have. But this tonnes, but this XC40 doesn’t
cutest of crossovers has swapped hang about when you give it the
an engine for electric motors. beans. Instant torque and a very
Two of ’em, actually – it’s an SUV, healthy 402bhp mean it’ll crack
and so the motoring powers that 60mph in 4.7 seconds.
be have decided it must have BUY ONE ASTON, SUPER ’VETTE NOT TAYCAN
four-wheel drive. Any tech treats inside the cabin? GET ONE FREE! GOES TOPLESS THE MICKEY
Lots if you’re an Android fan: this Oh, the £250,000 One year ago, a Porsche’s first
Well, it looks just like the old one is the first production car to swap DBS Superleggera Corvette without electric car made
to me… in-house infotainment for Android isn’t exclusive a V8 engine in front its debut in Turbo S
Seeing how the original was Automotive. Google Maps comes enough for you? of the driver was colours, but you
a tasty piece of four-wheeled baked in, the Play Store is a tap Aston Martin has unthinkable. It’s had to be a Bond
Scandi sculpture from the country away and you can go hands-free something special un-American, supervillain to
that brought us flat-pack furniture with Google voice commands. tucked away… but dammit! But the afford one. At £80k,
merged with meatballs, that’s you’ll need to be mid-engined C8 the Taycan 4S is
no bad thing. Volvo’s design team How long until it hits the road? jackpot-rich to changed all that, less likely to upset
have used the lightest of light Volvo is aiming for the middle of afford it. Just 19 of and now you your bank manager,
touches, but look closely and 2020 –with plans to launch an the DBS GT Zagato can get one but it’ll still zip
you’ll spot a charging port instead EV a year through to 2025. They’ll will be built, and one as a full-blown silently to 60mph
of a fuel filler cap. Mind you, with be proper range-toppers packed will set you back convertible… and in 4.0 seconds. The
250 miles of range between with kit, and with high prices. Even £6m… but you do it only takes a 79kW battery is
top-ups and fast-charging hitting with the plug-in car grant, XC40 get a retro DB4 GT button-press to good for 250 miles
80% in 40 minutes, you won’t be Recharge customers are unlikely Zagato thrown in. take the top down. between charges.
using it very much. to see any change from £50,000.

28
 W I N

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 F I R S T T E S T A P P L E WAT C H S E R I E S 5

Always-on
my mind
With a display that no longer needs waking up with a violent gesture, Apple’s latest
Watch is turning the screw on its rivals. But is it worth upgrading from Series 4?

from £399 / stuff.tv/WatchS5

pple’s domination health features that the other arguably the first smartwatch new screen doesn’t annihilate

A of the smartwatch
market is so easy it’s
boring, like watching
a cat play with a couple of mice
that are already half-dead.
[ Words Matt Tate ]
wearable makers still haven’t
been able to match.
You’d be forgiven, then, for
fearing that Tim Cook and pals
would be planning a nice long
that could save your life), it
does have one key addition:
an always-on display.
By no longer requiring you to
flick your wrist to see the time
your battery either.
Also new to the feature set
is a built-in compass, while the
watchOS 6 update adds a host
of new tricks that make the

There’s no great secret to
this continuing success: it’s all
down to a seamless relationship
between hardware and software,
and a bunch of really impressive
snooze on their laurels after the
excellent Apple Watch Series 4.
But while the Series 5 isn’t as
significant an upgrade as last
year’s model (after all, that was
and any notifications that may
have popped up, the Watch S5
becomes a lot more like, well, an
actual watch. And because of
the clever tech powering it, the
Watch even smarter than it
was already. This is still a great
wearable, then – but has its
maker done enough to entice
you to dump last year’s model?

31
 F I R S T T E S T A P P L E WAT C H S E R I E S 5

2
1 Gimme five
Out of the box the Watch S5 is
near-indistinguishable from its
predecessor. The dimensions
are the same, there’s a button
for quick app-switching and fast
access to Apple Pay, and you still
get satisfying haptic feedback
from the digital crown.

2 Five o’clock shadow

Until the battery conks, this thing
stays on. An ultra-low-power
LTPO display allows the refresh
rate to adjust from as high as
60Hz to as low as 1Hz; combined
with an ambient light sensor, this
ensures it isn’t gulping juice like
your five-year-old nephew.

3 Five towns
As well as the familiar built-in
GPS, the new Watch has a proper
compass. Open its app and you’re
shown which way you’re facing,
your incline, plus latitude and
longitude. It works well and
doesn’t require a cellular or
Wi-Fi connection.

4 Five alive
Cellular S5 watches are now able
to make international emergency
calls from nearly anywhere in the
world (Apple’s official line is 150
countries), regardless of where
they were bought. And you don’t
even need to have activated the
cellular plan for it to work.

5 Nine to five
Battery life will vary day by day,
but as long as you remember to
charge it every night the Watch
S5 isn’t going to conk out on you.
Just know that it’s a step down 5
from the S4… and of course, there
are other smartwatches that can
go for days between charges.

24 hours with
.

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1min 3mins 15mins 45mins 2hrs 2.1hrs 3hrs 6hrs 9hrs

32
 F I R S T T E S T A P P L E WAT C H S E R I E S 5

Tech specs
Screen 1.78in 448x268 (44mm) / 1.57in 394x324 (40mm)
OLED with 3D Touch Processor Apple S5 Storage 32GB
OS watchOS 6 Battery life Up to 18hrs
Sensors Accelerometer, gyro, HRM, barometer, compass
Dimensions 44x38x10.7mm, 47.8g (44mm);
40x34x10.7mm, 39.8g (40mm)

The pretty that never sleeps

So, how does the Apple Watch Series 5’s always-on
display work in the real world?

Q Time’s up Q Time out

The appeal of a display
that doesn’t need waking
up is obvious. You can now
easily check how much
longer you have to endure
a meeting at work without
4 making your boredom
obvious to everyone.
When your wrist is
lowered, the screen
dims just enough to keep
the time and whatever
complications you have
viewable at a glance. Raise
or tap it and the Watch
switches to full brightness.

Q Quiet time Q Face time

Cinema mode still makes
the Watch go completely
black unless you tap it – a
feature you may also find
yourself using in dimly lit
restaurants, or any other
situation where you don’t
want to annoy people.
Apple has re-designed
most of the watch faces
for the always-on display.
Choose the new Numerals
Duo face, for example, and
the colours will drain from
the numbers when the
screen dims.

If you use an iPhone, this is the best

smartwatch for you. It’s not cheap,
but it works beautifully within Apple’s
ecosystem. But does it do enough to
justify an upgrade? If you own an S4
s? t

and have no major issues with wrist-flicking,

re es
ab ts

tio h

ca lick
ts
ly e

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eli d i

.
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then probably not. Most of the best new

s n No

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pr ’m n
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ar ng

ar le

ow t
se za

features come from watchOS 6, and they

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work on the old model too. @MattWTate

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STUFF SAYS +++++

nt as
p i ne

ce e’

sm ind
ide ri h

fa er
ap he

no e
Th

Th

M
Si
T

This is a minor upgrade, but

an always-on display makes
the best smartwatch even better
17hrs 18hrs 20hrs 23hrs 24hrs

33
 F I R S T T E S T A P P L E WAT C H S E R I E S 5

The alternatives:
Two subtle smartwatches
Do the latest offerings from Withings and Fitbit stand up to the Watch S5?

Withings Fitbit Versa 2

Move ECG from £200 / fitbit.com
£130 / withings.com
What’s the story?
Not too big, not too small,
What’s the story? not too clever and not
This neat hybrid too dumb, the first Versa
smartwatch will do offered a sprinkling of
basic exercise and sleep smartwatch tricks and
tracking, but what makes fitness functionality while
it a worthy Apple Watch keeping things simple. Its
rival is its ability to take successor looks similar,
an electrocardiogram with the same pebble-like
(ECG) and alert the user face that blends pleasingly
to an irregular heartbeat. into the background.
Withings had some
business dalliances Is it any good?
with Nokia Health, but The Versa 2 has a single
is independent once again physical button for waking
and continues to offer solid it up, summoning Alexa
wearable tech with a focus or making payments. So
on affordability and style. comfy you’ll forget you’re
wearing it, it’s worth
Is it any good? keeping on at night to
There’s no denying the track your sleep. The 1.4in
absence of a heart-rate OLED display betters the
monitor lets this one previous model’s LCD and
down in the exercise includes an always-on
department. But for those option, although this
looking for simple health reduces the six-day
tracking it’s a no-brainer, battery life down to five.
and the accompanying The lack of GPS will be a
Health Mate App is deal-breaker for some;
an insightful addition. but if you don’t mind
Withings has done taking your phone out for
a fine job of making a run, the Versa 2 provides
a comfortable, subtle enough smartwatch and
wearable that doesn’t exercise modes to keep
need charging because most people happy.
the battery lasts an
entire year. KEY SPECS
Screen 1.4in 300x300
KEY SPECS AMOLED touchscreen
Screen 1.4in analogue Storage 5GB
Storage Free online Battery life Up to 6 days
Battery life 12 months Sensors Accelerometer,
Sensors ECG, altimeter, HRM, altimeter, ambient
accelerometer light, relative SpO2
Dimensions Dimensions (40mm face)
38x38x12.5mm, 31g 40x39.8x12mm, 40g

Stuff says Stuff says

++++, ++++,
A top watch for heart A solid all-rounder
health if Apple’s with handy smarts
is out of budget and an epic battery

34
 C AT C H T H E W I N T E R L I G H T
W I T H N I KO N

Photographer: ©Alex Stead

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 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

Call on me
Selecting the best phone to buy 4
5

has suddenly got extra-tough,

3
so we’ve weighed up the latest
contenders and picked out 2
the cream of the crop
1

here’s something

T strange going on with

the 250th-issue Stuff
smartphone supertest.
Rather than being filled with flagship
phones released throughout the
year, most of the mobiles paraded
here have landed in the last few
weeks. Whether it’s a desperate
bid to beat Brexit stealing all the
column inches or the insatiable
pursuit of your Christmas cash,
tech companies have gone a little
bit launch-crazy.
So an apology: Nokia, LG, Samsung
and others don’t feature because
we only have so much paper. All
make wonderfully unique phones
– and if you don’t believe us, head
over to Stuff.tv and trawl through
our encyclopaedia of reviews to
find your perfect match. We’ve also
largely ignored 5G due to its current
niche status.
No prizes for guessing that most
of the phones featured get five stars;
but before moaning that we’re going
soft in our old age, a reminder that
the first iPhone arrived in 2007, and 1 Oppo Reno2 2 Huawei Mate 30 Pro 3 Motorola One Zoom
It’s been a big year for No Google Play, no The wild-card bargain
after 12 years and countless billions the Chinese upstart party? Perhaps, but of the bunch wants
in R&D it’s little wonder makers have and the Reno 2 joins Huawei hasn’t stopped to bedazzle you with
a burgeoning line-up making bad phones an OLED display and
started to get the hang of this. of bold phones with and we certainly rate not one but four rear
pop-up selfie-cams. this Mate. cameras.

38
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

4 Apple iPhone 11 5 Asus ROG Phone II 6 OnePlus 7T 7 Google Pixel 4 XL 8 Apple iPhone 11 Pro
Apple in ‘affordable Gamers, we haven’t The cult brand is back Dual cameras with The first iPhone to
smartphone’ shocker. forgotten about you, with extra-fast Warp astrophotography be tagged ‘Pro’ has
The standard iPhone 11 and the ROG Phone II charging, an equally smarts mean the new something of the night
might just have enough represents the best of rapid processor and Pixels are seeing stars, about it, and we’re not
about it to tempt you a top-benchmarking a super-smooth 90Hz but how many have we just talking about the
away from pricier rivals. bunch. screen. given them? ‘midnight green’ finish.

39
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

In tests, our USB-C

fast-charger took us
from 2% battery life to
50% in just 30 minutes.
Shame it’s still a
Lightning connection on
the other end *sigh*.

40

Sweet camera skills make
this an extra-tasty Apple
So the iPhone has followed almost
every other area of Apple’s device
empire and gone ‘Pro’, but what
does that actually mean? Well,
this is Cupertino’s elite handset,
its gladiator, a knight in recycled
aluminium charging into battle
against the Android enemies vying
for the smartphone throne.
OK, we may have re-watched a
Marvel movie or two recently, and
on the surface this thing does
look a lot like last year’s iPhone
XS, but flip it over and you’ll see
a triple-camera array that’s up
there with the best we’ve tested
this year. And with Apple finally
catching up on the competition
and developing some sharp
Night Mode photography
tech, it’s the best all-round
smartphone camera, full stop.
O APPLE iPHONE 11 PRO FROM £1049 +++++
Night Mode is
automatically enabled
when the 11 Pro detects
it’s dark. Depending on
the available light, it then
takes several seconds to
render an image.
FOR
A BIT
MORE
Apple iPhone 11
Pro Max
from £1149 /
apple.com
The 11 Pro Max is the
11 Pro with a bigger
6.5in display and
battery. Delve a tad
deeper and you’ll
discover that display
matches the 11 Pro’s
458ppi resolution
and you’re getting
around five hours
more usage than the
old XS Max. So this is
the best iPhone you
can buy if you have
the metaphorical
and physical deep
pockets required.
Stuff says +++++
SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES
The A13 Bionic chip comes out
on top in benchmark testing
too, bringing about untouchable
speeds. The fact there’s no 5G
option doesn’t bother us for now
(but ask us again in 12 months),
while its fast-charging capabilities
are a godsend that iPhone fans
have been waiting for.
Anyway, #slofies aside (that’s
slow-mo selfies shot with the
CAMERA
Night fever
The Pro sees the birth of an
extra 12MP f/2.4 ultra-wide
lens, joining the primary 12MP
f/1.8 cameras with OIS and
the 2x 12MP telephoto. There’s
a noticeable improvement to
image quality, but the most
notable development is Night
Mode which, believe us when
we say it, beats Google at its
own game. The front camera
gets a 12MP slofie upgrade,
while video quality overall is
undeniably epic – it’s capable
of recording 4K video at 60fps
with astounding stabilisation.
After floundering in space, Apple
is now top of the shots.
OOOOOOOOOO
DESIGN
Matt impulsion
More screen and less notch
would’ve been nice, but a matt
back with a stainless steel edge
contrasts well. The rear lenses,
also encircled in stainless steel,
lie flat when the Pro wears a
case. It has an IP68 rating for
waterproofing.
OOOOOOOOOO
front camera, for the benefit of
those living life at a similar pace),
this is a serious and solid phone in
every meaning of the word – and
one most definitely worthy of
wearing the ‘Pro’ moniker.
In short, it’s a smartphone
that’s going to take wicked
photos in any scenario and
carry out all your daily tasks
with finesse.
DISPLAY
Nits outbreak
The 5.8in ‘Super Retina XDR’
display sees marginal gains
from the iPhone XS but contrast
is excellent, with the darkest
blacks and brilliant levels of
detail. Maximum brightness
goes to 800 nits, or a staggering
1200 nits for HDR content.
OOOOOOOOOO
PERFORMANCE
The dark side
Apple’s A13 Bionic chip is
a notable step up: video
is easy to export and edit,
apps feel faster and FaceID
is supposedly quicker (though
in reality it’s hard to tell the
difference). New to iOS 13 is
Dark Mode, with system-wide
support for all apps to reduce
eye strain and stretch out
battery life, which stands at
four more hours than the XS
and gets speedy charging from
an 18W mains plug. We kiss
goodbye to 3D Touch, replaced
by Haptic Touch, and welcome
a swipe keyboard for very jazzy
brush typing.
OOOOOOOOOO
41
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES
OnePlus lives up to its slogan
with a phone that’s T-riffic
It’s no secret that the OnePlus 7
was a bit, well, meh. Sure, it was
powerful and good-looking, but
just too similar to the 6T before it.
Honor and Xiaomi then launched
low-cost flagship-specced
phones in the 20 Pro and Mi 9
with more cameras, lower prices
and similar innards.
Enter the OnePlus 7T, offering
an array of enhancements over
O ONEPLUS 7T £549 +++++
DESIGN
The thin blue line
The new 7T is longer, thinner
and better-looking than its
predecessor, without sacrificing
the va-va-voom of stereo
speakers and a fancy in-hand
feel. The front has more screen
and less bezel with a dinky
droplet notch and elongated
20:9 aspect ratio, but the magic
starts when you flip it around
and gaze upon the dreamy
‘glacier blue’ finish of ethereal
frostiness. It does grubby up, so
whack it in a case, but there’s
one in the box with a pre-fitted
screen protector. The circular
camera surround is also an
excellent statement piece.
OOOOOOOOOO
CAMERA
The hold steady
A 48MP sensor with f/1.6 lens
will grab great pictures, and
image stabilisation holds things
steady in Nightscape mode.
A 2x zoom 12MP camera with
f/2.2 lens gets you closer to
the action, while the 16MP cam
offers a wide-angle option.
OOOOOOOOOO
42
the only months-old 7 model.
Most significantly, it adds the
same super-smooth 90Hz
refresh rate as the 7 Pro, although
this 6.55in panel is still at only
1080p resolution.
The rear camera setup gains
a third sensor and a redesign, the
processor has been upgraded
to the newer Qualcomm
Snapdragon 855+, and the
PERFORMANCE
Imagine Snapdragons
With a Snapdragon 855+ chip,
this phone flies. The 8GB RAM
and 128GB storage will keep all
but the most demanding users
happy, although there’s no
microSD slot. A speedy under-
screen fingerprint scanner and
face unlock are on board too.
OOOOOOOOOO
DISPLAY
Love hertz
Its screen is a beauty, lifting the
Fluid AMOLED tech from the
7 Pro. It has a 90Hz refresh rate,
and trust us, you’ll notice the
difference, gliding through
menus, sites and news feeds
with punch and pizazz. Even
switching back to the 60Hz
screen of the knockout
Samsung Galaxy Note 10 Plus
feels slower. At 6.55in it’s not
a dainty display and its extra
height might require a bit more
stretch than you’re used to.
That said, it’s sharp enough
at over 400ppi, gets incredibly
bright and is protected by
Gorilla Glass.
OOOOOOOOOO
latest Warp Charge 30T is even great battery life and a dreamy
faster than on the 7 Pro. new design.
Significant upgrades mean While the Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro is
a slight price hike over the 7, still likely to offer better value for
but for your dosh you’re getting money, the OnePlus 7T – thanks
better-than-flagship features for to that 90Hz screen and Oxygen
a lower-than-flagship price. The OS being so darned gorgeous –
camera isn’t the best around, but won’t disappoint if you can stump
it’s competitive and outguns its up the extra. It lays down a real
predecessor in every way. The marker to the established order
phone also has stacks of power, including Samsung, LG and Sony.
The ace super-macro
feature gets you as near
as 2.5cm to a subject for
snapping with pin-sharp
precision. Video clocks in
at 4K @ 60fps.
FOR
A BIT
MORE
OnePlus 7T Pro
£699 /
oneplus.com
Despite a different
design the 7T Pro
shares some key
specifications with
the 7T, including the
90Hz display. But
here you’re treated
to 6.67in of it, and a
pop-up selfie-cam,
along with the
vertical rear lens
formation of its Pro
predecessor. Other
major differences
include double the
storage at 256GB
and a bigger battery
at 4085mAh.
Stuff says +++++
SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

A beefy 3800mAh
battery makes this a
morning-to-night phone,
with Warp Charge 30T
filling it to around 70% in
30 minutes – but there’s
no wireless charging.

43
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

Why go Pro when the basic

iPhone is as brilliant as this?
Say hello to the new everyman
iPhone. Available in a fruity array
of colours, with a seemingly
modest dual-lens camera and
powered by Apple’s A13 Bionic
chip, this is the most affordable
handset in the new class of 2019.
While a dual-lens cam sounds
meagre by today’s standards,
clever software known as Deep
Fusion takes multiple photos at
one time to ascertain the most
optimal versions, then mashes
them together for the best
possible results. Plus, low-light
performance sees huge
improvements and portrait mode
isn’t only reserved for humans
now. Strike a pose, cat.
We’re impressed… but let’s get
real. All of the above doesn’t really
matter if you run out of power,
and that’s one department where
the iPhone 11 trumps the 11 Pro.
It’ll last a full day with heavy use,
and well over a day if you’re not
a working, gaming, photo-taking
freak like us. There’s no fast 18W
charger in the box like there is
with the Pro, but we suggest you
buy one for £29.
You’re getting a neat package
with the iPhone 11 – and it’s not
silly expensive. The new Bionic
A13 chip packs serious power,
the cameras are near-faultless
for a smartphone and, just to
reiterate, it’ll last all day. The lack
of an OLED display is more of
an issue than the absence of
a telephoto lens – so if you can
bring yourself to get over that,
then start thinking about what
colour you might opt for.

