It’s been a busy week at TechRadar’s testing labs. From absolutely thrilling home cinema kit to handy home appliances, we’ve had heaps of exciting gadgets landing on our desks. That means we’re perfectly placed to tell which products released over the last seven days most deserve your hard-earned money, and we’ve got some outstanding ones this time around.
First off, we’ve been putting Sony’s latest Bluetooth speaker through its paces – with its compact size, epic battery life, and convenient charging plate; it’s the perfect home audio companion for taking with you from room to room.
On top of that, we’ve been strapping Nothing’s cheap new CMF Watch Pro 2 around our wrists and marveling over its cool design and easy-to-use UI. But we’ve been testing way more this week, so read on to catch up.
While the original LinkBuds brand originally applied just to Sony’s open-ear earbuds, it’s increasingly expanding to offer more lifestyle audio options. Case in point: the Sony LinkBuds Speaker. Far from being aimed at listening to music when you’re out and about, this little homebody thrives indoors, providing a flexible audio experience wherever you need it.
Although its sound won’t fill whole rooms like the best bluetooth speakers, its 25-hour battery life and petite size mean you can easily take it with you wherever you go. On top of this, its built-in microphone enables you to use it as a smart speaker effectively. But perhaps our favorite feature is that it includes a charging cradle, which acts as a handy hub for charging it whenever you’re done taking it for a walkabout.
For
- Long-lasting battery
- Handy charging plate
- Nice and small
Against
- Audio can be beaten
- Some features locked
- Listening angle really affects sound
Tom Bedford
“While it’s not the best-sounding speaker on the market, the Sony LinkBuds Speaker overcompensates with a range of useful features, a stellar battery life and a really useful charging plate included in the box.”
Read Tom’s full Sony LinkBuds Speaker review
Given Nothing is known for both affordability and game-changing design, it’s not surprising that its CMF Watch Pro 2 is one of the best cheap smartwatches you can buy at the moment. It’s seriously cheap, even for this price bracket, and yet offers a super-cool design. It also offers a whole load of features that make it the perfect smartwatch for newcomers to the world of wearables.
Naturally, you won’t get every feature that comes with more premium smartwatches. You won’t get access to NFC payments nor can you wear it in the water. On top of this, there are occasional bugs with some functionality like raise and tap to wake or workout detection. Still, for the price, it really is hard to beat.
For
- Incredibly cheap
- Cool design
- Good interface
- Lots of features
Against
- No water resistance
- Performance quirks
- No NFC
- Small jump over first-gen
Stephen Warwick
“The CMF Watch Pro 2 is a brilliant cheap smartwatch. It lacks a couple of key functions though, and isn’t without its quirks.”
Read Stephen’s full CMF Watch Pro 2 review
The Philips TAB6309 is a solid entry-level soundbar. Its sound is detailed, offering great clarity for speech, while its bass is dynamic yet well-controlled. Visuals on screen match up well with the sound you hear, and it offers a surprisingly broad soundstage, even if its Dolby Atmos height effects can’t quite rival some of the best soundbars. And it’s nice and slim, making it a breeze to situate it in front of your TV.
But what transforms it from good to great is that price tag: at £299, it’s very competitively priced. That’s not a lot to spend for sound this strong and makes it a much more compelling purchase for anyone looking to upgrade their TV’s sound without investing loads of cash.
For
- Punchy, detailed sound
- Slim design
- Affordable price
Against
- Height effects are limited
- Some app issues
- No Wi-Fi support
James Davidson
“The Philips TAB6309 is an affordable soundbar with impressive sound quality. It struggles with Dolby Atmos effects and its supporting app has some issues, but it’s tough to argue against for the money.”
Read James’s full Philips TAB6309 review
The Dyson Car+Boat puts other handheld vacuums in the shade. The main reason for this? It’s not really a handheld at all: it’s actually the powerful Dyson V8 packaged up with different attachments. As a result, it offers suction like a gale-force wind, easily guzzling down dust, mud, and even stones caught in your car’s upholstery. Its epic battery life also means you shouldn’t struggle to get your whole car spotless, even if it’s a hulking Humvee.
Of course, the flip side of this powerful build is that it’s not always the most maneuverable, meaning it can be trickier to squeeze it into tight spaces. But it’s still a great choice for anyone looking for one of the best handheld vacuums that can handle pet hair or the dirt and debris left by an outdoorsy lifestyle.
For
- Very powerful suction
- Long battery life
- Well-designed tools
- Generous dust cup
Against
- Tricky to keep trigger compressed
- Unnecessary for V8 owners
- A little bulky
- Stick vac might be better value
Ruth Hamilton
“The Dyson Car+Boat is a handheld vacuum with suction and battery life that easily outshine the competition. It’s a little bulky for a handheld but it can tackle heavy-duty cleaning tasks, and is a particularly good choice for pet owners.”
Read Ruth’s full Dyson Car+Boat review
Effectively more of an update than an upgrade, the Panasonic Lumix G97 refreshes and improves the formula of 2019’s G95/50. So, this is not one to get that excited about, right? Wrong. Not only has it had the resolution of its rear screen boosted, but it’s also had its video recording limit removed, and a USB-C was added for faster charging. On top of this, even by the standards of today’s best mirrorless cameras, its hardware is still impressive, feeling responsive and offering decent power.
For example, its in-body image stabilization system is extremely effective, while its twin-dial control system gives you control over different elements in various modes. Finally, if you opt for the 12-60mm lens bundle, you’ll get one of the kit lenses available, both for zoom range and image quality. As a result, you’re getting an intermediate-level camera while only having to pay a beginner’s price for it.
For
- Affordable but powerful
- Snappy autofocus for stills
- Nice build and handling
- Great 24-120mm equivalent kit lens
Against
- Video AF less good but serviceable
- Rival APS-C cameras start at 24MP
- Average-poor battery life
Rod Lawton
“[There has been] a bit of a renaissance for beginner-level cameras like this, with features that have hardly aged. Even better, a new and competitive price point for the G97 makes it a very appealing camera for novice photographers and vloggers.”
Read Rod’s full Panasonic Lumix G97 review
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/528nPxQrdd6tuHGYbcNnjk-1200-80.jpg
Source link
josh.russell@futurenet.com (Josh Russell)