O APPLE iPHONE 11 FROM £729 +++++

FOR
A BIT
LESS

Sony Xperia 5
£699 /
sonymobile.com
The Xperia 5
has a lot of
competition
from the iPhone
11 and others,
but Sony does
premium very
well. With an
epic HDR OLED
display in an
elongated 21:9
aspect ratio,
ample gaming
power and a
fine versatile
camera, there’s
lots to love here.
Stuff says
+++++

CAMERA DESIGN DISPLAY PERFORMANCE

Twice as nice
You might think you’re
being short-changed not
getting a third telephoto
like the iPhone 11 Pro, but
it’s not a big deal. You get
the same wide-angle
12MP main sensor and a
12MP ultra-wide.You just
have to move forward a bit.
OOOOOOOOOO
Toy soldier
Square camera module
aside, it looks like an XR
but with extra colours.
It feels robust enough
to take a few drops, while
the notch remains. This
phone is a little thicker
than the Pro, but still
manageable in the hand.
OOOOOOOOOO
OLED astray Chips and dips
The iPhone 11 totes an LCD What we really care about
panel, not OLED, but it’s it that A13 Bionic chip. It
far brighter than the XR’s. beats its flagship rivals
For big media consumers, in Geekbench tests and
no OLED is a big deal; for is incredibly quick and
those taking a few pics at responsive. The new U1
the weekends, emailing chip makes AirDrop much
and WhatsApping, it speedier too, even for
shouldn’t matter. sizeable file transfers.
OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO

44
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

Moto rules the mid-range

with a high-stamina bargain
Someone at Motorola clearly
doesn’t know when to say
‘when’ – at least when it comes
to camera lenses. The One Zoom,
the latest in a steady stream of
outstanding mid-rangers from
the Moto production line, has
four of the things. It’s a veritable
camera-bag of kit squeezed into
something that fits in your
pocket, along with a whole load of
2019’s must-have extras, like a
notched OLED screen and
in-display fingerprint scanner.
It’s the wild-card bargain in
the Stuff supertest, but with the
minerals to mix it with the best…
and that’s before you realise it
manages to stick the landing with
a sub-£400 asking price. This
is an attractive proposition for
bargain hunters, complete with
a modern design, stellar battery
life and a feature list that borrows
heavily from the flagships.
The only problem is, we know
‘number of camera lenses’ isn’t
a true measure of greatness.
Performance on the One Zoom
is merely OK, screen quality is a
step below rival handsets, and at
this money Google’s Pixel 3a is
arguably still the cameraphone
of choice – even if that does limit
you to a single lens.
Then again, the bezel-toting
Pixel 3a is a little behind the times.
If you want something fresher but
insist on stock Android, Moto’s
latest all-rounder – muscling in on
the mid-range with multipurpose
quad cams, a great battery and a
laundry list of top features –
might be the One to go for.

O MOTOROLA ONE ZOOM £380 ++++,

FOR
A BIT
MORE

Google
Pixel 3a
£399 / store.
google.com
While the new
Pixels take the
limelight, the
3a’s simplicity
is refreshing
in a world of
gimmickry. The
design is a tad
dated, but
Android in its
purest form and
an outstanding
single-lens cam
mean you’d be
mad not to
consider it.
Stuff says
++++,

CAMERA DESIGN DISPLAY PERFORMANCE

Four to the floor Go your own way OLED Zeppelin Faux par
The main 48MP sensor A mid-ranger that hasn’t By switching from LCD Look past the feature
is joined by a 16MP ultra- ripped off Apple? Moto to AMOLED, the Zoom list and the One Zoom
wide and 8MP telephoto, has done its own thing and elevates itself above the is a faux flagship: the
while lens number four is it works nicely. You get a other One models. It’s Snapdragon 675 is an
for depth-sensing, so this huge screen with minimal sizeable at 6.4in with eight-core chip but it
is really a triple-lens setup bezels and a small notch; Full HD+ resolution offering won’t match the heavy
that’s good for blurry the back is glass, but enough detail in text and hitters. You won’t notice
bokeh. Up front, there’s with a matt finish hiding images. Viewing angles are the difference while
25MP selfie-cam. fingerprints. excellent, colours less so. web-browsing, though.
OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO

45
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES
A stargazer is born, but does
Google care about phones?
Google’s own phones to take us
crash-landing into a new decade
are here. The Pixel 4 and 4 XL give
Android 10 its debut, and show
us what Google really cares
about these days – other than
everyone’s data. Focusing on the
bigger brother of the two, the 4
XL, not a great deal has changed.
Cameras and Android are still
the Pixel fixations, while Google
O GOOGLE PIXEL 4 XL FROM £829 ++++,
CAMERA
Looking at the stars
There are two rear cameras:
a primary 12MP joined by a
new 2x lens. It’s the first time
Google has included ‘real’ zoom
using a tiny motor, and with a
bit of machine learning you end
up with far better photos than
expected. Night Sight has had
a bump and takes low-light
snaps nobody thought possible
two years ago, while the new
Astrophotography is a bold
gesture of intent from Google:
it’s Night Sight taken to the
extreme. The phone must be
held completely still, but the
results are ridiculous and offer
a legit reason to buy a tripod.
OOOOOOOOOO
DISPLAY
OLED it be
Feast upon on a 6.3in 90Hz
OLED with super-conservative
style: no curved edges, a fat lip
above the display, and borders
on the other sides. Kudos
to Google, though, for this
screen’s tasteful approach
to colour reproduction.
OOOOOOOOOO
46
leaves stuff like design dynamism
and ultra-long battery life for
others to fight over.
With the Pixel 4 XL, the tech
giant has taken aim at those
preferred areas and hammered
them like a Japanese swordsmith.
The camera is the main one:
Astrophotography mode is a
delight, and all the progress here
is entirely in line with the brilliant
DESIGN
This means bore
If there were to be a ‘boringcore’
phone, the equivalent of some
sort of indie film sub-genre
where they’re all set in a PTA
meeting, this is it. It looks like
the very essence of a modern
smartphone, but absolutely
nothing more.
OOOOOOOOOO
PERFORMANCE
Mind the store
A Snapdragon 855 runs the
show – and no shocks that
it glides through Android and
runs top-end games perfectly.
PUBG, Ark: Survival Evolved
and Asphalt 9 were essentially
made for this hardware after
all. There is a lingering sense
that Google has been stingy
elsewhere, though. Your £829
‘entry-level’ model has 6GB
RAM and 64GB storage, where
the £450 Oppo Reno2 has
8GB and 256GB respectively.
Apple gets away with it, but too
many Androids offer more for
less and it didn’t take us long
to find our 4 XL was 50% full.
OOOOOOOOOO
work put into the Pixel 3. You also wishing it had more storage and
get to experience Android’s latest more stamina.
developments before anyone Still, if you’re in the market for
else, and in its purest form. a stripped-back, tasteful Android
The rest? This phone’s design with a forgiving camera and a
takes the iconic simplicity of the fancy feature for shooting the
older Pixels and simplifies it until night sky, go ahead, it’s a great
it seems generic. And it’s hard to phone… but Google has proved
ignore that other phones offer once again that it’s more of
more for less, or at least for a software company than a
the same money. We’re left hardware one.
New gesture controls do
everything from skipping
tracks and controlling
alarms to initiating
multitasking screens and
more, so take the time to
familiarise yourself.
FOR
A BIT
LESS
Google Pixel 4
from £669 / store.
google.com
Aside from a smaller
display than the XL
version (5.7in) with
an inferior 444ppi
and a wee 2800mAh
battery, the Pixel 4
shares virtually all
the same specs…
meaning you get
a processor and
camera fit for giants
in a much more
affordably priced
package. Just don’t
expect it to last
all day every day if
you tend to hammer
your phone.
Stuff says ++++,
SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

The 3700mAh battery

is about the smallest
you’ll find on a plus-size
top-end Android. It’s
passable for a day or so,
but serious phone freaks
will need a power pack.

47
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

Oppo serves up premium

specs at a non-flagship price
According to the Internet, ‘Reno
is a city in the northwest section
of the US state of Nevada,
approximately 22 miles (35 km)
from Lake Tahoe, known as the
Biggest Little City in the World’.
From what we can gather, it has
nothing to do with the naming of
Oppo’s Reno smartphone series,
but there’s a metaphor in there
somewhere for arguably the
biggest little smartphone brand
of 2019.
Tenuous links aside, it’s a warm
Mojave Desert welcome to the
Oppo Reno2. Falling between the
original Reno and Reno 10x Zoom,
it joins its siblings crammed with
multiple lenses and camera
smarts, coupled with a big bold
screen, fast-charging and a
swanky pop-out selfie-camera
that’ll steal the spotlight in any
gadget gathering.
This is a truly eye-catching,
luxurious-feeling handset that
meets all the requirements you’re
likely to have for a smartphone.
It packs camera capabilities
for almost any situation and
it doesn’t compromise on power
and performance either. With
more than enough stamina to
last at least an entire day, there’s
little here not to like, especially
given its sub-£500 price.
If you’re after a rock-solid
performer with quirky features
separating it from the plethora
of other options available, this
could very well be the phone for
you – stylish, innovative and full
of stamina, the Reno2 delivers
in spades.

O OPPO RENO2 £450 ++++,

FOR
A BIT
MORE

Samsung
Galaxy S10e
£670 /
samsung.com
A simplified star
in the Galaxy
series, the S10e
surfs under the
radar. Sporting
the same-size
battery and
screen as an
iPhone 11 Pro,
there’s 6GB
RAM and 128GB
storage plus a
microSD slot.
This is a sensible
Samsung at a
sensible price.
Stuff says
++++,

CAMERA DESIGN DISPLAY PERFORMANCE

Speccy four eyes
Four rear cams are driven
by 48MP, 8MP, 13MP and
2MP sensors serving all
purposes, from 20x digital
zoom to wide-angle. In
daylight at least, it takes
fine point-and-shoot
shots bolstered by
scene-detecting AI.
OOOOOOOOOO
Setting the tone
The two-tone Oppo looks
vaguely hypnotic. A lack
of camera bumps means
all lenses sit flush, save for
a ceramic bump to stop
scratches. The pop-up
cam rears its head when
summoned – and that
means a clear screen.
OOOOOOOOOO
Notch on your nelly Reno speedwagon
Dominating the front is a A Snapdragon 730G is
notchless and edgeless technically mid-range, but
6.5in AMOLED display coupled with 8GB of RAM
with 401ppi. It’s good for it handles games on their
gaming, reading, movies highest settings with
and everything else. ease, even with other
We’ve seen brighter, apps open. The in-display
but it’s perfectly useable fingerprint scanner is also
in full daylight. insanely fast and reliable.
OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO

48
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

A red-hot gaming phone for

those who like to play it cool
If you’re serious about mobile
gaming and want a leg up over
your online opponents, the ROG
Phone II is the ultimate gamers’
handset of 2019. We just thought
we’d put that one to bed early,
because in case you were
wondering how a laptop
manufacturer had somehow
snuck a smartphone into the Stuff
supertest, it’s here on merit. Plus,
even people who take mobile
antisocial-ness to entirely new
levels are humans.
Officially the first phone to
come packing Qualcomm’s
jacked-up Snapdragon 855+
chipset, giving it more grunt than
a Bavarian pig farm, it houses a
whopping 6000mAh battery for
entirely possible all-day gaming,
while the 120Hz display (yes,
really) spurts crisp, silky-smooth
visuals at your peepers. Rivals
like the Black Shark 2 can’t touch
it for specs, performance and
dedicated features.
And that’s only the tip of
a very dense gaming iceberg.
We’ve blasted our way through
countless Android titles, all in the
name of quality tech journalism, to
conclude that the ROG Phone II is
undeniably the greatest gaming
mobile of all time.
Of course, all that tech doesn’t
come cheap. But if you can find
the green queens and you’re a
mobile gamer, this is simply the
best piece of kit for you right now:
a super-premium device in every
regard that others can’t match
for performance, battery life or
accessory support.

O ASUS ROG PHONE II £830 +++++

FOR
A BIT
LESS

Nubia Red
Magic 3
from £419 /
redmagic.gg
The first ever
smartphone
with a fan can
power anything
in the Play
Store. A 90Hz
AMOLED,
built-in shoulder
buttons and
official
accessories
mean not many
handsets can
beat this at
playtime. It’s OK
as a ‘phone’ too.
Stuff says
++++,

CAMERA DESIGN DISPLAY PERFORMANCE

It takes two Millennial falcon Mega hertz Game gear
Asus has reused the The ROG is more alien A perfectly flat display The graphical clout of that
Zenfone 6’s combo of vessel than phone thanks is better for gaming as Snapdragon 855+ ensures
48MP primary lens and to the asymmetrical edge-hugging controls games like PUBG Mobile
wide-angle secondary glass rear, angular camera remain responsive play with top detail levels
snapper. It works a treat grille and microchip-style and easy to poke. The and a super-stable frame
and photos pack detail pattern, and that’s before 120Hz refresh rate brings rate. Software is geared
even in tricky lighting, discussing the big LED ultra-smooth visuals, towards gamers, including
while HDR+ mode logo. It’s weighty but with a zippy 240Hz touch Game Genie for blocking
combats harsh contrast. comfortable to clutch. response rate. calls and notifications.
OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO

49
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

The 4500mAh battery is

big and clever, stretching
across two days and
going from 0 to 100% in
under 75 minutes with
27W wireless charging.

50

Huawei go again… but could
you buy a G-free Android?
When it comes to writing the
2019 chapter in the history
books, there’ll be plenty of
bonkers stuff to include. There
was Nigelfest, the theft of a gold
toilet from Blenheim Palace, and
the ‘Wagatha Christie’ saga
involving Coleen Rooney and
Rebekah Vardy… but one of tech’s
weirdest tales is probably Donald
Trump’s ongoing beef with
Huawei. In case you aren’t in the
loop, at the time of writing the
US government has still blocked
Huawei from having access to
the Google Play Store and other
Google apps.
Its latest flagship, the stunning
Mate 30 Pro, is the first casualty
of this war – and we’re warning
you, despite its sensational
design, innovative camera system
Huawei’s new UI gives
you in-game options to
eke the most out of the
experience and turn the
display’s corners into L
and R buttons – which
work like a charm.
FOR
A BIT
LESS
Huawei P30 Pro
from £750 /
huawei.com
It’s been out since
April, but given you
can now get a P30
Pro with £150
knocked off, it’s
worth considering
for the camera alone.
It set a stratospheric
benchmark of
zooming capabilities
on smartphones
at no compromise
to battery life
or performance.
Partnering with Leica
really has been
Huawei’s smartest
move yet.
Stuff says +++++
SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES
and ample power and battery,
this is going to be one bittersweet
write-up… not least because our
review handset was a Chinese
import, so regional device
functionality and performance
may vary.
All things said and done, the
Mate 30 Pro looks and feels like
a slice of the future. It’s bold, is
arguably the best-looking phone
O HUAWEI MATE 30 PRO €1099 ++++,
CAMERA
Shots fired
The camera excels across the
board, but comes alive at night.
A 40MP main sensor encores
after debuting on the P30 Pro,
but now there’s an ultra-wide
‘cinema’ camera with a 40MP
sensor and an f/1.6 lens. The
telephoto camera features
8MP resolution with an
f/2.4 3x zoom lens, and
a depth sensor joins the party.
Meanwhile, the front camera
has a terrifyingly sharp 32MP
sensor. Macro shots are solid,
standard shots top-quality and
dynamic range only bettered by
the iPhone 11 Pro Max, while it
makes light work of 4K at 60fps.
OOOOOOOOOO
DISPLAY
It’s a wrap
The almost-wraparound
6.53in OLED display is glorious,
with a 94.1% screen-to-body
ratio and 18.5:9 aspect ratio.
Resolution isn’t quite as sharp
as the OnePlus 7 Pro but
remains crisp if you don’t
have microscopes for eyes.
OOOOOOOOOO
of its generation, has a champion
of a camera, and comes with
stacks of power.
Getting it with no Play Store
is an expensive gamble, though,
which makes it impossible to
recommend to almost anyone
in the west. Until then, admire
from afar that two-star app
support and (almost) five-star
everything else.
PERFORMANCE
Kirin in the name of
Performing sensationally with
everything thrown at it, this
phone benchmarks like the
best with its Kirin 990 and 8GB
of RAM. Its biometrics work to
perfection too, with an under-
display fingerprint scanner and
secure face-unlocking.
OOOOOOOOOO
DESIGN
Hear the sirens coming
Put the Mate 30 Pro in your
hand and it sucks you in like
a siren’s song. The sliver of
metal along the sides, the
polished top and tail and the
curved glass either side all
make it feel as good as it looks.
You’ll find a power button but
no volume rocker – swapped
for some side-tapping slidey
nonsense. There’s a lone
USB-C port, a dual-SIM slot
and that bold round camera
surround. Available in three
eye-catching colours plus
some vegan leather editions,
it’s IP68-rated with Gorilla
Glass 6.
OOOOOOOOOO
51
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

The winner is…

Apple iPhone 11
No, we haven’t accidentally
left off the ‘Pro’ part. Apple
has risen back to the top on
the strength of its wondrous
cameras and extraordinary
A13 Bionic chip, but not with
the handset you may have
been expecting.
The 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max
make us very happy indeed,
but we can’t shake off the
nervous twitch that comes
with spending more than
a grand on a mobile. And
so the standard 11 – with
its still-excellent cameras,
equally adept processing
power and cool shades of
pastel – comes first.
In the words of every career
politician, let’s be clear, all the
phones here are incredible… E ST
and Android fans, you’re spoilt T ER
for choice from OnePlus to INN
Huawei with every Samsung W
and Sony in between. The
Empire simply struck back.

+ Now add these

Greenwich Humber
If you’ve got Qi wireless
charging, the Humber is
crafted from bull-hide and
brushed aluminium, and uses the latest
USB-C connection – and it works with
Greenwich’s lush phone cases.
£60 / greenwich.design

Mous Clarity
Phones are so pretty now, it
seems a shame not to show
them off. So the Clarity case
is transparent, but has the sort of impact
absorption that sees Mous show off by
chucking iPhones around Apple Stores.
from £40 / uk.mous.co

Ted Baker Power Bank

Crafted from luxury Italian
leather, this portable
5000mAh power bank
is Qi-enabled for wireless charging
in addition to a cable connection so you
can boost two devices simultaneously.
£80 / proporta.co.uk

52
 SUPERTEST SMARTPHONES

OiPhone 11 Pro OOnePlus 7T OiPhone 11 OMoto One Zoom

THE SUMMARY OPixel 4 XL OOppo Reno2 OROG Phone II OMate 30 Pro

WHAT’S NEXT?
We all know 5G and folding
phones are a thing and will
continue to be a thing in
CAMERA PERFORMANCE
2020. Mass adoption of 5G
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 depends on dropping prices,
better coverage and greater
availability… so watch this
space to see if mobile
makers and networks
actually make it happen.
If you’re looking further
afield, firstly get you… and
secondly head to p68 and
TECH read our exclusive interview
RATER with futurist Matthew
Griffin, where he discusses
everything from graphene
batteries charging in
seconds to 11k screens
with natural 3D.
Otherwise, sticking our
DESIGN DISPLAY neck out and putting our
considerable reputation on
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 the line, we reckon this time
next year you’ll be seeing an
iPhone 12 and maybe some
Google Pixels.

Display CPU Memory Battery Cameras Dimensions

Apple iPhone 11 6.1in 4GB RAM, 12MP + 12MP 151x76x
Apple has done the unexpected and produced an affordable 64/128/
1st handset that doesn’t really scrimp on specs.
1792x828
LCD
A13 Bionic
256GB
3110mAh rear, 12MP
front
8.3mm,
194g
from £729 / stuff.tv/iPhone11 storage

OnePlus 7T 6.55in 8GB RAM, 48MP + 12MP 161x74x

A smooth display, a rapid processor, super-fast charging and Snapdragon
2nd a capable display make this the latest Android to beat.
2400x1080
855+
128GB
storage
3800mAh + 16MP rear, 8.1mm,
AMOLED 16MP front 190g
£549 / stuff.tv/OnePlus7T

Apple iPhone 11 Pro 5.8in 4GB RAM, 12MP + 12MP 144x71x

Is the Pro the best phone Apple has ever made? Yes. It’s just 64/256/
3rd too super-expensive to top our test.
2436x1125
OLED
A13 Bionic
512GB
3046mAh + 12MP rear,
12MP front
8.1mm,
188g
from £1049 / stuff.tv/iPhone11Pro storage

Asus ROG Phone II 6.59in 12GB RAM, 48MP + 171x78x

It’s a gaming-centric phone… but the ROG Phone II delivers in Snapdragon
4th so many areas, how could we ignore it?
2340x1080
855+
512GB 6000mAh 13MP rear, 9.5mm,
AMOLED storage 24MP front 240g
£830 / stuff.tv/RogPhone2

Google Pixel 4 XL 6.3in 6GB RAM, 160x75x

The purist’s Android choice, with clean software and a terrific Snapdragon 12MP + 16MP
5th camera, but not the most dynamic smartphone around.
3040x1440
OLED
855
64/128GB
storage
3700mAh rear,
8MP front
8.2mm,
193g
from £829 / stuff.tv/Pixel4XL

Huawei Mate 30 Pro 40MP + 8MP

6.53in 8GB RAM, 158x73x
It’s got all the spec credentials to be a top-three phone, but + 40MP
6th losing Google Play grinds our gears just too much.
2400x1176
OLED
Kirin 990 256GB
storage
4500mAh
+ ToF rear,
8.8mm,
198g
€1099 / stuff.tv/Mate30Pro 32MP front

Oppo Reno2 6.5in 8GB RAM, 48MP + 160x74x

This Oppo offers the brand’s best bang for your buck, but Snapdragon 13MP + 8MP
7th falls agonisingly short in key areas.
2400x1080
AMOLED 730G
256GB
storage
4000mAh
+ 2MP rear,
9.5mm,
189g
£450 / stuff.tv/Reno2 16MP front

Motorola One Zoom 6.4in 4GB RAM, 48MP + 8MP 158x75x

8th With features to pique your interest at an excellent price,
Motorola are the mid-range kings for a reason.
2340x1080
Snapdragon
675
128GB 4000mAh + 16MP
+ 5MP rear,
8.8m,
AMOLED storage 190g
£380 / stuff.tv/OneZoom 25MP front

53
 America’s No.1 Soundbar brand*

The best sound in cinema

now in your home

36” 5.1.2 Soundbar System

with Dolby Atmos®
£599
Available online at:
Richersounds.com | Costco.co.uk | Amazon.co.uk

*Source: The NPD Group, Inc., U.S. Weekly Retail Tracking Service, Sound Bars, Based on Units, Feb. 4, 2018 – Apr. 6, 2019
 TESTED APPS

Mini meme

MOBILE
OFootball Drama
This one isn’t just concerned
with what happens on the pitch. FOOTBALL OKevin Toms
Football * Manager
Should you fancy something

MANAGERS
You spend time in CYOA-style
sections working on your
relationship with the club owner
(and, er, his wife), winning
tactical cards to use during
matches. Sharp humour
presents a cynical take on
the game, although matches
drag a bit – you’ll wish there
was more drama and less
football. Still, worth a shot.
£4.99 / Android, iOS
really retro, this one takes you
back to the source. Kevin Toms
was responsible for the original
Football Manager, released in
1982 on the Tandy TRS–80.
Not even Christmas and your real-life This isn’t a pure port, but it
team is already flirting with relegation? echoes the original’s simplicity
and idiosyncrasies (such as
Think you could do better? Prove it the way player skill levels vary
with these tactical games… season by season), and even
includes crude highlights.
£3.29 / Android O £2.99 / iOS

ONew Star Manager OSSC 2019 ORumble Stars OFootball Manager

This follow-up to the acclaimed
New Star Soccer is potential
bliss for any armchair manager
who gets frustrated whenever
some idiot fluffs a shot. Here,
not only do you get control over
a beleaguered team, but you’re
also hands-on during key
on-pitch moments, guiding
players into position and tapping
the ball in precisely the right
place to ensure it ends up in
the net. No pressure, then.
£free (IAPs) / Android, iOS
Harking back to the 16-bit era,
this one recalls Player Manager
and Sensible Soccer. You
manage a team but also play
entire games, hoofing the ball
between dinky teammates.
Gameplay’s not as fast as in
those old classics, giving you
a fighting chance; and your
phone’s pocketability is an
obvious plus over hauling about
an old Amiga and CRT telly.
£2.99 / Android
£free or £3.99 / iOS
Football
The notion of unruly footballers
being akin to animals might
belong to another era, but the
players here are literally lions,
pandas and the like (along with
the odd explosive device). Your
task is to fire them into play at
the optimum moment, to thwart
your online opposition’s plans. It’s
Clash Royale meets Subbuteo
meets The Jungle Book. This
really is a funny old game.
£free (IAPs) / Android, iOS
2019 Touch
If you’ve played Football
Manager on PC you’ll know
what you’re in for here, since
this is effectively the same title.
It can be a bit spreadsheet-tastic
but there’s no denying the
sheer depth of this sim, as
you dig into everything from
tactics to transfers. You’ll need
a powerful tablet… or try the
stripped-back Football Manager
2019 Mobile for half the price.
£19.99 / Android, iPad

55
 UPVOTED
PERFECT POINTERS
The princely puck
Azio Retro Classic Mouse
This classy clicker might channel vintage
vibes, but it’s no old-school scroller. Crafted
from leather and aluminium, the refined
RCM packs a battery good for months and
a sensor that works on even the glossiest
of retro desks. You can even switch the top
cover to match your antique mousepad.
£97 / aziocorp.com
GRABBABLE GAMERS
The whopping whizzer
Corsair Ironclaw RGB Wireless
Not some prototype pet from Stark
Industries, this is a sculpted weapon for the
large of hand. Littered with RGB lights and
custom buttons, it harbours an arsenal of
gaming essentials, from Omron switches to
surface calibration, while speedy Slipstream
wireless means it’s no lumbering giant.
£70 / corsair.com
CREATIVE CONTROLLERS
The sculpted scroller
Logitech MX Master 3
Mastering a skill is said to take 10,000 hours.
On a tight deadline? Spin up the machined
steel wheel on the moulded MX Master 3
and it’ll scroll through 1000 lines in a single
second. Much too fast to digest any
information, sure, but at least you’ll know
the scale of your ignorance.
£100 / logitech.com
1 Cut the cable
Tangle-phobic? Far from their haywire origins,
HOW TO today’s wireless mice are faster and more reliable
than ever – and a good Bluetooth gaming mouse
DECIDE won’t give you any issues with lag.
56
The Cupertino clicker
Apple Magic Mouse 2
Longing to boost your iPad’s touchscreen
with the tactile certainty of a solid click?
Good news: iPadOS brings mouse support
to your tablet. And what better peripheral to
add than Apple’s own, with its slender shell,
rechargeable cell and multi-touch surface
that works like, y’know, a touchscreen.
£79 / apple.com
MICE
Sick of cursing his cursor,
Chris Rowlands picks the best
desktop rodents to rekindle
his love for the ol’ click and
scroll (and no, nobody
calls them ‘mouses’)
The swanky sphere
Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball
Keen to confound your colleagues? Besides
its trackball accuracy and a static setup
that’s kinder to your wrist, the red orb on
this ergonomic number offers guaranteed
office amusement. How you’ll laugh as Ian
from IT wrestles with its unfamiliar form.
How you’ll cry when he lobs it at a wall.
£80 / kensington.com
The streamlined sidekick
Microsoft Surface Mobile Mouse
A mouse might be nothing without a
surface, but you don’t need a Surface to
enjoy the charms of Microsoft’s Mobile
Mouse. Pocket-friendly and powered by a
trio of AAAs, this Bluetooth buddy gets the
basics just right: compact, attractive and
way more reliable than Windows 8.
£30 / microsoft.com
The slinky snake
Razer Viper
Want the edge in your next quick-draw
click-off? Quit those one-finger pull-ups
and wrap your palm around Razer’s latest
wired warrior. Its optical switches use
infrared for lightning-fast clicks, while a
svelte 69g shell and Speedflex cable should
help to cut your trigger time.
£80 / razer.com
The reborn roller
Microsoft Pro IntelliMouse
As familiar as a floppy disk, Microsoft’s
trusty clicker is back (again) and better than
ever. Don’t let the understated packaging
fool you: a braided cable, remappable
buttons and seriously precise sensor make
this throwback device a boon for gamers
and graphic designers alike.
£60 / microsoft.com
2 Button up
Remappable buttons aren’t just good for
gamers. From page navigation to advanced
editing tools, most can also be customised with
software-specific shortcuts.
 UPVOTED

The cordless comeback

Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Imagine a gaming mouse. Now imagine a
TIE fighter. Now imagine the two, melded
together in an angular package that’s
wire-free and fast as you like. What
have you got? The Lightspeed sequel
to Logitech’s legendary G502. An
endoskeleton design inherited from
the G Pro shaves 7g off the weight, while
on-the-fly wireless charging means
battle need never cease. Pew-pew.
£130 / logitechg.com

3 Take it in hand 4 Play the numbers game

Mice are meant for your paw, so pick one that DPI is the unit of measure for mouse sensitivity
fits. Compact, ambidextrous examples might and it’s a race to the top for the quickest clickers
slip more easily into your satchel, but ergonomic (think 16,000 and more). If you’re more about
is the way to go for all-day comfort. Powerpoint than PUBG, you needn’t aim so high.

57
 TESTED NINTENDO SWITCH LITE

The legend of svelter

Nintendo’s slimmed-down Switch Lite promises
all the fun of the full-size console – well, nearly
all – in a miraculously pocketable package 1

£199 / stuff.tv/SwitchLite
Many people wrote off the
Switch before it had even
appeared on shelves… but
to say Nintendo has proved
the naysayers wrong would
be understating it. With a steady
supply of excellent games that
are equally playable on the TV,
the train and the toilet, it’s not
unreasonable to suggest that
Ninty’s comeback console has
already earned its place in the
company’s hall of fame.
Which brings us to the Switch
Lite. While still sharing its bigger,
comparably heftier brother’s
name, the Switch Lite can’t
actually switch. There are no
detachable Joy-Con controllers
here, and no TV dock.
You can play nearly all of the
same games on the Lite, and 3
many of them are arguably
[ Words Matthew Potato ]

better suited to it – like virtually

any old-school platformer that
requires a D-pad.
But by sacrificing versatility for
portability, does the Lite lose any
of the original console’s charm?

Every Switch way but loose
We love the Switch’s Joy-Cons,
but moving parts do make the
original console feel unnervingly
breakable at times. No such
worries with the Lite. Wrapped
in a single piece of grippy matt
plastic (1), it feels sturdier and
has a much cleaner, if slightly
less premium, overall look.
The rare Switch project
It comes in grey, turquoise or
yellow (2). The latter two are
just plain fun to look at, but it’s
good that Nintendo has included
a more muted option for those
who’d rather not attract attention
on the bus. And there are bound
to be new colours and special
editions down the line.
The seven-year Switch
At 275g, the difference in weight
from the full-size Switch is quite
something. You can easily hold
it right up to your face for long
sessions without feeling the strain
on your wrists, and it’s noticeably
less of a presence in a backpack.
It could prove too small for those
with bigger hands, mind.

Even more Most D-pad

portable Switch titles brings new
than the play just as precision to
original Shame well… Celeste
GOOD you can’t
MEH connect it
EVIL to the TV …but a Fiddly to
handful set up as
need the a second
Joy-Cons console

58
 TESTED NINTENDO SWITCH LITE

Tech specs
Screen 5.5in 1280x720 LCD touchscreen
Processor Nvidia Tegra Storage 32GB
Connectivity Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, NFC,
microSD, USB-C charging Battery 3570mAh
Dimensions 208x91x13.9mm, 275g

Lite entertainment
Now let’s concentrate on what the Switch Lite
really excels at: games. Here are four of the best…

Q Breath of the Wild Q Three Houses

Switch launch title The
Razor Lite Legend of Zelda: Breath
The display has the of the Wild has been
same 720p resolution bothering the ‘greatest
as the original’s but is games of all time’ lists
smaller at 5.5in, so it’s ever since its release, and
actually a bit sharper since then Nintendo has
– and you can tell. maintained a steady flow
of other great games.
Standouts this year
include the hugely
addictive tactical RPG
Fire Emblem: Three
Houses plus Super Mario
Maker 2, Astral Chain…
and the Link’s Awakening
remake reviewed on p82
of this issue.

Q The Witcher 3 Q Katana Zero

Crazy Switch assuagings
Because the left-hand part of the
console no longer has to double
up as a detachable controller,
Nintendo was able to introduce
a proper D-pad (3), which makes
all the difference in side-scrolling
platformers. It’s not the best
D-pad, but it’s much better than
four face buttons.
The Switch-hiker’s guide
On the bottom you’ll find the
USB-C charging port and a
microSD card slot that you’re
definitely going to need if you
plan on downloading more than
a handful of full-fat games. The
lack of support for Bluetooth
headphones remains annoying,
and there’s no HD Rumble feature.
The Switch has succeeded
where the Wii U failed by
getting more third-party
support, be that new
titles like Wolfenstein:
Youngblood or ports of
classics like The Witcher 3,
which is somehow playable
in its entirety on the Lite.
And that’s without
mentioning the countless
indie games that have
found their natural home
on Nintendo’s console.
The time-bending,
samurai-themed
sidescroller Katana Zero
is one of 2019’s best.

The Switch Lite is a joy to play games on; and STUFF SAYS ++++,
while it’s a totally unnecessary luxury for owners Not as clever as its bigger
of the original console, it is a more desirable
piece of kit to have in your hands. Whether or
brother, but the Switch
not it’s a superior handheld to the old PlayStation Lite is probably the best
Vita, it trounces Sony’s long-retired portable in the games truly handheld console
department – and that’s what matters. @MattWTate Nintendo has ever made

59
 Hush
cuppies
Still not succumbed to the luxurious quietude of premium wireless over-ear
headphones with active noise-cancellation? Here are two new options…

ENJOY THE
Sennheiser Momentum Dali IO-6 SILENCE…
Wireless (2019) OR DON’T,
What’s the story? WHATEVER
What’s the story? Unlike Sennheiser and all the other
These days if you’ve got £300 or so spend brands mentioned on the left, Dali has
on some wireless over-ear headphones no pedigree in headphones and is writing O The Sennheisers
with noise-cancelling skills, it’s hard to its own history as it goes along. The Danish offer three ANC
go wrong. Bose, Bowers & Wilkins and company’s been a leading light of passive modes, plus
Sony each have a great pair to sell you; loudspeaker design for over 35 years, so a ‘transparent
even Microsoft has a decent option. The it must have thought the time was finally hearing’ feature
Momentum Wireless have always been right to get a piece of the noise-cancelling that actively
in the mix too… but they’ll have to be really wireless headphone action. That’s if there’s amplifies external
good to take on the class of late 2019. any left to grab… sounds to keep
you in touch with
Are they any good? Are they any good? the outside world
This is a truly over-ear design, and those Who wants to tear up the rulebook? The when you need
generous earcups will overwhelm anyone IO-6s look exactly as you’d expect a pair to be. All this can
whose lugs are on the smaller side. They’re of expensive headphones to look, and be controlled via
distinctive without being show-offy, with feel how you’d expect them to feel. The a suite of physical
a smart combo of exposed steel and soft, earcups swivel through 180°, which makes buttons on the
tactile sheepskin. Everything looks and them easy to sling around your neck or right earcup, or
feels made to last. pack into their case, and build quality seems using the neat
The 17-hour battery will be exhausted up to prevailing standards. and reliable Smart
long before Bose or Sony rivals start to There’s a selection of controls and Control app.
flag, but at least charging (via USB-C) is inputs on the right earcup, with a 3.5mm
rapid – and there’s a jack socket for wired input on the left in case the battery dies… O There’s no Dali
listening when the juice runs out. but that really shouldn’t happen when app, and the IO-6s
Sound-wise, they’re brilliantly capable. you’re getting 30 hours of playback time don’t have degrees
It doesn’t matter what sort of music you even with ANC engaged. of ANC – it’s either
like to listen to, where you listen to it or Right from the off these over-ears on or off. But there
at what volume levels – these cans are give a detailed, three-dimensional and is a ‘transparency’
always an enjoyable listen. Presentation tonally impeccable listen. It’s not always setting, as on the
is open and wide, with great attention to possible to describe the sound of a pair Sennheisers. The
the details and texture. Bass hits hard but of headphones as ‘fun’, but in this case noise-cancellation
the overall tonality is brilliantly judged. it’s pretty easy. is pretty gentle,
which means you
Price £349 / stuff.tv/MomentumWireless Price £349 / stuff.tv/Dali6 don’t get that
[ Words Simon Lucas ]

Tech Bluetooth, 3.5mm, USB-C charging, Tech Bluetooth, 3.5mm, USB-C charging + feeling of inner-ear
voice control O 17hr battery O 304g audio, voice control O 30hr battery O 325g pressure that some
rivals inflict – but
Stuff says +++++ Stuff says ++++, background noise
Big headphones, big price, big sound: these For sound, the Dalis are easy to recommend; is never completely
are the best Momentums yet for features, not so much eradicated.

60
 3

1 Untitled juice game

The Dalis can go from flat to
fully charged in just 2hrs, and TE
the USB-C port can be used
as a PC/Mac audio connection WI ST
as well as for charging. NN
ER
2 Last cans standing
Dali’s 30hr stamina estimate,
which with some headphones
is revealed to be about as
accurate as pub gossip, proves
quite correct.

3 Tile be home for Christmas

You can tweak the EQ with
Sennheiser’s app, and these
cans are compatible with Tile
tracking – good news for
serial headphone-losers.

4 I’ll standby you

Accelerometers pause the
music if you take them off
your head, and they go to
standby if you hang them
around your neck.

61
Everywhere you are
Read it, like it, share it

facebook.com/joinstuff
youtube.com/stuffmagazine
twitter.com/stuffTV
Apple News
instagram.com/stuffmag
 T E S T E D B E N T L E Y F LY I N G S P U R

Come on you Spur Revised tech, stunning performance and

new levels of interior luxury ensure this
super-sedan is in a league of its own
Flying B from £168,300 / stuff.tv/BFSpur
This is the first
ever Bentley with Q As Stuff celebrates its 250th
a retractable Flying B issue, Bentley is busy cracking
mascot on the bonnet. open the champagne for its big
You can even get a centenary. Its birthday present to
version with wings itself? A spanking new Flying Spur,
that light up. revised from the ground up to offer
not just one of the most relaxing
rides ever on two wheels, but one
that also packs a serious punch.

Q The ride in the rear leather seats

is akin to flying first class – and
it’s made even better by a new 5in
colour touchscreen remote control.
Hit eject and it rises out of its
holder, allowing the occupants
to turn on the massaging seats,
adjust the ambient lighting and
control the entertainment on the
seat-back screens.

Q Tech treats are extended to the

front half of the cabin too, with
a new 12.3in digital touchscreen
taking care of entertainment and
car functionality. You can option
the beautiful Bentley Rotating
Display, which flips around to
reveal analogue dials, a ‘digital
detox’ wood veneer finish or the
infotainment screen.

Q Power is provided by a 626bhp

Q Short corner
All-wheel-drive doesn’t mean
you can drive your Flying Spur up
a cliff, but it does equate to better
grip in poor weather conditions.
It also has all-wheel steering,
and tackles corners like a car
half its size.
6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12
engine that effortlessly propels
this three-tonne barge to 60mph
in just 3.7 seconds. But more
importantly, clever 48V electronic
actuators on the rollbar of
each axle can adjust stiffness
in milliseconds. This means the
ride is pillowy-soft when it needs
to be, or firm for the rare occasions
when you fancy challenging a
Lamborghini to a race up the side
Q Late winner of a mountain.
Bonus tech features include
Wi-Fi for up to eight devices, Tech specs
a phone app for controlling many
features remotely, a head-up Engine 6.0-litre twin-turbo W12
display for the driver and even 0-60mph 3.7s Top speed 207mph
night vision that monitors the Displays 12.3in touchscreen,
road up to 300 metres ahead. 5in touchscreen remote control

STUFF SAYS Punchy styling and interior luxury… plus Herculean performance +++++

A car that feels Limousines are traditionally opulent, comfortable and cosseting places that only the
this good just to super-rich can afford to spend time in. Very little has changed here, but the fact that
sit in shouldn’t be the new Flying Spur can drive the way it does and offer such a breadth of interior
this good to drive technology is quite remarkable. It’s the luxury limo that thinks it’s a supercar, and
Leon Poultney it should be on any lottery winner’s shortlist.

63
 DJI OSMO ACTION
ONE
CYNOVA DUAL 3.5mm/
E… D
USB-C ADAPTER
ES AD
TH ST
R
FI
Ultra-wide action cameras
capture stunning footage
and make adventures look
larger than life, especially
when laid against an upbeat
backing track. But if you
plan on vlogging, the Osmo
Action’s microphones are
pretty weak. No sweat: you
can get great audio with an
external mic of your choice
and this USB-C adapter.
£39 / dronesdirect.co.uk
64
TWO
BLAVOR SOLAR
POWER BANK
This camera charges up
via a USB-C port, so it gets
on perfectly with battery
packs. Why would you get
just any old battery pack for
your all-action adventures,
though? Blavor makes a
splashproof, dustproof and
shockproof 10,000mAh
solar power bank complete
with torch, compass and
wireless charging pad.
£26 / amazon.co.uk
THREE
GOPRO 3-WAY
GRIP/ARM/TRIPOD
The Osmo Action won’t
work with every GoPro
accessory out there, but
it will work with this one:
a selfie stick, tripod and
camera grip in one. Its smart
folding design makes it
perfect for grab-and-go
sightseeing, while its bendy
design means it won’t get in
your shot like a traditional
selfie stick.
£60 / gopro.com

1 BE QUICK
Above the USB-C flap you’ll find
the most powerful button on
the Osmo Action: Quick Switch
(QS). Press it to cycle through
a bunch of predefined shooting
modes… or customise it to suit
your needs. To do this, fire up
the Quick Switch menu, tap
the three dots on the right and
look through the list of modes.
Simply check and uncheck to
suit your needs, and you’ll have
a bespoke list at your fingertips.
4 SPEAK OUT
Just like GoPro’s Hero7 Black
flagship, this cam can take voice
commands, and they’re a piece
of cake to master. You can tell it
to start or stop recording, take a
photo, shut down or, yes, switch
screens. With no wake-up word
required, it feels really natural to
bark orders hands-free. Fire up
this feature by swiping down
from the top of the viewfinder
[ Words Basil Kronfli ]
and tapping the image of the
person speaking.
IS DO
TH W
…
NO
2 GO STEADY
RockSteady, DJI’s clever image
stabilisation tech, is what makes
this such a great action cam.
When you fire it up, life through
the lens looks like a steadied
still-life snapshot – completely
mindblowing. To check that this
feature is active, swipe up on
the viewfinder and ensure the
RockSteady box at top right
is blue. This works at up to 4K
(16:9) resolution, but won’t work
at 4:3 or with HDR activated.
5 TUNE UP
If you want complete control
over your content, swipe in from
the right of the viewfinder and
you can fine-tune photo and
video capture. With photos, DJI
gives you full manual control
over everything other than
the fixed aperture. You can also
set a custom white balance
for videos, make footage look
flatter and more cinematic,
or change the video recording
format from mov to mp4.
E… AD
TH WN ND
ES LO
DO A
DJI MIMO
This app works as a
remote viewfinder,
also giving control
over shooting
modes plus photo
3 FRONT UP and video capture.
It even gives you
DJI has given the Osmo Action the option to
a front display so you can frame wirelessly transfer
your vlogs perfectly. If you files to your phone.
can’t figure out how to make £free / Android, iOS
the switch, we’ve got three
solutions for you. Option one
is to double-tap the screen on
the back with two fingers – but
that won’t work mid-recording.
To switch any time you want,
you’ll need to go for option two:
long-press the QS button. As
for the third option… PREMIERE
PRO
You can sign up for
a 30-day free trial
of this top-class
video editing suite
when you create a
new account… and
your brilliant new
camera probably
deserves it.
£30/m / adobe.com
6 DON’T VLOG UNTIL…
LYNDA
As hard as it might be to believe, If you’re a fan of
action cameras weren’t created video tutorials
for vlogging. The clue’s in the and YouTube just
name: these gadgets were isn’t cutting it any
made to be whacked onto bike more, Lynda is
helmets and gliders. By default, the next step. It
therefore, they’re set to expose has hundreds of
for scenery, not faces. So if you courses on video
plan on vlogging, go to settings editing, and seven
and select Face-Oriented are specifically
Exposure. The camera will about action cams.
now make sure your mug is £15/m / lynda.com
always exposed beautifully.
65
 THE ULTIMATE SPORTS GPS
Touchscreen Buttons
Outstanding GPS performance GPS/GLONASS/GALILEO
Large 3.5" Hi-Res screen Hi-Res OS Mapping
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Waterproof (IP68) Shockproof (IK7)

Satmap.com | sales@satmap.com | 01372 869 070

 G R O U P T E S T TA B L E T S

It’s bezels at dawn as Apple’s latest iPad duels with Samsung

and Amazon slates built for different purposes and purses

BEST BEST
FOR FOR
BARGAIN DIGITAL
LOVERS ARTISTS

BEST
FOR
MULTI-
TASKERS

Amazon Fire HD 10 Apple iPad (2019) Samsung Tab S6

What’s the story?
Amazon’s Fire HD tablets never change all
that much on the outside, but the latest 10.1in
version has had some significant upgrades
on the inside that make its £150 asking price
seem like a bit of a steal… that is, if you can
learn to live with a bit of a chubby bezel and
a matt plastic casing.
What’s the story?
Apple’s 2019 entry-level iPad is hard to
get excited about it, but it’s not like there’s
nothing to talk about. The 10.2in Retina
display is larger, there’s support for the
full-size Smart Keyboard and it runs iPadOS,
Apple’s tablet-specific software designed to
make the slab a credible laptop alternative.
What’s the story?
The iPad Pro is Stuff’s No1 tablet, but it’s
oh-so-easy to spec up and spend a fortune
on. If you want an alternative, Samsung is
arguably the only name competing in that
genuinely premium arena. The Galaxy Tab S6
is its latest offering… and it might well be the
best Android tablet money can buy.

Is it any good? It it any good? Is it any good?

Amazon frankly obliterates the competition
at the lower end of the tab market. Headline
features here include Alexa hands-free
functionality and a new picture-in-picture
mode for streaming video from Prime or
other services while you check your email
or browse the web. A faster processor,
12hr battery life with USB-C charging and
32GB of expandable storage all make this
an incredibly tempting proposition.
It’s inferior to the iPad Air and Pro, but if all
you want it for is media consumption and
typing docs, Apple’s cheapest slate is hard
to beat. The £130 extra for an Air buys you
a faster processor than the A10 Fusion and
a better screen, but they’re not must-haves,
especially as this iPad remains an attractive
and strong-performing tablet. And the new
OS’s arrival makes this an ideal time to invest
in an iPad if you haven’t done so for a while.
After a fling with glass rears, Samsung has
reverted to aluminium on the Tab S6 and
it feels glorious to grab. The 10.5in display
offers sharp images, rich colours and great
contrast, but it’s with artwork that things get
interesting thanks to the S-Pen – a serious
piece of tech for sketching and other creative
pursuits. Elsewhere, the Snapdragon 855 chip
holds plenty of power for gamers, making this
the best premium tab for Apple-phobes.

Price from £150 / amazon.co.uk Price from £349 / apple.com Price from £619 / samsung.com

Stuff says +++++ Stuff says ++++, Stuff says ++++,

An absolute bargain if you’re OK forfeiting A minor update, but this is still the best Speedy and packing the ace S-Pen, this is the
premium build quality entry-level tablet top Android tablet for sketchers and gamers

67
 FUTURE GADGETS
NEXT BIG
THINGS
The future of gadgets is always a tough one to predict,
so we asked someone else to do the hard work for us
himp chauffeurs, roads
C replaced by tubes and
rocket mail are just
some of the forecasts
for 2020 that look set to miss
the mark. No mention of Spurs
winning silverware… but it just
goes to show, making predictions
is risky. So to mark our 250th
issue with some future-gazing,
we decided to largely wash our
hands of it.
Instead meet Matthew Griffin,
an award-winning futurist dubbed
‘the adviser behind the advisers’,
whose clients include leading tech
firms and governments. “I look
at two types of future: 0-20
years, where most companies
sit, and 20-50 years, where most
governments try to sit,” Griffin tells
Stuff. “Take Samsung and Huawei.
The world’s two largest phone
FUTURE
SMARTPHONES
68
makers are pretty much the only
companies I’ve come across that
by their own definition live in a
permanent state of crisis, fearing
they’ll be disrupted, so they’re
fixated with continually inventing
‘the next thing’.”
Griffin claims Huawei has a ‘2012 Griffin believes the only vibrate and
Division’, named after the disaster way we’ll move away generate energy.”
movie, where a team of over 200 from smartphones is if The tech still has a while
people look at every weird piece of makers can figure out to go, he admits, but
new tech and “have a faff about” to something new to do battery-free phones
figure out how best to use it – not with the screen that the have already been
unlike the Stuff office. Samsung mass market will accept. successfully tested for
has a team up to 3000 building all So expect to see ever basic functions like calls
manner of prototypes. more flexible displays, and texts.
“Culture, regulation and liabilities, but with some incredibly
insurance, geopolitics, accessibility cool things crammed You can’t hurry, love
and affordability typically control inside… or in the case “We’re looking at 2040
whether something will emerge of batteries, removed to 2050 before ditching
and be widely adopted,” says Griffin. altogether. batteries altogether
So a lot of it might not… but we “Samsung is readying because phones are
made him spill the beans anyway. graphene-based so energy-hungry; but
lithium-ion batteries as materials get lighter,
that will charge in more flexible and more
seconds,” he says. energy-efficient we can
“They’re about 400% do all sorts of things,”
faster and give you three adds Griffin. “For now,
times the energy density. phones are likely to use
But phones won’t always ever more advanced
have batteries.” AI processors, feature
11k screens with a
In the air tonight natural 3D effect that’s
Griffin explains: “There already being tested,
is a type of energy tech and offer greater VR
called ‘backscatter’. We integration.
all know there’s energy in “This is where the
the air around us – radio ecosystem of gadgets
waves, radiation, sound becomes more than the
– so about two years sum of its parts. So for
ago the world’s first example you have your
smartphone without phone, but you buy a
a battery was created, packet of plasters that
that harvested radio are effectively electronic
frequency energy from tattoos for monitoring
the air. your vitals,” says Griffin.
“We’ve got companies “Before long your
in the UK using materials phone becomes
with nano-sized hairs, a fully blown tricorder
so whenever you talk or monitoring every area
there’s a sound, the hairs of your health.”
 FUTURE GADGETS

A bug’s life Watt next?

Backscatter is an At present a few
accidental reinvention microwatts can be
of Soviet spy technology harvested from the air,
where bugs were but it takes tens of
activated and powered thousands just to
by radio waves. make a call.

Prodigal sun
Ambient light can also
be turned into a trickle of
electricity using solar
panels… but those panels
are currently only
17% efficient.

69
 FUTURE GADGETS

Chatter bots
Amazon has already
introduced Alexa
Conversations, where
skills are coded to
support natural and
multi-topic chats.

Cheating heart
Google AI can reportedly
predict whether a patient
will experience a heart
attack or other major
cardiovascular event
within five years.

Twitch doctor
The AI system that can
tell if you’re lying is called
Avatar. It looks out for
changes in eyes, voice
and posture to give
away a fibber.

70

FUTURE
ASSISTANTS
A full social life with
Alexa awaits – but your
AI butler could one day
turn super-sleuth in a
criminal investigation
too. “By giving AI a
long-term memory and
improving its contextual
analysis and reasoning,
you get to the point fairly
quickly where you can
have a conversation,”
Griffin tells Stuff.
“There are lots of
people doing it – Google,
Microsoft, IBM, the
usual suspects – but
realistically, this time
next year you will see
Amazon saying you can
have a chat with Alexa:
asking it follow-up
questions like why
something is the way
it is, or how to make
something.”
Take a look at me now
Talk is only half the story,
because Griffin claims
the biggest impact we’ll
see is AI plus machine
vision. “Those two
technologies combined
change everything,
because it means you’re
giving smart devices
better than human sight,”
he says.
“Then the camera on
your laptop, tablet, phone
or TV can monitor your
behaviour, health and
mood, to tell you if you’re
about to have a heart
attack, or if you’re
enjoying the movie
you’re watching.”
Turn it on again
“It can assess your
personality, character
and intent for criminality
and figure out whether
you’re lying with greater
accuracy than a
polygraph. Effectively
that’s Alexa giving you
a medical or a psychiatric
assessment at home, or
even questioning you as
a suspect – and it can do
this now. The only thing
holding it back is the
issue of privacy: who
wants Alexa always
watching?”
All this stuff means
adoption is likely to be
gradual if at all, so you
may notice your AI butler
staging interventions first
to gain your trust.
“Let’s say you ask
Alexa to play you a song.
If Amazon wanted, it
could say: ‘I’ve noticed
your voice is a little
deeper than usual,
I think you’re getting the
flu, would you like me to
video-call the doctor?’
You then sit in front of
a screen, get assessed
and are issued with a
prescription – and this
is two weeks before you
actually get properly ill.”
FUTURE
MOVIES
Griffin’s been working with one of
the world’s biggest film companies
on the future of movie-making
(tough gig). It’s set to heavily
involve VR and AI, and it’s giving
the Oscars people a headache.
“The Lion King was made entirely
in VR and the Oscars have no idea
how to classify it, because it’s not
real and it’s not animation,” he
says. “All they really used was
a 20x20m studio. The team went
to Africa, figured out what they
needed and created the entire
savannah in VR back home.”
Land of confusion
But AI film-making is where it gets
really interesting. “We’re increasingly
using AI to create synthetic content.
Think text generators like OpenAI
that can write the news, synthetic
audio like Google Duplex, and AI
musicians being signed by Sony.
“Then there’s AI creating video.
We will get to the point where you
press a big button, go ‘Make me a
blockbuster Marvel movie’ and off
it goes… but first about 70 different
AI disciplines have to mature.”
That means machines grasping
what a story is – plus emotions, the
laws of nature and more.
“To give you an idea, three years
ago decent ‘deep fake’ tech was at
the back of a lab and you needed
a bunch of experts to do anything
with it. Now you can get it free
in an app. And all these fields are
accelerating at a similar pace.”
FUTURE GADGETS
FUTURE
SPORT
How do you fancy being placed
in the centre of a football match
while it’s being broadcast on
TV, or taking on the world’s best
athletes from your sofa? If that
sounds a bit Ready Player One,
that’s because it kind of is – thanks
to VR, haptics and 5G.
“Let’s start with footballers,”
says Griffin, “I could take the video
of a Premier League game, convert
it using Samsung or Nvidia tech
into a 3D VR simulation on an HTC
Vive and put a player straight back
into the game to analyse where he
went wrong. I could then combine
that with AI rendering and a haptic
Teslasuit, so if he did something
different the AI could compensate
and we’d see the results.
“Using the same VR tech running
over 5G I could ‘sub’ you in: put you
in a Teslasuit and VR headset, pitch
you against top-class footballers
and see how you do – in a game
that’s actually playing on TV.”
Follow you follow me
And if you actually want to work up
a sweat – just without leaving the
house because, you know, light
drizzle and all that? Griffin says
electromagnetic floors are on the
way, allowing you to run in every
direction while using VR, without
the need for a treadmill. That
means running a marathon
but always staying in one room,
perhaps pausing every so often for
a Pot Noodle. Sounds alright to us.
71
 TESTED GOOGLE NEST HUB MAX

Lovin’ this Hub

Google’s latest home assistant has a 10in screen,
I don’t mind
The Nest Hub Max is
available in either chalk
or charcoal finishes,
meaning it can’t
security-cam smarts and enough audio power possibly clash with
anything.
to usher in a new era of singing digital butlers
£219 / stuff.tv/NestHubMax

QThe future never did bring

us a teleportation pad in every
living room… but you can have
a disembodied voice reminding
you to buy toilet paper. This, and
turning off your bedroom light
while you’re under the covers,
is a big part of the reality of digital
assistants – but the Google Nest
Hub Max does more than that.

QAs well as being a great host

for Google Assistant, this gadget
jacks up the ‘virtual butler’
experience with sound good
enough to make it the only
speaker you need 95% of the
time, and a big screen that’ll
make waiting for pasta to cook
a lot more enjoyable.

QThe Nest Hub Max only has

two mics, not seven like the Apple
HomePod or Amazon Echo Dot,
but it seems to hear just as well.
It’ll understand commands over
music and background noise,
and Google Assistant is still ahead
of Siri and Alexa in terms of how
natural interactions feel.

QAudio isn’t just an afterthought

here: the Hub Max sounds great
for a smart display. It has a 75mm
bass woofer and two tweeters,
all adding up to a beefy-sounding
speaker that gives real punch to
your tunes.

QThe inclusion of a Nest camera

means you can use it like a video
intercom, or (with a Nest Aware
subscription) as a home security
cam. Sadly our review unit proves
unreliable in this role, and there’s
no night-vision mode. Q Cue remind me Q Good misser
This thing has a touchscreen The Hub Max is a pro at being an
Tech specs but it responds better to voice ‘ambient’ display. It can match a
commands, and the screen room’s lighting so it doesn’t stick
Display 10in 1280x800 touchscreen wouldn’t impress anyone if this out too much, while keeping
Connectivity Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, were a standard tablet either: what’s on the screen clear. It’s
Google Assistant, Chromecast 1280x800 pixels over 10 inches much better at this than the
Dimensions 250x183x101mm, 1.3kg doesn’t look sharp up close. Amazon Echo Show 5.

STUFF SAYS A model smart display, even if a few aspects still need tweaking ++++,

Nice gadget… Smart displays are going through a bit of an awkward stage as Google and Amazon
and it’ll be even wrestle for power over your living room. In this case that means you can’t play
better when Prime Video or Netflix on the Google Nest Hub Max. The security cam feature is
it’s finished a bit wobbly too, but buy this product knowing it’s a bit of a work in progress and
Andrew Williams you’ll be happy. After all, it does plenty to keep you entertained already.

72

Drive is home for Xmas
Let’s dance
From the moment
you turn it on, the
Mega Drive Mini charms
with its catchy menu
music by legendary
composer Yuzo
Koshiro.
Q The code to hell
While Sega has re-released its
16-bit back catalogue on other
platforms before, this collection
offers a fine summary of the
console’s history – including
third-party titles such as Street
Fighter II and Castle of Illusion.
STUFF SAYS Sega’s back – and this really is the ultimate mini gaming machine +++++
Sega’s console
comeback is a
perfect little box
of arcade fun
Alan Wen
TESTED SEGA MEGA DRIVE MINI
Sega’s long-awaited entry into the
miniaturised retro console market has
arrived in time to squeeze onto Santa’s sled
£70 / stuff.tv/MegaDriveMini
QNearly two decades after Sega
officially left the console-making
business, it’s a delight to see the
Japanese company revive its most
beloved 16-bit machine – and this
is the real thing, not some branded
knock-off using dodgy emulation.
QIt’s too late for the Mega Drive’s
30th anniversary, which was last
year, but the wait has been worth
it: this lovingly dinky and accurate
replica includes a whopping 42
games, more than the SNES Mini
and PlayStation Classic combined.
QSega has done an excellent
job of faithfully reproducing the
console based on its iconic Model 1
design, except at a hand-friendly
55% of the original size. It’s even
got flaps for the dummy cartridge
slot. Bundled in are two control
pads, and the six-foot cables are
a vast improvement over the ones
you get with some mini consoles.
QThe emulation work has been
handled by retro masters M2, also
behind the Sega Ages ports for
the Switch, so you can expect
these 40 classic games to run
every bit as well as you remember
them. As a bonus, they’ve even
ported a pair of old arcade gems,
classic puzzler Tetris and hardcore
shoot-’em-up Darius.
QFor modern audiences who
might have a problem with the
old-school difficulty levels of these
games, you’re able to create up to
four save states… though there’s
no rewind function. Handily, you
can access the save menu just by
Q Cool if you think it’s over holding down the start button on
A lot of the games are perfect for your controller.
pick-up-and-play sessions, and
over a third support two-player. Tech specs
Those who want to invest in
their nostalgia for longer can Games included 42
also enjoy RPGs like Shining Force Connectivity HDMI, USB
and Phantasy Star IV. Dimensions 270x176x73mm, 998g
There’ll be playground rows and online feuds over whether Nintendo’s or Sega’s
games are better, but the Mega Drive Mini wins the mini retro console war in terms
of the faithful recreation of both hardware and software. It’s taken a long time to get
here, but as the saying goes, to be this good takes ages – and the Sega is going to be
the must-buy console this Christmas.
73
 BETA YOURSELF
macOS CATALINA
It may be named after an island, but the new Apple OS makes
the Mac less isolated than ever, linking up apps, services
and devices – Craig Grannell delves into its best bits
THE BASICS
QPrepare yourself
Before updating, choose
‘About This Mac’ from the
Apple menu, then System
Report. Under Software, click
Applications. Anything listed
as ‘No’ in the ‘64-Bit’ column
is not compatible with Catalina.
Check for updates, and hold
off on installing the new
OS if none are available and
you consider those apps vital.
Before you do update, make
a full bootable backup using
SuperDuper or Carbon Copy
Cloner – just in case.
QGet your game face on
The Mac App Store now has
an Arcade tab. If you’re already
signed up to Apple Arcade,
progress will sync from
wherever you left a game
on your other Apple devices.
But note that not all titles
Nighty night
Dark Mode isn’t new to
Mac, but automating it is.
In System Preferences >
General, click Auto to have
your Mac switch to Dark
Mode during evenings.
74
are available on Mac, and
on-boarding can be clunky,
leaving you to figure out
the controls.
QGo on Safari
Check out the useful new
features of Apple’s browser:
open tab recommendations
in the address bar, improved
media controls when
right-clicking a tab’s speaker
icon, per-site download
approval, and warning you
when your passwords are
rubbish. It’ll nuke your old
extensions, mind.
QMake yourself appy
As with iOS, Catalina brings
some welcome updates to
Reminders. Elsewhere, Notes
has a gallery view, and Photos
brings out best moments.
Also check the Mac App Store
for iPad ports such as the
new Mac Twitter app, Carrot
Weather and GoodNotes.
QZoom it better
The green zoom button still
switches a window between
full-screen and windowed
mode (or maximises
displayed content if you
alt-click), but you can now
hover over it for more options.
These include snapping the
current window to half of the
screen, or sending it to an iPad
if you’re using Sidecar.
SCREEN TIME
QMonitor usage
In System Preferences,
select Screen Time. Here,
you can peruse app usage
by individual app or category,
unearthing your unhealthy
Twitter addiction. Websites are
listed too, as are notifications.
QKnow your limits
Under App Limits, click ‘+’ to
set a daily limit for app groups
(or a single app found via
search). Limits can be set
per day by clicking Custom,
allowing you to differentiate
weekend usage. Use
Downtime and Always
Allowed to severely limit
access during certain hours.

MEET THE FAMILY
QSketch with iPhone
It was already possible to use
your iPhone as a handheld
scanner; now you can import
sketches too. In a context
menu, select Import from
iPhone or iPad > Add Sketch.
Doodle away on your iPhone,
and tap Done to import.
QRide the Sidecar
If you have supported kit,
connect to your iPad from
the AirPlay icon in the menu
bar (activated in Display under
System Preferences). You can
now send Mac windows to
your iPad display, use Apple
Pencil, and interact with a
virtual Touch Bar.
DO THE
SPLITS
QAdd some Music
Sorry, iTunes fans (both of
you), but that app’s now dead
on Mac. For audio delights,
you now use the Music app.
It’s basically iTunes Lite, but
heavily emphasises Apple
Music; the iTunes Store clings
on in the sidebar.
QSync in Finder
To sync a device with a Mac,
or back it up, connect it to
your Mac and select it from
the Locations section of
Finder’s sidebar. You’ll get
the same options that used
to exist within iTunes.
QFind other media
TV and podcasts have been
relocated to standalone TV
and Podcasts apps. Purchases
go along for the ride, but be
mindful that Up Next in the
Mac TV app directs you to
Apple’s store rather than
third-party telly apps.
LOCK IT DOWN
QFind your stuff
Find My provides a central
location to track kit… and
anyone who’s okayed your
digital voyeurism. With a
device, click info for options,
such as having your iPhone
play an ear-splitting noise
when it’s lost in your flat.
QWatch your apps
Ensure your Apple Watch
is running watchOS 6 and is
signed in to the right Apple ID.
Then, in System Preferences
> Security & Privacy, you
can allow it to unlock apps.
Double-click the watch’s side
button when prompted to
access locked content.
DAY-ONE
INSTALLS
MOOM
Catalina enhances the
zoom button, but it’s a
far cry from Moom. With
this app you can create
custom shortcuts for
tweaking windows, snap
windows when they’re
dragged to a screen
edge, or replace Apple’s
zoom smarts with a
clever canvas.
$10 / manytricks.com
BETTERTOUCHTOOL
If you’re usually wedded
to your keyboard,
BetterTouchTool will
be bliss. Use it to create
and trigger system-wide
shortcuts for everything
from app launches to
firing system commands
or scripts. Also use it to
power up your trackpad
and Siri remote.
$21 / folivora.ai
BACKBLAZE
Time Machine is now
baked into macOS, so
you can back up files just
by plugging in an external
drive. That’s great until
something goes wrong
with that backup, or you
get robbed – so cloud
backup is a must. This
is a reliable choice.
$6/m / backblaze.com
75
GET THE BEST GADGET
DEALS WITH STUFF

In the mag Online

We pick out the Choose from
best price for our roster of
every featured great-value
product retailers

Ever wondered what’s up with the links in Stuff? We’ve got a team of retail pros who
scour the web to find you the best gadget deals – visit any stuff.tv link in this issue and
you’ll be taken to the best deal for that product. If you make a purchase, we may get
a small commission. It’s that simple, and has no impact on how much you pay.
 T E S T E D H U AW E I WAT C H G T 2

Pretty in sync Don’t let the ‘Watch’ part fool you: while
the GT 2 is a handsome wearable for
fitness tracking, it’s not all that smart
from £179 / stuff.tv/WatchGT2

QThe Watch GT 2 is a beauty:

Metal ticky
round and sleek with a giant, bright
As well as two
screen. It’s a smartwatch we’ve
standard shades of
loved having on our wrist… except
stainless steel, you get
it isn’t really a smartwatch at all,
a titanium option for
just a very fancy fitness tracker.
the 46mm version
Running Huawei’s Lite OS, there’s
or rose gold for
no app ecosystem, but it does offer
the 42mm.
up to two weeks’ battery life.

QChoose between a suave but

sizeable 46mm with a speaker
and call functionality or a 42mm
version minus those features. Both
have zingy AMOLED screens, but
the 46mm has higher resolution
plus double the stamina and RAM.

QLite OS is easy to navigate, but

limited compared to Wear OS. It’s
lacking a voice assistant, while
message notifications give you
truncated snippet previews. You
get staples like a timer, alarm and
stopwatch, but performance lags
behind Apple and Samsung. Still,
it’s perfectly usable, and a drop in
smoothness for better battery life
will suit many people.

QHuawei has upped its tracking

game, adding stress monitoring
to the mix as well as a barometer.
There’s detailed sleep tracking
too, although it couldn’t tell when
we woke up in the night unless we
got out of bed. Heart monitoring is
accurate and there are 16 workout
modes to select from, plus links to
Apple Health, Google Fit and My
Fitness Pal – but not Strava.

Q Slim tickings
Our GT 2 was the 46mm Sport
Edition and it looked glorious.
The watch has a dial etched into
the frame and two crown-like
buttons on the right, and it isn’t
obnoxiously chunky. And the
rubber strap feels comfortable.
Tech specs
Screen 1.4in 454x454 (46mm) or
Q Alive and ticking 1.2in 390x390 (42mm) AMOLED
If you have automated heart and Processor Kirin A1 Storage 4GB
stress tracking turned off and Battery life Up to 2 weeks
don’t fire up a lot of workouts, Sensors Accelerometer, gyroscope,
you may be able to hit Huawei’s geomagnetic, HRM, ambient light,
claimed two-week battery life. barometer Water-resistance 5ATM
If you actually plan on using your Dimensions 46x46x10.7mm, 41g;
wearable, it’s more like one week. 42x42x9.4mm, 29g

STUFF SAYS The best-looking tracker money can buy – but it’s not a smartwatch ++++,

Sexy on the The Watch GT 2 is having an identity crisis. We’re impressed with the design, the
outside, not so tracking skills and the battery life… but it’s undeniably less functional than an Apple
sophisticated Watch or a Galaxy Watch, and it doesn’t play nicely with third-party apps so won’t be
on the inside one for serious fitness fiends. If you’re OK with those compromises, it’s cheaper and
Basil Kronfli probably better-looking than most, if not all, its competition.

77
 TWO WEEKS WITH THE SONOS MOVE

Carry on amping
Sonos’s first portable speaker promises all of the brand’s signature audio quality
on the go – so Simon Lucas keeps on moving for a fortnight of hobo-friendly hi-fi
£399 / stuff.tv/SonosMove

Sonos One on steroids. The

DAY 01
The Sonos range of wireless
speakers has been crying out
for a battery-powered portable
offering for ages – and finally,
our favourite multiroom audio
specialist has caved in.
Could it be, though, that Sonos
has left it too late? After all, every
other brand with half a reputation
for wireless speakers has had
a portable Bluetooth (and
sometimes waterproof) version
in its range since the days
when Boris Johnson was just
the harmless old Mayor of
bottom of the cabinet is heftily
rubberised for durability – the
Sonos website shows a Move
being heedlessly dropped from
a height with no ill effects, though
we’re not about to test that
theory. Not on the first day of
testing anyway.
The top of the Move has
basic touch-controls and mics,
and from there down to the
apparently bomb-proof base
it’s pretty much all sturdy
acoustic grille. Oh, except at
the back of the speaker – there
you’ll find a sculpted handle, plus

This thing is certainly loud and punchy

enough to make itself heard outdoors,
and there’s real authority to the bass
London. Are there any customers USB-C for charging, a power
left to woo in 2019? on/off control and a switch
Fingers crossed that there are. to toggle between Bluetooth
Because not only is the Move and Wi-Fi inputs. There’s also
the speaker Sonos should have a setup/reset control.
launched years ago, but it’s one The Move feels hard-wearing
of the best products of its type and built to last – the ‘shadow’
and price that we’ve heard. black finish (which is currently
There have been concessions your only option) is supposedly
made to the Move’s outdoorsy able to withstand all sorts of
potential where design and build outdoor unpleasantness like
are concerned, but not so many heat, cold, sunscreen and
that you wouldn’t pick this out as (obviously) mustard. Its IP56
a Sonos product. rating means humidity, rain,
At 24cm it’s on the tall side, salt-spray, dust and all the
but its gentle cylindrical shape rest shouldn’t put a crimp in
serves to make it look like a its performance either.

78

01 05
04
02
03
Tech specs
Drivers 1x tweeter,
1x mid-woofer,
2x Class D amps
Connectivity
Bluetooth,
Wi-Fi, AirPlay 2,
voice control,
USB-C charging
Battery life 10hrs
Water/dust-
proofing IP56
Dimensions 240x
160x126mm, 3kg
DAY 02
Wireless range is good – I’ve just
popped out into the garden to
entertain the birds and it’s held the
Wi-Fi connection without resorting
to Bluetooth.
Audio is delivered by a mid/bass
driver and a downward-facing
tweeter, fuelled by two Class D
amplifiers. Sonos is saying nothing
about the composition of the
drivers or the output power, but
this thing is certainly loud and
punchy enough to make itself
heard outdoors.
DAY 04
Staying in the house today, there’s
real control and authority to the
bass, despite how deep the Move
extends and how hard it hits. Low
As well as a
notes start and stop on time, never
USB-C socket,
merging into a vague drone.
the Move has a
And there’s plenty of texture
mains-powered
and detail revealed in vocals: it
ring in which it sits
exposes so much detail in Tom
to charge.
Waits’ infamously croaky grumble
that I’m getting a sore throat just
from listening.
Up at the top end, though,
things can lack a little body.
There’s no shortage of attack,
but treble sounds can get slightly
splashy – a trait that becomes
more apparent the more you up
the volume.
LO N G -T E R M T E S T
Donut of Truth™
01 Hi-fi sound with plenty of 04 A slight lack of substance
power for outdoor listening to the top end, especially at
02 The best Wi-Fi range of higher volumes
any Sonos speaker 05 Sound quality isn’t quite
03 Easy to make part of a as good over Bluetooth as it
multiroom setup is with Wi-Fi
OR TRY...
IKEA
SYMFONISK
from £99 / ikea.com
The Move isn’t the
only new Sonos kit
to consider – thanks
to a collaboration with
Swedish meatball
enthusiasts Ikea.
Its Symfonisk range
comprises a wireless
DAY 07 speaker (£99) and a
Time to introduce the Move to table lamp with one
the rest of my Sonos multiroom built in (£150).
system. It’s child’s play – thanks Solidly built, smart
in part to the simple excellence of and premium to the
Sonos’s control app. The physical touch, these dual-
controls are minimal but effective, branded devices can
and the mics for voice control be integrated into
prove bat-like. Or is it hawk-like? an existing Sonos
Whatever, it’s got really good ears. network, but a slight
dip in sound quality
compared to a Sonos
DAY 11 One means they
You know Sonos’s Trueplay tech, won’t be a genuine
for tuning the sound to the room? threat to the
The Move has Auto Trueplay, established order.
which recalibrates the speaker Stuff says ++++,
whenever it’s moved.
Of course, moving the Move
means you might need to switch
from Wi-Fi to Bluetooth reception,
which is simply a case of pressing
the switch on the back. This does
have an impact on sound quality:
the presentation loses just a bit of
positivity and expansiveness. STUFF SAYS
Sonos finally
DAY 14 gets up to
Even though it’s taken an eternity
to get here, Sonos’s first portable
speed with
speaker is entirely worth the the portable
wait. Its adaptability and, most
importantly, its sound mean it’s
speaker craze,
fine value for money and a bit of and in style
a no-brainer for anyone who’s +++++
already Sonos-inclined.
79
 VERSUS GAMES
The scoring
twenties
Both sides have given it 110 per cent but at the end of the day there can only be one winner and
luckily it’s gone in the back of the net and you have to say it’s no more than they deserve, Gary
T
TES ER
INN
W
FIFA 20
It’s hard to feel sorry for PSG,
but Neymar and his ultra-rich
mates do find some hilarious
ways of getting dumped out
of the Champions League every
season. There’s a theory that
they’re so used to swatting
aside every other French team
that they’ve forgotten how to
defend against good sides… and
in recent years, FIFA has had a
similar issue.
It’s become so obsessed
with high-tempo, high-scoring
football that it’s neglected the
other side of the game: defence.
And so, particularly in FIFA 19, it’s
lacked nuance and subtlety.
There are some real-life teams
that play kamikaze football – but
it shouldn’t be easy, and there
should be ways to stop them.
Has FIFA 20 managed to strike
a better balance?
[ Words Tom Wiggins ]
Pundits’ analysis
First impressions are good. You
do seem to get a bit more time
on the ball now, and possession
feels a touch looser. Long passes
are slightly more effective, and
STUFF SAYS ++++,
FIFA 20 succeeds in giving you more control,
but it still loves goals more than anything else
80
one really nice addition is the
confusingly named ‘lofted ground
pass’, letting you lift the ball
slightly off the turf to get it over
an outstretched leg.
For those who don’t have time
to master skill moves, EA has
added ‘strafe dribbling’, which
makes lateral movements while
in possession easier. It’s best
deployed in short bursts and will
make lumbering centre-halves
look like Bambi on ice… but you
also have a new weapon to
defend against it: an ‘agile jockey’
move that allows defenders to
move more nimbly.
The Journey mode is gone
and in its place is Volta, which
is almost identical to the old FIFA
Street but with added narrative.
These matches are fast-paced
affairs, full of the kind of tricks
that’d land you in A&E if you ever
tried them at five-a-side, and
the skills required to be good at
Volta are almost entirely different
to those in the main game. It’s
not for everyone, but you are
essentially getting two games
for the price of one.
eFootball PES 2020
Some people say we shouldn’t
compare Messi and Ronaldo.
Rather, we should just sit back
and enjoy a time when two of
football’s GOATiest GOATs can
spur each other on to even
greater heights.
It feels like we’re in a golden
age for football games right
now too. While FIFA’s resources
mean it’ll surely keep winning the
battle off the field, the past few
versions of Konami’s PES series
have represented a genuine
alternative. With less frenetic
gameplay and equal focus on
defence and attack, PES has
built a reputation for being a
more considered game.
But can Konami iron out the
niggles, or is it just too annoying
to play as a team called FV Green
Black in a kit that looks like it was
designed by George at Asda?
Pundits’ analysis
Fire up eFootball PES 2020 and
you’ll be greeted by one of four
faces: Lionel Messi, Miralem
Pjanic, Serge Gnabry or, er,
Scott McTominay. Well, this
STUFF SAYS ++++,
An engrossing and rewarding football game that
still can’t quite do it at the highest level
is a reflection of the ‘we’ll take
what we can get’ approach to
licensing that underdog Konami
is still forced to take.
Still, with Barca and Bayern
already on board, the addition
of Juventus means this game
has three of the biggest clubs
in Europe covered. Their arenas
are meticulously recreated and
the TV-style camera angle is a
triumph of authenticity.
And the football itself? This
is a more patient approach than
you get from FIFA, with defences
tougher to break down. Konami
has added a new finesse
dribbling option and there
are new first-touch techniques,
making for a brilliant range of
ways to move the ball and open
up space. But it’s easy for passes
to go astray, and tackling is still a
bit of a lottery.
PES 2020 remains the gaming
equivalent of Tottenham under
Pochettino: hugely impressive
despite operating on a tighter
budget than its rivals, but just
not quite good enough to take
the next step.
 VERSUS GAMES

PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC / stuff.tv/FIFA20

PS4, Xbox One, PC / stuff.tv/PES2020

81
 TESTED GAMES

Switch / stuff.tv/LinksAwakening

The Legend of Zelda:

Link’s Awakening
Re-awakened for the Switch generation, one of our favourite Zelda titles plays it safe with
a pretty straight remake of the Game Boy original – and that’s absolutely fine with us

he last Legend of Zelda
T wound up shaking up
the whole series – and
all open-world games, in fact. You
could call it a hard act to follow.
But with a Breath of the Wild
sequel on the way, Nintendo has
decided for now to return to a
more traditional top-down Zelda,
with all the dungeons and items
we’ve known and loved in the
series’ three decades.
Well, we say ‘traditional’, but
the Game Boy classic Link’s
Awakening is still one of the
weirdest entries. This version
comes a long way from the 8-bit
original, but reimagines it with an
art style that’s adorable. Essentially,
Koholint Island resembles a huge
toy playset.
The plasticky feel makes total
sense here – and it also sounds
incredible, from the familiar music
brought to life with a new orchestral
arrangement to the pitter-patter of
Link’s footsteps.
But even with new visuals and
audio, the important thing is that
the island’s layout and story beats
remain faithfully intact. It’s what
you might call a frame-by-frame
remake, even though the outdoors
is now a seamless open world.
That means all the narrative
elements and puzzles play out
just as you remember.
Apart from adding more heart
pieces and seashells, this remake
attempts to increase its longevity
by letting you assemble your
own dungeons… but this is more
‘remixing’, using tiles from existing
dungeons, than actually creating,
and it feels restrictive. There are
also a couple of niggles, including
a chugging framerate every time
the open-world island has to load
up on leaving an interior.
Compared to the endless hours
of exploration in Breath of the Wild,
this game is relatively short. But
it scratches the itch for Zelda fans
who’ve missed old-fashioned
dungeons… and if you’ve never
played Link’s Awakening, then you
owe it to yourself to experience
one of the finest of the 2D entries
at its most weird and wonderful.
Alan Wen

STUFF SAYS A magical if familiar return for the handheld Zelda classic ++++,
82

Well, you’d want awakening
too if you dreamed about
a graveyard full of eyeballs.
TESTED GAMES
Nintendo Switches
things up a bit
Perhaps the best part of being
able to play Link’s Awakening
on Switch is that there are
immediately more buttons to
take advantage of than just the
A and B options on the Game
Boy. That means organising
your equipment is much more
convenient than before, so
you can spend less time in
the menu screen.
While you still only get to
freely map two items to X and
Y, a lot of your key equipment
is actually mapped to specific
buttons once you’ve acquired
them. You’ll always slash
your sword with B, the right
shoulder buttons put your
Phew, that’s better. Next shield up, and holding the left
in the series: Link’s shoulder buttons charges up
Morning Bowel Movement. your Pegasus Boots dash. And
you don’t need to manually
equip the power bracelet to
pick up objects.
Just as convenient are some
very modern features such
as auto-saving, as well as an
improvement to the fast travel
system, including a few extra
warp points. Taking a leaf from
Breath of the Wild, you can
even add pins to the map,
including in dungeons – so
you can keep track of clues
if you’ll need to come back later
with the right gear.
And of course, if all those
conveniences sound too easy,
you can always play on Hero
mode for a proper challenge.
83
 TESTED GAMES
Borderlands 3
As long as you have a high cringe threshold, the latest in the ever-tasteless
open-world FPS series will keep you blasting away long into the night
orderlands 3 is a bit like
B that bloke in your office
who “tells it like it is”.
You’re not friends exactly, but
you’d sit in the kitchen eating
a warm sandwich with him if
you had to.
This is the Borderlands brand.
It’s unapologetic and in-your-face
and puerile, and we love that. But
while Handsome Jack was the
villain to rule all villains, your new
antagonists – Calypso Twins
Troy and Tyreen – are animated
meatbags of every millennial trope
you can think of.
This latest instalment tries so
hard to be young and hip and meta,
it sometimes ends up the very
opposite: ageing, old-fashioned
and not remotely cool.
That doesn’t make it a bad
game, though. If you’re able to
set aside the groan-worthy patter
and numerous bad-taste jokes,
sitting at the core is a satisfying
shooter-looter stuffed with
engaging firefights, a memorable
cast and many, many guns.
You set off as one of four Vault
Hunters, each offering a slightly
STUFF SAYS Lame jokes aside, the biggest and boldest Borderlands game yet ++++,
84
PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia / stuff.tv/Borderlands3
different play style: Amara the
Siren, FL4K the Beastmaster,
Moze the Gunner, and Zane the
Operative. With the main events
happening to the people around “Oh no,
you, all you really do is bounce someone’s
from mission to mission, collecting taken all my
stuff or clearing the bad guys. It’s Pom-Bears and
a shame your character is so bland
just left a load
and irrelevant… especially with so
many colourful folks occupying the of old guns.”
NPC ranks.
But the key to Borderlands 3’s
appeal is a delightful gameplay
loop that will keep you pressing
onwards way after you promised
yourself you’d go to bed. Thanks
to expansive skill-trees and literally
thousands of weapons, you’ll never
want to stop experimenting.
Despite all its flaws, this title “Those
should be exactly what faithful Pom-Bears
Borderlands fans have been were clearly
waiting for. Just be warned that, marked with
if you don’t like poop jokes or my name, you
suspect you’d find it hard to
monster!”
overlook its less-than-sensitive
approach to diversity and
difference, it’s unlikely you’ll
find life comfortable on Pandora.
Vikki Blake

PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia / stuff.tv/GRBreakpoint
Tom Clancy’s Ghost
Recon Breakpoint
Here at Stuff, we love getting all excited about new videogames that are
imaginatively conceived and thrillingly executed. This is not one of them…
n Ghost Recon Breakpoint
I we see the final form of
what Ubisoft has been
leaning towards for years: a game
“I’d just like to structurally driven by an endless,
make it clear purposeless grind, and one that
that absolutely can be expedited by forking out
nothing about cash for microtransactions.
Yes, this is still another giant
this game was
open world, another tactical
my idea.” military shooter, and another
multi-million-dollar production…
but every element of its design
feels tainted by greed.
The game’s story is built around
discovery and clues. People you
meet on the mysterious island of
Auroa – a kind of tech utopia that’s
been seized by a mercenary – fill
you in on the whereabouts of key
“Apart from characters and plot points. But
possibly this while on the one hand you have
exploding shed. the island’s backstory to explore,
You can never you then meet a local resistance
have too many force and are shoved into a
Destiny-style social space filled
of those.”
with other players dancing about
and spinning in circles.
And while the game purports to
be a survival sim, you can’t go two
seconds without being directed
STUFF SAYS Cynical and unfinished, with ugly monetisation and broken AI ++,,,
TESTED GAMES
towards the next bit of loot, all in
an effort to increase a Gear Score
that will allow you to take on
increasingly difficult areas.
Now, there’s nothing essentially
wrong with restructuring Ghost
Recon with some loot – it can be
intoxicating when done well – but
it’s hard not to feel a little cynical
about why this game has had such
a major design overhaul.
And while it may be entirely
possible to finish its enormous
campaign and side missions
without spending an extra penny,
microtransactions are so clearly
baked into the design – offering
game-changing gear, not just
cosmetics – that it doesn’t
speak highly for the game’s
true intentions.
What’s more, it feels hopelessly
unfinished. Enemy AI is awful – like,
GoldenEye on the N64 awful – and
the game is riddled with typos.
Really, it’s a title stuck between
two camps: never offering the
compelling loot churn of The
Division, and never allowed to
thrive as a military survival game.
Jon Denton
85
DIGITAL EDITION

Available online from

Readly or Pocketmags
 TOP
NEW

HOT
BUY
TEN
This gadget has
leapt straight
outta testing
and into our
rankings.

BARGAIN
OF EVERYTHING
Time changes
everything,
including Stuff
Top Ten entries.

BUY
UPDATE
Searing with
techy genius,
a product that’s A solid gold
set our hearts bargain.
aflame. Worth owning,
regardless of
cashflow.

Smartphones 88 Games 97
HOW
Tablets, mobile games
Headphones
Wearables
89
90
91
Tech toys, electric cars
VR headsets & games
Smart home
98
99
100
TO USE
Laptops
Wireless speakers
TVs
Soundbars,
92
93
94
95
Drones & action cams,
compact cameras
System cameras
Budget buys
101

102
103
THEM
smart speakers How to buy… 104
Home cinema, consoles 96 a soundbar
TOP TENS SMARTPHONES
TIPS &
TRICKS
Use Huawei’s
OneHop tech for
quick wireless file
transfers from the
phone to your laptop.
The P30 Pro works
as a wireless charger,
so you can share its
juice with any other
Qi-enabled device.
Drive an Audi? You
can use this phone
as a digital car key,
to unlock it and even
start the engine.
2 3
Samsung Galaxy S10
from £799 / stuff.tv/S10
Some phones have more power,
some have better cameras, some
last longer between charges… but
the S10 isn’t far behind in any area,
and has just about every feature
you could want: a versatile camera,
a gorgeous display and truly ace
performance.
Stuff says +++++
Nothing else running Android is quite
so well rounded
FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW PHONES, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SMARTPHONES
88
1 HOT
BUY
Huawei P30 Pro
from £799 / stuff.tv/P30Pro
Huawei’s superphone sets a stratospheric
benchmark for camera power, with no cost
to overall performance. Everything about the
design is top-notch, with only screen sharpness
failing to hit the very highest marks – at least
by Huawei’s own giddy standards. But it’s those
oh-so-clever rear camera lenses that really set
O Prices quoted are for handset only unless otherwise stated
the P30 Pro apart. Just be aware that ongoing
political problems for the brand make this a risky
purchase at present.
Stuff says +++++
Heaps of power – and the best
smartphone camera you can buy
O NOW ADD THIS
Huawei Smart View Flip Cover
This case has a transparent window
that will display your P30 Pro’s
notifications, time and weather.
£15 / amazon.co.uk
Samsung Galaxy S10 5G
4 +++++£1099 / stuff.tv/S105G
This 5G hardware will have you future-proofed with
sensational snaps and a stunning screen
Oppo Reno 10x Zoom
5 +++++£700 / stuff.tv/Reno10x
A wondrous camera phone that gets a lot right
despite its overbearing software.
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
6 +++++£500 / stuff.tv/Mate20Pro
The last-gen Huawei flagship is still a stunning phone
that makes most look lazy in comparison.
Xiaomi Mi 9T Pro
7 +++++ £399 / stuff.tv/Mi9TPro
Makes all the right sacrifices to become the most
desirable phone you can get for under £400.
OnePlus 7 Pro Sony Xperia 5
from £649 / stuff.tv/OnePlus7Pro
8 +++++£700 / stuff.tv/Xperia5
Sony’s best compact phone yet: a pocketable flagship
with a sensational screen and a great camera.
The 7 Pro is not an affordable
‘phone of the people’ but it is just
the sort of expensive handset Honor View 20
OnePlus should make – with the
features people actually want.
If you want the meaty bits of
9 +++++ £350 / stuff.tv/View20
Honor enters the big leagues with one of the best
phones in its class… and it’s got a punch-hole.
a premium phone for less cash,
buy this one.
Moto G7
Stuff says +++++ +++++ £220 / stuff.tv/MotoG7
An ultra-high-end phone that focuses The G7 may be more of the same from Motorola, but
on the important stuff that’s exactly what we wanted. A budget no-brainer.
TOP TENS TABLETS
Apple iPad Pro
from £769 / stuff.tv/iPadPro
The iPad Pro isn’t cheap, but it’s a mobile powerhouse like no
other, with a diverse and rich app ecosystem, tons of power,
a gorgeous screen, and the kind of focus on creativity and
productivity that just doesn’t exist on other tablets. If you just
want to faff on Facebook or Netflix it’s massive overkill, so we’d
recommend going for the iPad Air (from £479) instead; but even
if you don’t actually need the new iPad Pro, you’re going to want
one if you have it in your mitts for five minutes.
Stuff says +++++
Once again Apple blasts ahead of the pack, with
a stylish, powerful tablet full of creative potential
Microsoft Surface Go
from £379 / stuff.tv/SurfaceGo
Having this slinky Windows tab up your
sleeve (not quite literally) is like carrying
a mini PC on you at all times. The processor
is adequate for everyday tasks and the 10in
screen is lovely.
Stuff says +++++
An affordable, ultra-portable workmate
Apple iPad (2018)
from £319 / stuff.tv/iPad2018
Last year’s basic iPad is about to be bumped
off by the 2019 model (reviewed on p67);
but while it’s still here, this tablet’s low price
and subtle improvements over the previous
version make it a fine workaday tablet.
Stuff says +++++
A versatile tablet for both work and play
Amazon Fire HD 8
+++++ from £80 / stuff.tv/FireHD8
For the price, you get a stonkingly capable
tablet that doubles as an Echo Show.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S6
++++, from £619 / stuff.tv/TabS6
This is the Android tablet to get if you like
doodling or gaming.
FOR FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE PRODUCTS IN OUR TOP TEN LISTINGS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10
89 MOBILE GAMES TOP TENS
1 HOT
BUY
Data Wing
£free Android, iOS
This game starts off as if Asteroids had a baby with a top-down
racer: your triangular craft blasts around circuits, gaining speed
when its bum scrapes neon track edges. Soon you discover
you’re part of an OS ruled by a deranged AI. Story and game
quickly expand, as you glimpse the world beyond the screen and
battle gravity in cavern-based sections that recall 8-bit classic
Thrust. Rarely do mobile titles pack in so many hours of clever,
thoughtful narrative. Pretty much never are such games free.
Stuff says +++++
A mobile game we’d happily recommend if it cost a
fiver – for nowt, it’s an absurdly generous bargain
Jumpgrid
£2.99 / iOS
Pac-Man and Frogger meet Super Hexagon
and buckets of adrenaline in this superb
game, a twitch/arcade/punishment
crossover masterpiece. It’s a stunning
ride that will leave you a quivering wreck.
Stuff says +++++
The best twitch arcade game on mobile
Oddmar
£free (IAPs) / Android O £4.99 / iOS
Oddmar looks like it could have breezed in
from a PS4. Now available on Android as well
as iOS, it’s packed full of superb level design
and lush animated visuals, as a beardy Viking
oaf sets out to save his tribe.
Stuff says +++++
Touchscreen platformers can be great after all
Bring You Home
+++++£3.19 / Android O £2.99 / iOS
Make your own future with this imaginative,
brilliantly designed and devious puzzler.
Knight Brawl
+++++£free / Android, iOS
If Monty Python made a sword-fighting game
for mobile… it still wouldn’t be this silly.
 Sony WF-1000XM3
£219 / stuff.tv/SonyWFXM3
The original WF-1000XMs had an easy job in the early days of
noise-cancelling in-ears, because there simply wasn’t much in
the way of competition. That’s all changed now – yet the way
the XM3s serve up sound quality as spectacular as this while
being truly wireless, while effectively cancelling background
noise and while remaining comfortable in the ears, is quite
something. So, just as it was with the original XMs, it’s job
done for Sony.
Stuff says +++++
Outright winners on design, build, specifications and,
most importantly of all, performance
Libratone Track Air+
£171 / stuff.tv/TrackAirPlus
These distinctive wireless buds are
excellently designed and sweatproof,
provide up to 24 hours of battery life, offer
active noise-cancelling, and are neat in all
senses of the word.
Stuff says +++++
Ace design, sound and versatility
RHA TrueConnect
£149 / stuff.tv/TrueConnect
The RHA TrueConnects seem to nail all the
important stuff. They sound fantastic, the
design is lovely, plus there’s waterproofing
to IPX5 and the Bluetooth 5.0 connection
is rock-solid.
Stuff says +++++
Superb all-rounders with great tone
Cambridge Audio Melomania 1
+++++£120 / stuff.tv/Melomania1
These engaging buds are light yet robust,
affordable yet great-sounding.
Beats Powerbeats Pro
+++++£220 / stuff.tv/PowerbeatsPro
It’s no longer all about the bass: these are the
best true wireless buds for iOS users.
TO READ THE FULL REVIEWS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/IN-EAR-HEADPHONES & STUFF.TV/TOP-10/HEADPHONES
Sony WH-1000XM3
£249 / stuff.tv/SonyWHXM3
Sony’s WH-1000 series was already a top performer, and the
WH-1000XM3s make for an even more compelling package.
With Bluetooth wireless and great noise-cancellation, they’re
the ultimate public transport stress killer… well, aside from a
chauffeur or a lottery win that lets you retire. The leather pads
make them incredibly easy to wear, not unlike sitting in one of
those ultra-comfy leather chairs, and most importantly of all
the sound quality is fantastic.
Stuff says +++++
Great wireless headphones with effective ANC and
a sound that nails just about everything
Bose NCH 700
£350 / stuff.tv/BoseNCH700
You won’t find a better voice pickup system
than Bose’s, while the company’s already
exceptional noise-cancelling tech is now
even better. Other features, such as the
slick touch controls, are also winners.
Stuff says +++++
As all-rounders these are hard to beat
B&O H9i
£329 / stuff.tv/H9i
Like all B&O products, these noise-cancelling
cans scream luxury… but they’re not just a
pretty face. There’s measured punch in the
low end and timing is spot-on, with a crisp
and expressive midrange.
Stuff says +++++
Some of the best noise-cancellers you can buy
Urbanista Seattle Wireless
+++++from £59 / stuff.tv/SeattleWireless
Bags of style and fantastic sound quality at
a throwaway price.
Sennheiser Momentum 2.0
+++++from £219 / stuff.tv/Momentum2
Pricey but just about worth the outlay, the
Momentum 2.0s will have you smitten.
TOP TENS SMARTWATCHES
1 HOT
BUY UPDATE
Apple Watch Series 4
from £349 / stuff.tv/WatchS4
Series 5 is here, and almost certain to take top spot next month,
but while the old model is still available from some stockists it
remains a great option. The larger screen, improved processor
and louder speaker mean it’s easier to actually do stuff on it
than any previous Watch, and it has superb health features.
Whether you’re navigating using Maps, going for a run without
your phone or just wanting to keep track of your activity, it does
a great job of handling all these things and more.
Stuff says +++++
A sleek and sophisticated redesign of the previous
Watch makes this the best wearable ever… for now
Samsung Galaxy Watch
2 from £279 / stuff.tv/GalaxyWatch
A sturdy and stylish smartwatch with plenty
of power and a truly lovely user interface.
Those with an iPhone are still likely to get
a better experience and more functionality
from an Apple Watch, though.
Stuff says +++++
The best smartwatch for Android users
Garmin Vivoactive 3
3 from £200 / stuff.tv/Vivoactive3
It looks good, isn’t a wrist-dominator,
outlasts just about all normal smartwatches
and gets you the same kind of tracking as the
Fenix 5 at half the price. We just wish it had
more smart features up its sleeve.
Stuff says +++++
A fine smartwatch for sporty types
Garmin Fenix 5
4 +++++£450 / stuff.tv/Fenix5
Like the annoying kid in school who’s both
super-smart and great at every sport.
Garmin Forerunner 945
5 +++++£520 / stuff.tv/Forerunner945
A well-built, comfortable and feature-rich
smartwatch, perfect for fitness freaks.
FOR THE FULL REVIEWS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SMARTWATCHES & STUFF.TV/TOP-10/FITNESS-TRACKERS
91 FITNESS TRACKERS TOP TENS
1 HOT
BUY
Moov Now
£49 / stuff.tv/MoovNow
Slow and steady wins the race, and the Now has gone on to prove
that with a marathon-like pace helping it finally make it to the
top of this list. We’ve long considered this tracker a bargain, but
further reductions have helped it enter the realm of ‘downright
steal’. OK, so it doesn’t have a screen or smartphone skills,
but with guided voice coaching, a six-month battery and solid
waterproofing, it has everything you’d ever want in your perfect
fitness tracker.
Stuff says +++++
A bargain-tastic fitness band that does more than just
track your steps
Fitbit Inspire HR
2 £90 / stuff.tv/InspireHR
Fitbit’s latest is a great little tracker. As well
as step-counting, it’s surprisingly capable
for proper run-tracking if you go out with
a phone. Add notifications and that’s just
about everything we want in a low-key band.
Stuff says ++++,
All the tracking skills that most people need
Withings Steel HR Sport
3 £190 / stuff.tv/SteelHRSport
Like Paul McCartney’s career, the Steel HR
Sport can keep on going and going… and going.
With a subtle, stylish design, it promises to
last for 25 days on a single charge. This is one
hybrid that won’t burn out even when you do.
Stuff says ++++,
One of the most well-rounded, stylish hybrids
Fitbit Charge 3
4 ++++,£130 / stuff.tv/Charge3
A capable tracker with an easy-to-wear
design and long battery life.
Suunto 9
5 ++++, £349 / stuff.tv/Suunto9
Epic battery life and accurate tracking make
this a great – if pricey – option.
TOP TENS LAPTOPS
TIPS & A Touch ID button
TRICKS at the top right of the
keyboard saves the
agony of forgetting
your password.
Microsoft Surface Laptop 2
from £832 / stuff.tv/SurfaceLaptop2
While there’s little that’s truly new
about the Surface Laptop 2, that
also means this computer has
kept everything that made it such
a phenomenal device in the first
place. The additions of Intel’s latest
processors and the full version of
Windows 10 ensure it’s even better.
Stuff says +++++
An even stronger all-round
workhorse than its predecessor
FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW LAPTOPS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/LAPTOPS
Apple charges a
hefty premium for
extra storage, so
consider a cheaper
external SSD.
Dell XPS 13
from £1349 / stuff.tv/XPS13
Last year’s Dell XPS 13 was one of
the best Windows laptops in the
world, and the new model is even
better. Every element is top-quality.
As before, you get style, portability,
performance and great battery
life… and as before, every part of
it just feels good.
Stuff says +++++
There’s nothing else out there that’s
quite so well rounded
Apple MacBook Air
from £1099 / stuff.tv/MacBookAir13
With the ‘basic’ version of the MacBook Pro no
longer in Apple’s line-up, a July update to the Air
model – including a £100 price drop – sees it
power to the top of this list. And justifiably so,
because in 2019 this is absolutely the go-to
MacBook for most people. It looks every bit
as premium as the Pro, and the fantastic screen
represents a substantial leap from the old
generation’s basic panel. That keyboard is
a treat for your fingers too.
Stuff says +++++
Its stunning design, screen and features
make this the perfect MacBook
O NOW ADD THIS
Satechi Type-C USB 3 Combo Hub
Two ports not enough? This hub adds
loads more and sits snugly against
the MacBook Air’s side.
£35 / amazon.co.uk
Huawei MateBook X Pro
+++++ from £1300 / stuff.tv/MateBookXPro
Not massively better than the 2018 model, but
this is a real powerhouse of a Windows laptop.
Apple MacBook Pro (2019)
+++++ from £1299 / stuff.tv/MacBookPro13
The entry-level Pro grows up with a revamped
screen, a Touch Bar and more powerful innards.
Dell XPS 15 2-in-1
+++++ from £1599 / stuff.tv/XPS2in1
A powerful, portable and versatile hybrid, but
with a hefty price tag to match.
Razer Blade 15 Advanced
++++,from £2130 / stuff.tv/BladeAdvanced
Razer’s Blade models are our favourite gaming
laptops, and this is a worthy flagship.
Asus ZenBook Pro 14
++++,from £1099 / stuff.tv/ZenBookPro14
A capable multimedia laptop with a clever
gimmick: a second screen instead of a trackpad.
BARGAIN
BUY Acer Swift 5
++++,from £699 / stuff.tv/Swift5
A capable and extremely portable laptop at
a tempting price that’s just dropped by £200.
Asus Chromebook Flip C434
++++,£549 / stuff.tv/FlipC434
One of the best high-quality Chromebooks, with
a great screen and strong battery life.

TIPS &
TRICKS
With iPhones and
Android devices,
you can control your
Sonos speakers from
your lock screen.
2 3
Naim Mu-so 2
£1299 / stuff.tv/Mu-so2
The Mu-so 2 is a fuller, richer,
more detailed and louder listen
than the model it replaces, with
lots of added functionality, and
it’s every bit as handsome and
decorative. Too expensive? You
can still get the original Mu-so
for several hundred pounds less.
Stuff says +++++
Naim’s luxury wireless speaker
sequel is an improvement all round
FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW HI-FI, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/HI-FI-STREAMING
93
Sonos speakers
use a feature called
Trueplay that tunes
the sound to your
room’s acoustics.
B&W Formation Wedge
BARGAIN
BUY
£900 / stuff.tv/BWWedge
The Formation Wedge does look a
bit weird, and it might seem unduly
expensive at first acquaintance.
But make up your own mind about
the looks, think long and hard
about the price, then hear the
Wedge in action – and the pros
will far outweigh the cons.
Stuff says +++++
A brilliant illustration of what a
wireless speaker is capable of
WIRELESS SPEAKERS TOP TENS
1 HOT
BUY
Sonos multiroom
system
from £199 / stuff.tv/SonosOne
If you want to pretend your favourite band is
playing in your living room, there’s no better
option than a Sonos wireless speaker. They
look great, work with your smartphone and
boom out your tunes with dazzling finesse
– from the compact and Alexa-compatible
One (£199) to the flagship Play:5 (£499) and
the TV-friendly Beam (£399).
Stuff says +++++
Infinite music in every room without the
need for custom installers? Sign us up!
O NOW ADD THIS Spotify Premium
Sick of playing your iTunes library
on repeat? Sign up to Spotify for
more new music than you could
ever possibly listen to.
£9.99/month / spotify.com
JBL Xtreme 2
4 +++++ £279 / stuff.tv/Xtreme2
A hefty portable speaker that growls with
confidence whatever you play through it.
KEF LSX
5 +++++ £999 (pair) / stuff.tv/KEFLSX
Convenience and fine sound at a real-world
price, and in some vivid colours.
Marshall Tufton
6 +++++ £350 / stuff.tv/Tufton
Huge power, 360° clarity and long battery life
make this the perfect portable party speaker.
Loewe Klang M1
7 +++++ £104 / stuff.tv/KlangM1
Exceptional build quality and sound in
a comprehensive compact speaker.
Jam Heavy Metal
8 +++++ £96 / stuff.tv/JamHM
Classy sound and design at a bargain price: this
is still the best affordable Bluetooth speaker.
UE Ralis
9 +++++ £170 / stuff.tv/Ralis
A pretty speaker with great battery life, and it
sounds superb when cranked up.
UE Megaboom 3
10 +++++ £170 / stuff.tv/Megaboom3
You’ll struggle to find a better, or more fun,
portable Bluetooth speaker.
TOP TENS
TIPS & Pick one of the expert
TRICKS preset modes and
you won’t have to do
too much tweaking to
get a fantastic picture.
Panasonic TX-55GZ1500
£2000 / stuff.tv/GZ1500
This isn’t the biggest or most
expensive OLED in the Panasonic
range, but on a ‘quality versus
price’ basis it might be the single
best OLED you can buy right now.
It’s a 4K screen equipped to deal
with any HDR standard you care
to mention, and its handling of
contrast has to be seen to be
believed. Colour and dynamism
are as good as you can get, and
even the little integrated soundbar
does admirable work. The GZ1500
is the complete package.
Stuff says +++++
An excellent TV with superb HDR
picture quality – worth every penny
FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW TELEVISIONS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/TVs
First turn off any Looking for some
extra processing, HDR10+ content?
then bring it back Warner Bros, Fox and
bit by bit to see if Amazon are on board
you like the changes. with the format.
LG 55 C8
£1349 / stuff.tv/LGC8
The current LG flagship television
doesn’t appear to be a huge
upgrade on 2017’s model, but
some clever tweaks to the
processor have turned this into one
of the finest OLED screens you
can get. Sure, the E8 has
a more jaw-dropping design
and more immersive audio,
but the C8 offers the exact
same picture quality at a less
premium price. For this reason,
it’s our top pick from LG’s
impressive range.
Stuff says +++++
Small improvements make this
LG’s best OLED television yet
Panasonic FZ802B
from £1500 (55in) / stuff.tv/FZ802B
As 4K TV prices continue to tumble, there’s
been a mad dash from manufacturers to
convince the world their OLED panel looks
better than everyone else’s. So which one
really does? This Panasonic, showcasing one
of the best 4K HDR displays on the market for
a pretty affordable price. OK, so the design looks
plain and the lack of Dolby Vision might surprise
a few, but when the picture looks so detailed
and natural, who really gives a damn?
Stuff says +++++
You won’t find a better OLED for the
money than this talented Panasonic
O NOW ADD THIS Sky Q
Once you’ve got a 4K TV, you’ll want
access to the best 4K content. Sky Q
is a good bet for watching and recording
all your favourite shows and films.
from £20 + £22/month / sky.com
Philips 55OLED+903
+++++ £1500 / stuff.tv/55OLED903
Philips enlists hi-fi specialist Bowers & Wilkins to
deliver a stylish TV with great sound.
Samsung QE65Q90R
+++++ £2499 / stuff.tv/QE65Q90R
Samsung has stuck to QLED… and upped its
game to rival OLED in virtually every way.
Samsung QE55Q8DN
+++++ £1149 / stuff.tv/SamsungQ8D
This affordable QLED option is a brilliantly
accomplished TV and worth every penny.
Philips 55POS9002
+++++ £999 / stuff.tv/55POS9002
Available at a relatively affordable price for an
OLED 4K HDR set, this Philips is an ace bargain.
Sony KD-65XF9005
+++++ £1499 / stuff.tv/KD65XF9005
It may have a mid-range price, but this Sony’s
4K LCD panel is still a proper belter.
Panasonic TX-58GX800
+++++ £799 / stuff.tv/58GX800
Not the last word in picture excellence, but this
is a lot of TV for the money.
LG 65SM9800
++++, £1999 / stuff.tv/65SM9800
Among the best backlit TVs around and a fine
OLED-dodging compromise.
TOP TENS
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 Beam
£399 / stuff.tv/SonosBeam
Sonos’s great-value Alexa-equipped
soundbar offers fine audio quality, comes
with loads of features and is compact
enough to fit into the average living-room
AV setup without taking over.
Stuff says +++++
Compact, affordable and packed with smarts
Vizio SB36512-F6
£599 / stuff.tv/Vizio36512
An intriguing 5.1.2 Dolby Atmos setup with
a wireless sub and rear satellite speakers,
all for under 600 nicker. Not bad… and the
quality of its delivery, from film dialogue to
thrumming helicopters, is deeply impressive.
Stuff says +++++
A bargain Dolby Atmos upgrade
Q Acoustics Media 4
+++++£179 / stuff.tv/Media4
This is a whole lot of under-telly hi-fi
for the money.
Sky Soundbox
+++++from £249 / stuff.tv/SkySoundbox
The best-value upgrade ever… as long as
you’ve already got Sky.
FOR FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE PRODUCTS IN OUR TOP TEN LISTINGS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10
TOP TENS
Sonos One
£199 / stuff.tv/SonosOne
Making an amazing speaker was an easy job for the multiroom
champs, but getting Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant to dance
along in time with it… well, that wasn’t such a simple task. But
the One is now an altogether more well-rounded device than it
was at launch, supporting Spotify with voice control as well as
Amazon Music and TuneIn Radio, while the early Alexa hiccups
seem to have been fixed by a series of software updates. It also
has an improved processor in its current ‘Gen 2’ form.
Stuff says +++++
Sonos’s Alexa-powered speaker remains a class apart
from the competition
Amazon Echo Dot
£50 / stuff.tv/EchoDot
If you don’t want to make room for a full-size
Echo in your tat-cave, the 3rd-gen Dot is
a good bet. The only downside is its lo-fi
speaker, but the 3.5mm audio output will
solve that problem for most.
Stuff says +++++
One of the best bargains in tech right now
Google Home Max
£299 / stuff.tv/HomeMax
If you want a smart speaker that can blow the
doors off a party, this is the best you can get
right now. All the smarts of the basic Home
speaker are here, naturally, and the larger
drivers offer much more powerful bass.
Stuff says ++++,
A smart speaker that’s ready to party
Apple HomePod
++++,£279 / stuff.tv/HomePod
For Apple Music users who want a high-end
smart speaker, this is a cracking choice.
Amazon Echo (2nd gen)
++++,£90 / stuff.tv/AmazonEcho
Nothing else does the job this well – at least
until we’ve tested the new 3rd-gen Echo…
TOP TENS HOME CINEMA
1 HOT
BUY
Sky Q
from £20 + £22/month / stuff.tv/SkyQ
Sky Q works flawlessly and could change the way you watch
TV – especially now 4K’s arrived. With Sky Movies’ huge range
of films and Sky Sports in stunning Ultra HD, along with the new
addition of Netflix, there’s something for everyone to treat their
eyes with. And 2TB of storage means you can record 350 hours’
worth of entertainment, so you’re unlikely to be sweating over
which show needs deleting. Factor in its multiroom skills, and
Sky Q is undoubtedly the best TV experience you can get.
Stuff says +++++
You’ll have to cough up for a subscription, but this is the
best box for watching both live and recorded shows
Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K
2 £50 / stuff.tv/FireStick4K
Amazon’s latest streaming stick offers 4K
plus a faster processor than its predecessor,
and comes with the new Alexa Voice
Remote. It is very Prime-centric, but the
selection of third-party apps is excellent.
Stuff says +++++
The best 4K streaming stick you can buy
BARGAIN
BUY Google Chromecast
3 £30 / stuff.tv/Chromecast
The latest Chromecast is an incredibly neat
little gadget that will let you watch almost
all of your favourite streaming and catch-up
services on a television that doesn’t have
the apps built in.
Stuff says +++++
The cheapest way to smarten up your TV
Roku Streaming Stick+
4 ++++,£50 / stuff.tv/RokuPlus
This simple all-rounder is a great choice for
the open-minded telly watcher.
Apple TV 4K
5 ++++,from £179 / stuff.tv/AppleTV4K
Streaming boxes might be on the way out,
but Apple’s 4K version still has its uses.
FOR FULL REVIEWS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/HOME-CINEMA & STUFF.TV/TOP-10/GAMES-MACHINES
96 CONSOLES TOP TENS
1 HOT
BUY
Sony PlayStation 4 Pro
£319 / stuff.tv/PS4Pro
As a gaming platform, PlayStation 4 is the best around – which
makes the PS4 Pro the best of the best. Games optimised
for the new console look stunning on a 4K HDR TV, and are
substantially improved by the extra grunt inside this slightly
bigger machine. Sure, it can’t match the Xbox One X for sheer
power or resolution, but it makes up for that with an impressive
line-up of games – including Uncharted 4, Horizon Zero Dawn
and Bloodborne – and virtual reality support.
Stuff says +++++
The system for console gamers who have a 4K TV
and want the best catalogue of games on offer
Nintendo Switch
2 £279 / stuff.tv/NintendoSwitch
Nintendo’s console earned a promotion in
our list after it impressed us with a growing
list of fantastic games. Plus, no other device
here offers the joy of portable gaming. Train
journeys will never be boring again.
Stuff says +++++
This 2-in-1 console is the real deal
Microsoft Xbox One X
3 £399 / stuff.tv/XboxOneX
There’s no doubt the Xbox One X is the
most powerful console here, capable of
producing stunning 4K visuals… but it simply
doesn’t have the line-up of games to usurp
the PS4 Pro from top spot.
Stuff says +++++
A 4K monster held back by its game catalogue
Sony PlayStation 4
4 +++++£250 / stuff.tv/PS4
Haven’t got a 4K TV? This is the best way to
enjoy PlayStation’s brilliant exclusives.
Microsoft Xbox One S
5 +++++£199 / stuff.tv/XboxOneS
No longer our Xbox of choice, but the One S
remains a serious affordable option.

2 3
God of War
£25 / PS4
A lot has changed for PlayStation’s
god-slaying champion, Kratos.
He’s acquired a beard and a new
magic axe… but while the action
is as breathtaking as ever, it’s
the surprisingly mature storyline
that’s the draw here, with Kratos
learning the ropes of parenting.
Stuff says +++++
The epic return of Kratos is yet
another phenomenal PS4 offering
FOR UP-TO-DATE NEWS AND REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW GAMES, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/GAMES
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
£45 / Switch
It’s no exaggeration to say this
is hands-down the best Smash
game yet. There’s just so much
going on, with a huge array of
fighters – it’s a fantastic way to
enter into the world of Smash,
and long-time fans of the series
will not be disappointed.
Stuff says +++++
Smash is well and truly back, and it’s
bigger and better than ever before
TOP TENS
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
+++++ from £38 / PS4, Xbox One, PC
A brutally punishing action adventure that will
get your heart a-pumping.
Forza Horizon 4
+++++ from £25 / Xbox One, PC
This is a bar-raising sandbox-racing game
experience that’s worth buckling up for.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
+++++£43 / Switch
Crammed with tactical and social depth, this is
the best Fire Emblem game so far.
Resident Evil 2
+++++from £20 / PS4, Xbox One, PC
Highly polished and much more than just
a remake, this is the series’ best entry yet.
Super Mario Maker 2
+++++£40 / Switch
One of Nintendo’s smartest ideas in years feels
perfect for the Switch.
NEW Gears 5
+++++£44 / Xbox One, PC
Huge, thrilling and luxurious at every turn – this
is absolutely essential.
NEW Astral Chain
+++++£40 / Switch
The most stylish and innovative action game
you’ll play this year.
TOP TENS
Lego Boost Creative Toolbox
£150 / stuff.tv/LegoCreativeToolbox
Building Lego models is already ridiculously good fun, so think
what great a time you’ll have when the completed model turns
into a functioning robot. With the accompanying tablet app, you
can use simple coding to make the robot move, fire projectiles
and play various games. And rather than retiring it to the dusty
shelf once you’re bored, you can rebuild him into four other
programmable models: a harmonica-playing cat, a driveable
rover, a working robot-builder and a playable guitar.
Stuff says +++++
All hail Vernie and friends – for value and sheer fun, it’s
hard to beat this programmable Lego kit
Propel Star Wars
X-Wing Battling Drone
£65 / stuff.tv/SWDrone
The Star Wars Battling Drone works indoors
and outdoors, and doesn’t require a licence
or CAA permit to fly. It’s a total blast… just a
shame there’s no camera or app.
Stuff says +++++
Is the Force strong with this one? You betcha!
Sphero Bolt
£150 / stuff.tv/SpheroBolt
This little rolling ball of tech is great fun, and
educational to boot. We hope your skirting
boards are up to taking a few knocks, but if
your kids have any curiosity about coding it’ll
keep them entertained for months to come.
Stuff says +++++
Proves that learning really can be fun
Kano Harry Potter Coding Kit
+++++£100 / stuff.tv/KanoHarryPotter
A magical way to make coding accessible
and fun to learn.
Nintendo Labo VR Kit
++++,from £35 (+ Switch) / stuff.tv/LaboVR
An irresistible mash-up of cardboard-folding
adventures and lo-fi VR entertainment.
FOR UP-TO-DATE LISTINGS AND FULL REVIEWS OF ALL KINDS OF GADGETS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10
TOP TENS
Jaguar I-Pace
from £60,995 (with PiCG) / stuff.tv/ipace
Not content with simply making an electric vehicle that can get
you from A to B with minimal fuss (and fuel bills), Jaguar has
created something desirable, fun to drive and impressively
capable when the going gets tough. This car offers Amazon
Alexa integration, smartphone connectivity and a 10in
touchscreen on the upper deck. With the I-Pace, Jaguar
can happily claim to be the first mainstream brand to really
give Tesla something to worry about.
Stuff says +++++
Fun, fast and practical, the I-Pace is the greatest thing
to happen to electric cars in a long time
Nissan Leaf
from £27,995 / stuff.tv/NissanLeaf
Nissan has really got it right with the latest
Leaf – an accomplished family car that
packs some serious range and performance,
and acts as a flagship for the company’s
most advanced driver assistance gizmos.
Stuff says +++++
A strong candidate for your eco-conscious cash
Tesla Model S
from £77,200 / stuff.tv/TeslaS
This sleek saloon re-writes the rules
for all-electric performance and offers
advanced autonomous driving tech that
most of the other makers are only just
beginning to explore.
Stuff says +++++
A true groundbreaker among high-class EVs
Volvo XC90 T8
+++++from £66,645 / stuff.tv/XC90T8
This plug-in hybrid 4x4 looks great and can
tackle the twistiest routes.
BMW i8 Roadster
+++++from £127,105 / stuff.tv/i8Roadster
The electric motor turns this stunningly
futuristic convertible into a genuine supercar.
TOP TENS VR HEADSETS
1 HOT
BUY
Oculus Quest
from £399 / stuff.tv/OculusQuest
The Quest offers all manner of fully interactive, roamable virtual
worlds that you can throw in your backpack without a single
wire. That’s a mindblowing technical feat. Yes, the battery life
is average, but the inside-out tracking and total absence of any
cables make this the best all-round VR headset to date. It also
ships with the Oculus Touch motion controllers included, which
means you can play fully fledged Oculus Rift titles without being
anywhere near a PC.
Stuff says +++++
If you’ve been waiting to board the VR bandwagon,
the Quest might be the best reason yet to go for it
HTC Vive
2 £499 / stuff.tv/HTCVive
There isn’t much difference between this
and the much cheaper Oculus Rift, in all
honesty. But if you’re thinking of upgrading
to the Vive Pro in the future, this is a great
gateway headset.
Stuff says ++++,
A solid choice for immersive virtual reality
HTC Vive Pro
3 £799 (headset only) / stuff.tv/HTCVivePro
This high-end headset offers the best
virtual reality experience by a long way,
but its sky-high price means you should
only really buy it if you’re a VR obsessive
with a super-powerful gaming PC.
Stuff says ++++,
This hardcore headset is overkill for most
Google Daydream View
4 ++++,£99 / stuff.tv/DaydreamView
This budget-friendly option is the best way
of bringing VR to the masses.
PlayStation VR
5 +++,,from £260 / stuff.tv/PSVR
It can deliver incredible experiences, but
the PSVR is held back by niggling issues.
FOR FULL REVIEWS, AND TO EXPLORE MORE OF THE STUFF TOP TEN LISTS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10
99 VR GAMES TOP TENS
1 HOT
BUY
Blood & Truth
£28 / PSVR
Blood & Truth uses every trick available to deliver an absolutely
rollicking action thriller – sweaty palms are guaranteed. Covering
a huge breadth of environments and sequences that will make
you forget its relatively short runtime, it turns London into a
playground packed with dazzling action set-pieces, while the
story keeps you grounded with a likeable and compelling cast.
Anyone with a PSVR needs to play this; and for those who don’t
already own one, the time is now.
Stuff says +++++
A stunning full-length VR action blockbuster with
a great story
Superhot VR
2 from £16 / Oculus Rift, Vive, PSVR
There’s something really cool about hiding
behind a desk before blitzing your opponents
with streams of bullets as if you were starring
in your very own Matrix movie. A wonderfully
action-packed title.
Stuff says +++++
A superb 2-in-1 VR puzzler and shooter
Farpoint
3 £16 / PSVR
If it weren’t in VR, Farpoint would be a
distinctly average space-based FPS. But
the PSVR headset and Aim Controller lift
it above the pack and make it a must-play,
not just for VR fans but also for FPS addicts.
Stuff says +++++
Simply a thrilling VR experience
Moss
4 ++++,£18 / PSVR
This platform puzzler offers a one-of-a-kind
fable that’s perfect for VR.
Thumper
5 ++++,£15 / Oculus Rift
This mesmerising rhythm game is best
played in VR, despite the lack of tracking.
TOP TENS SMART HOME
TIPS &
TRICKS
Check out the app’s
Energy Savings
Report to see how
well you’re doing
each month.
Crank up the nerdery
by tinkering with
Tado’s IFTTT channel
or adding it to your
HomeKit setup.
Hook up an Amazon
Echo or Google
Home to change
the temperature
with your voice.
2 3
Netatmo Welcome
£157 / stuff.tv/NetatmoWelcome
Netatmo’s smart cam has face
recognition capability, which
works well once it’s got to know
you, and the usual motion and
noise detection is easy to control.
You can also remotely monitor
your house to keep the paranoia
at bay while on holiday.
Stuff says +++++
A neat security cam with loads of
features and storage options
FOR FULL REVIEWS OF THE BEST SMART HOME DEVICES, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SMART-HOME-DEVICES
100
1 HOT
BUY
Tado Smart
Thermostat V3+
from £200 + installation / stuff.tv/TadoV3Plus
It might not be as pretty as the Nest 3.0, but
Tado has quietly evolved into the best all-round
smart heating system around. Like autopilot
for your boiler, it senses when you’re leaving
home or coming back thanks to the app’s
geolocation. And Tado’s gadgety goodness
is second to none, with the option of zonal
control for individual rooms and voice smarts
from the likes Alexa and Google Assistant.
Stuff says +++++
Tado roasts the competition with its
combination of simplicity and smarts
O NOW ADD THIS
Tado Smart Radiator Thermostats
Once you’ve tasted the joys of zonal
smart heating, you and your wallet
will never go back.
£70 each / tado.com
Philips Hue Starter Kit
4 +++++from £60 (white) / stuff.tv/PhilipsHue
Become an indoor god with the smartest way
of lighting up your home remotely.
Brisant-Secure Ultion Smart
5 +++++from £229 / stuff.tv/UltionSmart
Tradition and tech partner up in a smart lock to
please everyone.
Arlo Pro
6 +++++£200 / stuff.tv/ArloPro
A good home cam that becomes a great one
outdoors. Your shed has never been so secure.
Google Wifi
7 +++++£129 / stuff.tv/GoogleWifi
A signal-spreading wonder that’ll make your old
router look like a tech dinosaur.
Nest 3.0 Google Nest Hub
£180 / stuff.tv/Nest3
8 ++++,£119 / stuff.tv/NestHub
Google’s rebranded smart helper, formerly the
Home Hub, offers real value for money.
This is one of the cleverest (and
best-looking) smart thermostats
on the market. Nest learns your Amazon Echo Show 5
habits – when you’re in, when
you’re likely to need a lot of hot
water and so on – so it can control
9 ++++,£80 / stuff.tv/EchoShow5
A great alarm clock and a feature-packed smart
display: this is a sub-£100 bargain.
the boiler to save energy and keep
that shower nice and toasty.
Nest Hello
Stuff says +++++
A simple and mess-free smart
thermostat with Alexa compatibility
10 ++++,£229 / stuff.tv/NestHello
Not only is this a nifty smart doorbell, but it also
doubles as a useful security camera.
TOP TENS DRONES & ACTION CAMS
1 HOT
BUY
GoPro Hero7 Black
£319 / stuff.tv/Hero7Black
This is basically the excellent Hero6 Black (a five-star action
cam that cost £500 at launch) with a bunch of improvements
added – the most useful of which being the incredibly effective
HyperSmooth image stabilisation, which has a huge impact on
video quality. It’s great to see a company like GoPro continue
to innovate in ways that are genuinely valuable to its main
customer base, and the Hero7 Black is the best camera it’s
made in years.
Stuff says +++++
GoPro’s smoothest operator ever, and a brilliant
flagship action cam
DJI Osmo Action
2 £329 / stuff.tv/OsmoAction
The image stabilisation is sensational and the
face-optimised metering makes DJI’s action
cam an ideal choice for vloggers. It has some
idiosyncrasies, but this is a smart shooter that
captures great footage without faff.
Stuff says +++++
Despite a few quirks, this is a stellar cam
DJI Mavic 2 Pro
3 £1349 / stuff.tv/Mavic2Pro
Aimed at the enthusiast willing to spend a
little more to fly and film a little further, this
is an undeniably pricey drone – but we think
it’s worth every penny. It’s a fantastic flyer
that feels superbly responsive in the air.
Stuff says +++++
The gold standard in portable flyers
DJI Mavic Air
4 +++++£769 / stuff.tv/MavicAir
A cracking gadget that combines the best
bits from the Spark and the Mavic Pro.
NEW DJI Osmo Pocket
5 ++++,£329 / stuff.tv/OsmoPocket
Silky shooting in a pint-sized package: this
gimbal/cam takes a novel niche and fills it well.
FOR FULL REVIEWS, AND TO EXPLORE MORE OF THE STUFF TOP TEN LISTS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10
101 COMPACTS TOP TENS
1 HOT
BUY
Sony DSC-RX100 V
£799 / stuff.tv/RX100V
We wouldn’t recommend buying this camera if you already own
the old IV model, but a few improvements have ensured Sony
remains the top dog in our compacts list – and we’re keeping this
model above the newer RX100 VI simply because of the huge price
difference. It remains one of the finest point-and-shoots we’ve
ever seen, with a flexibility that few pocket cameras can muster.
While it’s still not exactly cheap, we reckon this is the cam to buy
if you want fantastic-looking snaps from your holidays.
Stuff says +++++
Only a small improvement over the RX100 IV, but this
Sony is close to premium point-and-shoot perfection
Panasonic Lumix TZ200
2 £599 / stuff.tv/TZ200
This Panasonic compact is a significant
upgrade from the TZ100, offering extra
reach with the zoom lens, better colour
reproduction, and an improved experience
when using the electronic viewfinder.
Stuff says +++++
Small, neat and not dramatically overpriced
Sony DSC-RX100 VI
3 £979 / stuff.tv/RX100VI
A true all-rounder that shoots 24fps
at full resolution and has stunningly fast
autofocus, topped off with a whopping
8x zoom lens that’s quite spectacular
for such a tiny camera.
Stuff says +++++
A dinky yet luxurious point-and-shoot
Panasonic Lumix LX100
4 +++++£449 / stuff.tv/LX100
One of the most capable compacts on the
market, with superb stills and HD video.
Fujifilm X100F
5 +++++£1169 / stuff.tv/X100F
The best street shooter around if you don’t
need the flexibility of interchangeable lenses.
TOP TENS SYSTEM CAMERAS
TIPS &
TRICKS
Pre-shot ES mode
starts taking photos
and adding them to
the buffer as soon as
you half-press.
Sports Finder mode’s
display enables you
to see what’s about
to come into frame
for moving shots.
Tapping an area on
the 3in touchscreen
will let you set the
focus point or take
an instant shot.
2 3
Sony A7 III
£1755 / stuff.tv/SonyA7iii
The A7 III manages to pack in a lot
of technology and desirability for
less than £2000. It’s a fantastic
all-rounder that’s well suited to
a bunch of shooting scenarios,
coping well with landscapes,
portraits, and even a little bit
of high-speed sport shooting.
As a camera design it’s admittedly
not the prettiest thing we’ve ever
seen, but it handles well for its
compact size.
Stuff says +++++
A fantastic all-rounder that excels
in low-light conditions
FOR FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THE BEST NEW CAMERAS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10/SYSTEM-CAMERAS
102
BARGAIN
BUY
Fujifilm X-T20
£599 / stuff.tv/XT20
With its 24.3MP APS-C sensor,
plus a touchscreen, the X-T20
will deliver results that are in some
cases just as good as you’ll get
from Fuji’s pricier models – and
will leave you with a lot more
spare cash in your account. With
well-laid-out controls, a huge
viewfinder, excellent AF and
access to superb lenses, the
X-T20 is just one more fantastic
mirrorless camera from Fuji.
Stuff says +++++
The X-T20 nails the sweet spot
between price and performance
10
1 HOT
BUY
Fujifilm X-T3
£1349 / stuff.tv/FujifilmXT3
It’s really hard to find anything bad to say about
the X-T3 – it’s just consistently great in so
many ways. Fuji has looked at virtually every
feature on the X-T2 and upgraded it. With
substantial tweaks made to the pro-level
video options, the high-res EVF, the super-fast
autofocus and the burst shooting, what you’re
left with is an all-round beast of a camera in a
O Prices quoted are for body only unless otherwise stated
small, beautiful form. As APS-C shooters go, it’s
the best there is.
Stuff says +++++
An incredible stills shooter with video
smarts to match
O NOW ADD THIS
Manfrotto 190 Go! Carbon Fibre Tripod
You no longer have an excuse for
wobbly photos with this carbon-fibre
tripod. It weighs just 1.65kg.
£249 / manfrotto.co.uk
Panasonic Lumix G9
4 +++++£999 / stuff.tv/LumixG9
The G9 is the best Lumix camera to date and
a fine choice for wildlife or action photography.
Sony A6500
5 +++++£969 / stuff.tv/A6500
A cracking system cam for action photography,
but stick with the A6300 if your budget is tight.
Fujifilm X-H1
6 +++++£899 / stuff.tv/XH1
By adding in-body image stabilisation, Fuji has
created a wonderful all-rounder.
Canon EOS 80D
7 +++++£980 / stuff.tv/80D
The 80D is so easy to use that even a toddler
would get some great shots with it.
Nikon Z6
8 +++++£1699 / stuff.tv/Z6
A top-notch and reasonably sized mirrorless
camera from the optical experts.
Nikon D850
9 +++++£2699 / stuff.tv/D850
This super-cam has enough fantastic features
to excel in pretty much any situation.
Canon EOS RP
+++++£1399 / stuff.tv/EOSRP
A full-frame mirrorless snapper that’s light
enough not to be a burden.

TIPS &
TRICKS
Chickens killed you
in Zelda again? You
can rewind up to five
minutes and pretend
it never happened.
For full-fat nostalgia
you can read the
instruction manual
for each of the SNES
games online.
Stop trying to raid
Bowser’s castle in
one sitting, and use
one of the four save
slots to take a break.
2 3
Raspberry Pi Zero W
from £9.30 / stuff.tv/PiZeroW
It might be nearly twice the price of
the original Pi Zero, but when you’re
still getting change from a tenner
the wireless Pi is fantastic value.
Simplicity is key, with no need to
mess about with dongles or hubs.
This also means your Pi projects can
be squeezed into smaller places.
Stuff says +++++
The Pi Zero was already brilliant;
wireless add-ons make it better
FOR FULL REVIEWS OF ALL THESE GADGETS, AND TO EXPLORE MORE TOP TEN LISTS, VISIT STUFF.TV/TOP-10
103 BUDGET BUYS TOP TENS
1 HOT
BUY
SNES Classic Mini
£70 / stuff.tv/ClassicMini
Why bother splashing out over £200 on a
games console when you can get the SNES
Classic Mini for a fraction of that? Especially
when you get 21 classic titles pre-installed on
this nostalgia-inducing machine, including the
likes of Super Metroid, A Link to the Past, Super
Mario World and the never-before-released
Star Fox 2. And with two controllers bundled in
the box, you’ll be able to start the Super Mario
Kart action right away.
Stuff says +++++
With 21 classic games installed, gamers
won’t find better value anywhere
O NOW ADD THIS
8Bitdo Bluetooth Retro Receiver
Fed up of those short cables? Use
this clever device to connect most
modern controllers wirelessly.
£15 / 8bitdo.com
Moov Now
4 +++++ £49 / stuff.tv/MoovNow
The best budget tracker you can buy – gives
most Fitbits a run for their money.
SoundMagic E10
5 +++++ £30 / stuff.tv/E10
We love the E11s, but the previous model is still
available for real bargain-sniffers.
Moto G7 Play
6 +++++ £124 / stuff.tv/G7Play
Motorola’s still got it – here’s another cracker
we’d happily pay twice as much for.
Vodafone Smart X9
7 ++++, £99 / stuff.tv/SmartX9
Network-branded phones may not be cool, but
this one’s a legit bargain.
UE Wonderboom 2 Google Home Mini
£90 / stuff.tv/Wonderboom2
8 ++++, £49 / stuff.tv/HomeMini
The friendliest and most knowledgeable
miniature smart speaker around.
This tiny speaker is a mighty delight.
It’s ideal for the park, or even if
you’re looking to use one (or two) Ryze Tello
to supercharge your bedroom
setup. Audio quality is ramped up
from its predecessor, giving you
9 ++++, £89 / stuff.tv/Tello
Rule the skies without breaking the bank with
this affordable toy drone.
better bass and more detail, but not
at the expense of dinky portability.
Ikea Tradfri Dimming Kit
Stuff says +++++
A rugged little wonder that’ll bring
a sonic boost to any occasion
10 ++++, from £25 / stuff.tv/IkeaSmartLights
Philips Hue might have colour-changing bulbs,
but Ikea’s Tradfri smart lights are crazy cheap.
TOP TENS HOW TO BUY 104

HOW TO BUY Make movies sound

absolutely monster…
A TV and bag yourself
an extra multiroom
SOUNDBAR speaker to boot

DOLBY ATMOS
Surround-sound
JARGON tech using up-firing
BUSTER speakers for 360°
audio with height DTS:X
virtualisation. An Atmos rival that
uses your existing
surround-sound kit:
no upwards-pointing
drivers required.

MPEG-H
Set to revolutionise
car audio and VR
headsets, this audio
codec simulates vast
3D spaces.

HEAD FOR THE BAR RAISE THE BAR

1 What an 2 Wall of 3 Cabinet 4 Satellites 5 Follow

Atmos-phere sound reshuffle of love through
Soundbars are a hot The obvious first At the risk of your That’s not to say If you’ve got a 4K
ticket thanks to an consideration is eyes glazing over, separates are dead. TV, look for a bar with
influx of competing finding a bar that let’s talk speaker The likes of Denon, 4K pass-through for
technologies claiming fits into your setup, configurations. Marantz and Yamaha the best audio quality
to be good enough or can at least be Traditionally, true are still pushing out from games consoles.
to do away with accommodated surround-sound great Atmos AV And remember most
AV amps, separate with some furniture has required five or amps for those with soundbars now
surround-sound jiggery-pokery. The seven speakers plus the space and budget double as wireless
speakers and, bigger the soundbar, a subwoofer; but required. Or, as a multiroom speakers.
in some cases, the more drivers it’s makers have found compromise, check O Get this:
subwoofers. The likely to house, and ways to squeeze out soundbars with Sonos Beam
triple threat of Dolby that should mean more channels into wireless satellite £399 / sonos.com
Atmos, DTS:X and bigger and better one box, aided by the speakers. We
MPEG-H has made sound. No cabinet likes of Dolby Atmos. like Vizio’s Atmos
virtual 3D audio a space? It can be B&O’s Beosound offering because
reality without the wall-mounted with Stage has four main the woofer sits at
need to fill your living your TV. drivers, four subs and the back of the room
room with wires. O Get this: three tweeters. for cool sofa wobbles.
O Get this: B&W Formation O Get this: O Get this:
Sennheiser Ambeo Soundbar £999 / Beosound Stage £1250 Vizio SB36512-F6
£2199 / sennheiser.com bowerswilkins.com / bang-olufsen.com £599 / vizio.com

OR TRY Q ACOUSTICS M2 SKY SOUNDBOX

ONE OF
£169 / qacoustics.co.uk
Short on space? A soundbase
THESE… sits underneath your TV and
can offer impressive bassy
rumbles. The M2 is a fine and
affordable example.
from £249 / sky.com
This high-end unit is optimised
to produce the best sound for
shows broadcast on Sky Q
channels. It’s twice the price
if you’re not a Sky subscriber.

SUBSCRIBE, SAVE CASH AND GET STUFF DELIVERED FOR FREE: SHOP.KELSEY.CO.UK/STUFF
 DEALS TOP TENS
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RANDOM ACCESS MEMORIES 1982
Commodore 64
h look, you’ve dredged up the
O brownest computer ever.
Sure, the C64 wasn’t pretty. It had
chunky brown keys that you had
to smash as if your fingers were tiny hammers.
These were baked into a beige case, because
by law every computer from the USA had to
be that colour in the 1980s. And then there
were the graphics, which were often various
shades of murk. But let’s not get bogged
down in the negatives, because this computer
didn’t become the biggest-selling micro of its
era by accident – there are loads of ways in
which it was amazing.
DON’T MISS THE NEXT ISSUE! ON SALE 28 NOV
Sorry, wasn’t listening, I was reading about
the ZX Spectrum – a proper micro.
Ah, it’s like all the ’80s playground arguments
never went away and they’ve now found a
new home here on the last page of Stuff. Yes,
the ZX Spectrum was a decent piece of kit,
with some superb games. But every Speccy
owner would go wide-eyed on hearing tunes
pumped out of the C64’s SID chip, felt pangs
of jealousy at the use of joysticks rather than
rubber keys, and could only dream of their
system running arcade classics like Turrican II,
Mayhem in Monsterland and Paradroid even
half as ably as the C64 could.
Electric
fright orchestra
Tunes from the C64
have formed the heart
of a decades-long retro
remix scene, which recently
surpassed itself with a full
orchestral concert
courtesy of 8-Bit
Symphony.
We’d console ourselves with non-brown
vector games that played at more than 1fps…
Don’t even trying throwing Elite at us. No-one
in their right mind plays that on a Spectrum
these days. But some C64 classics still pack
a punch, as evidenced by the C64DTV and the
recent C64 Mini. And a full-size take on the
latter is due in December, with switchable
modes, HDMI out, a revamped joystick and
[ Words Craig Grannell ]
that very brown keyboard. Maybe that last
part’s not the smartest move, but we can’t
wait to have another crack at Gridrunner
while fending off angry Spectrum owners
with a rolled-up copy of Zzap!64 magazine.
 PROUD PARTNERS

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